Chapter 10 Misunderstanding
A somewhat familiar number kept flashing on the phone screen, as if determined not to give up until it was answered.
Lu Chong hesitated for a moment, but still answered the call.
"Are you busy?" Lu Zhi's familiar voice came through.
"I'm not busy. Is there anything I can help you with?"
After divorcing Lu Chong's mother and his sister Lu Zhi's mother, Lu Chong's father quickly remarried and had another son.
Lu Chong did not have a good relationship with his father, and Lu Zhi was the closest person to him in the whole family.
“Can’t your sister call you if it’s okay? You’ve been away from home for so long, it’s time for you to come back. Dad misses you a lot.”
Lu Chong remained silent for a long time. Lu Zhi knew her younger brother's temper, so she softened her voice and said with a hint of persuasion, "Don't argue with him anymore, okay? It's so tough outside, and you don't have any money. Aren't you just making yourself suffer?"
"Where did you get this number? This number isn't in my name."
Lu Zhi didn't expect him to ask this: "Jia Yan's friend told me. City A is only so big. Even if he didn't come looking for me, do you think I wouldn't be able to contact you?"
Upon hearing the name Fu Jiayan, Lu Chong frowned: "Fu Jiayan's friends... Shang Qiyue, or Meng Simiao? They're idle all day long, a bunch of good-for-nothing spendthrifts."
"Don't say that," Lu Zhi said, feeling awkward as she was caught between her fiancé and her brother. "Jia Yan is a good person, and his friends are good people too. Don't talk about them like that. He only called me because he cares about you."
“Chongchong, stop being so willful, okay? Come home. You’ve always been spoiled. Aunt Zhang has been gone for a few days and you’ve been refusing to eat her cooking. Now Dad’s so angry he’s even stopped your bank account. How can you possibly get used to living outside?”
“There’s nothing wrong with Dad sending you abroad to study. Jia Yan and the others also went abroad for a few years before coming home to take over the company.”
Lu Chong got even angrier when she mentioned her idle fiancé who spent his days playing mahjong or drinking: "How can I be compared to them? If Fu Jiayan and the others don't go abroad to donate buildings and gain prestige, they'll really become illiterate."
"We can't say that about them..." Lu Zhi said softly.
In the circle where they grew up, Lu Chong and others who got into good universities in China through their own efforts are a minority.
Donating a building for gilding one's resume is still gilding one's resume; one still gets a diploma in black and white. As for Lu Chong's disapproval of gambling, drinking, and omega-related activities, compared to gambling, racing, stock speculation, and starting a business, they are actually quite frugal and gentle hobbies.
However, she wouldn't contradict her brother, whom she had finally managed to contact, at this crucial moment, so she could only continue to gently persuade Lu Chong to go home.
"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now. I have some things to take care of at the studio."
"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Lu Zhi said helplessly. "Even if your little company gets off the ground, what then? Dad isn't really trying to kick you out..."
It's not that we really want to kick him out...
It seems my stepmother said something similar during the argument that day.
"You're not really trying to kick me out?" Lu Chong looked at his stepmother, who clearly disliked him but was pretending to be gentle and considerate, and felt disgusted. "When you divorced my mother, you sent my sister abroad. What, are the two of us in the way at home?"
“Xiao Chong, don’t talk to your father like that. He has thought this through carefully before planning this path for you.”
The father glanced at his stepmother and sister, who were trying to mediate, and gestured for them to leave first.
In this family, no one except Lu Chong would disobey the head of the household. The stepmother and sister nodded, went out, and closed the door behind them.
"You don't want to go to Country S. What's your reason? Do you not want to go abroad, or are you deliberately trying to go against me?" The father's tone was cold and unquestionable. "You're over twenty years old. Don't be so willful."
Looking at the document in his father's hand, which had already been signed and stamped, Lu Chong felt a surge of anger.
Everything had to be done according to his arrangements, and I had to listen to him in everything. I couldn't even decide where I would go after graduation.
"The papers are all signed," he said sarcastically. "If things are so good abroad, why don't you send Lu Xingquan abroad for training too?"
The father frowned, his tone as indifferent as if he were dealing with an investment, making Lu Chong, who seemed hysterical, act like a child throwing a tantrum: "Your younger brother is still young, and it's uncertain what he'll become. You're the eldest son, and I value you more because I have high expectations for you."
"High expectations of me?" Lu Chong sneered. "So, you were planning to send me away so you could leave your family of three to live happily ever after?"
“I never meant that. Your grandparents own shares in the company, so even if I wanted to hand over the business to your brother, it would be impossible. If you have a problem with your Aunt Xing and your brother, then there’s nothing I can do. I’m an adult, and I need to have my own marriage and life. It’s not like I can stay single forever just because you’re not married.”
The father's brows furrowed even deeper: "Don't act like a child. You think you're so great for getting into A University, but all of this is thanks to your family. Without the Lu family and the path I've planned for you, you're nothing."
Lu Chong felt a sudden tightness in his chest, as if something was being gripped tightly. He had excelled academically since childhood, always striving for excellence, and he believed he had proven his abilities. However, under his father's overwhelming control, no matter how well he performed, it was all merely the result of relying on the family's legacy.
"You got to where you are today because of the Lu family." The father's tone was calm to the point of being indifferent. "Without the Lu family, you would be nothing."
That day, Lu Chong slammed the door and left the house. His sister wanted to chase after him, but her father glared at her and she was driven back.
Running away from home was an impulsive act, but when Lu Chong went to buy water at a convenience store, he discovered that all the cards on his person had been frozen.
He stayed at Jiang Yizhuo's house for one night, and the next morning Jiang Yizhuo woke him up and persuaded him to go back.
"Did my family come looking for you?"
Jiang Yizhuo nodded somewhat awkwardly, saying that his sister would be arriving soon.
Not wanting to put him in a difficult position, Lu Chong immediately packed his things and left.
His phone had over a dozen missed calls, all from Mu Yan. Ignoring the fact that it was still 5 a.m., he called back.
"What's wrong? Your voice sounds so hoarse." Mu Yan asked with concern. "Did I bother you? I sent you a message yesterday, but you haven't replied..."
“Yan Yan…” Hearing his lover’s voice, Lu Chong’s tense nerves seemed to relax instantly. He felt wronged and wanted to confide in Mu Yan, but he didn’t know where to start.
"What's wrong?" Mu Yan had never seen him like this before, and she was extremely worried. "What happened? Can I come find you?"
Mu Yan quickly took a taxi and picked him up, taking him to his dilapidated rented room.
The rain seemed endless, and the rented room was damp and dark. Mu Yan prepared hot water for him and told him to take a hot shower.
Steam filled the bathroom, and the sound of slippers clicking on the floor could be heard from outside. Mu Yan knocked on the door and said that the clothes were left outside the bathroom.
These were the clothes that had been left at Mu Yan's house last time. Mu Yan washed and dried them, then put them in her wardrobe.
By the time he finished showering, Mu Yan had already washed his clothes and was now in the kitchen cooking oatmeal porridge for him.
Seemingly feeling that it was inappropriate to give him such a meal, Mu Yan quickly explained, "I know you don't like breakfast, but it's too early now and we can't buy anything else. Just make do with this, okay?"
Lu Chong's hair was still wet, so Mu Yan brought him a hair drying cap to dry it. After he ate a few bites and put down his food to indicate that he didn't want to eat anymore, Mu Yan took him to the bedroom to dry his hair.
Mu Yan's hair dryer was old and made a loud whooshing sound when it was on. If you blew on the same spot for too long, it would burn you painfully.
However, when Mu Yan blew on his hair, it was always a gentle, medium-temperature breeze, held at a distance, so it wasn't hot at all, and she would adjust the position from time to time.
He couldn't help but look up at Mu Yan—the other was focused on drying his hair, looking serious, and didn't seem to find it strange at all that a beta was taking care of an alpha.
Noticing his gaze, Mu Yan hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, "What happened?"
"...Did something happen at home?"
Lu Chong's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he nodded silently.
Mu Yan was at a loss, not knowing how to comfort him, and just silently continued to blow-dry his hair.
"I... don't understand these things, and I can't help you... but no matter what happens, I will be with you."
The warm breeze was still caressing his scalp, gentle and soft, without a trace of heat. Lu Chong's eyelashes drooped slightly, and a strange emotion welled up in his heart.
It's like someone who discovers their home has been completely destroyed in an earthquake, and in their despair, they see their little dog limping towards them from the ruins.
Along with the surprise, there was also a sense of relief. This gentle, wonderful Mu Yan belonged solely to him; no one could take him away. In others' eyes, Mu Yan was just an insignificant beta, like a roadside weed that could be found anywhere.
Only he knows how good he is.
The humming of the hairdryer stopped, and Mu Yan, as if she had made up her mind, reached out and hugged him.
For the two who had already had a deeper connection, a hug wasn't exactly a rare interaction. But now, Lu Chong was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Mu Yan, who was standing, was hugging him, his face buried in Mu Yan's waist, looking exactly like someone being protected.
I will be there, I will be with you.
"You're so capable, you can definitely make a comeback..."
Lu Chong was slightly taken aback.
Mu Yan seems to have... mistakenly thought that his family had gone bankrupt.
Mu Yan gently rubbed his hair. His hair was dry and soft, completely dry. Mu Yan put away the hairdryer.
“No matter what happens,” Mu Yan said, “I will be with you…”
Many people have already advised him to go back tonight.
While he was at Jiang Yizhuo's house, his sister called, sighing and advising him not to act impulsively, saying that their father wouldn't really abandon him. His friends also kept messaging him, telling him not to put on a brave face, to go back and apologize, and that family was still family.
He didn't want to hear these words from Mu Yan.
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