Chapter 45.2
Yu Le: “I found many in your high school forum before and saved them. Boss Lu, didn’t realize you were quite rebellious in high school.”
Lu Yao hadn’t specifically looked through those old posts but had heard about them from other classmates. He didn’t feel embarrassed when his boyfriend brought up old news and calmly admitted, “It was alright.”
Yu Le: “So did you really write that 3,000-word reflection?”
Lu Yao: “Couldn’t write it, copied a template from the internet.”
Yu Le: “A top student can’t even write a reflection?”
Lu Yao: “Couldn’t help it. Didn’t know what was wrong, so didn’t know what to reflect on.”
“Conf
ident and shameless,” Yu Le teased, then suddenly had a thought: “Hey, top student, if I had come to find you in high school, would you have paid any attention to me?”
Lu Yao calculated: “You would have been in middle school then.”
Yu Le: “Yeah.”
Lu Yao: “Probably not. I was very cool and aloof at that time, didn’t pay attention to little kids.”
“Only three years older than me, where’s the confidence coming from?”
Yu Le said, half amused, half exasperated, and posed another hypothetical, “What if I were the same age as you?”
Lu Yao countered, “What would you want to do?”
Yu Le pondered for a moment, “Just… tell you that you’ll be my spouse in the future?”
He laughed at his own suggestion, “Never mind, by then, you’d be able to handle four people on your own. I’d probably end up getting beaten up for saying that.”
Lu Yao: “No, you wouldn’t.”
Yu Le: “Really?”
Lu Yao: “I don’t just beat up anyone; I choose.”
“Your tone makes it sound like I’m not worthy,” Yu Le quipped. “What would you do then?”
Lu Yao said, “I’d probably think you had a screw loose.”
He then added with a hint of amusement as Yu Le’s mouth twitched, “And then I’d take you home and have a doctor treat you slowly.”
Yu Le wanted to keep a straight face, but the image became more humorous the more he thought about it. In the end, he couldn’t help but laugh, “What if the treatment doesn’t work and you end up stuck with me?”
“Le Le,” his mother called from outside the door, “Are you awake? Come out for dinner.”
Yu Le responded and considered saying goodbye to Lu Yao but was reluctant to end the call. After a few seconds of thought, he had a sudden inspiration and suggested, “Would you like to join me for dinner?”
His aunt, uncle, aunt and uncle, and three children who hadn’t yet reached twenty were all gathering for a meal.
The dinner table was perfectly full, especially considering the kids’ refusal to sit down and eat properly.
Yu Le entered the living room, greeted everyone politely, and then sat next to his aunt at her enthusiastic invitation.
“Wow, what’s going on? Why do you seem to be getting younger?” His aunt, who had always had a good relationship with him, cheerfully pinched his cheek. Yu Le was used to it and didn’t bother to avoid it.
Lu Yao agreed, “Indeed, you look like a student.”
Yu Le’s mother: “Does he look good? I don’t think so; he’s as thin as a bamboo pole. If he gained another fifty or sixty pounds, he’d look better.”
Lu Yao: “That’s his biological mother.”
His aunt laughed, “Exaggerating, exaggerating. Nowadays, young people like it this way. Being too fat isn’t good either. As long as you’re healthy, it’s fine.”
Lu Yao murmured to himself, “A bit more weight wouldn’t hurt. He’s too thin right now…”
Yu Le: “…”
He cleared his throat and adjusted his Bluetooth earphones.
The experience of having real-time commentary in your ears is quite something.
At a family dinner table, it’s always the younger generation who struggles to join the conversation. Yu Le was content to eat quietly and listen to the subtle sounds of Lu Yao typing on his keyboard.
Even without saying anything, he felt in good spirits.
Until Lu Yao’s voice drifted through the earpiece, “Le Le.”
“Hm?” Yu Le responded softly.
Lu Yao: “Your aunt is calling you.”
Yu Le immediately looked up, “Aunt, did you call me?”
“I’ve called you several times,” his aunt said with a smile. “Why are you so distracted during dinner?”
Yu Le: “I was thinking about work. Is something wrong?”
His aunt said, “It’s about Jia Jia. She’s becoming increasingly rebellious. She’s only so young, already in her rebellious phase. She used to listen to you the most. When you have time, help me talk to her.”
“I’m not rebellious!”
A little girl with pigtails on the sofa protested loudly, “I’m super well-behaved. Mom, stop saying nonsense. Kids need their dignity too!”
The words from the child were especially amusing, and her mother was both crying and laughing, “How are you well-behaved? You don’t eat your meals properly, you don’t sleep well, and we have to supervise your homework every day. And you still say you’re well-behaved.”
“Look at your cousin.” She pointed at Yu Le. “Your cousin was very well-behaved when he was young, always listening and getting good grades, never causing trouble.”
Jia Jia said, “Then when I grow up, I’ll marry my cousin. I may be naughty, but I can bring back a well-behaved one for you!”
The comment drew hearty laughter, and Yu Le almost dropped his chopsticks from laughing so hard. His little cousin was indeed a treasure.
Only Lu Yao said, “I don’t think so.”
“Don’t you tell her that you already have a husband?”
Yu Le covered his rising smile with his hand, revealing only his curved eyes, and whispered, “Boss Lu, why would you be jealous of a child? Besides, she’s your cousin.”
Lu Yao said nothing in response.
As long as there’s alcohol and men at the table, mealtime could be endlessly extended.
Yu Le put down his chopsticks early, tasked with taking the three noisy children for a walk downstairs.
Yu Le, not liking the noise either, bought milk tea to quiet the three younger cousins.
“Three cups of mango pomelo sago, room temperature, one with less ice—”
“Four cups at room temperature,” a voice in his earpiece interrupted him. “Don’t eat something too cold right after a meal.”
Oh right, he had someone overseeing him. Yu Le corrected himself, “Four cups at room temperature. Thank you.”
Nearby, there was a small park with a designated area for children, complete with slides, seesaws, and trampolines.
Yu Le led the three kids over, threw away their empty milk tea cups, and sat on a bench to watch them play after giving them a few instructions.
“It’s not cool in the city at night,” he fanned himself with a real estate flyer he had picked up: “At this hour, the breeze on the street is warm. The mountain is much better.”
Lu Yao: “There are no milk tea shops on the mountain.”
Yu Le: “Mr. Lu, did I do something to make you think I really love milk tea—huh?”
His calf was suddenly bumped. He looked down to see a white, dazzling Samoyed sitting next to him, sticking its tongue out and smiling.
Aww, a smiling angel.
So cute!
“Sorry,” a young man’s voice came from above. “He ran too fast, and I couldn’t catch him.”
The man was quite young, wearing glasses and casual clothes that still exuded an air of elegance from his professional demeanor.
“It’s fine,” Yu Le said, pointing to the Samoyed. “Can I pet him?”
The man smiled and said, “Of course. Feel free to pet him. He has a good temperament and loves having his head petted.”
“What?” Lu Yao asked.
Yu Le, enchanted by the fluffy sensation in his palm, said, “A Samoyed.”
The man, unable to see Yu Le’s other earpiece, assumed he was talking to him and nodded, saying gently, “May I sit here?”
Yu Le moved over a bit, “Of course, go ahead.”
The man sat down gracefully and turned his head to look at Yu Le’s profile, “He seems to really like you.”
“Really,” Yu Le said, letting the dog nuzzle his hand. “I’m quite honored. How old is he?”
The man replied, “Five months old.”
Yu Le: “Five months? He’s still a little one.”
The man: “Indeed.”
Lu Yao: “Not exactly small. He’s about to enter adolescence.”
Yu Le: “I mean compared to Shui Cai.”
Shui Cai was three years old. Compared to it, the Samoyed was indeed a puppy.
The man looked puzzled, “Shui Cai?”
Yu Le explained, “It’s my dog. It’s older than your dog… But Samoyeds shed a lot, and they’re so white. Does bathing them become a hassle?”
The man replied, “I always take him to the pet store.”
Lu Yao: “Yes, large dogs tend to shed a lot. It’s unavoidable. Interested in getting one?”
Yu Le: “A bit, but there are no pet stores on the mountain.”
The man: “On the mountain?”
Lu Yao: “We wash Shui Cai in the yard.”
Yu Le: “You come?”
Lu Yao asked, “Why wouldn’t I?”
Yu Le: “Am I only responsible for petting and walking?”
Lu Yao: “You can just pet him if you want.”
Who wouldn’t be tempted?
Certainly not Yu Le, who responded eagerly, “Sure, I’d like to get one.”
The man didn’t catch everything Yu Le said but heard the last part. He smiled slightly and took out his phone, “Would you like to exchange contact information? I’ve been raising dogs for years and can share some experiences if needed.”
Lu Yao: “Le Le, say you don’t need it.”
Yu Le, thinking about getting a dog, asked, “What?”
Lu Yao typed a response leisurely, “Reply to him.”
Reply with what?
Yu Le looked up at the man, “Sorry, I’m on the phone with my boyfriend. What did you just say?”
