After school that afternoon, the moment Ye Qingyang stepped out of the gate, he spotted Lu Jingcheng’s driver.
He had ridden in Lu Jingcheng’s car several times before, so the driver already recognized him. As soon as he saw him, he invited him to get in.
Once inside, Ye Qingyang asked, “Is Lu Jingcheng feeling any better?”
“Much better,” the driver replied. “Thank you for your concern.”
“No problem.”
He sent Lu Jingcheng a message saying he was in the car, then leaned back against the seat and started listening to music.
Truthfully, Ye Qingyang felt a little nervous.
After all, if he really said what he had been thinking once he got there, then he and Lu Jingcheng would officially become boyfriends. And after that, the way they interacted might be different from before.
But then he reconsidered—maybe not that different. After all, Lu Jingcheng had already been treating him like a boyfriend anyway. At most, it would just mean adjusting his own way of treating Lu Jingcheng.
Still…
Leaning back, Ye Qingyang thought it over. He was already practically indulging Lu Jingcheng in everything—there wasn’t much more room to “adjust.”
He sighed, realizing that from the very beginning, the relationship between the two of them hadn’t exactly been… innocent.
No wonder Lu Jingcheng had misunderstood.
Lu Jingcheng treated him with eight parts affection, and he returned those same eight parts. From Lu Jingcheng’s perspective, wouldn’t that look like: I like you, so I treat you well. You treat me just as well—so you must like me too, right?
Perfectly logical. Completely convincing.
Resting his head against the window, Ye Qingyang mused that his first love had really crept up on him silently—like the wind slipping into the night, nourishing everything without a sound.
After receiving his message, Lu Jingcheng got out of bed, went downstairs, and asked the housekeeper to add a few of Ye Qingyang’s favorite dishes. Then he sat on the sofa, waiting.
Ye Qingyang arrived right on time. When he saw him, he smiled brightly.
“I came to check on you, but I forgot to buy fruit. I’ll treat you after we get back to school.”
Lu Jingcheng didn’t care. “Mm.”
He let him in and handed him a pair of disposable slippers.
As Ye Qingyang changed shoes, he heard Lu Jingcheng say, “Put your things down and wash your hands. Let’s eat first.”
“Okay.”
It was Ye Qingyang’s first time at Lu Jingcheng’s place. He couldn’t help but glance around—it was huge, every detail exuding wealth. Clearly, this was a very rich household.
As expected of a novel’s male lead.
They washed their hands together and went into the dining room.
“Feeling better?” Ye Qingyang asked.
Lu Jingcheng nodded, his voice still slightly nasal from the cold. “A bit better.”
Looking at his slightly pale face from being sick, Ye Qingyang felt an inexplicable pang of concern.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Lu Jingcheng said. “It’s not like it’s anything serious. Just a cold.”
Ye Qingyang lowered his head, then suddenly realized something. “Is it just you at home? Just the two of us eating?”
Lu Jingcheng nodded. “My dad’s busy. My little sister wanted to watch a newly released animated movie a few days ago, so my mom took her. They’ll probably be back after dinner.”
Ye Qingyang nodded, thinking he might get to meet her later. He wondered if she looked like Lu Jingcheng.
“Does your sister look like you?” he asked curiously. His own sister looked quite a bit like him—it was obvious they were siblings.
Lu Jingcheng gave him a strange look and reminded him, “Did I not tell you? My sister is ten years younger than me. She’s still in elementary school.”
Ye Qingyang: ???
“So?”
So even if she looks like me, you don’t stand a chance! Lu Jingcheng thought. Even if he couldn’t be Ye Qingyang’s boyfriend, he definitely wasn’t going to become his future brother-in-law.
“So there’s no need for you to be concerned about her.”
Ye Qingyang was helpless. “Why are you even jealous of your own sister?”
“I’m just kindly reminding you—don’t get any ideas like ‘we’re friends, I marry your sister, and we become even closer.’ Impossible. Unless I die.”
Ye Qingyang: …Man, your imagination is as wild as ever.
This was the Lu Jingcheng he knew.
Ye Qingyang nodded. “Fine, fine. I won’t marry her. Why would I marry her?”
He looked at him. “If anything, I’d marry you.”
Lu Jingcheng: !!!
He choked on his food, coughing violently.
Ye Qingyang hurriedly handed him some water.
After drinking a few sips, Lu Jingcheng finally stopped coughing.
“You okay?” Ye Qingyang asked.
Lu Jingcheng set the cup down and looked at him, his expression unusually serious.
“Ye Qingyang, that’s not funny. And it’s not something you should joke about.”
With that, he stood up, grabbed a napkin, wiped his mouth, and left the table.
Ye Qingyang froze for a moment, then quickly followed. “Are you mad?”
Lu Jingcheng didn’t respond, but he was indeed a little angry.
Before everything had been made clear between them, he had thought Ye Qingyang liked him. And since he himself didn’t reject Ye Qingyang, any ambiguous or suggestive words between them hadn’t bothered him. Back then, Ye Qingyang didn’t know about his feelings, nor had he rejected him—so they both went along with it willingly.
But now things were different.
They had already talked it out, and Ye Qingyang had clearly said he only saw him as a friend. In that case, knowing he still liked him, Ye Qingyang shouldn’t be making ambiguous remarks like that.
There was nothing wrong with not liking someone.
But not liking someone, yet still teasing or leading them on—that wasn’t right.
Lu Jingcheng wouldn’t do that himself, and he didn’t want Ye Qingyang to do it either.
Ye Qingyang sighed. “I already said I was doing it for your own good. Didn’t you forgive me just now?”
Lu Jingcheng pinched his cheek. “Don’t do that again!”
He added, “Even if it’s for my own good, I have to agree to it. Don’t just assume things on your own!”
Ye Qingyang nodded. “Got it.”
Only then did Lu Jingcheng relax, letting go and quietly looking at him.
Ye Qingyang smiled at him, obedient and soft.
Seeing that smile, Lu Jingcheng’s mood lifted as well. He couldn’t help but smile, reaching out to ruffle Ye Qingyang’s hair. “Idiot.”
You’re the idiot, Ye Qingyang thought.
But outwardly, he obediently let him mess up his hair.
In truth, Lu Jingcheng wasn’t entirely sure whether what Ye Qingyang said about that day was real or not.
But he chose to believe him.
Because he liked him.
So whatever Ye Qingyang said, he was willing to trust.
And Ye Qingyang knew very well that it was a lie.
But he still chose to deceive him this once—to selfishly “do what was best for him.” Because he wanted his little peacock to always remain proud and confident, free of regret, embarrassment, or painful shadows.
If he had known they would end up together in the end, then on the night Lu Jingcheng confessed, he would have simply gone along with it and naturally agreed.
Instead of letting him realize that it had all been one-sided—nothing but his own wishful thinking.
That would have been too cruel.
And Ye Qingyang couldn’t bear that.
So he staged a new scene, spun a gentle lie, and gave him back a bright, sunlit memory.
He wasn’t an actor.
But he could be the careful gardener tending Lu Jingcheng’s glass flower.