CW: an ambiguous relationship + a kiss between an adult and a minor.
Besides that, Cheng Chen didn’t do anything else to Lu Zheyu, he also said that he’ll “wait for him until he graduates high school”. If you feel icked by such a relationship, don’t force yourself to read it.
Remember, this is fiction, not reality.
Looking back, Lu Zheyu never seemed to express his feelings for him, nor did he respond to him.
–it seemed that he was daydreaming, having wishful thinking.
He knew very well how Lu Zheyu treated people he didn’t like.
At least, he was allowed to follow Lu Zheyu all the time.
Cheng Chen was not a person who was eager for success or unwilling to accept failure. Between him and Lu Zheyu, he was the one who took the initiative to provoke and was the one who had the first intention.
A relationship wouldn’t necessarily bloom even if one put effort into it. It’s normal to be unrequited. On top of that, Lu Zheyu has the words “no feelings” printed on his forehead.
It’s just that it really ended in vain – it inevitably made Cheng Chen feel sad.
Cheng Chen took a deep breath and wanted to say that it was better to part ways in peace, but he heard Lu Zheyu’s obviously heavy breaths.
Lu Zheyu suddenly said, “I need time.”
Cheng Chen: “…What?”
Lu Zheyu said, “I can’t give you what you want now, so I don’t want to ask for anything from you. I don’t care what others say, but I care about how I do it.”
The gap between him and Cheng Chen meant that it’s always him that was “taken care” by Cheng Chen. It was also a matter of Lu Zheyu’s self-esteem – he has been “taken care” by his parents for all his life. He has wanted independence since he was sensible. Even if he knew that Cheng Chen’s kindness to him was different from his parents – he wouldn’t guilt-trip him, at least – he can’t help but reject it.
He could only be forced to accept it. The passive situation was a burden for him.
Cheng Chen thought for a long time before he understood what the teenager meant. He frowned and said, “The public opinions on the Internet are aimed at me. As for controlling public opinions and blocking news, I didn’t do this for you. You didn’t ask for anything from me.”
Lu Zheyu replied, “If you can’t do it, you will be destroyed. You do those things not only for yourself.”
“…”
Cheng Chen was suddenly stunned.
What does he mean by that?
He was about to ask what this meant, but Lu Zheyu had already spoken, “Issuing a termination statement is not the best way. The best way is to publicly accept interviews and disclose the entire process from you finding me to my joining the company. There are witnesses from beginning to end, and nothing fishy has actually happened between us. No matter what others say, as long as we insist on denying it, the situation will not be worse than it is now.”
As long as he unilaterally keeps a distance from Cheng Chen, he could deal with the media and his parents with confidence and without any scruples.
But he couldn’t be confident.
—He likes Cheng Chen.
Why was he worried about the media? Simple, because there’s a kernel of truth beneath those rumors. At the very least, Lu Zheyu knew he liked Cheng Chen that way.
Temporarily keep a distance and deny their relationship to deal with the media for a short time. They didn’t do this because they didn’t want to publicly deny this relationship.
Cheng Chen didn’t want to, and he didn’t want to either.
As for Cheng Chen, he was completely stunned by this statement.
With Lu Zheyu’s personality, saying these words was no different from confessing.
It was a sudden surprise, but he couldn’t laugh.
He regretted a little, regretting bringing Lu Zheyu to the company.
If it was just appreciation and training, he could also be free of burden, because he could compensate with other things.
But now the original intention has changed, and Lu Zheyu doesn’t need “other things”.
Cheng Chen dragged Lu Zheyu into the quagmire of the entertainment industry.
Lu Zheyu’s purpose is just to make money. He has no other dreams or ambitions. But Cheng Chen was self-righteous and willing to pull Lu Zheyu up step-by-step.
He wanted Lu Zheyu’s talent to be seen by more people, to be recognized by the masses.
His biased preference made Lu Zheyu a thorn in the eyes of others. His indulgence in compromise for the sake of interests was regarded by Zhuang Yuxin as capital for intrigue, giving her the opportunity to push Lu Zheyu to the cusp of the storm.
And his love has become a burden to Lu Zheyu.
Being targeted by the media and followed by public opinion – simply put, if Lu Zheyu never met Cheng Chen, those people would not bite Lu Zheyu like a mad dog.
He shouldn’t have to bear the criticism of others.
He was still just a high school student.
Although Cheng Chen complained that Lu Zheyu didn’t believe him, if he were in the other’s shoes, could he really believe it?
News was not a physical object, and it couldn’t be stopped just like that.
Everyone has a time when they were caught off guard. What would Lu Zheyu face then?
His parents scolded him, his classmates pointed fingers at him, and he had to endure strange looks from others wherever he went… Could he really turn a blind eye?
His originally peaceful life was completely broken. Was it what he wanted to see?
Cheng Chen thought, ‘What qualifications do I have to blame Lu Zheyu for not considering our future?’
There was silence in the car for a long time, and Cheng Chen finally broke it. “Okay, I’ll give you time.”
Lu Zheyu’s heart tightened slightly. He jolted in place.
Cheng Chen looked at the teenager in front of him at the most out-of-bounds distance since the two of them met, and his heartbeat accelerated subconsciously.
Lu Zheyu’s expression also fluctuate. He looked at Cheng Chen approaching him, no longer dodging or avoiding.
The car was driven to an uninhabited area on the outskirts of Gongshui County. When it stopped, the two kissed, still seated inside the car, blocked from the outside by the tinted car window.
Cheng Chen was from the entertainment industry.
Lu Zheyu had worked in a bar.
They never ate pork but have seen pigs run – they used what they have seen and heard in their lives, using all that knowledge in this kiss. It might be clumsy, but it still managed to convey all their forbearing and turbulent emotions.
The entanglement ended before the air in their lungs ran out. Cheng Chen panted and said, “I won’t come to you before you graduate from high school.”
“…”
Obviously this was the proper way. But hearing this, Lu Zheyu still felt a stab in his heart.
Cheng Chen smiled again, “But now, we have a relationship with substantial progress. Remember to behave yourself in school. I won’t come to you, but I will watch you.”
Lu Zheyu: “…”
After that, Cheng Chen really “kept his promise” and never came to Lu Zheyu again.
The two people broke off their relationship until something happened in Shao Ming’s milk tea shop.
The milk tea shop was maliciously slandered by Yuan Shaozhou, and Zhuo Yunan posted a clarification Weibo to solve the crisis.
But Lu Zheyu was very sure that Zhuo Yunan had never been to the milk tea shop at all. But She took the initiative to help, so this means that someone had instructed her to do this.
Lu Zheyu inevitably thought of Cheng Chen. He originally thought that not being able to meet was nothing hard. They didn’t meet often before, after all.
However, after not seeing each other for a long time, as long as there was a little hint of Cheng Chen, the seeds of longing would quickly sprout and grow wildly in Lu Zheyu’s heart.
He never cared about who was around Cheng Chen before, nor did he pay attention to the new transfer student in his class.
Zhu Tong suddenly transferred to another school and became a deskmate with Shao Ming, and also appeared in the milk tea shop.
Cheng Chen was not a person who acted on his own. If he wanted to help, he would definitely ask about the situation of the milk tea shop before helping, but this time, he didn’t ask.
Therefore, It was not Cheng Chen’s decision to let Zhuo Yunan help the milk tea shop. It must be the new transfer student’s.
What was the relationship between Zhu Tong and Cheng Chen, and why would Cheng Chen help him?
Lu Zheyu broke his principle of turning a deaf ear to the outside world and went online to look up entertainment gossip.
The latest one was the scandal of Zhuo Yunan meeting her boss at night.
Lu Zheyu: “…”
It was not the first time that Cheng Chen and Zhuo Yunan have been photographed having dinner together. They were a pair of a handsome man and a beautiful woman — just standing side-by-side was enough to stir a romance rumor. Although some people have malicious speculations, some people sincerely wish them well.
The two even have CP fans. Every time they are photographed meeting, it was a carnival for them.
On top of that, this was also a means to maintain popularity.
But even if Lu Zheyu knew that there is nothing between the two, the picture was still very dazzling.
–And it’s not just Zhuo Yunan.
Cheng Chen was young and promising, and he was very influential in the circle. People outside his company want to win him over and send people to his bed. People inside his company want to use him to gain popularity. Some even get involved in a roundabout way.
As a result, he was involved in endless romance scandals.
At first, Lu Zheyu forced himself not to care. But after reading too many scandals, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was one truth among those endless rumors.
Cheng Chen agreed not to meet him. Was it a real compromise, or did he just not want to play with him anymore?
Logical reasoning told him that he was right. They were not from the same world.
Put it this way: if Cheng Chen liked someone else, their separation would be a timely stop loss. Even if they were reluctantly together, it would end sooner or later for other reasons.
He stopped reading the scandals about Cheng Chen.
One day, he saw Cheng Chen with a different woman, visiting a clean bar.
The woman was graceful and charming. She was the eldest daughter of the Jiang Group and had the same family background as Cheng Chen.
Lu Zheyu saw too many similar scenes on the Internet. He felt that he could be indifferent, but in fact he was very jealous.
Jealous of those who could stand by Cheng Chen’s side.
Then, he began to regret.
–He regretted that he gave up the opportunity to stand by Cheng Chen’s side.
If he had not been so decisive, had fewer concerns, was willing to ask for Cheng Chen’s help, and had waited for the truth to be exposed… even if they still had to separate in the end, he at least would’ve been together with Cheng Chen.
He realized belatedly that he was actually very timid.
He was afraid that his parents would be forced to do something extreme by gossip, but he was more uncertain about Cheng Chen’s feelings.
He didn’t know how long a person’s feelings could last, and he was not sure whether Cheng Chen could really wait for him to grow up.
Because of the difference in status, he had to think about the worst outcome.
When he decided to separate temporarily, he clearly thought that if Cheng Chen insisted otherwise… he would’ve agreed to not separate.
But now he feels that even if there is really no future, he should not let go of this opportunity in the first place.
Selfishness is a human nature – one could’t learn to be content with what they have.
When he regretted it and was unwilling to give up, Cheng Chen sent him a message.
<Young Master Cheng Loves Playing the Fool>: Today, my fighting posture looked very handsome.
Lu Zheyu: “…”
The WeChat ID of this person made Lu Zheyu speechless.
He didn’t reply for a long time. Cheng Chen probably felt that he had “broken his promise” and quickly sent another message.
<Young Master Cheng Loves Playing the Fool>: I promised not to look for you, but I didn’t say I would never contact you.
<Young Master Cheng Loves Playing the Fool>: And you dared to not contact me for a month!
Lu Zheyu: “…”
