15 Are You Courageous Enough

The Lu Family Mansion was big. Walking down the corridor that linked Lu Junhan's study to the stairways took a full 3 minutes. 

However, Lu Junhan was walking at a very brisk pace. He reached the stairs faster than usual. 

He descended the stairs and went straight for the hall, ignoring his guests, who wanted to talk to him. Without even stopping for a quick rest, he headed straight towards the dessert section.

His face was handsome—the features on his face were well-constructed, and there was indescribable darkness within his eyes, just like a bottomless abyss. 

As if his entire demeanor wasn't terrifying enough, there seemed to be an invisible wall of ice across his face. It struck fear into those who dared to look at him directly and chills down the spine of whoever stood near him. No one dared to approach him.

The way he was right now could scare children into tears without even the need to talk. 

He lifted his cold gaze which swept across the place. He finally located Song Qingwan, who was sitting near the cakes. She seemed to be talking to her bodyguards at the moment. She was graceful and elegant when she smiled. She was smiling. Looks like she's in a good mood tonight.

The man stopped staring at her from afar and decided to approach her with a bitter expression. 

Song Qingwan was surprisingly joyful when she saw him. It was only when he was standing right in front of her did she pretend to scold him, "You brat! Looks like the only way I can get you to come down is by force! Look at your face! Do you really have to act this way now that you're already here? Do you really think I'm trying to make you fail?"

The man did not refute her words nor did he answer her question. His narrow eyes squinted as he scanned his surroundings. A cold, sinister smile cracked across his face. "Didn't you ask me to come down and meet my new daughter? Where is she?"

His tone was filled with disgust and coldness when he uttered the word "daughter". It was clear that he wasn't prepared to welcome here in any way.

He sneered when he saw no signs of the girl next to her. The only people around her were her bodyguards. "Did she run off on her own? At least she knows her place. Otherwise, I'd have to take care of her personally."

"I assume that by what you said, you wish for her to run away on her own?"

Lu Junhan didn't say a word, but it was clear what he meant through his eyes.

Song Qingwan sighed and said, "Lili went to get milk for me, she'll be back soon."

She then warned him beforehand, "I don't care how poorly you've treated other children in the past, but this time, you cannot throw her out of the gate. She's so soft and fragile, she'd never be able to cope with surviving in the outside world!"

"Lily?" Lu Junhan chuckled, "There are people out there who are still giving their children such a dated name?" 

Song Qingwan knew that he didn't get it right, for she too, mistook her name as "Lily" in the beginning as well. 

She was quick to defend Lu Li by saying, "What are you thinking? The 'Li' I'm talking about here refers to Pear Blossoms! Ah, Lili. What a beautiful name." 

(*T/N: in Chinese, words can sound phonetically the same but are completely different words. In this case, there are 2 different 'Li'. The 'Li' Lu Junhan is talking about, is a fairly overused and stereotypical name for girls.) 

Lu Junhan smiled coldly and was just about to say something when-

Suddenly…

The butler quickly came rushing over. Because he had been running all the way, he was still gasping for air when he stopped. He didn't even register that Song Qingwan was standing next to Lu Junhan. 

"Young Master Lu! We have news about the girl! Just now, a servant said she had seen that girl in the hall downstairs, and standing by her side was…"

It was at the same moment that Song Qingwan got up from her seat and waved in a random direction with a smile on her face. "Lili, come over here! Auntie has something to tell you..."

"Daddy!"

Suddenly, a young and crisp voice filled the ears of everyone present!

What came next was a little girl, donning a light green dress running out from a crowd. She looked just like a porcelain doll. Everyone was still stunned when she wrapped her little arms around Lu Junhan's legs!

The little girl peered up with her large, black eyes. They were filled with surprise when she said, "Daddy, you really came looking for Lili!"

The butler noticed how shocked Song Qingwan was when she saw what the little girl did. He finally completed his sentence, "...Miss Song."

Lu Junhan, "…"

Song Qingwan looked at Lu Junhan expressionlessly, and then down at Lu Li who was overjoyed from being reunited with her precious daddy. It was like she had lost a part of her soul. The look in her eyes grew dull instantly. 

Lu Junhan asked, "She's the granddaughter you picked up?"

Song Qingwan asked, "You're her scumbag father?"

...The questions crossed simultaneously.

And then, both of them went quiet.

Even the butler was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

What the hell was going on!

They were so desperate in their search for the little girl that even the police got involved. Turns out, the person that found the little girl was none other than Miss Song herself!

In the end, the person that they wanted to catch was one of their own!

It was the first time her personal assistant had no idea what to do. He quietly approached Song Qingwan and whispered into her ear, but the hall had become so eerily quiet that they could hear every single word he said. 

"Ms. Song, since we found the girl's father, should we drag him out and give him a beating?"

The hall was so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

In the next moment, Song Qingwan took aim and threw her purse straight at his head. "What do you think? Should you beat him up? Well, he's standing right in front of you now. Even if I allow you to do so, do you even have the courage to actually go through with that plan? Are you blind to the situation!?"

"..."

Her personal assistant went quiet. 

Alright, maybe he really did step out of line this time.