YA Ch19: Dream Revisit

The sudden surge of emotions popped like a soap bubble.

Ming Yan was speechless and said stiffly, “No.”

Then he turned over to sleep with his back to Lu Yu. However, his hand was still held by Lu Yu, so when he turned over, it was like a rolling pin wrapping a towel, and he “wrapped” Lu Yu onto himself.

Lu Yu took the opportunity to cling to him, looking at the disappearing tear with regret. Holding onto Ming Yan’s shoulder, he persistently said, “Just let me lick it once.”

“Shut up! I’m going to sleep. If you keep talking, I’ll sew your mouth shut!” Ming Yan warned viciously.

Lu Yu pouted, hummed, and rested his chin on Ming Yan’s arm, nudging it, “So fierce.”

Ming Yan moved his shoulder, shaking off the big guy clinging to his arm, and closed his eyes to sleep.

Lu Yu stopped moving around, lying on the bed like a stranded seal with his hands placed by his sides, tilting his head to stare at Ming Yan’s back. Listening to Ming Yan’s breathing gradually become steady and long, he slowly got up and lightly licked the spot on Ming Yan’s cheek where the tear had fallen.

A bit salty, cool, and soft, like sea salt jelly.

Ming Yan fell asleep in a daze and entered a complicated dream.

In the dream, he was sitting at a dinner party, looking around somewhat confused. The table was surrounded by familiar faces, and he recognized two of them as his college classmates. Ming Yan remembered that this seemed like a college reunion after he had just returned to China.

It was the first time he attended a class reunion after graduation, and others seemed more familiar with each other than he was.

Everyone was boasting about their careers, and someone was expertly playing along, exclaiming from time to time.

“I’m an art director at a video platform. The platform is very powerful now; even big stars call us ‘teachers’ and treat us like VIPs,” someone said proudly, in a long-winded manner.

“I’m a designer at LX Greater China.” Someone else said just one sentence and then smiled without speaking further.

“Wow, that’s LX, a top luxury brand. You have a bright future!” Everyone praised and asked about the internal workings of the luxury brand. As art students, they hoped to showcase their talents in such places.

After a round of heated discussion, the designer classmate suddenly turned to Ming Yan and asked, “I heard you were a designer at RZ headquarters. Why did you leave?”

The room fell silent.

Someone whispered, “RZ wanted to acquire Tomorrow Watches. He returned to deal with it and has already fallen out with RZ. How could he continue working there?”

“I think your father is too old-fashioned. Watches are a declining industry. By selling them at a high price to RZ, you could become a minor shareholder and continue designing your luxury items. Why not? It’s a win-win,” the LX designer said, pointing out the situation.

Ming Yan shook the wine glass in his hand, “As far as I know, LX Greater China doesn’t handle the main designs, only special editions for Chinese festivals. Did you add that ‘big pink heart’ for this year’s Qixi Festival?”

Luxury brands’ special editions for Chinese festivals had always been ridiculed for being perfunctory, often just printing a few hearts on their main products and calling them Valentine’s Day specials or printing a magpie bridge for Qixi Festival. It was a constant subject of mockery every year.

The designer classmate’s face turned red.

The people who had just been flattering him felt awkward. Some quietly shut up, while others intentionally brought up, “Ming Yan, your ex-boyfriend Lu Yu is quite something. He’s become the top writer on their novel website, ranked third on the writer’s wealth list, and now he’s doing some smart assistant thing. Tsk tsk, I wonder what he’s thinking, a novelist; what does he know about smart assistants?”

Someone nearby couldn’t stand it and interrupted, “Wasn’t he in our school’s computer science and AI program? There’s nothing wrong with him doing smart assistants. He wasn’t a bad student, and he’s got money. I heard he even poached that genius Yang Chen from a big company.”

“Wow, look at this setup. If he succeeds, will he take revenge on you? After all, you dumped him,” someone gloated, winking at Ming Yan, “since you broke up with him.”

Ming Yan looked up in surprise and said, “I dumped him… Is that what he told people?”

“Yeah, we all know. You’d better be careful.”

Lu Yu, why did you say that?

Dream scenes are always fragmented. Before he could ask in detail, the scene changed to a banquet.

Ming Yan held a slender champagne glass, standing in a corner, feeling completely lost.

Next to him, Zhao Yanqing said, “A-Yan, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but Tomorrow Watches is a bottomless pit. I’m a businessman; I can’t do a losing deal. Join me in private equity. I guarantee you’ll earn this amount in a year.”

The vague-faced Zhao Yanqing gestured a number that Ming Yan didn’t see clearly, nor did he care to. He just watched the bubbles rise from the bottom of the golden champagne glass.

“A-Qing, don’t joke around. Asking a designer to do finance is like asking a peacock to swim in the sea,” a long-haired man in a dress and heavy makeup squeezed Zhao Yanqing aside with a smile, “A-Yan should come to LX.”

President Zhao was pulled away. This foreign designer, somewhere between male and female, held Ming Yan’s hand and said in broken Chinese, “With your talent, you might become the chief designer within three to five years. I’ll recommend you internally. Come to LX and talk to our boss the day after tomorrow.”

Ming Yan accepted the pink scented business card and said, “Thank you, but I have more urgent matters to attend to right now and can’t take on LX’s position.”

“Ah,” the designer blinked his false eyelashes, sighed regretfully, and kindly suggested, “The watch industry is getting harder. Maybe you could transform it into a comprehensive luxury brand, making leather goods and bags.”

As he spoke, a mischievous person overheard and burst into laughter, “Tomorrow Bags, hahaha, it sounds like the emperor’s new clothes.”

Ming Yan tightened his grip on the champagne glass, barely maintaining his expression.

At that moment, someone suddenly appeared and pushed aside the person mocking him. The newcomer was tall, dressed in a suit, and still handsome even in the dim light. It was Lu Yu, whom he hadn’t seen for many years.

Lu Yu held a glass of red wine and walked slowly towards him. “Ming Yan, long time no see.”

Ming Yan tensed up, unsure of what Lu Yu would say. The other guests at the party, all polite people, glanced over, intentionally or unintentionally, putting on a show of watching the drama unfold.

Lu Yu looked at him and spoke gently, “I’m sorry to disturb you. I recently started a new company and encountered serious problems that need your help.”

Ming Yan, who felt barely able to help himself, said nothing.

Lu Yu took a small, glittering card from his suit pocket. It had a Q-version merman printed on it, the same one Ming Yan had drawn for Lu Yu during their school days.

“Do you remember this drawing?” Lu Yu asked softly, “It’s about this.”

Ming Yan believed him a little and followed Lu Yu to a secluded corner.

Lu Yu placed the card on a small glass table and pushed it toward Ming Yan. “My company is making a product based on this character, turning Lu Dongdong’s personality, voice, and image into a smart assistant. It’s about to launch globally, but there’s a problem. The U.S. and Europe have very high copyright requirements and need full copyright registration for this drawing.”

Ming Yan looked at the small drawing worth three hundred yuan, trying not to recall his feelings when he drew the fish, and said tiredly, “Once I gave it to you, it’s yours to use as you please.”

“No,” Lu Yu quickly shook his head, then calmed himself, “The copyright for drawings, like text, permanently belongs to the creator and cannot be transferred. Moreover, it’s too late to go through the complex copyright registration process abroad; their procedures are too lengthy.”

Ming Yan listened quietly, unable to guess what Lu Yu intended.

Lu Yu’s hand on the table clenched nervously into a fist. “I have an unreasonable request; please don’t get angry.”

Ming Yan: “What is it?”

Lu Yu: “Can you marry me? I’ll give you one-third of the company’s shares.”

Suddenly, a strong wind arose in the dream world, blowing the small card off the table. Lightning flashed and thunder roared as rain poured through the windows, shattering the faces at the banquet into fragments.

Ming Yan wanted to say, don’t be silly; it’s just a three-hundred-yuan Q-version drawing; it can’t be worth that much. But before he could speak, the rain soaked the small card on the ground. The merman in the card wagged its tail and came to life, calling out to him, “Dad!”

Lu Yu, following behind, also rushed over, transforming into a big dog that wrapped him in its thick fur, shielding him from the cold wind and rain. Then, it started licking his face and neck.

Smooch, smooch, smooch…

“So hot,” Ming Yan frowned, muttered, and struggled to open his eyes.

The dream shattered, and the scenes from the past flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, making it difficult to distinguish between the past and present. He couldn’t remember where he was, only that the heat behind him was very real.

Ming Yan turned his head with difficulty and found Lu Yu sleeping soundly, his nose pressed against the back of his neck, breathing hot air that burned the skin behind his ear.

But Lu Yu didn’t dare to hold him, only sticking close with his hands, even tucked behind his back, as if he had been bound and thrown here to serve as a prop for Ming Yan.

Their long legs were perfectly aligned, except for a piece of the quilt placed between their private areas to prevent any accidental contact.

Ming Yan didn’t know what to say. He propped himself up, wiped the sweat off his face, and sat up.

When Ming Yan’s leg no longer touched the person in his embrace, Lu Yu curled up subconsciously in his sleep, turning into a human pretzel that circled around Ming Yan. His hand involuntarily wrapped around Ming Yan’s waist, and he buried his nose in Ming Yan’s pajamas, continuing to breathe hot air.

Ming Yan, exasperated, tugged at the hot ear. “Get up; time for a meeting.”

Lu Yu groggily opened a slit of his eyes, realizing his current position, and momentarily stopped breathing. Feeling the gentle tug on his ear, he almost let out a delighted sound, muttering with his eyes closed, “So fragrant, it’s like braised pork.”

Saying this, he bit into the soft flesh of Ming Yan’s waist through his clothes.

Ming Yan’s hand on the ear turned half a circle immediately. “I saw you wake up!”

Lu Yu stubbornly kept his eyes shut, “I’m not awake.”