Chapter 18
Because of this phone call, Yu Le’s previously peaceful and harmonious life, enriched by the beauty of the mountains, was once again disrupted.
He had considered turning off his phone, but did he really want to make everyone unable to reach him just because of Cheng Xiwu?
That would be too narrow-minded and impractical.
Since he wasn’t turning off his phone, he had no choice but to wait for Cheng Xiwu’s call.
It felt like going to the hospital happily for a check-up, only to be diagnosed with a terminal illness, and then starting to count down the days until the end.
He wished Yan Jia hadn’t told him; at least he could have slept well for the past few days.
Three days before the engagement, there was no news from Cheng Xiwu. Two days before, still no news. Just when Yu Le hoped that Cheng Xiwu had canceled this absurd online event, the groom-to-be’s call came in the day before the engagement.
Yu Le: “……”
Why drag him through such a nerve-wracking process?
“Hello.” He adjusted his tone to sound as casual as possible, “Senior, congratulations on your upcoming wedding. Is there something you need?”
Cheng Xiwu laughed, “The date hasn’t arrived yet. Why don’t you just wish me a happy New Year?”
Yu Le: “Alright, happy New Year. It’s never wrong to offer early congratulations.”
“No need for early wishes.” Cheng Xiwu said with a smile, “Since you said you’re too busy to come in person, I’ve prepared an online blessing segment just for you, so you can still participate in the engagement ceremony without being there. How about that? Are you happy?”
Happy?
He was almost over the moon.
He thought it would be heart-wrenching, but hearing it directly from Cheng Xiwu was even more so. Yu Le could barely maintain his polite smile.
Fortunately, there were no mirrors in the corridor; otherwise, he would have been disgusted by his own reflection.
“Senior.” He asked, already knowing the answer, “The engagement ceremony is in three days, right?”
Cheng Xiwu: “Yes, but I haven’t told you—due to some family reasons on Xiaohui’s side, the date has been moved to tomorrow.”
“Ah, tomorrow.”
Yu Le looked at the pink hydrangea in the courtyard, his tone filled with regret that didn’t match his expression, “That’s really unfortunate. I’ll be busy all day tomorrow.”
Cheng Xiwu joked, “How busy could you be, so busy that you don’t even have time to connect for a call?”
Yu Le: “Yes, no time.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Yu Le was holding onto the edge of the railing, not speaking.
The cat, Shui Cai, was sleeping on a piece of blue stone, with Da Huang lying at its head, its back turned to Shui Cai, and its tail brushing Shui Cai’s nose. Despite this, Shui Cai slept soundly, undisturbed.
The inn, the courtyard, the flowers, the trees, the cat, the dog—everything seemed so beautiful, if only he hadn’t received this call.
He had already left Wucheng and traveled so far. Why did Cheng Xiwu keep trying to contact him and insist on his participation in the engagement ceremony?
He thought he was getting a bit annoyed with Cheng Xiwu.
“Le Le.”
Cheng Xiwu’s gentle voice came through the receiver, no longer playful, “Do you not want to attend my engagement ceremony?”
Yu Le: “Yes, I don’t want to.”
Cheng Xiwu was taken aback by his straightforwardness: “Can I ask why—”
“Look, you’re about to get married, and here I still haven’t even seen a glimpse of a girlfriend.” Yu Le took a deep breath and smiled again, “If I went and saw you, I’d be so envious it’d hurt.”
Cheng Xiwu seemed stunned, unable to get past the “you” in his throat.
“This isn’t an excuse; I really am busy. Senior, I still have work to finish. I won’t chat with you any longer. Let’s catch up after I’m done and back. I’m hanging up now.”
Yu Le ended the call abruptly.
He sat in the corridor for a while, then suddenly got up and went downstairs to the base of the tree, hugging Shui Cai and Da Huang tightly.
Animals are still adorable; they don’t use phones or make calls.
When dinner was ready and Lu Yao returned to the backyard, Yu Le was taking photos of Shui Cai, Da Huang, and the pink hydrangea.
Lu Yao stood by and watched for a while, “What are you doing?”
“Taking photos.”
Yu Le adjusted the angle of the flowerpot without turning his head, “I’ve been here for so many days. I should introduce the new friends I’ve made here.”
Zhao Xiaosong ran in and overheard this, thinking he should be introduced too, but heard Lu Yao ask, “Is that one in your hand a friend too?”
“Yes.” Yu Le snapped a photo: “I saved its life. It’s only fair to introduce it as a friend, don’t you think, Little Pink?”
Lu Yao: “Little Pink?”
Yu Le: “I just named it. It’s fine, right?”
Lu Yao looked at Yu Le’s back, his expression unreadable.
Zhao Xiaosong glanced at Yu Le, then at his friend Little Pink, swallowed nervously, and turned to Lu Yao, silently asking: Is Brother Le Le okay?
“Let’s eat first.” Lu Yao ignored Zhao Xiaosong, put down his hands, and turned to walk inside, “We can take photos after eating.”
Zhao Xiaosong quickly agreed, “Yes, Brother Le Le, let’s eat first. Aunt Zhang made her specialty sweet and sour pork and braised meat for lunch. It’s so delicious!”
He thought that maybe after eating, Brother Le Le would be more normal, but Yu Le barely ate, only a few grains of rice in his bowl, and barely touched the pork and meat.
He felt like he had just picked up his bowl, and Yu Le had already put down his chopsticks.
“Brother Le Le, aren’t you going to eat?” Zhao Xiaosong stared at him eagerly.
“I’m not hungry. You eat slowly.” Yu Le looked as usual but seemed lacking in energy. “I’m a bit sleepy. I’m going upstairs to sleep.”
“It’s only a little past six. It’s not dark yet. Why go to sleep so early?” Zhao Xiaosong watched Yu Le go upstairs, “Why so early? Why do you even have dark circles?”
Halfway through his grumbling, he suddenly had a realization and turned to Lu Yao, “Boss, do you think Brother Le Le might be heartbroken? People in dramas who are heartbroken act like this—strange and still trying to appear normal.”
Lu Yao, with his head lowered and eating, said, “Not sure.”
Zhao Xiaosong sighed deeply, “It must be. Sigh, if Brother Le Le, who is so handsome, can get heartbroken, then I’m in danger too. I need to save up for a dress for Miaomiao quickly. I don’t want to end up heartbroken!”
Under pressure, whether an adult or a child, can become a procrastinator in seconds. Zhao Xiaosong quickly finished his meal and went back to prepare for his ice jelly shop.
Lu Yao tidied up the table, looked up towards the second floor, then turned and took a small bottle of liquor from the cabinet. He poured half of it into another bottle and took the remaining half up the stairs.
When the door was knocked on, Yu Le opened it to find Lu Yao standing there with a delicate and beautiful ceramic liquor bottle.
“What’s this?” Yu Le took it and opened the lid to smell, “Is it liquor?”
Lu Yao nodded, “You said last time that it was good.”
Yu Le remembered now; no wonder the sweet scent was so familiar, “Why suddenly give me liquor?”
He shook the bottle, “And there’s so little, it’ll be gone after just two sips.”
Lu Yao leaned against the door frame, “Liquor helps with sleep, but this one has a strong aftereffect, so you shouldn’t drink too much.” Also, he just needed Yu Le to know that he had this.
“Alright then.” Yu Le closed the bottle; he really needed something to help him sleep, “Thanks, Boss Lu.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Despite the two sips of liquor, Yu Le, who had originally thought he would definitely have a sleepless night, ended up sleeping soundly until the next day. He woke up unwillingly, lying on his pillow and looking at the copper bell outside the window.
Yu Le had many mutual friends with Cheng Xiwu on WeChat, especially among his studio staff, many of whom were Cheng Xiwu’s juniors. So, his WeChat feed was flooded with photos from the engagement ceremony.
Feeling frustrated, he had just turned off his phone and was about to shove it under his pillow when Yan Jia called, kindly reminding him to avoid WeChat and Moments today.
It was too late; he had already seen it all.
Yu Le got up and found many things to do: eating, feeding Shui Cai, playing with Da Huang, picking locust flowers, watering Little Pink. When he couldn’t find anything else to do, he even asked Lu Yao for a set of his sister’s college entrance exam practice papers to work on.
What he didn’t realize was that Lu Yao had barely let him out of his sight all day.
Wen Yuan had called Lu Yao in the middle of the day, inviting him to help clear the pothos vines in the courtyard that were threatening to overrun the place.
At that time, Lu Yao was leaning against the counter, watching Yu Le focus on his practice papers from a short distance, “Can’t come, let’s reschedule.”
Wen Yuan: “Why? Is the inn very busy today?”
Lu Yao: “I’m busy.”
Wen Yuan: “Busy with what? Do you need me to come help?”
“No need.” Lu Yao adjusted his abacus, “Someone’s in a bad mood, I need to stay with him.”
Yu Le had hoped to get through this torturous day smoothly, but come evening, he was still unsuccessful.
Cheng Xiwu had been lively on his Moments all day, and after all the excitement ended, he sent Yu Le a message:
【Le Le, are you really so heartless, that you can’t even send a text of concern?】
Yu Le sat in his room holding his phone for a long time, then cleared all chat records with Cheng Xiwu, opened the door, went downstairs, and found Lu Yao cleaning up fallen leaves in the courtyard.
“Boss Lu, I’m hungry. I want to eat the fried rice you made. Is that okay?”
He stood at the base of the tree, the lantern light dancing in his eyes, misty and looking like a little dog about to be thrown away.
Lu Yao withdrew his gaze from Yu Le’s face, asked no more questions, put down the broom, and went to the kitchen.
Yu Le felt it was a pity not to have had the fried rice last time, and after several days, he finally got to taste it. Lu Yao’s cooking was even better than he had expected.
But the problem was with him. Even such delicious fried rice couldn’t stimulate his appetite.
“I want to drink a little more,” he looked up at Lu Yao, gesturing, “The very fragrant liquor from yesterday, do you have more?”
Lu Yao seemed to have anticipated this. He soon brought out not just a little, but a whole small jar of liquor.
Yu Le was a bit surprised, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll get drunk?”
Lu Yao poured a glass and placed it in front of him, “Isn’t that what you want?”
Yu Le pressed his lips together and didn’t speak.
Lu Yao poured himself a glass too, “Drink up, I’ll keep you company.”
Yu Le started by eating, but soon turned to drinking, and before long, he was drunk.
“Hey, Lu Yao,” he called, no longer addressing him as Boss Lu when his mind was cloudy, just calling his full name: “Did you know?”
Lu Yao asked, “Know what?”
“Did you know I’m heartbroken?”
Yu Le paused, then laughed self-deprecatingly, “No, I shouldn’t even have the face to talk about heartbreak. I haven’t even dated anyone. It’s more like an unrequited crush.”
Lu Yao leaned back in his chair, focusing his gaze on Yu Le. “Why?”
“Because he doesn’t like me. He likes girls,” Yu Le said gloomily. “Do you know what day it is today? His engagement day. He’s getting married.”
Lu Yao closed his eyes briefly, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
Though not entirely ethical, Yu Le’s words saved him from a night of gloom.
Yu Le finished speaking, keeping his head down in silence for a while. Then he downed the drink in his glass, looked at Lu Yao, but his eyes had no focus.
“Hey, if he really doesn’t like guys, doesn’t like me, why does he keep being so kind to me, crossing boundaries, making me misunderstand time and time again?”
“From the very beginning, everyone could see I had a crush on him. It was so obvious, but he couldn’t see it, didn’t know. Is he really that oblivious?”
“Anyway, if he doesn’t like me, that’s fine. I have a good mindset and strong acceptance. I’m not the type to cling and force things. But why does he insist on having me at the ceremony, sending me reminders again and again? Can’t I just not see it, not participate?”
Lu Yao quietly met his gaze, listening without saying anything, but his slow tapping on the table with his fingertips showed a hint of concealed annoyance.
“He told me a long time ago that he likes girls with long hair. I knew we had no future from then, so I never thought about confessing. I never hoped we’d be together.”
“Actually, over time, I came to accept that being friends is not so bad. At least we can meet often, have meals together. Now that he’s getting married, I’m uncomfortable but still sincerely wish him well.”
“But that’s another matter. I just don’t want to be there, sitting in the audience, looking foolish and pitiful, pretending to be happy when I’m not. It feels so awkward and tiring. I don’t want that.”
“Lu Yao.” Yu Le lowered his eyes, complaining softly. “Cheng Xiwu is really so stupid. I wish I didn’t like him.”
Lu Yao’s wrist moved suddenly, flipping the empty cup upside down on the table. “Then just stop liking him.”
The cup clanked on the table, and Yu Le’s gaze dropped to the table, only to be forced to lift his face by a hand gripping his chin.
From his eyebrows to the tip of his nose, then to his lips, Lu Yao’s gaze swept over Yu Le’s face inch by inch, like a lone wolf patrolling its territory after driving out all intruders.
“Yu Le, you are very attractive.”
“Pure, kind, with a good personality, talented, and likable.”
“You have qualities that most people don’t have. Your brilliance is enough to light up everything around you. There’s no need to be troubled by insignificant little fireflies.”
He traced his fingertip over Yu Le’s lower lip, gently pressing down on the corner of his mouth, his dark pupils as deep as the starry sea, “You are precious and deserve the best.”
Yu Le stared blankly at those eyes.
For a long time, so long that Da Huang’s fluffy tail, hidden under the table, brushed against him, Yu Le slowly came back to his senses, and then he curved his mouth, smiling at Lu Yao.
Compliments, no matter when they appear, always lift one’s spirits.
“Lu Yao, you’re attractive too.”
He tilted his head, resting his face in Lu Yao’s large palm, his eyes focused now, looking at Lu Yao, “You’re even more attractive than Cheng Xiwu.”
Lu Yao nuzzled his face, his palm heavy and warm, transmitting a weighty feeling through his blood.
Someone had settled in there, sitting in the softest spot, cuddling with him.
Yu Le’s voice was a bit muffled, sticky, “Lu Yao, I want to confess something to you.”
Lu Yao’s mood was better than before, “Alright, go ahead.”
Yu Le: “Actually, I lied. When I said I had never been on a blind date, that was a lie.”
Lu Yao raised an eyebrow, “So you have been on a blind date?”
“No.” Yu Le squinted, “Almost. My family wanted to introduce me to the grandson of my grandfather’s old comrade.”
“But I had just learned about Cheng Xiwu’s engagement at that time and was feeling down, so I had no mood for a blind date. I just found an excuse to pack up and run away.”
As he spoke, he suddenly lifted his head and rested his chin in Lu Yao’s palm, “And there’s another reason.”
Lu Yao felt like he was holding a clingy cat; the sensation was addictive, “What is it?”
Yu Le: “My blind date was a retired special forces soldier.”
Lu Yao’s eyes lifted, and his thoughts stirred slightly.
Yu Le continued, “I’m actually a bit afraid of soldiers, especially special forces. They must be in excellent physical shape. If we had ended up together, I’d be afraid I’d be overwhelmed.”
He had avoided the blind date with this excuse.
Grandson of a grandfather’s old comrade.
Retired special forces soldier.
Piecing it together, Lu Yao became acutely aware of something, his doubts increasing.
But Yu Le didn’t see this; he was so tired that he couldn’t even open his eyes properly, mumbling with his eyes closed.
“Just you alone are enough for me…”
