Besides that, Luo Yuan’s mournful gaze was impossible to ignore.
“Xiaoyu,” Luo Yuan said, peeling a shrimp and placing it in Xiyu’s bowl. “Have some shrimp.”
“Thank you.”
Luo Yuan blinked at Xiyu, his eyes brimming with anticipation. When he watched Xiyu eat the shrimp and then immediately turn to ladle some soup into Lu Zhixing’s bowl, a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes.
Luo Yuan lowered his head and continued eating. Just then, a bowl of soup appeared in front of him.
Xiyu’s voice was clear and gentle. “Dad, try this soup.”
Luo Yuan’s hand trembled. He hurriedly answered, “Oh! Yes, yes, Dad will try some.”
He glanced at Shen Qing with a rather smug expression, leaving her both amused and exasperated.
Luo Yuan was smiling too, but his eyes had grown faintly red around the edges.
Xiyu’s ears had turned red as well.
Perhaps the steaming dishes on a winter’s day made a person feel especially safe. For the first time, Xiyu felt that the word home was no longer something distant and intangible. It had become real.
The weather forecast had predicted heavy snow that day. Outside, snowflakes as large as goose feathers drifted down, while warmth enveloped the villa.
After drinking two glasses of wine, Luo Yuan started making a fuss about playing mahjong. Lu Zheng had to return to the company for a while, so Jiang Xuewei took his place.
The two married couples headed to the family’s entertainment room to play mahjong. Xiyu didn’t know how to play, so he went downstairs with Lu Zhixing to watch a movie in the home theater.
Jiang Yunzheng had originally intended to leave, but Jiang Xuewei was having such a good time. Since he didn’t play mahjong either, he followed Xiyu and Lu Zhixing to the theater.
The theater wasn’t particularly large, measuring a little over a hundred square meters. Several double sofa beds were arranged inside.
With an outsider present, Xiyu didn’t lie down on the same sofa bed as Lu Zhixing. Ignoring Lu Zhixing’s aggrieved gaze, he reclined on the sofa beside him instead.
Xiyu randomly picked a movie and draped a blanket over his knees.
With temperatures below freezing, what they watched hardly mattered. Simply lying somewhere warm was a happiness in itself.
Since his rebirth, Xiyu had rarely experienced a moment this peaceful. There were no worries to trouble him, his little disciple was right beside him, and their hearts were in perfect harmony.
This is so wonderful, Xiyu thought.
“I’m going to get some ice cream,” Xiyu said. “Does anyone else want some?”
Lu Zhixing was the first to raise his hand. “I want vanilla.”
Xiyu turned to Jiang Yunzheng. Jiang Yunzheng paused, just about to speak, when Xiyu continued on his own, “I’ll pour you a glass of honey water instead. You should avoid eating too many cold things.”
After all, Jiang Yunzheng was mortal. He had been unconscious for three years and was already physically weak. On top of that, Xiyu had taken so much of his blood. Even though Xiyu had sacrificed his own spiritual power to nourish his body, Jiang Yunzheng would still need to take extra care of himself over the next two years.
A smile finally appeared on Jiang Yunzheng’s face.
“All right. Thank you.”
Xiyu turned and left, failing to notice how Lu Zhixing’s expression darkened in an instant.
The moment the theater door closed, Lu Zhixing paused the movie and said to Jiang Yunzheng, “Let’s wait until Xiaoyu comes back before we continue watching.”
Jiang Yunzheng nodded.
An eerie silence settled over the theater.
A few seconds later, Lu Zhixing tilted his head toward Jiang Yunzheng and spoke in a casual, conversational tone.
“Mr. Jiang, there was a little misunderstanding between us before. Xiaoyu has already reprimanded me for it, so I hope you won’t take it to heart.”
………………………
Jiang Yunzheng was somewhat afraid.
Being alone with Lu Zhixing always reminded him of the sensation of having his throat gripped that day.
Those eyes of Lu Zhixing’s, filled with overwhelming fury and jealousy.
Anyone whose throat had been seized by someone consumed by such emotions would be frightened.
His breath had been forcibly cut off, and the feeling of suffocation had engulfed him like a rising tide.
When Xiyu left, Jiang Yunzheng had instinctively begun breathing more quietly. He hadn’t expected Lu Zhixing to say something like this.
Gentle. Calm. Apologetic.
Lu Zhixing sounded like the most gentlemanly person in the world, someone tormented by endless remorse over having lost control of himself.
Before Jiang Yunzheng had fallen unconscious, he had seen Lu Zhixing on a screen.
Lu Zhixing had been incredibly famous. One film had been enough to establish him as a legend, as though a brilliant new star had suddenly descended upon the entertainment industry.
That year, films from all over the world seemed to be competing at an unprecedented level. One masterpiece followed another, making it feel almost like a battle between the gods. Yet the film that ultimately claimed the title of highest-grossing movie in the world was a Chinese production.
Then, at the end of the year, when the most prestigious film awards in the world were presented, the person who stepped onto the stage to accept the award was an incomparably handsome East Asian man.
Even though Jiang Yunzheng hadn’t paid much attention to the entertainment industry, the overwhelming celebration that swept across the world that year had filled him with national pride.
Several years after his debut, Lu Zhixing had made only six films and appeared in one variety show. He had never been involved in any negative publicity. Even after retiring from the industry, his illustrious achievements in film history remained a source of pride for his countrymen.
That was Lu Zhixing.
A man so dazzling that, if anyone could truly be a match for Xiyu, it could only be him.
Jiang Yunzheng was silent for two seconds before answering softly, “It’s all right. It’s in the past now.”
Xiyu had passed through his life like a flower bursting into brilliant bloom. Jiang Yunzheng knew he couldn’t keep him, but he couldn’t help feeling a sense of loss when someone else plucked that flower away.
Seeing that Jiang Yunzheng seemed dispirited, Lu Zhixing’s gaze flickered. He continued, “I still feel very guilty about offending you, Mr. Jiang. That’s why I asked Xiaoyu to invite you over.”
Lu Zhixing’s tone was light, like a breeze passing by. Yet Jiang Yunzheng felt nothing but a chill.
So that was it. Lu Zhixing had been the one to ask Xiyu to invite him.
No wonder Xiyu had said everything was fine now. It turned out that Lu Zhixing no longer held anything against him.
But that day, Lu Zhixing had looked as though he wanted to tear him to pieces.
Jiang Yunzheng had only seen Lu Zhixing in person a handful of times, outside of the screen. At first, Xiyu had clearly been rather cold toward him.
Later, Xiyu had personally admitted that he liked Lu Zhixing.
Perhaps there had been a misunderstanding between the two of them, and Jiang Yunzheng’s sudden appearance had made Lu Zhixing feel insecure. That was why he had reacted so violently.
Because Jiang Yunzheng had taken something that should have belonged to Lu Zhixing.
“I really don’t mind,” Jiang Yunzheng said. “At the time, I didn’t know the candied fruit and that bed belonged to you. If I made you unhappy, then I was in the wrong.”
The theater was dim. The paused movie cast little light, and Jiang Yunzheng couldn’t see Lu Zhixing’s expression in the shadows.
He didn’t know whether Xiyu had explained everything to Lu Zhixing, but he assumed he had. Otherwise, how could Lu Zhixing’s attitude have changed so drastically?
The two of them must have talked things through. There was no longer any misunderstanding. Lu Zhixing knew he was the one Xiyu favored, so he could finally let go of all those negative emotions.
Still, Jiang Yunzheng felt he should explain things a little more clearly.
“Mr. Xi saved my life. He’s my benefactor. He once borrowed a few things from me, and because he’s kindhearted and knew I was physically weak, he used the candied fruit and the bed to help nourish my body. But after he learned that you minded, he stopped giving them to me.”
Jiang Yunzheng forced a smile.
“He told me he likes you. You two are a perfect match. I wish you both happiness.”
Jiang Yunzheng had already changed the way he addressed Xiyu to “Mr. Xi,” and he carefully explained the nature of their relationship. Lu Zhixing might not have needed to hear any of this, but Jiang Yunzheng still didn’t want the two of them to misunderstand each other because of him.
His voice was soft, and the bitterness in his eyes went unnoticed in the darkness.
Footsteps sounded outside the door.
Lu Zhixing smiled and said, “Thank you. I hope you find someone you love soon, too.”
“Thank you.”
Both men were exceedingly polite, exchanging words of gratitude in what sounded like a gentle and sincere conversation.
But only the two of them knew what lay beneath those words.
Jiang Yunzheng felt a heaviness in his chest. He was finding it difficult to remain seated.
When Xiyu returned, he handed Jiang Yunzheng the honey water. Jiang Yunzheng tipped his head back and drank it, then found an excuse to leave.
Xiyu handed the ice cream to Lu Zhixing and was about to say that he would see Jiang Yunzheng out, but Jiang Yunzheng had already disappeared down the corridor, leaving only his retreating silhouette.
“What a filial son,” Xiyu remarked.
Jiang Yunzheng had left on the pretext of delivering tea cakes to his grandfather, Jiang. He hadn’t stopped to question why he suddenly needed to deliver tea cakes so urgently in the evening.
Lu Zhixing accepted the ice cream and smiled in a way that was difficult to interpret. Just as Xiyu was about to move to the other sofa bed, Lu Zhixing hooked an arm around his waist and pulled him into his embrace.
Xiyu barely managed to keep hold of the ice cream.
Lu Zhixing’s body temperature was rather low. Without his magical powers, Xiyu couldn’t withstand the cold, but he couldn’t bear to push him away either. He pulled the blanket over their legs and nestled into Lu Zhixing’s arms.
Lu Zhixing wrapped an arm around him, holding him close across the chest. The sweet scents of vanilla ice cream and chocolate mingled in the air, accompanied by a faint, crisp fragrance of pear blossoms.
The ice cream was sweet, but Lu Zhixing was thinking about the candied fruit.
What kind of candied fruit had it been? And what about the bed?
Those two things had been used to nourish Jiang Yunzheng’s body.
Were they the same kind of fruit that he himself had been eating?
And what kind of bed had it been?
From the way Jiang Yunzheng had spoken, Lu Zhixing had once thrown a terrible tantrum over those two things. Perhaps he had even forbidden Xiyu from seeing Jiang Yunzheng.
He must have told Xiyu not to see Jiang Yunzheng. That would explain why Xiyu had cautiously asked him today whether he could invite Jiang Yunzheng over.
But Lu Zhixing couldn’t remember any of it.
He couldn’t remember all those moments between himself and Xiyu that other people talked about.
Ordinary candied fruit and an ordinary bed wouldn’t be enough to nourish someone’s body. They must have contained spiritual energy.
Xiyu and Luo Cheng’an weren’t mortals. Neither was Zhixu.
But he was.
If those things could be used to nourish Jiang Yunzheng, then why hadn’t they been given to him?
If Xiyu could give them to Jiang Yunzheng, why couldn’t he give them to Lu Zhixing?
Zhixu…
For some inexplicable reason, Lu Zhixing felt an intense aversion and resistance toward that name.
He was Lu Zhixing, not Zhixu. At least, he wasn’t Zhixu right now.
“Big Brother,” Lu Zhixing murmured beside Xiyu’s ear. “I want to try yours.”
Xiyu scooped up a spoonful and held it to Lu Zhixing’s mouth, but his eyes never left the screen.
The mortal world had become so advanced. Unlike in the past, when he could only pass the time by reading storybooks, there were now all kinds of ways to entertain oneself.
A good actor could draw the audience into the story. Xiyu was beginning to understand why so many people enjoyed watching movies.
Lu Zhixing lowered his eyes to the spoon resting against his lips. He turned his face slightly and took hold of Xiyu’s wrist.
As Xiyu looked at him in confusion, Lu Zhixing lowered his head and kissed him on the lips.
Because he had been eating ice cream, Xiyu’s lips and tongue were cold. The chocolate flavor that had yet to melt in his mouth was swallowed down by Lu Zhixing.