Under the dim light, the red wine in the glass looked somewhat enchanting and scarlet. The arrangement of the tableware seemed off somehow, and the flickering red candle made one think of the horror stories in some movies.
Lu Xue stared at the red candle. The more she looked at it, the more eerie it seemed, and the more frightened she felt. Finally, she gave a soft cough and said to Mu Yuze, "Well, I think I'll go back to my room and rest first. You can eat here. Call me when the others in the family are back!"
Then Lu Xue quickly scurried upstairs and slammed the door shut with a "bang".
Mu Yuze looked at the setting of the dining table in front of him. Naturally, he knew it was his dear younger sister who was up to mischief.
He walked over helplessly, blew out the candle, and turned on the lights in the living room. Instantly, the whole house was brightly lit, and the eerie atmosphere like that in a horror story just faded away.
He ate quietly alone, feeling quite helpless about Mu Ziyue.
It wouldn't matter if such things happened only once or twice, but it was just that they happened several times so coincidentally.
When Lu Xue and Mu Yuze returned to the old mansion, they were often left alone. There wasn't even a living creature around that could be heard inside or outside the house.
Mu Yuze remained calm on the surface, but when Lu Xue wasn't around, he called Mu Ziyue into his study and gave her a severe scolding.
Mu Ziyue claimed to be very aggrieved. "Brother, I'm just trying to help you! I'm creating some alone time for you two. It'll help you see your true feelings more clearly!"
Mu Yuze scolded her again. "Nonsense! Don't ever do such things again. If I find out you've done it again..."
"Okay, okay, I know, brother... I won't leave the two of you alone in the dining room anymore, okay?"
With this promise, Mu Yuze let Mu Ziyue go.
But he never expected that what Mu Ziyue meant by that was just that she wouldn't leave the two of them alone in the dining room anymore.
In fact, Mu Ziyue had realized that what she had done seemed to have no effect. She decided to change her strategy and upgrade her strategic goal, using some more effective methods!
So, one day, Lu Xue found that one of the paint scrapers in her studio was missing.
She searched around for a long time and finally spotted the small scraper through the small window in the attic on the top floor.
She had no idea how it had ended up on the open rooftop outside.
Lu Xue lay on the window sill hesitantly for a while. Finally, she gritted her teeth and decided to go and retrieve the small item.
She climbed onto the window and stood on the outside terrace with some difficulty.
As soon as she stood up, Mu Yuze appeared behind her.
Mu Yuze had been coaxed by Mu Ziyue to come upstairs to get a book from the study.
This girl had suddenly become interested in studying these days and pestered him every day to find some precious original English books for her in the study.
Unable to resist her pestering, Mu Yuze had to go upstairs to get the book for her.
As soon as he came up, he saw Lu Xue in such a dangerous place. He frowned and asked worriedly, "What's going on?"
Lu Xue looked back at Mu Yuze and explained, "One of my things somehow ended up on this terrace. I'll just go and pick it up."
Mu Yuze was quite worried. The edge of the terrace was very secluded, and there were no railings for protection. If Lu Xue accidentally slipped, she might fall right off.
Mu Yuze spoke in a calm but authoritative voice. "Stay where you are. I'll go up and get it for you."
Scared by his words, Lu Xue had no choice but to stand still obediently.
Mu Yuze climbed up easily from the window edge with one hand and appeared beside Lu Xue in an instant.
He was very steady and agile in his movements. Most importantly, he was tall and long - limbed, which gave him a natural advantage over Lu Xue in retrieving the item.
He bent down slightly, and in just a blink of an eye, he retrieved the scraper for Lu Xue.
He whispered to Lu Xue, "You go down first. I'll follow you. Be careful when you go down. Hold on to something stable."
Lu Xue carefully held on to the wall beside her, bent down slightly, and tried to jump back into the room from the slightly steep terrace outside.
But just then, a strong gust of wind blew.
In the wind, their clothes fluttered. Lu Xue's long hair got entangled with Mu Yuze's shirt buttons.
Lu Xue originally wanted to jump into the room below, but since her hair was caught, she had to bend down rather awkwardly and fumble with her other hand to find her hair.
Mu Yuze probably realized this soon. He quickly lowered his head and felt around among his shirt buttons, trying to untangle Lu Xue's hair from them.
Although his movements were urgent, his touch was steady and gentle, and he wouldn't hurt Lu Xue.