Lu Yubai was speechless.
“Damn it.”
“You are the one here for a free meal!”
It was not as if he could not afford to eat! To actually call him a “freeloader.” Lu Yubai’s face darkened. Was he really that unpresentable? He looked down at his clothes. They were decent and he looked incredibly handsome!
Fang Lingqiu observed the interaction between the two, and realization finally dawned on him. “Oh, you must be Little Lu, right? I have heard Xiao Yan mention you before.”
Lu Yubai looked up sharply.
“Yan Chi mentioned me to you?”
Inside, he was grinning with surprise, but on the outside, he remained as steady as an old dog.
“Yes, he used to mention you quite often.”
Fang Lingqiu’s sentence was cut short by Yan Chi’s coughing. Lu Yubai rolled his eyes at him. If you are going to cough yourself to death, do it outside!
Suddenly, a red flash of fire erupted from the kitchen behind Fang Lingqiu. Lu Yubai felt a bright light, as if the sun had just crawled through the kitchen window. Sensing the heat on his back, Fang Lingqiu immediately turned and ran, roaring as he charged back into the kitchen. “Hey, Lin Lan! Do not blow up my kitchen!”
Lu Yubai was stunned. When he first met Fang Lingqiu, he thought the man looked extremely gentle and kind. Although he appeared a bit disheveled, one could still see the scholarly aura radiating from his bones. But now?
He looked at Yan Chi in confusion and whispered, “Is your teacher always like this?”
Yan Chi simply smiled.
Billowing smoke poured out of the kitchen as Lin Lan and Fang Lingqiu escaped, coughing and looking utterly pathetic. One held a pot lid and the other a spatula, their faces as black as charcoal.
Looking at the disastrous state of the kitchen, Yan Chi efficiently pulled off his jacket. He turned to Lu Yubai and instructed, “Sit out here. Do not come in.”
Lu Yubai nodded obediently. Watching Yan Chi’s silhouette disappear into the white smoke, he sighed to himself. Do cultural relic restorers have to moonlight as firefighters now?
Lin Lan finally caught his breath, but his face froze when he saw Lu Yubai was there. His smoke-blackened face turned a mix of blue and white.
Lu Yubai pretended to be focused on his phone, but his smile was practically splitting his face. He was a polite and cultured person, however. Realizing he was being a bit rude, he considerately covered his mouth with his hand to hide the grin.
Lin Lan’s expression worsened. He went with Fang Lingqiu to wash their faces. When they came back down, Lu Yubai was leaning against the doorframe, watching Yan Chi handle the kitchen with nimble movements.
“Little Lu, what are you doing leaning there?” Fang Lingqiu walked up behind him and patted his shoulder.
Lu Yubai was startled. He jumped slightly, then gave an embarrassed smile when he saw it was Fang Lingqiu. “I am watching Yan Chi cook.”
Fang Lingqiu immediately became enthusiastic. He pointed at Yan Chi in the kitchen and said boisterously, “This brat is a great cook! If you did not know better, you would think he used to be a chef! Unfortunately, he rarely cooks these days. We hardly ever get to eat his food.”
Fang Lingqiu shook his head with regret.
Lu Yubai smiled. He looked past Fang Lingqiu toward Lin Lan, who was approaching, and raised his voice intentionally. “Is that so? He used to cook for me all the time.”
Lin Lan’s expression turned solemn. Fang Lingqiu looked surprised. Was this kid playing favorites?
He pulled Lu Yubai to the courtyard for a chat. Fang Lingqiu shared many embarrassing stories about Yan Chi’s time at the institute and even teased him about his old nicknames. Lu Yubai could not stop laughing. He also learned the reason why Yan Chi and Lin Lan had appeared at Yang Shu’s funeral together.
Yang Shu and Fang Lingqiu were close friends who shared a deep mutual respect. Fang Lingqiu had been abroad for years, but upon hearing that Yang Shu had committed suicide and had no one to bury him, he rushed back to handle the funeral.
However, he did not expect that Yang Shu had already arranged everything and had even sent him a suicide note. It told him to take care of himself and not to come to the funeral to see him as a “joke.” Fang Lingqiu knew Yang Shu was a proud man, so he commissioned Lin Lan and Yan Chi to represent him and send Yang Shu off on his final journey.
“That old man Yang Shu was so obsessed with his dignity. He did not want me to see him at his worst!” Fang Lingqiu let out a long sigh toward the sky. A cool breeze brushed against him, blowing through his graying hair as sorrow took root in his white locks and grew wildly.
Lu Yubai’s dark eyelashes fluttered as he whispered words of comfort. “The dead are gone, but the living must carry on.”
Soon, Yan Chi finished cooking and called them to eat. Because the ingredients had been mostly ruined by Lin Lan and Fang Lingqiu, the selection was limited. Yan Chi had made stir-fried pork with green peppers, steamed eggs with minced meat, and a pumpkin and loofah soup.
During the meal, Lin Lan kept looking at Yan Chi and tried to serve him food. “Yan Chi, have this.”
Just as his chopsticks picked something up, Lu Yubai snatched it away.
“This is delicious!” “This is great too!” “Oh yes, I was just about to eat this!” “Lin Lan, you really understand me!”
He snatched everything and stuffed it into his mouth. Within moments, Lu Yubai’s mouth was completely full, making him look like a little hamster protecting its food.
A faint smile appeared in Yan Chi’s eyes. He stood up and poured a glass of milk for him. When the milk was placed in front of him, Lu Yubai’s face filled with resistance.
I really do not like drinking milk! What Alpha drinks milk every day?
The Yan Residence
After returning home, Yan Chi went upstairs to retrieve several documents and placed them in front of Lu Yubai. Lu Yubai picked them up suspiciously to read.
It was a marriage agreement.
The contents covered the ownership of pre-marital assets and other standard clauses. There were no errors or anything that infringed upon Lu Yubai’s rights. However, one clause regarding loyalty during their married life was particularly striking.
If Yan Chi were to be unfaithful, he would pay Lu Yubai 50 billion as compensation. There was no mention of compensation if Lu Yubai were unfaithful; it was entirely one-sided.
Lu Yubai looked at him in surprise. “50 billion? You are basically giving the Yan family to me. Do our parents know about this?”
“I will not be unfaithful,” Yan Chi said firmly. His eyes were swirling with hidden emotions.
Lu Yubai nodded. “True.”
They had known each other for years. Lu Yubai knew that given Yan Chi’s personality, he would never cheat. Even if he did not love his partner, he would never do something so out of line. Lu Yubai tossed the contract onto the coffee table and chuckled.
“Then what is the point of signing this?”
“It is my guarantee to you. Besides the contract, I will also compensate you financially after we divorce,” Yan Chi added.
Compensation? He was that fond of compensating him?
The corners of Lu Yubai’s mouth curled up. He smiled and tore the contract to shreds right in front of Yan Chi, tossing the pieces into the trash.
“Compensate me with what? Supporting me for the rest of my life? The Yan family is rich, but I, Lu Yubai, am not doing too badly myself.”
His tone was neither light nor heavy. Lu Yubai had just come out of the shower. Droplets of water were still dripping from his hair, sliding down his fair skin. He wiped away a stray drop and sat on the sofa next to Yan Chi. Then, he propped one hand on the edge of the sofa, closing the distance between them inch by inch.
“Yan Chi, that kind of compensation holds no attraction for me. If you used your body instead, I would be much more interested!”
He gave a soft tsk, half-closing his eyes with a look of expectation. Lu Yubai was enveloped in a rich scent of red wine, mellow and sweet, inviting one’s imagination to run wild. His pajama collar was low, and as he leaned toward Yan Chi, the view was quite provocative.
Yan Chi’s brow furrowed slightly, and his expression became somewhat unnatural. His ears turned slightly red as he swallowed hard.
He really wanted to.