Chapter 6
After uttering his self-proclaimed title, Lu Mian looked back and saw Lu Lin staring directly at him, his lips parting slightly. “Aren’t you called Little Cool?”
Lu Mian: O.O?
Oh no.
He learned it.
Lu Mian, who hadn’t even died from being hit by a car, finally experienced the full spectrum of embarrassment, his toes curling. Abstract nonsense was clearly not something to be played with lightly.
He remained silent, and Lu Lin, his expression slightly hardened, didn’t speak either.
For some reason, he had just blurted out the little fool’s words.
Lu Lin’s gaze fixed on Lu Mian. He snapped back to reality, realizing his nails were digging into his palm, drawing blood. It hurt, but he wanted to dig deeper, as if suppressing some emotion, his eyes darkening.
It was laughable.
He had never imagined that one day he would so openly reveal his true self in front of someone else.
And that someone was a little fool.
This Lu Mian… was slightly better than the hateful one from before.
Thinking this, Lu Lin frowned, his grip tightening. After a while, he raised his eyes, his gaze dark as he looked directly at Lu Mian. The latter’s eyes widened suddenly. Lu Lin curled his lips slightly. “Afraid of me?”
Lu Mian had been wanting to disappear into a hole due to Lu Lin’s “Little Cool” comment. But then he noticed the other digging into his palm, drawing blood, yet continuing without changing his expression.
He’s crazy! Crazy!
In the original book, this was a precursor to the villain’s descent into madness.
He wasn’t afraid of the villain going crazy, but he was afraid of the villain going crazy right in front of him!
Lu Mian’s heart was in turmoil, stirred by the calm madness before him. He forced himself to calm down, changing the subject, his voice slightly shaky. “Accompany… accompany someone.”
He then started picking at his own fingers, mimicking the other.
If they were going crazy, they might as well go crazy together.
He’d already lost all face; what was a little more?
Lu Lin stopped, watching him pick.
Lu Mian was afraid of pain. He lowered his head, bent his left index finger, and scratched at the nail of his right middle finger.
Endure, must endure.
Can’t lose control, the villain is still watching.
His chaotic emotions inexplicably calmed. Lu Lin suddenly called out to him, his voice soft, “Lightning… Fire Wolf?”
Lu Mian abruptly looked up. Someone actually believed him? He looked at Lu Lin and saw a “can’t beat them, join them” spirit in his calm expression. He felt like a mummy evolving into a Transformer, spitting spiderwebs at him.
He quickly said, “It’s Little Cool!”
Heh!
Since he was playing dumb, how could he let anyone easily see through a fool’s thoughts?
Lu Lin went with the flow, continuing to join in: “Little Cool.”
He then pinched his palm again, unexpectedly being led by a fool.
Lu Mian saw his action, the blood dripping down his palm, and cried out inwardly.
Coach, I don’t want to learn this!
Lu Mian stopped picking at his fingers. He shuffled over and sat down on the wooden chair, too tired to stand.
Then he said, “Little Beauty, Little Beauty, Little Cool is here.”
Lu Mian proudly raised his head, the corners of his lips curving slightly upwards, looking like a proud little child.
Calling the villain Little Beauty.
Who else could do that?!
Lu Lin was indeed stunned into silence by his aura. Just as Lu Mian was feeling smug, the figure in front of him flickered and walked towards him.
The feeling of losing control, of having his fate held by the scruff of his neck, like yesterday when his chin was pinched, suddenly washed over him. Lu Mian leaned back defensively. Then Lu Lin stopped beside him.
A heavenly voice reached his ears. “Young Master, are you hungry?”
Liu Xu entered with a group of servants carrying food, the aroma instantly filling the room. Lu Mian inhaled sharply and darted over, his misty eyes now bright, as if filled with stars.
The dishes were placed on the table one by one. Lu Mian quickly entered his usual eating mode, ignoring even Lu Lin, who was sitting beside him.
In his peripheral vision, the person beside him was eating intently, his eyes only for the delicious food, bite after bite, making even onlookers’ mouths water.
Lu Lin picked up his jade chopsticks, lowered his eyes, and slowly began to eat, completely ignoring the blood still oozing from his palm.
One ate quietly, the other like a whirlwind.
By the door, Tao Rouxuan, who had come to see her son after her own meal, shook her head, a smile in her eyes.
Liu Xu whispered, “Young Master has a much better appetite than at noon.”
Tao Rouxuan nodded.
“With Eldest Young Master here, Young Master’s spirits seem to be good as well.”
Tao Rouxuan mused, “Yes.”
After a pause, she said briefly, “From now on, Eldest Young Master’s food can be a bit more refined.”
“Yes,” Liu Xu nodded knowingly.
Tao Rouxuan stood by the door for a while longer, looking at her son, who had become exceptionally innocent after his injury and memory loss, and then at the seemingly calm and reserved Lu Lin.
The two boys were only two years apart, but their experiences had shaped them into very different people. Previously, due to her own reservations and her son’s dislike for Lu Lin, Tao Rouxuan had also suppressed him for a time. Now, with her son’s change in attitude and his dependence on Lu Lin due to his injury, she couldn’t help but change her perspective.
As long as Lu Lin stayed by her son’s side and behaved himself, she would naturally take good care of him.
At the dining table, Lu Lin discreetly glanced towards the door, noticing the fleeting corner of a garment.
Seeing her son engrossed in his meal, Tao Rouxuan didn’t disturb him and turned to leave Yulin Pavilion.
After finishing his meal and walking around the room, Lu Mian noticed a small bed had been added next to his own in the inner room.
Confused, he walked towards the small bed.
Lu Lin, who had entered after the servants cleared the table, said, “That’s where I sleep.” He had spent last night on a couch in the outer room. Perhaps intending for him to stay here permanently, Tao Rouxuan had specifically ordered someone to bring in a small bed today.
The bedroom was now a shared room. Lu Mian stopped in his tracks! A chilling aura enveloped him from behind, making his hair stand on end.
“Why,” a voice asked from beside him, close at hand, “do you only recognize me?”
Lu Lin’s gaze fixed on him, his dark eyes clearly reflecting Lu Mian’s figure, filled with undisguised scrutiny.
Duh, how else would I get you out of the ancestral hall? But Lu Mian hadn’t expected it to come at his own expense. Facing Lu Lin’s question, Lu Mian remained silent for a moment. He wouldn’t answer that.
After a few seconds, Lu Mian tilted his head and plopped down on Lu Lin’s small bed.
As expected, the moment he lay down, the atmosphere in the room plummeted.
The villain had a bit of OCD; he didn’t like others touching his things, and he couldn’t even stand physical contact with others. Lu Mian thought for a moment, then rolled around on the bed, glancing sideways.
Lu Lin remained silent, looking particularly withdrawn.
After a while, he walked to the desk and started grinding ink.
Lu Mian: ovo.
If you’re not going to talk to me, I’m going to sleep.
The carriage wasn’t as comfortable as a large, soft bed. Lu Mian, nestled under the covers, felt drowsy. He was also at the age of rapid growth, and he was injured…
It’s definitely not because I’m lazy!
Just before he drifted off, Lu Mian vaguely felt like he had forgotten something, but before he could think further, he fell asleep.
When Lu Mian woke up again, he looked at the bare ceiling above, the familiar bed curtains in his peripheral vision.
Lu Mian sat up abruptly. He had taken over the villain’s bed!
Perhaps because he had slept too much yesterday, it was only dawn outside. Lu Mian reluctantly got up, wanting to roll back into his own bed. As he got out of bed, he couldn’t help but walk towards the outer room.
Rounding the screen, he saw the figure sleeping by the low table.
Lu Lin’s face was slightly pale, his phoenix eyes, usually filled with aggression when they were alone, were closed, making him look unexpectedly vulnerable.
Lu Mian stared at him, a sudden pang of guilt rising in his heart.
Besides being cruel and perverted, the villain was actually quite pitiful. His childhood environment had shaped his twisted and overly paranoid psyche.
He was injured, and he had taken his bed.
Lu Mian, feeling extremely guilty, went back to get a blanket and covered him with it. Then he returned to the inner room and lay down on his own bed.
Now he wasn’t occupying the other’s bed; it was the other’s choice not to sleep there.
Lu Mian convinced himself, dispelling his guilt.
He lay there for an unknown amount of time, his eyes slowly closing again. Lu Mian peacefully drifted back to sleep, feeling for the first time that covering someone with a blanket could be so tiring.
He woke up again at noon, A-Qing and A-Ping helping him dress and wash. Lu Lin wasn’t there, and Lu Mian guessed he must have gone to the academy.
In the main courtyard, Liu Xu reported to Tao Rouxuan, “He’s not talking again.”
Seeing Madam’s displeased expression, she quickly added, “It’ll be fine when Eldest Young Master returns.”
That afternoon, when Lu Lin returned to the Lu residence, he was greeted at Yulin Pavilion by the sight of Lu Mian hanging upside down from a small swing in the courtyard, one hand on the ground, the other pawing at the earth.
Lu Mian had been swinging when a grasshopper suddenly landed on his clothes, then jumped to the ground. He immediately turned to catch it, forgetting he was on a swing.
He had been swinging the swing, and now the swing was swinging him.
Lu Mian held his breath, unable to call for help; that would be too embarrassing. So he could only wait for a servant to come in and find him, and take him back to his room.
He waited and waited, and finally, he saw an upside-down Lu Lin.
Lu Mian processed the scene. Oh…
He was the one upside down.
“Help—” Lu Mian couldn’t hold it in anymore and called out to the villain for help.
Lu Lin, who had been about to head to his room, paused, wondering what he was playing at. He went over and pulled him up.
Lu Mian: “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Lu Lin glanced at him and took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands.
Seeing this, Lu Mian choked, unable to continue his thanks.
The rejected Lu Mian: Stare—
Fortunately, three ‘thank yous’ could be canceled out, so it was as if he hadn’t thanked him at all.
Lu Lin finished wiping his hands and turned to go back to the room.
Lu Mian, sensing the opportunity, tried to get inside first, but he tripped after only two steps.
Lu Mian: qvq.
He had stepped on his robe.
This was the downside of ancient clothing.
Lu Lin heard the thud beside him, his ears twitching. Footsteps approached from outside the courtyard. He softened his tone. “Shall I help you up?”
Lu Mian ignored him, deciding to lie where he had fallen, and simply spread out his limbs.
As a result, when he took a bath in the evening, the water in the wooden tub turned muddy the moment he got in.
“Young Master, look, there’s so much mud in your hair,” A-Qing said as she washed his hair.
Lu Mian sank into the tub: Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.
The water was a bit dirty, so he resurfaced.
Lu Mian decided that from today onwards, he wouldn’t talk to Lu Lin!
Surprisingly, Lu Lin didn’t seem inclined to talk to him either. Even when they were alone in the room, he didn’t speak to him like he had in the previous two days.
Lu Mian vaguely realized something.
Lu Mian was silent.
Lu Lin…
Really thought he was a fool.
After all, who in their right mind would talk to a fool?
With Lu Lin not talking, Lu Mian could only talk to himself, and their coexistence became surprisingly harmonious.
He discovered that as long as there were others present, the villain would maintain his persona and talk to him. Even if Lu Mian deliberately ignored him, he would still patiently explain things to him.
“Lin-er,” Tao Rouxuan said with a smile as she entered and saw Lu Lin reading to Lu Mian. “Reading?”
Lu Mian’s eyes were gloomy.
Liar, Lu Lin is a big liar!
Lu Lin replied, “Just some stories, reading to Mian Mian.”
Tao Rouxuan’s smile deepened. “Good boy. Tomorrow is the tenth day of the lunar month, a day of rest. Would you like to go to Han Guang Temple with Mother to offer incense and pray for blessings?”
The late Emperor had been a devout Taoist, seeking immortality in his later years. He had listened to the slanderous words of a false Daoist priest, causing chaos in the court. Only after the new Emperor ascended the throne was order restored. Han Guang Temple had become prosperous during this time.
It was now March, just after the Shangsi Festival, and there were still many people offering incense. There would also be an incense fair at the end of the month.
Lu Lin replied, “As Madam wishes.”
Tao Rouxuan nodded in satisfaction. “That way, Mian Mian will have a companion.”
Lu Mian, whose name had been called, sat up straight, feeling a sense of anticipation, like a school trip. He was so excited that he couldn’t fall asleep that night. He usually fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but tonight he tossed and turned in bed.
Rolling left, then sprawling right.
There would be a temple fair, it would be so much fun.
Lu Mian: “Hee hee.”
He accidentally giggled.
From the small bed next door, where breathing was light and shallow, a voice finally rang out, as if unable to bear it any longer. “If you don’t sleep now, don’t sleep at all.”
Lu Mian: OoO!
Threatened, Lu Mian settled down, lying with his eyes open for a while before they finally closed.
In the darkness, Lu Lin turned on his side. With his exceptionally keen hearing, he could clearly hear the other person’s breathing in the room, changing from erratic to even.
His sleep quality was astonishingly good.
The little fool who ran around like a monkey all day.
Perhaps it was because of this that he felt a rare sense of peace, able to tolerate another person’s presence and fall asleep.
And the small blanket that had been placed on him when he woke up a few days ago…
Lu Lin closed his eyes for a moment, his breathing gradually synchronizing with the person beside him. However, his sleep wasn’t as deep. Even the slightest chirping of insects outside could disturb him.
His childhood environment had trained him to be vigilant even in his sleep. The malicious servants took pleasure in witnessing the downfall of those above them, often banging gongs and drums outside his door late at night.
Lu Fu was aware of this, but he turned a blind eye.
No one cared about him.
Thud.
The sound of something heavy falling instantly woke Lu Lin from his sleep.
“Waaah, it hurts—”
Lu Mian had dreamt he was chasing rabbits. The rabbits ran too fast, and he chased and chased, finally pouncing like a wolf… and then he fell out of bed.
Lu Mian, who had landed on his backside, teared up from the pain, unable to get up for a while.
So painful, so painful, so painful.
He lay on his side, reaching out a hand to rub his backside, but not daring to.
A cold breath brushed his nose. Lu Mian’s fingers twitched, touching something.
Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a shadow beside him. Lu Mian was startled. “Ghost!”
Then he was picked up by the ghost. Just as he was about to struggle, his waist was gripped tightly, immobilizing him.
A cold voice came from above. “Be still.”
Lu Mian: QvQ.
Not a ghost, but Lu Lin.
Lu Mian quieted down. Just as Lu Lin was about to carry him back to bed, a tearful voice said, “Thank you.”
Lu Lin’s lips parted slightly.
Before he could speak, another sentence reached his ears.
“You’re a good ghost.”
Lu Mian stubbornly insisted.
