Don’t Ignite It chapter 56
Old Friend
After completing the divorce proceedings with Xu Zhan, there was an obligation to inform the family.
Xia Yu and Xu Zhan had agreed to reveal everything to their families during the upcoming Chinese New Year.
As the Lunar New Year approached, Xia Yu became increasingly absent-minded. Lu Zhao noticed this and asked if Xia Yu had something on his mind.
Xia Yu looked at Lu Zhao’s face and pinched him lightly.
“I am indeed troubled,” Xia Yu replied with a wry smile. He was going through this ordeal, and it was related to Lu Zhao in some way, which made him feel uneasy. “But there’s nothing you can do to help.”
Regardless of whether Lu Zhao was involved or not, Xia Yu and Xu Zhan were getting a divorce. Xia Yu would handle his family matters himself. Involving Lu Zhao would only complicate things. Therefore, Xia Yu didn’t reveal his plans to Lu Zhao.
He closed the art book in his hand and asked Lu Zhao, “Chinese New Year is just a few days away. Are you going to spend it with your father this year?”
Lu Zhao’s family ties were somewhat thin. His grandparents and maternal grandparents had passed away long ago, and now his mother was also gone, leaving only his father.
Both emotionally and logically, Lu Zhao should spend New Year’s with his father.
However, Lu Zhao shook his head. “I’ll just go home for a meal on New Year’s Day. I’ll be staying here the rest of the time.”
“Why?” Xia Yu asked, looking puzzled. “Aren’t you going to keep your father company?”
“He doesn’t need my company. He’s spending New Year’s at Mrs. Shen’s small mansion this year.”
At first, Xia Yu didn’t understand who “Mrs. Shen” was, but when he saw Lu Zhao’s expression, he suddenly realized. Lu Zhao’s father, Lu Yuqing, had a mistress with the surname Shen. This was also an open secret, and the woman with the surname Shen had been with Lu Zhao’s father for decades but never appeared in public. It was a matter of preserving Lu Zhao’s father’s reputation in this sham marriage.
Lu Zhao continued to explain, “Mrs. Shen hasn’t had children of her own for many years, and this year, despite her advanced age, she gave birth to a daughter. Her health isn’t good due to this pregnancy, and she’s rarely had a chance to spend New Year’s Eve with my father. So, the three of them will spend this New Year’s as a family. I won’t go and disrupt their happiness.”
Listening to this, Xia Yu was shocked. Lu Yuqing, Lu Zhao’s father, had a new daughter at this age, just one year after the death of Lu Zhao’s mother.
He couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the thought.
Moreover, Lu Zhao mentioned it so casually, as if it were nothing significant.
But how could he not be sad?
Xia Yu thought that Lu Zhao’s father, his mistress, and their newborn daughter formed a happy and harmonious family, while Lu Zhao just seemed like an intruder who disrupted their lives.
He felt a twinge of sympathy and gently placed his hand on Lu Zhao’s back. “So, are you spending New Year’s alone this year?”
“Yes,” Lu Zhao replied, not considering it a big deal. He didn’t play the victim or expect to spend the New Year with Xia Yu. He didn’t have that right yet.
Instead, he changed the subject. “What about you? Any plans for the New Year with your family?”
Xia Yu showed a hesitant expression. “Nothing special. My parents are going on a trip on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so it will just be me, my brother, and his wife at home.”
Lu Zhao didn’t ask any further questions.
However, that evening, he brought several gift boxes and opened them one by one in front of Xia Yu.
19th-century Mughal jewelry, a complete set of Ottoman Empire ceramics, an antique carnelian brooch, the 1945 Romanian Constantine coin, and a jade bracelet for children…
Xia Yu raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?”
Lu Zhao said, “These are gifts for your family. Since I can’t visit them in person, I’ll have to ask you to deliver them.”
According to etiquette, he should have visited Xia Yu’s family during the New Year. There had been some exchanges of goodwill between the Xia and Lu families in the past, and as a junior member, Lu Zhao had a legitimate reason to visit.
But since he had hurt Xia Yu so deeply in the past, the door to Xia’s house had forever closed to him.
Xia Yu should have refused. Lu Zhao had no official status in his life yet, so why should Lu Zhao give gifts to Xia Yu’s family?
The Xia family’s door was not open to just anyone, even if they used Xia Yu’s name.
However, Xia Yu looked into Lu Zhao’s eyes and remembered the sapphire ring that he had placed in the jewelry box. In the end, he said nothing.
He played with the antique brooch, which was designed like small, closely packed pomegranate fruits made of red carnelian and set on golden leaves adorned with jade and pearls. It was delicate and beautiful under the indoor lighting.
He smiled and said to Lu Zhao, “When I was little, my mother had a brooch just like this. I secretly played with it and ended up losing it. We searched the whole house but couldn’t find it. My mother cried so much out of worry.”
“Did you get punished for that?” Lu Zhao asked with a smile.
“No,” Xia Yu also smiled. “No one blamed me at home. Instead, my brother hugged me and comforted me for a long time. I was crying and sobbing, and I said I liked that little red bead. My mother didn’t say a word, but she took out her own jewelry box and gave me a chicken-blood-red earring, swinging it in front of me to play with.”
Their family dynamics were quite different from Lu Zhao’s cold and serious household atmosphere. Xia Yu had been genuinely pampered and loved in his childhood.
As a child, Xia Yu had been fragile and frequently ill, requiring constant care and attention. His older brother, though only a few years older, had taken on the role of an older sibling early on. He would feed Xia Yu water when he had a fever and tell bedtime stories to help him sleep.
Lu Zhao imagined what Xia Yu must have looked like when he was crying, with his rosy cheeks and a pitiful expression, and found it even more endearing.
“If you were in my family, I probably wouldn’t have the heart to punish you either,” he said, his voice tender.
If he had a little brother like Xia Yu, he would most likely cherish him and show him off proudly.
Xia Yu didn’t deny it. He had indeed been quite cute as a child.
He then asked Lu Zhao, “Did you misbehave as a child? I always thought you had this dignified and composed demeanor, like you never had a childhood.”
Lu Zhao thought for a moment. “I did misbehave. I once released the pet finch that my grandfather raised, didn’t like the martial arts instructor at home, and punctured his car tires. When my father scolded me, I swapped his meeting documents with the wrong ones.”
There were quite a few mischievous incidents in his past.
As a child, he had been a little troublemaker. He never displayed his displeasure openly, and when he did something mischievous, he didn’t feel guilty. He would calmly walk to the scene of the incident, as if he had nothing to do with it.
Xia Yu found it hard to imagine Lu Zhao doing such things. “What happened afterward? Were you ever punished?”
Lu Zhao didn’t mind and said, “I was once made to run laps outside in the cold winter and was given a few strokes with a rattan cane. I experienced all kinds of punishments.”
Xia Yu made a sympathetic sound, feeling pain just thinking about it.
But then, Lu Zhao added, “However, my mother didn’t believe in physical punishment. She would just lock me in a dark room until I yielded. But once, it happened to be New Year’s Eve, and she only kept me in there for two hours before letting me out and giving me a red envelope.”
Xia Yu chuckled softly, but it still sounded painful. He couldn’t help but wonder how he would have endured that if it were him.
But Xia Yu heard the softness in Lu Zhao’s voice when he said, “I remember it clearly. My mother personally gave me that red envelope, tucked it under my pillow, and said it would bring me luck throughout the year.”
Xia Yu’s heart trembled.
He could tell that this was one of the few memories of tenderness and love that Lu Zhao had from his family, something so restrained yet fragile.
In terms of receiving love from their families, he and Lu Zhao were completely reversed. He was like an immensely wealthy tycoon, while Lu Zhao only had a few pennies in his hands.
Perhaps Lu Zhao didn’t mind. He was doing well now, and he had given up family, love, and other things to obtain his current status and position.
But as Xia Yu looked at Lu Zhao, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
However, Xia Yu didn’t say anything more.
A few days later, on New Year’s Eve, Xia Yu took the gifts Lu Zhao had prepared and prepared to drive back home.
Lu Zhao saw him off, and in the freezing cold wind, even the tall and imposing Lu Zhao looked a bit frail and lonely as he stood in the spacious garden.
New Year’s Eve was quiet and still. Most of the servants in the Lu family had gone home for the New Year, leaving only the butler behind.
Lu Zhao didn’t say anything to make Xia Yu stay. Instead, he bent down and kissed Xia Yu’s forehead.
“We’ll see each other after the New Year.”
“Okay.”
Xia Yu knew he had to leave; if he didn’t, he would be late for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
But as he sat in the car and looked at Lu Zhao standing alone in the night, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of reluctance.
He muttered something to himself.
Lu Zhao didn’t catch it and bent down, asking, “What did you say?”
Xia Yu simply reached over and tugged on Lu Zhao’s ear. “I said, before you go to sleep tonight, touch your pillow.”
After saying that, he seemed embarrassed, and without paying any more attention to Lu Zhao, he grumbled, “okay, I’m off.”
Lu Zhao stepped aside, watching Xia Yu’s car drive away.
The gates of the garden remained open for a long time.
Not saying any words of persuasion didn’t mean he didn’t want to hold him back.
Before Xia Yu arrived, Lu Zhao had never felt the villa, so large and spacious, to be so desolately cold. When Xia Yu left, it was as if he had taken away all the warmth and beauty with him.
The cold wind brushed past him, causing a shiver to run through his skin.
In truth, he didn’t have nowhere to go. Lu Yuan had hoped he would spend the New Year at their home, and Lu Yuan’s parents were also very welcoming towards him.
But on this family reunion New Year’s Eve, he didn’t want to intrude.
He stood at the entrance for a while before slowly returning to his room. Sitting on the bed, he ran his hand along the edge of the bed. It seemed like Xia Yu’s warmth still lingered on the master bedroom’s bed. Xia Yu would eat snacks, play games, and read books on the bed.
Despite having a slight case of cleanliness obsession, he had allowed Xia Yu to eat egg rolls on the bed and even found it endearing. Now that Xia Yu was gone, there was no one to make the room messy anymore, but he was already feeling uncomfortable with the room being so tidy.
Lu Zhao silently chuckled, feeling like there was no hope for him.
He recalled Xia Yu’s words from earlier and reached under the pillow.
Actually, at that moment of contact, Lu Zhao had already guessed what it was. When he took it out and saw a small, bulging red envelope, he found his assumption confirmed.
On the red envelope, there was Xia Yu’s neat handwriting, “With the arrival of the New Year, I remain an old friend.”
Upon opening the red envelope, aside from the paper money, a piece of candy also fell out. It was round and plump, identical to the one Lu Zhao had casually given Xia Yu in the library.
Lu Zhao read the poetic phrase on the red envelope once more, “An old friend.”
The new year had arrived, but Xia Yu still considered him an old friend and acquaintance.
His mother was no longer here, and there was no one else in the world who would treat him like a child or give him red envelopes, but Xia Yu did.
Despite Xia Yu’s tough exterior, he was soft-hearted. He claimed to hate him, never forgive him, and promised to make him suffer, but in the end, Xia Yu indulged him time and time again, cared about his loneliness, and worried about his well-being.
For a moment, Lu Zhao even felt a bit sorry for Xia Yu.
He thought, what had he done to deserve such a cold, unfeeling, and emotionally distant person like him, yet still be fortunate enough to have Xia Yu?
Lu Zhao unwrapped the candy, letting the sweetness melt in his mouth. Outside the window, there were faint sounds of firecrackers, clear and festive in the silent night.
He thought that Xia Yu had probably already arrived home.