Chapter 277 - Explanation
Lu Yifeng was caught off-guard when he heard what his daughter said. His ears were not playing with him, right? Did she really say 'crush'? He knew what that meant and he could only hope that it was not what he thought it was.
As if realizing that she said out her thoughts, Lu Xingyan quickly covered her mouth. She looked at her dad with wide eyes.
"What do you mean by 'crush', Xing'er?" More importantly, he wanted to know who that person was.
Lu Xingyan tried to rack her brain for an excuse but none came up. She panicked.
"What I mean is that I crashed into someone earlier," she blurted out, and realizing what she said, she couldn't help but praise her smart mouth. She quickly turned her face away from her father just so he wouldn't be able to catch her nose twitch when she lied. One should know their own weakness and she did. "There's this gardener earlier that showed me how to properly remove the thorns from the roses."
She may try to hide it from her father but Lu Yifeng was smart. He knew that his daughter must be lying or else, why would she turn away from him? Unless she was hiding something. "Lu Xingyan."
Uh-oh. Her father would only mention her whole name if he was serious.
Her shoulders sank in defeat. She turned to her father with pleading eyes, not to ask for further questions. She couldn't lie to him and he knew that.
The man sighed helplessly. "It's fine if you're liking someone one."
His reply was... rather surprising. She ended up looking at him in disbelief. Was this her father?
"As long as you won't date. You are still young for that," he continued.
"Of course, of course. I'm not going to date yet, dad. I want to focus on my studies then make a name for myself. I have so many dreams to fulfill that I think dating will just hinder it," she retorted in her defense.
The man's eyes softened. He stretched out his hand just to gently pat her head. "Yes, you are too young for that."
Lu Xingyan was always going to be a young girl in her father's eyes. That was already a given to all the parents put there. She was not young anymore. She had already experienced kissing a man and teenagers like her were already in a relationship. It was just her choice not to follow them but now that she had a first hand experience of what it was like to be with a partner... she was curious.
The girl didn't say anything else to her father. It was better to keep her mouth sealed if she wanted to live and see another day without being caught.
"By the way, I will be meeting Han Qinshan later, do you want to come with me?"
Han Xukun's father?
She has not met him yet but all she knew was her cousin's encounter with the so-called 'Wolf King' of Azure Republic.
Now that she has remembered, it made her realize that the man she was dealing with was actually a royalty. A prince. The next line in the throne. Should she continue to meddle with him? He was not a simple man. If it was another person, maybe having a relationship was going to be easier.
"I don't mind," she replied. She was curious to know what kind of person Han Qinshan was.
"Let's visit our place after."
She blinked a few times as she looked at her father in wonder. "Our place?"
"Yes. Our family was once a resident of the Azure Republic. It's an old place that even your grandparent's rarely visited. Our ancestors once lived in this country and only moved out after the war between the two great houses of Han and Murong happened," he explained.
Lu Xingyan's eyes lit up in delight. The Lu family history was also a mysterious case for her since it was never mentioned by anyone. There were only one or two books with little details about the family as well so knowing that the Lu family originated in the Azure Republic, that must mean that the ancient house they were going to visit would hold information about the past. At least that was what she thought.
"I'll come with you," she exclaimed, grinning at him.
...
Later that day, Lu Xingyan was all dressed up in the clothes that the servants prepared for her. She was wearing a pastel pink, simple A-line dress that reached down to her knees. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail. Her youthful beauty and elegance caught the attention of the people who saw her, especially a certain silver-haired man who was waiting in the living room with her father.
Han Xukun ended up staring at her the moment his eyes landed on her and for some reason, he felt his heart skip a beat.
Just like him, the girl felt her heart thump and pound like crazy as flashes of what happened last night appeared in front of her. Her cheeks unconsciously flushed at the stare she was receiving from the boy.
'Calm down, Xingyan. Calm down,' she thought. They were in the presence of her father. They shouldn't make things obvious.
But with Lu Yifeng's sharp gaze, he was able to notice the strange atmosphere going on between his daughter and the boy near him. It was impossible to ignore. The silver-haired boy was starting too much to his daughter and... he was not liking it.
He cleared his throat, snapping the two youngsters from their trance. "Will you be giving me an explanation before we leave?"
Lu Xingyan felt heavens fell on her when she heard what her father said. Her blushing face instantly became pale as she looked at her father anxiously.
Han Xukun took a step forward then another as he began striding towards the stairs. He stopped at the end and offered his hand to Lu Xingyan, not caring if he was receiving daggers from the older man.