Chapter 82

Chapter 82

"082"

The next day, Xiao Lancui returned to the Xie residence, and Xiao Mian was squatting by the front door.

Xiao Lancui changed his shoes without Xiao Mian so much as stirring; he just hung his head, staring at the floor like he was asleep. Xiao Lancui didn't call out to him either, just walked past him into the house.

As he passed Xiao Mian, Xiao Mian suddenly called out, "Brother."

Xiao Lancui stopped and looked down at him. Xiao Mian looked up too. He seemed to have not slept all night—his eyes were red and puffy, like he'd been crying.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Lancui asked.

"You..." Xiao Mian's mouth opened and closed, then he fell silent, looking up at Xiao Lancui, his face a picture of hurt.

Since he wouldn't speak, Xiao Lancui, who rarely had patience for him, didn't push him or walk away.

After what felt like an eternity of three or four seconds, Xiao Mian finally gritted his teeth and asked, "Is it Lu Ao? Your..." The last three words came out sounding hurt and miserable, "boyfriend."

Even without Xiao Lancui's answer, Xiao Mian was certain it was Lu Ao. Lately, the only person around Xiao Lancui had been Lu Ao.

Yesterday, Xie Jingfang had privately told him that when Xiao Lancui came back, he absolutely must not show any disgust.

Xie Jingfang wiped her tears, "It's all that old bastard's fault! I've asked around—being gay is genetic. Lan Chui worked up the courage to come out to me, so we have to give him all the support we can."

Xiao Mian supported Xiao Lancui no matter what, but he didn't get it, "Brother, it's Xiao Jingli's genes that messed you up, right?"

He was gutted.

It just hit him that one day Xiao Lancui would start a family with someone else, get closer to someone else—a bond that isn't blood, but runs deeper than blood.

It's just that this person is a man.

And possibly a psycho, to boot.

Xiao Lancui replied, "No." He added, "Stop calling him a psycho. It pisses me off."

Xiao Mian nodded. He figured it couldn't be genetics either—he wasn't gay himself; he liked women. He asked, eyes wide, "Brother, now that you've got a boyfriend, are you still gonna pay attention to me?"

Xiao Lancui said flatly, "If I ignored you, would you fuck off?"

"No!" Xiao Mian shot to his feet, "I'm your real brother—we share blood. When I die, my tombstone's gonna say 'Xiao Lancui's brother'!"

"See? There you go." Xiao Lancui walked further inside.

Xiao Mian automatically followed him, not really getting what he meant. After a beat, he worked it out with his own twisted logic.

That's right—if Xiao Lancui ignored him, he could just stick to him himself!

Blood ties were the most wonderful thing. Lu Ao could be smug for a while—a month, a year, ten years, twenty years... one day Xiao Lancui would dump his ass.

But he was different—he was Xiao Lancui's legal, blood-related little brother!

Xiao Mian perked right up. He took a deep breath and swore to Xiao Lancui, "Brother, don't worry. Since you like Lu Ao, I'll like him too from now on! I'll have his back."

Xiao Lancui could read his brother's thought process almost perfectly and wasn't surprised, just giving a faint "Mm."

Over the next little while, to help Xiao Lancui feel at ease about coming out, Xie Jingfang took the initiative the night before the Lantern Festival and said, "Tomorrow's the holiday—can you bring your boyfriend over for dinner?"

Xiao Lancui felt a little bad, "I already made plans to eat out with him tomorrow. Maybe another time."

Xie Jingfang waved her hand right away, "No rush, it's fine. I didn't think it through—when you're dating, you should go out more." She took Xiao Lancui's hand affectionately, hesitated, then said what was on her mind, "I yelled at Xiao Jingli and Xiao Liqin, not because of who they love, but because they were selfish. Remember: as long as it's someone you love, Mom will always support you. I'll always have your back."

Xiao Lancui never had a mother.

And Xie Jingfang's motherly love could never reach that young man who was long gone.

Xiao Lancui nodded, "Mm."

The next day, right after lunch, Xiao Lancui headed out. A car was waiting for him at the entrance to the neighborhood.

It was the car he'd bought for getting around. Lu Ao had gotten his license, and the new car could finally hit the road.

Xiao Lancui sat in the passenger seat, and before he could move, Lu Ao leaned over and grabbed the seatbelt to buckle him in—and, of course, took the chance to kiss Xiao Lancui for a good long while.

Catching the bergamot taste, Lu Ao pulled back into his seat and started the car, "You like this candy that much?"

His collar had been pulled loose by Lu Ao. Xiao Lancui adjusted it as he replied, "Mm."

Lu Ao was super jealous—did Xiao Lancui like the lozenge, or did he like Lu Ao, the guy who bought him the lozenges?

The car drove toward their destination, and Lu Ao was unusually quiet the whole way. As they neared it, Xiao Lancui finally turned to him and asked, "Who made you angry?"

Lu Ao said in a low voice, "Brother, don't eat this throat lozenge anymore."

"Why?"

Xiao Lancui was puzzled, "Didn't you give it to me?"

"Just don't eat it anymore." Lu Ao pressed the accelerator, "It was in the news a few days ago—this candy isn't healthy."

Xiao Lancui didn't really eat candy much anyway. He nodded, "Alright."

He picked up his water cup and took a few sips of herbal medicine, then heard Lu Ao's voice, "Brother, you need to go for your check-up in a couple of days, right?"

Xiao Lancui didn't recall mentioning the check-up to Lu Ao. He pulled out his phone and checked the calendar—indeed, the check-up was two days later.

He gave an "Mm," and the car turned into the Zhengu Auction House.

He had indeed made dinner plans with Lu Ao, but before that, he had one more thing to take care of.

The car came to a stop. Xiao Lancui unbuckled his seatbelt, "Don't come in. Wait for me in the car."

Lu Ao extended his right hand, palm flat, and said, "Give me the throat lozenges."

Xiao Lancui laughed—he actually still remembered. He reached into his pocket, found a few remaining lozenges, grabbed them all, and was about to release them into Lu Ao's palm when he suddenly closed his hand, not letting the candies fall, "I checked the ingredient list—it's perfectly healthy. What did the news say was unhealthy about it?"

"They quietly added high-fructose corn syrup."

Xiao Lancui smiled, "That is unhealthy."

He opened his hand, and the individually wrapped candies fell one by one into Lu Ao's palm.

Six in total.

Lu Ao watched Xiao Lancui enter the Zhengu Auction House, then clenched his fist. The wrappers crackled. When he opened his hand again, all the wrappers were torn, and the plump candies had been crushed into fine powder.

At the Zhengu Auction House, the owner Zhou Sizhe had been waiting for a long time.

"Mr. Xiao, long time no see! Happy New Year, Happy New Year!" Zhou Sizhe said with a grin, handing over a red envelope. "It's not much, but since the auction house is opening today, everyone gets a share!"

With the boss putting it that way, Xiao Lancui accepted it. He glanced around but didn't spot who he was looking for, so he asked, "Is he here?"

"He's here! In the lounge on the second floor, it's quieter there." Zhou Sizhe, smiling, led Xiao Lancui upstairs. "He flew in yesterday after getting your call."

When they reached the second-floor lounge, Zhou Sizhe sensibly excused himself.

The batch of antiques Lu Ao had given him before the New Year had really solidified his reputation in the antique world. Now, riding high on good luck, he treated Lu Ao and Xiao Lancui like gods of wealth, going out of his way to make sure Xiao Lancui was happy in every way.

The lounge door was closed, and Xiao Lancui knocked twice.

Soon, hurried footsteps approached from inside, and the door opened from within. A face that was strikingly similar to Xiao Anfeng's broke into a smile and nodded at Xiao Lancui.

"Hello, Mr. Xiao, I'm Sun Xiao."

Sun Xiao—the first chess piece Xiao Lancui had ever deployed.

The original description said Sun Xiao was eighty percent similar to Xiao Anfeng, but in person, the resemblance was even stronger. Apart from Sun Xiao being a professional auctioneer with a bit more worldly maturity than Xiao Anfeng, the two could have been twins.

Xiao Lancui smiled. "Hello, I'm Xiao Lancui."

Sun Xiao had been transferred to a branch company, where his career flourished and he made a ton of money. He was incredibly grateful to Zhou Sizhe. Two days ago, he got a call from Zhou Sizhe letting him know a major client needed a private guide, and he didn't hesitate—he flew into the capital city yesterday.

Sun Xiao already knew Xiao Lancui's preferences, so he poured a glass of warm water and asked with a smile, "Mr. Xiao, did you come from overseas or from out of town? Before I got into this line of work, I was a tour guide, so I know the capital city like the back of my hand. Anything you need, just let me know."

Xiao Lancui took a sip of water and said, "I'm really into historical sites and landmarks. That work for you?"

"Not a problem at all!" Sun Xiao nodded with a beaming smile. "I'll put together a detailed itinerary as soon as possible and contact you. Once you've reviewed it and it looks good to you, I'll come pick you up."

Sun Xiao paused. "Can I ask where you're staying?"

Xiao Lancui said, "No rush. I'll reach out when the time is right."

Coming out of the auction house, Xiao Lancui looked toward the parking lot. The black Volkswagen stuck out like a sore thumb among the luxury cars, and at the same moment, the driver's window rolled down, and a hand reached out, waving vigorously at Xiao Lancui.

Without his glasses, Xiao Lancui couldn't tell Lu Ao's expression, but he was definitely grinning ear to ear, showing off a row of white teeth.

Xiao Lancui walked toward the car while taking out his phone to make a call.

"Yeah, change the check-up to a week from now."

Having rescheduled the appointment, Xiao Lancui put away his phone and picked up his pace a little as he got into the car.

The car's heater was blasting, warming the car up instantly. Lu Ao leaned over to buckle Xiao Lancui's seatbelt once more. The young man's tall, broad frame was even more imposing in the cramped space, completely surrounding Xiao Lancui.

This actually made buckling the seatbelt more difficult—Lu Ao fumbled twice without success, though it was entirely possible he was doing it on purpose.

Xiao Lancui finally cracked a joke, "If you weren't helping, the car would already be a hundred meters away."

"Sorry, bro, my hands are clumsy." Lu Ao wasn't embarrassed at all, apologizing as soon as he knew he was wrong.

Then he lowered his head and planted a quick kiss on Xiao Lancui's lips before finally buckling the seatbelt properly and sitting back to start the car.

"I wasted time, so as punishment, let's extend the date by another day." Lu Ao suggested with an innocent look.

Having been eating throat lozenges for a while, Xiao Lancui's mouth suddenly felt bland, and he found it strange. He undid his cuffs, ignoring Lu Ao.

Lu Ao kept talking for a bit longer before Xiao Lancui finally asked, "Did you get rid of the throat lozenges?"

"Got rid of them."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

Xiao Lancui got a little annoyed. Xiao Lancui himself didn't know it, but Lu Ao did—when Xiao Lancui was unhappy, one eye would get bigger than the other.

Lu Ao smirked, opened the armrest compartment, and took out a jar of Brown Sugar Rice Cake Sticks. He flipped the lid open with one hand and handed it to the passenger seat.

"Eat these instead. They're really healthy."

Xiao Lancui took it and said, "Eyes on the road."

Lu Ao laughed. "Don't worry, A Lan. With you in the car, I'm always paying attention."

Xiao Lancui said nothing. Habits were indeed terrifying—once you got used to something, he really couldn't resist sweets anymore.

He pulled out a tissue, picked up one of the longer brown sugar rice cake sticks, and took small bites.

It was actually a bit too sweet, but Xiao Lancui couldn't stop himself. By the time the car stopped, the jar was empty.

"..."

That had never happened before.

To avoid poisoning, not just the emperor but also high-ranking court officials couldn't let their preferences show. No matter how much they loved a dish, they'd have at most two bites, let alone eat the whole thing.

Xiao Lancui had always stuck to this habit.

He suddenly turned to look at Lu Ao, who had just pulled into a parking spot. The moment Xiao Lancui looked at him, Lu Ao immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Lancui looked at him and said, "I'm thinking—you really could kill me without even trying."