AAWOMAHI Chapter46

In the morning, Lu Shiran had a meeting for nearly two hours. After meeting with some business acquaintances, it was already noon.

 

He returned to his office without taking a break; there were more than ten documents on his desk waiting for his signature.

 

Anxious to get home, Lu Shiran had just finished signing one document when his phone began vibrating constantly. The caller ID was Lu Yu.

 

Given that Lu Yu often called just to chat, Lu Shiran immediately hung up.

 

But even after he hung up, Lu Yu’s calls persisted, and his phone vibrated with a stubbornness that suggested something very urgent and important had happened.

 

Lu Shiran answered. “Just get to the point. I’m busy.”

 

“Lu Shiran, you finally picked up.”

 

Lu Shiran said, “Is there a problem?”

 

“Of course there’s a problem.” Lu Yu stood in the hallway, looking at the door to Lu Shiran’s apartment. “I’m at your place right now.”

 

The pen in Lu Shiran’s hand froze, and his voice instantly changed. “You went to my place?”

 

“Yeah, it’s your birthday today. I just wanted to drop something off and leave,” Lu Yu said. “But I happened to see Lu Xingmian at your place, and I think there are a few things you should explain.”

 

“Lu Yu.” Lu Yu heard the sound of Lu Shiran quickly standing up. “Do me a favor. No matter what, don’t let Lu Xingmian leave before I get back.”

 

The phone was quickly hung up. Lu Yu sighed. He didn’t fully understand what was happening, but he felt that his timing was off today.

 

Lu Xingmian sat on the sofa, a little lost. Lu Shiran was actually Lu Yu’s younger brother, and he was the legendary head of the Lu clan.

 

When he was at the Lu family, he had often heard Lu Yan and Xia Yuefang speak of the Lu clan’s head with a mix of reverence and fear. So, in Lu Xingmian’s mind, he had always imagined the head of the Lu clan to be a cold and ruthless figure.

 

Added to the cold figure he had glimpsed at the Lu clan banquet, his conviction only grew stronger. Though he had noticed how much Lu Shiran’s back resembled that of the Lu clan’s head, he had never linked the two together.

 

But he had never expected that Lu Shiran actually was the head of the Lu clan.

 

If anyone else had told him this, he would have suspected they were lying. But the person standing in front of him was Lu Yu, so there was no room for doubt.

 

Lu Shiran was, without a doubt, the head of the Lu clan.

 

Lu Xingmian logged into his shopping app. With slightly trembling fingers, he found the chat history with customer service and located the WeChat account the customer service representative had previously sent him.

 

Then he looked at Lu Shiran’s WeChat account. In that instant, Lu Xingmian realized he had never added the real sleep-coaxer at all. He had mistaken the account and ended up adding Lu Shiran instead.

 

Lu Xingmian suddenly started to laugh. It was his mistake from the very beginning. He was the one who had presumptuously assumed Lu Shiran was the sleep-coaxer.

 

Lu Yan and Xia Yuefang had been pushing him to get close to Lu Yu just to gain favor with the Lu clan. How absurd was that? Meanwhile, he had been casually calling Lu Shiran “Ge” at every opportunity.

 

He recalled how boldly he had told Lu Shiran he wanted to buy a thousand hours from him and had smugly paid double the price.

 

He, a high school student with nothing, had the audacity to tell the head of a wealthy family that he wanted to buy a thousand hours from him and even transferred 20,000 yuan directly. Anyone who knew about it would die of laughter, and Lu Shiran must have found it quite amusing, too.

 

Lu Xingmian felt that he was truly the biggest fool in the world. He was so ridiculous. He had thought that someone genuinely liked him, but it was just wishful thinking on his part.

 

Lu Shiran rushed back within half an hour. It was the first time Lu Yu had ever seen Lu Shiran so anxious and flustered. His perfectly centered tie was a little crooked, which showed how important Lu Xingmian was to him.

 

Seeing Lu Yu standing in the hallway, Lu Shiran immediately asked, “Is he still inside?”

 

“He is. He hasn’t come out yet.” Lu Yu had many questions. “What exactly is going on?”

 

Lu Shiran’s entire focus was on the person inside the house. “You should go for now. I’ll explain everything to you later.”

 

Lu Yu looked at the tightly closed door, then at Lu Shiran, and ultimately said nothing. He patted Lu Shiran on the shoulder and left. It seemed that some things would be harder to resolve if he were present.

 

Lu Shiran opened the door and stepped inside just as Lu Xingmian was leaving the room with his suitcase. Panic surged through him, and he hurried forward. “Lu Xingmian, where are you going?”

 

Lu Xingmian looked at him flatly. “President Lu, please let me go.”

 

He had probably been crying secretly in the room. Lu Xingmian’s eyes were redder than when he had first arrived at Lu Shiran’s house, and his voice was thick with a nasal tone.

 

When Lu Xingmian said the words “President Lu” so blandly, Lu Shiran felt as if countless steel needles were stabbing his heart.

 

He grabbed Lu Xingmian’s hand and said in a hoarse voice, “Lu Xingmian, don’t be like this. Listen to me explain. I never meant to hide it from you.”

 

Lu Xingmian said, “President Lu, you don’t need to explain. You knew from the beginning that I added the wrong person. President Lu thought I was pitiful, or perhaps found it interesting, and so you played along. And when you got bored and tired of the game, you would just throw me away, right?”

 

Lu Shiran said, “No, Lu Xingmian, you know that’s not how it is at all.”

 

Lu Xingmian’s tears couldn’t be stopped. “What is it, President Lu? Is it fun to deceive people?”

 

Lu Shiran, who was always eloquent in the business world, was speechless in the face of Lu Xingmian’s large, falling tears.

 

He wanted to step forward to catch his tears, but Lu Xingmian took a half-step back, and Lu Shiran’s hand fell empty. “Lu Xingmian…”

 

Lu Xingmian pressed his lips together, struggling to contain himself. What he hated most was Lu Shiran calling his name like that, and he fought hard to keep his composure.

 

Lu Shiran sadly lowered his hand. “Lu Xingmian, you promised me that no matter what happened today, you wouldn’t get angry and you wouldn’t leave.”

 

Lu Xingmian said, “I’m sorry, I have a terrible character and never keep my promises. President Lu, please step aside.”

 

Lu Xingmian was delicate and thin, and he looked very fragile, but in reality, he was very strong and stubborn. Once he made a decision, no one could stop him.

 

Lu Shiran chased Lu Xingmian all the way downstairs. “Lu Xingmian, please don’t be angry, okay? Let’s go back. I can explain everything to you. I can swear that I absolutely did not deceive you in our relationship.”

 

Lu Xingmian pulled his suitcase and ran toward the complex’s entrance without hesitation.

 

Lu Shiran blocked his path and used his ultimate weapon. “Lu Xingmian, today is my birthday. You promised you would celebrate my birthday with me.”

 

Lu Xingmian paused. “I promised when you were just the ordinary Lu Shiran, not the head of the Lu clan and not President Lu.”

 

Lu Shiran looked at him.

 

Lu Xingmian cried, “President Lu, please let me go. Can you leave me with a little bit of dignity?”

 

Lu Shiran lost his voice. “Lu Xingmian.”

 

Lu Xingmian wiped away his tears, dragged his suitcase, and reached the complex entrance just as a bus arrived. He took his luggage and got on the bus, leaving Lu Shiran alone at the bus stop watching him go.

 

Lu Xingmian wiped his tears and forced himself not to look back.

 

Lu Shiran returned home in a daze. He saw a birthday cake on the table, as well as a bouquet of flowers.

 

In the room, there was also a birthday present, the one Lu Xingmian had prepared for him.

 

He opened the box, and inside was a beautiful tie clip, along with a note.

 

[Ge, happy birthday! I wish you eternal joy and happiness.]

 

The note was signed “Lu Xingmian,” with a heart drawn next to it.

 

Everything was written by Lu Xingmian himself.

 

Seeing the gift, Lu Shiran’s heart ached again. He could already imagine Lu Xingmian carefully choosing the gift and happily buying the cake and a big bouquet of roses.

 

He thought of something and went to the kitchen to open the refrigerator. Inside was a plate of raw noodles of varying thickness that had been cut.

 

Lu Xingmian had once said he would make longevity noodles for him by hand on his birthday.

 

Lu Xingmian seemed to be naturally incompatible with the kitchen, and he couldn’t imagine how many times he had tried and failed to successfully make this plate of noodles.

 

Lu Shiran took a deep breath.

 

–

 

Having not stayed there for a long time, the apartment was covered in a layer of dust. Lu Xingmian did a quick clean and then went out to buy some things. When he came back, he saw a familiar car downstairs.

 

Lu Shiran had chased him here.

 

Seeing Lu Xingmian in the rearview mirror, Lu Shiran got out of the car and called his name. “Lu Xingmian.”

 

Lu Xingmian removed his headphones and looked at Lu Shiran, noticing the tie clip he had given him. He pressed his lips together, restraining his feelings. “President Lu.”

 

Lu Shiran said, “Lu Xingmian, let me go back with you. We need to talk.”

 

Lu Xingmian said, “There’s nothing left for us to talk about. Please leave, President Lu.”

 

As Lu Xingmian went upstairs, he couldn’t help but glance back. Lu Shiran was still standing there, watching him.

 

He thought that Lu Shiran would leave on his own in a little while.

 

Watching Lu Xingmian go upstairs without looking back, Lu Shiran smiled helplessly. This little guy was really stubborn sometimes. He would have to coax him back slowly.

 

Lu Shiran took out his phone and sent Lu Xingmian a message.

 

Lu Shiran: [Lu Xingmian.]

 

The message went through successfully; there was no red exclamation mark. Good, Lu Xingmian hadn’t blocked him.

 

When Lu Xingmian saw the message from Lu Shiran, he was stunned and remembered the way Lu Shiran used to call his name in his ear.

 

No, it wasn’t Lu Shiran anymore. It was President Lu, the head of the Lu clan.

 

Lu Xingmian put his phone aside, deciding not to look at it, but the phone kept vibrating with voice messages from Lu Shiran.

 

Lu Xingmian opened his eyes, his heart swelling with emotion at the sound of Lu Shiran calling his name.

 

Lu Shiran: [Lu Xingmian, it was my fault for not telling you about my relationship with the Lu clan. I shouldn’t have kept it from you.]

 

Lu Shiran: [Lu Xingmian, thank you for the gift. I really like this tie clip.]

 

Lu Shiran: [Lu Xingmian, the roses are very beautiful.]

 

That night, Lu Xingmian turned off the lights and went to bed early.

 

For the whole summer, Lu Shiran had been by his side, lulling him to sleep. Now, being alone felt very strange and unaccustomed.

 

Lu Xingmian realized he had to get used to it because no one would ever lull him to sleep again.

 

His phone rang again.

 

He didn’t need to look to know it was a message from Lu Shiran.

 

He opened the conversation and saw a minute long voice message.

 

Lu Xingmian was stunned. What could Lu Shiran have said that took so long?

 

Lu Xingmian told himself that he absolutely could not open the voice message. Lu Shiran clearly knew he had almost no resistance to his voice; he was doing this on purpose.

 

But his fingers were not listening to him, and he opened the voice message. Lu Shiran’s voice streamed into Lu Xingmian’s ears without warning.

 

[Lu Xingmian, you should be going to sleep now. How about I tell you a story? It’s called ‘Let’s Make Up’… ]

 

[…I really like you. You always listen to me so quietly…]

 

[…Thank you for saving me. I apologize for what I just said to you…]

 

[…Everything that happened today was my fault. Can you forgive me?…]

 

One after another, Lu Shiran seemed to have timed it perfectly. Before Lu Xingmian finished listening to the last message, the next one would arrive and start playing automatically, just as if Lu Shiran were right there beside him.

 

Lu Xingmian realized that all the stories Lu Shiran told today were about apologizing. He touched his chest, which felt sore and tight. His eyes were red again. What did he mean by this?

 

He thought Lu Shiran would stop after a few voice messages, but the messages kept coming. Lu Xingmian kept listening, and slowly, sleepiness overcame him.

 

Before he fell asleep, he heard Lu Shiran’s gentle voice.

 

[Zai Zai[mfn]Zai Zai refers to cubs, young animals or babies. It could also be used as a nickname for the child like ‘little one’ or someone you care about.[/mfn], I’m sorry. I love you.]