This was an idea Lu Huan had harbored for a long time.
Rather than spending every day on guard against a ticking time bomb that might explode at any moment, it was better to disarm it once and for all, free of all worries.
The problem was, she had never managed to pull it off.
No matter how much she bullied that person, Bai Jin never yielded an inch, much less agreed to leave the Lu Family. The family had built up considerable wealth over the years, and Lu Huan suspected Bai Jin had no intention of letting go of such a prime catch.
After all, once she had it firmly in her grasp, she would never need to worry about money again.
“Terminate the adoptive relationship?”
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, followed by a laugh. “What, did you finally succeed in kicking her out?”
“…No.”
Lu Huan leaned back against her chair, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I remember asking you about this before. I’m just checking again now—are there any details I need to watch out for?”
The woman on the phone replied, “Ah, got it. Well, not really.”
“Once the adoptee reaches adulthood, terminating the adoption doesn’t require the adoptive parent’s consent. It just needs mutual agreement between the adopter and the adoptee.”
“In other words, as long as your mother and sister both agree, it’s straightforward. Nothing more than a few formal procedures.”
She went on, “As for the second option, I mentioned it before: you can litigate to dissolve it. If the adoptive parents and the adult adoptee have an irreconcilable breakdown, they can take it to court.”
“But that’s far more of a hassle.”
“Mm,” Lu Huan murmured in acknowledgment.
The second approach was impractical—staging a breakdown in their relationship would be absurd.
Lu Huan knew her mother’s temperament all too well. Mother Lu had always been lenient with Bai Jin, brushing off minor issues without a second thought. Engineering some major incident would take far too much time and effort.
The first method was clearly the most efficient.
She would work from Bai Jin’s end.
Let Bai Jin take the initiative to end the adoption with Little Aunt. That would save Lu Huan the trouble as well.
A shadowy glint flickered in Lu Huan’s eyes.
“I understand.”
She chatted a bit longer before hanging up. Her hand rested on the armrest as her executive chair pivoted slightly.
If she was committing to that approach, she would need to prepare thoroughly…
With the thought in mind, she pulled out her phone.
Lu Huan always made a habit of thorough planning before acting on anything. She would map out a full strategy from start to finish, running through it in her head first.
The beginning, the end—
One word after another fell into place.
Ten minutes or so later, she closed the memo app, rose to her feet, and stretched.
With her thoughts now sorted, she recalled the evening’s plans. She turned on her heel, pushed open the door, and stepped out.
She made her way to the Planning Department, passing a row of transparent glass doors.
One hand in her pocket, Lu Huan glanced inside.
Her eyes flew wide open at the sight.
Bai Jin was crouched on the ground.
Red staining her hand…
Blood?
—
In the Planning Department, Bai Jin toyed with a soft black hair tie, her gaze soft, the corners of her lips curved in a faint smile. She replayed over and over the moment it had been looped into her hair.
“Bai Jin, are you smiling?”
The voice from nearby snapped her back to the present. Bai Jin schooled her expression, slipped the hair tie onto her left wrist, and tugged her long shirt sleeve down to conceal it.
Ren Ningning watched her and blinked. “You seem to be in a pretty good mood today.”
“Not bad,” Bai Jin replied with a nod. Her right hand rested over her left wrist, feeling the faint ridge of the hair tie through the thin fabric.
Ren Ningning didn’t press when Bai Jin offered no more, simply glancing around before leaning in to whisper, “Team Leader Chen didn’t do anything to you yesterday, did he?”
Bai Jin’s expression chilled at the mention. “No.”
“That’s a relief.” Ren Ningning let out a visible breath.
Bai Jin tilted her head slightly. “What is it?”
Ren Ningning spoke carefully. “I… I don’t want to say too much about him. After all, he’s got powerful people backing him up.”
She retreated to her own workstation, the words hissing bitterly between her teeth. “Likes to cop a feel whenever his position lets him. Makes my skin crawl just looking at the guy. That bastard ought to have a mirror, pfft.”
She fell silent as Team Leader Chen entered from outside, documents in hand.
Bai Jin kept her eyes on him. He headed straight for the workstation of the girl seated in front of her and set the papers down on her desk.
“Mind revising this for me?”
As the girl asked which parts, he braced both hands on the desk edges from behind her, leaning in close. His chest brushed her back, trapping her in his shadow.
“This section—the A and B parts overlap. They need to be differentiated.”
The girl’s posture went rigid, her voice unsteady. “…You mean separate them here?”
“Yes, and here too—”
Team Leader Chen kept pointing things out. The girl’s eyes darted frantically; she shifted in her seat, signaling her discomfort.
The scene grated on Bai Jin like nothing else.
Her colleagues around them buried themselves in their tasks, heads down as if oblivious. Even Ren Ningning kept her gaze fixed low, staying silent.
Bai Jin pulled back her gaze, a faint memory surfacing from her childhood classroom days—a certain someone’s deed.
Her hand nudged the ceramic cup beside her.
In the next instant, it shattered against the floor, shards glistening with lingering water.
The crash drew every eye in the office, Team Leader Chen included. He straightened up. “What was that?”
The girl sprang to her feet. “D-do you need help?”
Bai Jin’s face remained impassive as she spoke evenly. “Sorry. The cup slipped.”
She bent to gather the pieces. Once everyone saw it was just an accidental spill, they offered a few sympathetic murmurs and returned to their work.
The girl slipped free. “Got it, Team Leader. I’ll make the changes.”
“Good. Send it over before you clock out.” With nothing more to say, Team Leader Chen departed.
She sank back into her chair with a quiet exhale, casting a grateful glance at the woman picking up the porcelain shards before turning to her own tasks.
Bai Jin dropped the larger fragments into the nearby trash bin.
She paused, small shards still clutched in her palm.
Her gaze flickered.
If she were the one injured, would Lu Huan help her like she had that morning?
Shadows deepened in her eyes. Her long lashes lowered, veiling them. Her fingers clenched tighter around the jagged edges.
The sharp porcelain pierced her tender palm, blood welling up steadily.
Drops from the gash fell onto the white shards, but she stared at the fresh wound as if numb to the pain.
That was exactly what she had done back then, the act that got her sent away from the Lu Family.
Her fourteenth birthday gift to Lu Huan.
This sister of hers was kind in ways that fell short of true goodness, wicked in ways that never fully committed.
When Bai Jin was eleven and Lu Huan thirteen, Qin Dian would drop them off at calligraphy classes on weekends.
A male teacher had tried to molest her there. The sister who loathed her enough to grit her teeth in her dreams had smashed a brand-new glass cup, the noise drawing every eye and foiling him.
Pressed on it afterward, she had denied it flat-out. But Bai Jin knew the truth.
Some things didn’t need saying aloud.
It was enough to know it in her heart.
So to give Lu Huan a birthday gift she would truly appreciate, Bai Jin had waited until late one night before Lu Huan’s fourteenth birthday. She harmed herself deliberately, her blood staining the spotless floor.
That was why Father Lu and Mother Lu had sent her away—from Lu Huan’s sight. That was Bai Jin’s gift.
But it went far beyond that.
What lay between them was far more profound.
Her mind drifted deeper into the past when a familiar voice sounded from overhead, shattering the reverie.
“What happened?”
Bai Jin’s eyes jolted at the sound. She looked up sharply.
“Don’t you know to grab a broom for broken glass? Why pick it up by hand?”
Lu Huan had appeared at her side unnoticed. Her words cut sharp with reprimand, yet beneath the edge lay something other than pure criticism—a note of frustration that Bai Jin hadn’t taken better care of herself.
Gazing up, the light played across Lu Huan’s features. From those cool lips came words that carried a hint of concern.
Bai Jin’s lashes quivered faintly.
Her gaze had changed.
