Chapter 103 And He’s Even Proud of It
Late at night.
The practice room was quiet. The other members of his group had returned to their dorms to rest; only Lu Yuqi was practicing dance alone in front of the mirror, sweat soaking his shirt.
An Jing, passing by in the hallway, stopped and watched the young man’s sweaty back from the window.
It must be said that the back looked rather lonely. This kid always went it alone. With his arrogant and aloof personality, he didn’t have many friends. Before, he had YanYan to keep him company, but now he was alone.
The man’s reflection appeared in the mirror.
A strange look flashed in Lu Yuqi’s eyes, then he stopped moving, casually sitting on the floor. While wiping the sweat from his face with a towel, he said, “Teacher An, is something the matter?”
“Why aren’t you going back to rest yet? You’ve already danced very well.” An Jing walked in, picked up a bottle of mineral water, opened it, and bent down to hand it to Lu Yuqi. “Mm?”
“Thanks.”
He watched the young man tilt his head and drink half the bottle of water, his protruding Adam’s apple bobbing. Large drops of sweat slid down his Adam’s apple and finally disappeared into the neckline of his T-shirt.
An Jing calmly withdrew his gaze. He thought Lu Yuqi wouldn’t answer his previous question, but he heard the young man’s arrogant voice ring out, “Anything I want to do, I have to do it to the best of my ability.”
Hearing this, An Jing couldn’t help but curl his lips. Worthy of being the aloof king.
“Teacher An, how is your younger brother doing?” Lu Yuqi asked again, a hint of playful emotion in his beautiful eyes. Although he called him “Teacher,” the kid’s words weren’t polite at all.
An Jing smiled helplessly, “Which younger brother are you asking about? An Yu or YanYan?”
Lu Yuqi subtly curled his lips, somewhat mischievously, “Your most beloved younger brother.”
He was clearly referring to An Nanyi.
An Jing’s mouth twitched slightly. “You little rascal, don’t make fun of me.”
A triumphant smile flashed in Lu Yuqi’s eyes.
“Speaking of which, I have a question for you.” An Jing sat down opposite the young man, looking into his eyes, lightly clicking his tongue, and asked, “Lu Yuqi, why do you dislike me?”
The An family members were all good-looking. Lin Qingyan’s appearance resembled his mother’s, with softer and more beautiful features. An Jing resembled his father, with strong features, deep and handsome mature looks. It’s no wonder so many fans liked him.
In the past, Lu Yuqi had only seen this man through the screen.
He shifted his gaze uncomfortably, avoiding looking at that face. He hadn’t expected the other party to ask such a question. After a moment of silence, he replied, “…I don’t dislike you.”
That reaction seemed more like shyness. An Jing watched him with interest, “Then why do I feel like you dislike me? Could it be that you’re playing hard to get, trying to get my attention?”
The young man’s eyes instantly turned fierce, glaring at him.
Like a little wolf cub that had been provoked.
An Jing raised his hands in surrender. “I’m joking.” He raised his eyebrows, a smile playing on his lips. “Okay, if you don’t dislike me, then you don’t dislike me. It’s best if you don’t dislike me.”
Lu Yuqi didn’t speak. He lowered his eyes, concealing the strange emotion that flashed in them. When he raised his eyes again, he had already changed the subject. “How is Lin Qingyan doing?”
“He’s fine. The wound on his head is almost healed, and his fractured right hand is slowly recovering.” Thinking of something, his tone suddenly became a little sour, “Gu Fei is taking care of him, so don’t worry.”
“I have to go back to see him tomorrow.” An Jing gritted his teeth in his heart, lest his long-lost younger brother forget his older brother now that he has a boyfriend!
“Mm.” Lu Yuqi: “You know about their thing?”
An Jing sighed almost inaudibly and nodded.
He wasn’t surprised that Lu Yuqi also knew about it.
Then, he heard Lu Yuqi’s somewhat proud tone:
“I was the one who brought them together in the first place. How about it? Teacher An, shouldn’t you thank me?”
An Jing: “…” I’m going to kill you!
He’s even proud of it!!
——
It was Saturday. Lin Qingyan planned to return to the Lin family home to collect his belongings, if they hadn’t been thrown away. There wasn’t anything particularly important, but some items held sentimental value; he was a sentimental person.
Gu Fei was off today and went with him.
Song Shuman texted or called her youngest son every day to strengthen their bond. Lin Qingyan casually mentioned this to her, and unexpectedly, the whole An family found out and wanted to go along.
They simply wanted to see where Lin Qingyan had lived before, the nineteen years of his life they hadn’t been a part of.
Lin Qingyan couldn’t refuse, so he let them.
An Jing also returned today, so six people went to the Lin family home. The car journey went from the bustling metropolis of skyscrapers to the dilapidated old city district. The roads, once wide and clean, became much narrower.
They were both part of the same city but two different worlds.
Finally, the car stopped in front of an old, dilapidated building. It was a ten-story building, without an elevator, and the hallways were extremely narrow, with the plaster peeling off the walls.
Everyone stood at the entrance of the hallway. Except for Lin Qingyan and Gu Fei, the other four were somewhat surprised. Beyond the surprise was heartache and guilt.
Before they came, they had imagined how difficult Lin Qingyan’s previous living conditions were, but seeing it firsthand, the visual impact was the greatest.
This place was too dilapidated; how could anyone live here? Yet YanYan had lived here for nineteen years. This kind of life should never have been his.
“This building is quite old, but it’s habitable.” Lin Qingyan was a little uneasy. He touched the back of his neck, saying hesitantly, “My… my home… I used to live on the second floor.”
“It’s alright.” Song Shuman held her youngest son’s hand, her eyes filled with love and gentleness, her tone equally tender, “YanYan, take us up.”
The others felt the same.
“Okay.”
Lin Qingyan didn’t really want his family to know how bad his life had been before. It was all in the past, and even knowing wouldn’t change anything; it would only add to their worries.
He was doing well now, and that was enough.
At the door of the apartment, the door was closed. Lin Qingyan grasped the doorknob and turned it. It was locked. No one was home.
He bent down to lift the doormat with “Peace and Safety” printed on it. The mat was originally red but was now black with dirt. He skillfully found a key from underneath and successfully unlocked the door.
As soon as the door opened halfway, a sour, musty smell wafted out, mixed with a pungent smell of alcohol. Lin Qingyan frowned and walked inside.
The others followed.
An Yu covered his nose in disgust, “What’s that smell? It’s so foul.”
Gu Fei’s expressionless face twitched slightly. The scene inside was a major blow to Mr. Gu, who had a strong aversion to dirt, making it impossible for him to look directly at it.
The small living room was a mess. Clothes and socks were strewn across the sofa, the coffee table was littered with used takeout containers and haphazardly placed empty wine bottles, and trash was scattered everywhere.
The sour stench came from here, with flies buzzing around. A large cockroach slowly crawled out from the pile of trash, defiantly staring down at these cowardly humans.
“…”
“Ah!! Cockroach!!!” An Yu, the second young master, who hadn’t seen much of the world, shrieked, quickly hiding behind his older brother. “Big Brother, this room is even messier than yours!”
An Jing: “…” Don’t compare.
The calmest person in the room was Lin Qingyan. He raised his foot and swiftly and decisively crushed the cockroach that had been so arrogant just moments ago.
“…”
He looked at An Yu, who was hiding behind An Jing in a cowardly manner.
“Second Brother, it’s okay now.”
“Cough… Second Brother was just caught off guard, not scared.” An Yu glanced at the cockroach corpse on the floor, then averted his gaze in disgust, quickly finding an excuse, sneering disdainfully, “What’s so scary about this little thing.”
An Jing: “I don’t even have the heart to expose you, you coward.”
Lin Qingyan couldn’t help but chuckle, then said to everyone, “The room is dirty and messy; why don’t we all go out first?” He remembered Gu Fei’s aversion to dirt; he surely couldn’t stand it.
Needless to say, all this trash was Lin Jianxiang’s handiwork. The man was lazy and good-for-nothing; usually, he and Zhou Yuelian cleaned the house. Now Zhou Yuelian was in detention, so naturally, no one cleaned the house.
But no one left. Mr. and Mrs. An didn’t show any sign of disgust on their faces.
An Yu even went so far as to say, “Actually, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter.”
An Jing said, “YanYan, can we see your room?”
Gu Fei’s expression remained calm and composed, but his pursed lips revealed his inner disgust and discomfort. He found it hard to imagine Lin Qingyan living in a place like this.
Compared to their luxurious villa, this apartment was pathetically small—three bedrooms and a living room, with each room tiny. The smallest was Lin Qingyan’s bedroom.
There wasn’t even a window. Only a single bed, a desk, and no wardrobe. Several cardboard boxes were stacked against the wall, filled with books, clothes, and miscellaneous small items.
The room remained as it was, untouched. Although small, it was neatly organized, in stark contrast to the messy living room outside.
Across from it was another bedroom, much larger than Lin Qingyan’s, fully furnished with various pieces of furniture, a computer on the desk, a window, and even a small balcony.
“YanYan, was that room your previous brother’s?”
Lin Qingyan nodded, “Mm.”
At that moment, everyone fell silent. The difference between the two rooms showed how biased the Lin family was. Their YanYan had lived in that small room for so many years.