Chapter 7

007.

8:20 in the morning.

After trying on thirteen outfits, Lu Yan finally settled on today's look.

A slightly loose black cropped leather jacket, matching slim-fit trousers that showed off legs his fans claimed went on for days, tucked into leather combat boots. He stood there in all black in front of the full-length mirror, admiring himself for a full two minutes before nodding in satisfaction.

Cool, handsome, with just a hint of rebellious youthfulness—yes, this was him, the Lu family's Third Young Master.

He stuffed the deed for the island into his backpack, grabbed his bag, and headed to the garage, driving toward Songlan Mansion.

It hadn't snowed much last night, so the capital's roads were clear. The red Ferrari was poised to shoot forward like a crimson arrow... except that didn't quite happen.

Third Young Master Lu's carefully chosen departure time happened to coincide with rush hour. The city streets were jammed solid, cars packed together like sardines in a can. The Audi driver ahead caught a glimpse of that dazzling red in his rearview mirror, did a double-take, then rolled down his window and stuck his head out, shouting:

"Hey, young master, keep your distance from me!"

Lu Yan: "..."

He rolled down his window too, sticking his head out in a deadpan tone: "Even if you rear-end me, I'd be the one at fault for following too close."

At that, the driver behind the Ferrari sucked in a sharp breath and immediately turned to shout at the car behind him: "Buddy, if you don't want your insurance rates to explode next year, don't follow too close."

Lu Yan: "..."

He pulled his head back in, rested his chin on the steering wheel, and let out a heavy sigh.

Eventually, the traffic started moving, and once he got onto the bridge heading out of the city, the road was clear.

With a mix of anticipation and nervousness, Lu Yan politely parked in the garage of Villa 2, then walked around to the front and rang the doorbell—

His eldest brother had said Songlan Mansion belonged to A Yuan. So his first visit definitely shouldn't be too presumptuous, or A Yuan would think less of him.

The doorbell chimed twice, and Lu Yan pricked up his ears, catching the faint sound of footsteps inside.

Soon, the door opened.

Lu Yan cleared his throat, straightened up, tugged his clothes into place, and flashed a bright, infectious smile: "A—"

The word barely left his mouth when his gaze landed on the butler, Chen Chi. His expression froze, as if a switch had been flipped—the smile vanished, replaced by a blank face as he stared at Chen Chi and asked, "Why is it you? Where's A Yuan?"

Chen Chi saw the Third Young Master's expression change perfectly but kept his smile: "Good morning, Young Master Yan. Young Master Yuan hasn't woken up yet."

"Ah, still not up."

Lu Yan glanced back at the cold wind outside, then felt the warm air coming from the living room. After half a second of thought, he decided being presumptuous was fine too—when A Yuan came downstairs and saw his dear big brother, he'd surely be pleasantly surprised.

So he brushed past Chen Chi, walked into the living room, and sat down on the sofa.

Chen Chi asked, "What would Young Master Yan like to drink?"

Lu Yan crooked a finger at him. Chen Chi stepped forward obligingly and bent down to hear him ask, "Does my face look swollen to you?"

Chen Chi: "No."

Lu Yan nodded in satisfaction: "Good. Then skip the iced Americano—bring me a Coke. Extra ice."

Chen Chi: "...Very well."

The Coke arrived in Lu Yan's hands. He took the straw in his mouth and took a big gulp, the icy carbonation bursting on his tongue. He squinted in enjoyment and asked Chen Chi, "What time does A Yuan usually get up?"

Chen Chi: "Yesterday it was ten, but today he'll probably be a bit later."

At 2 AM, he'd spotted light through the crack in the guest room door. When he got up, he heard rustling in the living room. He pushed the door open and found Lu Yuan in his blue shark pajamas, squatting in the kitchen eating the peach gum stewed milk from the insulated box.

Probably because he'd slept too long during the day, couldn't sleep at night, and then got hungry.

To protect his young master's dignity, Chen Chi pretended he hadn't seen anything and quietly closed the door.

And for the same reason, Chen Chi had no intention of telling Lu Yan about it. And Lu Yan clearly had no intention of asking further—he was only four years older than Lu Yuan, not like the one who was ten years older, so he could easily guess Lu Yuan had stayed up late.

"Alright, go do your thing. I'll sit here and wait for A Yuan to get up."

At 9:30, Lu Yuan still wasn't up.

At 10:00, Lu Yuan still wasn't up.

At 10:30, Lu Yuan still wasn't up.

At 11:00, Lu Yuan still wasn't up, but Lu Yan had gone from "sitting on the sofa" to "lying on the sofa." His eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. He mumbled to himself, "Just closing my eyes for two minutes," then struggled out of his slightly uncomfortable jacket and tossed it onto the coffee table.

His breathing evened out within five seconds.

At 11:16, Lu Yuan came down the stairs in a new green dinosaur onesie, yawning as he shuffled slowly down the steps.

His tear-blurred vision was a bit fuzzy, but he still saw the figure sprawled across the sofa—face buried in a throw pillow, only the back of his head visible, with zero dignity.

He blinked, and his vision gradually cleared.

Okay, there was indeed a person lying on the sofa.

Based on what Lu Yuan knew of Lu Jingshan, Lu Ke, and Lu Zhuo, none of the three would be here right now, let alone sleeping on the sofa so gracelessly. Recalling yesterday morning's group chat, Lu Yuan figured this must be Target No. 1 for the poverty-alleviation program.

"Young Master Yuan." The butler walked over with light footsteps, stopping before Lu Yuan. The latter pointed at the sofa and asked in an equally hushed voice, "When did he get here?"

"Around 9:10. Young Master Yan heard you were still resting and didn't want to disturb you."

9:10, huh. Given the drive from the city to Songlan Mansion, he must have left by 8-something at the latest. And looking at that shiny back of Lu Yan's head, clearly styled with pomade... yeah, he'd probably been up since around 7.

Lu Yuan went back up to the second floor, grabbed a small blanket from his bedroom, and draped it over Lu Yan. Then he dragged a small stool over to sit nearby, nibbling on a custard bun while playing on his phone.

It was already noon anyway—he'd have a bun to tide him over, and once Lu Yan woke up, they could have lunch together.

*

At 12:00.

Lu Yan stirred.

He was 185 cm tall, a long stretch of a person, and sleeping on the sofa wasn't exactly comfortable. But he'd gotten pitifully little sleep these past few days. He'd finally made it back to the capital, only to wake up at dawn to fuss over his face—no wonder he was exhausted.

He reached down, fumbling around before pulling out his violently vibrating phone.

Without opening his eyes, his fingers skillfully found the screen and swiped to answer. A frantic voice came through: "I've been thinking it over and something's off. Asking for bath oil in the middle of the night, then asking me what to wear to look handsome this morning—Lu Yan, be honest with me. Are you seeing someone?!"

Seeing someone my ass.

Waking me up from my nap just to ask that stupid question—asking for a beating, aren't you?

Lu Yan opened his mouth to curse, but his mind snapped awake for a second before the words came out.

Wait, why was he using essential oils for a bath and getting all dressed up again?

His eyes flew open, all drowsiness gone in an instant. He scrambled up from the sofa, a bewildered look on his face and his hair a complete mess, and suddenly found himself locking eyes with Lu Yuan, who had looked up at him.

The still features from the photos suddenly felt vivid and alive. Lu Yuan raised one hand in a greeting: "Hi?"

Lu Yan: "..."

Shit.

When did A Yuan get up?

When did he fall asleep?

How long had A Yuan been watching his stupid sleeping posture?

Horror and despair slowly spread across Lu Yan's face. He took two deep breaths, made a "stop" gesture at Lu Yuan, then jumped off the couch and raced into the bathroom on the ground floor.

He even tripped over the small blanket on the way, nearly face-planting into the iced cola on the coffee table.

Lu Yuan glanced down at the phone left on the sofa. The call was still going, and the person on the other end was still yelling: "Hello? Hello? Lu Yan?! Lu Yan, what are you doing? Can't you hear me?! I'm calling you! Lu Yan!!!!!"

Lu Yuan: "..."

After a moment's hesitation, he finally picked up the phone, said "Hold on" to the person on the other end, then followed him to the bathroom door and knocked: "Your phone."

The door cracked open, a hand reached out, grabbed the phone, and snatched it back in a flash, followed by a stammering voice: "Th-thanks."

Lu Yuan: "You're welcome."

Lu Yuan returned to his little stool and continued scrolling through videos, while Lu Yan inside the bathroom stared at his completely disheveled hair, buried his face in his hands, and let out a heavy sigh.

On the phone, the manager kept ranting without a pause: "Lu Yan! Who was that just now? Is it that little star who came knocking on your door in the middle of the night during that variety show recording? I'm telling you, no way! I'm totally against this relationship. If you dare date them, I'll buy a ticket to the capital right now and hang myself on your front doorstep!!!"

"Who are you insulting! Does that dead pretty boy's voice sound anything like my A Yuan's?! Are you crazy?! If your ears are broken, go get them checked!"

"Damn, who the hell is A Yuan?"

"My brother, my biological little brother who was missing for eighteen years and I just found him!"

"...Oh, the brother Xiao Yu mentioned." The manager's tone was clearly relieved. The entire trip had been handled by assistant Xiao Yu, and he'd only heard a passing mention of "Yan ge seems to have found his brother" when he called Xiao Yu the day before. He hadn't asked for details, and Xiao Yu didn't know them either.

And that's how this misunderstanding happened.

The manager coughed lightly and rubbed his nose guiltily: "Well, a brother's great, and his voice is lovely. Ask your brother if he'd be interested in singing—"

Before he could finish, the busy tone buzzed in his ear.

Manager: "..."

After hanging up, Lu Yan started the tough job of fixing his hair.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that the bathroom door was knocked on, and Chen Chi's voice came through with a reminder: "Young Master Yan, are you ready?"

Lu Yan: "Not yet, hang on."

Chen Chi's expression didn't change: "Young Master Yuan came down around eleven and has only had one custard bun, saying he'll wait for you to eat lunch together."

Bang—the door opened, and Lu Yan stepped out: "Then I'm all set."