Chapter 41: Feels Like an Affair — “We look like we’re having an illicit affair”
The Next Day
As the thick ink of the night was gradually diluted by the newborn light, and with the clear crow of a rooster from a distant courtyard, the long night came to an end.
In his hazy sleep, Lu Xunye remembered that he had promised the couple he would go to the pier to buy fish last night. He stretched and hugged the pillow in his arms tightly.
He wanted to yawn, but just as he started, his lips brushed against something smooth and tender, scaring the yawn right back down his throat.
Wait!
Pillow?!
He opened his eyes in panic. What entered his view was a flawless, exquisitely beautiful face, capturing the soul like glowing white jade in the faint morning light.
The two were sleeping almost face-to-face. Lu Xunye’s straight nose bridge was only a few millimeters away from the young man’s forehead.
The hot breath bounced back, making Lu Xunye feel unreasonably hot.
In the current situation, he couldn’t help holding his breath. He slowly loosened the hand confining the young man’s shoulder, withdrawing it from under his neck with agonizing slowness, and carefully lifted his leg off the other person.
A sudden hum froze his movements instantly. Lu Xunye swallowed and looked up to examine Shen Yunqian’s sleeping face.
The young man’s dark eyelashes fluttered twice. He opened his misty eyes, glanced at him faintly with heavy drowsiness, and closed them again. Just that one glance made Lu Xunye’s heart beat suddenly accelerate.
Just then, the young man moved. Lu Xunye, who had been stiff with indecision, took the opportunity to retract his limbs. His hip bone, suspended in one position for a long time, was now numb.
He moved his leg unobtrusively, and a pair of arms climbed up his body, loosely hugging him.
Shen Yunqian buried his head against his chest, his voice as soft as a kitten’s mew. “Sleepy~ Sleep a bit longer, okay…”
Hearing his slurred speech, it was obvious he was confused with sleep. Lu Xunye gently pulled the arms off his body, which immediately drew a dissatisfied whimper.
Afraid the man would actually wake up, he quickly leaned in and patted his back gently, mimicking how one coaxes a child to sleep.
When the person was completely asleep, he tiptoed to lift the quilt, stepped over him to get out of bed, and opened the door. The cool air rushed in, dispersing the fine sweat on his forehead.
Lu Xunye, who had never been so intimate with anyone, looked at his trembling hands and let out a long sigh of relief, like a survivor of a disaster.
“Eh? Little Lu, up so early?”
The woman watering flowers in the yard looked up at the sound and chatted with him. “Why not sleep a bit longer? Those two little rascals of mine are still asleep.”
“Couldn’t sleep.” Lu Xunye looked around. “Sister An, where is Brother Zhang?”
“Oh, he went to the pier early to help out. I guess the fishing boats should be back soon. He’ll make fish for you then.”
Sister An smiled. “No school today since it’s Saturday. Those two little cubs were clamoring to take you two out for a stroll.”
“Oh, right,” she suddenly remembered. “The phone number you gave me yesterday… I tried calling it, but it wouldn’t go through. Eventually, it couldn’t call out at all.”
“Check if you remember any other family members’ contact information?”
Empty number?
His phone contacts all had names; Lu Xunye had always been too lazy to memorize phone numbers. This was the only one he had manually entered—Qin Feng’s number.
Was this Lu Yan’s doing, or…
[Accompanying the sound of shattering glass, Lu Yan’s provocative face floated in his mind.
“Did you think the old man valued you and treated you sincerely?”
“Let’s be honest. He knew about us dealing with you before. He knew of your existence twenty years ago. Guess why he didn’t bring you back to the Lu family?”
“When you have no utility left, do you think you will be kicked away just like three years ago?”]
These words lingered in his heart like an incessant alarm bell. Lu Xunye clenched his hands.
So, it was still his offense against Zhou Jie that caused Lu Feng’s dissatisfaction. The elaborate act was just to lift him high only to throw him down hard.
Ridiculous. He never had any expectations for any emotions anyway. It was all hypocrisy and fake affection, only adding to his troubles.
Noticing his expression was off, the woman slapped her forehead.
“Look at my memory. Your Big Brother asked me to send him the fish basket. I have other guests getting up for breakfast here.”
“Little Lu, if you have nothing else to do, could you help me deliver it?”
“Sure, I was supposed to go last night anyway.” Lu Xunye took the empty basket. “Did I get up too late?”
“Not late, not late. Buying fish doesn’t have a specific time.”
The woman put down the watering can.
“The son of the old man in the east village twisted his ankle, so they’re short-handed. Your Big Brother went to help for the morning just to pick a few good fish without having to pay.”
“It’s not far from here. I’ll tell you the location in a bit. You can ride the bike at the gate.”
…
Lu Xunye arrived at the pier just in time to catch one of the teams returning from the sea and sorting fish and shrimp.
Only then did he realize that compared to this pier, the shore they stayed on yesterday was at best a ditch. It was full of reefs and nowhere near as spacious as this place.
The island was mostly self-sufficient with local villagers all year round, so the demand wasn’t huge. Only during the peak season would some seafood be transported out for sale.
The young people saw a strikingly handsome guy abruptly squeeze into the crowd. Hearing he was looking for Brother Zhang, they exchanged glances, understood immediately, and turned back to their work.
An uncle organizing fishing nets into baskets adjusted his bamboo hat. Naturally hearing the discussion, he turned to look at Lu Xunye in the crowd and teased the person next to him.
“Little Zhang, has a film crew come to your house again? Just tell us if you need to shoot for a few days. As long as they aren’t bossy like the last group, everyone is happy with a hundred a day.”
“What film crew?” Brother Zhang was confused. He straightened his back and saw the person walking into view. He asked in surprise, “Little Lu? Why did you come?”
“Sister An is busy, she asked me to bring the fish basket.” Lu Xunye took the cup out of the basket and handed the basket over.
He then lifted the teapot he was carrying, poured a cup of tea, and handed it over. “Sister An asked me to bring this too. Drink some hot tea to warm up.”
This caused a commotion among the people nearby, who started teasing Brother Zhang. “Ohoho, it’s good to have a wife. Wife, kids, warm bed, and someone delivering tea. Give us some too.”
Brother Zhang covered his face in embarrassment. “Alright, alright, everyone drink.”
Soon, the pot of tea was finished.
Someone stepped forward and asked curiously, “How much is your salary as a big star per month? Is it convenient to say? I heard it’s a lot, equal to what our whole village makes in a year.”
Lu Xunye confirmed they were asking him and had a face full of question marks. “Big star?”
Brother Zhang spoke up to smooth things over. “No film crew came to shoot. This is a little brother I met yesterday, currently a guest at my place. Everyone misunderstood.”
Turning his head, he explained to Lu Xunye, “Our island has good scenery, simple folk customs, cheap goods, and few people. So, some crews and internet celebrities come here to shoot relevant material.”
Lu Xunye nodded thoughtfully. What he didn’t ask was: Since there is traffic driven by tourism, the industry seems decent. Why are the people’s labor and architecture still in the mode of decades ago?
He looked at a boat by the shore. “Do you still need help? I can help.”
“We’re already wrapping up here. The others are still at sea and won’t be back until the afternoon,” the uncle said enthusiastically. “Since you’re on the island, take a good tour. If nothing else, the scenery is quite nice.”
“Yeah, I’ll take you to see it when we go back later,” Brother Zhang responded.
In this short time, he had picked a few plump fish and some shrimp and crabs, putting them into the basket. Shaking off the water, he looked up. “Then we’ll head back first.”
“Alright, there’s not much work left, leave it to us.”
“Say hello to the sister-in-law for us when you get back, and tell those two boys to come play at my house when they’re free.”
“Will do!”
Bidding farewell to the crowd, the two walked towards the homestay.
“Brother, I want to ask where the island’s telecommunications office and police station are,” Lu Xunye asked.
Brother Zhang: “I forgot about that. I’ll take you there now.”
Lu Xunye pushed the bicycle, his gaze falling on the fish basket in the man’s hand.
“It’s okay, it’s not far from here. I was afraid you’d get lost going alone.”
“Thanks, Brother Zhang.”
…
A piece of bad news: Went to the business hall to report the loss of the phone number, only to be told the number was cancelled yesterday.
A worse piece of bad news: The police station is closed on Saturdays; ID cards cannot be reissued.
A not-so-good piece of good news: Saved 40 yuan on the ID card reissue fee.
Ran around for nothing and accomplished zilch. No money, no way!
Lu Xunye felt really bad about it. “Brother, does your homestay need a chef or a waiter? I think I’m quite experienced.”
“Don’t think so much.” Brother Zhang wanted to pat him, but refrained due to the fishy smell on his hands. “Everyone has hard times. Just stay at ease, don’t worry about money.”
Lu Xunye was sincere. “Once the ID card is issued, I will definitely pay you back.”
“Okay.” Brother Zhang couldn’t out-stubborn him and, fearing he would overthink, had to agree.
It was almost noon when they returned to the homestay.
The guests in the courtyard were all awake.
They sat in twos and threes; some were taking photos, some were barbecuing, and others were drinking coffee and chatting in the pavilion.
At a marble round table in the courtyard, three people were huddled around an exam paper, a picture of peaceful times.
That is, if you ignored the two children frowning and clutching their pens.
Sister An came out with a basin of water to splash. “Little Lu is back. Just waiting for this fish. Wash your hands, we’ll eat soon.”
“Little Shen is over there helping the two brats study. Should I call him for you?”
Lu Xunye parked the bicycle. “No need, Sister, I’ll go find him in a bit.”
“Big Brother said he still needs to buy something, so I came back first.”
Saying that, he took down the fish basket. Sister An hurriedly took it. One look and she said, “Oh my, that’s quite a lot.”
Other side of the courtyard.
Shen Yunqian circled the numbers with a pen. “Look here. The question asks for the total kilometers traveled. Brother has already driven for 2 hours. At this speed, it will take another 3 hours to get to Grandma’s house.”
“So how many hours does the whole journey take?”
The two shouted in unison, “Five hours.”
Shen Yunqian nodded. “We know Brother drove 190 kilometers in 2 hours. So how many kilometers did he drive per hour?”
The two looked stumped. Shen Yunqian took the pencils from their hands and guided them patiently. “Now I have two pens in my hand. I want to distribute them to you two. How do I divide them?”
“One for each person,” one of them answered first.
The other repeated it.
Shen Yunqian continued, “2 pens distributed to 2 people, each person gets 1. Use multiplication or division?”
He put the pens back into their hands respectively, waiting for their answer.
“Division.”
“Correct.” Shen Yunqian pointed to the circled part on the paper. “Then look here, use division or multiplication?”
“Also division.” The two lay on the scratch paper, huffing and puffing as they calculated the answer. “95 kilometers per hour.”
“We already calculated the total time is 5 hours, so…” Shen Yunqian paused deliberately, waiting for their answer.
“So Brother traveled a total of 475 kilometers!”
Shen Yunqian praised them unreservedly. “Both of you are great. This paper is done. Anything else you don’t know?”
The two shook their heads like rattle drums. The pain of being dominated by exam papers all morning was enough.
“Brother, are you a teacher? You know so much.”
Just as Shen Yunqian was about to reply, a light cough came from the pillar behind him.
The three turned around and saw Lu Xunye leaning against the pillar, arms crossed, looking at them with a smile.
The two kids’ parents had told them not to disturb the two brothers talking, so they packed up their things and said to Shen Yunqian, “Big Brother, we’re going to find our friends to play. Bye-bye.”
After speaking, they chased each other out of the courtyard. Shen Yunqian clicked his tongue. He turned back to look at Lu Xunye.
Lu Xunye crooked his finger at him, signaling him to come over.
Shen Yunqian looked left and right, then got up and went over. “What?”
Just as he opened his mouth, his wrist was grabbed, and he was pulled to the backyard of the homestay. Chickens and geese were kept in the fence here; the morning crowing had come from this spot.
Lu Xunye took a tube of ointment from his pocket, squeezed a little onto his fingertip, and unfolded Shen Yunqian’s palm.
Just as he was about to apply it, Shen Yunqian pulled back. “I haven’t washed my hands.”
Lu Xunye saw a tap next to the goose pen and took him over to wash.
The tap was turned on, and water gushed out.
Shen Yunqian bent down to wash his hands. “By the way, did you see a goose on your way back? Sister An said one was missing when she fed them this morning.”
Lu Xunye: “Didn’t see it.”
The front yard was bustling with noise, but the backyard was silent, save for the clucking and honking of chickens and geese.
Looking at the white geese in the fence, Lu Xunye suddenly said, “Do you feel like… we look like we’re having an illicit affair?”
Shen Yunqian: “…”
Author’s Note: Little Lu: We look like we’re having an affair [Sunglasses] Little Shen: Actually, you could just shut up [Melting]
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