Chapter 29: Milk Bath

Chapter 29: Milk Bath

Lu Hechi never expected that his brother hadn't been joking.

That night, his pillow and blanket had been tossed into the guest room next door.

Lu Hechi looked at the neatly made bed—it felt like the sky was falling!

Why the hell had he had a brain fart and insisted on feeding Shen Lanxue stinky tofu!

This guest room was the biggest suite after the master bedroom, had everything you could need, and the staff had even thoughtfully lit some sleep aromatherapy.

A faint sandalwood scent hung in the air.

Outside the window, the sky darkened, while the room's lights remained on.

Lu Hechi paced in circles, freaking out.

He figured if he scrubbed himself all nice and fragrant and went to find Shen Lanxue, there was no way Shen Lanxue could turn him away.

So Lu Hechi specifically went to find Butler Feng to prepare bath supplies, stressing that he needed to come out smelling fresh and looking fair.

As a pro who'd trained at butler school, Feng Qi gave him a knowing "say no more" look, then personally drew him a tub of milk bath.

He even sprinkled rose petals on top.

A mood light glowed warm yellow in the bathroom. On the tub's ledge, he'd laid out body wash, scrub, bath salts, and lotion.

Lu Hechi was blown away when he walked in.

Feng Qi kept a perfectly polite smile: "Mr. Lu, everything is ready. Would you like someone to come in and help you?"

Lu Hechi waved his hands quickly: "No, no, I'm good."

Once Feng Qi left, Lu Hechi stared at the tub of milk bath, starting to wonder if he'd gotten his gender mixed up.

...Did it really need to be this extra?

Would Feng Qi think he was getting ready to hook up?

Lu Hechi swirled his finger in the water, making ripples.

Since it was already set up, it'd be a waste not to use it.

Lu Hechi stripped, stepped into the tub, and scrubbed himself clean from head to toe.

He used every product Feng Qi had laid out, following the directions on each.

When he was done, he rinsed off again in the shower next to the tub.

Lu Hechi stood at the mirror, wiped off the steam, and checked himself out.

He was already pale, and now after his bath, with damp hair, he saw a handsome face—sharp brows, bright eyes, dark pupils gleaming, his whole body still misty.

Lu Hechi checked himself out a few times, totally full of himself.

With this level of hotness, his brother couldn't possibly say no. Plus, he wasn't just pale now—his skin was smooth and silky too.

All set, Lu Hechi put on his bathrobe with his chest out, struck a pose, and knocked.

"..."

No response.

Lu Hechi cleared his throat: "Bro? You there?"

...Still no response.

Lu Hechi figured it couldn't be that much of a coincidence—maybe his brother was showering too.

So he went back to the guest room, sat for another half hour, waited impatiently, then came back and knocked on the master bedroom door again.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

Lu Hechi felt like his hand was about to break the door down.

The room stayed dead quiet.

After coming back, Shen Lanxue had showered and was lying in bed.

The room was dark, lit only by a sliver of moonlight.

He wasn't asleep, just staring quietly at the chandelier's tassels. Wen Lan's words from that afternoon had hit him like a bucket of ice water.

About Lu Hechi's amnesia, he'd just thought he could coast along, fooling himself to live out a dream.

But he'd never thought about whether he could handle reality once the dream broke.

Shen Lanxue had thought he could.

But now, he wasn't so sure.

Sleeping apart was just an excuse—he just wanted to calm down and really think things through.

"Bro—"

"Look at me—"

Lu Hechi was still yelling from outside, like he never got tired.

Shen Lanxue's heart was a mess because of him.

And yet this guy had no idea about any of it.

"Bro, I'm super clean now—come smell me, I smell great, and my skin's super smooth—feels amazing to touch!"

Lu Hechi was basically pitching himself like a product.

Two maids who'd come to clean the room overheard him and hid in the corner, elbowing each other, but neither dared to step out.

Shen Lanxue couldn't sleep anyway, and with all that yelling, sleep was even more out of the question.

"Bro, come out and take a whiff—I'm not lying!"

"Next time—no, from now on, I'll never eat stinky tofu again, okay?"

"Bro! Honey! Babe!" Lu Hechi shouted: "Open the door!"

"I—"

The door was suddenly pulled open.

Lu Hechi pushed his way in with a look of grievance, "Bro, you finally opened the door. I really wasn't lying to you—Butler Feng prepared a milk bath for me."

Lu Hechi leaned in: "Go on, smell me—I still smell like milk."

Shen Lanxue's face remained impassive.

"Go back to sleep."

Lu Hechi was dumbfounded!

How could he still be told to go sleep alone?

"Oppa, how can you abandon me?"

Lu Hechi felt he hadn't done anything wrong at all, aside from eating stinky tofu, but he'd scrubbed himself clean and even sworn he'd never eat it again.

For a foodie, that was a brutal oath.

Shen Lanxue was completely helpless against his unreasonable stubbornness.

He let out a sigh and softened his voice: "I want to sleep by myself tonight."

"Why?" Lu Hechi didn't understand: "Why sleep alone? I can warm up the bed for you, and I'm so clean and fragrant tonight—hugging me will feel amazing."

"Just try hugging me for one night and you'll see."

Shen Lanxue: "..."

Lu Hechi got no response, so he just scooted over and shoved his face right up to Shen Lanxue's nose, "Seriously, take a whiff—don't I smell amazing?"

Seeing that wasn't convincing enough, he even grabbed Shen Lanxue's hand and ran it over his abs. And as he kept rubbing, Lu Hechi was the one getting turned on.

Shen Lanxue took a deep breath and, at his wit's end, said, "Get out."

Lu Hechi couldn't believe the seduction tactic hadn't worked either.

He felt like he'd basically turned himself into a little cupcake—all sweet and soft, wrapped in a bathrobe, delivered right to his doorstep—but the one receiving the gift was an ice-cold gentleman.

Not the least bit moved by him.

"Are you seriously not going to sleep with me?" Lu Hechi blinked furiously, trying to force out a few tears to look pathetic.

But Shen Lanxue shoved him out the door without hesitation, his face cold, and said, "You're banned from the master bedroom for a week."

Lu Hechi's eyes went wide in shock: "..."

Seeing Lu Hechi still hadn't left, Shen Lanxue smiled, "A month."

Lu Hechi bolted out, practically tripping over himself, pretending to fish a phone out of his completely empty pocket.

"What? You say the apocalypse is coming? Okay, okay, I'll definitely prepare food and a safe house."

The door slammed shut.

Lu Hechi stood at the door and lowered his hand.

Lu Hechi couldn't fall asleep that night, lying alone in the blanket, smelling his own milky scent, on the verge of tears.

Why! Why on earth!

How could any man reject such a fragrant, soft little cake?

Especially one that was ready to eat once peeled.

Lu Hechi figured this couldn't go on, so the next morning he set an alarm for six, got up, and asked Butler Feng for a butler uniform.

Feng Qi's crow's feet seemed to twitch, but he showed nothing.

Still maintaining that professional demeanor.

Lu Hechi made a simple breakfast in the kitchen—toasted bread slices and a fried egg.

Then he changed into the butler uniform Butler Feng had prepared, waited for Shen Lanxue to wake up, and knocked on the door.