That night, as expected, things got heated again in bed until the early hours.
By the end of it, Xie Quan couldn’t help but let out a yawn, lying on his stomach.
Lu Nanyang, dissatisfied, bit the back of his neck. “Am I really that boring to you?”
Xie Quan let out a hoarse moan, lazily rubbing his face into the pillow. “It’s just too comfortable. I don’t have to do anything—just lying down makes me sleepy… Unless you want to switch, When I’m on top, I won’t get sleepy.”
“As if.” Lu Nanyang bit his neck again and thrust forward firmly.
By the time they finally finished, it was quite late. Xie Quan had already pushed past the sleepy phase and was wide awake.
The weather that night was great. The sky was clear, and looking out the window, the bright moon was surrounded by a sparse scattering of stars.
Lu Nanyang walked over and opened the window. Then he came back, lit a cigarette, and sat at the head of the bed.
Xie Quan climbed up from behind, hugging his shoulders, turned his head, and gave him a brief kiss.
Smoke circled between their lips and teeth. After pulling away, Xie Quan blew the smoke onto Lu Nanyang’s face, who was caught off guard and choked a little.
“Quit smoking,” Xie Quan murmured, resting his head lazily on Lu Nanyang’s shoulder.
“I thought you’d gotten used to the smell on me long ago,” Lu Nanyang said, flicking ash into the tray.
“Not just used to it—I really like it,” Xie Quan whispered near his ear. “But if you don’t quit, I might end up smoking with you.”
Lu Nanyang laughed and stubbed out the cigarette. “Well, that won’t do. Guess I better quit then.”
Xie Quan smiled and wrapped his arms around Lu Nanyang’s waist. The last wisp of smoke rose from the extinguished cigarette and disappeared into the air.
“Hey,” Lu Nanyang tilted his head to look at Xie Quan, whose hair brushed the back of his neck and tickled him. “Did you already figure out how to deal with Lu Hongzhen’s plan?”
Xie Quan squinted like a sleepy cat. “Did I? Who knows?”
“Don’t play dumb.” Lu Nanyang nibbled his ear. “I know you. If you didn’t already have a plan, you wouldn’t have said what you did back then.”
Xie Quan laughed and pushed him down playfully, a glint of mischief in his eyes. He straddled his waist just right. “Take a guess?”
Whether he could guess or not didn’t really matter to Lu Nanyang.
Because the moment Xie Quan pinned him down, he already knew: they weren’t getting any sleep that night.
……
The media and content creators in Yuncheng City never expected the long-dormant scandal of the Lu family’s adopted son to suddenly explode again on a seemingly ordinary afternoon.
Lu Nanyang had opened a Weibo account and posted a photo of himself holding hands with a handsome guy in glasses, captioned:
“Let me introduce you—this is my boyfriend, Xie Quan.”
The two faces in the photo were clear. Though their styles were different, both were stunningly handsome.
This essentially public declaration reignited the recently subdued topic. Within moments, online discussions exploded again, and malicious speculation surged like a tidal wave.
Was he doing this to spite the younger brother who attempted suicide?
Or was it aimed at rebelling against Lu Hongzhen, who disapproved of their relationship?
Maybe the boyfriend was after the Lu family fortune—was this a provocation toward Lu Hongzhen and Lu Zhanlei?
The bloody drama of the Lu family seemed to have only just begun. Who would end up the real winner?
While everyone was busy coming up with conspiracy theories and even analyzing stock fluctuations under the Lu Corporation, Lu Nanyang posted another Weibo that caught everyone completely off guard.
It was… an advertisement for a Chinese Crepes street food stall.
The picture showed a modest food cart, stocked with various tools and condiments, the kind you’d see in any downtown food street.
Except this one had two large, flashy neon-lit signs on either side that you couldn’t miss even if you tried.
Left side: [Stir-fried noodles, Stir-fried rice, Chinese Crepes]
Right side: [Civil, Commercial, and Criminal Legal Consultations]
The caption was just as direct:
“I’m running a stall on Yunshan Road food street! Whether you’re hungry or need legal advice, come find me! Ask me anything—legal consultations are free! I can even represent you in civil lawsuits!”
A clear location tag was attached, pinpointing exactly where he was posting from.
Everyone was stunned. No one could figure out what this young master was up to, but it was newsworthy, and media platforms quickly blew it up.
At home, Lu Zhanlei was dumbfounded. Lu Yunyao laughed non-stop. Lu Hongzhen was furious and called Lu Nanyang five or six times—none of which were answered.
To be fair, Lu Nanyang wasn’t ignoring the calls on purpose. He was just way too busy at the stall to even check his phone.
People came in waves, driven by curiosity. Many thought it might just be a prank, but to their shock, the food cart from the photo was really there, and the young master himself was behind it, wearing a plain black T-shirt, flipping pancakes energetically.
His cooking skills were clearly a bit lacking—sometimes the pancake would be cooked too early, sometimes uneven in thickness. As more curious spectators gathered, it became clear he couldn’t keep up.
Then, the young man in a buttoned-up shirt and glasses stood up from a nearby stool, tied on an apron, and shooed Lu Nanyang away from the cart.
“All right, go stir-fry noodles. At this rate, people will be waiting till nightfall for their order.”
Lu Nanyang sighed in defeat and obediently stepped aside.
With his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the glasses-wearing youth moved with practiced ease, a contrast to his composed demeanor. He spread the batter thin and evenly, added crispies and various toppings with skill, and had the pancake bagged up in no time.
Curious onlookers, after a brief moment of stunned silence, immediately began bombarding the two behind the stall with a barrage of rapid-fire questions.
“Are you really the young master of the Lu family? The one trending on Weibo—Lu Nanyang?”
“What exactly happened between you and the Lu family?”
“Is he your sugar baby boyfriend?”
“Are you doing all this to push Lu Zhanlei out and inherit the Lu family’s fortune?”
“Why are you guys running a street stall?”
“Yes, I’m Lu Nanyang. He’s my boyfriend—not a sugar baby—and I have no intention of inheriting the Lu family’s wealth,” Lu Nanyang said as he scraped off the residue from the pan with a metal spatula and gestured behind him. “No rush. Ask one question at a time, I’ll answer them all. If you’re hungry, feel free to order some food. There are seats over there—you can sit and wait. I promise I’ll answer everything.”
“Who else wants jianbing guozi (chinese crepes)?” In the meantime, Xie Quan had already wrapped another one. He looked up at the crowd.
People glanced at each other, uncertain who spoke first, until someone finally broke the silence, “I—I’ll have one.”
Then everyone started shouting their orders all at once.
“One with ham, no spice.”
“Give me a portion of fried noodles.”
“Jianbing guozi with chicken fingers for me!”
…
All morning, Lu Nanyang’s food stall became the brightest sight on the whole street. People poured in non-stop to place orders and ask questions. The most popular inquiries were gradually answered and explained, and slowly, the malicious questions started to fade away.
“Young Master Lu, you’re so different from what I imagined,” a female reporter said while holding her food. “I thought you’d be some playboy with scandals everywhere, but you’re just like a regular college student.”
“I am a regular college student, thank you very much,” Lu Nanyang laughed as he stir-fried noodles. “Isn’t this stall just me doing part-time work to earn a bit of cash?”
“Then… are you planning to sever ties with the Lu family?”
“Who said you have to cut ties just because you’re not taking money from your family?” Xie Quan chimed in. “Mr. Lu is an outstanding entrepreneur and a great father. He never spoils his kids. Lu Nanyang often works part-time to earn his own living expenses—that’s rare for people of their status.”
“Then doesn’t he disapprove of your relationship?” someone asked curiously.
Xie Quan tilted his head and gave the person a puzzled look. “No, he doesn’t. Do you know what kind of man Mr. Lu is? He started from the bottom and worked his way up. He’s open-minded and broad-hearted—he even participated in LGBT equality marches in the U.S. You really think he’d be so narrow-minded as to oppose his son’s right to love freely? You’re seriously underestimating the Lu family’s values by asking that.”
A look of realization spread across the crowd. Many started praising Lu Hongzhen’s progressive mindset. The reporter even got misty-eyed and said she would write a heartfelt article about the father-son bond in the Lu family—and call out the trashy marketing accounts spreading false rumors.
The atmosphere at the stall gradually became more relaxed. Customers joked and laughed with Lu Nanyang. Some even earnestly asked him legal questions, inspired by the stall’s banner.
“You can ask me about legal stuff. For medical questions, ask him,” Lu Nanyang said, pointing to Xie Quan. “He’s a top student from our med school, guaranteed placement for graduate studies with the highest scores.”
“Th-then… can I add you on WeChat?” a girl asked shyly, blushing. “Just in case I have more legal questions in the future.”
“Sure!” Lu Nanyang grinned brightly. “But you’d better add him too, or he’ll definitely get jealous.”
Someone in the crowd let out a teasing “eww!” and a chorus of playful jeers followed.
Xie Quan clicked his tongue and picked up the scraper, pointing it at Lu Nanyang in mock warning. “Getting too smug, huh? Watch it or I’ll scrape you.”
The whole day passed in this light-hearted, joyful atmosphere. Not long after, the internet was flooded with spontaneous support for Lu Nanyang.
—It’s all rumors. Young Master Lu is nothing like those online stories. He’s super nice, and so is his boyfriend.
—They’re in a real, serious relationship! These marketing accounts keep talking about “sugar babies”—they’re just jealous and resentful of rich people. So dark-hearted.
—Let me say it again: not a sugar baby!! It’s NOT sugar baby stuff!! Lu Nanyang hasn’t taken a cent from his family in years—even his living expenses for school were earned by himself! And those rumors about him trying to steal the Lu family fortune? Ridiculous. If he were that greedy, he would’ve blown money on luxury ages ago!
—And Mr. Lu never opposed their relationship! All that gossip was made up by shady marketing accounts! Old man Lu marched in LGBT pride events—he’s super progressive! Their whole family is harmonious and supportive. It’s those gossip accounts that keep spreading lies—they just can’t shut up.
Within just a few days, Lu Nanyang’s Weibo account gained over a hundred thousand followers, and the money they made from their stall was enough to buy a set of high-end electronic equipment.
Just like that, the storm quietly subsided, and Lu Nanyang gained a new way to share his daily life.
He collected many small details that Xie Quan thought he had long forgotten—photos, conversations, or a wind chime hanging in the living room—and posted them on Weibo:
—Xie Quan in high school.
—The sandwiches he made.
—The wind chime. When we went shopping, he looked at it at least three times. I asked if he wanted to buy it; he said no. At checkout, he found it in the bag and asked what was going on. I said my hand trembled and accidentally put it in. He laughed at me for ten minutes.
When Xie Quan saw this post, he glared at him but still hung the wind chime near the entrance. Whenever the door opened, the little glass whale would tinkle brightly.
