Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Lin Duole exhaled softly. Once he regained his breath, he said, “I’m sorry for worrying you again. I’m okay now.”
“Are you really okay?” Lu Chengyu’s expression was grim. Cold sweat trickled down the high bridge of his nose, and the defined angle of his jaw created a sharp shadow under the light, shifting subtly as he spoke.
“Mm-hmm.” Lin Duole nodded. Lifting his eyes unwittingly, he found himself studying every feature of the boy’s face until his gaze landed on the corner of his lips. Lu Chengyu’s lips were vivid red, with a plump cupid’s bow; the touch from a moment ago had been remarkably soft.
Perhaps because they were sitting so close, he could even clearly discern a tiny, faint mole behind Lu Chengyu’s earlobe. “You were so panicked just now. You even called me Lele—I heard it all.”
Lu Chengyu lowered his eyelashes without a word, turning his head away on purpose to avoid looking at him.
“You usually never call me by name, but just now you secretly called me Lele.” Lin Duole didn’t know where he got the nerve, but he blurted out everything on his mind in one breath.
Lu Chengyu raised an eyebrow, still staying silent, completely unwilling to address the topic.
Yet that nickname, called out in a moment of panic, brought a secret wave of joy to the young boy’s heart. Lin Duole couldn’t help recalling the sight of Lu Chengyu’s frantic, anxious state while rescuing him. It was his first time feeling so genuinely cared for by someone, and his first time realizing that Lu Chengyu might not dislike him as much as he initially thought.
“If you’re really fine, clean up and let’s head back.” Lu Chengyu dried his hair with a towel, stood up, and walked toward the changing room. “You still have your English tutoring class this afternoon.”
He spoke objectively, devoid of any emotion. His tone sounded ice-cold, as if they had instantly reverted to the days when he couldn’t stand him.
Reverting to the way things were didn’t make Lin Duole sad. Ever since the moment Lu Chengyu fought desperately to save him, he felt deep inside that their relationship had drawn a step closer.
Life back home went on as usual, but Lin Duole had added another routine to his practice. To improve his breath-holding capacity underwater, every day after school, he filled a basin with water and submerged his head in it to practice holding his breath.
This practice continued until the day Uncle Lu returned from his business trip. Having finally arrived home, Lu Tingyu opened the door only to see someone with half his body bent over a large basin, remaining completely motionless for a long time.
Panicked, he rushed over to the basin without even changing his shoes. Grabbing the boy by the collar, he carried him to the sofa and asked in alarm, “Lele, what are you doing? Why did you put your face underwater? Is someone punishing you this way? Did your brother bully you again?”
The barrage of questions left Lin Duole completely bewildered. He smoothed back his wet hair, opened his eyes, caught his breath, and said shyly, “No one bullied me, Uncle. I’m practicing holding my breath.”
Perplexed, Lu Tingyu asked, “Why practice that?”
“The school has swimming classes that I’ve never taken. Brother Chengyu took me to the swimming hall to practice for a few days. We don’t have a pool at home, but I can still practice holding my breath with a basin.”
Only then did Lu Tingyu breathe a complete sigh of relief. He tapped Lin Duole on the forehead, pinched his cheek, and said, “You child… you almost scared me to death! Opening the door, I thought you were drowning!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Lin Duole blinked. He noticed Uncle Lu seemed to favor a doting, affectionate tone when speaking to him, a manner that he found himself quite enjoying.
Uncle Lu stroked his head, smiled, and assured him it was fine. He then chatted about his life over the past few weeks. Lin Duole picked a few interesting anecdotes to share, and Lu Tingyu praised him for making such great progress.
After chatting about various topic, Lu Tingyu pulled a gift box out of his briefcase. It was a souvenir he had brought back for Lin Duole from his trip.
“Here, Lele. Before leaving, Uncle took a trip to Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou and asked a monk to bless this specifically for you.” Inside the box lay a statue of the Bodhisattva, crafted from solid gold, suspended at the center of an intricately woven red cord. Lu Tingyu reached out and placed the golden pendant around Lin Duole’s neck.
Lin Duole’s face flushed crimson. He jumped up abruptly, waving his hands in refusal: “Uncle, I can’t accept this! It’s way too valuable!”
He didn’t know the pendant was made of pure gold, but he simply felt it was wrong to accept such a gift for no reason.
“It didn’t cost much, Lele. Just keep it,” Lu Tingyu insisted on putting it on him. “Consider it a gesture of my care. I had a master perform a consecration ritual on it—wearing it will keep you safe and help bring peace to your mother’s soul.”
At the mention of his mother, Lin Duole stared at the red cord, wavering. He didn’t want to keep it, yet he couldn’t bring himself to reject Uncle’s kindness. Moreover, Uncle mentioned it could bring peace to his mother’s soul—whether true or not, as long as it pertained to his mother, it offered a sense of comfort. He bit his lip, his voice as soft as a bird’s feather: “Thank you, Uncle Lu. I’ll wear it carefully.”
As they were discussing other matters, Lin Duole heard a noise coming from the entryway. It was Lu Chengyu returning from playing basketball. Dripping with sweat, he stepped inside and caught sight of the “father and son” sitting on the living room sofa, engaged in a warm conversation.
Lu Chengyu immediately noticed the gold pendant resting against Lin Duole’s neck. The gleaming Bodhisattva seated on a lotus stood out sharply against his chest, making it impossible to ignore.
Hearing the sound, Lu Tingyu turned around as well. Seeing Lu Chengyu standing frozen in place, he looked at his son, paused for a moment, and said, “You’re back? Look at you, drenched in sweat. Off running around wild outside again? You don’t even know how to stay home and help your brother practice.”
He was referring to practicing breath-holding, and his tone was quite harsh.
Lin Duole was taken aback by Uncle Lu’s words. He felt Uncle Lu was exceptionally lenient toward him, yet overly strict with Lu Chengyu—even though Lu Chengyu was his biological son.
“That’s not true, Uncle,” Lin Duole lowered his eyes and added, “Brother Chengyu has already spent several days practicing with me.”
“Oh, really?” Lu Tingyu didn’t seem to care whether the statement was true or false. He patted Lin Duole’s shoulder, looked at Lu Chengyu, and softened his tone considerably: “Look how sensible your brother is, speaking up for you even now.”
Lu Chengyu’s brows knitted tightly. He glanced at the hand resting on Lin Duole’s shoulder and said with a frown, “Do you have any other instructions? If not, I’m going to take a shower.”
He deliberately spoke with cold detachment, making them sound like complete strangers rather than father and son.
Lu Tingyu caught the tone, but said nothing, letting him be.
Carrying his basin, Lin Duole stood up as well. Keeping his eyes on Lu Chengyu as he entered his room, he prepared to leave too: “Uncle, I’ll head back to my room now.”
Inside the room, Lu Chengyu leaned against the wall with his long legs crossed on a stool. He raised his eyes nonchalantly, watching Lin Duole follow him in. Staring at the pendant around his neck, his eyes filled with sarcasm: “What? Came in to show off how great that big gold chain from your Uncle Lu is? How much you love it?”
Lin Duole frowned slightly at his words and told the truth: “I didn’t want to accept it, but I couldn’t let down Uncle’s good intentions.”
Lu Chengyu remained silent, narrowing his eyes, clearly unsatisfied with his answer.
“Don’t worry, I won’t keep it forever. I’ll give it back to Uncle Lu after wearing it for a while,” Lin Duole assured him earnestly.
“What do I care?” Lu Chengyu offered a half-smile, unwilling to give him any quarter: “Wear it or don’t—what the hell does it have to do with me?!”
With that, all trace of laughter vanished from his eyes. He grabbed his clothes, turned, and walked out.
Watching his departing back, Lin Duole couldn’t help muttering to himself. The friendship they had managed to build was undone the moment Uncle Lu returned; he and Lu Chengyu were at odds once again.
Dejected, Lin Duole walked out of the room and saw Grandpa returning from grocery shopping. Uncle Lu and Grandpa were sitting in the living room, prepping vegetables while chatting.
Trimming the water spinach, Grandpa didn’t notice Lele approaching, but kept praising him to Lu Tingyu: “Lele is such a proactive kid, so obedient and smart. Every time he sees me busy, he comes over to lend a hand. Not like Xiaoyu, who’s so lazy—doesn’t lift a finger and can’t tell crops apart. Last time I asked him to trim green beans, he picked purslane instead! That boy!”
Hearing this, Lu Tingyu couldn’t help chuckling: “Can’t be helped, he takes after his mother. She was just like that.”
“Yeah, the two boys have different personalities, but both take after their mothers,” Grandpa shook his head, sighing softly.
The moment the topic turned to both boys taking after their mothers, Lu Tingyu’s face instantly went cold. Lu Chuanjun could clearly feel the heavy aura emanating from his son sitting beside him. He wanted to say something, but his lips merely trembled before he settled back into silence.
A moment later, however, he shifted his body slightly and initiated the conversation: “All these years, I never dared to bring up the matter regarding Wanqiu with you. On one hand, I felt guilty; on the other, I knew it was almost impossible for you to ever forgive us two old folks in this lifetime.”
“When that happened back then, what your mother and I did chilled your heart completely. Wanqiu was so innocent and pitiable… to go through so much…” The old man’s eyes welled up with tears. As he reached this point, he couldn’t stop himself, his voice trembling violently.
“Dad, don’t say any more.” Lu Tingyu rubbed the corner of his lip with a finger, shifting slightly to conceal the trace of mockery at the edge of his mouth. “It’s been over twenty years… the kids are almost grown up…”
The old man wiped the corners of his eyes and continued snapping the stems of the water spinach in the basket: “Yes, so many years have passed, yet you still can’t let it go. Are you planning to carry this burden for the rest of your life?”
Standing not far away, Lin Duole listened to the strange conversation between the father and son. He had intended to step over to help after Grandpa finished praising him, but he never expected to hear them talking about his mother.
He suddenly realized: Was the reason Lu Tingyu treated him even better than his own son because of everything his mother had suffered?