AAWOMAHI Chapter42

Lu Shiran’s body temperature was on the high side, and his fingers were also slightly warmer. His hands were beautiful and long with distinct joints, and Lu Xingmian had once wondered what it would feel like to hold them.

 

He wasn’t sure what had happened just now, but on a whim, he made the request to Lu Shiran. As soon as he said it, he was startled himself. He had actually spoken his thoughts out loud. It might have been because the feeling of Lu Shiran’s fingertips brushing against his lips while wiping his mouth had captivated him, or maybe it was because Lu Shiran had given him the illusion that he would agree to anything he asked.

 

To his surprise, Lu Shiran reached out a hand to him, and Lu Xingmian thought, perhaps only imagining it, that the gloom on Lu Shiran’s face had lifted.

 

With a blank mind, Lu Xingmian quickly grabbed his hand.

 

Lu Shiran’s hand wasn’t just beautiful; it felt good to hold too. It was warm, like a small electric current flowing from his palm to his heart. Lu Xingmian quietly rubbed Lu Shiran’s joints, it felt so nice.

 

Lu Shiran glanced down to see Lu Xingmian toying with his hand. The boy’s pale fingers pressed against his joints, and with each squeeze, Lu Shiran felt his own heart tighten, a feeling that was both painful and strangely sweet.

 

Just as he was happily playing, Lu Xingmian realized Lu Shiran was watching him. Blushing, he looked up and said, “Your hand is very beautiful.”

 

As Lu Shiran spoke, Lu Xingmian continued to hold his hand, and it seemed that whenever he was near Lu Shiran, he would drift into a deep, easy sleep.

 

Just as he was about to drift off, Lu Xingmian felt Lu Shiran’s hand around his own, and without thinking, he drew it closer.

 

Lu Shiran, who was completely unprepared, was pulled down. He quickly propped himself up with his hands on either side, just barely managing not to fall on Lu Xingmian. But his lips touched Lu Xingmian’s.

 

The unexpected “accident” made Lu Shiran’s eyes widen. With Lu Xingmian so close, he momentarily forgot to breathe, catching the faint minty scent lingering on his lips.

 

Feeling something on his lips, Lu Xingmian pursed them, licked them with the tip of his tongue, and then pursed them again, as if tasting a delicious cake.

 

Lu Shiran’s adam apple bobbed up and down. He suddenly wanted to go outside and smoke a cigarette to calm down. The person who had just kissed him was now fast asleep. Perhaps when he woke up tomorrow morning, Lu Xingmian would have no idea what had happened.

 

Lu Shiran got up and quietly watched Lu Xingmian, who was still in a deep sleep. He knew that when Lu Xingmian was asleep, whether he was holding onto his clothes or his hand, it was a sign of a lack of security. After everything with his adoptive and biological parents, he must feel very insecure.

 

Before leaving the room, Lu Shiran covered Lu Xingmian with the blanket, set the room temperature to 26 degrees Celsius, turned off the light, closed the door, and went out to the balcony for a smoke.

 

After smoking half a cigarette, Lu Shiran looked down and couldn’t believe he had reacted so strongly. He was even more surprised by how soft Lu Xingmian’s tongue was.

 

The next morning, Lu Xingmian woke up and remembered the dream he had last night. He dreamed that he kissed Lu Shiran again and even licked him. Luckily, it was just a dream.

 

Lu Xingmian greeted Lu Shiran as usual, “Good morning, Ge.”

 

Sitting across from Lu Xingmian and watching him eat breakfast as if nothing had happened, Lu Shiran knew that Lu Xingmian had no memory of the events from the previous night.

 

Lu Xingmian adapted well to the coffee shop and really enjoyed his part-time job. The manager and his two colleagues were very kind to him. The shop’s powerful air conditioning made it a popular spot for students and young people to grab a cold drink during the hot summer. This period was indeed peak season, with a constant flow of customers and a steady stream of delivery orders from the moment they opened until closing.

 

The cakes rarely went unsold, most days, they were gone before closing time.

 

With only half an hour left until his shift ended, it suddenly started to rain. Lu Xingmian finally understood the saying about June weather—the rain came out of nowhere. All the shop’s umbrellas had been borrowed by customers.

 

There were no more customers in the shop, so Lu Xingmian and Cai Youqi watched the rain outside together. The rain poured so hard that within seconds you’d be drenched. Lu Xingmian looked at the rain outside. The bus stop was about a hundred meters away from the shop, so he was definitely going to get wet, but there was nothing he could do about it.

 

With only ten minutes left until his shift ended and a heavy rainstorm outside, Lu Xingmian figured no one else would come.

 

He looked up and was stunned.

 

He saw a familiar figure at the door, holding an umbrella. The heavy rain bounced off it. The tall, handsome figure smiled when he saw Lu Xingmian. He placed the umbrella by the door and walked toward Lu Xingmian.

 

“Why are you here?” Lu Xingmian asked.

 

Ever since Lu Xingmian started his part-time job, Lu Shiran came to pick him up every night by using the excuse that he was “just passing by.”

 

“Ge, are you just passing by today, too?” Lu Xingmian asked.

 

“Not today.” Lu Shiran replied.

 

Lu Xingmian blinked, and Lu Shiran laughed, “It’s raining, so I came to pick you up and take you home.”

 

Lu Xingmian pursed his lips. “I have a few minutes left until I get off work. You can wait for me over there.”

 

Lu Shiran looked at the cakes on display and asked Lu Xingmian, “Which one do you recommend? Which cake is delicious?”

 

Lu Xingmian recommended the taro and cheesecake, one of the three remaining cakes. It was sweet but not greasy. “This one is really good.” He said.

 

Lu Shiran smiled. “Package one up for me.”

 

Lu Xingmian checked the time. There were only a few minutes left until he finished, and with such heavy rain, he didn’t think any more customers would come in. He quietly said, “Ge, if you’re not in a hurry, could you wait a bit? I’ll buy it for you after I get off work.”

 

After work, he could buy the cake for 70% off, which was a lot cheaper than the current price.

 

Lu Shiran took out his phone and scanned the QR code to pay directly. “Student Lu Xingmian, could you please package this for me?”

 

Lu Xingmian was speechless.

 

As he packaged the cake, Lu Xingmian said quietly, “Ge, you’re a bit of a spendthrift.”

 

It was the first time anyone had ever called him a spendthrift, and Lu Shiran looked at Lu Xingmian with a doting smile.

 

After the cake was packaged, it was time for Lu Xingmian to get off work.

 

On a rainy night, a man in a suit and a boy in a black T-shirt stood together beneath a large black umbrella, its size keeping the rain from touching either of them.

 

Rain tapped against the umbrella as Lu Xingmian edged closer, brushing against Lu Shiran’s shoulder. He laughed, saying, “Now we won’t get wet.”

 

“Then get even closer,” Lu Shiran said as he put his arm around Lu Xingmian’s shoulders and pulled him into his embrace. “This way, we’re even closer, and neither of us will get wet.”

 

Lu Xingmian’s heart was beating faster and louder than the sound of the rain above the umbrella.

 

Cai Youqi and another coworker watched as Lu Xingmian and the man got into a luxury car.

 

Every time Lu Xingmian finished work, this man would come to pick him up. Cai Youqi heard Lu Xingmian call the man “Ge,” so he assumed they were siblings. He thought that this elder brother was really good to his younger brother as he comes to pick him up every night.

 

The elder brother had an extraordinary aura and didn’t look like an ordinary person. Cai Youqi and his colleague both thought that Lu Xingmian was probably a rich kid who was working a part-time job for experience.

 

After they returned home, Lu Shiran told Lu Xingmian to go take a hot shower. Then, Lu Xingmian ate the cake.

 

As he ate the last bite, Lu Xingmian suddenly asked, “Ge, do you think I’ll gain weight if I keep eating so late at night?”

 

Lu Shiran looked at him. “Lu Xingmian, you’re too thin.”

 

That afternoon, after signing some documents, Lu Shiran remembered that he had an important banquet to attend that night. He sent a message to Lu Xingmian to let him know that he might be home late because he had something to do that evening.

 

Half an hour later, Lu Xingmian replied that he understood and would wait for him at home.

 

Just as he finished replying to the message, a customer walked into the shop, and Lu Xingmian quickly put his phone away.

 

“Hello, welcome.”

 

The customer and Lu Xingmian both froze at the same time.

 

The person who walked in was Lu Sihang and two of his friends—the same two who had almost gotten into a fight with Lu Xingmian at the Lu clan banquet.

 

When Lu Sihang saw Lu Xingmian, he was startled for a moment. But when he saw Lu Xingmian standing behind the counter in a work uniform, a look of mockery and arrogance appeared in his eyes.

 

He hadn’t expected that a simple stroll into a street coffee shop would bring him face-to-face with Lu Xingmian. It was as if the boy were a ghost he couldn’t escape.

 

But now, Lu Xingmian was just an employee, while he was the customer, the “god.” He was the young master of the Lu family and its sole heir, and Lu Xingmian was nothing. He used to worry that Lu Xingmian would return to the Lu family, but now he wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.

 

“Hello, what would you like to order?” Lu Xingmian asked.

 

Lu Sihang’s friends also recognized Lu Xingmian, and they said sarcastically, “Yo, isn’t this Lu Xingmian, selling coffee here?”

 

“Lu Sihang, the coffee here can’t be any good. Maybe we should go somewhere else.”

 

Lu Sihang replied, “Since we’re already here…”

 

Lu Sihang and his friends each ordered an iced coffee. While paying, Lu Sihang said, “This job really suits you, Lu Xingmian.”

 

His two friends chimed in, talking over each other.

 

“Lu Sihang, that sports car Uncle Lu and Auntie Lu gave you for your birthday the other day was so cool!”

 

“Uncle Lu and Auntie Lu didn’t just give him a sports car, they gave him a lot of other stuff too, right? Like limited-edition figurines and sneakers. Oh, and the cake was custom-made too; just that one birthday cake cost tens of thousands of yuan.”

 

“By the way, didn’t Uncle Lu and Auntie Lu say they were going to take you on a trip soon?”

 

“While some people are just so pathetic; they even have to sell things here.”

 

Lu Sihang’s two friends were still wary of being lectured by Butler Hou like last time, so they didn’t dare do anything to Lu Xingmian. But they unleashed their words freely, striking straight at his heart.

 

One of them said, “Some people need to understand that what’s yours is yours, and what’s not isn’t. You can’t steal it.”

 

“Exactly. I heard that even his adoptive parents disowned him. You can only imagine how bad someone’s character must be if even their adoptive parents can’t stand them.”

 

Lu Xingmian gave him a flat look, which startled the boy. “Don’t look at me like that! I didn’t say who it was!”

 

As Lu Sihang left, he said to Lu Xingmian, “Lu Xingmian, I told you, you’ll never return to the Lu family.”

 

After Lu Sihang and his friends left, Cai Youqi came over. “Were those people your classmates?” He had overheard parts of their conversation.

 

Lu Xingmian answered honestly, “Sort of. Classmates I don’t get along with.”

 

Cai Youqi comforted him, “It’s fine. Everyone has a few annoying classmates in school. To this day, I still hate one of my high school classmates too. He was a bad student and always bullied other kids. A lot of us didn’t like him, and now when we see each other, we don’t even say hello.”

 

Lu Xingmian smiled. “En, that’s why I’m not taking it to heart. They’re not worth it.” He knew Cai Youqi was trying to comfort him.

 

When Lu Sihang got home, he was smug, almost laughing out loud at the thought of Lu Xingmian working at a coffee shop. So what if Lu Xingmian was a better student than him? He still couldn’t beat him at anything that mattered.

 

The last time Lu Xingmian went against his parents, they were furious. If Lu Sihang went home and told them what happened today, they would probably feel vindicated.

 

Driving his flashy sports car, Lu Sihang arrived home. He was surprised to find that his parents weren’t there. He asked the butler and found out that something had come up at the company, so his parents had gone there and would likely be home late.

 

Lu Sihang didn’t dwell on it, assuming it was a small matter his parents could easily handle.

 

He had no idea that the Lu family was facing a major crisis. The Lu family’s long-awaited business partner abruptly pulled out their two-billion-yuan investment. Since the family had pinned their hopes on this project for a huge profit, the withdrawal came as a complete shock.

 

After hearing the news that afternoon, Lu Yan and Xia Yuefang immediately jumped into action. After using all their connections, they discovered that the Lu clan was behind it.

 

Lu Yan and Xia Yuefang were in a state of panic. They not only failed to establish a relationship with the Lu clan but had also somehow offended them without knowing what they did wrong.

 

After a little more digging, they found out that Lu Shiran was attending a banquet that night. The couple immediately went to the banquet to find Lu Shiran and beg him to show them mercy.

 

At the banquet, the Lu Yan couple finally spotted Lu Shiran. Just as they reached him, he was about to leave. They hurried after him, calling out, “President Lu, could we have a moment of your time?”

 

Lu Shiran didn’t even look back as his assistant stopped them. “I’m sorry, our President Lu is in a hurry to get home, he doesn’t have time.”

 

Lu Shiran got into his car, and Lu Yan quickly chased after him, leaning over to the window to speak with him, “President Lu, can we have a few minutes of your time? Just a few minutes. Could you please give us another chance with the investment? Just one chance, please.”

 

Lu Shiran’s eyes were cold. “No. Please move.”

 

The driver immediately understood what President Lu meant and started the car, leaving the Lu couple behind.

 

As Lu Sihang came downstairs, he saw his parents returning. He happily went to greet them, but he noticed their faces were unusually grim, a look he had never seen before. It made him a little scared.

 

“Mom and Dad, what’s wrong?” Lu Sihang asked.

 

Xia Yuefang looked at him. “Sihang, our family might go bankrupt.”