Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Time.

Lu Huan, who had been waiting outside, saw Lu Xiao come out and hurried over. She called out a little nervously, “Sis, did the teacher say anything to you?”

“She did. She said you’ve been doing really well lately and even got first place in your grade. I didn’t expect that, Lu Huan. That’s pretty amazing!”

This time, Lu Xiao’s praise was sincere. After all, to get first place in the entire grade, Lu Huan must have put in a lot of effort recently.

She definitely deserved to be praised for that.

Caught off guard by the praise, Lu Huan wasn’t quite used to it. Her face turned red, making her look a bit like a little girl.

“W-well, it’s not that amazing. A lot of people don’t study, so that’s why I had the chance.” Her school was only for females. Given the status of females, even if they learned nothing, they wouldn’t starve to death as long as they married a few males. Because of this, most females just muddled through school; very few actually studied.

“But you studied hard, so you’re the most amazing one.” Lu Xiao patted her shoulder. “Come on, let’s have hot pot when we get home today to celebrate.”

This time, Lu Huan truly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She turned to look at Lu Xiao. You have to understand, Lu Xiao had always been disgusted with her before. Forget praise, she didn’t even want to let her eat.

And now she actually wanted to celebrate for her.

’It seems studying hard really is necessary.’

Thinking about her previous conversation with Noah, Lu Huan couldn’t help but secretly wonder, ’Am I not so bad now?’

Leaving the school, Lu Xiao led Lu Huan directly to the hovercar.

Unexpectedly, Ares had prepared a cup of milk tea for each of them.

Lu Xiao reached out and took it. “Thanks. When did you get this?”

Surprised that she got one too, Lu Huan reached out and took it. It was from the milk tea shop near their school, which she’d had before. She just hadn’t expected Ares to buy an extra cup for her. She was a bit dazed as she accepted it, and when she came to her senses, she quickly said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. There’s a milk tea shop over there.” As Ares replied, he pointed across the street. “I saw a lot of people in line, so I figured it must be pretty good. I thought you two might be thirsty when you came out.”

Lu Xiao looked and sure enough, she saw quite a few people lining up over there.

“Thanks. It’s actually really good. Here, try mine.” She knew Ares didn’t like sweets, which was why he hadn’t bought one for himself, but Lu Xiao wanted him to have a taste.

Seeing the straw extended toward him, Ares’s heart skipped a beat. After a moment’s hesitation, he put his lips on the straw and took a sip. “So sweet!”

Ares said those two words with a smile, and it was hard to tell if he meant the milk tea was sweet, or if the milk tea he’d tasted from Lu Xiao’s cup was sweet.

Sitting in the back, Lu Huan watched this scene unfold, a faint trace of envy stirring in her heart.

Having been around Lu Xiao and Ares for so long, she no longer had any doubts about their relationship.

The way they interacted with each other was different from any of the female-led households she had ever seen.

In the female-led households she had witnessed, including Lu Ge Wei’s, they would never show this kind of intimacy, not even with their own main husband.

At the very least, her mother would never share food like that with her main husband.

Lu Huan cradled the milk tea in her hands. Perhaps influenced by Lu Xiao and Ares, she was starting to think this cup of milk tea tasted much better than usual.

It was sweet enough to warm her heart.

Back home, Lu Xiao started getting the hot pot ready.

This time, Lu Huan came over to help voluntarily, without Lu Xiao having to say a word.

If you had to say what the hardest part of preparing hot pot was, it would be prepping all the ingredients.

But with Ares and Lu Xiao both helping, the process became much simpler.

And so that evening, thanks to the three of them working together, they were soon enjoying a steaming hot pot.

Lu Xiao even opened a bottle of fruit wine. She poured some for Lu Huan and herself, then handed the rest to Ares. “I’d like to make a toast. This hot pot is a celebration. Lu Huan got first place in the entire grade on her final exams. I hope you keep it up. Cheers!”

Lu Huan held her cup, her eyes turning red. Hearing Lu Xiao’s words, she nodded quickly. “Sis, I’ll keep working hard. I definitely won’t let you down.”

“Hey, you don’t have to do that. You just have to make sure you don’t disappoint yourself. You don’t have to get first place every time, either. As long as you take your studies seriously, that’s enough. The result of studying hard is that you’ll have more choices in the future. Some females might think it doesn’t matter whether they study or not, since they’ll be supported by males after getting married anyway. But if you want to increase your own value, if you want a job, you’ll need your education.”

In the past, Lu Xiao couldn’t be bothered to say these things to Lu Huan. But now that Lu Huan had truly changed, she was willing to say them, to point the young girl toward a better path.

Lu Huan knew Lu Xiao was teaching her. She saw this in Lu Xiao herself. She wasn’t completely dependent on Ares, nor did she arrogantly demand he give her his all, because Lu Xiao herself was exceptionally capable.

She had seen this in the friends Lu Xiao associated with as well.

They exuded a genuine confidence that came from deep within.

It was a different feeling from a feigned confidence.

And that kind of confidence was something she had come to desire after seeing it for herself.

“I’ll work hard!”

Seeing that Lu Huan understood, Lu Xiao didn’t say any more. “Alright, that’s enough talk. Let’s eat.”

It had been a long time since she’d had hot pot, and Lu Xiao had been craving it for a while. Now that she was finally eating it, she was determined to eat her fill.

Only Lu Xiao ate from the spicy mala broth; Ares and Lu Huan both chose the non-spicy tomato broth.

Beads of sweat formed on the tip of Lu Xiao’s nose as she ate, but she was unwilling to stop.

Lu Huan watched her, thinking it looked so delicious, and couldn’t resist picking up a piece of meat for herself. But the moment she put it in her mouth, it felt like the meat was biting back. It was numbing and spicy, and tears started streaming down her face.

Seeing her reaction, Lu Xiao couldn’t help but laugh. “Quick, drink some water. Don’t eat it if you can’t handle it.”

“But Sis, you make it look so delicious.” ’I didn’t think it would be this spicy!’

Lu Huan said, sucking in a sharp breath.

She couldn’t imagine how Lu Xiao managed to eat so much of it.

’Her sister is amazing, isn’t she?’

Lu Huan felt that she could never catch up to this version of Lu Xiao, no matter how hard she tried.

Lu Xiao was thoroughly satisfied by the hot pot. After the meal, she even brewed a cup of tea to cut through the grease.

After helping clear the table, Lu Huan came over. “Sis, what time are we going home tomorrow?”

“In the evening, probably. You can go back earlier if you’re in a hurry.”

She figured it was just a matter of going back for a meal anyway, and she really didn’t want to go back early to face Lu Ge Wei.

She and Lu Ge Wei really had nothing to say to each other, nor was there any emotional bond that needed maintaining.

“I’m fine with that. It’s just that Lu Yu just sent a message asking when we’re coming home tomorrow.”

Suddenly hearing the name Lu Yu, Lu Xiao finally remembered that this was the name of her other sister.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep