YA Ch55: Romance

“Lu Yu?” Lu Zhenni was startled, feeling a panic as if her fingernail was about to fly off and blood would splatter everywhere. She quickly pulled back her finger.

Recently, Lu Yu had been acting very strange, reminding her of the wild, rebellious Lu Yu from when he was sixteen or seventeen, who used to mess with her every day. She didn’t dare take any chances.

The man beside her stepped forward, took a glance at the trendy-dressed Lu Yu, and curiously asked, “Zhenni, who’s this?” He had heard Lu Yu’s name—could this be the famous owner of Chenyu Technology?

The man wasn’t bad-looking, but he was hesitant and unsure, wanting to socialize but hesitating, eventually retreating to the safety zone of letting Lu Zhenni introduce him first.

Ming Yan saw through it all—this man was the one being kept. Lu Zhenni, judging others by her own standards, probably thought he was keeping a college boy. How to put it—sometimes Lu Zhenni could be pretty humorous.

It seemed Lu Yu heard what Ming Yan was thinking and was not about to be outdone. He raised his chin and said, “I’m Lu Zhenni’s ninth grandpa. Someone like you is not allowed into the Lu family’s doors. I advise you to give up now.”

Ming Yan barely held back from spitting out the drink he was sipping and turned his head to stifle his laughter.

The man shrank his neck, not daring to speak.

But Lu Yu wasn’t done yet, speaking in a seemingly sincere tone, “Grandpa advises you to find a stable job, ;don’t just think about clinging to rich and beautiful women.  Besides, our Zhenni isn’t even a real rich girl—her car hasn’t been changed in ten years.”

Lu Zhenni was livid, stomping her 13-centimeter high heels in anger. “What nonsense are you spouting? Whose grandpa are you?! You…”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was sharp and high-pitched, quickly attracting many onlookers.

People playing Whac-A-Mole stopped mid-game because of the commotion, wasting their game coins and deciding to come over to watch instead. Latecomers asked what was going on, and a helpful Whac-A-Mole warrior explained to each one, “A granddaughter was caught keeping a boy toy by her grandpa, and he’s lecturing her.”

“Where’s the grandpa?”

“That one, wearing the big hoodie. Probably a high-ranking grandpa who’s young—like, the nineteenth grandpa or something.”

The boy toy’s gaze toward Lu Zhenni gradually changed. He was a small-time actor, lacking resources these past two years, hoping to find a rich woman to help him out. Lu Zhenni had promised to support him, introduce connections, and claimed her family was powerful, which was why he had followed her.

Now that he thought about it, Lu Zhenni did seem a bit exaggerated and hollow—she hadn’t introduced him to any contacts, and the sports car she often drove was indeed a model from ten years ago.

Lu Zhenni’s face turned red with anger, her voice growing louder.

Lu Yu softly warned her, “Lu Zhenni, so many people are watching. Don’t make a scene. If this gets recorded and posted online, it’s not me who’ll be embarrassed.”

Lu Zhenni gritted her teeth. Just as Lu Yu turned to leave, she suddenly said, “I don’t know why you’ve been so arrogant lately. Don’t you want to work with the Lu family on the smart brain project? Do I need to remind you that only the Lu family can get the access permit from the Intelligence Data Union?”

Lu Yu paused mid-step, turned to look at her, and made a silent gesture for her to hush.

The surrounding crowd was still watching, filming the scene. Realizing her slip, Lu Zhenni regained her composed lady-like demeanor and dismissed the crowd, “What are you filming? Whoever dares post this online, I’ll have my legal team sue you.” With that, she dragged the small celebrity away.

By the time people reluctantly turned their attention back, Lu Yu was already gone.

Lu Yu had taken off his noticeable purple coat, changed into a green one, and, as usual, pulled the big hood over his head. Afterward, he felt something was off.

Ming Yan raised his hand and took the hood off him, biting his lip to hold back laughter. “Don’t wear a hood with green.”

Green, hood…

Lu Yu snorted twice, grabbing Ming Yan’s hand with a mischievous grin, “So, now that you’re dating me, does this mean you’re giving Lu Dayu a green hat?”

Ming Yan looked at the triumphant Lu Yu with a complicated expression, not understanding what he was so pleased about.

The two quickly switched to another mall, finally escaping the crowd. Only then did Lu Yu ask, “What’s the access permit from the Intelligence Data Union?”

Ming Yan thought for a moment, shook his head, and indicated he wasn’t sure.

He removed his smart brain from his left wrist and checked the back of the watch face. On it was the IDU logo of the Intelligence Data Union. “All smart brains have this IDU logo. We don’t manufacture smart brains, so we don’t come into contact with this. I’m guessing it’s something like a data access certificate, like the labels on the back of phones used to be.”

Lu Yu frowned. He finally understood why Second Uncle Lu was so arrogant. To become a smart brain manufacturer, you couldn’t bypass this IDU. The Lu family had been making phones for so many years, so they must have some special connections.

Was Lu Dayu’s smart brain project stuck here?

Ming Yan rubbed Lu Yu’s furrowed brow with his thumb, “Don’t worry about her. We’re not making smart brains.” He didn’t want Lu Xiaoyu to be constantly affected by the Lu family and quickly changed the subject.

Lu Yu snapped out of his thoughts, looked at Ming Yan, who seemed completely unaware, and smiled. “Come on, let’s go complete the last part of our mall date—luxury shopping spree!”

Ming Yan, helpless, was dragged along. “Don’t buy random stuff. We don’t need anything at home.”

The company was still struggling, and it wasn’t time to splurge yet. As a designer, Ming Yan had already taken care of their clothes and accessories—all nice and not too wasteful. They had everything they needed, no need to add more.

Knowing Ming Yan was reluctant to waste money, Lu Yu said, “Yesterday, my big brother tipped 100,000 Yuan for my novel column. After the platform’s cut, that’s 50,000. Let’s just spend 50,000, okay?”

Ming Yan thought for a moment and said, “Sure. It’s unexpected money, so it’s only right to spend a little.”

Lu Yu had never heard this kind of reasoning before. “Since when did you become a little superstitious?” As he said this, he suddenly remembered that ten years later, Ming Yan had indeed paid more attention to things like this—fortune, feng shui, even offering incense to Zhang Zhongjing before taking him to see a doctor.

“Can’t help it, I’m getting old,” Ming Yan joked, imitating his mother’s tone.

Yan-ge acting cute! Lu Yu was overwhelmed by the soft, sweet “old” at the end of his sentence, feeling his whole body go numb. He foolishly let Ming Yan lead him forward by the hand. “Yan-ge, c-can you say what you just said again?”

Ming Yan glared at him.

Lu Yu then realized that asking him to repeat how old he was was basically asking for a punch. He chuckled and sidled up to him. “I just want to hear that cute ending again. Could you talk to me like that from now on, please?”

He thought to himself, If, in bed, Yan-ge says, ‘You’re too big!’ or ‘Not so fast!’ I’d be instantly energized, ready for another five hundred years of battle.

“In your dreams.” Ming Yan gave him a teasing smile, his beautiful eyes sparkling, completely bewitching the inexperienced Lu Xiaoyu.

After strolling around for a while, Lu Yu came to the RZ store.

This luxury brand had a long and complicated history with Ming Yan, and Lu Yu was curious to see what was so special about it. Seeing that Ming Yan wasn’t particularly resistant to the idea, he stepped inside.

RZ sold all kinds of products, primarily jewelry and watches.

Perhaps due to the decline of the watch industry, RZ’s business seemed somewhat sluggish, though its jewelry line kept it afloat, unlike Tomorrow Watches, which had collapsed entirely.

Lu Yu wandered around and was drawn to a gemstone bracelet.

It was a short bracelet set with seven gems, each one blue but in different shades, arranged in a magical sequence, like the shimmering waves of a deep ocean or the dazzling waters of a vast sea. It was breathtaking.

Most importantly, it was called “Seven Seas.”

Seeing his interest, the salesperson enthusiastically displayed the bracelet on a velvet tray. “You have great taste, sir. This Seven Seas bracelet can be worn as a bracelet or converted into a watch strap. It looks good on both men and women.”

Ming Yan’s eyes flickered, surprised. “You like this?”

Lu Yu nodded. “It’s beautiful, like a dream come to life. And it’s called ‘Seven Seas’—who designed it?”

Everyone knows there are four oceans and about fifty or sixty seas in the world. But in his book The Fish King, he had whimsically set up a world map where the landscape had changed, creating seven seas. This way, when Lu Dongdong delivered his line, it would sound especially cool: “I am the god of the Seven Seas, the king of the mutants!”

The salesperson smiled and replied, “This was designed by one of our former treasure designers, Yan.” As she spoke, she showed him the white gold clasp of the bracelet, where three small letters were engraved.

Lu Yu froze, turning to look at Ming Yan.

Ming Yan lowered his eyes, staring blankly at the bracelet.

A dull ache tugged at Lu Yu’s heart. He knew Ming Yan had once worked as a designer for RZ, and his foreign alias was Yan. This was a piece Ming Yan had designed years ago in France.

In Lu Dayu’s diary, it seemed like he felt abandoned by Ming Yan. In reality, during their long-distance relationship, Lu Dayu had likely harbored doubts and insecurities but had been determined to save up money. He didn’t know what the Lu family had said to dishearten him, leading him to suddenly believe that Ming Yan no longer loved him.

In truth, when Ming Yan was far away in a foreign land, drawing his design sketches and delicately wrapping thin platinum wires around the gems, he was thinking of Lu Yu. His first jewelry piece to debut in the fashion world was romantically named Seven Seas.

Later, when Lu Dayu found out, it would have been a huge romantic surprise in their relationship!

But Lu Dayu had never uncovered it.

Lu Yu gently stroked the bracelet, feeling a sadness he couldn’t quite explain. He turned and embraced Ming Yan, burying his face in his neck. “Yan-ge, I love you so much.”

Ming Yan was truly a romantic person, and Lu Yu, loving such romance, couldn’t get enough of it.

Knowing Lu Yu understood the significance of this moment, Ming Yan softly asked, “I used your idea—do you mind?”

Lu Yu hugged him tighter. “How could I mind? You could carve me into a wooden figure and sell me, and I’d still be happy.”

Ming Yan was amused, rubbing the back of his head. “You fool.” How could I ever bear to sell you?

Lu Yu really wanted to buy this bracelet, even though it exceeded their budget. The salesperson’s eyes lit up, already preparing to pack it. “Sir, you really have exquisite taste. Would you like me to convert it into a watch strap for you?”

“Wait a second,” Lu Yu suddenly paused, turning to ask Ming Yan, “Do you get any commission from selling this jewelry?”

Ming Yan shook his head, explaining, “I signed a rookie contract at the time, and if I left the company, I would only get commission for three years. That’s already expired.”

In the fashion industry, sales of products typically include a royalty for the designer, as intellectual property rights are permanent. However, as the industry had become too mature over the years, it began to take advantage of new designers. Designers trying to make a name for themselves had no choice but to sign these unfair contracts.

Lu Yu immediately felt displeased and put the bracelet down. “Then we’re not buying it.”

The salesperson, not having heard their quiet conversation, quickly asked, “Sir, is there an issue?”

Lu Yu responded with conviction, “I have no money!”