Chapter 54.2
Knock, knock, knock.
The door suddenly knocked, and Lu’s mother’s voice came from outside: “Yu Le, are you asleep? I’ve just cut some fruit in the kitchen. Auntie brought you a portion. Do you want to try it?”
Yu Le was startled and felt guilty.
“It’s okay.” Lu Yao pinched his ear: “You take a shower, and I’ll open the door.”
When Mother Lu didn’t receive a response after waiting for a while, she knocked gently again: “Yu Le, are you asleep?”
The next moment, the door was pulled open, but instead of Yu Le, it was her son, Lu Yao, who stood at the doorway.
Mother Lu: “…”
Mother Lu: “What are you doing in Yu Le’s room? Where is he?”
Lu Yao maintained his composure: “He’s taking a shower. I’m just checking if there’s anything left to tidy up in the room.”
“Why do you need to check it now, and especially while he’s taking a shower?”
Mother Lu clicked her tongue, placed the fruit plate on the table, and dragged her son out: “I know you like Yu Le, but to be lingering in his room on the first day you meet him, this is so inappropriate. Is this how my son behaves? Hurry up and get out.”
Lu Yao shut the door behind him and planned to go back to his room to take a shower.
Mother Lu: “Don’t rush back to your room. Wait in the living room.”
So Lu Yao turned and walked downstairs, casually asking: “Is there something wrong?”
Mother Lu: “You’ll find out when you get downstairs.”
By the time Yu Le finished drying his hair and came out, the room was already empty.
Yan Jia had sent him a message saying he forgot to tell him the password for the second computer in the study. Yu Le replied that it was unnecessary: 【Didn’t go to your house.】
Yan Jia: 【Then where are you?】
Yu Le: 【At my date’s house.】
Yan Jia: 【???】
Yan Jia: 【You’re dating and still going on dates?】
Yu Le: 【With my boyfriend _(:з」∠)_】
Yan Jia: 【？？？？？】
This wasn’t something that could be explained in a few words. Just as Yu Le was about to clarify, a message from Lu Yao came in, so he replied to Yan Jia with a 【I’ll tell you later】 and opened Lu Yao’s message:
Lu Yao: 【Guess what I’m doing.】
Such a childish Lu Yao, Yu Le thought to himself, and replied:
Yu Le: 【What else could you be doing besides work?】
Lu Yao: 【You guessed wrong.】
Lu Yao: 【I’m listening to Mrs. Lu and Mr. Lu’s youth romance story.】
Yu Le: 【?】
Lu Yao: 【About some attempts to teach their son how to pursue a matchmaker.】
Yu Le was stunned and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Yu Le: 【Aren’t you going to tell Uncle and Aunt that you don’t need to learn?】
Lu Yao: 【So someone is already preparing to officially meet the parents tomorrow morning?】
Yu Le: 【……】
Lu Yao: 【It’s okay. Lu Xingxing enjoys listening. Let her finish.】
“Humph!” Mother Lu narrowed her eyes and glared at Lu Yao: “Pay attention and stop playing with your phone.”
Lu Yao put down his phone and looked up to find that the seat across from him was empty: “Where’s Dad?”
“Dad couldn’t handle it and ran away.” Lu Xingxing covered her mouth, laughing: “He disappeared as soon as Mom started looking through his old love letters.”
…
After returning to his room, Lu Yao received a few emails from his assistant asking for confirmation. After dealing with them and taking a shower, it was already close to midnight.
Lu Yao picked up his phone, noticing that the message he sent 20 minutes ago still hadn’t received a reply, so he figured Yu Le had probably gone to bed.
He glanced at the empty bed and, after a bit of thought, got up and left the room.
Yu Le, who had fallen into a deep sleep at ten-thirty, was suddenly picked up carefully. Groggy and barely awake, he opened his eyes and, recognizing who it was by the light outside, closed them again and snuggled against his chest, mumbling: “Why is there a thief climbing into bed in the middle of the night?”
Lu Yao’s voice was filled with amusement: “Stealing something.”
With an extra person in the bed and the familiar scent, Yu Le instinctively moved closer.
The tender and gentle kiss made him respond even in his drowsy state, like a greedy cat that, even with its eyes closed, will still move towards the smell of dried fish placed before its nose.
As Yu Le enjoyed the long-awaited intimacy and was emotionally stirred, the sensation on his lips disappeared.
Lu Yao withdrew, holding him, and whispered: “Go to sleep.”
Yu Le’s mind went blank for a moment, unable to process what was happening.
After a while, feeling a mix of grievance and irritation, he lifted his head and complained: “I was already asleep. You woke me up, and now you want me to go back to sleep. How can you be so annoying…”
Lu Yao had been trying to be patient, not wanting to upset Yu Le further. Now that Yu Le had openly expressed his feelings, Lu Yao had no reason to refuse.
With the two of them sharing a pillow, Yu Le was content and nestled closer, his eyes half-closed as he clung to Lu Yao’s neck, giving a smug hum: “Still sleepy…”
Lu Yao’s hand rested on his lower back: “You don’t need to move. Just lie there.”
As Yu Le’s legs were gently lifted, he avoided the wetness on his ear’s edge and playfully bit Lu Yao’s ear with his sharp teeth.
Lu Yao chuckled softly, pinching his earlobe: “Still mad?”
Yu Le curled his toes, taking a few seconds before sighing and replying: “I wasn’t really that mad… just a bit annoyed.”
Lu Yao: “Are you okay now?”
Yu Le: “…”
In the middle of the night, Yu Le decided to let bygones be bygones and not hold a grudge.
“I already forgave you a long time ago.”
Yu Le murmured: “I forgave you when you were drinking with Lao Mao.”
Lu Yao looked up: “Why that time?”
Yu Le said: “I just thought that if others find it so hard to meet their dates, and we are always together, and I’m still making a fuss with you—”
Before he could finish, he looked up and was left speechless.
“It’s okay now.”
Knowing that Yu Le had a tendency to be overly perfectionistic, Lu Yao kissed his Adam’s apple and hugged him tightly: “You don’t have to be so understanding. If you want to make a fuss a little, it’s fine. As long as I’m by your side, I can calm you down.”
Yu Le took a deep breath, holding back tears, and pressed his palm against Lu Yao’s face: “What if… you’re not by my side?”
Lu Yao: “Then I’ll do my best to get to your side.”
The room’s window faced the clouds and moon. The sheer curtain fluttered in the wind, with the clouds moving quickly, pushing the moon slowly until it was out of sight.
Yu Le, drowsy and in Lu Yao’s embrace, allowed him to massage his cramped calf, closing his eyes and regulating his breathing.
As his breathing gradually weakened, Lu Yao thought Yu Le had fallen asleep. When he withdrew his hand to hold him, Yu Le’s fingers hooked around his wrist and held on.
Yu Le’s fingertips caressed his injured area, “Brother, when you were injured and had to leave the army, you were also unwilling, right?”
Lu Yao remained silent, unable to deny it. Even if he did, Yu Le wouldn’t believe him.
“It’s okay. A hero is still a hero wherever they are.” He leaned in to hug Lu Yao, whispering in his ear: “Our Boss Lu is super awesome.”
Lu Yao smiled, lowering his head to sniff his neck, where a hole was gradually being filled by the other person’s breath.
“Le Le,” he whispered: “Do you know what wish I made when I first took you to the Mountain God Temple?”
Yu Le had completely forgotten about it, but recalled it when reminded. He looked up and, distinguishing his outline from the darkness, asked: “The time you covered my ears?”
Lu Yao: “Yes.”
Yu Le: “What did you wish for?”
Lu Yao leaned down and kissed his eyes: “I wished that you would like me.”
The next morning, Lu Yao was woken up by his biological clock, while Yu Le remained deeply asleep in the soft bedding.
He carefully got out of bed and pulled the covers back, as it was almost time for him to return to his room.
The bed faced the window, with the curtains drawn halfway. The morning light streamed in brightly, which was not very friendly to someone still asleep.
Lu Yao walked over, pulled the curtains shut to block the disturbing light, and then quietly made his way to the door, opening it—
“…”
“…”
The sudden eye contact made the atmosphere tense and awkward.
Lu Yao hadn’t expected Mother Lu, who usually sleeps in, to be up so early.
Similarly, Mother Lu hadn’t anticipated seeing her son coming out of his date’s room, whom he had known for less than a day, so early in the morning.
After a moment of mutual silence, Lu Yao sighed inwardly, and took the initiative to speak: “Mom, what do you need from Yu Le? He’s still asleep.”
“I came to ask if Little Yu prefers dumplings or pan-fried buns for breakfast, and whether he can handle the sauerkraut meat sauce.”
Mother Lu stared at him, her expression one of incredulity. It seemed she couldn’t accept that her son could be so uncouth, “What exactly were you doing in his room so early in the morning?”
Lu Yao was silent for two seconds, “Would you believe me if I said I was sleepwalking?”
Mother Lu: “…”
She took a deep breath, about to speak when—
“Big! Old! Lu!”
A loud shout from downstairs interrupted, followed by rapid footsteps up the stairs, each step filled with anger.
Both mother and son turned their heads. From a distance, Lu Xingxing came stomping up the stairs, her cheeks puffed out as she pointed her finger at Lu Yao and yelled, “Big liar! Ungrateful! You’re wasting my feelings!”
“Lower your voice.” Lu Yao said helplessly, “What’s the matter?”
“Lower my voice?!” Lu Xingxing nearly shoved her phone into his face, “I saw the photo on Weibo, on the trending searches! A photo of you kissing Yu Le in Grandpa’s guesthouse yard!”
“Don’t even try to deny it. I recognize your old face even if it turns to dust. You obviously know each other! Hurry up and confess, were you two secretly…”
Lu Xingxing’s voice grew quieter and quieter until it completely faded. Both mother and daughter fell silent, their gazes fixed behind him.
Lu Yao had naturally heard the door opening, sighed inwardly, and rubbed his forehead with his fingers before turning around.
The person woken by Lu Xingxing’s loud voice was wearing his pajamas, with somewhat disheveled hair, standing behind the door, looking at them in a daze.
Still half-asleep, looking confused.
