Extra - Ji Lu Wushuang - Compromise

Ji Wushuang stood quietly outside the door.

Listening to the angry, ragged breaths coming from within.

Her face remained expressionless.

She was just thinking.

This porcelain doll was more fragile, and more troublesome, than she had imagined.

Dinnertime.

Lu Qianqian did not come downstairs.

She had locked herself in her room.

Uncle Yu knocked on her door several times, but received no response.

Lu Chenyuan had not yet returned due to an urgent meeting at the company.

The other children of the Lu family had their own careers and didn't always stay at home.

The employer's parents were also not home.

The atmosphere in the vast Lu family estate was oppressive.

Ji Wushuang went upstairs personally, carrying a tray.

On the tray was what she had asked the kitchen to prepare: boiled chicken breast, broccoli, and a plain boiled egg.

She arrived at Lu Qianqian's door.

Knocked.

"Go away!"

From inside came Lu Qianqian's muffled, tearful roar.

Ji Wushuang did not knock again.

She took out a hair-thin wire from her pocket.

Inserted it into the keyhole.

Gave it a gentle twist.

"Click."

The lock opened.

She pushed the door and entered.

Lu Qianqian was lying face down on the bed, her head buried under the quilt.

Hearing the door open, she sat up abruptly.

Seeing it was Ji Wushuang, her first reaction was shock.

Then, anger.

"Who told you to come in? How dare you pick my lock!"

"It's time for your dinner."

Ji Wushuang placed the tray on the bedside table.

"I don't want it! Take it away!"

"Miss Lu, you must eat," Ji Wushuang said.

"Your body is too weak."

"Starting tomorrow, we will begin high-intensity physical conditioning."

"If you don't replenish your energy, you won't last."

"I said, I'm not eating!"

Lu Qianqian grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at Ji Wushuang.

Ji Wushuang didn't even turn her head.

She merely raised a hand.

Effortlessly caught the pillow.

Then, placed it back on the bed.

"Miss Lu, I'll say it one more time."

Her voice was still calm.

But for some reason, Lu Qianqian felt the room's temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

"Eat. Your. Food."

Lu Qianqian looked at her.

Looked into those eyes, still as an ancient well yet seeming to conceal an abyss.

A strange chill rose from the depths of her heart.

It was an emotion she had never felt before, one called "fear."

She bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes.

But this time, she did not scream.

Silently, she picked up the fork.

Stiffly, she speared a piece of the utterly flavorless chicken breast.

Put it in her mouth.

It tasted so bad it made her want to vomit.

But she swallowed it anyway.

Ji Wushuang stood beside her, watching quietly.

Like the strictest overseer.

Watching her finish everything.

"Good."

Ji Wushuang collected the tray.

"Rest early."

"Tomorrow at six a.m., we meet in the garden."

"The training will be a five-kilometer cross-country run."

Having said that, she turned and left.

This time, Lu Qianqian did not throw anything.

She just sat there, dazed.

Tears streamed down her face silently.

She felt she wasn't about to go see the world.

Rather, she was being sent into a devil's training camp named "Ji Wushuang."

She took out her phone, wanting to call her eldest brother and complain.

But her finger hovered over the dial button, then stopped.

She remembered her brother's solemn, unyielding tone.

She knew complaining would be useless.

She wanted to call her mother again, to seek comfort.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

"Hello, Qianqian..."

Lou Mengling's voice carried a thick layer of exhaustion.

"Mom, I..."

As soon as Lu Qianqian spoke, she heard a voice from the other end of the line.

"Young Mistress, this painting was made for the young master... are you really going to destroy it..."

"Qianqian, Mom is a bit busy right now, I'll call you back later, okay?"

Lou Mengling hung up in a hurry.

Lu Qianqian held her phone, listening to the dial tone.

Her heart felt hollow.

She thought of her brothers again.

Forget it. Her brothers had either betrayed her or, under the eldest brother's tyranny, didn't dare to speak up.

She suddenly realized that in this family,

she seemed to have become all alone.

No one would indulge and spoil her unconditionally like they used to.

She felt wronged, and also a touch of an indescribable panic.

She absently swiped open her phone's photo album.

Subconsciously, she tapped on the most recent folder.

Inside weren't her selfies, nor photos of luxury goods.

They were photos she had taken at the Spring Breeze Community Canteen.

In the photos, there was Grandma Zhang, smiling so wide her face was full of wrinkles.

There was Uncle Li, who always liked to hold her hand and tell stories of the past.

And there was that little boy who, every time he saw her, would shyly hand her an orange.

Their lives were very modest.

But their smiles were very real.

Lu Qianqian looked at those photos.

She looked at the version of herself in the photos, wearing volunteer clothes, smiling with genuine happiness.

Her mood slowly settled.

She remembered the original intention behind her decision to take a leave of absence from school.

She didn't want to be a princess living in a castle, ignorant of the world anymore.

She wanted to go and see the real world.

Even if that world was rough, full of challenges.

Perhaps, Ji Wushuang's appearance was the first step of that challenge.

Lu Qianqian took a deep breath.

She dried her tears.

She walked to the wardrobe. She didn't look at the beautiful dresses.

Instead, from the very bottom, she pulled out a tracksuit she had only worn once.

She neatly folded it and placed it by the bed.

Tomorrow, she still had a tough five-kilometer battle to fight.

Late at night.

Lu Family Manor was completely silent.

Ji Wushuang was not asleep.

She stood by the window of her room like a ghost.

Her eyes vigilantly scanned every corner of the manor.

She didn't quite understand.

Why would such a porcelain doll give up her studies at Jingzhou University to go to various poor and dangerous places around the world.

Those places were not unfamiliar to Ji Wushuang.

She had been to plenty during her previous missions.

There, the cheapest thing was human life.

However, Ji Wushuang clearly possessed extremely high professional standards.

She didn't probe too deeply into the employer's motives.

She only had one thing to do.

Protect her. Ensure she stayed alive.

That was the contract.

It was also the last vestige of pride she had as a soldier.

Six in the morning.

The sky was still gray.

Lu Qianqian stood on the lawn in the garden, her legs feeling like lead.

Last night's chicken breast and nightmares had left her almost sleepless.

She felt like every cell in her body was screaming in protest.

Ji Wushuang appeared on time.

She was wearing a black, tight-fitting training suit.

Her face still held no expression.

"How did you rest last night?"

She asked Lu Qianqian.

However, these words that sounded like concern felt more like sarcasm to Lu Qianqian.