YA Ch56: Snowing

Lu Yu felt that this was like writing a book, the publisher taking it for publication and sale, but not paying him. He would stand in the bookstore, glaring as people bought his book in droves, yet it had nothing to do with him—not even a sample copy was given. If he wanted one, he’d have to pay for it himself. Outrageous!

The thought alone made him furious.

Ming Yan nodded, his eyes full of amusement, satisfied with Lu Yu’s choice.

Such a subtle emotion of the creator, perhaps only Lu Yu truly understood.

Under the complicated gaze of the store clerk, Lu Yu dragged Ming Yan out of RZ and went straight to the opposing store across from RZ, where he bought two cashmere scarves—one blue and one red. The blue was elegant and refined, for Ming Yan; the red was vibrant and lively, for himself.

“Why didn’t you buy that apricot-colored one? It would match your green clothes better today,” Ming Yan said, looking at Lu Yu’s red-and-green pairing with a perplexed expression.

Lu Yu was very satisfied with his choice, saying, “Red and blue have always been a classic couple—since we’re a pair, one of us should wear blue, and the other should wear red.”

Ming Yan laughed, reaching out to adjust his scarf, tying a neat knot. The scarf wasn’t ugly at all; the red was just the right shade—both bright and elegant. Against Lu Yu’s fair face, which had rarely seen sunlight, he looked like a little snowman.

The little snowman had appeared unexpectedly this early winter, and after putting on this scarf, he became a snowman that someone had claimed.

Thinking of this, Ming Yan suddenly looked a bit forlorn.

Lu Yu tilted his head and asked, “What’s wrong? Do I look bad in this scarf?”

Ming Yan shook his head. “You look great. I even wish that spring wouldn’t come so soon.”

Lu Yu was moved by this comment. “Yan-ge, you should have been a poet.”

The luxury store was near the entrance, and suddenly someone exclaimed, “It’s snowing! Wow, let’s go take pictures at the entrance!”

Lu Yu turned to see snowflakes fluttering down from the sky, landing on the large snowflake decorations outside the mall, dusting the foam snowflakes with a layer of frosting, making them look even softer.

He noticed that someone had scanned a small round device near one of the big snowflakes and then posed in front of it with their friend. Lu Yu immediately understood that it was a small camera, and by connecting it to your smart brain, you could take photos and have them sent directly to your device.

Lu Yu grabbed Ming Yan’s hand, “Let’s go take a picture.”

Checking in and taking photos was also an essential part of dating. The two of them, like many young couples, went to take a picture with the large snowflake.

Lu Yu eagerly scanned the small round device and pulled Ming Yan to stand in front of the display. After a moment, he didn’t hear the sound of the picture being taken, so his wrist device, Lu Dongdong, chimed in, “Father, are you trying to take a picture?”

Lu Yu replied, “Yeah, why are you slower than a regular smart brain?”

Lu Dongdong sighed, “You need to confirm on the smart brain first. Never mind, I’ll set it up for you.”

Thus, without even needing to confirm, Lu Yu’s super-intelligent assistant, Dongdong, adjusted the shooting parameters, automatically confirmed the connection with the outdoor camera, disabled auto-upload, and turned off any privacy-compromising settings. It even prompted, “Father, move 20 centimeters to the left; the lighting is better from this angle.”

Among all the people using their smart brains to take photos, only Lu Yu managed to achieve full automation.

Lu Yu moved half a step to the left, arm around Ming Yan’s waist, happily raising his hand to form a heart with Yan-ge. But just as Dongdong was counting down “3, 2, 1,” Ming Yan suddenly leaned over and kissed Lu Yu on the cheek.

“Click,” the photo was taken. Because of the sudden surprise, Lu Yu’s expression in the photo was one of wide-eyed shock, with his hand still forming half a heart, already starting to break into a goofy grin. He looked like a crazed monkey about to throw a banana.

After taking the photo, Lu Yu didn’t even bother to check it. He stared at Ming Yan in surprise, stammering, “Yan-ge, you kissed me? You just… kissed me!”

Ming Yan responded with a calm “mm,” as if it were the most ordinary thing.

Lu Yu raised his hand to touch the spot where he’d been kissed but hesitated, not wanting to disturb the lingering warmth. “So, does this mean… I passed the test?”

Ming Yan looked up at the gently falling snow from the sky and laughed softly, “I just thought, what you said made a lot of sense.”

Lu Yu quickly reviewed everything he’d done today, trying to figure out what had won over the beauty. Suddenly, inspiration struck, “Two sensitive people should be together, right?”

Ming Yan withdrew his gaze from the snow and looked at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he smiled arrogantly and said, “Better hurry up and enjoy the college boys.”

“Huh?” Lu Yu raised an eyebrow, leaning in until their noses were almost touching, “Then do you want to try out other parts of a college boy?” Ming Yan’s nose, slightly cold from the chill, had a tiny snowflake on it, which melted the moment Lu Yu touched it.

“Nope.” Ming Yan flatly refused, turning to walk away.

Lu Yu ran a few steps to catch up, hugging his waist, “Hehe, got you. Now let me kiss you back. College boys demand fairness—give and take!”

Ming Yan laughed as he dodged, “Stop messing around, so many people are watching.”

“Then let me kiss you, and I’ll stop.”

“Hahaha…”

After taking their picture, the two drove to their next date spot.

Lu Yu sat in the passenger seat, excitedly reviewing the photo. Although he looked silly, Ming Yan’s profile was flawless. His beautifully defined contours, long lashes dusted with snow, slightly closed pretty eyes, and upward-tilting eyelids were stunning.

“Oh my, who kissed me during the photo shoot?” Lu Yu imitated his mother-in-law’s playful tone, “Such a beautiful person, must be an angel!”

Ming Yan twitched the corner of his mouth, pretending not to hear the overly sweet words.

Lu Yu kept giggling and set the photo as his smart brain wallpaper. Not satisfied, he changed all the background images to that photo, then sent it to Lao Yang.

[Lu Dog: Lao Yang, look! It’s snowing!]

[Lao Yang: … It really is snowing. No wonder I hear the sound of the dog bowl clanging.]

Lu Yu clicked his tongue in approval—Lao Yang’s sense of humor had improved a lot. Not bad. Next, he sent it to Garlic Again.

[Han Di Ba Yu: Garlic Thief, it’s snowing!]

[Garlic Again: I went to bed at four after writing, just woke up, and you show me this? You’re trying to kill me, you old fish thief! You planning to take over?]

Lu Yu was pleased with his friend’s response and stroked his chin. Next, he sent it to his number-one fan.

[Lu Yu: Thanks for sponsoring the scarves, Big Bro. Bought them with your donation.]

[Number-One Fan: You’re so stingy. I gave you 100,000, and you bought two scarves? Why does someone like you still have a wife?]

Lu Yu wanted to say it was obviously because of his good looks. But since this was his number-one fan, he remained respectful, sending only a smug cat emoji before going silent.

After thinking it over, he finally sent it to President Ximen, whom he hadn’t contacted in days. Because of the massive success of his live stream, Qingqu Capital’s attitude had improved significantly. President Ximen hadn’t come by to provoke him with arrogant commands anymore, which made Lu Yu feel a bit lonely.

[Lu Yu: Ximen Qing, it’s snowing! Here’s a snow scene for you!]

Ximen Qing’s side showed he was typing for a long time, but in the end, no reply came.

Lu Yu stared for a while. “Oh, oh, oh, could he be crying?”

Even after showing off to all these people, Lu Yu still felt unsatisfied and wanted to send it to the company group chat to show the employees. But considering it was the weekend, and they probably wouldn’t appreciate their boss messaging them, he let it go.

“Sigh, I don’t know enough people. Such a beautiful moment, yet I’m as lonely as the snow,” Lu Yu said, staring out at the snow, feeling poetic. “It’s said that during the first snowfall, you can find true love, for the snow covers the worldly dirt, leaving only pure white and my love. Oh snow, you are so white; Yan-ge, I want to… ahem.”

Ming Yan glanced at him sideways, “Why didn’t you rhyme?”

Lu Yu looked around in a panic, then suddenly his eyes lit up, “Roasted sweet potatoes! Yan-ge, stop the car; I want to buy a roasted sweet potato. The ones outside my high school were the best.”

They happened to be passing by Lu Yu’s high school alma mater.

He had failed his high school entrance exams and couldn’t get into the best school, so he ended up at one of the local public schools.