Before she could speak, Li Miao suddenly realized, "You've changed your shell, haven't you? I hear a lot of people are doing it these days. Where did you get it done? It looks pretty convincing!"
Her newly made little friend sure has a strong sense of self-esteem.
She must be scared, facing the glamorous side of the world for the first time and having to meet her estranged biological parents.
Yingying~ What a pitifully exquisite little thing.
Qiao Yun: "..."
Li Hanzhou laughed softly and looked away.
Just at that moment, Qiao Yun passed over her phone.
His fingers tapped carelessly on the steering wheel and he lifted an eyebrow to ask her, "Hmm?"
Qiao Yun asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to add contact information?"
Li Hanzhou's eyes darkened as he stared at Qiao Yun's face.
Her eyes were clear, her eyelashes long, her fluffy black hair was soft and slightly curly, making her look like a harmless little animal covered in fluff.
It was hard to imagine that Qiao Yun was intentionally trying to seduce him?
After a while, Li Hanzhou's lips curved into a meaningful smile, and he reached out with his well-defined fingers to take Qiao Yun's phone and add his contact information.
When he returned the phone to Qiao Yun, Li Hanzhou inadvertently touched her fingertips. As he withdrew his hand, he couldn't help but twiddle his fingertips, and chuckled slowly, "Little hand, quite tender."
So tender that his fingertips tingled.
Qiao Yun glanced at him and ignored his outrageous words.
Looking at the two new names in her contacts, she lowered her gaze, pursed her lips, and smiled faintly.
Grandpa, I've completed the first step in making friends!
Happy~
Li Hanzhou watched her with lowered eyes and clicked his tongue lightly.
He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he always felt that Qiao Yun was paler than paper, like an emotionless robot.
"Let's go."
Li Hanzhou teased with lifted lips, "Little friend, study hard and make daily progress, and don't fall in love too early."
Qiao Yun stood at the intersection, the cold wind fluttering her thin skirt, as she nodded seriously, "My grandpa said I'm not allowed to date until I'm 25."
"Your grandpa is right, dating too early is not good for growth."
Li Hanzhou saw her stiff little face obediently nodding towards him and couldn't help but chuckle.
Quite obedient.
Li Miao waved at her, "See you another day."
Not until the car disappeared around the corner did Qiao Yun turn and walk inside.
Her eyesight was very good, and from a distance, she could see the Lu family couple.
Mrs. Lu had been waiting at the door for a long time, and as soon as she saw Qiao Yun's figure, her eyes instantly reddened, overwhelmed with indescribable excitement.
As the elder brother, Lu Jingzhi felt somewhat apprehensive.
His memories of his sister were getting blurry, and he had no idea what his sister, lost for over a decade, would look like.
Especially her personality, could it be… um… a little crude?
However, when he looked up, his pupils couldn't help but tremble.
The country girl he imagined, with two pigtails and a patch of highland red on her face, was nowhere to be seen.
This... is worlds apart from what I imagined!
He must have watched too many TV dramas.
Qiao Yun is very beautiful, like a delicate sculpture, and that exquisite face doesn't look at all like it comes from the countryside.
Lu Jingzhi thought to himself, maybe she made a special effort to tidy up before coming?
Su Mian didn't wait for the others to approach, she stepped forward first, her voice a mix of joy and nervousness, "Qiaoqiao, you're back."
You're back.
As if she had never been lost.
Actually, Qiao Yun was not just found now; they had found her half a year ago, but at that time the elderly person who had raised Qiao Yun was seriously ill, and Qiao Yun refused their request to come back with them.
Even though they had promised to hire the most professional doctors to cure the elderly person.
After all, what good medical care could there be in the countryside?
But at that time, Qiao Yun just looked at her with a weird look that Su Mian couldn't understand.
In the end, it was the elderly person who spoke up and asked Qiao Yun to stay with him a little longer. Su Mian was grateful to the elderly person for having raised Qiao Yun to this age, and although it was hard to let go, she agreed.
After that, they kept in touch intermittently.
Until two days ago when Qiao Yun suddenly said she wanted to come back, and despite the rush, Su Mian still made preparations to welcome Qiao Yun.
Qiao Yun nodded slowly, and there was no excitement on her face from seeing her biological parents. She only spoke after looking at them for three seconds, "Hello."
Lu Jingzhi, standing nearby, watched his mother's enthusiastic manner and Qiao Yun's lukewarm response, and slightly furrowed his brows.
He felt she was a bit too cold; this couldn't be the attitude of someone seeing their birth mother.
Su Mian had seen Qiao Yun more than once and knew that this was just her personality, so she adapted well.
Anyway, now that she was back, time would change all attitudes.
Lu Jingzhi was about to speak when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone approaching, and his eyes instantly took on an indulgent warmth, "Tingting, the wind is so strong, why did you come down here?"
Qiao Yun subconsciously glanced over and saw a girl approaching.
Her complexion was very pale, with a misty look in her eyes making her seem feeble against the white dress—as if a gust of wind could knock her down.
"Big brother."
Lu Ting seemed to have a weak breath, and it took her a while to gasp out the words, "Today is the day Sister is coming back, of course, I came to meet her."
"Don't overexert yourself, you're still sick." Lu Jingzhi naturally reached out to touch Lu Ting's forehead, and only relaxed when he felt she didn't have a fever.
He was relieved that Lu Ting insisted on coming to meet Qiao Yun despite being ill. He had been worried that Lu Ting might feel estranged having suddenly gained an elder sister, but it seemed he was overthinking it; his foster sister had always been well-behaved since she was young.
Lu Ting put on a strained smile, "I feel much better after a nap, and I just wanted to see Sister earlier."
Lu Jingzhi affectionately stroked her head, "Alright, I know you've been looking forward to meeting Qiaoqiao for a long time."
Lu Ting seemed to feel a bit embarrassed, shyly shifting her gaze to Qiao Yun.
The streetlight cast shadows on Qiao Yun's face, highlighting her extraordinary beauty in the play of light and dark.
Lu Ting suddenly felt her breath catch, her nails unintentionally digging into her palms, her smile freezing on her face, her eyes filled with disbelief.
She had assumed Qiao Yun, having lived in the countryside all along, would be malnourished, thin and pallid, and at least in terms of looks she certainly couldn't compare to her.
However...
Lu Ting steadied her mind, walked up to Su Mian and wrapped her arm around hers, her voice tinged with a shy and curious coo, "Mom, is she really my sister?"
She cooed, but her eyes were fixed on Qiao Yun's face, not missing any change in her expression.