Chapter 60: Chapter 60 “I Always Remember.”…

Chapter 60

"I've always remembered."...

The final month of senior year felt like time had been fast-forwarded—graduation ceremonies, photo shoots, yearbook signings...

During that period, Lu Zhishi's hand ached from writing so many yearbook messages. Many classmates and underclassmen sought him out to pen auspicious phrases like "Ace your exams," "A bright future ahead," and "Rising success in your studies."

Under a clear blue sky, the class photo was taken on the school field. Everyone wore light blue uniforms; the girls had applied subtle makeup and styled their hair meticulously.

The boys, too, washed their faces in the restroom, tidied their hair, and headed to the field, arms slung over shoulders, chatting and laughing as they gathered for the photo.

Lu Zhishi and Zhao Xiaoxing stood in the back row, nestled among their male classmates, smiling at the camera with the innocent, carefree expressions typical of seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds.

After the class photo, the male P.E. representative gathered the boys to sit on the grassy field, flashing peace signs for another group shot. Lu Zhishi and Zhao Xiaoxing squeezed into the middle, their smiles outshining the sunlight.

Lu Zhishi, Zhao Xiaoxing, Lan Lan, and Xi Yue, having known each other the longest, shared a bond deeper than their other classmates. They sat together on the large platform opposite the field, smiling for another group photo.

"Happy graduation, everyone!!"

The school dismissed students a week before the college entrance exams, and graduates gradually packed up their textbooks and belongings from the classroom to take home.

While Lu Zhishi and Zhao Xiaoxing were out for lunch, the first desk in the front row had already been piled high with gift boxes. Upon closer inspection, they found even more boxes stacked underneath.

When they asked their classmates who had brought the gifts, no one knew. Seeing the messy classroom, Lu Zhishi and Zhao Xiaoxing moved the gifts to a table outside.

Worried the janitor might accidentally clear them away, Lu Zhishi posted a large note, written with a marker, thanking the senders but politely declining the gifts, and wishing everyone a bright future.

It was their last day at school. In the evening, Lu Zhishi and the boys from his class played an exhilarating basketball game on the court.

They had often talked about wanting to graduate quickly, but when graduation day actually arrived, a sudden emptiness seemed to settle in their hearts.

Lu Zhiyu, Chi Chen, Zhao Qiyun, and Zhou Nianjing took time off work, leaving at 5:30 p.m. They first visited their former teachers, then went to the senior year honors class to help their younger brothers move their belongings.

As outstanding past alumni, their names and photos were still displayed on the school’s wall of fame, visible to anyone passing by.

Known for their excellent grades, good personalities, and good looks, they were once well-known figures at their high school. Many students who had moved up from the middle school still remembered them.

It was rare to see them back, and students gradually approached them for autographs, blessings, and photos with the seniors they admired.

Some sociable boys who knew them, noticing Zhao Qiyun and Zhou Nianjing’s closeness, jokingly asked if they were together.

Zhao Qiyun smiled, held Zhou Nianjing’s hand, and openly declared, "Yes, we are."

It was late May, and the weather was hot. Even after 6 p.m., the sun was still setting in the west. After moving everything, they were all sweating.

With the beautiful sunset and a cool breeze, it seemed a shame not to stroll through the nearby food street.

After washing their hands, wiping off sweat, and storing their things in the car, they headed toward the food street.

In summer, nothing beat a cup of jasmine green grape milk tea, especially the one sold by the old lady at the end of the street—it was the best.

Zhao Qiyun and Zhou Nianjing naturally stayed together. Not wanting to be a third wheel, Zhao Xiaoxing walked with Lu Zhishi.

When they reached the food street, Zhao Xiaoxing was captivated by the aromatic, sizzling grilled squid, and both his mind and body gravitated toward the squid stall.

Lu Zhiyu glanced at Lu Zhishi and Chi Chen, then at Zhao Xiaoxing waiting in line at the squid stall. He also felt like eating grilled squid and, not wanting Zhao Xiaoxing to be alone, decided to stay.

"Brother, buy a lot, and make it extra spicy."

Lu Zhishi also wanted grilled squid, but he craved jasmine green grape milk tea more. If he didn’t line up soon, it would sell out.

Lu Zhiyu nodded, "Got it, mild spice with a little extra."

Lu Zhishi hesitated. He actually wanted medium spice with extra heat, but seeing Lu Zhiyu’s amused smirk, he bit back his words and said, "Okay, mild spice with a little extra."

After walking away, Lu Zhishi turned to Chi Chen and said, "I actually wanted medium spice."

Chi Chen replied calmly, "Mild spice is good too. Medium spice might upset your stomach."

Fine. Lu Zhishi glanced at Chi Chen’s profile, then turned away.

The jasmine green grape milk tea at the end of the street was famous, and a long line had already formed. Lu Zhishi and Chi Chen got in line, one behind the other.

They made small talk while Lu Zhishi glanced at the nearby stalls. Most sold food, while others sold small toys or bouquets.

Not far from the milk tea stall, a young girl was selling flowers on the roadside. Among the colorful blooms, there was only one vivid bouquet of black tea roses.

Lu Zhishi’s heart skipped a beat, his fingers unconsciously curling at his sides, his breath hitched slightly.

After a few seconds, he looked away and relaxed his clenched hand.

"What’s wrong?" Chi Chen followed his gaze. "Want to buy flowers?"

"No, just looking."

Lu Zhishi glanced again, but within half a minute, the bouquet of black tea roses was bought by someone else.

Chi Chen also saw the boy holding the bouquet, his gaze lingering until the boy walked away.

His eyes flickered, and he looked down at Lu Zhishi’s head before finally turning away, his hand clenching and unclenching at his side.

The jasmine green grape milk tea was pre-made. Though the line was long, it moved quickly, and soon it was Lu Zhishi and Chi Chen’s turn.

Besides the six portions for their group, they bought seven additional drinks to bring back for their families.

Lu Zhishi took the large bag of milk tea, while Chi Chen paid behind him, then took the heavy bag himself.

Once they had everything, they returned to the grilled squid stall, where Lu Zhiyu and Zhao Xiaoxing were still waiting in line.

As for Zhao Qiyun and Zhou Nianjing, they had wandered off somewhere, out of sight.

Lu Zhishi and Chi Chen found a bench by the roadside, wiped it with a wet wipe, and sat down to wait.

Lu Zhishi sipped from a cup of jasmine green grape milk tea, looking up at the sunset-red western sky while stealing glances at Chi Chen beside him.

They weren’t sitting too close—there was about a couple of fists’ distance between them, and their hands on the bench were a palm’s width apart.

So near, yet so far.

It felt like a stretch of the fingers would bridge the gap, yet it seemed an insurmountable galaxy lay between them, making Lu Zhishi too hesitant to make a move.

They waited in silence for about ten minutes before Lu Zhiyu and Zhao Xiaoxing arrived with the grilled squid.

Something seemed to have happened—the tension and distance between them had eased.

Lu Zhishi felt secretly happy about it.

As they walked back, they ran into Zhao Qiyun and Zhou Nianjing, who had come looking for them. The couple carried a large bag of mung bean jelly cakes. Each of them had driven separately.

Zhao Qiyun opened the passenger door, waited for Zhou Nianjing to get in, then closed the door.

He took another step forward, opened the rear door, and gestured with his chin toward Zhao Xiaoxing: "Chubby Xing, get in."

Zhao Xiaoxing shook his head. "I’m too bright."

Zhao Qiyun chuckled exasperatedly, his ears slightly reddening. "What kind of talk is that?"

Zhao Xiaoxing walked over to Lu Zhishi and shook his head again. "I’ll go back with Six Cheese."

Lu Zhiyu chuckled from the side. "Alright, I’ll take him back."

Since they all lived in the same area, Zhao Qiyun had no reason to worry. He walked around to the driver’s side, opened the door, and got in.

"Hey, Brother, I’ll ride with Brother Xiao Chen. See you in a bit," Lu Zhishi said, giving Zhao Xiaoxing a light pat on the back before quickly heading over to Chi Chen’s car.

Chi Chen was driving an understated black Rolls-Royce today. Before he could open the passenger door, Lu Zhishi had already opened it himself and got in.

Chi Chen said nothing, walking around the front of the car to the other side and got into the driver’s seat.

Lu Zhiyu also got into the car with Zhao Xiaoxing. The silver Bentley led the way, followed by the Rolls-Royce, with the black Maybach following last.

The cars moved at a steady pace. Lu Zhishi sat in the passenger seat, sipping on his jasmine green grape milk tea—he still hadn’t finished it after all this time.

No one spoke in the car, and the atmosphere grew somewhat silent. Lu Zhishi shifted in his seat, trying to make conversation.

"Brother Xiao Chen, do you still have to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow’s Saturday."

Lu Zhishi realized how odd his question sounded. Of course Chi Chen had to work on Saturday—he might even have to work overtime.

"Do you want some cabbage? I can dig up a couple for you."

Just then, they reached a traffic light. Chi Chen stopped the car, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the steering wheel. He glanced sideways at Lu Zhishi. "Is your cabbage ready?"

He remembered Lu Zhishi had only planted the cabbage last month, and the growing cycle was fifty-five days—it shouldn’t be ready yet.

Lu Zhishi lightly scratched his cheek. "The young cabbage is edible too."

The light turned green. Chi Chen started the car and continued driving.

"Then thank you, Fat Cheese."

Lu Zhishi turned to look out the window as the roadside trees passed by. The warm air rushing in made his ears red.

"You’re welcome."

At another intersection, the silver Bentley ahead turned right, while the Rolls-Royce and Maybach continued straight.

The two cars entered the villa district one after the other, splitting up at a new intersection. The Maybach headed down another road, while Chi Chen drove Lu Zhishi straight home.

By the time the car stopped in the front yard of the Chi residence, the sun had just set, but the sky was still bright.

Carrying his share of jasmine green grape milk tea, grilled squid skewers, and mung bean jelly, Lu Zhishi got out and headed home, promising to bring over the cabbage later.

As he entered the house with the food, Lu Tingan turned from the living room sofa. "You’re back."

"Yeah, Dad."

Lu Zhishi walked over, took out three bags of jasmine green grape milk tea and four boxes of mung bean jelly from the bag, placing them on the coffee table. He left the grilled squid in the bag.

"We went to the food street earlier and bought some snacks."

"Thank you, Fat Cheese."

"You’re welcome, Dad." Lu Zhishi moved the milk tea to the corner of the table, leaving only the mung bean jelly. "The milk tea is a bit cold. Let it cool down a little before drinking."

Lu Tingan smiled. "Got it."

After chatting for a bit, Lu Zhishi took the slightly cooled grilled squid skewers to the kitchen, where Song Qinian was chopping vegetables.

"Back already?"

"Yep!" Lu Zhishi leaned on his dad's shoulder, pressing against him, and held up the bag of grilled squid. "Look, Dad."

"Grilled squid?"

"Mhm, but it’s gotten cold." Lu Zhishi took out the skewers and put them in the microwave to heat up, then put on an apron and went to chop vegetables at another cutting board.

Song Qinian glanced over. "It’s fine. It’ll still taste good heated up."

"We can have it with dinner."

"Sure, a bonus dish." Song Qinian lightly held his wrist and moved the meat to his own cutting board, leaving only some vegetables for Lu Zhishi to chop.

Lu Zhishi washed the cutting board, picked up the kitchen knife, and started chopping tomatoes and cucumbers.

He felt he had forgotten something but couldn’t recall what it was.

A few minutes later, a car's sound came from outside.

When he saw Lu Zhiyu, Lu Zhishi finally remembered—he’d promised to bring cabbage to Chi Chen.

He quickly finished chopping the vegetables, put them on a plate, and set them aside, then took off his apron and washed his hands.

"Dad, should we add cabbage to dinner?"

"Go ask your little dad if he feels like having cabbage today."

Lu Zhishi went to the living room, leaned over the back of the sofa, and asked Lu Tingan, "Dad, do you want cabbage today?"

"What kind of cabbage is Chef Song planning to make?"

Lu Zhishi turned and called toward the kitchen, "Chef Song, Little Dad wants to know what kind of cabbage you’re making!"

"Vinegar-glazed cabbage, to stimulate the appetite," Song Qinian called back.

Lu Zhishi said, "Chef Song says he’s making vinegar-glazed cabbage."

Lu Tingan nodded. "Let’s have it."

Lu Zhishi shouted, "Little Dad says yes!"

"Got it~"

Lu Zhiyu, sitting on the nearby sofa drinking water, almost laughed himself sick. Lu Tingan also smiled, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

In the kitchen, Song Qinian continued chopping vegetables, a soft smile touched his lips.

Lu Zhishi smiled with curved eyes, returned to the kitchen to fetch two baskets, took a shovel, and headed to the small vegetable garden to dig up some napa cabbage.

The cabbages weren’t fully grown yet, only about half the size of mature ones. Lu Zhishi dug up six, planning to give three to the Chi family and keep three at home for sweet and sour cabbage.

Carrying a basket to the Chi household, he found Bai Yansheng drinking water in the living room. Seeing him enter, Bai Yansheng set down his cup and smiled, “Fat Cheese.”

“Uncle Yan.” Lu Zhishi walked over. Not wanting to get too close because of the dirt on his clothes, he said, “I dug up some cabbage.”

Bai Yansheng reached out, pulled him to sit down, and poured him a cup of hot water. “Thank you, Fat Cheese. Perfect for a side dish tonight.”

Lu Zhishi took a few sips from the cup; the temperature was slightly hot but just right to drink.

Bai Yansheng ruffled his hair affectionately. “Drink more hot water, it’s good for your health.”

Seeing through his thoughts, Lu Zhishi’s ears turned red. He pursed his lips and smiled shyly, calling out, “Uncle Yan…”

His shy little mannerisms hadn’t changed a bit since childhood, making Bai Yansheng chuckle.

After finishing the hot water, his cheeks slightly flushed, Lu Zhishi took the basket to the kitchen.

Chi Chen and Chi Yuehang were making dinner—one chopping vegetables, the other stir-frying.

“Uncle Chi, Brother Xiao Chen.”

Having heard him in the living room earlier, Chi Chen set down the cleaver upon seeing Lu Zhishi enter, washed his hands, and took the basket from him.

“Fat Cheese, your cabbages aren’t fully grown yet. You picked them already?”

Chi Yuehang leaned over to look at the fresh little cabbages in the basket, raised an eyebrow, and smiled at him.

Lu Zhishi nodded. “The small cabbages are delicious too.”

Chi Chen took the cabbages out of the basket and added some eggplants and bitter melons to it, saying to Lu Zhishi, “Go sit in the living room for a while, no need to rush off.”

Lu Zhishi scratched his cheek. “Brother Xiao Chen, I’m having dinner at home today.”

Chi Chen nodded. “I know.”

After Lu Zhishi went to the living room to watch TV with Bai Yansheng, Chi Chen washed his hands, changed the cooking order of ingredients waiting to be cooked, and resumed chopping.

Chi Yuehang glanced at the chicken wings now placed at the front, then at his son without changing expression chopping vegetables. His eyes shifted slightly, his ears turning red.

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly, saying nothing but speaking volumes.

Chi Chen’s expression remained unchanged as he lowered his gaze to finish chopping the eggplants and bitter melons. The redness from his ears gradually spread to his neck and then his cheeks.

“Is it getting warm in here?”

Chi Chen’s chopping paused, his hand holding the knife almost trembling, his skin turning from slightly pink to deep red.

“Dad…” His voice carried a hint of embarrassment and annoyance.

Seeing his son’s wrists and fingers tinged pink, almost turning into a red shrimp, Chi Yuehang held back a laugh. “Alright, alright, I won’t say more.”

Chi Chen pressed his lips together, lowered his eyelashes, the pink hue on his skin lingering for a long time.

“You need to know your limits, son. No dating before eighteen—that’s called early dating.”

“I know.”

“The Chi family has a family principle: dating should be with the intention of marriage, spending a lifetime only with the one you truly love.” Chi Yuehang added the chicken wings to the wok, seasoned them, stir-fried on high heat, then simmered on low, speaking calmly.

After plating the chopped vegetables, Chi Chen replied softly, his eyes serious and earnest. “Yes, I’ve always remembered.”

…

He had brought only three cabbages, but when he returned, the basket was full.

Five eggplants, six bitter melons, four lemons, a jar of honey, and a freshly made plate of cola-glazed chicken wings. Lu Zhishi felt a bit embarrassed.

Song Qinian couldn’t help laughing. “How come, Fat Cheese? How come every time you go to Brother Xiao Chen’s house, you come back with food and gifts?”

Lu Zhishi also blushed, scratching his head and giving an embarrassed laugh.

After dinner, Lu Zhiyu helped him carry the items from the trunk upstairs to the small study in Lu Zhishi’s bedroom.

The study still contained old textbooks from Lu Zhiyu and Chi Chen’s school days. Lu Zhishi made some space, organized his own books, and placed them in an empty storage cabinet next to theirs.

After tidying up, Lu Zhishi brought out a stack of pink and blue confession letters that had been tucked inside the books at some point.

Without reading or discarding them, he placed them all into a small box specifically for confession letters, locked it, and stored it at the bottom of his wardrobe.

While organizing his backpack, his hand slipped, and the bag fell to the ground, revealing a book wrapped in a pink cover.

Lu Zhishi picked it up and looked at it for a long time, unsure when it had been slipped in. He carefully removed the cover without damaging it.

It was a copy of *The Little Prince*.

On the title page was a message:

—“May you, like the Little Prince, always keep a pure heart on your journey of growth, and may you also meet the rose that belongs to you.”

—“Wishing you a bright future, smooth sailing in all things, and a life of peace and happiness.”

Lu Zhishi’s lips parted slightly as he lowered his gaze, studying it for a long time.

He gently closed the book, carefully rewrapped it in the cover, brought out the box containing his high school textbooks, and placed the book inside.

“Thank you for liking me, but I’m very sorry—I already have someone I like…”

Rain during the *gaokao* was pretty much tradition, almost superstitious—it rained every year at this time.

On the day the exams ended, the sky was clear and sunny, with a beautiful rainbow hanging at the horizon.

In the evening, Lu Zhishi and Zhao Xiaoxing brought graduation presents for everyone and headed to the hotel for the graduation banquet.

Having been classmates for three years, the group laughed and cried together that day.

The teachers of various subjects smiled, their eyes shimmering with tears, while their head teacher couldn’t stop crying.

By the end of the banquet, Lu Zhishi was heavily drunk, his eyes red and cheeks wet with tears.

Zhao Xiaoxing, who had drunk the same amount but had a better alcohol tolerance, was more sober than Lu Zhishi.

Along with other sober class officers, he helped the drunk teachers and classmates into cars, then saw off the sober class officers as well, watching the cars depart one by one.

These were vehicles Lu Zhishi had arranged in advance, driven by family security from the Lu and Song families—all ex-military, ensuring complete peace of mind.

Returning to the reserved banquet hall, Zhao Xiaoxing helped the drunk Lu Zhishi up and carried him piggyback downstairs.

"Lu Zhishi, you really need to lose some weight..." Zhao Xiaoxing gritted his teeth, hefting him up, and started walking toward the hotel entrance.

Lu Zhishi drowsily opened his eyes, mumbling incoherently, tears dripping one by one onto Zhao Xiaoxing's shoulder:

"Zhao Qiyun, he mumbled, we've really graduated today..."

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaoxing’s nose stung with emotion, tears pooling in his eyes.

Tilting his head to wipe his eyes on his other shoulder, Zhao Xiaoxing continued walking, his voice choked: "Yeah, we've graduated..."

One cannot simultaneously possess youth and the feeling of youth.

Countless times complaining about how exhausting classes were, how many exams there were, how difficult tests were, how annoying it was to have extra lessons every day...

Only today did they understand—that was the youth they could never return to.

The apples and candies their homeroom teacher gave them on Christmas Eve and Christmas;

The classmates who would huddle together after every exam to compare answers and curse the test-makers for being cruel;

His shoes accidentally stepped off during morning exercises by the student behind;

The laughter of rushing to the supermarket with the boys to buy snacks, only to scramble back to school in disarray as the class bell rang...

As they stepped out of the hotel entrance, a tall figure in the distance drew closer and closer. Through blurry eyes, he couldn’t make out who it was.

But his heart recognized the name of the approaching person sooner than his eyes did.

Lu Zhiyu.

Zhao Xiaoxing blinked, tears streaming down, his vision gradually clearing.

The weight on his back lightened as Lu Zhishi was taken by Lu Zhiyu, who hoisted him onto his own back. A large hand gently brushed over Lu Zhishi’s eyes and cheeks, wiping away the continuously falling tears.

Zhao Xiaoxing tilted his head up slightly and saw Lu Zhiyu frowning, his eyes filled with indecipherable emotions, his tone low and gentle: "Don’t cry."

He didn’t want to cry, but for some reason, the tears kept coming. Zhao Xiaoxing raised his arm to wipe them away, choked sobs slipping out uncontrollably from his throat.

His head was gently patted. Lu Zhiyu held his wrist and walked slowly forward, his steps steady.

Carrying one on his back and holding another by the hand, Lu Zhiyu had just reached the car when a silver Bentley pulled up beside them. Zhao Qiyun stepped out of the car.

"What’s wrong with them?"

Lu Zhiyu released Zhao Xiaoxing’s wrist, lifted the crying, now asleep Lu Zhishi from his back, and placed him in the passenger seat, buckling him in, adjusting the seat, and gently closing the door.

He handed a clean handkerchief to Zhao Qiyun, his voice also lowered: "They've graduated, they're upset."

"These two little kids..."

Zhao Qiyun chuckled helplessly, hugging his sobbing younger brother, using the handkerchief to wipe his eyes and face, ruffling his hair, and soothing him softly:

"Chubby Xing, my cute little mushroom head, your brother is here, don’t cry, don’t cry..."

"Don’t call me mushroom head." Zhao Xiaoxing blew a large snot bubble, his eyes too swollen from crying to open, the whole of him drunk and disoriented.

Lu Zhiyu couldn’t help but twitch his lips into a smile, and Zhao Qiyun almost burst out laughing too, wiping his nose: "Alright, alright, I won’t call you that then."

Already drunk and after crying so much, Zhao Xiaoxing soon fell asleep in Zhao Qiyun’s arms, his long eyelashes damp and clumped together, dotted with tiny teardrops.

Zhao Qiyun carried him into the car, buckled him in, adjusted the seat, closed the door, and looked at Lu Zhiyu beside him: "Thanks for today."

Lu Zhiyu waved his hand: "No need."

Zhao Qiyun smiled lightly, patted his shoulder, and walked around to the driver’s side: "Let’s go, time to head back."

"Okay." Lu Zhiyu also got into the driver’s seat, following behind Zhao Qiyun’s car at a slow speed.

They arrived home just after 10:30 PM. Song Qinian and Lu Tingan were still awake, sitting in the living room looking over papers and chatting.

"Back already?"

"Yeah, Dad, Fat Cheese is drunk. I’ll take him upstairs to rest."

"Carry him up. I’ll go to the kitchen to get some hangover soup." Song Qinian put down the documents in his hand.

Lu Tingan glanced at his younger son’s swollen, red eyes and said to Song Qinian, "Get two ice packs to reduce the swelling on his eyes."

Just after washing Lu Zhishi and changing him into pajamas, Song Qinian came in with the hangover soup and ice packs.

"How much did he have to drink to get this drunk?"

Lu Zhiyu propped Lu Zhishi up, slowly feeding him the hangover soup, and replied, "The hotel staff said he only had three glasses."

Song Qinian rubbed his temples: "From now on, let’s just call him a one-drink wonder."

"When I went to pick him up, he was crying so sadly, a snotty, tearful mess."

Song Qinian looked down at him, amused: "How can you have the nerve to criticize your brother?"

Lu Zhiyu scratched his cheek: "I didn’t cry like Fat Cheese, did I?"

"Hmph." Song Qinian snorted with a laugh: "Xiao Chen’s shirt was soaked by your tears, and you say you didn’t? Your eyes were even redder than his back then."

Lu Zhiyu tried to recall that time, but he’d been too drunk and had little memory of it.

"When you get a chance, check out the photo album in the study."

Song Qinian placed the ice packs on the softly snoring Lu Zhishi, took the empty bowl, and headed out, his tone light with laughter.

Lu Zhiyu was stunned: "Who took photos of me?"

"Who else but your dear brother?"

Lu Zhiyu looked down at the soundly sleeping Stinky Cheese, reached out, and couldn’t resist pinching his cheek.

Seeing Stinky Cheese frown, he let go and sighed, diligently applying the ice packs to his eyes.

The next day, Lu Zhishi slept until noon, waking up with all sorts of aches.

Headache, nose pain, throat pain.

His face hurt too. Looking in the mirror, his left cheek was indeed red and swollen.

During dinner, Lu Zhishi mentioned: "Last night I dreamed a bee was chasing me and biting me. My cheek really hurts."

Lu Tingan hid his growing smile behind a sip of water, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

Song Qinian glanced at his face, then at Lu Zhiyu, who was holding his bowl and trying not to laugh, and said, turning a blind eye:

"What a nasty bee that must have been."