Chapter 44

“Please wait a moment!”

Jian Yao chased out of the bar and called to Lu Yan at the corner.

Lu Yan turned around and was momentarily stunned when she saw Jian Yao running towards her.

The two of them stood there at the street corner, staring at each other for a few seconds, the atmosphere feeling a little awkward.

Jian Yao looked at her with confusion, noticing the redness around her eyes, clearly indicating that she had been crying.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Lu Yan didn’t expect Jian Yao to chase after her, and suddenly felt a bit at a loss.

Even Jian Yao herself couldn’t understand why she did that—after all, she didn’t even know the girl.

She felt a bit embarrassed, scratching the back of her neck, and explained, “I noticed you seemed a little sad when I was singing just now, so I came after you to ask if something happened?”

This felt so strange to Jian Yao. She silently complained to herself: Why did I do something so weird? I don’t even know her.

Lu Yan wiped her eyes and quickly shook her head, explaining, “No, no, I just thought your singing was really beautiful and moving.”

Jian Yao smiled. “Well, it’s not like I made the audience cry. I do have some self-awareness, so… is there anything I can do to help? Did someone bully you?”

The lack of maternal affection that had been missing for so many years finally turned into a caring question from Jian Yao, and Lu Yan’s heart became filled with a bittersweet feeling mixed with grievance. Tears welled up in her eyes again.

This was her mother. Although they had never met, Lu Yan knew she loved her—truly, deeply loved her.

Seeing her wiping away the tears, Jian Yao’s heart tightened in pain. She quickly pulled out a tissue and gently wiped Lu Yan’s tears, saying anxiously, “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Did you get your heart broken?”

Lu Yan shook her head, feeling embarrassed, and quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve. “No, it’s nothing, you don’t have to worry about me. I just…”

Just… missed you a bit.

Jian Yao looked at the girl’s flushed face and teary eyes, and for some reason, a wave of tenderness rose in her heart. She gently wiped away the tears, saying softly, “Don’t be sad. After the band’s celebration party, you should come too. Let’s have fun and forget all the bad things.”

Lu Yan looked up at her, her eyes still damp but now shining with light, and asked, “Can we be friends?”

“Of course!” Jian Yao enthusiastically extended her hand. “I’m Jian Yao, 17 years old this year, lead singer of the Wild Wolf Band. Nice to meet you!”

Lu Yan hurriedly shook her hand. “I… I’m Lu Yan, Yan from the word ‘^[1]“Yanran” (嫣然) is a Chinese name that generally conveys a sense of beauty and grace. The character “嫣” (Yan) is often associated with beauty or a graceful smile, while … Continue readingYanran.'”

“Such a beautiful name.”

“You too.”

Lu Yan gave her hand a firm shake. Jian Yao’s hand was soft and cool, which felt really comfortable.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you there,” Jian Yao said, leading Lu Yan towards the Green Vine Bar.

The bar had already become lively. Some of the guys in Jian Yao’s band were very handsome and knew how to liven up the crowd. The drummer was playing a rapid drumbeat, and the bassist was bending over, playing the electric guitar. They looked incredibly cool.

When Qiao Nan saw Jian Yao return, he immediately approached and grabbed her hand, pulling her onstage. “I’ve been looking for you for a while, everyone’s waiting!”

“No rush.” Jian Yao led Lu Yan to the band’s seating area and gently placed her hand on her shoulder, guiding her to sit down. “What juice would you like? Anything you can name, we have it here.”

“Tomato juice.”

“I like tomato juice too.” Jian Yao winked playfully at her, then turned to the waiter. “Two glasses of tomato juice.”

Qiao Nan curiously eyed Lu Yan and whispered to Jian Yao, “Who is she?”

“Just a new friend, also one of my little fans.” She smiled and asked Lu Yan, “Right?”

Lu Yan nodded.

Qiao Nan stared at Lu Yan’s face for a while, showing a slightly unfriendly expression.

“How did you become friends just like that?”

Jian Yao, annoyed, replied, “Is it okay if we just hit it off? Why are you so chatty today?”

Lu Yan looked at Qiao Nan. He was tall with a sharp, handsome look, and his eyes and eyebrows gave off a slightly charming vibe. His attire was also quite unique, standing out from the crowd.

A girl’s intuition made Lu Yan sensitively realize that this young man, Qiao Nan, was likely her father’s rival.

“Don’t you think she looks familiar?” Qiao Nan asked, eyeing Lu Yan, his tone cautious. “She looks a bit like… that one.”

Jian Yao turned her head, her sharp, beautiful eyes glancing at him, and smiling, she asked, “Who are you talking about?”

“The guy who harassed you a few days ago!”

At the mention of him, Jian Yao’s expression turned a bit complicated. It didn’t seem like she liked him, but it didn’t seem like she hated him either.

“You mean Lu Zhen? He’s… my brother.”

Qiao Nan showed a “I knew it” expression, and immediately became aggressive. “So being the older brother isn’t enough, now his sister’s here too, huh? What’s your game!”

Lu Yan frowned, muttering softly, “Why are you so worked up?”

“Get out of here right now! You’re not welcome!” Qiao Nan shouted.

Jian Yao immediately lost her patience. She shoved him and angrily said, “Why are you yelling at this young girl?”

“I…”

Qiao Nan had no temper with Jian Yao, and, frustrated, he muttered, “She’s that guy’s sister, and he must have sent her to get close to you on purpose!”

Lu Yan hurriedly explained, “No! It’s not like that! Lu Zhen doesn’t know I’m here.”

“Who are you fooling? Go back and tell your brother to give up on Jian Yao! She’s not going to like him.”

Lu Yan felt a bit upset and muttered softly, “She hasn’t even said anything, and you already know.”

At this moment, the drummer with a wild, spiky hair came over, smiling, and said, “Yo, Jian Yao, bringing a girl along to play?”

Jian Yao smiled. “Yep!”

The drummer sized up Lu Yan and said in surprise, “Wow, this girl looks… a bit like Jian Yao!”

As soon as he said that, everyone turned their eyes toward Lu Yan and Jian Yao.

Jian Yao had typical classical almond-shaped eyes, slightly upward-turned, while Lu Yan clearly inherited her father’s genes, her eyes large and mesmerizing.

Besides that, the expressions in their brows and the contours of their faces seemed quite similar.

“Do we look alike? Do we really look alike?” Jian Yao asked excitedly, constantly looking around at the others.

“You do look a bit alike, like sisters,” the drummer commented. “But our Jian Yao is more handsome, and this girl looks more gentle.”

Jian Yao took Lu Yan’s hand. “Then we’re destined to be sisters!”

Lu Yan nodded vigorously.

Not sisters, but mother and daughter. You’re my mom!

But she wouldn’t act impulsively like Lu Zhen, ruining her first impression with her mom. She decided to be friends first. After all, time was the one thing she wasn’t short on, and she still had many long years to spend with her parents.

That night, Jian Yao was in high spirits and dragged Lu Yan onto the stage to sing.

Lu Yan’s voice was sweet, and Jian Yao’s was ethereal and sensual. The audience eagerly requested them to duet, so they tried a few songs and found they were perfectly in sync, very harmonious.

Now, Lu Yan finally understood why her father was tone-deaf while she had such a beautiful voice.

All her talents came from her mother.

She left her, but gave her this angelic voice.

And gradually, Lu Yan began to understand why Lu Zhen had opposed her singing all those years. Every time she sang, it triggered his most painful memories.

It must have been hard to accept.

–

At nine o’clock in the evening, the drummer with the wild hair drove Lu Yan home in his convertible, and Jian Yao was also in the car. The group had a lively time, playing guitar and singing, making a lot of noise and drawing attention.

Since coming back, Lu Yan had never had so much fun. Her mother was a very unique person—genuine and with a very distinct personal style.

A girl like this didn’t seem to be the type her father would like.

For a long time, Lu Yan had always thought her mother’s personality was similar to Shu Mengfei’s—gentle, fragile, and like a little flower.

Obviously, Jian Yao was nothing like that.

“Little Yan, let’s hang out again next time.”

After Lu Yan got out of the car, Jian Yao waved her goodbye.

“Mm! You should head back early too.”

“I don’t have a phone right now, but I’ve noted down your number,” Jian Yao told Lu Yan. “I’ll call you.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Lu Yan watched them disappear down the street, then turned and went back to the mansion. As soon as she entered, she was dragged back into the room by Lu Zhen, who had been hiding behind the door.

With a loud “bang,” the door slammed shut. He pinned her to the wall, seriously asking, “Why did you come back with her?”

Lu Yan hit him lightly. “And you’re asking me? You kept such a big thing from me!”

Lu Zhen looked guilty, loosening his grip on her collar. “I just… wanted to surprise you. Once I catch up with your mom, I’ll bring her to you and ask if you’re happy.”

Lu Yan shook her head. “You idiot. You really think you can chase someone as cool mom as Jian Yao? Dream on!”

Lu Zhen, not holding back, ruffled her hair. “I’ll definitely catch her!”

“Mom’s surrounded by quite a few boys. That bassist, Qiao Nan, he looks pretty handsome.”

“I’ve seen him.” Lu Zhen didn’t seem too concerned, confidently saying, “Compared to your dad, he’s way off.”

Lu Yan rolled her eyes and said, “But he’s at an advantage—being around her all the time, showing constant care. Look at you, how many times have you met my mom? And how many times did you mess up and get beaten by her?”

Lu Zhen lowered his head, seemingly realizing the seriousness of the situation. He looked at Lu Yan with concern. “So what should I do?”

“From now on, listen to me,” Lu Yan grabbed his collar and shook his shoulders. “First rule, don’t do anything weird anymore, stop being a fool!”

Lu Zhen’s head was spinning from her shaking, and he mumbled, “Okay, okay, I’ll listen to you! Stop shaking, ah… my head’s spinning.”

“During this time, don’t keep showing up in front of my mom. Focus on the college entrance exams. We’ll talk about this after the exams.”

Lu Zhen, puzzled, asked, “What if, after the exams, she gets together with someone else?”

Lu Yan pinned him against the wall and said firmly, “Trust me, and trust yourself. Since mom chose you, there must be a reason. What you need to do now is… become better. Use your excellence to attract Jian Yao, understand?”

Lu Zhen looked into her determined eyes, and suddenly, a warmth spread through his chest. He nodded heavily.

Yes, he had to stay excellent, become the best Lu Zhen in the world.

He had to trust fate and trust himself.

No matter how many times they started over, love… would never change.

During that time, Lu Zhen listened to Lu Yan’s words and patiently stopped bothering Jian Yao.

In the first month of the new year, the family went to visit relatives. Lu Yan insisted on staying home to study, so she didn’t go with them.

Of course, Lu Jian didn’t force her.

Lu Zhen had also said he would stay home to review for his exams, but Lu Jian didn’t agree and insisted on keeping Lu Zhen by his side.

After all, he was the eldest son of the family and would inherit the Lu family business in the future. Lu Jian had already begun preparing to train him for that.

One morning, Lu Yan woke up feeling a heavy head. After getting out of bed, she took a few steps, feeling as though her bones had been drained of strength, her body sore and weak.

She called for Aunt Li, but there was no response. It dawned on her that Aunt Li had also gone to visit relatives yesterday.

So, it seemed she was alone in the house today.

Being alone was rare and peaceful, she could do whatever she wanted. But, unfortunately, she caught a bad cold. What bad luck.

Lu Yan breathed in slowly and lay back down, falling into a heavy sleep. By four o’clock in the afternoon, she woke up because she was hungry.

She reached out from the bed and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. There were three missed calls and one message.

The message was from her father, Lu Zhen, saying that their relatives had warmly invited them to stay, and that he and Lu Jian wouldn’t be back tonight. He reminded Lu Yan to lock the doors and windows and not to open the door for strangers.

Lu Yan pouted and considered texting Lu Zhen, telling him she was sick and asking him to come back quickly.

But then she thought about it—he and Lu Jian had gone to their uncle’s house in a neighboring city. Even if he came back now, he wouldn’t make it until midnight.

Forget it…

The three missed calls were from Shen Kuo.

Lu Yan quickly redialed, and the phone only rang once before Shen Kuo picked up.

“Where are you?”

Lu Yan hurriedly replied, “At home. I was just sleeping and missed your calls.”

Shen Kuo seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and teased, “You’ve been sleeping this long? Are you a pig?”

Lu Yan, feeling weak and a bit resentful, said, “Uncle Shen, I’m sick…”

There was a brief pause on the other end, and Shen Kuo frowned. “Have you taken any medicine?”

“I don’t know what medicine to take.”

“Where’s your family?”

“They went to visit relatives. I’m home alone.”

Shen Kuo was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Wait for me.”

It seemed like he was coming over. Lu Yan felt a little excited, mustering up enough strength to go downstairs and collapse on the couch.

She couldn’t help but feel that her foolish old dad was far less reliable than a boyfriend.

In less than 10 minutes, the doorbell rang. Lu Yan tried to leap up from the couch but failed, almost stumbling.

She steadied herself by the wall and walked to the door, opening it. In a low voice, she said, “That was fast…”

Before she could finish, Lu Yan froze.

Standing at the door was not Shen Kuo, but… Ye Jiaqi.

He was holding a bag of roasted duck and wearing a backpack, smiling brightly as he greeted her, “Hello.”

“Brother Jiaqi, what are you doing here?”

“I heard from Lu Zhen that you’re studying at home, so I thought I’d come over and study with you, and have dinner together.”

“Ah, well, that might not be very… convenient.”

Before she could finish, Ye Jiaqi had already taken off his shoes and entered the house, completely treating it like his own.

The Lu family and the Ye family had a friendship that spanned decades, and Ye Jiaqi had visited the Lu residence many times since childhood, so he was very familiar with the place. It was like a second home to him.

Seeing that he had already entered, Lu Yan felt it would be impolite to ask him to leave.

“Brother Jiaqi, make yourself at home.”

She said this and then returned to the couch, hugging a soft cushion and watching him.

Ye Jiaqi noticed she seemed unwell and asked with concern, “Are you sick?”

“Mm.”

“Why didn’t you tell your dad?”

“Told him, but it’s useless. He can’t help me from so far away, and he can’t fly back instantly in a spaceship.”

Ye Jiaqi smiled and squatted next to the couch, reaching out to feel Lu Yan’s forehead.

“No fever. Looks like just a regular cold.”

“Mm.”

“You need to take some medicine.”

“What medicine?”

“I’m not sure.”

Ye Jiaqi, being a pampered young master, wasn’t really good at taking care of others. He suggested, “How about we go to the hospital?”

“Not now.”

She was still waiting for Shen Kuo.

“Then you should rest for a bit.” Ye Jiaqi stood up.

Lu Yan’s eyes lit up. “Brother Jiaqi, you can leave now!”

Ye Jiaqi smiled. “I’m not leaving. You’re this sick, how could I leave you alone?”

Lu Yan gave a wry smile. “I… I’m not that serious.”

Ye Jiaqi softly said, “Lie down and rest.”

“Uh.”

The doorbell rang again, and Ye Jiaqi went to answer it. When he saw the person standing outside, he was clearly surprised.

“Why are you here?”

Shen Kuo clearly didn’t expect Ye Jiaqi to be the one answering the door. His expression turned cold as he glanced at Lu Yan, who was lying on the couch pretending to be dead, and calmly said, “That’s a question I should be asking you.”

Ye Jiaqi looked down and saw the vegetables and medicine Shen Kuo was holding. He seemed to understand something and stepped aside, allowing him to enter.

“I came to study with Little Yan. I saw she was sick, so I stayed to take care of her.”

Lu Yan turned over on the couch, burying her head in the cushions.

She felt utterly uninterested in talking to anyone and just wanted to be left alone. You two can have your conversation now.

Shen Kuo completely ignored Ye Jiaqi. After entering the house, he walked straight to the couch, crouched down to check Lu Yan’s forehead, then opened the cold medicine box and stood up to get some water.

Ye Jiaqi had already handed her a cup of warm water.

Shen Kuo silently took the cup, then handed the medicine to Lu Yan.

They worked in perfect sync.

Lu Yan couldn’t keep pretending to be dead any longer. She opened her eyes, nervously glancing at him.

Shen Kuo remained expressionless, with no visible change in his emotions.

He was always like this—whatever joy, anger, or sadness he felt was buried deep inside, giving him an aura of coldness that made him hard to approach.

“Take the medicine first,” he said, offering her the pills.

Lu Yan obediently took the few white pills from his hand, licking his palm like a little kitten, which felt ticklish.

“Shen Kuo, I…,” she started to say.

But before she could explain, he interrupted, “I’ll make some porridge for you. It’ll help warm you up.”

Because of the presence of others, Shen Kuo didn’t show too much concern. He grabbed the bag and went straight to the kitchen.

Ye Jiaqi stood frozen in the living room for a while, then seemed to snap out of it and said, “I’ll go help in the kitchen.”

Lu Yan lay alone on the couch, filled with unease, wondering if she should sneak a glance at the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Shen Kuo was busy on his own, chopping ginger and vegetables and adding them to the clay pot to cook with the porridge.

Ye Jiaqi, a pampered young master who didn’t even know how to wash a dish, naturally couldn’t help much. He stood by the wall, his gaze following Shen Kuo’s movements.

Whether he was chopping vegetables or cooking, Shen Kuo’s movements were smooth and skilled, showing that he was someone who often cooked. He carried the scent of ordinary life.

Ye Jiaqi rolled up his sleeves and asked, “Do you need help?”

Shen Kuo, with his back turned, didn’t even look back, answering bluntly, “You leaving is the biggest help.”

Ye Jiaqi was momentarily stunned. He didn’t expect him to be so direct.

Indeed, it was obvious from the moment he entered the house that Shen Kuo was radiating a low pressure, obviously unhappy.

It was like… a beast quietly lurking after its territory had been invaded.

Ye Jiaqi glanced over at the girl on the couch. She had been secretly watching them, and when she noticed him looking, she quickly turned over and hid in the corner of the couch.

He guessed that the two of them probably had an unusual relationship.

He said to Shen Kuo, “The Lu and Ye families have been friends for generations. Lu Yan is like a sister to me.”

Shen Kuo’s tone was unfriendly, “She has a brother. What do you think you are to her?”

Ye Jiaqi suddenly smiled, “It seems… she didn’t tell you about that thing.”

Shen Kuo paused for a moment as he stirred the porridge, then casually continued stirring as if nothing had happened.

Ye Jiaqi seemed to relax a little. He washed his hands by the sink, then said with a threatening tone, “Lu Yan is still young. I don’t acknowledge your relationship, and I hope you’ll keep your distance.”

With those words, he walked out of the kitchen.

“Little Yan, since Shen Kuo is here, I’ll go home now.”

“Okay, Brother Jiaqi, take care.”

“No need to see me off. You just lie down and rest.”

–

Once Ye Jiaqi left, the large, empty house became quiet, with only the sound of the porridge bubbling in the pot.

Shen Kuo held the spoon, but his expression had not softened.

She had a secret, and Ye Jiaqi knew it. But Shen Kuo didn’t.