When you start to see the world from another angle, you will learn that many things were different from what you thought.
Lu Zhengfei had always thought that he protected Chen Qianqing well, but becoming Chen Qianqing opened his eyes to the fact that this protection was just his wishful thinking.
Chen Qianqing was still so weak then, just one oversight alone would have been enough to hurt him deeply.
It did not matter whether it was Lu Yiqin who appeared in his ward at that time, the sharp-tongued Liu Jingyang, or even the lipstick stain on Lu Zhengfei’s collar, they were all telling him one thing, that Chen Qianqing’s situation was never as good as he had thought all along.
And because he had a bad relationship with Lu Zhengfei, he would never try to rely on Lu Zhengfei’s strength whenever he was hurt by someone. He would only bear with it endlessly, until it broke out to bite back at him.
And this was also one of the causes that created that tragic end for both Lu Zhengfei and Chen Qianqing. The truth would never be revealed if they never communicated with each other.
After Chen Qianqing returned home from school, he saw Lu Zhengfei sitting in the living room with a dark face.
Chen Qianqing was not a smoker, so Lu Zhengfei would also avoid smoking in front of him usually; but today was an exception. Lu Zhengfei was sitting in the living room, and in front of him was an ashtray filled to the brim with cigarette butts.
Looking at him, Chen Qianqing walked in with his crutches, his expression not at all affected by the sight of Lu Zhengfei. He sat himself down on a sofa and picked up an apple, munching on it as if he did not notice Lu Zhengfei’s presence at all.
“Qianqing.” It was clear that Lu Zhengfei had already been sitting on the sofa for a long time. Seeing that Chen Qianqing had returned, he extinguished his cigarette: “About yesterday……”
“Give me a cigarette.” Done with his apple, Chen Qianqing cut him off.
“When did you start smoking?” Lu Zhengfei was shocked. Following that, rage appeared in his eyes: “Who taught you to smoke?”
Chen Qianqing responded: “Give me a cigarette before you start talking about what happened yesterday.”
Lu Zhengfei did not expect this response from Chen Qianqing. He thought that Chen Qianqing would at least show his anger, but when he really wanted to discuss with him about this matter, he was met with his indifference instead.
That was right, it was indifference; as if this would never have anything to do with him no matter how Lu Zhengfei tried to explain himself.
Lu Zhengfei was silent for a moment, but he still passed a cigarette to Chen Qianqing.
Chen Qianqing wanted to smoke, but he did not do so. He did not have any intentions of doing anything that could harm his body, not even having a smoke. So, he put the cigarette by his nose so he could smell the tobacco, at the very least, this was better than nothing to satisfy his smoking addiction.
“It was Wenhong.” Lu Zhengfei started to speak: “She marked my collar with lipstick on purpose.”
Yan Wenhong was Lu Zhengfei’s cousin. Neither Lu Zhengfei’s father’s family nor his mother’s family actually supported what his relationship with Chen Qianqing, but Lu Zhengfei was not too much of a fool after all, so he was not going to expose his infatuation towards Chen Qianqing before he had control of the family.
But even so, Lu Zhengfei’s family still could not understand his favour for Chen Qianqing.
Chen Qianqing lowered his head and tearing apart the cigarette so he could suck on the tobacco in his mouth. Then, he raised his head: “Is that what you wanted to say?”
Lu Zhengfei was stunned: “Don’t be angry, Qianqing, I definitely won’t associate myself with any women behind your back.”
Chen Qianqing watched Lu Zhengfei’s panicked experience and all he wanted to do was laugh bitterly. The young Lu Zhengfei thought that the biggest obstacle between him and Chen Qianqing was the fact that he did not love him, but he never would have thought that his weakness and immaturity was the real wall in their relationship.
Chen Qianqing spat out the tobacco in his mouth, and after taking a sip of water, spoke: “Lu Zhengfei, can you really protect me?”
Lu Zhengfei: “What are you trying to say, Qianqing?”
“Be it your sister or your cousin.” Chen Qianqing said: “Would you push me into hell if they wanted it?”
Lu Zhengfei sucked in a breath of air. Chen Qianqing would never have said such things to him in the past, perhaps these words had a deeper meaning? Perhaps Chen Qianqing had already accepted him??
Chen Qianqing looked coldly at Lu Zhengfei’s expression, he looked just like a pitiful and naive little child: “Lu Zhengfei, the problem is not whether you want to be with me or not, the question is whether or not you want to continue being with me just like how things are right now.”
If the only way they could be together was if he broke his legs, and locked him up, would they not just end up walking towards their destruction together?
“I get it now.” Lu Zhengfei was not a fool, he had no experience in love and his infatuation with Chen Qianqing was something he would never have imagined before. No matter how smart or alert he was, being only twenty years old, his experience in life was lacking.
Lu Zhengfei may have impeccable skill in his career, but when it came to his feelings, he could not even be compared with the original Chen Qianqing.
Chen Qianqing understood when he saw Lu Zhengfei’s reaction, but he just felt exhausted; if there could have been a person around him who could remind him what he had done wrong, then he may not have walked down that rickety road with Chen Qianqing.
After that, nothing big came up between Chen Qianqing and Lu Zhengfei.
After Lu Yiqin’s incident, Lu Zhengfei dragged out the person who dared to mess around by his side——That man had been by his side for six years and did not have any intentions of harming Chen Qianqing, but he simply did not like how infatuated Lu Zhengfei was towards him, that was the reason why he allowed Lu Yiqin to hurl insults at Chen Qianqing as she pleased.
Lu Zhengfei had no mercy for this person. He may just have messed around because he could not stand seeing Chen Qianqing, but he might also be able to do something more malicious another day.
Everything seemed to be moving towards the right direction.
May passed, and Chen Qianqing was basically beginning to do his preparations for the final exams. So that he could have an easier time reviewing his studies, he ignored Lu Zhengfei’s protests and stayed in the dorms for two weeks. He and Zhu Mao ran over to the library everyday to study, and at the very least, he was able to pass his classes without too many problems.
During that period, Lu Zhengfei had come to see Chen Qianqing several times, and even asked people to bring him lunch and dinner.
“Qianqing, is that your brother?” Zhu Mao asked as he ate.
Chen Qianqing responded: “No, just a friend.”
Zhu Mao: “He’s really nice to you……” Hearing this, Chen Qianqing smiled, but he did not respond.
After their results came out, their school break came as well.
Since it was inconvenient for him to move around, and with Lu Zhengfei in disagreement, Chen Qianqing decided not to return home during this vacation break.
Liu Huamei had already found out that Chen Qianqing would not be going home when she came over to take care of him, but she still called him after his exams. She asked about Chen Qianqing’s situation, then about whether he would be going back or not.
“Mom, I won’t be going back.” Chen Qianqing told Liu Huamei on the phone: “Take care of yourselves, you and dad should come over for a trip if you’re free as well, the weather’s much cooler here than in C City.”
Liu Huamei agreed with a chuckle. She had originally called because she was quite worried about Chen Qianqing, but knowing that Lu Zhengfei was also around, she put her worries down. After all, there was less to worry about if there was someone there to take care of him.
Chen Qianqing was very speechless about how assured Liu Huamei was. He did not know what Lu Zhengfei did to gain Liu Huamei’s trust like this, that she could even calmly hand him over to him——It had to be mentioned that Liu Huamei was very much suspicious of him in the past.
Chen Qianqing’s decision not to return just so happened to be in line with Lu Zhengfei’s plans. He had wanted to bring Chen Qianqing out to play, but Chen Qianqing told him bluntly: “Am I supposed to go out with you while on my crutches?”
Lu Zhengfei could only ask how Chen Qianqing planned to pass his vacation.
Speaking of which, it was quite funny to say, but Chen Qianqing had never experienced this so-called vacation break before. His plans and arrangements for his vacations have always been very well-packed, so instead of calling it a vacation, it was more like he was just studying somewhere else.
“I don’t feel like going out.” Chen Qianqing said: “I’m just going to read a little at home, and rest.”
Knowing his plans, Lu Zhengfei wanted to say more, but he still stopped himself. Chen Qianqing had really changed a lot. If he was ever unhappy in the past, he would only keep it in his heart; but now, he would say everything to him directly, and he even sounded a little disappointed that he had not acted on it.
Lu Zhengfei guessed that Chen Qianqing had really decided to live a proper life with him.
But in truth, living a good life together may just be wishful thinking, but his disappointment was real.
You could still describe the relationship between the two of them as harmonious, but the only thing they could never reach a mutual consensus on was one thing——Sex.
That’s right, sex. After being taken advantage of while he was asleep, Chen Qianqing had gained a new skill: no matter whether he was deep asleep or not, he could still wake up very quickly whenever Lu Zhengfei was near.
Lu Zhengfei did not like it when Chen Qianqing struggled too much, so he figured that he could make a move on him while he was asleep like last time. But obviously, his plans would not be achieved so easily.
Chen Qianqing woke up way too easily. He could practically see his eyes open to glare at him every time he came near, even if he saw him sleeping just a second ago. Being stared at in such a way made it hard for Lu Zhengfei to continue his deeds as well.
Chen Qianqing also knew that things could not go on like this forever, Lu Zhengfei will burst out in frustration sooner or later. Thus, he thought about it for a long time, and he had also been working on building his mental preparations as well. Finally, he faced Lu Zhengfei: “Lu Zhengfei, I’ll get it out for you with my hand.”
Lu Zhengfei was reading the news on his tablet at that time, and hearing that, the tablet in his hands fell to the ground. Following that, he got up quickly and touched Chen Qianqing’s forehead: “Do you have a fever?”
Chen Qianqing: “……” Looking at his good-for-nothing self really made him feel an extraordinary sense of sadness.
Seeing that Chen Qianqing did not seem to be joking, Lu Zhengfei said: “Are you sure you want to do that?” Perhaps nobody would believe it if he said it, but Lu Zhengfei had special feelings for Chen Qianqing’s beautiful hands that he played the piano with. So when Chen Qianqing offered to give him release with his hand, his first reaction was joy.
Of course, Chen Qianqing knew what Lu Zhengfei was thinking about. He had clearly told himself that he had to endure it, but seeing that look in Lu Zhengfei’s eyes still angered him: “Lu Zhengfei, can’t you be show a little more restraint? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking about!”
Lu Zhengfei tried to refute him: “How do you know what I’m thinking about!”
Chen Qianqing: “Aren’t you just fucking pleased with yourself? With that shit-eating grin on your face, do you think I’m blind?!”
Lu Zhengfei: “……” Uh, was it really that obvious……?