The heartless beauty is addicted to being licked by a seemingly obedient and loyal dog.

Song Yunxi was woken up by the ringing of the telephone.

The phone vibrated repeatedly on the bedside table, its buzzing sound particularly jarring in the quiet bedroom.

He groggily reached out and touched the phone, his fingers tracing patterns on the counter before finally managing to grab it. He barely opened his eyes, and the name displayed on the screen made him pause for a moment.

Lu Qingyuan.

He answered the phone, his voice still hoarse from just waking up. Before he could even utter a complete sentence, the other end had already spoken.

"father……"

"Your brother is back from out of town. He'll be home for dinner tonight, so the whole family can get together."

It wasn't a tone of discussion, nor even a notification; it was more like an irrefutable command.

Song Yunxi gripped her phone and remained silent.

The words "It's not convenient today" circled in my throat twice, but I ultimately swallowed them back down.

"Understood, Father."

The phone hangs up.

He held his phone to his chest and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.

A father's orders cannot be refused.

Song Yunqi had understood this principle since childhood: that man gave him a new life and everything that made him glamorous in front of everyone, but he could also take it all away in an instant.

Obey, comply, and do not disobey.

He sat up, the blanket slipped down to his waist, revealing large patches of deep and shallow red marks on his shoulders and collarbone.

She glanced down, then got out of bed without much expression to wash up. Her knees buckled when her feet touched the floor, and Song Yunqi barely managed to steady herself by holding onto the headboard. She stood for a few seconds before walking toward the dressing room.

……

At 6:30 p.m., Song Yunqi's car stopped in front of the Lu family mansion.

This is an old-fashioned detached villa. The gray exterior walls are half-covered with ivy, and the two wall lamps under the porch are already lit, casting a warm yellow light on the steps.

The old locust tree in the courtyard had just sprouted new buds, its branches stretching out in the twilight.

He sat in the car for a few seconds, then turned off the engine and got out.

When he pushed open the front door, the motion-sensor light in the entryway turned on, and a maid came forward to take his coat, bowing as she said, "Young Master is already in the living room."

Song Yunqi nodded, changed her shoes, and went inside.

Before leaving the house, he repeatedly covered up the hickeys in front of the mirror, buttoning the top button of his collar so that it was just below his Adam's apple, hiding the mess completely.

All the lights in the living room were on, and the crystal chandelier illuminated the entire space brightly.

A plate of cut fruit sat on the coffee table, and the TV was on but had no sound. A person sat on the sofa, legs crossed, looking down at their phone.

Hearing footsteps, the man looked up, revealing a handsome face full of aggression.

Lu Jinci resigned.

Song Yunqi's adopted brother, and Lu Qingyuan's biological son.

He was wearing a black shirt today, with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing a section of his muscular forearm and a watch on his wrist.

The face had deep-set features, high brow bones, slightly sunken eye sockets, and the pupils appeared somewhat light under the light.

Following in his father's footsteps, he had been immersed in the underworld for many years. Even though he had toned down his violent tendencies at home, the sharpness that emanated from his very bones was still undeniable.

"Good evening, brother."

When Lu Jinci saw Song Yunqi, a smile immediately appeared on his face. He put his phone on the coffee table, stood up, and went to greet her.

With his long legs and big strides, he reached her in just a few steps, put an arm around Song Yunqi's shoulder, and led her towards the living room with a smile.

"You're here?"

The moment Song Yunxi's body tensed slightly when the hand touched her shoulder, she subtly took a half-step back, her shoulder slipping out from under the hand.

"Yes, my father called and asked me to come back."

Lu Jinci's action failed, so he withdrew his hand and put it in his pocket. He looked at Song Yunqi's profile, and the smile on his lips only widened.

"What's wrong? Haven't you missed me after a month?"

His tone was relaxed, with a slight upward inflection at the end. As he spoke, his gaze swept from Song Yunxi's eyebrows to her chin, then slid down to her collar, pausing for a moment on the tightly buttoned collar.

Song Yunqi took two steps to the side, creating some distance, and stood next to the sofa armrest.

He turned his head to look at Lu Jinci, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Your cheap perfume smells terrible. I don't know which club you just came from. Stay away from me."

Lu Jinci lowered his head and smelled his cuffs. Sure enough, there was a faint fragrance. He couldn't help but look up and smile.

"I'm sorry, I forgot you have mysophobia. I won't do it again."

Song Yunqi sat down on the sofa, picked up the remote control, and turned up the TV volume.

Lu Jinci sat down at the other end of the sofa, a person's distance between him and Song Yunqi. He picked up the hot tea on the table, took a sip, and looked past the rim of the cup to Song Yunqi's profile.

"Have you been busy lately?"

"fine."

"Dad told me that your company is in talks about a new project recently."

"Um."

Although Lu Jinci kept trying to find topics to talk about, Song Yunqi clearly didn't want to have much interaction with him.

Footsteps echoed down the stairs.

The two looked up at the same time, and Lu Qingyuan was walking down the stairs.

The man, in his early fifties, stood ramrod straight, his hair neatly combed, and he wore a dark-colored loungewear jacket.

"Have they all arrived?"

His steps were neither fast nor slow, each step firm and steady. His gaze lingered on Song Yunqi for a moment before shifting to Lu Jinci.

"dad."

"Father."

Song Yunqi and Lu Jinci stood up at the same time to greet each other.

Lu Qingyuan hummed in agreement, walked over and sat down on the sofa in the middle, leaning his upper body slightly forward and placing his hands on his knees.

"You've been in another city for a month. How did things go?" Lu Qingyuan turned his head to look at Lu Jinci.

"That's about it. The rest of the work is being handled by the staff below." Lu Jinci's tone became more serious.

Lu Qingyuan nodded, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"Write me a brief report on the situation over there. It doesn't need to be too detailed; just explain the general outline."

"it is good."

The brief conversation ended, and the living room fell silent again.

The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, and servants bustled about busily.

Song Yunqi sat on the sofa with her back straight and her hands on her knees, her posture as upright as if she were sitting in a conference room.

His gaze unconsciously fell on the plate of sliced ​​fruit on the coffee table, his eyes somewhat vacant. He had only slept for four or five hours today, and his back ached so much that even sitting up straight was difficult.

Lu Qingyuan put down his teacup and spoke.

"Yunxi".

Song Yunxi raised her head and met those deep, greyish-white eyes.

"Your company is doing really well lately, how are the profits?"

"Everything is fine. Revenue increased by 12% year-on-year last quarter, and the approval for the new project has been obtained. It can be officially launched next month."

Lu Qingyuan nodded.

"It's truly remarkable that one person could develop a company to its current scale."

"Of course, it's because you've taught me so well."

Lu Qingyuan glanced at him, his gaze holding something indescribable, but he quickly looked away. He stood up, said, "Let's eat," and then walked towards the dining room first.

The three people sat down, with Song Yunqi to Lu Qingyuan's right and Lu Jinci to the opposite side.

Lu Qingyuan suddenly spoke up halfway through the meal.

"Yunqi, how old are you this year?"

Song Yunqi put down her chopsticks and replied, "26 years old, Father."

Have you considered your personal life?

Lu Qingyuan asked casually, while placing a piece of spare rib into Song Yunqi's bowl.

Song Yunxi stared at the piece of pork rib in her bowl and remained silent for a moment.

"Not at the moment. I'm quite busy with company matters, so there's no rush."

Lu Qingyuan did not continue the topic.

Lu Jinci was drinking soup across from me. The spoon made a soft sound as it hit the rim of the bowl. He had his head down, so his expression couldn't be seen from this angle.

"You may be busy, but you also need to take care of your own affairs. You're not getting any younger," Lu Qingyuan said.

"Understood, Father."