Lifelong Pact

The next day, Lin Boyang, the butler of the Lu family, brought Xia Yuwei straight from the principal’s office to the hospital.

“Are you alright? I came to see you.” Xia Yuwei spoke, her eyelashes thick and long, naturally curled, and her phoenix eyes bent slightly with her smile, radiating warmth and approachability.

Lu Yichen stared at her smiling face, momentarily dazed, then lifted his chin and replied in a disdainful tone, “Whether I’m alright or not, what does that have to do with you?”

Watching the young master’s finicky demeanor, Lin Boyang felt the familiar stirrings of a headache. Seizing the moment when no one was paying attention, he quietly slipped out.

Seeing how energetic he appeared, Xia Yuwei couldn’t help but step closer, her gaze running curiously up and down as if searching for a reason why he needed to stay in the hospital. After a thorough inspection yielded nothing, she moved even closer, reached out her small hand, and pressed it to his forehead, finally concluding, “You seem perfectly fine. That puts my mind at ease…” Her tone was that of a little adult.

“Nonsense!” Lu Yichen’s cheeks suddenly grew warm as he glared at her. She was just a child herself, but her small, cool hand pressed to his brow, her figure leaning over, enveloped him in an oddly comforting warmth. Despite his sharp retort, he didn’t push her away.

Startled by his outburst, Xia Yuwei quickly withdrew her hand. She probed gently, “But you don’t have a fever at all. You look perfectly healthy…”

“I’m not alright! I’m not! Not one bit! I had to spend my birthday with no one to celebrate with me, no presents, no cake, and it’s all because of you, you old woman! You have to make it up to me!” Lu Yichen suddenly sat up in anger. The loss of that cooling, reassuring touch from his forehead left him irritable again.

“Oh…” This poor child, she thought, spending his birthday alone, with nothing but a tiny cake—and even that had been accidentally knocked into the water by her, leaving him to pass his birthday in the hospital. No wonder he was so upset with her.

So she said gently, “Alright, alright, I’ll stay with you. That way, you’ll feel better.” To cheer him up, she put on her brightest smile, her eyes curving like crescent moons, her voice soft and sweet as spun sugar, wrapping around him.

Lu Yichen really did quiet down, glaring at the good-natured Xia Yuwei. She must be some kind of little enchantress! Otherwise, why did he suddenly not feel so upset anymore?

“What?” Xia Yuwei couldn’t help but laugh out loud. This child was truly mischievous!

“What are you laughing at?!” Lu Yichen’s expression darkened, clearly displeased with her lack of seriousness.

To show his protest, he hopped off the bed and searched everywhere for paper and pen. Then, lying on the bed, he carefully spread out the paper, intending to write.

He hesitated for a long time over the blank sheet, finally looking up. “Hey, old woman, what’s your name?”

Xia Yuwei could no longer hold back and burst into giggles. This child was too funny! He didn’t even know her name, yet already claimed her as his person!

“Obasan, stop laughing! You look terrible when you laugh!” Lu Yichen shouted, trying to keep a stern face, but a suspicious flush crept up his cheeks.

“Alright, I’ll tell you my name…” Xia Yuwei’s face bloomed with a radiant smile as she crouched beside him, picked up the paper and pen, and carefully wrote out her name: “Xia Yuwei.” She turned her head to show him.

Lu Yichen peeked at the characters she wrote. Xia Yuwei. It looked beautiful. So that’s how you pronounced “Wei.”

“Good! Write here, according to what I say!” he demanded gruffly, pressing his hand onto the paper.

Xia Yuwei smiled faintly, “Go ahead.” She didn’t mind at all.

“Xia Yuwei promises to belong to Lu Yichen for her whole life. She will obey him and do what he asks.” Lu Yichen did his best to phrase his words so they wouldn’t sound childish.

“What?!” Xia Yuwei was stunned, staring at him without moving her pen.

“What do you mean ‘what’?! Write it down!” Lu Yichen waved his hand impatiently. “If you don’t, I’ll get angry!”

Looking at his puffed-up, indignant face, Xia Yuwei thought it was just a child’s game and saw no harm in making him happy. So, ducking her head in surrender, she said, “Alright, alright…” Before writing, she looked up, “Don’t be mad! If you keep frowning, you’ll turn into a little old man!” As she spoke, her eyes curved into a smile again. The thought of Lu Yichen hobbling about like a tiny old man amused her greatly.

“Enough nonsense, hurry up!” Lu Yichen said, but he, too, found her words funny. He wanted to laugh but felt embarrassed, so he urged her to write instead.

“Xia Yuwei promises… for a lifetime… to belong to… Lu Yichen… to obey him… and do what… he asks of me…” Xia Yuwei repeated his words, carefully writing them down.

And so, the two of them signed a lifelong contract…