Lu Xingmian sent Lu Shiran a message as soon as he got out of the car, telling him he had arrived home safely.
Back home, Lu Xingmian suddenly realized that his first thought was to ask Lu Ge for help. It would have been more appropriate to ask Song Yihan, Liu Yichen, or even Chen Che, but for some reason, Lu Ge was the first person he thought of.
He hadn’t even met Lu Ge in person, but maybe it was because Lu Ge’s voice sounded kind, or perhaps because he was very gentle.
During their voice call, Lu Xingmian briefly told Lu Shiran about his evening. He mentioned meeting a very amiable uncle at the banquet.
As always, Lu Xingmian avoided talking about anything unpleasant he encountered.
As he was talking, Lu Xingmian also told Lu Shiran that he had met someone with a voice very similar to his.
“A similar voice?” Lu Shiran frowned. Someone at the banquet had a voice that was similar to his? How similar could it be for Lu Xingmian to remember it?
Lu Shiran asked him, “Did you see that person?”
Lu Xingmian thought about the situation at the time and shook his head. “No, I only saw the back. He was wearing a black suit and looked really fierce.”
“Looked really fierce?” There were many people at the banquet wearing black suits, but Lu Shiran really had no idea who would have a fierce-looking back and a voice similar to his.
Lu Xingmian then remembered something else and continued, “That person has the same last name as Lu Ge too. I heard people call him ‘President Lu.’ Yes, that’s right, they called him ‘President Lu.'”
Lu Xingmian didn’t know much about the Lu clan, only that there were two brothers: the older one was married, and the younger one’s private life was a mystery. He only knew this because, on the way to the banquet, he overheard Xia Yuefang telling Lu Sihang that if given the chance, he should get closer to President Lu.
So, the person he met should have been the younger brother of the Lu clan.
Lu Shiran was stunned for a moment. It seemed that the person Lu Xingmian was describing was himself.
Did his back look fierce? Did his voice sound cold?
Lu Shiran was a bit confused. “What did you hear that President Lu say?” He wondered why Lu Xingmian would think his back looked fierce.
“Actually, I didn’t hear very clearly,” Lu Xingmian said. “I just heard a few words.”
Because the voice was exceptionally pleasant, Lu Xingmian immediately recognized it.
Noticing that Lu Ge had fallen silent, Lu Xingmian reassured him, “Even though the voices are similar, I still think Lu Ge’s voice is better. If I think about it more carefully, maybe I misheard back then. Maybe it wasn’t that similar, just a little bit. That President Lu’s voice sounded both fierce and cold.”
There was live piano and violin accompaniment at the banquet, plus so many people talking, so it was probably a misunderstanding on his part.
Lu Shiran, whose “back looked fierce” and “voice was fierce and cold,” was speechless. He didn’t know when he had left such an impression on Lu Xingmian.
Lu Shiran tentatively asked, “Do you really think that President Lu’s voice isn’t pleasant?”
Of course, Lu Xingmian knew the answer to that question.
“No, it’s definitely not as pleasant as Lu Ge’s voice. Lu Ge’s voice is the best I’ve ever heard,” Lu Xingmian praised without holding back. “Lu Ge, I think if you became a voice actor, a lot, a lot of people would love your voice, really.”
Listening to Lu Xingmian say his voice was better than “President Lu’s” voice, Lu Shiran didn’t know whether to be happy or to reflect on himself.
Lu Shiran felt that Lu Xingmian seemed to prefer “Lu Ge’s” voice, even though they were both his own voice.
Hearing Lu Ge chuckle, Lu Xingmian felt relieved. He thought Lu Ge might be angry; putting himself in that position, he probably would have felt uncomfortable too.
Although he had experienced some unpleasant things today, closing his eyes and listening to Lu Ge tell stories made Lu Xingmian feel like everything wasn’t so serious after all.
He thought that Lu Ge’s voice in person must be even better than over the phone.
After New Year’s Day, it suddenly started snowing.
Just as school was about to end, the gloomy sky suddenly began to drift with large snowflakes.
A classmate by the window was the first to notice and quietly exclaimed, “It’s snowing!” Soon, the entire class knew.
Lu Xingmian thought they were small snowflakes, but when he looked out the window, he realized they weren’t small at all; they were large, indicating what looked like a heavy snowfall.
The sudden snow caused a small commotion in the classroom.
Some students secretly took out their phones to snap a picture of the snowy scene: a classroom full of students, desks covered with textbooks, and a window framed by falling snow.
The once-quiet self-study session erupted into chaos, catching the attention of the passing dean of students, who immediately burst into the classroom.
“Your class is the messiest in the entire building! What time is it already? Settle down!”
“I just saw some of you with your phones. Who was it? Hand them over!”
Indeed, deans from different schools always seem to say the same things.
The dean hadn’t actually seen any students with phones; he was just trying to scare them, and naturally, the students didn’t fall for it.
The dean walked around the classroom and, as he left, said, “Even though there are only about ten minutes left until dismissal, you absolutely cannot get distracted. You have your college entrance exams in June.”
By the time school ended, the snow was falling even harder.
It looked like it might continue snowing all night.
When Lu Xingmian got home, he discovered that the power was out in his complex.
He bumped into the elderly lady from downstairs, who informed him that the complex had announced the power wouldn’t be back until around 10 PM.
Worried that Lu Xingmian might be afraid of the dark alone, the old lady even gave him two candles.
Lu Xingmian always greeted the old lady when he saw her, and they had become acquainted.
After the power went out, the old lady waited in the hallway for Lu Xingmian just to give him the candles. A child living alone, without adult care—it must be so hard for him.
Lu Xingmian hadn’t expected the old lady downstairs to specifically wait in the hallway for him just to bring him candles.
“Thank you, Grandma.”
With the power out, the heating wasn’t working, and with the heavy snow today, the temperature had plummeted, and the temperature inside his apartment dropped along with it.
Lu Xingmian still felt cold even while wearing a thick down jacket inside his house.
Parents with children in the complex had all taken their kids out to find a warmer place.
Lu Xingmian, however, didn’t leave. Instead, he lit two candles on his desk. The light from the candles was bright enough that it didn’t hinder his homework at all.
It was just a bit cold.
After finishing two practice tests, Lu Xingmian flexed his slightly cold fingers and checked the time. It was only 8:30 PM, an hour and a half until the power returned.
During his short break, Lu Xingmian opened his phone, took a picture, and sent it out.
Lu Xingmian: [The complex has a power outage.]
A moment later, Lu Shiran replied: [When will the power come back on? Is it cold in your house?]
Lu Xingmian: [It’ll be back on at 10 PM. It’s not cold in the house; I’m wearing a down jacket.]
Lu Shiran looked out the window. It seemed to be snowing in SS City.
Lu Shiran: [Is it snowing where you are?]
Lu Xingmian: [Yes, heavy snow.]
It’s snowing, the power is out, and the heating must be off too.
Lu Shiran: [Are you really not cold, Lu Xingmian? Do you want to find a warm place to wait until the power comes back on?]
Lu Xingmian had thought about it initially but found it too troublesome. Besides, the house wasn’t as cold as Lu Ge imagined; wearing a down jacket made him quite warm.
At 10 o’clock, the power finally returned, and the dim room suddenly felt brighter than ever.
Lu Xingmian quickly went to boil water. Even with the down jacket, his whole body still felt cold.
After boiling the water, he saw Lu Ge’s message, asking if the power was back on and if the heating was working.
That night, Lu Xingmian felt cared for by two people.
The next morning, just as expected, a thick layer of snow covered the ground, each step sank deep past his ankles.
At school, the entire campus lay buried beneath a pristine blanket of snow.
To ensure people could move around normally, all teachers and students spent their morning self-study time collectively clearing snow.
It only proved that there’s strength in numbers; together, they cleared the snow-covered paths in no time.
Zhou Cheng leaned on his large broom, resting against Lu Xingmian. “So, we’re set for this afternoon, right?”
Lu Xingmian: “Is it really okay?”
Zhou Cheng: “Of course it is.”
“Zhou Cheng, you’re up to your old tricks, trying to mislead Lu Xingmian again,” Zhu Jinyan said as he walked over. Then, turning to Lu Xingmian, he reassured him, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. The intel is completely trustworthy.”
Chen Che came over as well and said, “Relax, it’s been confirmed. During the last class this afternoon, all the senior year homeroom teachers and the dean of students will be in a meeting. They won’t be on campus, so there’s no chance we’ll get caught.”
Today was Chen Che’s birthday, and the group decided to go to a KTV during the last class to celebrate.
As they were discussing their plans, Gao Yan approached.
Seeing Gao Yan come over to find Lu Xingmian was nothing new to them; he never missed an opportunity to ask Lu Xingmian questions.
It’s also worth noting that Gao Yan was truly diligent. Even while shoveling snow, he had practice problems with him.
During their lunch break, Lu Xingmian and Zhou Cheng went outside school to order a birthday cake. While ordering, they ran into a boy from the neighboring class with whom Zhou Cheng had a past feud.
When the boy approached, Lu Xingmian and Zhou Cheng were discussing skipping the last class.
Zhou Cheng said, “It should be fine; he probably didn’t hear what we were just talking about.”
Finally, the last class arrived.
During the third period, they had already seen the homeroom teachers and the dean of students leave the school gates.
The last class was a self-study period.
With no teachers supervising, Lu Xingmian and the others quietly left the classroom with their backpacks during the fourth period.
When Lu Xingmian looked back, he was startled to see that not only had their group left early, but several other classmates had also departed.
Everyone had a silent understanding.
It was only then that Lu Xingmian realized just how many spots around the school made it easy to climb over the wall, and that they weren’t the only students doing it.
The four of them slipped out of school, changed out of their uniforms, picked up the cake from the bakery, and made their way to the KTV room they had booked.
