Chapter 38.2
“Yes, I like Yu Le, so what!”
Guan Zheng stared with fierce eyes, “I’m saying it myself—don’t think you can threaten me just because you’ve grasped some dirt on me!”
Yu Le, who had been a mere observer, was taken aback by the sparks flying so close to him. He was stunned.
What’s going on?
No way!
Guan Zheng… likes him…???
So strange.
So absurd…
Yu Le, disoriented and lost in the chaos, was suddenly confronted by Guan Zheng who straightened his neck and declared, “I admit I have feelings for you, but I never intended to tell you or be with you!”
“I also know you won’t like me. Don’t feel pressured. Anyway, we’re from different places. Once we leave here, we probably won’t see each other again.”
“Just take it as a joke. Forget about it after hearing it, or just pretend you don’t know anything… That’s it!”
Having expended all his courage with those few sentences, Guan Zheng, who had just emerged from a steam room, clenched his teeth and turned to head upstairs without looking back.
Zhou Fei, having lost everything, dared not confront Lu Yao and could only leave dejectedly to find another place to stay.
The sudden uproar had abruptly ended, leaving just the original two people behind.
Yu Le shifted his feet slightly, and Lu Yao asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yu Le mumbled, “My legs are a bit stiff.”
Lu Yao looked at him.
Yu Le added, “…and a bit awkward.”
Lu Yao gave a faint smile that he quickly suppressed, saying, “He already said to just pretend you don’t know anything.”
Yu Le was troubled. “He said that, but I’m not forgetful.”
How does one pretend not to know something that both parties are aware of? Yu Le had yet to master this skill, and just thinking about seeing Guan Zheng at the inn in the future made him uncomfortable.
“It’s fine.” Lu Yao comforted him with a pat on the head and suddenly asked, “Do you want to see how to grind beans?”
Yu Le looked up, intrigued. “Machine grind?”
Lu Yao replied, “Stone grind.”
Yu Le’s eyes lit up. He had never seen a stone mill in his life. “Yes, I want to see. Where is it?”
The momentary distress was instantly forgotten as Yu Le’s curiosity took over.
The stone mill was in Uncle An’s wine cellar backyard. It was the oldest, most traditional kind, with two circular stone plates joined together, a small hole in the middle, and a groove around the edge.
When grinding, you turn the handle on the top plate while pouring in soaked soybeans, and the ground paste would flow through the gap into the groove, then be collected in a container placed at the groove’s outlet.
Yu Le took special photos of the process and sent them to Yan Jia later that night, sharing the experience.
But Yan Jia replied: [I know this, it’s a stone mill. My grandmother’s house had one. Didn’t you ever see one?]
Yu Le: [……]
Yu Le: [/photos/photos/photos/photos]
Yu Le: [Surely you haven’t seen these, right?]
He sent Yan Jia all the design drafts he had been working on recently.
Yan Jia: [Wow! These are so beautiful!]
Yu Le: [You always say that everything is beautiful.]
Yan Jia: [Hahaha, I can’t help it, your work really is beautiful. Especially this time, it’s particularly stunning.]
Yan Jia: [It’s unique, giving a feeling of returning to simplicity. It’s elegant and refreshing, and it’s very comforting to look at.]
Yan Jia: [ Especially this one, perfect. /photos]
The draft Yan Jia referred to was the one Yu Le had drawn for Lu Yao when he woke up from his dream that day.
Right, he realized he had forgotten to ask Lu Yao about the dimensions.
His fingers absentmindedly traced the outline of the draft. What had distracted him that day? He couldn’t quite remember.
Maybe he should ask now?
Lu Yao had not yet gone upstairs. At this hour, he would likely be tidying up the mess from the day below.
What was he doing now?
Was he tallying the accounts behind the counter or cleaning up the fallen flowers in the courtyard?
Upon returning to reality, Yu Le was startled to realize that his mind was completely occupied with thoughts of Lu Yao.
— When you’re not around, I can’t help but wonder what you’re doing, always wanting to see you.
Yu Le’s heart raced, and he felt he could refute Lu Yao’s last resolute words at the well yesterday.
Yan Jia sent a few more messages, and Yu Le picked the most recent one to reply: [Sorry, this piece of clothing already has an owner.]
He then got out of bed, opened the door, and was greeted by the playful evening breeze.
Downstairs.
Wang Wenyan, who had just taken a call in front of the refrigerator in the kitchen, opened the fridge door and retrieved a small bag of brown sugar she had previously put in.
Lu Yao had cleaned up the fallen flowers under the tree and started trimming the overgrown branches that could easily snag pedestrians.
Wang Wenyan intended to take a shortcut and go upstairs from the other side but, catching a glimpse of a figure leaning over the railing on the first floor, she raised an eyebrow and turned towards Lu Yao.
“Mr. Lu.” She stopped a step away from Lu Yao and casually leaned against a nearby stone.
Lu Yao threw the branches into a pile of fallen flowers. “What is it?”
Wang Wenyan spoke in a soft, deliberate tone that only the two of them could hear. “You knew Guan Zheng liked Yu Le, didn’t you?”
Lu Yao responded nonchalantly, “Mm.”
Wang Wenyan continued, “And you also know Cheng Xiwu’s intentions. Yet you tolerate them constantly revolving around Yu Le. If it were me, I’d have already found a way to drive them all away.”
Lu Yao gave her a faint glance, and Wang Wenyan smiled slightly, her gaze playfully drifting towards the first floor.
She suddenly leaned in a few inches, “Oh, may I ask one last question?”
…
After Wang Wenyan left, Lu Yao quickly finished tidying up and went upstairs.
From a distance, he saw that the door to the room at the end of the corridor was closed but not locked.
As he approached to help Yu Le inside, the door was suddenly pulled open from the inside, and Yu Le yanked him in.
Although it was a bit unexpected, Lu Yao showed no sign of resistance and allowed Yu Le to press him against the wall.
With the window open, the lanterns in the corridor cast a soft light into the room, illuminating the people and objects inside.
At first, Yu Le seemed to want to present a powerful stance, but he was half a head shorter than Lu Yao and much less imposing. It was more like a rabbit trying to threaten a wolf.
Adorable, and he wanted to kiss him.
“What were you talking about just now?” Yu Le asked.
He had been downstairs, and he had seen every move of the two people below.
Lu Yao looked down at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Yu Le bit his lip, honestly confessing, “She looked at me just now, and she knew I was there.”
He wasn’t jealous or worried about Wang Wenyan and Lu Yao; it was just that the look Wang Wenyan had given him made him feel like she was… blatantly reminding him of something.
“Was she talking about me?” he asked Lu Yao.
Lu Yao nodded candidly.
Yu Le asked, “What did she say about me?”
His eyes were a bit anxious, the lantern’s reflection creating small spots of light that focused on him.
Lu Yao, with a slight smile, lifted his hand and gently traced Yu Le’s eye corner with his fingertip. “Why were you in the corridor?”
Yu Le’s eyes flickered with discomfort, but he never intentionally hides things like this, “I wanted to see what you were doing.”
Lu Yao was satisfied with this answer but still desired more. “Just wanted to see what I was doing?”
“Maybe, also just wanted to see you…”
Yu Le felt unsettled under Lu Yao’s gaze, his eyes darting more rapidly.
Suppressing the impulse to retreat, he tried to bring the topic back on track. “You still haven’t told me what you were discussing about me.”
Lu Yao, having received the most satisfactory answer, naturally provided an equivalent response. “She asked me a question.”
Despite being in a passive position, Lu Yao always managed to make Yu Le feel like he was the one being hunted.
Yu Le had no way to deal with this and could only willingly follow him step by step.
“What question?”
He asked in a soft voice, a nervousness he couldn’t pinpoint, making his palms sweaty and his heart pounding.
The lanterns swayed in the wind, the candlelight flickering, making the light in Yu Le’s eyes dance and enter Lu Yao’s view.
Lu Yao quietly observed him, his palm against Yu Le’s cheek, his broad, dry hand providing a comforting warmth.
“She asked me how I could resist kissing you despite liking you so much.”
