AAWOMAHI Chapter40

Sitting on the bed, Lu Xingmian’s soft, dark hair naturally fell across his face, it was a little long and slightly obscuring his eyes.

 

Because of the very loose clothes, the well-behaved Lu Xingmian looked even more like a lazy ragdoll. Perhaps because he had just showered, his skin was so fair it almost gleamed. Beneath his long, dense, slightly curled eyelashes were a pair of wet, large eyes. Beneath his delicate nose were soft pink lips, tinted like crabapple petals, their shape exquisitely refined, as though painted by an artist, with a graceful cupid’s bow completing the perfection.

 

Before this, Lu Xingmian had felt that what happened that night was a very sad and painful thing, his adoptive parents had contacted him and met with him right after his college entrance exam just to ask for child support money to buy a house. But upon seeing Lu Shiran kneeling in front of him, concerned for him, and now facing him on the bed in Lu Shiran’s home, he suddenly felt that it was just a small thing.

 

The sky hadn’t fallen.

 

Lu Xingmian had met Lu Shiran online because of his insomnia. Since then, Lu Shiran had patiently coaxed him to sleep almost every night. Every time he encountered a problem, Lu Shiran would care for him, help him analyze the situation, and even come to his aid.

 

Many of these things seemed illogical, but Lu Shiran never asked him for a reason. Lu Xingmian trusted Lu Shiran. He thought that if Lu Shiran knew his life story, he probably wouldn’t dislike him.

 

Lu Shiran sat across from Lu Xingmian, quietly waiting for him to speak. His well-tailored shirt and pants perfectly highlighted his figure.

 

Lu Xingmian thought for a moment before speaking. “Ge, if I told you that a year ago my name was actually Song Xingmian, would you believe me?”

 

“I would.” Lu Shiran replied.

 

Lu Xingmian stared at him, then smiled. “Ge, a year ago, I was living and studying in Sucheng…”

 

The night was very quiet as Lu Xingmian calmly recounted his story, from the day he came home during the second semester of his second year of high school to find two strangers there to the first time he heard Lu Shiran’s voice.

 

Lu Shiran listened quietly the whole time. When he heard about what Lu Xingmian had gone through with the Lu family and how they sent him to SS City, he really wanted to smoke.

 

He only ever got the urge to smoke when he was thinking deeply or experiencing strong emotions. But looking at Lu Xingmian in front of him, he held back, though the veins on his hands suddenly became very prominent, as if he were restraining something.

 

As Lu Xingmian recounted the times he was framed by Lu Sihang, how the Lu family’s driver testified that he saw him push Lu Sihang into the water, and how Lu Yan and Xia Yuefang looked at him with disappointment, not trusting him, his nose involuntarily tingled with a sour feeling, and his eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

 

Lu Xingmian pursed his lips, trying to hold back the tears, but Lu Shiran caught them. “Don’t hold it in. If you want to cry, just cry.”

 

Those words were like a trigger. Lu Xingmian’s tears started to fall in big drops, and Lu Shiran continuously wiped them away.

 

Lu Xingmian looked at Lu Shiran with red eyes. “Ge, I never did any of those things Lu Sihang said. I didn’t push him down the stairs, and I didn’t push him into the water. I really didn’t.” Everyone else said he did it, and no one believed him. Lu Xingmian was worried that Lu Shiran would also misunderstand and think he was capable of such things.

 

Lu Shiran wiped the tears from his face. “I believe you. You wouldn’t do that.”

 

Lu Shiran’s words, “You wouldn’t do that,” made Lu Xingmian break down and cry in his arms once more. When someone feels wronged, they might endure it quietly, but the moment their pain is recognized, all restraint crumbles.

 

Lu Shiran reached out to pat his shoulder. The rumors outside were nothing compared to what Lu Xingmian had truly suffered in the Lu family. He finally realized just how much Lu Xingmian had endured.

 

Lu Shiran asked him, “So is that why you have insomnia?”

 

“En.” Lu Xingmian replied.

 

“How bad was your insomnia at its worst?” Lu Shiran asked.

 

Lu Xingmian had stopped crying. He looked up at Lu Shiran and said lightly, “It wasn’t that serious. I just couldn’t sleep for several days in a row, which was a little uncomfortable. I’d take melatonin and could get some sleep for a while.”

 

“But there were side effects, right?” Lu Shiran said.

 

“Just a little bit, a tiny bit,” Lu Xingmian replied. Whenever he took melatonin, he woke the next day with a pounding headache, nausea, and an overall sense of unease. At that time, when he told Xia Yuefang he felt ill and didn’t want to attend a banquet, she accused him of faking it, which only made her even more displeased with him.

 

Lu Shiran, with his deep-set eyes, high nose bridge, and thin, proud lips, softly said, “I’m sorry.”

 

“Huh?” Lu Xingmian responded.

 

Lu Shiran gripped the tissue tightly. “I once deleted your contact.”

 

So this was what he was apologizing for. Lu Xingmian completely understood. “It’s okay. I know you guys delete the client’s contact information after an order is completed.”

 

“Hm?” Lu Shiran said.

 

Lu Xingmian explained that after Lu Shiran deleted him, he found another sleep-coaxer who told him they would delete the client’s contact information once the job was finished.

 

“You found another one later?” Lu Shiran asked.

 

“Mm, but his voice wasn’t as pleasant as yours, and I couldn’t fall asleep back then,” Lu Xingmian said. “Ge, I’m so lucky to have found you again. Otherwise, I’d probably still be battling insomnia.”

 

Lu Xingmian’s words eased Lu Shiran’s frown a bit.

 

But when he heard that Song Mingyi and his wife had demanded 420,000 yuan in child support from Lu Xingmian, Lu Shiran’s urge to smoke grew even stronger.

 

Lu Xingmian said lightly, “But everything’s fine now.”

 

He was just a little sad. He had originally planned to confess his feelings to Lu Shiran when he turned eighteen, but now he couldn’t. He only had 5,432.84 yuan to his name, and he needed to earn enough money for his tuition, living expenses, and other costs before enrolling in college. He genuinely had nothing left and even owed the Lu family 500,000 yuan. How could he possibly confess to Lu Shiran in this situation? He couldn’t.

 

The matters involving the Lu and Song families had always been a secret in his heart. He had never told any of his friends. Now that he had shared this secret with Lu Shiran, he felt much more at ease.

 

“I’m so glad I met you,” Lu Xingmian said. “Ge, is the sleep-coaxing thing really just a part-time job for you?”

 

Lu Shiran was startled. “Why do you ask?”

 

Lu Xingmian looked at him. “You seem very capable, Ge. This residential area looks really high-end, with only one apartment per floor. I was wondering why you’d have a part-time job, especially one that requires you to stay up late or even pull all-nighters, when you live in such a nice place. Are you really just a regular office worker?”

 

Lu Shiran laughed. “What would you do if I really did lie to you?”

 

Lu Xingmian thought for a moment. “Then we probably wouldn’t see each other again.” Having already been abandoned twice, first by his biological parents, then by his adoptive ones, Lu Xingmian couldn’t bear the thought of being deceived again, least of all by Lu Shiran. He lifted his gaze to him. “But you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

 

Lu Shiran looked at him with a bitter smile. “Lu Xingmian, you shouldn’t think so highly of me.”

 

“You’re very good,” Lu Xingmian insisted. “Very, very good. Exceptionally good.”

 

Lu Shiran swallowed his words. With everything that had just happened, this was the most sensitive and vulnerable Lu Xingmian had ever been. What would Lu Xingmian do if he told him the truth—that he had simply added the wrong contact and that Lu Shiran was actually the head of the Lu clan? Lu Shiran didn’t know. He was worried that if Lu Xingmian found out now, he would leave without a second thought. It was so late; where would he go? He couldn’t let him. This was not the right time to tell him the truth.

 

Feeling a bit guilty, Lu Shiran glanced at the time. “Wait for me for a moment.”

 

Lu Xingmian watched Lu Shiran get up and leave, only to return in less than a minute.

 

Lu Shiran was holding a small box. “Happy Birthday, Lu Xingmian.”

 

Lu Xingmian looked at the time and realized it was past midnight. He looked at Lu Shiran in disbelief. “How did you know…?” How could he have known it was his birthday today?

 

Lu Shiran said, “It’s a birthday present.”

 

Lu Xingmian was thrilled. Lu Shiran not only knew it was his birthday, but he had also prepared a gift for him. He carefully opened the box to find an earring. “It’s so beautiful.” Lu Xingmian exclaimed.

 

Lu Shiran looked at him. “I noticed that you have a piercing in your ear.”

 

“Thank you.” Lu Xingmian put the earring on, then turned his head, tilting the right side of his face toward Lu Shiran. “Does it look good?”

 

The small earring sparkled under the light.

 

“En, it looks good.” Lu Shiran said.

 

Lu Xingmian smiled happily. “Thank you.”

 

Lu Shiran asked him, “Are you feeling better now?”

 

Lu Xingmian touched the earring. “I’ve been fine for a while already. Thank you, I really love this earring.”

 

Lu Xingmian still didn’t know Lu Shiran’s birthday. “Ge, when is your birthday?”

 

Looking into Lu Xingmian’s eyes, Lu Shiran told him the date.

 

Lu Xingmian was delighted. “Then your birthday is coming up soon.” He could give Lu Shiran a gift then.

 

Lu Shiran would coax Lu Xingmian to sleep every night, but this was the first time Lu Xingmian was this close while listening to him do it. Seeing Lu Shiran so close, holding a book in his hand, Lu Xingmian’s ears turned a little red with excitement.

 

“Lu Xingmian, don’t move yet,” Lu Shiran said, leaning closer. He looked at Lu Xingmian’s right ear, which was a little red. “Let me see, are you having an allergic reaction?”

 

When Lu Shiran’s fingertip gently touched it, Lu Xingmian’s ear turned even redder.

 

“No, it’s not an allergy,” Lu Xingmian said.

 

“Then why…”

 

Seeing that Lu Xingmian’s face was also blushing, Lu Shiran calmly sat back. “As long as it’s not an allergy, that’s good.”

 

“Ge, please hurry and tell me a story.” Lu Xingmian urged.

 

The bed was low, and Lu Shiran sat on a blanket on the floor right beside it. Listening to him tell a story so close at hand, Lu Xingmian quietly reached out and clutched his shirt. This was no dream.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Shiran noticed the small gesture but chose to remain still.

 

As soon as Lu Shiran began to speak, Lu Xingmian’s heart gave a jolt, and a tingling warmth spread through his ears. So this was what it felt like to hear his stories in person, his voice deeper and more magnetic than over the phone.

 

After Lu Shiran finished one story, Lu Xingmian was still on the bed, staring at him with wide eyes.

 

“What’s wrong?” Lu Shiran asked.

 

Lu Xingmian was reluctant to fall asleep. “Can you tell me a lot and a lot of stories tonight?”

 

“Okay.” Lu Shiran said.

 

At first, Lu Xingmian was secretly holding onto Lu Shiran’s shirt, but later he held on openly, and because Lu Shiran didn’t seem to notice, Lu Xingmian’s courage grew. Hearing Lu Shiran’s voice narrate stories so close was utterly captivating. Lu Xingmian fought to stay awake, but eventually, he couldn’t resist and drifted off to sleep.

 

Lu Shiran’s clothes were indeed too big for Lu Xingmian. When he turned over, half of his shoulder was exposed. Lu Shiran adjusted the collar, brushing against Lu Xingmian’s ear by accident. When he checked, it was no longer red, showing no trace of an allergic reaction at all.

 

Lu Xingmian, even while sleeping, was still holding onto Lu Shiran’s shirt. From the moment Lu Shiran started to lull him to sleep until he was fast asleep, he never let go. Even in his sleep, he was still unconsciously grasping it loosely.

 

Lu Shiran quietly sat back on the blanket and waited patiently.By the time Lu Xingmian’s hand had fully loosened and Lu Shiran had left the room, it was already 3:30 a.m. He stepped onto the balcony and lit a cigarette.