Lu Yanzhou suspected he was being subtly mocked.
But he wasn't sure.
He glanced again at the little manservant who, with a deadpan face, was seriously giving the answer.
Anyone who saw this scene would think that he was a serious young man with a bit of dry humor.
But actually—
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Yanzhou, why aren't you laughing, ha ha ha ha ha, is it in your nature not to smile, Yanzhou, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha"
Lu Yanzhou raised his hand to press his temples.
If it weren't for curiosity, he really wanted to tell Shi Liao Liao to shut up and to stop calling him this silly nickname.
The ringing of the phone interrupted Lu Yanzhou's thoughts.
Shi Liao Liao noticed that when he saw the caller ID, his expression darkened for a moment.
But it quickly returned to calm.
"Carry on."
After saying this and nodding at her, Lu Yanzhou walked outside with the incessantly ringing phone.
Shi Liao Liao immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Maru popped out, a bit worried: "The male lead seems a bit off."
Lifting the lid off the iron pot and poking at the dough, Shi Liao Liao casually replied: "Even so, it's up to the heroine to feel concerned, what's it to us NPCs?"
Maru thought that made sense too.
Quietly glancing at Shi Liao Liao, who was happily making dough, it suddenly felt a bit sentimental.
It had been a long time since it had seen such a heartless host.
Lu Yanzhou leaned against the wall, his gaze quietly fixed on the caller ID for a moment before answering the call.
"Father."
His voice was strictly professional, and had he not addressed the caller as "father," no one would have thought he was speaking to a relative with whom he shared a strong blood connection.
From the other end of the phone came a raspy and deep male voice: "After the holiday, I will have Shi Liao Liao follow you to the academy."
"The useless things planted in the backyard should have been removed long ago."
"I don't want to hear about this shameful hobby for a second time."
"That's it, hanging up."
The call was disconnected, reverting to the lock screen.
A vast expanse of daisy petals bathed in brilliant golden light swayed in the wind, the vitality displayed in the image nearly spilling out of the screen.
Lu Yanzhou looked down at the screen, and after a moment, a sarcastic curve formed on his lips.
Lu Tingfeng must have found out about what had just happened not long ago.
The first thing he said on the call was an order, followed by accusations. Sometimes Lu Yanzhou couldn't tell whether he was his father or his superior.
"I'm not a child anymore, Lu Tingfeng."
His clear and handsome face was hidden in shadow, his tea-brown eyes filled with mockery... and also weariness and numbness. The youthful vigor that should belong to someone his age seemed to have dissipated from his body, leaving only still water behind.
Shi Liao Liao was wrapping buns when suddenly the little hamster squatting next to the cutting board dragged her phone over.
[Host, your phone is ringing~]
Shi Liao Liao's first reaction was to look down at her crotch.
"It shouldn't be, this is the silent and vibration-free model, how could it ring?"
Maru Maru: [...]
Realizing it was her phone, Shi Liao Liao gave the little hamster an annoyed look.
[Speak properly, don't use reduplication in the future]
After wiping her hands with a tissue, Shi Liao Liao opened her phone.
She had few contacts; aside from her deceased butler grandfather, there was only one other person.
Lu Tingfeng's Secretary: You passed the previous exam
Lu Tingfeng's Secretary: Starting tomorrow, you will enter Saint Don Academy as an honor student with a scholarship, and the admission notice will arrive tomorrow
Lu Tingfeng's Secretary: The master wants you to follow the young master; whatever he does, you must report back
Lu Tingfeng's Secretary: Remember, without the Lu family, you are nothing. If you don't want to be kicked out, just behave
Maru Maru peered over at the side, and after reading the messages was quite upset: [How could he talk like that! How rude! Wuwuwu, the male protagonist is so pitiful]
[Host! You must not agree to this]
Shi Liao Liao calmly sprinkled some flour to keep the dough from sticking to her hands.
[Do you know what the highest realm of speaking is?]
Maru earnestly sought advice.
Shi Liao Liao hooked the corner of her lips: [It's to answer a question that wasn't asked.]
Maru widened its eyes: [Oh?]
Just then, another message came in.
Lu Tingfeng's secretary: Did anything happen today?
Shi Liao Liao: Yes, I pooped in my pants.
Maru: [.]
The secretary on the other end of the message: "Huh???"
After a pause, a warning message was sent again, Shi Liao Liao replied perfunctorily and then tossed the phone to Maru to continue playing Candy Crush.
[Strange, he is testing me. Is there a spy around Lu Yanzhou?]
Otherwise, she hadn't reported what happened today, so why would this person suddenly send a message warning her, as if they knew something had happened here?
Maru waved its little paws: [Oh dear, you're not a spy, but the male lead doesn't know that. Maybe the phone call just now was from Lu Tingfeng, and for all we know, the male lead might think you're the one who snitched.]
Shi Liao Liao didn't know what Lu Yanzhou was thinking, but by the time her buns were ready, she never saw him appear again.
This is normal, she thought to herself.
The next day, when the courier delivery arrived, she was still in the back garden, and it was the first servant who had been against him that signed for her.
The servant's name was Liu Ren, whose grandfather had worked as a gardener here for many years. Liu Ren had grown up on this estate, and everyone, including himself, thought that the position of being Lu Yanzhou's personal manservant would be his. But then Shi Liao Liao appeared out of nowhere and ruined everything...
Holding the thin package in his hand, Liu Ren sneered.
"Who would write a letter to Shi Liao Liao, that stinking brat? Could it be some outside lover whose belly he's knocked up coming to ask for money?"
With a flicker of thought, Liu Ren found a small knife to slice open the cardboard and took out the contents.
His schadenfreude-filled gaze froze upon seeing the envelope with the 'Saint Dun Academy' gold seal.
Liu Ren's first instinct was—
Tear it up!
"What are you doing?"
The cool voice was unlike other men's, resembling the voice of a boy who hadn't yet hit puberty, somewhat androgynous.
Liu Ren hurriedly stuffed the contents into his jacket and then turned around.
Shi Liao Liao stood there in a crisp suit, looking at him expressionlessly.
And he was still wearing the uniform of the Lu family's servants.
That suit should have been his!
Liu Ren thought bitterly.
How could this effeminate guy possibly be admitted to Saint Dun Academy? He must have pulled some trick!
"What? Not wiggling your butt to please the young master, and you're bothering me instead?"
He sneered and walked towards the house, deliberately bumping hard into Shi Liao Liao's shoulder as he passed by.
Shi Liao Liao then turned around, checked her surroundings to make sure no one was around, and
just as Liu Ren was stepping up the stairs, she quickly reached for a wooden stick that had been left on the ground, took a few steps forward, and deftly crouched down—
With a forceful swing of her arm! She precisely jabbed the stick into Liu Ren's buttocks!
Just coming out from a side door and witnessing the whole scene was Lu Yanzhou: "..."