For Lu Shiran, that day felt as long as a year.
The young man in his arms mumbled “Ge,” calling out to him in his sleep. His heart instantly softened.
He knew Lu Xingmian letting him back in meant he wasn’t angry anymore. Lu Xingmian’s stubborn but softhearted nature was endearing.
The next day, when Lu Xingmian looked at himself in the mirror, he realized that his eyes were still a bit swollen, but luckily, he had used the ice pack the night before. The swelling wasn’t obvious unless one stared at him closely.
As Lu Xingmian was about to brush his teeth, Lu Shiran came up and put an arm around his shoulder, then picked up his electric toothbrush.
In the mirror, their movements were almost in sync. Lu Xingmian turned his head to look at Lu Shiran, who smiled and gently turned his head back. In the mirror, they brushed their teeth together.
Three minutes later, they rinsed at the same time.
Lu Shiran helped Lu Xingmian wipe the foam off the corner of his lips.
Lu Xingmian looked at Lu Shiran through the mirror. “Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?”
Lu Shiran was a bit too enthusiastic this morning, he even brushed his teeth and washed his face with him.
“I’m still not good enough for you,” Lu Shiran reflected. “I’ll remember what happened yesterday.”
Lu Xingmian retorted, “What, are you going to be mean to me like yesterday again?”
“Of course not,” Lu Shiran chuckled. “I’m going to remember it so it never happens again, therefore you will never cry or feel sad again.”
Lu Xingmian scoffed, but the slight curve of his lips gave him away.
Lu Shiran hugged him from behind and looked at him in the mirror as he apologized sincerely. “Zai Zai, I’m sorry. I was wrong yesterday. I promise it won’t happen again. So can you forgive me just this once?”
“Mmm,” Lu Xingmian replied. “Ge, I was also wrong yesterday. I shouldn’t have ignored your calls. I… mmm…”
Lu Shiran’s kiss cut him off.
Lu Xingmian’s lips and teeth tasted faintly of peach, it was cool and sweet.
Lu Shiran said, “Zai Zai, we missed a crucial part of our date; a kiss. Let’s make up for it now.”
Half an hour later, Lu Xingmian sat on the sofa and slowly drank water. He felt incredibly thirsty and hot all over while Lu Shiran was in the kitchen making breakfast and was completely unfazed.
Lu Xingmian sighed. He was no match for Lu Shiran. Just one kiss had left him completely flustered.
He could see them in his peripheral vision when they kissed in front of the mirror. Lu Shiran had a high nose bridge and it would press against Lu Xingmian’s face when they kissed.
Lu Shiran usually appeared very stoic but when he kissed him, he was incredibly passionate.
Recalling the look in Lu Shiran’s eyes, Lu Xingmian felt thirsty again. He quickly drank some water and told himself to stay calm. He still had to go to class later.
Lu Shiran then called him from the kitchen to come and eat. He looked at Lu Xingmian with a curious expression. “Mian Zai, why is your face still so red?”
Lu Xingmian replied calmly, “I just drank hot water. It’s from the heat.”
Lu Xingmian thought Zheng Minyou and the others would tease him about running away from home yesterday since they usually liked to joke with him, but no one mentioned a thing about it in the group chat as if it had never happened.
He wasn’t afraid of them teasing him about running away, but he would have been a little embarrassed.
He soon realized it must be because of Lu Shiran. Lu Shiran always protected him so well. Lu Shiran was so good to him.
The events of yesterday quickly made to the news headlines. Lu Xingmian learned there were no injuries or deaths in the fire from the report, which was a huge relief.
A video of Lu Xingmian’s rescue also suddenly went viral online.
In the video, Lu Xingmian was seen running out of the fire while holding a child. The person filming said the young man had rushed in without a moment’s hesitation and quickly rescued the little boy. Right after he got the boy out, the shop collapsed.
Watching the video, Lu Xingmian realized how dangerous the situation had actually been. He finally understood how Lu Shiran must have felt at the time.
The rescue video was short but quickly gained traction and surpassed a million views in a single night. Netizens called the young man “the bravest person.”
The young man in the video had a face covered in soot, making his features unclear, but he had a pair of very bright eyes and the most beautiful smile. Anyone who knew Lu Xingmian could recognize him instantly.
Lu Xingmian watched the video and realized how dirty his face had been. So Lu Shiran was really just helping him wipe his face, even if his actions were a little rough. He completely understood Lu Shiran’s feelings now.
Lu Shiran was right beside him when the news and video appeared, therefore he saw it too.
Lu Xingmian smiled a little sheepishly.
Lu Shiran complimented him sincerely. “Zai Zai was amazing yesterday. You’re the bravest person.”
Lu Xingmian smiled happily.
Just as Lu Xingmian saw the news, so did his friends, and they immediately recognized him.
Suddenly, Lu Xingmian’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Everyone called to ask if he was okay and if he had been hurt.
At first, Lu Xingmian denied it wasn’t him, but all of his friends were sharp-eyed and they had already confirmed it was Lu Xingmian. Therefore he couldn’t deny it even if he wanted to.
The most repeated phrase from Lu Xingmian was, “I’m fine, I wasn’t hurt, it wasn’t as dangerous as it looks.”
When Lu Xingmian went to school, his classmates all came up to ask if the person in the video was him, saying he looked so much alike.
Lu Xingmian insisted that it wasn’t him, saying he was home with his boyfriend yesterday and didn’t go out.
Hearing him sound so certain, his classmates believed him. But still, the person in the video looked so much like Lu Xingmian. Did anyone else also have such beautiful eyes?
Even Jiang Ran was sure it was Lu Xingmian, but Lu Xingmian was firm in his denial.
However, the truth soon came out.
After class, someone came to find Lu Xingmian.
It was the elderly woman from yesterday, and with her were her son and daughter-in-law.
After the couple found out what happened, they were determined to find the brave young man. Thankfully, they did, and it turned out he was a student at Yancheng University.
The son and daughter-in-law brought a banner for Lu Xingmian to thank him for his heroic deed and for saving their son again.
Jiang Ran, who had almost been convinced by Lu Xingmian’s denial, exclaimed, “Lu Xingmian, you said it wasn’t you!”
Lu Xingmian gave a helpless smile. He just wanted to do a good deed without a fuss. He didn’t want so many people to know.
But when the banner was presented, many students saw it and everyone found out that Lu Xingmian was the person in the video.
When Lu Shiran came to pick up his boyfriend after school, he noticed something new in Lu Xingmian’s hands.
Lu Xingmian explained that it was a banner from the little boy’s parents.
He looked a little troubled. “Ge, I think more videos of me are going to pop up online now.”
A lot of people had been taking photos and videos with their phones and he was worried. He just wanted to be a normal, quiet college student.
Lu Shiran comforted him. “Don’t worry, leave this to me.”
Lu Xingmian asked, “Can you really do it? I really don’t want to be a ‘celebrity’ online.”
Lu Shiran kept his promise. Soon, all the videos of Lu Xingmian online had virtually disappeared including the original rescue video.
With so many people knowing, Lu Yu naturally found out as well. He called Lu Shiran to ask, “The person in the video is Lu Xingmian, right?” It was a statement, not a question.
Lu Yu didn’t need Lu Shiran to confirm it. He had instantly recognized them. There was a fleeting shot in the video of Lu Shiran leading Lu Xingmian away, and although it was just a back view, he was certain it was them.
Their height difference was unmistakable.
Since Lu Yu had seen it, Lu Shiran didn’t try to hide it either and simply hummed in agreement.
Lu Shiran said, “Don’t tell Mom and Dad about this.” Knowing his parents, if they found out, they’d bring over a mountain of things to see Lu Xingmian.
Lu Yu promised he wouldn’t say a word but Lu Shiran just snorted.
Lu Yu said, “What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t trust me?”
Lu Shiran replied, “I really don’t.”
Lu Yu was left speechless and unable to argue. He knew that the things he’d done in the past weren’t intentional, but it didn’t help either.
While Lu Shiran was on the phone with Lu Yu, he was also making a sweet soup to moisten Lu Xingmian’s lungs such as stewed pear with rock sugar, white fungus, and lily bulbs.
Although the doctor had said there was nothing to worry about, Lu Shiran wasn’t taking any chances. From now on, he was going to make food that would cleanse and nourish Lu Xingmian’s lungs every day.
When the sweet soup was ready, Lu Shiran personally watched Lu Xingmian drink two bowls.
The menu for the next couple of days consisted of various lung-cleansing foods, like pig’s blood and black fungus. Though the dishes were prepared in different ways, they were essentially the same few ingredients.
Lu Xingmian hated pig’s blood. The sight of it made his head ache and he had absolutely no desire to eat it.
But Lu Shiran insisted he eat it and he has to eat a lot of it as well. Lu Xingmian was firmly against it.
However, just a single sentence from Lu Shiran was all it took to make him comply.
Lu Shiran said, “Zai Zai, don’t make me worry.”
Hearing that, Lu Xingmian had no choice but to hold his nose and obediently eat all the pig’s blood. Once he finished, Lu Shiran even rewarded him with a fruit candy as if he was a little kid.
After eating pig’s blood for several days in a row, Lu Xingmian felt that he had over-supplemented his body and his face looked ruddy.
Looking at his rosy complexion, Lu Shiran nodded, thinking the pig’s blood was working wonders. Lu Xingmian’s face was indeed looking much healthier and he even seemed to have put on a little weight, which looked great.
Lu Xingmian immediately begged for mercy. Everything he ate tasted like pig’s blood now. He felt like he was going to throw up at the sight of it, he really couldn’t eat it anymore. He probably wouldn’t want to touch this stuff for years now.
Lu Shiran finally gave in and took Lu Xingmian for another check-up when he had a break from class.
They went to see the same doctor, Dr. Chu.
While Dr. Chu was reviewing the report, Lu Xingmian watched him nervously.
His gaze was so intense that it lingered on the doctor for an unusually long time.
Dr. Chu wore a white coat with a name tag on his chest, and he was quite handsome.
Lu Shiran subtly turned Lu Xingmian’s face toward himself but Lu Xingmian’s mind was completely focused on the doctor’s results.
Dr. Chu said Lu Xingmian’s lungs were perfectly fine.
Lu Xingmian was overjoyed. “Thank you, Dr. Chu.”
He looked at Dr. Chu with a look of pure admiration. This meant he didn’t have to eat pig’s blood anymore!
After they left the hospital, Lu Xingmian happily said, “Ge, did you hear that? Dr. Chu said I’m fine. I don’t have to eat pig’s blood anymore.”
As Lu Xingmian buckled his seatbelt, Lu Shiran leaned in and kissed him.
“Zai Zai, don’t look at other men with that kind of expression. I get jealous.”
