Chapter 58

After moving to Snow Mountain Town, Bai Wei stubbornly installed a landline at home—even though, in this era, few families still used landlines.

Lu Sen considered this to be Bai Wei’s concern for privacy. Bai Wei only left the landline number in various institutions in Snow Mountain Town and did not leave his mobile number. However, in this small town, their family abided by the law, and no one ever contacted them for things like debt collection. The retro-looking phone had peacefully rested in their home, never having been dialed.

However, today, it suddenly rang.

“Hello, is this Bai Wei’s house?”

A rich, unfamiliar voice came from the other end of the line. It sounded deep, indicating that the person was likely a charming individual with a certain social status. However, it was unfamiliar to Lu Sen, as he had never heard this voice before.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“Could you kindly pass the phone to Bai Wei? I need to talk to him privately,” the man said.

Lu Sen became vigilant, instinctively protecting his territory like a lion. “Bai Wei is at work and isn’t home. If you need to talk to him, you can discuss it with me first.”

“He’s at work? What kind of job did he find in Snow Mountain Town? In that small place?” The middle-aged man muttered to himself, sounding surprised, even a bit pained and serious. “Tell him to come home right now, I need to speak with him… Wait, who are you to him?”

“Who are you to him? What gives you the right to speak to him like that?” Lu Sen retorted.

The middle-aged man replied forcefully, “I am his father!”

“Oh… his father? Why have I never seen you before, not before or after his marriage? It’s like you don’t even exist.” Lu Sen mocked, “By the way, I’m his husband.”

Lu Sen was about to hang up, but the man fell silent for a moment, then said more urgently, “You’re his husband? Well, Bai Ju’s father refused to invite me to my son’s wedding. He has never forgiven me and doesn’t allow me to set foot in Qinghe. I don’t understand why he let you, a man, marry my son. But! But! Since you and Bai Wei are married now, shouldn’t you consider his future?”

Lu Sen’s fingers paused at that moment.

“In Snow Mountain Town, what kind of job could he have? What position could help him showcase his talents? Bai Wei is such a talented kid… I haven’t visited him these years because I feel guilty and don’t dare face him, but he has grown very well, even better than me and Bai Ju. He’s an outstanding writer. Can you bear to watch him ruin his future because of a momentary impulse…”

The middle-aged man’s words were earnest, but it was the last sentence that caught Lu Sen’s full attention.

The middle-aged man finally got the answer he was hoping for: “What do you mean by that last sentence? What does ‘momentary impulse’ mean? What does it mean to ruin his writing career?”

“Don’t you know? It happened a year ago in Nandu…”

—–

When Bai Wei returned home, he felt that something was strange today.

The car was parked at the door, and Lu Sen’s outdoor shoes were already placed on the shoe rack, while his slippers were nowhere to be found, indicating that Lu Sen was inside.

However, when he opened the door, Lu Sen was not there to greet him.

This was unusual! At the very least, after hearing the door open, Lu Sen would definitely come to the door to greet him and give him a (unwanted) hug!

As he stepped into the foyer, Bai Wei vaguely heard voices in the living room—but only Lu Sen was speaking. As Bai Wei entered the living room, the talking stopped, and Lu Sen walked down the stairs to meet him.

“Dear, why are you home so early today?”

Bai Wei frowned slightly. He looked at the delivery packages on the floor and the Eiffel Tower model added to the display case, along with their “group photo” next to it, knowing that these were Lu Sen’s “souvenir masterpieces.” On normal days, he would definitely ask Lu Sen to clean up the mess on the floor first.

But today was not the time for such words.

“Sit down, I need to talk to you,” Bai Wei said.

Lu Sen was taken aback but quickly complied, sitting obediently like a high school student across from Bai Wei. “Dear, you look like a teacher when you say that.”

As he spoke, his hand secretly reached toward Bai Wei’s waist.

Bai Wei’s face darkened as he pushed Lu Sen’s hand away. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Lu Sen smiled, “Bai Wei, I won’t do it. Teach me how.”

… Damn it!

Bai Wei was confused. How did Lu Sen learn such… seemingly role-playing dirty talk?

Wasn’t he supposed to be some kind of stupid monster? Who taught him this?

Soon, Bai Wei’s thoughts returned to the fact that Lu Sen had become so “hungry” after feeling well-fed. Last week, due to Lu Sen’s broken leg and substitute teaching with early morning classes, Bai Wei had coldly rejected his repeated advances. This Saturday, Bai Wei had used socializing as an excuse to escape for a whole day, but on Sunday, he couldn’t find an excuse to leave and was dragged back home by Lu Sen for the entire day.

Perhaps this was the “absence makes the heart grow fonder” effect. Bai Wei nearly had his back broken in bed. Early the next morning, Bai Wei got up angrily and leaned against the bed, while Lu Sen, feeling guilty, went downstairs and brought up the little desserts he made for him.

Darling,” he said, feeling guilty.

Bai Wei glared at him from the bed.

Lu Sen brought the small dessert to Bai Wei’s mouth. Bai Wei was angry, but still took a bite.

…It was quite tasty.

He took another bite.

Bai Wei felt that this behavior was a bit disgraceful. But then he thought, he was still angry, and he could still be angry. Lu Sen’s small dessert couldn’t change the fact that he was angry. Moreover, Lu Sen kneeling to feed him the dessert was Lu Sen who was at a disadvantage. He was the one who had won! And he remained in the superior position.

Facing Bai Wei’s accusations, Lu Sen said, “Darling, you can’t blame all of this on me. This is too inhumane. There are five weekdays, and during those days, you don’t let me touch you. The weekend is only two days, and on one of those days, you have to go out for work, so I can only make up for all the time on Sunday.”

Lu Sen had actually learned to negotiate with him! Bai Wei was astonished.

In the past, when they were in Bei Du, Lu Sen had spoken in a refined and logical manner. But since they got married, he had let go of some of his pretensions. And after Bai Wei learned that he was a monster, he had started to see him as mentally deficient.

Thus, even the slightest intellectual “progress” surprised Bai Wei.

Perhaps it was because of this surprise that Bai Wei agreed to the terms of the negotiation. During the five weekdays, Lu Sen could choose three nights for activities, but each time should not exceed two hours. If only two nights were chosen, each session could not exceed three hours. On the weekend, the total duration could not exceed eight hours… This was Bai Wei’s limit of tolerance.

Once the terms of the negotiation were finalized, Lu Sen completed his first “two hours” on Monday night. Bai Wei even set an alarm on his phone and placed it on the bedside table to time it. As soon as it exceeded two hours, Bai Wei would take the pill that could cause “immediate wind” symptoms, put it in his mouth, and use a deep kiss to make Lu Sen swallow it.

Fortunately, Lu Sen did not disappoint his expectations… or perhaps, he disappointed them.

Yesterday and the day before, Lu Sen did nothing. Today was Thursday, and it was clear that Lu Sen had already planned to start his second “two-hour” session.

Before Lu Sen’s hand could press on his thigh, Bai Wei grabbed Lu Sen’s wrist.

“Wait,” he spoke in a calm, serious tone, “I need to talk to you, something important.”

Lu Sen stopped moving his hand and looked at Bai Wei with a puzzled expression.

Bai Wei got straight to the point: “Did you talk to the principal recently?”

“Oh, we had a quick meal together on Saturday—on the day you went out for your event. If you hadn’t gone, I would’ve taken you with me.” Lu Sen spoke honestly, “He thanked me for the help I’ve been providing to the school and asked if I had any intention of continuing to work at the school, or taking on other roles. He offered to write me a recommendation letter…”

“Oh,” Bai Wei said flatly, “How did you respond?”

“I said I didn’t have any plans for now. I need to handle some family matters, and I’m more interested in starting a business, being self-employed.”

Of course, Lu Sen wouldn’t take up the public-facing position recommended by the principal. These jobs had open income details, which would immediately expose the fact that he was laundering money. Compared to being a math teacher or vice principal secretly controlling a lot of illegal income, he would rather be a successful, lucky car repair shop owner and guesthouse owner.

The principal had also tried to persuade him, saying that being a math Olympiad teacher or tutoring would be very profitable. But Lu Sen thought about it and realized he couldn’t explain why he was tutoring a group of dead people who looked exactly like him, people who would never win even a single trophy in their lifetime. So, he continued to refuse politely.

Bai Wei also felt that the self-employed Lu Sen was easier to “handle” than the institutionalized Lu Sen. But he coldly asked, “Did you mention me to him?”

“I did,” Lu Sen said, “I asked him about the salary and promotion path for the official art teacher position, and about your future possibility of becoming the principal. Honestly, it would be great if there were a famous university in Snow Mountain Town. Unfortunately, there are only two middle schools here. I talked to him about these things and also confirmed your promotion path if you continue working here as an art teacher…”

“Why did you talk to him about these things?”

“Darling, don’t you also like Snow Mountain Middle School? Since we’re settling down in this town…”

“Who told you to make decisions for me? Who told you to go talk to the principal on my behalf?” Bai Wei raised his voice, interrupting him.

“Oh, I just hoped that we could settle down here, didn’t I? Especially for you to settle down here…”

“When did I ever allow you to do such things? Who do you think you are, deciding that I want to settle down here?”

Bai Wei aggressively interrogated him, something he had never done to anyone in his twenty-plus years of life. Lu Sen was stunned, but he quickly responded, “Darling, don’t you like Snow Mountain Town? Of course, we can move to another place to live, anytime, whenever you want…”

“I wasn’t talking about that…”

“Indeed, I also thought that with your talents, being an art teacher here and not being able to fully utilize your abilities would be a waste and repress your nature,” Lu Sen said, “Darling, do you feel the same way deep down? Perhaps we should think together and come up with a more suitable position for you, a place that suits you better.”

Bai Wei opened his mouth, more irritated than ever. He said, “Indeed, I don’t like…”

Just then, the phone rang.

Loud, harsh—a call had come through on the phone that hadn’t rung in half a year. Bai Wei and Lu Sen both looked toward the phone near the staircase, and Lu Sen said, “I’ll go answer it.”

And Bai Wei’s sensitive nerves immediately connected this with Lu Sen’s previous lone conversation.

Lu Sen had been on the phone!

“Turn on the speakerphone, let me hear what you’re doing,” he said coldly.

Lu Sen hesitated while holding the phone. But he still followed Bai Wei’s request and pressed the speakerphone button.

A middle-aged man’s voice came through the phone.

“Lu Sen, why did you suddenly hang up the phone just now? Do you understand what I said about Bai Wei? Making him a regular teacher is a waste of him—it tarnishes his talents! If you really love him, you should help him…”

The room was silent, apart from the sound of the phone.

Lu Sen was a monster. He didn’t understand human emotions, nor did he understand human relationships. But he had the instincts of a monster. These instincts allowed him to survive in the midst of gunfire and artillery, to survive repeated attacks. He had dodged bombs, fought off snipers, bypassed security… Part of the reason he could be an excellent mercenary was because of this.

But in this moment, his instincts suddenly told him that he felt deeply afraid.

It wasn’t fear of danger to his life, nor fear of an impending attack, nor fear of having done something wrong.

It was… the fear that someone he cherished would be harmed—the kind of fear one feels when they love someone.

Clearly, there were no weapons here.

He slowly turned his head to look at Bai Wei in the center of the living room. Bai Wei stood still, perfectly still, like a painting.

But Bai Wei’s face was pale. His amber eyes were fixed on him, but they seemed to exude a dark, almost void-like quality.

He stood there like a ghost, his eyes staring straight ahead, yet not at the microphone—even though the voice coming from it was that of his biological father, Xue Jingyu.

He was looking at Lu Sen.