Because Green Leaf had her back to the door, and Luo Xiaotang opened it so quietly, she didn’t notice.

Time was running short, and Luo Xiaolu hadn’t had time to properly arrange her little sister. If Green Leaf saw their shut-in girl looking this wild and unruly, explaining it would be difficult.

Luo Xiaolu could only mouth the words to Luo Xiaotang as carefully as possible.

“Keep—quiet—”

Luo Xiaolu frantically signaled at her sister with her eyes. To her surprise, the girl had gone completely blank and was staring straight at Luo Xiaolu.

There was a reason for Luo Xiaotang’s dazed expression.

*This is my sister??*

*Oh my god! How can my sister be this beautiful?!*

In Luo Xiaotang’s childhood memories, Luo Xiaolu had always been absurdly strong.

She could carry a horse on one arm, pop bottle caps with her butt, and chase down a whole group of people by herself…

In short, she had absolutely nothing to do with beauty!

Yet the sister standing before her was gentle and dignified. Every gesture and word revealed elegance. Her beautiful eyes seemed to possess a magic that drew people in completely!

“As for the copyright fee, our editorial department hopes to respect Teacher Zhou Shuren’s wishes as much as possible…”

Green Leaf continued explaining earnestly to Luo Xiaolu. She noticed that Luo Xiaolu kept looking at her, and felt a little secretly pleased.

She quickly looked away, too shy to meet her gaze. She didn’t notice the slightest thing happening behind her.

Seeing that Luo Xiaotang still hadn’t moved, Luo Xiaolu immediately flared her nostrils, bared her teeth, and glared at her sister.

She made what she considered an extremely fierce expression.

*…That ridiculously stupid vibe is definitely my sister!*

Luo Xiaotang slipped out barefoot and tiptoed toward the bathroom.

“Teacher Zhou Shuren?”

Green Leaf suddenly called out.

“Hmm?!”

“Are you listening?” Green Leaf asked doubtfully.

“Ah, sorry. My mind wandered just now.”

“It’s fine. I’ll say it again.”

*Is this what a true artist is like? Even while chatting with someone, they have a whole inner world going on!*

*She must’ve been imagining some amazing scene just now!*

The thought filled Green Leaf with deep respect.

“Our editorial department’s current budget is five hundred thousand. What do you think…”

“How many?”

“Five hundred thousand.”

“Five hundred what?”

“Five hundred thousand.”

“Fifty hundred thousand?”

“Five hundred thousand.”

Luo Xiaolu froze completely.

*I’ve never seen this much money in my entire life, aaah!!!*

Her rent, water, and electricity came to fifteen hundred a month. Every day, she ate discounted supermarket groceries—the kind that had been sitting frozen in the fridge for nearly a week.

She bought snacks for Xiaotang regularly, once a month. Each time, it cost around five hundred yuan.

Most of them were off-brand, too. They couldn’t even afford Lay’s or Cornetto.

*Do you know how I’ve survived all these years??*

*Do you?!*

*I’ve finally made it.*

At that thought, a tear welled up in the corner of Luo Xiaolu’s eye and rolled down her cheek.

Yet she wore a relieved smile.

*A beauty in tears!*

Green Leaf panicked at once. She had no heart to appreciate the scene.

“Teacher Zhou Shuren, what’s wrong? Please don’t cry!”

Luo Xiaolu said nothing. She only smiled and waved her hand.

*Hmph. Capitalists like you will never understand us ordinary people—*

“Please, don’t be like this… I understand now! This amount of money must be unworthy of your work!”

Luo Xiaolu: “??????”

Green Leaf suddenly had an epiphany and began blaming herself.

Who was Teacher Zhou Shuren?

The person who had written *Your Lie in April*.

An innocent, sheltered maiden. The heiress of a hidden family. The beloved pet of the Asura Dragon King!

For such a great artist, the editorial department had actually insulted her work with a mere five hundred thousand!

“Teacher Zhou Shuren, please don’t worry! I’ll negotiate with the higher-ups when I get back. I absolutely won’t let your work suffer such humiliation!”

Green Leaf rose furiously to her feet and slammed her palm onto the table.

That slam was followed by a sudden cry from behind her.

“Ow!”

Green Leaf turned around and saw a barefoot little girl sprawled in front of the door.

Luo Xiaolu was dumbfounded, too.

The girl had actually been scared into falling flat on her face by that single slap!

Of course, it might also have something to do with Luo Xiaolu mopping the floor specially before Green Leaf arrived.

Luo Xiaolu hurriedly stood up and went over to help her sister.

“Why are you being so careless?” Luo Xiaolu sighed. “Where did you fall?”

“Xiaotang’s fine! Xiaotang isn’t as useless as Big Sis!”

Luo Xiaotang said this while stubbornly holding herself up, but her hand kept rubbing her backside.

She was probably referring to the time Luo Xiaolu had encountered a thug and used falling down as an excuse.

Luo Xiaolu smiled helplessly.

“So this is Teacher Zhou Shuren’s little sister?” Green Leaf approached and asked in confusion.

*Oh no.*

*She still saw her!*

At that moment, Luo Xiaotang’s hair hung loose around her shoulders. She was barefoot, and an oversized pink-and-white T-shirt covered her down to the knees.

If one smelled carefully, there was even a hint of vanilla ice cream about her.

No matter how one looked at her, she didn’t resemble the little sister of an artistic girl from a scholarly family.

Luo Xiaolu could only nod.

“Hi there! I’m your sister’s editor. You can call me Big Sis Green Leaf!” Green Leaf said with a sweet smile, like the first breeze of spring after winter.

Luo Xiaolu stared at Green Leaf in surprise, while Green Leaf extended a hand toward Luo Xiaotang.

*So I was worrying for nothing.*

*Teacher Green Leaf is seriously the best!!*

Unfortunately, Luo Xiaotang never even looked at Green Leaf.

The moment Green Leaf reached out, she hurriedly buried her head in Luo Xiaolu’s arms and hugged her tightly.

Luo Xiaolu could only smile bitterly.

This was another reason she hadn’t wanted Green Leaf to see Luo Xiaotang.

She had severe social anxiety.

Like a fragile, bashful mimosa, she curled in on herself at the slightest touch from a stranger. She protected herself and feared letting anyone come near.

Green Leaf’s face visibly flashed with disappointment.

“I’m sorry, Teacher Green Leaf. She has severe social anxiety. She’s always been like this.”

Luo Xiaolu gently stroked Luo Xiaotang in her arms. She smiled fondly and neatly smoothed the girl’s disheveled hair.

“I see…”

Green Leaf looked somewhat saddened. She wanted to say something comforting, but the words wouldn’t come.

After all, this was someone else’s family matter. It wasn’t her place to say much.

Green Leaf stood up and said, “Then, Teacher Zhou Shuren, I’ll be going back first. As for the copyright fee, I’ll report it to the editorial department. I’ll make sure your work receives the value it deserves!”

“Then I’ll leave it to you!” Luo Xiaolu said, blinking her bright, limpid eyes.

Luo Xiaolu’s happy life was about to begin!

“Oh, right.”

Green Leaf had just reached the door when Luo Xiaolu suddenly called out to her.

“Don’t call me Teacher Zhou Shuren anymore. From now on, just call me Xiaolu!” Luo Xiaolu said.

“Okay, Teacher Zhou Shuren!” Green Leaf replied happily.