The time spent at school wasn’t as bad as Zuo Ning had imagined. Well, to be fair, it was never truly a terrible thing. Sometimes, though, one’s mental expectations could exaggerate an ordinary situation into something catastrophic. Since he was only auditing this one course, and though Lu Chenghe had slotted in a few additional classes for him, his daily schedule remained fairly relaxed. Even the director had arranged his filming sessions after class, allowing him to gradually ease into this new rhythm. Over time, Zuo Ning actually found his life feeling more fulfilling.
Each day was a cycle of attending classes, filming, and seizing every opportunity to cling to Lu Chenghe for a good meal, using the excuse of “rewarding himself for his hard work in class”. Almost every evening, they ended up dining out before heading home. Though it didn’t happen often, Zuo Ning occasionally dragged Lu Nianqi along for lunch with Lu Chenghe. As they spent more time together, their bond naturally deepened. After a few occasions, Lu Nianqi even stopped being as rigidly reverent around Lu Chenghe.
For a while, Lu Nianqi was visibly delighted—his speech and demeanor showed he had loosened up and become more relaxed. But good times never last forever. Just when Zuo Ning was heading to find Lu Nianqi for class, he stumbled upon a fiery dispute between friends.
Among Lu Nianqi’s courses, only Professor Jin’s class overlapped with Zuo Ning’s, so he didn’t know any of his other classmates. When he saw someone shoving Lu Nianqi, he immediately assumed he was being bullied and rushed forward, ready to defend him.
Yet, the moment the boy arguing with Lu Nianqi saw him, he turned and walked away. Lu Nianqi quickly grabbed Zuo Ning, preventing him from storming over for a confrontation. “Hey, stop! We’re fine, it’s not what you think!”
Zuo Ning turned back to him, frustrated. “What do you mean, ‘fine’? I saw him push you! Do you get bullied like this at school often? If you are, why didn’t you say anything? Who was that guy? Why is he picking on you? Tell me—is someone harassing you?”
Afraid Zuo Ning would report this to his second brother, Lu Nianqi hurriedly clarified, “No, no, really, it’s not what you think! No one at school bullies me. Just now, we had a minor argument over something, that’s all—nothing serious!”
Seeing that he wasn’t lying, Zuo Ning finally let it go, though he couldn’t resist being nosy about the reason behind the dispute. Unfortunately, Lu Nianqi refused to say anything. With a resigned shrug, Zuo Ning figured that everyone had their little secrets. Since Lu Nianqi wasn’t willing to share, he had no choice but to drop the matter.
Before long, Zuo Ning realized that perhaps he was the cause of it all—something had subtly shifted in Lu Nianqi’s attitude toward him. Although Lu Nianqi never explicitly showed it, Zuo Ning could sense that he was deliberately maintaining some kind of distance. A few times, even when Lu Chenghe invited him to join them for lunch, Lu Nianqi politely declined, citing other obligations. In class, he was noticeably reluctant to engage in conversation, as if he was only attending alongside Zuo Ning because of Lu Chenghe’s instructions rather than personal choice.
Zuo Ning wasn’t the type to be overly sensitive or easily offended, but his intuition had never failed him. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have cared—if they didn’t want to associate with him, then so be it. But Lu Nianqi was Lu Chenghe’s younger brother. Though their relationship wasn’t one of blood, and Lu Chenghe might not hold him in especially high regard, they were still family. Surely, things hadn’t deteriorated to the point of hostility.
So after class, just as Lu Nianqi was about to head back to his dorm, Zuo Ning abruptly pulled him aside, his expression unusually serious. “We’re all adults here. If you have something to say, just say it. If you have any grievances against me, tell me outright. And don’t worry, I won’t go tattling to Chenghe. But if you keep this up, acting like this without explanation, then there’s no point in keeping up this friendship. If Chenghe asks me about it, I’ll simply tell him the truth.”
Lu Nianqi wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry at that. If this wasn’t a veiled threat, then what was? But ultimately, it was his own problem—he hadn’t adjusted his mindset properly. With a sigh, he apologized, “Sorry, I’ve been dealing with some things lately, and I haven’t been in the best mood.”
“It’s got something to do with me, doesn’t it?”
Lu Nianqi looked at him for a moment, then hesitated. Maybe he had indeed misplaced his frustration, even though he logically knew Zuo Ning wasn’t at fault. Still, emotions had a way of creeping in. After a brief pause, he finally admitted, “I only returned to the Lu family after starting university. Before that, I had always been working part-time outside. Even after I moved back, I never told my friends.”
Zuo Ning frowned slightly, unable to grasp his meaning.
Lu Nianqi sighed. “Now they know. Some have outright cut ties with me, while others suddenly seem to have ulterior motives. Whatever the case, our friendships just aren’t as pure as they used to be.”
Life had once been relatively simple for Lu Nianqi—even after returning to the Lu family, the biggest change had been in material wealth. He had considered telling his friends before, but for various reasons, he had ultimately chosen to keep it a secret. And now, faced with the consequences, he couldn’t help but feel the weight of it all.
As someone who had once lived in poverty, the dream of finally holding his head high, basking in the vanity of others’ admiration, was something Lu Nianqi had fantasized about. Yet, for him, it could only ever remain a fantasy. He knew that once his identity as a member of the Lu family was exposed, people would start chasing after him, driven by various personal interests.
It would be a lie to say he didn’t enjoy the attention. After all, everyone has their own vanity. But when the opportunity was truly within his grasp, he chose silence. He understood that he wasn’t equipped to handle such a situation. Faced with so many ulterior motives, he had no idea how to distinguish sincerity from self-interest.
During his time in the Lu family, he had lived a different kind of life—one filled with luxury. But behind all that glamour lay an exhaustion he wasn’t used to, couldn’t adapt to, and ultimately found unbearable. In the end, he chose to return to his previous way of living—simple relationships, free from excessive entanglements of personal gain or hidden agendas. Just as he had started to find a balance between these two worlds, Zuo Ning’s arrival shattered that fragile equilibrium.
The person he had argued with that day was his childhood friend, Shen Bin. They had attended the same high school, though Shen Bin was a year ahead of him. Later, both of them ended up studying in Qingniao City, where Shen Bin continued looking out for him. In fact, the first place Lu Nianqi had worked was a job Shen Bin had helped him find. Whether in academics or daily life, Shen Bin had provided him with a great deal of support.
As Lu Nianqi interacted more frequently with Zuo Ning and as people spotted him dining with Lu Chenghe, someone inevitably uncovered his true identity as a member of the Lu family. Former classmates who had once maintained an ordinary relationship with him suddenly sought to get closer, and some peers who had barely spoken a word to him throughout college began trying to ingratiate themselves. Meanwhile, the one person who had always looked out for him, Shen Bin, drastically changed his attitude toward him, eventually cutting ties altogether.
At first, Lu Nianqi assumed Shen Bin was simply upset that he had kept such an important secret from him. If the roles had been reversed, he knew he would have been furious, too, finding out that a best friend had hidden something so significant. Several times, he had wanted to reach out, to apologize, to at least talk things through so they could clear the air.
But then, he accidentally overheard Shen Bin complaining about him to his dormmate. Only then did he realize just how naive he had been. All that kindness, all that help, all those gestures of goodwill—they had never been out of genuine friendship. They were born from Shen Bin’s own sense of superiority.
They had come from the same hometown, a small, underdeveloped place where most families lived in modest conditions. But Lu Nianqi had lost his parents at a young age and had grown up under his aunt’s care, practically living as a dependent in someone else’s home.
So, when Shen Bin arrived in this bustling city and saw the extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy, his already imbalanced mindset found a sense of superiority through Lu Nianqi. Some people feel envious when others live better than they do, but when they encounter someone worse off, they feel a twisted satisfaction, even going as far as offering help just to reinforce their own superiority.
At school, Lu Nianqi didn’t have many close friends. Aside from his dormmates, the only person he could truly talk to was Shen Bin, who was a year ahead of him. But after Zuo Ning’s arrival, the quiet balance he had hoped to maintain was shattered, revealing the self-deception he had unknowingly clung to.
He understood that none of this was Zuo Ning’s fault. But knowing was one thing, and emotionally coming to terms with it was another. He needed time to adjust, yet everything had suddenly piled up on him, making it difficult to face his own thoughts properly.
Having pieced together the entire situation, Zuo Ning found himself at a loss for words. Who could have predicted something like this? He had absolutely no experience dealing with such matters, not even the slightest clue on how to console Lu Nianqi. If anything, without his presence, perhaps Lu Nianqi could have quietly finished university without all this trouble.
In the end, all Zuo Ning could do was offer an awkward smile, mumble a couple of dry words of comfort, and make a hasty retreat.
Watching his figure disappear, Lu Nianqi couldn’t help but feel a hint of envy—carefree youth truly was a luxury.
That evening, Zuo Ning couldn’t resist gossiping about the situation with Lu Chenghe. After recounting everything, he noticed Lu Chenghe showed no reaction at all. Frustrated, he squeezed himself between Lu Chenghe and his laptop, staring at him. “That’s your brother, you know—you really don’t care at all?”
Lu Chenghe barely spared him a glance. “The life he chooses and how he lives it, that’s his own business.”
Zuo Ning frowned. “What do you mean, ‘his own business’? You guys were the ones who brought him back into the Lu family. I know this might sound dramatic, but honestly, being part of the Lu family only seems to have improved his material wealth. Everything else? It feels worse. He lost his freedom and gained more pressure instead.”
Hearing this, Lu Chenghe chuckled softly. Glancing at the little troublemaker glued to his side, he replied, “Do you think we would’ve forced him back if he wasn’t willing? When we received the confirmation, my eldest brother went to him and laid everything out clearly. Even if he chose not to return to the Lu family, we would’ve provided him with financial compensation—an acknowledgment from the elders of the family. But beyond that, his life would have had nothing to do with us. He was the one who chose to come back and recognize his heritage. Figuring out how to balance his life—that’s entirely up to him.”
Zuo Ning had always thought that once Lu Nianqi’s identity was confirmed, they would immediately take him back without question. But now, realizing the truth, he couldn’t help but grin at Lu Chenghe and tug at his shirt button. “So that’s how it is. I misjudged you.”
Lu Chenghe smacked his hand away. “Go entertain yourself.”
Zuo Ning had finally managed to wedge himself between Lu Chenghe and his laptop. There was no way he was giving up his spot so easily. He clung to Lu Chenghe stubbornly. “My scenes are about to wrap up.”
Lu Chenghe raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He was likely more familiar with Little Pudding’s schedule than Little Pudding himself.
Zuo Ning hesitated before adding, “We haven’t gone out in a long time.”
Without a moment’s thought, Lu Chenghe shut him down. “You have classes.”
Zuo Ning was about to say, “Then I’ll take time off”. After all, it wasn’t like he had exams or needed certification. But the way Lu Chenghe looked at him made him swallow his words, quickly shifting his approach. “I don’t have classes on the weekend.”
Amused by his pitifully eager expression, Lu Chenghe sighed. “Where do you want to go?”
The instant he realized his plan had a chance, Zuo Ning’s eyes lit up. He jumped off Lu Chenghe, ran to the bed to grab his tablet, and hurried back. Flipping through a collection of saved scenic photos, he eagerly pointed them out one by one. “Here, here, and here—I want to go to all of them! There are mountain views, ocean views. If you think the city’s too noisy, we can find somewhere quieter. If you think this spot is too deserted, we can hit a big city instead.”
Lu Chenghe casually clicked through each picture, noting the famous landmarks scattered across various locations. “These are all places you want to visit?”
Zuo Ning nodded enthusiastically.
Lu Chenghe chuckled. “Then let’s not go to any of them.”
Zuo Ning instantly glared at him. “You said we’d go out!”
Lu Chenghe tapped the screen. “The places you chose, just flying there would take at least ten hours. A round trip alone would eat up a whole day. You only have two days off for the weekend. Tell me, how exactly do you plan to enjoy yourself?”
Realizing that his usual tricks wouldn’t work on Lu Chenghe, Zuo Ning lowered his head and continued scrolling through his tablet. Truthfully, these locations weren’t necessarily places he desperately wanted to visit, but he really hadn’t gone out with Lu Chenghe in ages. Ever since becoming human, he hadn’t had the chance! Every day, it was the same routine—going to work, coming home, attending school, heading back—where was the variety? How was he supposed to nurture their bond like this?
Lu Chenghe ruffled his hair. “Once you finish this term, before the next semester starts, I’ll take you wherever you want. You can play all you want until school begins.”
Zuo Ning immediately stuck out his pinky finger. “Promise!”
Lu Chenghe had never done something so childish in his life, but before he could even hesitate, Little Pudding grabbed his hand, forced open his pinky, and hooked their fingers together. That entirely meaningless gesture made the boy, who had just been sulking, light up like a blooming flower.
Thinking that the conversation had wrapped up, Lu Chenghe was caught off guard when Little Pudding suddenly flipped open another photo album. “Then pick one from here. At most, the longest flight is three hours, and the shortest is just one hour. I don’t have classes on Monday morning. We leave Friday afternoon and come back Monday morning. Perfect plan!”
Without hesitation, Lu Chenghe reached out and squeezed the face right in front of him. This little rascal really thought he could outmaneuver him.
