Chapter 13

013.

For the next ten minutes, Bai Yu witnessed a nonstop showcase of moves from the Psyduck: banging its head in frustration, kowtowing like a devotee, pounding a pillow in a rage, going limp and collapsing to the floor, trying to smother itself and failing, then throwing a tantrum, rolling around, lying flat on its back and kicking the air wildly, and finally deflating and playing possum.

Lu Yuan felt like a Qing-dynasty zombie stumbling into a strange new world, flailing desperately in unfamiliar territory and getting nowhere.

Then he felt glad he hadn't listened to that one parent—the one whose kid was always second in class—who'd gone on and on about how he should study medicine.

He didn't dare think about how many strands of his thick hair would be left before he kicked the bucket.

—But speaking of which, was his second brother's hair real or fake?

After wearing himself out and letting off steam, Lu Yuan crawled back up off the floor in resignation, pulled the Psyduck hood back up over his cheeks, and pressed his forehead to the desk, muttering under his breath.

After fifteen minutes of reciting and finally nailing a small section, Lu Yuan let out a long breath. He turned his face, the soft flesh of his cheek squished against the desk, facing the window, gazing at the scenery in what he called "resting" but was really just zoning out and slacking off.

His gaze drifted aimlessly.

The flowers and plants at Songlan Manor were so pretty—they must've cost a fortune to put in, right? But why was that wintersweet branch snapped? Who did that? Did a big wind blow through last night? Did it snow a ton? Or did some jerk in Villa No. 1 sleepwalk and go around picking flowers and grass?

Speaking of Villa No. 1, that light's on pretty early.

Wait, that light... Lu Yuan's brows slowly knit together.

Going by the layout of Villa No. 2, the room facing Songlan Mountain and the South Spring River, with the big floor-to-ceiling window, had to be the master bedroom.

Lu Yuan squinted, staring hard at the floor-to-ceiling window, trying to get a better look. Sure enough, within two seconds he spotted a vague figure standing in front of the window. Not trusting his eyes, he pulled out his phone, pointed the camera at the window, and pinched the screen to zoom in. The zoom cleared up the blurry silhouette, outlining the guy's tall, lean frame in sharp detail.

Those narrow, intimidating eyes seemed to cut through the curling morning mist and drifting snowflakes, straight through the lens, and land right on Lu Yuan.

Smack.

The phone smacked face-down on the desk. His totally relaxed cheek-on-desk pose vanished in an instant. Lu Yuan snapped his head up, his vision a black-and-white blur.

...Stood up too fast.

He braced himself against the desk corner for a couple seconds, then turned his head, grabbing the fallen Psyduck hood to hide half his face.

But then the phone on the desk lit up.

His eyes followed, and a WeChat notification popped up. He opened the app and immediately saw a new contact in his chat list with the nickname "Y."

It was Bai Yu, who'd accepted the friend request he'd sent that morning.

Lu Yuan: "..."

Staring at the guy's profile picture for a long time, Lu Yuan went back and forth between "say hi?" and "don't say hi×," and ultimately long-pressed the power button, pretending the battery was dead and he'd missed his chance to say "Good morning, Mr. Bai."

He'd been too focused on reciting to notice the friend request had gone through—reasonable, totally reasonable.

Having convinced himself, Lu Yuan let out a heavy breath, adjusted his posture, and forced himself to look away from the floor-to-ceiling window and finally turned to the paper.

He had zero talent for medicine, but he'd been a good student once, and studying hard always paid off.

The whole morning passed with him reciting.

When he turned to look out the window again, rare, bright sunlight flooded Songlan Manor. The massive floor-to-ceiling window stood empty, only the pale curtains, drawn to both sides, fluttering slightly in the breeze.

Lu Yuan pushed open the door and walked toward the living room.

Just then, Lu Yan came out of the guest room, rubbing his eyes and greeting him: "Mornin', A Yuan."

Lu Yuan: "...It's not morning anymore. I've already finished reciting 'Research Progress on Sleep Deprivation and Vascular Endothelial Function Injury.'"

Lu Yan: "..."

That single sentence was no less than a thunderbolt, instantly striking Lu Yan dizzy and shattered to the core.

He stared blankly at Lu Yuan, his expression cycling through "What? You finished reciting it?" to "Impossible, absolutely impossible" to "Damn, my A Yuan probably wouldn't lie, right?" and finally to "Wuwuwu how can someone actually memorize that thing," before all his thousand words condensed into one: "What the hell is vascular endothelium?"

Lu Yuan: "..."

Seeing the speechlessness written all over Lu Yuan's face, Lu Yan wiped away tears that weren't actually there, feeling like reality had elbowed him in the gut again.

He collapsed like a boneless salted fish sprawled across the spacious chair, eyes vacant, even his hair strands radiating despair.

In complete contrast was Chen Chi, who was full of energy precisely because he had work to do.

Knowing the two young masters were under punishment and would surely lose several pounds from the hardship lately. But whether it was Lu Yan or Lu Yuan—one for looking good on camera, the other for having missed out on nutrition before—both were on the slimmer side. If they got any thinner—

Chen Chi absolutely would not allow that to happen!

Therefore, he had specially contacted a nutritionist, determined to provide the two young masters with the best nutritional supplementation across all three meals!

"Old hen stewed with Chinese yam and Poria—removes dampness, relieves stagnation, strengthens the spleen, nourishes the stomach, and boosts qi and blood."

"Braised sea cucumber and fish maw in a clay pot—low fat, high protein, warms the body, replenishes essence, and repairs wear and tear."

"Stir-fried morel mushrooms with asparagus—dispels cold, relieves fatigue, with excellent effects."

And to top it off, a dessert of longan, red dates, and stewed snow frog to maximize the winter nourishing effect!

"Chen Chi." The salted-fish-cosplaying Third Young Master Lu struggled to lift his fish head, his expression complex as he interrupted the butler who was passionately holding forth, "I did stay up too late last night and misjudged things. What handsome-guy dreamy filter do you have—"

Meeting Chen Chi's unchanging smile, his voice turned eerie: "You're clearly a mommy."

Chen Chi: "..."

Is that a compliment?

He pondered for two seconds and decisively nodded inwardly.

It must be a compliment.

*

The lunch carefully prepared by the mommy was quite delicious—both Lu Yuan and Lu Yan polished off two full bowls of rice. The Third Young Master Lu, whose brain had been completely taken over by carbs, snapped a few photos of the dishes, the clean plates, and his genuine feelings into a Moments post to express his utter satisfaction.

"I think I need to go take a nap. What about you, A Yuan?"

He wasn't going to eat that much and then secretly work hard behind his back, only to shock him before dinner by announcing he'd memorized another paper, was he?

He said nothing, but the skepticism and threat on his face said everything.

Lu Yuan: "..."

For the sake of his own safety, he decisively said, "I'm napping too."

Lu Yan went into the guest room at ease.

Two minutes later, he came running back out in a panic, his wide, doe-like eyes meeting Lu Yuan's puzzled cat-like gaze. He choked up, his emotions spiraling: "Didn't you say you'd be so swamped you wouldn't even look at your Moments all day?"

Lu Yuan's gut told him something was off.

He pulled out his phone, opened WeChat Moments, and found the post from Lu Yan that was still at the top since it had just been sent.

Behind the account marked Y, a comment followed: Done memorizing?

Lu Yuan: "..."

He slowly looked up and read Lu Yan's post.

Third Brother: Ah~ The chef at Songlan Mansion really is a pro my big bro stole from Songting Pavilion. The chicken soup is savory and light, the sea cucumber and fish maw are perfectly seasoned. I scarfed down two bowls of rice, and now I'm off for a nice afternoon nap. Living the dream~

Lu Yuan: "..."

This is what happens when you get too cocky—posting this without even blocking him!!

Lu Yuan gave his third brother a dirty look, but Lu Yan was staring at his phone with a face growing more horrified by the second. A few moments later, his fingers tapped frantically on the screen, the call connected, and his first words were: "Quick, is there any event I have to show up to today? I need to head over right now."

Even without speakerphone, Lu Yuan could hear the furious yelling on the other end: "Are you crazy?! No events, but there's a psych ward—twenty-two klicks from your place in the suburbs, and you've been there yourself, remember!"

Lu Yuan: "..."

Lu Yan, who usually never backed down from a yelling match, frowned and said, "I'm serious. I desperately need work right now, and I need to get out of Jing City for it. Find me something, anything—I need to get on a plane and get out of here now."

Not wanting to waste his agent's time or get into another pointless argument, Lu Yan hung up.

Then he met Lu Yuan's shocked, suspicious, and bewildered gaze.

Lu Yan: "...You might not believe this, but Brother Yu told me to come over to his place tonight to do a memorization check. I said I had last-minute work in the afternoon and had to go, so I told him to hit you up instead."

Lu Yuan: "...?"

He raised a trembling finger in disbelief, pointing at Lu Yan, then at himself, his voice barely coming out: "F-find me?"

Lu Yan grabbed that finger with both hands, looking utterly sincere: "Sorry, little bro, your big bro's got it rough too. God knows I used to post ten Moments updates a day and never got so much as a glance from Brother Yu. I once thought he was annoyed and blocked me, but turns out he didn't... and of course he picks now to show up. Big bro's got no choice but to run, but don't worry—I'll be back by tomorrow at the latest to have your back through thick and thin, even if it kills us!"

Bai Yu wasn't like Lu Zhuo.

Both could run, but Bai Yu had a way better memory. Even if he ran for ten years, the first thing Bai Yu would say when he came back would definitely be: "Come over and recite."

So Lu Yan decided to use the business trip to cram the paper and come back tomorrow to blow Bai Yu away!

But for now—

"Big bro's sorry, little bro. Whatever gift you want, I'll get it. Tell you what, I remember I've got an island out in Zhangjing. I'll have the lawyer send over the transfer agreement in a bit—make sure you sign it, okay? Big bro's off now, love you, A Yuan! Mwah!"

With a ridiculously dramatic flying kiss, Lu Yan grabbed his car keys and bolted.

In no time, the red Ferrari shot off like a rocket.

Lu Yuan: "..."

He silently watched the red car disappear into the distance. After a long moment, he looked down at the chat window that hadn't budged and thought:

Yeah, maybe Bai Yu just couldn't stand Lu Yan living so large and wanted to scare him on purpose. Otherwise, why would he—

Ding.

A red dot popped up.

As Lu Yuan's eyes went wide, a line of text appeared after the Y nickname: Come over tonight.

Lu Yuan: "..."