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Chapter 24
Lu family garden.
“Brother Qin Gu! You shouldn’t blame Xiao Bai anymore. After all, the matter has already passed by a long time ago.” Xiao Yang wistfully looked in the direction where Lu Bai and Qu Xueyu had left and sighed.
Qin Gu just tightly pursed his lips and focused his attention in that same direction without responding.
The banquet was almost over, but the hall was still brightly lit and lively—it was a stark contrast with the more dark and quiet osmanthus grove.
The silence brought to mind the memories of that event from seven years ago that Qin Gu couldn’t forget.
Due to a few reasons, he was enrolled in high school in Chunming. He had two younger brothers1Just a reminder, Not Actual Brothers. Good friends call each other brothers. Like ‘Bro’, ‘Bruh’, ‘Bud/Buddy’, or your countries equivalent! from Jinghai. One was domineering and loved to cause trouble, while the other was quiet, well-behaved, and loveable. That particular day, these two little goblins had bought bus tickets and snuck out of school to see him in Chunming. When they made it, they went inside his school. The idea came from the one who loved to get into trouble, while the quiet and well-behaved one couldn’t resist, so he was drawn along.
The domineering one would be Lu Bai, and the quiet and well-behaved one was Xiao Yang.
Lu Bai had disliked Xiao Yang even then. Taking advantage of his young age and good family background, he always loved to bully and frame the other for trouble. Xiao Yang’s catchphrase since childhood was ‘Xiao Bai didn’t do it on purpose, it’s alright.’.
The first thing he said after he was rescued from the pond was “Xiao Bai didn’t mean to do it. It’s okay.” Lu Bai was nowhere to be found at that moment. If he had not arrived in time, Xiao Yang would have drowned.
He was only a teenager at the time and he felt both disappointed and angry: The little brother he had cherished was so vicious despite being so young.
“That spoiled brat, Lu Bai, is in need of a good lesson.” Then, he cradled the shivering and soaked Xiao Yang with clenched teeth.
Back then, he was shadowed by a group of fellow hot-blooded teenagers. They heard him say this and silently came to an agreement. When they finally found Lu Bai on campus that evening, they locked him in an abandoned school storage building. They didn’t know that Lu Bai had been afraid of the dark since he was a child—they just wanted to teach him a little lesson.
He had been at the hospital with Xiao Yang and was not aware of the situation. When he learned it, he rushed over to the storage building. The doors of the building were thrown wide open, and there was no longer a trace of Lu Bai inside. He concluded that Lu Bai must have opened the door by himself and left, and because of the trouble he had caused, he probably was hesitant to face him, therefore didn’t try to find him.
Indeed, he learned the next evening that Lu Bai had already returned to Jinghai. Only then did he finally take a sigh of relief. However, that kid was really too vicious. Not only did he refuse to admit his wrongdoings, but he also beat others up. After that day, Xiao Yang and his mother had to leave the country because of the Lu family.
Qin Gu felt that it was unfair, but he had unwarranted affection for that vicious and domineering youth, which he could not help but feel. Only he knew that the moment he saw Qu Xueyu’s arm resting on that youth’s shoulder, he was so jealous that he wanted to kill.
That youth still owes Xiao Yang an apology. While he only wants to be cowardly and give himself an excuse to like that youth openly.
Xiao Yang turned around and saw the various emotions that were rolling around in the eyes of the man beside him. His eyes darkened and pursed his lips tightly downward, betraying a few traces of fleeting resentment.
~~~~~~~~
Riverview Villa.
Lu Bai thought this young man named Ruan Jiangjiu was too wonderful and strange. Simply being around him, his mood could be soothed to become tranquil and calm.
The rabbit night light had been placed at the head of the bed, and the whole room was enveloped in a warm dimness. Lu Bai’s entire body was buried in the soft quilt, his nose was filled with the scent of Xiao Ruan, and he was clearly about to fall asleep with his eyelids softly fluttering.
Ruan Jiangjiu turned onto his side and quietly studied the other’s profile. He couldn’t help but reach out—wanting to touch the teenager’s sleep-blushed cheeks and his soft lips; In the end, he just stroked the other’s hair. Between them, there was a clear boundary. Therefore, he couldn’t just do whatever he wanted. He had to get the other’s consent first; after all, he cherished him so much.
Lu Bai rolled towards Ruan Jiangjiu, almost subconsciously catering to the other party’s hand that was brushing his hair. He looked like a cat that had put away its sharp claws and snuggled up to its master. He had finally closed his eyes, and the tip of his nose was about to brush against the other’s chest. The body heat and pleasant smell of the youth wrapped around him, making him feel safe and warm. He, then, suddenly felt a desire to confide in him.
“Xiao Ruan
 In fact, I have claustrophobia.” With his eyes closed, he softly blurted out. Ruan Jiangjiu’s hand that was stroking the other’s soft hair paused, then overstepped that line and gently placed his hand over the teenager’s back, embracing the other person.
“When I was a kid, I was only afraid of the dark,” Lu Bai quietly explained. “It was only after I was locked up in a very cold, dark place when I was twelve years old, and in so much pain that it was like all the bones in my body were shattered that I became claustrophobic. Xiao Ruan, at that time, I really believed that I was going to die.”
“But at that time, I had not done a single bad thing to deserve it,” He quietly confided—beside this particular person, he could recount such unpleasant topics so easily: “Xiao Ruan, do you believe me?”
In the eyes of the outside world, he is so domineering and vicious. Would he believe that he had really not done anything to Xiao Yang, but had been punished for something he did not deserve?
He was a human being; even if he had come to this world for seemingly no reason, he would still have feelings about people. He had spent so much time with Qin Gu, and he had, until then, truly thought of Qin Gu as his brother. Although he was annoyed by Xiao Yang’s caution, he really had no ill will toward him. The plot wanted him to push Xiao Yang into the water. This is different from other harmless pranks, and he did not want to hurt others or let Qin Gu down, so he disobeyed the plot for the first time.
After everything was said and done seven years ago, Qin Gu stood in front of him, eyes chilly and disgusted, as he said something similar to today: “Lu Bai, you should apologize to Xiao Yang. You owe him half a life.”
“No, I don’t. I don’t owe him anything.”
“Lu Bai, you’re still arguing?”
From that point on, Lu Bai knew that Qin Gu was no longer his brother of any kind. And perhaps he never had been.
For some reason, listening to the teenager’s calm recounting, Ruan Jiangjiu felt that his heart ached. The pain came out of nowhere like a blazing fire that couldn’t be stopped. It was as if he had known this youth for a very long time and had been sad for him many, many times.
Such pain gave him the illusion of a long-awaited reunion with this young man. After all, from the first moment he saw him, he had a sense of déjà vu.
Thump-thump, Thump-thump
Ruan Jiangjiu heard his own heartbeat beat together with Lu Bai’s and couldn’t tell the difference between them.
Then he swept the teen along with his quilt, scooped him up, and gently pressed his lips upon his forehead. Leaving behind a single kiss. His voice was low and gentle like a soothing lullaby for the soul in the night. “Xiao Bai, I certainly know what kind of person you are. Of course, I believe you.”
Peeling away the not-so-solid shell, the young man inside was so soft and pure.
Lu Bai was stunned, his eyes grew a little hot, but his lips perked up into a light smile. He buried his face in the other’s arms and let out a comfortable sigh. “Xiao Ruan, you’re so wonderful.” Then he sank into a peaceful sleep.
For the first time, Ruan Jiangjiu embraced the young man as he slept and held him like the most fragile and precious treasure in the world.
Lu Bai’s phone lit up on his nightstand with a message from Lu Zhi.
“That web drama will begin to shoot in three days.”
(Quick rant about Qin Gu’s POV/Flashback from the beginning of the chapter)
Shio:  ?? I’m not feeling very sympathetic but
. from his (Qin Gu’s) POV it wasn’t anything traumatizing or negative enough for this sentence to make sense to me. Like yeah, he found his one friend by themselves in the lake, pulled him out safely, and got him medical attention in short order. When that friend ‘off-handedly’ blames someone who wasn’t there he sicked his goons on him, then next thing he knows, that person does just fine and flies off back home ‘in a huff/ tail between legs’.
Krone: Ok I agree on this. It seems the reason is all so circumstantial and he unconditionally believed the other without calmly talking and getting the whole scenario than just the one side. -.- tsk
Editor: Krone
Proof: Nitta
1Just a reminder, Not Actual Brothers. Good friends call each other brothers. Like ‘Bro’, ‘Bruh’, ‘Bud/Buddy’, or your countries equivalent!