The Scum Gong’s Redemption Manual (Quick Transmigration) 10

Chapter 10

Lin Zhiyan slowly widened his eyes, stammering, “Wh-what?”

Lu Ze took a step forward, looking down at him with a serious and solemn expression. “Lin Zhiyan, I’m pursuing you.”

Lin Zhiyan blinked, his mind momentarily blank and at a loss. He was thinking, what does he mean he’s pursuing me? How is he pursuing me? Aren’t we friends?

Lin Zhiyan’s mind was in a complete mess. His lips moved for a long time, but he didn’t know what to say. He just stared at him with his round, cat-like eyes, as if he didn’t understand the meaning of his words.

Lu Ze coughed into his fist, but his voice softened. “Senior, I like you, and I’m pursuing you.”

He looked at Lin Zhiyan, his voice growing even gentler. “I’m telling you this not to pressure you into anything, but just to let you know my intentions.”

“This time it was my fault. I had originally planned to wait a little longer, until we were more familiar with each other, until I was ready, to plan an elaborate confession and then reveal my feelings to Senior… but I didn’t expect things to not go according to plan.” He gave a bitter smile. “Senior doesn’t have to rush to give me an answer. I’m saying this today just to let you know that I didn’t mean to deceive you.”

“Senior can go back and think about it. I’m not in a hurry, and Senior doesn’t have to be either.” He coughed a few more times and looked at Lin Zhiyan. “Whatever the answer is, I can wait.”

Lin Zhiyan stared at him blankly. Lu Ze pulled his windbreaker tighter, took a step back, and smiled gently. “It’s cold outside. Senior should go back first.”

Lin Zhiyan’s mind was a complete mess right now, so he could only obediently do as he said. But after taking just two steps, he remembered something, turned around, and handed the bag in his hand to Lu Ze. “The medicine I bought for you.”

His voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, but he still gave clear instructions. “The dosage and instructions are written on the note inside. Remember to take it when you get back.”

A smile filled Lu Ze’s eyes. He coughed again and said with a smile, “Thank you, Senior.”

As their hands met, his cool fingertips brushed against the young man’s warm ones. Lin Zhiyan instinctively flinched. For some reason, a touch that would have felt natural before now felt a little awkward.

He said in a low voice, “Go back.” After speaking, he turned and walked towards his dormitory building.

Lu Ze watched his retreating back, the smile in his eyes deepening.

777 said in his mind: 【Host, is this considered a success or not?】

Lu Ze started walking back, a smile in his voice: 【Halfway there.】

777 thought for a moment: 【Oh, I get it. This is called playing hard to get, right?】

Lu Ze chuckled: 【Something like that.】

777 exclaimed: 【It wasn’t in vain for the Host to deliberately make that wrong call.】

Lu Ze just smiled without saying a word.

After returning to his dorm, he opened the medicine bag. All the medicine for coughs and fevers was there, along with a note that clearly stated the dosage and instructions for each medicine. The handwriting was neat and elegant.

Lu Ze looked at it with a smile, put the note away, and took the medicine according to the instructions.

777 said faintly in his mind: 【Host, there’s special cold medicine in the system store. Why don’t you use it?】

Lu Ze said: 【This body’s resistance is decent. Regular medicine is enough. Recovering too quickly would arouse suspicion.】

777 was instantly happy.

***

The night was deep, with a few sparse stars scattered across the sky.

In the dormitory, his roommates were already asleep. Lin Zhiyan lay with his eyes open, staring into the dark night, unable to fall asleep.

He was thinking about many things: Lu Ze’s words, his talk of pursuit and liking, and all their past interactions.

After thinking for a long time, he couldn’t come to any conclusion.

Lu Ze likes me. How could Lu Ze like me?

Lin Zhiyan found it hard to understand, and even harder to imagine what kind of response he should give.

It wasn’t that no one had pursued him before. There had even been those who tried to befriend him first and then take the next step. Lin Zhiyan could always reject them decisively, but when it came to Lu Ze, when it came to Lu Ze…

Lin Zhiyan didn’t know what to do.

He thought about how he had met Lu Ze, the games they had watched together, the meals they had eaten together—all of it had been happy.

He had thought it was the feeling of friendship, but could it be, could it be love?

Lin Zhiyan didn’t know. He had never experienced the emotion of love before, so naturally, he didn’t understand how it was different from other emotions.

He only knew that he didn’t want to part with Lu Ze like this, to become strangers again, to go back to being alone.

That had been the norm for Lin Zhiyan in the past, but now he couldn’t accept it.

But…

All sorts of thoughts swirled in Lin Zhiyan’s mind, finally landing on Qin Yiming.

He was thinking about what Qin Yiming had said yesterday.

Lin Zhiyan was an illegitimate son, a despised and loathed illegitimate son, destined to live in the shadows. But Lu Ze was the high and mighty young master of the Lu family, with a bright future and prospects. Although Qin Yiming’s words were harsh, what he said was not wrong. He and Lu Ze were from two different worlds.

Lu Ze liked him now, but what about in the future? The gazes of his relatives and friends, and the opinions of Lu Ze’s parents—would they really not care?

What would being with Lu Ze bring him?

The gossip of others? Lin Zhiyan was used to all of this, but he didn’t want Lu Ze to bear it.

Without him, Lu Ze could date someone with a clean family background, someone who was his equal. When others talked about them, it would be with admiration and envy.

He could live in the spotlight forever.

Instead of being dragged down by him, to face the pointing fingers of others.

The darkness of the night always accelerated the growth of emotions.

Lin Zhiyan picked up his phone and opened the contacts page. The glaring white light made his eyes sore.

Their chat history still ended with the call from Lu Ze.

With a trembling hand, Lin Zhiyan slowly typed out a few words:

【You should stop pursuing me.】

After pressing the send button, everything seemed to be settled.

The phone fell onto the bed. Lin Zhiyan rested the back of his hand on his eyes and let out a silent breath, thinking that Lu Ze should understand what he meant now.

The dormitory was silent. The faint snoring of his roommate seemed to become an ethereal background music. Because of this, the phone’s ringtone that sounded at that moment was incredibly clear.

Lin Zhiyan sat up abruptly, fumbling to turn the ringtone to the lowest volume. He looked down at the contact on the screen, his heart pounding.

Lu Ze.

Lin Zhiyan’s thumb hovered over the screen. After a long hesitation, he finally swiped towards the red icon.

The call was hung up.

A roommate turned over, making a small noise, but was clearly not awake.

Lin Zhiyan sat on the bed in a daze, looking at the phone screen that had gone dark again, his heart feeling as if it were being squeezed.

Although he still didn’t know what his feelings for Lu Ze were, he knew that he was personally severing the connection between them.

The night outside the window was dark, and he couldn’t see the surroundings. Lin Zhiyan just stared at the phone that had merged with the darkness, watching it… and after a few minutes, it lit up again.

Lin Zhiyan’s heart skipped a beat. Even he couldn’t describe what he was feeling right now.

The phone was on silent, the call screen flashing. Lin Zhiyan’s throat was dry. After a long hesitation, he picked it up and carefully got out of bed.

He closed the sliding door, trying not to make a sound, and stood on the cool balcony, looking at the only light in the dark night—the phone screen. Finally, he answered the call.

No one spoke on the other end. He could only hear faint breathing, which he could imagine was as hot as the person himself.

Lin Zhiyan’s hand, hanging by his side, tightened.

The silence lasted for a long time, as if the two were in a standoff. In the end, Lin Zhiyan couldn’t hold it in any longer and spoke first:

“Why aren’t you asleep yet?” Although he wasn’t the one with the cold, his voice was so hoarse that it made one wonder.

The other end let out a light laugh, which seemed to carry a hint of bitter helplessness. “Senior, this is the first time I’ve confessed to someone.”

He said, “I get nervous too.”

Lin Zhiyan felt as if his heart had been hit hard. He pressed his lips together, not saying a word.

Lu Ze said, “I saw the message you sent me, Senior.”

His voice was soft and gentle as he asked, “May I ask why, Senior?”

Lin Zhiyan clutched the hem of his clothes and said, “There’s no why.”

He said softly, “We’re just not suitable.”

“Where are we not suitable?” Lu Ze guided him gently. “Did I do something to offend you and make you unhappy? Or is there something about me that you don’t like?”

Lin Zhiyan didn’t speak.

Lu Ze was silent for a moment, then said, “Senior, this is the first time I’ve liked someone. Even if we’re really not suitable, you have to give me a reason.”

Lin Zhiyan blinked his sore eyes and took a silent breath.

“You’re great,” he murmured. “There’s nothing bad about you.”

Lu Ze listened quietly.

Lin Zhiyan looked at the dark sky outside, at the moon hidden by the clouds, and slowly said, “Lu Ze, do you remember what Qin Yiming said last time?”

Lu Ze said, “He said a lot of things. What is Senior referring to?”

Lin Zhiyan clutched the corner of his clothes tightly and said, “Just… the things about me being an illegitimate son…”

The campus was quiet at night. He heard a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then, “I remember.”

Lin Zhiyan said, “You might not know, but what Qin Yiming said is true… I am indeed an illegitimate son.”

There was no sound from the other end of the phone for a while. Lin Zhiyan couldn’t help but blink, his figure leaning against the wall feeling a little weak.

After a long time, Lu Ze finally spoke. “So, that’s what Senior is concerned about?”

Lin Zhiyan opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

Lu Ze spoke slowly, “No one can choose their birth. Before you truly grow up, the labels on you are forcibly attached by others. For example, my ‘Second Young Master Lu,’ and your… ‘illegitimate son.'”

Lin Zhiyan’s eyelashes trembled. Lu Ze continued, “But Senior, are you going to let this title accompany you for the rest of your life? Does Senior want to be trapped in this cage for the rest of your life?”

Lin Zhiyan was a little lost. Lu Ze said, “Before you become a true individual, you can’t change how others see you. But when you are truly independent, when you have your own achievements, that so-called indelible label will gradually fade, and people’s impression of you will change.”

“For example, professor; for example, researcher; for example, scientist…”

“In the future, when people mention your name, the first thing they will think of is your achievements and honors. Your family will only be mentioned as a background detail, insignificant. Who would care that you’re an illegitimate son?”

Lin Zhiyan was silent for a long time, then licked his dry lips. “Can… I?”

Lu Ze chuckled softly. “My Senior is only a sophomore, yet he has already been noticed by his professor and entered the lab. His future is bright. Who can say it’s impossible?”

Lin Zhiyan was stunned. He felt that the things that had been entangled with him and refused to let go were easily resolved by Lu Ze’s few words, and his past worries seemed ridiculous.

He couldn’t decide his past, but couldn’t he decide his future? Let others think what they want. He just needed to be himself. What was there to care about?

It was just adding to his own troubles.

Lu Ze leaned against the balcony window, looking at the dark scenery outside, as if he could imagine the young man on the other end of the phone in the same posture.

He returned to the previous topic and said, “So, Senior doesn’t dislike me or not like me because of something I did wrong, right?”

Lin Zhiyan clutched his phone. After a long time, he said, “No…”

He looked up at the sky. The dark clouds had dispersed a little, and he could faintly see some twinkling stars.

He said in a small voice, “I can not care, but others will. Your friends, your family, what they think, what their attitude is…”

Before Lin Zhiyan could finish, he suddenly heard a “pfft” of laughter from the other end of the phone. He paused, then said in annoyance, “What are you laughing at?”

Lu Ze couldn’t help but laugh a few more times, sounding very happy. “Senior, I’m very happy.”

Lin Zhiyan clenched his fists, but he heard his gentle voice say, “Senior said you’re worried about the attitude of my friends and family. Can I take that to mean that Senior has considered being with me? That Senior… also likes me a little?”

Lin Zhiyan realized what he was saying, and his face flushed red. But his lips opened and closed for a long time, and he didn’t know what to say.

How could he… how could he think of that?

Lu Ze’s smile stopped, his voice deep and reassuring. “I like you, Senior, as a person. It has nothing to do with anything else.”

“As for my family, Senior can rest assured. Since I dared to confess to you today, I naturally have the confidence to convince them.”

Lin Zhiyan was stunned.

A little more laughter came from the other end. “So, apart from these factors, just talking about the two of us.”

“Senior, can I continue to pursue you?”

Lin Zhiyan’s heart was full. He didn’t speak.

Lu Ze smiled. “If Senior doesn’t say anything, I’ll take it as you agree?”

The night wind blew away the haze of the dark clouds, and the bright moonlight scattered over the world.

Lin Zhiyan looked up and said softly, “Okay.”