“…” The room remained silent. Luo Yi and his son looked as though they had been stunned senseless.
Instead, it was Luo Yi’s secretary who silently brought Lan Xi a glass of watermelon juice, barely breaking the awkward silence.
Fu Hui straightened up.
Since things have already come to this, if he’s going to be right under my nose, I might as well make him as comfortable as possible… While he was at it, Fu Hui had Luo Yi’s secretary replace Lan Xi’s drink with a glass of water.
“Don’t give him alcohol.” Only after saying that did Fu Hui prepare to leave.
Lan Xi raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, looking at him strangely.
Then he reached up and tugged at the silk scarf around his neck.
The Hermès silk scarf had been bought at the last minute and was covered in intricate patterns. The moment Lan Xi’s fingers touched it, their snow-white color stood out sharply against the fabric.
Fu Hui hadn’t wanted to strangle him with it in the first place, so he had tied it loosely.
Lan Xi loosened it even further in just a few tugs and saw Fu Hui’s brow seem to twitch.
Lan Xi pursed his lips but didn’t tug at it again. Instead, he left the scarf around his neck and began treating it like a napkin.
And with that, the oppressive silence finally came to an end.
The door opened with a creak. This time, Fu Hui really was about to leave.
Biting into a cheese-baked shrimp, Lan Xi said indistinctly, “Wait. Have something to say. Alone with you.”
Fu Hui paused. He said nothing, but left a bodyguard behind for him.
Even if Lan Xi had something to say, he first had to finish eating his shrimp.
Luo Yi and Luo Jin finally managed to sit down again. Luo Yi had no idea what to say, so he could only ask dryly, “Ah… Young Wen, is it good?”
Lan Xi spared him a nod.
Everything Luo Yi had originally planned to say while lecturing his son was now hopelessly stuck in his throat.
Fortunately, his secretary was considerate enough to turn on the television in the room. A movie was playing.
Lan Xi even turned his head and watched it with great interest for a while as he ate.
For a brief moment, Luo Yi couldn’t help wondering whether he had misjudged Wen Lan in the past. Perhaps the Wen family’s youngest son actually had nerves of steel and was remarkably good at keeping his composure.
Lan Xi finished his cheese-baked shrimp with lingering satisfaction, wiped his mouth, and stood up.
The bodyguard immediately opened the door for him.
Lan Xi still remembered to turn around and ask, “Will there be roast leg of lamb later?”
Luo Yi: “…There will.”
Lan Xi went “Oh” and walked out. It was as though he had been spoiled from birth and had never learned to say thank you.
Just then, the Luo family’s eldest son strode over. Passing Lan Xi on the way, he caught the door before it closed and smiled helplessly at the people inside. “Dad, why did you bring Luo Jin in here? How can today’s guest of honor not make an appearance?”
Only then did Luo Yi snap out of his daze. “Let’s go!”
They left the glass room and watched as the bodyguard led Wen Lan in another direction.
Fu Hui was smoking beneath a garden colonnade outside the banquet hall.
He was looking at the flowers in the garden when he asked with his back to Lan Xi, “What did you want to say?”
Lan Xi got straight to the point. “Phone number. Give me.”
If Luo Yi had been there, he probably would have been shocked all over again.
That tone sounded even more domineering than Fu Hui’s.
Fu Hui now knew that Lan Xi’s language system still wasn’t fully developed, so he didn’t care about the phrasing. “What for?”
Lan Xi said, “If I leave the Wen family, I’ll call you.”
“…” Still counting on someone to come pick him up?
Fu Hui turned around and bent one leg slightly, leaning lazily against the Roman-style column behind him. His figure remained tall and upright despite the relaxed posture.
“You fought with the Wen brothers again?”
Lan Xi shook his head.
“You still don’t like the Wen family?”
Do you prefer living at the villa? The words rose instinctively to Fu Hui’s lips before he swallowed them again.
“I’m not Wen Lan. If they find out, they’ll throw me out. You said so.” Lan Xi stared fixedly at him.
Fu Hui looked back at him for a while.
…Fine. It’s still better than finding him in Liang Yuecheng’s house again. At least right now, I don’t want to see Lan Xi acting in front of someone else exactly the way he once acted in front of me.
Fu Hui held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”
Lan Xi passed it to him, and Fu Hui quickly entered his number.
Once he had the number, Lan Xi’s eyes visibly lit up.
He had nothing more to say. He turned around decisively and left, quite unlike the clingy little shadow he had been at the villa.
Perhaps it was because Fu Hui had already made it perfectly clear at Liang Yuecheng’s house that Lan Xi was not the “mute girl.” Naturally, he could no longer expect Fu Hui to treat him the way he had before.
Lan Xi walked away.
Fu Hui lowered his eyes, took another drag from his cigarette, then immediately extinguished it. “Let’s go.”
Back inside the banquet hall, piano music had begun to play. Luo Jin had just finished introducing himself to the guests, after which everyone began mingling freely.
Wen Ming was looking through the crowd for Liang Yuecheng.
He had decided that he still needed to warn Liang Yuecheng properly. This was the Wen family’s fucking young master—he had better not get any ideas about him. But after searching the room, Wen Ming still couldn’t find the man.
Wen Yue had just finished drinking with someone when he turned around and saw Lan Xi.
“Where did that scarf around your neck come from?” Wen Yue immediately became wary.
Wen Ming, having failed to find Liang Yuecheng, came over too. One look at the scarf actually made him relax. “It’s good that you’re covered up. What were you even wearing before?”
Lan Xi opened his mouth.
Wen Ming immediately knew he was about to call him a bumpkin again and hurriedly changed the subject. “What were you doing with Luo Jin just now?”
“Eating shrimp.”
“Didn’t Big Brother tell you to stay away from those old friends of yours?” Wen Ming blurted out. The moment he finished, he felt that there was something slightly strange about what he had just said.
He glanced at Wen Yue.
Fortunately, Wen Yue didn’t care. His entire attention was focused on educating his younger brother.
“You’re not allowed to put your arms around people anymore,” Wen Yue said coldly.
Lan Xi’s rebellious streak immediately flared. He hooked an arm around Wen Yue’s neck. “Even this… isn’t allowed?”
Wen Yue wrapped an arm around Lan Xi’s waist and laboriously peeled him off his body. “…Not allowed.”
Lan Xi rolled his eyes.
Wen Yue continued lecturing him with a dark, serious expression. “Do you know President Luo doesn’t particularly like you either? He’s worried you’ll be a bad influence on his son. Why insist on hanging around with him?”
Lan Xi had rolled his eyes so many times that he was getting tired of it.
Someone came over looking for Wen Yue just then, finally interrupting Big Brother’s earnest lecture.
The relationship between the Wen and Luo families was actually only average. It was mainly the younger sons who were close, and precisely because those two were too close, the elders on both sides weren’t especially comfortable with it.
Coming to the banquet today was merely a matter of putting in an appearance. They still had to maintain basic social niceties.
So the Wen brothers didn’t stay for long before taking Lan Xi home.
The driver brought the car around. Just as Wen Ming opened the door, he suddenly saw Luo Yi’s secretary running toward them.
Once bitten, twice shy. The brothers’ first thought was that Lan Xi must have secretly caused some new disaster just now.
But when the secretary came closer, he brought the aroma of food with him.
Smiling, the secretary placed a packed insulated container on Lan Xi’s lap. “Roast leg of lamb.”
Then he politely said, “Take care on your way home.”
Wen Yue: “…”
Wen Ming: “…?”
Wen Yue’s earlier remark that “the Luo family doesn’t particularly like you either” had been completely wasted.
Without thinking, both brothers turned toward Lan Xi at the same time. Lan Xi, however, looked perfectly natural and had already opened the container and started eating.
After returning home, the brothers still felt that something was strange. But it would be awkward to ask Luo Yi directly, and communicating with Lan Xi himself was even less efficient.
“It should be fine. I’ll be picking him up and taking him to school myself for the time being,” Wen Ming said.
Wen Yue frowned. “Mm.”
For now, the brothers set aside their doubts.
After all, their entire lives did not revolve around Wen Lan alone.
The next day, before Lan Xi could even ask, Wen Ming voluntarily drove him to university.
“Wait.” Wen Ming got out and called Lan Xi back. He took a souvenir gift box from the rear seat and handed it to him. “I brought this back from my business trip. Share it with your classmates.”
Wen Ming thought it was unrealistic to stop Wen Lan from making friends altogether.
“If you want friends, make them at university.”
Lan Xi was already impatient to open the box. He perfunctorily went, “Mm-hm, mm-hm,” then walked off carrying it.
After getting back into the car, Wen Ming felt as though something was missing.
What is it?
His hands tightened unconsciously around the steering wheel, the muscles in his arms tensing. Then his gaze dropped and landed on the empty crook of his arm.
Wen Lan hadn’t hugged his arm today.
Of course, he had never done that in the past either. It was only because Wen Lan had been doing it so frequently lately that the sudden absence felt especially obvious.
How did I offend him again?
As Wen Ming was thinking, realization suddenly struck him.
“You’re not allowed to put your arms around people anymore.”
Those were the words Big Brother had used when lecturing Wen Lan that day.
Wen Ming immediately felt the suffocating frustration of someone who had been caught in the crossfire for absolutely no reason.
Not long after Wen Ming drove away in frustration, Luo Jin arrived at the university to lie in wait for Lan Xi.
“Wen Lan! Over here! I didn’t get a chance to talk to you properly yesterday…” Luo Jin enthusiastically took the book bag from his hand.
He was already that noisy when we didn’t talk properly. How noisy would he be if we actually did?
Lan Xi was mildly horrified.
“Come on. I’ll treat you to lunch. What do you want?”
That sounded much better. Lan Xi immediately named a dish. “Sukiyaki.”
“Sure, sure.” Luo Jin attentively opened the car door for him.
Lan Xi hadn’t been willing to share his souvenir gift box with any classmates today. In fact, he hadn’t even gone to the classroom and had eaten the whole thing himself like a selfish little demon. Naturally, he hadn’t managed to make any friends either.
Sitting in the passenger seat of the sports car, he turned to look at Luo Jin and decided that having him around wasn’t bad either.
“I want to go to the mall.” Lan Xi had never been to one before and had remained fascinated by the enormous luxury malls he had seen on television.
“Sure. What do you want to buy?” Remembering that Lan Xi didn’t have much money now, Luo Jin said generously, “Whatever you buy, I’ll pay for it.”
Lan Xi thought that sounded excellent.
After happily finishing their sukiyaki, the two went shopping for clothes. When they came out, Luo Jin’s expression had completely changed. He hesitated for a long time before saying, “Y-you… how did you end up with this kind of… hobby?”
Lan Xi couldn’t be bothered talking.
The moment he fell silent, Luo Jin immediately talked himself around. “I-I don’t mean anything by it. Whatever you like is fine. Anything’s fine.”
How do you know Mr. Fu…? The question reached Luo Jin’s lips before he swallowed it again.
Luo Jin was still too young. He wanted to get help from Lan Xi, but he also didn’t want to reveal his ulterior motives too quickly and seem overly calculating.
In the end, when he drove Lan Xi back to the Wen residence, all he did was exchange new contact information with him.
Wen Yue had gotten home early today. The moment he heard Lan Xi enter, he asked, “Wen Ming didn’t pick you up?”
Only then did Lan Xi remember. Ah. I forgot someone.
“Mm. Went… to eat with someone else.”
Wen Yue didn’t even have time to ask who had driven him home. Knowing Wen Ming’s personality, he was probably still waiting at the university gates.
He hurriedly called Wen Ming.
Wen Ming was furious when he received the call and stormed straight home.
“Where’s Wen Lan?” he demanded of Big Brother the moment he entered.
Wen Yue said, “Back in his room.”
Wen Ming immediately started up the stairs to drag him out.
Wen Yue added, “He’s taking a shower. Don’t disturb him.”
Wen Ming’s eyelid twitched. He slowly recovered a little of his composure, turned around, and sat down on the sofa.
Lan Xi really was taking a shower.
When he came out, he was still surrounded by lingering steam. After carelessly drying himself a couple of times, he began examining the new clothes spread across the bed.
Luo Jin had gone with him to buy them.
Lan Xi picked up one piece and shook it out.
It was a pure-white lace dress with corset-style lacing at the waist.
Lan Xi studied it for a while, clumsily worked out how to put it on, then awkwardly took a picture of himself in the mirror.
Luo Jin had only taught him how to take photos today too.
The words Fu Hui had said at Liang Yuecheng’s house still echoed in Lan Xi’s ears.
“Are you mute?”
“Are you a girl?”
There was the question of whether Lan Xi was a girl or a boy.
Fu Hui seemed particularly concerned with that distinction.
Yet Fu Hui clearly disliked it even when Lan Xi exposed only a little skin over his chest.
Fu Hui also seemed unable to completely separate him from the “mute girl.”
As a result, Fu Hui displayed two completely contradictory attitudes toward him.
Those two completely opposing reactions were tearing at Fu Hui.
If the seraph doesn’t love me enough, that’s fine.
Hating me would work too.
Demons were practically born knowing how to torment people.
He sent the photo to Fu Hui.
Lan Xi was so excited that his demon tail practically wanted to pop out.
Bang, bang—
Someone suddenly knocked hard on the door.
Wen Yue’s voice sounded from outside. “Come out. Phone inspection.”
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