YA Ch40: Pitch

“Suitable? Why not suitable?” Lu Yu tightened his embrace around the person in his arms, rubbing his cheek against his. “I write, and you draw. I plow the fields, and you weave the cloth. We’re a perfect match!”

Ming Yan turned his head to glare at him. “You’re really annoying, making jokes at a time like this.”

His beautiful eyes, washed by tears, reflected the faint light of the scented lamp, like a night sky after the rain.

“No, I was just making a parallel sentence,” Lu Yu said as he gazed deeply into those eyes, joking with his mouth, but without a smile. He gently cupped Ming Yan’s face with one hand, and with tenderness and reverence, kissed away the tears hanging on his cheek.

Ming Yan closed his eyes, a tear dangling from his lashes, trembling slightly.

“Two sensitive people should be together, so they can understand each other’s little melodramas,” Lu Yu said, rubbing his face against Ming Yan’s, secretly shaking off the tear Ming Yan didn’t want him to see. “Only I understand why you’re moved when you see dew dripping onto stone slabs. If you told Lao Yang about it, he’d probably think you’re crazy. What we need is not someone rough and careless, but someone optimistic and cheerful.”

Ming Yan opened his eyes, avoiding his gaze. “How long can optimism and cheerfulness last? It’s not like Lu Dayu hasn’t been optimistic and cheerful before.”

“I’ll find the root of the problem and try to solve it,” Lu Yu said, allowing Ming Yan to push him away. Once Ming Yan leaned back against the bed, Lu Yu sidled up to him again.

Ming Yan frowned and shook his head. “No, I hope you don’t dig into it. What the Lu family said isn’t necessarily true, and knowing it won’t do any good.” Just be a happy Lu Xiaoyu, even if it’s only for a few days—just like this is fine.

“I know you’re worried I’ll be triggered and lose it like Lu Dayu. But problems need to be solved,” Lu Yu said, draping an arm over the headboard to encircle Ming Yan within his arm’s reach. “Otherwise, one day I’ll end up like Lu Dayu. While I’m still this 18-year-old me, with a healthy mindset, let’s find the source of the illness, solve it, and then we’ll never break up again, okay?”

Ming Yan was silent for a moment, avoiding his gaze. “I have too many things to worry about right now. I don’t have the energy to deal with relationship issues.”

There’s the company, the Ming family, and all sorts of unresolved problems. He really didn’t have the energy to sort things out with Lu Yu right now.

“You don’t need to deal with anything or worry about anything. You don’t even need to love me,” Lu Yu said with a smile. “If it’s inevitable that Lu Dayu will come back, or if I will become Lu Dayu, then before that happens, please let me love you properly. You can just think of me as a crazy suitor—just enjoy it.”

Ming Yan looked up at him. “So after all that, you’re just trying to sell yourself.”

“Yes, I am selling myself,” Lu Yu said, patting his increasingly toned chest. “By being with me, you won’t lose anything. I guarantee that I’ll get back to my 18-year-old physique in no time—eight-pack abs, a male college student with a body harder than diamond. Don’t you want a taste?”

Ming Yan was amused by him, half crying and half laughing. “Who cares about your ‘diamond’.”

Lu Yu chuckled. “Why don’t you try it? You might end up liking it.” As he spoke, he grabbed Ming Yan’s hand and pressed it against himself.

Yang Chen woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. In a daze, he vaguely heard someone in the room across the hall saying, “I don’t want to,” and “Pervert.” He scratched his smooth head, thinking he must be dreaming. Otherwise, how could he be hearing Lu Yu and Ming Yan teasing each other?

The next morning, Lao Yang sat in the dining room with a dazed expression, watching Lu Yu busily making breakfast while Ming Yan sat elegantly across from him, sipping coffee.

“Did you two… sleep together last night?” Yang Chen asked cautiously.

“Of course. We’re a couple, why would we sleep separately?” Lu Yu said as he flipped a frying pan over, dumping a burned egg onto Lao Yang’s plate. Then he placed a perfectly cooked, sesame-sprinkled heart-shaped egg on Ming Yan’s plate.

Yang Chen looked at the charred mess on his plate. “Are you human? Giving me a burnt egg to eat!”

Lu Yu put down the kitchen utensils and sat next to Ming Yan, pointing to his own plate. “I’m being nice to you. I only have the edges of the egg for myself.”

Ming Yan’s plate had a heart-shaped egg, perfectly toasted bread with jam, and a small salad. Lu Yu’s plate only had the cut-off edges of the egg, crusts of bread, and the less attractive lettuce leaves.

Yang Chen looked at the burnt egg on his plate and felt better after seeing that Lu Yu’s meal looked more like dog food.

Ming Yan remained silent, quietly eating his breakfast.

Lu Yu’s eyes sparkled as he looked at him. “Is it good?”

Ming Yan glanced at him. “It’s good.”

“Heh,” Lu Yu immediately cheered, his excitement almost making him bounce in his seat. “Then can I get a kiss as a reward?”

Ming Yan: “No.”

Lu Yu: “Okay then.”

Yang Chen: “…,” quickly stuffed the egg into his mouth, feeling full.

That morning, the AI transformation of Hua Wenyuan was officially launched on the Bajiao live-streaming platform.

The powerful live-streaming features allowed viewers to watch more clearly and also post real-time comments, even animated ones.

[Omg, Bajiao’s quality is so clear.]

[I’m here, I’m here. Finally, we can comment in real-time.]

[Hua Wenyuan, mama is here. Mama’s giving you gifts!]

Of course, those in the gaming pod couldn’t see the comments.

Hua Wenyuan finally escaped the enthusiastic hospitality of his maternal family and returned to the carriage with a large bundle of gifts. His second uncle was still diligently fanning his second aunt, who seemed a bit uneasy.

Noticing Hua Wenyuan’s confusion, Lu Yu waved it off. “It’s nothing. Your second aunt is worried about having children, thinking about leaving a son or two for our Hua family. Otherwise, he feels like he’s failing the ancestors.”

Ming Yan came back to his senses and elbowed him.

Hua Wenyuan twitched the corners of his mouth. “Second Aunt is overthinking.”

“A thousand years from now, men can marry men, but they still can’t have children. Though I heard someone is researching it.” Lu Yu took the opportunity to teach a little lesson, giving a mini-lecture to the third child.

All that science talk made Hua Wenyuan’s head spin, and he fled to become the carriage driver.

Not long after, Hua Wenyuan suddenly jumped down from the carriage and fished out a small strong man from the luggage underneath.

Cousin Xie Zhongyun was quite upset. “How did you know I was hiding under the carriage?”

Hua Wenyuan sneered without answering.

Lu Yu pinched little Xie’s muscular arm. “The carriage’s tracks are nearly three feet deep. Of course, there’s a big guy inside.”

Xie Zhongyun instantly bristled. “Who’s the big guy! I’m just well-built, okay?”

After bristling, Xie Zhongyun suddenly realized something. “Wait, who are you two? Why are you in my cousin’s carriage?”

Xie Zhongyun was an important supporting male character in Shooting the Heavenly Wolf. He was one of the fierce generals who fights alongside Hua Wenyuan. The guy was born with great strength but was a bit dim-witted. He needed to be pacified; otherwise, he’d be hard to handle when he got worked up.

“You don’t know us?” Lu Yu smiled slightly, pointing to Ming Yan beside him. “This is the famous reclusive sage Mo Tai, who specializes in guiding young men with ambitions to build their careers.”

The vigilant Xie Zhongyun, upon hearing “guiding young men with ambitions,” instantly dropped his guard and looked at Ming Yan with awe and caution.

“And I,” Lu Yu stroked an imaginary beard and plucked a string, “am Mo Tai’s favorite diamond-bodied hunk, known as the Silent Immortal Qin Hua Sheng Mi, your cousin’s second uncle.”