Chapter 420: Day 25 into the Mary Sue Story

Chapter 420: The Twenty-Fifth Day in the Mary Sue Story

After finally calming his mother down, the phone rang again less than ten seconds after hanging up.

This time it was his eldest brother.

An Yi's eyes flickered with a helpless smile as he picked up.

Sure enough, his eldest brother's barely suppressed anger crackled through the line.

He first confirmed An Yi's safety and condition once again, then began laying out what the family had already done and what they planned to do next. There was no hiding the chill in his voice when he talked about Ye Ming and the Ye family.

His eldest brother was clearly busy, but the call went on for a long time—stretching from the incident itself to recent movements by the Ye family, to reminding An Yi to stay safe in the coming days. He'd thought of everything.

An Yi listened quietly, occasionally grunting an "mm-hmm" in acknowledgment.

The minutes slipped by during that endless call.

Outside, the night had deepened. Inside, just a few mood lights were on, casting a warm, soft glow.

Finally, An Yi said into the phone, "Alright, big brother, I understand. You should get some rest too—don't push yourself too hard. Mm, goodbye."

After hanging up, An Yi glanced at the screen. The call had gone on for nearly an hour.

He rubbed his neck and headed for the living room.

And then he saw Lu Lu—still holding that horse stance like a statue.

The warm lamplight traced his tall, slightly pathetic silhouette. His handsome face was totally blank, eyes fixed straight ahead, his pose exactly the same as when An Yi had left to take the call over an hour ago.

An Yi: "..."

He stopped short, one eyebrow arching in surprise.

This dude... had held that pose for over an hour?

How the hell did he do that? Didn't his legs hurt?

What a dork.

As if sensing An Yi's footsteps, Lu Lu's dazed eyes suddenly snapped into focus, locking onto An Yi.

Those puppy-dog eyes went wide and bright in an instant. He instinctively moved to lunge forward, his mouth opening like he was about to say something.

However...

The second he tried to move, his knees buckled. A violent rush of pins and needles shot up from his legs.

"THUD—!"

A solid, dull thud.

Lu Lu had zero control over his body. His body pitched forward, knees buckling—and he slammed straight down onto both knees in front of An Yi.

A textbook double-knee kneel. The pose was... pretty darn reverent.

An Yi: "..."

Lu Lu: "..."

For two seconds, time just stopped.

His legs were completely asleep!

Lu Lu stayed on his knees, brain totally blank, drowning in the pins-and-needles agony and a tidal wave of embarrassment.

He... he'd just confessed!

What was An Yi going to think of him? That he was a total idiot? Couldn't even stay on his feet?

An Yi stared at Lu Lu, who was kneeling there looking utterly bewildered and devastated. After the initial shock, a wave of sheer absurdity and amusement washed over him.

He leaned down a little, peering into Lu Lu's dazed eyes that practically screamed "Who am I? Where am I? What did I just do?" A smirk tugged at his lips, and he drawled, his tone dripping with playful mockery:

"No need to... bow so formally."

"You may rise."

His voice was laced with laughter—clear and pleasant to the ear.

Lu Lu's face went red from his forehead all the way down to his neck, the tips of his ears burning so red they looked about to drip blood.

He wished the floor would just swallow him whole! So humiliating! So dumb!

And An Yi was still laughing at him! Even though An Yi's smile was so gorgeous it made his heart nearly stop... but this was so not the time to admire it!

In his utter shame and panic, Lu Lu's brain, backed into a corner, started spinning at warp speed.

Then, in a flash of inspiration, he caught An Yi's smiling eyes and a wild idea hit him.

He was already on his knees... already made a total fool of himself... so why not...

Lu Lu gritted his teeth. Instead of scrambling up, he stayed on his knees and lifted his head to meet An Yi's gaze again.

He took a deep breath and spoke once more:

"An Yi! I'm serious! Every single word I said outside was true! I... I like you! No, I love you! It started... it started that night! This isn't impulse! And it's not a joke!"

"I... I know I'm an idiot. I always screw things up. I can't even pick a decent restaurant, and now I'm... like this..." He stayed on his knees, his blush deepening, but he stubbornly held his ground, his eyes blazing with determination: "But my feelings for you are real! More real than real gold! I... I'll treat you so well! Really well! The absolute best! So... so..."

He kept going "so... so..." but the rest of the sentence died in his throat, not knowing how to finish.

Was it "so please be with me"? Or "so please consider me"? Neither seemed quite right.

He was so nervous that a fine sweat broke out on his forehead, his big, wet puppy-dog eyes locked unblinkingly on An Yi.

An Yi's eyes curved into happy crescents. Looking at Lu Lu kneeling before him—embarrassed nearly to the point of spontaneous combustion, still stammering through another confession—listening to his rambling yet profoundly sincere words, something in An Yi's chest went soft too.

Of course he could tell why Lu Lu had fallen to his knees—his legs had gone numb.

But instead of explaining and getting back up, he'd seized the opportunity to confess again, trying to "salvage his image"...

That kind of behavior, that uniquely bizarre way of thinking...

It was really... hilarious.

An Yi laughed, genuinely laughed, his eyes crinkling with joy.

Lu Lu stayed on his knees, looking up at An Yi laughing so freely, completely frozen in place.

So adorable, so pretty.

But... this was nothing like he'd pictured!

In TV dramas and novels, shouldn't a confession be romantic, charged, heart-racing, and full of tender atmosphere?

Why, when it was his turn, did it end up with him making his crush crack up laughing?

There was no hint of romance at all! It had all turned into a total comedy show!

Lu Lu's face was so red it was about to steam, and the little guy inside him was already pounding the floor and wailing.

An Yi laughed for a while before slowly calming down, a trace of tearful glisten from laughing still at the corners of his eyes, making them look even more sparkling and radiant.

He looked at Lu Lu, who was still kneeling there in a daze, and held out his hand: "Alright, get up now. The floor is cold."

His voice still carried the lingering traces of his laughter, gentle with a hint of indulgence.