YA Ch22: Plaster

So after all that talk, this was what it was leading up to.

Ming Yan was speechless and got up to leave.

Lu Yu, holding the pillow, scrambled to follow. Because he had one leg curled up on the sofa, he tripped over his own legs as he got up and almost fell, running haphazardly.

Ming Yan turned around to see Lu Yu stumbling like a newborn calf, his rising anger turning into helplessness. He reached out to stop him, “Don’t follow me. Go back to your own room to sleep.”

“You let me sleep at noon, but won’t let me sleep at night. This is starting and abandoning.” Lu Yu looked heartbroken.

Is that how the phrase is used? Ming Yan rubbed his aching temples and turned to go back to his room to close the door.

Just then, a clap of thunder sounded, and Lu Yu, scared, dropped his pillow and lunged at Ming Yan, hugging him tightly from behind.

Ming Yan could feel the person holding him trembling, and he frowned. He knew part of Lu Yu’s fear was an act, but he couldn’t help feeling soft-hearted. That story was mostly true, and Lu Yu indeed suffered a lot in the Lu family. He couldn’t help but scold himself and forced himself to speak harshly, “Don’t pretend. You weren’t this scared before.”

Lu Yu buried his face in Ming Yan’s back, greedily inhaling a few deep breaths, unwilling to let go, and murmured, “That Lu Dayu is twenty-eight, almost thirty, heading towards forty, almost at the age of understanding destiny. Of course he’s not afraid. I’m only eighteen!”

Ming Yan was amused by him, and the bit of resolve he had built up melted away in laughter. He could only say, “Alright, alright.”

Lu Yu cheered, quickly picked up the pillow from the floor, and during this time, he clung to Ming Yan’s pajamas with one hand, afraid he would run away in a blink. After picking up the pillow, he transformed into a memory spring, quickly returning to the position, pressing his face back into the indent he had just made, sticking to Ming Yan like plaster as he dragged him back to the room.

Once inside, Lu Yu quickly closed the bedroom door, feeling secure as he looked around.

This room was similar to his own, just with different furnishings. Lu Yu’s room was filled with various little knick-knacks, and the bed linens were colorful and flashy. Ming Yan’s room only had a few simply designed artworks, the bed sheets were dark blue silk, and the aroma diffuser by the bed silently emitted sleep-inducing essential oil fragrance, making one feel peaceful.

Ming Yan screwed the cap back on the essential oil bottle and glanced at Lu Yu, who was trying to place his pillow on the bed, “Your pillow fell on the floor. Use mine.”

Lu Yu nodded eagerly, quickly tossing away his pillow and lying down on the dark blue silk pillow. Of course, he preferred to use the pillow of his idol, which was full of his scent and could ensure a good night’s sleep.

Ming Yan applied a relaxing eye patch, turned off the aroma diffuser, lay down on the other side of the bed, and prepared to sleep.

Lu Yu lay there excited for a while, then turned to look at Ming Yan lying quietly, and whispered, “Did you and Lu Dayu never sleep in the same bed in the three years you were married?”

Ming Yan, eyes closed, said, “Sleep, no talking.”

“Oh.” Lu Yu obediently shut up, but after a while, he couldn’t help but speak again.

Ming Yan, unable to open his eyes due to the eye patch, reached out and precisely covered Lu Yu’s mouth. The soft, warm lips felt very different from Lu Dayu’s often dry and chapped ones, making him hesitate for a moment. The tactile sensation with his eyes closed was especially sharp, giving him the illusion that Lu Yu had really changed into a different person.

Lu Yu immediately grabbed the cool hand, preventing it from escaping, kissed it on the palm, and then licked it with his tongue. There seemed to be a bit of sweet essence from the eye patch on it, and he couldn’t help but lick it again.

Ming Yan felt like he was being licked by a big dog, the paw holding his hand firmly while it licked his palm. He tried to pull his hand away but couldn’t; Lu Yu’s grip was very strong.

Taking off the eye patch, Ming Yan turned and glared at him, “Lu Yu!”

“Hehe.” Lu Yu sheepishly withdrew his mouth, seeing the white palm he had licked wet, he quickly wiped it with his own sleeve.

Ming Yan curled his fingers and flicked Lu Yu’s forehead, “If you keep misbehaving, you’ll sleep outside.”

Lu Yu covered his flicked forehead, resisting the urge to grab that hand and bite it again, pouting innocently, “I just wanted to chat with you. Nighttime chats can enhance the bond between roommates.”

Ming Yan: “Didn’t you talk enough during the day?”

Lu Yu: “Some things are best said in bed.”

“…”

Ming Yan didn’t speak, quietly watching him.

“Just kidding.” Lu Yu laughed awkwardly.

Ming Yan turned over, his back to Lu Yu, ignoring him.

Lu Yu, feeling defeated, shut up. Just then, a loud thunderclap sounded, making him shiver and sneak closer to Ming Yan, staring at the back of his head.

After a long wait, Lu Yu, very softly, almost to himself, asked, “Yan-ge, how did you and Lu Dayu break up?”

That heartless Lu Dayu, if they hadn’t broken up, he wouldn’t even get to lick a palm, let alone licking feet, licking mouth, or licking…

Lu Yu furiously wrote parallel sentences in his mind.

Ming Yan was silent for a long time, so long that Lu Yu thought he had fallen asleep and was about to curse Lu Dayu with another parallel sentence when the other party suddenly said, “He dumped me.”

“How could that be!” Lu Yu woke up with a start, utterly shocked. “W-Why?”

Ming Yan didn’t answer again.

Lu Yu was puzzled, but he didn’t dare to disturb Ming Yan further. He lay there, feeling agitated. He couldn’t believe that Lu Dayu was the one who initiated the breakup; it was too absurd. He couldn’t figure out why Lu Dayu would do such a thing.

First, he ruled out the possibility of Lu Dayu falling for someone else. This guy later came back to Ming Yan to get married, clearly still having feelings and trying to find excuses to get close. Judging by his actions, he seemed very remorseful.

Secondly, he ruled out the possibility that Ming Yan had fallen for someone else. Given Ming Yan’s straightforward nature, if he didn’t like Lu Dayu anymore, he would have broken up directly rather than dragging things out and waiting for Lu Dayu to initiate it.

It must have been Lu Dayu’s fault. What on earth was this guy thinking?

“I’m sorry,” Lu Yu whispered. “Although I don’t know what happened, I apologize on his behalf.”

Ming Yan lay there with his eyes open, facing away from Lu Yu, not saying a word.

Outside, lightning flashed, and thunder roared, with heavy rain pouring down.

Lu Yu quietly scooted closer to Ming Yan, his face almost touching Ming Yan’s back, feeling the warmth radiating through the air. He lifted the blanket over Ming Yan and secretly wrapped his arms around him, whispering softly, “I like you so much.”

They both slept well through the night.

The next day, they were awakened by a ringing phone.

First Shen Baishui’s phone rang, then Lu Dongdong’s. As soon as the door opened, Fishball rushed in, “Yang Chen is calling.”

Lu Yu picked up the phone, and Lao Yang’s desperate wail came through, “Something’s happened, Lu Yu! The server room lost power last night, and the servers are damaged!”

Lu Yu frowned and glanced at Ming Yan, who was already sitting up, “What’s going on? Don’t panic. Aren’t server rooms supposed to have dual power supplies? No protection measures?”

Typically, important server rooms have dual power supplies. If one fails, it automatically switches to the other to keep the room running. Even in the rare event that both fail, there are backup power sources that kick in, and staff are quickly notified.

“I don’t know. I’m rushing to the company now. You should hurry too!” Lao Yang’s voice was accompanied by the sound of aggressive honking, “The servers have heat-sensitive components, and a total power loss could cause hardware damage. Damn it!”

“Don’t get too worked up. Drive safely. The damage is done; getting there a few minutes earlier won’t change that,” Lu Yu quickly advised, worried about Lao Yang driving recklessly.

“You’re right,” Yang Chen took a deep breath, going over various solutions in his mind, his tone calming down. “Tell Ming Yan. I won’t call him separately.”

“Okay,” Lu Yu looked at Ming Yan, who was still looking a bit confused after being abruptly woken up. His usually neat hairstyle had a few strands sticking up, and Lu Yu couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear, his mischievousness bubbling up uncontrollably. “Hey, how did you know I slept in the same bed as Ming Yan last night?”

Lao Yang was silent for three seconds. At a red light, he pulled the handbrake, took a deep breath, and said, “Lu Yu, damn you, damn your uncle, damn your third father! You better wear a bulletproof vest when you come! Ahhhhh!”