Volume 1, Chapter 60: The White Lotus Gets Desperate

Lu Ning showed no particular reaction when she saw her second and sixth brothers appear.

With a calm expression, she looked at Zhao Gao, "Let's schedule another time then."

Zhao Gao nodded, turned his gaze to Lu Liu, and said, "What? I didn't say anything wrong. With your sister's incredible talent, if she were mine, I would hold her in the palm of my hand and cater to her every whim. Who would act like certain people—sucking up to a fake sister who is a total rookie while suppressing a genuinely capable real sister? Talk about losing a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed."

Lu Liu's face turned livid from the taunt. "What do you know? You understand nothing at all!"

He wasn't suppressing Lu Ning!

He wanted Lu Ning to stay on the Lu Heavenly Team for the finals more than anyone else!

He and his sister had merely had a minor disagreement.

After Zhao Gao left, other eager team coaches came over one after another to talk to Lu Ning and hand her their business cards.

Lu Liu was left standing aside, ignored, silently watching Lu Ning as she was surrounded like the moon among stars.

He thought to himself: If Lu Ning ignored these people and didn't join the Ball Team, he would lower his pride and apologize to her, and he wouldn't even hold it against her for playing tricks on him.

In the end, Lu Ning collected a stack of business cards—something she hadn't expected.

"Ningning, congratulations."

It was only after the crowd dispersed that Lu Nanfeng dared to step forward and speak, looking at Lu Ning with a cautious expression.

Lu Nanfeng realized that Lu Ning had truly changed a lot.

Lu Ning raised her head and glanced at Lu Nanfeng. "Thank you."

Lu Liu couldn't help stepping forward. "Lu Ning, you still haven't answered my question. Why did you keep it a secret from me all this time? Do you think it's fun to toy with me?"

Lu Ning lifted her eyelids and caught the unnatural look in her sixth brother's eyes.

How strange. Was her sixth brother feeling guilty now?

Lu Ning's tone was cold. "I originally planned to tell you after the college entrance exams last time, but do you need me to repeat what you said in my room that day?"

Her voice was level and steady, but to Lu Liu, it felt like a sharp blade stabbing fiercely into his chest.

Recalling what he had said that day, Lu Liu instantly looked utterly wretched and embarrassed.

The harsher his words had been back then, the harder the slap in the face felt now.

His eye sockets turned red. "Then why didn't you tell me at the time?"

"I had no such obligation."

"How could you have no obligation?"

Lu Liu stepped forward to block Lu Ning's path. "I'm your biological brother. I always thought any conflict between us was never a major issue. You were completely free to speak up and correct me that day—why didn't you say anything?"

If Lu Ning had spoken up that day, subsequent events would never have happened.

Perhaps Lu Ning wouldn't have gone to Douxiu Livestreaming either.

Lu Ning didn't speak. She merely took a few steps back, widening the distance to a safe margin.

This indifferent and aloof gesture pierced Lu Liu's heart with sorrow.

Nearby, Jiang Lu chimed in with a sarcastic tone, "Because of that white lotus Qin Xiang, our goddess has suffered countless grievances over the years. Now that you guys are finally getting a taste of the exact same treatment, and you can't even handle it right at the start? Just imagine how painful it must have been for Lu Ning all these years!"

Lu Liu instinctively retorted, "That's why I'm asking her why she didn't speak up! If she had said something earlier, none of this would have happened, right?"

Jiang Lu raised her voice. "So you're saying all of this is Lu Ning's fault?"

"Isn't it?"

After blurting that out instinctively, Lu Liu felt a pang of guilt and glanced sideways at Lu Ning. "We're clearly family—why couldn't any issues be voiced and resolved? You deliberately hid your identity and made such a loud entrance on Douxiu Livestreaming just to make a point against me, didn't you?"

Lu Ning lifted her eyelids. "If that's how you want to think, there's nothing I can do."

She hadn't gone to Douxiu Livestreaming to make a point!

She simply didn't want to stay at Qingguo Livestreaming and continue being controlled by the Lu family.

"Alright, both of you say less."

Lu Nanfeng immediately stepped in to smooth things over, looking at Lu Liu. "But the things you did and said before were genuinely hurtful. You should apologize to Ningning!"

Lu Liu said stiffly, "I can apologize, but she cannot join the Ball Team, nor can she sign with Douxiu Livestreaming!"

He knew Lu Ning was doing this on purpose just to tick him off.

He could apologize, but Lu Ning couldn't keep acting this way.

Lu Nanfeng breathed a sigh of relief and approached Lu Ning. "Ningning, I also feel that signing with another streaming platform isn't appropriate for you. This industry is very complicated, and I'm worried. Signing with your sixth brother's company is the best choice. What do you think?"

Lu Ning's gaze was clear and unwavering. "Choosing who to sign with is my freedom."

"But I'm worried, Ningning. Your sixth brother truly realizes his mistake and guarantees that the same thing won't happen again. Stop throwing a temper tantrum."

Lu Ning curved the corners of her lips. "I haven't been throwing a temper tantrum at all."

It was they who kept tangling themselves up in her business.

She turned and left, unwilling to waste any more words on them.

Watching Lu Ning's departing figure, Lu Liu felt a wave of resentment. "Second Brother, look at her attitude! I already said I'd apologize—what else does she want?"

"Sixth Brother, you brought this upon yourself. Figure out a way to apologize on your own and win Ningning's forgiveness."

Lu Liu instantly shut his mouth, speechless. What else did they expect him to do? It was Lu Ning who had played tricks on him first!

He wasn't even holding that against her—why wouldn't Lu Ning forgive him?

Raising his head, Lu Liu saw Lu Ning walking back into the crowd, where quite a few people were proactively greeting her and even posing for photos together.

The calm and poised way Lu Ning handled herself amid the crowd genuinely felt unfamiliar.

During this period, Lu Ning had changed far too much.

Watching Lu Ning surrounded like the moon among stars, Qin Xiang felt a burning surge of jealousy eating away at her insides.

Clearly, she had dressed up to the nines today specifically to make her grand debut.

She never expected Lu Ning to steal all the spotlight.

Glancing at the glass of red wine in her hand, Qin Xiang instantly hatched a plan and walked straight toward Lu Ning.

With a smile on her face, Qin Xiang said, "Sister Ningning, so this is where you are."

Lu Ning turned her head and saw Qin Xiang approaching with a glass of red wine.

Her brows twitched slightly. Seeing the expression on the face of this white lotus, she instinctively guessed the woman harbored ill intentions.

Every time she saw Qin Xiang wear that expression, bad luck followed.

That was a lesson learned from her past life!

It seemed her high-profile appearance today had stepped on Qin Xiang's biggest landmine, prompting the white lotus to resort to her old tricks again.

Sporting an utterly harmless look, Qin Xiang stood beside Lu Ning and announced to the celebrities around them, "Hello everyone, my name is Qin Xiang, and I'm Lu Ning's younger sister."

Zhao Gao, the coach of the Ball Team, mocked aloud, "Oh, so you're the girl who stole Lu Ning's spot on the team and then almost lost the relegation match."

Qin Xiang's smile nearly cracked on the spot.

She forced a smile that looked worse than crying. "My gaming talent certainly can't compare to Sister Ningning's, but she was the one who was unwilling to join the team, which is why I stepped in as a replacement. As long as she's willing to come back, I can give up my spot at any time."

The corners of Lu Ning's mouth curled into a cold smirk. "You don't need to give up any spot."

Unwilling to look at Qin Xiang any longer, she picked up a drink, turned around, and went to grab some fruit from the table.

"Ningning, wait."

Qin Xiang suddenly rushed after Lu Ning, purposefully stepped onto the hem of Lu Ning's dress, and flung the red wine from her glass directly at her.