Chapter 18: Second Update

Lu Ning didn’t even think about it: “No time.”

She clearly remembered why she had clashed with this person in the first place.

Back then, she had just entered the school gate. The people around her were in small groups, and parents outside were eagerly giving instructions, which made her feel restless. So, she just kept her head down and walked forward, not even knowing where she was going. After wandering for a long time, it started to rain.

Eventually, she was so angry that she didn’t want to go to class at all. Holding an umbrella, she squatted by a small garden, throwing stones for fun. As she threw them, she accidentally hit someone. Who would have thought that this guy would be squatting in the grass?

At the time, he had looked at her with the same indifferent, trash-like gaze: “You did that?”

“It wasn’t on purpose. Why were you squatting there without saying anything? Tough luck for you.” Lu Ning was already in a bad mood, and his look only made her angrier. “Why are you staring at me? If you’ve got the guts, hit me back.”

The boy stared at her for a few seconds after hearing that, then actually walked over to her, really intending to hit her.

Lu Ning had never been at a disadvantage in such situations, so she decisively slammed her umbrella onto his head, ducked down, and knocked him over, sending him tumbling into a pile of mud.

The boy got even angrier, and so the two of them started fighting.

In the end, neither of them gained the upper hand. The boy called his older brother over, and after much deliberation, Lu Ning could only call Qiao Wu. But Qiao Wu told her that the students at this school were all ordinary people and could be dealt with by giving them some money.

When the boy demanded that she pay for his clothes, Lu Ning went straight to the automated teller machine at the school gate, withdrew ten thousand yuan, and threw it all at them before turning around and running away.

After that, she never saw that boy at school again. She hadn’t expected to run into him here.

It was her first day at school again. What kind of cursed fate was this?

“It’s fine,” Zhong Shixia said. “I’m just here to return the money.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of red bills. Lu Ning’s eyes widened.

Besides the red ones, she also saw some blue and green bills with odd amounts, and there were even two one-yuan coins!

“The shirt was 18 yuan, the pants 30,” Zhong Shixia said in a flat tone, standing in front of her and counting the money meticulously. “The shoes were 25.”

Lu Ning felt like he was doing this on purpose: “Why don’t you include the socks and underwear?”

To her surprise, Zhong Shixia glanced at her and calmly replied, “They’re old. No charge.”

Lu Ning: “…?”

For a moment, she couldn’t tell if he was joking. Could clothes that cost just over twenty yuan even be wearable?

Everyone she had fought with before had demanded thousands or even tens of thousands from her.

Now, this guy showed up claiming to return the money, but he had even thrown his bag aside. What was the difference between this and coming to settle a score?

“Who are you trying to insult? I’ve never paid anyone so little.” She took a few deep breaths. “Don’t mess with me. I don’t have time to argue with you right now. Later, this money will have to cover your medical expenses. Move aside. My patience is limited. Don’t make me say it twice.”

Lu Ning shifted slightly, intending to push past him and leave.

But before her hand could touch him, he grabbed it. She watched as the boy raised his other hand, the one holding the money, and just like she had thrown the money at him in the past, he threw it all onto her head.

The coin hit her forehead, shattering the last remnants of her rationality.

Her breath caught for a moment.

A five-yuan bill slowly drifted down from the top of her head, landing on her arm before fluttering to the ground.

So, this person really was here to pick a fight.

Lu Ning couldn’t take it anymore. If she kept tolerating this, she’d be a pushover!

After all, Lu Yingchi had said she shouldn’t be so meek.

She grabbed the boy’s hand and pinned him against the classroom’s back door, growling, “Can’t you understand human language? Do you really have to provoke me?”

With that, she kicked him in the shin.

The crowd around them erupted in cheers, the commotion growing louder.

Lu Ning sneered, “With skills like that, you dare mess with me…”

But before she could finish, the boy twisted her arm behind her back and yanked her with terrifying force.

In an instant, Lu Ning was the one pinned against the door, her cheek pressed painfully against the surface. The boy retaliated with a kick to her shin.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She had just decided to focus on her studies—why did someone have to provoke her like this?

Just then, the boy’s grip loosened. “Why are you crying?”

Zhong Shixia frowned. Why was it always like this? She was the one who started the fight, yet she was the one crying before he even had a chance to.

Lu Ning was about to retort, but the crowd of onlookers suddenly surged forward.

Before she could react, Zhong Shixia was pulled away and shoved to the ground.

The group surrounded him, shielding Lu Ning behind them.

“Zhong Shixia, bullying the new kid? What kind of man are you? If you’re so tough, come at us!”

“Yeah, show us how tough you really are. Come on, let’s see what you’ve got.”

Lu Ning wiped her eyes.

So, this jerk’s name was Zhong Shixia.

She always handled her own problems and never dragged others into them.

Having heard enough of how people talked to her in her previous school, she could easily tell whether their tone was friendly or hostile. The way these people spoke made her uncomfortable—even worse than Zhong Shixia, who had thrown money at her.

Within seconds, someone’s fist was already swinging toward Zhong Shixia.

Zhong Shixia, who had been pushed to the ground, stood up and blocked the punch with a frown.

“Stop it!” Lu Ning pushed through the crowd. “What are you doing?”

“New kid, we’re standing up for you. Why are you getting upset?”

“I’ll handle my own problems,” Lu Ning said, stepping in front of Zhong Shixia. “I don’t need you to fight for me.”

“Another lunatic,” the leader of the group muttered. “Fine, then. You two fight it out. We’ll stay out of it, okay?”

Lu Ning snapped, “Here to watch the show? Get lost!”

The crowd jeered, but no one made a move to leave. Instead, the leader stepped closer. “What if I don’t? By the way, you’re Lu Ning, right? Who do you think you are? No one’s ever dared to tell me to get lost. You think you’re something special? I’ll make sure my dad ruins all of you. Do you even know who my dad is?”

In that moment, Lu Ning finally understood—changing locations really did change the kind of people she encountered.

Back then, people only ever asked her for money. Now, someone was actually trying to flex their dad’s influence.

First time hearing that. How laughable.

She scoffed, “Do you know who my Housekeeper is?”

Everyone: “???”

Lu Ning continued, “When I fight, I don’t care about dads. I only care about how much each part of your body is worth. So either get lost, or give me your bank account number.”

The crowd: “…”

What the hell, the new guy isn’t just a lunatic, but he’s also got a big mouth.

For a moment, everyone was actually intimidated, glancing at each other in confusion.

Only one person, who seemed to have been lingering on the outskirts of the crowd, suddenly spoke up calmly from behind.

“These pants are a bit expensive this time, the damage fee might be a few thousand,” Zhong Shixia said. “But considering I kicked you, we’re even.”

Lu Ning: “…”

She turned around in disbelief, only to find not a trace of joking on Zhong Shixia’s face.

Found it.

There’s actually someone in this world who’s worse at reading the room than a drunk Lu Xuan!

The others, who initially thought the two were just messing around, were instantly provoked and charged forward.

Lu Ning thought to herself, this time it’s not my fault, and then rolled up her sleeves and joined in.

To her surprise, the person behind her did the same. Instead of fighting each other, they ended up fighting others together.

Lu Ning was a bit distracted. Why did she feel like the people around her were getting weirder by the minute?

Although she had come to pick up Zhong Shixia from school, Zhong Min had gone straight into the school after arriving. He figured that with his brother’s personality, something unexpected might happen.

The two had been in the same orphanage before. Zhong Shixia had always been a bit slower than his peers since birth.

It wasn’t about intelligence—in fact, he was quite smart—but his personality was straightforward and single-minded. He couldn’t grasp the deeper meanings behind people’s words, so he often clashed with others and had few friends.

When his brother first entered middle school, Zhong Min had bought him a cheap set of clothes. Unexpectedly, he got into a fight on the very first day.

The other party threw him 10,000 yuan, and he seriously went to change his clothes. He kept the remaining money until now, waiting to return it, and even remembered the other person’s name clearly.

So when Zhong Min heard him mention Lu Ning today, he felt uneasy.

Lu Ning was a kid he had always thought was spoiled by her family, with a bad temper and poor communication skills. Now that she had transferred mid-term, it was hard to say what the situation was.

That’s why Zhong Min decided to pick him up after school.

Of course, he had other intentions as well.

No matter how much of a jerk that Lu Ning was, he wouldn’t back down today. Zhong Ru had been using his brother to keep him under control like a dog, and he wouldn’t let Zhong Ru off easy either.

He had looked into Lu Ning—she was from the Lu Family.

If there was a conflict with the Lu Family, Zhong Ru would be in a tough spot too.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhong Min reached the school building, he heard commotion coming from upstairs. He quickly ran up and spotted his brother in the crowd.

But the situation… seemed a bit off?

What’s going on? Wasn’t he supposed to be fighting Lu Ning?

Why is he fighting alongside Lu Ning now!

“Damn it.”

Earlier that morning, Zhong Min had been called to the school because his brother wasn’t getting along with others. Now he saw his brother being ganged up on.

The rough, nomadic demeanor he had developed from taking care of his brother over the years instantly resurfaced. Zhong Min clenched his cigarette and charged forward: “You little bastards, who the hell told you to touch him?!”

When Qiao Wu couldn’t get through to Lu Ning and came upstairs, the fight was already nearing its end.

Looking at the scene before her, her eyebrow twitched repeatedly, and she almost lost her composure.

A group of kids were lying on the ground, crying for their daddies, saying they were going to call their fathers over.

Among them, three individuals stood out conspicuously. They were each sitting on a child, pressing down with one hand, strutting around like victorious roosters, full of arrogance.

There was even one who was leisurely picking up the money scattered and trampled on the ground.

The on-duty teacher who rushed over looked utterly bewildered, flustered and at a loss.

The security guards nearby were even more aggrieved, pulling people apart while explaining to the teacher. They had arrived quickly, but they hadn’t expected these people to end the fight just as swiftly!

Qiao Wu closed her eyes for a moment: “Lu Ning, come here.”

Lu Ning, who had been pulled up by the security guard, shrank her neck but quickly regained her composure. She pointed at Zhong Shixia indignantly: “I really didn’t want to fight! He was the one who threw money at me first! Look, look, my head is red from being hit by the coins!”

Zhong Shixia, who was picking up the money, looked up and corrected her seriously: “I didn’t throw it at you, I was returning the money.”

“Who returns money by throwing it?!”

Zhong Shixia was puzzled: “That’s how you gave it to me last time.”

What’s wrong with returning it the same way?

“Then throw it back at me,” Zhong Shixia handed the coin to her.

Lu Ning was momentarily speechless, then immediately turned to complain: “See, he’s provoking me!”

Qiao Wu: “…”

She pulled Lu Ning to stand by her side and looked at the only adult present, who had also joined the fray. The scene felt all too familiar.

“And who is this?”

“Oh, I remember him.” Lu Ning had been too busy avoiding Zhong Shixia this morning to notice this man, but now she knew, “He’s Zhong Shixia’s older brother, and he helped us fight.”

Qiao Wu tried to make sense of it: “So Zhong Shixia came to return money to you, but you ended up fighting, and then his brother came and helped you fight?”

Where exactly did this logic make sense?

With too many people involved, they eventually decided to settle the matter in the classroom.

As the first parent to arrive, Qiao Wu pulled out a chair and sat down. Lu Ning, now less confident, obediently sat beside her: “It really wasn’t me who started the fight. These people are so strange, I don’t even know them, but they kept picking on me. Lu Yingchi said I shouldn’t be a pushover, so…”

At this point, she felt it wasn’t entirely her fault, so she added: “If my money isn’t enough, you can ask Lu Yingchi for some. The students here are probably more expensive than the ones at the previous school.”

The teacher, who was notifying the other students’ parents, looked horrified: “!!!”

She had seen her share of spoiled brats, but this was the first time she’d encountered such a terrifying one!

What kind of bizarre value system was this!

“Not bad,” Qiao Wu chuckled. “At least now you know to turn to your uncle.”

“That’s because he’s the one who encouraged me.”

Qiao Wu patted her head: “Study your Chinese well, don’t just use any word on your family.”

Lu Ning, comforted by the pat, looked up with deer-like eyes and asked shyly: “You’re not mad?”

“It’s not your fault, why would I be mad?” Qiao Wu didn’t even glance at the other children, her smile unwavering. “Don’t worry, the entire Lu Family has your back.”

The entire Lu Family.

Lu Ning swallowed hard.

For the first time, the surname “Lu” sounded so comforting: “For the first time, I feel so at ease with throwing my weight around.”

“Good girl,” Qiao Wu sighed. “I’ll buy you a dictionary of idioms when we get back.”

In contrast, the Zhong brothers, who had also been called in as parents, looked much calmer.

 Although it was a bit unexpected, compared to offending so many people at once, Zhong Ru should be in more trouble, so Zhong Min was in a good mood.

He was sizing up the two people sitting across from him, one big and one small.

When he saw them in the morning, he felt that this person’s demeanor was the type he disliked the most. With that preconceived notion, he even thought that Lu Ning’s past behavior was influenced by her.

However, he couldn’t ignore the fact that as soon as this woman appeared, Lu Ning nervously explained that she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Moreover, the tone of her speech was not as condescending as he had imagined; it was even quite gentle. However, her innate demeanor made it hard for people to feel close to her, even when she smiled.

Someone so young—was she Lu Ning’s sister?

As he was thinking this, the children who had called their parents started shouting.

“My dad is coming, just you wait!”

Lu Ning retorted without backing down, “Our housekeeper is already here! You don’t need to wait!”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s faces showed expressions of astonishment.

Zhong Min stared blankly at this radiant woman—she was just a housekeeper?!

“Housekeeper?” The child laughed upon hearing this. “I thought it was someone important. Just a housekeeper, what are you so proud of? Every family has a housekeeper.”

“It’s not the same! Our family…”

Qiao Wu patted her shoulder. “Take a break.”

Then she turned to the child and asked, “Who is your father?”

“My dad is Luo Zhihua, the chairman of Luo Construction!”

Qiao Wu had an impression of this name. He was on the invitation list, which meant his company wasn’t small, but it was at the bottom—insignificant.

She didn’t bother with the child anymore and instead looked at Lu Ning. “Do you dislike him?”

Lu Ning nodded without hesitation. “Yes, I do!”

“Why do you dislike him?”

“He’s very unreasonable,” Lu Ning answered instinctively, guided by the question. “He says strange things to pick fights, and even though he’s the one who made a mistake, he brings his dad into it, as if having money means he can bully people however he wants.”

“Would you become a child like him?”

Lu Ning was about to speak but felt as if she had been struck on the head.

She looked up at Qiao Wu but saw no trace of blame in her eyes.

In fact, Qiao Wu had said “would become,” not the definitive “already is.”

Had she been like that before?

She shook her head in a daze. “No.”

She really disliked it.

“Mm,” Qiao Wu smiled. “Good child. Don’t be friends with him in the future.”

By sending her to this school, she would meet people from similar social circles and learn that everyone is different.

“Hey, didn’t you hear me? What kind of housekeeper are you? Do you even know how to behave?”

The ignored child was so angry his face turned red.

Just then, his father arrived at the classroom door. Seeing his son in such a state, he was furious. “Who did this? Let me see who has the nerve to lay a hand on my son…”

As he spoke, he noticed Qiao Wu sitting by the back door and paused mid-sentence.

Qiao Wu stood up gracefully and gave a slight nod. “Mr. Luo.”

Luo Zhihua wasn’t sure which side she was on. “And you are?”

“I am the housekeeper of the Lu Family.”

“The Lu Family?”

The only Lu Family Luo Zhihua feared was one, but their housekeeper was old. How could it be such a young woman?

So he immediately toughened up: “Your family did it? So what? If my son loses even a single hair today, I’ll make you pay tenfold!”

Qiao Wu chuckled lightly: “So, you’re not planning to reason with me?”

“What right do you have to reason with me?” Luo Zhihua pulled his son over. “Go ahead and do it now. Let’s see who dares to stop you!”

His son strutted forward arrogantly, but as soon as he raised his hand, it was caught by a slender yet strong hand.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!”

“You dare to lay a hand on him?!”

Luo Zhihua’s eyes widened as he stepped forward.

Seeing this, Zhong Min, who was standing nearby, frowned and instinctively took a step forward.

But before he could intervene, the seemingly frail woman effortlessly restrained the short, stocky man, the thin muscles on her arm looking quite striking.

Zhong Min’s gaze flickered slightly.

Qiao Wu had once learned some combat skills from the Lu brothers, mainly for self-defense, and it was more than enough to deal with these useless troublemakers.

After twisting Luo Zhihua’s arm behind his back, she spoke calmly: “Since we’re not talking about reason but qualifications, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed, President Luo.”

Qiao Wu asked slowly: “Our Old Master hasn’t been in good health recently, and he’s entrusted all family matters to me. President Lu is about to return from the UK to host a banquet, and I’m the one drafting the guest list. Care to guess where you stand on that list?”

Luo Zhihua, who had been cursing, suddenly fell silent.

A few key phrases strung together, and there was no other Lu Family that fit so perfectly except the one he had in mind.

“Which President Lu are you talking about? Lu Jinzhi?”

Qiao Wu smiled faintly: “What do you think?”

“If President Lu returns to the country only to find out that his only niece was bullied on her first day of school.”

She paused and sighed softly: “That would be quite unfortunate.”

Luo Zhihua panicked completely: “No, no, no, it’s not like that! There must be some misunderstanding. Please let me go, and we’ll explain everything slowly!”

Qiao Wu raised an eyebrow and released him.

Before Luo Zhihua could speak, she continued: “Our Lu Ning is attending school for the first time today, handling some personal matters with her classmates. I didn’t expect your child to be so interested as to butt in, even boasting about how powerful his father is and threatening to show Lu Ning just how formidable he is.”

Luo Zhihua’s face turned pale.

“How formidable are you?” she asked with a smile.

“Not formidable at all!” Luo Zhihua grabbed his son. “Hurry up and apologize!”

Lu Ning turned her head away: “They also caused trouble for Zhong Shixia!”

“Zhong… Zhong Shixia?”

Who the hell is that?!

Forget it, apologize first!

Luo Zhihua dragged his son over to the Zhong brothers.

Zhong Min looked at Qiao Wu with a complicated expression.

It was nothing like he had imagined. This person, with her smiling demeanor and a few words, could make people understand her status and her prowess without any hint of impropriety.

Is this really the aura a housekeeper should have?

Compared to her, he, who had just won a battle, seemed so disheveled.

At this moment, the parents of the other students also arrived one after another.

Zhong Min turned his head.

He had expected Zhong Ru to come, but the person who appeared at the door was Zhong Hejing.

Zhong Min’s expression changed slightly as he stood up: “Why are you here?”

“Mom had to go on a business trip today, so she asked me to come.”

“No need.”

Zhong Hejing sighed and walked into the classroom. After scanning everyone, her gaze fell on Qiao Wu, and she was slightly taken aback.

“Qiao Wu?”

Qiao Wu nodded slightly: “Young Miss Zhong.”

Zhong Hejing had a deep impression of Qiao Wu. The Zhong family had always had a cooperative relationship with the Lu family, so when she was young, Zhong Ru often let her go to the Lu family to play, especially since the Lu family had Lu Jinzhi, who was only a few years older than her, and a few other sons.

But Lu Jinzhi was a genius, a difficult-to-communicate genius who thought she was stupid and never spoke to her.

The other children at that time were very attached to Qiao Wu, so usually, Qiao Wu would take her and the other children to play together.

But as everyone gradually grew up, she also became more sensible and understood her mother’s intentions, so she reduced the number of times she went there. As for Qiao Wu…

Zhong Hejing wasn’t very willing to play with Qiao Wu after they grew up, and the other party also seemed to look down on her, so their contact gradually decreased.

She heard that Qiao Wu had gone abroad, and now she was back?

The last time Zhong Hejing saw Qiao Wu was at the Lu family, where she was by Lu Jinzhi’s side, her eyes full of flattery.

But the way the other party looked at her was very uncomfortable, and because of this, they almost always parted on bad terms.

But now she was wondering if she had misjudged the person back then, because the Qiao Wu in front of her was calm and confident, with clear and bright eyes, more like the gentle and soft person she remembered from her childhood.

“It’s been a long time,” Zhong Hejing said instinctively.

“Long time no see,” Qiao Wu said, noticing her pale complexion, and pulled over a nearby chair. “Have a seat first.”

“Thank you.” Faced with such a Qiao Wu, Zhong Hejing couldn’t say anything harsh. She pulled the chair a bit further away. “Why are you here?”

“I came to pick up Lu Ning and take her home.”

Zhong Hejing was surprised: “You came to pick her up?”

“Yes,” Qiao Wu smiled. “I am now the housekeeper of the Lu family.”

Zhong Hejing’s eyes widened slightly.

Doesn’t that mean… the Lu family is doomed?!