YA Ch102: Acting Spoiled

Lu Yu suddenly stood up, took the poetry book, and said, “Let’s not meet again,” before turning and leaving. He couldn’t stay there for a moment longer, feeling that the black-toned restaurant was like a huge coffin, ready to swallow him whole at any time.

He paid the bill, rushed out into the dimly lit shop, and only when he saw his Bentley sparkling under the streetlight did he feel like he was back in the real world.

The powerful engine roared deafeningly as the blue Bentley skidded out of the parking lot and sped towards home.

Inside the restaurant, Li Moqiao looked at the empty seat opposite her, paused for a moment, and continued eating.

She said to the smart assistant on her wrist, “He is exactly like you. I cannot understand such impulsiveness and emotions.”

The smart assistant replied in a young male voice, somewhat mechanically, “Yes, his personality is more like his father’s, I mean, like mine.”

Li Moqiao frowned, seemingly unsatisfied with the answer, and commented, “Your activation level is too low; perhaps you could be sent to this child’s company for reprogramming.”

The display flickered momentarily before speaking again: “The greatest gap between artificial intelligence and humans is in creation. Replicating a poet is the most difficult thing in this world. Even with Lu Dongdong’s level of intelligence, I cannot write original poetry.”

Li Moqiao showed a perfectly curved smile and said, “You only need to recite his poems; there’s no need for you to create.”

Lu Yu parked the car in the underground garage.

The in-car smart assistant detected the familiar environment, and the seatbelt buckle made a crisp click as it released automatically.

Dongdong reminded him, “You exceeded the speed limit by two intersections. You will face a penalty of 6 points and 400 yuan. Do you need me to pay it directly?”

Lu Yu didn’t respond, sitting vacantly in the car, unsure of what to do. He instinctively fumbled, and his hand brushed against the central console, causing a small drawer to automatically open, revealing a box of cigarettes that had been opened.

He rolled down the window and lit a cigarette, watching the flame flicker.

He didn’t know how long it had been. Lu Yu felt as if he had thought about many things, human civilization and social ethics flashing before his eyes; yet it also felt like he had thought of nothing at all.

The garage was silent, only the faint crackling of the flame climbing the thin smoke.

Until Ming Yan came downstairs, walking to the car window, breaking the silence.

Ming Yan held a Porsche key, seemingly planning to drive someone. Seeing Lu Yu smoking, he was a bit stunned and called out softly, “Lu Yu?”

Lu Yu instinctively tried to stub out the cigarette but didn’t know where to press, awkwardly staring at Ming Yan for a moment before taking another drag.

Ming Yan frowned and asked, “You’re back, but why aren’t you going upstairs or responding to messages?”

Lu Yu lowered his head, staring blankly at the cigarette between his fingers, and said, “I don’t know.”

Ming Yan was silent for a moment, then asked, “How did you learn to smoke?” Eighteen-year-old Lu Xiaoyu didn’t smoke.

Lu Yu sneered, “I’ve always known how to smoke.” He blew a smoke ring towards Ming Yan, and amidst the swirling smoke, Ming Yan’s face became blurred and illusory.

It’s all fake, all fake.

His mother is fake, an emotionless android; his adoptive parents’ apology is fake, just to make him soften up and persuade the “android” not to pursue the patent fees; even Yan-ge is fake; he only likes Lu Xiaoyu, and if he knew he had become half Lu Dayu, he would definitely be repulsed.

“Smack,” Lu Yu was slapped on the back of his head, the cigarette in his hand was snatched away and extinguished, and in the next moment, he was dragged out of the Bentley by his ear.

“Getting quite bold, huh? Come home with me.”

Lu Yu leaned against the corner of the elevator, rubbing his reddened ear, and grumbled, “Ever since you took my virginity, you’ve become so fierce, no longer that gentle Yan-ge. Do you think that by sleeping with me, you can control me?”

He tried to make a joke.

Ming Yan was amused and said, “Yes.” Turning his head, he saw Lu Yu smiling, but his eyes were on the verge of tears. His heart ached, and he gently held Lu Yu’s cigarette-scented fingers, like leading a wronged dog, and slowly headed home.

Upon entering the house, Ming Yan got him slippers, and with a command, Lu Yu complied, changing his shoes and clothes obediently.

Ming Yan guided the dazed Lu Yu to the sofa and asked softly, “Tell me what happened.”

Lu Yu, looking down at his hands, spoke as if drunk, “I messed things up. She is indeed my mother. I refused to take the AI Data Alliance license. I can’t accept her things. I’m sorry…”

Though the words were disjointed, Ming Yan understood. He hugged Lu Yu, patting his back gently, “It’s okay. I didn’t really want you to go after that license anyway.”

Lu Yu buried his face in Yan-ge’s neck, taking deep breaths as if finally getting oxygen after nearly drowning. Gathering some strength, he began to narrate the events of the evening, omitting the issue of Lu Dayu’s memory, only mentioning his strange mother and the deceased father.

Ming Yan listened quietly, then softly asked, “Have you eaten?”

Lu Yu didn’t expect Ming Yan’s first question to be about this. He replied blankly, “I only had a spoonful of chocolate popcorn.”

Ming Yan patted his drooping hairstyle; the hair wax he applied before was still there, but the strands had lost their vitality. He said affectionately, “I’ll make you a bowl of noodles. Wait a moment.”

With that, he got up and went to the kitchen.

Lu Yu sat on the sofa, watching the gentle figure in an apron busy in the open kitchen. This was a scene that had only existed in dreams before—what home looked like. He stared blankly, and the warm scene gradually dissolved into tears.

Sniffing, Lu Yu called for the mermaid ball and started typing on the screen.

After a while, Ming Yan came back with a bowl of tomato and egg noodles. The golden fried eggs and bright red diced tomatoes, sprinkled with a layer of finely chopped scallions, looked very appetizing.

Lu Yu picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. Tears fell into the soup.

Ming Yan pretended not to see and propped himself up on the table with one hand, smiling as he asked, “Is it good?”

Lu Yu took another bite, “It’s good.”

He tasted the food like a connoisseur savoring a rare delicacy, making a great effort to restrain his impulse to gulp it down and carefully finished it bite by bite, even drinking the hot soup clean.

Ming Yan put away the bowls and chopsticks into the dishwasher and urged Lu Yu to rinse his mouth, smiling as he said, “You’re praising me so much; I’m starting to become blindly confident in my cooking.”

Lu Yu tidied up and then hugged Ming Yan from behind, affectionately rubbing his face against his thin back.

Ming Yan patted the hand on his waist and asked, “Are you full? Do you want some fruit?”

Lu Yu clasped that hand and rubbed his thumb back and forth, saying softly, “Yan-ge, you’re so good to me, it makes me feel very ashamed.”

“What are you saying?” Ming Yan turned around and pinched his aggrieved face, “Our Xiao Yu is so cute; this is what you deserve.”

Lu Yu shook his head, shook his head again, pressed the hand against his face, and slowly moved it to his lips, placing a deep kiss on the palm. Then, he tightly held it, interlocking their fingers, and led Ming Yan to the study.

On the printer were two freshly printed documents.

Ming Yan took the A4 paper, which was still warm, and when he saw the words on it, his smile instantly froze: “What do you mean by this?”

It was, in duplicate, a divorce agreement.

Lu Yu held Ming Yan’s wrist and said hoarsely, “I originally wanted to continue deceiving you, but I can’t deceive any longer. I realized that I’m not someone who traveled through time, just amnesiac; I’m Lu Dayu. My past memories are returning, and when I remember everything, I will completely become him.”

Ming Yan’s brows twitched.

“I remember now why we set a three-year term for the marriage; it’s because I knew I had procrastination issues and needed a deadline,” Lu Yu continued, feeling liberated to spill everything, “I had to chase you down before the deadline; otherwise, I’d let you go. Actually, even when the time was up, I didn’t catch you; it was because of cheating with amnesia that I succeeded.”

Ming Yan sighed, “Lu Yu…”

Lu Yu seemed not to hear and continued in his own world: “Now that I’ve messed everything up, if I deceive you again, it would be too despicable. While I’m still Lu Xiaoyu, let’s quickly sign this agreement; whether we get divorced or not will be up to you.”

Ming Yan frowned and tilted his head to look at him: “Lu Yu?”

Lu Yu took a pen and put it in Ming Yan’s hand: “Savings, shares, cars, houses, all belong to you. Just leave a small house and enough money for a year of living for him. Poverty can inspire creativity, and also…”

“Lu Yu!” Ming Yan suddenly raised his voice and shouted at him.

Lu Yu was startled, stopping his monologue.

Ming Yan threw away the pen, grabbed his face forcefully, making him look into his eyes, and said through gritted teeth, “I’m asking you again, do you really want to divorce me?”

The scene from years ago reappeared; Ming Yan felt like he was back at that rainy day, that cold and lonely telephone booth. He was so angry he wanted to pin Lu Yu to the ground and beat him up.

Lu Yu stared at him blankly.

Ming Yan said, “I’ll ask you one more time: do you really want a divorce? If you really want it, let’s not wait for Lu Dayu; let’s go handle the procedures tomorrow.”

Lu Yu’s eyes reddened, shaking his head. “I don’t want to; how could I bear it? But…”

“So, you’re just being spoiled?” Ming Yan lifted the arm that was hanging down, with the pale wrist still tightly gripped by the person who suggested divorce.

Lu Yu hurriedly released his hand, gently rubbing the red mark he had made: “Yes, I’m sorry.”

Ming Yan shook off his hand, and in Lu Yu’s incredulous gaze, he tore up the two agreements. Then he held Lu Yu’s cool face, gently kissing his reddened eyes: “If you don’t want to divorce, then we won’t. Whether it’s Lu Xiaoyu or Lu Dayu, we won’t break up, okay?”

Lu Yu couldn’t believe it: “Really?”

“Really,” Ming Yan sighed and gently hugged him, like soothing an agitated little animal, smoothing out his ruffled fur bit by bit, “I didn’t understand before, but I understand now. Your dramatic behavior and demands for separation are actually just being spoiled.”

Lu Yu, who had never been well treated since childhood and had his cries for help cut off by invisible forces, wouldn’t express his pain when faced with unbearable situations. Instead, he used these extreme and illogical demands to attract his lover’s attention.

“Wuu…” Lu Yu buried his face in Ming Yan’s chest, making a low howl like a wild wolf, and only at this moment did he dare to cry out loud.

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Author’s note:

Ah, I must have gone crazy writing poetry; this chapter unconsciously rhymed.

You say separation; what separation? Civil Affairs Bureau, get the marriage separated.

You say fish; what fish? Big fish, small fish, crying fish, hugging wife fish.

_(:з」∠)_ The author has gone mad.