Lu Yinchu gave a detached smile without saying anything else. He flicked the cigarette in his hand and asked her, "What do you want to tell me?"
Nanxi pursed her lips and organized her thoughts, "... Actually, Mr. Lu, I think your family is really great!"
Lu Yinchu nodded, his eyes curving into a smile, "Hmm, you all get along quite well."
"It’s not about whether we get along or not... Mr. Lu, your family is genuinely good. I am envious, knowing the kind of warm and loving family you come from. Everyone in your household... your grandfather, Qingtian, and your mother, they’re all endearing and good-hearted. But we are deceiving them right now..."
Nanxi lowered her head, a little grieved, "Mr. Lu, as you may already know, my parents disappeared. Back then, I was all alone in the world. I didn’t know anyone, didn’t have any family. I felt abandoned by the world. The feeling... you cannot imagine how lost, confused, and powerless I felt..."
Lu Yinchu’s eyes flickered as he intensely stared at the girl in front of him. His smoking paused; the cigarette butt fell to the carpet without making a sound.
Nanxi touched her face and shook her head, "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought this up. What I really wanted to say is that they are very understanding. If you tell them the truth about your difficulties, they would not pressure you into anything. Moreover, all of them have been really good to me. When they find out that I’ve been deceiving them..."
Nanxi stopped talking. A bitter undertone emerged in her heart. Seeing her state, Lu Yinchu sighed, ruffling her hair lightly with a smile, "Don’t worry, they won’t blame you..."
"But they will be heartbroken!"
Nanxi retorted, ignoring Lu Yinchu’s intimate gesture, "...Mr. Lu, if it was you, and your family deceived you in this way by bringing a stranger to you claiming they’re your kin, you invest your emotions and worries in them only to find out in the end that everything was a scam and that person does not actually hold any relation to you... Wouldn’t you feel heartbroken?"
Lu Yinchu pursed his lips, looking at the woman’s serious expression, he smiled subtly, "Nanxi, you’re overthinking..."
"I’m talking about the facts!" Nanxi rebutted righteously.
Lu Yinchu surrendered, "Okay, everything you said is true... but you’re overlooking certain aspects of my family’s characteristics. Nanxi, I’m 32 years old this year, not 22, or 27 or 28. The kind of man I am in my family’s eyes, and how I’m perceived by outsiders... You might not understand fully..."
He took another puff of his cigarette, blowing out a ring of smoke, and continued, "...My grandfather was a soldier and got married at 17. My father was also a soldier, he already had me when he was 24. I am the only child in my family, and I am already 32... Do you understand what I’m getting at?"
Nanxi bit her lips, confused and unsure of what to say. True, Lu Yinchu’s family is good and so is he. He really is not young anymore, he’s at an age to settle down.
But he’s still unmarried, which might coerce his family to resort to certain measures to push him... After all, his elders are military men, and their methods can be...
Nanxi lowered her head, a little lost. Am I overthinking?
However, these issues that she considered all do genuinely exist!
Suddenly, Lu Yinchu quickly proposed a solution. He said, "I have thought it through. If my family grows fond of you and you of them, once I find the woman hidden in my heart, I’ll resolve this predicament in a gentle manner. My mother is a sensible woman. I initially had two sisters, but now only Qingtian remains. I believe she won’t mind taking you in as a goddaughter..."
"What?" Nanxi was stunned. Have Lu Yinchu’s mother take her in as a goddaughter?
My god, where does she get such good fortune!
But he said he once had two sisters, but now only Qingtian remains...
Nanxi glanced at the man’s slightly gloomy face, vaguely comprehending something, "I’m sorry..."
Lu Yinchu gave a sweet laugh. The cigarette was nearly done. He stubbed it out in the ashtray and asked her, "Do you want to take a nap?"