Lu Cheng’s voice became clear as well: “Yeah, I actually quite like that girl.”
Mu Yinnian tapped a Go piece against the board and sighed with a regretful tone: “What a pity. I originally thought that if your family had a girl, we could have become in-laws.”
The due dates for Mu Ran’s mother, Fang Shiruan, and Lu Chengfeng’s mother, Ji Wan, were very close to each other. Their VIP hospital rooms were on the same floor, and since there weren’t many rooms, the probability of them running into each other when the expectant mothers came out for a walk was very high. The two women hit it off immediately upon meeting, wishing they could move into the same room.
At that time, Fang Shiruan’s due date was two months earlier than Lu Chengfeng’s mother, so the two of them agreed that if the babies were of different sexes, they absolutely had to become in-laws.
As it turned out, both were boys.
When they were little, Aunt Ji would often tease Mu Ran, saying that if all else failed, she would just give her son to Mu Ran as a wife.
Lu Chengfeng remained completely silent, just standing off to the side with a face darker than anyone else’s.
“It’s all the same whether we become in-laws or not. Look at how good the relationship between the two boys is; they’ll still keep in touch frequently after starting families of their own,” Lu Cheng said with a hearty laugh. “Let me tell you, aside from A-Ran, that child is my absolute favorite beautiful and poised. I haven’t asked Chengfeng about it yet, but I imagine he won’t refuse. A business marriage as long as they can maintain mutual respect, that’s enough.”
Among their social circle, there were far too many couples who went their separate ways and played around behind each other’s backs after starting a family, leaving each other undisturbed. It was just that their two families were relatively lucky; their relationship was pretty decent, and they would just muddle through life like this.
It was just that having reached such a status, their children could not escape this kind of destiny either.
“Speaking of which, it’s about time I scouted out a wife for A-Ran as well,” Mu Yinnian also began to grow anxious.
“What are you listening to? Just standing there without coming inside? Your hand is so tightly constricted it’s turned red.” Mu Ran had been listening so intently that he only realized it after Lu Chengfeng was already standing right beside him. The wine’s packaging bag had squeezed his hand so tightly that the blood had stopped flowing, leaving it deathly pale.
Mu Ran switched hands and forced his expression to remain calm. “Nothing much, Uncle Lu and my dad were discussing arranging an engagement for the two of us.”
Lu Cheng’s expression loosened slightly, appearing somewhat surprised: “For the two of us?”
Mu Ran nodded. He had no idea whether this betrothed girl was actually Lu Chengfeng’s female protagonist.
“When?” Lu Chengfeng asked.
Mu Ran could feel that the hand Lu Chengfeng had pressed onto his shoulder was trembling slightly. Could it be that he already had someone he liked, but hadn’t expected Uncle Lu to arrange a marriage for him, causing him to start panicking?
“They didn’t say, but it probably shouldn’t be anytime soon,” Mu Ran picked and chose his words, delivering it in a way that Lu Chengfeng would find easiest to accept.
Pondering for a moment, Mu Ran feigned a relaxed tone and spoke up: “You shouldn’t be in such a rush either. I’m older than you, and I heard you already have a candidate picked out for your marriage alliance. My dad is the one who’s getting anxious.”
Giving advice like this was it easier for people to accept?
Who would have known that Lu Chengfeng’s hand, which had been somewhat relaxed earlier, would tense up again, gripping Mu Ran’s shoulder with a sharp, agonizing pain.
“The two of us… a marriage alliance?”
“What are you doing? It hurts like hell, you know? It’s between two people—don’t tell me they were going to pick the same person for both of us?” Mu Ran’s face scrunched up in agony, and he had a strong urge to take a bite out of this arm.
Lu Chengfeng let go of his hand and hurriedly helped Mu Ran massage his shoulder. “I… I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Mu Ran winced in pain, and Lu Chengfeng smoothly took the wine out of Mu Ran’s hand, asking, “Does it still hurt?”
“Whether it hurts or not, you’ve already squeezed it. But it might turn purple by tomorrow morning.” Mu Ran had inherited his mother’s physical constitution; even though he was a full-grown man, the slightest bump would leave him bruised and battered in shades of blue and purple, which sometimes looked terrifyingly severe.
Taking advantage of the fact that Lu Chengfeng hadn’t spoken yet, Mu Ran directly raised his hand and knocked on the door.
“Oh, A-Ran is here!” Upon opening the door, Lu Cheng’s eyes and brows were filled with smiles. “We were just talking about the two of you with your father a moment ago.”
“Is that so? I haven’t seen Uncle Lu in a long time either, and since I happened to bring a few bottles of wine, I’ll take them along for Uncle Lu tonight.” Mu Ran moved closer to Lu Cheng with a crafty smile. “My dad waited a really long time for me to be able to snag these, but I figured Uncle Lu would definitely love them too.”
“You little rascal, why aren’t you taking your dad’s side for once?” Mu Yinnian chimed in with a teasing tone. “Are you staying for dinner tonight? You vanish without a trace day in and day out.”
“The company is busy, you know. You washed your hands of it and quit, leaving all the hardship to me.” Mu Ran began acting pitiful.
Mu Yinnian patted Mu Ran’s shoulder. “There’s still Chengfeng, you know; he’s helped you out plenty. How much work can you possibly”
“Hiss…” Mu Ran was struck right on his recent injury, and out of fear of getting caught, he forcibly swallowed the cry back down.
“What’s wrong?” Mu Yinnian noticed something was amiss and asked him.
Mu Ran took a step back. “Nothing, I just came by to check on you today. I still have things to take care of at the company this afternoon, so I’ll head back first.”
Mu Yinnian and Lu Cheng hadn’t finished their game of Go yet, and seeing Mu Ran striving so hard, he didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm: “Alright, be careful on the road.”
“Then I’ll head back too, Uncle Mu,” Lu Chengfeng said immediately right after Mu Ran.
“Drive me home, please. I want to rest for a bit.” Having bustled about until now, Mu Ran had no desire to return to the company; right now, all he wanted was to lie down for a while.
Lu Chengfeng turned the steering wheel. “My company is closer to here, and that new home of yours doesn’t even have a medicine kit. Come to my company first so I can put some medicine on you.”
Because Mu Ran was always getting injured, the lounge in Lu Chengfeng’s office was permanently stocked with a small everyday medical kit.
“Fine.” Mu Ran closed his eyes to rest; he was genuinely hurting quite a bit. Upholding the principle of “whoever caused the mess should fix it,” Mu Ran decided to indulge himself in being taken care of one more time.
The CEO’s office.
Lu Chengfeng didn’t like receiving guests in his office, so apart from his desk, there wasn’t even a place for people to sit. Every time Mu Ran came over, he would always dive straight headfirst onto the bed in the lounge.
This time was no exception. Mu Ran leaned his left shoulder against the head of the bed, unbuttoning the other half of his shirt to expose his shoulder.
Anyway, Lu Chengfeng was a straight guy and didn’t like him. He used to feel a bit of shame about this sort of thing, but now he just completely gave up caring.
Lu Chengfeng dipped a cotton swab in medicine and slowly pulled Mu Ran’s clothes downward.
His fair skin was exposed just like that. The line of his shoulder was smooth and graceful, and his skin was delicate and sleek, as if covered by top-quality, fine-textured silk. Mu Ran’s figure was well-proportioned, with prominent collarbones and a naturally visible hollow at the base of his neck that made people want to reach out and touch it.
Only, the shoulder area was now glowing with a very large patch of red.
Lu Chengfeng’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he slowly applied the medicine for Mu Ran.
“All done.” Lu Chengfeng tossed the cotton swab into the trash can. “You rest here for a while. If it feels uncomfortable, take your shirt off, just make sure the medicine doesn’t rub off onto the quilt.”
Mu Ran unbuttoned his shirt, trying his best to keep the fabric from touching his shoulder, and instantly felt cold drafts piercing into his chest.
“Then I’m heading back out.”
“Mhm.”
The room was left with just Mu Ran by himself, so he turned onto his side and began messaging his friends.
So bored, want to go out for a drink?
He Jing’an replied right away over there.
Count me in! I was just fretting over having no one to keep me company! How about I call my cousin along? Can our President Lu make it out?
I don’t know about him, probably busy? I’ll ask him in a bit.
He: I just knew you two must be attached at the hip. You tell me, clearly it’s a circle of three friends, how is it that the two of you stick together every single day, to the point where people now say He Jing’an and Lu Chengfeng aren’t even close.
Mu Ran almost laughed out loud on his end of the phone.
How is that possible? That’s just because you went abroad to study; now that you’re back, we’re all gathering together. Where are we meeting tonight?
Eight o’clock, how about Wine Live? It’s a newly opened place.
Sounds good.
Mu Ran yawned, glanced at the time, and figuring it was still early, decided to take a nap before heading over.
The duvet was soft and warm, and because Lu Chengfeng loved drinking tea, the quilt also carried a faint scent of tea. It didn’t quite match Lu Chengfeng’s persona; people who loved drinking tea were usually supposed to wear wire-rimmed glasses, carrying a scholarly and gentle aura how was there anyone like Lu Chengfeng, who was so ice-cold?
Thinking and thinking, Mu Ran actually drifted off to sleep, and when he woke up, it was already past seven.
The sky had already grown dark. Mu Ran touched his shoulder and felt that the medicine had mostly been absorbed, so he put his clothes back on and walked out of the lounge.
The lights in the office were very bright. Lu Chengfeng was still earnestly handling official business.
“He Jing’an and I are going out for a drink, are you coming? We haven’t gotten together in ages.” Remembering He Jing’an’s words, Mu Ran casually threw out the question.
Lu Chengfeng’s hand holding the fountain pen didn’t pause for even a fraction of a second. “I won’t go. Drink less alcohol, and I’ll come pick you up when it’s time to head back.”
“No need, I’ll just hail a cab straight home then.” Mu Ran threw on his jacket and headed straight out the door.
Lu Chengfeng wanted to say something more, but when he looked up, the person was already gone.
Wine Live Bar.
Under the dim lighting, the bartender was stirring ice cubes in a glass, producing a crisp clack-clack sound. Moments later, music filled the bar, the deafening beats pounding against everyone’s eardrums like drumrolls.
Mu Ran followed the table number He Jing’an had sent and found him, spotting He Jing’an sitting with one leg crossed over the other while smoking a cigarette.
Standing right in front of him were several young men and women pouring drinks for He Jing’an.
He Yuncheng sat off to the side, staring straight ahead without blinking.
“You’re here.” He Jing’an blew out a smoke ring, lowered his head to check his watch first, and then personally poured a glass of wine for Mu Ran. The golden-yellow liquid flowed into the glass, emitting the fragrance of blackcurrants.
Mu Ran took it and chugged it down in one go, smiling playfully. His peach-blossom eyes curved upward, rippling with a hint of roguish charm: “Don’t look at me like that, I wasn’t late, so don’t go trying to find ways to make me drink.”
He Jing’an waved a hand dismissively. “What kind of drinking is it if you don’t get drunk? Right, there are a few pretty ones here, you two take a look and pick one to stay behind and pour drinks for you, dinner’s on me.”
Mu Ran raised an eyebrow, not expecting this to be an adult-themed bar after all.
Even though he knew plenty of young masters and probably couldn’t remember all the people he’d slept with especially someone like He Jing’an who had studied abroad and was quite open-minded in this regard, Mu Ran had always been very well-behaved for Lu Chengfeng’s sake, primarily because none of those people caught his eye anyway.
He Yuncheng bypassed the sofa and sat down right beside Mu Ran. “None of them look as good as our Ran-ge. I’ll pour drinks for Ran-ge instead.”
“Only you have a mouth that speaks well.” He Jing’an rolled his eyes at He Yuncheng.
“Just call any random waiter over will do, and don’t let them work for free either; split the commission from opening the bottles tonight evenly among them, and store whatever they can’t finish for later.” Mu Ran narrowed his eyes. “I reckon our Young Master He isn’t short of this little bit of money.”
Not far away, a figure dressed in black walked past and stopped right beside Mu Ran.
“Huh? Isn’t this Young Master Mu?”