CH 41

Chapter 41

It was still daylight, however, Lu Bai wanted to drag Qu Xueyu into his bedroom, which contained memories of his childhood that he couldn’t wait to show him. And he also wanted to fall on the bed with him—the bed was small enough that they would have to snuggle together to not fall, and that kind of intimate touch would make him feel safe— the paper airplane was too distressing for him, and the fate of the young man’s next role as Ruan Jiangjiu also made him feel uneasy. 

He was just about to pull the young man into the villa when he heard the sound of a quarrel not far away. Lu Bai’s steps faltered and looked in the direction of the source of the sound—his brows furrowing slightly.

Qu Xueyu: “Xiao Bai, what’s wrong?”

Lu Bai frowned even more and stated, “That’s Guan Guan’s voice.” Saying that he headed off toward it in bold strides, so Qu Xueyu came forward and grasped the other’s hand to follow him towards that place.

Not far down the ginkgo path, a slightly distressed man stood in front of Lu Guanguan with a pitiful appearance: “Guan Guan, I was wrongly accused! You must believe me!”

Lu Guan Guan stared expressionlessly at the man.

“Guan Guan!” Song Zhi’an’s nose reddened, and he snapped, “It’s all because of your brother! That brother of yours is a petty loser, and he doesn’t want us to be together, so he’s framing me for something…”

Pah!

Before he could finish his sentence, the young lady slapped him across the face, and the man was stunned.

“I don’t know how you managed to get on my family property. But let me tell you, I don’t want to see you at all right now. Just thinking about you makes me feel sick. In the first place, I don’t even want to think about you, let alone see you-” After a pause, Lu Guanguan’s voice chilled furiously, and she let out a sneer. “But if you dare to say one more bad word about my brother, then I’ll make you leave Jinghai by the end of the day!”1This was super troublesome to trans. But she is using haughty formal language instead of polite. original:“我不知道你怎么混进我家的，我告诉你,我现在一点都不想看到你。一想到你我就觉得恶心。本来我想都不想想起你的,更别说整你—”顿了下，陆关关声音猛地冷下来，她冷笑一声道：“但是,你如果再敢说我哥一句坏话，老娘让你在鲸海一天都待不下去！”

“Second Uncle will do that anyways.” Lu Bai suddenly made a sound, and Song Zhi An was startled. As soon as he turned around, he met Lu Bai’s blank stares—the memory of that day coming back to him, which made him subconsciously take a few steps in retreat.

Qu Xueyu was leaning against a large ginkgo tree, staring at his teenager with his eyes narrowed in a fierce and protective manner. His Xiao Bai had always been extremely protective, and he had known that for a long time. To the outside world, he put up a body full of spikes, but to the people he truly recognized, he was incomparably soft and lovable.

Lu Bai took a big step forward and shielded Lu Guanguan behind him. His face was impassive as he regarded Song Zhi’an and remarked, “You lied to my sister, so you will have to pay the price… You may still be able to stay in Jinghai, but I can’t let a man like you continue to lie to another young miss like my sister. Our second uncle has been informed of this matter. As to how he may proceed, pray that you will be lucky.”

Thinking of Lu Zhi’s methods, Song Zhi’an’s face turned white, “No, no! You can’t do this to me…” His backer had been ruined overnight by the Lu family and could no longer get up. If Lu Zhi was targeting him, not only in Jinghai but even within the entertainment industry, he would no longer have the chance to work.

After the incident, Mr. Lu had only removed him from the drama. So he still had a little bit of hope, and that’s why he approached Lu Guanguan for help.

Just as he was about to start arguing, he heard a pleasant voice ringing out, “Security, that’s him.”

Song Zhi’an was stumped, then he met Qu Xueyu’s smiling face, and his eyes popped wide open. That day, that, Ruan Jiangjiu… or should he say, Qu Xueyu, turned out to genuinely be with the young master of the Lu family…

“Yes. Young Master, Miss, Young Master Qu, I’m deeply sorry. It’s my fault for not screening the attendants.” The head of security apologized as he ordered his people to take Song Zhi’an away.

Only when the others left did Lu Bai look at Lu Guanguan with gentle eyes, “Guan Guan, don’t be sad. You still have many years ahead of you and will continue to meet and experience countless wonderful encounters with many different people. My little sister will definitely find her beloved.”

Lu Guanguan’s eyes reddened, but she smiled and nodded vigorously.

She paused her steps as she passed by Qu Xueyu and looked earnestly at the other person, “If you are the right encounter for my brother, please treat him well. My brother is the best person in the world.”

Qu Xueyu gave a light laugh and regarded the teenager, but he nodded his head seriously, and only then did Lu Guanguan leave.

“The relationship between you and your sister is very good.” Qu Xueyu stepped forward and embraced Lu Bai with a hug.

Lu Bai nodded earnestly as he turned to Qu Xueyu, “I’ve always treated Guan Guan as my own sister2Just a reminder that Lu Bai and Lu Guanguan are step-siblings. . She’s an important part of my family.” After a pause, he cupped the young man’s face. He had a strangely solemn expression on his face as if he was making a pledge: “Xiao Qu, you should know this. The most important things in this world to me is my family and you.”

Qu Xueyu arched his eyes as he leaned over and pecked the teenager’s lips—if they were the ones the teenager cared about the most, he would be jealous, but he would also love the house3Old saying, akin to you loving someone so much you can even love the birds on top of their house. QXY is saying that since LB loves his family so much, he will love and care for LB’s family as well..

“Actually,” Suddenly reminded of it, Qu Xueyu raised an eyebrow, “I also have a younger sister.”

Lu Bai: “?”

Qu Xueyu then continued, “She’s a sister born after my mother formed a new family. It’s just that we’re not very close.” His father and mother each started their own families and had other children, and he became the redundant one as a result. His father disliked him and gave all of his fatherly love to his two half-brothers. While his mother did not love him either, as he was an unmistakable reminder of her failed marriage.

“But it doesn’t matter,” Qu Xueyu shrugged, “Grandpa loves me*4Check drop down for some ‘sugar’ , same for the next two *.”

There was no resentment nor hatred on his face, only pure and clear indifference as if it was someone else who was ignored and neglected by his parents since they were young. Lu Bai’s heart immediately hurt. Embracing the young man, he buried his face in the other’s chest, but his hand gently stroked the young man’s back, as if coaxing a child, “I also love you ah*.”

Qu Xueyu’s eyes curved into a moon, as if a warm river was flowing in his heart. He gently removed the golden leaf that had just drifted down on the top of the youth’s hair, kissed his head, and said in a low voice: “Yes, you love me*.” The voice was so gentle that it was like a hymn crooned.

~~~~~~

Lu Bai’s bedroom was always kept clean, so he straightforwardly dragged the other person through the door. This bedroom was small and cozy; the walls were painted in warm colors. The room also had a single bed, similarly bedecked with warm-colored and soft bedding. At the head of the bed was a small and exquisite rabbit vase, which held a branch of graceful osmanthus, filling the room with its faint fragrance. Next to the balcony was a bookcase, in which all kinds of books were neatly arranged.

Lu Bai happily pulled the other man down onto the soft but narrow bed, contentedly squeezing into the other’s arms. He gazed at the ceiling painted with different colors and stars and said, “My grandpa kept this room for me. When I was a kid, I loved to visit this place.” At that time, he was living under the burden of the plot, he was so lonely that he didn’t have anyone to talk to, but he didn’t want his family to worry about him. So when he wanted to think, he would read quietly in this room. And when they saw that he was reading, his family wouldn’t disturb him anymore.

“I don’t know why,” Lu Bai kissed the youth on the cheek as soon as he twisted his head in the youth’s arms. “I feel that Xiao Qu should come to celebrate the next holiday here. Hmm-” Lu Bai pondered for a moment and said, “Or when it snows.” Although he didn’t know where this inexplicable feeling came from, Lu Bai still smiled as he hugged the youth. “Will you accompany me here when it snows? I’ll have someone prepare extra warm and soft bedding! As it snows outside the window, Xiao Qu will have to hug me tightly under the blankets.” After a pause, he added, “And then, make love. And when we’re done, we can relax in bed and drink hot black tea with honey.” While he didn’t know why he had such a specific scenario in mind, the imagery was overwhelmingly pleasurable.

Qu Xueyu pressed the young man underneath him to capture a kiss, his voice hot and muffled as he moved to gently nibble on the young man’s ear and said, “Good.” He was willing to go mad for this teenager—as mad as possible until the end of time. Eternity is such an abstract and distant topic, yet he seemed to have experienced it, engrained in the teenager’s words just now.

This feeling was so tumultuous that it gave him the urge to engrave this young man into his bones and blood.

“Xiao Qu,” Lu Bai smiled as he wrapped his arms around the youth’s neck with force, and the youth covered him. They were in such an intimate stance, “We’ll be together forever.” Because I will never allow anything other than that to happen.

“Yes.” The youth was as solemn as if he had made a promise.

The sugar hidden in the '*' So there was a very touching translation choice I just want to highlight. For (Grandpa loves me), (I also love you), and (Yes, you love me) the word the author uses is 疼 / téng = (it) hurts; sore; to love dearly .

So you have the first one of (Grandpa loves me), the raws had (爷爷很疼我)

爷爷 yé ye (coll.) father’s father; paternal grandfather; CL:個|个[ge4]

很 hěn (adverb of degree); quite; very; awfully

(I also love you)我也疼你呀

我 wǒ I; me; my

也 yě also; too; (in Classical Chinese) final particle implying affirmation

疼 téng (it) hurts; sore; to love dearly

你 nǐ you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2])

呀 ya (particle equivalent to 啊 after a vowel, expressing surprise or doubt)

and the last one, (Yes, you love me)好，你疼我

好 hǎo good; well; proper; good to; easy to; very; so; (suffix indicating completion or readiness); (of two people) close; on intimate terms

hào to be fond of; to have a tendency to; to be prone to

你 nǐ you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2])

疼 téng (it) hurts; sore; to love dearly

我 wǒ I; me; my

I felt like I should share this little bit of knowledge, as sometimes if you MTL or try to use a translator it can come out as ‘You hurt me’ or ‘My grandpa hurts me’ ! That could give you the wrong idea or just be very confusing. Also I felt it was another pretty poetic bit of Chinese that doesn’t have the same flair in English.

Thanks for reading!

Edit: Krone

Proof: Nitta