Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Tian Ruan: How’s it going? What did Yu Shang say?

Tian Ruan: Did you two fight? Did you kiss?

Tian Ruan: Minors shouldn’t do anything reckless!

Text after text to Lu Qiuyan went unanswered.

Tian Ruan fidgeted restlessly. Missing out on the hot gossip between the protagonist couple made him feel like an ant crawling on a hot pan, fidgeting like crazy. The creamy strawberry suddenly tasted bland and dropped from his mouth.

A broad, elegant hand caught the half-eaten strawberry. "Waste not, want not. Ever heard of that?"

Tian Ruan met Yu Jingmo’s calm gaze and quietly tucked his phone into his pocket. "I wasn’t wasting it. If it fell on the floor, I could’ve just washed it and eaten it."

Yu Jingmo very naturally ate the remaining half. "Still edible."

"..."

Then, Tian Ruan was dragged upstairs by Yu Jingmo and kissed senseless. Their lips and tongues were sweet with the taste of creamy frosting and faint traces of strawberry.

Liu Ma came upstairs with their nightly milk and suddenly saw a tall figure pressing a slightly slimmer one against the wall. Not wanting to stare, she quickly set the milk down and hurried downstairs.

Once downstairs, she let out a long sigh, fanning her flushed face as she sought out the butler, Auntie Zhang, and anyone else she could gossip with: "I saw Mr. Yu and his husband kissing!"

Within just ten minutes, the whole household knew.

But really, what was so surprising about Mr. Yu and his husband kissing? Wasn’t that perfectly normal?

In the second-floor hallway, by the time Yu Jingmo finally stopped his plundering, Tian Ruan was completely wrecked, lips puffy and face burning.

"...I still have school tomorrow," Tian Ruan murmured, pushing against Yu Jingmo’s chest. The firm muscles beneath his palms made his head spin, but his mind remained somewhat clear.

Yu Jingmo traced the soft, moist lips of the young man with his thumb, tasting the lingering sweetness of strawberries on his teeth and tongue. "Mm."

Despite his words, his breath was way too close, their lips nearly touching again. Tian Ruan’s mouth was subjected to another one-sided attack. He ducked low, slipping out like a shot from under Yu Jingmo’s arm, and dashed back to the guest room, slamming the door shut.

"..." Yu Jingmo slowly straightened, his arm still braced against the wall.

Then, he noticed a tray by the corner with two simple white mugs. Picking it up, he knocked on the guest room door. "Drink your milk before sleeping."

After a moment, Tian Ruan peeked out, revealing messy hair as he reached out. "Give it here."

Yu Jingmo handed him the mug, perfectly warm. "Drink it quickly, or it’ll get cold."

"Mm." Tian Ruan’s eyes shone. "Goodnight, Mr. Yu."

"Call me 'husband.'"

Tian Ruan shut the door.

Yu Jingmo chuckled. It wasn’t like he hadn’t called him that before—why was he still so shy?

After drinking his milk and taking a shower, Tian Ruan checked his phone one last time before bed. Still no reply from Lu Qiuyan. In his drowsy state, he texted—"Tell Yu Shang to wear a condom"—before drifting off.

In his dreams, steamy scenes unfolded. Tian Ruan was all set to crash their wedding night, only to somehow end up being swept into the bedroom by Yu Jingmo instead.

Yu Jingmo said, "Let’s have our own wedding night first."

Tian Ruan was hesitant but ultimately gave in...

When he woke up, Tian Ruan experienced what happens to every teenage boy after a wet dream—his pants were damp.

Mortified, he took off his pajama bottoms and washed them himself in the bathroom. Then, for the first time, he diligently took a morning shower. The slightly cool water not only washed away the evidence but also made him sneeze several times.

With dread, Tian Ruan changed his clothes and opened WeChat—

Lu Qiuyan: You *&%@

Lu Qiuyan: One day, I’m going to yank your pants down and dump you on Yu Jingmo’s bed.

Lu Qiuyan: And I won't provide condoms either.

Tian Ruan: "..."

So scary.

Not daring to challenge Zhu Jueshou’s authority any further, Tian Ruan sent a crying emoji.

Lu Qiuyan: Puppy eyes won't work. Just wait.

Tian Ruan: ...

He’d only wanted to watch the drama—was he really going to get beaten up?

With a heavy heart, Tian Ruan went downstairs. Spotting Yu Shang, he had a sudden idea: "Yu Shang, you have to protect me today."

Yu Shang looked expressionlessly at his dad's nonsense.

Tian Ruan: "Lu Qiuyan wants to hit me."

Yu Shang: "Serves you right."

Tian Ruan: "...Are you even my dear son?"

Yu Shang: "No."

Giving up on Yu Shang, Tian Ruan decided to win back Lu Qiuyan on his own. After breakfast, he made sure to ask Liu Ma to pack extra chicken legs in his lunchbox and brought along a large bag of snacks.

Yu Jingmo laughed: "Is this your way of apologizing?"

"Yep."

"Don’t worry. If you do get hit, the bodyguards will stop it after one hit."

"..." Tian Ruan flinched. "It’d be best if he doesn’t hit me at all. I’ll allow the bodyguards to shadow me closely today."

On the way, the Maybach slowly pulled over. Tian Ruan said dramatically, like a doomed man, "Mr. Yu, I’m off."

Yu Jingmo looked at Tian Ruan, carrying a lunchbox in one hand, a bag of snacks in the other, and a backpack slung over his shoulder. "Let the bodyguards carry those for you."

"No need, I can manage." Tian Ruan wanted to wave but couldn’t lift his hands, so he just mouthed, "Goodbye, Mr. Yu."

"I’ll pick you up after school." With that, Yu Jingmo closed the car door, and the vehicle merged into traffic.

Mao Qi and three bodyguards followed behind Tian Ruan. "Madam, let me carry that for you."

Tian Ruan refused: "No need. When I see Lu Qiuyan, I’ll just drape these over his hood."

As expected, about ten minutes later, Lu Qiuyan's classic 28-inch bicycle (a vintage Chinese bicycle model) became the coolest thing on the entire street, speeding toward Tian Ruan faster than usual and nearly crashing into him.

"Shield him!" The bodyguards swiftly formed a defensive line, as if facing a threat.

The atmosphere instantly turned hostile.

Students from other schools passing by watched the scene uneasily, not daring to approach.

Lu Qiuyan flicked his bicycle bell. "You crazy?"

Tian Ruan quickly broke through the bodyguard barrier, holding out the snacks with an eager smile. "I brought you lots of goodies from home—all for you. And there's a home-packed lunch too..."

Lu Qiuyan stared at him. "You actually thought I’d be mad?"

Tian Ruan hung the snacks on his handlebars, then paused. "Of course I did. Why?"

It’s normal to worry about upsetting a friend, right?

Lu Qiuyan looked flustered. "Then what's with all the bodyguards?"

Tian Ruan: "...I was also afraid of getting beaten up."

Lu Qiuyan scoffed. "You seriously thought I’d hit you?"

Tian Ruan brightened. "You wouldn’t? Then it's settled—you can never hit me, or else you have to dance bare-assed in front of Yu Shang."

Lu Qiuyan: "Get lost."

Thunder grumbled across the sky, and Tian Ruan quickly jumped closer to Lu Qiuyan for protection. "I'll never run my mouth again, I promise! I'm sorry!"

"??"

The thunder stopped, as if issuing a warning for Tian Ruan to watch his words.

Tian Ruan blinked. He behaved himself, clearing his mind of any dirty thoughts and focusing on being an ordinary background character.

But he was still curious. "Did Yu Shang find the bar last night?"

"Yeah," Lu Qiuyan said indifferently.

"Then was he angry when he saw you working there?"

"Guess so."

"And then?"

"He brought the police and had all the underage kids arrested."

"Huh?" Tian Ruan was floored. In the original novel, Yu Shang and Lu Qiuyan had a blowout fight and didn't reconcile until two days later.

Lu Qiuyan was equally dumbfounded. "What kind of move was that?"

Tian Ruan: "...Classic him."

In the original author's writing, for the sake of drama, the main couple had frequent arguments, misunderstandings, and third-wheel drama. But upon closer inspection, many plot points didn't align with their personalities.

Someone as by-the-book and principled as Yu Shang wouldn't prioritize teen drama over principles.

"And then?" Tian Ruan pushed.

Lu Qiuyan: "Those people were taken away, had their parents summoned, wrote self-criticisms, got a stern talking-to, or were held overnight to straighten out."

"What about you? Weren't you taken away?"

"My ID says I'm an adult. Yu Shang doesn’t get a say."

"No fight?"

Lu Qiuyan frowned at the question: "He hardly said a word. How could we argue?"

A fight would've been better. What really got to Lu Qiuyan was Yu Shang's sudden silence, like he’d done him some great wrong.

Tian Ruan: "So, he skipped the fight and went straight to the silent treatment."

Lu Qiuyan had no experience in this area, especially since he and Yu Shang were still in that weird in-between phase. He asked, "What do you do after a cold shoulder?"

Tian Ruan scrambled his brain, "...You sweet-talk him."

"How? And don't say kissing or anything like that."

Tian Ruan thought hard again, trying to remember how he'd sweet-talked Yu Jingmo—uh, actually, he never had. "If you don't know how to sweet-talk, just turn on the charm."

Lu Qiuyan: "Impossible."

A moment later.

Lu Qiuyan: "How do you turn on the charm?"

This was Tian Ruan's expertise. He explained seriously, "Call him 'Mr. President,' then say you're sorry."

Lu Qiuyan wasn’t convinced. "That's all it takes?"

"Definitely!" Tian Ruan was dead certain. Yu Shang was easy to sweet-talk—he’d even get over it on his own. That’s just how a leading man rolls.

So at lunch, Lu Qiuyan made a point of waiting for Yu Shang.

Though angry, Yu Shang hadn't forgotten to bring Lu Qiuyan a lunchbox. This time, he'd covered the bag with leftover cat stickers from Liu Ma, so it wouldn’t get tossed out like trash again.

Stone-faced now with the lunchbox, stone-faced later doing laundry.

Tian Ruan gave Lu Qiuyan an encouraging nod—showtime, go for it!

Lu Qiuyan cleared his throat: "Mr. President..."

Yu Shang noticeably paused, giving him a blank stare.

Lu Qiuyan: "Mr. President, he apologizes." He pointed at Tian Ruan.

Tian Ruan: "???"

Yu Shang turned to Tian Ruan.

Tian Ruan: "Huh?"

Lu Qiuyan eyed Yu Shang. "You’re not mad anymore, right?"

Yu Shang had no words.

Lu Qiuyan: "Tian Ruan, that was useless."

Tian Ruan was exasperated: "It's you who's wrong, not me."

Lu Qiuyan nodded, regrouping himself, and said to Yu Shang, "President, you're wrong."

Yu Shang: "..."

Tian Ruan: "..."

Tian Ruan nearly lost it right then—so Zhu Jueshou can never be wrong, is that it?

Lu Qiuyan: "What, still mad? I already tried to make it up to you."

Yu Shang: "......"

If this counted as making it up, they'd probably only meet again in the next lifetime.

Yu Shang was so angry he laughed: "No use getting angry with you. You never listen to what I say anyway."

Lu Qiuyan explained patiently: "You know my family situation. I only go to the bar for part-time work."

"Hmph." Yu Shang picked up his chopsticks to eat, lowering his gaze without another word.

The dining hall was still crowded with students from other schools today. As a student from another school passed by, the soup bowl on his tray suddenly tipped over, spilling scalding hot soup—

Tian Ruan watched helplessly as the soup splashed toward Lu Qiuyan, "Hey!"

With a clatter, the bowl shattered on the floor, the hot soup splashing entirely onto Lu Qiuyan's arm. Even through his clothes, the heat stung. He frowned, displeased, and glared at the student from another school.

The student: "Sorry about that." He turned to leave.

"Go to the school nurse's office, quick!" Tian Ruan said, pointing at the boy. "You too!"

The boy: "I already apologized, what more do you want? Are students from prep schools really this delicate?"

Yu Shang shot him an icy glare. "Was that intentional or accidental?"

"Of course it was an accident."

"Your uniform says you're from Second High School. You're wearing a basketball jersey underneath, so you must be playing against Deyin this afternoon."

"So what?"

"What a coincidence. Lu Qiuyan is also on the basketball team and will compete in the interschool championship. Are you really this afraid of losing?"

The boy slammed his tray. "What nonsense! Prep schools sure love slandering people."

Yu Shang couldn't be bothered arguing further. He grabbed Lu Qiuyan. "Let's go to the school nurse's office."

Lu Qiuyan: "It's just a small burn, no big deal."

Yu Shang's expression was stern. "Get it treated."

Lu Qiuyan was about to decline—a small burn was no worse than a kick to him—but when he saw Yu Shang's face, it suddenly clicked. He said, "President, I'm not wrong."

Yu Shang: "...You're not wrong. Go to the school nurse's office."

Tian Ruan cleared the lunch tray and, after some thought, delivered the signature line to the troublemaker: "Daring to mess with someone under the student council president's watch? You're done for. Boom!"

The boy stared blankly: '...'

"What was that about?"

Today, once again, Tian Ruan proved himself the perfect supporting character. Mao Qi silently snapped a picture of the scene and sent it to Yu Jingmo.