Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Chapter 25

After lunch, Fang Zhihe carried a watering can to water the flowers in the yard. Lu Wuyou washed the dishes and utensils, then picked up a wooden comb and walked behind the rattan chair. He glanced at him and said in a stern tone, "Come here."

Fang Zhihe responded, put down the watering can, and sat on the rattan chair, allowing Lu Wuyou to run his hand through his hair and comb it from top to bottom.

"How come you can't do anything?" Lu Wuyou complained, pulling a red string from his sash and gently tying up Fang Zhihe's loose, jet-black long hair.

Fang Zhihe smiled. "Xiaoyuan can't do it either."

Upon hearing this, Lu Wuyou pinched the back of his neck and said softly, "Both of you have been pampered since childhood. What can you do?"

Fang Zhihe let out a soft giggle, as if very happy. He reached out and grabbed the hem of Lu Wuyou's robe, sighing, "Live in the moment—isn't that great?"

Lu Wuyou absolutely could not agree with this skewed reasoning. In his eyes, someone who couldn't take care of themselves was no better than useless. What's this "live in the moment" business? So he only pinched Fang Zhihe's cheek and said coldly, "Pack up. We're going out."

As he went into the house, Fang Zhihe watched his back and casually pulled out a medicine bottle from his pocket, popped a pill into his mouth, then hurried inside after him.

In the afternoon, many fishing boats were idle, tied to the shore. The remaining boats were hired by sightseers or pampered young nobles out for a cruise.

Fang Zhihe walked behind Lu Wuyou. The man in front held a topographical map, occasionally drawing a couple of lines on it. Fang Zhihe looked at him, his heart feeling warm and tender. He couldn't help but quicken his pace to draw closer.

"The embankment here isn't very high. Historically, many floods have breached this point first..." Lu Wuyou frowned deeply, staring at the waterfront. A few children were playing on the embankment, the soil they picked up sticky in their hands.

"The soil is damp, and it's still April. Perhaps the tide rose overnight and overflowed the embankment." Lu Wuyou marked an "X" on the map at this location, then turned his head to look at Fang Zhihe. "What's going on here?"

Fang Zhihe had been pondering his earlier words. Caught off guard by the question, he paused and replied, "That was my oversight."

Lu Wuyou raised an eyebrow. "This is what you call caring for the people?"

Fang Zhihe faltered slightly and shook his head. "The Prefect of Fuzhou hasn't reported this to me for the past two years. Besides, I haven't been here in that time, so I truly didn't know."

"You're useless enough, but you can't even delegate?" Lu Wuyou sneered coldly, turning to walk away. He was worried about how much water was left relative to the embankment.

Fang Zhihe silently followed him, feeling frustrated but unable to say anything. He couldn't exactly say that he had already executed the previous Prefect of Fuzhou and his entire family over this matter, and had even sent Gu Zhining, the Chief of the Water Conservancy Bureau, to oversee things. Yet the man had deceived him for two years, and no wonder last year's flood deaths hadn't decreased.

Although he had only come because Lu Wuyou was here, flood control had always weighed heavily on his mind. He had intended to come.

Just as Fang Zhihe was thinking about how to deal with the corrupt local officials this time, Lu Wuyou suddenly turned around and threw the map in his face, then leaped into the river.

Fang Zhihe was startled and shouted, "Yuntai!" as he prepared to jump in after him. But a young man behind grabbed his robe. He pushed the man away and called out a few more times before seeing Lu Wuyou emerge from the water, glaring at him coldly. "Shut up, you're too loud."

Fang Zhihe stared at him blankly for a moment, until he noticed Lu Wuyou was holding a woman. He wiped the tears and dirt from his face, quickly crouched down, and reached out to grab Lu Wuyou's hand.

Lu Wuyou glanced at him, coldly brushed his hand away, and leaped ashore with his lightness skill, carrying the woman.

Fang Zhihe pulled back his hand that had been brushed away and was about to get up to check if Lu Wuyou was injured. He asked anxiously, "Did you bump into something? Should we go to the clinic now? No, no, let's go home and change clothes first. Yuntai, would you like to wear my outer robe?" As he spoke, he began to take it off.

Lu Yuntai, holding the woman, didn't even look at him and said coldly, "You go back first. I'll take this girl to the clinic."

Fang Zhihe stopped his movements, as if he had heard something strange. He looked up at Lu Wuyou darkly and asked, "What do you mean?"

Lu Wuyou frowned. "What do you mean?"

"This woman is nothing like Lu Yuan's birth mother. Worth being so eager for?" Fang Zhihe's tone was mocking.

The woman in Lu Wuyou's arms was not particularly stunning. Her face was pale from being in the water, and one hand tightly clutched Lu Wuyou's sleeve.

Lu Wuyou seemed to find it amusing. He chuckled lightly first, then seeing Fang Zhihe gritting his teeth while pretending to be calm, he scoffed. "Fang Zhihe, that expression on your face is really ugly."

"On a larger scale, she's your subject, your people." Lu Wuyou's face was full of disgust. "On a smaller scale, it's just saving someone. You being this jealous is sickening."

Fang Zhihe's pupils contracted. He stepped back, afraid to go near him. The sound of wind over the river filled his ears. As he watched Lu Wuyou walk away, he suddenly felt ridiculous for a moment. Was he really this jealous? Lu Wuyou was right about everything. How could he think himself wronged?

So everything Lu Wuyou had said was right. It was his fault. He was wrong.

Thinking this, he glanced around in panic at the people nearby. Everyone was passing by, and no one paid him any attention. He sighed in relief, glad that only Lu Wuyou had seen him this way. What did it matter if Lu Wuyou saw? He had always seen what others didn't. It didn't matter. He already hated himself enough; how could he hate himself more?

With that thought, Fang Zhihe gave a slight, bitter smile.

He picked up the map he had dropped in his panic by the roadside and walked along the riverbank again, observing several good spots for digging flood diversion channels and marking them on the map.

Later, on the street, he bought a bag of sugar-fried chestnuts, a few clay figurines, and half a sack of rice and flour. He carried them back to the courtyard.

Lu Wuyou was sitting in the yard, opposite the girl. They seemed to be talking about something, and Lu Wuyou smiled slightly.

Fang Zhihe swayed when he saw that smile. Then the smile on Lu Wuyou's face vanished, replaced by a cold stare. "So you remembered to come back."

Fang Zhihe blinked, dropped the rice and flour on the ground, and walked over holding the chestnuts and clay figurines. He glanced at the girl first, then shoved the chestnut bag into Lu Wuyou's hand and said softly, "Peel the chestnuts for me."

Lu Wuyou tossed the bag aside and said nothing.

Fang Zhihe sniffed, took a chestnut from the paper bag, and placed it in the palm of Lu Wuyou's hand. "Peel it for me," he whispered.

Lu Wuyou shoved him back a step and threw the chestnut on the ground. "Stay away from me, got it? If you come near me again, I'll kick you out!"

The girl piped up softly. "Brother Lu, how can you treat a guest that way?"

Fang Zhihe stiffened all over, stared at her, and said coldly, "What 'Brother Lu'? What 'guest'?"

Seeing this, Lu Wuyou shoved him. "Are you crazy?"

Fang Zhihe stumbled back, staring at Lu Wuyou with a heavy heart. He couldn't understand why this man could be kind to everyone except him. It was only him, Lu Wuyou, who was ever cruel!

He took a deep breath, his eyes growing red, and walked toward the door.

From behind, Lu Wuyou sneered. Fang Zhihe quickened his steps, clutching the clay figurines against his chest.

"Xiaoyuan, Xiaoyuan," he muttered, his steps unsteady.

"Dad misses you." His chest felt tight. He leaned against the wall, looking at the figurines again. The big black one was Lu Wuyou, the smaller one was Lu Yuan, and the white one was him.

He knew Lu Wuyou wasn't into women and wouldn't do anything with her, but he couldn't stop feeling angry and hurt.

He wouldn't even give him an ounce of kindness.

"Author's Note"

The angst hasn't even started yet, ha... This wouldn't even fill half of one, ugh.

PS: I said we were focusing on career matters, but Little Lu still meddles in other things. How annoying. Still, it counts as foreshadowing (holding a teacup and gazing into the distance meaningfully).