Chapter 23
Xiao Yang stiffened up his smile, then said, “Teacher Qu is joking. It’s just that Xiao Bai has a little misunderstanding about me, so Brother Qin simply brought me along.” The implication was that the Lu family had not given him an invitation only because of Lu Bai’s nonsensical insistence.
Qu Xueyu’s beautiful fingers caressed the crystalline wall of his drink; his face revealed some coldness. When he was on the verge of speaking out again to try and save the situation, a piano-like feminine voice was heard: “Mr. Xiao has it wrong.”
Sheng Mei wore a graceful rose-red gown, with a modest smile on her face, but her tone was a bit chilly.
She reached the edge of the crowd, glanced at Lu Min, and then at Xiao Yang. Her smile deepened, and she said in a joking tone, “The people we invited were decided upon by my husband and I. Today is a family banquet, so naturally, all the people invited are our acquaintances. That Mr. Xiao did not receive the invitation should be blamed on us, what are you blaming Xiao Bai for?” She paused and then said in a voice that was not too loud and that could not be heard by the surrounding audience, “Our Xiao Bai has always been sincere, without ulterior motives, and if there is anything to say, he will say it frankly. He does not practice this kind of hidden tricks, so I ask that you please forgive me.”
The crowd’s gazes bounced between the two like they were at a tennis match. An air of curious confusion had arisen. To say Lu Bai didn’t do underhanded things, but would instead do them outright… Now Xiao Yang had become the target of all the curious and probing gazes. His face paled as he slowly lost his smile, a shadow flitted behind his eyes as he regarded Sheng Mei.
“Aunt Sheng,” Qin Gu calmly broke the tense air. “It was me who brought him here. So please, forgive me.” Xiao Yang did have some history with the Lu family. Regardless of how he feels about Lu Bai now, logically speaking, what had happened that year was indeed Lu Bai’s fault. Xiao Yang is a person of great kindness though, so when he said he wanted to come to the Lu household to have a good chat with Lu Bai, he took the initiative to bring him to the banquet. Since he has brought him today, he should take proper care of him.
Sheng Mei appeared as if she was suddenly enlightened, and her smile did not diminish: “So it was actually Mr. Qin who brought him! Since Mr. Xiao has already come today, we can’t say anything. Only, that the next time Mr. Qin wants to bring someone over, you should be more discerning. The Lu family does not welcome people who play tricks on Xiao Bai.” While it is true that the Lu family and the Qin family are good friends and that Xiao Bai likes Qin Gu, even so, Qin Gu and the people he brings should not lie and bully their hosts by playing tricks against the Lu family.
This statement is quite unforgiving; the surrounding guests looked at each other, speechless, but secretly measuring Xiao Yang, their eyes filled with a bit more contempt.
Qin Gu’s expression became colder, while Lu Min was so angry that she couldn’t say a word. Sheng Mei then looked at Lu Bai, and her eyes became softer. “Xiao Bai, why don’t you go upstairs? Your grandfather misses you so much.” She then looked over at Qu Xueyu and after a pause, “Mr. Qu should visit as well. Father has said that he wishes to see you.”
~~~~~~~
Lu Bai walked up the stairs in a daze. He had been sure that his mother would defend him, but he could never have anticipated that Qu Xueyu would suddenly jump out even before she could?
This was all just too unusual.
This brought Lu Bai to a standstill. Turning slightly to rest against the railing, he looked at the man who had followed him up and stopped as well, now just standing slightly behind him, his face clearly displaying his tangled thoughts: “Qu Xueyu, why…?”
Qu Xueyu had been paying close attention to the other and had stopped walking when Lu Bai had, quirking an eyebrow as he looked at the young man. His eyes filled with amusement.
“Were your actions today all just because of Brother Qin?” At this point in time, according to the plot, the protagonist shou should have already clearly realized that he likes the protagonist gong. The protagonist gong, however, still cared too much about Xiao Yang, and it was normal for the protagonist shou to have complaints about Xiao Yang. This seems to make sense, but yet it still didn’t feel right. Qu Xueyu had a face like a glacier, and an arrogant personality, so he wouldn’t do this kind of thing.
Qu Xueyu scoffed and his eyebrows twitched, “No.” When will this guy stop dragging him and Qin Gu together!? It is obvious that he and Qin Gu have no relationship with each other.
“Then you just…” Lu Bai really couldn’t think of any other explanations, it couldn’t be that his family’s Xiao Ruan dressed up as Qu Xueyu to protect him, right?
Qu Xueyu looked straight into the teenager’s eyes intensely, and then a smile surfaced on his face, he shrugged: “Obviously, I did it for you.” He then turned and continued up the stairs, leaving behind a shocked silly Lu Bai with his eyes wide open.
~~~~~~
The Study.
Grandpa Lu’s legs had become a little uncomfortable as he got older, so he now sat in a wheelchair. Lu Bai squatted beside him with a soft, well-behaved smile on his face.
The old man, who was usually stern and serious, currently had a gentle smile on his face. As he patted Lu Bai’s hand: “Bai Bai, from now on, don’t be so soft. You have to be tougher, okay? The tougher you are, the less you will be bullied, you are just too good-hearted. Remember, no matter what happens, you have Grandpa to back you up.”
Lu Bai twitched the corner of his mouth and thought to himself that he is already fierce and tough enough outside the house. His grandfather wore a thick filter1Thick filter is akin to saying someone has ‘Rose-colored glasses on’ where I live. It implies that your vision is distorted and you only see what you want when you like/love someone. This can also be reversed into only seeing the bad/negative things. on him to think that he was soft-hearted and good-natured, but a warm feeling came up in his heart — this old man sincerely loves him, so he exclaimed, “Don’t worry, Grandpa, no one dares to bully me.”
The old man looked over at the attractive-looking young man that his grandson had obviously been avoiding from when he had come in. “So you must be that boy from the Qu family?”
Qu Xueyu couldn’t agree more with the old man’s remarks about Lu Bai and was nodding to himself while showing an appropriate smile. “Grandpa Lu, I’m Qu Xueyu. My grandfather asked me to come and visit you on his behalf.”
“Good, good.” Grandpa Lu was in a good mood now after seeing his grandson, so he was a little more welcoming to others: “You tell him that I’m planning on staying in Jinghai for a while. I’ll ask him to go fishing later.”
Qu Xueyu chuckled: “Don’t worry, I will make sure to pass on the message.”
Old man Lu then looked back over at Lu Bai with a face full of doting. He stroked Lu Bai’s head like he was coaxing a child, “I’ll bring Bai Bai and Guan Guan with me when I go, to take a little vacation, alright?”
Lu Bai smiled so broadly that his eyes curved up: “Of course.”
Qu Xueyu raised his eyebrows after hearing this and secretly made plans in his heart.
~~~~~~
The banquet was being held in the parlor, and at this time, the Osmanthus Grove in the Lu family’s garden appeared secluded and serene at night. In the fall, the Osmanthus was in full bloom, and the garden was filled with its sweet fragrance. Lu Bai was walking within this very picturesque nightscape with a slight frown.
Today’s plot had failed as well, but so far, the world still hadn’t punished him. What the hell was going on… He clearly remembered that when he was twelve and he had completely rejected the main plot for the first time, the world had unleashed its punishment mechanism. At that time, he had been in such pain that he never wanted to experience it again in the future.
Yet this failure, combined with the last, had not triggered that same punishment mechanism at all.
If it wasn’t for that painful punishment mechanism, and his desire to find out the truth about his arrival in this world, he wouldn’t have had any desire to walk the path of a ‘vicious male supporting character’.
“Lu Bai.”
Lu Bai flinched when he suddenly heard his name called out. When he looked up, he saw Qin Gu, who should have been in the banquet hall at this time, standing in front of him… with Xiao Yang at his side.
Lu Bai’s lips immediately turned downwards while he thought about how to deal with this new situation. Even if it would collapse his persona, he did not want to be entangled with either of them right now. So he turned around on his heels to leave, but his wrist was caught by Qin Gu.
“Lu Bai!” For some reason unknown to himself, Qin Gu was a bit flustered and annoyed looking at the youth leaving like this. For no obvious reason, he felt as if he was about to lose something that was precious, so the words that he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.
“Brother Qin, Xiao Bai is not very happy with me today, and it is understandable that he doesn’t want to see me.” Xiao Yang’s gentle voice was heard.
As if Qin was awakened from a spell, he focused back on Lu Bai. His brows wrinkled into a frown as he forced himself to spit out those stuck words, “Lu Bai, you should apologize to Xiao Yang for what happened seven years ago.” As long as he apologized, Xiao Yang would forgive him, and he would, in turn, be able to reasonably forgive him and turn back into his loving older brother.
The memories from that incident that he had not wanted to remember were now being turned over by Qin Gu. For the first time, Lu Bai’s mask really dropped. He forcefully wrenched his hand away from Qin Gu’s grasp and glared directly into his eyes. With adamant stubbornness, he spoke one word at a time: “No. I. Won’t. As for what happened seven years ago, my conscience is clear.”
Qin Gu’s frown deepened. As he looked closely into Lu Bai’s stubborn eyes, his heart felt a tinge of pain, but he still continued, “A mistake is a mistake. You should apologize.” Only after he apologized could he forgive him.
Lu Bai remained resolute: “No. I will never.”
Qin Gu’s heart was stabbed by the red rims of Lu Bai’s eyes. Xiao Yang then chimed in, “Brother Qin, just forget it.” He looked at Lu Bai with narrowed eyes and as he was about to speak, he was interrupted.
“Xiao Bai,” Qu Xueyu walked down the lane, passing by a slightly lower branch of an osmanthus tree, his snowy white collar became dotted with night dew and petals. As he stopped beside Lu Bai and saw the look on the boy’s face, his eyes narrowed. He gently reached an arm out and hugged him around the shoulders, his tone gentle: “Why are you out here? Grandpa Lu is looking for you.”
Looking towards Qin Gu and Xiao Yang, his face still held a smile, but it no longer reached his eyes, his expression was cold as he added: “Qin Gu, Mr. Xiao. Bullying the master in the master’s own house, is this the new etiquette of Jinghai? It seems that I have been out of town for too long.”
With that, he swept Lu Bai away. Qin Gu looked at their backs. His face appeared colder than the curved moon in the sky, as he clenched his fist, with his nails about to pierce his palm.
~~~~~~
In front of Lu’s house.
“Thank you for that, just now.” Lu Bai looked at Qu Xueyu and earnestly said. In any case, it was he who had helped rescue him.
Qu Xueyu silently regarded the youth, then shrugged: “You’re welcome.” It’s not that he didn’t want to ask about what had happened, but – “Qu Xueyu” is not qualified.
“Not staying at home tonight?” It’s already so late. Lu Bai’s appearance is not very good; he should stay here at his family home for the night and have a good rest.
“No.” Lu Bai replied simply.
He didn’t know what the youth was thinking of, but Qu Xueyu could see a dazzling gleam appear in the other’s eyes at that moment, and then he heard him say in a gentle smile. “There is someone waiting for me to go home.”
“Goodbye.”
Lu Bai got into his car and left, and Qu Xueyu watched him, with dense clouds churning inside his eyes.
He turned around and walked off briskly in another direction, unaware of what was occurring in his mind.
~~~~~~
It was already very late when Lu Bai returned home. He got out of his car and didn’t even bother to lock its doors before striding quickly towards the bright warm and yellow lights.
As soon as Ruan Jiangjiu had finished quickly dealing with his jacket and changed clothes, the front door flung open, and the youth appeared in the light of the doorway. His head was downcast and his hair obscured his eyes, so Ruan Jiangjiu couldn’t see the other’s expression at the moment.
Then, he saw the young man taking a big step forward and jumping into his arms, burying his face into his chest.
Ruan Jiangjiu’s eyes fluttered, and then the young man’s muffled voice was heard, somewhat hoarse. “Xiao Ruan, you’re really warm.”
“Tonight you should sleep with me again, okay?”
So, as of this chapter, I have figured out that Lu Bai is 19yrs old ( Was 12yrs old 7 years ago, easy math). Making Xiao Yang ( who is a few years older than him according to Lu Min) ~21. The other two are harder to pin, but they should be a few years older since they were both in Highschool (grades 10-12) when those two were in Jr. High (7-9) 2Schooling in China consists of three years of kindergarten, six years of primary school, three years of junior middle school (also known as secondary school), and senior middle school (high school). In China, primary school education is compulsory and it lasts 6 years. Children start school at age six (seven in some areas)
Edited: Krone
Proofread: Nitta
