Volume 1, Chapter 7: She No Longer Cares for Anything Belonging to the Lu Family

[Page 1 of 3]

When Lu Ning heard the words “one family,” she found them utterly absurd.

She had believed the same thing in her previous life.

Yet on the eve of winning the championship, Qin Xiang had taken her place.

What kind of family was that?

Lu Ning answered decisively, “I’m not planning to join the team. I want to focus on my studies and prepare for my exams.”

Lu Liu replied sarcastically, “But when you begged me to teach you how to play, chased after me every night to train together, and even said you wanted to become an official team member, why didn’t you say you wanted to focus on your studies then?”

Lu Ning’s heart ached faintly.

The reason she had followed her Sixth Brother around playing games was to build a better relationship with him and have more things to talk about together.

But now, there was no need for that anymore.

Lu Ning replied, “Playing games before delayed my studies, and my grades dropped quite a bit on the last monthly exam. That’s why I don’t want to continue playing.”

Lu Liu was rendered speechless. “Fine. Just don’t regret it later! Once the competition begins, outsiders will only see Qin Xiang and think that she’s the one who belongs to the Lu family.”

Since Lu Ning was so ungrateful, then forget it. He certainly wasn’t going to beg her.

“That’s fine by me.”

Lu Ning had no desire to waste any more words. She turned and left the dining room.

Back in her room, she composed herself and began working seriously on her assignments, reviewing the material she had forgotten.

—

The following day, after school.

Lu Ning and Qin Xiang arrived at the school gates one after the other. Their driver was waiting outside.

Qin Xiang stood beside the car and said, “Oh, right. I’m going to the training camp today. Uncle Driver has to take me there first, so we won’t be going the same way.”

The driver put on a stern expression. “Young Miss, I received a call from the Sixth Young Master. I have to take Miss Xiang there first, so I can’t delay.”

Lu Ning answered indifferently, “I’ll take a taxi home.”

Qin Xiang got into the car, her expression carrying a hint of excitement. “Sister Ningning, I’ll try to persuade Sixth Brother later.”

Lu Ning turned and walked away, giving Qin Xiang only the back of her head.

Watching her retreating figure, Qin Xiang secretly bit her lip.

“Just you wait, Lu Ning. One day, I’ll take everything away from you! You owe me this!”

Lu Ning stood listlessly by the roadside, suddenly reluctant to return to the Lu family home.

Perhaps she should find a study room near the school instead.

“Kid, why aren’t you going home after school? What are you wandering around out here for?”

Lu Ning turned around and saw a handsome man. She froze for a moment. Only after meeting his eyes did she recognize him.

It was the sharp-tongued school doctor.

He usually wore a mask and a white coat, and he had changed his appearance so completely that she had almost failed to recognize him.

Ji Chiqian stood before her. “I’m talking to you.”

“I don’t feel like going home right now. I want to find a study room and do my homework.”

“Come with me.”

[Page 2 of 3]

Lu Ning looked at his back. After hesitating briefly, she followed him.

He led her to the school infirmary. Standing at the door, she asked, “Why are we here? I’m already recovered.”

Ji Chiqian tapped the desktop. “It’s quieter here than a study room, and safer.”

Lu Ning thought about it. It did seem reasonable.

She set down her schoolbag. “Then I’ll trouble you.”

She took out her textbooks and study materials and began working seriously on her assignments.

Ji Chiqian glanced at her with his cool, distant gaze, then turned and went into the consultation room outside, casually closing the door behind him.

By the time Lu Ning came back to herself, it was already getting late.

She noticed a nameplate on the desk, complete with a photograph of the sharp-tongued doctor. So his name was Ji Chiqian.

“Had a good enough look?”

Caught red-handed, Lu Ning blushed and put the nameplate back. “I wasn’t rummaging through your things. I just happened to see it.”

“Finished your homework?”

“Mm. I left a few problems undone because I didn’t know how to solve them. I’ll ask the teacher tomorrow.”

Ji Chiqian walked over, took her exercise book, and pulled it away from her. “You can’t even do something this simple?”

Lu Ning felt slightly discouraged. She lowered her head to look at the textbook. “Mm. I wasn’t serious before, and other things interfered with my studies.”

“Listen carefully. I’m only going to explain it once.”

Ji Chiqian picked up a pen and solved the problem on a sheet of scrap paper as he explained each step.

Lu Ning stared at the man before her, momentarily overwhelmed by complicated emotions.

Because of Qin Xiang, she had almost no friends. Even her teachers did not particularly like her.

No one had ever taken the initiative to explain a problem to her.

Ji Chiqian lowered his eyes, his expression aloof. “With an attention span like yours, you probably spend every class daydreaming!”

Lu Ning hurriedly came back to herself and said softly, “I’m sorry. I’ll listen carefully.”

Seeing how obedient she looked, Ji Chiqian’s throat moved slightly, but he continued explaining with patience.

By evening, warm-colored lamplight enveloped the two of them.

Lu Ning sat while he stood beside her, supporting himself with one hand against the desk as he worked through the problem.

“Is your brain only capable of moving in a straight line? Can’t you make a turn? This uses the exact same method as the previous problem.”

“The trap in a question this simple is obvious. You couldn’t see it? Are your eyes merely decorative?”

“Have you ever had your intelligence tested? Did you fail? Do it again!”

His voice was cold and emotionless, but whenever he insulted someone, every word struck straight at the sorest point.

Fortunately, Lu Ning already knew that he was a sharp-tongued school doctor. Otherwise, she would have broken down long ago.

In the end, Lu Ning persevered.

She gathered up her completed assignments. “Thank you, Doctor Ji. You’re amazing. You still remember all of this.”

Ji Chiqian rolled the pen between his fingers, his eyes scrutinizing her. “Didn’t your family hire you a tutor?”

[Page 3 of 3]

Lu Ning pursed her small lips. “I don’t want to owe them anything.”

Private tutoring was expensive. She had no money now, and she did not want to ask the Lu family for anything.

Ji Chiqian looked at her fair profile. Her lowered eyelids concealed her emotions.

Lu Ning cautiously raised her head. “Doctor Ji, if there’s something I don’t understand in the future, may I come and ask you?”

The man turned his head away, his tone somewhat unnatural. “I won’t have time.”

Even after being rejected, Lu Ning did not get angry. She obediently packed her schoolbag.

Ji Chiqian tapped the desk and added, without turning around, “Depends on my mood.”

A smile spread across Lu Ning’s face. “Thank you, Doctor Ji. No—thank you, Master Ji!”

She ran off with her schoolbag before he could react.

Ji Chiqian narrowed his eyes slightly, a lazy smile curling across his lips. Well, he could treat it as a way to pass the time.

—

Lu Ning returned home after night had fallen.

The butler came forward and said, “The Young Masters and Miss Xiang are having dinner together, so they won’t be coming home to eat.”

“Mm.”

Lu Ning went to the dining room alone. It was rare for her to enjoy a moment of peace.

She opened her phone and, sure enough, saw Qin Xiang’s post:

“Having a lavish dinner with my brothers!”

All her brothers were in the picture, smiling indulgently at the camera.

Lu Ning glanced at it once, then closed the social media app and continued eating by herself.

The next morning, Lu Ning got up and went to the dining room for breakfast.

Her brothers had not arrived yet. Only Qin Xiang was there.

Qin Xiang bragged under her breath, “I improved so much when I went to train with the team yesterday.”

After sitting down, Lu Ning ate expressionlessly and paid her no attention.

Qin Xiang was in an excellent mood and did not mind Lu Ning’s cold attitude.

No matter how calm Lu Ning appeared on the surface, she must have been furious inside!

Lu Ning quickly finished breakfast and walked straight out.

But the driver stood beside the car without moving. “Miss Xiang hasn’t come out yet. We have to wait for her.”

Lu Ning sat in the car for more than ten minutes, but Qin Xiang still had not appeared.

She glanced at the time and said irritably, “If she doesn’t come soon, I’ll be late!”

She was finding everything about the Lu family increasingly unbearable.

Lu Ning decided not to wait any longer. She opened the car door to leave, but her Fourth Brother, Lu Bei, came out just then.

“What would it hurt you to wait a little longer for Xiang? Her father once saved your life. He didn’t abandon you and run away, yet now you can’t even be patient enough to wait for Xiang for a while.”

Lu Ning’s hand clenched tightly around the door handle.