ALWARFC Chapter 73

Old Lu and Sunny had been sitting in the courtyard enjoying the cool air. When they heard the shouting from the kitchen, they were startled at first. Then, as they processed what Su Ran had yelled, they exchanged a look—both of their eyes filled with disbelief.

“My son… can actually make a proper meal? Is that for real?”

Sunny even carefully sniffed the air and then nodded with certainty. “No burnt smell. It’s probably real!”

Realizing this, the two of them immediately tossed aside their sunflower seeds and excitedly ran inside, eager to see what kind of food these two kitchen disasters could possibly have cooked up. But the moment they poked their heads in, they were both stunned stiff. Lu Huanjin had his hand on Su Ran’s neck and was kissing him with intense focus.

Sunny’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Holy crap, it’s just a meal—do people in the entertainment industry celebrate this hard?! Old Lu reacted quickly, clapping a hand over Sunny’s mouth before he could blurt anything out, then efficiently dragged him back outside. He even thoughtfully shut the door behind them quietly, but firmly.

“Shhh!” Old Lu whispered, “Calm down! Don’t act like you’ve never seen anything. It’s just a kiss, isn’t it? The success or failure of the Lu-Su ship depends on this moment!”

Sunny: ?

Su Weisheng and the others, who had just walked over and happened to catch that last sentence: …?

Old Lu, you’re surprisingly trendy, even shipping the ‘LuSu’ CP like the fans.

When Old Lu turned his head, he came face-to-face with the little great-grandfather, who was raising an eyebrow at him. His expression immediately lit up even more. He enthusiastically stepped forward and grabbed Su Weisheng’s hand. “Child’s Little great-grandfather, let’s talk about the betrothal gift now! I don’t have much cash flow on hand. Here’s ten million, just take it first!” As he spoke, he stuffed all the bank cards from his wallet straight into Su Weisheng’s hands.

Su Weisheng: “……”

You Sui, watching nearby, couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement. “That plummeting stock Zhaocai actually sold for ten million? That’s a miracle.”

“What are you talking about!” Old Lu corrected sternly. “My son is the plummeting stock. Ranbao is clearly in his rise phase!”

“You, you you you you—”

Su Ran shoved the man away with all his strength, then desperately wiped his mouth. As he wiped, he pointed at Lu Huanjin, his hand trembling uncontrollably, as if a flood of obscenities were ready to burst out—but the sheer shock of what had just happened rendered him nearly speechless. When he finally managed to force out some words, all that was left was a stuttering, broken mess: “You… Lu Huanjin, you damn—you… are you a dog?!”

“I’m not,” Lu Huanjin replied, face cold and calm as still water. His voice was steady. “But I don’t want to just be your strategist.”

Hearing that, Su Ran broke down even more. “If you didn’t want to be my strategist, you could’ve just said so! Even if you wanted to cut ties with me, we could’ve had a fight! Did you really have to jump on me and bite?!”

Lu Huanjin didn’t give him a chance to escape. He grabbed Su Ran by the shoulders, and then, lowering his head, kissed him again. His voice hoarse, he said, “Now, do you understand what I want to do?”

The second kiss left Su Ran completely petrified.

The moment Lu Huanjin kissed him the first time, he knew he’d lost control. But he didn’t want to keep holding it in anymore. If he’d already made a mistake, he might as well see it through to the end. Following the urge in his heart, he continued, “Su Ran, I love you. Not just starting today. I’ve loved you for many years.”

“I never had a rebellious phase. I went to Ruby to be a trainee because I liked you. I wanted to get closer to you. I liked your arrogance, that untouchable confidence you always carried. I liked the way you shone on stage. And I liked even more how, even though you’re a whole head shorter than me, you always acted like you were the one protecting me.”

His voice was still hoarse. He spoke one sentence at a time, as if he wanted to carve his heart out and hand it over, bloodied and burning hot, to let Su Ran see it for himself. “We’ve been apart for almost ten years. Every day, I regret quitting the competition. I regret not rushing forward to explain everything to you. But I didn’t dare. I was afraid that even if I said it, it wouldn’t matter—and you’d just laugh at me. And then, you’d let go of that knot in your heart and forget there was ever a Lu Huanjin in this world.”

“So I despicably kept the truth from you. I thought, even if you kept hating me forever, that would be fine. At least that way, we’d keep bickering, and a few decades would pass just like that.”

Su Ran was stunned speechless by his words. He pressed his lips together, trying hard to act composed, but the flush creeping up his face betrayed his panic. “You—if you explained it clearly, we could still be friends. I’m not the kind of person who clings to someone’s mistake forever.” He mumbled, “As long as you admit you were wrong… I’ll forgive you.”

“Then… can you give me a chance to like you?” Lu Huanjin stared at Su Ran without blinking.

Su Ran felt like he was about to get scorched by the heat in that gaze. Flustered, he looked away, but then realized that made him seem like he was backing down. He forced himself to turn back, locking eyes with Lu Huanjin, and bit out through clenched teeth, “Lu Huanjin, being friends and being lovers are two completely different things. I’ve never even thought about finding a partner, that kind of thing…”

“Then now’s the time to start thinking about it.”

Seeing that Su Ran wasn’t pushing him away, Lu Huanjin relaxed a little. Gently coaxing, he said, “Anyway, it’s not like you dislike me. You even kissed me on the forehead of your own accord, and you’re fine holding my hand, walking shoulder to shoulder… We even used to sleep in the same bed. How is that any different from being a couple?”

Su Ran was starting to feel a little dazed by his words. “Then… can’t we just stay friends like this?”

“We can always be friends like this,” Lu Huanjin said patiently, “but friendship is never as secure. If we call it being a couple, won’t that bind us together even tighter?”

He began painting a picture of their future: “Think about it—if we were lovers, I’d be the official eldest great-grandson-in-law of the Su family. Wouldn’t it be natural for me to cook for Great-Grandfather? That would definitely give your family politics career a boost, wouldn’t it?”

“…That… does make some sense…”

“If we were lovers, then my money would be your money. I could transfer all my assets under your name. However you wanted to show filial piety to Great-Grandfather, you could. I’m sure it’d be even better than Su Ning…”

“That’s not necessary,” Su Ran corrected him, “If it’s not money I earned myself, Great-Grandfather won’t accept it.”

Even being turned down didn’t faze Lu Huanjin. Now that he realized his dear Ranbao had a “Great-Grandfather obsession”, he knew how to adjust his approach. “Haven’t you always wanted to beat me? From now on, to the outside world, I’ll be your little wife. Doesn’t that count as a total victory for you?”

That angle completely blindsided the top star. He froze on the spot.

Instinctive competitiveness took over, and Su Ran excitedly added, “So, doesn’t that officially make LuSu the designated top and bottom?”

“Exactly, exactly! You’re on top, I’m below. You’re the husband, I’m the wife. Thinking about it like that, isn’t it way more comfortable than just being friends?” Lu Huanjin answered with a smiling, playful tone. After all, he was just painting a sweet picture for his “wife”—first, win him over, then they could discuss details like positions later without rushing.

Su Ran didn’t actually dislike him at all. In fact, in his twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of life, besides his parents, there were only two people in the world he truly cared about: one was Great-Grandfather, the other was Lu Huanjin. The only difference was, he had never really thought about what exactly he felt for Lu Huanjin before.

But now…

Looking at Lu Huanjin’s eyes full of deep affection and lips curved in a smile, Su Ran tentatively called out, “Wife?”

“Mm, husband,” Lu Huanjin replied gently and tenderly.

Damn, his whole head felt like it was floating away with pleasure.

The top star completely gave up on thinking and decided to take on the responsibility of being a husband. He took Lu Huanjin’s hand firmly, tilted his head up, and clumsily imitated Lu Huanjin’s style by kissing his lips. Then, with all seriousness, he promised, “Don’t worry, I will marry you properly, just like Great-Grandfather married Great-Grandmother, with all the ceremony!”

Lu Huanjin was so stunned by the kiss that he went completely blank, as if fireworks had exploded in his mind.

A wish that had tormented him for nearly ten years was suddenly fulfilled so easily. His lips trembled, and with a hoarse voice, he uncertainly called out again, “Ran Ran…” Then, losing control, he pulled Su Ran tightly into his embrace.

“Hey hey hey… I’m the one who should be holding you! Don’t you understand the difference between top and bottom?!” Su Ran yelled, flustered.

Lu Huanjin: “…Oh.”

By the time the two of them walked out again, it was already an hour later. Su Ran casually and happily pushed open the door, and was immediately met by several pairs of eyes staring sharply. Suddenly, his whole mood sank. “Why are you all here?”

A group of people looked at him with meaningful expressions and said, “Oh~ it seems that what little great-grandfather said is true. You’ve successfully passed the tribulation.”

Su Ran was stunned. Looking at Su Weisheng calmly drinking tea, he desperately grabbed the key point: “Great-grandfather, you said before that my tribulation was this one, that I wasn’t going to die?”

“That’s right, the bloodline will be severed.” Su Weisheng answered matter-of-factly, without the slightest guilt, as if trying to hide from a child. He said, “Didn’t I tell you? The crisis of the Su family bloodline being cut off. If you two stay together, the Su Laijin branch will definitely be broken.”

Su Ran collapsed, holding his head, “Then when you were playing that escape room game on the mountain before, you said I had passed my tribulation…”

“Mm, if at that time you didn’t know swordsmanship and couldn’t save him, Lu Huanjin would have broken his leg from the fall and then avoided you completely. You two might have become lifelong enemies, dissing each other until death, achieving the status of two mute single dogs.”

Su Ran: “…Then what about that falling-limit stock Uncle Lu wanted to buy before?”

Su Weisheng looked sincere: “That was you, Zhaocai.”

Su Ran: “…”

Just as Zhaocai’s expression turned dazed and life-questioning, Lu Huanjin had already snapped out of his brief surprise. He stepped forward and bowed deeply to Su Weisheng, speaking solemnly: “Thank you, great-grandfather, for making this possible.”

He could tell that if it weren’t for Su Weisheng’s deliberate arrangement, neither he nor Su Ran would have made it through that ‘tribulation’, and they would have inevitably ended up as lifelong bitter rivals.

“No need to thank me. If you weren’t sincere enough with him, you wouldn’t have gotten this chance.”

Su Weisheng waved his hand casually, glanced at the stunned Su Ran, and added, “Besides, I’ve already accepted the bride price for marrying the grandson.”

Su Ran didn’t even think and blurted out, “Huh? But I’m the one marrying the wife!”

Great-grandfather completely ignored his naive fantasies and straightforwardly laid out his plan: “Old Lu put forward ten million. I intend to use this money to invest in a film. He provides the money, I provide the people, and we split the profits fifty-fifty.”

Su Weisheng said casually, “Su Ran, don’t you like acting? This is your chance to prove your ability. Act well. After filming, the profits will go toward paying off your debts, and then you’ll be free.”

This debt naturally referred to the “inheritance” that several generations of the Su family had taken from Su Weisheng.

Su Ran’s first reaction wasn’t to argue but to hesitate: “Me act? How much money can it make? Will it be enough to pay off the debt? Great-grandfather, you two don’t want to lose money, right… How about I introduce some reliable actors from the industry for you? As for my debts, I’ll pay them off myself through albums and concerts.”

Su Weisheng gave Su Ran a strange look. His great-grandson really had matured.

Lu Huanjin was also concerned about this issue: “Ten million might not be enough to make a movie. How about I add some more funds?”

“No need,” Su Weisheng said. “I have it all planned.”

This sentence was a response to both of them.

He had his own plan to continue helping Su Ran improve his acting skills, and the ten million budget was more than sufficient because he had already figured out how to maximize profits with minimal costs.

What great-grandfather decided never needed anyone else’s input, so Su Ran and the others obediently kept quiet.

Feeling awkward under everyone’s gaze, Su Ran saw that no one else had anything to say and immediately shouted to Lu Huanjin to run away and refused to be the entertainment for this boring group.

From afar, Su Weisheng could already hear his eldest great-grandson whispering to Lu Huanjin:

“As the Su family’s legitimate eldest granddaughter-in-law, your cooking skills are definitely not enough yet. Ah Jin, practice cooking quickly and make your husband proud!”

Su Weisheng: …?

Good grief, Zhaocai, have you already learned how to pua Lu Huanjin?

Meanwhile, on the other side, You Sui leisurely walked back to the backstage of the show and waved to the assistant director, saying, “Let me see how the recent program footage is coming along.”

The assistant director excitedly reported good news to him: “Director You, we’ve finished filming all the videos in the kitchen just now. The LuSu street official announcement is big news—one of a kind!”

You Sui hummed in response but didn’t look very pleased. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Is there any more explosive news? Like solid proof of the black-and-red CP official announcement?”

Assistant director: “…”

Director You, if you want to officially announce and show off your love, just say so.

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