Chapter 7 Their Chat Interface Finally Had Its First…

Chapter 7: Their Chat Interface Finally Gets Its First Message...

After Lu Yingxiao went to the garden pavilion to discuss matters with Gao Yan, Gao Youhe pressed herself against the glass wall like a gecko.

She strained her ears, eager to know what her brother and sister-in-law were talking about.

Butler Zhan, seeing Gao Youhe's strange behavior, approached and asked, "Miss, what are you doing?"

The main villa was quite far from the garden pavilion.

Forget eavesdropping; she couldn't even clearly see whether her brother and sister-in-law's expressions were relaxed or serious.

Gao Youhe sheepishly peeled herself off the glass wall and told Butler Zhan her worries, "I feel a bit uneasy, like something bad is going to happen."

Butler Zhan: "Worried that Sir and Madam might argue during their discussion?"

Gao Youhe: "Something like that."

Butler Zhan looked towards the garden pavilion.

He informed her cheerfully, "Miss, Sir is returning, and Madam is in the pavilion waving you over."

Gao Youhe felt a wave of relief and took off running outside.

On the way, she bumped into Gao Yan returning to the villa. Gao Youhe directly asked him, "Brother, did your talk with my sister-in-law go smoothly?"

Gao Yan's lips curved slightly upward, "It was fine."

Gao Youhe: "What does 'fine' mean?"

Gao Yan didn't answer, just ruffled Gao Youhe's hair, "Your sister-in-law is waiting for you to show her the garden's night view. You'd better hurry."

Gao Youhe stared at Gao Yan.

Seeing that he had no intention of explaining, she didn't press further. As long as they didn't argue, it was fine.

"Sister-in-law!" Gao Youhe bounded into the pavilion.

"Come on, I'll show you the best nighttime view our garden has to offer."

Lu Yingxiao let Gao Youhe lead her forward.

In the eastern part of the garden, there was a small pond filled with lotus flowers. The lotus leaves were lush green and graceful, while the lotus blossoms were soft pink and delicate, giving off a light, fresh scent.

Above the pond hung a moon-shaped light.

It emitted a soft glow.

From a distance, it evoked a sense of *Lotus Pond in Moonlight* beauty.

Lu Yingxiao stopped in front of a lotus flower in full bloom, gently touching its delicate pink petals. She asked Gao Youhe, "Why are there still lotus flowers at this time of year?"

Gao Youhe wore a proud expression, "My brother grew these."

Lu Yingxiao: "Your brother?"

This felt completely at odds with Gao Yan's image.

Gao Youhe nodded emphatically, "Yes! Sister-in-law, you'd never guess, but my brother's university major was related to horticulture."

Lu Yingxiao was stunned, "Him? Horticulture?"

With those unusually broad and thick hands of Gao Yan's, hands that looked like they could punch her half to death, he could actually tend to delicate flowers and plants?

She couldn't picture it.

The only thing she could imagine was his finger easily poking a plant to death.

Gao Youhe: "My brother has loved flowers and plants since he was little. They say my mom is the one who sparked this interest. When he was young, she gave him a pot of sensitive plant. Maybe my brother had never seen such a peculiar plant before; when he touched it, its leaves would immediately close up. He especially felt bad when he accidentally killed it later. From then on, he became obsessed with plants."

"However, my brother has raised many, many plants since, but he's never raised another sensitive plant. Maybe he's afraid of killing it again?"

"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics."

"What I do know is that the lotus flowers in this pond were specially planted by my brother for Mom and me."

"Mom loved lotus flowers very, very much. When I was still in her belly, the family gave me a nickname, 'Little Lotus.' My formal name was given by my brother. He hoped that our parents in heaven would protect this little lotus, allowing me to grow strong and healthy, with a lifetime of peace and happiness."

Lu Yingxiao: "Your brother cares deeply about you."

Regardless of her personal views on Gao Yan, his affection for his sister was undeniable.

Gao Youhe: "I care deeply about my brother too, and I also hope he has a lifetime of peace, happiness, and everything going his way."

Bending down, Gao Youhe picked the lotus flower that Lu Yingxiao had just touched. Holding the vibrantly blooming lotus, she offered it to Lu Yingxiao, "Of course, I care about you too, sister-in-law. I also sincerely hope you have peace, happiness, everything going your way, and joy every day, free from any worries."

The last sentence was something Gao Youhe added specifically for Lu Yingxiao.

She felt that although her sister-in-law often wore a smile, those smiles seemed like an iceberg floating on the ocean's surface.

It appeared as if you could see its entirety, but its true form was hidden beneath the water.

If you sniffed carefully, you could even detect a scent of sorrow that made one feel sad.

The lotus fragrance was refreshing and delightful. Lu Yingxiao wished she could bury her entire face in the flower.

"Youhe, thank you for your blessings, and thank you for giving me this lotus flower. I will cherish it and take good care of it."

Previously, her reluctance to be a wicked sister-in-law was mainly because she didn't want to be controlled by the system.

But at this moment, it was more because of Youhe.

She wanted to protect her.

Gao Youhe didn't grasp the deeper meaning in Lu Yingxiao's words, simply thinking she was referring to the lotus in her arms. "A picked lotus flower, kept in a vase, can last about ten days at most. After ten days, it will likely wither and fade. When that happens, I'll replace it with a fresh lotus for you, sister-in-law. My brother cultivated lotus flowers that bloom all year round, so the lotus in your room will always be fresh."

Lu Yingxiao held the lotus with one hand and used the other to ruffle Gao Youhe's hair. "Good, I like the forever vibrant little lotus."

Gao Youhe then took Lu Yingxiao to see other night views in the garden.

There were lilies with a fragrance more intense than the lotus, and roses blooming more enchantingly than the lotus.

Gao Youhe also wanted to pick these flowers and give them to Lu Yingxiao.

Lu Yingxiao declined, "Having this little lotus in my hand is enough. I like lotus flowers the most."

Gao Youhe understood the deeper meaning in these words.

She was overjoyed, her expression animated, her voice filled with thick laughter, "Okay, okay, okay. From now on, I'll only give you lotus flowers, sister-in-law, nothing else."

Gao Youhe has school tomorrow, and Lu Yingxiao is also going back to work.

After strolling through the garden, the two women began heading back.

Hearing that Lu Yingxiao would be going to work, Gao Youhe felt both happy and disappointed. "Sis, I'm glad you're going to work. Staying at home every day can easily make you feel stifled. But after you start, will you be like my brother, always busy with work? I know you're both working for our family's sake, but I also hope you can spare some time to spend with me."

As she spoke, she looked up at Lu Yingxiao guiltily. "Sis, am I being a bit selfish?"

Lu Yingxiao replied, "How is that selfish? It's just a reasonable request."

"Don't worry, unless something comes up, I won't work overtime. I'll try to come home early every day to spend time with you."

Gao Youhe asked, "Really?"

Lu Yingxiao responded, "Have I ever lied to you?"

Gao Youhe answered, "No!"

A bright smile spread across her face.

When Lu Yingxiao was young, communication tools were not as advanced. If school teachers needed to contact parents, they'd have the students pass on the message.

Later, after she started working, she often heard coworkers gripe about how easy it is for teachers to get hold of parents these days—either by phone or WeChat. If a child misbehaves, the teacher can be calling the parents every day.

Since Lu Yingxiao was determined to look out for Gao Youhe, she naturally wanted to do so in every way.

As a student, Gao Youhe spent most of her time at school, so Lu Yingxiao wanted to know how she was doing there.

Lu Yingxiao asked Gao Youhe, "Your homeroom teacher must have created a class group, right?"

Gao Youhe replied, "Yeah."

Lu Yingxiao continued, "Your brother should also be in the group, right?"

Gao Youhe complained, "He is, but he's too busy. When would he have time to check the messages in the group? Our homeroom teacher, Ms. Xu, knows how busy my brother is. Unless it's something urgent, she won't contact him. If she really needs to and my brother happens to be extremely busy, she always has Uncle Zhan take care of it."

Lu Yingxiao asked, "Can I join the group and add Teacher Xu?"

Gao Youhe exclaimed, "Of course you can!"

Before Lu Yingxiao could say anything, Gao Youhe dashed off to Gao Yan's room.

A moment later, she returned with Gao Yan's phone.

Gao Youhe handed the phone to Lu Yingxiao.

Lu Yingxiao was confused. "What's this?"

Gao Youhe explained, "My brother is busy with work. He said you can go through his WeChat contacts and add Teacher Xu yourself."

Lu Yingxiao hesitated. "That doesn't seem right."

There's too much private stuff on a person's phone.

Although she and Gao Yan were married in name only, even with him telling her to, she felt uncomfortable going through his phone.

Gao Youhe insisted, "It's totally fine."

Seeing that Lu Yingxiao was still unwilling to touch Gao Yan's phone, Gao Youhe took it back.

The screen was locked and needed a password.

Gao Youhe said as she typed in the password, "I remember my brother's unlock password is my birthday."

She recited a string of numbers before Lu Yingxiao could even stop her.

Gao Youhe opened WeChat. "I'll share Teacher Xu's contact with you."

As she spoke, Gao Youhe suddenly looked at the phone and chuckled.

Hehe, aside from her own chat, only her sister-in-law was pinned to the top of her brother's WeChat.

Lu Yingxiao heard Gao Youhe's light laugh.

But she didn't ask or lean over to look, as Youhe was looking at Gao Yan's phone.

The next moment, a surprised "Huh?" slipped out.

This time, unlike her earlier chuckle, Gao Youhe didn't explain herself. Instead, she held the phone right up to Lu Yingxiao's face, pointing at his WeChat profile picture. "Sis, look! My brother changed his profile picture at some point. I remember it used to be a little lotus flower. Now, there's a mimosa next to the little lotus flower."

Lu Yingxiao hadn't intended to look, but the phone was right in front of her, forcing her to see Gao Yan's new WeChat profile picture clearly.

However, she only glanced at it before looking away. "If we fool around any longer, Teacher Xu will be asleep. Send me her info first."

Gao Youhe replied, "Got it."

After taking one last good look at Gao Yan's new profile picture, she clicked into Lu Yingxiao's WeChat and shared Teacher Xu's contact with her.

Previously, in Gao Yan's WeChat, the chat history between him and Lu Yingxiao only contained the system-generated message from when they became friends.

Now, with the contact shared, they finally had their first interaction.