Chapter 54.1
Before hearing the details of the blind date, Mr. and Mrs. Lu had already listened to Lu Xingxing rave about her brother’s date for 20 minutes. So when Lu Yao arrived at the door with his guest, they had their suspicions.
They then looked back at the only witness to the blind date, who was staring wide-eyed and covering his mouth.
Well, it was now confirmed—they had indeed brought the date home.
“…”
Instinct told Yu Le that he could turn and run, but his rationality and upbringing kept him rooted in place.
As he saw Mrs. Lu getting up and walking towards him, he could only force a polite but awkward smile: “Sorry to bother you, Uncle and Auntie. Good evening.”
Mr. Lu put down his crossed leg, adjusted his glasses, and nodded courteously: “Welcome.”
“Oh, good evening. You must be Little Yu, right?”
Mrs. Lu came over to him, and under her friendly gaze, Yu Le didn’t know where to put his hands: “Yes, Auntie. I’m Yu Le.”
“Oh, what a nice young man.”
Mrs. Lu became more fond of him the more she looked, smiling and reaching out to pull him closer. Yu Le’s arm tensed up.
Fortunately, Mr. Lu quickly picked up on his boyfriend’s urgent, silent pleas and stepped forward to shield him, preventing Mrs. Lu from making contact.
“Mom, I just introduced Mr. Yu to a few of my comrades.”
Lu Yao said: “I’ve had a few drinks and can’t drive, so I asked Mr. Yu to bring me back. Since it’s late and it’s inconvenient to get a cab, I’m planning to let Mr. Yu stay the night.”
Mrs. Lu glared at him: “You’re so thoughtless. It would have been more appropriate for you to take Little Yu home, but you went out drinking and now have to trouble him to drive you back.”
Lu Yao promptly apologized: “My mistake. I’ll be more considerate next time.”
“Good to hear.” Mrs. Lu huffed lightly and then turned back to Yu Le with a warm expression: “Little Yu, sorry for delaying your return home. Please stay here tonight, and tomorrow morning, Ah Yao will drive you back.”
Yu Le smiled awkwardly: “It’s no problem.”
There was no way around it. Even though to Mr. and Mrs. Lu he was just a blind date, both he and Lu Yao knew that this was essentially a meeting with the parents.
It was really hard not to feel nervous.
“Ah Jing, don’t just leave the guest standing at the door.”
Mr. Lu cleared his throat and took on a calm, authoritative tone: “Come in and sit down.”
“Yes, I’m so excited I forgot. Come on, Little Yu, come in and have a seat.”
Mrs. Lu led them to the living room, casually asking as they walked: “How was your time in Xuan City today? Was the food good? Did you have fun on the streets?”
The huge crystal chandelier in the living room illuminated every corner, making Yu Le feel exposed: “It was all quite good.”
Mrs. Lu: “That’s great. I’m always worried that Ah Yao might not be attentive enough. He can be rather careless sometimes, and I’m afraid he might unintentionally upset someone without realizing it.”
Yu Le could babble in front of Lu Xingxing, but not in front of the elders: “No, Mr. Lu is very considerate.”
“Really?” Mrs. Lu turned around with a noticeably higher tone: “So, Little Yu, what do you think—”
“Mom.” Lu Yao interrupted in time, “Mr. Yu just returned to Xuan City this morning, and didn’t rest before coming to meet me. He’s already quite tired from driving all the way here. Let him rest first.”
“Oh, I see… Then that’s fine.”
Mrs. Lu waved her hand: “Chen Jie, come here and show Mr. Yu to the guest room. See if there’s anything else he might need. Don’t neglect him.”
“Alright.” Chen Jie approached the stairs “Mr. Yu, this way with me.”
Yu Le: “Uncle and Auntie, I’ll excuse myself then.”
Mr. Lu: “Yes, have a good rest.”
Mrs. Lu: “Don’t be formal, Little Yu. If you need anything, just let Chen Jie know.”
Yu Le nodded and followed Chen Jie upstairs, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief once he was out of Mr. and Mrs. Lu’s sight.
Seeing that slender figure disappear upstairs, Lu Xingxing could no longer contain herself and jumped up to grab her brother, “Old Lu, you’re really something! You were supposed to take him home, and you ended up bringing him here!”
Lu Yao: “It was an accident.”
Lu Xingxing giggled, “Stop pretending. I don’t believe you. You’re not a big drinker. You took your date out for drinks, didn’t you?”
Lu Yao: “No.”
It was indeed an accident.
Wanting to bring him home was genuine, but mistakenly going to the wrong house was also true. Lu Yao felt helpless about it.
Mr. Lu finally set aside his newspaper, which he had been struggling to read, and frowned as he scolded his son, “I heard from Xingxing that the kid wasn’t too pleased with you to begin with. And then you went out drinking and had him drive you home. Aren’t you just adding to the dislike?”
“Yeah.” Mrs. Lu added, “You brought Little Yu to eat with your comrades? What if he’s not happy but didn’t say anything?”
Lu Yao: “No—”
Mrs. Lu: “No? Do you know what’s on his mind?”
“But I don’t think so.” Lu Xingxing said, “If he was truly unhappy, would he still help with driving you home?”
Mrs. Lu: “He’s well-mannered.”
Lu Xingxing nodded in agreement, “That makes sense.”
Mr. Lu: “Tsk, you clueless kid. Can’t even handle a blind date?”
Mrs. Lu looked troubled, “Sigh, such a nice kid. What if he doesn’t like you in the end? I wonder what you’ll do then.”
Lu Yao knew he had no say in this matter and waited until they were done before finally standing up from the couch.
Lu Xingxing looked up, “Where are you going, bro?”
Lu Yao: “Upstairs.”
Mrs. Lu: “What are you going upstairs for?”
“I didn’t make a good impression,” Lu Yao said as he headed for the stairs. “I’m going to make up for it and earn some points.”
Once upstairs, Lu Yao first went to his room to find a set of pajamas, then headed to knock on the guest room door.
Yu Le thought it was Chen Jie returning, but when he opened the door and saw Lu Yao, his face fell, “What do you want?”
Lu Yao: “I brought you some clothes.”
Yu Le reached out, “You can leave after handing over the clothes.”
Lu Yao obediently handed over the pajamas, and Yu Le took them and turned towards the bathroom.
With a soft click, the door closed behind him, but the footsteps didn’t disappear.
Yu Le turned around: “What are you doing here?”
Lu Yao: “My water heater is a bit tricky. I’ll adjust the temperature for you and then leave.”
Lu Yao followed Yu Le into the bathroom, where Yu Le hung the clean clothes on the rack and then leaned against the wall, silently watching Lu Yao fiddle with the water heater.
After testing the water temperature and adjusting it, Lu Yao turned off the shower valve.
“All set?” Yu Le straightened up. “If it’s ready, you should leave quickly. Don’t delay me… Hey!”
Before Yu Le could react, he was lifted and placed on the sink behind him.
Lu Yao leaned in and gave him a firm kiss, but didn’t go further, as if just quenching a momentary need, and whether it continued depended on Yu Le’s consent.
Yu Le was both amused and exasperated, “Are you being a creep in my room now?”
Lu Yao expertly apologized, “Sorry, baby. I didn’t expect them to stay up so late.”
Yu Le: “You could have asked in advance.”
Lu Yao mumbled, “Good point. I’ll definitely remember next time.”
Yu Le: “You could outdo the Pacific Ocean with your ability to ignore things.”
Lu Yao chuckled softly.
Yu Le patted his arm: “Alright, let go, creep. Don’t delay me from taking a shower.”
Lu Yao: “How about a kiss before you go?”
Yu Le: “Was that kiss earlier from a ghost?”
Lu Yao corrected himself, “Then let’s have a longer kiss before—”
