YA Ch14: Attitude

Both sides were silent for a good half-minute.

Father Ming had two deep furrows between his brows, a result of years of frowning. He was clearly a serious and stern old man. Hearing this, his face darkened, his lips pursing as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t, finally managing to say, “Hang up.”

Lu Yu realized things were going wrong and quickly stood up to explain, “Uncle, haha, I didn’t know you were on video. It’s not what you think…”

Before Lu Yu could finish his stammering explanation, Father Ming suddenly asked in a deep voice, “What addiction?”

Ming Yan said, “Alcohol addiction.”

Lu Yu said, “Internet addiction.”

Their voices overlapped.

Father Ming: “…” The furrow between his eyebrows deepened.

They quickly tried to fix their mistake.

Ming Yan: “Internet addiction!”

Lu Yu: “Alcohol addiction!”

Father Ming: “… Just hang up.”

Ming Yan covered his face with one hand, while Lu Yu spun around on the spot like a hamster with its tail on fire, “Uncle, let me explain.”

At this moment, a sweet and charming face squeezed into the screen, “What kind of addiction are we talking about here? Oh dear, Lu Yu, it’s not that Auntie wants to scold you, but those dark circles under your eyes are as bad as bruises. You need to take care of yourself.”

Ming Yan whispered to Lu Yu, “This is my mom.”

Lu Yu’s eyes widened, surprised to see that Ming Yan’s mother was so petite and cute, while Father Ming looked tall and imposing. He finally understood where Ming Yan got his tall height and small frame.

He quickly smiled and explained, “Auntie, I was just being silly and making a joke. You all continue talking.” With that, he squatted down and disappeared from the video frame, then crawled backward on his stomach.

Ming Yan turned to see Lu Yu crawling on the carpet like a bullfrog in pajamas, his mouth twitching. Lu Yu lay on the floor, made a tactical gesture to continue the fight, and then stayed still.

He really was having an alcohol withdrawal and was out of energy.

Father Ming still had more to say. Seeing Lu Yu disappear like an elevator dropping, he remained silent for a moment before saying, “I don’t care what you plan to do, but there’s one thing, A-Yan, do you remember our family motto?”

Ming Yan took a deep breath and said, “Uphold integrity and do righteous deeds.”

Father Ming nodded, “When you’re unsure, just recite it once. Come home after your first live broadcast.”

Ming Yan replied, “Okay.”

With the serious talk over, Mother Ming squeezed back into the frame, “A-Yan, make some pigeon soup or turtle soup for Xiao Lu to replenish his energy. He looks so drained, it’s not good.”

Her voice carried a soft southern accent, which was very pleasant to hear.

Lu Yu couldn’t help but pop his head up and say, “Auntie, I’m fine. It’s just from staying up late. I’ll be okay with some rest.”

“Oh my, Xiao Lu, you gave me a scare.” Mother Ming patted her chest, then smiled, showing two small dimples, “Xiao Lu, come over to our house when you have time. I’ll make roast pigeon for you. I recently learned how to make it, and it’s delicious.”

Lu Yu nodded vigorously and said, “Sure, sure.”

After hanging up the video, Lu Yu sat on the floor, a bit dazed. How could Ming Yan’s parents be like this? Never mind Father Ming, but Mother Ming was too kind to him, as if he really was a well-loved son-in-law.

Ming Yan squatted down to look at him, somewhat amused, “What did you expect them to be like?”

“At the very least, they should be scolding loudly,” Lu Yu said, his acting kicking in, pointing at the hovering CEO ball, “You little rascal, stay away from my son. My son has always been obedient and excelled in everything. How could he be gay? How could he be led astray by a little punk like you? Just you wait, I’m coming over right now to break your legs.”

As he spoke, Lu Yu mimicked looking for a stick behind him.

Lao’er was at a loss from his acting, floating in the air in confusion for a few seconds before angrily saying, “I didn’t lead your son astray. I, President Shen, am a diamond-straight man with a harem of beauties!”

Then he disdainfully bumped into the merman ball, getting smacked by Lao Da’s tail in return.

“Hahaha,” Ming Yan was amused by him, sitting on the floor as well, and patted Lu Yu’s head, “They… they know we’re partners and won’t make things difficult for you.”

Hearing this, Lu Yu didn’t feel relieved; instead, he felt unhappy. He would rather be beaten by his father-in-law than receive such politeness. Reluctantly, he asked, “What did our dad mean by telling you to do righteous deeds?”

Was Father Ming suspicious of their relationship and reminding Ming Yan not to do anything shady?

Ming Yan glanced at him sideways.

Lu Yu, feeling guilty, coughed, “Ahem, well, we’re already married. Your dad is my dad too; that’s recognized by law.”

Ming Yan didn’t bother arguing with him, “He meant not to bully you.”

Lu Yu’s eyes lit up instantly. As expected, his father-in-law had sharp eyes and saw through their relationship. Should he act like he was being bullied and go to his father-in-law for justice? After all, he was younger than Ming Yan and looked like he was at a disadvantage.

No, wait!

Lu Yu turned to look at Ming Yan, seeing him in a daze, obviously thinking about something else. That earlier statement was probably just to fool him. Sighing in a dramatic manner, Lu Yu said, “Lu Dayu, you’ve had it rough. Even your father-in-law doesn’t want to hit you.”

“Father, why do you want your father-in-law to hit you?” The merman ball floated over, puzzled. Usually, in AI training, the trainer asks questions, and the AI actively searches for answers to respond. To instill knowledge, it’s directly fed to the AI. But Lu Dongdong had evidently reached the next stage, where he could ask questions autonomously.

Lu Yu seriously explained, “If the father-in-law is angry, it means he recognizes our relationship and feels his son is at risk of being led astray by a bad guy.”

Ming Yan didn’t participate in their interaction. He got up to leave but was quickly grabbed by Lu Yu’s swift hold on his leg.

“Yan-ge, I’m having alcohol withdrawal, and it feels terrible. As partners, you need to provide necessary assistance.” Lu Yu pressed his face against Ming Yan’s silk pajamas, rubbing hard.

Ming Yan was pushed back onto the sofa by his rubbing.

Lu Yu crawled up onto the sofa along Ming Yan’s leg, burying his face in Ming Yan’s shoulder, and took a deep breath. The mix of woodsy and sandalwood scents was refreshing and intoxicating, more so than the strongest cigars. A large amount of dopamine quickly flooded his brain, countering the craving for dopamine caused by alcohol withdrawal.

Ming Yan felt ticklish from Lu Yu’s sniffling and sighed helplessly, “I’ve never heard of any partners providing this kind of help.”

“Well, now you’ve heard of it.” Lu Yu took a few more deep breaths, feeling euphoric, burying his nose in the soft collar, “Helping a partner through tough times and getting back on track is your duty.”

Lu Yu suddenly remembered a classic line from forced love BL novels, “You wouldn’t want others to see your video, right?” He couldn’t help but raise his head, giving a wicked smile, and whisper in Ming Yan’s ear with a low, bubbly voice, “You wouldn’t want people to see a drunkard doing a live broadcast, right?”

“Pfft…” Ming Yan was amused by him and raised his hand to rub his dog’s head, turning the freshly washed and dried hair into a bird’s nest.

Lu Yu rubbed against Ming Yan’s palm, then slipped down, lying on Ming Yan’s lap with a pitiful look, “I will definitely quit drinking. This stuff is too harmful. By then, I’ll return to you a healthy Lu Dayu. It’s great to be Lu Dayu. He enjoys all the good times while I endure all the hardships. If he goes back to ten years ago, who knows how he’ll ruin my young body?”

Ming Yan looked at the guy lying naturally on his lap and shook his head helplessly.

At this moment, the CEO ball floated over and whispered, “New message.”

Ming Yan opened his smart brain and saw a text message from Lu Zhenni, Lu Yu’s rather noisy cousin.

[Lu Zhenni: Ming Yan, let’s meet tomorrow. Our Lu family can help with the listing of Shen Yu Technology.]

Ming Yan looked down at Lu Yu, who had unknowingly fallen asleep. This Lu Dayu had very poor energy, and after a day of such hustle, he was already exhausted.

Ming Yan pulled the hair poking into the gap of his pajama waistband, raised his hand, and replied:

[I’m very busy lately; no time. To make an appointment, contact my secretary.]

On the other side, Lu Zhenni was furious and sent a long voice message. Ming Yan didn’t open it to listen, but directly converted it to text:

[Lu Zhenni: Ming, how can you be so rude? Is it you who encouraged Lu Yu to have a bad relationship with the family these years? Do you know how sad my uncle and aunt are? Just wait, I’ll come to your company tomorrow to find you!]

Ming Yan replied:

[If they are sad, let them talk to Lu Yu themselves.]

Ming Yan sighed, looked down at the peacefully sleeping Lu Xiaoyu, couldn’t help but touch his fluffy head, and whispered, “Xiaoyu (little fish), Xiaoyu (little fish), don’t grow up, don’t look, don’t listen, don’t be afraid.”

This was a nursery rhyme he heard as a child, the original lyrics being, “Little darling, little darling, grow up quickly; don’t be afraid of wind and rain.”

The next day, Lu Yu woke up well-rested, finding himself on the sofa and feeling desolate. The male god was too heartless, letting him sleep on the sofa all night?

Then he saw the small blanket covering him, golden and printed with coins, thoughtfully tucked in to cover him well below the neck.

“Hehehe, wife covered me with a blanket! Right, right, he couldn’t carry me and didn’t want to wake me, hehe!” Lu Yu was reluctant to move; he called Lu Dongdong to take a full-body photo of him, then quickly got up and sent it to Yang Chen.

[Dog Lu: Have you ever seen such a cute little blanket? (picture attached)]

Lao Yang, groggy in the morning, opened his eyes and saw this picture. Feeling speechless, he replied:

[Egg Yang: Isn’t this just Lao’er’s merch? I’ve seen it.]

This was Shen Baishui’s anime merchandise, with a bunch displayed in the company’s break room.

[Dog Lu: No, you haven’t seen it. This is the little blanket Yan-ge covered me with while I was asleep.]

[Egg Yang: Scram, scram, scram!]

After showing off to Lao Yang, Lu Yu contentedly smacked his lips, thinking about who else he could send it to. Unfortunately, he had only been in this future world for two days and knew very few people.

Zhao Yanqing, who had arrived early at the company to review the plans before the meeting, received a message from Lu Yu and sneered, thinking Lu Yu had finally realized he couldn’t afford to offend the golden master and came to apologize.

Opening it, he saw:

[Lu Yu: Have you ever seen such a cute little blanket? This is the little blanket Yan-ge covered me with while I was asleep. (picture attached, showing Lu Yu lying under the coin-printed blanket)]

Zhao Yanqing: “…” He replied with a big question mark.

Lu Yu immediately sent another message but didn’t retract the previous one.

[Lu Yu: Sorry, sent to the wrong person.]

Zhao Yanqing video-called him, “Lu Yu, I think you have misunderstood me.”

Lu Yu, looking at Zhao Yanqing, who was all suited up and slicked back, felt annoyed and pulled the blanket over his legs, “No, I have a very clear and accurate understanding of you.”

Zhao Yanqing frowned, “Let’s talk.”

Lu Yu shook his head, “Not today, I’m not ready yet, maybe in a few days.”

Zhao Yanqing gritted his teeth, “We can just have a meal at noon. What do you need to prepare?”

Lu Yu didn’t respond, instead quickly searching on the virtual keyboard on the light screen:

[Fast-track martial arts training]

[Thirty-six tricks for the original spouse to deal with the mistress]

[How to make those eyeing my man back off in one move]

Zhao Yanqing: “…You don’t have to read it out loud when you search.”