Chapter 18

018.

Lu Yan's coming to Songlan Mansion in three hours?

His gaze fixed on the face that was clearly putting on that cute, suck-up act, Bai Yu slowly came to a stop and said in a measured, offhand tone, "If I remember correctly, you told me last night that his performance on the variety show was so good the director kept him for an extra day of filming."

"The director's mind works in mysterious ways—who knows why he changed his mind again." Lu Yuan lied straight to his face without blinking, shuffling sideways like a crab, inching two steps closer to Bai Yu, and confirmed again, "Do you have time?"

"What do you think—do I or don't I?"

Lu Yuan: "..."

Why's he asking me that?

Lu Yuan answered without hesitation, "I think you do—and I think Mr. Bai must be a real stickler for discipline. Students who don't take memorizing their papers seriously and just scheme to skip out deserve a proper punishment! Like making him copy the paper a hundred times!"

The last "a hundred times" rang out loud and clear, like he was hammering nails, as if he was scared no one would pick up on his scheming.

Bai Yu couldn't help but find it funny.

Just two days ago, this kid was scared stiff of him, and today he's bold enough to scheme right to his face.

And so plainly, unashamedly transparent about it, too.

He found himself thinking back, out of nowhere, to Lu Zhuo's praise of Lu Yuan: "Our A Cheng is a hundred times more adorable than that little shit Lu Yan."

That wasn't just him being biased out of love.

"Young master, let me remind you—you haven't memorized yours yet."

"Then quiz me right now, then." If he hadn't just twisted his waist, he'd already be grinding away on his second paper—Bai Yu wouldn't have gotten to say "you haven't memorized yours either."

Bai Yu shot him a glance. "Go eat."

Ignoring him, he turned and opened the master bedroom door.

Lu Yuan stood there blinking. So was that a yes or a no on quizzing Lu Yan?

In the bathroom.

Warm water streamed from his head, tracing the lines of his body. Bai Yu rubbed his aching, throbbing temples, and through the misty steam, he stared at the gleaming tiles, as if a lively, pretty face was still etched there.

He paused mid-motion.

His mind instantly wandered back to those hours last night.

Groggy with sleep, Lu Yuan would bury his face and let out a soft whimper when Bai Yu laid the freezing towel on his lower back, whining softly in protest, "Does it have to be that cold? Are you trying to freeze me to death so you can get your hands on my paper?"

Then he'd mutter under his breath, "Fine, take it if you want it—I don't even like it."

Bai Yu lifted an eyebrow, and for reasons he couldn't quite place, he actually chose to talk to someone who was sleep-talking. "Then what do you like?"

"Sleeping, doing nothing, and being a rich slacker."

Huh, that's an upgrade.

Lu Ke had mentioned it, and Lu Zhuo had asked him the same thing, but back then Lu Yuan's answer had been: "Sleeping, doing nothing, and being a slacker."

No "rich" in that one.

"It's kinda itchy..."

The mumbling started again. Lying on his stomach, Lu Yuan could only reach back to feel his waist. He tried twice, missed both times, then started ordering Bai Yu around. "Come take a look for me."

Bai Yu lowered his gaze.

A drop or two of icy water slid off the edge of the towel that hadn't been wrung dry, trickling down the dip of his waist and into the hollows of his lower back, catching the dim light with a soft gleam. He watched for a moment, then reached out, pressing his fingertip into the hollow to wipe the water away.

Comfortable now, he stopped making noise.

Once the fifteen minutes were up, Bai Yu took the towel off and left.

At five in the morning, the winter sky over the capital looked no different from the dead of night. Bai Yu closed his eyes to rest in the profound silence, just as he did every night. But strangely, his mind, which usually quieted down fast, kept circling around a certain figure—loudly whining about his sore back one second, then biting the blanket in outrage and accusing him of yanking his pants down the next.

So damn noisy.

Bai Yu opened his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

It took him a long time to finally fall asleep, and even then, that figure showed up in his dreams—except this time, he was much calmer.

He lay obediently on his stomach, the rolled-up sweater exposing a swath of creamy white skin against dark trousers, a contrast so stark it was almost blinding. Bai Yu kept his eyes lowered, palm pressed to that slim waist, long fingers spanning its width. The light touch made the line of his waist quiver, and the face buried in the pillow turned to him, a frown of displeasure on his brows. "Didn't you say you'd give me a massage?"

A massage?

His fingertip drifted to the hollow of his lower back. With a little pressure, the young man frowned and grumbled, "Ow, that hurts. Do you even know what you're doing?"

Finding him hard to please, Bai Yu was tempted to just get up and leave. But that slim waist was just too tempting, and for once, Bai Yu put up with his pickiness, silently kneading his waist with just the right pressure to keep him comfortable.

"Thank you." Soothed and satisfied, the young man sat up nimbly from the bed, the sweater hanging off him, about to slide down. He casually yanked the hem down, then a face leaned in, eyes crinkling into crescents. "Need me to help you out next?"

Help me?

With what?

He thought, my waist's fine as is.

The sound of running water snapped him out of his thoughts. Bai Yu opened his eyes, and splashing water hit them, stinging. He reached out and shut off the shower.

After changing into fresh clothes, he headed to the dining room. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed, watching the person who had the old butler grinning ear to ear after just a few words.

The old butler clearly had a soft spot for Lu Yuan. Between loving Bai Yu and Lu Yuan being naturally charming in his own right, the old butler couldn't help but shower on Lu Yuan all the affection he could never lavish on Bai Yu.

As Bai Yu came up from behind, he overheard him saying, "The master isn't fussy about food, but every chef here has serious credentials. Chef Charlie, who runs the Western kitchen, once won the gold at the Bocuse d'Or. Chef Liu, who runs the Chinese kitchen, has taken the Special Gold at the National Cooking Competition multiple times, plus a gold medal from the World Association of Master Chefs. You can count on the cooking, no question. If the young master ever wants a bite, just come on over—I'll have the chefs whip up something good for you!"

Lu Yuan was totally blown away.

He'd thought the chef Lu Ke had lured away with a fat paycheck was already amazing, but he hadn't expected even better ones to be living right next door.

He dug into the especially tasty kiwi on the fruit platter, nodding like crazy, until he caught the villa's owner approaching out of the corner of his eye. He quickly cleared his throat. "No, no, that's fine—I don't want to keep putting you all out."

Bai Yu shot him a look.

Just a second ago, he was nodding like a little chick pecking at rice, and now suddenly it's "too much trouble to keep bothering you all." The young master sure can flip his tune fast.

"Sir." The old butler smiled in greeting. Bai Yu gave a hum of acknowledgment and told him to go get some rest.

The old housekeeper was getting on in years, his energy no match for that perfect mother-hen type next door. Most of the time, Bai Yu didn't need him to bother with the villa's day-to-day chores.

"You can go find Charlie later and discuss the lunch menu."

In the silence, the man set down his coffee, his expression flat as he reminded, "He'd be more than happy to fix you lunch."

Lu Yuan, mid-bite on his spoon, froze. First, he was shocked that Bai Yu actually listened to the old housekeeper and let him try the chef's cooking; then, puzzled, he asked, "Why?"

Bai Yu: "Charlie's a high-needs chef. You two should have a lot to talk about."

Lu Yuan: "?"

He wanted to ask further: "Like what?"

But Bai Yu seemed unwilling to elaborate. He finished his breakfast with a cold, unenthusiastic air, and headed to the study, only tossing out a parting remark: "If Lu Yan comes back, have him come find me in the study."

Lu Yuan hugged his bowl and nodded eagerly.

Thanks to Bai Yu's comment, the fruit the chef cut suddenly seemed to taste better than any ordinary fruit!

*

Charlie was a Frenchman with a golden beard—tall, burly, and a bit intimidating—but his personality was adorable.

Lu Yuan scuttled into the kitchen like a crab again, greeting him warmly, then quickly closing the distance between them with a few words, and they huddled together, whispering and planning the day's lunch menu.

Charlie even had him sample several new, innovative dishes, then remarked, "Mr. Bai is a remarkable man, but he's not interested in—"

Lu Yuan got it. Put bluntly: Bai Yu was blind and didn't appreciate good food.

So he asked in a low voice, "Interested in switching employers?"

"I'm afraid not." A cold voice came from behind, making Lu Yuan jump. He'd just straightened his back, and it nearly gave out again from his guilty conscience.

He fumbled to steady himself against the kitchen island and turned to find the man standing in the doorway.

Charlie was tall, but Bai Yu was just as imposing. Standing in the doorway like a sentinel, he made Lu Yuan even more nervous. But he was a pro at changing the subject, acting like he'd never suggested Charlie jump ship, and asked the very employer he'd just tried to poach from, with an innocent look on his face: "Didn't you head to the study? Why'd you come back?"

And he'd even stepped into the kitchen.

According to Charlie, this clueless employer never paid any attention to what went on with the ingredients in the kitchen. So what was he doing here?

"It's time. Your pain-relief patch needs to come off."

Rip it off? The patch?

Lu Yuan's face froze for a second.

He went "ah" and looked away: "What's the harm in leaving it on a bit longer? It feels fine on me."

Bai Yu: "You'll get a rash."

Lu Yuan scratched where the adhesive met his skin—it was a little itchy—and hesitated: "Then I'll take it off later. You go do your thing, don't mind me."

Bai Yu caught the hint from the boy's unconsciously furrowed brow. A slight smile tugged at his thin lips as he asked, "Scared of pain?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Fine, then take it off right now, in front of me."

"..." Lu Yuan was like a cat that had its tail stepped on. Sensing the next wave of danger, he took two steps back, clutching his lower back and shaking his head. "That'd be so rude. I'm a modest boy."

"Oh really? The modest boy who flashed his waist and bare legs at me last night?"