YA Ch72: Sore Throat
Lu Yu fought for his benefits and was extremely happy. After returning home, he sat down with the two balloon kids, sharing the snacks that his mother-in-law had made for the children.
He took out a bag of fried “cat ears”1Author’s Note: “Cat ears” is a traditional snack made from dough, not actual cat ears. No animals were harmed in the making of this story., gave one to the eldest, one to the youngest, and kept one for himself.
Lu Yu ate the one in his hand and then took out three more pieces to continue sharing. The two kids, one holding it with both hands and the other with a fork, stared at him without a mouth, just wide-eyed.
“Why aren’t you eating? You can’t get the next one if you don’t eat. Let Father help you eat.” Saying this, Lu Yu took the snacks from the two kids and ate them himself, then happily continued dividing the snacks. One for himself, one for the youngest, one for the eldest.
Fair and just.
Ming Yan looked on helplessly, poking at Lu Yu’s puffed-up cheeks full of food, “Don’t eat too much, or you’ll get a sore throat tomorrow.”
Lu Yu agreed, “It’s fine, we three are sharing, we won’t eat that many.”
Shen Baishui rolled his eyes and stopped playing with Lu Yu. He flew up high, showing Ming Yan the new message he had received.
It was a text message from Second Master Lu.
[Lu Shuangcheng: Tell Lu Yu not to post the recording online. If it’s posted, there’s no turning back. If he really can’t accept my offer, we can discuss other options. Think it over and reply soon. If this deal falls through, your Ming family will lose its last chance for a comeback.]
Ming Yan glanced at Lu Yu, who was happily eating snacks, and replied after a brief look.
[Ming Yan: No need. The Ming family doesn’t need this deal.]
Lu Yu felt Ming Yan’s gaze and looked up at him. “What’s up?”
The screen had already disappeared, and Ming Yan smiled, “Nothing, the workshop has made the second pocket watch. I think the Ming family can move in that direction this century. Vintage business never goes out of style. I can keep designing; we don’t need anything else.”
Lu Yu blinked but didn’t mention Lu Dayu’s plan. He nodded, “That’s great.”
Ming Yan ruffled his hair and turned to deal with his own tasks.
Lu Yu waved at the president balloon trying to follow Ming Yan, “Qianqian, come here before all the snacks are gone.”
President Shen crossed his arms, unwilling to participate. “Even if I come over, I can’t eat any. What’s the point?” He glanced at the eldest, who was wagging its tail happily with a piece of snack on its little fork and couldn’t bear to look.
The next day, Lu Yu indeed had a sore throat.
In the morning, his throat hurt as if he had swallowed hot coals. When he opened his mouth, it sounded like Donald Duck’s “quack quack.” After gulping down a large glass of warm water, he could barely speak, though his voice was still hoarse.
“One sip and I become the husky-voiced sexy man, but if I don’t drink, I’m the sexy Donald Duck,” Lu Yu said bitterly, holding the throat-soothing water Ming Yan had made for him, taking a sip after every sentence.
Ming Yan chuckled softly, “Since when is Donald Duck sexy?”
“He is, just like me,” Lu Yu pushed out his duck voice, leaning close to Ming Yan’s ear, “Baby—”
“Pfft—” Ming Yan burst into laughter, pushing the big head leaning towards him. “Hurry up and drink your water.”
That voice had nothing to do with sexy. Later, when they went live, if Hua Wenyuan heard Second Uncle’s duck quack, he might even laugh during the show.
Lu Yu obediently took a sip of hot water, smacked his lips, and wandered over to Lao Yang. This honey water was something Yan-ge had made for him out of concern in the morning, so he had to talk about it with his good buddy.
Yang Shen saw that he had something to say and spoke first, “Hey, why are you drinking from a thermos so young?”
“You don’t understand,” Lu Yu said cheerfully, taking a sip, “This is a privilege only for married folks.” He was referring to the food his mother-in-law had given him.
As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice was hoarse.
Lao Yang was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Lu Yu was showing off about. He asked the technician beside him, who was already married, “Do married guys get hoarse voices?”
The technician scratched his bald head, “Not really. I only get hoarse when I stay up late too much.”
The female livestream host nearby, known for her bluntness, smiled mysteriously and said, “You guys don’t get it. President Lu is hoarse because he’s been… shouting. That’s what he’s bragging about.”
The two straight men still didn’t get it.
A girl from the content team tripped over the carpet, scrambling to grab onto the livestream table. Looking at Lu Yu’s back in shock, she whispered, “No way, is Lu Yu… you mean, down there?”
She glanced at Lu Yu’s broader shoulders compared to Ming Yan’s and couldn’t imagine it.
Lu Yu, of course, had no idea what kind of strange consequences his bragging had caused. He took another sip of water as he wandered into the break room, where he saw his number one fan, Hong Wuyang, who had arrived for work on time.
Hong Wuyang looked tired, with severe dark circles under his eyes.
Lu Yu asked with concern, “What’s up with you?”
The top fan slumped on the sofa’s low backrest, “It’s all because of you! Why do I still have to do homework at my age? Maybe I should just be a side character in life. Being a salted fish is nice too. Being the main character is too tiring.”
Lu Yu quickly put down his teacup, walking behind the sofa to give his number one fan a shoulder rub. “Brother, you’ve worked hard. What did your big brother say?”
Speaking of that, Hong Wuyang brightened up, “Thank goodness I had your homework to copy. My brother actually praised me! He said ‘Not bad’—I couldn’t believe those two words came out of his mouth. He took the proposal and said he’s going to discuss it with Hongxiao today.”
Lu Yu was happy for him too and gave his brother a couple more squeezes. “Why didn’t you rest at home today? No one’s going to dock your pay if you don’t show up.”
Hearing that, Hong Wuyang immediately perked up. He turned around, resting his head on the sofa back, and slapped the sofa hard, “Today we’re entering the third volume, World Domination storyline, right? How could I miss such an exciting moment? How could it happen without my soldier A!”
Lu Yu was speechless but forced a compliment, “You’re right. Soldier A plays a crucial role on the battlefield.”
As he said this, his voice turned back into a Donald Duck quack, sounding completely insincere.
Sitting in the game pod, getting ready to start, Lu Yu’s mouth was suddenly stuffed with a candy. Looking up, he saw Ming Yan holding a small jar of throat lozenges.
“Don’t chew it. Try it out. Does your voice sound normal?” Ming Yan reminded him.
Lu Yu, with the lozenge in his mouth, replied, “It’s fine.”
Ming Yan nodded, “You can’t drink water during the livestream, so just suck on it slowly. Don’t let Hua Wenyuan notice.”
The morning’s storyline would span several episodes, representing about half a month in the novel. Second Uncle Hua’s hoarse voice could be explained, but if it didn’t improve over two weeks, it would raise Hua Wenyuan’s suspicion.
Lu Yu eyed the hand holding the jar of candy and said, “Give me two more, one isn’t enough.”
Ming Yan took out another lozenge, holding it between two fingers and offering it to him. “You can only have one more. Any more, and you won’t be able to talk.”
Lu Yu opened his mouth and sucked the lozenge from Ming Yan’s fingers, quickly licking the faintly pink fingertips. “So sweet.”
Ming Yan’s fingers trembled slightly. He glared at Lu Yu, ears turning red, and left in a hurry.
Not having seen their interaction, the number one fan popped his head out, “What’s sweet?”
Lu Yu grinned, “Even a little soldier can carry the weight of a battlefield. Do well today and grab a few kills!”
Hong Wuyang was pumped, “Exactly! Even soldier A can stand tall on the battlefield! Hey, but if I charge too hard, will I die?”
The game pod was highly realistic, and if he really got slashed, he wasn’t sure how painful it would be. And if he died, he wouldn’t be able to come back and watch Shen Ying. Soldier A was torn between making a name for himself on the battlefield and surviving for love.
Lu Yu reassured his brother, “Don’t worry, you’re the number one fan, so you have extra lives. If you die, you can come back as soldier B.”
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