Chapter 38.1
As night fell, Lu Yao was alone in the courtyard, cleaning up.
Footsteps approached from the entrance and reached the small courtyard. He stood by the well, soaking soap pods, and heard the voice without turning his head. “The key is on the table.”
Cheng Xiwu picked up the key he had left here earlier and turned back to the courtyard but didn’t leave immediately.
Since Lu Yao couldn’t hear him walking away, he looked up. “Is there something else?”
Cheng Xiwu stood only two steps away from him. “Are you feeling very proud?”
Lu Yao poured the water from the bucket into a basin. “What is there for me to be proud of?”
Cheng Xiwu: “Le Le trusts you so much now. The bond he and I had over years abroad, and now he seems closer to you than to me.”
Lu Yao: “So what?”
Cheng Xiwu: “Why ask when you already know? We’re both men. Do you dare say you don’t like him?”
Lu Yao: “Yes, I like him.”
Cheng Xiwu: “You—”
“But may I ask, Mr. Cheng, what position are you questioning me from?”
Lu Yao interrupted him with a calm question. “Is it purely from the perspective of a senior Le Le, or is it from the perspective of someone who hides his homosexuality while being engaged to someone else, and clings desperately to his true love?”
“What exactly do you want? Do you want a perfect family and a devoted Le Le who still pines for you, planning to win him over after the wedding and enjoy a complete relationship? Are you underestimating him too much or overestimating yourself?”
Cheng Xiwu was left speechless, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, knuckles turning white.
“Mr. Cheng, the phrase ‘we’re all men’ is not a universal formula. Just as I can’t understand your behavior, after all, not everything is just about men and women. Conservatively speaking, there are at least distinctions between humans and animals.”
After ensuring that each soap pod was soaked, Lu Yao picked up a dry towel from the stone and wiped his hands before standing up. “I don’t feel proud because you have never been a threat to me from the beginning. As for your engagement with Miss Su, I can tell you clearly, I’ll tolerate it only until you leave here.”
Cheng Xiwu stared at him. “What do you mean?”
Lu Yao: “It means if you haven’t come clean and canceled the engagement with Miss Su before you leave, then I will take care of it for you.”
“The most important prerequisite for being a man is, first and foremost, to be a person.”
He gave Cheng Xiwu a cold glance before turning and walking towards the eaves. “Mr. Cheng, it’s late. Please leave, and I won’t see you off.”
…
At the staircase of the small courtyard.
Wang Wenyan leaned against the wall, watching Cheng Xiwu walk away briskly. She said to Guan Zheng, who had come downstairs to fetch water but got stuck halfway by the “show”, “Did you hear that?”
Guan Zheng: “Hear what?”
“What else could it be?” Wang Wenyan smiled, “Of course, it’s Boss Lu saying he likes your secret crush.”
Guan Zheng frowned, “What are you trying to say?”
Wang Wenyan: “How about we each grab one? What do you think?”
“Are you sick???!!!”
Guan Zheng whispered angrily, “I never intended to confess to him. If you want to stir up trouble, don’t drag me into it. I don’t have time to play around!”
He glared at her fiercely before turning and heading back upstairs.
“Tsk, can’t even handle a little joke, yet trying to play the secret crush game?”
Wang Wenyan scoffed, flicked a strand of hair from her ear, and leisurely went upstairs as well.
The locust flower season seemed to be ending soon. The wind tonight was truly pleasant.
—
“Hey, Old Lu, did you send those college entrance exam papers back to your sister?”
Yu Le sat cross-legged on a bluestone, coloring in a sketchbook with crayons while chatting with Lu Yao, who was sorting and washing beans.
In the morning, he had casually mentioned wanting to eat tofu pudding, and by noon, Lu Yao had brought back a half-bucket of soybeans from somewhere. It was clear that being versatile was not just talk.
Lu Yao: “I sent them a long time ago. Why?”
Yu Le: “Just curious, did you finish all of them?”
Lu Yao: “Yes.”
Yu Le: “Are you sure about the accuracy?”
Lu Yao: “Pretty much. It’s just a few sets of past papers; getting a full score isn’t difficult.”
Such a calm tone, such a confident attitude.
Yu Le became interested. “Were you particularly good at studying in high school, the kind of top student who could get full marks just by listening to the lectures?”
Lu Yao: “My essays usually didn’t get full marks.”
Yu Le: “What about other subjects?”
Lu Yao: “Yes.”
“You’re amazing, Old Lu.”
Yu Le, who wasn’t good at science and admired top students since childhood, said, “Can I see your graduation photo? I can’t imagine you back then, wearing a school uniform and glasses, looking like a well-behaved student.”
I’m so curious.
“None.” Lu Yao said.
Yu Le felt a bit disappointed.
Lu Yao leisurely added, “I didn’t wear glasses, and I wasn’t a well-behaved student.”
Yu Le was stunned, “Huh?”
Lu Yao: “I skipped classes, got into fights, slept during exams and turned in blank papers, wrote self-criticisms under the national flag. I did all of that.”
“…” Yu Le paused, “You were quite rebellious then. How did you still manage to do so well?”
Lu Yao: “The material was too simple.”
Yu Le: “…”
Lu Yao chuckled at his expression, swept away the bad beans, and poured the rest into the water to soak. “I have graduation photos, but not here. I’ll show you later.”
“Yu Le! Yu Le!!”
Yu Le was about to ask something else when someone came running downstairs, shouting his name.
He didn’t even recognize who it was at first, but once the person appeared at the staircase, he remembered it was Zhou Fei, whom he hadn’t heard from for a while.
The incident with the heavy rain had passed for quite some time. Although Yu Le had calmed down, he still had little goodwill towards him, “What’s up?”
Guan Zheng followed closely behind, his face full of anger, “Zhou Fei, why are you dragging others into our business?!”
Zhou Fei: “I love to stir things up. Aren’t you so capable? Don’t you think that without you, everyone would get zeroes on their projects? Since you’re so capable, what’s wrong with me making a few facts public? If you’re so brave, don’t follow me!”
Guan Zheng: “Did I say something wrong?! You’re useless and rely on others for everything. If all the other groups didn’t find you disgusting and reject you, would the mentor have forced you into our group?”
Zhou Fei: “Try saying another word! Do you believe I’ll— Fuck, are you treating me like a pushover?!”
Guan Zheng, with his violent temper, charged at Zhou Fei. History repeated itself as the two quickly engaged in a scuffle.
Yu Le sighed and looked at Lu Yao. “You’ll have to handle this again.”
Lu Yao also felt a headache. He went over and forcibly separated the two. “What’s this about? Did I ever say I’d let you guys fight it out?”
Guan Zheng was panting, silent.
Zhou Fei clenched his teeth and suddenly turned his head, shouting loudly, “Yu Le! You don’t know, but Guan Zheng—”
Lu Yao’s quick reflexes seized Zhou Fei’s neck, preventing him from finishing the last two words.
Yu Le was confused. “What?”
Guan Zheng’s face flushed bright red, as if he was enraged to the extreme. His chest heaved violently, and his hand, which was gripping Lu Yao’s, trembled slightly.
Lu Yao released Guan Zheng and gave him an ambiguous glance before coldly fixing his gaze on Zhou Fei. “Did you forget what I said? Is it all gone from your mind?”
To Guan Zheng, that glance felt like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, chilling him from his feet to the top of his head.
It turned out Lu Yao had known everything all along…
Zhou Fei, now caught by the collar, realized his reckless behavior and was suddenly filled with dread. He nodded repeatedly.
Lu Yao withdrew his hand. “I’ll refund the entire rent. Pack up and move out within three days.”
Zhou Fei’s eyes widened in shock. “I—”
Lu Yao cut him off. “Say one more word, and you’ll be out tomorrow.”
Zhou Fei’s breath came in short gasps. Seeing Guan Zheng remain silent, his anger flared up even more. He decided to go all out and took two steps back. “Fine! If I have to leave, then Guan Zheng, don’t think you’ll get off easy. You’re such a…”
