Chapter 45

Shen Kuo brought over the steaming porridge. Lu Yan propped herself up and sat on the carpet by the coffee table.

“I’m so hungry!” She reached out to take the bowl of porridge.

Shen Kuo swatted her hand away and said, “Wait for a while, let it cool.”

So, Lu Yan hugged her knees and sat by the coffee table, patiently waiting for the steaming vegetable porridge to cool down.

Seeing the stars almost shining in her eyes, as she was so hungry, Shen Kuo fell silent for a moment. He took the porridge bowl, stirred it with a small spoon, and gently blew on it to cool it down faster.

Lu Yan squatted down beside him, repeatedly asking, “Is it ready? Is it ready now?”

Shen Kuo glanced at her with an exasperated look and muttered, “Idiot.”

The little girl pouted and said, “Why are you scolding me?”

“Feeling unwell, why didn’t you call me right away?”

“I thought I’d be fine after a nap.”

Shen Kuo lowered his eyes, watching her weak and listless appearance. He pursed his lips and silently continued stirring the porridge.

Although his emotions were not outwardly displayed, Lu Yan could feel his deep and affectionate care through his considerate actions.

Such a man always gives a sense of stability and reassurance.

“It’s ready, you can eat now,” Shen Kuo said, handing the porridge to her.

Lu Yan smiled slyly and deliberately said, “My hands don’t have any strength, you feed me.”

Shen Kuo knew the little girl was deliberately acting spoiled, and he coldly replied, “In your dreams.”

Lu Yan pouted and took the spoon herself.

Sometimes, the differences between eras were quite apparent.

Shen Kuo was very different from the boys of Lu Yan’s generation. He carried the resilience of the older generation, untouched by the complex information overload of the internet era, and his thoughts were simpler.

Especially when it came to emotions, he didn’t know how to sweet-talk girls. Most of his feelings were kept inside, quietly brewing.

After all, in his time, even basic communication in romantic relationships was still carried out through love letters, with no excess of clinginess or cheesy pickup lines.

But precisely because of this, moments of tenderness felt even more precious.

Lu Yan stirred the porridge with her spoon, the thick vegetable porridge becoming more and more liquid. Shen Kuo, with his index finger curled into a fist, knocked on the table: “Focus on eating.”

“Okay!” The little girl put down her spoon, picked up the bowl, and took a small sip. “Mmm!”

It burned her lips.

Shen Kuo, a bit helpless, took the spoon from her, scooped up some plain rice porridge, let it cool for a few seconds, and fed it to her lips.

“Open your mouth.”

Lu Yan obediently opened her mouth and ate the porridge he fed her.

One spoon after another, the porridge in the bowl soon came to an end, and Lu Yan didn’t feel full at all. Perhaps all her attention was focused on the man in front of her.

She rested the back of her head on his arm and smiled, saying, “Some people say no, but their bodies are very honest…”

Shen Kuo stood up to clear the dishes, unceremoniously making her head fall into empty space.

“Don’t make this a habit.”

“So delicious!”

As Shen Kuo stood up, the corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile.

After washing the dishes, the evening had arrived. Outside, the sound of fireworks and firecrackers filled the air, lively and festive.

Shen Kuo came out of the kitchen and saw the little girl sitting on the sofa in a fluffy beige cotton pajama. Her dense black hair made her fair and smooth skin stand out, and she looked incredibly obedient and cute.

He didn’t dare let his gaze linger on her for too long and quickly looked away. His eyes wandered around the fully wooden, luxurious living room, and he casually chatted, “Your house is really big.”

“Yeah, I don’t like living in such a big house. When it was just my dad and me, a two-bedroom apartment was more than enough, and it was…”

Lu Yan suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Shen Kuo seemed to be waiting for her to finish but when she didn’t, he looked at her, “What was it?”

“Nothing, nothing,” she quickly replied, trying to divert the conversation. “Come sit, don’t just stand there.”

He walked over to the other side of the sofa and sat down. Glancing out the window at the night sky, he asked casually, “Won’t your family be back tonight?”

“Yeah, they’re visiting relatives, they probably won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”

“Lu Yan, when did your illness get better?”

“What illness?” she asked, looking confused.

Shen Kuo turned to look at her. “I remember many people knew that the youngest daughter of the Lu family was sick, but you seem perfectly fine now.”

Lu Yan’s heart skipped a beat. Her eyes flickered, and she clearly looked a little nervous.

“I… I just got better, that’s all.”

Her slight change in expression didn’t escape Shen Kuo’s notice. This seemed to confirm what Ye Jiaqi had said— the little girl had a secret, and she was deliberately hiding it from him.

Shen Kuo stared at her intently. “Is that so?”

Lu Yan’s nerves were stretched to their breaking point. She felt like she couldn’t hold it in any longer, but just at that moment, the overhead light in the house flickered and made a buzzing sound before going out.

The entire room was enveloped in pitch darkness.

A power outage?

Shen Kuo walked to the window and looked outside. Many people were coming out of their homes, asking their neighbors about the situation.

“It shouldn’t be a breaker trip,” he said. “Everyone’s power is out.”

In the darkness, Lu Yan actually felt a sense of relief.

This man had such a strong presence that it was hard for anyone to remain calm under his intense gaze.

Lu Yan felt that if he continued looking at her for just a few more seconds, her secret would be exposed.

And this secret, she could share with anyone, but she absolutely could not let Shen Kuo know.

Absolutely not.

Shen Kuo didn’t need to see to know that the little girl was nervous. The tension in the air was like something that could ignite at any moment.

She wasn’t speaking for a reason, and Shen Kuo didn’t push her. He was someone who understood when to push forward and when to hold back.

So, he didn’t press the issue further. Instead, he walked over, stood in front of the sofa, and said, “The power should be back on soon in the residential area.”

“But what if it doesn’t come back on?” Lu Yan asked, sounding anxious.

“Then we’ll sleep,” he said.

“…I can’t sleep.”

“Are you scared of the dark?”

“Yep.”

Perhaps it was because she didn’t have her mother around, but Lu Yan had always been timid. When she was little, no matter how busy Lu Zhen was with work, he would always come home every night to stay with her.

Now, she was a little braver and could sleep alone with the lights on, but if the power went out, she couldn’t do that. It was a strict no-go. What if something was lurking in the dark, and she couldn’t even turn on the light…

The thought of it made her shiver.

Shen Kuo jokes, “So, you want me to stay?”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Alright, then, goodbye.”

“Goodbye, then!”

Shen Kuo stood up to leave, but Lu Yan, still contradicting herself, grabbed the corner of his shirt and lightly tugged.

“You… should wait until the power comes back on before leaving.”

She was on the verge of tears.

Shen Kuo had only been teasing her to ease the tension from earlier, so he didn’t leave and sat back down on the sofa.

Lu Yan subconsciously leaned closer to him and sat by his side. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Lu Yan felt like the surroundings suddenly became quieter, and she could even hear his steady and gentle breathing.

“Strange, how did the power go out?”

The young man didn’t answer, seemingly lost in thought. Lu Yan continued speaking to herself, not disturbing him.

A few minutes later, Shen Kuo’s scorching palm suddenly landed on the back of her hand, gently covering it.

Lu Yan jolted, her whole body stiffening, and she immediately looked at him.

In the darkness, she could only make out his tall and upright silhouette. She couldn’t see his face, nor could she make out his expression.

His palm was rough and strong, as if he was using force, tightly gripping the back of her hand.

Lu Yan could hear her own heartbeat—

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

Neither of them spoke, but their hands were tightly held together. The atmosphere around them grew increasingly ambiguous with the silence.

Hold… hold hands?

During their time together, Shen Kuo had always been quite restrained and had never initiated any physical contact with her.

Most of the time, it was Lu Yan who flirted aimlessly and then ran off.

But now he suddenly…

Lu Yan felt flustered, and her face turned red all the way down to her neck.

In the dark, Shen Kuo continued to hold her hand without letting go.

Lu Yan’s hand was tightly clenched into a fist, her heart racing so fast it almost jumped out of her chest.

She was afraid he might make the next move.

Because at this moment… her mind went completely blank, and she had no idea how to react.

Fortunately, Shen Kuo didn’t do anything. Two minutes later, the lights suddenly came back on, and he immediately released her hand as if nothing had happened.

He stood up and said, “The power’s back on, I should be going.”

“Mm, be careful on the road.”

Lu Yan didn’t dare look up at him.

The young man hurried to the door, but then awkwardly turned back around.

“I forgot my keys.”

He picked up the keychain that had been left on the table and quickly walked out.

Only then did Lu Yan notice that his cheeks seemed a little flushed.

Shen Kuo… blushed!

A man like him actually got shy and nervous.

But, when he got nervous, Lu Yan felt completely at ease.

If there had been a camera at that moment, she would’ve taken a picture of his flushed face and shown it to the “Shen Ye” of twenty years later, who was cold, reserved, and never smiled.

What a memorable moment.

“Be careful on your way home.”

“Mm.”

He hurriedly left, and Lu Yan couldn’t help but smile, feeling strangely that shy Shen Kuo was… a little cute.

—

With the new semester beginning, Shen Kuo and Lu Zhen’s senior year entered a tense stage of review and preparation for exams.

Lu Zhen, on one hand, wanted to earn Lu Jian’s approval, on the other hand, he wanted to become a better version of himself, hoping that Jian Yao would notice.

As a result, he rallied his spirits and began the final sprint.

Meanwhile, Shen Kuo devoted all of his energy to his studies.

Lu Yan knew that although Shen Kuo was smart, he was by no means the kind of person that the others thought he was, someone who could casually learn and get full marks. His achievements were all the result of his hard work and dedication.

Therefore, Lu Yan consciously acted as a sensible girlfriend and didn’t disturb Shen Kuo’s studies.

The peaceful life they had was disrupted on a sunny afternoon at the end of March.

Shi Ya gathered a few girls and blocked Lu Yan at the back gate of the secluded little garden at the school, where few people passed by.

It had been a long time since Lu Yan last saw Shi Ya.

Ever since leaving the Lu family, no one had controlled Shi Ya. She had changed her style and started down a “socialite” path, dressing unconventionally, with a lot of personality. She had dyed her hair yellow and was now wearing earrings.

Lu Yan had heard about her changes. She had heard that Shi Ya’s boyfriend, Wu Tianhan, was a shady guy from a wealthy and influential family, who often bullied his classmates at school.

Naturally, with such a boyfriend, Shi Ya had become influenced by him.

Previously, when she had lived under the Lu family’s roof, she had been afraid of being looked down upon, and her thoughts had been sensitive and fragile. But now, with Wu Tianhan as her backer, she had started to become arrogant and domineering, seemingly wanting to vent all the frustration she had experienced in the past.

She arrogantly stood in front of Lu Yan, and at the same time, several girls dressed similarly, like “little gangsters,” blocked Lu Yan’s path without any politeness.

Lu Yan immediately sensed the hostility in their eyes, as though they were itching to “stir up trouble.”

“Sister, long time no see,” Shi Ya whistled and greeted her with a smile, calm and composed.

Lu Yan responded directly, “Since you’ve left the Lu family, don’t call me ‘sister’ anymore.”

After all, the two of them were not close.

Shi Ya didn’t want to exchange pleasantries either. She went straight to the point, asking, “Did you go tell my mom about me and Wu Tianhan?”

“I’m not that idle to go tell your mom about you,” Lu Yan replied indifferently. “It’s your mom’s target that’s always aimed at Lu Zhen. I just wanted to distract her a little.”

Anyway, Shi Ya had been thoroughly scolded by Shi Xuexian, who told her that she no longer had any lady-like manners. How could she marry into a noble family with this attitude? How could she win a man’s heart? The young masters from rich families wouldn’t like her like this…

It made Shi Ya lose face.

She had a deep-rooted anger now and decided to settle the score with Lu Yan today.

She gave a signal to the girls beside her, and they understood, striding toward Lu Yan.

Lu Yan stepped back warily, but they still grabbed her arm.

“What are you doing? Let go!” she shouted.

They didn’t hurt her, they just held her hands in place.

Shi Ya walked up to Lu Yan, sneering as she slapped her face lightly and said, “Aren’t you very impressive? At home, aren’t you always relying on being Lu family’s daughter to pick on me?”

Lu Yan gritted her teeth and said, “It’s not that I want to pick on you. It’s that your mother does things too ruthlessly, leaving no room for Lu Zhen. You can’t see your own position, dreaming of things that don’t belong to you.”

Shi Ya’s eyes trembled slightly. “My mom says that as long as I can grab something with my own hands, it belongs to me!”

“Grab?”

A sarcastic smile curled on Lu Yan’s lips. “Don’t you still want to act like a lady? To grab things that don’t belong to you and keep them? That’s not being a lady, it’s being a bandit.”

“You…”

Shi Ya couldn’t argue with Lu Yan, her face turning pale with rage. She raised her hand to slap her.

Lu Yan closed her eyes.

But the slap never came. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and saw Jian Yao tightly gripping Shi Ya’s wrist, throwing her into the bushes nearby.

Shi Ya almost lost her balance and fell, still seething with anger as she glared at Jian Yao. “You… what are you doing, interfering in other people’s business?”

Jian Yao kept a cold expression. “I hate it when girls slap other girls. It’s utterly vicious.”

Shi Ya was too angry to speak.

Jian Yao walked over to Lu Yan’s side, giving the girls a cold glance, and said, “Let her go.”

A few of the “little gangsters” recognized Jian Yao, and her reputation as “Master Jian” was quite powerful among the girls. They didn’t dare to provoke her, so they let go of Lu Yan.

Lu Yan quickly hid behind her mother.

Jian Yao casually grabbed one of the girls by the collar and threw her heavily toward Shi Ya. Coldly, she said, “Lu Yan is my friend. If you lay a finger on her, I’ll break ten of your fingers. Feel free to try.”

The little gangsters obviously knew that Jian Yao was not someone to be trifled with. She was true to her word. Back in her first year of high school, she had kicked a male student who had made lewd remarks at her into the school’s quiet lake. The boy couldn’t swim and almost drowned.

Later, the boy’s parents made a scene at the school, demanding an apology from Jian Yao, or they would use their “connections” to have her expelled.

Jian Yao not only refused to apologize but also exposed the incident to the media. The story blew up and even made it to the newspapers, which embarrassed the boy’s family and their so-called “connections.”

Since then, no one at school dared to challenge Jian Yao directly.

She was stubborn, authoritative, and definitely not someone to mess with.

Shi Ya didn’t want to give up so easily, but seeing the hesitation of the other girls, she realized she couldn’t handle the situation alone. After saying a few harsh words, she angrily left.

Lu Yan finally relaxed, pressing her hand to her chest and sighing, “That was close. I almost got into trouble with her…”

If her mom hadn’t arrived in time, today, Shi Ya would definitely have treated her to a double dose of physical and psychological torment—an exclusive ^[1]“deluxe package” refers to a figurative expression indicating an especially intense or thorough experience. It is a humorous or exaggerated way of describing a particularly harsh or … Continue reading“deluxe package.”

Jian Yao turned to Lu Yan and asked, “How did you end up provoking a girl like her?”

Lu Yan rubbed her eyes helplessly. “Don’t even mention it, it’s all the mess with my family.”

Seeing that Lu Yan didn’t want to explain further, Jian Yao didn’t press the issue.

“Mom… I mean, Jian Yao, thank you,” Lu Yan said. “Hey, let me treat you to a drink.”

Jian Yao smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I just happened to be passing by. It was no trouble at all. But we haven’t caught up in a while. Let’s sit down and chat, I’ll buy you some juice.”

Lu Yan didn’t refuse, and together they walked out of the school gates to a nearby juice shop.

Last time at the bar, the noisy environment had prevented them from having a proper conversation, but now that they were sitting down, both planned to really get to know each other.

Lu Yan, of course, was mainly hoping to learn more about what kind of person her mom was.

As for Jian Yao, she didn’t know why, but she felt an immediate connection with Lu Yan, liking her immensely… It felt like they had known each other in a past life.

Through their conversation, Lu Yan learned that Jian Yao was in her second year of high school and in the same grade as her. Since the third year of middle school, she had formed a band with Qiao Nan and others, pursuing her dream while earning a little extra money on the side.

“Do you want to be a star?” Lu Yan asked.

Jian Yao chewed on the juice straw, smiling as she said, “Which kid who plays music doesn’t dream of standing on that dazzling stage, having people across the country, even the whole world, scream for him? Of having everyone sing his songs and turning the concert into a huge chorus.”

Her words instantly ignited something in Lu Yan’s previously dormant heart. Her eyes sparkled as she grabbed Jian Yao’s hand, full of excitement.

“I… I want to sing too! I want more people to hear my voice. I want to have my own concert!”

“Well, that’s great!” Jian Yao said excitedly. “Join us and play together!”

On this matter, the two of them hit it off immediately.

In her past life, her dream had been crushed by Lu Zhen before it even began. But now, meeting her mom and being able to play music together was such a blessing for her.

“By the way, can you play the piano?” Jian Yao asked.

“Yeah, I… I mean, I’ve been playing since elementary school.”

Jian Yao immediately grabbed her hand, saying, “That’s fantastic! For the school anniversary next month, the Cultural and Entertainment Department is hosting a choir competition, and we’re short of someone who can play the piano. Would you like to join us?”

“Sure.”

“Then it’s settled!”

Suddenly, Lu Yan remembered something and asked, “But I remember that for the school anniversary choir, isn’t it Shu Mengfei who plays the piano?”

Jian Yao waved her hand, a hint of disgust on her face. “She lied to the teachers in the Cultural and Entertainment Department, saying she could play the piano, but she can’t. She just learned it recently, and she plays all clumsy and out of tune. She can’t even perform on stage. She told the teachers to play a backing track for her when she goes up. I’m speechless. If she’s going to use a backing track, what’s the point of her being up there?”

Lu Yan twitched her lips. “To insist on performing even though she can’t play the piano… That takes some guts.”

Jian Yao shrugged. “I don’t know what she’s thinking. Maybe she just thinks playing the piano looks cool.”

Lu Yan realized that her mom was really a no-nonsense, straightforward person.

Shu Mengfei insisted on performing, despite not being able to play, certainly wasn’t because she thought it was cool. It was more likely that she just wanted to show off and maintain her image as a “talented lady” in front of others.

“Alright, Mom, you can talk to the teacher in the Cultural and Entertainment Department. I’ll perform,” Lu Yan said.

Jian Yao’s eyes filled with a smile. “It’s a deal then!”

“Mm.”

Jian Yao stirred her juice with the straw and suddenly asked, “Hey, did you just call me ‘Mom’?”

“Oops!” Lu Yan sprayed juice out of her mouth, splashing Jian Yao’s face.

Jian Yao: …

“I’m so sorry!” Lu Yan quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe Jian Yao’s face. “I… I didn’t mean it, Miss.”

Jian Yao didn’t mind at all. She laughed and said, “Haha, since you’ve already called me Mom, I can’t really blame you, can I?”

Lu Yan blinked innocently and looked at her.

Jian Yao patted her forehead and, jokingly, called out, “Good daughter?”

“Eh…?”