Chapter 74

Chapter 74

"074"

A message popped up at the top of Lu Ao's pinned chat.

For the first time, Xiao Lancui had texted first.

"I've arrived."

Lu Ao exhaled a smoke ring, the cigarette butt still a short stub. He ground it hard into the ashtray atop the trash bin.

He pulled his hand back and sent a cute smiley face in reply.

Lu Ao was fuming.

Nicotine hadn't calmed him down. He was getting more and more agitated. He pulled out his pack—a fresh one—and only one cigarette was left.

He'd finally gotten a reply from Xiao Lancui, but it wasn't really him.

He'd mentally prepared himself long ago, but now that it was actually happening, he still couldn't hold back his jealous fury.

The urge to reveal who he was crashed over him like a tidal wave. He wanted Xiao Lancui to see that the one kissing him, holding him, loving him—was him, the real Lu Ao.

Emotions surged through him, but then despair hit him with brutal clarity.

The second Xiao Lancui found out who he was, he'd turn and walk away without a second thought.

Propriety, honor, shame—that was the first thing Xiao Lancui ever taught him.

Teacher and student, ruler and subject—

That was his unforgivable sin.

He couldn't say it. He just couldn't!

Veins popping, rage burning in his chest, Lu Ao kicked over the ashtray bin.

The stainless steel scraped across the pavement with a harsh screech.

It wasn't even seven yet, and Lu Ao was the only person out on the street. The sky was dark and heavy, the wind picking up—a sign of rain—making the festive red lanterns hanging from the trees sway back and forth.

Lu Ao flicked his lighter and lit his last cigarette. The click of high heels on the pavement drew closer, but Lu Ao ignored it.

Han Xinyi stopped in front of Lu Ao. It had been a while. She let out a soft laugh.

"Which doctor did you go to? The work's a bit botched—you were better looking before. More like your father."

Lu Ao kept his head down, smoking. "Get lost."

Han Xinyi didn't get lost. She smiled and said, "I know you're spending New Year's with your boyfriend, so I came today to pick you up. You're still the Second Young Master of the Lu family—if you don't show up for the family dinner, the relatives will say I'm mistreating you, right?"

Smoke curled in the air. Han Xinyi waited a moment, but Lu Ao still didn't react, so she said, "That adopted son of the Xiao family, his name is—" She paused as if thinking. "Xiao Lancui—"

Her voice died in her throat as it tightened. Han Xinyi's pupils dilated, and no sound came out. Her hands clawed desperately at Lu Ao's hand, trying to break free.

Lu Ao tightened his grip. Even through her foundation, Han Xinyi's face was turning a suffocating purple-red.

Lu Ao finally looked at Han Xinyi, his dark eyes flashing a dangerous crimson. His voice was cold. "Who the hell do you think you are to even say his name?"

He tossed her aside like she was nothing, and Han Xinyi slammed hard onto the ground. Her temple hit the pavement, and warm, sticky blood began to flow. Han Xinyi reached up and touched it—her fingers came back covered in blood.

Lu Ao looked down at her and said coldly, "Don't mess with me. I'm a bad guy—I don't spare women either."

Han Xinyi clenched her jaw, her cool gone. She looked up, glaring at Lu Ao. "Lu Ao, you're way too arrogant! No matter what, I'm still your stepmother!"

Lu Ao took the cigarette from his mouth, flicked it, and ash dropped onto Han Xinyi's six-figure coat. He said coldly, "The stepmother who beat me as a kid, sent me to a psych ward, and tried to burn me alive?"

Han Xinyi's expression flickered. She got up from the ground, elegantly brushed the ash off her coat, and put her smile back on. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm here today to take you home. The family dinner is on the fifth—your uncles and aunts all want to see you."

"As for your boyfriend—" Still shaken, she didn't dare say his name again. She took a small step back before continuing, "You've got me wrong. I know you really love him. That piece of land you and your father want—you're building your love nest there, right?"

Lu Ao glanced at Han Xinyi without saying anything, but she knew she'd guessed right.

Lu Ao really was going to build a house on that multi-billion-dollar plot of land.

Lu Ao really did love Xiao Lancui.

Loving a man meant no heirs. So what if he was the first wife's son? So what if his name was in the family registry? He still couldn't inherit the Lu family.

She was more than happy to play matchmaker now. Her purpose today, of course, wasn't to bring Lu Ao home for a happy reunion—she wanted Lu Ao to come out to the family, to crush those restless bastards' ambitions.

The Lu family belonged to her and Lu Siye alone.

"I'm not just here to pick you up today—I'm here to pick up your boyfriend too," Han Xinyi said. "Your father and I are very open-minded. We support all your choices. You can bring your boyfriend to the family dinner. Of course, for him, this isn't just an ordinary family dinner."

There was no one around, but Han Xinyi still lowered her voice. "Your boyfriend is the real son of the Xiao family, isn't he? With the Lu family backing him, he'll have more leverage in the Xiao household, won't he? You want to help your lover too, right?"

After finding out Lu Ao and Xiao Lancui were living together, she'd looked into the Xiao family and knew all about Xiao Jingli's messy past.

Lu Ao looked at Han Xinyi. She could bend when needed—a bit better than Lu Qing. He took a drag of his cigarette and said, "We'll see. Now get the fuck out."

Not refusing meant there was hope. Han Xinyi smiled. "Let me know when you've decided. I'll send a car for you both."

Back in the car, Han Xinyi's smile vanished. She ripped off her gloves and threw them on the floor. "That bastard! One day I'll destroy you!"

The driver jumped, gripping the wheel tightly, not daring to make a sound. Once Han Xinyi had vented enough, she resumed her elegant, noble-lady demeanor and told the driver, "First go to the Splendor Hotel to pick up the young master's favorite peanut butter cream cake."

The driver hurriedly set off. "Yes, ma'am."

Lu Ao finished his last cigarette and pulled out his phone. Xiao Lancui still hadn't replied. He couldn't help it—he sent a voice message. "A Lan, I miss you."

Xiao Lancui wasn't asleep.

He'd just gotten out of the shower and was reading. His phone kept buzzing with notifications, but he ignored them. When he finally felt drowsy, he closed his book, set it on the nightstand, and picked up his phone.

A flood of New Year greeting messages. Xiao Lancui's eyes swept past Qi Ying's name, and he deleted it without hesitation, adding the number to his blacklist.

That was when he noticed a text from an unknown number.

"Xiao Lancui, you're nothing special after all. You actually hooked up with that psycho and you're going home to eat with him? Disgusting, isn't it?"

Xiao Lancui's long lashes flickered slightly. Going to the Lu family for dinner?

He logged onto WeChat, and several more messages popped up.

Zhao Lan had sent two.

"Happy New Year!"

"Sorry about last time—I suddenly got sick. Did your brother end up getting a donor in the end?"

Xiao Lancui didn't reply. If Zhao Lan really had no news, she wouldn't be coming to him now. Clearly Xiao Jingli had reached out to her, and she knew some of what was going on with Xiao Anfeng. The rest, Xiao Jingli wouldn't let her know.

These two WeChat messages proved Zhao Lan had no idea Xiao Anfeng's background was fully out, or that Xiao Jingli had taken him.

Just Xiao Jingli casually sharing a bit of Xiao Anfeng's daily life was enough to comfort Zhao Lan.

All Zhao Lan wanted was for Xiao Anfeng to be okay.

Xiao Lancui didn't reply to Zhao Lan right away. Instead, he opened the PI's messages.

Also two of them.

"Boss, that villa's security is too tight. I can't get in, and I can't see what's going on inside. Target 1 went in with his people and hasn't come out."

"Boss, maybe I'm overthinking, but I noticed someone else seems to be tailing the target too. They're smart—I caught up to them a few times, but they shook me off."

Xiao Lancui replied, "Keep watching. Contact me if anything comes up."

The person tailing them was most likely Xiao Liqin.

Xiao Lancui finally tapped on Lu Ao's voice message.

He tapped it, and Lu Ao's hoarse, slightly sulky voice came through: "A Lan, I miss you."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Xiao Lancui's mouth. He sent back a voice message: "Are you asleep yet?"

Lu Ao's video call request came through instantly. Xiao Lancui hesitated, then declined. He was crashing at the Xie place, so it wasn't convenient.

Xiao Lancui replied, "Let's video call another time. I'm going to sleep now."

Lu Ao fired off a string of voice messages: "What'd you eat for dinner? Did you take all your meds? Is your stomach still acting up? Still coughing?"

Xiao Lancui sank into his pillow and dimmed the bedside lamp. The warm orange glow washed over him as he closed his eyes and answered each question.

Lu Ao's presence always helped him fall asleep. Xiao Lancui listened hazily, answering as drowsiness crept in, and was just about to drift off when he remembered to ask one thing.

"You want to go back to the Lu house for dinner?"

Lu Ao went quiet for a long time, and Xiao Lancui fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning, his phone had slipped onto the pillow next to him. He picked it up and lit the screen—Lu Ao had sent one more voice message after he'd fallen asleep.

Xiao Lancui rolled onto his side and hit play.

Lu Ao's voice sounded even more sulky: "You've been in touch with Lu Siye? A Lan, are you two close?"

Xiao Lancui's eyes flickered. Lu Ao was sharp—he'd guessed right. He glanced at the time: 7 a.m.

Lu Ao was probably still asleep, so he held off. After breakfast and three games of chess with Old Man Xie, he finally texted Lu Ao back: "He did tell me, that's true, but he and I aren't close."

He paused briefly after sending it, then added another line, "To be more precise, I have nothing to do with him."

Lu Ao replied instantly, also by text: "Mmhm! Good, no relationship is best! He's super dirty, like really dirty, you'd catch something just being near him! [grossed out]"

Xiao Lancui was about to reply when Xiao Mian, on the sofa across from him, blurted out, "Bro, who're you texting? You're smiling so much."

Xiao Lancui looked up. "Am I?"

Xiao Mian nodded, a little jealous. "I've never seen you smile this much."

Forget smiling—Xiao Lancui never showed any emotion. You couldn't tell if he was upset, happy, or angry—he wore a perfect mask.

Xiao Lancui didn't know what expression he was wearing right now, but he figured it probably counted as happy, because he found Lu Ao utterly adorable.

He smiled softly and lowered his eyes to reply on WeChat.

"When are you going to the Lu house for dinner? I can clear my schedule."

In the dim, cramped space, Lu Ao stared at the words on the screen, his temples pounding. He reminded Xiao Lancui, "They want us to go to dinner to go public. Are you okay with that?"

"You want to hide me away?"

The line popped up, and before Lu Ao could process it, another one followed, "Hiding someone isn't a good look. I think I clean up pretty well."

In the narrow, shadowed space, his heart thundered like a drum.

Lu Ao could picture it—how hot Xiao Lancui looked typing out those playful words behind the screen. He wanted to kiss him senseless right then.

Lu Ao replied, "The 5th."

At the same time, hushed voices drifted in from just outside the door.

"Did you hear that weird sound?"

"What sound?"

"A heartbeat. God, it's pounding—so loud!"

"You're hearing things. All the bodyguards are out patrolling. In this house, besides us two, it's just the boss upstairs and that guy locked up. Where's a fifth heart gonna come from?"

The voices trailed off.

Lu Ao glanced at the time—almost noon. He'd wait until night to move.

He was at Xiao Jingli's villa, in the first-floor storage room.

Xiao Jingli had taken Xiao Anfeng, and with nothing else to do, Lu Ao had come to gather intel for Xiao Lancui.

Having gone all night and morning without food, Lu Ao pulled a matcha milk pudding ice bread from his pocket.

Scrolling back and forth through Xiao Lancui's messages, Lu Ao took a big bite of the bread.