Lu Xingmian tidied up the confetti on himself and began helping Lu Shiran with the pieces on him as well.
Don’t be fooled by the small size of the balloon; it could hold so much shredded paper. Lu Shiran had a lot on him, and they couldn’t be patted off, so they had to be picked. But they still couldn’t be picked completely.
Lu Xingmian patiently picked the pieces off one by one, finally getting all the pieces off Lu Shiran’s chest and shoulders.
Lu Xingmian: “Ge, lower your head.”
Lu Shiran was much taller than him, and Lu Xingmian couldn’t reach the top of his head, so he asked Lu Shiran to bend down.
Lu Shiran quietly lowered his head, letting Lu Xingmian pick at his head and body. He watched Lu Xingmian with unblinking satisfaction.
They were very close. Lu Xingmian had a faint, fresh scent of shower gel on him and his unique light sweet milk scent.
Lu Xingmian’s collarbones were so beautiful and pretty; it seemed like several coins could be placed on them.
When he hugged Lu Xingmian’s waist, he knew it was thin, but seeing it like this, it looked even thinner than it felt when he held him.
The two pink petals on his chest made Lu Shiran’s blood rush. At the same time, Lu Xingmian felt Lu Shiran’s breath was especially hot, and his neck and collarbones felt an unusual temperature.
He looked down and saw that Lu Shiran was still quietly bowing his head.
The silly Lu Xingmian finally finished cleaning all the shredded paper off Lu Shiran. “All done, they’re all gone.”
Lu Shiran stood up with a hint of regret. “Zai Zai, nice figure.”
Lu Xingmian hummed in confusion.
Lu Shiran smiled and pointed to his collar. “The collar is a bit big; I saw everything.”
Hearing that, Lu Xingmian looked down. The loose clothes revealed everything, and he saw a golden piece of confetti stuck to his lower abdomen.
Lu Xingmian: “…!!”
Lu Xingmian’s face immediately turned bright red.
So Lu Shiran had seen everything just now, and not only did he see it, he also openly told him that he saw everything too.
When it was time to go to bed, Lu Xingmian still felt a bit hot. The lingering warmth from Lu Shiran’s kiss before he went to shower hadn’t faded.
When Lu Shiran held him, this feeling became more and more intense. He was completely surrounded by Lu Shiran.
Lu Xingmian’s affection was undisguised. If he liked something, he liked it, and if he didn’t, he didn’t.
And he felt that doing intimate things with the person he loved was normal, but right now, they seemed to be only at the stage of kissing.
Lu Xingmian took a deep breath. Lu Shiran immediately sensed his abnormality, smiled dotingly, kissed his ear, and whispered, “Zai Zai, do you need it?”
The warm, moist sensation traveled from his earlobe throughout his body. Lu Xingmian couldn’t help but tremble. Hearing such a voice whispering in his ear was unbearable, absolutely unbearable.
After a while, Lu Xingmian whispered, “En.”
As soon as the words fell, Lu Shiran kissed him, and his large hand slowly moved to his lower abdomen, gently rubbing it a couple of times as if to comfort him.
Even through the fabric, Lu Xingmian could feel the searing heat of his hand, so intense it made his heart quiver.
“Zai Zai.”
When Lu Shiran held him gently, Lu Xingmian instinctively arched his neck, his body tightening into a graceful curve.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, and then Lu Xingmian’s tears and everything else came out at once.
Lu Shiran kissed his cheeks, kissing his red eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, “Zai Zai is great.”
Watching Lu Shiran go to the restroom to wash his hands, Lu Xingmian suddenly remembered that he thought Lu Shiran would join him, but he didn’t expect Lu Shiran to unilaterally help him.
Of course, he also felt Lu Shiran’s changes.
When Lu Shiran came back, Lu Xingmian hugged him. “Ge, I can help you too.”
Lu Shiran hugged him. “Be good, go to bed early.”
Lu Xingmian: “But…” Won’t it be uncomfortable like this?
Lu Shiran pressed him back into his arms. “It will go down in a bit. Sleep.”
Lu Xingmian quickly fell asleep. When he was asleep, his palm accidentally touched Lu Shiran, who had just managed to calm down, and he instantly became spirited again.
Lu Shiran had no choice but to get up quietly and relieve himself in the restroom.
–
These past two days, Lu Xingmian noticed that the students around him were looking at him a bit strangely.
Lu Xingmian didn’t take it to heart. He remembered that at Mingcheng Middle School, because of Lu Sihang, Lu Xingmian had also seen such looks.
However, he understood that there was no way he could change how others saw him.
It was just that Lu Xingmian was a bit confused; it seemed he hadn’t done anything.
Forget it, if he couldn’t figure it out, he wouldn’t think about it anymore. He had club activities in a bit.
As Lu Xingmian was about to go to his club activity, someone called his name from behind.
Lu Xingmian turned around. It was a classmate from his class named Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran: “Lu Xingmian, they’re talking about you like that; don’t you get angry?”
Lu Xingmian raised an eyebrow. “Huh? What are they saying about me?”
Jiang Ran: “……” So Lu Xingmian really didn’t know. No wonder he wasn’t angry.
Jiang Ran couldn’t stand the nonsense some people were spouting and didn’t want Lu Xingmian to be kept in the dark, so he told him about some bad rumors about him. Someone had posted on the school forum saying that Lu Xingmian was often picked up by different luxury cars, and the poster deliberately guided everyone to make certain assumptions.
After listening, Lu Xingmian smiled.
Jiang Ran was surprised. “Aren’t you angry?”
Lu Xingmian: “I can’t control what others think. Can you send me the link to that post?” He really wanted to see what exactly that person said.
Lu Xingmian saw the post, which showed photos of the luxury cars, him getting in, and even a faint outline of someone inside. He hadn’t expected that Lu Shiran picking him up would spark such ridiculous rumors.
Jiang Ran sent the post to Lu Xingmian and then watched his reaction. It seemed as if Lu Xingmian intended to track down the person who made the post, but Jiang Ran considered the forum’s anonymity and questioned how he could possibly find them.
Lu Xingmian naturally had a way.
Lu Xingmian put away his phone, thanked Jiang Ran, and hurried to his club.
The club Lu Xingmian joined holds a volunteer event at a stray animal rescue center every two weeks.
The simple tasks include cleaning the stray animals’ shelters, giving them baths, and trimming their long nails.
Lu Xingmian liked these stray kittens and puppies, but he considered himself someone who couldn’t be responsible for them to the very end.
So he could only do volunteer work.
Today, a large golden retriever arrived at the rescue center.
The big golden retriever was dirty all over and skinny.
After an examination, the rescue center staff found no external injuries on the golden retriever. It was likely abandoned, had been wandering outside for a long time, and was then found and brought to the rescue center by a passerby.
Lu Xingmian was in charge of bathing this big golden retriever.
Perhaps because it had been a stray for a long time and had been hurt by people in the past, the golden retriever’s eyes were filled with wariness when it looked at people, and it whimpered softly.
Lu Xingmian comforted it for a while until the golden retriever finally settled down and grew obedient.
During its bath, the golden retriever remained very obedient and cooperative, and Lu Xingmian successfully got it all clean.
After being washed, the golden retriever turned out to be a beautiful golden retriever. It happily shook the water off its body, and Lu Xingmian was completely soaked.
Probably realizing that the human in front of it had no ill intentions, the golden retriever affectionately rubbed against Lu Xingmian.
Lu Xingmian knelt on the ground to dry the golden retriever, and the golden retriever stood there obediently. Everything was harmonious.
But an accident happened.
A student’s phone not far from Lu Xingmian suddenly rang abruptly, startling Lu Xingmian.
Not only was Lu Xingmian startled, but the golden retriever was also frightened. As if it had been triggered by the ringtone, the docile dog suddenly bit Lu Xingmian and started barking.
The rescue center staff quickly came over and held the golden retriever down.
The student next to Lu Xingmian hurried over to help him up. “Lu Xingmian, are you okay?”
The big golden retriever realized it had done something wrong, lowered its head, and whined, as if apologizing to Lu Xingmian.
The staff quickly put the golden retriever into a cage and explained to Lu Xingmian, “This golden retriever was probably just startled, which is why it bit you. Check if you’ve been bitten. If you have, you should go get a vaccine right away.”
Lu Xingmian felt a sharp pain in his lower back. He lifted his shirt to look and saw two teeth marks with fresh blood on his lower back. It was broken skin.
While at the hospital, Lu Xingmian received a call from Lu Shiran.
Lu Shiran knew that today was his club’s activity day, so he wanted to ask him what time he would be finished so he could pick him up and take him home.
While at the hospital, Lu Xingmian was wondering whether he should tell Lu Shiran the truth when he heard the hospital’s loudspeaker announce, “[so-and-so] please go to Consultation Room No. 3 for treatment.”
Lu Shiran: “Lu Xingmian, are you at the hospital?”
With no other option, Lu Xingmian explained that he’d been bitten by a dog and was at the hospital receiving a vaccine.
Then Lu Xingmian heard the sound of a chair moving and Lu Shiran’s anxious voice from the phone: “I’ll be right there.”
After hanging up the phone, Lu Xingmian smiled. He thought back to his third year of high school, when he had a high fever and was on an IV alone at the clinic, with no one to keep him company. He talked to Lu Shiran for an entire morning.
Now things were different. As soon as Lu Shiran heard he wasn’t feeling well, he immediately rushed to his side. Lu Xingmian thought that it seemed like it had been a very long time since he had a cold with a high fever.
When Lu Shiran arrived at the hospital, it was Lu Xingmian’s turn to get the shot.
Looking at the long, sharp needle in the doctor’s hand, Lu Xingmian felt a little scared. It must hurt a lot.
Lu Shiran, who was standing beside him, had Lu Xingmian lean against him. He covered Lu Xingmian’s eyes with one hand and put the other around his shoulder, speaking softly, “It’s okay, don’t be scared.”
The intern doctor next to them looked at the two with excitement. The man in the suit’s voice was too nice and gentle, and the way he covered the boy’s eyes was too cool.
And since he came in, the man’s gaze had only been on the boy.
Lu Xingmian leaned against Lu Shiran quietly, blinking. Lu Shiran blocked his eyes, so he couldn’t see anything and wasn’t scared anymore. After a while, he heard Lu Shiran say, “All done.”
Lu Xingmian was stunned. It was finished so quickly. He didn’t seem to feel anything. In his memory, shots were very painful.
After they got home, the first thing Lu Shiran did was have Lu Xingmian lie on the sofa so he could look at the wound on his lower back.
When the shirt was lifted, the bitten area on his lower back was obvious and a little swollen.
Lu Shiran frowned. “Does it hurt?”
Lu Xingmian: “It hurt a little at first, but it’s much better now.”
Looking at his wound, Lu Shiran didn’t say anything, only sighed. “Zai Zai, be more careful next time.”
Lu Xingmian promised, “Okay.”
He really liked this about Lu Shiran; he wouldn’t stop him from doing the things he liked but would instead remind him to be careful.
Even though he got a vaccine shot, the wound still needed to be treated.
That evening, Lu Shiran used some povidone-iodine to clean Lu Xingmian’s wound.
As soon as the cotton swab touched him, Lu Xingmian gasped.
Lu Shiran sighed. It clearly hurt a lot, but Lu Xingmian still said it didn’t.
Lu Xingmian lay on Lu Shiran’s lap. “Ge, there’s something I want to ask you to do for me.”
Lu Shiran: “Zai Zai, do you even need to ask?”
Lu Xingmian chuckled, took out his phone, and showed it to Lu Shiran. “Ge, can you help me find out who is behind this ID?”
This ID was the person who was spreading rumors about Lu Xingmian on the forum.
In less than half an hour, Lu Shiran’s assistant called back and had already found the name behind the ID.
When Lu Xingmian heard the name, he thought for a moment. So it was him.
