Chapter 69: The Accident — “Don’t Be Afraid” part 1
Evening.
The Lu family’s ancestral residence.
The entire villa was brilliantly lit. In the pitch-black night, the balcony lights cast a dim, amber glow over a secluded corner of the garden.
Lu Xunye clutched his phone, wondering why Shen Yunqian hadn’t replied to his messages.
Thinking back to what happened this morning, he couldn’t help but suspect: Did he fall asleep again?
Just as he was about to call him, an anxious voice spoke up from behind. “Lu-shaoye, the banquet is about to begin. The Chairman is looking for you.”
Lu Xunye clicked off his phone screen and nodded. “Let’s go.”
————
Inside the banquet hall.
Lu Feng led Lu Xunye around to exchange pleasantries with the other guests, acting as if the morning’s interlude had never happened. Naturally, no one was foolish enough to touch his sore spot by intentionally bringing it up.
Most of the invitees were prominent figures in Hai City who had business dealings or good relations with the Lu family.
Although Lu Xunye disliked these sorts of occasions, he had no choice but to follow Lu Feng and socialize.
They had just clinked glasses and seen off a certain President Liu when a President Ji approached.
Lu Xunye kept a polite smile on his face, quietly listening to the man converse with Lu Feng.
“So this is the young master of your house? He truly is a man of striking appearance, possessing the same charisma you had in your youth.”
For some reason, Lu Feng’s expression flickered slightly upon hearing those words, though he quickly masked it.
He chuckled, patting Lu Xunye on the back to usher him forward as he introduced them. “This is your Ji-shushu. There is much you can learn from him in the future. Greet him.”
A nearby waiter quickly approached with a lowered head, holding out a wine tray.
Lu Xunye gave the waiter a resentful glance before resignedly picking up a glass. “Hello, Ji-shushu. I’ll have to trouble you to look after me in the future. I’ll drink first as a sign of respect.”
With that, he downed the wine in one go. The man opposite him laughed heartily in praise. “Good! I like this lad.”
After a few more words, Lu Xunye made an excuse about feeling lightheaded and wanting to wash his face to make his escape.
After he left, the smile faded from the eyes of the man who had previously looked so full of admiration. He turned to Lu Feng with a teasing tone.
“Old Brother Lu, why did you suddenly bring this boy back? He’s certainly masking it well this time, but given his past behavior, can he really manage the Lu Corporation?”
Lu Feng neither confirmed nor denied it, merely sighing with ambiguity. “He’s a young man. Everyone has a period of being muddled.”
“True. But based on the sheer level of infatuation for a single woman, you two really are cut from the same cloth.”
The man slowly swirled the red wine in his glass. “I still remember back then, the way you were with Jiang—”
Mid-sentence, he caught the cold, thin look in Lu Feng’s eyes and immediately raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop.”
“Know what should and shouldn’t be said.” Lu Feng closed his eyes, a trace of hostility flashing through them. “I don’t want to hear about that matter ever again.”
……
As Lu Xunye was walking back, he overheard a few people huddled together, whispering about Lu Yan’s scandalous affairs and the cancellation of the marriage alliance between the Wen and Lu families.
The two families had already been engaged, and the wedding date was fast approaching, only for such a mess to break out.
In truth, most people shared the same view as Old Man Wen—they believed that playing around before marriage was normal.
In this circle, there were plenty of “contract couples” who played their own games after marriage. Aside from specific major occasions where they needed to appear together to briefly play the role of a loving couple, they went back to their separate lives afterward.
At that moment, a youth, egged on by his companions, cautiously reached out to greet Lu Xunye. “Hello, Lu-xiansheng.”
Lu Xunye stopped in his tracks, scrutinizing the youth before him whose eyes were as watery as a cat’s. Perhaps out of nervousness, the boy didn’t dare look him in the eye.
Thinking he had been rejected, the youth’s face flushed with embarrassment, his eyes reddening at the corners. His extended arm stiffened, and he began to pull it back.
Lu Xunye shook his hand before he could retract it. “Hello.”
The touch was brief. Noticing the boy’s dazed expression, he spoke up in a timely manner. “Did you need something?”
The youth’s gaze darted around. “Y-Yes, I think so.”
Seeing that he couldn’t even speak properly, one of his companions lost patience and rushed over to save the situation.
The newcomer threw an arm around the youth’s shoulder. “Hello, Lu-xiansheng. My friend likes your—”
Lu Xunye’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, only to hear the other person continue: “—books.”
Unfortunately, those words brought no mental relief to Lu Xunye. Thinking he had misheard, he asked, “What did you say?”
“He wanted to ask for your autograph, but he was too nervous. He missed your last book signing.”
The companion, fearing Lu Xunye would refuse, added, “He wasn’t planning on coming originally, but after finding out this morning that you are Wenzhou, he changed his mind.”
“Take it out already.” He shot a glance at the dazed youth, urging him on.
“Oh, oh, right.” The youth fumbled a book and a pen out from his jacket, handing them over respectfully. “Laoshi, for you.”
“……”
Lu Xunye accepted them with a complicated mood. One look at the cover confirmed it was Frost Feather again.
It took him a moment to process this. “What should I write?”
“Hey, I was wondering where you disappeared to. What are you doing here?” Feng Chengyu lunged over, draping his arm over Lu Xunye’s shoulder from behind, nearly knocking him over.
“Hello there.” Feng Chengyu greeted the others politely, his gaze shifting between them. He nudged Lu Xunye with his elbow and asked, “What’s going on?”
Lu Xunye had stopped his hand just in time to avoid marking the book. He hurriedly signed it and handed it back to the two youths. “Excuse me, we’ll be taking our leave now.”
Feng Chengyu walked with his arm around him like a brother, grinning as he said, “Do you need to quickly think about what you’re going to say later? You’re the protagonist tonight, so you’ll definitely have to say a few words.”
He pointed to a circular platform in the center of the hall, decorated with flowers. “Look, that’s your battlefield later.”
Lu Xunye was half-pushed forward.
“Does this outfit look good on me today?” Feng Chengyu tilted his head up arrogantly, waiting for praise.
Hearing this, Lu Xunye looked him up and down. The young man was dressed in a custom white suit that made his skin look pale and delicate, giving him an air of noble elegance.
After a long silence, he gave his evaluation: “Like a white swan.”
Feng Chengyu huffed a couple of times, seemingly satisfied. “My boyfriend specifically had this custom-made for me for this banquet. So stop hating him, okay? He’s just someone who says the opposite of what he feels. He actually wants to be good friends with you too.”
“Where is Pei Huaizhi?” Lu Xunye asked curiously. “He didn’t come with you?”
Feng Chengyu took it for granted. “No. Didn’t you say you didn’t want to see him? So I told him not to come.”
Lu Xunye was skeptical. “Is he really that obedient, letting you come out alone?”
“Please, who do you think I am!”
Feng Chengyu’s nose was nearly pointed at the ceiling, but then he wilted as he thought about it.
“But how do you know him so well? He really didn’t let me come out alone.”
Feng Chengyu made a face, looking a bit like he’d lost his will to live. “He’s waiting outside the villa.”
He complained, “Don’t you think he’s sick? I’m not going to run away. It’s not like someone’s going to trick me and take me away.”
A guilty conscience needs no accuser; of course he wants to keep you under his eye every second.
“……” Seeing his carefree appearance, Lu Xunye was speechless.
He opened his mouth, then sighed. “Forget it. As long as you’re happy.”
At the very least, Feng Chengyu was truly happy right now, and Pei Huaizhi treated him quite well.
Feng Chengyu keenly caught the underlying meaning in his words. He narrowed his eyes and interrogated him, “Are you hiding something from me?”
Lu Xunye said calmly, “No.”
Feng Chengyu’s gaze caught sight of something, and his footsteps faltered. “Why is he here?”
“Hmm?”
Lu Xunye followed his gaze.
A tall, elegant young man was talking to someone in a corner. He asked, “Do you know him?”
“I know him. He’s Qin Zhuoyu’s young uncle. Strange… don’t you think it’s weird that Qin Zhuoyu didn’t come to mock you tonight?”
Feng Chengyu patted Lu Xunye’s shoulder, saying earnestly, “You’ve suffered. I didn’t know Qin Zhuoyu was so petty.”
He began counting on his fingers. “Just because he had that one scandal with you when he was cross-dressing, then his dad found out he did cosplay and beat him until his leg broke, and then his mom scolded him for not visiting his aunt’s grave… does he really need to pick a fight every time he sees you?”
“……” Lu Xunye’s eye twitched. “Thank you so much for that.”
Lu Xunye still remembered when Shen Yunqian had just lost his memory; they had run into Qin Zhuoyu and his friends right after being discharged.
He had thought the other person looked down on Shen Yunqian, descending to cause trouble even with a broken leg, and harboring deep resentment toward Lu Xunye by extension.
It turned out the resentment was real, but it was because of…
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