Chapter Twenty-One
Before the summer vacation, Cheng Xiangbei and Lu Nan had completed their procedures for going abroad.
The two decided to visit their home before leaving the country. But upon arriving home, they were greeted by a long-lost friend. Who was it? It was Long Jiu Mo.
In Cheng Xiangbei's room, the two sat across the desk. Having not seen each other for a year, they sized each other up. Cheng Xiangbei appeared even more handsome, while Long Jiumo seemed to have gained a touch more of a free spirit.
"Long time no see," Cheng Xiangbei said. "Where are you studying now?"
“Haicheng!” Long Jiu Mo said with a smile, “I spent the whole last year abroad as an exchange student and just got back.”
"Oh, I see! I'm in Haicheng too. Come find me after school starts." Cheng Xiangbei couldn't seem to warm up to Long Jiu Mo, who seemed like both a friend and an enemy.
Long Jiu Mo nodded, a cruel smile playing on his lips. Although he had been in university for two years, he still harbored resentment over his failure in the college entrance examination. As time passed, he gradually realized that the series of misfortunes before the exam were not unrelated to Cheng Xiang Bei. "Why after school starts? What are you going to do during summer vacation? Are you going to work again?"
“No.” Cheng Xiangbei shook his head. “I need to go abroad.”
The two exchanged phone numbers, and Long Jiu Mo took his leave.
Cheng Xiangbei watched his departing figure and sighed.
"Tiger, what are you doing standing at the door?" Lu Nan walked over from a distance, pulling her suitcase.
Cheng Xiangbei smiled broadly and took the suitcase from him. "It's alright, look how beautifully that pomegranate tree is blooming, I'm admiring the flowers!"
Lu Nan turned her head and looked at the bright red pomegranate tree. "Hmm, we'll have pomegranates to eat again this year!"
"Greedy cat!" Cheng Xiangbei pinched his nose, put his arm around his shoulder, and led him into the house.
Even after boarding the plane, Cheng Xiangbei was still pondering Long Jiumo's purpose. He didn't think his relationship with Long Jiumo was particularly deep, after all, they rarely contacted each other. What was Long Jiumo's purpose in coming to him this time? Completely baffled, he frowned slightly.
Lu Nan looked at him strangely and nudged him. "Tiger, what's wrong?"
"Huh?" Cheng Xiangbei snapped out of his daze. "Oh, it's nothing, I guess I'm just a little airsick."
"Do you have a headache? Do you feel nauseous?" Lu Nan asked anxiously.
"It's nothing." Cheng Xiangbei shook his head and pulled him back into his seat. He covered himself with the blanket and smiled, "You'll be fine after a nap, okay?"
"You should tell me if you're not feeling well," Lu Nan said, looking at him with concern.
"It's okay, it's okay."
Upon arrival at their destination, Cheng Xiangdong drove to pick them up.
"Brother Dongdong!" Lu Nan happily jumped into Cheng Xiangdong's arms, laughing heartily.
"Brother!" Cheng Xiangbei laughed and pulled Lu Nan off his brother.
Cheng Xiangdong looked at the two of them, his eyes filled with affection. "Come on, let me take you to eat first!"
As the car moved forward, the two gradually went from curiosity to acceptance. "Oh, it's nothing special!"
"What else did you think?" Cheng Xiangdong laughed, glancing at the two of them in the rearview mirror. The Cheng family's children had traveled all over the country since childhood, and were very knowledgeable. As Cheng's son-in-law, Lu Nan had traveled just as much as Cheng Xiangbei.
After the meal, Cheng Xiangdong took them to their accommodation. "I've rented a place for you. Remember not to stick to small circles and to interact with the locals as much as possible."
"Huh? We're not living with you?" Lu Nan asked in surprise.
"Of course not." Cheng Xiangdong greeted the landlady and introduced the room to them. "Come on, are you satisfied with the room?"
Neither of them had any objections.
"You'll be going to school to register next week." Cheng Xiangdong pulled up a chair and sat down. "Once you're settled, I'll be going back to China."
"Oh? So soon!" Lu Nan said, somewhat disappointed. "I thought you'd come with us!"
"Kids! It's time to grow up!" Cheng Xiangdong patted their shoulders with a grin.
The two of them adapted quite well to their study abroad experience.
His halting speech gradually became fluent, and Cheng Xiangbei thought his brother's disaster therapy was pretty good. Anyway, they were in an unfamiliar place, and no one would listen to their pleas; if they didn't rely on themselves, who else could they rely on?
The only thing that angered him was that some people kept trying to get close to Lu Nan. According to those foreigners, Lu Nan looked like a porcelain doll, possessing an indescribable oriental beauty. "Pah the hell!" Cheng Xiangbei thought bitterly. "How can you see Lu Nan's beauty through those big black-rimmed glasses? You're kidding me!"
To demonstrate his role as the protector of Lu Nan, Cheng Xiangbei practiced martial arts in the yard every day, using the opportunity to warn the foreigners who were spying on Lu Nan near the landlord's house. However, his tactic backfired. The foreigners who were originally waiting to see Lu Nan were stunned by his magnificent Chinese kung fu and cried out that they wanted to become his disciples.
Moreover, these people didn't care whether he had class or not; they would squat outside the classroom every day waiting for him. In the end, even the teachers suggested that he consider starting his own classes, which frustrated Cheng Xiangbei greatly.
Finally, the month-and-a-half-long language course ended, and the two packed their things and fled to Lucy's place in a sorry state.
"Going abroad and still attracting attention? You're something else!" Lu Nan complained, pinching his ear.
"I didn't flirt!" Cheng protested. "My feelings for you are as clear as day and night!"
"You still dare to talk?!" The pressure on her hand increased.
"Oh, Nan Nan, have mercy!" Cheng Xiangbei cried out, not daring to struggle.
"Do you dare to do it again?"
"No, no."
A couple of days ago, Lucy took them sightseeing.
However, Lucy still had to work and couldn't spend all her time with them, so after giving them a few instructions, she let them go wherever they wanted.
The two went out exploring during the day, and when they returned home in the evening, they cooked for Lucy and did housework. Lucy was so happy that she kept saying she didn't want them to leave.
"Xiao Nan, why don't you apply to a university here and come stay with your sister?" Lu Qian said happily as she ate her delicious home-cooked meal.
"I never thought about studying abroad!" Lu Nan shook his head. He'd had enough of the nearly two months he'd spent living abroad. Going abroad wasn't scary; what was scary was discovering he had a Chinese stomach after arriving—it was too painful.
"But my sister will be lonely!" Lucy feigned pitifulness.
Cheng Xiangbei blurted out, "Then find a boyfriend!" It wasn't just him gossiping behind their backs; Lu Nan's older sister was strange in every way. She was always either pulling Lu Nan aside to ask about their relationship progress, or subtly reminding them that same-sex relationships were risky and they should be careful. After hearing about their long-term life plans, this older sister's behavior became even more bizarre, constantly asking Lu Nan random questions in private.
On one occasion, what really angered Cheng Xiangbei was that this woman stayed up late at night and eavesdropped outside their room. What was there to eavesdrop on in two boys' room?! If she wanted to know the details, why not just find a man or woman to test it out?! Considering all these factors, Cheng Xiangbei firmly believed that Lu Qian's reaction was an overreaction caused by a hormonal imbalance!
“Oh, you guys don’t understand!” Lucy shook her head. “This has nothing to do with boyfriends!”
"What does that have to do with?" Lu Nan asked curiously.
"How bright and melancholic is the mood of this strange aunt..." Lucy covered her chest and looked up at the sky at a pure 45-degree angle.
Cheng Xiangbei put down his chopsticks, having completely lost his appetite.
After saying goodbye to Lucy, the two returned to China.
As soon as the plane landed, Lu Nan smiled happily. "Ah, I'm finally back!"
Cheng Xiangbei patted his head and said, "You really don't want to go abroad?"
"Going there once in a while is fine, but I can't stand it after a long time."
"It seems that studying abroad is no longer an option," Cheng Xiangbei said regretfully, shaking his head.
"Are you going out?" Lu Nan asked nervously.
"No! Wasn't everything planned out?" Cheng Xiangbei laughed, "I was just teasing you!"
Lu Nan breathed a sigh of relief and said reproachfully, "There's a limit to joking around."
"Yes, yes, I was wrong!" Cheng Xiangbei bowed his head.
Back home, the two busied themselves delivering gifts. Grandma Cheng laughed and said, "Dongdong already delivered them all when he got home, why are you two kids joining in?"
"Grandma, my brother is my brother, and I am me. Our intentions are different!" Cheng Xiangbei said, snuggling up to his grandmother.
"Good, good, all good," Grandma Cheng said with a smile.
"Huh? Grandma, where's my brother?" Cheng Xiangbei asked curiously, having not seen his brother since entering the house.
"Your brother went to Taipei!" Cheng's mother interjected. "He said he went to visit an old classmate."
"Go see Minglang?"
"He didn't say."
When school started, Cheng Xiangdong took them there.
"Brother, why did you go through all this trouble?" On the plane, Cheng Xiangbei asked his brother while tucking Lu Nan in with a blanket.
"Achoo!" Lu Nan, wrapped in a blanket and wearing a mask, looked pitifully at Cheng Xiangbei. "Tiger, it's not here yet!"
Cheng Xiangbei was exasperated; they'd only just taken off! He touched Lu Nan's forehead; thankfully, she didn't have a fever. "Just bear with it a little longer, we'll be there soon."
Cheng Xiangdong smiled and took out some cold medicine, saying to Lu Nan, "Here, take one and get some sleep."
"I'm afraid I'll oversleep," Lu Nan said with a heavy nasal tone.
"It's okay, Tiger and I are here!"
Lu Nan took the medicine and leaned against Cheng Xiangbei, closing her eyes to rest.
"Brother, you still haven't said why you're going with them!" Cheng Xiangbei asked in a low voice.
Cheng Xiangdong unfolded the newspaper and said casually, "I'm going to see Brother Han."
"Something wrong?" Cheng Xiangbei asked, puzzled.
Cheng Xiangdong glanced at his younger brother sideways. "I'll go thank them for taking care of you."
Sure enough, Xu Zhao was waiting outside as soon as we got off the plane.
"Xiang Bei, how was your summer vacation?" Xu Zhao asked with a smile.
"Not bad, thank you, Brother Xu!" Cheng Xiangbei helped Lu Nan into the car and then sat in the back seat himself. Cheng Xiangdong settled into the passenger seat and smiled, "Thank you for your trouble."
"What are you saying!" Xu Zhao said, "Minglang had already told you that you were coming, but he hadn't confirmed it until now."
"Yes, I was delayed in Taipei for a few days."
The car drove on, first dropping Cheng Xiangbei and Lu Nan off at their place. The one-year agreement had passed, and the two could finally live happily together.
"Goodbye, Brother Xu! Goodbye, Brother!" Cheng Xiangbei waved happily.
"Tiger, leave the door open for me tonight!"
"Huh? You're staying here tonight?" Hey, there are plenty of five-star hotels out there!
Cheng Xiangdong nodded firmly. "Of course."
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