Lu Jingzhi realized he had forgotten to take the document halfway and returned, only to witness this scene.
He caught only a fleeting glimpse and wasn't sure if it was Qiao Yun.
With a multitude of conflicting thoughts, Lu Jingzhi returned to the Lu Family home and immediately asked Su Mian, "Mom, is Qiaoqiao at home?"
Su Mian hummed and hawed, "Qiaoqiao went out to play. I wanted to follow her, but it seemed like she wasn't very willing."
Thinking about it, she sighed inwardly, feeling that Qiaoqiao still wasn't close enough to them.
Lu Jingzhi's face darkened instantly; so, he hadn't been mistaken?
Whose car was that? Was Qiaoqiao deceived?
Or...
Seeing his troubled expression, Su Mian asked, "What's with that face?"
Lu Jingzhi hesitated before speaking, and after a long while, he evasively said, "I'm thinking about work matters."
Su Mian, uninterested, just gave an "Oh" and was about to turn around to watch her melodramatic TV drama when she heard Lu Jingzhi speak.
"Mom, you shouldn't always indulge my sister. There are things you still need to manage."
Su Mian took a sip of chrysanthemum tea to cool herself down before responding leisurely, "Honestly, it might be better if you didn't come back."
Lu Jingzhi: "...?"
Not only was he shunned by his sister, but now even his own mother was getting tired of him?
He didn't know what to say, muttering softly, "If only my sister could learn from Tingting."
Su Mian frowned slightly, wanting to say something, but felt that her authoritarian, strong-willed eldest son might not be receptive to her words.
"Qiaoqiao is quite well-behaved. I know that you care about her and want to treat her well, but you also need to consider whether your methods are suitable."
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
Lu Jingzhi responded noncommittally and turned to go upstairs to get the documents.
Su Mian could tell that Lu Jingzhi wasn't listening and sighed helplessly.
When Qiao Yun first went missing, Su Mian's heart nearly shattered, and despite searching for a long time, she couldn't find her.
Eventually, despite adopting Lu Ting for various reasons, she never gave up on looking for Qiao Yun.
After finally finding her, her eldest son was always being overly concerned.
Su Mian could understand Lu Jingzhi's thoughts; after all, Qiao Yun hadn't grown up by his side, so misunderstandings were inevitable. However, sometimes even she felt Lu Jingzhi was too prejudiced.
Compared to Lu Jingzhi's hopes to see his sister succeed, Su Mian wished more for Qiao Yun to be happy and joyful.
Lu Jingzhi went upstairs, and Lu Ting just happened to come out of her room.
Upon seeing Lu Jingzhi, she froze for a moment, and then seemingly afraid he might notice something, she lowered her eyes.
Lu Jingzhi glanced at her: "Are you sick? You look a bit pale. Did you call a doctor?"
"I'm not sick, just a bit tired," Lu Ting said with a weak voice, betraying her nervousness.
She had intended to teach Qiao Yun a lesson and didn't expect anything serious to happen to her—she just wanted to intimidate her a little and make her back off.
But instead, the one leading the plan got taken away by the police, and his friends contacted her, demanding thirty thousand yuan in emotional damages.
Otherwise, they threatened to expose her.
Lu Ting was terrified. She had never really done anything bad in her life, aside from a few petty schemings.
In her panic, she had no choice but to agree to pay.
Thinking about how her entire savings had been extorted, Lu Ting felt furious. That was her pocket money; how would she maintain her dignity outside without money?
She couldn't ask her parents for money, for fear of being questioned about where the money had gone.
Lu Jingzhi did not press the issue, but simply told her to take care of herself.
Lu Ting nodded guiltily, not daring to meet Lu Jingzhi's eyes, afraid of being discovered.
She certainly didn't want to be kicked out of the Lu Family. If anyone was to leave, it should be Qiao Yun.
Meanwhile, the delinquents who received compensation from Lu Ting nervously delivered the money to the mastermind behind the scenes.