After personally experiencing and putting it into practice, the facts proved that Zuo Ning did not possess the extraordinary talent he thought he had. When he woke up from a sleep, he just felt like all the bones in his body had fallen apart, especially one particular part of his body, which was unprecedentedly brushing against his sense of presence. He originally wanted to turn over, but unfortunately, his whole body couldn’t move at all. Instinctively, he let out a groan, reached beside him to feel around, but ended up feeling nothing, and hurriedly opened his eyes.
Once he opened them, he saw Lu Chenghe sitting on the sofa not far away, reading a book. Zuo Ning let out a low sound, and Lu Chenghe, still reading, didn’t lift his head and said, “There’s porridge on the table. Get up yourself to wash your face and brush your teeth before eating. Big Brother and Chu Hang have already gone out. Today, we’ll just rest here in the hotel.”
Zuo Ning pitifully said, “I’m so tired. My whole body aches and feels weak. I can’t get up.”
Lu Chenghe tilted his head to look at him and smiled slightly, “Didn’t you say you were a fairy, born with extraordinary talent?”
Zuo Ning lay face down on the bed, whining, “My waist aches, my back hurts, I’m so hungry, so hungry, so hungry. I’m going to starve to death.”
Lu Chenghe laughed helplessly, then finally put down the book, walked over, and gently started to massage his waist, kneading until Zuo Ning cried out.
“All right, get up yourself and eat.”
Zuo Ning grabbed his hand. “I want to be fed.”
Lu Chenghe flicked his forehead lightly with his finger. “So spoiled again.”
Zuo Ning opened his big, watery eyes wide, staring at Lu Chenghe, making Lu Chenghe lose his temper. He then walked to the dining table and took out the porridge that was kept in the insulated box. Just moments ago, Zuo Ning was still collapsed on the bed, shouting that he couldn’t get up, but now he suddenly got up and looked at Lu Chenghe with a mischievous smile.
Lu Chenghe glanced at him but went along with it and fed him. Seeing him eating while smiling foolishly, Lu Chenghe couldn’t hold back his expression anymore: “Is there anywhere that doesn’t feel good?”
Zuo Ning nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, my waist hurts, my legs are weak, my whole body feels like it’s been run over by a train.”
Lu Chenghe glanced at him and said, “I’m asking if your stomach feels uncomfortable.”
Zuo Ning quickly shook his head, “It’s fine! No fever, no diarrhea. I told you my body is fine.” After saying that, he leaned against Lu Chenghe and rubbed up against him, “So there’s no need to wait until I’m twenty anymore, right?”
Lu Chenghe pinched the face that was trying to flatter him, “Stop thinking about that kind of thing.”
Zuo Ning looked him over several times, “Why are you different from the male leads in novels? They think about those things every day and use all sorts of tricks to coax the bottom to bed. Why don’t you play by the script?!”
Lu Chenghe stuffed a spoonful into Little Pudding’s mouth, “Eat your porridge.”
After resting for a while, Zuo Ning originally wanted to lie in bed pretending to be a sick, delicate type, sticking close to Lu Chenghe, but Lu Chenghe was only focused on reading. In the end, Zuo Ning couldn’t lie still and insisted on going out to play.
Lu Chenghe glanced at the sun outside and said, “Then let’s go buy some things. Next, we’re going to drive ourselves to a small town in Tuscany. We can buy some food to eat on the road. There’s a large vineyard in that town, and it’s the peak grape season now. The whole garden is full of ripe grapes. You can pick grapes and eat them yourself when we get there.”
As soon as Zuo Ning heard that, his ears perked up immediately, “Really! Then I want to eat lots of grapes! I’ve never eaten fresh grapes picked directly from the vine before!”
Following Lu Chenghe, they toured the nearby large supermarket, buying plenty of food and drinks, both necessary and unnecessary. Lu Chenghe and the others had originally planned to play until late, but because it suddenly rained, they had to return to the hotel early, so the four of them casually had dinner in the hotel.
Although Zuo Ning didn’t have any obvious marks on his body—those were hidden beneath his clothes—the aura he gave off was definitely different. Even Zuo Ning himself, who hadn’t experienced this kind of thing before, could see that Chu Hang was different, let alone Chu Hang, who had even more experience than him. It was obvious at a glance why he couldn’t get up today.
Those two were a couple, and this kind of thing was very hard for men to control themselves. Chu Hang didn’t think much of it and was just very considerate in ordering him some easily digestible food.
Lu Chenghan kept shooting sharp glances at Lu Chenghe. When Chu Hang and Lu Ning got up to buy fresh-squeezed juice, Lu Chenghan said coldly, “He’s not even an adult yet. You better hold yourself back.”
Lu Chenghe glanced at his eldest brother and said, “Because I held back too much, he’s already forced himself on me.”
Hearing this, Lu Chenghan’s eyes grew even colder. How had he never noticed before that the second brother was just as annoying as the fourth? Neither of them was a good person!
But unfortunately, plans are beautiful, yet changes are beyond human control. The original plan was to drive themselves to the vineyard, taking their time along the way, stopping to enjoy the scenery—a trip that would take about three days. However, the day before they were about to arrive at the vineyard, they received a call that forced them to immediately return to the country.
Zuo Ning lay sideways on the wide seat by the window armrest, completely slouched in a posture far from proper sitting, staring at the glaring white clouds outside, and couldn’t help but sigh. Then he turned over and saw Lu Chenghe reading a magazine, and couldn’t resist stretching his foot onto Lu Chenghe’s leg.
Their flight back was clearly not as good as when they came. Coming here, it was a small single cabin with a bed inside and a door that could be closed. Now, there were only seats, though much bigger than economy class seats and with enough space to stretch their legs, but the privacy was really lacking. All they could do was rub legs and hold hands like this.
“Chenghe, what exactly happened? Could it be that someone in the company is trying to seize power?”
Lu Chenghe looked at him and said, “It’s not company business. You stay on set and shoot your drama properly. Don’t run around everywhere.”
Zuo Ning responded with an “Oh,” then asked, “Is it serious?”
Lu Chenghe was silent for a moment before answering, “Not serious.”
Zuo Ning turned over and didn’t ask anymore. If it wasn’t serious, couldn’t it be handled remotely? Why did they have to rush back in such a hurry? Hopefully, it wasn’t family trouble.
Lu Chenghe rubbed his head and said, “Next time, I’ll take you to that vineyard again.”
Zuo Ning turned his head, smiled at him, and nodded, “Okay.”
Because there was still an elder on Lu Chenghe’s side, although with Lu Chenghe and Lu Chenghan—the two brothers—around, there was basically nothing that needed an elder’s involvement, it was still better to have one elder present. Lu Chenghe had originally planned to make Little Pudding behave and stay at home, but as soon as they got back and put away the luggage, Little Pudding immediately clung to him in his dog form. So Lu Chenghe had no choice but to take him home along with him.
Mother Lu hadn’t seen Little Pudding for quite some time. Even when Chenghe lived at home before, he would take Little Pudding out early and bring him back late every day, not to mention after they moved out together. Seeing her son bring Little Pudding back, she kept hugging and doting on him. Although Little Pudding had grown so big she couldn’t even carry him, she still kept calling him “little cutie, little cutie.”
Zuo Ning sat beside Mother Lu, letting her stroke his fur, but kept staring intently at Lu Chenghan. It seemed the matter involved the Lu family’s fourth brother. Judging by his face full of stubble and a look of utter despair, Zuo Ning silently guessed. Could it be that Ren Shishi had dumped him? But even if it was a breakup, it probably wouldn’t cause the whole family to hold a meeting over him. Maybe something had happened to Ren Shishi abroad?
While Zuo Ning was randomly speculating, Lu Chenghan, who had just sent Chu Hang back, came over. Zuo Ning hurriedly ran to Lu Chenghe’s side and lay down, his whole dog-like body pressed against Lu Chenghe’s leg, but his ears stood up sharply.
As soon as Lu Chenghan arrived, he directly gave the fourth brother a cold glare and demanded, “What exactly happened?!”
Lu Chenghan rubbed his face. The once charming playboy image was long ruined by the full stubble on his face, making him look extremely defeated.
However, Zuo Ning had imagined all sorts of wild possibilities, but never expected that a woman would actually break into Lu Chenghan’s home and cut her wrist in the bathtub in his bedroom to attempt suicide!
Zuo Ning’s mouth instantly dropped open in shock, his eyes wide as saucers. Was that really necessary? Although Lu Chenghan lived alone, after all, it was a residence for a social celebrity. The security system there was no joke. If a girl could just break in so easily, then anyone could sneak in—that was terrifying.
Lu Chenghe immediately covered that dog face of his with one hand, suppressing the shocked expression.
The girl who committed suicide was called Tang Xin, the heiress of the Tang Real Estate Group. It was said she had been obsessed with Lu Chenghan since childhood—truly obsessed. She had harassed Lu Chenghan more than once, using all kinds of dramatic and ridiculous tactics. If Lu Chenghan hadn’t been part of the Lu family, Miss Tang would have even wanted to have him forcibly taken and—well, assaulted.
In the end, the Tang family had no choice and didn’t want to make enemies with the Lu family because of their daughter’s behavior, so they simply sent her abroad and forbade her from using any means to return to the country. This brought some peace for a few years. Tang Xin also seemed to have changed gradually—her actions became less exaggerated, and she didn’t seem so obsessed with Lu Chenghan anymore. After returning to the country, she had met Lu Chenghan a few times at social events, and they were able to talk and behave like ordinary friends, polite and proper.
Everyone thought Tang Xin had finally stopped obsessing over Lu Chenghan, that she had seen more of the world and moved on from her fixation. But who would have expected that, without any warning, she would choose to commit suicide in such a way.
Hearing this, Zuo Ning instinctively leaned closer to Lu Chenghe. This was just too terrifying. Beyond the loss of a vibrant life, the manner of her suicide was a psychological trauma in itself. It was said that during this time, Lu Chenghan had been staying at Chenghe’s estate, having to stay in a room without a bathroom. Imagine how scared he must have been.
Lu Chenghe stroked Little Pudding’s fur gently and asked the fourth brother, “Did Tang Xin ever come looking for you before?”
Lu Chenghan shook his head, rubbing his brow wearily. “No, not at all. Since she returned to the country until now, we’ve only run into each other a few times at banquets and exchanged a few words—a simple greeting. Apart from that, there has been no other contact.”
Lu Chenghan[mfn]eldest brother[/mfn] asked, “What is the Tang family’s current attitude?”
Lu Chenghan[mfn]fourth brother[/mfn]’s eyes grew slightly cold at the question. “Now the Tang family is headed by Tang Xin’s elder brother, Tang Yifeng. He’s interested in a piece of land in the suburbs, but his position is that Tang Real Estate as a whole definitely won’t take it all; he just wants to have a share.”
Lu Chenghan sneered coldly, “He can try to get involved if he wants. His sister trespassed into a private residence and died in our Lu family’s home—we haven’t even asked the Tang family for compensation yet! There are some things we can take the initiative to make up for, but no one else gets to demand anything!”
Mother Lu looked at her son, hesitating to speak but ultimately only sighed without saying anything.
Lu Chenghe gently patted his mother’s hand. “Don’t go out these days. And if you do, take more people with you. We will handle this matter.”
Mother Lu nodded, still somewhat reluctant, and said, “After all, it’s a life. No matter what, she was a good girl who cared so much about Chenghan. If there’s something we can let go of, we should step back. Don’t take things too far.”
Lu Chenghe nodded. “I understand.”
Mother Lu looked at her son again and said, “You all must be busy these days. Leave Little Pudding at home. I won’t go out, so having him around can keep me company.”
Zuo Ning, frightened, climbed onto Lu Chenghe’s body and tightly hugged his neck.
Lu Chenghe stroked the fur on his back and smiled. “Little Pudding is too clingy. He should stay with me. Dogs are very sensitive; if I leave him at home, he’ll think I don’t want him anymore. If he gets depressed, that won’t be good.”
Mother Lu looked at her dog-obsessed son with eyes full of resignation, completely hopeless.
Well that took a sudden turn
Thx for the chapter!