As the New Year approached, the Lu family had a tradition of offering sacrifices to their ancestors.

The Lu family was very large, and as long as relatives hadn’t moved too far from Ancheng and hadn’t left the five mourning periods, they would come to participate.

Because of Lu Zhihong’s successful development, the Lu estate was the liveliest during the New Year, with lights on day and night.

Lu Nian finally had a break.

After being tormented by schoolwork for so long, she really didn’t want to see any numbers when she got home.

She just wanted to lie in bed comfortably.

“Nian Nian.” Lu Zhihong walked in, dressed in a suit and leather shoes. “Tidy up a bit. I’ll take you out to meet a few people later.”

Lu Zhihong looked at his daughter with relief.

Her health had improved noticeably during this time.

Although she was still smaller in size than children her age due to her weak constitution, and her face lacked color, the trend was there, which made Lu Zhihong very happy.

“Meet people?”

“A few uncles and aunts,” Lu Zhihong said. “Because you were not feeling well before, you haven’t met them much.”

He said to the maid next to him, “Get Nian Nian ready in ten minutes. I’ll wait for her at the door.”

Lu Nian complained incessantly.

With Lu Zhihong’s command, the maid quickly got her up from bed, changed her dress and coat, combed her hair, and handed her over to Lu Zhihong, who took her to the hall.

“Is this Nian Nian? She looks so beautiful now.”

“She looks much better than before.”

Lu Nian followed Lu Zhihong, who was not smiling, and He Tian, who made her feel uncomfortable with her laughter, and time passed quickly until the New Year.

She was annoyed by a heap of flattering voices, her head aching.

She was originally cute, and as Lu Zhihong’s only daughter, these people naturally wouldn’t hesitate to praise her.

Her ears were numb from listening.

When she finally found an excuse to leave Lu Zhihong, before she could run far, she bumped into a delighted face at the door.

It was Lu Yang. “Nian Nian!!”

Lu Yang had naturally come with his family.

When he saw Lu Nian at the door, he thought he was seeing things, after all, she had never shown up at this time before.

Lu Yang chased after her out the door, talking to her non-stop.

Lu Nian listened with one ear, quickening her pace towards the door until she heard Lu Yang say, “It’s really lively today, Nian Nian. Everyone from your family who lives here is here, right?”

Lu Nian absentmindedly replied, thinking, almost everyone is here, but someone is missing.

She suddenly thought of someone she hadn’t seen in a long time, her gaze dimming slightly.

After that day’s unpleasant parting, she had never seen Qin Si again.

Now that she thought about it, she felt that Qin Si was deliberately avoiding her.

After all, they lived not far from each other, and both studied at the same school.

With Nian Nian paying attention, it was impossible not to run into Qin Si.

Lu Yang was still excitedly talking about something, but Lu Nian was absentmindedly listening.

She looked at the hem of his clothes, a very stylish and warm jacket.

She remembered when she first saw Qin Si, he was wearing that dark thin sweater, which was obviously old and short.

It was the same in winter, always dressed so thinly.

Qin Si was obviously good-looking, and when he grew up, he would probably charm many girls with those silent eyes.

If he cleaned up properly, he would definitely look much better than Lu Yang.

However, she thought, if she wanted to buy him clothes, Qin Si would definitely not accept them and might even get angry.

As Lu Nian was thinking about all this mess, the two had already walked out of the estate gate. “Nian Nian, where do you want to go?” Lu Yang asked.

Lu Nian said, “I want to go out for some fresh air.”

Lu Yang frowned slightly, disapprovingly. “It’s too dark outside. I’ll accompany you. Otherwise, I’ll go ask Uncle Lu. He definitely won’t feel at ease letting you go alone.”

Lu Nian, “…”

Lu Yang’s words implied something very obvious.

If she didn’t want Lu Yang to follow, he would go tell Lu Zhihong, and then neither of them would be able to go out.

The Lu estate was very large, with professionals who designed it earlier, and now two full-time gardeners were responsible for its maintenance.

Therefore, the greenery and flower beds were well maintained.

However, on winter nights, it lost its usual elegance and appeared somewhat eerie.

Lu Nian saw a slight rustling from the branches and leaves, as if someone had passed by.

She stopped, feeling strange. “Is there someone over there?”

“It’s probably a bird, no one there,” Lu Yang said. “If Nian Nian is scared, stay closer to your brother.”

Lu Nian, “…”

She rolled her eyes where Lu Yang couldn’t see.

Lu Yang smiled and ruffled her head.

Lu Nian’s hair was in good condition recently, tied into a soft black bun.

It felt very good to touch.

Lu Nian discreetly moved her head away from his hand.

She didn’t like others touching her casually.

Because of what happened when she first arrived, Lu Nian had a bad impression of Lu Yang.

Now she was really annoyed and just wanted to shake him off quickly.

Luckily, it was very dark, and she was small in size.

She grabbed an opportunity when Lu Yang wasn’t paying attention and quietly hid behind a short tree, then turned and slipped away.

It took Lu Yang a while to notice that Lu Nian was missing.

He didn’t come to the Lu estate very often, and this place was dark at night.

He was unfamiliar and had to feel his way around while calling out Lu Nian’s name.

“Nian Nian?” He saw the branches in front move slightly, as if caused by a child walking.

He joyfully chased after that direction.

However, just as he stepped over a fence, his feet suddenly slipped, and he fell heavily into a pool, splashing water everywhere.

It was a fountain pool in the Lu estate.

In winter, there was no water, but it still contained ice-cold water.

Lu Yang’s new clothes were soaked, and he looked miserable, sneezing several times in a row.

….

Lu Nian didn’t expect to meet Qin Si at this time. Because of the poor light, she squinted and walked closer to confirm it was him.

The boy seemed a bit taller than when they last parted, a bit pale in the night, making his eyes appear like stars, bright and chilly. He pursed his lips and looked at her, seeming to be in a bad mood.

She felt awkward, not knowing what to say, so she just greeted him, feeling her smile stiff.

In order to shake off Lu Yang, she was now confused herself and looking for a way out.

Qin Si didn’t say a word.

He suddenly turned and walked away. Lu Nian stood dumbfounded in place, watching his back. After a few steps, he felt she wasn’t following. Qin Si stopped, unable to see her expression clearly. “Are you coming?”

Lu Nian was still, “Coming?”

Qin Si seemed a bit impatient. “Do you want to go?”

Although Lu Nian was the legitimate owner of this estate, she had been here for so many years, and the number of times she walked around the estate could be counted on one hand.

Lu Nian, “…”.

She followed Qin Si in silence.

As they walked, the lights of the main Lu mansion grew closer.

She suddenly stopped in her tracks. “I don’t want to go back.”

“They’re so boring. If I go back, my dad will keep taking me out to meet people.” Lu Nian’s heart hardened, and she blurted out everything. “If I had known, I’d rather have been sick like before. At least I wouldn’t have to go out and meet all those strangers.”

Qin Si didn’t say anything.

“It’s okay, I won’t bother you.” Lu Nian said obediently, “I’ll just walk around here. Thank you for bringing me back.”

After all, she knew Qin Si disliked her.

He had said he didn’t want to see her again last time.

She just wanted to help Qin Si without disturbing his life.

The boy remained silent, and just when Lu Nian thought he wasn’t going to speak anymore…

His expression tensed, and suddenly, out of nowhere, he asked, “Are you still going?”

Lu Nian, “Huh?”

Qin Si seemed to regret it already, turning to leave, “It’s nothing.”

Lu Nian, “I heard that!”

She happily followed Qin Si. Lu Nian was the kind of person whose emotions were written all over her face.

When she was happy, she talked a lot more, and she chattered non-stop while the boy remained silent, listening to her, lost in his own thoughts.

The Xu family of three had gone to the Lu mansion to celebrate, so there was no one inside now. It was pitch black.

Qin Si turned on the lights and led her upstairs. With each step, his regret grew, until they reached the attic door, and this emotion reached its peak.

Lu Nian didn’t expect him to live in such a place.

She was a bit stunned, her big eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at the particularly simple interior.

She remembered that Zhang Qiuping didn’t say it would be like this. Why had his room turned into this?

The boy looked at her quietly, his eyes dark.

He didn’t speak, but he didn’t miss any subtle changes in her facial expression.

This was the first time in his life he had brought someone back.

The young animal had retracted its claws for the first time, opening up a small corner of its nest. He was observing, probing carefully.

His fur seemed to bristle all over, ready to show his fangs at any sign of trouble.

Lu Nian had already entered the room. There were two cushions on the floor, one dark and one beige.

She didn’t mind and sat comfortably on the beige one.

“It’s so hidden here. I bet no one can find me here,” the girl’s eyes sparkled. “Does my dad even know?”

Qin Si stiffened, not answering. He couldn’t have expected Lu Nian’s first words to be this.

Lu Nian blinked, “Can I stay a little longer? But if you don’t want me to… then I’ll go.”

Seeing Qin Si’s expression, she had no choice but to reluctantly get up, her small mouth pouting in dissatisfaction, and whispered, “You were the one who asked me to come…” She didn’t dare to let Qin Si hear this and could only mutter secretly.

Qin Si, “…”

A cold voice came from behind, his face tight, “I don’t care.”

Lu Nian smiled, her eyebrows curved. “Then I won’t leave.”

She looked around.

The space was really quite small.

At their current age, and with their small sizes, they could still sit down, but Qin Si was a boy and would grow taller eventually.

How could this place accommodate him then?

She hesitated, “Um, my family’s room for you, it’s not this one, right?”

She had only known about Qin Si’s treatment in the Lu family, but experiencing it firsthand was infinitely more real than just hearing about it.

The boy’s eyelashes flickered, and he said coldly, “I’m fine with it.”

He would definitely move out in the future, but not with her help.

Qin Si didn’t want to use her for anything, nor did he need any of her pity.

That would be more unbearable than killing him outright.

In front of Lu Nian, this emotion was particularly apparent.

Qin Si felt a bit annoyed.

He was already not a talkative person, and now he became even more silent.

Lu Nian simply couldn’t understand what he was thinking.

Qin Si’s thoughts were too difficult to guess.

All she could see was that he didn’t want to accept any help from her.

The room fell into silence until Lu Nian looked around and saw a jigsaw puzzle on Qin Si’s desk.

“You have a puzzle here too!” she exclaimed.

Lu Nian usually enjoyed playing puzzles, she had liked them for two lifetimes.

When no one else was around to play, she often did puzzles by herself in her room.

She had even thought about joining the puzzle club at school after starting high school, but unfortunately, before that day came, she died.

It was a very ordinary box with a plain picture.

“Can I play with this?” she asked Qin Si for his opinion.

Qin Si replied, “It’s up to you.”

After assembling about half of it, she took two pieces and carefully examined them under the light, turning them at different angles, but they just wouldn’t fit together.

She was stuck and looked at the two puzzle pieces in her hand, feeling that she must have been made stupid by the previous problem and by Lu Zhihong.

The boy’s hand reached over hers, picked out another piece from the pile of puzzles, and threw it in front of her.

Perfect fit.

Qin Si hadn’t even looked at her before, he had been looking down at his book.

“Stupid.” Lu Nian saw Qin Si’s lips move, but he didn’t say it out loud.

The boy lowered his eyes, concealing his expression very well.

Lu Nian, “Oh.”

She was indeed stupid, so what? She had never been particularly clever in both lifetimes.

Qin Si remained silent.

At that moment, Lu Nian felt that he was a bit different from usual, but she couldn’t tell exactly how.

So she could only continue playing with her puzzle.

The two children sat side by side.

The girl focused on her puzzle, her soft, fluffy hair dyed a soft yellow by the light, even the fine, tender fuzz on her cheeks could be seen clearly, like a small peach.

The boy, however, seemed somewhat unnatural.

Every aspect of his expression and movement seemed stiff and uncomfortable.

Until Lu Nian’s neck began to ache from bending over the puzzle, she glanced out the window and made a new discovery.

She exclaimed with joy, “Look, my house is so close! I think I can see the light in my room!”

The boy, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly stood up at her words and pulled the curtains shut.

His movements were so quick that they even caused a gust of wind, scattering the puzzle pieces on the table.

He gritted his teeth, “You’re mistaken.”

Lu Nian, “Huh?” Was she mistaken?

She sensed something was wrong with the boy, so she moved a little closer to him in her sitting position, and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

“Stay away from me,” Qin Si’s intense backward movement almost startled Lu Nian.

She hadn’t expected Qin Si’s reaction to be so strong, his tone almost fierce.

Qin Si now only felt regret, an overwhelming regret.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have called her over at all.

He retreated into the shadows, not wanting Lu Nian to see him as he was now, only wanting to be as far away from her as possible.

Then, he heard the girl’s excited voice, “Can I come over for Chinese New Year?”