8

Before Lu Huan transmigrated into this book, she’d already spent years doing voice work for dramas. Reading aloud? Child’s play.

She cleared her throat gently and began reciting the contents of the agreement, her voice slow and steady. At the same time, her gaze kept sneaking glances at Gu Zhendong’s strikingly handsome face.

Gu Zhendong sat with his eyes closed, resting. The pain in his head was gradually fading.

Whether it was a coincidence or something more, her pleasant voice worked like medicine—calming, refreshing, and oddly soothing.

Lu Huan couldn’t help but grumble to herself: What’s wrong with this guy?

He actually made her read a contract. Seriously?

After finishing one full page, her phone suddenly rang, interrupting the flow of her clear, sweet voice.

The moment the sound stopped, Gu Zhendong’s eyes opened, displeased, locking onto her pale, delicate gaze.

Lu Huan raised her phone and asked hesitantly, “Can I… take this call from my mom first?”

Reading aloud made noise, and so did answering a call—there wasn’t much difference between the two, as far as Gu Zhendong was concerned. He gave her a glance and silently gave his approval.

It was getting late, and the heavy rain outside showed no signs of stopping. Guo Yi couldn’t help but worry.

Even though Lu Huan wasn’t her biological daughter, she’d been raised by her side for nearly twenty years. It wasn’t possible to feel nothing at all.

When the call connected, Guo Yi’s concerned voice came through the line,
“Huanhuan, are you home yet?”

“Mm, I’m already on the way back, Mom. Don’t worry,” Lu Huan replied casually, saying a few comforting words before hanging up.

Gu Zhendong, listening to the girl’s soft, gentle voice, kept his eyes closed, silently agreeing—her voice really was quite pleasant to the ear.

Just as Lu Huan slipped her phone back into her pocket, a blinding flash of lightning lit up the sky outside.

Her face instantly went pale. A second later, a deafening crack of thunder roared overhead.

Startled, she instinctively lunged toward the man beside her, practically diving into his arms.

Since childhood, Lu Huan had always been terrified of thunder and lightning.

Panicked, her first instinct was to grab onto something—anything.

A soft body suddenly lunged toward him. Gu Zhendong snapped his eyes open, turning his head just in time to meet Lu Huan’s wide, frightened eyes glistening with tears.

He didn’t like being touched—especially not by someone who had just handled that filthy little kitten. Her clothes were still damp and stained. His brows furrowed instinctively.

“You—”

Lu Huan caught the displeasure in his expression but had no time to care.

Two more bolts of lightning flashed outside, followed closely by a loud crack of thunder. Her shoulders visibly flinched as she cowered against his chest, looking so pitifully helpless that even Gu Zhendong felt an unfamiliar tug of sympathy.

The words “Get off” were at the tip of his tongue—but instead, he swallowed them back and asked stiffly, “You’re scared of lightning?”

Lu Huan had always had a deep-rooted fear of thunderstorms. She nodded. “Mm… I’m really scared.”

After throwing herself into his arms, she quickly realized how tense Gu Zhendong looked. Guilt crept in, and she tried to pull away—but another boom of thunder made her flinch again. Her eyes dropped to his shirt, and she softly reached out to clutch the edge of his sleeve.

“I’m just a little scared. Let me hold onto something… just for a bit, okay?”

Her pitiful expression made her look just like that little kitten they had just rescued—helpless, fragile, and oddly endearing.

To Gu Zhendong, she had become that kitten.

He pressed his lips into a line, but didn’t stop her.

Another flash of lightning lit up the car like daylight, and a thunderclap cracked so loud it seemed to shake the air itself.

Lu Huan, thoroughly rattled, dove right into his arms again without hesitation.

Clearly, holding onto his sleeve wasn’t enough—this little troublemaker was getting bolder by the second.

Every time thunder rumbled, Lu Huan’s shoulders gave a visible jolt.

Gu Zhendong was a grown man—he had faced life and death without blinking, and thunderstorms, naturally, were nothing to him.

But as he looked down at the trembling girl in his arms, he thought of how her voice had somehow eased his headache earlier. Letting her hide in his embrace for a while didn’t seem like such a big deal.

Seeing how truly terrified she was, he reached out without thinking and gently cupped a hand over her ear.

His palm was warm and dry, and the moment it covered her ear, Lu Huan froze—then felt her ears burn hot again.

Why… why was he suddenly being so gentle?

She racked her brain, and the only word she could come up with was gentle.

Whether it was her imagination or the warmth of his hand, the thunder no longer seemed quite so scary.

She nestled obediently into his chest, her cheek resting against his firm torso, breathing slow and even. His scent surrounded her—clean, restrained, almost ascetic.

God, even his smell is attractive.

She bit her lip—she was seriously struggling not to fall harder.

Outside, the rain poured and thunder roared. Inside the car, it was utterly still.

Gu Zhendong felt a little out of place. In all his years, he had never been this physically close to a girl before.

The enclosed space was filled with the subtle scent of alcohol mixed with something sweet and light—her scent. It lingered at the tip of his nose and seeped into his lungs, stirring something unfamiliar deep within him.

When the thunder finally passed, Lu Huan quickly pulled away from his arms, her face flushed red.

“I, uh—I was really scared of the lightning, that’s the only reason I jumped into your arms! I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you or anything!”

But somehow, the more she tried to explain, the guiltier she sounded.

Sure, he was ridiculously handsome and, well, his body did feel pretty nice—but she swore, she absolutely was not the type to drool over a man’s body.

Without a word, Gu Zhendong handed her the same document from earlier. “Keep reading.”

“What? Still?” Lu Huan let out a dramatic groan. “I’ve already read a whole page—my mouth is dry, and you haven’t even offered me a sip of water!”

As she complained, her bright eyes landed squarely on his thin lips. Drink water, huh? Which kind of “drink” was she talking about?

Anyone overhearing her might think she was flirting—or worse, making suggestive jokes while eyeing him like a walking thirst trap.

Gu Zhendong clearly noticed her unabashed stare. He silently handed her a bottle of water. “You borrowed my arms earlier—shouldn’t I be the one asking for compensation?”

Lu Huan: “…”

Wow, she thought. So the pretty boy turns out to be petty too.

Pouting, she puffed up her cheeks and begrudgingly picked up the document again, continuing to read out loud.

Ugh, she thought. I really am just a soulless reading machine, aren’t I?

Even with her professional voice-acting background, reading non-stop like this was exhausting.

Thankfully, they finally pulled up in front of her house. Lu Huan was so relieved she nearly teared up from joy.

One arm hugging the tiny kitten, the other opening the car door, she turned to Gu Zhendong with genuine gratitude. Her voice was hoarse from all the reading.

“Thanks so much for driving me home today.”

Gu Zhendong looked at her for a moment, then replied calmly, “You’re welcome.”

Lu Huan hadn’t brought an umbrella, so Gu Zhendong had his driver hand her a black one.

Cradling the tiny kitten, she returned to the Lu residence. Guo Yi, worried about her daughter, had been waiting in the living room the entire time.

Ye Sangsang sat beside her, trying to comfort her. “Mom, don’t worry. Sis is already on her way back—she should be home any minute now.”

Guo Yi let out a long sigh. “You don’t know how much that girl loves to be out and about. Back then… Ai…”

Lu Huan had often stayed out all night. Guo Yi had tried disciplining her a few times, but Lu Huan was headstrong—ten times more likely to talk back than listen. Scolding didn’t work, and she couldn’t bring herself to use force.

Over time, as the leniency piled up, so did Lu Huan’s rebelliousness.

Guo Yi often found herself thinking how much easier life would be if only Lu Huan were a bit more obedient and well-behaved.

Compared to her, Ye Sangsang was clearly the more sensible one.

Lu Huan had been pampered since childhood—whatever she wanted, she got. Ye Sangsang, on the other hand, had grown up facing hardships. She was thoughtful, mature, and generous.

Guo Yi couldn’t help but think the Ye family had done a fine job raising a daughter. A warm sense of comfort spread through her heart as she said with a sigh, “If only Huanhuan were even half as obedient and sensible as you.”

Ye Sangsang gave a gentle smile and tried to defend her sister. “Mom, she just likes to have fun—that’s all. Deep down, she’s not a bad person.”

Over the past few days, Guo Yi and her daughter had grown increasingly close, and her affection for Ye Sangsang deepened with each passing day. “Your twentieth birthday is next week—have you thought about what you’d like as a gift?” she asked warmly.

At the mention of this, Ye Sangsang’s eyes turned red, her voice catching with emotion. “Just being able to meet my real parents is already the best gift I could ask for. I don’t need anything else… not even a birthday party…”

After discovering that Ye Sangsang was their biological daughter, the Lu couple had been eager to welcome her into the family and make up for the twenty years they’d lost.

They planned to host a grand birthday banquet for her twentieth, inviting prominent guests and formally announcing her identity as the true daughter of the Lu family.

But Ye Sangsang looked hesitant. “But… if we do that, it might upset my sister. She almost lost her life because of me before. I’m just afraid…”

“Silly girl,” Guo Yi gently reassured her. “That was Huanhuan being overly emotional. Her drowning incident had nothing to do with you.”

“But… sister, she…”

Just then, Lu Huan stepped through the door—and caught that very last part of the conversation. Her smile faltered, turning a little cold.

The sound of the door interrupted the two women.

Ye Sangsang looked up like a startled animal, guilt flashing across her face. She quickly called out, “Sister,” then lowered her gaze.

Lu Huan sneered inwardly. She didn’t go looking for trouble, but the heroine just had to serve it up herself.

Well then, she thought—don’t blame me for not being polite.

Lu Huan called out, “Mom,” and Guo Yi quickly responded. But remembering what Lu Huan might have overheard, her expression turned slightly awkward. “Don’t take what your sister said to heart. She didn’t mean anything by it, she—”

Lu Huan gave a soft, graceful smile. “Of course not, Mom. She’s younger than me, and as her older sister, it’s only right that I be more understanding.”

“But…” Lu Huan turned her gaze toward Ye Sangsang, her voice slightly hoarse, “she did get one thing wrong.”

She smiled gently, though there was something unreadable in her eyes. “Sangsang is your real daughter. I was the one who was switched at birth. How could I possibly have the right to resent her for coming back to her own home?”

“Truthfully, I’m the one in the awkward position now. There’s no blood tie between us. If I stay here in the Lu family, I’ll just become a joke to others. Really, we should return to where we each belong.”

She turned to Guo Yi, her voice trembling. “Mom, why don’t you let me go back to the Ye family? I’m sure her parents will take good care of me too.”

By the time she finished, her eyes were red with emotion, and her voice had choked up with tears.

Guo Yi’s heart twisted at the sight, especially when she recalled how pale and fragile Lu Huan had looked after nearly drowning. Angrily, she scolded, “Don’t talk nonsense! You’ll always be my daughter—no one can change that!”

“Mom…” Lu Huan’s voice cracked as crystal tears slid down her cheeks.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Ye Sangsang.

Both of them were crying, but somehow, hers packed more of a punch.

So we’re playing the sympathy game? Lu Huan sneered inwardly. Let’s see who can act better.

After all, Ye Sangsang had clearly been hoping to push her out of the Lu family for good.

Well then—game on.

=^_^=