"Wow! Brother Xiao, can we dance together?"
"Can we take a photo?"
Facing the pathetic requests from these young girls, Lin Xiao could only nod helplessly, "Photos are fine, but dancing, forget it... this isn't really dancing."
Years had passed, and he had lost interest in such places. Perhaps, these years had changed his perspective. Compared to places like this, he found the Sleeping Arhat Fist performed by those people while drinking in the Northern Border more interesting.
Then he was pulled aside by these girls for photos.
Lin Xiao stood there like a mere prop for photos. When these girls took pictures, they would retake a single pose several times. If there was even the slightest imperfection, they would be very dissatisfied and demand to start over.
Lin Xiao felt utterly drained.
Meanwhile.
Zhuge Lan and Dongfang Jingjing moved through the bar as if no one else was there, chatting and talking about everything.
Zhuge Lan seemed to have opened a floodgate. For so many years, he hadn't had a confidant to talk to, but now it was different.
Earlier, Lin Xiao had made him feel like he was also a person, an ordinary person, capable of living a normal life, rather than a mere tool for becoming the vessel of Mr. Zhuge.
Now, Dongfang Jingjing proactively engaged him in conversation. She listened quietly as he spoke, occasionally responding, giving him a sense of having an audience.
This was something he had never experienced before.
"...For years, I've been living with the family, and most of the time, it's been a monotonous routine. Only a few days a year I would travel with Mr. [Zhuge], and it wasn't until I came here that I finally had my own independent memories," Zhuge Lan said emotionally, setting down his wine glass.
"Me too. From a young age, I grew up under the strict guidance of my parents. They always told me I was a member of the Dongfang family, that I had to do this, and that I had to do that. If I couldn't meet their expectations, they would put immense pressure on me. I tried very hard, but I wasn't the best. It wasn't until my great-grandfather intervened that I felt a sense of freedom and began to do things I never dared to imagine before."
Dongfang Jingjing hailed from the Dongfang family.
From childhood, the Dongfang family was quite different from the Gu family. The Gu family's descendants didn't have as stringent rules as the Dongfang family. This explained the behavior of Gu Yunyun's brother. Moreover, the Gu family was a prominent family that had risen to prominence in recent decades, whereas the Dongfang family had been a great clan guarding the East of the Dragon Country since ancient times.
The two families were quite dissimilar.
Therefore, from birth, Dongfang Jingjing, as a child of the Dongfang family, received the same treatment and faced the same pressure, regardless of gender.
This pressure was unimaginable to outsiders.
So when Zhuge Lan spoke of his past experiences, Dongfang Jingjing felt a strong sense of familiarity and empathy.
"After I came of age, if it weren't for my great-grandfather, I might still be living under that boundless pressure, constantly being told what to do and what not to do. From childhood... my parents never even praised me once. No matter how well I performed, in their eyes, it was expected. But if I made any mistakes, it was inexcusable and I would be punished."