Chapter 51: TMS
After returning to the Xu family for a while, Ji Mian hadn’t seen Lu Ge again.
The Xu family had staff to take care of Ji Mian, and Zhou Zhong went back to his hometown the day after returning from the hospital to take on the next job.
The scenery outside the villa was much better than that of the hospital. With many companions at home, Ji Mian became a bit lazy. When Xu Zhixia and his parents were not around, he often sunbathed outside the villa while holding the cat.
After returning from the hospital, he originally wanted to visit that exquisite wood carving shop again, but since he had stayed out all night during his last hospitalization, every time Lin Xu heard Ji Mian mention going there, he would always look worried.
After Ji Mian went once, Lin Xu wouldn’t agree to let him stay there alone and insisted on staying to accompany him.
So, that day, he spent the entire afternoon sitting face-to-face with the kindly Lin Xu.
After that, Ji Mian had no choice but to compromise and not go again.
Without the supervision of Lu Ge and Zhou Zhong, his diet finally returned to the normal three meals a day. Sometimes, when he lacked appetite and didn’t want to eat, no one would threaten him with their gaze from the side.
Lin Xu would sometimes advise him with a furrowed brow, but he was much easier to deal with than Lu Ge; as long as Ji Mian listened to him and ate a few more bites of vegetables, he could easily dismiss him.
Seeing this, the system gave Ji Mian a long lecture about principles. Later, it found that its host was actually using a dismissive attitude toward Lin Xu, so it simply gave up on trying to persuade him and even brought up Lu Ge's name.
However, Ji Mian, having just been released from confinement, rebelliously chose to ignore the system's criticisms.
System: 【……!】
No... law and order at all!
On the second weekend after Ji Mian returned to the Xu family, Xu Zhixia also came back from school.
The four family members of the Xu family rarely gathered together again.
Except for Ji Mian, who was a patient, the other three family members maintained a healthy and regular daily routine. By seven in the morning, they had already finished breakfast.
Yilan picked out some light snacks that “Xu Chi Qiu” liked and kept them warm in the thermal box, waiting for Ji Mian to wake up and have an appetite to eat some.
But Ji Mian usually woke up late. By ten in the morning, the breakfast that had been kept warm was still unchanged in the thermal box.
Ding dong.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang in the Xu family villa.
Yilan, who was on the sofa, got up to open the door.
When she opened the door, there stood a young man she didn’t recognize.
The young man at the door had an upright posture and was wearing a light brown short trench coat that was unbuttoned, perfectly supported by his broad shoulders, making the fabric around his waist appear neatly relaxed. At first glance, his figure could only be described as strikingly handsome.
Moreover, besides his physique, his temperament and appearance were also exceptionally outstanding.
“Hello, Auntie.” The young man said politely.
When Yilan saw the visitor's face, she was taken aback for a moment and felt it was somewhat familiar.
“You are...”
“Lu Ge. My mother, Jiang Zhi, you must have heard of her.” Lu Ge smiled.
“Oh!” Yilan suddenly realized, “You're from the Lu family…”
She then recalled why Lu Ge looked familiar. He was the one who gave Xu Zhixia a watch as a grand gift for his birthday last time.
“Yes,” Lu Ge replied.
In the house, Xu Yujian asked, “Who is it?” and also came out from the living room.
“Hello, Uncle.” Upon seeing Xu Yujian, Lu Ge also greeted him politely.
From the time he knocked on the door until now, Lu Ge had indeed acted quite properly.
Yilan and Xu Yujian exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of confusion in the other's eyes.
Is this the son of the Lu family?
The Xu family had little interaction with the Lu family, and the financial status of the Lu family was much higher than that of the Xu family... Lu Ge's sudden visit left them a bit puzzled.
Yilan spoke first: “Mr. Lu is...”
“I came to find Chi Qiu; you can just call me Xiao Lu,” Lu Ge smiled, looking quite innocent.
“Oh, Chi Qiu is still sleeping,” Yilan said, welcoming him into the house while wondering: how do both of my sons know Lu Ge?
The last time Lu Ge came to deliver gifts for Xu Zhixia's birthday was already surprising enough.
In the living room, Xu Zhixia was playing with the cat and only nodded at Lu Ge when he saw him as a form of greeting.
Lu Ge also gave a simple response; this was still in front of Xu Yujian and Yilan. If they weren’t present, the two might have sat all day without acknowledging each other.
Yilan invited Lu Ge to sit on the sofa and, after a moment's thought, asked the question on her mind: “Lu... Xiao Lu, did you know Chi Qiu before?”
Lu Ge smoothly replied without a pause, “Yes, we are very good friends.”
When Ji Mian pushed the door open from his bedroom, this was what he heard.
“……”
Hearing the sound of the door opening upstairs, Lu Ge looked up and saw the young man in a thin fleece nightgown who had just woken up. The smile in his eyes deepened a bit: “Oh, the young master is awake?”
Ji Mian:……
Yilan and Xu Yujian:……?
Lu Ge:。。。
“……” Realizing that he had triggered his passive skill of being overly talkative, especially in front of Ji Mian's parents, Lu Ge awkwardly touched his nose and changed his address: “Chi Qiu.”
Upstairs, Ji Mian slightly curved the corner of his lips.
Unfortunately, he was too far away for Lu Ge to see clearly.
He went downstairs. With Yilan and Xu Yujian nearby, Ji Mian did not refute Lu Ge’s words about them being “very good friends.”
“Chi Qiu,” Yilan hesitated for a moment, though there were guests present, she still said to Ji Mian, “You should have breakfast first; there’s warm breakfast in the kitchen.”
When it came to Ji Mian eating, everyone tacitly adhered to the principle that “eating early is better than eating late, and eating more is better than eating less.” No matter who came, it could not delay his meal.
Ji Mian nodded: “Okay.”
After saying that, he turned and walked toward the kitchen.
Lu Ge stared at his back for a moment, his brows suddenly furrowing. He got up and followed.
As Ji Mian walked halfway down the path, just turning past the living room and about to reach the kitchen, someone suddenly gently hooked his neck.
His steps were already unsteady, and when someone unexpectedly hooked him, his upper body instinctively started to fall back.
A hand immediately steadied his waist.
However, the force on the back of Ji Mian’s neck did not disappear.
“Hey.” Lu Ge's low voice sounded in his ear, with a tone that was somewhat peculiar.
“You seem to have lost weight.”
“...”
Ji Mian's body stiffened, then he slowly stood up straight. He didn't turn around or respond.
But Lu Ge didn't let him go either.
“Is there a scale at home?” His tone was calm, strangely evoking a sense of tranquility before a storm.
Ji Mian's back felt a bit cold.
“... No.”
“Auntie.” Lu Ge turned his head to call out to someone in the living room, “Where’s the weighing scale at home? I’d like to borrow it.”
Yi Lan peeked her head out and replied, “There’s one by the dining room.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
After getting an answer, Lu Ge turned back to Ji Mian and said softly, “Let’s go, Young Master.”
This sentence automatically translated in Ji Mian's ears to mean, “It’s time to get going, Young Master.”
He was dragged by Lu Ge to the scale in the dining room.
Ji Mian still wanted to struggle a bit, wanting to say it wouldn’t matter much to weigh himself after breakfast, but Lu Ge grabbed his waist, his arm exerting a slight force, effortlessly lifting him up.
The touch on his waist sent a wave of sensitive tingling, causing Ji Mian's waist muscles to reflexively contract, but before he could react further, he was picked up like an object and placed on the weighing scale.
The digital display on the scale flickered twice before settling after a few seconds.
Lighter... by half a pound.
He really did lose weight.
Ji Mian was baffled.
At the hospital, he had weighed a pound and a half. After a week back home, he had only lost a little over half a pound.
Just half a pound of flesh, how did this person notice?
Lu Ge looked at the number on the scale, unable to believe it.
He had diligently fed Ji Mian for nearly two months, and after all that effort, the little bit of weight he gained was lost in just a week!?
“Six taels... more than half a pound.” Lu Ge was so angry he almost laughed.
It felt as if a little pig that had been carefully fattened at home was suddenly stolen overnight.
“You...” He gritted his teeth to speak, trying to prevent himself from shouting out of anger in someone else's house, “How do you eat at home?”
Ji Mian felt inexplicably guilty but still managed to respond defiantly, “Just the usual three meals a day.”
“Three meals?” Lu Ge scoffed.
Ji Mian could only remain silent.
For the next half hour, Ji Mian was watched by Lu Ge while finishing breakfast. After that, Lu Ge showed no intention of leaving, even staying until noon when Yi Lan invited him to stay for lunch.
Lu Ge not only accepted but also sat directly across from Ji Mian during the meal.
Under the intense gaze of the person opposite him, Ji Mian had to eat a bit more—two more bites of rice, two bites of meat, and two bites of fruit afterward... pretending that this was the amount he normally ate at home.
“Wow, Chi Qiu has quite an appetite today,” Yi Lan said with surprise.
Xu Yujiang had been watching Ji Mian's bowl, and although he didn’t speak, he looked quite pleased.
The couple's expressions were identical in their delight.
Only Lu Ge’s eyes were cold, a fake smile plastered on his face.
Ji Mian, steeling himself, shakily picked up a piece of steak, which was as wide as his thumb, and cut into it.
He felt he shouldn't be afraid of Lu Ge, but remembering the other’s reminder to “eat well,” Ji Mian felt an odd sense of guilt for going back on his word. Even though he had not responded to Lu Ge that day due to being lost in thought.
This meal was almost twice his usual amount.
Ji Mian wasn't full; he didn't feel bloated at all, but the food was giving him a bit of nausea.
His lips pressed tightly together, and his face changed slightly.
“If you can’t eat, just wait a bit,” Lu Ge said.
Ji Mian put down his chopsticks.
An hour after the meal, Lu Ge picked a small bunch of grapes from the fruit basket on the table in the living room, just six or seven plump, shiny black grapes.
He handed them to Ji Mian, who shook his head, “This is too…”
Lu Ge’s gaze swept over, and Ji Mian silently swallowed back the words “too sweet.”
Reluctantly taking the shiny black grape bunch with his cold, white fingers, the contrast between white and black was eye-catching.
Lu Ge couldn’t take his eyes off it and quietly stared at it for a while.
When Yi Lan sat down beside him, he finally withdrew his gaze.
“Recently, there hasn’t been much going on at the company,” he said to Yi Lan, “If it’s convenient, can I come often to see Chi Qiu during this time?”
“Of course, it’s convenient!” Yi Lan replied cheerfully.
Xu Chi Qiu had very few friends, and over the years, only Qin Yan had a good relationship with him. Now that he had a friend willing to come and keep him company, it couldn’t be better.
On the side, Ji Mian picked a grape, putting it into his mouth without peeling it.
He bit down hard.
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