Chapter 52: TMS
From that day on, Lu Ge became a regular visitor at the Xu family. He didn't just come by every now and then; he basically showed up almost every evening, especially right around the time when Ji Mian was having dinner.
He only refrained from coming over during weekends when the entire Xu family gathered, giving them space for their family gatherings.
His frequency of visits was so high that he almost replaced Qin Yan’s presence and became the fifth member of the Xu family.
After more than a month, the half a pound Ji Mian had lost finally came back, and he even gained a few extra ounces on top of that.
Although the weight gain was slow, he was indeed two pounds heavier than when he first arrived in this world three months ago.
Unfortunately, Xu Chi Qiu was of medium to tall height among males, standing at 1.77 meters, so the little bit of weight he gained was hardly noticeable.
Only Lu Ge, with his extraordinarily keen observation skills, could detect those barely discernible changes.
During this time, Ji Mian also celebrated a birthday. Yi Lan and Xu Yujiang made a point to leave work early to celebrate, and Qin Yan came over from the company in the evening.
The usually frequent visitor Lu Ge was unexpectedly absent.
Ji Mian wasn’t surprised. He had noticed during their interactions that Lu Ge was not an open person.
He often claimed they were “good friends,” but whenever it came to typical interactions between friends, Lu Ge would deliberately avoid it.
Qin Yan didn't visit the Xu family often and rarely ran into Lu Ge, but over time, there were always coincidental moments.
After returning from a few weeks of business trips, he knocked on the Xu family's door with some gifts.
When the door opened, the smile on Qin Yan’s face had yet to fully appear before it suddenly fell like a piece of clay being stretched long.
The man inside the door was leaning in a lazy manner as if he were in his own home.
“Why is Mr. Lu here?”
Lu Ge didn’t answer the question but instead remarked in surprise, “Mr. Qin, have you been on a coal mining trip for the past few weeks? Your face is so dark.”
His sarcasm was on point.
Qin Yan almost choked on his breath.
“Why are you the one opening the door? Where are Zhi Xia and Chi Qiu?”
Lu Ge automatically filtered out the other information, only hearing the words “Chi Qiu,” so he replied off-topic, “He’s eating.”
Qin Yan looked down at the time. It was three in the afternoon. What was he eating?
He bypassed Lu Ge and entered the house, just as Xu Zhi Xia happened to walk out from inside. Their eyes met in a tacit understanding.
“ Yan Ge.”
After a few weeks of not seeing each other, Qin Yan couldn't hide the affection in his eyes when he faced Xu Zhi Xia.
He involuntarily moved closer, raising his right hand slowly, intending to touch Xu Zhi Xia's soft cheek.
Lu Ge instinctively glanced toward the dining room. As expected, the people sitting inside were looking at the two in the living room, especially fixated on Qin Yan.
Ji Mian had his arms propped up on the table, preparing to stand up.
Lu Ge turned back to him. “Mr. Qin, are you sure you don’t want to wash your face? It’s really dark.”
“…”
Qin Yan's mouth twitched, and the hand he had struggled to raise froze in the air.
He absolutely didn't believe it, but seeing Lu Ge's serious expression, he suddenly began to doubt his own face.
Could it be that he really got something on it?
With a cold expression, he made an excuse to go to the bathroom to check his face.
Only then did Lu Ge see Ji Mian sit back down again.
“You're very special to my brother,” Xu Zhi Xia suddenly spoke up.
Lu Ge raised an eyebrow and replied, “Young Master has a very 'unique' relationship with Mr. Qin. You don’t like Qin Yan, do you?”
“…”
“I don’t know what grievances you two have between you, but Young Master Xu, why bother?” Lu Ge smirked. “It’s only been a few years.”
Xu Zhi Xia suddenly froze. “You know?”
“That doctor named Huang said during the cruise when he had a fever that he wouldn’t live long,” Lu Ge said indifferently.
Xu Zhi Xia fell silent for two seconds. “You know this, yet you still like him?”
“Who said I liked him?” Lu Ge laughed. “I’m just kind-hearted and trying to accumulate some virtue.”
“…” Xu Zhi Xia looked deeply at him, his black eyes reminiscent of Xu Chi Qiu, filled with complex emotions.
Lu Ge met his gaze and spoke in a voice only the two could hear, “Let him be, Young Master.”
“…”
‘Let him be.’
Xu Zhixia looked at Lu Ge without saying a word.
Ten years ago, when Yi Lan and Xu Yujiang rushed home as fast as they could, taking Xu Chi Qiu to the hospital after he stepped on broken glass, he stood outside the hospital room, confused and desperately trying to explain to his parents, “Brother stepped on it himself.”
“I… I saw it with my own eyes.”
Yi Lan and Xu Yujiang exchanged glances, both showing expressions of disbelief.
Caught in an endless cycle of fear and confusion, he asked them, “Mom, why did brother do that? It… it must hurt a lot.”
His parents did not answer his question.
That night, Xu Yujiang and Yi Lan avoided him, chatting for several hours in a corner of the hospital before finally calling him over.
After a long hesitation, Yi Lan said to him, “Brother is not well, Zhixia…”
“In the future, remember to let brother have his way.”
"Let him be"
It seemed that from that moment on, his parents’ attention toward Xu Chi Qiu noticeably increased.
……
Xu Zhixia did not give Lu Ge any response.
……
When Lu Ge returned to the dining room, Xu Family’s white cat was shamelessly rubbing against Ji Mian’s feet, who, maintaining his persona, ignored it.
Noticing that its caretaker was ignoring it again today, the cat, Duo Duo annoyingly tugged at Ji Mian’s pant leg. However, after trying to climb up twice and failing due to its own weight, it gave up on that route, climbing onto a nearby cabinet instead. Standing on top of the cabinet, it scanned the room sharply, accurately selecting the back of Ji Mian's head as its landing spot.
Just as its claws retracted and it prepared to leap onto Ji Mian, Lu Ge swiftly grabbed it by the scruff of its neck.
“Meow!” Duo Duo flailed its claws in mid-air.
Lu Ge, holding it by the neck, said earnestly, “Do you believe that you could just swipe a claw and knock him out?”
Ji Mian: “...Cough.”
He wasn’t weak to that extent.
In the living room, Qin Yan emerged from the bathroom with a grim expression, sitting back down next to Xu Zhixia.
Ji Mian couldn’t help but sneak a sideways glance.
The two on the sofa seemed to be talking about something, but Qin Yan looked quite pleased.
Ji Mian intended to get up and join them when suddenly, Lu Ge’s well-defined hand appeared in his field of vision. Before he could react, Lu Ge’s warm palm covered his cheek.
Lu Ge turned Ji Mian’s face back to him, ensuring those beautiful black eyes were looking at him before slowly releasing his hand.
“When friends are talking, you should listen carefully. Doesn’t the young master know this?”
【Affection Points +200 (100x2), Contributor: Lu Ge.】
Friends talking...
But he remembered that Lu Ge hadn’t actually spoken to him just now. Ji Mian asked, “What did you say?”
Lu Ge casually replied, “Tomorrow is the weekend. I was asking if you want to go out and see the sights.”
Stealing a glance at the two in the living room, he thought: This way, I can help you avoid those two and prevent any unexpected issues.
“Sights?” Since it was already autumn, Ji Mian couldn’t think of any beautiful sights left.
“There’s a garden in the suburbs; the autumn scenery is quite famous, and the chrysanthemums and osmanthus flowers have been blooming well lately.”
Hearing the word "osmanthus," the unique sweet fragrance seemed to linger at the tip of his nose.
Ji Mian swallowed, but remained silent. However, the image of golden ginkgo trees sparkling in the sunlight uncontrollably flashed in his mind.
...He really wanted to go.
Since arriving in this world, the only trip he had taken was on that cruise ship. Ji Mian had little interest in the entertainment on the cruise; instead, the various festive banquets annoyed him.
He had previously wanted to go out, but Xu Chi Qiu had no other friends besides Qin Yan, and going out would only mean having Lin Xu accompany him. But Lin Xu was easily scared by Ji Mian; even the slightest gust of wind would make him anxious for an entire day.
“Are you interested, young master?”
Ji Mian maintained his expression and said lightly, “Not bad.”
Lu Ge smiled and said, “Not bad means you’d be okay with going?”
“…”
Ji Mian didn’t respond, but Lu Ge took his silence as consent. “Then I’ll trouble the young master to sleep early tonight and get up early tomorrow.”
Ji Mian didn’t speak, looking indifferent and lacking enthusiasm.
……
That night at eight o'clock, Ji Mian promptly wrapped himself in his blanket and fell into a deep sleep.
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