miralunem

Lu Chi arranged to meet Gu Yanyan at a café.

The car followed the navigation to the edge of the city. After getting out and locking the door, he looked up and was met with an entire wall of colorful flowers belonging to the café. He’d heard it was an internet-famous café. Seeing it now, paired with the blue sky and bright autumn sun, the scenery really was beautiful.

Lu Chi had a habit of arriving early. There were still twenty minutes before the agreed time, so he lingered in front of the flower wall, took several close-up shots, then added a few selfies. Just as he was blinking at the camera and flashing a peace sign, a cheerful voice sounded in his ear.

“Handsome boy, want me to take one for you?”

The accent was a little awkward. Lu Chi turned around and saw a gray-haired old lady standing not far away, hands clasped behind her back, looking very enthusiastic.

“Thanks,” he readily agreed. “Grandma, please make my legs look longer.”

Grandma Gu nodded, awkwardly took the phone, and snapped photos while praising him.

“You’re so tall, just like that long-legged cat in our village. No matter how I shoot, you’re just long and slender…” 

Long-legged-cat Lu Chi struck a handsome pose. When he checked the photos afterward, he found that grandma had photographed him very gently, the kind of gentleness where you could stick a halo on his head and he’d instantly look like an angel.

He smiled, thanked her politely, and sent the photos to Liang Jiashu, who replied almost immediately.

LSJ: [Looks great.]

LSJ: [Should I change my profile picture?]

He thought Lu Chi was hinting at that.

Between couples, it did seem like they were supposed to do things Liang Jiashu used to think only people with underdeveloped frontal lobes did, like using matching profile pictures, wearing couple outfits, posting photos together to assert ownership… Oh, right, short videos were popular lately too.

Should they also film some cute couple dances?

Lu Chi would be responsible for twisting his waist and swaying his hips in front, beautiful, handsome, and cute. He would wear a business suit or sporty hoodie, wrap an arm around Lu Chi’s frivolously tilted hips, and act as a silent human prop.

Tags: #187 #Couple #TeacherStudentRomance #PureLove

However, Lu Chi mercilessly shattered Liang Jiashu’s fantasy.

Eat, Sleep, Dance: [Overthinking it.]

Eat, Sleep, Dance: [What are you doing? Still researching the chip?]

LJS: [Yeah.]

LJS: [Give me a bit more time, then I can fully implant it for you.]

Eat, Sleep, Dance: [Wow, wow, that’s amazing.]

Eat, Sleep, Dance: [Then keep it up ^^]

LJS: [Definitely.]

LJS: [Fist-salute.jpg]

Lu Chi put his phone away, feeling like he’d been slightly infected by Liang Jiashu’s madness, as he actually thought this back-and-forth had a strange sense of humor. He strolled leisurely toward the café when a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind him, impatient and panicked.

“Didn’t I tell you not to come out today?! I have friends coming, hurry up and go upstairs!”

Lu Chi turned around and saw Gu Yanyan tugging at the grandma who’d just taken his photos, his face full of anxiety. The youth was dressed in new clothes again today. Beneath his brushed-up bangs, his brows and eyes were clean and refined, now showing a rare sharpness. But his expression was urgent as he pulled at his grandmother, scolding her for embarrassing him.

Lu Chi walked over and slapped the back of his head hard, asking, “Are you sick? You’re the one embarrassing yourself.”

Gu Yanyan turned around and stared blankly at him.

“T-Teacher…”

Lu Chi frowned in disgust.

“You think you deserve to call me that? Dragging an old person around in public, what, are you hyper-aggressive?”

Gu Yanyan’s face flushed bright red as he cautiously watched Lu Chi’s expression. Grandma Gu shook off his hand and said righteously, “That’s right, Yanyan. I’m your grandma. You need to learn how to respect me.”

After that, she cheerfully smiled at Lu Chi and, without caring what the two of them wanted to say, quickly walked off with her hands behind her back to continue wandering around.

Gu Yanyan followed Lu Chi into the café. After sitting down, he explained, “Teacher, my grandma’s a bit forgetful. I was afraid she’d get lost, so I panicked…”

However, Lu Chi replied, “She’s wearing a brand-new tracking watch. What are you afraid of?”

“……”

Under the sunlight, Lu Chi watched Gu Yanyan’s tightly clenched fingers and impatiently tapped the cup, scolding him: “Head up, chest out! If you keep looking like this, I don’t think there’s any need for us to talk further.”

Being timid once was enough.

Lu Chi didn’t like supporting useless mud that couldn’t stick to the wall.

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yanyan immediately raised his head, words spilling out rapidly.

“I’m sorry, teacher! I was just afraid you’d look down on me! I’m sorry!”

“So what if I did look down on you?” Lu Chi shot back. He met Gu Yanyan’s stunned gaze, genuinely puzzled by his mindset. “In this world,” Lu Chi continued, “other than me, the righteous and charming savior, the irresistible heartthrob that even ants fall in love with at first sight, who is there that everyone looks up to?”

“Name one. I’m listening.”

“……”

The server brought over a strawberry parfait. Lu Chi speared a strawberry and chewed it, then continued coolly after swallowing, “You’re not afraid of being looked down on, you just think too highly of yourself.”

So you treat the whole world as a stage, assuming all eyes are fixed on you.

Gu Yanyan lowered his head. After a long pause, he softly let out a breath. “You’re right… but I… I just want Teacher Lu to have a good impression of me.”

Rich people weren’t that impressive. In fact, they were all brainless, low IQ, and only knew how to bully others with power. But Gu Yanyan really liked Lu Chi, so he was terrified of earning even the slightest dislike from him.

Lu Chi paused, baffled.

“What does your grandma have to do with me disliking you?” he asked. “And I remember, the day after we met, you deliberately copied my entire outfit and went to steal my spot at FOM, then fought Liang Zhiyu until you were both bleeding, looking like pigs being pinned down on New Year’s Eve, right in front of me?”

Where did the Protagonist Shou even get the confidence to think he had behaved especially well?!

Gu Yanyan stiffened.

With that, Lu Chi finished half the parfait and went straight to the point. “I remember you said last time that you’re in contact with the Lin family,” he said. “Do you mind letting me see the number they used to contact you?”

Once it came to business, Gu Yanyan was noticeably more normal, so he quickly nodded. Since he’d expected Lu Chi’s purpose, he wasn’t surprised and took out his phone, handing it over.

“Of course. The second pinned contact, that’s the one.”

Lu Chi took it and opened it. His gaze passed over the first pinned contact, himself, and landed on that familiar string of numbers.

…Once again, it was his birthday.

Why did it feel like some kind of lingering, inescapable surveillance?

Lu Chi handed the phone back thoughtfully, saying nothing more.

At some point, the café had switched background music, from soft piano to an old Cantonese song. When it reached the chorus, Gu Yanyan saw Lu Chi lower his eyes and casually lick the strawberry sauce from the corner of his lips.

He froze, then turned his head and noticed people around them were also casting subtle glances toward Lu Chi.

…What a dazzling butterfly.

He smiled inexplicably, took a sip of iced Americano, and after a moment, suddenly said, “Teacher, is Liang Jiashu anxious every day?” Lu Chi raised an eyebrow as Gu Yanyan murmured, “Being with you must be very happy… and also very painful.”

Because wanting to monopolize too much meant fearing loss day and night, being endlessly tormented by gain and loss. Yet even so, brief possession was like a beautiful dream; the moment you woke up, unbearable pain followed.

If it were him, he would rather give up everything and never wake up.

But as his words fell, Lu Chi smiled, propped his chin on his hand, and lazily looked at him. After a moment, he asked casually, “Really willing to give up everything?”

Gu Yanyan clenched his fist.

“Really.”

“Even if you’re used by the Lin family?” Lu Chi said. “Even if your grandma dies, and your grandpa falls ill? Even if you personally destroy innocent families and stab blood relatives to death with your own hands?”

Gu Yanyan froze.

“…What?”

Lu Chi looked at him, very calm.

“You should have personally witnessed Gu Jie getting his fingers chopped off.”

“…Yeah.”

“Then why did you still cooperate with the Lin family?”

“Because I like you! I want to be stronger than Liang Jiashu…!”

Lu Chi stared at him. Sunlight slid across his translucent, light-brown eyes, painting them in a clear, cool, and sharp light. Under that gaze, Gu Yanyan’s words gradually faded away. In the end, he fell silent. Lu Chi waited a moment, then said expressionlessly, “Is it really because you like me, or because you just desperately want to climb upward?”

“I think you know the answer.”

People lie even in diaries meant only for themselves.

True motives can only be seen through behavior. Gu Yanyan’s impulsive confession of liking him was real. His intense, overflowing desire was real. His admiration and yearning were real…

…But so was the gambler’s greed buried deep in his bones after seeing splendor: the madness of risking everything, of dealing with a tiger without regard for consequences.

To Gu Yanyan, Lu Chi was a symbol.

Too beautiful. Too unattainably high. Possessing him was equivalent to possessing an idealized self, possessing the qualification to step onto the apex of the pyramid. Gaining him felt like defeating Liang Jiashu, defeating every wealthy young man who coveted Lu Chi.

But it was also true that Gu Yanyan liked him, to the point of obsession.

So really, the Protagonist Shou was quite suited to be a male-oriented novel’s protagonist.

Lu Chi laughed lightly.

“Gu Yanyan, don’t tell me you don’t even dare to openly admit your ambition. I’m a person who breathes, not your excuse for climbing upward.”

The radiant butterfly rose unhurriedly, casually pinched Gu Yanyan’s chin, and bent down slightly. After a moment, he frowned with mild annoyance.

“Honestly, I shouldn’t bother persuading a ghost destined to die.”

A mix of fragrance, breath, and ice-cream sweetness rushed in. The youth’s eyes widened, his heart pounding wildly as he stared at the beautiful face drawing close, almost feeling as though a kiss were imminent.

But the next second, those lips opened, issuing a calm warning: “But next time, if you use liking me as an excuse to do bad things again…”

“Gu Yanyan, you really will die very ugly.”

…………

The man’s tall figure walked away.

Gu Yanyan lowered his head, blankly touching the side of his face where he’d been lightly patted. For a long while, he said nothing, until a server came to remind him to pay the bill. Gu Yanyan jolted back to himself and quickly settled it.

The café’s background music had switched back to piano pieces. He sat there for a long time, only standing up to leave after the reaction in his lower body finally subsided.

His figure paused at the entrance.

Gu Yanyan lowered his head, staring at the contact list on his phone. After a moment, he sent Lu Chi a message apologizing.

Outside, the sun was high, the flower wall vivid with color.

Lu Chi got into the car and turned on the air conditioning. As he stepped on the gas, the system couldn’t help worrying: [Host Baby, you treated the Protagonist Shou like that… What if he gets stimulated and becomes even more extreme?]

Even with its dull, little brain, it could see clearly now: none of the protagonists in this world were good people! Every single one of them was mentally unstable! Provoking one was already bad enough, but its precious Baby had provoked three!!!

Sigh. What a sin! Being too charming really wasn’t the Baby’s fault!

Lu Chi didn’t care much, asking back: [You think he’s normal right now?]

[Using liking me as an excuse to deceive himself while doing immoral things. If Grandma Gu hadn’t shown up yesterday, he would’ve rushed to the Liang house. If Liang Zhiyu’s family had been ruined, he might even have felt smug about it.]

[Bottom lines erode bit by bit.]

[If the Protagonist Shou keeps going like this, his ending will be even worse than in the original novel.]

The protagonist group couldn’t die.

But Lu Chi was genuinely tired of cleaning up after people with incomplete mental capacity. Perhaps because he’d spent too much time with Liang Jiashu, he had unexpectedly begun to… Grow accustomed to the other man’s silent ways of dealing with idiots. As if Lu Chi, who was always smooth and unflappable in front of everyone else, could expose a bit of vulnerability, a bit of reliance, only in front of Liang Jiashu.

Scenery flew past the car window.

Lu Chi suddenly thought of something, narrowed his eyes, and said softly: [Where’s the Lin family address?]

The system went blank.

[…What?]

The luxury car stopped at an intersection, then abruptly changed direction, speeding off toward the opposite end. Lu Chi stepped on the accelerator, his hand casually opening the latest financial news. One bold headline read:

Lin family heir returns to the country! New Lin Group business layout raises questions.

The navigation endpoint displayed the Lin family ancestral residence.

Lu Chi raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

[We’re going to the Lin family now.]

He was going to pay an unannounced visit to that elusive family.

Ding!

A message from Liang Jiashu popped up.

LJS:

LJS: [Baby, this couple’s dance doesn’t require us to show our faces.]

LJS: [Do you want to film it?]

Lu Chi: “……”

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