Zhang Yining clutched her phone, her palms slick with cold sweat, her fingertips slightly white from the force.
She took several deep breaths before mustering the courage to dial Lu Xuan's number.
Each ring of the dial tone felt like a heavy hammer striking her heart.
"Hello," Lu Xuan's voice, still clear and cool, came from the other end of the line, devoid of any emotion.
"Lu… Brother Xuan…" Zhang Yining's voice trembled uncontrollably, carrying a hint of hoarseness from recent tears. "My… my dad… he… he wants to see you. He said… he said he'll be in Yanjing tonight."
"Oh? Quite fast," Lu Xuan's tone was flat and unruffled, as if discussing a trivial matter. "Alright, I understand. You two decide the location, and let me know once it's set."
This extraordinary calmness deepened the fear in Zhang Yining's heart.
She bit her lower lip, hesitating repeatedly, but was ultimately driven by a strange impulse. She lowered her voice, speaking in a near whisper, "Lu Brother Xuan… also… also, it's just that my dad… he seems… he seems to want to… to deal with you. You… you'd best… be prepared."
After saying this, Zhang Yining felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body. Her heart pounded wildly, and her hands and feet were icy cold.
She didn't know why she felt compelled to warn Lu Xuan, even though that person was her father.
A few seconds of silence on the other end, then Lu Xuan's almost imperceptible chuckle, tinged with amusement, came through: "Deal with me? Heh, it seems your dad is still unwilling to give up, trying to solve the problem from the root?"
He paused, a hint of playful mockery entering his tone, "However, you've done quite well this time, knowing who your master is."
"I…" Zhang Yining's cheeks instantly flushed crimson. That phrase, "knowing who your master is," struck her like an electric current, filling her with shame, yet deep down, a strange, acknowledged sense of secret delight surged within her.
Lu Brother Xuan actually praised me! He actually said I did well! This feeling made her momentarily forget her father's impending wrath and her current predicament.
"That's all," Lu Xuan said indifferently, then hung up the phone.
Zhang Yining held the buzzing phone, her heart fluttering like a frightened deer in her chest, her cheeks burning.
That praise just now was like a piece of candy, bringing a touch of sweetness to her chaotic emotions.
As long as she could gain Lu Brother Xuan's approval, it seemed… it seemed anything was worth it.
She was completely unaware that she had, without realizing it, quietly handed over her father's trump card.
Poor Zhang Jianguo, still on a flight to Yanjing, was rubbing his hands together, fantasizing about how to crush that ignorant "poor student," oblivious that his own daughter had already defected, becoming the other party's "messenger."
As night deepened, Yanjing's autumn wind felt particularly bleak.
Zhang Jianguo, travel-worn, arrived near his daughter's school and sat down in a private room at a restaurant Zhang Yining had booked in advance.
In the private room, only Zhang Yining was present, her head bowed, restless.
"Where is he? That kid named Lu Xuan isn't here yet?" Zhang Jianguo glanced at his wristwatch, his brows furrowed into a knot, his tone filled with displeasure. "He's certainly putting on airs! Making an elder like me wait for him?"
He snorted heavily, picked up the teacup, and took a sip, but the tea couldn't extinguish the fire in his heart.
"Dad, please don't be angry. Lu Brother Xuan… he… he might have been delayed by something," Zhang Yining quietly defended Lu Xuan, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
Zhang Jianguo suddenly lifted his head, his sharp gaze cutting across his daughter's face like a knife: "Silly girl! At a time like this, you're still speaking up for him? Has your brain been kicked by a donkey? He's holding our family's weakness, he's threatening us! Do you understand?"
The angrier he got, the more he pointed at Zhang Yining's nose. "I'm telling you, when he gets here, don't say a single word! Watch how I deal with this arrogant brat! I'll make sure he knows who he's dealing with!"
Zhang Yining was scolded by her father and lowered her head, not daring to speak again, but her heart was in turmoil. She was worried her father would actually do something to Lu Xuan, yet also secretly hoped Lu Xuan could resolve everything effortlessly, just like before.
Just then, the private room door creaked open from the outside, without even a knock.
Zhang Jianguo, brimming with suppressed anger, spun his head around, ready to seize the initiative and give the other party a harsh welcome.
Standing at the doorway was a tall young man, dressed in simple casual clothes, his hands casually in his pockets. His expression was indifferent, his eyes as calm as an unfathomable ancient pool. It was Lu Xuan.
Zhang Jianguo scrutinized Lu Xuan and had to admit that the young man was indeed handsome, with sharp brows and bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and a temperament far surpassing his peers.
Purely in terms of appearance, standing next to his daughter, they truly looked like a perfect match, a match made in heaven.
Too bad… he's threatening me! Then don't blame me for being ruthless!
The fire in Zhang Jianguo's heart intensified rather than diminished. The more outstanding this young man was, the more he found him an eyesore.
"Lu Brother Xuan, you're here." Zhang Yining, seeing him, quickly stood up and, like a startled rabbit, went to greet him, instinctively wanting to take Lu Xuan's arm to seek a sense of security.
Lu Xuan, however, subtly shifted his body to avoid her touch, his gaze sweeping past her and landing directly on the ashen-faced Deputy Director Zhang at the head of the table. A faint, almost imperceptible curve played at the corner of his lips as he said with a fake smile, "Deputy Director Zhang, I presume? A pleasure to meet you."
This brat! How arrogant! Deputy Director Zhang was so enraged by Lu Xuan's disdainful attitude that he almost slammed the table then and there.
What did he mean, "a pleasure to meet you"? Did this kid not even know basic manners?
Lu Xuan seemed completely oblivious to Deputy Director Zhang's fiery gaze. He walked directly to the table, casually pulled out the chair next to Zhang Yining, and sat down with an air of authority, his movements smooth and natural, as if he were the host here.
"Uncle," Lu Xuan leaned back slightly in his chair, his tone as flat as if he were chatting with a stranger, "Time is precious, so let's not beat around the bush. I'll get straight to the point."
This instantly made Deputy Director Zhang furious, his lungs almost exploding! This kid was too arrogant!
Too rude! He was practically treating him, a Deputy Director, as if he were invisible!
He was about to erupt when he saw Lu Xuan leisurely pull out his phone from his pocket and casually toss it with a "thud" onto the old wooden round table in the private room. The phone slid a short distance and stopped right in front of Deputy Director Zhang.
"Uncle, you should first look at what's inside," Lu Xuan leisurely crossed his legs, pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it as if no one else were there, took a deep drag, and then blew a faint smoke ring towards Deputy Director Zhang, his eyes holding a hint of faint contempt, "After you've seen it, it won't be too late to get angry."
Deputy Director Zhang was stunned by Lu Xuan's series of fluid actions. All the lecturing words he had prepared were forcibly swallowed back.
He looked at the black phone on the table, and an ominous premonition inexplicably rose in his heart. That condescending arrogance, without him realizing it, had diminished by a few points.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart and that inexplicable unease, then reached out and, somewhat stiffly, picked up the phone from the table.