Chapter 9

009.

The server stood quietly, and Lu Yuan felt he still had a chance to slip out to the courtyard or the lobby to wait for Lu Ke to arrive, then enter the private room with him to greet everyone properly.

But not anymore.

As the steam from the tea gradually dissipated, the hazy figure suddenly came into sharp view before Lu Yuan's eyes.

Under the warm white lighting, a black turtleneck sweater outlined an impeccably sharp pair of shoulders and a long, elegant neck. His previously lowered gaze lifted slightly, and narrow, cold phoenix eyes reflected the young man's nervous, uneasy figure.

The figure appeared somewhat slender, and the face framed by the soft fleece collar was clearly more striking than the other Lus' features—especially the pair of cat-like eyes, larger and rounder than the Lu family's signature peach-blossom eyes, with a slight upward tilt at the corners and a tiny red mole that looked perfectly placed.

"Sit."

He set the teacup down with casual indifference, his long fingers tapping the table to signal Lu Yuan to sit.

Lu Yuan hesitated for a second before obediently replying, "Okay."

As he awkwardly shuffled over to the table, he thought to himself—

No wonder Lu Yan said you couldn't tell who was the dad if Bai Yu and Lu Jingshan stood side by side. With that kind of presence, even Lu Jingshan would cower—let alone a small-town bumpkin like him who'd only just stepped into high society a few days ago.

Left? Right? Or across? Was there a rule? Why didn't Lu Yan bring him a copy of "The 360 Rules of High Society Etiquette" when he came by?

His brain was erupting like a volcano, then fizzled out with a dull pop—a false alarm that never quite went off.

Fortunately, Bai Yu gestured for the server to pour tea to his left, and Lu Yuan pulled out the chair and sat.

Though the young man was bundled up, his back was ramrod straight, both hands resting on the edge of the table, as if trying to carve the word "obedient" into his bones. When the celadon teacup was pushed in front of him, he cradled it, took small sips, set it down, then picked it up again a few seconds later for another sip.

He repeated this several times until, looking down again, he saw the empty teacup and closed his eyes in regret.

Great. Now he didn't even have water left to drink.

Who the hell was driving carelessly during rush hour and just had to rear-end the car in front, leaving his brother stuck halfway, leaving him all alone to face this terrifying big shot?

Death penalty! Absolutely the death penalty!

A tiny Lu Yuan was jumping up and down in his head, screaming furiously, when his phone buzzed right then. The furious little figure paused, and he quickly pretended to have an important message, pulling his phone out of his pocket. When he saw the contact name "Third Brother," it was like seeing a lifeline.

Third Brother: You eating yet?

Sesame Tangyuan: No, Big Brother's stuck on the road.

Third Brother: Huh, what a flake.

Third Brother: Should've left later myself. Want me to turn around and come keep you company? There's a U-turn up ahead.

Lu Yuan desperately wanted to hold up his phone and snap a picture of Bai Yu's face right in front of him, then send it to Lu Yan with the caption: If you're willing, I'd be happy to.

But he couldn't.

Forget taking photos—even just texting about the man, Lu Yuan had to subtly shift his body to make sure Bai Yu wouldn't accidentally catch a glimpse of his screen before replying: Bai Yu's here.

Third Brother: My bad, the sign says no U-turn /fist bump

Lu Yuan: "..."

He knew it! Third Brother was totally unreliable!

Lu Yan was still driving, so Lu Yuan didn't want to bother him. Instead, he quietly texted Lu Ke, asking how much longer he'd be.

Lu Ke replied matter-of-factly: Road's still blocked. Eat with Bai Yu first.

Lu Yuan closed his eyes, feeling like he might actually die.

"Hungry?"

Bai Yu's sudden voice startled Lu Yuan back to life. He quickly put down his phone and answered, "Not really hungry."

Bai Yu glanced at the latest message from his friend, stood up, pushed back his chair, and walked toward the other side of the screen. "Lu Ke said we should eat first."

Before Lu Yuan could even process how fast his big brother had relayed the message, he was already distracted by the man's broad shoulders and slim waist. Black sweater, good. Black sweater, great. The black sweater perfectly outlined the man's lean, taut waist before being tucked into matching dark trousers.

So tall. Such a narrow waist. Such long legs.

Such an insane body proportion.

Lu Yuan silently lowered his head, slipping his fingers under the fleece jacket to pinch his own soft belly.

Nice and soft!

Having successfully comforted himself, Lu Yuan followed Bai Yu with lighter steps, completely unaware that the man ahead had tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the young man's upturned lips—

The cautious little cat, new to this environment, had apparently thought of something funny and suddenly brightened up.

Once seated, the server took the order and quickly brought out the dishes.

Still seated to Bai Yu's left, Lu Yuan had worked up a light sweat from the warm air. He took off his jacket and handed it to the server, then lowered his eyes and rolled up his loose sweater sleeves, revealing a sliver of wrist wrapped in a red string bracelet that looked old.

"Getting used to living at Songlan Mansion?"

"Yes." Lu Yuan nodded, thinking that if he couldn't get used to living in a five-hundred-million-yuan villa, he'd be seriously ungrateful.

Bai Yu took a sip of tea and hummed in acknowledgment. "If anything comes up, come find me at Villa No. 1. Eat up."

Even though Lu Ke wasn't there, the meal was actually pretty good. Unfortunately, with Bai Yu, who he didn't know well, at the table, Lu Yuan didn't dare eat much the whole time, only politely picking at the wild yellow croaker in front of him.

...But wasn't it a bit rude to keep eating only the belly of the croaker? If he ate all the belly, wouldn't Bai Yu only get the tail?

He endured this agony for half the meal until Lu Ke, his dear big brother, descended like a divine savior and finally pushed open the door of the private room. When he heard the words "Sorry I'm late," Lu Yuan was so moved he almost wanted to cry.

He looked up from his empty bowl and chopsticks, his cat-like eyes shimmering with light, carrying a faint, barely perceptible hint of adoration that made Lu Ke pause, his heart softening like a jellyfish, ready to squeeze out water at the slightest touch.

The dishes on the table rotated back to Lu Yuan, and Lu Ke urged, "Eat more. You're too skinny."

Lu Yuan obediently picked up some food with his chopsticks.

With Lu Ke present, the suffocating silence that had filled the room vanished, replaced by the occasional low murmur of the two men talking. Lu Yuan took the opportunity to become invisible, and while the two were talking, he lightly tapped the turntable with his fingers, rotating the croaker's tail in front of Bai Yu, then helped himself to the restaurant's signature osmanthus lotus root with honey.

The lotus root was stuffed with glutinous rice, drizzled with golden honey, and topped with little clusters of osmanthus flowers. Lu Yuan took a bite, and it was so sticky-sweet it stuck to his teeth.

He decisively spun the turntable again, bringing the lotus root in front of Bai Yu, then picked up other dishes.

Bai Yu lowered his gaze, his eyes sweeping over the few dishes, then looked at the young man across from him, cheeks slightly puffed as he chewed earnestly, those distinctive cat eyes half-lidded with pure contentment.

It seemed he wouldn't need a midnight snack when he got home.

In the latter half of the dinner, Lu Yuan got a concerned text from Lu Yan checking in on him.

Third Brother: Are you getting enough to eat? Want me to have Chen Chi prepare some midnight snacks for you? [I've got you figured out.jpg]

In the emoji sticker, a butterscotch-colored kitten wearing black-framed glasses had its paw raised in a glasses-pushing gesture, looking quite wise.

Third Brother: To be honest, in the past when I ate with Brother Yu, I never got enough to eat. I've got this thing where no matter what I pick up with my chopsticks, I feel like he's staring at me, judging my table manners. Later, I mentioned this to Dad, and he told me to ask Second Brother to hook me up—first see an eye doctor, then a psychiatrist.

Pfft.

Lu Yuan tried to hold it in but failed, and a big grin spread across his face.

He replied to Lu Yan: I'm full, but I might still need midnight snacks. I'll probably get hungry if I'm gaming all night.

He knew from experience.

Last night, he stayed up until 2 a.m. and his stomach was growling like crazy. Luckily, he remembered the peach gum and milk dessert from dinner that he hadn't eaten, so he snuck into the kitchen in the middle of the night and filled himself up.

Third Brother: I'll have Chen Chi prepare it.

Third Brother: But speaking of which, you were playing on your phone at the table—didn't Brother Yu say anything?

Huh?

Bai Yu was chatting with Lu Ke about obscure terms he couldn't understand—was he actually paying attention to him and reacting?

Startled, Lu Yuan instinctively looked up, his gaze darting toward the head of the table. Just then, Bai Yu set down his long dark-brown chopsticks, his fingertips resting on the celadon porcelain plate with its entwined lotus pattern, and as if sensing something, he looked over.

His narrow phoenix eyes locked onto those cat-like eyes, the curiosity in them quickly turning to panic and embarrassment as the boy realized he'd been caught.

Lu Yuan's eyes darted around wildly before he quickly ducked his head, biting into the hawthorn candy ball that Lu Ke had specially ordered for him.

But the crisp crunch seemed to echo in the suddenly silent private room. For a moment, Lu Yuan felt like he'd caught the same condition—the sense that Bai Yu was always watching him.

Lu Yuan: "..."

Looks like he'd need to ask Second Brother Lu to hook him up too.

Bai Yu's gaze fixed on the boy's reddened earlobes, his phoenix eyes narrowing slightly, his gaze deep and still like a dark pool.

A moment later, Lu Ke, who hadn't noticed anything, brought up another topic, and Bai Yu responded with a faint hum.

8:30.

Only two hours had passed since arriving at the restaurant, but as Lu Yuan stood up with the two parental figures, he felt like it had been as long as a lifetime.

He followed behind them, glancing at Lu Ke's back, then his attention unconsciously drifted to Bai Yu.

The temperature inside the private room hadn't dropped yet. Bai Yu draped his black cashmere coat over his right forearm, the partially exposed arm showing smooth lines, fair skin with a translucent quality like cold jade, and faint blue veins rising and falling just right beneath the thin skin—it looked oddly attractive.

"A Yuan, what do you think?" The voice went from muffled to clear, and Lu Yuan, lost in his own thoughts, snapped back to reality. He looked up with a bewildered face and let out a confused "Huh?"

Lu Ke patiently repeated his earlier suggestion: "You and Bai Yu are heading the same direction. Is it okay if you catch a ride back with him?"

"Oh, oh, sure." Lu Yuan instinctively nodded twice, then suddenly snapped to full awareness a second later, letting out another "Huh—?!"