Chapter 8: Little Ancestor, Where Are You?

When the lights above suddenly brightened, Xu En’tang was momentarily taken aback.

Then, a server brought in a desk lamp.

Surprised by the server’s thoughtfulness, Xu En’tang felt a warmth in her heart and smiled at him, saying, “Thank you.”

There were simply too many people tonight.

Even with her headphones on, Xu En’tang could still hear the loud sounds around her, which came in waves.

After solving the problem with the light, she packed her things and left the private room.

The adjacent room happened to be empty, so she pushed the door open and walked in, finally enjoying some peace and quiet.

Since Lu Jin wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, Xu En’tang felt at ease and began to work on her homework.

After finishing her math homework, she started on her physics problems.

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open without warning.

Yu Xiyue, having lost too many games and trying to escape punishment, had come to hide.

Today, the entire floor was reserved for her brother’s birthday, and she thought this room was empty. She was surprised to find someone inside when she opened the door.

Xu En’tang looked up.

“You’re the girl who does homework?” Yu Xiyue walked in, her curiosity evident.

Seeing her old friend from her past life, Xu En’tang felt delighted and introduced herself, “I’m Xu En’tang.”

“Yu Xiyue,” Yu Xiyue replied, sharing her name.

She walked over to the sofa beside Xu En’tang and casually glanced at the table, where there were indeed notebooks and scratch paper.

Yu Xiyue had heard there was a girl who did homework while others played and had scoffed at the idea, thinking it was just for show.

But seeing Xu En’tang so focused on her work, she realized there was no need for her to pretend when she was alone in the room.

Her impression of Xu En’tang changed considerably.

Looking at her, Xu En’tang gave off a calm vibe, not like the kind of girl who was scheming or manipulative.

“Did you come with Lu Jin?” Yu Xiyue asked.

Xu En’tang replied, “Yes.”

Yu Xiyue asked, “Why are you here alone doing homework? Aren’t you going to join the fun next door?”

Xu En’tang explained, “I haven’t finished my homework. Plus, I don’t know many people here.”

It seemed like the good girl had developed feelings for Lu Jin.

Yu Xiyue felt a bit contemplative and wanted to advise her that someone like Lu Jin wasn’t suitable for her.

But she knew that advice would likely fall on deaf ears.

Noticing her notebook, Yu Xiyue asked, “Are you also from High School No. 1?”

Xu En’tang nodded, “I’m in Grade 11, Class 2.”

Yu Xiyue replied, “I’m also in Grade 11, but in the international department.”

At that moment, Yu Xiyue’s phone rang.

She answered the call and then stood up, saying, “My brother is looking for me; I’ll head back now.”

Xu En’tang responded, “Alright.”

Yu Xiyue added, “Let’s add each other as friends. Next time in situations like this, you can hang out with me.”

As Yu Xiyue left the room, she ran into Yu Chen and Tan Jili just a few steps away.

Yu Chen remarked, “I was wondering where you disappeared to; why are you hiding out in this room alone?”

Yu Xiyue replied, “I’m not alone. Xu En’tang is in there too.”

Yu Chen replied, “Xu En’tang? That name sounds familiar.”

Yu Xiyue clarified, “The one doing homework.”

Yu Chen recalled, “Oh, she’s the one trying to stand out by chasing after Lu Jin through her homework, right?”

Yu Xiyue corrected him, “She’s genuinely doing her homework and is quite serious about it.”

She then turned to Tan Jili, asking, “Are you leaving so early, Jili?”

Tan Jili lazily replied:

“There’s still some business to attend to.”

Yu Chen remarked, “Who told Young Master Tan he’s such a busy man?”

Yu Xiyue teased, “Brother, you’re acting like a jilted lover.”

Yu Chen: “…”

Tan Jili chimed in, “I have a perfectly normal orientation.”

Yu Chen countered, “…I’m normal too, okay?!”

As if it implied someone wasn’t normal!

Yu Xiyue burst into laughter.

Yu Chen, feeling a bit wronged, said, “My birthday still has a few hours left; don’t you both care about the birthday boy?”

Thinking back to the earlier teasing, he quickly added to Tan Jili, “Forget it, I don’t need your attention. Just keep your mouth shut.”

Tan Jili: “…”

Not long after Yu Xiyue left, there was a knock on the door of the private room.

Xu En’tang looked up, a bit puzzled.

“Come in.”

A server entered, carrying a fruit platter and some snacks.

As the server set down the platter and snacks, Xu En’tang asked, “Who sent this over?”

The server replied, “I was just instructed to bring these over. I don’t know the details.”

Xu En’tang nodded.

Once the server left, she took out her phone, found Yu Xiyue in her contacts, and sent her a message.

Xu En’tang: [Did you send over the fruit platter and snacks?]

A few minutes later, Yu Xiyue replied with a voice message.

“The fruit platter and snacks? That wasn’t me. I’m on my way home.”

Xu En’tang immediately thought of Yu Xiyue, but it turned out she wasn’t the one.

She replied: [Then I must have gotten it wrong. Be careful on your way home.]

Setting her phone down, Xu En’tang couldn’t think of who else it could be, so she pushed the thought aside.

Maybe the manager saw there were people in the private room and sent something over.

After ten o’clock, people began to leave one after another.

However, many still remained.

Tomorrow was the weekend, giving everyone a reason to party hard.

On the Fuyuan side, Old Master Lu and Madam Lu were early sleepers and had gone to bed around ten.

Before sleeping, they asked about Xu En’tang’s whereabouts and told Aunt Zhou to keep an eye on her.

Aunt Zhou woke up from a nap around one in the morning and noticed Xu En’tang still hadn’t returned.

Feeling uneasy, Aunt Zhou decided to call Xu En’tang.

After two attempts, both went to voicemail.

Worried, she called Lu Jin.

It rang for quite a while before someone picked up.

“Zhou Yi?” Lu Jin’s voice came through, sounding a bit hoarse as if he had just woken up.

Aunt Zhou asked, “Little Ancestor, where are you?”

“At home,” Lu Jin replied, his voice still laced with drowsiness.

Aunt Zhou inquired, “What about Tangtang?”

There was a brief pause on the other end.

“Didn’t she go back early?” Lu Jin replied.

Aunt Zhou said, “She hasn’t returned. Her phone is off. The driver said he didn’t receive any call from her.”

Xu En’tang was awakened by a server.

“Excuse me, are you Miss Xu En’tang?”

Xu En’tang instinctively nodded.

The server replied, “Your family is looking for you.”

Xu En’tang became more alert and remembered where she was.

After finishing her physics homework, feeling a bit tired, she had scrolled through her phone for a bit and had unknowingly fallen asleep.

She fished out her phone from behind her, pressed the button, and saw it was dead.

At this time, shared power banks hadn’t yet become popular.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“It’s almost 1:40.”

Xu En’tang was surprised; she hadn’t realized it was so late.

“Has the party next door ended?” she inquired.

“It has.”

The server spoke into the intercom, confirming that they had found the person they were looking for.

When the call came in, the response was that the private room had been empty for half an hour.

It was only after that someone remembered there had been a girl in the adjacent room earlier.

After gathering her belongings, Xu En’tang slung her bag over her shoulder and left the private room.

As she stepped into the elevator, she yawned, planning to take a taxi back to Fuyuan to avoid calling the driver again.

“Ding—”

The elevator arrived.

The doors slowly opened.

Xu En’tang sleepily lifted her gaze, and her eyes unexpectedly met someone else’s.

Standing outside the elevator was Lu Jin, his hair slightly disheveled.