Chapter 42
Class 5 got a new math teacher, who is very dedicated and responsible.
The storm gradually subsided, and two weeks later, the initial restlessness of the new semester had settled down. Everything seemed the same as every semester, with nothing different, except...
Lu Mingxiao was exceptionally serious.
He no longer goes out to play ball during breaks; he's either doing problems or memorizing knowledge points. He even raises his hand to answer questions in class. Now, even the old chemistry teacher's wrinkles smooth out when he sees Lu Mingxiao.
"Terrible, really terrifying..." Liang Jing and Li Rui, who came to visit, huddled together and chattered about Lu Mingxiao: "Do you think it's possible that the real Brother Xiao was abducted by aliens during the holidays, and this one is a fake human trying to adapt to human society... Ouch!"
Without turning his head, Lu Mingxiao flicked out a pen cap, hitting Liang Jing squarely on the forehead. Liang Jing clutched his forehead and exclaimed, "Look! This alien has eyes on the back of his head!"
Li Rui shrank his neck.
Brother, if you hit him, you can't hit me anymore.
Lu Mingxiao was already smart, and with Jiang Huaiyu always available to answer his questions, his grades improved rapidly after he started studying diligently. In the first mock exam after the start of the semester, he ranked in the upper-middle range, and his total score improved by more than 100 points.
Each of his teachers took turns praising him, and Li Qing was overjoyed. She even made time for the family of four to go out for an extremely expensive seafood buffet.
Lu Mingxiao, as always, displayed his peacock-like demeanor, but only Jiang Huaiyu keenly sensed his anxiety.
He remained calm until the two returned to their room that evening. Lu Mingxiao sat on the edge of the bed, reached out and hugged his waist, burying his face in his waist and abdomen, rubbing against him like a big dog. Only then did he touch Lu Mingxiao's slightly prickly back of the head and ask softly, "What's wrong? You weren't happy during dinner either?"
"I just feel like I'm still so far behind..." Lu Mingxiao easily wrapped his arms around Jiang Huaiyu's waist, his voice muffled, "Jiang Xiaoyu, when will I be able to catch up with you..."
They had argued before because Lu Mingxiao didn't value his grades, but now that he's so focused on them, Jiang Huaiyu is worried he's being overly anxious.
"You've made rapid progress..." Jiang Huaiyu teased him with a smile, "What's the rush, Xiao-ge? Didn't you say it was okay to be a slacker, that you'd hand the company over to me and collect your share of the profits? What? Are you afraid I'll fight you for the inheritance now?"
Lu Mingxiao tightened his arms, his high nose bridge buried in the soft knitwear, the tip of his nose gently rubbing against the boy's flat and firm waist and abdomen through the fabric, the light and pleasant scent filling his nostrils and soothing his agitation.
It's really amazing. Even though she uses the same laundry detergent, Jiang Huaiyu always has a special scent, like the first snow of winter, cold and refreshing.
"You're heartless to talk to me like that!" Lu Mingxiao snorted. "I used to think that way, but it's different now. Don't be fooled by Song's father and our father's self-proclaimed status as 'kept men.' They are both capable people and don't really rely on their wives for support. I don't want to rely on my wife either."
Wife...
Jiang Huaiyu subtly raised an eyebrow, her cool fingertips landing on Lu Mingxiao's earlobe, caressing it gently: "You think I'm your 'wife'? Lu Mingxiao, are you mistaken? Can't I be your husband?"
Although Xiao Ge has been making great strides in his studies recently, this question was clearly beyond his knowledge. He looked up in confusion and asked blankly, "Okay, what's the difference?"
Jiang Huaiyu: ...
His lips moved, and he really wanted to ask Brother Xiao if he knew what the two boys were going to do.
During winter break, he even teased him at the horse farm, asking him to call him "brother," saying he'd tell him when he came of age...
It turned out to be all a bluff. Lu Mingxiao, who had stood tall and upright for seventeen years, didn't even know which road to take, yet he decisively swerved into the bend.
Jiang Huaiyu didn't intend to explain this point. It was best if Lu Mingxiao didn't understand; she could just trick him later and maybe she'd have a chance to be the one mentioned above. So she simply gave a perfunctory answer:
"Go to sleep, it makes no difference."
Lu Mingxiao: ...
It seems I missed some important information in hindsight.
This conversation, which began with the students' grades, completely veered off-topic, and Lu Mingxiao still couldn't understand Jiang Huaiyu's half-hearted veiled meaning even as he fell asleep.
As April approaches, the spring breeze finally melts the frozen soil, and dormant buds sprout from beneath the earth. The weather has warmed up, and indoors, one can stay covered with a blanket without needing to turn on the air conditioner. At the age of seventeen, one's hormones are at their peak, and the gentle spring breeze seems to drift lightly into one's dreams.
Lu Mingxiao woke up with a start in the early morning. He had already kicked off the blanket. At four o'clock in the morning in April in the north, it was still pitch black. His deep eyes were filled with unease and fervor in the darkness.
After the bedroom wall panels were removed, he could see Jiang Xiaoyu sleeping on the other bed at any time. But at this moment, his neck and spine were stiff as a log. He didn't dare to tilt his head to look. Even the faint sound of her breathing subtly overlapped with the chaotic state of his dream.
After a long while, he slowly sat up, wishing he could transform into a martial arts master who could leave no trace in the snow. He tiptoed off the bed, then tiptoed to get clean clothes, and then awkwardly slipped into the bathroom.
"Clatter—"
The bathroom door closed without disturbing anyone. Lu Mingxiao leaned against the cold door and slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
The bathroom was built in the yard because the space was too small. Now it seems very inconvenient. If he were to cross the yard to take a cold shower now, not only Jiang Xiaoyu and his parents, but even the dog in the yard would know that there was something wrong with him.
He quickly cleaned himself up in the bathroom, changed into clean pants, leaned against the sink, and slowly exhaled.
He had a straightforward and passionate desire for Jiang Xiaoyu, and he was well aware of this. It was because of this that he was able to clearly distinguish between this feeling and friendship. After all, he had never done *that* with any other boy before, and the thought of it was just perverted.
But Jiang Xiaoyu is different.
However, this dream was different. In the past, most of the time Jiang Xiaoyu was the only one in her dreams, but this time...
It was him and Jiang Xiaoyu.
And Jiang Xiaoyu was crying.
Lu Mingxiao looked up at himself in the mirror. The young man was shirtless, his always-moving body covered with smooth muscles. He wasn't thin, but he wasn't overly muscular either; his body was well-proportioned and beautiful.
Jiang Xiaoyu is also very pretty.
But it's a different kind of beauty; it's a delicate, supple beauty, with such a slender waist that it can be sculpted with just two hands...
etc……
He seemed to understand why the cunning Jiang Xiaoyu was being so vague about the difference in titles. He thought to himself, why were the two boys so fixated on this issue? It turned out that Jiang Xiaoyu was concerned about more than just titles.
He tiptoed back to his room, lay down silently, and glanced lightly at the rolled-up blanket on the opposite bed.
Lu Mingxiao wasn't completely clueless about this matter; he vaguely understood what to do. However, he hadn't thought that much about it before. He felt that holding hands and hugging were already very intimate things, and he was satisfied with that, since he hadn't given away his first kiss yet.
There were some things he really didn't understand, but he couldn't ask the sleeping little fox across from him, because that little fox was clearly very ambitious.
After thinking it over, he found Fu Yucheng's name on WeChat.
Hey bro, you told me to read more books, do you have any recommendations?
...
Fu Yucheng replied to him in the morning. Having escaped the clutches of evil, Fu Yucheng's schedule was obviously back to normal. It was the weekend, and he must have woken up around nine o'clock. He sent Lu Mingxiao a string of question marks.
Lu Mingxiao was a little embarrassed, but Fu Yucheng sent another message:
So you finally made your move on the grass near your own home?
Lu Mingxiao: ...
How can you talk like that? What do you mean by "finally"? Was it obvious that he had always wanted to have an affair with someone close to him?
Before he could reply, Fu Yucheng sent him some information.
The scope of his works is very broad, ranging from "Psychological Analysis and Research on Asian Homosexuality" to "Quick Transmigration: The Male Supporting Character's N Times of Counterattack," covering all kinds of genres.
Lu Mingxiao replied: [Bro, that's quite a leap.]
Fu Yucheng: [When I first discovered I might be gay, I struggled for a while, feeling like a pervert. So I researched a lot, desperately seeking any solution, and read many books. Later, I gradually accepted it and stopped feeling like a disgusting monster.]
Fu Yucheng: [Brother Xiao, I know you must be feeling very conflicted right now, and maybe even scared, but it's okay...]
The other party is typing...
Lu Mingxiao waited for a long time but didn't get a reply from Fu Yucheng. He guessed that Fu Yucheng was still thinking about how to comfort him in a tactful way. After a moment, seeing that Fu Yucheng was really struggling, he simply replied:
[What's the panic? Don't worry, bro, so what if he's gay? That's Jiang Xiaoyu, it's normal for him to be gay.]
Fu Yucheng did not reply for a long time.
"Who are you chatting with?" Jiang Huaiyu walked past him with a glass of milk. "Li Rui and Liang Jing? If they ask you to play ball, go ahead. Don't always stay indoors doing practice tests. Moderate exercise can stimulate the cerebral cortex to be more active."
Lu Mingxiao felt a little guilty and put his phone face down on the table. "Ahem... no, I was just asking how Fu Yucheng is doing lately."
"Him? He's doing well. He's in a top high school in the city. His grades have slipped a bit, but he's still consistently in the top ten in the city. He lives at school, although he doesn't live with his mother. But his mother and stepfather treat him well; they give him a good allowance every month. He's gained a little weight..."
Lu Mingxiao became increasingly suspicious as he listened: "Wait a minute, Jiang Xiaoyu, have you been in contact with him all along?"
Jiang Huaiyu thought for a moment: "It's not always. He would occasionally tell me about his recent situation."
Lu Mingxiao felt a pang of jealousy again. He picked up his phone and saw that Fu Yucheng had sent him another message.
Fu Yucheng: [Brother Xiao, sometimes I really envy your carefree nature.]
Fu Yucheng: [Are you and Yu-ge together? Actually, even before I left, I knew you two would get together. You don't know, when you two stand together, you create a natural magnetic field that inexplicably repels everyone else. Back then, we went to the provincial capital together for injury assessments. We were sitting in a row on the bullet train, and although Yu-ge kept talking to me, his body weight kept leaning towards you. I noticed that right then.]
Lu Mingxiao: !!
Suddenly I understand! No wonder he acted like a child for no reason back then; it wasn't because of anything else, but because he was jealous…
Lu Mingxiao: [Bro, you really know how to ship things.]
Fu Yucheng: [……]
Fu Yucheng: [Someone like you, who doesn't hesitate or overthink, and who goes after what you want, is the only one worthy of Brother Yu. Wishing you a long and healthy life.]
Lu Mingxiao was a little embarrassed. He had just been feeling particularly jealous. He turned his chair to face Jiang Huaiyu and said, "President Jiang, should we send Fu Yucheng some snacks or local specialties?"
With a drop of milk on her lips, Jiang Huaiyu subconsciously licked them, looking at Lu Mingxiao with some surprise. When she spoke again, her tone was ambiguous: "Aren't you always jealous when he's mentioned? Why are you being so generous today?"
“I’ve always been very generous, when have I ever been jealous?” Lu Mingxiao struggled to look away from his lips: “Dad is exercising in the yard, he can see us when he turns his head, so don’t seduce me.”
Jiang Huaiyu: ?
Did you take the bait?
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