Don’t Ignite It chapter 31
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As they spoke, a drizzle began to fall on the mountain path.
But because the raindrops were so fine, almost no one bothered with an umbrella.
Li Pan, however, had done his homework and had prepared two umbrellas in his bag. He immediately took one out and handed it to Xia Yu.
Xia Yu stood in the misty rain, his face pale, slightly damp hair, and strands sticking to his cheeks. He stood by the edge of the lush forest, resembling a scene from the Jiangnan region.
Although Xia Yu was generally good-natured, gentle, and friendly, at this moment, Li Pan suddenly felt a sense of detachment from him, one that seemed to align with the atmosphere of this Daoist temple.
However, Xia Yu quickly opened the umbrella, smiled at Li Pan, and returned to his usual self.
“Let’s go.”
After dinner, Xia Yu and Li Pan took a car back to the hotel.
Upon their return, Li Pan took out a feedback form and asked Xia Yu to write down his level of satisfaction.
Xia Yu generously wrote “very satisfied” and even added a brief comment.
Li Pan looked at those elegant lines but spoke softly, “Actually, I feel like Mr. Xia, you aren’t in very high spirits.”
Xia Yu was puzzled. “Not at all. I think you’ve been an excellent guide.”
“It’s not what I mean,” Li Pan shook his head. “I just feel that if Mr. Lu accompanied you, you might have been happier.”
He said this with a smile in his eyes, still wearing that pair of puppy-dog eyes, but now with a hint of cunning.
After saying this, he quickly composed himself and took the filled-out form from Xia Yu.
“Thank you, Mr. Xia. If you have any further needs, please feel free to contact me. I wish you a pleasant evening.”
He bowed to Xia Yu and left in a hurry.
Around ten o’clock, Lu Zhao returned.
By this time, Xia Yu had already finished a plate of late-night snacks.
He smelled the scent of alcohol on Lu Zhao and wrinkled his nose. “Have you been drinking?”
Lu Zhao sat down beside him, cradling him in his lap. “Yes, I had dinner with some senior executives, and I couldn’t avoid socializing and a few glasses of drinks.”
He buried his face in Xia Yu’s shoulder, catching a faint scent of jasmine on Xia Yu’s body.
Xia Yu complained, “I just took a shower.”
With Lu Zhao holding him, he would have to take another one.
Lu Zhao, aware of his guilt, offered, “Then I’ll help you wash up.”
“Forget it.”
Xia Yu thought that he wasn’t sure who would benefit from this, as he didn’t entirely trust Lu Zhao’s self-control in the shower.
But clearly, Lu Zhao couldn’t even make it to the bathroom.
He held Xia Yu’s chin and kissed him, asking as he kissed, “were you happy today?”
Xia Yu instinctively wanted to say yes, but upon closer thought, there wasn’t a particularly memorable moment. In the end, he settled for a compromise.
“It was alright.”
Lu Zhao asked again, “Are you very satisfied with that little butler?”
His voice held a subtle hint of jealousy.
He always disliked it when others stole Xia Yu’s attention.
During the meeting earlier in the day, he even found it hard to concentrate, thinking about where Xia Yu might be wandering the streets with that butler.
Xia Yu thought that Li Pan clearly leaned towards option 0, so what was the point of Lu Zhao’s jealousy?
But he didn’t feel like explaining.
“Yeah, I’m quite satisfied,” he praised nonchalantly, “He’s good-looking and has a cheerful personality.”
He was being mischievous, enjoying seeing Lu Zhao at a loss.
He had experienced jealousy many times, the feeling of being tormented but not having the right to complain. He always wanted Lu Zhao to experience it too.
Lu Zhao’s expression darkened even more, and he stared at Xia Yu.
Xia Yu didn’t care at all, and even provocatively smiled.
Lu Zhao didn’t say anything more, just said, “My work will be over tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, I can accompany you. No need for that butler.”
“So soon?”
“Yeah.”
Lu Zhao hugged Xia Yu and said, “The negotiations went smoothly. This time, I mainly wanted to recruit a research team, and it’s almost settled.”
Xia Yu wasn’t too concerned about Lu Zhao’s work matters. He was an artist, while Lu Zhao was an industrialist. They couldn’t really relate on that front.
He leaned against Lu Zhao’s chest. “But I’m not sure about the plans for the day after tomorrow. I might not want to go out with you; it feels uncomfortable. What if I run into someone I know? It’d be even more bothersome.”
Lu Zhao fell silent and looked down at Xia Yu.
Perhaps due to his strong features and beautiful eyes, even when he was quiet, he had a slightly melancholic look, which wasn’t very noticeable because of his dominant aura.
But now, he was silently gazing at Xia Yu, his lips tightly closed, easily arousing sympathy in others.
Sometimes, Xia Yu wondered why someone like Lu Zhao had such a face.
It reminded him of a stray dog that used to wait outside his apartment building.
He was a bit afraid of dogs, so he didn’t dare to approach, but that stray dog inexplicably chose him. It always sat obediently in the bushes, watching him without getting too close or barking.
Just watching him.
Its dark eyes made him feel guilty.
That’s why he was at a loss.
But he couldn’t keep it, so he eventually found an adopter for the little dog.
Xia Yu shifted his gaze. “Let’s discuss it later; let’s see how I feel the day after tomorrow.”
However, the next day, Xia Yu didn’t go on a trip; instead, he played golf at the resort.
Li Pan accompanied him for practice.
But Li Pan was a bit clumsy, while Xia Yu’s skills were decent at golf. Li Pan praised him a few times and asked if he had a coach.
Xia Yu swung his club.
“No,” he said, looking at the ball flying, “my teacher is Lu Zhao.”
When he was nineteen, Lu Zhao had taught him golf. Back then, he was also clumsy, and Lu Zhao had patiently taught him for a long time, adjusting his posture step by step while standing behind him.
Li Pan showed an understanding expression and casually commented, “That’s great.”
Xia Yu asked, “What’s great about it?”
Li Pan said, “Mr. Lu and you seem to have a very close relationship.”
He didn’t really know about Lu Zhao and Xia Yu, just had a vague impression that Lu Zhao was a high-ranking executive of some well-known conglomerate and was even less familiar with Xia Yu.
He smiled and said, “Lu Zhao seems very concerned about you. I accompanied you around yesterday, and he didn’t seem too happy about it.”
Having spent so much time in the vacation hotel, Li Pan had seen various wealthy couples. Most of them seemed estranged, but many didn’t even come with their legal partners, bringing their lovers instead.
He subtly brought up this topic.
As a result, Xia Yu laughed even more exaggeratedly.
He swung again. “What if I tell you that Lu Zhao and I are not lovers at all? Maybe I’m one of his kept little lovers, or perhaps, he’s my kept little lover?”
Li Pan looked shocked. “No way?”
Xia Yu chuckled, “I’m just kidding.”
…………………………….
On the third day, Xia Yu finally went out with Lu Zhao.
Their planned destination for the day was the Three Ancient Streets of Yundu, which were all established during the Song and Ming dynasties. Many ancient relics no longer existed, but the streets, neither new nor old, were filled with calligraphy and painting shops, as well as cafes.
Most young people frequented these ancient streets nowadays.
Young men and women in trendy outfits strolled together, wearing sunglasses. Some came to check-in, while others sought the remnants of ancient architecture.
Xia Yu belonged to the latter group.
He had brought a camera with him today.
One of the streets had a well-preserved garden, and Xia Yu didn’t like taking photos of courtyards; he preferred photographing window grilles within the gardens.
He loved peering out of flower-patterned windows. It would have been even better to visit during spring when the greenery seemed to seep into the room, divided into small sections by the flower-patterned windows. When you looked out from behind the window, it was like watching a kaleidoscope from a dark room.
Now it was autumn, and there was no green shade. However, there were ginkgo trees in the courtyard, and when Xia Yu looked out of the flower-patterned windows, he saw a floor covered in golden leaves, which was also quite beautiful.
While he was taking photos, he absentmindedly stepped back a couple of paces, but behind him was a flight of steps. Lu Zhao immediately approached and supported his waist when Xia Yu nearly tripped over the steps.
“Be careful.”
Xia Yu stumbled into Lu Zhao’s arms, and the camera inadvertently captured Lu Zhao instead of the intended scenery. The photo was slightly blurry.
Xia Yu checked it and saw that Lu Zhao’s figure was blurry in the camera, with the background shrouded in a misty atmosphere. Surprisingly, it looked quite beautiful.
His fingers unconsciously hovered over the delete button, but he hesitated and refrained from deleting it.
Lu Zhao didn’t know what Xia Yu was doing; he was just looking down at him.
Xia Yu put away the camera. “I won’t take any more pictures. Let’s go have some coffee.”
Author’s note.
It’s not like the story is going to rush into a reconciliation after a couple of slightly sweet chapters. The progress bar doesn’t move that fast, and they won’t be making up immediately.
This story is relatively short, but it’s not that short…
The story will definitely have a happy ending (HE), as stated in the synopsis.
I’ve also mentioned in the synopsis that I’m not sure if it qualifies as a “wife chasing crematorium” or a “torture” story.
There will still be some angsty parts ahead, and Lu Zhao won’t easily rise to the top.
Everyone has different standards, some like their steak medium-rare, while others insist on it being well-done… (Why does this sound like I’m talking about steak?)
So, I can’t guarantee that everyone will be satisfied.
I’ve always believed that the most important thing when reading a story is to enjoy it. So don’t put unnecessary pressure and just enjoy the story~