Reborn Man (15)

This trouble stemmed from what Lu Yi heard in the photo and Ji Rui’s mouth, Ji Rui’s mother.

That was about two months ago.

Ji Rui’s grandfather and grandmother (mainly grandfather) still couldn’t accept his grandson. Although he had half of his daughter’s blood flowing on his body, Ji Rui looked too much like the bastard who kidnapped his daughter back then.

As soon as they saw that face, it reminded them of the bad memories of that year, so they refused to recognize this grandson anyway.

What’s more, this grandson was not obedient at all, and refused to live in the garden villa, instead he had to live in that shabby house hypocritically. The person who reported it also said that he even went to work part-time for others, and when he was a cook, he would cook for others. In order to earn 5,000 yuan a month for living expenses.

He didn’t have a good impression in the first place, and the follow-up impression was even worse. Ji Rui’s grandfather had no way to accept such a disobedient child. The grandson was allowed to go abroad to accompany his daughter.

The parents were relieved. Ji Rui’s mother finally called her son happily and told him that he could go abroad and accompany her.

Ji Rui was originally very happy to receive a call from his mother, but when he heard words like going abroad, grandfather, his excitement cooled down, and his rationality gradually returned.

When his mother thought that he would agree immediately, Ji Rui said, “Mom, although I miss you very much and want to live with you, I want to stay in China.”

“After you come over… What did you just say? You don’t want to come over?” Ji Rui’s mother’s voice sounded unbelievable. When she parted, her son was so reluctant to part, how could he suddenly change his attitude completely.

She went on to say: “What’s good in China? You went to an ordinary university, and you have no reason to stay in China. If you go abroad, stay by my side, as well as your grandparents´ side, isn´t it okay?”

Ji Rui was silent for a while, and then used the same rhetoric when he persuaded his mother to leave, but the expression was completely opposite: “Mom, I’m already an adult, I can’t be by your side all my life.”

He was in class at this time, and in order to answer the phone, he sneaked out the back door and found an empty classroom with no one to speak.

At this time, Lu Yi was not by his side, but when his mother said that he had no reason to stay in China, he immediately thought of Lu Yi.

For him, Lu Yi was the reason why he had to stay at home, and of course it wasn’t just this reason, he was not used to living abroad.

Yes, this was obviously a very powerful reason: “Although there are many bad places in China, my classmates, friends, and all the people I know are all in China. For you, mom, you have your parents abroad. You have many relatives and friends, but that’s not mine.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time, and the voice became a bit low: “Xiao Rui, are you complaining that I left you behind?”

“No, it was actually the choice I persuaded you to make at the time, wasn’t it?” Ji Rui really didn’t have any complaints, there must have been some at the beginning, but it was mainly due to the grievances of their grandparents. 

Afraid that his mother would think too much, he added: “Under the circumstances at the time, if my mother chose to stay in China for me, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life.”

“Since this is the case, then mother asks you, can you go abroad for me? I know this reason sounds too much, but… For you, am I not the only relative in the world? mother does not want that I die and you are not by my side. I finally persuaded your grandfather…”

People who are tormented by illness are actually not that strong, especially when she returned to her parents’ side during this time, she felt as if she had returned to her childhood, and became able to try to rely on others and make some requests that sounded a little wayward.

Of course, Ji Rui didn’t want to face the situation of not waiting for a child to support her: “But you told me before that your situation has improved a lot.”

Although it was a single-parent family, Ji Rui didn’t want to live with her mother all day after he became an adult.

Before, because his mother was sick, he endured a lot of conflicts, and when living far away from each other he would miss the days when his family was around.

But the fragrance was far and the smell was near¹, in the end, there were two generations, and there was a gap in age.

What’s more… what’s more, he had a boyfriend now, unless there were special circumstances, how embarrassing it was to not live together.

She knew her son, if there was no concern, Ji Rui would never have refused her, so she asked her son, “Do you have someone you like?”

In fact, since all this time, she had been asking her parents to find someone to take care of Ji Rui.

But the people arranged by her parents kept saying that everything was fine. Now that she thought about it, they didn’t like Ji Rui so much, so they must be perfunctory.

Now she was much better, and she had basically taken back all the things her family gave her before.

“Well, if you don’t want to go abroad, you can study in China first, but Mom really doesn’t worry about you. After a while, I will arrange for someone to take care of you.”

Of course, Ji Rui refused, but before he had time to say the words of refusal, he just shouted: “Mom…” The other side hung up.

With his keen intuition, he always felt that something bad was happening.

After returning from class, he told Lu Yi about this.

He briefly talked about the key points, and then talked about going abroad.

“I have rejected my mother.”

Lu Yi reached out and rubbed his hair: “If you really want to go abroad, when we graduate, I can accompany you there.”

The national system of this world was somewhat similar to that of other places, perhaps because this was the world constructed in the book, and the original author’s setting largely referred to reality.

Under these circumstances, living abroad was not unacceptable to him.

“But…” Lu Yi paused, “If it was just for the current reason, I would definitely not choose to go abroad with you.”

Ji Rui also said: “I don’t want to go out either. Although Mom said that my grandfather and the others have agreed, it was also due to her efforts to fight. I don’t think I can get along well with them.”

Lu Yi hugged him tightly: “If you don’t want to, don’t force yourself. For me, it’s enough that you can do what you like and what makes you happy.”

Ji Rui’s head was buried in his chest, sounding stuffy: “I feel like I’m a little useless, you work so hard, but I…”

Lu Yi put his finger on his lips and sealed what he said next: “I work so hard for me and the people around me to live the life I want and do what I want, so don’t say anything depressing, you can live happily every day, for me, it is already the biggest affirmation.”

Ji Rui, who was fed a bunch of love words, hung on hid boyfriend’s body and made a love devotion.

The days two months ago were probably the happiest and closest days between Lu Yi and him, until the appearance of an exchange student from Ji Rui’s school.

Originally, X City was a first-tier city, and you could often see blond foreigners on the streets. For example, Ji Rui and the others had many exchange students at the Foreign Languages ​​Institute. They also had foreign teachers in the Art Institute. They were blond and blue-eyed and married China citizens as wives.

Just foreigners, nothing special. That being said, the new exchange students still caused a stir in the entire class, the entire major, and even their entire academy.

For no other reason, this foreign little brother was too good-looking, with dazzling blond hair, and had a very temperament.

According to the girls, it was like a prince from a fairy tale.

Although the little brother smiled softly, he may have a sense of alienation because of his aristocratic temperament.

But that’s it, he was still a very gentle and gentleman to others. In the face of confessions from some young ladies or little brothers, he refused in a very gentle way.

Regardless of gender, people basically had no resistance to good-looking things.

Under the circumstance that the other party took the initiative to show his favor, it was difficult for Ji Rui to say anything evil to the exchange student.

He was not the kind of bad-tempered person himself, and he would not make trouble without reason. And with so many eyes staring at him, if he made the “little prince” unhappy, he would always feel a lot of pressure.

In this case, the exchange student quickly became one of his best friends at school, albeit for a short time.

No way, in order to be with his boyfriend, he didn’t make any hardcore friends after he entered the school in his freshman year.

Moreover, his sexuality was originally male. After knowing that he had a boyfriend, his straight male roommates always kept away from him subconsciously.

Although Ji Rui didn’t look at them at all, it didn’t prevent them from staying away. In this case, what he met was only general friendship.

Although Lu Yi also had a desire to possess and control his lover, he was still normal and rational and would not ask his lover to give up the right to make friends for himself.

If the lover kept everything in his life on him wholeheartedly, he would also feel overwhelmed and wouldn’t be able to afford this heavy love.

So, he actually encouraged Ji Rui to make friends, as long as it was a real friendship, not some kind of approach with ulterior motives.

The two of them didn’t study in the same school, and Lu Yi was not the kind of person who was particularly interested in telling stories, so basically it was Ji Rui who told him all kinds of interesting stories.

He was keenly aware that the frequency of a certain name being mentioned in Ji Rui’s mouth was obviously too high recently.

Of course, when Ji Rui mentioned each other, he didn’t have any special feelings, he was just happy to have made a good friend.

But intuition told Lu Yi that things were not that simple.

He compared the two people’s timetables, specially picked a day that did not overlap, and went to Ji Rui’s school.

Before he went, he didn’t tell Ji Rui, it wasn’t for the purpose of catching rape or something, there should be basic trust between lovers, which he was quite clear about.

But if he said it in advance, Ji Rui’s attitude would be unnatural. He wanted to see how Ji Rui and the good friend who he said were usually like when getting along.

When he saw the exchange student, Lu Yi, who was used to seeing beauties, had to admit that the other party did have a very good skin, which seemed a little innocent and harmless, but if you looked closely, the other party’s gentle eyes were disgusted and impatient.

He was a man who was good at hiding and wore a mask all the year round.

The other party’s attitude towards Ji Rui was very special, and it was obvious that he was approaching him intentionally. Although Ji Rui subconsciously blocked all the radars that showed his favor to him, the feeling of getting along with Ji Rui was still ambiguous.

Of course, Ji Rui’s eyes were clear, and the other party was unilaterally ambiguous.

Lu Yi didn’t come read books in the first place, he was observing people honestly and openly, not avoiding anything at all, so much so that when the other party looked back, he happened to meet with the guy’s eyes.

A thought popped into his mind: “He’s a tricky guy.”

What he thought was right, for him, this was indeed a very difficult existence, because the other party came to China and came to this broken school to communicate, not for anything else, but for Ji Rui.

He was entrusted by Ji Rui’s mother to come to this country specially to take care of her son, but Ji Rui didn’t mention it to Lu Yi at the beginning, nor did he think about it.

He just talked about going abroad. He was Lu Yi’s boyfriend, not a megaphone. He must only pick up what he thought was important to say, and it was impossible to convey every word intact.

So much so that in just two months, this thorny trouble forcibly created a relationship crisis between him and Lu Yi.

This was also the first time in Ji Rui´s memory that he had an argument after he and Lu Yi were together.

Notes

1. ‘The fragrance is far and the smell is near’, When you are close to someone, there are often conflicts and so on, you slowly see what is wrong with the other party, that is, the smell is near, and what you think of when you are far away from each other is the all the good, that is, the fragrance is far away. ↩︎

Reborn Man (14)

Lu Yi was not a saint, nor was he indifferent, nor was he Liu Xiahui¹. The little boyfriend had already hinted at it so clearly, what hesitant to do, he wrapped his arms around Ji Rui.

Then the two had an in-depth discussion on whether the negative distance between people could be geometric, and whether the heat generated by friction could overcome the severe cold in winter, and they discussed it from the study room to the bedroom.

In the end, the discussion was full of sweat and hearty, and they even took a hot shower together.

As the eldest son, the original owner had done a lot of work for the family before, and he was very strong. In the past six months, Lu Yi had also insisted on exercising and resting healthily.

Although it was very hard, at the end of the toss, he wrapped him in a bath towel, strode into the bedroom, and covered him with a quilt.

He pressed the quilt and planned to go out, but before he could get up, Ji Rui grabbed his hand.

“Come with me.” Ji Rui’s voice was no longer as clear as usual. Because of overuse, it sounded a little hoarse.

It was not as rough and unpleasant as scratching sandpaper, but it gave people the feeling of a young man growing up suddenly, between the youthful and mature, with a different kind of charm.

Looking at his boyfriend’s wet black eyes like a little milk dog, he explained warmly, “I don’t want to leave, I’ll go out and get a glass of water to drink. It’s too dry after taking a shower.”

Ji Rui then let go of his hand reluctantly, and whispered, “Then hurry up, hurry up and come back.”

His voice was so hoarse that he couldn’t speak aloud.

Lu Yi smiled: “Okay.”

When Lu Yi went out, Ji Rui pulled the quilt with his sore arms and covered his face.

His understanding of this aspect stemmed from a group of friends who made an appointment to watch a small movie together in high school. As a result, everyone sat together in high spirits, rubbing their hands excitedly while waiting.

He finally waited until he clicked in, and then watched a two-second exciting little video. As a result, the computer instantly went black and crashed.

In the end, the maintenance master was invited and said that he had been infected with the virus. This incident later became the laughing stock of the classmates.

In fact, thinking about it, that is, two or three years ago, he originally thought that he might be a lonely single dog, but he did not expect to date a boyfriend when he was a freshman. Even things were done.

Oops, no, just thinking about what happened just now, he couldn’t help blushing, his limbs weak, and he couldn’t help wrapping himself even tighter.

As soon as Lu Yi poured the water in, he saw that the boy’s exposed head in the room was gone, leaving only a bunch of arched mushroom buns.

He pulled the quilt down: “Don’t hold back, you will be suffocated.”

Sure enough, Ji Rui showed a red face.

Afraid that he would hold his breath, Lu Yi didn’t intend to sleep with Ji Rui, but he climbed into the bed.

Lu Yi didn’t like sleeping with people very much, just to reassure Ji Rui, he even thought that he might have to stay awake all night.

But to his surprise, lying beside his little boyfriend, he slept well.

When he woke up the next morning, Ji Rui hadn’t woken up yet.

Before going to bed, the two of them slept in a very regular sleeping position, with their faces facing the sky, their heads exposed, and their hands flat on their lower abdomens.

Especially Lu Yi, when he lifted the quilt, someone must praise him for his classical and graceful posture, like those pale and handsome vampire nobles lying in coffins in film and television dramas.

When he woke up in the morning, Lu Yi’s position remained the same, but his little boyfriend didn’t know when he moved his position. He was like an octopus with all his limbs wrapped around him.

Lu Yi was surprised. It stood to reason that he should be easily awakened by such an uncomfortable posture, but the fact was that he did not.

This may be because Ji Rui was special, at least special enough for him.

If this was left when he was the heir to the Lu family, he would not have considered an existence like Ji Rui.

At the beginning, Fang Chuan had already exhausted him once, and he was more inclined to be with a more mature and stable man than a young and energetic lover who didn’t have enough sense of responsibility.

When Ji Rui opened his eyes, he found that his posture had changed, and after a single glance, he met Lu Yi’s handsome face.

Lu Yi seemed to be staring at him, but his eyes seemed to be thinking about something, and he didn’t have a hazy feeling.

He hadn’t fully woken up yet, and he just asked instinctively, “What are you looking at, what are you thinking?”

Hearing Ji Rui’s voice, Lu Yi realized that he was awake, he shifted his head slightly, his eyes just met Ji Rui’s, and said with a soft laugh, “I was thinking, you are very special to me. “

Ji Rui finally turned into a normal complexion and his face turned red again: “I also think you are special.”

After he finished this sentence, he said, “Why do I feel that you have changed?”

Lu Yi asked him, “What has changed?”

“Your mouth suddenly became sweet; how can you speak so well?” Ji Rui thought of the first time he saw Lu Yi half a year ago, “I remember the first time I saw you, I felt that you were cold and didn’t seem to be able to speak at all.”

In fact, in the first few months, he felt that Lu Yi was not the kind of approachable person. Although he was good-looking, he felt a little bit like a flower of Gaoling. It was only after a small situation that he began to slowly contact each other.

Like these provocative words, he didn’t expect to be able to hear it from Lu Yi at all.

But the result could be heard from Lu Yi’s mouth now, and it was really a bit of a surprise.

Lying on Lu Yi’s chest, he always felt that the life in front of him was not realistic. After all, he had always been unlucky since he was a child, whether it was the death of his father or the serious illness of his mother: “It always feels like a dream.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he let out a cry.

Lu Yi silently retracted the hand that patted Ji Rui’s buttocks. He didn’t use it too hard, but he forgot that he overused it somewhere yesterday.

A good start on the first day made cohabitation life move towards Lu Yi

Unplanned directions.

Ji Rui moved to live with him. Originally, he had packed a room for the other party, but because of the nonsense on the first day, he opened the door and the prepared room could not be used for a day.

Oh, it still took a day. When Ji Rui first moved in, he at least rolled on the bed a few times.

If there was no preparation in advance, the little boyfriend could only roll the hard bed.

However, even though it was out of the plan, seeing Ji Rui’s cheerful appearance all day, Lu Yi thought again, there was nothing wrong with this way.

Originally, at his age, he was like a free bird, and he wanted to live a carefree life, but the burden of the family was on him before, and he was so tired that he couldn’t stand up.

He was much better now. Although his mother was not around, with the nourishment of love, Ji Rui lived happily every day.

But Ji Rui was not the kind of person who forgets his mother when he had a man. He still thought about the condition of his biological mother.

It was just that since his mother changed the phone and went abroad, he rarely called. His cell phone was always by his side, just because he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to receive a call from his mother.

After all, he didn’t know the address. Even if he had money to go abroad, it was useless if he didn´t know where the person was. His only communication method was the mobile phone, waiting for his mother to contact him.

During the Chinese New Year, his mother sent him a message on the Spring Festival, wishing him a happy New Year, and wrapped him a big red envelope, saying it was a New Year’s gift and tuition fees.

During the festivals, Ji Rui would send messages to her mother, and the chat software used in China and abroad were different.

Every time he left messages, photos, etc., Ji Rui had to go over the wall, but he didn’t mind the trouble, and he had to post it almost a few times a day.

The only thing he didn’t post was that he went to the countryside with Lu Yi during the Chinese New Year, and it took nearly ten days for him to remember to send a message 

He still kept the matter of falling in love with Lu Yi and being together a secret, he didn’t plan to tell his mother for the time being.

He also told Lu Yi about this.

Lu Yi could understand him. If he hadn’t come out of the closet at first, Ms. Lu wouldn´t get sick, and he wouldn’t have caused trouble to make his mother sad.

What’s more, according to the words of Ji Rui, his mother was a stubborn person. She said she hated her parents’ tyranny, but she was exactly the same as her biological father in her heart.

Originally, if one of the two was willing to take a step back, it wouldn’t have turned into the stiff situation it had been in.

Not all mothers could calmly accept that their son found a homosexual, just like the original owner’s mother, who clearly only cared for the child, and usually talked about giving the child absolute freedom, but when it came to such a major event, he became “stubborn and unreasonable”.

Lu Yi could understand Ji Rui’s scruples in such a special situation, and he didn’t plan to force his little boyfriend. He always wanted to wait for the other party to mature and take it slow.

Ji Rui’s mother’s affairs would not be mentioned for the time being. On Lu Yi’s side, Lu’s father and Lu’s mother were so sad that they feel sorry for them.

She vowed that she would never give her son a penny, but in the beginning of the semester, although the university did not pay tuition for the next semester, she did not pay for living expenses, Lu’s mother still felt that her son would starve to death.

After a few days of starvation, the son would definitely admit defeat.

But it didn’t. After being “starved” for a few days, a month, or even two or three months, her son didn’t come to admit defeat.

When she was chatting with her neighbors, she knew that many college students would do part-time jobs. The youngest son of Lu Yi´s second aunt´s family was also studying at university. He just went on weekends to work part-time jobs. He paid 200 yuan a day and worked eight days a month. Easily earned a month’s living expenses.

Of course, the main reason for this was that the tuition fee included accommodation fees, books, etc. As long as he didn’t spend money indiscriminately, the living expenses were very sufficient.

Mother Lu put a little snack, and then she hardened her heart and continued to carry it with her son.

She thought that when the school started, Lu Yi would definitely not have enough money, so he would be soft on the family.

As for that Ji Rui, she never thought that the other party’s family was rich. Lu Yi briefly introduced Ji Rui’s situation before. A person who had to work hard to support himself by part-time work had no spare money to support others.

Because of her son’s affairs, Lu’s mother also disliked Zhao Wuchen, the neighbor’s child. She used to greet him warmly at first, but when she saw it, she snorted coldly.

Her appearance made Zhao Wuchen very depressed.

Moreover, he heard that Mother Lu drove Lu Yi out in the middle of the night and used the means of cutting off economic help as a threat. He was quite happy at first, but in response, he figured out that something was wrong.

Lu Yi was poor, but Ji Rui’s family was so rich!

Boyfriends sacrificed; wouldn’t Ji Rui provide the money?

This method of his, instead, pushed these two guys together, which made Zhao Wuchen so angry.

Lu Yi didn’t know what Zhao Wuchen was thinking, and he didn’t care, but after so long, the feelings that had warmed up before had cooled down a little.

There seems to be a little problem between him and his little boyfriend, a very hot trouble.

Notes

1. Liu Xiahui, a historical figure, is considered to be a model of abiding by traditional Chinese morals, and is called the saint of harmony. ↩︎

Reborn Man (13)

As soon as he saw the three huge characters at the train station, Lu Yi said, “It’s almost there, pack up, we’re going to get off.”

He opened the zipper of the jacket a little, and Ji Rui nimbly got out from the bottom of the clothes, and quickly zipped up the leaking clothes for Lu Yi, and then sneezed in the cold wind.

Lu Yi got out of the car first, grabbed Ji Rui, and gave one hundred and five to the driver.

Because when he got in the car before, he said that he was in an emergency at home and rushed to the road in the middle of the night. The driver didn’t ask any more questions. He took the money and drove the truck away.

When they arrived at the station, there were only a few people in the waiting room. After waiting for about half an hour, the two got on the bus smoothly.

Because it was still during the Spring Festival travel period, they did not buy a sleeper, only a hard seat, and the two of them would sleep on the hard seat all night.

When the two arrived at X City at seven or eight the next morning, Lu Yi saw that Ji Rui had two dark circles under her eyes and asked him, “You didn’t sleep last night?”

Ji Rui shook her head and said, “I didn’t dare to sleep because I was worried that things would be stolen. Don’t worry, I’m not sleepy. There was a cart selling things last night, and I drank a can of Red Bull.”

The people in Lu’s family refused to pay Lu Yi’s tuition, so Lu Yi had to earn money by himself. It was too hard. Although the security was much better now than before, but now there were many people and it was messy. This kind of hard seat, if it a mobile phone was stolen or the like, it would be miserable.

In fact, two people could take turns sleeping, but Lu Yi looked sleepy, he couldn’t bear to let his boyfriend stay up all night.

Lu Yi was silent for a moment, and he didn’t say anything like he didn’t need him to be stupid, although it was indeed stupid, and finally only rubbed Ji Rui’s hair: “It’s hard work, there won’t be another time.”

Ji Rui narrowed his eyes like a cat being groomed, and said, “It’s not hard work, I’m glad I can do something.”

After entering the community, Lu Yi arrived at his residence, and Ji Rui also followed him. After all, he had experienced such a big event as coming out of the closet, and he always wanted to stick with Lu Yi a little more. Of course, in a certain respect, he was also a little afraid of Lu Yi doing something stupid.

He was kicked out on fourth day of the new year, and he couldn’t sleep well in the car. In addition, He was running around on the road. After washing up, the two went to bed and rested, and didn’t wake up until the afternoon.

When they left, they tidied up the refrigerator specially, all the vegetables and fruits were disposed of, and all that was left was the milk Ji Rui bought back.

After rinsing hid mouth, Ji Rui hesitated for a while, and brought up a very important thing: “You are renting a house, you can go to live with me and refund the rent here.”

He also heard the words that Mother Lu said before driven them out. As the culprit behind this incident, he tried his best to save Lu Yi money.

This way, the pressure didn’t seem to be that great.

Lu Yi glanced at him: “I can pay you 5,000 a month for cooking. Do you still worry about thousands of tuition fees a year?”

He didn’t tell Lu’s father and Lu’s mother some things, but he could tell Ji Rui: “Don’t worry, I’m financially independent now, and I don’t want their money.”

The money given by the original owner’s parents was connected to the more than 10,000 yuan that the original owner had saved, and all of them were used by him as the initial start-up capital.

Ji Rui recalled the house in Lu Yi’s hometown, too, he had forgotten about it. When he first applied for the job, he felt that Lu Yi looked like a good man.

Before, he thought that Lu Yi was a working party, but later he found out that the other party was a student, so he thought it should be the money given by his family.

After all, he mainly came to cook before. He knew that Lu Yi had his own things to do, but what he did specifically was the employer’s privacy.

“But it’s not good to waste money. You can live with me.”

Lu Yi said, “I have already bought this house.”

Originally, he didn’t want to buy it. Although it was okay to live in, this community was not a school district. It was rather biased. It was mainly because the landlord had an accident in his own home and was in a hurry to cash out. Relatively speaking, the house was much lower than the market price. He also bought a lot of soft furnishings himself, and he was too lazy to change the house, so he just bought it.

The house was actually not big, only seventy or eighty square meters, but the house price in this place was two or three million.

Ji Rui knew how much the market price was, and hid mouth was open: “How much did you spend on this house?”

“It was not expensive, less than two million.”

If it weren’t for the landlord’s emergency at home and that he was anxious to cash in, it would be impossible to sell it at this price.

“Is the loan interest high?”

Lu Yi shook his head: “It’s the full amount.”

Ji Rui: …Why did he suddenly feel that his boyfriend was not an ordinary person.

He fell silent, feeling a little down.

Lu Yi noticed something was wrong with him: “What’s the matter, you don’t seem very happy?”

Ji Rui nodded and shook her head: “No, I just feel that I’m a little useless, and it seems that it will only hold you back.”

People who like more deeply will inevitably feel a little inferior, not to mention that Lu Yi was already very good.

Lu Yi didn’t expect his partner to be a strong man like him in the future, and he would have a good match against his opponent, for him, he would rather return home and have a comfortable and relaxed environment.

“You’re amazing, I don’t know how to cook.”

Ji Rui retorted: “Many people know how to cook, and as long as they have money, they can hire all kinds of cooks.”

Lu Yi said: “But the food they make doesn’t taste the same as the food you make. You are different. You are not just such an advantage…”

He paused: “Besides, according to my family background, my background is very ordinary, and I have to work hard to make a lot of money. There are some people who don’t do anything. Just relying on their parents, they have dozens of houses. Do you think I’m worse than those people?”

Ji Rui shook his head like a rattle: “I didn’t think so.”

Lu Yi said: “Okay, let’s not talk about this topic. Are you hungry? Let’s go out and find something to eat.”

In this season, the takeout had stopped, and the two people still went to the nearby self-service hot pot restaurant to eat their stomachs.

When they came back, in order to digest their food, the two walked back. The street lights shortened and elongated their shadows. When they were eating hot pot, they were warm. Ji Rui wore gloves, and after walking for a while, he felt cold. He sighed. As he walked, he put his hand in the pocket of Lu Yi’s coat.

In fact, it didn’t really work, but he just felt warm all of a sudden.

After entering the gate of the community, Ji Rui’s residence was farther than Lu Yi’s.

Lu Yi took him downstairs, and he said, “You said before that you are going to move out next semester, right?”

“Yes.” The rules and regulations of each school were different.

Ji Rui made up her mind: “Then I’ll move out too.”

Lu Yi asked him, “Are you sure? College life will be a very valuable experience for you.”

“Aren’t you moving out too?”

“I’m not the same as you.” He was already twenty-seven-year-old adult, he had goals and plans, and the future was very clear.

“But I want to live with you.” Ji Rui said, “Will you take me in? There aren’t many things I can do, but I can do housework and cooking for free.”

Since Lu Yi didn’t want to move over, he could move over there. The traces at home were all left by his parents, and he didn’t want to move it very much. If he lived with Lu Yi, they could create more memories together.

“For roommates, go out to classes and participate in activities with them, that is to get along, but living with you, I will be happier.”

Ji Rui looked at him expectantly: “So, is it okay?”

“If you want, pack up and move over tomorrow.”

Ji Rui’s eyes became brighter, the corners of his mouth were also raised, and his eyebrows and eyes were curved into a pleasant arc: “I don’t have much, so I can do it today!”

“But I didn’t clean up the guest room, and I didn’t dry the quilt. I’m not in a hurry. I’ll take you up.”

Lu Yi thought, he was really a young and energetic boy. Although his mind was delicate and sensitive, he could restore his vitality with a few words.

Hmm… it was actually quite suitable for someone like him.

Early in the morning of the sixth day of the new year, Ji Rui brought his things over.

To celebrate, he specially bought expensive materials and made a very hearty lunch.

When he was with his mother, he lived with two people, but his mother and his boyfriend felt so different.

Lu Yi was the kind of person whose expression won’t change much when the sky falls. He was in a good mood, but he was not too excited.

Ji Rui was different. Even though he had been there many times, he was still the same as Grandma Liu when she entered the Grand View Garden¹, and everything he saw was fresh.

He excitedly rolled several times on the bed.

After eating and drinking enough, Lu Yi went to work.

For him, money was never enough, not to mention that he was indeed poorer now than he used to be.

Lu Yi was working hard, Ji Rui had nothing to do for the time being, and he just thought about it when he was full.

Back in the small town, in the Lu family, the two of them had almost no space to be alone. The most intimate thing they ever did was in Lu Yi’s room.

But now that the two of them were living together, and they were not under the eyes of their parents, Ji Rui struggled for a while, then went downstairs to the pharmacy to buy some things.

After confirming that he liked a man, he also struggled for a long time, and then checked the relevant information on the Internet, and his homework was enough.

After shopping, he went to take a shower, then put on a bathrobe, and knocked on Lu Yi’s door.

Lu Yi finished his work, then shut down the computer and said, “Come in.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the little boyfriend rushed in like a small cannonball, and then hugged his waist tightly.

Ji Rui’s eyes were sparkling: “Lu Yi, the housewarming, plus the New Year, I made a big meal for you. Would you like to express that and give me a big gift?”

Lu Yi smiled and asked him, “What do you want?”

“I want you.”

Notes

1. Grandma Liu is a character in the 18th century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. Info
   The expression “Grandma Liu visits the Grand View Gardens” is used to describe someone, usually simple and unsophisticated, who is overwhelmed by new experiences and luxurious surroundings. ↩︎

Reborn Man (12)

Lu Yi and Lu’s father put the original owner’s mother flat on the bed, and after confirming that the other party had passed out and didn´t have a heart attack, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Mom, she must be out of breath. She will wake up after a while of rest.”

He made it a little louder so that someone who had sneaked the door and opened a crack could hear it.

In the room, Lu Er said to Ji Rui, “I said you don’t lock the door, you’ll be screwed if you lock it again.”

Ji Rui finally recovered from that nervous state: “Sorry, I will compensate.”

“What is the compensation? I’ll just say it casually.” Lu Er also leaned over, “What happened just now, did my brother get beaten?”

As an insider who helped his brother hide from his parents, Lu Er was also very guilty. Although he had a lot of ghost ideas, he was still a high school student.

He was mainly afraid of seeing results he didn’t want to see.

Ji Rui’s expression became even more guilty: “Auntie passed out with anger, it’s all my fault.”

It would be great if he could hide it better, because he was so happy that he had just established a relationship, and he was so emotional that he couldn’t help his actions. He had to get close to Lu Yi.

Lu Er was a little resentful in his heart. Seeing that he blamed himself first, he couldn’t say anything. A slap didn’t make a sound. He couldn’t put all the blame on Ji Rui for this kind of thing.

And Lu Yi always liked men, Lu Er opened his mouth: “Whatever is called is your fault. My mother is so angry with my brother, not you.”

He still didn’t dare to go out now, for fear that his parents knew that he had been aware of it all the time, and they were still messing around, and he would also be beaten.

Seeing his wife fainted, Father Lu’s already livid face became even more ugly. Lu Yi said that Mother Lu had nothing to do, and he let go a little, but his attitude was not at all calm.

He subconsciously wiped the cigarette in his pocket to smoke, but he didn’t touch it in a familiar place, and it took him a while to remember that in order to save money, he gave up smoking some time ago.

They didn’t like to lend money from others, and they didn’t like to lend money to others. There were two students in the family, one in high school and one in college, all of which cost a lot of money. The two of them earnt just that. They also wanted to save money for the eldest son to marry a wife in the future, which made them even more frugal.

Father Lu had always been taciturn. Although there were countless emotions in his heart that he wanted to express, it was impossible for a clumsy person like him to suddenly speak a lot of indignation.

He looked at his eldest son and asked him, “Can you change it?”

For people like them, homosexuality could be cured like a disease. Likening men was going astray, so he wanted his son to change.

Lu Yi shook his head: “Dad, this is not a disease, I was born like this, I can’t change it.”

According to his plan, he would come out sooner or later, but he wanted adopt a step-by-step method so that Father Lu and Mother Lu could accept it, rather than suddenly.

But since things had already happened, it was useless to deceive, he could only let nature take its course and simply talk about it.

Lu Yi knew that the original owner’s parents loved their children very much, and he didn’t want to hurt the two old people.

“The country has passed laws. If I find a man to marry, it is also protected by law. If you worry that I will have a hard time here, I will not come back in the future. I will buy a house in a big city and pick up you two elders.”

In fact, Lu Yi had already bought the house he rented before, and he was rich now, but some things, even to his relatives, couldn’t make it too clear.

And after getting along for so many years, what skills did the original owner have, could parents not know?

If he wanted to say that he had made a lot of money in just a few months, Lu’s father and Lu’s mother would definitely not believe it.

Lu Yi glanced at Lu’s mother lying on the bed, and hid tone was very calm: “Dad, I know it is difficult for you and Mom to accept it, but I really can’t change it. This is not a disease; we are all kind people in our family. I like men, and if you ask me to marry a woman, it will only harm other people’s good girls.”

Lu Yi tried his best to keep his words down to earth.

Father Lu fell silent, his body seemed to be weighed down by a thousand pounds, and his spine, which had always been straight, was bent down. He sighed heavily: “Yes, you are right, we can’t harm a good girl.”

Father Lu and Mother Lu were both good people, simple town residents who couldn’t be simpler. Hearing what Lu Yi said, he also knew that it was hopeless to hold a grandson.

At this time, Lu Er rushed out and said, “Dad, I like girls, don’t be sad, when I grow up, I will marry a wife and give you two pensions.”

Lu Er was young, and his emotions were easily influenced by the outside world. He heard his father sigh again and again, and felt that his heart was heavy, and his heart was so sad that he couldn’t hold back and rushed out.

Ji Rui saw him go out and followed suit, but seeing the hint in Lu Yi’s eyes, he shrank back again.

Now it was a matter of Lu Yi and Lu Yi’s father and son. After all, he was an outsider. If he rushed out hastily, he would only screw things up.

And… and he was only a freshman now, he didn’t have anything, he couldn’t promise Lu Yi anything, so he won’t go out and cause trouble.

Mother Lu rested for a while, and when the moon was on the willow tree, she woke up. Seeing Lu Yi, she felt chest tightness and shortness of breath. In fact, mother Lu was in the lead inside and outside the family. She felt that she couldn’t accept the fact that her son liked men.

Originally, when she looked at Ji Rui, she liked what she saw it, but now, knowing that her son liked him, she hated what she saw.

Of course, in Lu Yi’s diary, it was written that he liked Zhao Wuchen, the child next door.

Although Lu Yi and Zhao Wuchen broke up, she still hated Zhao Wuchen together. Most of the mothers in the world had this kind of thinking. Their children were innocent, if they made any mistakes, they must be seduced by outsiders.

If it wasn’t for Zhao Wuchen, how could Lu Yi had gone astray.

In order to allow Mother Lu to breathe, they opened the windows and let the cold wind of early spring blow into the house in the cold weather. On the night of the fourth day after new year, the crescent moon was curved and there were a few stars.

Mother Lu’s face was like the dark sky outside the window: “In short, you are still young, ignorant, and don’t know what love is. When you grow up, you will know the benefits of a girl. It’s not that mom wants to be a villain, anyway it’s not good to like a man, you have to separate from that Ji Rui.”

Lu Yi said, “Mom, I’m nineteen years old, and I know what I’m doing. Since you read my diary, you know that I like men and not women.”

Although he didn’t like Zhao Wuchen at all, but in this matter, he didn’t want to be a coward who shirks his responsibilities: “It used to be Zhao Wuchen, now it’s Ji Rui, only men can tempt me. Sexuality is innate, forced breaking straight and bending is only to hurt.”

Mother Lu became emotional: “Hurt, what harm?! Do you care about hurting my mother’s heart?”

She didn’t care about other people’s children, she didn’t care if they liked men or women, but she couldn’t accept it for her own children.

Although they hadn’t studied much, Lu’s father and Lu’s mother seldom use beatings to educate their children. Unless they were really disobedient and made a big mistake, they would normally use tools such as feather dusters to teach their children a lesson.

As Lu Yi was so old, they couldn’t do anything to Lu Yi anymore, and Lu’s mother couldn’t beat the child. What was the only way to make the child obedient? That was to cut off the economy.

Mother Lu said coldly: “If you want to continue, you will study, and your father and I will not give you another penny. All the things at home will be left to Lu Er.”

Lu Yi sighed softly: “I know, it makes you two elders sad, but I still say that, this can’t be changed.”

“Then get out of here!”

Mother Lu was determined to get her son back on the right track. As a result of the stalemate, Lu Yi and his guest Ji Rui were kicked out of the house in the middle of the night. 

Originally, when he came back this time, Lu’s mother had already prepared living expenses for her son, but now she didn’t give anything, and just drove him away. Lu Yi would know how to change only when he suffers.

Lu Yi sighed and took Ji Rui seriously.

There was no high-speed rail at night, and the town had to transfer trains to get on the plane. The two of them refunded their previous tickets, changed their tickets for the midnight train, and took the bus to X city.

In the middle of the night, and because it was around Chinese New Year, the bus in the town stopped long ago. Lu Yi spent 150 yuan, and the two of them sat in the back of truck. The train station was an hour’s drive away.

Ji Rui and Lu Yi stayed together, shivering in the cold wind, and whispered, “How about you apologize to auntie?”

Lu Yi looked at him: “Do you want me to break up with you?”

Ji Rui shook his head: “I’m very selfish. Although I know aunt is sad, I still hope you can persevere.”

He went on to add: “If my mother knew and asked me to separate from you, I would insist.”

Although he was weak in some things, in some respects, he was extraordinarily persistent.

“I can only wait for my mother to calm down and accept the facts.” This kind of thing could only be discussed in the long run.

Ji Rui sneezed. When he was driven out, his clothes were not warm enough, and the temperature was low at night.

Lu Yi glanced at him, unbuttoned his coat, put the child in his arms, and zipped it up: “Okay, don’t talk, I’ll call you when we get there.”

Reborn Man (11)

The two people here have established a relationship, because they were both students and it was New Year’s Eve. In the end, they decided to hide it from Lu Yi’s parents first.

For Ji Rui, it was good that Lu Yi could promise to be together. Originally, love didn’t have to be a lifetime thing. Now he only thought about the past and the present, there was no need to think about things that were still far away.

In fact, sneaking under the eyes of the parents was quite exciting.

Ji Rui was complacent in love, and naturally had a good attitude.

But someone in the same yard as him couldn’t be like him.

After knowing that Lu Yi was reborn like himself, Zhao Wuchen felt that he had not had a good time this year.

He carefully recalled his previous life, and indeed, he was not good to Lu Yi, not only bad, but what he did was very scum.

But scumbags were a pair. If Lu Yi wasn´t so cheap, would he be able to slag Lu Yi?

A thing that was willing to be beaten and willing to suffer, he didn´t do anything that hurt the world.

Zhao Wuchen used to make excuses for himself, and the discomfort was only a temporary thing, and soon he adjusted his mentality.

In fact, he knew more or less that since Lu Yi was also reborn, and the other party’s attitude was here, the farther away he was from Lu Yi, the better, that was the wisest choice.

But he just felt unwilling, especially when he came back from a shock that day, he had a fever at night, and when people were not feeling well, their heart was relatively fragile.

When lying on the bed, Zhao Wuchen was inevitably unbalanced. They were all rebirths, why did Lu Yi mix so well and make Ji Rui so stubborn, but he fell ill very miserably here.

Obviously, he was much smarter than Lu Yi. Although Lu Yi was the first college student in this yard, he was an ordinary undergraduate, not a major university, just, the people in their yard had never been out of the courtyard and had little knowledge.

In this era, college students were not worth much at all, and they still had to rely on later. Moreover, he thought maliciously, that Lu Yi was able to mix up like he was now, and how much Ji Rui was behind his back.

When he met Ji Rui in the last life, the other party was already very rich. How rich was he? It was probably the first time in his nearly 30 years of life that he realized what was the gap that couldn´t be overcome no matter how hard he worked.

The down jacket on Lu Yi had no particularly obvious logo. For ordinary people like them, they may just think it looked good, and they couldn’t tell how good the clothes were.

But Zhao Wuchen could see at a glance that this was a classic model of a big brand, and one-piece costs thousands of dollars.

For a family like Lu Yi, few thousand yuan was the living expenses for a semester for a university student.

The Lu family might be willing to buy a laptop for Lu Yi, but they would never be willing to buy such expensive clothes for their son.

Of course, he also knew that Lu Yi had some money. Almost half a year ago, Lu Yi originally planned to take him to X City for a tour, but suddenly one day, the other party changed his temper and broke up with him.

But with that kind of money, what could it be used for? In his last life, when he got along with Lu Yi, he knew that Lu Yi was not the kind of person who liked extravagance and or spending a few months frugally just to buy famous brand goods, this kind of thigs couldn’t be done by Lu Yi.

It must be Ji Rui’s money that Lu Yi spent to buy such good clothes.

As for why Ji Rui’s clothes were ordinary, Zhao Wuchen subconsciously ignored this unreasonable thing.

These two guys were greasy and crooked, and Zhao Wuchen would never make them feel better.

Everyone was busy during the New Year, and many children came to visit. He didn’t say it himself. He used some small tricks to guide a child from a relative’s family in the Lu family to expose the fact that Lu Yi was gay.

As for himself, in the previous chat records, he had always ignored Lu Yi. He had been with Lu Yi for a while, but so what. His current body was not yet grown up, and he was smaller than Lu Yi. At that time, he could completely shirk and say that Lu Yi was seducing him.

Although his parents’ relationship was not good, and they made the family jump around all day, but they had nothing to say about their son, who was very proud of his grades.

Especially his mother, when he sheds a few tears and sold his pity, his own mother would definitely help him out unanimously.

That’s right, what he held in his body was the soul of more than ten years later, so what, did Lu Yi dare to talk about their rebirth?

Even if it was said, no one would believe it.

Zhao Wuchen just took hold of this, and without any hesitation, he implemented his own revenge plan.

In any case, he was going to let out this bad breath.

On the fourth day since the new year, a group of children were playing in the yard, and adults were teasing them to talk. A fat kid suddenly pointed to Lu Yi and said “I just saw that this brother and the other brother were smooching in the corner!”

The chunky stump was not light, and his voice was very loud.

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the adults present changed: “What nonsense are you talking about, do you know what smooching is?

The little fatty received the attention of the adults, and said triumphantly: “Of course I know, it’s the kiss on TV!”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Little fatty’s parents hurriedly covered the child’s mouth, looking a little embarrassed, “This child, his mouth is not blocked, he is just looking at some messy things.”

The elders say this, but they always felt in their hearts that children would not lie, and what they say was what they say.

It was not necessarily a kiss, but did Lu Yi really have something else with that guest?

The country just legalized it last year, but in their traditional small town, it would be like a terrible virus for any family to have a homosexual.

The talking child didn’t realize anything, and the guests also warned the child not to talk nonsense, but the silent father and mother silently took the little fat man’s words to heart.

They didn’t think about it originally, but this time, they couldn’t bear to think too much.

Mother Lu observed her son carefully, and while Lu Yi was away, turned the eldest son’s bedroom upside down.

They basically raise their children by stocking, which, in a sense, gave their sons a lot of freedom.

But this time, they turned out the diary of their son’s school days, like the overly controlling parents criticized in the education story. The scribbled things should be read word by word.

Before Lu Yi and that one came back, Mother Lu made a clear picture of Lu Yi’s green past.

She was happy this year, her son is filial, he was much more handsome, and he brought friends home, but now that they realized that their son, who had been raised for 19 years, was… actually a homosexual.

When Lu Yi brought Ji Rui back from the outside, he saw Mother Lu with a black face, and Father Lu with a livid face.

His younger brother Lu Er, on the other hand, had a look that said, Big brother, you ask for more blessings, I will remember to burn paper¹ for you. After a brief look at each other, Lu Er retreated into the room.

Obviously, Lu Er was a smart man, and didn’t want to be the pond fish that suffers.

Facing Lu’s father and Lu’s mother who suddenly became fierce as a door god, Ji Rui subconsciously took two steps back, but he quickly realized that his behavior was a bit humiliating, so he took another two steps forward, side by side with Lu stand together.

Although Lu Yi hadn’t come out of the closet yet, the attitude between these two people, their affectionate energy, couldn’t deceive anyone.

Lu Yi came over and looked at Ji Rui beside him: “You go first, if you are bored, just go to Lu Er’s room and take a seat.”

Ji Rui shook his head without making a sound. He only gestured to Lu Yi with his mouth. He also wanted to leave, but if there was any difficulty, he would fight with Lu Yi.

He knew that Lu Yi was a gentle, hesitant and responsible man. He was afraid that the pressure on Lu Yi at home would be too great, so that Lu Yi would give up this relationship with him.

At this time, all he had to do was stay by Lu Yi’s side.

In this somewhat serious situation, nothing was stronger than the support of those closest to him, and he didn’t want to be an afterthought who didn’t know anything and didn’t do anything.

For Lu Yi, Ji Rui’s mind was not too hard to guess, but he still didn’t want the other party to stay here: “You go to rest, this is my family matter, I can do it myself.”

He had already seen a diary on the coffee table, which was written by the original owner and had nothing to do with him.

In order to get away from Zhao Wuchen earlier, he could be said to cut the mess with a quick knife and directly cut off the humble and unequal relationship.

That day, he just packed some things and went out.

Since he was outside, it was impossible to dispose of the original owner’s things.

The main reason was that what Lu Yi himself got was only fragments of the original owner’s memory. He read the original owner’s story like watching a movie.

What he was good at was extracting the key points of the story, how the original owner fell in love with Zhao Wuchen, and how that kind of young boy’s heart was sprouted, he did not carefully understand.

He didn’t get rid of the traces left by the original owner. He was too careless and made a mistake.

Lu Yi thought like this, but his expression was still very calm. Since he liked men, he would not deceive his parents to change his sexual orientation.

He also knew that this matter may be a big blow to the original owner’s parents, but the matter had come to this point, it could only be clarified.

Now that there were no outsiders at home, he readily admitted: “Yes, I like men.”

In the next second, exclamations continued in the air: “Mom, are you alright?!” 

“Su Lan!”

Lu Yi’s mother, unable to accept the fact that her son liked men for a while, fainted.

Reborn Man (10)

Ji Rui’s heart was lifted, and the fluffy dumplings in the paper bag were pinched down by his unconsciously increased strength. He really wanted to tell this ex-boyfriend to get out of the way, but he was not Lu Yi’s boyfriend, so he didn´t have this qualification.

He regretted it. He wished he had confessed earlier. Such thoughts rose in his heart, but his eyes stared at Lu Yi without blinking. Faced with the request of the ex-boyfriend he liked very much to get back together, what would Lu Yi choose?

Would he agree ecstatically, or refused after repeated struggles?

Facing Zhao Wuchen’s proposal of reconciliation, Lu Yi was stunned for two seconds, and then chose to refuse without hesitation: “Sorry, I have no plans for that. Half a year ago, I thought I had already made it clear.”

Falling in love is different from marriage. As long as one party proposes to suspend it, the other party can only be an ex-boyfriend even if he disagrees, not to mention that Lu Yi had already made it very clear.

And in the past six months, he had specially changed his number and blocked all Zhao Wuchen’s contact information. As long as Zhao Wuchen was not a fool, he should know what his attitude was.

Zhao Wuchen looked at Lu Yi, and then at Ji Rui, who looked surprised, with a sharp voice: “You rejected me because you have a new love.”

Ji Rui thought silently in his heart that he wanted to be Lu Yi’s new love.

Lu Yi’s face was not very good-looking, he had never liked such unreasonable people: “When I broke up with you, I didn’t know him.”

Zhao Wuchen didn’t care about that much. In his last life, Lu Yi was so committed to him. Although he didn’t like Lu Yi that much, to him, Lu Yi was like something in his pocket.

Even if he didn’t like it, he couldn’t be dug into the corner by others.

He was unhappy, and others couldn’t be better. He looked at Lu Yi steadily: “Are you sure you really want to reject me?”

Lu Yi was not the original owner, and he didn´t know Zhao Wuchen as well as the original owner, but from the memory fragments of the original owner, he could somewhat infer the hidden subtext of Zhao Wuchen’s words.

If he didn’t agree to get back together, Zhao Wuchen may shake out the fact that he liked men. The place where they live was a very simple town. The neighbors and would know clearly about whoever had troubles.

Ji Rui on the side was confused, but he knew that Zhao Wuchen was definitely not a good person.

In the eyes of a lover, everything is beautiful, but in the eyes of a rival, everything is shit. He originally thought that Zhao Wuchen was not pleasing to the eye, but hearing his provoking words, he couldn’t help but say.

“I say, what’s the matter with you, since you’ve all become ex-boyfriends, you’re a little worried about whether you can count on it? Do you think it’s a child playing a house?”

Zhao Wuchen looked at Ji Rui’s young face and felt that he could not recognize the person in front of him. Could it really be that something went wrong in his memory, in fact, Senior Ji Rui was not such a character at all?

When Ji Rui was young, it was too far from what he remembered.

Originally, because of his good impression of Ji Rui, Zhao Wuchen didn’t want to fight him, but now he felt that his memory was wrong, and he didn’t even have a good attitude towards Ji Rui.

“I’m talking to Lu Yi, why are you interrupting?” He had been observing furtively these past few days, and he was quite sure that Ji Rui and Lu Yi were not a couple.

Young couples who were really in love, even under the eyes of their parents, couldn’t help being sticky.

For Ji Rui, it was highly possible that it was unrequited love. Thinking of this, Zhao Wuchen couldn’t help but feel a little smug in his heart.

He said sharply: “You are not Lu Yi’s anything, just an ordinary friend. It’s not your turn to talk about things between us.”

Lu Yi, who hadn’t said much, opened his mouth: “Who said he wasn’t qualified to say it?”

He didn’t want to talk very much at first, because the two were arguing, a bit like elementary school students, and always felt that mixing in would bring down his face.

Forget about Ji Rui, who was really young, he was only eighteen years old, so tender that he could squeeze water, Zhao Wuchen was a high school student on the surface, but in fact, like him, he was an adult in his thirties.

Still bickering like this, he wanted to walk away and say he didn’t know these two people.

But seeing Ji Rui’s darkened eyes, he still thought it might be better to say something.

To him, Zhao Wuchen was like a brown candy, he unilaterally broke up and blocked it before, and it was estimated that it was not enough to be unfeeling. Maybe he should have said it more clearly.

“There is one thing you should remember. Half a year ago, it was me who proposed to break up.”

Lu Yi paused for a while: “I said it so ugly, you still come to ask for reconciliation, Zhao Wuchen, are you stupid?”

The young man’s expression was indifferent, and the words he said were like the cold wind in winter, but the latter’s cuts people’s faces, while the former’s cuts people’s hearts.

Zhao Wuchen looked a little dazed, and images of his previous life appeared in his mind. Lu Yi hugged his thigh tightly, a tough big man, crying and begging him not to break up.

What did he say at that time, as if he asked sarcastically, “Lu Yi, are you being stupid?”

Perhaps it was because his expression and tone were too hurtful at the time, and Lu Yi let go of his hand at that time and did not stop him from leaving.

He didn’t care at the time, but now the feng shui turns around.

Zhao Wuchen denied it many times, but this time, he finally couldn’t help but ask: “Lu Yi, are you too?”

Lu Yi was stunned for a moment, and quickly realized that Zhao Wuchen must have misunderstood, but it was a good thing to let the other party misunderstand like this.

He sighed and said meaningfully, “I’m very grateful to God for giving me another chance to start over. Zhao Wuchen, you don’t like me at all, do you?”

Zhao Wuchen’s pupils instantly shrunk to the size of a pinhead, sure enough! He knew it, but he didn’t expect that he was not the only lucky one who was favored by God.

No wonder, no wonder he said that Lu Yi suddenly broke up with him. If it was because he was heartbroken and saw through everything, Lu Yi, who came back again, would really be so ruthless.

From arrogance, he suddenly became lost: “I know…”

Lu Yi’s ex-boyfriend came aggressively, but like a defeated rooster, he fled in embarrassment.

Of course, Ji Rui didn’t think it was his own credit, but he didn’t have the heart to pay attention to Zhao Wuchen at this time. What he was thinking about was Lu Yi’s previous words.

When Lu Yi breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go back, he grabbed the sleeve of Lu Yi’s down jacket: “Well, is what you just said true?”

Lu Yi looked at him suspiciously: “Which sentence?”

Maybe the wind was too strong, Ji Rui’s face looked flushed from the cold, he was a little shy, and he couldn’t bear to look away from Lu Yi’s face: “That I’m qualified to say.”

Ordinary friends were definitely not qualified to manage Lu Yi’s emotional affairs. He was not Lu Er, he was not a relative of Lu Yi, and he had no blood relationship. Those who were qualified were partners or real boyfriends.

He mentioned it, and Lu Yi remembered: “Oh, I just said that casually, you don’t have to take it too seriously.”

“Why don’t I worry about it? Anyway, I’m taking it seriously.” Ji Rui grabbed Lu Yi’s sleeve and didn’t let go, “Anyway, please give me the right words, it’s so hard to hang up and down, I feel uncomfortable.”

Today, an unforgettable ex-boyfriend emerged, and tomorrow a stalking suitor emerged. He couldn’t wait any longer. Lu Er was right. All opportunities were created for him. If he couldn’t take it, he would be really useless.

Ji Rui went on to say, “You accepted the talisman that I prayed for you. You invited me to your hometown as a guest, and I came too. Now that I have met the parents, I am missing a place, you can’t be so bad, playing with me, and not be nice to me. In short, if you want to live or die, give me a word, and a word is enough.”

Lu Yi looked at him with a complicated expression: “What do you want to hear?”

Ji Rui said, “It doesn’t need to be very long, just three words.”

Whatever, ‘I want’, ‘I love you’, ‘I like you’, ‘you can’. The only thing he didn’t want to hear was ‘no’.

Child Ji Rui wrote all the words on his face, with a naked mind, and spread it out for him to see.

The minds of young people were the most ardent, the sincerest, and the most precious.

Lu Yi looked at him for a long time, and then said three words: “Go back.”

There was no affirmative answer, but no refusal either. Ji Rui felt very aggrieved. He spoke so bluntly. Lu Yi was still like this. He was obviously his age, but he seemed to be playing around with him.

No wonder people say that first love was the hardest thing. Now he felt like a big hole had been broken in his heart. The cold wind was blowing in, and even the soft dumplings couldn’t plug the hole.

Sad was sad, but he still walked back with Lu Yi. After all, it was a New Year’s Eve, and he was unfamiliar with the place, he would never let that ragged ex-boyfriend see a joke.

After walking for a while aggrievedly, Lu Yi’s footsteps suddenly stopped.

“Look, there’s a movie at two o’clock in the afternoon. After lunch, we can come and watch it.”

Ji Rui was in no mood to watch a movie, he stood there, reciting the name of the movie feebly.

He read the last scene, it was a romantic comedy, the title was simple and rude “I Like You”

After he finished reading, he heard Lu Yi say something.

At first, Ji Rui, whose brain was down, hadn’t reacted yet, but when Lu Yi was about to walk away, his whole spirit returned.

What Lu Yi said just now was: “Well, I like you too.”

Reborn Man (9)

In X City, where Ji Rui lived, because of the rapid economic development, when enjoying more convenient technology than small cities or small towns, it also lost the unique warmth of the town people and many traditional cultural activities.

For example, dragon boating and temple fairs.

This was Ji Rui’s first visit to a temple fair in memory. He put on the most festive clothes he brought, and followed Lu Yi step by step. Early in the morning, he went out with the two brothers Lu Yi and Lu Er.

Along the way, dozens of people greeted the two Lu brothers.

There was no Lu Er chatting on the road, so Ji Rui gathered in front of Lu Yi to find a topic: “They all seem to know you?”

Lu Yi said lightly: “The place is small, so I know a lot of people.”

This was how the small town was. If something happened, basically, everyone in the surrounding area would know about it. Even if two people who didn’t know each other got together and chat, they would talk about every twist and turn in their families.

“Oh.” Ji Rui responded, not knowing what to say for a while.

Mainly, Lu Er was also there. The three of them were walking together. He felt a little embarrassed. He glanced at Lu Er, who understood. He happened to meet one of his classmates on the way, and he immediately said hello: “Hey, Gao Lele, have you come out for a walk too?!”

The classmate whose name was called by him stopped to look at him, and Lu Er turned his head to look at his brother: “Brother, I´ll go shopping with my classmate. You have a good time with your friends.”

He signaled Ji Rui to seize the opportunity with his eyes, and now he had given up the space of solitude to these two people. If Ji Rui couldn’t take people down, he would be too useless.

It was still early when they came out, and there were not many people on the road. Walking slowly, the number of pedestrians began to increase, and they also changed from a relatively quiet market to a bustling market.

Lu Yi didn’t really like this kind of lively place, but he promised Mother Lu to bring back some unique snacks from the temple fair.

And according to the custom, every year they go to pray and beg for the blessing of the gods.

There were a lot of people in the downtown area. At first glance, it was crowded with people. Lu Yi, who had the memory of the original owner, didn’t know which direction to go, not to mention Ji Rui, who was not familiar the place.

He stopped and reached out to the child(JR).

The other party was stunned there, still a little unable to react.

Lu Yi said patiently: “Let’s take it, there are too many people, so as not to be scattered.”

Although there was a mobile phone and it was very convenient to contact, but in such a noisy place, it was impossible to hear the words.

Ji Rui felt that his head was about to smoke, and as soon as Lu Yi finished speaking, he immediately put his paw on it. Anyway, he was young and there were so many people. As long as he didn’t do any particularly intimate actions in public, outsiders would not think about it in the wrong place at all.

After holding the person, Lu Yi squeezed into the crowd and walked in the direction he remembered.

The temple fair was very lively, but Ji Rui didn’t see any scenery, just stared at Lu Yi and his hands.

Originally it was just an empty grip, he clenched it quietly, his fingers were just hooking the other person’s fingertips, he quickened his pace, and inserted his fingers into Lu Yi’s fingers, from an empty hold to intimate intertwined fingers.

Facing his small gestures, Lu Yiyi looked back at Ji Rui and looked at the boy with bright eyes. In the end, he didn’t say anything, just grabbed the opponent’s hand and led him into the crowd.

He thought to himself, with so many people, it was a good thing to hold on tighter. Forget it, let Ji Rui go first.

When they squeezed out of the crowd, Lu Yi let go of his hand. When he pulled it out, Ji Rui was still reluctant to hold it tightly. The cheeks, which were a little flushed from the cold, looked even redder.

Facing Lu Yi’s strange expression, he put his hand to his mouth and sighed, pretending to be innocent, “I was squeezed so that my brain was deprived of oxygen, and I forgot to release it.”

In fact, it was not that the brain was deprived of oxygen by being squeezed, it was a surge of adrenaline, and the ambiguous action of being held hands made him dizzy with joy, and he didn’t know what to say.

This excuse was actually very clumsy, but Lu Yi didn’t expose him: “Let’s go.”

He was wearing a thick down jacket, but because of his tall stature, he was slender and in good shape, like a tall and straight poplar, and he didn’t look bloated at all.

Because the weather was too cold, white mist would appear when Lu Yi spoke.

Ji Rui watched the white fog from thick to light until it disappeared without a trace, and he thought incomparably crazy that even the white fog that Lu Yi exhaled looked so different.

When the nympho was over, he realized that Lu Yi had gone far, and hurriedly shouted, “Wait for me.”

According to Lu’s mother’s instructions, Lu Yi bought a unique kind of dumpling from the grandma who was part-time in the temple and fortune-telling.

It was a very traditional handmade dessert, and the packaging of the dessert was the simplest oiled paper. A bit like mochi. According to mother Lu, it was made of glutinous rice and a flower that only bloomed in autumn and winter. The skin of this snack was a bit translucent, the exterior was translucent white, and the inside was a little peach pink, which looked very attractive to people.

The dumpling was made by grandma in the morning, but after blowing in the cold wind for a while, it was soft, but it didn’t have the temperature when it was freshly baked.

Lu Yi bought two, one was packed in a paper bag, squeezed in his hand, and the other was handed to Ji Rui: “Try it, you probably haven’t eaten it before.”

This was a local specialty, the sales were better at the edge of the year, and it was usually not available in stores.

“Thank you.” Ji Rui took the snack bag from Lu Yi’s hand, looking cautious, as if he was taking some treasure.

There were about seven or eight dumplings in the paper bag, which were heavy in the hand and very soft.

He was a little reluctant to eat what Lu Yi gave, and this dessert was so beautiful, it was really unbearable.

But Lu Yi looked at him, obviously expecting his comments, so he twisted a dumpling with his fingers and took a bite.

Originally, the dumplings were soft enough, but the filling turned out to be softer, a bit like the kind of soft jam, and a bit like a candy-hearted egg.

Lu Yi asked him, “Is it delicious?”

Ji Rui nodded vigorously: “It’s delicious.” As long as it was a snack given by Lu Yi, even if it was unpalatable, he would say it was delicious, not to mention that this snack really suited his appetite.

Lu Yi took one from his bag to taste, and it was really good: “If it’s delicious, you can buy some to take with you when you leave. There should be a shop selling this kind of dessert during the winter vacation.”

After buying the dumplings, he just bought the peace talisman, and then donated some sesame oil money to the temple dedicated to the gods.

The money was given by Lu’s mother. This year, the family was safe and sound. She specially took some extra money for her son to donate.

In fact, she came here yesterday, and she insisted her son to come in person, so that the gods would definitely bless their whole family when they saw their sincerity.

Originally metaphysics is to believe that there is something, to not believe that there is nothing. Lu Yi was actually a materialist, but such supernatural things as smashing soul fragments had happened. He couldn’t say that he was completely superstitious about this kind of thing, but he was more or less in awe of the gods.

When Lu Yi closed his eyes and begged the gods to be happy with the Lu family in the new year, Ji Rui was looking at him quietly, and then before Lu Yi’s eyelashes trembled and opened his eyes, he quickly closed his eyes and kept his innermost secret. He recited his wish three times.

Ji Rui handed Lu Yi an amulet: “This is for you, although it’s not worth a lot of money.”

Looking at Ji Rui’s dark eyes and the expectant face of the other party, Lu Yi glanced at the amulet lying in the boy’s palm again, and finally took it: “Thank you.”

Lu Yi took it, he took it! 

Ji Rui didn’t show his face, but his expression was still shy and well-behaved. It was still a cold winter day, but he felt that the temperature in the air had risen, as if it was filled with a hint of sweetness.

Very good, make persistent efforts, wait until he went back, and be sure to express his mind!

After the prayer was over, there were more people. Looking at the crowd of people outside, Lu Yi frowned: “Let’s go outside for a while, and then go back when there are fewer people.”

This was probably the busiest few days in this town. When he just came, he already felt extremely crowded.

Ji Rui responded heavily: “Okay!”

After meeting Lu Yi, it seemed that everything in his life was going in a good direction.

Ji Rui hoped that he could express his feelings this time, but God didn’t seem to love him too much. Lu Yi took him around for less than half an hour when someone he hated appeared.

They were all from the same town, and they were neighbors. In addition to the school holiday, as soon as Lu Yi came out to participate in the temple fair, Zhao Wuchen also came.

In the past two or three days, he hadn’t been a guest directly, but as long as he had the heart, he could easily know the name of the Lu family’s guest – Ji Rui.

An unexpected change in his life made him feel uneasy.

He almost wondered if Lu Yi was also reborn, but after testing it several times, he found that it was not. He blamed it on the butterfly effect caused by his rebirth.

Based on the observation of the past two days, he found that the situation was a little worse than he thought. One was the ex-boyfriend who was abandoned by him, but now he abandoned him, and the other was the object of his love in his previous life that was hostile to oneself.

He didn’t know where the hostility came from at first, but after observing for two days, he found that Ji Rui seemed to have a special affection for Lu Yi.

It was just ridiculous, how could something like this happen.

But he looked at Lu Yi, who made a big change in months, and there was a voice in his heart that seemed to say, if it was the current Lu Yi, such a thing might indeed happen.

He was determined not to watch these two people walk together, so in the morning, he went to the temple to pray, and then looked for Lu Yi everywhere.

Originally, he had followed up long ago, and he blamed Lu Er, who kept stumbling him. After finally getting rid of Lu Er, he was finally able to get in front of Lu Yi.

Unlike Ji Rui’s cautiousness, the ignorant young boy full of emotions, attacked directly and handed the amulet to Lu Yi: “This is for you, let’s get back together, Lu Yi.”

Reborn Man (8)

Because he was too surprised, Zhao Wuchen almost called out Ji Rui’s name, but he thought that the two of them didn’t know each other yet, so he stopped abruptly and spat out the word “Ji” in front of everyone.

It was early in the morning, and the courtyard was still quiet, so everyone heard Zhao Wuchen’s loud single syllable.

Lu Yi glanced at him and knew that what Zhao Wuchen wanted to call should be Ji Rui. When he came in, he found that Zhao Wuchen was unusual, and he could vaguely guess that Ji Rui should be the white moonlight in Zhao Wuchen’s heart.

In terms of age, Ji Rui was indeed two years older than Zhao Wuchen, so there was nothing wrong with calling him a senior. But when he met Ji Rui, Ji Rui had a gray face, even a little yellow and thin. He never thought that this gray and weak Ji Rui would be Zhao Wuchen’s white moonlight.

Yes, the Lu family’s background was good, but in X City, where the house price was often 70,000 to 80,000, or even hundreds of thousands, the Lu family’s savings could be emptied, and it was estimated that they could only buy a toilet.

And Ji Rui’s family owns a house in X City, and Ji Rui mentioned it, but didn’t say much about the rich grandfather.

When Zhao Wuchen and Ji Rui met, it must have been after the former turned 20 years old, and Ji Rui in a few years should have grown into a good enough young man.

Such thoughts flashed through his mind, but his face was calm and did not say anything.

As for Lu’s father and Lu’s mother, who came to pick up their son and guests, although they didn’t understand why the neighbor’s children were screaming, they were all adults, so they couldn’t say anything.

Comrade Lu Er, Lu Yi’s younger brother, had always been against Zhao Wuchen, so he immediately seized the opportunity to let out a mocking laugh: “Learn to croak early in the morning, who is so cute at such a young age, I’m really not ashamed.”

Just after the discording word came out, Zhao Wuchen’s fair face had not yet dyed the embarrassed pink, and Lu Er screamed: “Mom, how do you screw me? I’m still not your own son?!”

Mother Lu laughed awkwardly: “Xiao Chen, you got up so early. Don’t pay attention to Lu Er, he has a bad mouth.”

Zhao Wuchen shook his head, still playing a well-behaved role: “Well, no, I know Lu Er didn’t do it on purpose.”

He pretended to be curious and asked, “Auntie, this is?”

Mother Lu glanced at the boy who was following Lu Yi, and said with a smile, “It’s Lu Yi’s friend. We’ll go first, so I won’t talk to you anymore.”

“Oh.” Zhao Wuchen responded and glanced at Ji Rui a few more times.

When looking at Zhao Wuchen, Ji Rui felt a sense of crisis in his heart.

Childhood sweetheart, neighborhoods, looked fair and clean, looked gay, maybe there was some secret love.

However, this idea just came and went in his mind, because Lu Yi quickly walked away with long legs, and if he couldn’t keep up, he would be left behind.

He and Lu Yi entered the second-floor building of Lu’s house. Lu Yi had called in advance, and Lu’s mother had packed the guest room in advance and basked in the warm quilt.

This was the first time that Lu Yi had brought a friend home. In Lu’s mother’s mind, Zhao Wuchen didn’t count. That’s the neighbor’s child, who always walked around.

After listening to Lu Yi’s account of Ji Rui’s family background, and seeing the real person, a well-behaved child. Mother Lu, who was already warm-hearted, would inevitably feel pity for Ji Rui, and she was very warm and considerate towards Ji Rui.

As for Lu Er, he had no way to be warm and close to the guests, but he was not an annoying guest, and he would not be mischievous and show an unwelcome attitude.

On the first day in the Lu family, seeing the family of four getting along, Ji Rui realized the feeling of a long-lost and very warm home, which made him envious and liked.

Lu Yi had been in this house for a few days. Although he had most of the memory of the original owner, he was not alone after all. In front of his parents, he could only try his best to lean in the direction of the original owner.

Fortunately, he and Lu’s father and Lu’s mother had not seen each other for more than half a year. Although the changes were a lot, Lu’s mother would not think in the direction of ghosts. She just though that he had gone to college and was more sensible and stable.

But in Ji Rui’s eyes, Lu Yi became more gentle, more human, and more attractive to him at home.

Because Lu’s father and Lu’s mother didn’t know the sexual orientation of the eldest son, they were insensitive to this kind of thing. Seeing that the two got along, they also though that the two had a good relationship.

After all, they were friends who could be brought home, could they have no feelings? But Lu Er was different. When the original owner and Zhao Wuchen were together, Lu Er knew.

It was just that he didn’t like Zhao Wuchen, the male sister-in-law. He didn’t dare to do bad things directly, because he felt that Zhao Wuchen was a bit snobby, and sooner or later he wouldn’t be able to walk with his brother for long.

There was no way, his brother was really fascinated at the time, and he wouldn´t listen to what other said. If he insisted, and involved his parents, he would definitely break down with his brother.

Although Lu Er was a few years younger than Lu Yi, he had the most mind in the family, and it was only at that time that he thought about it, and he heard the school teacher talk about the dangers of puppy love. They said that once a boy and a girl in the school got together, but after a few years of talking, the man was abandoned, and the man went crazy and committed suicide by jumping off the building. 

The main purpose of the teacher was to tell them that these minors have not yet matured in their minds and that puppy love was too harmful.

But in Lu Er´s ears, the lesson he summed up was that his brother Lu Yi had already made up with Zhao Wuchen, and was eaten to death by Zhao Wuchen. If there was a big trouble, Zhao Wuchen would definitely break up without pain or itching, but his brother would go crazy and commit suicide.

He was just such a big brother, and the two brothers were in a good relationship, so he didn’t want Lu Yi to commit suicide.

In the past six months, although Lu Yi hadn’t come back from X City, he had sent a lot of things from online shopping. His younger brother’s benefits were even more soft-spoken, and it was even more difficult for him to mix with his elder brother’s feelings.

But this didn’t stop him from seeing Zhao Wuchen with disapproval.

Lu Yi mentioned the breakup with Zhao Wuchen lightly before. Although he didn’t know the specific situation, Lu Er felt that it must be a bad thing that Zhao Wuchen did. Otherwise, just like his brother’s deep-rooted love, if he wasn’t very hurt, why would he break up.

This time, Lu Yi came back and brought his friend home. Parents couldn’t see it, but he had already seen it, this friend must like his brother.

After observing for a few days, he found that Ji Rui looked at his brother exactly the same way his brother looked at Zhao Wuchen.

Don’t think he didn’t know anything. During this period of time, Zhao Wuchen had been trying to please his mother and often use his brother’s words.

He was a little worried that Lu Yi and Zhao Wuchen’s old relationship would rekindle, and his own strength was not enough, so he would make an ally.

In the evening, while Lu Yi was tossing around in the study, he ran to the guest’s room and closed the door. Lu Er asked bluntly, “You like my brother, right?”

Ji Rui’s face immediately turned red. He wanted to deny it, but when the words came to his mouth, he stammered: “You, how did you see it?”

The fact was exactly as he expected, Lu Er was very proud: “That’s my brother, of course I can see it. Just your eyes, sticking to my brother, that is, my parents and their simplicity can’t see it. “

Ji Rui calmed down, he didn’t know what Lu Er came in for: “So, are you going to keep me away from your brother?”

Liking Lu Yi was his own business, and had nothing to do with Lu Er. Even if Lu Er objected, he would stubbornly keep his liking.

“Who wants to be a queen mother who breaks up the couple, I just came to tell you that my brother is very good, you have to watch him closely.”

Ji Rui thought of Lu Yi, her face blushed a bit: “I know, he is very good.”

He sighed softly: “But I have nothing to do with your brother.”

Lu Er looked at him in disbelief: “No, you and my brother don’t have that kind of relationship?”

Ji Rui also thought about it, but he said: “I like your brother, but your brother doesn’t like me.”

Lu Er didn’t believe it: “My brother must like you, otherwise he won’t bring you back. He didn’t make it clear; it must be… By the way, it must be because he suffered a serious emotional injury!”

He continued: “Just the Zhao Wuchen, the one in the gray coat who always wanted to talk to you, don’t you know, he’s an ex-boyfriend.”

Ex-boyfriend! Ji Rui’s ears perked up, and his eyes were like 100-watt incandescent lamps, staring at Lu Er.

His voice was rough: “Can you tell me about him and your brother?”

Lu Er didn’t really want to talk about the stupid things his brother did in the past, so he just said a few words: “It’s that my brother used to like him very much, and he was very kind to him, but they broke up. I guess it was Zhao Wuchen. Speaking of, now my brother has become more handsome and temperamental than before, and he is the first college student in the yard, if you don’t hurry up, maybe his heart will be taken away by Zhao Wuchen.”

Thanks to the bloody TV series that Lu Er and Lu’s mother watched, and the seven aunts in the yard, although he had never talked about relationships, he seemed like a love expert when he talked about this kind of thing. 

Ji Rui’s eyes darkened a bit, Lu Er swallowed, moisturizing his smoking throat: “You don’t want to give up just like that, do you?”

Ji Rui clenched her fists: “Of course not!”

He was still a little hesitant at first, but Lu Yi’s ex-boyfriend came out, he finally had a chance, why would he let it go to someone else.

This was almost the same, Lu Er threw a bait: “A few days before the Chinese New Year, we will have a temple fair here…”

“I heard from your brother that you like the superheroes of the V family very much. I have a full set of their figures, a collector’s edition.”

Lu Er heard himself swallowing a big mouthful of saliva, with a heart-warming voice: “Deal!”

Reborn Man (7)

Ji Rui glanced at the box, unpacked it and turned the phone on. There was only one number in the phone’s address book, which was his mother’s new number.

He turned around and entered the room, and dialed his mother’s number: “Mom, did you arrive successfully?”

The other side responded, and the voice transmitted through the phone sounded a bit distorted: “You have to take good care of yourself by yourself, I heard them say, you still live in our original place, there is still a month and a half in the summer vacation, and should live in the previous house, they can take care of you.”

Even if people were not here, mothers were still very concerned about their sons.

Ji Rui’s mood had calmed down a lot at this time. If he hadn’t had a part-time job, he might have agreed to his mother’s request, but at this time, he firmly refused: “No, I think it’s good to live here. Yes, and I have lived here for so many years, I am not used to living with outsiders, and I am not used to being served.”

He was originally an ordinary boy, not the eldest young master of a rich family.

Ji Rui’s mother persuaded him a few more words. Ji Rui looked at the wall and said, “For me, this small house is my home, and if I live there, I’m afraid that I will forget what my father looked like.”

The son mentioned his early deceased husband, the other end of the phone fell silent immediately, and even his breathing became a little heavy

Because she was not respected by her parents, in order to avoid becoming like her father as much as possible, Ji Rui’s mother showed respect for her son’s choice.

“Since it’s your choice, then mom respects you. Time flies so fast, I forgot that you are already an adult.”

The mother and son chatted on the phone for an entire hour, and Ji Rui’s mother heard a voice reminding her to cut off the call.

Ji Rui’s mother said to her son a little apologetically: “The doctor said that I should be less exposed to electronic products in the future, and during the treatment, I may not be in contact much.”

“It’s okay, I’m not a child, it’s the most important thing for me to keep your body healthy.”

Ji Rui’s mother naturally knew that her son was not a child, but at the age of 18, he had just grown up and had not yet entered the society. Which parent didn’t care about their children? In her situation, if something happened to her son, she couldn´t ask for help.

She sighed, and finally cut off the call with Ji Rui.

This phone call made Ji Rui feel at ease. He had few friends in this city. Before, because his mother was seriously ill and the family was in financial difficulties, he even had to pick up garbage to make up for the family. In this case, even though he didn’t think much, his former friends were still a lot estranged from him.

Now everything was changing for the better, he would have new friends and everything would be fine.

Before his mother left, he left the rest of the family’s savings to him.

The house they lived in had less than 30,000 yuan of savings left. Ji Rui originally wanted to take an art exam, but studying art was too expensive, so when his mother was ill, he switched to design.

Although it was an undergraduate, it was still in the art college, and the tuition was more expensive than other undergraduates in the school, about 10,000 yuan a year.

This was just tuition fees. In addition to tuition fees, he also needed living expenses and various other expenses. If his mother wanted to treat the disease, he would definitely have no way to make money. He didn’t really want to use his grandparents’ money.

Although they were related by blood, to him, the two old people were just strangers, not relatives.

In the case that the other party didn’t like him, he didn’t want and had no face to use the other party’s money. Especially if he took the money and promised not to meet his mother, he would feel like he had sold his mother.

But relatively speaking, he didn’t need to pay extra for his mother’s medical expenses, and his financial burden was much smaller. He definitely didn’t need to collect waste and pick up garbage, and he could still do various part-time jobs.

Working at Lu Yi’s side until the 15th of August, Ji Rui got his first part-time salary.

The money was not much, but it was very meaningful, and there was one thing he had delayed for so long, and he had not told Lu Yi until now. He felt that if he didn´t tell Lu Yi, it would feel a bit like a fraud.

So, after washing the dishes, he knocked on Lu Yi’s door: “That… Mr. Lu, there is something I want to talk to you about.”

Lu Yi put down his work and came out. Ji Rui had been working for more than a month, and Lu was very satisfied with him.

Although the other party was young, he didn´t have the squeamishness of a child of this age at all. Every time he came to do things, he was diligent and loved cleanliness.

So, when he learned that the other party lived alone, he asked the other party to put an extra set of cutleries here, and to go back when he finished eating.

It would be a waste for him to eat alone. If there were two people, they could eat several more dishes. After the other party finished eating, they put away the dishwashing bag.

And it also includes cleaning. In terms of labor, Ji Rui was obviously a good contract worker.

Based on the goodwill value brought by the other party’s hard work, Lu Yi was willing to squeeze out his few spare time for the other party: “If you have anything, just say it directly, you know I’m very busy.”

Lu Yi’s current life didn´t have any extra communication. Except for exercising in the early morning and after dinner, he hardly went out, but that was it, he was still very busy, busy making money.

Ji Rui looked at Lu Yi and clenched his hands into fists. He said very sincerely, “I’m sorry, when I applied for a job before, I said that I could do a long-term job, but in a month, I will start school…”

When he first said the first sentence, Ji Rui’s heart beat very fast, and slowly, his emotions calmed down, and he was finally able to express his inner thoughts fluently: “I will start school on September 17th, after school starts, military training is also required.”

Lu Yi interrupted him: “What you mean is that you are going to quit your job, right, Ji Rui, you are an adult. What you have done is legally binding. I hope you still remember the contract you signed.”

Lu Yi was not a person with a lot of sympathy. On the contrary, his subordinates had always felt that he was impersonal and liked to act according to the rules and regulations.

“Yes, I remember, I don’t plan to lose this job, but under special circumstances, I want to ask for leave.” Ji Rui knew that he was a little naive, but no matter what, he always had to fight for himself.

He continued: “The school I want to study is very close to here, it only takes ten minutes to get there.”

After walking for about half an hour, he was already planning to buy a small electric donkey.

The management of the art school was relatively loose, and the university courses were not full every day.

“I just wanted to say, can I delay the lunch time for half an hour? Half an hour is enough. I asked the school’s senior and sister. In previous years, the school’s military training only took ten days, so I just ask for ten days off!”

In fact, he had planned it for a long time, but the two people had not been together for a long time before, and he was not sure that the other party would agree, but if he came to ask for leave temporarily, the employer would definitely be angry.

Lu Yi looked at the nervous young boy in front of him: “You are so sure, I will agree?”

Ji Rui didn’t say anything, just looked at him silently.

Lu Yi sighed and said, “From the 15th of next month, you don’t have to come here.”

Ji Rui’s expression was as if hid heart had been hit hard.

Lu Yi paused for a while, and then finished: “Because next month, I will also start school, and I will also participate in the military training for freshmen.”

“Ah?” Ji Rui’s expression instantly changed from pain to surprise. His eyes were wide open, a bit like a stunned hamster.

He knew that his employer was young, but he didn’t know that the other party was so young.

Realizing his gaffe, his face suddenly flushed: “I just didn’t expect it.”

“I didn’t tell you about this before.”

Lu Yi went to search for the courses of his new major, and the lineup was really full. He wanted to change majors, but his grades in the first academic year had to be at least excellent. Fortunately, the school the other party was admitted to was considered a second-rate college, and he was a freshman. The course content was relatively large, and he was still very confident in his learning ability.

“In my freshman year, I should be busy, but I will come back to live on weekends. If you want, in the first academic year, you can work part-time on weekends.”

He wasn’t used to living at school, especially living in a dorm, and friction was inevitable. After the first year of study, he would apply for withdrawal from the dormitory.

“I can do it!” Ji Rui didn’t wait to agree. For him now, this part-time job with Lu Yi is very important, not just for money, but also for other things.

But what else was it, he didn’t dare to think deeply.

Lu Yi redrew the contract.

Time flies very fast for people who live a regular life and have a clear purpose. Because he didn’t intend to spend his time on interpersonal communication in the university, Lu Yi was labelled as “cold and unapproachable” by the class.

But this didn’t have much impact on Lu Yi himself, but made him less troublesome. For example, those dormitory roommates wouldn’t hang out with him. After several beautiful girls who pursued him were rejected one after another, others also basically backed off.

Although university was a small society, it was still purer than the real society. Lu Yi looked good and wore good clothes. Judging from the cost, his family background seemed to be not bad and was very much liked by the teacher.

Originally, there were many otakus in the IT major, and there were many people who were withdrawn and didn’t like to socialize. People like Lu Yi, even if they didn’t like to be close to people, didn’t play games, and never formed a group with roommates to open up blackmail, just relying on his handsome face, as long as he didn’t do anything extraordinary, he wouldn’t be the target of bullying.

Without Lu Yi’s knowledge, those little friends in the major also selected him as the grade grass¹ of the major, of course, they just yelled from behind.

No way, although Lu Yi was said to be a peer of the same age, he felt like a big leader in the school. The moment he spoke, he was full of oppression. Who would dare to joke in front of Lu Yi?

In the blink of an eye, it was the first winter vacation.

Because he was studying in another province, Lu Yi never went back even during the long vacation. Using the original owner’s body, he would do his filial piety for the original owner, but he couldn’t give more of other feelings.

This was the influence of his original family. Lu Yi had never been the kind of person with strong feelings, and it could even be said that he was a little too rational. But he would definitely fulfill the obligations that children should fulfil.

The days just after the exam was the peak time for students to return to school. Lu Yi didn’t want to be crowded with people. In addition, he needed to consult the procedures for transferring majors and checking out of dorm. He booked a flight ticket for the week before the new year, and planned to fly back after the new year.

Of course, there was another reason why he didn’t want to stay at the original owner’s house for a long time, that is, Zhao Wuchen.

A person who could be the protagonist of a story was somewhat of a protagonist. In fact, after doing the math, they hadn’t seen each other for four months. He didn’t think Zhao Wuchen would give up so easily.

There was also the object of Zhao Wuchen’s obsessive pursuit. He parted ways with the other party during the summer vacation, and he had not paid attention to the other party’s situation since then, and he didn´t know whether the other party had succeeded in making a chance encounter with his white moonlight.

Zhao Wuchen equaled trouble, while Lu Yi hated trouble.

But no matter how he didn’t want to see Zhao Wuchen, Lu Yi still went home.

He explained the situation to Ji Rui in advance: “You don’t have to come these days, take a good rest, take paid holidays for the New Year, I won´t deduct wages.”

Ji Rui smiled first: “Thank you the, boss.” But soon he couldn’t laugh anymore.

Lu Yi asked one more question: “You don’t look like you’re happy?”

Ji Rui shook his head and nodded again, his voice a little muffled: “I’m fine, I just miss my mother a little bit.”

His biological father came from an orphanage, and he didn’t have any relatives. He just had a mother, grandfather and grandmother, but they were all abroad, and they still refused to accept him.

He missed his relatives every time during the festive season. He didn’t think so when he was celebrating the New Year with his mother, but when he saw his classmates who bought tickets early and went home beaming, he missed his mother.

During this time, he spent a lot of time on Lu Yi’s side almost every day. If his employer didn’t tell him to leave, he would brazenly stay as a guest.

Lu Yi’s residence was already full of gadgets he brought over, succulents on the shelves, beautiful radishes…

Mom also mentioned that he could go to that high-end community like a garden villa, where there would be servants to accompany him.

But he still didn’t want to go. The bigger the house, the lonelier he felt, and it wasn’t his home at all.

But now, Lu Yi had to leave. In fact, he knew for a long time that the other party was going back to the place he was from, Lu Yi’s own home.

But when Lu Yi didn’t speak, he pretended to be stupid and deceived himself. Now that the other party picked it out, he felt a sour feeling entangled in his heart, as if his heart was pierced by a sewing needle, and it was very uncomfortable.

Different from Lu Yi’s rationality, Ji Rui had always been a very emotional person. His emotions were naturally more delicate than most people, and he was naturally more able to experience loneliness.

Lu Yi fell silent.

After a moment of silence, he broke the silence with laughter: “Actually, I’m very comfortable alone. Today’s salary is paid. I invite you to eat hot pot, boss, how about it?”

Lu Yi still didn’t respond, well, was he acting too embarrassed?

Before Ji Rui’s smile disappeared completely, Lu Yi finally said, “I say, if there is no one to accompany you during the new year, do you want to consider going back with me?”

The feeling Ji Rui gave him was actually a bit similar to his ex-fiancé Fang Chuan, but when they continued to get along, he would be able to appreciate the difference in each other.

It could only be said that the person lived up to his name, and Ji Rui was like his name, as weak and slender as the first-born grass, but tough.²

He was a good boy with a sense of responsibility and a kind heart. In this respect, he was much stronger than Fang Chuan.

Moreover, Ji Rui was only eighteen years old now. Seeing the other party being so careful, he couldn’t help but reflect on whether he was too fierce and the other was just a child after all.

In fact, inviting the other party to be a guest was just a matter of thought.

When he heard Lu Yi’s words, Ji Rui couldn’t believe his ears, and his dark eyes suddenly lit up: “Really?!”

“I will tell my family in advance that I will bring my friends back to be a guest. If you are sure to go, it is best to book the ticket now, and the round-trip ticket is at your own expense. “

“I’m sure, self-pay is sure, I have money!” Tuition was paid once a year, he worked part-time, as long as he saved a little money, it was enough, and he didn’t have the face to take advantage of Lu Yi.

When it came to the end, his voice was a little crying.

Wasn’t that right… he forced the child to cry himself. Lu Yi’s heart thumped, and he said, “If you don’t want you to go, don´t you feel embarrassed, you don’t have to go.”

“It’s not like that!” Ji Rui quickly retorted, “I’m just… I’m just too happy…”

Although he knew that as a boy, he shouldn’t cry, and counting, he had cried twice in front of Lu Yi, and it seemed useless, but… he really couldn’t help it.

“I’m just happy. I thought I was going to celebrate the New Year alone this year. I’m really happy that you can invite me.” Because he was so excited, Ji Rui became a little incoherent, for fear that Lu Yi would withdraw the invitation.

Lu Yi also saw that he was really happy, and reached out and patted the child’s hair: “Then quickly wipe your tears, clean up, and go out to eat hot pot.”

This was the first time the two had gone out to dinner in more than half a year.

Ji Rui quickly adjusted his mood, and the two went out to eat a steaming hot pot. It was his happiest day for more than half a year.

Although they had been together for more than half a year, they were more familiar with each other than before, but they were not familiar enough to live together. At night, Ji Rui still went back to live in his house.

The quilt was cold, and there were no lights waiting for him in the house, but Ji Rui still felt very warm.

That night, he had a somewhat indescribable dream. The object of the dream was his young employer!

When he woke up from the dream, Ji Rui’s face turned red, and in the middle of the night, he turned on the heater and washed and dried the sheets that had been soiled by him.

After that dream, he finally understood the reason why he didn’t dare to think deeply. Due to character issues, he didn’t want to make his own mind clear right away.

Because now he still didn’t know whether Lu Yi liked men or women. If he liked women, he should bury his feelings in his heart.

If, if the other person liked a man, he may try hard. For now, he was content to maintain such a relationship.

Lu Yi’s side made Ji Rui think so much about a dream without even knowing it. After experiencing Fang Chuan and Yu Ke, he didn’t feel like he had any special desire to fall in love.

To be more precise, he always felt as if he had had more than one traumatic relationship, and he was a little tired.

But it was true that there were only Fang Chuan and Yu Ke in his memory, and the only person he had some good feelings for at present was Ji Rui.

But Ji Rui was too young. He liked to talk about feelings with adults who had their own thoughts and could be completely independent, because they were both rational enough. He could also see that the other party had a good opinion of him, as long as he wanted to, it was not difficult to eat Ji Rui to death.

But this would give him a feeling of bullying a child, so he should wait until the other party was older and more mature.

Regarding the matter that he was going to bring his friend home, Lu Yi told Lu’s mother in advance. He didn’t make the situation too clear, but said that the other party was a friend and classmate, and that his mother was abroad, and there was only one person during the Chinese New Year.

Lu’s father and Lu’s mother were the kind of warm-hearted people. After hearing what he said, why would they say anything to refuse, but instead told Lu Yi to take care of others.

After all, Lu Yi was the elder brother at home, and he had always taken great care of the neighbor’s child, Zhao Wuchen, giving parents a very stable and reliable image.

In a small city, there was nothing to hide from familiar neighbors.

According to previous years, Lu Yi should have returned long ago, but this time, Zhao Wuchen did not see Lu Yi. He was muttering in his heart, a little worried that his rebirth had changed too much, so he kept paying attention to Lu Yi’s situation.

His image to the outside world was still very good, and he learned the date of Lu Yi’s return from Lu Yi’s mother smoothly.

He got up very early that day, waited early in the morning, and pretended to be doing morning exercises in the yard.

When he saw Lu Yi, he was stunned: was this still the Lu Yi in his memory? What was going on? In just one semester, Lu Yi felt like he was reborn. His face was still the same, but it was completely like two people.

In addition to the big change in Lu Yi, there was another person who also shocked him a lot.

He heard from Mother Lu that Lu Yi would bring a classmate to the Chinese New Year this time, but he didn’t know the classmate’s name.

After hearing that he was a male classmate, a sense of crisis rose in his heart. Lu Yi hadn’t come out of the closet yet, and his family didn’t know his sexuality, but he, Lu Yi’s ex-boyfriend, knew very well about it.

But after Lu Yi came in, he looked back and saw Ji Rui, the senior he was thinking about.

Zhao Wuchen couldn’t believe his eyes, who could tell him what was going on?!

Notes

1. Grade grass, refers to the most handsome boy in his grade. ↩︎
2. The name Rui originally means “The appearance of grass at its first birth” can also mean “supple and small”. ↩︎

Reborn Man (6)

Ji Rui felt dumbfounded. After staying in this luxurious big house for more than two hours, he felt that his past outlook on life had been impacted.

In fact, the story was bloody and old-fashioned. His mother came from a wealthy family, but his father was an orphan who grew up in a welfare home.

The gap between the two families was so huge that after his mother desperately wanted to marry the poor boy, that is, his father, the grandparents did nothing and cut off the relationship with their daughter in a fit of rage.

That’s why he had grown so big and had never seen his grandfather and grandmother once.

Fortunately, over the years, his father had worked very hard, relying on his own struggles to buy a house in this big city.

It started with a loan, and when he was ten years old, his father paid off the loan and bought a car.

Finally, the family loan was repaid and they lived a comfortable life, but his father lost his young life because of a car accident.

Fortunately, his father bought a huge amount of insurance for the family, and there were no relatives who wanted to share the insurance money in a mess. With his mother, their life was not too bad.

But it was only after his art and college entrance examinations that he found out that his mother had a very serious illness, which almost emptied all the family’s savings.

Originally, his mother did not intend to repair the relationship with his parents. After all, his mother was extremely stubborn, and she was still genetically stubborn.

But yesterday, she heard her son’s words, and as a mother, it was not impossible for her to give in a little for her child. She still decided to try to contact her parents. It would be best if she could succeed. If she couldn’t save herself, she could let the two old people take more care of her son.

If it didn’t work, at least let the son knew that he had blood-connected relatives in this world. As for the future, she couldn’t think so much.

After listening to her mother explain the past, Ji Rui fell silent. In his memory, his mother and father had always been very affectionate, never raised the issue of family background, and his father was also very kind to his mother.

But when he was young, because his father worked very hard for the family, his material requirements were basically met. Generally, he had the same as his peers, and he also had thing that his peers didn’t have. He hardly ever worried about material things; he didn’t quite understand the importance of money.

It wasn’t until his father’s sudden death that his mother was decadent and lost for several years. Not long ago, his mother became seriously ill, and as he grew up, his friends were more or less in family conflicts due to economic reasons, and he gradually began to pay attention to money and family.

If he were the mother’s parents, he would definitely be angry when he saw his daughter find such a wrong son-in-law.

It took his father so long to get out of the house they lived in. But his grandparents could live in a villa in a high-end community that he couldn’t even enter.

And this villa was not the long-term residence of the grandparents, but one of the houses under their name.

There were at least a few class gaps between his father and his mother, and the gap was so big that his family couldn’t catch up even if they won the 100 million lottery.

Understanding was understanding, but he felt that there was no way to forgive, and he couldn’t get close to the old man who was related to him right away.

His hands were tightly clenching the hem of his clothes, although according to his mother’s wishes, he hoped that he would behave better, but to be a well-behaved child, and please his grandparents, he couldn’t do it at all.

And Ji Rui’s grandfather, looking at his grandson’s face, couldn’t get close to this child at all.

Although it was his own daughter’s child, he didn’t look like his own daughter at all. Instead, he looked like the man who abducted his own child back then.

Looking at Ji Rui’s attitude, the old man who had not spoken for a long time, that is Ji Rui’s grandfather, said, “We agree to give this child financial support, but the condition is that you must go back with us abroad, so we can find the best doctor to treat you.”

Ji Rui’s mother immediately said, “I don’t agree. I want to take Ji Rui with me. Dad, he is my son, why can’t you accept him?”

Ji Rui’s grandmother was a docile woman. Although she loved her daughter, she habitually obeyed her husband, and they Ji Rui’s mother was not the only child. When the trouble was so stiff, she could only learn from the relationship between her husband and daughter and choose the husband.

In fact, she had been in contact with her daughter secretly for a long time, and had been paying attention to whether her daughter was doing well, and even to that poor boy, Ji Rui’s father, she silently lent a helping hand when he was poor.

Otherwise, her delicate daughter had been raised for more than 20 years, and she had never touched the spring water with her ten fingers¹, but she had to endure hardship with such a poor man, how could she really bear it.

Looking at her grandson, her daughter, and her husband, she was in a dilemma, but she could only say to the old man: “My daughter finally agreed to reconcile. You are so old, so don’t be stubborn with her.”

She persuaded her daughter again: “your father is hard-mouthed and soft-hearted. In fact, he really missed you very much these years.”

Ji Rui’s mother was trembling with anger: “What a tough mouth, I think he is a hard-hearted, cold-blooded animal.”

If it was true, how could she had not seen her parents for nearly twenty years?

She knew that children should not ask their parents to help the poor. After becoming a mother, she had experienced so much, and she could also understand her parents’ feelings back then.

But her situation was obviously different. When she saw her parents, she was very aggrieved and moved.

Because she just called, the old man rushed over from abroad overnight. But seeing the attitude of this stubborn old man, she couldn’t help arguing with her father.

What’s more, she wanted to contact her parents for Ji Rui’s sake, but her father wanted to separate her from his son. How could she accept it.

Ji Rui, who had been silent for a long time, was about to tear her clothes. He opened his mouth, but persuaded his mother and grandfather to leave: “Mom, it doesn’t matter to me.”

After he spoke, the whole hall fell silent.

In a very spacious house, you could even hear echoes when you speak.

Ji Rui said seriously: “I’m going to college soon, so I can’t be your side. And it’s the same in the future. You’ve been away from my grandparents for so long. They are also parents, so they must really want to be with you and…”

He paused: “I hope you get better rather than watching you get sick every day when you’re by my side. Even if we separate, we’re still mother and son, aren’t we?”

He raised his head and tried to force himself to show a bright smile: “I’m eighteen years old, I’m no longer a child, I can be my own master, so it’s good for my mother to go abroad with my grandfather.”

Ji Rui’s mother looked at her son, her eyes suddenly turned red: “But…”

Ji Rui’s grandfather snorted coldly: “It’s useless for me to pretend to be pitiful and well-behaved. If you make a decision, prepare early.”

Ji Rui’s grandmother took her man into the room to talk, and Ji Rui also talked to her mother.

Although it was hard for him to leave his mother, who had depended on each other for so many years, what he wanted more was to see her get better.

The two parties talked for a long time, and the final decision was that Ji Rui’s grandfather and grandmother took their daughter to go abroad for medical treatment, while Ji Rui continued to study in China.

Originally, he was going to go to university after the college entrance examination, although as long as Grandpa Ji Rui wanted to, it would not be difficult for his grandson to enter a good foreign school.

But who made Ji Rui look bad? It was hard to say that Ji Rui looked ugly, but in fact he looked very good-looking, just too much like the man who kidnapped his precious daughter with just one face.

He finally boiled the man to death, and now there was another young man. He looked at that deceiving face and had a bad heart, not to mention doing this and that for Ji Rui.

The family doctor brought by Grandpa Ji Rui specially checked Ji Rui’s mother and came to the conclusion that the sooner she left, the better.

In addition, although Ji Rui’s grandfather and grandmother were old, they were still very busy, and they didn’t have much time to toss in the country, so they took their daughter away by private jet that day.

Under the persuasion of Ji Rui’s grandmother, the house they stayed in today was left directly to Ji Rui. If a pair of mother and son were torn apart abruptly, they should give some compensation anyway.

Although Grandpa Ji Rui still disagreed, he hadn’t seen his daughter for almost 20 years. In the end, he didn’t care about the younger generation, agreed, and let some people stay to take care of Ji Rui.

But to Ji Rui, this big luxurious house was simply not as warm as the small home he grew up in.

After watching his mother leave, he trudged home.

The people that Grandpa Ji Rui left behind said that he could take him back in a car, but he didn’t want to see these people now, let alone ride in their cars.

He took the subway back in a daze by himself, and when he reacted, he found that he had sat on the platform.

After getting off the subway, he walked for nearly two more hours before returning home.

The cocoons that came out of picking up garbage these days were all worn out, and the good mood accumulated in the employer’s house had disappeared in an instant.

After returning, he didn’t even take a shower, so he just fell into his room and fell asleep.

And these, Lu Yi knew nothing about it.

But at noon the next day, Ji Rui didn’t come. He made a few calls, only to hear the prompt “The phone you dialed has been turned off”.

He was not very familiar with this little cook who came to cook for him. He had been with him for about ten days, and he only knew that he was a person from the community. For the convenience of contact, they had saved their numbers.

So far, the information he had learned was that the other party was about the same age as his current body, and he was about to go to college. Because his family background was relatively difficult, he came out to work part-time. Other than that, only his name and phone number.

Of course, there was one more, cooking was delicious.

But cooking delicious food didn’t mean he could break the contract without reason.

At noon, Lu Yi ate something, and when it was almost evening, Ji Rui hadn’t come yet.

Lu Yi called again and again, but it was still turned off.

Disappointed, he put the phone aside and resumed work.

As a result, as soon as he put down his mobile phone, he heard the sound of someone opening the door with the key.

He stood up and saw a familiar figure.

The other party panted and carried a large bag of vegetables upstairs. When he saw him, he bowed his head repeatedly and apologized: “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, I slept late at home yesterday, my phone was dead, and I forgot when I came back.”

As soon as the phone was on, he found the phone call from Lu Yi, and he couldn’t care less about the decadence, so he got up and went to the vegetable market to buy something.

There was nothing more sincere than a face-to-face apology. As for his own family affairs, he was not the kind of person who liked to expose his wounds to others, and he would not cry about his grievances and sufferings like Mrs. Xianglin².

Of course, at this level, he was not suffering.

Lu Yi saw that his attitude was sincere, and he couldn’t say anything more: “If there is anything, you can ask me for leave in advance. Forget it this time, and don’t have another time.”

The boy nodded again and again: “Okay, I’ll cook now.”

He still hadn’t recovered from that bad mood. When he woke up, he was woken up by hunger. There was no mother at home, and he didn’t want to do anything by himself to pad the stomach, he then remembered to charge the phone, and then realized that there was an employer waiting for him to be fed.

He was in a bad mood at first, but then he hurried over to buy food.

He tried his best to think in a positive way. Although his grandparents didn’t like him, but they were so powerful, his mother’s condition must have improved, and at least he didn’t have to worry about college expenses.

It was a good thing, and he was already an adult, and he was about to go to college. Although he was in a local school, the school life was very rich, and he was not a baby who needed to be breastfed by his mother. Separation was very common matter.

However, even if he comforted himself like this, his heart was still empty, and the feeling of not being recognized was very uncomfortable. Ji Rui was cutting and cutting, and all the good dishes were cut into pieces by him.

Lu Yi had come out to pour himself a glass of water, but he glanced at it inadvertently, and quickly snatched the kitchen knife from the cook’s hand.

He scolded: “You don’t want your hands anymore?!”

If he remembered correctly, the other party mentioned that he studied design, and he would go to the university to report when the school started. Whether he was a painter or an architectural designer, both hands were very important.

He was just a stranger, and he was so cruel to himself.

“Don’t worry about it, what do you know? You don’t know anything!” After shouting three times, Ji Rui softened like a pufferfish pierced by a needle.

He was aggrieved, and his eyes turned red all of a sudden. The man also slowly crouched down to the ground, covering his face, tears streaming down his fingers.

Lu Yi was stunned, he heard Ji Rui’s cry, although it was slight, he was sure that the other party was sobbing. Because of education, most boys don’t dare to cry. After all, boys don’t cry easily.

And even though they didn’t get along for a long time, Ji Rui gave him the impression that he was a very strong, sunny and energetic boy.

He was a person who ate soft and not hard. If Ji Rui was unreasonable, he could deal with it, but when the other party was crying, he couldn’t help but start to think, was it really what he said just now too much?

But he didn’t say anything excessive, and the scene two minutes ago was really dangerous. If he started a few seconds late, the other party’s fingers might be gone.

He didn’t feel that he had done anything wrong, but it would be uncomfortable for people to cry, and he began to reflect on his attitude.

Lu Yi felt that his attitude was also very strange. He was not the kind of person who was particularly soft-hearted. For example, Zhao Wuchen, even if he cried so much that it was so pitiful, his heart would not fluctuate.

But this little brother who had not been with him for a long time, he felt that the other party could easily affect his emotions.

This was really not normal. Perhaps the best way was to terminate the contract and pay a little more liquidated damages.

In order to protect his rights and interests, if he canceled the contract early, he would at most pay an extra month´s salary

Five thousand dollars, he could still pay.

Thinking like this, Lu Yi said, “I said, if you…”

“Huh?” Ji Rui raised her head and looked at him. He cried silently, but his sleeve was wet, and when he looked up, the tears on his face were wiped dry.

But the extra bright eyes and the red eye sockets could still tell that the other party had just cried.

When Lu Yi was about to dismiss, his mouth went round three times. He didn’t know what was going on, but what he said was completely different from what he thought before: “If you have something to say, if you don’t mind, I can be your audience.”

He put down the knife and sighed: “I don’t need you to cook today, I´ll just cook whatever you want. Do you want to drink porridge?”

Ji Rui responded: “Drink.”

He was still squatting on the kitchen floor, his feet numb.

Reason told him that if he didn´t cook, but asked his employer to cook for him, this behavior was incorrect and would be spurned.

But even if he thought so, he still wanted to be capricious.

It was summer, and it was night again. Lu Yi didn’t have any appetite for particularly greasy dishes. He cooked white porridge for about three persons in a small pot, patted cucumbers, fried green vegetables, and then used the bean skin that Ji Rui bought and made cilantro carrot mixed with tofu skin.

“Let’s have something to eat.” He washed his bowl and chopsticks, and then urged Ji Rui.

Ji Rui had been unreasonable for such a long time, and he felt that his particularly sore emotions were almost vented, and he was finally willing to let it go.

When he got up, the latter’s facial expression was slightly distorted: after squatting for too long, his feet were not only numb, but also a little cramped.

It was impossible for Ji Rui to tell outsiders unreservedly about matters in hid own home. He concealed some of the situation, and when he slowly drank porridge, he revealed most of the things.

In front of his mother, he behaved very sensible, but in front of Lu Yi, it was probably because he had no scruples that he expressed his true thoughts: “Speaking unpleasant things, in fact, I don’t like them at all, obviously I had a good time with my mother, they were the ones who came out of nowhere, and the old man was stubborn and annoying. He doesn’t like me, do I have to like him? Being rich is amazing.”

Lu Yi took a chopstick and bean curd: “It’s really amazing to be rich.”

Ji Rui vented his energy, with a wry smile on his face: “You’re right, having money is really great, if it wasn’t for me, my mother would have had a good life. In fact, before this, in my grandmother’s side, they knew I existed, but they refused to accept me because I looked a lot like my father.”

If he looked like his biological mother, his grandfather should easily accept his existence, after all, love the house and its crown³. But he was like his father, and he angered the other party.

His voice dropped: “Sometimes, I also think, it would be fine if she didn’t have me. I really don’t seem to be useful except to drag my feet.”

Lu Yi wiped off the sauce he accidentally got on with a paper towel: “you said something wrong. Your existence is her own choice. She decided to give birth to you for herself, not you.”

Lu Yi didn’t like the job of a psychological counselor very much, but since the other party had such a relationship with him, he was still willing to say a few more words.

Lu Yi’s voice was gentle and sure: “You’re fine, it’s not as bad as you think.”

At least the other party could cook a good dish, unlike him, what he cooked could only be said to be edible.

Ji Rui finally showed his first sincere smile today: “Thank you, you are also a very good person.”

He could actually get out of this bad situation by himself, but the comfort and affirmation from Lu Yi, a stranger, was a very warm force to him.

Lu Yi, who was inexplicably issued a good person card, didn’t say a word. He only said something while putting on gloves to wash the dishes: “If it’s really uncomfortable, you can rest for a few days without deduction of wages.”

If Lu Yi’s former subordinates knew that their boss had become so humane, I’m afraid the contact lenses would fall out of fear.

“I can do it, I’ll definitely come over tomorrow!”

It didn’t matter if grandpa didn’t need him, there were others who needed him. In return for his employer, Ji Rui decided to work hard and train his cooking skills to the pinnacle.

When he left the Lu family, it was already dark, Ji Rui returned to his home, and his mother was not there, he felt very uncomfortable.

For the first time, he felt that the vacation was so long.

The next morning, there was a knock on his door, and one of the big men who showed up at his house yesterday stood at the door, bringing him a hearty breakfast and a cell phone.

The big man said, “Miss hopes that after you get up, you give her a call.”

Notes

1.  ‘Ten fingers do not touch the spring water’, it’s a metaphor for a person whose family conditions are good, and they don’t need to do laundry or housework themselves, usually refers to people who are pampered, and mostly refers to women from wealthy families. ↩︎
2. Mrs Xianglin is a character in Lu Xun’s novel “Blessing”. To say someone is like Mrs Xianglin is to say that this person has a series of tragedies in life, and with a dull expression and lack of energy would tell everyone about their misfortune, or describing everything as extremely sad. ↩︎
3. ‘love the house and its crown’, is an idiom that means that because you love a person, you will also love the crown on his house. It is a metaphor for loving a person and caring about the person or things related to them. ↩︎