Her home?

Before the boy’s reply came, Lu Nian immediately sent an explanation, “Normally, there’s no need for advance booking, but unexpectedly, the school’s art studio is so crowded today, and it’s fully booked… So we can only go to my house.”

Qin Si was very punctual and busy. Generally, everything he did was already planned out.

She was afraid that if they changed the time, he might not come.

She typed in a hurry, “If it’s not possible, are you free tomorrow?”

After a while, the reply came, “Whatever.”

Lu Nian was puzzled.

Qin Si added, “…whatever place.”

Lu Nian replied, “Alright, then I’ll wait for you tonight.”

There was no further response from him, but Lu Nian knew that this was probably an agreement.

This was unexpected.

Lu Nian stared at her phone screen, and perhaps finally, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

Next to her, Tian Yue pulled her sleeve a few times and whispered her name, “Nian Nian, Nian Nian…”

It turned out that the teacher had called her to read the text.

Lu Nian quickly stood up and finished reading the passage.

Because of the situation with Lu Zhihong and Zhao Yayuan, she had been uneasy recently and had not been sleeping well.

Fortunately, she didn’t make any mistakes, and Lu Nian usually followed the rules.

She was considered a good student in the teacher’s eyes, not someone they needed to focus on.

Her habit of playing with her phone during class wasn’t noticed.

Lu Nian breathed a sigh of relief, sat back down, and put her phone back in her bag.

Tian Yue leaned over and whispered, “Who were you messaging? You’re smiling so happily.”

Lu Nian hesitated. She didn’t know how to describe her relationship with Qin Si.

“A boy?”

Lu Nian nodded.

Tian Yue asked eagerly, “Your boyfriend?”

Lu Nian shook her head decisively.

She couldn’t associate Qin Si with the word “boyfriend” at all.

They had known each other for so long, and Qin Si had always seemed to dislike her.

Lu Nian was well aware of that, so she wasn’t being delusional.

In high school, many boys pursued her, but that didn’t mean Lu Nian thought Qin Si belonged in that category.

Ultimately, she couldn’t imagine what it would be like for Qin Si to pursue a girl.

Usually, she would be picked up and dropped off at home by the Lu family’s car, often accompanied by Lu Yang.

Lu Nian messaged him, “You don’t need to come today. My friend and I want to eat out, so I’ll take the car back myself.”

Lu Yang replied, “Friend? Which friend, Gu Yayan or Tian Yue?”

Lu Nian replied, “…Neither.”

She made a few perfunctory remarks and then added Lu Yang to her “Do Not Disturb” list.

Out of sight, out of mind. It was best to treat him as if he didn’t exist.

Lu Yang monitored her life in every aspect, both major and minor.

Even if Lu Nian didn’t say anything, he would find out through other channels.

She felt that this was probably at Lu Zhihong’s behest.

When she was at school, there was Lu Yang, and when she came home, the servants led by Zhang Qiuping were constantly watching her.

Lu Nian felt like she was living in a tightly woven net that allowed no air to pass through, making it hard for her to breathe at times.

As she walked out with the crowd after school, she indeed saw Qin Si at the school gate.

The tall and slender boy looked exceptionally good in the white school uniform of the high school.

He stood out in the crowd.

When he saw her, he didn’t greet her but stopped in his tracks.

It seemed like it had been a long time since Lu Nian had walked home with Qin Si.

Lu Nian asked, “Shall we have dinner together tonight?” After dinner, they could go back to the Lu residence together.

Qin Si didn’t object.

Lu Nian suggested, “Let’s just find a random restaurant by the roadside!”

They were pressed for time and hadn’t deliberately planned to eat out, so in the end, they just randomly entered a small noodle shop by the roadside.

Having been the young mistress of the Lu family for all these years, Lu Nian usually had meals cooked by specially hired chefs at home.

Occasionally eating out, she usually went to Michelin-starred restaurants.

It had indeed been a long time since she had been to such an ordinary roadside eatery.

But she didn’t mind at all.

Perhaps because of the oppressive atmosphere she had been under recently, now that she had escaped the omnipresent surveillance, she felt particularly relaxed, with an unstoppable smile on her face.

They ordered two bowls of the shop’s fastest-selling signature beef noodles.

Finally, the dishes arrived, and Lu Nian was hit with an irresistible aroma as soon as they were served.

Her stomach almost growled with hunger.

Just as she was about to pick up her chopsticks and start eating with gusto, she noticed a green, unidentified object floating on the soup, which made her deflate with disappointment. “I forgot to tell them not to put onions.”

She couldn’t eat onions since childhood.

If she did, she would feel nauseous and want to vomit.

But because the chefs at home knew about this quirk of hers, she had forgotten about it when eating out.

Could they remake a bowl for her now? Lu Nian thought pitifully.

Seeing her expression, Qin Si fell silent.

There weren’t many onions.

He silently pushed her bowl over and took a pair of clean chopsticks to help her pick out all the onions still floating in the soup.

The boy’s fingers were clearly defined, clean, and attractive, with agile and slender hands.

Lu Nian stared at him with puppy dog eyes until the last piece of onion was removed, and he pushed the bowl back to her.

With big, smiling eyes, Lu Nian said, “Thank you!”

She couldn’t wait to start eating and finished the whole bowl in one go.

Surprisingly, she still didn’t feel full.

Qin Si didn’t eat much.

He remained silent throughout the meal, quietly waiting for her to finish.

Lu Nian really didn’t feel full yet. “Are you in a hurry?” she asked the boy across from her, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Qin Si replied, “…Just eat.”

Lu Nian immediately called the waiter over. “Can we have another bowl, please?”

The waiter swiftly replied, “Sure thing.”

The beef noodles were quickly prepared, and the waiter who brought them over naturally placed the bowl in front of Qin Si.

Lu Nian blinked, unsure how to react.

Qin Si didn’t say anything either.

He pushed the bowl towards Lu Nian.

Lu Nian didn’t feel too embarrassed about it.

She just explained, “…I’ve been really hungry lately.”

Eating under the surveillance of Lu Zhihong and Zhang Qiuping at home made her lose her appetite.

No matter how good the food was, it lacked flavor.

But today, in this roadside noodle shop, sitting with Qin Si, she felt oddly relaxed.

So, naturally, she ate more.

Her small mouth turned slightly red from the heat of the food.

Opening and closing, her long eyelashes fluttered in the steam, making her face even rosier.

After watching for a while in silence, Qin Si didn’t look any further and pushed the door open to get some fresh air outside.

A boy who had just come out seemed to be waiting for a friend, so he stepped out to smoke.

“Your girlfriend can really eat,” the boy, who looked like a college student, said, staring at Lu Nian, who was still enjoying her meal inside. “And she’s so skinny and pretty.”

Clearly, he thought they were a young couple.

Wearing the same school uniform and looking good together, they seemed like a perfect match.

He had also witnessed the scene where the boy picked out the onions for her, and the girl’s demeanor… they seemed to get along very naturally.

The girl didn’t seem to find it troublesome at all, nor did she seem embarrassed.

Qin Si simply replied, “She’s not.”

The boy was taken aback. “Huh?”

Qin Si didn’t explain further.

He paid for the beef noodles, called out to Lu Nian, “Done eating?”

Lu Nian nodded, “Yeah.”

She felt really satisfied, as if she had never eaten such delicious beef noodles in her life.

The dusk was setting in.

The two of them walked on the road, one in front and one behind. With Qin Si following, she felt strangely at ease, not worrying about safety issues, walking freely.

The evening breeze tousled the girl’s long hair.

The boy walked silently behind her, quietly watching her back.

Finally, they arrived at the Lu residence.

“I’ll go in and freshen up first,” Lu Nian said, “I’ll be quick!”

This was their plan on the way.

Qin Si didn’t want to see anyone from the Lu family, and it would be troublesome to explain if he brought a boy home at night. Saying she wanted to paint wouldn’t work either.

Plus, she couldn’t let Lu Zhihong and the others know.

Lu Nian went back to her room first, and Miao Miao helped her change into her home clothes.

Lu Nian instructed Zhang Qiuping, “Zhang Auntie, don’t come to call me tonight. I want to go to the studio to paint.”

It had been like this before. Lu Nian often hid in the studio alone to paint for a long time, and she really didn’t like being disturbed when she was painting.

Zhang Qiuping was used to it and naturally nodded in agreement.

She entered the studio and texted Qin Si, “All set, you can come over now.”

The studio was on the second floor, with a small balcony outside.

She opened the balcony door and sent the text to Qin Si.

Before long, the young man had silently climbed up onto the balcony.

Lu Nian found it quite intriguing. “…It’s like those affair scenes on TV.”

Zhang Qiuping loved watching those domestic drama series, and Lu Nian rarely watched TV.

But every night when she passed by the living room, as long as Lu Zhihong and He Tian weren’t there, Zhang Qiuping would pull Miao Miao to watch those shows.

The young man’s face reddened in the darkness, and he coldly replied, “No need for comparisons.”

Lu Nian had changed into her home clothes, with just a light gray cardigan over a soft beige dress.

Her silky black hair cascaded down, making her look exceptionally gentle and homely.

When she was younger and went to the attic to play with Qin Si, she often dressed like this, so she didn’t pay much attention to it.

The young man lowered his eyes, didn’t look much, and followed her into the studio.

“You can sit here,” Lu Nian instructed, setting up the easel and calling Qin Si over.

The room was heated, noticeably warmer than outside.

Lu Nian said, “Could you take off your outerwear?”

Qin Si hesitated.

Lu Nian whispered, “Because I don’t want to draw the outerwear, it’s troublesome,”

Actually, there was another reason: winter coats were usually thick, hiding the contours of the body…

“And it’s warm in here with the heater on. Wearing too much will make you hot later,” Lu Nian said, “If halfway through, I ask you to take off your clothes! Then I’ll be working for nothing.”

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Si finally took off his outerwear.

Underneath, he wore a thin black turtleneck sweater.

It was thin, and beneath the sweater, faintly visible were the attractive contours of his back muscles, slim but not frail.

His black hair was probably long enough to reach his neck.

Upon closer inspection, the strands unexpectedly seemed delicate, appearing cold yet smooth.

Lu Nian felt an urge to reach out and touch, but upon realizing who was in front of her, she quickly dismissed the idea.

Lu Nian sat in front of the easel, holding the pencil, staring at him intently.

From top to bottom.

Qin Si felt extremely uncomfortable under her gaze.

Lu Nian simply tossed aside the paintbrush, walked over to him, “Turn this way a bit, like this…”

She examined from left to right and felt that the pose seemed appropriate.

With more than half of her body leaning, from the perspective of an outsider, she seemed to have nestled into his arms.

It seemed that after they grew up, this was the first time Lu Nian had been so close to him while sober.

He felt stiff all over.

Suddenly, Lu Nian murmured softly, “Just like this…don’t move.”

She was now in the zone, not thinking about anything else, just wanting him to sit quietly while she painted.

The girl’s faint fragrance lingered around, her breath like orchids, her voice clear and shallow, whispering in his ear, “Whatever I ask you to do, you do it.

Understand?”

He couldn’t say a word, feeling a fever rising in his ears.

…It felt like being intoxicated, his heart almost leaping out of his throat.

Time seemed to stop for a moment, then stretched out infinitely.

Finally satisfied, Lu Nian returned to her position, picked up the pencil, and began sketching rapidly.

Qin Si had fair skin since childhood, and when flushed, it appeared especially prominent under the bright lights.

Shaking her slightly sore wrist, Lu Nian blinked and then realized, “What’s wrong?”

Without looking at her, he lowered his eyelids and said coldly, “It’s hot.”

Perhaps also awakened by the heat, Lu Nian started to come to her senses. Suddenly, she remembered what she had said to Qin Si earlier and felt a little guilty.

She knew Qin Si was inherently proud. He never spoke gently to her, always sarcastic or mocking.