Zuo Ning, after getting his haircut, looked handsomer than ever—he had reached a whole new level of attractiveness. This much was obvious the next day when he went to class, judging by the sharp increase in the number of people turning their heads to look at him. Clusters of girls in groups of three or five gathered together, sneaking glances at him every now and then, whispering among themselves, and then laughing loudly. It was clear they were talking about him.
However, Zuo Ning, who had always been confident in his looks and aesthetic sense, had his self-confidence take a hit after Lu Chenghe’s ruthless “ugly to death” comment yesterday. Originally, he only needed ten minutes to shower, but last night he ended up fussing around in the bathroom for over an hour, spending a whole hour in front of the mirror admiring himself.
Now, noticing that some girls seemed to be talking about him, he instinctively reached up to fluff his hair, then leaned over to Lu Nianqi and quietly asked: “Does my new hairstyle really look that bad?”
Lu Nianqi gave him a strange look, studying him for a moment: “Are you just fishing for compliments?”
Come on, he had practically stolen everyone’s attention the moment he stepped in today, looking so handsome it made people jealous, and now he was asking if it looked bad? This was exactly like those annoying top students who scored perfect marks but still said, “That exam was so hard, I don’t even know if I passed.”
Zuo Ning flopped face-down onto the desk and huffed: “Yesterday, Lu Chenghe said it didn’t look good. He’s the one who told me to get a haircut in the first place. I even told him to find the best stylist. Honestly, I thought it turned out pretty well, but he said it was ugly.”
Lu Nianqi thought to himself: Of course, he’d say it’s ugly. If he said it looked good, with Zuo Ning’s smug little personality, who knows how far his ego would’ve flown by now? He was already glowing when he smiled at people—now with the new haircut, if he went around beaming with sunshine like that, he’d probably have been buried in love letters by now.
Looking at the guy beside him, who was now moping and full of self-doubt just because of one sentence from his second brother, Lu Nianqi somehow felt like he’d just been force-fed dog food. But well, comfort was still in order: “It looks great. Maybe second brother just got used to the way you looked before, and now the change is a bit hard for him to adjust to.”
“Exactly. No matter how beautiful someone is, if you look at them long enough, they stop seeming beautiful. That’s aesthetic fatigue. Even the ugliest person, if you see them enough, stops looking so ugly. You just get used to it.”
At that, Lu Nianqi didn’t even know how to respond. Honestly, he really wanted to ask, So, are you aesthetically fatigued with my second brother yet? But something told him if he asked that, he’d be hit with another giant spoonful of dog food. He already felt like he was choking on it—better not ask for more trouble.
The two of them were casually chatting about anything and everything when Ding Rui, who had shown Zuo Ning around campus on his first day, walked over to them. Although Ding Rui had previously said that he would be accompanying Lu Ning throughout the school term, seeing that Lu Ning already had someone familiar with him, he naturally wouldn’t force himself into the situation. After all, forcing a connection could backfire and end up making people dislike him instead.
Originally, he had assumed that the person with Lu Ning was just an old acquaintance, but he hadn’t expected that the person was also from the Lu family. Despite the abundance of gossip and all sorts of messy rumors circulating around, Ding Rui felt that many of them were probably deliberately spread to smear reputations.
As for that young master from the Lu family, long regarded as a cold and talented figure, Ding Rui had always thought he was a bit foolish. Even though many girls at school were infatuated with him and plenty of people tried to curry favor, there were just as many who couldn’t stand his way of doing things. Especially this time, claiming not to know someone, regardless of whether there were past grievances between them, such a statement came off as unnecessarily crude.
But then again, someone born with a silver spoon like that young master was probably used to doing whatever he pleased, completely unconcerned about so-called reputation. Unlike them, who had to be smooth and tactful just to grasp every connection and opportunity they could to live a little better.
Seeing that Ding Rui was walking over to find him, Zuo Ning was the first to speak up. “Hi there, are you looking for me about something?”
Ding Rui smiled and said, “There is something I’d like to ask for your help with. It might be a bit abrupt, but I’m just asking on behalf of a friend. If it’s inconvenient, that’s totally fine. There’s a junior girl who once received aid from the Lu Corporation’s charity. She’s very grateful and also greatly admires President Lu. When she found out he would be attending the upcoming forum, she was really hoping to express her thanks to him in person.”
Zuo Ning’s first instinctive thought was: Could this just be a pretext to try and get close to Lu Chenghe? Even if she didn’t succeed, at least she’d get a bit of exposure, right? But that was just his internal speculation—he would never say it out loud. That said, something like this wasn’t a decision he could make on Lu Chenghe’s behalf, so he could only reply, “I’ll have to ask him first. Besides, there will definitely be a lot of school leaders accompanying him at the forum. I’m not even sure if I’ll have a chance to get close enough to say anything myself, so I can’t give you a definite answer just yet.”
Hearing this, Ding Rui nodded and still kept a polite smile on his face, not showing any hint of disappointment. “I understand. I’m just asking for someone else. It’s only to see if there’s a way to fulfill her wish. That’s all. I won’t hold you up from class any longer.”
Zuo Ning smiled at him in return.
After taking a few steps, Ding Rui turned back and added, “Almost forgot, your new hairstyle looks great. Really suits you.”
After Ding Rui left, Zuo Ning took out a small mirror again. “I also think it looks great, but why did Lu Chenghe say it was ugly? Could it really be a generation gap every three years? Then wouldn’t that mean I have several generation gaps with him?”
Lu Nianqi laughed from beside him and said, “If you have the guts, say that again in front of my second brother.”
Zuo Ning snorted, put down the mirror, and asked Lu Nianqi, “Do you think that junior girl Ding Rui mentioned really admires Chenghe, or is she just using that as an excuse to get close and try to do something?”
Lu Nianqi silently sighed inside. Being around his second brother was really like having to guard against both men and women—not a single moment to be careless—but he said, “Unless that girl is extremely confident, thinking my second brother would fall for her at first sight, or has some backup plan, then she’s probably genuinely grateful.”
Zuo Ning pinched a tuft of hair near his temple and rubbed it. “I think I should take a look first and judge. If that girl is especially pretty, then she’s definitely up to something!”
But when Zuo Ning actually met the girl, he felt it was completely wrong of him to have thought that way about her.
The girl’s name was Ma Yi. She was short, probably under 1.6 meters, thin and dark-skinned, with very obvious highland redness on her face. Her clothes were the kind that had faded from many washes, but were very clean. Her hair was tied in a thick ponytail at the back of her head, not straight and a bit messy, probably never permed or dyed. She had slightly small single eyelids, but her eyes were very bright, and her smile was radiant.
Knowing he was a friend of Lu Chenghe, and that another person was Lu Chenghe’s younger brother, Ma Yi brought along a bag of peanuts. Not many peanuts. She said they were brought from her hometown at the start of the semester, and after the semester, only a few were left. She didn’t have much to give as a gift, so it was just those peanuts.
Ma Yi said she came from deep in the mountains. Although the mountain conditions weren’t harsh enough to require walking on tightropes, going up and down the mountain still took about a day. Sometimes when she went to classes on the neighboring mountain, she had to leave around three in the morning and arrive at school just in time at eight. Their village was very poor, poor for many years, with only one volunteer teacher sticking it out there and no new teachers ever coming.
Later, it was the Lu Corporation’s aid that gave her and a few other children the opportunity to study in town. All the kids who came from that area got into university, though not together. Considering the teaching resources in such an environment, being able to get into the university that Mr. Lu once attended was truly one in a million, and she was lucky enough to achieve it.
Ma Yi was determined to study hard. After graduation, she was set on working for the Lu Corporation—whether it was for herself or to repay Mr. Lu for the help he had given her. She believed that was the true value of her life.
When she heard that Mr. Lu would be coming to the school for a forum, Ma Yi genuinely, deeply wanted to express her gratitude in person. But she also understood that someone like him would always be surrounded by thousands of people. She hadn’t held out much hope until a senior student said he would try to use his connections to help her out.
When Lu Chenghe saw Little Pudding walking in with a bag of peanuts, he frowned slightly. “What kind of random junk did you buy to eat again? If you want something, just have the cooks at home make it. Don’t buy food from outside.”
Ever since he’d loosened control over Little Pudding’s finances, Lu Chenghe’s biggest worry had been that he’d start buying random things. If it were just useless toys, that was still acceptable. But if he bought some bad food and got sick from it, that would be real trouble.
Zuo Ning tossed the bag of peanuts onto Lu Chenghe’s office desk. “These aren’t mine—they’re yours.”
Lu Chenghe opened the bag and glanced. They were just ordinary peanuts.
Zuo Ning grinned. “You have no idea. Ever since word got out that you’d be attending the forum, a ton of people have been trying to get a private meeting with you. Look, someone even bribed their way to me with peanuts.”
Lu Chenghe let out a light laugh. If it had been some rare or exotic thing Little Pudding didn’t have, maybe he’d believe it. But just a bag of peanuts? That was impossible.
Seeing Lu Chenghe just smile without saying anything, clearly not buying the story, Zuo Ning huffed, “It’s true! Really! But these peanuts are different.”
Lu Chenghe looked at him. “What’s different? Because you brought them, they’re special?”
Zuo Ning then explained Ma Yi’s story in full, and even added with a sigh, “You don’t know, I originally thought that girl was just looking for an excuse to hit on you. I never expected she truly just wanted to thank you. Why don’t you meet her when the time comes? At least fulfill her small wish. Who knows, she might even become a pillar of Lu Corporation one day. People’s potential is limitless. She managed to get into the same university you went to—and she came from the mountains. That alone proves she’s capable.”
Lu Chenghe knocked lightly on his forehead. “So you’re judging people based on looks now? If today you saw a pretty girl, then she must’ve had ulterior motives. But if she’s not good-looking, then she’s sincerely grateful?”
Zuo Ning rolled his eyes at him. “It’s not that all pretty girls are scheming, but you need to have something to scheme with in the first place. And I’m not saying Ma Yi isn’t pretty—it’s just a kind of unpolished beauty. At first glance, she looks a bit rustic, but once you interact with her, you’ll realize that kind of beauty is very pure. And when she smiles, her eyes light up. I think a girl like that must have a simple heart.”
Lu Chenghe raised an eyebrow slightly. “You sure paid a lot of attention to her.”
Zuo Ning chuckled slyly. “Of course I did! If she was some scheming girl trying to steal you from me, I obviously wouldn’t let you meet her.”
Lu Chenghe, who had just reached out to take Little Pudding’s backpack, paused slightly when he heard that. Looking at Little Pudding’s sun-bright smile, his eyes dimmed a little. With a soft laugh, he said, “Then should I praise you for being a good judge of character?”
Zuo Ning lifted his chin. “Absolutely!”
After waiting for a while without hearing a clear answer from Lu Chenghe, Zuo Ning couldn’t help pressing him again. “So are you going to meet her or not? She probably just wants to say thank you. It’s not like it’ll take up much of your time.”
Lu Chenghe replied helplessly, “Fine, fine, I’ll meet her. You even brought back the gift she gave, and you’re speaking up for her like this. If I say no, who knows how you’ll torment me.”
Hearing Lu Chenghe agree to the meeting, Zuo Ning was genuinely happy for the girl. And in his excitement, he couldn’t help pouncing onto Lu Chenghe to protest. “When have I ever tormented you? It’s always you tormenting me—you’re always lying to me! Just yesterday, you lied and said there were little cakes. I searched the kitchen forever and couldn’t find any, and the butler even kicked me out. Then you finally told me Xuanxuan had eaten them all and took the leftovers to go. I’m telling you, if people ever say I’m dumb, it’s definitely because you tricked me into it!”
Lu Chenghe was nearly laughing in frustration at this little rascal who was flipping the situation on him. “You were the one who didn’t let me finish before you ran off, and now you’re blaming me? Have you ever heard of someone being this unreasonable?” As he spoke, he even poked Zuo Ning in the chest, checking whether that little heart of his still had a shred of conscience.
However, with just one poke from Lu Chenghe, Zuo Ning immediately burst into ticklish laughter. The more he laughed, the more Lu Chenghe poked. If Lu Chenghe weren’t holding him by the waist, he would’ve surely laughed himself straight to the floor.
Qi Wei, who was just about to deliver some documents inside, suddenly paused when he heard someone laughing in the office. He silently turned around and went back to his own office, pulled out a photo of his pet dog, and flipped through it. Even his perpetually single boss was in a relationship now, while he still had to cuddle his dog to sleep every night. Truly, a tragic situation.
After returning home, the white dog, whose once-styled fur had grown out a bit and lost all shape, wagged its tail and followed Lu Chenghe upstairs. As soon as they entered the room, Zuo Ning was just about to transform back into human form. Then, he saw Lu Chenghe preparing to head into the bathroom for a shower. Zuo Ning pretended to follow him casually, but was immediately blocked by Lu Chenghe’s foot.
Zuo Ning looked up at Lu Chenghe, tilted his head, and gave a bark: “Woof!” He stuck out his tongue and flashed a dazzling angelic smile, trying to charm Lu Chenghe to death.
But Lu Chenghe’s defense stat was too high. He met Zuo Ning’s gaze with a completely expressionless face, unmoved in the slightest. In the end, Zuo Ning was defeated under his unyielding stare and walked out with drooping ears and tail. So sad. It had been such a long time since they last showered together. Ever since the leg injury incident, Lu Chenghe now locked both doors and windows every time he showers. Zuo Ning could forget about surprise attacks ever again.
Author’s Note: About New Year’s Wishes
Lu Chenghe: Grow up quickly.
Zuo Ning: I want to shower together.
![Sweetness Is Incessantly Late [BL]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/甜不止迟.jpg "Sweetness Is Incessantly Late [BL]")
