Lu Jinghao’s voice sounded unusually kind, as if these words were coming from the heart. “Dong Qin, why are you so formal? I’ve said I consider you my own daughter; you should call me dad! I’ve always wanted a daughter as lovely as you.” He chuckled to himself, and Dong Qin laughed along. Indeed, a businessman. She thought to herself, they could make even the most insincere lies sound sincere, as if any suspicion was your fault, any pettiness was your doing, and everything was just your overthinking.
Lu Jinghao didn’t seem to have any other matters, just asked if she wanted any gifts. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he said, “Oh, I have some urgent matters for Tuo. Is he not at home right now? … Ah, no matter, Dong Qin, could you check the fax machine? I’ll send over a fax for you to deliver to Tuo, okay?”
Using a fax to communicate between father and son? Dong Qin suddenly remembered hearing from some servants that Lu Tuo had been handling some of Lu Jinghao’s accounts since he was thirteen, essentially acting as a capable young master. She agreed, and Lu Jinghao continued with more kind words before hanging up. Was this an attempt to butter her up? Dong Qin found it amusing, wondering what secret documents they needed to fax and entrust to an outsider like her, perhaps fearing she might expose something, so they threw in some nice words.
The fax machine soon rang, and Dong Qin glanced at it casually. It was a long sheet of paper, completely blank except for a printed lily flower at the bottom right corner. She thought there might be a problem with the machine and waited for a while, but nothing else came through. What was this? Even if he sent over details of some drug deal, she wouldn’t care, but a completely blank fax? Was the lily some kind of secret code? She didn’t understand, but it was none of her business.
