YA Ch18: Nap

As soon as this status was posted, it instantly received thousands of comments.

[Back from the dead!]

[Ahhh, Fish, where is the extra chapter for “Flowers Smell Far”? It’s been three years; do you know how I survived these three years?]

Then there was a line of people with Shen Baishui avatars, all asking:

[Where’s my husband?]

[Where’s my husband?]

[Where’s my husband?]

Lu Yu was one of the few male authors in the male genre who didn’t write romance scenes. He never wrote about the male lead gazing at a female character. The characters in his novels, regardless of gender, were fleshed out with their own storylines, and occasionally, you could see some deep brotherly love between the lines. Hence, he had many female readers who were very lively and cute on social platforms, interacting a lot.

In this aspect, Lu Yu was always envied by his male author peers.

Other male authors’ social platforms were always cold and deserted, with only single-digit comments on each post. Although they made a lot of money, it was lonely as snow.

Of course, not all were just joining in the fun; some noticed the subtlety in the post.

[Wow, wasn’t it supposed to be a marriage of convenience? How did it fast forward to changing the surname?]

This post was quickly screenshotted and reposted by marketing accounts, with all sorts of speculations. Some said Lu Yu had run out of inspiration and was relying on marrying into a wealthy family to retire; others said a marriage of convenience could turn into true love, and perhaps these two had really fallen for each other; and some, just watching the drama, crazily tagged Tomorrow Watches, asking Chairman Ming to come claim his daughter-in-law…

In just two minutes, the internet was already in an uproar.

The advertising department was excited, with the director pointing to “Mrs. Ming,” which was trending on the entertainment chart, “This topic is great; we can hype it up, focusing on your relationship, creating some CP (couple pairing) content, and also promoting the live broadcast you two will be doing.”

“No,” Lu Yu shook his finger, “we can’t promote it like that.”

Ming Yan was slightly startled and turned to look at Lu Yu. Wasn’t this development exactly what Lu Xiaoyu wanted to see? Why suddenly oppose it?

Oh, right, Lu Yu still had many male readers. Most of them wouldn’t accept Lu Yu liking men, feeling betrayed and even disgusted by his work.

Thinking of this, Ming Yan lowered his eyes, not sure what he was feeling lost about. He must have been too tense recently; nerves frayed, and he was actually secretly hoping for such hype, which would make the divorce even harder. He must be crazy.

Just as Ming Yan was lost in thought, reflecting on himself, Lu Yu continued, “Haven’t you read romance or BL (Boys’ Love) novels? CP live broadcasts need to first dampen expectations before hyping them up.”

Lu Yu had Lu Dongdong do a search, displaying it on the light screen:

《After Live Broadcasting with My Contract Husband, I Became Popular》

《Forced to Join a Reality Show with My Hidden Marriage Husband of Three Years, the Whole World is Shipping Us》

《My Husband, Whom I Haven’t Seen in Three Years, Wants to Join a Couple Show with Me, the Elite Circle is Blown Up》

“Reversal, got it?” Lu Yu made a wrist-twisting gesture, “Red or black, supportive or not, these are all minorities. The real large audience is those watching for fun. We need to give them something to watch, or at least make them think there’s something to watch.”

The director nodded blankly, while the employees quickly jotted down the novel titles, planning to research them later.

Lu Yu was speaking enthusiastically when he suddenly saw a row of colorful lightning effects flash across the social media homepage, catching his attention.

Ming Yan waved, signaling the advertising team to go write the proposal.

The one with the flashing effect was a user named “A Song of Red Silk, Countless.” The smart brain’s special effects were not limited to colors and animations; this name had a 3D effect, popping out from the light screen. This was evidently a prestigious VVIP user, and this person spoke quite rudely.

[A Song of Red Silk, Countless: Dog Lu, you’ve married in. Is your next work going to be about a live-in son-in-law?]

“Who is this person? So rude,” Lu Yu was a bit displeased.

Lu Dongdong reminded, “He’s your top supporter.”

Lu Yu: “Oh, just by the name, he seems very handsome.”

Ming Yan: “…”

Calling Xiao Jiang in to take away the signed documents, Ming Yan stood up and stretched. He said to Lu Yu, who was still interacting with his top supporter, “I’m going to take a nap. Are you going home or going to your office?”

Lu Yu immediately closed the light screen and followed Ming Yan towards the lounge, saying, “I’m napping too.”

Ming Yan stopped in his tracks helplessly and asked, “Why are you following me?”

Lu Yu looked innocent, “My office doesn’t have a lounge; only yours does.”

On his first day here, he had already checked. His office didn’t have a lounge, just a broken sofa. Ming Yan’s office was different; it had a small suite with a double bed.

Clearly, when this office was first renovated, Lu Dayu had ulterior motives.

Ming Yan gave him a sidelong glance.

Lu Yu righteously declared, “What’s the big deal? We’re both men; what’s wrong with sharing a bed?”

Ming Yan squinted, “Do you not feel guilty saying that, Mrs. Ming?”

“Oh, come on, we need to develop some feelings for each other. Otherwise, how are we going to ‘shock’ everyone when the live broadcast starts?” Lu Yu said as he slipped into the lounge like an eel, “I don’t care; I want to sleep here. I skated two kilometers, and my back and waist are sore. You wouldn’t have the heart to make me sleep on the sofa, would you?”

The lounge wasn’t big, but it was very comfortable. The bed was covered with the bedding Ming Yan usually used, silky and soft, with a faint herbal scent. Lu Yu couldn’t resist jumping on the bed and rolling around.

“Don’t get on my bed with your jacket.” Ming Yan grabbed the dirty monkey off the bed, helplessly meeting those innocent eyes, “Alright, fine, just remember, I sleep lightly; don’t move around.”

With that, Ming Yan turned to the small dressing room next door and threw out a T-shirt and shorts for Lu Yu to wear as pajamas.

Lu Yu quickly changed and sneakily peeked through the small curtain of the dressing room, “Does Mrs. Ming not have the right to watch Mr. Ming change?”

The curtain was pulled open, revealing Ming Yan in silk pajamas with a cold face, “No.”

Lu Yu pouted, obediently lying next to Ming Yan without moving, just propping his head up with one hand and watching with big eyes. After a while, he started giggling to himself, feeling very excited.

Ming Yan had just closed his eyes to try to fall asleep when he heard giggles like a happy cat’s purring. To calm this guy down, he asked what he talked about with President Zhao in the morning.

Lu Yu saw those fan-like eyelashes still closed, so he used a soothing tone, “He started by blaming me, saying I didn’t consider you and should strongly push for this financing.”

Ming Yan frowned slightly, opening his eyes to look at him, “What did you say?”

Lu Yu raised his hand and gently brushed those long eyelashes with his palm, making Ming Yan close his eyes again, “I didn’t indulge him. I told him that since he knew the simulator was amazing, if he wanted to invest, he should do it early. Otherwise, after the live broadcast, it wouldn’t be the same price. Wow, when I said ‘it wouldn’t be the same price,’ in that mafia boss tone, I was so cool.”

Saying this, he couldn’t help but get excited, leaning forward and whispering in Ming Yan’s ear, “It wouldn’t be the same price.”

Ming Yan felt speechless but also tickled, almost wanting to laugh.

Lu Yu continued to babble, “He’s so hypocritical. He obviously wants to invest but pretends to make me beg him, all while using your name. I think he wants to get a good deal and receive gratitude. He should open a temple instead of Qingqu Capital, sit on a lotus pedestal like a deity, and make people bow and offer tributes every day.”

Lu Yu spared no effort in badmouthing Zhao Yanqing because he noticed this person truly had intentions towards Ming Yan.

Ming Yan opened his eyes and saw the slightly aggrieved Lu Yu, “Don’t worry about him; we just do normal business.”

“Yan-ge, can I ask you a question?” Lu Yu saw him open his eyes and decided to chat a bit more.

“Hmm?” Ming Yan made a pleasant questioning sound from his nose.

“Why did you follow Lu Dayu to start this company? You should have had better choices at that time, right?” Lu Yu actually wanted to ask if Ming Yan still liked Lu Dayu, which is why he agreed to join his somewhat absurd company for an uncertain future.

Ming Yan fell silent; his hand hidden under the quilt slowly clenched, and he let out a long, soft sigh, recalling the past.

When he returned from abroad, he wanted to single-handedly support the Ming family. But the problems with Tomorrow Watches were too severe; it wasn’t something that could be solved by designing a nice watch. So he thought of doing some other business to make money and cover the Ming family’s losses.

Father Ming was adamant about not giving up on Tomorrow Watches. Due to the suppression by foreign capital, he got so angry that he fell ill, lying in bed with tears streaming down his face, “The century-old foundation of the Ming family cannot be destroyed in my hands. Even if I have only one breath left, I must protect Tomorrow Watches.”

The traditional industries of many families that had good relations with the Ming family were also struggling due to new technology. The friends Ming Yan had known since childhood were either gloating and adding insults to injury or standing by with empty comforts. Zhao Yanqing, who extended an olive branch, was also condescending, persuading him to give up Tomorrow Watches as if offering charity.

Only Lu Yu turned it around, saying he needed his help.

“I know you didn’t really need my help; you just found an excuse to help me.” Ming Yan looked up, seeing the distress in Lu Yu’s eyes. Maybe because he was lying down and his tear ducts were reversed, he suddenly felt a bit teary.

So-called friends waited for him to lower his head. An ex-lover, who couldn’t even stay friends after breaking up, still carefully protected his dignity.

“I’m very grateful to you, Lu Yu.” From the eye closest to Lu Yu, a small, crystalline tear fell from Ming Yan’s eye.

Lu Yu panicked instantly, feeling deeply distressed.

Ming Yan realized he had shed tears and felt a bit embarrassed. He raised his hand to wipe them away, but Lu Yu grabbed his wrist.

Lu Yu scratched his head hesitantly and asked, “Can I lick away this tear?”

Ming Yan: “…”