Chapter Eleven
During summer vacation, Lu Nan's cousin, Lu Qian, came to visit.
The two hadn't seen each other for two years, and their reunion was exceptionally warm. Lucy had a very stylish appearance, probably due to her mixed-race genes; her facial features were more defined than most, giving her a commanding presence. Lucy adored her only younger cousin, but because he was studying abroad, the two hadn't seen each other for a long time.
She brought Lu Nan some delicious chocolates and local specialties, which Lu Nan happily accepted. Lu Qian was an anime fanatic, and as soon as she arrived at Lu Nan's house, she started looking through his collection. Lu Nan didn't have many collections; most of them were gifts from Cheng Xiangdong. Besides, he liked to go to Cheng's house to look at whatever he wanted to see. Cheng Xiangbei's room occupied three floors, and he could lie down, stand up, or sprawl out however he wanted, unlike at home where his mother would nag him if he sat even slightly off-center.
But for some reason, he hadn't been home for several days. Lucy's visit was only one reason; there were others... he was quite confused himself. The two of them watched Saint Seiya for two days, then Slam Dunk, eating and drinking in front of the TV, not moving an inch. Finally, Lu Nan's mother couldn't stand their decadent behavior any longer and kicked them out to go shopping, hoping to give their eyes a break.
There wasn't much to see in the small town, and with the hot weather, the two of them were even less inclined to walk around. They strolled along the path, and before they knew it, they were at the Cheng family's wall. Lu Nan knew this path so well that she practically walked this way unconsciously. Lu Qian looked at the high walls and the large courtyard, and could even smell the fragrance of flowers from outside. Curious, she asked, "Whose house is this? It's so mysterious."
“Cheng Jia, our neighbor from our hometown.” Lu Nan shrugged.
"Huh? It's that place, East, North... Ah, no, there's an old lady in his family, right?" Lucy tried hard to recall. She only went back to her hometown occasionally during holidays, so her memory was vague.
"Yes, it's Grandma." Lu Nan simply pulled her to the Cheng family's house. She hadn't been there for several days and really missed the big carpet in Cheng Xiangbei's room.
The door wasn't locked, so Lu Nan pushed it open and went inside.
Lu Xi nervously said from behind, "At least knock before you open the door!" Lu Nan pulled her inside. The dog in the yard barked fiercely at the sight of strangers. Lu Nan shouted, "Da Bao, don't bark!"
"Woo...woo..." Stunned by Lu Nan, Da Bao let out a reluctant howl. Lu Qian patted her chest in relief and carefully followed Lu Nan into the house.
Aunt Li came out to greet them when she heard the dog barking and saw Lu Nan leading a rather pretty young lady. "Nan Nan, who is this?"
“My cousin, Lucy.”
"Ah! Is this your uncle's daughter? Oh my, she's grown so tall!" Aunt Li said with a smile, pulling Lu Qian inside. Grandma Cheng, hearing their conversation, turned around and said, "Is this Xiao Zheng's daughter? Come here and let Grandma take a look!"
Lu Nan gave them a few introductions, and just as he was about to get engrossed in Grandma Cheng's storytelling, he heartlessly abandoned Lu Qian and ran upstairs. He climbed to the third floor and kicked open Cheng Xiangbei's door. Cheng Xiangbei was sitting cross-legged in front of the TV playing a game. Seeing Lu Nan slightly out of breath, he laughed and said, "What's your rush? It's so hot, why are you running around!"
Lu Nan kicked off her slippers and walked towards the small table. Cheng Xiangbei always kept some snacks on his table, even though he didn't actually like them. Most of the food on the table was for him. In the crystal bowl was a watermelon cut into angular pieces, sprinkled with white sugar that hadn't melted yet. The red flesh was dotted with tiny sugar granules, making it look incredibly appetizing. Lu Nan hugged the bowl and sat cross-legged like Cheng Xiangbei, eating while watching him play games.
"Hey! Don't go too far, I haven't even had a bite yet!" Cheng Xiangbei teased.
Lu Nan shrugged, forked a piece of watermelon into her stomach, and deliberately made a smacking sound, saying, "Huh? Wasn't this saved for me?"
"Oh my! You're getting too big for your britches, aren't you?" Cheng Xiangbei pretended not to care, but he was secretly delighted! These past few days, he had asked Aunt Li to prepare refreshing fruits every day, hoping that Lu Nan would be able to eat fresh ones when she came. But Lu Nan hadn't come yet, and Cheng was so frustrated that he wanted to bang his head against the wall.
"Hmph! You'll only get cocky if I don't eat it!" Lu Nan kindly forked a piece of watermelon and fed it to Cheng Xiangbei. Cheng Xiangbei opened his mouth wide to receive it, feeling the sweet juice flow from his mouth all the way to his heart... Sweet! So sweet!
Having finally escaped Grandma Cheng's reminiscing about the past, Lu Qian rushed up to the third floor.
There was only one door on the third floor, and she disregarded politeness and pushed it open. As soon as the door opened, she saw two boys laughing and playing games while eating. Lu Qian's anger flared up, and she snapped, "You, Lu Nan, you left me downstairs to catch up with Grandma while you ran upstairs to have some fun!"
Lu Nan quickly invited her cousin to sit down and even got up to pour her a drink. Cheng Xiangbei was somewhat surprised to see the suddenly appearing European-looking beauty, and seeing how familiar she was with Lu Nan, he was even more apprehensive. Who was this person?
Lucy plopped down unceremoniously, looked around, and then looked at Cheng Xiangbei, saying, "You must be Little Tiger."
Cheng Xiangbei nodded. Lu Nan poured a glass of orange juice for Lu Qian and said with a smile, "Here, this is Cheng Xiangbei, nicknamed Tiger." Then she turned to Cheng Xiangbei and said, "Tiger, this is my cousin Lu Qian. You two met when you were little... um, right?" After saying that, she looked at the two of them expectantly.
Both of them shook their heads in unison. Although the two families were old neighbors, it seemed, it appeared, they really... had never met. Seeing that the two were so uncooperative, Lu Nan's face fell, and she said dejectedly, "Really? You really haven't met?"
The two shook their heads again. Lu Qian sighed dramatically and said, "Xiao Nan, your memory is really terrible!" Cheng Xiangbei just smiled and reached out to pat Lu Nan's head. Lu Nan was too shocked and fell down—thud! His head lost its direction and hit the floor. Cheng Xiangbei quickly reached out to help him up, carefully checking the parts that had hit the ground, and gently massaged Lu Nan's head. "Nan Nan, does it hurt?"
Lu Nan nodded, looking at Cheng Xiangbei with a very aggrieved expression. Cheng Xiangbei's heart tightened, and he gently massaged Lu Nan's sore spot, even childishly blowing on it while saying, "May the pain fly away..."
Lucy sat beside her, watching with an increasingly strange look in her eyes.
The two had dinner at Cheng's house before slowly strolling home.
Back home, the two of them took separate showers and then continued watching cartoons in the living room.
With their space taken up by the two children, Lu's parents only told them not to stay up too late before shrugging and going back to their own room.
The teams were locked in a fierce battle, Sakuragi and Rukawa still bickering, both intently watching the screen. Lucy was even about to jump up in excitement. Lu Nan, crouching on the sofa, clenched her fists in sync with the shouts of attack. Suddenly, Lucy exclaimed excitedly, "Ahhh! Sendoh's here! What do we do? Rukawa-kun is Sakuragi's!"
Uh…? What? Lu Nan picked at his ear. What had he just heard? He turned to look at Lu Qian, who was focused on the TV screen and didn't seem to have said anything. Lu Nan decided to pretend he hadn't heard anything.
"No! How can Rukawa and Sendoh go against each other? Sakuragi, you idiot! Hurry up and get in there!" Lucy continued to shout, and Lu Nan knew he really hadn't heard her this time. Looking at Lucy's excited face, he suddenly had a bizarre thought—could it be that his cousin…? The more he thought about it, the more nervous he became. He swallowed hard and tentatively said, "Rukawa and Sendoh are the real couple, aren't they…?"
"What did you say?" Lucy said viciously, her face contorted with rage. "Rukawa and Sakuragi are a match made in heaven!"
“But…” Lu Nan said slowly, “Sakuragi has slept with Rukawa, Sendoh, Yohei… and so many other people!”
Lucy paused, her hands hanging awkwardly in the air, as if in a comical pose. After a long silence, she finally asked, slowly and deliberately, "How did you know?"
Lu Nan gritted his teeth, dragged Lu Qian to his room, and pulled out the comic book from the bottom of a box under the bed. His eyes darted around, avoiding Lu Qian's gaze. "This," Lu Qian said, her hands trembling as she picked up the book, flipped through a couple of pages, and exclaimed in surprise, "Xiao Nan! You're reading this too!"
Lu Nan thought to herself, "What do you mean 'also'? So you've seen it too?"
The two did not have any further conversation that night.
It wasn't until the next day, after Lu's parents had left, that Lu Qian sat up straight, ready to confront Lu Nan.
"Xiao Nan, how could you read that kind of book?" Lu Qian stared intently at him. Lu Nan tugged at his sleeve and lowered his head. "I just saw it by chance."
"I just happened to see you hiding so well?!"
“After all…after all, that content…” Lu Nan chuckled dryly.
“Be serious!” Lucy said sternly. “If you’re just watching for fun, I won’t say anything and will be happy to have a like-minded brother like you. But…” She paused before continuing, “If you have that kind of inclination, then we need to have a serious talk.”
"Inclination? What inclination?" Lu Nan asked.
"You really don't know?" Lucy said with a complicated expression. "It's when boys like each other, like boys like each other... I hope I'm just worrying unnecessarily."
"I..." Lu Nan hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
“Xiao Nan, you’re still so young…” Lu Xi said with a wry smile, “I hope it’s just a hobby.”
Lu Nan remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Sister, how can you tell whether someone likes a man or a woman?"
"Huh?" Lucy said in surprise, "I think this question isn't one that most people would ask. If it were me, I would only think about what kind of guy I like, not whether I like guys or girls. The fact that you asked this means... you're starting to waver, right?"
Lu Nan opened his mouth, then lowered his head dejectedly. After a long while, he murmured, "Actually, I don't understand what's going on at all. It was fine before, but recently... I get very angry and uncomfortable when I see him with other boys, but... it shouldn't be the feeling described in the book..." After saying that, he looked at Lu Qian blankly and whispered, "Sister, what's wrong with me?"
Lucy sighed and asked him, "Was that Cheng Xiangbei?"
"Huh?" Lu Nan was startled and exclaimed, "How did you know?!" After saying that, she immediately became alert and covered her mouth.
Lu Xi laughed, ruffled his hair, and said, "Aren't guys suspicious when they're that close?" When she saw Lu Nan looking at Cheng Xiangbei with a wronged expression, the tenderness in his eyes was unlike anything a teenager should have—too profound, too tolerant. Explaining it as friendship simply wouldn't work! As a girl with a special interest, she could be captivated by any beautiful scene, but when the object of her affection became a close family member, that fervent impulse immediately cooled, and she even began to feel terrified. Of course, she wouldn't tell Lu Nan any of this. "Xiao Nan, have you ever considered that maybe you just grew up together, and you're particularly dependent on him, so you unconsciously project the emotions from the book onto yourselves?"
"Hmm...is that so?" Lu Nan looked at her in confusion.
“It’s hard to say,” Lucy shrugged, feigning cheerfulness. “Xiao Nan, you’ve never had a girlfriend, of course you can’t tell what you’re feeling! At your age… shouldn’t you be having a pure romance with a beautiful, shy young girl?”
Lu Nan was somewhat troubled and asked in return, "Can feelings be compared?"
"How will you know if you don't try?" Lucy exclaimed. She knelt up, grasped Lu Nan's shoulders with both hands, and encouraged her, "Nan! Go and have a relationship! It's ugly to leave your youth blank!"
Looking into her warm eyes, Lu Nan fell into deep thought.
Lucy watched her younger brother's brows furrow and relax, and secretly sighed. She didn't know if what she was doing was right or wrong, but Xiaonan, this was the best way her sister could think of to protect you. That other path was too difficult, and you're still so young. Couldn't you let your growth come a little slower?
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