Chapter 153: Lu Yuqi Likes Him?
An Qingyan stayed at the Gu family home until evening before heading back to his own. Besides the housekeepers, no one else was around. He eventually found An Yu in the upstairs gym.
His second brother was sitting on the floor, drenched in sweat. He looked a little thinner than he had half a month ago. The moment he saw his long-unseen younger brother, he rushed over and pulled him into a sweaty bear hug.
An Qingyan: “…”
“Little brother, you’re finally back!” An Yu exclaimed, letting him go. He then confidently lifted his shirt to reveal the faint outline of the six-pack abs he had worked so hard to get back. “Well? What do you think?!”
An Qingyan offered a sincere compliment. “Not bad. Keep it up.”
An Yu was so pleased that he gave him another enthusiastic, sweat-scented hug. “Yanyan, want to go for a ride?” Without waiting for an answer, An Yu grabbed his arm and started pulling him outside. “Second Brother will take you for a spin on the bike!”
An Qingyan obediently followed along. “Where are Mom, Dad, and Big Brother?”
“Dad’s on a business trip,” An Yu said. “Big Brother went with Mom to an auction. They just left not long before you got back.”
“How come you didn’t go?” An Qingyan asked.
“I’m not interested in that stuff. With them gone, I can take the bike out for a few extra laps.”
“True.”
The auction was set to begin at 8 p.m., but the venue was already bustling with people. An Jing was only there to accompany his mother and had little interest in the proceedings. He sat listlessly in his seat, scrolling through his phone.
“Sister Shuman? What a coincidence.”
“Qingwan, it’s you.”
An Jing followed the voices and glanced to the side. A middle-aged woman, about the same age as his mother, Song Shuman, was greeting her. The woman was very well-maintained; though middle-aged, she still had a graceful charm and bore a slight resemblance to Gu Fei’s mother.
Oh, this must be Auntie Qingwan’s sister, Lu Yuqi’s mother, Yu Qingwan.
An Jing gave a slight nod and politely greeted her. “Hello, Auntie.” Yu Qingwan responded with a friendly smile.
An Jing secretly mused, Auntie seems so gentle and intellectual. Besides his looks, that little puppy Lu Yuqi didn’t inherit any of his mother’s traits.
Song Shuman and Yu Qingwan were acquaintances but not close friends. After a polite exchange, Yu Qingwan took the empty seat next to An Jing.
With nothing else to do, the two started chatting.
“Is Yanyan doing well now? I saw him once during the filming of your show.” Thinking of the boy’s past, Yu Qingwan’s heart ached. Such a good kid had been dealt such a cruel hand.
An Jing smiled. “Yes, he’s doing very well now.”
Speaking of An Qingyan, Yu Qingwan remembered something else. She sighed with a hint of melancholy and hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Actually, Yanyan asked me a question that day.”
“He asked me what I would do if I found out one day that Lu Yuqi wasn’t my biological son.”
“And how did you answer?” An Jing looked at her intently, waiting for her to continue.
“I didn’t know why he would suddenly ask something like that. I told him I would continue to treat Lu Yuqi as my own son. After all, I’ve raised him for so many years. Even without the bond of blood, there are still deep feelings.”
“It was only later that I found out why he asked…” Yu Qingwan looked guilty. “I don’t know if my words hurt him then. Was it because of what I said that he didn’t dare to… with you all…”
An Jing couldn’t help but glance at his mother, who was busy chatting with someone else and not paying attention to them. “It has nothing to do with you,” he said quietly.
“Even if you hadn’t said that, it’s what he believed in his heart. He’s very sensitive, a child who lacks a sense of security.”
Although it was all in the past, An Jing’s heart still ached. What kind of pain and struggle must Yanyan have gone through to finally summon the courage to reveal the truth in front of everyone?
They chatted for a few more moments, but An Jing was somewhat distracted, his thoughts on his brother.
Yu Qingwan suddenly remarked with a sigh, “Yanyan is really such a good boy, not like my Yuqi… ah, never mind. I should save him some face in front of his idol.”
An Jing was confused. “Idol?”
“You don’t know? Lu Yuqi didn’t tell you?”
Yu Qingwan explained, “You’re his idol, aren’t you? He has your posters up in his room and a whole pile of your albums. He’s watched the movies and TV shows you’ve starred in over and over again. He’s a more dedicated fan than most girls.”
An Jing: “?!”
He seriously wondered if the Lu Yuqi his aunt was talking about was the same Lu Yuqi he knew. Who would constantly wear a sour face around their idol, make snide, sarcastic remarks, and bite at them at the drop of a hat, calling them an “old scoundrel”?
“The day before the talent show started, he came down in the morning with two dark circles under his eyes. He was probably too excited to sleep at the thought of filming a show with you.”
Once she started, Yu Qingwan found it hard to stop, but she managed to rein herself in. “My younger son has a lot of pride. Never mind, I won’t say more.” After a pause, she asked with a smile, “An Jing, could you give your auntie an autograph? I’ll give it to him when I get back.”
An Jing nodded blankly, his mind still struggling to process this information.
Lu Yuqi must have definitely stopped being a fan, he thought.
Tsk… who treats their idol like that?
When the auction began, An Jing was still absentmindedly pondering the matter.
Lu Yuqi likes me? This watch they’re auctioning now is nice. I should buy it for Yanyan. It would look great on him. I wonder if Yanyan would like it. Does Lu Yuqi really like me?
In his moment of hesitation, the watch was snapped up by some wealthy tycoon.
An Jing: “…”
Damn it!
After the auction ended and she was on her way back, Yu Qingwan called her younger son. “Qiqi,” she said with a grin, “guess who Mom just saw?”
Lu Yuqi was busy on his end. Since their group’s debut, he rarely had time to rest. Plus, he had two idiot teammates who were annoying as hell, chattering nonstop all day, making him want to hit someone.
He had just finished filming a show and was slumped wearily in the car, feeling drowsy. But after hearing what Ms. Yu Qingwan said on the phone, he was wide awake.
“You ran into An Jing at the auction, and you even got an autograph for me?” He frowned tightly, asking uncertainly, “What all did you say to him?”
“That you’re his idol, of course,” Yu Qingwan said cheerfully. “You filmed with him for months. How come you never told him? Were you too shy?”
“…” Lu Yuqi’s mouth twitched. He had the sudden urge to bang his head against a wall.
“It’s okay,” Yu Qingwan said. “Mom helped you tell him.”
“Thanks so much,” Lu Yuqi said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He cursed a few times under his breath, then, after a moment of silence, added with a deadpan expression, “Mom, keep the autograph safe for me.”
Yu Qingwan couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
Her Qiqi was truly so proud and awkward.
After hanging up, Lu Yuqi ruffled his hair in annoyance again. Whatever, he thought, giving up. If he knows, he knows. It’s not a big deal.
He rolled down the car window and turned to look at the bustling, lively nightscape outside, letting the cold wind blow in. His eyes dimmed slightly. Anyway, it’s not like we’ll have many chances to see each other in the future.
“Why’d you mess your hair up into a bird’s nest?” one of his idiot teammates in the front seat asked, looking at him with amusement. “Is our Young Master Lu troubled by something?”
Lu Yuqi shot him a cold glare. “Get lost!”
Old scoundrel, he cursed again in his head.
An Yu took his dear brother out for two laps on his motorcycle. By the time they got back, An Qingyan’s heart was still pounding. No wonder their parents didn’t let Second Brother play with these things.
It was thrilling, yes, and pretty cool.
But it was also terrifying and dangerous.
An Yu, however, was refreshed and in high spirits. He went to take a shower, humming a tuneless little song. An Qingyan sat on the sofa for a while to recover. It was only when he opened his phone to check his unread WeChat messages that he realized something had happened.
It was about the production crew.
The actor playing Lin Xiao, the young master of the wolf clan, had been in an accident. He was in a car crash on his way back. His life wasn’t in danger, but he had suffered a comminuted fracture in his arm. It would take at least three or four months to heal properly.
But filming for “Chronicles of the Nine Provinces” was scheduled to start in a week.
An Qingyan sent a few comforting messages to the actor in the group chat, telling him to rest well. In his condition, it was impossible for him to play Lin Xiao anymore. It was a real shame to encounter such an accident so suddenly.
You truly never know whether tomorrow or an accident will come first.
With only a few days until filming began, they had to find a new actor. Wu Weiguang sighed in frustration. He had always had high standards for his actors and wasn’t sure if he could find another suitable one in time.
He posted in the group chat that if anyone knew a suitable actor, they could make a recommendation.
The first person An Qingyan thought of was Lu Yuqi. The young master of the wolf clan was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, proud, rebellious, and always saying the opposite of what he meant. Whether in looks or personality, Yuqi was a perfect fit.
He’d had the same thought when he first read the original novel.
Lu Yuqi was studying at the film academy, currently in his sophomore year. An Qingyan didn’t really understand why someone studying acting would go on a talent show, and be so good at it.
But then An Qingyan thought about it. He, who had come from a talent show, was also going into acting, so it didn’t seem so strange anymore.
If they were really going to recast, he definitely hoped Lu Yuqi could play the role. After thinking it over, he dialed his number. At that moment, Lu Yuqi had just gotten back to his hotel. He flopped onto the bed and lazily answered the call.
“Yuqi, how have you been? Are you busy?”
“It’s alright.” Lu Yuqi closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, asking nonchalantly, “How about you? Is your training over? Did it go well?”
An Qingyan said it went well, adding silently in his head, Except for an annoying person who glared at me and rolled his eyes at me all day. Then he got down to business.
“So? Are you interested in giving it a try?”
“This drama is really good, a major production.”
“Oh, and my older brother will be in it too.”
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