YA Ch49: The Adopted Son

Because of Ming Yan’s participation, what was originally an inconspicuous plot point turned into a topic

of discussion, and the barrage of comments exploded instantly.

[Han Di Ba Yu was actually adopted, huh? A rich family’s adopted son really exists?]

[The double standard is just too much! Calling a rich family’s young master “Lu Yu” is indeed unreasonable…]

[Green Pastures: Are they bringing this up now to act pitiful in front of Ming Yan?]

[Green Pastures, you’re so good at shipping! Are you a CP fan? Rich CP fans, come join our group. Group number is XXXX.]

[A Song of Red Silk Countless Times: Don’t cry, Lu Doggy, big bro loves you.]

[A Song of Red Silk Countless Times rewarded 100 Supreme Banana Leaf Yachts.]

After the live stream ended, the enthusiasm for discussion didn’t die down but instead increased, directly pushing the topic of #RichFamilyAdoptedSon# onto the trending list.

Lu Yu became famous as a teenager, and with his handsome looks, his background had already been thoroughly dug up. Back when his fans enjoyed digging into the past of public figures, everyone knew what his real name was, what his family did, and even his dramatic backstory was hotly discussed for a long time.

It was just that in recent years, he hadn’t been writing, and some things had faded from people’s memory. Now that it was brought up again, some people eagerly dug up old interviews and revealing posts about him, sparking a fresh round of heated discussions.

Netizen A: I never expected that the plot of an adopted son from a rich family in a Jinjiang novel from ten years ago would play out in real life. Art really imitates life.

Netizen B: The male lead in Han Di Ba Yu’s first book, Lu Dongdong, was adopted and later abandoned by his family. He wandered alone for a long time—it feels like he was writing about himself.

Netizen C: Have you seen early interviews with Han Di Ba Yu? He said that what he wrote in his books was his teenage frustration.

…

Ming Yan, wearing pajamas, was sitting on the sofa at home, staring intently at the light screen of his smart device.

After taking a shower, Lu Yu, rubbing his freshly dried hair, came over. “Yan-ge, time to sleep.”

“Mm.” Ming Yan responded with a simple nasal sound, acknowledging him but continuing to stare at the screen.

It was rare to see Ming Yan so absorbed in his smart device. Lu Yu showed a mischievous grin, put one hand on his hip, and started pointing fingers: “It’s so late, and you’re still playing with your smart device. Have you finished your homework? Brushed your teeth and washed your face? Come on, follow me inside. Let dorm supervisor Lu teach you the rules for going to bed.”

Ming Yan ignored him and kept watching.

Lu Yu circled the sofa, trying to get his attention, but to no avail. He suddenly leaped onto the sofa, landing like a cannonball next to Ming Yan, his big head leaning directly against Ming Yan’s shoulder. “What are you watching? Is it better-looking than me? Hey, why is your smart device screen so clear when I look at it?”

The interface of Ming Yan’s smart device was displayed in front of him, and it looked almost the same as his own smart device.

President Ball rolled his eyes: “Because you two are married, you have partner privileges.”

“Wow, that makes cheating so inconvenient.” Lu Yu rubbed his face against Ming Yan’s warm, fragrant shoulder and couldn’t resist lightly biting it.

Ming Yan gave him a sidelong glance: “If you dirty my clothes, you’re paying for it.”

“I’ll wash them.” Lu Yu, not getting hit, was quite pleased and continued nibbling. “By hand! I can even wash your underwear…”

“Ow!”

After getting smacked, Lu Yu finally quieted down, settling in to watch with Ming Yan.

On the screen was an interview with Han Di Ba Yu.

At that time, Lu Yu looked quite young, but his eyes no longer had the liveliness of an eighteen-year-old; he seemed much more composed. The background behind him was the cover of The Fish King, so this should have been a physical book promotion event.

The host was holding the book and gently asked, “There’s a saying on the internet that Han Di Ba Yu writes books about his teenage frustrations. Is this true?”

Lu Yu: “There were things I couldn’t understand when I was young, so I tried to find answers in books. If I didn’t find them, I wrote my own book. Actually, not just me, but many people write books to explore their teenage dilemmas, seeking answers to the problems that troubled them in their youth.”

Host: “But if you don’t know the answers, how can you write them?”

Lu Yu: “You bring characters to life; let them play it out and see if they can help you find the answers.”

Host: “Did you find them?”

Lu Yu: “Yes, it was in what Lu Dongdong said at the end of the story.”

The screen behind them switched to the final sentence of The Fish King:

[Placing hope in others and praying for divine favor will only lead to pleas; placing hope in oneself and not needing others’ pity, I become a god.]

The interview ended here.

Lu Yu, who was biting the shoulder of his pajamas, seized the chance to interrupt: “Hehe, I’m just that awesome. I can even turn such pretentious lines into parallel structure. If you put this on a short video platform with one of those dramatic sword-fighting videos, it’ll definitely go viral.”

Ming Yan turned off the screen and pinched Lu Yu’s face with two fingers: “Let me see, has your skin gotten thicker again? Hmm? It really has.”

Ming Yan’s favorite spot on Lu Yu’s face, a little bit of baby fat on his cheek, had sprouted like tender bamboo shoots thanks to Lu Yu’s good eating and sleeping habits. His once sharply defined jawline had softened, bringing new life to his always haggardly handsome face.

“Bouncy and elastic, right? Wanna take a bite?” Lu Yu puffed up his cheeks, trying to tempt him.

Ming Yan stared at him with a half-smile for a moment, then, surprisingly, slowly leaned in.

The moist breath, carrying the cool, minty freshness of toothpaste, was now within Lu Yu’s nose’s reach, making the fine hairs on his face stand on end. Like a dry garden being watered by sprinklers, every blade of grass stretched out comfortably, eagerly awaiting more sweet nourishment.

Just then, Lu Dongdong’s phone rang, displaying “Adoptive Father” on the screen.

Ming Yan immediately sat up straight, simultaneously retracting the fingers that had been lightly pinching Lu Yu’s cheek.

At that moment, Lu Yu felt an overwhelming surge of frustration, frowning as he reached for Lu Dongdong.

“I’ll answer it,” Ming Yan stopped him.

“It’s fine.” Lu Yu held Ming Yan’s hand, took a deep breath of his scent to regain a brief moment of calm, and answered the call.

On the other end, Father Lu’s voice was as unkind as ever, starting with a scolding: “Why did you say all that during the live stream? If you have any grievances, we can talk about it privately, but saying such things in front of millions of viewers, do you know how much impact this will have on the family?”

Lu Yu was stunned. Before his time travel, the most intense period of conflict with his family had already passed, and it had been a long time since he’d heard such direct criticism.

During the worst times, his adoptive parents would play good cop and bad cop. His father would harshly scold him, even pick up a stick to beat him, while his mother would cry and try to mediate, telling everyone how rebellious and ungrateful he was. It seemed not much had changed after ten years.

Sure enough, not long after, his mother’s tearful voice came through: “Your brother is still in school. You mentioned his name—what if his classmates bully him?”

Before Lu Yu could recover, Ming Yan, who never interrupted phone calls, suddenly spoke up: “If I may, Lu Tingze has already been on TV, so you don’t need to blame Lu Yu for exposing his identity.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then Mother Lu softly asked, “Is that Ming family’s boy?”

Father Lu paused briefly, ignoring Ming Yan’s comment, and said, “Lu Yu, you should come home soon. We have something to discuss with you.”

Lu Yu took a deep breath and sneered, “I’m busy lately. If you want to see me, make an appointment with my secretary. Oh, and tell Lu Zhenni to stop making a scene at the office. With all these live streams, if she gets caught on camera, it won’t be me who looks bad.”

With that, he hung up the phone, hugging Lu Dongdong, his emotions still churning.

The parents who raised him, even their most ordinary words, could trigger deep memories and, reflexively, stir up all sorts of emotions.

Ming Yan looked at him with concern and, without context, said, “Lu Tingze was on a rich kid variety show a couple of years ago. His identity was exposed long ago.”

“I’m not going to feel guilty about that,” Lu Yu said with his head down, his tone mocking. “He’s been telling his classmates he’s the young master of the Lu family since first grade. They’re just trying to guilt-trip me. I’ve heard this kind of thing every day since I was ten; my ears have long since grown calluses.”

Ming Yan frowned and reached out to gently rub the back of Lu Yu’s head. “If you don’t want to see the Lu family, then don’t. The Lu family now isn’t something the eighteen-year-old Xiao Yu can handle.”

Lu Yu, like a weightless plush toy, softened at the touch on the back of his head, snuggling into Ming Yan’s arms like an octopus. “It’s okay, just let me absorb some of your energy.”

Ming Yan looked down at the guy in his arms, half amused, half exasperated. For once, he didn’t push him away.