YA Ch83: Redeeming the Prize

Ming Yan looked at Lu Yu’s eyes, which resembled a puppy begging for food, and his heart softened completely. But he couldn’t help teasing him, “What day is it? Today’s Saturday, let me think. The variety show airs on Sunday, Mom and Dad didn’t say they’re coming home for dinner, I’ve already visited the factory this week, so no need to go again…”

He stretched out his long fingers from under the blanket, folding them down one by one.

With each possibility mentioned, Lu Yu’s head nodded along.

Seeing Lu Yu’s increasingly anxious expression, Ming Yan withdrew his counting hand, suddenly realizing, and elongated his voice, “Oh, I remember now!”

Lu Yu immediately leaned closer, grinning, “Hehe, you remember?”

Ming Yan nodded, “I promised Lao’er I’d go to the delivery locker today to help him retrieve the gold jewelry he snagged during a one-cent flash sale.”

Finally pushed to the edge, Lu Yu pounced with a howl, biting Ming Yan’s chin and growling, “Do you know how villains in novels become evil?”

Ming Yan raised an eyebrow, wiping the bit of saliva off his chin with his middle and ring fingers, “How do they turn evil?”

“It’s because they worked the grindstone all week, and the farmer refused to give them carrots!” Lu Yu, staring at the glistening fingertips, swallowed a little and couldn’t help but grab Ming Yan’s hands, pinning them above his head. He spoke in a low voice, “You’d better fulfill your promise today, or else…”

“Or else what?” Ming Yan, with his hands pinned down, tilted his head to look at Lu Yu. His fair neck stretched into a graceful arc, tempting a bite.

“Or else, or else…” Lu Yu stared at that beautiful swan neck but, after stammering for a while, couldn’t come up with anything, finally huffing, “I haven’t thought about it yet, but the consequences will be serious.”

Ming Yan chuckled deeply, “Alright, alright, I’m not teasing you anymore. I remember.”

Lu Yu grinned happily but, fearing Ming Yan might back out, emphasized again, “Do the thing I love, the thing I love!” As he spoke, he lowered his head, aiming to kiss Ming Yan’s neck.

Ming Yan tried to wriggle free but failed. This guy had quite a grip, so he softened his tone, “We should wait until the evening at least. Let’s get up and brush our teeth first.”

That soft tone made Lu Yu’s fingertips tingle. Every time Ming Yan mimicked his mother-in-law’s tone, Lu Yu just couldn’t resist. Silly as ever, he let go.

Just then, Ming Yan flipped him over, throwing him off the bed.

With a “thud,” Lu Yu fell onto the bed, and before he could react, a blanket was tossed over his head, covering him completely.

Ming Yan covered Lu Yu’s head with the blanket and gave his butt a smack, “Come on, try turning evil for me.”

Lu Yu squirmed under the blanket, yelling, “How dare you spank me! You’re stepping on the bottom line of a dominant top!”

Ming Yan spanked him again, amused by his own actions. Dominant top? What kind of strong top talk was that?

After getting a few smacks, Lu Yu quieted down and obediently let Ming Yan pull him up to wash up.

As they brushed their teeth, Lu Yu, sneaking over with a mischievous grin, said, “You touched my butt, so now you’ve sullied my innocence. You have to take responsibility for life.”

That whole sentence, down to the punctuation, had nothing to do with the strong top persona Lu Yu had set for himself. The electric toothbrush buzzed as it vibrated, and Ming Yan’s head buzzed along with it. He didn’t want to deal with him.

But Lu Yu looked smug, as if he had uncovered some huge secret.

After they cleaned up, Lu Yu tied on a little bear apron, getting ready to make breakfast, but Ming Yan stopped him, “Today is your prize redemption day. I’ll make breakfast.”

Lu Yu, bubbling with happiness, exclaimed, “Wow!”

They had a Western-style kitchen island, equipped with a small griddle, perfect for making breakfast.

Lu Yu sat on a high stool at the island, watching as Ming Yan elegantly rolled up his sleeves, fried a sunny-side-up egg, and a thin slice of ham, evenly sprinkled with sesame, pepper salt, garlic crisps, and parsley flakes, then layered them inside slices of bread. With the precision of an artist, he used a small spatula, as if it were a sculptor’s chisel, to fry the bread to a light golden brown, neatly cut it, and placed the pieces into two serving plates.

On the side of the plates, he squeezed a bit of lemon sauce, using a butter knife to create an elegant swoosh. He also placed two cherry tomatoes, cut in half, forming a heart shape. A simple sandwich suddenly looked like a Michelin three-star dish.

And that wasn’t the end. Ming Yan brought out freshly brewed coffee and expertly poured milk, drawing a simple fish sketch. Then, as if performing a magic trick, he produced a cup of vanilla pudding, with a slice of orange perched on the rim of the glass.

With ingredients costing less than thirty yuan, Ming Yan had somehow created a meal that looked worth a thousand.

Lu Yu stared at the breakfast before him, almost reluctant to eat it. “Compared to this, my daily breakfasts are way too rough.”

He started thinking maybe he should sign up for some cooking classes and improve his skills.

Ming Yan, having washed his hands, dried them off and ruffled Lu Yu’s hair, “Workday meals and weekend meals are different. Go ahead and eat.”

Lu Yu took a careful bite, savoring the rich flavor of the ham, the creamy egg, the crisp lettuce, and the sweet crunch of the toasted bread. The combination of textures burst on his tongue, leaving him speechless with how delicious it was. He’d never imagined a sandwich could taste this good!

Watching Lu Yu’s exaggerated reaction, Ming Yan pursed his lips in a smile, “Is it really that good?”

Lu Yu nodded vigorously, chewing with delight, and carefully avoided the fish drawing as he took a sip of his coffee. Even after he’d finished the coffee, the Xiao Yu still held its shape.

Seeing Lu Yu eat so enthusiastically, Ming Yan felt his own appetite grow. He took a bite of his own sandwich, remarking, “This past year, Dayu has had a poor appetite. Sometimes, if he eats too fast, he’ll throw up. It’s so nice seeing you eat like this.”

Swallowing his bite, Lu Yu popped a tart little tomato in his mouth and grumbled, “Don’t bring up your ex on a happy day, it’s bad luck. You’re mine now.”

Ming Yan chuckled, pinching Lu Yu’s puffed-up cheek.

“I’m way more capable than he is, so you’d better stick with me from now on,” Lu Yu said earnestly, fully immersed in his role of having stolen away Dayu’s partner.

He genuinely felt he had outdone himself. What Dayu had chased after for three years without success, he had secured in three weeks. Who wouldn’t say Xiao Yu is awesome!

After breakfast, Lu Yu slowly enjoyed his pudding, when Merman Ball came over, showing him a news screenshot sent by Young Master Hong.

“The Lu family has been kicked out of the AI Data Alliance review list!” Lu Yu was startled, choking on some orange juice, and turned to Ming Yan, “Could this be because of me? Did gossip and scandals really have this much power?”

He’d only wanted to keep the Lu family from bothering him, so they wouldn’t interrupt his carrot meals.

Ming Yan’s eyes darkened as he thought for a moment, “Hard to say. Foreign countries are sensitive to scandals like this; it can even affect presidential elections.”

If this were true, then Lu Yu had accidentally taken down the master with a wild punch. All over a carrot, the Lu family had lost “the last chance to turn their fate this century.”

This phrase, originally used by Second Uncle Lu to provoke Ming Yan, had now backfired on the Lu family itself.

Lu Yu didn’t dwell on the Lu family’s issue. Today was his day of celebration, and until he had redeemed his prize, he wasn’t going to deal with anything else. He stuck to Ming Yan like glue.

When Ming Yan went downstairs to pick up a package for Lao’er, Lu Yu insisted on tagging along, even though it was just a short walk.

The package was in a delivery locker, which now looked like a space capsule. It automatically retrieved the corresponding package after scanning the smart system.

An old lady, leaning on a cane, hesitated in front of the locker. Seeing Lu Yu bouncing over, she immediately asked for help, “Young man, how do I use this? Could you help me out?”

Lu Yu looked at the unfamiliar new delivery locker, not able to tell where to scan for the smart system, so he truthfully replied, “I don’t know how either.”

The old lady was shocked, eyeing Lu Yu up and down, and uncertainly asked, “How old are you?” She seemed to be doubting if Lu Yu was some kind of older man who’d had cosmetic surgery.

“I’m underage. I can only use a kids’ smart watch,” Lu Yu innocently pulled out his Sun Wukong watch from his pocket.

The old lady was even more shocked.

Ming Yan, unable to bear it any longer, stepped forward, “I’ll handle it.”

Lu Yu stepped aside, idly looking around. Suddenly, he spotted a few familiar figures at the community gate negotiating with the security guard. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be members of the Lu family!

Lu Yu, startled, quickly turned around and pulled the hood of his coat over his head.

Even staying within his own community couldn’t keep him safe from trouble?

Lu Yu, exasperated, shouted, “Yan-ge, let’s go stay at a hotel!”

Ming Yan, who was scanning the smart system, slowly turned to look at him.

The old lady’s cane fell to the ground with a “clunk.”