Chapter 7 Exposed in Public

Lu Xun frowned until Cheng Dongxu nudged him with his elbow.

"What are you looking at?" Cheng Dongxu followed Lu Xun's gaze but only saw a few students rushing into the school. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Lu Xun snapped back to reality and quickly looked away. "Nothing. Did you pay the bill?"

"Yeah," Cheng Dongxu said, taking a big bite of his sausage to assert ownership.

"You go wait outside."

"Why?" Cheng Dongxu asked, puzzled. "It's boiling hot out there. Why should I wait?"

"Just go. Don't ask." Lu Xun pushed him toward the door.

"Wait, you're not buying condoms, are you?" Cheng Dongxu smirked as he turned his eyes suspiciously.

"Get lost!" Lu Xun kicked him out the door.

Lu Xun walked over to the cashier with a cola in hand. Aunt Zhang was cracking sunflower seeds while absentmindedly watching TV. She glanced at the price on the register.

"Three yuan."

Lu Xun pulled out three coins and slapped them on the counter, grabbing the cola. The coldness bit into his fingertips, though it wasn't entirely the cola's doing. He tightened his lips, yanked at his backpack strap, and took a deep breath.

"Earlier... my friend took a lollipop. I'll pay for it too."

Aunt Zhang moved her gaze from the TV to Lu Xun's face, her expression shifting from suspicion to scrutiny. Lu Xun lowered his eyes, feeling as though every pore on his forehead was sweating. It felt like an invisible knife had stabbed right through him.

After what felt like an eternity, Aunt Zhang finally spoke.

"One yuan."

Lu Xun exhaled deeply, tossed down another coin, and rushed out of the shop.

Outside, Cheng Dongxu, who had been kicking rocks in boredom, spat out his sausage stick and leaned in, whispering, "Where are the condoms?"

Lu Xun, still feeling the adrenaline, snapped, "Screw you and your condoms!"

After school that day, Lu Xun hurriedly stuffed his stationery and books into his backpack and dashed home. Cheng Dongxu, thinking Lu Xun was off to put his "purchase" to use, rattled off a list of precautions. But Lu Xun was too fast. At first, Cheng Dongxu kept up, but eventually, he had to stop, gasping for air like a defeated rooster.

Lu Xun ignored him, sweat pouring down as he opened the front door. His parents were still at work, and Lu Heyang hadn't returned yet. He tried Lu Heyang's room door, but it was locked.

After a moment of thought, he climbed from his bedroom balcony over to Lu Heyang's room.

The desk was cluttered with books and exercise sheets, while a goldfish bowl sat on a side cabinet, a plump red ryukin lazily swimming inside. Otherwise, the room was sparse, lacking any personal touch. The bedsheet was still the deep blue favored by the Lu family, and a photo of Lu Xun with his parents still sat on the bookshelf. It was from the time he had just won the school's football cup, with a trophy in hand, a picture of a perfect family. But now, it seemed almost mocking.

He pulled open the desk drawer, finding a mess of random items, including a frame facedown.

Chewing gum, a whole box of staples, fridge magnets, pens, and erasers—cheap trinkets, all new, with the price tags still attached.

This wasn't a one-time thing.

Lu Xun felt a surge of nausea, disgust welling up inside him. He flipped over the frame.

It was meant to be on the desk. A picture of Lu Heyang with his parents, taken before he was five, nearly faded. Back then, he looked like a small pumpkin sitting in a field of bright yellow flowers, chubby, fair-skinned, and beautiful, his eyes curved like crescents, with the Lu couple smiling behind him.

Compared to his own photo, this was the one Lu Heyang couldn't bear to look at.

Just then, Lu Xun heard the door lock click.

He quickly placed the frame back as it was.

Lu Heyang opened the door, dropping his backpack as usual. He took off his school jacket and then opened the drawer, tossing in a strawberry lollipop he'd taken.

He had done it again, without anyone noticing.

What had started as a thrill had become routine. No one paid attention to him because of it, not even Aunt Zhang at the store, who didn't give him a second glance.

He had lived for seventeen years, yet it felt like he didn't exist. If his birth parents had cherished him, he wouldn't have been kidnapped. If his adoptive parents had cherished him, he wouldn't have been forced to do those degrading things to please his adoptive father…

And of course, if Aunt Zhang had cared about her goods, he wouldn't have been able to steal them so easily.

Just then, he heard a thud from the next room, like something heavy falling.

He was usually alone at this time, with Lu Xun likely out causing trouble. Curious, he opened his door.

Lu Xun had just opened his door as well, still in his school uniform, holding a glass of water.

"You're home early today?" Lu Heyang asked, noticing Lu Xun was slightly out of breath.

Lu Xun walked to the kitchen to fill his glass. "I wasn't feeling well, so I came back early."

"Aren't you going to change?" Lu Heyang pointed to the sweat-soaked shirt, the collar stained dark, hanging off one shoulder, revealing a sharply defined collarbone.

Lu Xun took a sip of water, tilting his head back and raising an eyebrow. "Why do you care?"

He was genuinely frustrated. The thief himself was standing there questioning him, while he had to cover up for him.

Despite their short time together, Lu Heyang knew this expression meant there was no negotiating. Even Lu Xun's parents couldn't handle him when he was like this.

Lu Heyang wisely closed his mouth. "Suit yourself."

Lu Xun watched him close his door with a slam. Anger boiled inside him. He glanced at the clock. In an hour, when their parents got home, he'd expose this little thief in front of everyone. With that thought, he peeled off his sweaty T-shirt and headed to the bathroom.

Taking a hot shower on a sweltering day makes you feel stuffy at first, but once the water's off, there's a refreshing coolness. Lu Xun ran a hand through his wet hair and opened the shower door. The chill from the evaporating water eased the heaviness in his chest, but then he realized he had been so angry he'd forgotten to grab the towel from the balcony.

He stood there for a moment, debating whether to use his dirty clothes to dry off, when suddenly the bathroom door creaked open slightly, and a hand slipped through with his towel.

"Here's your towel."

It was Lu Heyang.

Lu Xun froze for a moment, catching a glimpse of Lu Heyang's profile through the crack in the door, eyes downcast, lashes casting shadows on his cheeks.

Still so obedient. Hard to imagine he was a thief.

"...Thanks." Lu Xun muttered as he slowly took the towel. The door clicked shut as quickly as it had opened.

At 7 p.m., under the soft glow of the evening lights, the family sat around the dining table for dinner. The cool air hummed, the TV droning on with the news, providing a background to avoid awkward silences.

After some time, everyone had settled into their roles at these meals. Lu Heyang stayed silent, Lu Xun shared funny stories from school, and their parents focused on serving food, starting with Lu Heyang, then Lu Xun.

When the second chicken leg landed in his bowl, Lu Xun smirked. His parents must be grateful chickens have two legs.

"I went to the convenience store today," Lu Xun suddenly said, chewing on his chopsticks. He glanced at Lu Heyang, who was sipping his soup, his lips touching a green onion, a bright contrast to his naturally pink lips, his eyes misting from the heat.

"I bought a cola," Lu Xun continued, gripping his chopsticks tightly, knuckles white. "And then I saw…"

The words were on the tip of his tongue.

So close to spilling out.

So close.

Lu Heyang tilted his head slightly, then reached out with his chopsticks and started peeling the skin off the chicken leg in Lu Xun's bowl.

Lu Xun didn't eat chicken skin.

Lu Heyang's fingers were long and pale, moving gracefully over the bowl, stripping the chicken skin clean in a few swift motions before tossing it into the bone dish and silently returning to his own meal.

Lu Xun watched him, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.

"What did you see?" Mr. Lu asked.