Chapter 40

During the break, Qi Yuzhi rushed into the classroom, leaned over in front of Lu Yan, and complained, “I just heard Li Qingqing from Class 2 say that during their last PE class, they saw Lu Zhen sneakily buying a pack of sanitary pads at the convenience store! Damn it!”

Lu Yan put down her pen and widened her eyes. “Is that true?”

“Why would I lie to you? They saw it with their own eyes. Lu Zhen was sneaking around the sanitary pad shelf like a thief, and the aunt at the convenience store kept an eye on him. She almost thought he was stealing. In the end, he awkwardly grabbed a pack and paid for it, and lots of girls saw him!”

Lu Yan was confused. “Who did he buy it for?”

“Don’t you have your period?”

“I don’t!”

“Then who was it for?”

“Impossible. That’s ancient history,” Lu Yan shook her head. “Lu Zhen wouldn’t go back to her. He promised me.”

“Then your brother might… have a new girlfriend.”

“Sigh.”

Lu Yan propped her chin up, feeling quite melancholic.

Why hasn’t her mom shown up yet? Lu Zhen has so many ex-girlfriends now. If Mom doesn’t step in soon, ^[1]“he’ll go to the skies” is a metaphorical way of saying that someone is becoming uncontrollable, reckless, or overly indulgent in their actions. It’s an exaggeration to … Continue readinghe’ll go to the skies.

When the school bell rang, Lu Zhen had just stepped out of the classroom when Lu Yan grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to a secluded stairwell, slamming him into the wall.

“Hey, hey, be careful. Don’t tug on me like that. This is school, does your dad have no pride?”

“At least you still care about pride.” Lu Yan lowered her voice and fiercely asked, “Who did you buy the sanitary pads for?”

Mentioning this, Lu Zhen’s face turned red. “You… how do you know?”

He awkwardly rubbed his nose.

“How would I not know? The whole school’s girls know about it!”

Lu Zhen’s face went pale. “Damn, how is that possible? I checked… there was no one around!”

Lu Yan rubbed the corner of her eyes. “Dad, you really underestimate how curious girls are about gossip.”

Lu Zhen tugged at his collar, his face turning purple. “I’m done for.”

Lu Yan had no intention of letting him off easily and pressed on, “Tell me the truth—who are you with now? Haven’t I warned you? Until Mom shows up, you… you have to keep yourself clean!”

“Yanyan, you’re asking too much.” Lu Zhen scratched the back of his head. “If your mom never shows up, does that mean I can’t date?”

“You can’t, absolutely not!” Lu Yan said sternly. “If you keep dating so many girls, what if Mom ends up disliking you in the future? If she dislikes you, then there won’t be a ‘me’ left! Do you know how serious the consequences are?”

Lu Zhen thought carefully and realized that Lu Yan was right.

He frowned and said reluctantly, “But that girl, I really… like her.”

Lu Yan asked sarcastically, “What’s her name?”

“I don’t know, I forgot to ask.”

“You don’t even ask her name, and you’re telling me you like her?”

“Hey, under the circumstances, how could I ask?”

After he handed her the “little bread,” she went into the girls’ restroom and didn’t come out for a long time.

Lu Zhen waited outside for a few minutes and felt a little strange. He thought when she came out and saw him, she would probably feel embarrassed.

So, out of consideration, Lu Zhen decided to leave without asking anything—he didn’t even know which grade or class she was in.

“Listen, girl, that girl… she’s really… too good!”

Now that Lu Zhen thought about it, he was still excited. “Her legs… are the best legs I’ve ever seen!”

Lu Yan replied, “Creepy.”

“Go to hell,” Lu Zhen flicked her forehead.

“Ouch!”

Lu Zhen walked to the balcony, resting his chin in his hand, gazing at the sunset. “She really… is like the wind, a woman like the wind.”

Lu Yan almost laughed out loud. She remembered when Lu Zhen once described Shu Mengfei as “the most pure girl in the world.”

Her dad’s taste in women… had always been questionable.

She wasn’t curious at all about what this “woman like the wind” was like, she guessed she was probably similar to Shu Mengfei.

Lu Yan didn’t want to waste time talking with him. She turned around to go back to the classroom and pack her bag. Lu Zhen seemed to be in a good mood. He came over, threw his arm around her shoulder, and said, “Let’s go, it’s Christmas Eve tonight. Dad’s taking you to the movies.”

When the movie was mentioned, Lu Yan felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort. “Why would I want to go to the movies with you?”

“If you don’t go with me, who will you go with?”

“Can’t I go alone?”

“That would be boring. Let’s go, let’s go.”

Without waiting for Lu Yan’s response, he grabbed her and walked out of the teaching building.

At that moment, Ye Jiaqi suddenly appeared from nowhere, squeezed between the two of them, and asked, “Where are you guys going?”

“To the cinema.”

“Great, I’m free tonight, let’s go together.”

Lu Zhen gave him an irritated look. “Sorry, kid, are we close?”

Ye Jiaqi smiled faintly. “Considering our alliance, going to the movies together is a good way to build our relationship.”

“What alliance?”

“I promised Lu Yan I would help her find your sister.”

“Ah!”

Lu Zhen abruptly let go of his arm around Lu Yan and pointed at Ye Jiaqi, shouting in shock, “What did you say?”

“Don’t be so surprised, I know your secret.”

“Ah!” He screamed, holding his head.

Lu Yan covered her face with her hands and sighed, “This is an accident.”

Lu Zhen, still agitated, pulled Lu Yan aside and whispered, “Are you out of your mind? How could you let a third person know?”

“But Uncle Liang and Uncle Qin know too.”

“That’s different. They’re my good brothers. As for Ye Jiaqi… who knows what he’s up to!”

“Well, he knows now,” Lu Yan shrugged, not too concerned, “So we can’t offend him, right?”

Lu Zhen looked troubled. “You’re always causing me trouble.”

Behind them, Ye Jiaqi spoke up, “So, have you two decided whether you’re going to the movies together?”

Lu Zhen rubbed his nose and grumbled, “It’s Christmas today, the cinemas are probably sold out.”

Ye Jiaqi pulled out three movie tickets and said, “No worries, I’ve got some.”

“Whoa, you…”

He came prepared.

Ye Jiaqi smiled at Lu Yan, a faint, playful smile on his face. “I bought one myself, and the other two were from someone who didn’t want them.”

Lu Yan suddenly felt guilty. Seeing the tickets for the same movie, she realized they were the two tickets she had thrown away that morning. She didn’t expect… Ye Jiaqi would pick them up.

Awkward.

Lu Zhen knew Ye Jiaqi was a schemer. Now that he knew their secret, it felt like he had something on them, so for now, they had no choice but to go along with whatever he wanted.

“Let’s go then. How many movies do you want to watch? I’ll go with you until the end,” Lu Zhen grumbled.

Ye Jiaqi walked over, lightly lifted Lu Yan’s backpack, and said, “I’ll carry it for you.”

“No need, no need.” Lu Zhen quickly grabbed the backpack, “Your real dad is here, what do you think you’re doing?”

Lu Yan rolled her eyes. When this guy usually bullied her, he didn’t mind making her do all the hard work. Why was he acting so possessive now?

Lu Zhen put his arm around Lu Yan and led her out of the school gate. After crossing the traffic lights, they saw Shen Kuo and Zhong Kai standing on the street corner across from them, selling apples.

Their business was booming, with a steady stream of young students buying from them.

The fruit vendors around them were furious, their eyes nearly bloodshot. They couldn’t understand it. It was just a damn apple, wrapped up a little, and sold for one yuan each. And yet there were actually fools buying them. What were these young people thinking these days?

Seeing his classmate Shen Kuo selling apples, Ye Jiaqi walked over to check on his business and asked, “How much is one?”

Zhong Kai was about to speak when Shen Kuo shot him a sideways glance, forcing the words back into his mouth.

Shen Kuo said, “50 yuan each.”

“Dammit, how dare you charge that much!” Lu Zhen exclaimed, “What kind of apples are you selling at such a high price?”

Shen Kuo lifted his dark eyes and looked at Ye Jiaqi, his face expressionless, “If you think it’s expensive, don’t buy it.”

His meaning was clear: he didn’t want to sell to Ye Jiaqi.

Lu Yan had already crouched down, starting to pick apples. “Brother Zhong Kai, help me weigh three kilos.”

“Alright, alright.”

Lu Zhen immediately pulled her up, whispering, “This guy’s clearly trying to rip us off! And you’re really buying three kilos? Do you want your dad to go bankrupt?”

“When you were snatching apples from me earlier, you didn’t mind the price!”

“You…”

Ye Jiaqi laughed, took out his wallet, and said, “Little Yan wants to eat, so I’ll buy 30 kilos if I have to. 50 yuan each, right?” Without hesitation, he pulled out several hundred-yuan bills and handed them to Shen Kuo. “Is this enough?”

Lu Zhen couldn’t stand it and grabbed Ye Jiaqi’s hand. “He’s clearly looking for trouble, and you’re just walking right into it. Are you stupid?”

Ye Jiaqi picked up a beautifully packaged apple, looked at it, and smiled. “It’s Christmas Eve, peaceful and safe, seeking a good omen. And besides, Little Yan wants to eat it, no matter how expensive, I’ll buy it. Money isn’t the most important thing.”

Ye Jiaqi handed the apple to Lu Yan, then placed the money on top of the pile of colorful apples.

The darkness in Shen Kuo’s eyes deepened.

Ye Jiaqi, throwing money like this, was buying peace of mind for himself. Yet the money he deemed “least important” was what Shen Kuo had worked hard for throughout the day and night.

What right did someone like him… have to be jealous of Ye Jiaqi?

Lu Yan didn’t care about any of that. She kept giving Zhong Kai signals to bring over a plastic bag and load up more apples.

Anyway, Ye Jiaqi was truly a rich and powerful figure who didn’t care about these little amounts of money. What she was thinking about was helping Shen Kuo earn a bit more.

Zhong Kai hesitated… and didn’t move. He noticed Shen Kuo’s expression wasn’t good.

Ye Jiaqi seemed to be completely at Lu Yan’s beck and call. If she wanted apples, he’d buy her as many as she wanted, even if they cost hundreds. No wonder Shen Kuo wasn’t happy about it.

Zhong Kai smiled and handed the money back, saying, “There’s no such thing as hundreds of yuan worth of apples. They’re not made of gold. Brother Shen’s just joking with you.”

Lu Zhen said in a bad mood, “You’re a sensible kid after all.”

Ye Jiaqi smiled, “Shen Kuo’s creative ideas bring much more economic value than these few hundred yuan. I’m just here to make a friend.”

Lu Yan glanced at Ye Jiaqi, deeply impressed by his strategic thinking and vision, which were far beyond the reach of someone like Lu Zhen.

Shen Kuo picked up the money and counted it—exactly 400 yuan. He looked up at Ye Jiaqi and asked:

“Do you want to be friends with me?”

Ye Jiaqi nodded and sincerely said, “Shen Kuo, I really admire you.”

Shen Kuo turned around and entered a convenience store. When he came out, he was holding two bottles of sorghum liquor.

Lu Zhen, confused, asked, “What are you trying to do?”

Shen Kuo ignored him, his dark eyes focused on Ye Jiaqi: “You rich young masters spend money to make friends, us poor people drink to make friends.”

As he spoke, he twisted off the cap of one of the liquor bottles with his pale, slender fingers, then handed the bottle to Ye Jiaqi: “Want to join me?”

Ye Jiaqi pursed his lips and, without hesitation, took the bottle of liquor: “Of course.”

Shen Kuo’s lips curled into a cold smile. He raised his head and downed the entire bottle of sorghum liquor in one go, without even pausing for breath.

Lu Yan and Zhong Kai were both stunned. They hadn’t expected Shen Kuo to have such a strong tolerance for alcohol.

Even Lu Zhen was shocked. He looked at the liquor bottle in Shen Kuo’s hand, then glanced at the identical bottle in Ye Jiaqi’s hand.

Wow, this guy’s tough.

Shen Kuo wiped his mouth, then turned the bottle upside down. Not a single drop of liquor fell out.

He lifted his chin, a rare spark of youthful vigor in his eyes as he looked at Ye Jiaqi.

Ye Jiaqi, unwilling to back down, also drank half of his bottle of sorghum liquor.

He didn’t have much tolerance for alcohol, and after drinking half, he started choking. The burn in his stomach was excruciating.

“Sorry, I really can’t drink… I’ve never drunk like this before,” he apologized.

Shen Kuo set the bills down, sneering, “Money’s the least important thing to you, but you’re using it to make friends. Isn’t that nonsense?”

Ye Jiaqi’s face turned an unnatural red. After a moment of silence, he said, “Sorry.”

He took back the money, turned around, and staggered a bit. Fortunately, Lu Zhen reacted quickly and helped him steady himself.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Ye Jiaqi felt dizzy, his vision spinning, as if there were little stars swirling around him. He reached out to steady himself on Lu Zhen. “Brother Lu, let’s go, watch a movie…”

“At a time like this, you still want to watch a movie? Just go home.”

“No, I want to watch a movie!” Ye Jiaqi insisted. “Watch—mo-vie!”

Lu Zhen, helpless, could only support him as they walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi. Turning around, he saw Lu Yan still lingering by the apple stand, so he called out, “Let’s go! What are you dawdling for?”

Lu Yan looked at Shen Kuo with concern and asked, “Are you alright? Your tolerance for alcohol isn’t that great… Do you want me to stay and keep you company?”

Shen Kuo extended his hand, tapping her forehead with his fingers, and pushed her away: “Go watch your movie, don’t stay here… and cause me trouble.”

“Lu Yan! Let’s go!” Lu Zhen urged again.

Lu Yan looked at him with reluctance: “Then… I’ll go ahead.”

Shen Kuo called over some other customers, ignoring her. It wasn’t until Lu Yan had gotten into the car and the taxi sped away that he slowly looked up and gazed in the direction she had left.

Zhong Kai admired him: “Brother Shen, no, I should call you ‘Master Shen’ now. Such a strong tolerance for alcohol! Didn’t you say you’d be out after three drinks? How come you drank half a jin of liquor and seemed completely fine?”

Shen Kuo calmly replied: “I was drinking mineral water.”

“What?!”

Zhong Kai grabbed the empty bottle Shen Kuo had finished, opened it, and sniffed it. He even licked the bottle, and sure enough, it was just tasteless water.

He twitched his mouth in disbelief: “You’re too sly! That fool actually drank from a full bottle, he’s so naive.”

Shen Kuo picked up an apple and took a bite, coldly saying, “He’s seen some of the world, but only the surface.”

These rich young masters who’ve never been through hardship or failure, Shen Kuo had never taken them seriously. The fact that he wanted to be friends with him, or even thought he could win him over with a few hundred bucks, was laughable.

He was a bit smarter than the foolish Lu Zhen, but that was about it.

In Shen Kuo’s eyes, he was still a naive, sweet simpleton.

Inside the cinema, Lu Zhen sat in the middle, with Ye Jiaqi sitting to his right, his arms around his neck, his face constantly rubbing against his collarbone, mumbling incoherently.

“Let go, let go! You’re disgusting!”

“Are you even watching the movie? If not, just go home!”

“Damn, I’m not a woman, stop being so gross!”

—

The surrounding audience shot him annoyed glances, signaling him to be quiet.

Lu Yan also tugged at his sleeve, whispering, “Let Uncle Ye hug you, he’s drunk.”

Lu Zhen clenched his fists, his nostrils flaring with anger: “That bastard Shen Kuo is such a cunning, deceitful hypocrite…”

Lu Yan, thinking that Shen Kuo had drunk a lot of alcohol today and his tolerance had never been great, felt a little uneasy. So, she pretended to go to the bathroom, secretly slipping out of the cinema and sneaking away.

There was still some time left before the movie ended. Later, she would send Lu Zhen a message, telling him that she had gone home first.

Lu Yan hailed a taxi and returned to the school gate. Shen Kuo’s stall was still doing great business, with many students who lived on campus sneaking out to buy apples.

Shen Kuo was the only one working, extremely busy. The pre-packaged apples had already sold out, so he had to wrap the apples in decorative paper on the spot, selling them as soon as he finished wrapping one.

She hurried over and helped Shen Kuo sell apples.

When Shen Kuo saw her coming, he was momentarily stunned.

Lu Yan didn’t pay him any attention and skillfully took the apples he had wrapped, handing them to the students in front of the stall with a smile, saying, “One yuan each.”

“Thank you for your purchase.”

“How many do you want?”

“Two, right? The ready-made ones are sold out, please wait a moment. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

She grabbed the wrapping paper, imitating Shen Kuo’s actions as she wrapped the apples, then tied them carefully with ribbons and added a Christmas card before handing them to the customers.

The two of them were busy making money. After several rounds, they hadn’t had a chance to speak. Finally, when the stall was empty for a few minutes, Lu Yan asked Shen Kuo, “Where’s Zhong Kai? Why did he leave you here alone?”

“Got a new girlfriend, it’s Christmas Eve, so he’s on a date.”

“That’s really unprofessional! You’re over here working yourself to death, and he’s off on a date! That’s just…” Lu Yan crossed her arms and pouted, “No sense of work ethics!”

Shen Kuo smiled faintly: “What about you? Was the movie not good, or did Master Ye’s charm fall short and couldn’t keep you?”

“The movie was definitely good, and Uncle Ye’s charm is also great, but…”

Lu Yan couldn’t help but laugh: “Tonight, all his charm was used on Lu Zhen. He wouldn’t let go of him, scratching and clawing at him. Looks like Lu Zhen is definitely going to be pregnant tonight.”

Shen Kuo reached out and lightly patted the back of her head: “Stop talking nonsense.”

Lu Yan stuck out her tongue and looked up at him: “You… are you alright?”

“Mm.”

“After drinking so much, are you dizzy?”

Shen Kuo sat down leisurely, picked up an apple, and wrapped it in clear plastic, tying it with a ribbon.

“I’m not dizzy. I was drinking plain water.”

“Ha…”

Lu Yan took a couple of seconds to process it and then understood what had happened. The smile on her lips deepened: “Ye Jiaqi’s definitely pissed off.”

“Mm, I wanted to piss him off.”

“Why?”

Shen Kuo didn’t answer, continuing to focus on his work.

Lu Yan walked over to his side, sat down, and licked her dry lower lip. “You have dark circles under your eyes. You definitely didn’t sleep well last night.”

He yawned at just the right moment.

“Why don’t you rest for a bit? I’ll watch the stall for you.”

“There’s nowhere to sleep here.”

“There is.”

“There isn’t.”

“I said there is… so there is.” Lu Yan said, reaching out and pressing his head onto her shoulder.

Shen Kuo’s body visibly stiffened, and he instinctively tried to struggle. He didn’t expect the little girl to have such strength. It was clear she was using force, and it was also clear… that her earlobes had turned red from nervousness.

In the end, Shen Kuo… rested his head on her narrow, fragile shoulder.

Her body gave off a sweet, milky scent from her body wash, lingering lightly in his nostrils, a fragrance he had never smelled before.

Shen Kuo closed his eyes. “Then… I’ll sleep for a while.”

“Mm, sleep.”

Two minutes later, light snowflakes suddenly began to drift from the sky, soft as goose feathers, falling gently down.

It was snowing!

Yes, it was supposed to snow on Christmas Eve!

Lu Yan slightly tilted her head and watched his long, trembling eyelashes, which were adorned with thin frost.

The romantic atmosphere was just perfect. If she didn’t do something now, it felt like she would be disrespecting Santa Claus for bringing this snow.

Her blood suddenly began to race, and her heartbeat started to sprint like it was in a hundred-meter dash.

She slowly lowered her head, inching closer to his tightly pressed lips.

The young man’s lips in winter are always so dry, and he didn’t pay attention to protecting them, and there was even a small piece of cracked skin.

Lu Yan thought for a moment, then secretly pulled out some moisturizing lip balm from her bag, gently applying it to her own lips, so as not to disturb him.

Alright, she smacked her lips together and moved in closer.

“Hello, how much are the apples?”

A customer had arrived.

Lu Yan took a deep breath, furrowing her brows, and gave the girl an extremely fierce look.

Miss, didn’t you see what I was about to do?!

The customer, realizing what Lu Yan was implying, quickly apologized, “Oh, sorry, sorry, please go ahead…”

Lu Yan glanced down at Shen Kuo. It seemed like he hadn’t woken up.

Alright, this time, it had to succeed.

She pressed her soft lips together, closed her eyes, and leaned in again.

However, just as her lips were about to meet his dry ones, Shen Kuo suddenly spoke, “You scared away my customer.”

Lu Yan gasped and jumped up, quickly stepping back. Her butt bumped into the apple stand, causing several apples to roll onto the ground.

Her temples throbbed, her heart raced, and she bent down in a flurry to pick up the apples. “S-sorry, sorry.”

Shen Kuo moved his shoulders and neck, picked up one of the apples that had rolled near his feet, weighed it in his hand, then lowered his gaze. A gentle smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Trying to put lip balm on me, huh?”