Listening to Sheng Mingzhi’s self-righteous muttering, Lu Jiayan actually found it a bit funny. He hadn’t realized his life’s value was quite so useful?
The stomach attack had come on suddenly. Forget about stomach medicine; there were barely any basic medications in the No. 1 Xishan villa. Neither he nor Sheng Mingzhi lived here often. Besides, even if there were any, they’d likely have expired after being sitting for three years.
Left with no choice, Sheng Mingzhi poured a glass of hot water and handed it to Lu Jiayan. He watched the man take two sips and then called the private doctor.
If only we were at Grandpa’s house, Sheng Mingzhi thought to himself. The Lu family’s ancestral home was fully staffed with servants, and because of the elderly residents, family doctors were stationed in the compound 24/7, available at a moment’s notice.
Unlike No. 1 Xishan—though it was in the city center, there wasn’t a convenience store within a kilometer. Not to mention the torrential rain outside that showed no signs of stopping; there was no telling when the doctor would arrive.
Perhaps because Sheng Mingzhi had been silent for too long, Lu Jiayan felt slightly better after the hot water. He looked up to find the little ancestor staring blankly out the window with a heavy, solemn expression.
Lu Jiayan seemed to find this amusing and let out a light chuckle.
Coming back to his senses, Sheng Mingzhi looked at him, slightly dazed. “What are you laughing at?”
“I think your expression is too heavy,” Lu Jiayan said slowly. “Are you that worried about me?”
Sheng Mingzhi: “…”
He really wanted to know how thick this dog man’s skin actually was. He was sick enough that he couldn’t even make it upstairs, yet he still had the energy to be a smart-ass.
However, considering he was a patient, Sheng Mingzhi couldn’t be bothered to argue.
Lu Jiayan’s condition didn’t actually look good. He had forced himself to tease Sheng Mingzhi just to lighten the mood. His temples were damp with sweat, dark strands of hair clung to his cheeks, and his lips looked terrifyingly pale under the light.
Sheng Mingzhi couldn’t help but say, “Stop talking. Rest for a bit.”
Finding nothing else he could do, he imitated what he’d seen in TV dramas and tucked the corner of Lu Jiayan’s blanket in. It was clear Lu Jiayan truly had no strength left to speak; his eyes were tightly shut, and his brow remained furrowed.
________________________________________
During the forty minutes he spent waiting for the private doctor, Sheng Mingzhi was extremely anxious. He couldn’t help calling to urge them three times, only to find out there was a traffic jam in central Yunjing even at 1:00 AM. He was so angry he almost went on Weibo to curse out all those club-hopping scumbags—Are you insane? Is your nightlife that rich? Don’t you know someone is sick and waiting for a doctor?
After waiting for twenty minutes, Sheng Mingzhi saw the water on the table had gone cold and went to pour another glass. With nothing to do, he took out his phone and searched Baidu: How to take care of a patient with a stomach illness?
After typing it, he felt it wasn’t specific enough, so he added Lu Jiayan’s symptoms.
Immediately, a dazzling array of pages popped up. Sheng Mingzhi froze after just a few glances, unable to believe his eyes.
According to Baidu, Lu Jiayan’s condition was advanced stomach cancer!
By the time the private doctor finally arrived, Sheng Mingzhi was already looking up how much a funeral urn cost. He let out a sigh of relief, retreated obediently to the side, and watched the doctor help Lu Jiayan upstairs.
Sheng Mingzhi didn’t stay idle; he circled around like a little puppy, occasionally poking his head into the master bedroom to check on Lu Jiayan.
By the time Lu Jiayan’s symptoms finally eased, it was nearly 2:00 AM. Sheng Mingzhi went downstairs with the doctor, who gave him a detailed list of precautions. Fearing he would forget, Sheng Mingzhi specifically wrote them down in his phone’s memos.
Normally, that would have been the end of the professional transaction. However, the doctor suddenly offered a flattering remark: “You and President Lu have such a great relationship.”
Sheng Mingzhi thought he had misheard. “Huh?”
The doctor said with emotion, “I used to think wealthy couples like you were all just putting on a front, but I didn’t expect you two to be so deeply devoted to each other.”
Sheng Mingzhi: “…?”
What kind of nonsense is he talking? Is the act of looking up funeral urns for Lu Jiayan that moving?
To be fair, he had conscientiously chosen the luxury version over the budget urn because the Taobao reviews said the luxury one was waterproof and had two levels for an extra 200 yuan.
Of course, Sheng Mingzhi ultimately didn’t buy the urn. Firstly, while Lu Jiayan’s illness looked serious, it wasn’t terminal. Secondly, if Lu Jiayan found out he’d tried to buy an urn with “two levels,” the man would undoubtedly use it to fuel his narcissism. Sheng Mingzhi could already imagine the scene: the “male fox” with his peach-blossom eyes full of laughter, quirkily raising an eyebrow and saying:
“Sheng Mingzhi, you even want to buy a double-decker couple’s urn? Are you that desperate to die with me?”
“Or are you planning to haunt me even after we’re ghosts?”
So cringe. Sheng Mingzhi got goosebumps just from his own imagination.
________________________________________
After seeing the doctor off, the delivery arrived. When the phone rang, Sheng Mingzhi remembered he had ordered seafood porridge an hour ago. Because of the rain, the rider was forty minutes late, and the porridge was already cold.
Though his cooking skills were zero, Sheng Mingzhi knew how to pour porridge into a bowl and put it in the microwave. After three minutes of the microwave’s hum, the “ding” announced the hot seafood porridge was ready.
He had originally ordered it for himself, but by coincidence, it happened right when Lu Jiayan was sick. After all the tossing and turning, Sheng Mingzhi had completely lost his appetite. Holding the porridge, he hesitated for a moment before heading upstairs to knock on Lu Jiayan’s bedroom door.
“Jiayan-ge, have you taken your medicine?”
After waiting a moment and hearing movement inside, he simply pushed the door open. His “knock” was just a formality; whether Lu Jiayan agreed or not, he was coming in.
The door opened to find Lu Jiayan awake. Seeing that some color had returned to the man’s face, Sheng Mingzhi felt relieved. “Why didn’t you answer me if you’re awake?”
Lu Jiayan leaned against the headboard and replied idly, “Hearing you call me so affectionately makes me a bit uneasy.” He paused for a beat, continuing slowly and meaningfully, “The last time I heard a line like that was a thousand years ago, when Wu Dalang was sick—” (Note: A reference to a classic story where a wife poisons her sick husband).
“Stop.” Sheng Mingzhi’s brow twitched. He knew nothing good ever came out of this dog man’s mouth. Still, seeing him energetic enough to bicker meant his stomach really didn’t hurt anymore.
Sheng Mingzhi placed the seafood porridge on the nightstand. Lu Jiayan froze for a moment. Then, he looked at it with disbelief. “Did you make this?”
Sheng Mingzhi answered honestly: “I ordered delivery.”
Realizing something, he raised his voice: “Why are you asking? Are you disappointed it’s not homemade? It takes time to order delivery too, okay?”
“No.” Lu Jiayan leaned back, his expression playful under the light. “I’m just moved.”
“Don’t make a scene,” Sheng Mingzhi sat down and blew on the porridge, making a totally unromantic “straight man” comment: “I’ll take care of you like this even when you’re eighty.”
…
…
Does he really think I’m his dad?
Lu Jiayan let out a dry laugh. “I’ll take that as a blessing. I hope I live to eighty and try to outlive you by a little bit.”
Sheng Mingzhi was speechless. “Lu Jiayan, can you not be so childish? You even want to compete over lifespan? Is that fun? Also, why can’t I outlive you?”
Lu Jiayan took a sip of the porridge and said shamelessly, “I’m afraid you’d be sad.” His voice softened strangely as his peach-blossom eyes fixed on Sheng Mingzhi with a smile, leaving the latter dazed. “So, I will definitely work hard to live a bit longer than you.”
________________________________________
It took an entire night for Sheng Mingzhi to process it. Holy crap, was Lu Jiayan ‘sparking’ at me with his eyes last night? Was he flirting with me on purpose? He flirted with me?! He—
“Mingzhi? Did you hear what I just said?”
It wasn’t until Xiao Wang called out that Sheng Mingzhi snapped out of his daze. He rubbed his ear unnaturally and mumbled, “I heard you.”
Sheng Mingzhi had just finished a shoot and was on his way back to the company. Xiao Wang reminded him, “Good that you heard. I’ll repeat it: there’s a Peach TV livestream tonight. Don’t forget to go online at 8:30.”
Peach TV was a major domestic livestreaming platform. Sheng Mingzhi’s youth campus web drama was currently airing, and the production team had partnered with Peach TV for an interactive online session starting at 6:00 PM. All the main actors were scheduled for one-hour slots in order of their billing. As the third male lead, Sheng Mingzhi was scheduled fourth from the end.
Xiao Wang nagged him for a long time until Sheng Mingzhi felt drowsy. He thought it was just the nagging, but when he got home at 3:00 PM, his limbs felt increasingly heavy. He dragged his feet to the bedroom and flopped onto the bed.
He thought a short nap would help, but he ended up sleeping for four hours. At 7:30, he was woken up by Xiao Wang’s WeChat video call. In a half-awake state, he answered.
“Mingzhi, are you awake? You go live in an hour, get ready—wait, what’s wrong with you?” Xiao Wang noticed Sheng Mingzhi’s face looked off. Even through the video, he looked abnormally flushed.
“I’m fine,” Sheng Mingzhi replied sluggishly, his voice thick with congestion. “Just woke up, my hair is a mess.”
Xiao Wang suppressed his doubts. “If you’re feeling unwell, I can contact them to see if we can cancel.”
“No need.” Sheng Mingzhi got up.
Actually, anyone who knew him would realize he was not himself. A “little peacock” who cared so much about his image would never have answered a video call looking like a mess unless something was wrong.
Sheng Mingzhi washed his face and saw it was already 8:00. He had thirty minutes.
________________________________________
At exactly 8:30 PM, Sheng Mingzhi started the livestream in the study. The background was a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Wanyue Lake. The decor was minimal to protect his privacy.
The drama, Promise You a Lifetime of City-Toppling Beauty, was a popular adaptation with a loyal fanbase. As the third male lead—a playboy, arrogant rich kid—Sheng Mingzhi had basically played himself. His usually lackluster acting had surprisingly fit the character, earning him some new fans.
Within five minutes, the viewers surged to ten thousand. Along with them came his persistent anti-fans.
“He’s here. Haven’t seen this ‘little trash’ in a while. Everyone, do we start cursing now?”
“My eyes have depreciated after watching your drama. Can you pay me back?”
“Where’d you get that window background? Is it a backdrop cloth? Nice effort on the faking this time.”
“Nice room. Move out and let me live there.”
“Why aren’t you wearing that Vacheron Constantin? Disappointing.”
New fans were baffled by the hostility. “Why are people scolding him?”
Sheng Mingzhi finally spoke his first words. Lazily and annoyingly, he said, “Ignore them. Didn’t you see the notice? You have to donate 10,000 to teach me how to do things. One more insult and I’ll block you. Scram.”
The anti-fans got excited:
“Spread the word: Teacher Sheng is committing telecommunications fraud.”
“Spread the word: Teacher Sheng told everyone to scram from the room.”
“Already reported to the Anti-Fraud Center. You’re welcome.”
…
“Wait, am I the only one who thinks Sheng Mingzhi looks off today? His face is too pale.”
“Did this ‘trash’ put on too much foundation?”
“He doesn’t seem as sharp-tongued as usual, what’s going on?”
At the same time, Shen Ling sent him a WeChat message.
【Mingzhi, are you sick? Your lips look so white through the screen.】
Sheng Mingzhi didn’t plan on hiding it from her. He typed honestly: 【Got a bit of a cold.】
He thought for a moment. It was likely from taking care of Lu Jiayan all night and then shooting outdoors in the cold morning air wearing only a thin trench coat.
He replied: 【It’s all Lu Jiayan’s fault. He kept me busy until 4:00 AM last night.】
He didn’t think the sentence was ambiguous at all. Until Shen Ling replied with a “shocked” message:
【…】
【Brother Lu is a beast.】
Sheng Mingzhi looked down at his own message: “?”
The next second, he realized what he had sent.
Consequently, the entire livestream audience witnessed the next scene: On the screen, Sheng Mingzhi’s ears instantly turned a deep, blood-red color.
The bullet comments:
【?】
【Why did his face turn that red just from looking at his phone?】