Chapter 165 The brothers pick up Zhao Zhao and take her home

"Lu Yinzhao, see you next semester! If you have any work to do during winter break, remember to call me!"

"Xiao Lu, bye-bye! I'm going to catch my train now!"

"I really envy you locals! I have to transfer several times to go back to my hometown. See you next year!"

In the dormitory, the roommates were saying their final goodbyes for the semester.

Jiang Yi and Xu Zishi were from out of town and had already left with their suitcases.

Lu Yinzhao didn't have any large luggage to pack; he had everything he needed at home. All he had to bring were his laptop and photography equipment.

Song Shuye zipped up his backpack and asked with a smile, "Are you going back by yourself, or is someone coming to pick you up?"

"Someone will pick me up. You can go now." Lu Yinzhao waved his hand.

"Okay, remember to pop up in the group chat often! Bye-bye!"

Song Shuye hummed a song and happily left the dormitory. Lu Yinzhao cleaned the empty dormitory a little, mopping the floor tiles until they shone.

He nodded in satisfaction, then picked up his phone and glanced at it again; Bian Ji hadn't replied to his message yet.

They agreed to go back to Yunshui Villa District together today, which is the home where they first met.

This year, both families spent the Lunar New Year there.

Bian Ji's parents also moved back to China a few years ago and are living a retirement-like life.

"Is there a traffic jam on the road?"

Lu Yinzhao's phone remained completely silent, without a single sound coming in, prompting him to speculate in his mind.

After taking photos of Bian Ji yesterday, we had a late-night snack together, and then Bian Ji took him back to school.

Because there were still some things to clean in the dormitory, Lu Yinzhao did not rest at Bian Ji's place.

It's also a good opportunity to say goodbye to my roommates one last time.

Today is the official school closing day. Apart from Huaxing University, many local universities have their holidays starting around this time.

So traffic jams seem to be quite normal...

Lu Yinzhao came out of the dormitory, locked the door from the inside, and simply took his laptop bag and waited downstairs at the dormitory building.

There is a rest area nearby, with some round stone tables and benches and low green landscaping.

Lu Yinzhao was sitting there playing on his phone, just about to open a small game to relieve his boredom.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

Lu Yinzhao didn't even look at the caller ID before quickly answering the phone.

"Why are you so slow... Is there a traffic jam? I've been waiting for ages, my roommates have all left, and I'm the only one left..."

Lu Yinzhao deliberately acted pitiful, but a smile was playing on his lips.

He enjoyed seeing Bian Ji's flustered and nervous expression.

To everyone's surprise, it wasn't Bian Ji's voice that came through the phone.

"Sorry, Zhao Zhao, please wait two more minutes. We've already entered the school... Hmm, is this the way?"

There was more than one voice on the other end of the phone. After this voice came out, someone else chimed in, "Brother, it's a right turn. I know where his dorm is. You two are really not concerned about Zhao Zhao. You'll have to rely on me when it matters!"

At this moment, a third voice appeared, "Be quiet and let your brother drive properly."

Lu Yinzhao was stunned. He took his phone away and saw that the caller ID was not Bian Ji, but his older brother Lu Xun.

"Big brother...you, you all..."

"Sorry, Zhao Zhao, were you waiting long? Big brother will be here soon!"

The phone call was suddenly disconnected, leaving Lu Yinzhao somewhat bewildered in the wind.

He paused for a few seconds, then quickly sent a message to Bian Ji.

[Zhaozhao]: Don't come to pick me up! My older brother and the others are here! Just drive back!

There was still no response from Bian Ji, and it was unclear whether he had seen his message.

Lu Yinzhao stood up and scratched his head awkwardly.

Did my tone on the phone just now give my older brother and the others any clues?

But it sounds like... they didn't seem to have any strange reaction.

Lu Xun and his two companions hadn't really thought that much about it. They had come to pick up Zhao Zhao on a whim. When they heard Zhao Zhao pitifully say that he had been waiting for a long time, they assumed that his parents had told him in advance that they were coming to pick him up.

A few minutes later, Lu Yinzhao saw a bright white sedan on the side of the road. Even though the windows were covered with privacy film, his intuition told him that his brothers were in this car.

The car lights flashed twice, and Lu Yinzhao quickly jogged over, opened the door, and sat in the back seat.

To avoid his brothers asking too many questions, Lu Yinzhao preemptively lunged forward and hugged the person next to him.

"Third Brother! I missed you so much!"

Lu Yuan was sitting next to Lu Yinzhao, Lu Cheng was in the front passenger seat, and Lu Xun was driving.

Lu Yuan patted Lu Yinzhao's back gently, "Sorry we're late. How long have you been standing outside in the wind? Are you cold?"

Lu Yinzhao shook her head, "I'm not cold. My heart warmed up as soon as my brothers came."

Lu Yinzhao felt embarrassed by his own sentimental words, but he knew they would be very effective with his family, especially his brothers.

Sure enough, after he finished speaking, the three men in the car laughed as if they didn't care about anything.

"It must have been Lu Qi who tipped us off, right? We were planning to give you a surprise, but you found out beforehand," Lu Cheng said irritably.

Lu Xun scolded, "You have no manners! That's your sister."

"Hey bro, after all these years, you're still so rigid and inflexible. It's boring." Lu Cheng pouted.

"I wasn't even planning to let you on the bus. If I had known you'd still talk so much, I should have kicked you off," Lu Yuan retorted.

"You want to kick me out of the car? No way, Lu Laosan! How can I be left out when you come to pick up Zhaozhao and take her home? If it weren't for me, this car wouldn't have been able to get to the dormitory in two minutes. I've been to Zhaozhao's school before, so I know this place very well."

The brothers got together and, as always, started making a ruckus. Lu Yinzhao watched from the sidelines without saying a word, thoroughly enjoying himself.

He would never admit that he didn't actually know they were coming to pick him up.

"Aren't any of you working today?"

After a while, Lu Yinzhao finally spoke up and asked.

"No work is allowed today, Zhaozhao. Bringing you home is the most important thing today," Lu Xun said.

“Yes, and we don’t work like beasts of burden 365 days a year. Mom and Dad are home today too. They know you have a day off, how could we bear to let you go back to face an empty villa?” Lu Cheng chimed in.

Lu Yuan also said, "After that, I created albums and choreographed at home or in the studio. Now I don't want to take on many commercial projects. I want to spend more time with my family."

"Me too. Since having Xuan'er, I only guarantee one filming a year. The rest of the time I spend with my daughter. This year's tasks are finished, and I will start filming my next project after the Spring Festival."

Indeed, Lu Yinzhao gradually realized that his three older brothers were not as active in the entertainment industry as before.

The eldest brother is only seen online during the promotional events for his new movie. The third brother is even more elusive, having last updated his Weibo four months ago with a video of a dance competition. The fourth brother is the one we see most often.

However, after his arm injury last time, he missed two important matches, and his popularity on the internet this year is not as high as in previous years. Some people are even predicting his downfall, saying that he is not appearing in major competitions and is probably going to retire to become a coach.

Lu Yinzhao had no objection to her three brothers' schedules. This was their life, and she supported them whether they were busy during their peak or taking time to reflect during a stable period.

He laughed happily, "That's great! This year, I won't have to watch you on TV for the New Year."

Instead, they can reunite with their families offline.

“Absolutely. We want to make this year’s Spring Festival more lively. I heard from my parents that they want to bring my grandparents and maternal grandparents to our home together,” Lu Cheng said.

"Great! It'll be more lively with more people." Lu Yinzhao hadn't seen the elderly people for a while.

Lu Yinzhao still has memories of spending time with her elders over the years. Her grandparents are now in their eighties. As they get older, despite paying attention to health, they still can't avoid some of the ailments that come with old age.

Lu Yinzhao felt a pang of emotion and decided to visit them more often in the future.

...

The car drove all the way to the Yunshui Villa area before Lu Yinzhao received Bian Ji's message.

[Brother Aji]: I'm sorry I couldn't pick you up. My phone broke, so I borrowed my manager's. I have some things to take care of here. Let me know you got home safely.

Lu Yinzhao was puzzled. Wasn't Bian Ji's phone working perfectly fine yesterday?

"Zhaozhao, we've arrived. Get off the bus."

"Okay!"

After reporting his safety to Bian Ji, Lu Yinzhao stopped thinking about it and ran home after getting off the bus, where he gave his parents a big hug.

"Zhao Zhao, you seem to have lost some weight. Are you not eating enough at school?"

"Zhaozhao, if you don't like the school food, tell Dad and Dad will have someone send you Weiyinzhai's private kitchen dishes every day."

Lu Yinzhao: "..."

There's a kind of thinness that only your parents think you're thin.

Even though Bian Ji had fattened him up considerably during this time, Lu Yinzhao was too embarrassed to admit that he actually had a large appetite now.

"Zhao Zhao seems to have grown a little taller again?" At this moment, Lu Qi also walked over, stood in front of Lu Yin Zhao, and gestured to him to show his height.

"Really?"

When Lu Yinzhao mentioned the changes in her height, her eyes lit up.

He wished he could grow taller, since Bian Ji was half a head taller than him. Every time they kissed, he had to tilt his head back, which was really tiring.

Lu Yinzhao went to the height chart by the wall and measured himself; it seemed he had indeed grown 0.5 centimeters taller.

Although it wasn't much, growing a little taller was enough to make him happy for a long time.

"Look how happy this child is..." Lu Wenyan smiled and looked over there.

"You know what, I was really worried that our baby wouldn't grow tall, but it seems my worries were unnecessary." Yin Song also smiled slightly.

"That's right, that's right. Don't you know what kind of genes our Lu family has? Do we have any short people in our family? No, right?"

"When you get old and your bones shrink, you'll be the oldest man in this family," Yin Song said with a laugh, covering his mouth.

"Wife, you can't be so sarcastic. Do you think I'm too old?"

Seeing his parents still so loving, Lu Yinzhao felt a surge of emotion.

If he and Bian Ji could love each other for a lifetime and grow old together, they would truly have no regrets in this life.

In the afternoon, everyone was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner when Lu Yinzhao was pushed out of the kitchen by his family.

They said he had just returned and must be tired, so he should rest well today and just wait to eat the meal they prepared.

Lu Yinzhao reluctantly agreed, and then sat on the sofa and started scrolling through his phone.

A news item suddenly popped up on Weibo.

Singer Bian Ji was chased and surrounded by paparazzi, but he decisively drove to the police station to escape the situation.

Lu Yinzhao: "?!!"

-----------------------

Author's Note: Zhao Zhao: So slow, brother~ (whining to her boyfriend) [Chin resting on her hand]

Bian Ji: My brother's speeding like crazy [shrug]