Your distance (2)
In fact, Lu Heng could see Duan Xingzhi from afar through the car window: the young man was tall and gloomy, leaning against the porch with an impatient look on his face, fiddling with a lighter, his finger joints bleached by the sun.
When he saw the car stop, he did not stand up, but nodded slightly as if he had met her. His eyes swept from top to bottom, from the moment Lu Heng pushed the door and got out of the car, to the moment Lu Heng stood in front of him.
Lu Heng was also studying Duan Xingzhi, smiling politely at him. The boy didn't smell of cigarettes, but for some reason, he was holding a small, beautiful lighter, which made a crisp sound and emitted a straight flame. A draft was picking up at the door, and the boy wasn't wearing much.
He wasn't so ungrateful as to think Duan Xingzhi was there to greet him, nor did he lose his ability to maintain a social presence because of the splendor of the Duan residence. The young man kept a stern face and didn't respond. Lu Heng smiled kindly, adjusted his glasses, and extended his hand openly: "I've heard a lot about your great name, Mr. Duan. I'm Lu Heng."
Duan Xingzhi frowned and sneered when he was called "Young Master Duan". Lu Heng's outstretched hand fell empty, and he withdrew it without any embarrassment, and naturally began to say some polite words like "Sorry for bothering you".
He finally understood that Mr. Duan, the only son, was probably not old enough to be taught by his father to participate in social activities, so he showed a natural aversion to his compliments that young people have.
Lu Heng watched calmly, but his words remained eager. Duan Xingzhi didn't understand, but he did. There were eyes everywhere, and whatever he said or did would always reach Mr. Duan's ears.
A humble and loyal potential stock, a false reputation like this is still a reputation after all.
When Lu Heng was finally so thirsty that he could hardly continue speaking, the narrow door at the end of the porch was opened from the inside. The butler came out, greeted Duan Xingzhi respectfully, then nodded to Lu Heng and took his suitcase.
"Mr. Duan asked me to take you upstairs first. He has just cleaned up a room and you can stay there until the start of next semester." The housekeeper's attitude was quite polite.
Lu Heng thanked him and followed him inside empty-handed, not forgetting to say goodbye to Duan Xing behind him. Duan Xing ignored him and continued to stand in the wind, not playing with his lighter.
He seemed very irritable.
The guide's natural sensitivity to emotions made Lu Heng pause for a moment, and she gazed intently at where Duan Xingzhi stood. From behind, the young man looked even more broad-shouldered and long-legged, his hair curling rebelliously.
He has reached the age of awakening, could he be a sentinel?
Lu Heng couldn't possibly extend his mental tentacles directly to probe Duan Xingzhi's condition. After a brief pause, he turned around and followed the butler again. If he did, his intention to protect his identity as a guide would become even more difficult.
What surprised Lu Heng was that Mr. Duan seemed to seldom return to the Duan residence. He stayed there for a few days but never saw him.
What surprised Lu Heng even more was that Mr. Duan acted as if he was serious about training him. On the afternoon of his first day, the housekeeper told him that Mr. Duan had instructed him to freely browse the books in the library and that certain documents in the study that he could read had been sorted out. He even suggested that if he had any other questions, he could ask Duan Xingzhi's tutor whenever he was free.
Mr. Duan's leniency left Lu Heng bewildered. At seventeen, he had horrified himself by the price he might have to pay, but more than half a year had passed, and Mr. Duan had never once made any demands on him in that regard.
This thought made him feel vaguely uneasy, but Lu Heng wasn't one to worry about things happening. He carefully planned for the foreseeable, but left the unforeseen to chance. He calmly accepted Mr. Duan's offer, using it to feed his insatiable ambition.
Whatever Mr. Duan wanted to do wasn't that important until he actually did it. At least Mr. Duan didn't want him to be the prince's tutor, which was good.
There are two reasons for saying this. The first is that Lu Heng discovered that Duan Xingzhi was indeed a newly awakened Sentinel. The second is that Lu Heng discovered that Duan Xingzhi had a terribly bad temper.
His room was far away from Duan Xingzhi's. Lu Heng stayed up late to study hard, and would always be half asleep and half awake in the early morning. Often at this time, he would hear Duan Xingzhi cursing and throwing something. The loud bang made his heart skip a beat and he would be pulled out of his sweet dream.
It would be terrible if he really was a reading companion.
Fortunately, the Duan residence was large, so Lu Heng didn't see Duan Xingzhi very often. In a 24-hour day, they would only meet at the restaurant three times a day. Duan Xingzhi ate very little, and most of the time he would stare at the steak on the table with a sullen face, as if it were something he hated to the core.
Lu Heng thought, maybe it’s because Duan Xingzhi is still in the sensory overload period of just awakening.
But he was so preoccupied with his own affairs that he had no position or energy to care for the son of his sponsor and boss. Besides, with a counselor constantly in and out of Duan Xingzhi's room, he supposedly felt safe. His own mental defenses, however, were repeatedly assaulted unconsciously, forcing him to divert attention from his studies to adjust.
Other than that, everything was wonderful.
Lu Heng had the most relaxing holiday in her life. She only had to study for more than ten hours a day and had nothing to worry about. Compared with the previous state where she had to run around and worry about tuition fees during every holiday, this was truly a rare and peaceful time.
Mr. Duan was very busy and did not return from the group until the day before New Year. As soon as he got home, he called Duan Xingzhi into his study and closed the thick door, blocking out all noise.
In the library next door, Lu Heng was flipping through the economics lecture notes with Mr. Duan's annotations with his eyes lowered, but he tentatively sent out his spiritual tentacles, sensing the stagnant atmosphere in the study from afar.
He had wondered why, given the same group of people with special abilities, Duan Xingzhi didn't need to hide his identity and avoid entering the White Pagoda, and could openly receive consultations from doctors. Perhaps Mr. Duan didn't want his only son to join the army and have no one to inherit the family property, so he took the trouble to establish some connections.
He couldn't bear to read the book in his hand anymore. Just then he heard the sound of Duan Xingzhi closing the door and leaving. The housekeeper knocked on the door of the library and told Lu Heng that Mr. Duan wanted to see him.
Lu Heng thanked the housekeeper, walked into the study, greeted Mr. Duan, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, and sat down in the armchair only after getting permission.
Mr. Duan, who was sitting behind the desk, stared at him for a while, then smiled, put his hands behind his head, and leaned forward. "What have you learned during this time?"
"I read the books in the library that you annotated and indexed, and also looked at the documents related to the business I came into contact with during my internship." Lu Heng adjusted his glasses and said sincerely, "Thank you, Mr. Duan, for giving me the opportunity to learn. It's very inspiring."
Mr. Duan was unresponsive to his learning experience and shook his head: "You are still a child."
Lu Heng didn't dare speculate too deeply about Mr. Duan's intentions and remained silent for a moment. Mr. Duan didn't dwell on this topic for too long. After a moment's hesitation, he raised his head, looked at him sharply, and asked casually, "You are actually a guide, right?"
Lu Heng suddenly raised his head, his face pale. He immediately stood up from the armchair and walked to Mr. Duan, who was standing next to the desk. Mr. Duan looked at him with interest, his tone even a little intimate: "Are you so scared?"
"Mr. Duan, I didn't mean to hide this from you. My awakening happened only after you decided to sponsor me, so I'm determined to repay your kindness no matter what." Lu Heng's throat tightened. "Mr. Duan, I will be very useful. Very, very useful. Please give me another chance."
"Who said you're useless? You're just a little young, but everything else is fine." Mr. Duan raised his hand and touched his face like an elder. "I will forgive you, but only this once. From now on, if anything happens to you, big or small, I want to be the first to know."
The movements were gentle, but the tone was extremely cold and heavy. Lu Heng had to grit her teeth to control herself from shaking: "Thank you, Mr. Duan."
"Go ahead." Mr. Duan let go of his hand and said lightly.
Lu Heng did not leave immediately as he was told. Instead, he stood back in front of the desk, bowed deeply to Mr. Duan, and then stepped back to the study door and left.
The heating in Duan's house was very strong. When he walked out, he found that his shirt was soaked with cold sweat.
Lu Heng was completely sleepless on the first warm New Year's Eve. He kept wondering what Mr. Duan meant.
He had one more handle on his shoulders, but Mr. Duan didn't seem to care much and didn't reveal anything about notifying the military, which would have made Lu Heng sweat even more.
Maybe he is still very satisfied with Lu Heng now, so he has no intention of threatening him, but what about later?
Thinking of Mr. Duan's hand touching his face, Lu Heng felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave. His whole body stiffened and he didn't dare to think any further.
Now I realize that I can’t accept the price I have to pay. Isn’t it too late?
Lu Heng endured the whole night in fear until dawn, and the new year arrived.
Duan Xingzhi really dropped something again.
Lu Heng had changed her clothes long ago and was sitting at the table with bloodshot eyes, unable to concentrate on anything. When she heard the loud bang, she seemed to be shaken back to her daily life, and everything started to flow lively again.
Yes, it's useless to be scared now. Instead of hiding in the room and increasing my fear, I might as well learn more and become stronger quickly so that I won't die on the way to escape.
Lu Heng made up his mind, took a deep breath, listened to the rustling sound of servants cleaning from Duan Xingzhi's room in the distance, pushed open the door and went downstairs.
He hadn't been out for a long time and didn't know it was so cold outside. He jogged a few steps on the garden path and soon couldn't help but gasp for breath. Seeing a greenhouse not far away, he immediately went in.
The alternation of cold and heat completely calmed Lu Heng's mind. He sat down in the fragrant air of the greenhouse. The fatigue from a sleepless night slowly came over him. He actually leaned his head against the gardener's pile of tools and fell asleep.
Lu Heng was woken up by someone.
The man seemed very impatient, gripping his shoulders and shaking him a few times, almost shaking his glasses off. Lu Heng opened his eyes, and after his vision focused, he realized that the man was actually Duan Xingzhi.
Shouldn't he be in his room throwing a tantrum by this point?
Lu Heng quickly adjusted his glasses and smiled at Duan Xingzhi: "Mr. Duan, good morning."
Duan Xingzhi was about to scold him, but was stopped by such polite and kind words. He was stunned and stood there for a long time before he said "tsk" in disgust.
Let him despise me if he wants, Lu Heng thought, it’s the same whether he’s a lackey for his son or his father.
Duan Xingzhi shook off his shoulders and kicked his soles with his boots: "Get up!"
Like a spoiled young master, Lu Heng stood up obediently, calmly brushed off the dust on his body, and then calmly began to make pleasantries: "Why did you suddenly come to the greenhouse? It's quite cold outside, right? Is it because it's a holiday today and you don't have classes?"
Duan Xingzhi stared at him, still looking very angry. He ignored him and stared until Lu Heng looked away uncomfortably. Then he said stiffly, "What did my dad ask you to do yesterday?"
"Nothing." Lu Heng said, "Just asked me how my studies were going recently."
"You're lying!" Duan Xingzhi's voice suddenly rose. "There must be something else!"
Lu Heng was given a headache by the noise, and the sudden surge of anger also made him feel a little uncomfortable. He couldn't help but take two steps back. Duan Xingzhi approached him with his arms folded, and almost shoved his face into Lu Heng's.
"There's really nothing else." Lu Heng explained.
"How come it's gone? Didn't he say that? Didn't he say..." Duan Xingzhi suddenly became anxious. He bent forward a little, frowned fiercely, and almost pushed Lu Heng against the pile of gardening tools. But his voice softened involuntarily. "Didn't he say when you could be mine..."
He spoke the word "belong to me" in a fragmented and hesitant manner. Lu Heng's eyes widened suddenly, but fortunately they were covered by glasses, so they were not obvious.
What does this mean? What does it mean to belong to him?
"Well, Mr. Duan didn't say that." Lu Heng said.
"I knew it!" Duan Xingzhi suddenly got angry again, "Fuck... didn't he tell you to take the initiative? I feel uncomfortable every morning, didn't you hear? Why don't you come and help me relieve it? How can you serve others like this!"
Despite the sudden and stern attack, Lu Heng wasn't completely flustered. His prominent social networking features were already operating at their peak performance. He thought for a moment, smiled, and said calmly, "Mr. Duan, Mr. Duan must have his reasons. Don't worry, maybe..."
"Alright! I'm still young anyway, so I won't touch you!" Duan Xingzhi said angrily, "Just keep doing this! Don't let me find out you're being attentive to other sentries. If that happens, I'll leave you crying without a place to cry!"
When a seventeen-year-old says harsh words, it's so childish that it makes people want to laugh. Lu Heng pursed his lips and wanted to say something to appease this young master who believed that the whole world should revolve around him, but Duan Xingzhi finished speaking, glared at him hatefully, and immediately strode away, slammed the door and left.
With a bang, the greenhouse shook.
Lu Heng stood there, thinking for a while, but he couldn't quite figure it out. He didn't think Mr. Duan's financial support was charity, but Mr. Duan's delay in making a move did make him feel uneasy.
Duan Xingzhi's words brought to the surface another possibility: What if Mr. Duan initially funded him for his own benefit, but later, as his only son awakened as a sentinel, needed to conceal his identity and had to have a guide as a comfort, his intentions changed and he decided to give himself to Duan Xingzhi?
So who should he please?
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