Li Rongrong pushed him away and hurriedly ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her!
Lu Qinian furrowed his brow, wondering what was wrong with her. He approached the bathroom door and tried to console her patiently, "Are you feeling unwell? Tell me, hmm?"
Li Rongrong covered her ears, not wanting to hear him speak, "I've already said I'm not hungry! Just leave!"
No matter how Lu Qinian tried to coax her, Li Rongrong refused to come out. Lu Zhuoyue's voice came from outside. "Qinian, what's going on? Why isn't Rongrong eating?" She entered the bathroom and shouted, "Rongrong, is Qinian making you angry? No matter what, don't starve yourself like this, okay?"
However, there was still no response from inside. Lu Qinian's eyes began to show traces of anger. He gave up on trying to coax her, saying, "What kind of tantrum are you throwing again? Do you enjoy starving yourself so much? Then go ahead and starve!"
"Qinian, don't be like this. She's just a child," Lu Zhuoyue said, trying to catch up with him as he walked away.
Lu Qinian raised his hand, pinching the space between his eyebrows, and let out a sigh, "Let her be."
"Rongrong, remember to come down later. You can't skip meals like this. Let's go downstairs for now. Qinian is just angry. Don't take it to heart. He's not ignoring you," Lu Zhuoyue said before leaving.
Inside the bathroom, Li Rongrong tightly pursed her lips and clenched her hands as she listened to their departing footsteps. Lu Qinian had scolded her in front of others? He had never been like this before. Just yesterday, he had been affectionate and intimate with her. But today, he acted as if he didn't know her. How dare he ask why she was upset? She bit her lip, and the image of him smiling at Lu Zhuoyue resurfaced in her mind. Ha, what a hypocritical man!
Downstairs, Lu Zhuoyue looked at the man elegantly dining across from her and couldn't help but ask, "Qinian, are you not going to call Rongrong to come down for dinner?"
"You can't spoil a child."
Lu Zhuoyue smiled, "Rongrong is so beautiful. In a few years, she will capture the hearts of countless men, don't you think? But honestly, I can't figure it out. You wouldn't even bat an eye when someone dies in front of you, yet you're so kind to raise someone else's daughter?"
"Have you forgotten about dining etiquette?" Lu Qinian responded indifferently.
Lu Zhuoyue chuckled, "I'm just curious. Can't I gossip a little?"
At 10 pm, Li Rongrong didn't come out for dinner. With Lu Qinian's instructions, Mary didn't dare to make her own decisions and could only wander around anxiously downstairs. Ever since the miss was brought back, she had been in charge of her daily life. She had never seen the miss not eat. Especially when she thought of Li Rongrong's health condition in her early years, her heart ached.
"I'll take some food up to her. We can't let her starve," Mary said, but she was stopped as she turned around.
"I told you not to worry about her." Lu Qinian coldly glanced at Mary. "Anyone who dares to make decisions on their own should leave. She likes to go hungry, right? Let her starve!"
Seeing the young master leave resolutely, Mary couldn't help but tremble. Young Master had never been like this before. Whenever Li Rongrong didn't eat, he would personally feed her mouthful by mouthful.
Li Rongrong naturally heard the commotion downstairs. She pulled hard and broke the furry little doll. As expected, men always said one thing and did another. They said that they would not let her suffer or get hurt again, but what happened in the end? She hadn't escaped any of the sufferings, any of the pain!
Li Rongrong felt like she was going insane! Lu Qinian didn't care about her anymore. Wasn't that what she wanted? But why did she still feel so suffocated? No, he wasn't caring about her now, but he still wouldn't let her go out. So, he was both restricting her freedom and making her suffer! How could they be the same thing?
But at this point, Li Rongrong was truly hungry. She couldn't summon any energy at all. She simply laid her head down and slept, hoping to cover up her hunger with sleep, but she was awakened by hunger in the middle of the night.
Seeing that it was already past two o'clock, she was certain that there was no one downstairs, so she quietly sneaked down and into the kitchen! She assumed there wouldn't be anything to eat in the kitchen, after all, there couldn't be any leftovers. She thought even getting some fruit would be fine. However, she didn't expect to find a bowl of hot tomato sauce noodles on the heated cooking table.
Needless to say, Mary must have secretly made it for her and kept it warm for her. Naturally, Li Rongrong did not stand on ceremony and quickly finished the bowl of noodles. In order to destroy the evidence, she was about to secretly wash the dishes when she heard footsteps behind her. She felt the need to hide!
It was Lu Qinian, wearing his pajamas, walking over and picking up the hot tea from the table, taking a sip.