AAWOMAHI Chapter13

The weather grew colder and colder. During this period, Lu Xingmian caught several more colds, likely still not fully adapted to the weather in Yancheng.

 

These times, however, were just colds, without fever. Fortunately, he had prepared medicine beforehand, and after taking it, there was no major issue; the cold symptoms would disappear after a day or two.

 

But then, every two or three days, Lu Xingmian would catch another cold, repeating this cycle several times.

 

When Lu Xingmian arrived in the classroom, he saw a colorful mound on his desk. As he got closer, he realized the colorful items were beautifully packaged apples. It was then he remembered that today was Christmas.

 

These apples almost completely covered his desk; there were even several in the desk compartment.

 

Chen Che looked at his own desk, which was completely empty, forming a sharp contrast with Lu Xingmian’s desk next to him.

 

“Seriously, this is too obvious!” There was even half an apple squeezed onto his desk because Lu Xingmian’s desk couldn’t fit any more. One could tell that the owner of that apple desperately wanted it to be on Lu Xingmian’s desk, as if afraid Chen Che would misunderstand and think the apple was for him.

 

Chen Che felt a mix of sourness and envy. Lu Xingmian’s face was just too popular! Then again, it made sense; he was handsome and good at studying, so everyone must like him.

 

“I didn’t realize you were so popular,” Chen Che said, pulling an apple from somewhere. “I have another apple here. A junior from the first year of high school asked me to give it to you.”

 

Lu Xingmian looked at the desk full of apples and frowned. They were taking up his entire desk; how was he supposed to study?

 

So, Lu Xingmian distributed the apples to the classmates around him.

 

Who said the apples on his desk were necessarily meant for him? Since he didn’t know who they were from, he might as well share them with everyone.

 

After giving away all the apples on his desk, keeping none for himself, Lu Xingmian thought for a moment and sent a message to Lu Ge.

 

Lu Xingmian: [Lu Ge, Merry Christmas.]

 

A few minutes later, Lu Xingmian received a reply.

 

Lu Shiran: [Student Lu Xingmian, Merry Christmas.]

 

Immediately after, Lu Xingmian received four red packets from Lu Ge.

 

Mer. Ry. Christ. Mas.

 

Having been tricked several times, Lu Xingmian refused to accept Lu Ge’s red packets this time. Each time it was 200 yuan, and he’d tell Lu Xingmian to buy snacks, always lying that it was just a small red packet, no more than ten yuan, but Lu Xingmian fell for it every time.

 

Lu Xingmian felt that Lu Ge’s job was very tough. There were several times when he called Lu Ge, and it sounded noisy on Lu Ge’s end. Lu Ge would say he was socializing with his boss and asked Lu Xingmian to wait half an hour for him.

 

Still socializing so late, it showed how hard Lu Ge’s job was. Working during the day and also having a part-time job at night. Lu Xingmian could already imagine Lu Ge toiling away at work to pay off his loan. So, how could he bear to take such large red packets from Lu Ge?

 

Seeing Lu Xingmian hesitate to accept the red packets, Lu Shiran assured him that the amount was very small, definitely not 200 yuan. Looking at Lu Ge’s sincere tone, Lu Xingmian clicked on the red packets. Indeed, it wasn’t 200, but each red packet contained 50 yuan, totaling 200 yuan again.

 

Lu Xingmian: [Lu Ge, you tricked me again.]

 

Lu Shiran: [Stop playing on your phone; class should be starting soon. Pay attention in class.]

 

Lu Xingmian suddenly remembered that Lu Ge was in Yancheng, and he wasn’t far from Yancheng either.

 

Lu Xingmian: [Lu Ge, if you have time, I’d like to treat you to a meal.]

 

Lu Shiran: [We’ll see about that later.]

 

Lu Xingmian was about to say something more when the teacher arrived, so he had no choice but to put his phone into his schoolbag; after all, phones weren’t allowed at school.

 

Lu Xingmian wanted to treat Lu Ge to a meal not for any other reason but to thank him. Now, he could finally sleep five or six hours every night. Of course, this was only when Lu Ge lulled him to sleep; when Lu Ge was busy and not around, Lu Xingmian still tossed and turned sleeplessly.

 

Not only did he lull him to sleep, but when he had time, Lu Ge would also personally teach him how to cook. He probably guessed that Lu Xingmian always ate instant noodles for convenience, and with his poor sleep quality in his final year of high school and constantly eating unhealthy food, it was a wonder his body held up at all.

 

So, when he was free, Lu Ge would teach Lu Xingmian how to cook, starting with simple dishes like scrambled eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried greens. Under Lu Ge’s guidance, Lu Xingmian learned to make a few simple dishes. However, he couldn’t explain why, despite following Lu Ge’s instructions step-by-step, the food Lu Xingmian made tasted… indescribable. Still, it was better than eating instant noodles.

 

If Lu Ge coaxing him to sleep was part of his job, then teaching him how to cook was clearly outside his job scope. Lu Xingmian felt incredibly fortunate to have bought a thousand hours of Lu Ge’s time; even at double the price, he thought it was more than worth it.

 

Lu Shiran wasn’t busy today and wanted to teach Lu Xingmian a simple beef and potato stew. Lu Xingmian had mentioned last night that he wanted to eat beef stew, telling Lu Shiran that he had tried making it before, but the beef turned out terribly. After hearing this, Lu Shiran said he would teach him how to make the dish the next day. So, after school, Lu Xingmian bought a pound of beef and a potato at the market near his residential area.

 

Lu Xingmian thought Lu Ge would teach him over a voice call, just like the previous times. However, Lu Xingmian received a message from Lu Ge asking if he could turn on his camera, not facing himself, so he could better understand why Lu Xingmian had failed before. Lu Ge also added that it was fine if he didn’t want to turn on the camera; a voice call was okay too, and he guaranteed he would teach Lu Xingmian how to make the dish successfully, ensuring he wouldn’t fail.

 

When Lu Xingmian saw Lu Ge suggest a video call, he suddenly got nervous. Even though his face wouldn’t show, it felt like they were face-to-face, and he suddenly felt embarrassed.

 

Lu Xingmian initiated a video call to Lu Ge.

 

Several minutes passed after the message was sent, and Lu Shiran didn’t reply. Lu Shiran wondered if he had overstepped, making Lu Xingmian uncomfortable. Indeed, they were currently just internet acquaintances, and a video call wasn’t very safe. Would Lu Xingmian think he had ill intentions? However, such vigilance was good; one shouldn’t casually video call a stranger, even if it’s faceless. Lu Xingmian was doing very well in this regard, showing good safety awareness.

 

Just as Lu Shiran was feeling relieved, Lu Xingmian sent a video call.

 

Lu Shiran: “……”

 

He accepted it.

 

Lu Xingmian had secured his phone, and what appeared in the video was a cutting board with a plate of raw beef and a peeled potato next to it. This must be the kitchen; it looked small.

 

Then, Lu Shiran heard Lu Xingmian’s voice: “Lu-Lu Ge, what should we do now?” His voice sounded a little nervous.

 

Lu Xingmian looked at his phone; the screen was neither black nor white, suggesting the phone was propped up on something, like a book, and the camera was blocked. Lu Xingmian felt a mix of nervousness, disappointment, and relief. He really wanted to know what Lu Ge, with such a pleasant voice, looked like, but he quickly realized that was impossible and he was overthinking it.

 

Lu Ge told him to cut the potatoes into chunks first. On the phone screen, a pair of beautiful hands held a kitchen knife, steadily cutting the potatoes.

 

Lu Shiran gave live instructions from his end: “You’re cutting the potatoes well, but you can cut them a little smaller.”

 

Lu Xingmian thought it was a bit of a waste that such a pleasant voice was teaching him to cook.

 

Video calls felt different from voice calls, so Lu Xingmian was a little nervous when he first held the knife, even missing a cut.

 

Lu Shiran noticed: “Are you nervous?”

 

Lu Xingmian’s voice was a bit embarrassed: “En, a little. Lu Ge, it’s my first time video calling a stranger.”

 

Lu Shiran said, “Don’t be nervous. Hold the knife steady, don’t cut yourself.”

 

“Okay.” Lu Xingmian held up the cut potato pieces to the camera: “Lu Ge, is this size alright?”

 

A few potato pieces rested on the boy’s hand; under the warmth of his palm, the potatoes instantly seemed to gleam like pearls.

 

Lu Shiran hummed in affirmation and praised the boy: “Nicely cut, very good.”

 

Lu Xingmian’s heart swelled with happiness at Lu Ge’s praise.

 

He cut the remaining potatoes to roughly the same size. After rinsing the starch off the cut potato pieces, he drained them and placed them on a plate, ready for use.

 

Next was cutting the beef into chunks. Lu Shiran told Lu Xingmian he could cut the beef slightly larger than the potato pieces, or the same size, depending on Lu Xingmian’s preference.

 

Lu Xingmian was no longer nervous. He cut two pieces of beef and held them up for Lu Shiran to see, asking him, “Lu Ge, is this cut okay?”

 

It was clear Lu Xingmian was diligently trying to cut the beef into uniform, small pieces. Lu Shiran chuckled: “I take back what I said earlier. Just cut however you like. Any way is fine. You don’t need a correct formula like solving a problem to get the right result. Just cut it however.”

 

This was probably the first time Lu Xingmian had heard Lu Ge laugh. His voice was pleasant, and he hadn’t expected his laugh to be so captivating, even more pleasant than the ancient, resonant bells in an old temple.

 

That laugh made Lu Xingmian’s heart skip a beat. As a result, Lu Xingmian, lost in the laughter, accidentally cut his finger.

 

He let out an “Ah!”

 

Lu Shiran instinctively leaned closer to his phone: “What’s wrong? Did you cut yourself?”

 

On the screen, red blood seeped from the boy’s fingertip. He had indeed cut his hand.

 

Lu Xingmian said, “Lu Ge, wait for me. I’m going to put on a bandage.”

 

Then, Lu Xingmian’s hand disappeared from the screen. Lu Shiran heard the shuffling sound of slippers and, faintly, the sound of a drawer being opened to search for something. In less than five minutes, Lu Xingmian reappeared in the kitchen.

 

Lu Shiran: “Is your hand okay?”

 

The bandaged finger wiggled in front of the camera: “It’s fine, it’s fine. Just an accident. It’s nothing once I put a bandage on it.”

 

Lu Xingmian: “Lu Ge, let’s continue cooking.”