Chapter 21: Three updates in one [1]

This was Xie Jianwei"s dinner.

Foie gras s.h.i.+ny with a layer of grease; Kobe beef steak with considerably high-fat content; and even the drink was a rich high protein soy milk.

Even to a normal person, such a dinner would be overly rich, not to mention the weak-bodied Xie Jianwei!

"Wait for me." Lu Li sent a message to Xie Jianwei. Following, he activated the car, pressing down all the way on the accelerator with a single step – his speed could be called lightning fast.

Xie Jianwei looked at the two words on the screen, leaning against the chair backing with ease.

— Told you not to leave. But you just hadto make a lap around before coming back.

Sun Changde hadn"t thought that Lu Li would suddenly kill his way back no matter what.

Because he couldn"t afford to offend Lu Li, he had been stuffed with a belly full of anger during the day. Now, he wanted only to take advantage of this opportunity and punish Xie Jianwei a little.

Hadn"t he had diarrhoea the whole night last night? Have another night of that today then. It"s basically giving his intestines a cleanse!

The result was that he had been found out by Lu Li.

Lu Li"s face was akin to ice, his voice cold enough to make one feel weak: "This is the dinner you people prepared?"

Sun Changde knew that he was in the wrong. Cold sweat rushed straight out of his forehead, and he absolved himself from the responsibility by saying: "It was the chef who was muddle-headed, he thought that the master and madam would come back today, so…"

Even an idiot would feel that his forced explanation was awkward, but Xie Jianwei, on the other hand, completely didn"t care. His gaze were filled with Lu Li: "Doctor Lu, you"re back again!"

Lu Li looked at his s.h.i.+ning eyes, his heart in pain from being pierced, he asked him: "Eaten dinner yet?"

Xie Jianwei said: "Not eating. If I eat my stomach will hurt."

Hearing these words of his, Lu Li felt only a gust of devilish fire moving straight through to the top of his head: "What did you eat last night?"

Xie Jianwei said: "It was also like this ah."

Lu Li"s eyes grew overcast with heavy clouds: "Has it always been like this?"

Xie Jianwei detected the changes in his emotional state, the tip of his nose wrinkling. He carefully asked: "Doctor Lu, are you being angry?"

Lu Li"s eyes were a sea of inky blackness, and in a warmthless tone he said: "Answer me."

Xie Jianwei said: "Yeah, it"s always been like this…" Saying this, he smiled again, softly saying: "Only when Doctor Lu comes, does lunch become yummy."

Lu Li"s thin lips pursed tightly, pausing between each word, he said: "Sun. Chang. De!"

Sun Changde knew that he was done for, completely and utterly done for!

Xie Jianwei blinked, pretending not to understand, and so saying: "Doctor Lu, just what is going on?"

Lu Li"s rage had burst through the skies, but he still held back his temper, comforting him: "It"s nothing, can you go to your room first and wait for me?"

Xie Jianwei thought that he was going to go away, and pulled on his clothes unwilling to leave.

Lu Li"s heart ached so much that even his breath was fiery, but he didn"t let loose on the spot, and instead watched him through lowered lids, saying in a warm voice: "Be good, go back to your room first. I will accompany you tonight for the whole night."

These words immediately brought joy upon Xie Jianwei"s features. He nodded, saying: "It"s a promise."

Lu Li said: "I absolutely won"t lie to you."

Xie Jianwei was so that happy light filled his eyes, and this sort of purity of dependency made Lu Li"s heart feel as if it had been cut with knives.

Why would Xie Jianwei be so reliant on him?

Why would Xie Jianwei like him so much?

Why would Xie Jianwei hope that he would stay with him so much?

It wasn"t just because he was starved of emotions. The biggest reason was simply that, only when Lu Li was here, would he not be bullied!

But Lu Li had never before considered these things.

Xie Jianwei returned to his room. But he had long since cracked upon the surveillance system of this residence, and so he could survey the situation outside when he opened his phone.

Lu Li wanted to punish Sun Changde, but evidently didn"t want the "pure" Xie Jianwei to see such things, and so had purposefully made him stand aside.

Sun Changde had been scared until his legs went soft. He thought of Lu Li"s background and momentarily felt that it wouldn"t end with him merely losing his job.

This young master of the Lu family could easily make it so, that he will never have a place to live again!

Sun Changde trembled, saying: "Doctor lu, I didn"t do it on purpose, I…"

With a "peng" sound, Lu Li"s fist landed on his face, actually knocking out his two front teeth, sending them flying.

Sun Changde"s features were panicked, but he didn"t dare retaliate, and could only lower his head, saying: "I know that I"m wrong, I won"t do it in the future, I absolutely won"t, again…"

Lu Li raised his foot, and his kick landed on his abdomen. Because his strength was excessive, it actually made him fly a full two or three meters away, cras.h.i.+ng against the cold and solid walls.

Sun Changde thought that his backbone was about to break. He didn"t think that Lu Li would actually possess such strength. It was too horrifying. If this went on, he would beaten to death!

Lu Li, on the other hand, didn"t feel that it had appeased his anger in the slightest. He thought about how lonely Xie Jianwei looked, thought about how the little youth had received such abuse, thought about how he was scared of ruining him even with the slightest touch, and yet others had been bullying him like so. He hands itched to kill these people!

Sun Changde had been beaten until his mouth spat fresh blood, the fear in his heart winning over.

This was the Lu family"s young master, who could cover the sky with a single hand. If he truly wanted to make someone like him die, he had no scruples entirely.

But…was it necessary?

Was it necessary to, for Xie Jianwei, …

Sun Changde didn"t dare to think too much into it. He was so scared that all he could do was sob, begging for mercy. Even words such as "don"t kill me", he said aloud.

Lu Li actually really stopped. He looked down on Sun Changde, the corner of his mouth raising, and an evil air, completely different from that of "Doctor Lu", spread out in all directions from him: "Of course I won"t kill you. After all, it is a society ruled by law."

Hearing his words, Sun Changde didn"t feel a single bit comforted, instead growing even more fearful.

Lu Li raised his hand, and he overturned the entire table of food onto the floor in a sudden motion.

Sun Changde"s face got covered in it.

But Sun Changde had truly been scared to his wits" end, and he didn"t even dare to dodge away.

Yet Lu Li"s voice once again rang out: "Such good things these are, to throw them away would be too much of a waste. I"ll still need to trouble the Steward Sun to eat it all bite by bite."

As soon as he dropped his words, his footstep landed on the expensive piece of steak with force.

Sun Changde stared, wide-eyed: "This…"

Lu Li said: "Don"t feel rushed, doesn"t this place have surveillance? I will look at it thoroughly, and look at what sort of stuff you people give the young master to eat every day, and then follow up with a grateful thanks."

He said the last two words coldly and darkly, and with it came an intense hatred.

Sun Changde looked up at Lu Li, as if he were seeing another person.

was that gentle and refined Doctor Lu? This was that Doctor Lu whose smile was like a mild breeze of spring? This was that Doctor Lu, who, because he hadn"t put on any airs, had not a single person see through his ident.i.ty?

No….this wasn"t!

Then who on earth was this?

Xie Jianwei turned off the phone screen just in time, putting on the pretence of intense boredom, drawing and scribbling on the desk.

When Lu Li walked in, he happily got up: "Doctor Lu you"re really not going today?"

Lu Li"s expression took a warm turn, but his eyes still carried in them a cold intent, his voice also low and rough: "From today onwards, I will always be with you."

Xie Jianwei opened his eyes wide in surprise: "I….am I hearing things?"

Lu Li swept him into his embrace, pressing down on his waist, his chin rested against his soft hair: "Don"t worry, there will never be anyone who can bully you again."

Xie Jianwei turned his arms and hugged onto him, uneasily saying: "I hope this isn"t a dream."

Lu Li"s heart softened into a puddle, and could only hold him tightly.

That night, Xie Jianwei slept in Lu Li"s embrace.

When he woke up, he looked at the empty bedside, and he called out softly: "Doctor Lu?"

Actually, to know where Lu Li went, Xie Jianwei only had to open his phone and check.

Of course, even without checking, he could also vaguely guess.

Not long after, Lu Li opened the door and came in. Catching sight of his lost expression as he sat on the bed, he once again felt a torrent of pain in his heart: "Come on, get up and eat."

Xie Jianwei hadn"t eaten last night, because the medical instructions that Lu Li had left were that he had to fast at night. After a gastrointestinal disorder had pa.s.sed in the stomach, it was best to let it stay empty for a while, helping to reduce its burden.

Of course, Xie JIanwei didn"t feel hungry either, since he had been given parenteral nutrition.

But now morning had come, and his stomach had long since started growling in hunger.

Then at the thought of Lu Li doing the cooking personally, he felt even hungrier.

His family"s Lu Li was a wild child from a desolate planet. His terrible childhood had made his abilities to be independency especially strong. Without even mentioning the other stuff, just his sleeve full of good culinary skills made Military Strategist Xie, who had eaten delicacies of every kind, give endless praise.

During the days when they had been at war for years on end, the troops" rations were considerably dismal. Despite that Xie Jianwei wasn"t picky, but as long as Lu Li had some time he would definitely open up the stove for him.

Every time he ate the food that Lu Li made, Xie Jianwei felt that he had picked up a treasure, a super big treasure.

It was a pity that when the battles had ended, after becoming Supreme Commander, Lu Li was so busy he practically flew off his feet – it seemed that he had never cooked since then.

Of course, at the time Xie Jianwei was still being supplied by him with houses of gold and houses of silver. Anything good, he could obtain with a reach of his hand, and a meal or two didn"t seem to be anything to fuss over.

But Xie Jianwei still missed it.

He missed that beautiful taste, and missed, even more, the focus that Lu Li had when he was single-mindedly, wholeheartedly doing something for him.

He was unable to eat it in reality, but to be able to once again taste it in the dream, Xie Jianwei was also very happy.

Lu Li had indeed cooked it himself, and had made a delicate, yet extremely nutritionally balanced breakfast.

Xie Jianwei"s forehead smoothed out, a smile in his eyes: "It looks very delicious."

Lu Li said: "If you like it, you can have it every day in the future."

Xie Jianwei took a bite of the fluffy and cute sanxian bao [2], his mood especially good: "I"ve never had such good food before."

The colour in Lu Li"s eyes deepened slightly, he said lightly: "There"s still a lot of yummy food."

"En!" Xie Jianwei was considerably pleased with this development.

As long as he revealed some clues, Lu Li could very quickly find the melon through the vines [3], digging up everything that "Xie Jianwei" had suffered through in these ten and some years.

The utter disregard of father Xie and mother Xie; the bullying of the master by the servants in the household; because the ignorant youth had gotten used to such a life, he hadn"t actually realised that there was anything strange about this.

Having been bullied for so many years, being given the cold shoulder, being harshly treated, his body"s recovery was delayed again and again. It not only robbed away his right to go to school, it moreover made him disconnect from society, becoming a helpless adolescent, with a great many issues in his psyche.

The more Lu Li knew the angrier he got. He wasn"t only angry at this bunch of impudent servants, he was moreso angry at Xie Jianwei"s parents.

Giving birth to offspring but not caring for them. Rather than have parents like this, it would"ve been better to not have any at all!

Lu Li knew, even if he told Father Xie and Mother Xie of the actions of Sun Changde, they probably wouldn"t care too much.

After all. the son was already ruined. And although they appeared to be together still, they"d in fact already split apart; each even had their own homes outside. Who would care about this burden, born of that unfortunate marriage?

They would punish Sun Changde, would replace them with a batch of new servants, but to what end? Even if one Sun Changde was gone, there would still be many more Sun Changde"s.

Without the attention of his parents, Xie Jianwei had no way of protecting himself.

So Lu Li did not, in fact, tell Father Xie and Mother Xie. He didn"t even chase away Sun Changde and co., although, of course, he wouldn"t let them serve at the front and centre. Having committed so many disgusting acts, they had basically destroyed a youth"s entire life. He would make them use the rest of their lives to repent for their crimes.

Xie Jianwei"s days had ascended from h.e.l.l into heaven within minutes.

In such a large house, only he and Lu Li were left.

With regards to anything concerning him – towards all of those things, Lu Li personally intervened, be it food, clothes, housing, or transportation; studying and music; even when sleeping they were together.

Naturally, Xie Jianwei stuck to him even more, and couldn"t leave him, even more.

Good days like so continued on for roughly a year"s worth of time.

One year later, the Fellow Student Lu Li, unwilling to remain out of the limelight, once again started adding drama. [4]

The weather was situated right at the beginning of spring. A huge patch of the cherry blossoms in the yard had bloomed, near and far, white and pink; like dolls of the rosy clouds of sunset, that had fallen from the horizon, so soft and cute, and very adorable.

Xie Jianwei"s home in reality also possessed a yard of cherry blossoms. Everybody else thought that the Military Strategist Xie was being poetic, that what he loved was the beauty of the cherry blossoms. But, in actuality, the Military Strategist was being very down to earth; what he was looking forward to were the sweet cherries. When he looked at the blooms of cherry blossoms, his brain was filled with glittering cherries. Made into a sweet and sour cherry cake, or fermented into cherry liqueur, was very pleasing too.

As a large hole opened up in Military Strategist Xie"s brain [5], the gate to the yard was opened.

Xie Jianwei peered at the tall silhouette in the distance, and was just wondering: How come he"s back so early today?

He adjusted his mood a bit, and dished up a huuugeee hug for "Lu Li".

As a result, as soon as he latched on, he immediately noticed that something was off.

He wanted to struggle out, but it was a pity that the other party"s strength was very big, and refused to let go when hugging him.

Xie Jianwei: "…" You guys might not believe it even if I said it, but Lord Miltary Strategist had a hundred different ways he could use to knock down this "lecher".

The "lecher" snickered, his voice filled with mirth: "Such a sweet little beauty, no wonder my let down of a younger brother would hide you away in a house of gold" [6]

Xie Jianwei frowned, dissatisfied. His anger metre was steadily acc.u.mulating…

The "lecher" was pretty sensible though, and loosened his grip after hugging. He wore a face that was exactly the same as Lu Li"s, but his smile was teasing, and yet facetious: "Don"t get mad, I"m Lu li"s elder brother, Lu Yan."

Xie Jianwei sized him up, and his heart gave a thump.

Just who on earth was this?

Lu Yan?

Wasn"t that an alias that Lu Li had used in the past?

Lu Li was also looking him up and down, and after looking for a while, he said with a smile: "Really good looking. So good looking I want to put a pen around you, and raise you carefully."

Xie Jianwei didn"t respond to his impudent words, cautiously asking: "You…are Doctor Lu"s elder brother?"

Lu Li pointed at his face, said: "Don"t we look alike?"

Xie Jianwei: "…" You look alike; you look too much alike. You"re completely carved from the same mold.  

Lu Li said: "It"s a strange thing to speak of; we"ve the same father but different mothers, I"m even older than him by a year, and yet the result is that we look exactly the same."

Xie Jianwei said in his heart: there were logicless things in the dream galore, what"s so strange about this.

Lu Yan and Lu Li looked exactly the same, but their personalities were poles apart. One could tell at first glance that he wasn"t one for peace, and he stared at Xie Jianwei for a while before asking: "What"re you called?"

Xie Jianwei said his name.

Lu Yan laughed, said: "It sounds really nice, like a girl"s."

Xie Jianwei: "…" WIth such a bad mouth you"ll get beaten up bro.

Lu Yan saw that he was somewhat mad, and, like performing a magic trick, took out a little something from behind him: "A meeting gift for you."

It was a very delicately crafted little box. Xie Jianwei had no knowledge of the antiques from the Earth Era, and so was wholly in the dark as to what this was.

Lu Li said: "This is something good. I"ll show you."

Then he poked at the little box, and the box immediately opened, becoming a flatscreen of a few tens of inches, Lu Li"s figure displayed within.

Xie Jianwei realised that this was probably the display end of a surveillance device.

But he needed to keep up his pretense, and so deliberately said in a surprised manner: "Doctor Lu!"

Lu Yan laughed: "Have you ever seen the Doctor Lu like this?"

The Lu Li in the display had on a doctor"s coat, and was focused on his work at the hospital.

Xie Jianwei had seen a lot of what Lu Li looked like in a suit of martial attire, but he had indeed never seen him like this, so he was very interested.

Lu Yan though, pressed the picture close.

Xie Jianwei"s face revealed his dissatisfaction.

Lu Yan said: "Do you still want to see?"

Xie Jianwei was just wondering what sort of wicked tricks he was up to, so he went along with it, and said: "I want to."

Lu Yan said: "Then you must promise me something."

Xie Jianwei said cautiously: "What thing?"

"Don"t be scared." Lu Yan comforted him. "It"s nothing bad."

Xie Jianwei revealed to him an expression of distrust.

Lu Yan"s thin lips rose slightly, said: "Don"t tell Lu Li I came by."

Xie Jianwei asked: "Why?"

Lu Yan said it casually, but he was actually very calculating: "He takes you for a treasure, hiding and tucking you away, fearing that you"ll be seen by other people. If he knew that I came to find you, he"ll definitely be angry."

Xie Jianwei frowned slightly.

Lu Yan knew his weakness: "You don"t want Doctor Lu to be angry either right?"

Xie Jianwei hurriedly said: "I don"t want that!"

Lu Yan"s smile was laden with insinuation: "That"s it."

Xie Jianwei felt that there was something not quite right about it, but he couldn"t figure out what it was. But of course, this was faked; the Military Strategist Xie understood very well, and had basically guessed already the sort of idea that this b.a.s.t.a.r.d – he wasn"t sure whether he was Lu Li or not – had struck upon.

As a reward for Xie Jianwei"s "obedience", Lu Yan once again prodded open that little box, and Xie Jianwei once again saw Doctor Lu in the middle of work.

Lu Yan even well-intendedly explained: "Your Doctor Lu"s quite the capable one. Even though lately he hasn"t really gone up to the operating table, but the topics he"s researching have increased in number, and the results he"s taken out are comparable to him making tens of operations."

Xie Jianwei felt honoured: "Of course Doctor Lu"s amazing."

Lu Yan said again: "Such an amazing Doctor Lu, do you want to see him every day?"

Lu Yan smiled: "It"s only for breakfast and dinner right? You"re sure that the time you spend with him is as long as his time with his students?"

As if to confirm his words, a man with a gracefully beautiful visage appeared in the image.

Lu Yan pointed at him, saying: "Look, that"s his student; he"s graduated for a year now, and has followed Lu Li all along."  

Xie Jianwei pursed his lips, making not a sound.

Lu Yan understood very much when enough was enough, and he swiped a little across the screen, once again locking onto Lu Li"s body: "If you want to know more, then wait for me here tomorrow again."

Xie Jianwei hesitated for a little, but in the end still asked: "Just what do you want to do?" Although he played the role of a pure adolescent, he wasn"t an idiot.

Lu Yan stared at him, his handsome brows raising, and he actually stopped hiding his intentions: "I"m interested in you."

Suspicion filled Xie Jianwei"s eyes.

Lu Yan then rapidly restrained his own emotions, pulling away from the topic, saying: "As a brother, paying some attention to the younger brother"s life, is very normal."

Xie Jianwei wanted to speak, but Lu Yan said again: "He locked you up without a word for a year. Of course I had to check out what was going on."

Xie Jianwei said: "Doctor Lu didn"t lock me up."

Lu Yan didn"t say anything, smiling: "Then have you ever walked out of this residence?"

Xie Jianwei paused for a moment.

Lu Yan asked him again: "Your body"s a lot better than it was before right?"

Xie Jianwei said: "This is to the credit of Doctor Lu!"

Lu Yan smiled slightly: "That"s right, this is the result of his work. He"s raised you so well, and yet he also doesn"t dare to let you go out."

Xie Jianwei got anxious: "It"s not like what you"re saying."

Lu Yan said: "Okay okay, don"t be mad, just think for yourself a little – you"re already seventeen, and logically, you should be attending your college entrance exams next year, experiencing the rich life of college, but you haven"t even gone out the door before…"

Xie Jianwei dissatisfiedly said: "It"s not that Doctor Lu doesn"t let me go out, it"s that I don"t want to!"

Lu Yan didn"t persist either, and instead went with him, saying: "En en, it"s your decision."

Xie Jianwei wanted to say something else, but Lu Yan looked at the time, then said: "I need to go, I"ll come back to play with you tomorrow."

Xie Jianwei siad: "I don"t want to see you again…"

He hadn"t finished speaking yet, when Lu Yan pointed at the little box in his hands: "Do you still want to see Doctor Lu?"

Xie Jianwei paused.

Lu Yan waved his hands, saying: "See you tomorrow."

Xie Jianwei knew what Lu Yan wanted to do. It was nothing other than to sow discord, to make conflict appear between him and Lu Li, to expose some matters that had been hidden.

This proceeding was very right. And Xie Jianwei had been waiting for it all along. There were some things that had to be pulled out first to be treated.  

Blindly avoiding things would only drag it on for longer and longer, allowing the "illness" to worsen, and by the time he wanted to treat it, there might not be a cure.

Xie Jianwei could continue to act along with the flow, but he was somewhat unsure of Lu Yan"s ident.i.ty.

Was he Lu Li or not?

If so, what should he do?

Heal two personalities in one go? Was that even possible?

In the afternoon, Lu Li came back very early, and even brought back a lot of fresh ingredients.

Xie Jianwei scooted over, wanting to help him, when Lu Li said: "Wait in the room, the food will be ready in a few."

Xie Jianwei didn"t want to go, circling him round and round: "I want to help too."

Helplessness filled Lu Li"s eyes: "Go take out the cuc.u.mber, then."

Xie Jianwei hurriedly replied: "Okay!"

Taking out the cuc.u.mber, Xie jianwei said again; "How about I just directly wash it?"

Lu Li said: "No need, the water"s too cold, don"t touch it."

Xie Jianwei said again: "Then I"ll cut some tomatoes."

Lu Li was even more direct, saying: "No."

Xie Jianwei said: "I won"t cut myself."

Lu Li put down the things in his hands, turning his head to look at him: "Be good, wait outside."

Xie Jianwei had no more moves, and could only guard by the door, watching Lu Li busy himself.

Lu Li was especially charming when he was focused on doing something, and as Xie Jianwei watched him, his heart felt tickled. But he wasn"t of age yet, and Lu Li"s principles were very strong, and so wasn"t going to touch him no matter what.

And yet this "fake gentlemen" appearance of his was just so d.a.m.n handsome.

Xie Jianwei was somehow seduced out of the blue. He felt that he couldn"t stand here anymore; if he kept standing, his character setting would collapse!

He circled round to the dining room, and it wasn"t too long before Lu Li brought the dishes to the table.

Xie Jianwei was drinking cold water to put out the fire.

But Lu Li took a glance, and frowning, said: "Don"t overindulge in coldness."

As he spoke, he went to take the gla.s.s of water, but Xie Jianwei was coincidently about to put down the gla.s.s. Upon their hands intersecting, the two actually directly let the gla.s.s of water drop.

The gla.s.s still had over half a cup of water in it, and with this, all of it spilt on Xie Jianwei"s body.

In the early spring weather, Xie Jianwei wasn"t wearing much already, and upon contact with the water, his body was instantly drenched.

Lu Li was worried that he would catch a cold, and immediately tugged over a towel, saying: "It was my carelessness."

As he spoke, he helped him unb.u.t.ton, and wiped away the moisture.

Xie Jianwei was already pretty restless, and the dry heat that had been suppressed when he drank the cold water was once again tugged this way and that by him until it was instantaneously pulled up again.  

There was quite a bit of water just then too, so his pants got wet as well, and now that he got excited, a certain part couldn"t be more obvious.  

Lu Li dipped his head and looked at it, visibly pausing for a moment.

The reddening on Xie Jianwei"s face was the real deal. He stuttered: "I…I…"

Lu Li"s line of sight hadn"t moved, his voice completely dry: "You…"

Xie Jianwei could only play the shameless card: "I don"t know what happened either."

Lu Li asked him: "Do you need my help?"

He had purposefully lowered his voice. Xie Jianwei almost went tiptoe and kissed him.

Dinner had been slightly pushed back, and Xie Jianwei shot for the first time in a while. Although he felt that it wasn"t quite enough, but with Lu Li so seriously suppressing himself, he wasn"t too comfortable with asking for more.

Upon coming out after was.h.i.+ng up, Lu Li also carried with him an air of dampness.

Except, the air around Xie Jianwei"s body was hot, and Lu Li"s was cold. After all, one of them had comfortably soaked in a hot water bath, and one had taken a chilly cold water shower.

Having eaten, Lu Li routinely tutored Xie Jianwei"s on his courses.

Despite not having attended school, the things that Xie Jianwei should have learnt hadn"t been dropped. And, because his studying ability was strong, Lu Li taught especially quickly, and his studies had practically caught up with high school students.

After studying was done, Lu Li then watched some television with Xie Jianwei. It was only until 10 o"clock at night, did the two finally get on bed to rest.

Lu Li embraced Xie Jianwei, deep asleep, and gently pressed a kiss to his lips.

He had meticulously taken care of him for a year, and now that Xie Jianwei"s body had mostly recovered already, the pallidness had faded from his skin, and it radiated an extremely pretty l.u.s.tre. His body had originally been scrawny, and had toughened up quite a bit too, and his b.u.t.t had gained extra flesh, though his waist was still so thin.

What Lu Li feared the most was Xie Jianwei leaning against his chest with his back towards him. That perky little a.s.s was tempting him every moment and every second, tempting him to invade, to possess, and then to sink into depravity.

Lu Li thought that perhaps he should sleep on separate beds from Xie Jianwei. He didn"t know if he would be able to endure until he came of age.

A year"s worth of time. There was only a year left. It seemed very short, and yet also extremely long.

Because happiness and torment had become paradoxically staggered together.

On the second day, when Lu Li went to work, Lu Yan once again came without an invitation.

Xie Jianwei wanted to continue observing still. He needed to deduce just whether or not Lu Yan was another one of Lu Li"s personalities.

If he wasn"t, then all was well, he could just abuse him to death.

If he was…"

Xie Jianwei was worried that if he abused too harshly, a single Lu Yan would turn into two Lu Li"s.

At that time, even if he appeased the current Lu Li, he would still have made a losing bargain.

Lu Yan had apparently taken Xie Jianwei to be a child to coax. He brought over a pink little box. On the surface there were even drawings of a circle of little dancing princesses, and on the handle at the very top there was even a ring of resplendent gold mounted on it. The entire box was so elaborate it practically emitted rosy bubbles.

Xie Jianwei thought inwardly: He"s really taken me for a girl?

Lu Yan was super resourceful though; he opened up the small box, exposing the thing inside.

"Cherry cake, wanna eat?"

Xie Jianwei: "…" Lu Yan you"re very suspicious ah, knowing my tastes so well.

Lu Yan pinched a full and juicy red cherry about the size of a pigeon"s egg, coaxingly said: "Have a taste, it"s really sweet."

Xie Jianwei reservedly said: "Doctor Lu said already, I can"t eat things from a stranger."

Lu Yan laughed, saying: "I"m not a stranger though, I"m your Doctor Lu"s blood-related brother."

Xie Jianwei stubbornly said: "But I don"t know you."

Lu Yan put on a disappointed expression: "We were playing so well yesterday, so how come today we don"t know each other again?"

Xie Jianwei said: "n.o.body played well with you yesterday!"

Lu Yan didn"t get angry though, and instead the laughter in his eyes deepened, and he ate a big cherry himself, sighing in praise: "So sweet."

Xie Jianwei: "…" You b.a.s.t.a.r.dly thing, how dare you not continue to threaten me!

And yet this guy just didn"t play according to common sense. He brought a cake over, but it didn"t seem like it was for Xie Jianwei to eat, more like it was his own breakfast.

The cake wasn"t big, only 6 inches. The cherries on top were too big as well, and so there weren"t many placed on there. As he watched him eat about five or six, Xie Jianwei was very anxious. Have mercy with your mouth ah, you glutton!

Lu Yan gave Xie JIanwei a glance: "Do you want to eat?"

Xie Jianwei stubbornly suppressed himself: "Not eating!"

Lu Yan: "Then forget it. Even though I don"t like eating sweet things, these cherries are truly pretty good."

As he talked, he ate another three, and Xie Jianwei"s heart bled. Can"t we stick to the plot anymore? Did you bring the cake to make me angry?

When only half of the cherries were left, Lu Yan finally remembered his business: "Do you want to see Doctor Lu today?"

It finally came, XIe Jianwei thought inwardly.

Lu Yan said: "Today Doctor Lu has a public presentation today, it seems that it"s very interesting."

Xie Jianwei said in a small voice: "I wanna see."

Lu Yan pointed at the cherries that were left, saying: "Then eat them up."

Xie Jianwei thought: If you had said that earlier I would have eaten it earlier, but you just had to wait until now, so many cherries have been lost in vain!

Of course, Xie Jianwei still had to keep up appearances: "I"m not eating strangers" things!"

Lu Yan said: "Then forget about looking at Doctor Lu."

Xie JIanwei turned his head to glare at him.

Lu Yan"s lips rose in smile. Under the thin light of early morning, he was incredibly handsome.

Xie Jianwei fittingly wavered a little, and at last, compromised, saying: "I"ll eat." He finally got to taste the sweet big cherries.

After he had eaten four or five of them, Lu Yan evilly laughed, saying: "Having eaten my things, you now belong to me."

Xie Jianwei"s hands paused, immediately dropping the cherry.

Lu Yan was sent into a fit of laughter by him, immediately saying: "Okay okay, I"m kidding with you, quickly eat, it won"t be fresh after too long."

Xie Jianwei looked at him, somewhat nervous.  

Lu Yan flicked the middle of his forehead, lightly sighing: "What a big baby you are."

Listening to the unintentionally elongated syllable at the end, Xie Jianwei"s heart thumped.

There was a nine out of ten chance that this was Lu Li.

After eating those cherries, Xie Jianwei thought that the amount was just right. Now he understood why Lu Yan had to eat half. It was because the cherry cake, to Xie Jianwei"s body, was quite an overload, so if he ate it all, his stomach probably would feel uncomfortable.

Lu Yan helped him take care of half of it, and the amount left over was just right. It satisfied his cravings, and he wouldn"t feel uncomfortable after. Even though the way he went about it was pretty hateful, but the result was good.

Xie Jianwei figured that in a moment he needed to go out for a bit, and ask Yan Ke just what was going on with this.

Lu Yan looked at the time and said: "Here, come and see your your Doctor Lu."

Xie Jianwei naturally put on an expression of antic.i.p.ation.

The little box was prodded upon, and Lu Li"s figure appeared on the screen.

Xie Jianwei watched unblinkingly, and Lu Yan also watched unblinkingly.

Just that, one of them was watching Lu Li, and the other was watching Xie Jianwei.

Lu Li was doing a subject lecture, and there were many chief doctors below. The scene very serious.

Xie Jianwei was very focused when watching, and a lecture that, to outsiders, was considerably bland, he listened with relish.

Lu Yan asked him: "Can you understand it?"

Xie Jianwei said: "I love listening to anything that Doctor Lu says."

Just because he liked to listen didn"t mean he could understand it. Lu Yan smiled, said: "You truly are a good child."

Xie Jianwei ignored him, merely staring unblinkingly at the screen.

After a moment, the lecture had finished, and Lu Li prepared to leave. Yet Lu Yan straightened to attention.

The camera lens had been chasing Lu Li this whole time, so when Lu Li walked out of the podium, Xie Jianwei could follow along.

But it was at this moment that another person appeared in the image.

Lu Yan said: "Speaking of which, this student of Lu Li"s features are truly pretty good."

XIe Jianwei knew him. He saw him yesterday too; Lu Yan said this was Lu Li"s student, and had followed Lu Li for a year now.

Xie Jianwei bit his lips, and Lu Yan said again: "What do you hear them say? Some professional nouns are really pretty hard to get."

Even if Xie Jianwei could understand he still had to pretend he didn"t. He furrowed his brows, and slowly walked into the pit Lu yan dug.

There was a sudden low cry from someone in the screen. It turned out that the student had accidentally been knocked by somebody.

Lu Li moved and steadied him, and the student watched him with his head tilted up, an unconcealable emotion sparkling in his pair of eyes: "Many thanks to Teacher."

Lu Li smiled at him: "It"s nothing."

At this moment, Lu Yan pressed the pause key, and stopped the image right on Lu Li"s smile.

Xie Jianwei was dazed for a bit.

Lu Yan spoke timingly: "What a pity that Little Jianwei didn"t go to school, Otherwise, with your smarts, you could definitely get into the medical school, and when you graduate you could intern by Lu Li"s side…"

Xie Jianwei was visibly swayed.

Lu Yan was very understanding of when to stop. Once his goal had been reached he didn"t stay any longer.

Xie Jianwei waited until he had left, then he left the dreamscape.

Yan Ke said with great exclamation: "My Lord, you finally woke up!"

Xie Jianwei asked: "What"s wrong."

Yan Ke said: "Lord Supreme Commander"s dream this time has two personalities in it!"

Xie Jianwei: "…" So Lu Yan really was Lu Li as well?

Yan Ke understood at a glance: "Could you have already met the other personality?"

Xie Jianwei explained everything roughly.

Yan Ke blinked, saying: "My Lord, what are you so worried about?"

"En?" Xie Jianwei looked at him.

Yan Ke said: "Why would you worry than Lu Yan would split apart?"

Xie Jianwei paused, and his bent thoughts gradually turned in the right direction.

Yan Ke, as a bystander, saw more clearly, and directly pointed it out, saying: "Lu Yan is already convinced that the one you like is Lu Li. So then as long as you follow the setting, it won"t cause him to split apart again."

Said frankly, don"t be soft-hearted, and abuse him to the death.

Xie Jianwei: "…"

• • •

The author has something to say: Two President Dramas and one Drama [doge face]

[1] So uh the name was 三更合一 which, with the help of other tls apparently means "three updates (chapters) in one" which would explain why this chapter was so d.a.m.n long…

[2] Sanxian bao: a type of bun, usually pork. Here are pics from google:

[3] 顺藤摸瓜 – through the vines, touch the melon: pretty self-explanatory, describing one being able to follow the given hints to the final prize thingo – a melon in the idiom, and in LL"s case, XJW"s "tragic childhood" within the dream.

[4] 不甘寂寞 – not being satisfied with being neglected / overlooked / lonely – being eager to seek publicity – attention wh.o.r.e :p

[5] 脑洞 – brain hole, basically. You"ll see it translated as brain pit frequently too. Translated from Baidu: ""Brain pit" refers to when a big hole has opened up in the brain, and is filled with the super strong strength of imagination and strength of s.e.xual fantasising." It"s basically describing someone"s imagination as very rich, to the extent where it"s bizzare."

[6] 金屋藏娇 – Hiding Jiao within a golden house: This one"s interesting – the most popular version of the story behind this idiom is as follows, summarised from Baidu: Way back in history there was an emperor called Han Ying Emperor and he had this Concubine he really liked, surnamed w.a.n.g. Concubine w.a.n.g had a son that was really favoured, his name is Liu Che.

Jiao, on the other hand, called Ah Jiao in here, is the daughter of the emperor"s younger sister Princess Chang (incest warning) who was originally supposed to marry the Crown Prince (son of Empress). But because the Empress held a grudge against Ah Jiao"s mum for introducing so many concubines to the Emperor and hence taking away his attention from her she said no to the marriage. Concubine w.a.n.g took advantage of the situation and Princess Chang to agree to marry Ah Jiao to Liu Che. When the marriage was brought up to the Emperor, Princess Chang asked him whether he would like to marry Ah Jiao, and he smiled, saying: "If I had Ah Jiao as a wife, I would use a golden house to hide her away." Hence resulting in the saying. (There was a lot more drama on the Baidu page but this is basically it)