CHAPTER - 13 Conversation

Zhan Yu could finally breathe, but he was angry. He was also feeling unwell so he didn't have it in him to scold Lu Bai. The moment he let him go, he immediately waved his hand over in an exaggerated motion, clearly feeling flustered.

In response, Lu Bai grabbed onto his flailing wrist. "What are you doing?" he asked as his face clouded with gloom.

After suffering this man's torment, Zhan Yu's hair was messy and ruined. Even without looking in a mirror, he knew that he had lost his elegance , handsomeness and grace.

His chest heaved visibly from anger. Zhan Yu suddenly pulled out of the man's grasp and He fiercely scolded, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you? Did you forget to take your meds when you left the house?"

Zhan Yu had regretted what he said the instant it came out of his mouth. If Lu Bai forgot to take his medicine, then he had definitely left his brain at home! How dare he scold Lu Bai without a second thought?!

His body trembled as he felt his dangerous gaze. As Lubai spitefully narrowed his eyes, he thought of how his story would meet its tragic end.

He calmed himself, but still felt his heart beating wildly. If he truly upset Lu Bai, he could bring him to his death in minutes.

How could he have done something so rash?!

Zhan Yu's legs went soft. If he decided to grovel and apologize to Lu Bai, he'd be going against how he had portrayed himself thus far. If he did, would he lose his pride? Didn't the saying go, "One can lose anything but Dignity and imposing Manner"? What would happen if he continued to play his stubborn act 'til the end? Or would it be better if he admitted that he was wrong?

But during his indecisiveness, Lu Bai did something that made his blood run cold. He took off his jacket and draped it considerately over his shoulders. He even helped him pull the jacket closed, while he stood stunned. "You made a fuss and beat me up already. Don't anger yourself. Look at what you're wearing, are you sure you'd want to go out like that?" he said in a gentle voice.

Shoot! You're the one who forced me out, okay?!

After criticizing him in his thoughts, he realized he was paying attention to the wrong thing!

What was Lu Bai planning now that he suddenly started acting gentle? As if on cue, the moment Zhan Yu turned around, a handful of beautiful women stared directly at the two of them.

Zhan Yu understood it all. Lu Bai was using hi as a shield, and she needed to play along in order to escape.

Zhan Yu was in no mood to put on a monkey show with him, so he turned around, acting depressed. "Take me back home. If you have any problems, tell me on the way," he said helplessly.

Zhan Yu knew that he was going to use him, but he also knew his request wasn't one he could reject. He forced him to bring him home in order to close off their act perfectly because, in the long run, he couldn't risk people knowing it was all a ruse.

Lu Bai looked at the lonely view of his behind, knitting his eyebrows pensively. He then followed after him (Zhan Yu).

On the way back, Zhan Yu leaned his head against the back of the car seat. His hazy eyes glazed over the bright lights passing by. He was bored.

After Lu Bai took a few minutes to get accustomed to the dark, Lu Bai couldn't help but look at Zhan Yu.

Zhan Yu already took off the suit jacket as soon as he got in the car, folding it and placing it in the back seat. The urgent sensation that he sensed from Zhan Yu was really as Mao Shiyuan described ー he was avoiding him like he was a scorpion.

Thinking of the conversation Zhan Yu and Ji Yi had, Lu Bai's face filled with sadness.

Zhan Yu felt his (Lu Bai)gaze and thought about it before sitting up straight. His eyes fixed on the unceasing red numbers in front of the crossroads, he said, "I know why you acted so oddly tonight," with a serious tone in his voice.

Lu Bai still kept his bitter demeanor and didn't respond. Zhan Yu continued, "Although I'm very unhappy that you used me to protect your peach blossom, know that I'm not your enemy. Even if I'm unwilling, you can still mess with me to get me to do what you want."

Zhan Yu felt as small as an ant while talking to him. His voice steadily lost its will and energy. "What's done is done. I'll take responsibility for the gossip and PR. But I hope that we're done after this. Although I don't remember anything, I get the feeling that I was often irrational and caused you a lot of trouble in the past. I'm going to apologize to you seriously for everything. If we ever meet again, let's just act as if we don't know each other."

Ever since he got in the car, Zhan Yu , had been mulling over it, and finally mustered enough courage to tell him (Lu Bai).

Zhan Yudidn't want to be hopelessly muddled with Lu Bai and experience the same ending as in the book, especially after all his hard work to avoid its setup.

Zhan Yu was insignificant, and if Lu Bai wanted to play him, he needn't sacrifice anything to do so. He couldn't endure that risk.

Zhan Yu was scared that his family would actually become bankruptーthat they would die out violently.

Zhan Yu couldn't help but sigh. "Lu Bai, I let you down in the past, but please have mercy. Please let me go."

As Zhan Yu made his final request, he felt as if the heat welling up beneath his eyes would finally make him cry. He was innocent. He felt wronged. He had crossed over, not knowing why, and ended up worrying each and every day, knowing that he might really lose everything like in the book's ending. Why was Lu Bai still making things hard for him even though he (Zhan Yu) tried his best to avoid him (Lu Bai)?

Lu Bai's slender fingers softly tapped the steering wheel. When he saw that Zhan Yu was about to cry, he shifted his attention and looked away in irritation. He looked out in front of him, thinking about what he felt deep in his heart after hearing Zhan Yu beg, and how he couldn't explain what he was feeling. His face darkened, becoming more and more terrifying.

Zhan Yu detected the slight change of atmosphere as well. He thought that he had annoyed him because he didn't like seeing men cry, so he tried his best to hold in all the sadness. However, before he could fully hide his feelings, he suddenly heard Lu Bai say emotionlessly, "Get out."

"What?" Zhan Yu was stunned.

"Get out! Don't make me repeat myself again."

Zhan Yu was frightened by his icy expression, obediently opening the car door and leaving. The moment his feet touched the ground, he heard the sound of the car's ignition, and when he snapped out of his trance, it had already left his sight.

Zhan Yu stood in the wind by the cold crossroad. The fact that he was forced out of the car by Lu Bai, suddenly hit him. He also realized that he didn't bring a phone. What was most tragic was that he had left his bag in the car!

A breeze blew by, and Zhan Yu felt the unrelenting cold assault his shoulders.

"Lu Bai! You call yourself a man?!"

Zhan Yu scolded Lu Bai's eighteen generations while he walked.

After Lu Bai drove the car for a distance, all the while seeing how blurry Zhan Yu's weak body was becoming in the rearview mirror, he eventually stopped driving.

Lu Bai gazed deeply into the rearview mirror and couldn't help but curse. He took out his phone, about to call Mao Shiyuan to pick Zhan Yu up, when he saw Zhan Yu slowly walking. He couldn't help but put his phone down.

Someone had quite the attitude!

He parked the car on the side of the road and rolled down the window. The wind blew in and lifted his irritation away. He placed one hand by the edge of the window, his gaze still fixated on the stubborn figure that occasionally switched from walking to stopping.

Zhan Yu thought of asking Zhan Qiancheng for help after borrowing a passerby's phone, but when he thought of the lecherous male gazes he had received, he stopped thinking about it immediately. He realized that he didn't know anyone's phone number in this world to begin with. he had saved them in his phone and never paid them any more attention.

He also discovered that he didn't even know his own number.

Zhan Yu raised him hand to his face, massaging his forehead. "Heaven really wants to ruin me!"

After walking for almost twenty minutes, Zhan Yu suddenly noticed that the black car up ahead was no longer moving.

Zhan Yu abruptly had a thoughtー "Hm, Lu Bai isn't the type to show compassion" ーbefore he wisely stopped himself from thinking any further in that regard.

But the closer the car was, Zhan Yu couldn't help but feel that Lu Bai was in there.

Lu Bai didn't abandon him, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Did he want to torture him because he had nothing else to do? What was his problem?

When Zhan Yu moved closer to the car, he wanted to walk directly past the window.

He didn't want to talk to him at all! If he did, he was afraid that he might just throw his shoes/boots at his face!

Seeing that Zhan Yu was still in a fit, Lu Bai had no choice but to get out of the car and stop Zhan Yu.

Zhan Yu proudly raised his chin and coldly said, "Get lost!"

There wasn't a person in the world besides Zhan Yu who dared tell him to "get lost". Lu Bai took a deep breath before saying, "Let's make a dealー"

He couldn't even finish his proposal before Zhan Yu rejected without a hint of hesitation. "No!"

Lu Bai couldn't help but smile at Zhan Yu's angry expression. "I didn't say what it was yet."

"I'm not interested no matter what it is." Zhan Yu stubbornly looked in another direction, unwilling to look at his (Lu Bai) face.

Lu Bai stopped smiling and looked at Zhan Yu. "As long as it has to do with me, you're not interested, right?"

"You saw the video?" Zhan Yu asked, suddenly remembering what Mao Shiyuan had done.

Seeing that he hadn't deny it, Zhan Yu smiled slightly. "This will save me breath, then. I'm entirely uninterested and don't want anything to do with you. I always thought that you wanted the same, too."

Lu Bai wanted to retort with, "How do you know what I'm thinking?"

But before Lu Bai opened his mouth, Zhan Yu continued, "I think it isn't your style to try building a relationship with me. I understand you, Lu Bai, so let's stop tormenting each other. Why don't we just stay on opposite sides of the world? If you really don't want to see me, I won't attend these banquets in the future and focus on learning, alright? And if you're still worried about me staying in Sheng Jin City, then I'll just leave, alright?"

Seeing how far Zhan Yu stooped to tell him all that, Lu Bai could feel what Zhan Yu was really trying to tell him: "He didn't care about him at all! He wanted to be far away from him!"

Lu Bai was displeased with how things had ended up, suddenly remembering how that night alone, he'd already been rejected by the same man standing in front of him multiple times.

Zhan Yu was really something.

That night, the two of them parted on bad terms.

Lu Bai wanted to bring Zhan Yu back, but he (Zhan Yu) had refused 'til the very end.

Zhan Yu stared at Lu Bai's gloomy face. "How about you call my brother and let him pick me up?" he bravely suggested.

Lu Bai looked at Zhan Yu's expressionlessly, but eventually agreed and took out his phone. "Number," he demanded while unlocking his phone screen.

"Huh?"

Lu Bai looked at how bewildered Zhan Yu was. He was nearly unable to hold in his anger as he said, "Zhan Qiancheng's phone number."

Zhan Yu blinked a few times. "I don't know."

Lu Bai was speechless.

He tossed his phone back in the car and opened the door. "Get in," he ordered.

Zhan Yu was determined not to yield to him. "No!"

"Zhan Yu!"

"I won't get in your car!" Zhan Yu continued.

Hmph! You already drove me out once. If I go back in, wouldn't I basically be saying I have no pride?

Lu Bai had never encountered anyone who disliked him that much. People needed to know that even if someone begged to hitch a ride with him, he wouldn't even bat an eye!

Lu Bai was seething. "Whatever!"

Despite Zhan Yu's refusal, Zhan Yu urgently pulled on him. "Don't. Why not call Mao Shiyuan or Ji Yi to pick me up and bring me back to school?"

They were the only people who he (Zhan Yu) was familiar with, and Zhan Yu couldn't think of anyone else who would come pick him up in the middle of the night.

Lu Bai looked coldly at him (Zhan Yu) and asked, "You want them to know what happened between us? You're not afraid of being made a laughing stock?"

Zhan Yu didn't think of that, but still replied, "Either way, they think it's impossible for us to be together, so no worries! Plus, you've told me that I'm already a laughingstock to everyone. Why would I be afraid if more people did?"

Lu Bai maintained his icy stare. "Hmph, well you're positive."

"If I wasn't positive, who knows how many times I would've died by now," Zhan Yu replied carelessly.

In the past, when his (Zhan Yu) parents fought over his father's affairーhis mother had to stay in the hospital for a few months due to the beatings she suffered, and his father didn't even visit once. He abandoned the family for another woman without an ounce of shame, and he had to get several jobs to survive and pay his tuition. He thought of committing suicide, so he could be free from all his problems, all the hardship.

But he knew life was still infinitely beautiful, and he could endure it no matter how terrible it was to him. Nothing seemed that bad.

Zhan Yu decided that he'd never hold those bad memories close to his heart.

Even if he occasionally became upset or sullen, his emotions would shortly float away like smoke.

The most important thing was to have hope; nothing else mattered.

As he (Zhan Yu) seemed to straddle the line between joking and serious, Lu Bai had no choice but to guess the validity of his statement.

Zhan Yu smiled, no longer wanting to think about it. It would probably be too difficult for him to return to his world anyways. The past wasn't important anymore.

"How about this? Let me borrow $200 now, and I'll have my brother return ten times the amount."

Lu Bai could feel his pulse pounding in his temples.

After Zhan Yu finished, he discovered his expression turned gloomy.

Did he say something wrong?

Lu Bai's demeanor showed his irritation as he said, "Get on."

Zhan Yu shook his head.

"Get. On."

"No!"

Lu Bai was too tired to argue anymore, so he proceeded to bend over and carry Zhan Yu over his shoulder.

Damn! Could you make me any angrier?! This is how you carry a sack, not a man!

Zhan Yu felt the blood rushing to his head. He slapped Lu Bai's long legs, screaming, "Hey! What are you doing? Put me down! I'm gonna be sick! I'm going to be really, really sick! Lu Bai, you better put me down!"

Lu Bai shoved Zhan Yu in the car. "It'd be so much easier if you were unconscious," he said through clenched teeth.

"You...!"

Zhan Yu sat in the passenger seatーher face was almost abnormally flushed. He panted while leaning against the window, with only enough energy left to give Lu Bai a murderous stare.

Conversely, Lu Bai didn't even have the energy to pay attention to Zhan Yu. If he treated him (Zhan Yu) nicely, he'd quickly get out of hand again.

"Quickly! Don't you dare come out."

Lu Bai was once again speechless. Why was Zhan Yu treating him like he was ugly?

Lu Baiーwho had never been disliked by othersーgave Zhan Yu one final sharp gaze before he turned around and sped off.

Seeing his car finally drive off, Zhan Yu let out a well-deserved sigh. He turned around with a smile to greet Zhan Qiancheng. "Why are you back so early, brother?"

Zhan Qiancheng looked at the car disappearing into the night, before shifting his attention to Zhan Yu. "I couldn't find you back then, and when I tried calling, I also realized that you didn't bring your phone."

"Mhm, I forgot it..."

Zhan Qiancheng pointed in the direction of the car. "Who was that?'

"Ah, no one in particular," Zhan Yu said, planning to change the topic. "Brother, I want your help with something."

"What is it?" The two talked as they strolled in.

Zhan Yu asked sincerely, "Are there any ways to bring me somewhere... non-local?"

To be continued....

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