Chapter 23: CH 23

Shen Qi felt that Lu Zhuo had obviously changed. Not only Shen Qi, but the entire Lu family felt that he had changed.

For a week in a row, Lu Zhou would come home on time every day. Other than breakfast, he would either stay at the company or in his room. But at the table, with Elder Lu and Lu Jun, Shen Qi, and Uncle Shen, he was still silent.

And the source of this change was obviously that hotpot they ate that weekend.

Although Lu Zhuo came back late that day, with Shen Qi and Lu Jun helping to explain, as well as Uncle Shen persuading, Master Lu finally did not put up an ugly expression.

Although Master Lu is still cold and aloof, with Shen Qi and Lu Jun’s skits and performances, in the end, the atmosphere was lightened. The Lu family rarely sit together for a pleasant meal.

And since then, Lu Zhuo has come back from work more frequently. To be exact, he came back home more regularly for dinner. Two meals a day, lunch and dinner, became the main means for the Lu family, including Shen Qi and Uncle Shen, to communicate.

A week later, Elder Lu was still reserved. Yet he was finally able to initiate a normal conversation with Lu Zhuo, after putting aside his stubbornness, .

Shen Qi looked at the happiness value of 15 points and squinted with a smile while holding the bowl of wontons.

The white, almost transparent wonton skin was wrapped with fresh shrimp and tender bamboo shoots. The soup was made from leftover chicken broth with chopped cilantro and green onions floating in it. 1 It makes people hungry just by smelling it.

Shen Qi ate a little too much in the afternoon and had afternoon tea with Elder Lu while learning to play chess. So he was not very hungry at night, and he made a small bowl of wontons for Elder Lu and him.

He scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and placed it in his mouth. It was really fresh and delicious.

Lu Zhuo sat diagonally across from him and watched him puff up his mouth to blow on the spoon, then swallow the soup together with the wanton, finally using the tip of his tongue to lick away the residual on the corners of his lips. The whole process was very enjoyable, and whetted his appetite.

Inexplicably, his mind suddenly recalled the scenes of Shen Qi being drunk; more precisely, those sounds he made.

His gaze immediately moved away.

Since he watched for such a long time, it was difficult for Shen Qi to be unaware of it. He looked up and blinked: “Brother Zhuo, do you want to eat some?”

Yes, he did want to eat. 2

Lu Zhuo’s gaze swept over his lips, and his expression was serious: “It smells really good.”

Shen Qi smiled shyly: “Sorry, I only made two bowls. Grandpa and I ate too much this afternoon, so we’re not very hungry. If you want some, I’ll go and make another bowl. ”

“No need.” Lu Zhuo put down his chopsticks and replied, “I’m already full. You can make it for me next time. ”

“In that case, I’ll make it for breakfast tomorrow.”

“Mm.”

Lu Jun listened to the conversation between the two. She looked at this, looked at that, and suddenly smiled and spoke, “You guys listen to this conversation between big brother and Ah Qi. Doesn’t it look like two couples? ” Her eyes whirled around and started to imitate the tone the two had just used; “‘You want to eat’, ‘Yes’, ‘Then I’ll make it for you tomorrow morning’, ‘Hmmm’, how about that? Doesn’t it sound very similar? ”

Master Lu was amused by her tone and laughed.

Uncle Shen panicked, but when he saw that Master Lu did not have any other expression, he was relieved and secretly decided that he would talk to Ah’Qi about it later.

Shen Qi and Lu Zhuo glanced at each other. Shen Qi immediately lowered his head and almost tipped over the wonton bowl. He quietly pressed his fluttering little heart, “Good boy, don’t flutter, this is not a person we can have desire for!”

His eyes fell on the phone, and his fluttering heart immediately calmed down.

There was still one more peach blossom debt that he hadn’t finished paying off yet. 3

After the last drunk incident, Shen Qi did not log onto the app for four consecutive days. On the fifth day, he finally found the courage to click on it and found that there were no mean words. Samuel instead sent a message to comfort him, saying that he knew he was too drunk, and even apologized to him in turn, saying that it was because he had mistakenly picked up the video in the shower that led to what happened later.

Shen Qi instantly felt guilty to the point of no return. What a good friend, very understanding, and even solemnly apologized for his actions.

They then resumed their previous friendly relationship. But the incident had already happened, and Lu Jun was the one who introduced the two people to each other, which implied that she wanted them to be together. The original normal communication now had some ambiguous undertone due to this incident.

Samuel had sent pictures of the flowers in his office before. Shen Qi only felt that he was sharing his daily routine with him. But now, a bouquet of flowers, even if they are not roses, causes his heart to thump. He then tries to analyze whether there is a hidden message.

In the past, joking was just joking, but now he would always think of it wrong.

Shen Qi was a little trepidatious. In one moment, he feels like he is imagining that his love is reciprocated. While at other times, he feels like Samuel really did imply his meaning, or else he wouldn’t say those ambiguous words. 

One way or another, his head was all over the place.

He was about to place a help post on the Internet, like “Does a friend really like me?” type of question.

Shen Qi entered the Lu family in late March. Three months have passed, and it has already reached the end of June. The weather was getting hotter and hotter. The pool was set up in the backyard and was ready for the owners to use.

Since Elder Lu is used to getting up early every day to exercise, doing Tai Chi, and so on, only Lu Jun would use the pool.

This afternoon, Lu Jun pulled Shen Qi to play since the atmosphere at home is rarely this nice. She wanted to find someone to play with because she hadn’t been out for the past month.

Shen Qi did not feel awkward. Although he is a guy, his sexuality is gay. He appreciated Lu Jun as a friend. Only Uncle Shen frowned when he heard it.

Just by looking at his expression, Shen Qi could figure out what he was thinking. It was evident that he was trying to emphasize the point that only families that have the same status are well matched, which has been a traditional value since ancient times.

Last night, Lu Jun’s joking words made everyone laugh, yet Uncle Shen put the matter in his heart. That evening, he found time to give a lesson to Shen Qi about it, telling him not to think too much about it. Young Miss was joking, and he should not lose his boundaries just because the Lu family is kind to him.

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Shen Qi originally forced himself to suppress his thoughts deeper, relying on the fact that Uncle Shen does not know his sexuality to put on an innocent expression. As if he did not understand why Uncle Shen was stressing how he and the young master would never be the same.

That was to cover for Lu Zhuo, but now he had to worry about Lu Jun.

Shen Qi was helpless and very seriously said: “Uncle, rest assured. I only see the Young Miss as a little sister. ”

Although Lu Jun is the same age as him, she is two months younger than him. So, technically, she is indeed his younger sister. Since Lu Jun knows his sexuality, she only sees him as her best friend and has no other thoughts about him.

Uncle Shen sighed with relief and patted his shoulder: “It’s good that you understand.” He shot Shen Qi a glance, and sighed, “You are a good boy. If it weren’t for her status, this wouldn’t be impossible. But because of her identity, I can’t do anything either…”

In his opinion, he does not believe that A’Qi is worse than anyone else. He is obedient and knows how to cook, which is already better than some of Lu Jun’s ex-boyfriends. However, because their statuses don’t match, even if Lu Jun agreed, Elder Lu wouldn’t agree. Rather than having their hearts broken in the future, he would rather be the bad guy from the start.

Shen Qi could naturally see his thoughts and could not help but reach out and hug Uncle Shen: “Don’t worry, I know my boundaries.”

He could only hope that Uncle Shen wouldn’t be too surprised by him and Lu Zhuo.

Shen Qi did not think he would stay at the Lu mansion for so long, not to mention swim trunks. He did not even prepare any summer clothing. He later bought them online, so in the scene he originally envisioned, Lu Jun was swimming in the pool, and he sat at the poolside, lying on a lounge chair, swiping his phone and drinking a cold drink. How comfortable and carefree.

Yet, in the end, Lu Jun handed over something while smiling. Her expression was both gentle and generous: “Here, I know you must not have prepared. I especially prepared this for you. It is guaranteed in your size. ”

Shen Qi unfolded the swimming trucks. As he saw the fluorescent green swim trunks unfold in front of his eyes, black lines appeared on his face. 4

“Surprise! Are you surprised? ” Lu Jun covered her mouth as she laughed in a missy-smile. 5, “No need to thank me. Who asked us to be friends. Go change! We’ll go compete after you change! ”

The corners of Shen Qi’s mouth twitched. In Lu Jun’s eagerly awaited gaze, he turned back to the room to change clothes.

After turning around, a trace of a smile swept over his face. He originally thought that Lu Jun would simply call him to swim. But now, it is apparent that this was not her intention.

So what if he’s cold? He can’t withstand having such a passionate sister to warm him up. She is simply the people’s best assistant and the masses’ best teammate!

They kept swimming until the sun went down. Shen Qi should have gone to prepare dinner, but was stopped by Lu Jun until Lu Zhuo came back. Across the French window in the living room, Lu Jun enthusiastically waved, and then pulled Shen Qi, who had not had the time to change clothes, directly into the living room.

“Brother, you’re back.” Lu Jun took the large bath towel that was wrapped around himself and went upstairs to change clothes after greeting him. She did not think that there was anything wrong with leaving two single gay guys together in the room.

“Brother Lu……” Shen Qi was a little embarrassed. After all, he was still covered in water and looked a little pitiful. Although he did not dare to have any thoughts about Lu Zhuo, he always liked to show the best side to the other person.

Lu Zhuo’s eyes flew around his body, and wrinkled his eyebrows: “Wipe yourself. Don’t catch a cold. ”

“Ah, oh, thanks.” Shen Qi lifted the towel draped over his shoulders, carelessly rubbing his head for a while, and moved carefully to the side, “That, I still have to prepare dinner. I’ll go change first… ”

Lu Zhuo suddenly maneuvered his wheelchair in front of him and jerked the towel away from his hand, “Keep your head down.”

No, it’s not what he thought…

Shen Qi’s little heart fluttered twice. He obediently bent down and lowered his head.

It turns out that it was really what he thought. Lu Zhuo picked up the bath towel and helped him wipe his hair.

Shen Qi’s entire body froze.

He did not dare to lean too close or even raise his eyes to look, but only stretched his neck to put his head over. His eyes wandered from side to side and finally landed on Lu Zhuo’s shoes.

But even so, it was still too close, especially since he was wearing only swimming trunks.

The strange and familiar scent around him.

His heartbeat was palpitating again. 

“Crouch down.” Lu Zhuo frowned at his awkward posture.

Shen Qi stiffened again, following Lu Zhuo’s hand and squatted down. Originally, he was only looking down, yet it changed to looking up. His line of sight could not avoid him. He started to blink nervously, not daring to look at Lu Zhuo’s face.

Lu Zhuo continued to dry his hair. Looking at his wandering eyes, a trace of a smile passed over his face. The young man’s dripping wet head was wrapped up in the white towel. Following Lu Zhuo’s movements, his eyelashes were trembling. Those movements almost trembled into Lu Zhuo’s heart.

“I’m done.”

After getting the word, Shen Qi’s heart sighed with relief. The entire process took less than two minutes, yet it felt like two hours. He hastily picked up the towel and stood up, inadvertently matching his gaze with Lu Zhuo’s. His heart fluttered once more.

Lu Zhuo looked at him from head to foot. Following his gaze, Shen Qi’s body inexplicably shivered. There was a strange feeling that he couldn’t describe everywhere Lu Zhuo saw. Even his toes could not help but curl up.

“Brother Lu…”

Lu Zhuo’s gaze lingered on his fluorescent green swim trunks for two seconds. His expression turned strange: “I want wonton for dinner tonight.”

“Ha?” Shen Qi froze.

Lu Zhuo did not say more, and he maneuvered his wheelchair away.

Well, white and tender, falling into the water, and then floating with a little green. He wants to eat that. 6

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