The Dark Side of the Piano Boy (9)

Lu Zhiran stood up with his suitcase, and smiled at Jiang Ye who was standing by the door, "It's ready. No need to bother you, Teacher Jiang."

"Thank you, Teacher Jiang."

When the boy spoke, his narrow and delicate eyes seemed to be sparkling with stars, shining brightly, but the light now seemed a little too hazy and unreal.

Jiang Ye was stunned again, he couldn't help but wonder - Lu Zhiran was acting like this on purpose.

Just like many creatures in nature, they look bright and beautiful, but they are actually poisonous.

They release a range of pheromones, including light and colour, all to attract their targets.

Jiang Ye felt that after Lu Ya's attack on him, Lu Zhiran had learned how to disguise himself...

The boy's mind became deep.

It no longer has the clarity and purity it once had.

Jiang Ye lowered his long, curly eyelashes and thought sadly, "It turns out that sometimes it only takes a moment for people to grow up."

"Teacher Jiang...are you in a daze?"

Lu Zhiran looked at Jiang Ye in confusion, with doubt and worry on his face.

Jiang Ye came back to his senses, shook his head, and said calmly, "It's okay, maybe I'm a little tired."

"You have packed your things, so let's go now--"

Before he finished the last two words, Jiang Ye's words suddenly got stuck in his throat.

Because at this moment, the back of Lu Zhiran's hand suddenly rested on his forehead.

The young man raised his head, his beautiful and delicate eyes looked at him innocently, and the back of his cool hand was tentatively placed on his forehead, staying there for a long while.

Jiang Ye didn't move.

When he lowered his eyes, he saw Lu Zhiran's handsome face. He could even smell the clean and refreshing fragrance of the young man.

If Jiang Ye hadn't always remembered in his heart that Lu Zhiran was still a child, he would probably have been attracted by Lu Zhiran at this moment.

After a while, Lu Zhiran withdrew his beautiful hand, looked at Jiang Ye and said, "It seems nothing is wrong. Is there something on your mind, teacher?"

Ever since Jiang Ye suddenly came to see him tonight, Lu Zhiran had actually discovered that Teacher Jiang was worried about something.

Reason told him that he couldn't ask any more questions.

But I couldn't help it at this time.

Looking into the boy's eyes, Jiang Ye shook his head, "It's okay."

As he was worried that Lu Zhiran would get to the bottom of the matter, Jiang Ye changed the subject and said, "It's getting late. Let's go quickly. It will be difficult to get a taxi if we get late."

Lu Zhiran had to end the topic.

…

Lu Zhiran temporarily moved into Jiang Ye's house.

Jiang Ye's home is not actually a real home, because it is just a small rental house, and there are no family members living in the rental house.

It was Lu Zhiran's first time to visit Jiang Ye's house. He couldn't help but look around curiously. He asked, "Teacher Jiang, is there no one else in your house?"

Jiang Ye bent down to clean up the garbage in the house. He made the decision to bring Lu Zhiran to his place on the spur of the moment, so the garbage in the living room was not cleaned up thoroughly.

After throwing the leftover takeout box from last night into the trash can, Jiang Ye raised his head and simply replied to Lu Zhiran,

"My parents passed away, so I'm all alone."

Lu Zhiran's eyes darkened and he thought to himself, that's great.

It’s great that both parents are not around.

But on the surface, Lu Zhiran was still a well-behaved and sensible student. He comforted Jiang Ye, "I'm sorry, Teacher Jiang."

"It's OK."

After Jiang Ye finished speaking, he glanced at the time on his phone. It was already 11 o'clock in the evening, and Lu Zhiran still had classes tomorrow.

"It's getting late. Go to your room and sleep. Don't be late tomorrow morning."

Jiang Ye's parents died in the fire. Everything in the house was burned to ashes. In addition, the family was not that wealthy to begin with...

Jiang Ye persisted until he finished high school, but he had no money to go to college.

His current income mainly comes from giving piano lessons to Lu Zhiran. Although Lu Ya's salary is not stingy, for Jiang Ye who is eager to save money and want to go to college in the future...

He didn't spend the money on renting a nice house.

So this small rental house actually only has one bedroom.

Lu Zhiran noticed it as soon as he entered and looked around the room.

Hearing Jiang Ye asking him to go to the bedroom to sleep, Lu Zhiran immediately asked, "What about you, Teacher Jiang?"

Jiang Ye didn't even raise his head, "I'll sleep on the sofa."

"It's okay, don't be embarrassed. You're still growing, so you need to sleep better. And you're a guest, so how can I let you sleep on the sofa?"

Lu Zhiran looked at Jiang Ye steadily, "I want to ask, why doesn't Teacher Jiang sleep in the bed with me?"

The boy's tone was pure innocence, as if he had never thought of the relationship between the two of them in any other way.

Jiang Ye would naturally not cross the line.

At Lu Zhiran's current age, it is absolutely impossible for him to have any evil intentions.

"The bed is small. And I move a lot when I sleep, so I'm afraid I'll disturb you."

Hearing the man say this, Lu Zhiran's eyes flashed with a strange color. He lowered his eyes, hiding the loss in his eyes, and said nonchalantly,

"Oh well."

Lu Zhiran pushed his suitcase into Jiang Ye's bedroom.

Then, Lu Zhiran changed into clean pajamas, climbed onto Jiang Ye's bed and lay down.

Jiang Ye walked to the bedroom door and saw the boy sleeping on the bed, then he reached out expressionlessly and closed the bedroom door.

The bedroom fell into darkness.

It was so quiet that there was not a single sound.

At this moment, the young man on the bed suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

The smell of Teacher Jiang is all around me...

How to sleep?

Can't sleep at all.

That person's aura surged in from all directions, and at this moment, the adolescent Lu Zhiran, for some unknown reason, felt a restlessness erupting from deep within his heart.

Lu Zhiran buried his head in the pillow and could clearly smell the scent of shampoo on Jiang Ye's head, a light orange scent, fresh and clean.

I don’t know when, Lu Zhiran’s breathing became heavy.

I recalled writing down the words on the white paper one stroke at a time.

I am a person who doesn't love myself and I am very dirty.

So what if he's dirty? He's dirty anyway.

——

For the next period of time, Lu Zhiran lived in Jiang Ye's house.

At first, Jiang Ye just wanted to help Lu Zhiran get rid of the depressing environment temporarily before Lu Ya made a decision.

But he didn't expect that letting Lu Zhiran live in his rental house was not as easy as he imagined. At least during this period of time, his heart has been heavy.

Lu Zhiran is clearly not an adult yet. Logically, he is just a child who has just entered puberty, but he is surprisingly... sensible.

Lu Zhiran picks up the garbage at home every day.

Sweep and mop the floor.

Even do laundry every two days.

Moreover, when Lu Zhiran was washing clothes, he would take the initiative to wash his clothes as well.

Once, Lu Zhiran looked at him eating takeout and suddenly said, "Teacher Jiang, eating takeout is unhealthy. How about I cook for you?"

At that moment, Jiang Ye's heart was filled with discomfort.

I feel ashamed that I am such a grown-up and yet I am being taken care of by a little kid.

Fortunately, half a month later, he received a call from Lu Ya.

Lu Ya finally chose to give him an answer.

…

In the cafe.

Lu Ya sat opposite Jiang Ye. She put on delicate makeup today. Although she was in her forties, she still maintained herself very well and was as beautiful as a woman under thirty.

No wonder she could give birth to such a handsome child like Lu Zhiran.

Jiang Ye thought so in his heart, but he greeted her first, "Mrs. Lu dressed like this, I feel really stressed."

Lu Ya took off her sunglasses and looked at Jiang Ye coldly, "I don't see that you are under a lot of pressure. I think you have already decided that I will compromise, right?"

In fact, the last time Jiang Ye said those words to Lu Ya, he had already determined what choice the woman would make.

Between going to jail and having nothing, everyone knows the choice.

"How could you, such a strong person, allow yourself to fall from grace? Ms. Lu, if I'm not mistaken, you should have chosen to give up Lu Zhiran's right to custody."

Jiang Ye spoke lightly, but only he knew the heaviness in his heart.

After all, this concerns Lu Zhiran's future growth, and Jiang Ye has never taken anything so seriously before.

Lu Ya clenched her fingers tightly in her palms, her eyes were filled with reluctance and resentment, but she had to say,

"yes."

"I promise you that I will never discipline Lu Zhiran in that way again."

Jiang Ye had mixed feelings. He knew he had done something crazy, but when he thought that Lu Zhiran would be able to grow more freely in the future, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Jiang Ye looked at the woman opposite him. He was about to speak, but Lu Ya interrupted him first.

"But I also have a request—"

Lu Ya raised her chin arrogantly, not hiding her rejection and disgust towards Jiang Ye, "I ask you to leave my son."

Jiang Ye was stunned for a moment and asked, "Why?"

"Why? I think you know it in your heart. I am not a person who lives in an ivory tower. I have seen a lot of messy things in this world, including dirty feelings..."

The woman said sternly, "I suspect that the relationship between you and my son will deteriorate and you will have an improper influence on my son."

She had discovered before that Lu Zhiran cared particularly about teacher Jiang Ye.

Now it seems that Jiang Ye also cares about Lu Zhiran very much.

Even if Jiang Ye and Lu Zhiran seem unlikely to have anything going on now, who can guarantee that in the future...

"Even if you don't let me educate my son in my own way, I will never let someone like you educate my son."

The most important thing is, if Jiang Ye makes her unhappy, she will never be able to make Jiang Ye happy.

Jiang Ye clenched his palms and looked at Lu Ya calmly, "Are you sure you can negotiate with me? I can sue you directly, and then you go to jail, and my goal can still be achieved."

Lu Ya stared at Jiang Ye with her eyes that seemed to be able to see through people at a glance. It's not that she is stupid to have come this far.

"I have to say, although I hate you, you really care about my son."

"You know yourself that if you send me directly to prison, Lu Zhiran will become a child without a father or a mother..."

"And most importantly, if I go to prison, according to the law, Lu Zhiran's custody will go to other relatives. You should also know that I have a bad relationship with those people in my family. Lu Zhiran will not have a good life in their hands."

Every step Jiang Ye took was based on Lu Zhiran's growth.

This surprised Lu Ya.

But precisely because of this, Lu Ya knew that even if she lost the custody battle, Jiang Ye would never win.

"Jiang Ye, let's each take a step back. It will be good for Lu Zhiran."