Chapter 74: A Leisurely Stroll

The Qin Family Old Mansion wasn’t exactly “old,” but the old master had specially invited a feng shui expert to design the place. From the perspective of the mountains and waters, the location was exceptionally favorable.

Verdant hills and limpid waters, brimming with spiritual energy.

And the one who was “nurtured” by it all was none other than Qin Yushu, the heir.

After handling the Qin family matters, Qin Yushu didn’t leave with Lu Ningshuang right away. Instead, she strolled around the surroundings.

Perfect timing.

Taking in the scenery was just the thing to soothe the earlier tension, and Lu Ningshuang wholeheartedly agreed!

She obediently stayed by Qin Yushu’s side but found the silence a bit dull, so she livened things up. “By the way, when I said turning the Old Mansion into a haunted house, I was just trying to rile them up. Don’t take it seriously, sister.”

The old master had been muddleheaded in his later years, causing Qin Yushu no small amount of trouble. But earlier on, he’d been decent enough.

From Housekeeper Nangong’s words, that “decent” seemed to carry some hidden implications—something Lu Ningshuang keenly sensed might tie into the secret Qin Borong had mentioned that day.

In the end, when Qin Yushu differentiated as an Omega, the old master had opposed it and wanted to replace her. Perhaps the other Qin family members were simply too incompetent, or maybe it was because of that unspeakable “decent” history. Either way, it hadn’t caused her much real harm.

He had tacitly approved.

Though Lu Ningshuang didn’t believe in superstitions, she still held a sense of reverence when it came to such things. The old master was long gone underground—who knew if he’d reincarnated yet? Using him for a bit of verbal sparring was fine, but actually messing with the mansion he’d put so much effort into building?

Better not.

She was half an outsider, after all, while Qin Yushu was the old master’s own granddaughter. At a time like this, it was best to accumulate some good karma.

Qin Yushu turned her head at those words and glanced at Lu Ningshuang, her pitch-black eyes deep and inscrutable, lost in thought.

Lu Ningshuang panicked. “I really was just joking!”

Qin Yushu suddenly smiled. “I know.”

Lu Ningshuang didn’t dare bring up the Old Mansion’s fate again. After all, with a domineering CEO flying into a rage for her sake, who knew what outlandish thing she might do?

Her aunt’s family had that lovestruck, brainless uncle-in-law—Lu Ningshuang had seen plenty of absurdities like that before.

She didn’t think Qin Yushu’s head would be as muddled as his, but what if?

“Was sister here today to take back the shares those people hold?” Lu Ningshuang asked, changing the subject.

Business was far removed from her world, and she didn’t understand much, but she knew that in a corporation, only holding the majority of shares granted absolute authority—to silence all dissent.

That was Qin Yushu’s situation now.

The shares those Qin family members held were probably distributed by the old master before his death. Even if they all banded together, they likely couldn’t threaten her. But if they allied with other major shareholders in the joint company—not just one—it could become a hidden bomb.

Though the odds of that happening were less than one in a thousand.

Still, Lu Ningshuang knew Qin Yushu’s personality: she wouldn’t tolerate even that slim possibility.

She probably hadn’t dealt with it upon first taking over, then got busy with company growth and overlooked it. Now that she had time, looking back… whoa, there was this lurking hazard. Of course she’d clean it up!

Qin Yushu looked at the little dog beside her. “Want them?”

Lu Ningshuang blinked. She’d been thinking for Qin Yushu’s sake, never expecting the question to boomerang back to her. But the little dog opened her mouth without thinking.

“Yeah~” she drawled playfully, “for sister~~”

Her voice was soft and sweet. If circumstances allowed, the little dog probably would’ve shoved her head right into the other’s hands.

“You’ll have them,” Qin Yushu said earnestly.

Lu Ningshuang paused again.

She’d been considering things from Qin Yushu’s angle, but that final tone from President Qin… Wasn’t this borrowing flowers to offer Buddha?

It made her seem so disingenuous.

Lu Ningshuang reflected on herself.

Qin Yushu, meanwhile, seemed unwilling to let her little phoenix man A get tangled in the Qin family’s mess, so she pivoted. “Back in the house, how’d your mouth get so sharp, little dog?”

She infused a teasing, playful lilt into “little dog” rather than “Youyou.”

It wasn’t insulting—it was intimate.

Lu Pure Little Dog Ningshuang’s attention shifted instantly. “It… it was okay, I guess?”

Qin Yushu stopped, her slender fingertips suddenly pinching the little dog’s cheek. Sunlight bathed them from above, light dancing in her eyes. Her bright, uninhibited face was right there, like a celestial consort.

Her gaze stayed fixed on Lu Ningshuang. “Youyou before the little green tea, or Land Diss?”

Those passive-aggressive barbs earlier had come fast and furious. Anyone stupider might not even realize the little dog was cursing them out.

Though Qin Yushu pinched the Alpha’s chin, it felt more like intimate stroking. Her fingertips exerted no real force. Their eyes met without hindering speech.

And the cheek was cooler than her fingertips, as if the Omega were assertively nurturing the Alpha with her body heat.

“Learned it online,” Lu Ningshuang said.

Qin Yushu: “Hm?”

The little phoenix man A confessed honestly. “Brother Facai told me. ‘Cause I look easy to bully~”

Qin Yushu released her hand, her warm, smooth fingertip lingering to gently rub the Alpha’s face one last time.

She’d taken full advantage.

Of each other, really.

As Lu Ningshuang gathered her words, Qin Yushu’s gaze swept seriously over the Alpha’s face, a deep ripple in her eyes. Even in broad daylight, it carried an inadvertent hint of sultry allure.

“True enough.”

In every sense… “easy to bully.”

Lu Pure College Girl Alpha Ningshuang: O.o

Undeterred, the little phoenix man A continued. “Back then, my parents were busy, so Brother Facai handled school stuff. To make things quicker and easier, he taught me this trick.”

“What trick?” Qin Yushu followed up, unusually playing the straight man.

Lu Ningshuang: “Talk it out if you can—don’t strike first. If they hit first, you’re in the right no matter what!”

Qin Yushu chuckled. “Brother Facai’s pretty impressive.”

In the Happily Married Family Group chat, she’d already addressed the elders properly. Calling Qi Jingming “Brother Facai” now came naturally.

He was a full five years older than Lu Ningshuang and two years older than her. Given how he’d always looked after his sister, “brother” was well-deserved.

Qi Jingming might share no blood with the Lu family siblings, but in child-rearing, he outdid those laissez-faire parents by miles.

Maybe it was his destined lot as a workaholic—manly mama.

Even Lu Ningshuang sensed nothing off, thinking: Qin Yushu hadn’t had it easy with the Qin family, so maybe the Old Lu Family should step up?

Sigh, time to sneak some paintings or vases from home again. Per sister’s instructions, plant a few real ones with Old Lu this time—she’d be thrilled, right?

Once Lu Ningshuang figured that phase was done, Qin Yushu asked again.

“So, did that happen a lot?”

President Qin knew how to zero in.

Little dog: Shock!!!!

Lu Ningshuang hedged. “N-not too much.”

Qin Yushu didn’t press, just fixed her black eyes on her. Light swirled, banishing the shadows, giving them a glassy, lustrous sheen.

Lu Ningshuang crumbled instantly. “But not too little either.”

Qin Yushu: “And the outcomes?”

Lu Ningshuang felt a mix of guilt and pride. “No matter what, I was always the tough one!”

Then she inwardly panicked.

Oops!

That kinda shattered her fragile, helpless little green tea persona? The little dog’s heart quivered, not daring to meet Qin Yushu’s expression.

“Fair enough,” Qin Yushu said. “Little dogs don’t just yap—they bite when pushed.”

Listen to that!

Was that a compliment?

Lu Ningshuang whined coquettishly. “Sis~”

The next second, her head was patted—Lu Ningshuang had noticed that since her “little dog” nickname slipped out, the gestures had grown more like petting a pup.

Look at this! She was a person, damn it!

But in practice, the little dog loved it. Due to their slight height difference—subtle but there—Lu Ningshuang dipped a bit lower, making it comfier for Qin Yushu to ruffle.

Her naturally loose hair was perfect for soothing. Qin Yushu’s palm was gentle, warm, and dry, even giving a little scratch at the crown.

“As long as the little dog wasn’t bullied,” the Omega’s voice turned unusually soft. Though Lu Ningshuang couldn’t see her face from below, the warmth sufficed.

“Just… protect your teeth when you bite~”

This time, though, little Lu Dog didn’t submit sweetly. She suddenly looked up, shrugging off the hand atop her head. A fierce glint flashed in her clear eyes.

“If sister knows little dogs bite—”

“How?” Qin Yushu asked with a faint smile, standing unguarded and serene before her little dog shrine, graceful and alluring.

Lu Ningshuang growled fiercely. “Then worry every day that your pampered pup might turn and bite you back!”

Qin Yushu showed no displeasure, her voice slow and coaxing, luring the little dog onward, probing limits at the edge of danger.

“Oh? How would it bite?”

The Omega stood poised and composed, her figure lithe—no extra moves needed. She was the epitome of spring’s seductive vista.

Behind her bloomed a tree of peach blossoms. She tilted her head slightly, exposing a slender swan neck, her peach-shaped amorous eyes narrowing as she lifted her gaze. Red lips parted—fairer than the flowers.

Every inch was seduction and provocation.

How could she endure it?

How could she?

A vigorous, hot-blooded young Alpha couldn’t withstand the provocation. She stepped forward at once, vowing to show her exactly what—

A barking dog bites even harder!!