Her clothes were plain, utterly unremarkable. The tutor defined Xia Yan as merely a servant in the Lu household, so her tone grew even more impolite. "If you have nothing to do, get out."
Hearing this, Xia Yan felt a twinge of dissatisfaction, but remembering she was Xiaohan's tutor, she held back and prepared to leave.
"Oh, and bring me a glass of orange juice later. Also, take the cake away."
Xia Yan froze for a moment, pondering how to handle this. Xiaohan, who had been quietly eating cake while sitting on the stool, looked up from it. "Teacher Li, do you know who you're ordering around?"
Li Li, called out by the little devil, paused and shook her head blankly.
"She's my dad's girlfriend, and you dare order her around? You're dead meat." Xiaohan stuck out his tongue to lick the cream on his spoon, dropping bombshells without hesitation. "You saw the wound on her hand, right? When my dad saw it, he was really upset."
Xia Yan stared dumbfounded as Xiaohan spoke nonsense with a straight face. A dizzying sensation surged over her, and she staggered, catching a glimpse of Li Li, who had been so entitled moments ago, now staring at Xiaohan in disbelief.
Li Li never expected Xia Yan to be Lu Zhengting's girlfriend, and Xia Yan herself never expected to be Lu Zhengting's girlfriend either.
Only Xiaohan acted as if nothing had happened, still eating his cake with immense joy.
After finishing his cake, Xiaohan did his homework at lightning speed, as promised. Once the tutor, still reeling, was sent off, Xia Yan turned around and immediately scowled at Xiaohan. "Xiaohan, don't say I'm your dad's girlfriend again, got it?"
"Kids shouldn't lie."
"Xiaohan, good boy."
"Mm, so I didn't lie. Sister Yan is Dad's girlfriend."
"..."
"You're too young to understand what 'girlfriend' means."
"I know—it means a man and woman who are going to get married."
"..." At that explanation, Xia Yan was speechless. After a moment's thought, she decided to rephrase it for Xiaohan. "Xiaohan, I'm your dad's female friend."
Hearing this, Xiaohan rubbed his full belly. "Isn't that the same thing? I don't get why adults have to make it so complicated."
Xia Yan decided to change the subject. "Are you too full?"
"A little." Xiaohan looked at her pitifully, his stomach so bloated it hurt, making him feel like throwing up.
Xia Yan checked the time—it wasn't too late yet. Before coming, she had noticed a lake not far from the villa, probably an artificial one, twice the size of the one at Jiangcheng University.
She took Xiaohan's hand and led him out of the villa, strolling slowly to the lake. She had only passed by before, knowing there was a big lake here. Now up close, she saw the water was crystal clear, revealing a patch of colorful pebbles beneath, scattered yet shimmering under the light. The lake was surrounded by all kinds of flowers, most of which she couldn't name, but they bloomed brilliantly, their fragrance filling the air and reaching her even from a distance.
Xiaohan seemed to be here for the first time too, his eyes full of curiosity. Colorful butterflies rested on the blooming flowers, fluttering their wings as if gathering pollen. Xiaohan grinned, slowing his steps, creeping closer to a butterfly perched on a flower. With a swift grab, he caught it tightly in his hand.
"Xiaohan, doing that will kill the butterfly." Xiaohan walked over, pried open his clenched fist, and found the butterfly in his palm barely alive, its wings weakly trembling.
"Sister Yan, what do I do? I don't want it to die." Xiaohan looked pitifully at the butterfly in his hand, then at Xia Yan.
"Let's put it on this flower. Maybe it'll recover after resting a bit."
Hearing this, Xiaohan placed the butterfly on the flower, his eyes wide, watching it go from sluggish to gradually faster movements. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. He glanced at his palm, where traces of powder from the butterfly's wings remained.
The butterfly incident quickly faded. Xia Yan took Xiaohan for a walk by the lake, but the mosquitoes in the grass were relentless. They seemed to find Xiaohan's blood sweeter and his skin tenderer, biting only him.
There was a pavilion on the lake ahead, and Xia Yan wanted to take Xiaohan there to sit, but seeing his body covered in mosquito bites, she didn't hesitate. She picked him up and headed straight back to the Lu residence.
When they returned, Lu Zhengting wasn't home yet. She quickly carried Xiaohan to the bathroom, added some disinfectant to the water, and after his bath, found anti-itch ointment in the first-aid kit. After reading the instructions, she began applying it to his bites.
The worst areas were his arms and calves. Counting them up, his whole body had over a dozen bites.
"Sister Yan, I'm so itchy."
"Don't scratch. It'll stop itching once the medicine is on." Xia Yan dabbed the ointment on the bites with a cotton swab while gently scratching a few spots.
She had been careless. In the middle of summer, mosquitoes loved gathering in grass and near water, yet she had taken Xiaohan there.
By the time Lu Zhengting returned, Xia Yan had finished applying the medicine. The itching had stopped, though the bites were still slightly red and swollen.
"Sister Yan, can you get my long-sleeved pajamas from the closet? I can't show up in front of Dad in shorts and a T-shirt." Xiaohan said gloomily.
Hearing this, Xia Yan felt even guiltier. Xiaohan's thoughtfulness touched her deeply.
When Lu Zhengting saw Xiaohan coming down the stairs in long sleeves and pants, he frowned slightly. "Xiaohan, come here."
"Dad, why are you home so early today?" Xiaohan checked the time—it wasn't even seven yet. Usually, Lu Zhengting didn't come back until nine or ten, or even after midnight.
"Mm. Why are you dressed like that in this heat?"
"The air conditioning in my room is too strong. I'm cold." Xiaohan stared at Lu Zhengting with wide, innocent eyes, so sincere that no one could doubt him.
Lu Zhengting's deep gaze fixed on Xiaohan, and he nodded knowingly.
Meanwhile, Xia Yan, unaware of what was happening in the living room, had no idea Lu Zhengting was back.
Earlier, while helping Xiaohan bathe, his prank had splashed water from the tub all over the hem of her skirt. Then Xiaohan suddenly jumped, causing the full tub to erupt, drenching Xia Yan's face.
Her wet clothes were unwearable, so Xiaohan cheerfully padded in his little slippers to Lu Zhengting's room, pulled a shirt from the closet, and scurried back to his own room, handing it to Xia Yan.
With no other choice, Xia Yan put on Lu Zhengting's shirt. He was about 1.85 meters tall, while she was around 1.6 meters. The shirt, which hit him at the waist, reached nearly her hips.
She stood before the mirror, steam fogging it up. She wiped it away and caught a blurry glimpse of herself—her face flushed and glowing, slightly damp hair resting on her shoulders, the top two buttons undone, revealing her slender, fair neck tinged with pink.
Her mind flashed back to that time she fell asleep in the bathroom...
Her face blushed uncontrollably.
She grabbed her clothes, planning to ask Chen Ma to dry them, thinking Lu Zhengting definitely wouldn't be home yet. Relieved, she stepped into the living room—and saw the man slowly rising from the sofa and turning to face her. She gasped.
Oh my god! Didn't Xiaohan say Lu Zhengting had been coming home late lately?
So what was she seeing?
Xia Yan blinked hard, then incredulously shifted her gaze to Xiaohan, who was peeking out from behind Lu Zhengting with a sheepish grin. They exchanged silent looks.
"Didn't you say your dad comes home late?"
"I didn't know he'd be early today."
"Xiaohan!"
"Sister Yan, calm down. Anything's possible in this world."
Xia Yan's eyes widened. Was it too late to bolt?
Lu Zhengting's deep gaze lingered on Xia Yan in his shirt, her hair half-damp, face bare of makeup, radiating a pure, beautiful aura. A strange light flickered in his dark pupils—bright as stars, serene as moonlight, elusive as the deep sea.
Xia Yan stood frozen, her fingers nervously twisting beneath the shirt. Embarrassed and tense, she stole a glance at Lu Zhengting, her cheeks flushed. "Mr. Lu, I'm sorry for wearing your clothes without permission."
"No need." Lu Zhengting's voice was low, husky and sensual.
Hearing that, Xia Yan's heart trembled. She couldn't stand it when he spoke like that—it made her hair stand on end. She quickly said, "No, no, I really need to. I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll go find Chen Ma to dry the clothes."
"Chen Ma's off duty."
"The dryer's broken."
Lu Zhengting and Xiaohan said in unison. Xia Yan's face darkened. Chen Ma's shift ended at 8:30 PM, and it wasn't even 8 yet—how could she be off? The dryer broken? She clearly remembered helping Chen Ma dry Xiaohan's clothes just two days ago. Was the quality that bad?
"..."
Xiaohan poked his head out with a sheepish grin. "Sister Yan, I forgot to tell you—the dryer broke yesterday."
"Then I'll use a hairdryer." Xia Yan smiled calmly. If the dryer was broken, was the hairdryer broken too?
"Only Chen Ma knows where the hairdryer is." Lu Zhengting said flatly.
"I clearly remember Chen Ma doesn't get off until 8:30!"
"Chen Ma had something at home and left early."
Facing this bizarre father-son duo, Xia Yan's heart no longer trembled—it was practically about to explode with fury.