Rose Lock - Chapter 64

In the afternoon, Hua Manyi took a rickshaw to the White Apartment. A maid led her in, but after entering, she found that Lu Nian was not in the room. Hua Manyi sat in the spot where she always used to study and waited for about a few minutes. The apartment was very quiet, with faint footsteps coming from upstairs. Hua Manyi had been particularly sensitive to footsteps since she was a child, and after spending some time with someone, she could recognize their footsteps.

However, these footsteps were neither the respectful and regular steps of a maid, nor did they belong to Lu Nian. Furthermore, a man’s footsteps would be heavier and more robust. That left only one possibility—a woman’s footsteps.

Hua Manyi immediately recalled what Gong Shulan had instructed her. After a brief thought, she put down her bag and quietly crept upstairs. Gong Shulan had shown her a photo of Huo Suqiu, and if she discovered that Huo Suqiu had come to see Lu Nian at his house, her investigation would be complete.

In front of the study door on the second floor, Hua Manyi looked back at the corridor outside the study—it was silent and empty. When she turned back, a dark shadow suddenly flashed quickly past the slightly ajar study door. Hua Manyi’s heart skipped a beat, and it started pounding rapidly.

She put her hand on the doorknob and carefully pushed the door open. Just as she took a step, before she could even look around, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. With a thud, she collapsed onto the floor.

A woman’s figure emerged from the darkness. Black leather boots stepped on the floor, and a stiff brown coat alternated between light and shadow.

“Who is this woman?” Huo Suqiu glanced at Hua Manyi on the floor and looked at Lu Nian by the desk.

Lu Nian quickly came over and crouched down to check on Hua Manyi. “Why did you hit her so hard?”

Huo Suqiu frowned. “You care about her? Who is she?”

“She… is my student.” Lu Nian saw that Hua Manyi had only fainted, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses and stood up. “Suqiu, why did you come to see me this time?”

Huo Suqiu shifted her attention back. “Lu Nian, Jiang Yin has run away. Can you help me with this matter?”

“Jiang Yin? Didn’t she die?” Lu Nian was startled. He knew that Huo Suqiu had miraculously survived the Huo family fire, but the other person, Jiang Yin, had been burned to ashes. Even the two women of the Gong family thought so and even attended the memorial service.

“Die? How could she die?” Huo Suqiu sneered. She walked past Hua Manyi towards the window.

Lu Nian pondered for a moment, guessing that there might have been a hidden story behind the fire. “Then who was the person who died?”

“Just a street beggar,” Huo Suqiu continued. “At the time, I saw her being bullied by another beggar and kindly saved her. It just so happened that I found her figure and bone structure were extremely similar to Jiang Yin’s…”

Hua Manyi’s fingers twitched. Hearing the three words “street beggar,” her whole body tensed up. The beggar she had encountered previously came to mind; that figure really seemed indistinguishable from Jiang Yin’s.

And the time the beggar disappeared was precisely the time of Jiang Yin’s fire. How could it be such a coincidence…

On this side, Lu Nian agreed to Huo Suqiu’s request to help her find Jiang Yin’s whereabouts.

“Miss Lu, there’s a young woman outside who says she wants to see Miss Hua Manyi,” the maid suddenly spoke from outside the door.

Lu Nian gave Huo Suqiu a look, then opened the door. “Did she say what her name is?”

The maid recalled, “She said her name is Kou Qian’er.”

Lu Nian had no choice but to go downstairs to meet her, and indeed saw Kou Qian’er. “Why have you come to see me?”

Kou Qian’er looked around twice. “I’m here to take Sister Manyi back.”

“Jiang Yin?!”

A woman suddenly walked out of the living room and directly grabbed Kou Qian’er’s hand, almost startling Kou Qian’er. “Who are you?!”

Lu Nian closed her eyes in annoyance upon seeing Huo Suqiu.

Huo Suqiu ignored this, staring intently at Kou Qian’er. “Why did you run away? Wasn’t I good to you?!”

Kou Qian’er tried hard to pull her hand back, looking at the woman as if she were an idiot. “Why would I run away? My name is Kou Qian’er, not some Jiang Yin.”

As soon as these words fell, Huo Suqiu came to her senses. She cupped Kou Qian’er’s face and scrutinized it carefully, muttering, “You are not Jiang Yin.”

“Of course I’m not Jiang Yin.” Kou Qian’er pushed her hand away, somewhat disgusted, and turned to look at Lu Nian. “I’m here for Sister Manyi—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lu Nian saw the living, breathing Kou Qian’er get struck unconscious on the floor. “Suqiu, what are you doing?”

Huo Suqiu regained her cold demeanor. “She discovered my traces.”

“Are you going to murder her to silence her?” Lu Nian was incredulous.

Huo Suqiu: “Not exactly. I just want to keep her locked up for a few days. I can’t let the two of them ruin my plan.”

The maid hurried in from outside. “Miss Lu, Madam Gong has come to visit.”

Lu Nian had a headache. “Why is she here again? Suqiu, quickly take Kou Qian’er back to the study, and as for Manyi, have someone settle her down first.”

Gong Yan stood outside the door, surveying the white apartment. After much thought, she still felt she had to personally come and talk to Lu Nian about Hua Manyi’s English lessons. Since that woman couldn’t speak up, then she would do it for her.

Lu Nian welcomed her in with a smile. “Madam Gong, what brings you here today?”

“I won’t waste any time with you today. I’m here to talk about Manyi’s English lessons…” Gong Yan frowned as she scanned Lu Nian’s study. Two teacups were placed on the desk, the steam from the hot tea yet to dissipate, clearly indicating someone had just been there.

Manyi frequently came to Lu Nian’s place recently. Although she had confirmed Hua Manyi’s feelings a few days ago, thinking of that woman’s hot and cold attitude and the intimacy in her tone whenever she mentioned Lu Nian, Gong Yan felt resentment.

“What’s wrong with Yiyi?” Seeing Gong Yan’s cold expression, Lu Nian grew increasingly guilty. Both Yiyi and Kou Qian’er had been knocked unconscious by Huo Suqiu and placed behind the screen. She was worried that Gong Yan’s intentions were hostile. The past grievances between Gong Shulan and Huo Suqiu were still unresolved. What if Huo Suqiu and Gong Yan met and argued at her house, potentially harming Yiyi?

“There’s nothing wrong with her. Lu Nian, I came today to ask you two to end this tutoring.” Gong Yan exhaled a languid puff of white smoke and took out a document from her briefcase, handing it to Lu Nian.

Lu Nian opened it curiously and was stunned when she saw the name—wasn’t this her good-for-nothing younger brother, Lu Zi’ang?

Years ago, the three siblings of the Lu family were all successful and enviable: the eldest son, Lu Yu, was good at business, and the second daughter, Lu Nian, studied law abroad. Only the youngest son, Lu Zi’ang, was uneducated and unskilled. Three years ago, Lu Zi’ang accidentally killed someone. To protect him, the entire family pulled strings and sent him abroad to avoid the limelight.

The Lu family appeared glorious on the surface, but in reality, the youngest son had always been a stain on their reputation. If the world found out, Elder Lu and the entire Lu family would be subjected to universal condemnation.

“What do you mean?!” Lu Nian was inwardly shocked. How did Gong Yan know about Lu Zi’ang’s matter?

Lu Nian put the document down and composed herself. “You want me to leave Yiyi? And not teach her English anymore?”

Gong Yan’s red lips curled up. “Yes.”

“Why?” Lu Nian questioned. Gong Yan was indeed up to no good; she actually used Lu Zi’ang’s affair to threaten her. Considering that Huo Suqiu, who was hiding behind the screen, could not be allowed to hear the Lu family’s private matter, Lu Nian clenched her fists, then softened her tone. “Is this Yiyi’s wish?”

“My wish is her wish.” Gong Yan patted her mink shawl and spoke indifferently, “Hua Manyi is a person of Feng Hai. If she wants to learn English, I can arrange a professional teacher for her. Lawyer Lu is busy with official duties, so I can’t keep bothering you like this.”

“Besides, Lawyer Lu should also properly handle the matters around her.”

“What is the ultimate purpose of what you’re doing? Gong Yan, honestly, I, Lu Nian, have never offended you, and our Lu family and your Gong family have no past grudges. Why do you keep targeting me?”

“Lawyer Lu, when did I ever target you?” Gong Yan originally intended to clarify the matter and leave, as she wanted to go find Hua Manyi. Bringing Lu Zi’ang’s case file and his photo from France today was merely to follow Gong Shulan’s instructions, and besides, Hua Manyi was her woman. Allowing her to study under a wolf like Lu Nian, Gong Yan wasn’t so generous.

Lu Nian suppressed her agitation. She looked at the languid-looking woman and spoke with an affectionate smile, “Madam Gong, let’s be frank today. The only reason you’re targeting me like this is because of the closeness between Hua Manyi and me, and it makes you uncomfortable.”

She held onto the window ledge, sighed, turned around, and glanced at the screen in the right corner, her tone firm: “You are uncomfortable because you like her.”

Gong Yan was stunned. Silence fell in the air. Lu Nian so directly exposing her secret was unexpected, but she quickly recovered and thought that it would be best to take this opportunity to make things perfectly clear with Lu Nian. Hua Manyi was innocent and naive, but Lu Nian was a clever person.

With this thought, she said flatly, “I care about Hua Manyi because she belongs to Feng Hai. Since she is my person, I have the absolute right to decide what she does and who she associates with. If I, Gong Yan, tell her to go east, she cannot go west.”

“As for you saying I’m targeting you because I like her, Lawyer Lu is overthinking it,” Gong Yan leaned closer to Lu Nian. “What does whether I like her or not have to do with you? What if I like her? What if I don’t? In any case, the person she likes is not you.”

In a corner behind the screen, Hua Manyi and Kou Qian’er were tied up, hands and feet bound, with gags in their mouths. Beside them, a grave-faced Huo Suqiu was squatting, watching over the two.

Kou Qian’er was still unconscious, while Hua Manyi had been pretending to be in a coma. At this moment, hearing the familiar voice from beyond the screen, her face turned pale.

So, in her eyes, she was still that little dancer. If her Mother Gong told her to go east, she could not go west…

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