Chapter 5
Lu Yang had been staring at the steamed bun stall for quite a while. He also saw Lu Liu go and buy something. The young man carefully counted his copper coins—twelve in total—counting them three times. It was obvious he wasn’t from a wealthy family.
If he wasn’t rich, that meant he was poor. Lu Yang himself was poor, so why would this guy buy him steamed buns?
He frowned, confused. “Why did you buy me buns?”
Lu Liu meant well. “I saw you looking at the stall for a long time. You must be hungry, right? Eat them while they’re hot.”
The buns were wrapped in just a thin layer of paper. He was holding a bamboo basket in one hand and the buns in the other, juggling them between his fingers as they burned his skin. He looked like he was about to cry from the heat.
Lu Yang took the buns from him and placed them into the basket, then commented on his behavior. “Are you stupid?”
Lu Liu: “……”
Why was everyone he met today so infuriating?
Feeling aggrieved, he lowered his head, only to realize that the cloth covering his basket was missing. It wasn’t until now that he remembered—it was the cloth he had wrapped around his face earlier.
At the same time, Lu Yang felt incredibly awkward. Even though he thought this young man was a fool, this fool saw him staring at the bun stall and bought him a meat bun. Compared to all the clever people in the world, this fool was much more lovable.
He noticed the young fool looked like he was about to cry and hurriedly tried to comfort him. “I was complimenting you. There aren’t many kindhearted people like you—”
Before he could finish, the fool pulled the cloth off his face, revealing a face identical to Lu Yang’s.
The two stood side by side, clearer than looking into a mirror.
Lu Yang’s usual sharpness vanished. His mind went completely blank. His reflexes kicked in, and he quickly pulled the cloth back over Lu Liu’s face.
What was going on?
Why did this guy look exactly like him?
His parents had never hidden the truth from him. They always told him he was adopted but never mentioned which family he came from. The only thing that was certain was that he wasn’t a child of the Chen family, so they let him take his mother’s surname, Lu.
Ever since he could remember, his parents had constantly reminded him that he had no background or family. If he left the Chen family, he would have no home, no money, and would end up dead on the streets. That was how they tamed him into obediently working like a little servant every day. Since the family was in business and they didn’t want to overwork their two biological sons, they made him sell goods outside instead, which gave him his fiery and tough personality.
But no matter how fiery he was, under someone else’s roof, he had to bow his head. He had no idea where he would go if he left the Chen family.
Lu Yang shook his head, glanced around, then grabbed Lu Liu’s wrist and pulled him into a narrow alley.
Most of the people at the market were there for the excitement, leaving the alley quiet.
Lu Liu was still thrilled, his bright eyes glistening as he looked at Lu Yang. When their gazes met, he sweetly called out, “Brother.”
Lu Yang didn’t respond. He first asked, “What’s your name? How old are you? Where are you from? Where do you live now? Who did you come to the market with today?”
Lu Liu answered each question honestly.
His name was Lu Liu. He was eighteen years old and from Lujiatun, where he still lived. He came to the market with his father.
Lu Yang asked, “What’s your father’s name?”
Lu Liu replied, “My father’s name is Lu Erbao.”
Then, showing some wit, he added, “My aunt’s name is Lu Sanfeng!”
That confirmed it.
Lu Yang was shocked—he actually had a younger brother.
And this younger brother looked exactly like him.
Their personalities, however, were quite different. This one seemed naive and easy to bully.
His easily bullied younger brother, still kindhearted, once again handed him a bun.
This time, Lu Yang didn’t refuse. The two brothers squatted by the wall, each eating a meat bun with relish.
Lu Yang hadn’t eaten properly that morning. He had been busy since midnight, and the wild vegetable cornbread he had earlier had been too rough on his stomach, so he gave up halfway. He was already starving.
Lu Liu, on the other hand, had eaten well in the morning, but after walking over ten miles with his father, whatever food he had earlier was long gone.
After finishing the buns, they slowly ate some steamed rolls. Only then did Lu Liu ask his brother’s name. Following Lu Yang’s example, he asked all his questions at once.
A sense of hope rose in Lu Yang’s heart again.
Now that he had family, his marriage situation might be negotiable.
He briefly explained his situation and casually brought up his marriage.
It seemed his adoptive parents had hidden the truth from Lu’s family so they could collect the full bride price without having to share.
But he suppressed that little bit of hope for now.
First, he needed to test the waters about Lu’s family, using marriage as a conversation starter to see if Lu Liu was already engaged.
His previously cheerful younger brother suddenly wilted.
Lu Liu sighed. “I’m already engaged. I’m getting married soon, to Scholar Xie from Shangxi Village. I just ran into him earlier, and he made me cry.”
Lu Yang immediately wanted to stand up for him. “Where is he?”
Lu Liu stopped him and explained what had happened.
It wasn’t really Xie Yan’s fault. It was just that they both had weak and soft personalities. The thought of them struggling through life together was terrifying.
After listening, Lu Yang’s heart sank lower and lower.
It was over.
Even Lu Liu’s terrible marriage wasn’t getting called off. As for him—having been sent away for eighteen years—trying to return the twenty-tael bride price to break off his engagement with the Li family?
Might as well wait for the next life.
Lu Yang had been back in the village for a while, struggling over his arranged marriage. He had no one to talk to—until now.
Now that he had found his younger brother, and they were both in miserable situations, once they opened up, they couldn’t stop venting.
Lu Liu originally wanted to curse the Chen family for being so cruel as to force his brother into marrying someone he didn’t like. But then he thought about his own father—who was just as heartless. What was the point of expecting anything from foster parents?
The two of them sighed at the same time, looking at each other in silence.
As they fell quiet, the noise of the bustling market filled their ears again.
At a market, bartering was common.
Maybe they had picked the right spot, or maybe they were just hearing selectively, but as they sat there, zoning out, all they heard were voices shouting, “Trade, trade, trade!”—offering to exchange one thing for another.
At first, they didn’t think much of it.
But after hearing it a few more times, an idea sparked in their minds.
If eggs could be traded for steamed buns, then why couldn’t marriage be traded for another marriage?
Lu Yang’s eyes lit up. He turned to look at his younger brother.
Lu Liu met his gaze, eyes full of excitement.
“How about…”
“We…”
“Swap marriages?”
If they couldn’t break off the engagements, they would just swap them.
