AAWOMAHI Chapter91

It was the middle of the night. On the side of the road, under the warm, yellow streetlights, a handsome, delicate-looking young man was crying in the arms of a man in a tailored suit.

 

The man was half-kneeling on the ground while holding the young man and letting him sob into his expensive suit. They had been in that position for almost an hour.

 

All the while, the man kept comforting him, apologizing over and over and begging for forgiveness. The man’s voice was deep and resonant, yet incredibly gentle, like a heavenly sound.

 

It was then that Lu Xingmian realized how many tears he had shed; Lu Shiran’s clothes were already soaked from his crying. He let out all his frustration, anger, and fear.

 

While he was crying, Lu Shiran’s eyes were red too.

 

When Lu Xingmian slowly stopped crying, Lu Shiran said in a hoarse voice, “Zai Zai, let’s go home.”

 

Lu Xingmian was still sulking. “I’m not going back. I’ll stay in a hotel tonight and move out tomorrow.”

 

Lu Shiran replied, “You can’t move out. Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”

 

Lu Xingmian just grunted and fell silent as Lu Shiran wiped his tears. He had been crying for so long that there were streaks on his face, which made Lu Shiran’s heart ache all over again.

 

“Zai Zai, let’s go home.”

 

“No.”

 

Lu Shiran simply picked him up. “Go home.”

 

Lu Xingmian struggled a couple of times in his arms. “I’m not going back, let me go.”

 

Lu Shiran held on tighter. “I won’t.”

 

As Lu Xingmian struggled again, Lu Shiran held him even closer. “Zai Zai, please, don’t fuss anymore. Be good.”

 

On the way back, Lu Xingmian saw Lu Shiran’s phone ringing non-stop.

 

Zheng Minyou: “Old Lu, I’ve searched all the places nearby, but I still can’t find Lu Xingmian. How about you? Did you find him?”

 

“Old Lu, I checked the bars and hotels but there’s no luck. Where does your Lu Xingmian usually like to go? I’ll go look again.”

 

“Old Lu, I’ve checked the internet cafes nearby too. Don’t worry, we’ll keep looking.”

 

Lu Shiran told them one by one that he was with Lu Xingmian now.

 

Zheng Minyou and the others were finally relieved. They also knew that Lu Shiran and Lu Xingmian wouldn’t want to be disturbed at this time, so they hung up without saying anything more.

 

Lu Xingmian’s eyes widened. The calls were from Lu Shiran’s friends, and from their words, it sounded like they had been looking for him all night.

 

Did they all know he had run away?

 

But what shocked Lu Xingmian even more was what came next: Lu Yu also called.

 

When Lu Shiran called him, he had been with his family and hadn’t sensed anything unusual. Only now did he begin to realize, why had Lu Shiran suddenly called to ask about Lu Xingmian?

 

Lu Yu: “Lu Shiran, after thinking about it, that call you made just now was a little strange. Did something happen? Is Lu Xingmian okay?”

 

Lu Shiran: “He’s fine. We’re together now.”

 

Lu Yu was relieved. “Oh, then that’s good. I guess I was just overthinking.”

 

Lu Xingmian looked at Lu Shiran, wondering what had happened that night, what Lu Shiran had done, and why even Lu Yu had almost found out he had run away from home.

 

His shock hadn’t subsided when another, even more surprising call came in.

 

“President Lu, we’ve found Lu Xingmian. He’s on the Third Ring Road.” Assistant Chen chose his words carefully. “A friend sent us some surveillance footage from ten minutes ago. There’s another person with Lu Xingmian, probably a good friend or something, someone he’s close to.”

 

Lu Shiran replied, “I know. That person is me.”

 

Assistant Chen visibly sighed in relief. It was good that President Lu had found him. Wait a minute, how did President Lu find Lu Xingmian?

 

In the short time since they got in the car, Lu Shiran had received several calls, all about the search for Lu Xingmian.

 

Lu Xingmian swallowed nervously and curled up into a ball. So much had happened after he left just to look for him? It seemed like many people were searching for him, and many already knew he had run away.

 

He quietly switched his phone back to normal mode and in an instant, it began vibrating nonstop with messages almost all from Lu Shiran.

 

Back at home, Lu Shiran led Lu Xingmian to the bathroom and used a warm, damp towel to wipe his face.

 

After crying all night, Lu Xingmian’s eyes, nose, and cheeks were all red.

 

This time, Lu Shiran’s movements were gentle and careful as he wiped away the tear streaks on his face, though his eyes were still red and slightly swollen.

 

After his face was clean and fresh, Lu Xingmian felt much better. Lu Shiran also helped him wipe the sweat and tears from his neck and cleaned his hands, caring for him with great attention to detail.

 

After washing his face, Lu Shiran had Lu Xingmian sit on the sofa. He got some ice, wrapped it in a towel, and said, “Zai Zai, put this on your eyes. They’ll feel better.”

 

Lu Xingmian turned his head away but Lu Shiran gently pressed him onto the sofa. “Zai Zai, be good. Close your eyes.”

 

With the towel on his eyes, Lu Xingmian did feel much more comfortable. It was cool but not icy.

 

Seeing him lie there obediently with the towel on his eyes, Lu Shiran finally felt at ease and went to make some food. On the way home, he heard Lu Xingmian’s stomach rumble twice.

 

He steamed a few crab roe soup dumplings, boiled some regular dumplings, and made a bowl of egg drop soup.

 

About ten minutes later, the dumplings and soup dumplings were ready.

 

He came over and carried Lu Xingmian to the dining room.

 

Lu Xingmian sat on the chair while looking at the delicious food in front of him. He licked his lips but still insisted stubbornly, “I’m not eating.”

 

Lu Shiran sat next to him, picked up a soup dumpling, blew on it to cool it down, and held it to Lu Xingmian’s mouth. “Zai Zai, please, will you take one bite? Just one bite.”

 

The smell of the soup dumplings was too tempting. It smelled so good that Lu Xingmian was practically drooling and his stomach let out a long, defiant rumble.

 

Lu Xingmian stared at the soup dumpling. “You’re forcing me to eat it. I’ll just have one bite, reluctantly.”

 

Lu Shiran coaxed, “Good Zai Zai, just one bite.”

 

Lu Xingmian took a bite of the dumpling and his eyes instantly lit up. It was so delicious, a hundred times better than takoyaki.

 

Even though he’d eaten a box of takoyaki earlier, all the crying had drained his energy, and Lu Xingmian was hungry again.

 

He finished one soup dumpling in three bites.

 

Lu Shiran’s heart ached at the sight. He had let Lu Xingmian get this hungry. He picked up another dumpling and fed it to him. “Eat slowly, no rush.”

 

The starving Lu Xingmian had already forgotten what he said earlier.

 

After four soup dumplings, a dozen regular dumplings, and a bowl of soup, Lu Xingmian was finally full.

 

“I’m full, don’t feed me anymore.” He said as he pushed Lu Shiran’s hand away.

 

Lu Shiran was a little disappointed. Feeding Lu Xingmian was a very happy thing for him.

 

Only after Lu Xingmian was full did Lu Shiran start to eat.

 

Watching Lu Shiran eat the leftover dumplings and soup dumplings, Lu Xingmian suddenly realized that he hadn’t eaten all night, and neither had Lu Shiran. He had been hungry too.

 

But from the moment they returned, Lu Shiran’s attention had been entirely on him, starting with making sure he ate.

 

The remaining dumplings and soup dumplings were cold.

 

Lu Xingmian asked, “Don’t you want to heat them up first?”

 

Lu Xingmian’s concern touched Lu Shiran. “No need, they’re not cold.” He said happily.

 

No matter when or what he ate, Lu Shiran always ate at a calm, unhurried pace. The way he ate was incredibly elegant, a kind of natural grace that came from his very core.

 

Lu Xingmian lowered his head and saw a bit of dust on Lu Shiran’s knees. His lips tightened. That dust was from Lu Shiran kneeling on the ground.

 

Lu Shiran was always very particular about his appearance and never allowing a single wrinkle on his clothes. Yet, he hadn’t even noticed the obvious dust on his pants.

 

Lu Xingmian’s nose felt a little sore.

 

Still, Lu Xingmian wasn’t completely over his anger yet and insisted on sleeping in a separate bed that night.

 

Lu Shiran stood at the door to plead one last time. “Zai Zai, are you really not going to let me in?”

 

Lu Xingmian replied, “You’re the one who said you’d let me punish you however I wanted when we got back.”

 

Lu Shiran was speechless. He had said that, but he never imagined Lu Xingmian would make him sleep separately.

 

“Zai Zai, I’m worried you’ll have trouble sleeping without me.”

 

Lu Xingmian countered, “My sleep quality is great right now. I won’t have any trouble sleeping.”

 

“Zai Zai, can you really bear it?”

 

Seeing the look in Lu Xingmian’s eyes, Lu Shiran had no choice but to surrender. “Okay, I won’t come in. Good night, Zai Zai.”

 

Lu Shiran stood at the door and watched Lu Xingmian close it. “Zai Zai, if you can’t sleep, just call me and I’ll talk to you until you fall asleep.”

 

There was no response from inside the room.

 

A little while later, Lu Shiran grabbed a comforter and a pillow and made a bed on the floor right outside the door.

 

When it was quiet outside, Lu Xingmian got into bed and opened WeChat. The number 60 was displayed on Lu Shiran’s profile picture. He hadn’t look at it before thinking that Lu Shiran would scold him, but now he had a strong feeling he had been wrong all along.

 

Sixteen messages. Lu Xingmian took a deep breath and clicked into the conversation.

 

He scrolled up, one message after another, all the way to the beginning. There were no scolding words, just apologies, questions about where he was and pleas for him to reply.

 

There were also a dozen voice messages. For some reason, seeing them made Lu Xingmian’s heart ache.

 

After listening to all the voice messages, Lu Xingmian buried his face in his blanket and sobbed quietly.

 

The voice in the messages was so deep and hoarse. Lu Xingmian could imagine how anxious Lu Shiran must have been when he couldn’t find or reach him.

 

Lu Xingmian realized that Lu Shiran was so angry that night because he was worried about him. Lu Shiran wasn’t heartless; he just cared about him immensely.

 

If he had seen Lu Shiran rush into a burning building, he would probably be even angrier than Lu Shiran had been.

 

If Lu Shiran had deliberately not answered his calls or replied to his messages, Lu Xingmian knew he would have been furious. Yet Lu Shiran hadn’t said a word about it and had instead focused on comforting him instead.

 

Lu Shiran couldn’t sleep lying at the door. All he could think about was Lu Xingmian. The room was quiet and he wondered if Lu Xingmian was having trouble sleeping without him there.

 

Without Lu Xingmian by his side, in his arms, or talking to him, Lu Shiran also found it hard to fall asleep.

 

After an hour of tossing and turning, the door suddenly opened.

 

Lu Xingmian had come out to get some water and was startled to see Lu Shiran sleeping on the floor outside the door.

 

Seeing him, Lu Shiran quickly asked, “What’s wrong, Zai Zai?”

 

Lu Xingmian replied, “I need some water. What are you doing sleeping here?”

 

Lu Shiran got up and poured Lu Xingmian a glass of water. “I wanted to be closer to you.”

 

Lu Xingmian took the water and, ignoring Lu Shiran’s hopeful gaze, closed the door without a word.

 

Five minutes later, Lu Shiran received a WeChat message from his boyfriend.

 

“Lu Shiran, I can’t sleep. Can you talk to me until I fall asleep?”

 

Lu Shiran immediately jumped up. “Zai Zai, I’m coming.”

 

The moment the message was sent, Lu Shiran opened the door and quickly got into bed.

 

Lu Xingmian was shocked by how fast he was. He said insincerely, “After I fall asleep, you still have to leave. We still have to sleep in separate beds.”

 

Lu Shiran wrapped his arm around Lu Xingmian and pulled him into a tight embrace. “Okay, I’ll go out after you fall asleep.”

 

There was no way he was actually going to leave.

 

After talking Lu Xingmian to sleep and holding him tight, Lu Shiran’s heart finally settled.

 

He kissed Lu Xingmian’s forehead. “Good night, my Zai Zai.”