AAWOMAHI Chapter73

In the morning, Lu Xingmian felt a tickle on his face, as if something was moving on it.

 

He extended his hand and grasped two delicate fingers. When he opened his eyes, he saw Lu Shiran smiling at him. “Mian Zai, you’re awake.”

 

Lu Xingmian came to his senses. “What time is it?”

 

He was supposed to go back to the Lu clan ancestral home with Lu Shiran today. Every year on this day, Lu Shiran and Lu Yu would return to pay their respects to their parents, and he couldn’t be late for such an important occasion.

 

“It’s still early,” Lu Shiran said. “Only eight o’clock.”

 

Lu Xingmian hummed in response. They were leaving at ten, so eight wasn’t late, but he didn’t go back to sleep.

 

Even though he had already met the Lu parents, Lu Xingmian still felt nervous. He figured there would be a lot of people at the Lu clan ancestral home. He had been through a similar experience before, being scrutinized by a crowd of people when he had just returned to the Lu family.

 

He sat on the bed while staring blankly at the socks in his hand.

 

Lu Shiran, who was already dressed, walked over to him. He slightly pulled up his suit pants and knelt down, taking the socks from Lu Xingmian’s hand.

 

Lu Xingmian snapped out of his daze. “What are you doing?”

 

“Putting your socks on for you.” Lu Shiran said.

 

“You don’t have to,” Lu Xingmian replied. “I can do it myself.”

 

But Lu Shiran had already taken his ankle and placed his foot on his lap.

 

Lu Xingmian’s ankles were not only slender, but his feet were also beautiful—not too fat nor too thin, with a uniform, fair complexion. His neatly trimmed toenails had a hint of pink. These feet, however, were prone to getting cold in the winter, though that had gotten much better recently.

 

Lu Shiran rubbed the arch of his foot, which was warm. As he put on Lu Xingmian’s socks, he said, “Zai Zai, if you’re nervous or you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I’ll be back soon.”

 

Yesterday, Mother Lu had called Lu Shiran to ask if he would bring Lu Xingmian back with him, and it was clear from her voice that she was very much looking forward to it.

 

“I’m not nervous.” Lu Xingmian said.

 

This was a lie. Lu Shiran could tell at a glance that he had been distracted. Lu Xingmian hadn’t even looked this way during his college entrance exams. To ease Lu Xingmian’s nerves, Lu Shiran told him, “Today it’s just a family banquet, no outsiders. You’ve met them all. My brother, Sister-in-law, and Xiao Youzi are there. Xiao Youzi has been wanting to play with you again.”

 

Upon hearing that he knew everyone who would be there, Lu Xingmian relaxed a great deal. He had assumed that it would be a large gathering with many relatives, especially since the Lu clan was likely to have a big family.

 

When Lu Shiran and Lu Xingmian arrived at the Lu clan’s ancestry home, they ran into Lu Yu’s family, who had also just arrived.

 

Lu Xingmian greeted them. “Yu Ge, Sao-zi.”

 

Lu Yu and his wife responded warmly. They were both approachable people.

 

Xiao Youzi saw Lu Shiran and Lu Xingmian and happily greeted them. “Uncle, Gege!”

 

“Xiao Youzi,” Meng Xinlei said, “you can’t call him ‘gege.’ You have to call him ‘uncle’.”

 

Xiao Youzi walked up and held Lu Xingmian’s hand. “Mom, Gege looks so young!”

 

Meng Xinlei explained to her, “He’s your uncle’s boyfriend, so you should call him ‘uncle.’”

 

Xiao Youzi tilted her head and thought for a moment and called out, “Little Uncle.” Calling him “uncle” felt too old, much like addressing her other uncle. She decided that “Little Uncle” sounded closer to calling him “Gege.” That’s what Xiao Youzi thought.

 

“Little Uncle” made Lu Xingmian’s face flush with shyness. Lu Shiran praised his niece, “Xiao Youzi is so smart.” The title “Little Uncle” sounded quite cute.

 

Xiao Youzi genuinely liked Lu Xingmian because he would wait with her for her parents and was gentle with her. When she found out she would see him at her grandparents’ house today, she carefully chose several of her favorite storybooks from her bookshelf. She put them in her bag before bed to give to Lu Xingmian.

 

Lu Xingmian was both surprised and touched when he received the storybooks from Xiao Youzi. “Thank you, Xiao Youzi.”

 

In addition to the books, Lu Xingmian also received red envelopes from Father and Mother Lu, as well as from Lu Yu and Meng Xinlei.

 

In the room Lu Shiran used to live in, Lu Xingmian asked Lu Shiran with a hint of anxiety, “Ge, isn’t this too much?”

 

He had never seen such generous red envelopes. He could barely hold them all in his hands, and they had to be worth at least six figures. It was the first time he had ever experienced something like this.

 

Father and Mother Lu were incredibly warm, treating him with the same kindness as they would a daughter-in-law.

 

Lu Shiran chuckled, hoping his parents and brother hadn’t scared Lu Xingmian with their overly enthusiastic welcome. “Just hold onto them. Don’t feel any pressure at all. It’s their way of showing how much they like you.”

 

“But it’s really a lot.” Lu Xingmian insisted.

 

Meanwhile, downstairs, Father and Mother Lu were wondering if the red envelopes they gave Lu Xingmian were too little, especially since he was their son’s sweetheart.

 

Lu Yu, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but laugh as he recalled the look of shock on Lu Xingmian’s face. “Mom, Dad, take it easy. If someone didn’t know any better, they’d think you were trying to pay Lu Xingmian to leave Lu Shiran. You’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future. There’s no need to rush.”

 

This comment finally made the Lu parents stop.

 

Lu Shiran’s old room had a very large balcony with an excellent view. Lu Xingmian stood on the balcony, taking in the view while imagining what Lu Shiran’s life had been like before college.

 

Lu Shiran wrapped his arms around Lu Xingmian from behind. Startled, Lu Xingmian instinctively looked around. “Stop it. Someone might come in.”

 

Lu Shiran replied, “Don’t worry. The housekeepers won’t just come in. Besides, I just want to hold you. I wasn’t going to do anything. Zai Zai, were you hoping for something more? My mistake.”

 

Lu Xingmian denied it, then heard Lu Shiran laughing softly and knew he was being teased again.

 

“Ge,” Lu Xingmian asked curiously, “has your voice always sounded like this, or did it change after puberty?” He was genuinely curious after meeting Xiao Youzi. He wondered if Lu Shiran’s voice was also soft and gentle when he was a child, which sounded quite adorable.

 

Lu Shiran held him tight. “Zai Zai, the soundproofing isn’t very good here.”

 

Just as Lu Xingmian was wondering why Lu Shiran was telling him this, Lu Shiran tilted his chin up and kissed him.

 

Since they were at the Lu clan ancestral home, Lu Xingmian tried to control himself and not make a sound. The sounds turned into tears that rolled down his face.

 

Lu Shiran loved the way he was trying so hard to stay quiet; it made him even more excited.

 

A knock on the door saved Lu Xingmian.

 

It was Xiao Youzi who was looking for him. “Little Uncle, are you and Uncle inside? Can I come play with you?”

 

Lu Xingmian pushed Lu Shiran away and looked at him pleadingly. “Ge…”

 

Lu Shiran let go, tidied his hair and clothes, and wiped the tears from his face. “Go on,” he said resignedly.

 

Lu Xingmian quickly went to open the door. Xiao Youzi smiled sweetly at him. “Little Uncle, will you play with me?”

 

“Okay.” Lu Xingmian said.

 

Lu Xingmian led Xiao Youzi downstairs, with Lu Shiran following quietly behind.

 

“Little Uncle, do you know how to play Snake?” Xiao Youzi asked.

 

“You play Snake too?” Lu Xingmian was surprised to meet someone who also liked the game.

 

“Yeah,” Xiao Youzi said, then walked over to Lu Shiran. “Uncle, your phone.”

 

She loved playing on her uncle’s phone.

 

Xiao Youzi took the phone and sat down next to Lu Xingmian, leaning very close. “Little Uncle, let’s play together.”

 

At first, they played their own games, but when Xiao Youzi saw Lu Xingmian’s screen, she stared at his phone with admiration. “Little Uncle, you’re so good!”

 

Lu Xingmian was a little embarrassed by the praise. “I’m not that good.”

 

To get a better look at how his “Little Uncle” played, Xiao Youzi rested her head on his arm and leaned in to watch. Lu Xingmian adjusted his position to hold the phone closer to her.

 

Xiao Youzi, who looked envious, handed her phone to him and begged, “Little Uncle, can you play for me?”

 

How could he refuse such a cute little girl?

 

Lu Xingmian immediately quit his game. “Of course!”

 

When he exited the game, Xiao Youzi saw Lu Xingmian’s profile picture. She got excited and said, “Little Uncle, so the person on Uncle’s phone is you! The profile picture on his phone is the same as yours.”

 

Lu Xingmian was confused. “What do you mean?”

 

Little Youzi explained, “I accepted a person on Uncle’s phone.”

 

From Xiao Youzi’s explanation, Lu Xingmian realized that it wasn’t Lu Shiran who had accepted him, but Xiao Youzi. She thought his profile picture was cute, and that’s why she accepted his friend request.

 

Then, Lu Xingmian understood. He finally realized why the person he had added had accepted his friend request so quickly. If it hadn’t been for Xiao Youzi, he and Lu Shiran might never have met.

 

Lu Xingmian looked up to see Lu Shiran talking to Lu Yu and Father Lu. As soon as he looked over, their eyes met. It was as if Lu Shiran had been watching him all along. Lu Shiran smiled at him.

 

Xiao Youzi held up her phone. “Little Uncle, you play for me. I’ll watch you.”

 

Xiao Youzi then sat on Lu Xingmian’s lap.

 

“Little Uncle, can we eat that mean snake?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Little Uncle, that snake is so big. Can we eat it?”

 

“No problem.”

 

“Little Uncle, that doggy snake has us surrounded. Let’s eat it, okay?”

 

“Okay.”

 

When Lu Xingmian ate the snake in the game, Xiao Youzi clapped. “Little Uncle is so amazing!”

 

The two, one big and one small, had a great time playing together.

 

Lu Yu said, “Xiao Youzi really likes Lu Xingmian.”

 

Lu Shiran smiled with pride. It was only natural for people to like Lu Xingmian.

 

Lu Xingmian had expected to feel nervous at the Lu clan ancestral home, but he was surprised by the wonderful atmosphere. He felt very relaxed.

 

After lunch, Xiao Youzi clung to Lu Xingmian, asking him to play with her again.

 

Watching them walk away, Lu Shiran said to Lu Yu, “Isn’t your daughter a bit too clingy with Lu Xingmian?” Lu Xingmian hadn’t looked at him in a long time.

 

“Hahahaha,” Lu Yu laughed loudly. “Lu Shiran, are you jealous?” This was too funny, Lu Shiran was actually jealous.

 

Lu Shiran shot him a look, and Lu Yu immediately fell silent. His laughter had been so loud that Meng Xinlei asked what was so funny. Lu Yu held back his laughter and said it was nothing.

 

After a while, the laughter from the two of them stopped. Therefore Lu Shiran went to check on them.

 

He immediately understood why. The two, after playing all afternoon, had fallen asleep. Lu Xingmian and Xiao Youzi were each using a cushion as a pillow. Lu Xingmian had taken off his jacket and placed it over Xiao Youzi to make sure she didn’t get cold. Thankfully, the room was warm.

 

Lu Yu also followed him and picked up the sleeping Xiao Youzi, who mumbled, “Little Uncle,” in her sleep.

 

Lu Shiran also picked up Lu Xingmian and carried him back to the room.

 

Little Uncle, he thought. That’s a good name. I’ll call Lu Xingmian that next time.

 

On the bed.