AAWOMAHI Chapter34

After leaving the Lu family home, Lu Xingmian’s eyes were slightly red, but no tears fell. He left that place he didn’t miss at all, that emotionless place, that place where he felt wronged.

 

He once thought that one day he might be accepted, but he realized he was terribly wrong; he had been an outsider all along.

 

Lu Xingmian thought, He had no home, truly no home at all.

 

He was a little sad, a little heartbroken, and a little wronged, but everything was still okay; it wasn’t that unbearable, and there was nothing to feel miserable about either.

 

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Lu Xingmian finally noticed the sharp pain radiating from his knee. He had forgotten that he had hit the corner of the table earlier, and combined with the slightly cold weather outside, Lu Xingmian finally felt the pain.

 

There were no chairs nearby to rest on, so Lu Xingmian sat directly on the roadside. It was still quite a distance from the subway station. To get back from here, he would need to transfer two subway lines and then take a two-hour bus ride to reach his residential complex.

 

Lu Xingmian rubbed his knee, but the method didn’t seem to help; it only made it hurt more.

 

So he took out his phone and put on his earphones. As he listened to the sound through his earphones, the pain seemed to lessen.

 

The sun was bright today, and the weather was lovely. The midday sun felt warm on his body.

 

He had now severed ties with the Lu family. From now on, he could only rely on himself for everything.

 

Originally, he had wanted to meet Lu Shiran today, but in his current disheveled state, he decided against it. Lu Xingmian thought to himself that it was a good thing he hadn’t told Lu Shiran he was in the city.

 

Lu Xingmian considered it for a moment, then decided to wait a few more minutes before heading to the subway station.

 

As Lu Xingmian sat by the roadside, a car approached. From the corner of his eye, Lu Shiran, seated in the car, noticed a familiar figure in a black down jacket, hunched into a small ball and squatting by the roadside in the cold.

 

Looking out the window, the person sitting by the roadside was indeed Lu Xingmian.

 

Lu Shiran immediately pulled the car over beside Lu Xingmian. “Lu Xingmian.”

 

Hearing someone call his name, Lu Xingmian paused for a moment before removing his earphones and looking up, his eyes widening at once.

 

It was Lu Shiran; he thought he had misheard.

 

Catching sight of Lu Shiran through the car window, and seeing him in this cold, unfamiliar place, Lu Xingmian’s eyes grew misty and his nose stung.

 

He called out, “Ge.”

 

Then, his tears couldn’t be held back anymore. To meet Lu Shiran here, to hear him call his name—everything he had bottled up, all the sorrow and grievances, came flooding out at once.

 

Startled to see Lu Xingmian suddenly in tears, Lu Shiran hurriedly stepped out of the car, crouched before him, and asked, “Lu Xingmian, what’s wrong? What happened?”

 

This was the first time he had seen Lu Xingmian cry, crying so sadly, so heartbreakingly.

 

Lu Xingmian said, “Nothing, I just suddenly wanted to cry.”

 

If he hadn’t met Lu Shiran, if Lu Shiran hadn’t cared for him so much, Lu Xingmian wouldn’t have cried so heartbrokenly.

 

Lu Shiran fumbled to find tissues to wipe Lu Xingmian’s tears, but the more he wiped, the more tears flowed. The more flustered Lu Shiran became, the only thing he could repeatedly say was, “Lu Xingmian, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

 

Lu Xingmian hugged his arm. “Ge, let me cry for a bit. I’ll be fine after I cry.” In front of Lu Shiran, he could cry without any reservations.

 

Lu Shiran let him hold his arm and cry. “Lu Xingmian, how about we go cry in the car? It’s cold outside, don’t cry and hurt your face.” Crying in such cold weather could easily lead to catching a cold.

 

Lu Xingmian ignored him.

 

Lu Shiran thought for a moment. “If you cry like this, people who don’t know might think I bullied you. Just now, two people walked by and kept glaring at me.”

 

Only then did Lu Xingmian look up, his eyes red, and sob, “Then, then let’s go to the car.”

 

Lu Shiran helped him up.

 

After taking a couple of steps, Lu Shiran noticed Lu Xingmian’s walking seemed a bit off. “Did you hurt your leg?”

 

Lu Xingmian replied, “It’s just a bump.”

 

Once in the car, Lu Xingmian continued to hold onto Lu Shiran’s arm and cry. Lu Shiran didn’t ask anything and simply wiped his tears.

 

After letting him cry for a while, Lu Shiran recalled the injury on his leg and told him to roll up his pant leg so he could take a look. When Lu Xingmian did, Lu Shiran understood why it hurt so much: his knee was bruised and swollen, looking quite serious.

 

Lu Shiran’s brows furrowed. He looked at Lu Xingmian, whose eyes were still red, and carefully pulled his pant leg back down. He gently wiped away Lu Xingmian’s tears, then looked ahead and noticed a pharmacy not far away. He told Lu Xingmian, “Wait for me in the car. I’ll go to the pharmacy to buy some medicine.”

 

Lu Xingmian hummed in agreement.

 

Lu Shiran added, “Don’t cry alone for now. You can cry again when I get back.”

 

He watched Lu Shiran stride into the pharmacy and quickly stride back out, holding a bag containing anti-inflammatory pain relief spray and a bottle of milk.

 

Lu Xingmian’s heart stirred, and suddenly, he didn’t feel like crying anymore.

 

Lu Shiran returned to the car and handed the milk to Lu Xingmian. The milk was still warm. “Drink something warm to warm yourself up.”

 

He didn’t know how long Lu Xingmian had been outside before he found him, but Lu Xingmian’s whole body felt cold, so he knew he must have been sitting outside for a long time. That’s why he had tried so hard to coax him into the car.

 

Lu Shiran asked Lu Xingmian to roll up his pant leg again. “Lu Xingmian, your knee is very swollen. It might hurt a bit, so bear with it.”

 

He then sprayed Lu Xingmian’s bruised knee. Lu Xingmian let out a soft hum, it felt cool, yet slightly painful.

 

When Lu Shiran pulled down his pant leg, he asked, “How did this happen?”

 

Lu Xingmian remained silent.

 

Lu Shiran asked, “Did you get into a fight?”

 

Lu Xingmian replied, “No.”

 

Lu Shiran pressed, “Then how did you get hurt?”

 

Lu Xingmian said, “Someone pushed me.”

 

Lu Shiran asked, “Who?”

 

Lu Xingmian answered, “Someone unimportant.”

 

Lu Shiran roughly understood. Lu Xingmian must have been wronged at the Lu family’s house. The Lu family must have called him back; otherwise, Lu Xingmian wouldn’t have suddenly come to the city without telling him.

 

Lu Xingmian watched as Lu Shiran carefully pulled his pants down again. He thought of what Xia Yuefang had said about no one liking him. “Ge, is it true that no one will like me?”

 

His biological parents didn’t like him, and his adoptive parents didn’t like him either. He no longer had a family.

 

Lu Shiran ruffled his head. “How could that be? Your friends, your classmates—don’t they all like you very much?”

 

“Last time during the National Day holiday, didn’t your friends come to see you because they were worried about you?”

 

“And your current teachers and classmates, they like you too.”

 

Lu Shiran often heard Lu Xingmian mention his current classmates. From his tone, he could tell that Lu Xingmian got along very well with his classmates, and they liked him too.

 

“And there’s also the grandma downstairs, she likes you very much too. She brought you candles when the power went out, and she also brought you steamed buns and dumplings.”

 

Listening to Lu Shiran, Lu Xingmian felt less miserable.

 

Lu Xingmian asked him, “Then do you like me?”

 

“Of course,” Lu Shiran said. “Of course I like you. You even call me Ge, so of course I like you. Which elder brother wouldn’t like their younger brother?”

 

Lu Xingmian hummed in acknowledgment.

 

Perhaps it was the warmth in the car, or perhaps because he had seen Lu Shiran, or maybe it was the hot milk that warmed his heart, but Lu Xingmian’s mood brightened.

 

He thought, Today was truly good; he met Lu Shiran.

 

It was now noon, and Lu Shiran took Lu Xingmian to eat.

 

When they got out of the car, Lu Xingmian was still limping a bit. Lu Shiran offered his arm, letting Lu Xingmian lean on him.

 

Once in the private room, Lu Shiran handed the menu to Lu Xingmian, telling him to order whatever he wanted.

 

They ordered three dishes.

 

Lu Xingmian was hungry, but Lu Shiran went out to take a call. Since Lu Shiran hadn’t returned, he didn’t touch his chopsticks, waiting for him.

 

When Lu Shiran came back and saw Lu Xingmian hadn’t started eating, he asked him why, wondering if he didn’t like the food. Lu Xingmian said he was waiting to eat with him.

 

An hour later, they finished their meal, and Lu Xingmian was heading to a nearby subway station.

 

But Lu Shiran told him to get in the car. “Lu Xingmian, get in; I’ll drive you back.”

 

Lu Xingmian replied, “Where I live is very far.”

 

Lu Shiran said, “Of course I know that, Lu Xingmian; get in.”

 

Lu Xingmian didn’t want to trouble Lu Shiran. “Ge, I can go back by myself.”

 

Lu Shiran looked at him. “Lu Xingmian, do you really think I’d let you, injured, squeeze onto the subway and then take two hours on a bus to get back by yourself?”

 

Lu Xingmian said, “My knee doesn’t hurt anymore.”

 

Lu Shiran insisted, “Get in, be good.”

 

At the crucial moment, Lu Shiran’s voice helped him once again.

 

Lu Xingmian obediently got into the car. After getting in, he suddenly realized, “Ge, the car you drove last time wasn’t this one. Did you get a new car? This car feels very high-end.”

 

Lu Shiran stammered, “No, not at all, that…” He had forgotten that he had driven a luxury car when he left the house today.

 

As Lu Shiran was trying to figure out how to explain, a call came in, and Lu Shiran felt relieved. “I’ll take this call first.”

 

On the other end of the line, his friend wondered if the sun had risen in the west today. Lu Shiran was unusually talkative, and his tone so patient, as if he didn’t want the call to end.

 

By the time Lu Shiran hung up, Lu Xingmian had already fallen asleep in the passenger seat. Lu Shiran exhaled quietly, a sigh of relief.

 

Sunlight fell on Lu Xingmian’s face, so Lu Shiran lowered the sun visor to block it and simultaneously adjusted the car’s temperature higher.

 

Lu Shiran drove steadily, and Lu Xingmian didn’t wake up the entire way. As they neared home, Lu Shiran woke Lu Xingmian up early.

 

When Lu Xingmian opened his eyes, he realized they were almost home.

 

He had actually slept for so long! Truly, Lu Shiran’s voice was the best lullaby in the world.

 

As Lu Xingmian prepared to get out of the car, Lu Shiran suddenly called out to him, “Lu Xingmian, wear long johns to school tomorrow.”

 

He had just discovered that in such cold weather, Lu Xingmian was only wearing a single pair of trousers.

 

Lu Xingmian replied, “I’m wearing quite a lot; I probably don’t need long johns.”

 

Lu Shiran insisted, “You must wear them. The temperature is dropping tomorrow. I’ll remind you tonight. Why would a child like you prioritize style over warmth?”

 

Lu Xingmian hummed in agreement, assuring Lu Shiran that he would wear long johns tomorrow.

 

At the same time, Lu Shiran also gave Lu Xingmian the spray medicine, telling him to rest well at home.

 

Watching Lu Xingmian take a few steps, Lu Shiran still stepped out of the car. He couldn’t help but worry a little about him going upstairs alone, the building had no elevator, and his apartment was on the top floor.

 

Upon reaching the ground floor, Lu Shiran looked at Lu Xingmian and then half-squatted in front of him. “Lu Xingmian, I’ll carry you up.”

 

Lu Shiran looked back at the stunned Lu Xingmian. “Come on, be obedient.”

 

Lying on Lu Shiran’s back, Lu Xingmian felt an unprecedented sense of security. His back was as warm as his embrace.

 

Carrying Lu Xingmian upstairs, Lu Shiran walked very steadily.

 

Lu Xingmian asked, “Ge, am I not heavy?”

 

Lu Shiran replied, “Not heavy.”

 

As they went upstairs, they coincidentally met the grandmother from downstairs.

 

The grandmother asked him what was wrong, and Lu Xingmian said he had accidentally fallen.

 

The old grandmother remarked, “You two brothers have such a good relationship.”

 

After seeing Lu Xingmian home, Lu Shiran gave him a series of instructions, reminding him not to forget to use the spray medicine at night and to try not to move too much.

 

As Lu Shiran walked away, Lu Xingmian leaned against the window, gazing downward.

 

He saw Lu Shiran’s car, and a moment later, he saw Lu Shiran himself. Just as Lu Shiran was getting into the car, he instinctively looked up and saw Lu Xingmian by the window.

 

Butler Hou’s voice came through the earphones.

 

Butler Hou, after much inquiry, finally learned what had happened at the Lu family’s house that day.

 

“Lu Yan thought Lu Xingmian had a good relationship with Xiao Yu, so he forced Lu Xingmian to approach Xiao Yu. Lu Xingmian refused.”

 

“Lu Yan, enraged and shamed, immediately kicked Lu Xingmian out of the Lu family. Lu Xingmian has severed ties with the Lu family.”

 

Lu Shiran listened expressionlessly. “Uncle Hou, did Lu Yan lay hands on Lu Xingmian?”

 

“Yes.”