As soon as Butler Hou entered the door, he saw the shattered porcelain on the floor. Before he could react, he heard what Lu Shiran said, and Butler Hou felt like he might have entered the wrong door.
That was no ordinary vase; it was an antique, priceless on the market.
Then, watching Lu Shiran throw away the fragments as if they were everyday trash, Butler Hou had the illusion that it was just an ordinary porcelain vase.
Lu Xingmian greeted Butler Hou, “Hello, Uncle Hou.”
He quickly helped Butler Hou with the things he was carrying.
Butler Hou: “Hello, Xiao Lu. That vase…”
Lu Xingmian said, “I accidentally broke the vase.”
Lu Shiran looked at Butler Hou and smiled, saying, “Uncle Hou.”
Butler Hou: “Shiran, this porcelain piece…”
Lu Shiran said casually, “It’s nothing. Xiao Youzi won it from a ring toss. If it’s broken, it’s broken.”
Butler Hou was old, but his eyesight was excellent. This was clearly an antique that had been passed down in the Lu clan for several generations, not something Xiao Youzi won from a ring toss. However, he immediately understood what Lu Shiran meant and quickly hid his shocked expression.
He remembered that Lu Shiran was very fond of this porcelain piece, which was why he had placed it here.
“Yes, Xiao Youzi is quite good at the ring toss.” Butler Hou quickly comforted Lu Xingmian, “It’s okay. If it’s broken, it’s broken. May peace come with every year. As long as no one was hit, it’s fine. Xiao Lu, are you hurt?”
Lu Xingmian said he wasn’t hit or hurt. That was because before he could even react, Lu Shiran had rushed over and picked him up.
Lu Shiran completely cleaned up the fragments on the floor, making sure not a single shard was left before letting Lu Xingmian walk on the floor again.
Lu Xingmian promised Lu Shiran, “Ge, next time I’ll win a vase for you too.”
Lu Shiran smiled. “Okay.”
–
On the day of freshman orientation, Lu Xingmian attracted a lot of attention as he walked around the school, as it was rare to see a boy with such a beautiful and refined face.
In just two short months, Lu Xingmian became the heartthrob of the finance department, though Lu Xingmian did not know this. Even after going to university, he did not slack off in his studies. Getting into Yancheng University was not the finish line but another starting point.
In the back of the classroom, a boy smiled as he looked at the back of the boy two rows in front of him.
He had already seen him several times. This boy always came to class alone. After a little inquiry, he learned the boy’s name was Lu Xingmian, the heartthrob of the finance department.
A boy this good-looking needed to be approached sooner rather than later, or he would be snatched up by someone else. After inquiring about Lu Xingmian’s class schedule, Huo Chang waited for him here.
Lu Xingmian was listening to the teacher’s lecture when a note was passed to him.
Lu Xingmian, who received the note, was stunned. He looked up and saw a boy behind him waving at him. He must be the one who passed the note.
Huo Chang motioned for Lu Xingmian to look at the note.
Lu Xingmian looked at the note, which had a contact number and a name written on it. So this person was named Huo Chang, but what his name was didn’t seem to have anything to do with him.
Then, Huo Chang saw Lu Xingmian pass the note back to him. He opened it excitedly, only to find nothing on it but his own handwriting. Did he just return the note directly?
What did this mean? Huo Chang regretted not sitting next to or behind Lu Xingmian. That way, he could have directly asked Lu Xingmian for his contact information instead of passing a note.
Finally, when the class was over, Huo Chang wanted to go find Lu Xingmian, but he couldn’t find him.
When Huo Chang returned to his dorm, his roommate told him, “You should stop chasing Lu Xingmian.” The roommate knew that he had been trying to get Lu Xingmian’s attention recently.
Huo Chang: “Why?”
The roommate gave him a hint. “You don’t understand Lu Xingmian at all. I’ve seen him get into luxury cars several times. The car that comes to pick him up is never the same one. Lu Xingmian is so good-looking, what do you think the reason is? Think about it, think about it carefully.”
After class, Lu Xingmian was in a hurry to get to a certain place.
Song Yihan and Liu Yichen had both gotten into schools in Yancheng, and this time they could finally have a good get-together.
The three good friends met, and it was the same as before. They ate and chatted together. Song Yihan said that even though Lu Xingmian had transferred, he was still a legend at their old school.
Especially after the principal learned that Lu Xingmian had been admitted to Yancheng university, he felt it was a great pity and said that if Lu Xingmian hadn’t transferred, their school would have produced another student admitted to Yancheng University.
This was a big deal for their small town of Sucheng, and it was said that the principal was very regretful at the time.
Liu Yichen said that they had seen Father and Mother Song that day, and Mother Song’s stomach was already very noticeable. Father and Mother Song had a second child after Lu Xingmian left.
Lu Xingmian smiled.
Song Yihan and Liu Yichen had always been Lu Xingmian’s best friends, but they still didn’t know what happened to Lu Xingmian during his senior year of high school.
Since Lu Xingmian didn’t talk about it, they had a mutual understanding not to pry.
This time, Lu Xingmian did not hide it from them anymore and roughly told his two friends what had happened.
The current Lu Xingmian spoke very calmly because he had let it go. So, when he spoke of the matter, it was with a sense of ease, like an ordinary story. He and another child had been switched at birth, and more than ten years later, he was found by his biological parents, who then took him back to his true home.
He spoke very calmly, but Song Yihan and Liu Yichen, who were listening, were not so calm.
As soon as they heard it, both of them wanted to go and beat up Lu Sihang on the spot. How dare he bully Lu Xingmian like that? They had only just found out that so many things had happened to Lu Xingmian during that year, and it was more serious than they had imagined.
They had actually guessed the general idea of what happened, but what they didn’t expect was that Lu Xingmian had been bullied after he returned to his biological parents’ home.
No wonder when they went to see Lu Xingmian during the National Day holiday, they felt that he had lost a lot of weight, yet he told them that he was doing well.
Seeing how much they cared about him, Lu Xingmian felt a warmth in his heart. Lu Shiran was right; there were people who truly liked and cared about him. Lu Xingmian smiled and told them that it was all in the past now and that he was doing very well.
Song Yihan and Liu Yichen looked at him and saw that Lu Xingmian seemed to have gained some weight since last year. Last year, he was so thin he looked like a gust of wind could knock him over.
Now, he looked very energetic. His current state, without him having to say anything, showed that Lu Xingmian was doing very well.
Liu Yichen said, “Lu Xingmian, if you ever have a problem in the future, you must tell us. We will definitely help you if we can. If we can’t, we’ll also find a way to help you. Don’t forget, we’re friends and brothers.”
Lu Xingmian smiled. “Okay, I will.”
When Lu Xingmian got home, Lu Shiran had not yet returned. Lu Shiran had a party that night and would be back later. Lu Xingmian had already known this in the afternoon.
After finishing his own things, he looked at the time. It was 9:30 PM. Lu Xingmian sat on the sofa, watching TV while waiting for Lu Shiran to return. Lu Shiran had said he would be home by 10:30 PM.
At ten minutes to ten, Lu Shiran got up to leave the party.
His friends had finally managed to get him out for a get-together, but he was already leaving not long after he came. His friends were not going to let him.
A friend beside Lu Shiran stopped him. “Old Lu, it’s not even ten yet. What are you going back so early for?”
Lu Shiran: “It’s not early anymore. It’s almost ten. It’s time to rest.”
His friends looked surprised. Ten o’clock? The nightlife hadn’t even started yet!
Lu Shiran had been acting a little strange recently. He finally came out to hang out, but he was in such a hurry to go back.
A friend asked him, “Did you hide someone at home? Tell us, why are you going back so early?”
Before, Lu Shiran would only leave after twelve o’clock or hide in a quiet corner to make a phone call, but now, it wasn’t even ten, and Lu Shiran was actually going home. It couldn’t be that someone was waiting for him at home, that was even more impossible.
Lu Shiran smiled. “I’m going home to lull my boyfriend to sleep.” With that, he left directly, leaving his friends in shock.
Before, they had made a bet on whether Lu Shiran would still be single before he turned thirty. But today, Lu Shiran told them he was going home to lull his boyfriend to sleep.
Wait, since when did Lu Shiran have a boyfriend?
“Boyfriend! When did Old Lu get into a relationship? Have you seen Old Lu’s boyfriend?”
“How would I know? I just found out now too. Have you guys seen him?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Wait, Old Lu has a boyfriend. Does that mean I won the bet?”
“I’m glad I changed the bet in the end. A bet is a bet, so pay up, you guys. Bank transfer or QR code?”
“You two didn’t team up with Old Lu, did you?”
“So, Old Lu is finally no longer a virgin!”
“Waiter, open two more bottles of wine to celebrate.”
When Lu Shiran got home, Lu Xingmian was sitting on the sofa waiting for him. When he heard him enter, Lu Xingmian turned and lay on his stomach on the sofa. “Ge, you’re back.”
Lu Shiran came over and hugged him.
Lu Xingmian looked at him. “Ge, you smell of smoke.”
Lu Shiran apologized, saying he had smoked that night.
Lu Xingmian said, “But I like the smell of smoke on you.”
Lu Shiran laughed speechlessly. “You little guy.”
Lu Xingmian rubbed against him and then discovered that he was hiding several balloons behind his back.
“Ge, you bought balloons?”
Lu Shiran took out the balloons. “I saw them on the way and bought them. Do you like them?”
Lu Xingmian grabbed a handful of balloons like a child. “I love them, I love them.”
No one had ever given him balloons, and he had never played with balloons like these before.
And Lu Shiran bought so many at once.
There were small bells and small confetti pieces inside the balloons. When he shook one, the little bells made a tinkling sound, which was quite pleasant. When he turned a switch, the balloon lit up and played music. Hahaha, Lu Xingmian found it fun.
Seeing how happy he was playing, Lu Shiran felt another pang of heartache. He could be this happy with just a few simple children’s balloons.
Lu Shiran walked over and hugged him, helping him get the balloons that had flown over his head.
Then, with a “pop,” a balloon burst.
The small, colorful confetti pieces inside the balloon scattered and fell all over the two of them.
They were both stunned for a moment, and then they laughed.
Lu Xingmian lowered his head to get rid of the confetti on his head, and Lu Shiran also helped him pick the confetti out of his hair.
When he looked down again, Lu Shiran froze and then swallowed hard.
The neckline of Lu Xingmian’s shirt was a little large. When he bent his head slightly, he could see the golden confetti pieces stuck to his pink skin. With a slight movement from Lu Xingmian, the confetti fell and slowly slid down his slender waist.
