Ch. 147 - Now We're All Unhappy
The next morning, Lu Xing was refreshed.
He walked to the bathroom with a light step, sighing with a sense of satisfaction.
"Natural is better than artificial, after all."
Auntie Wen was indeed very soft.
If it made her feel a little better, he had no complaints about being her "human pillow."
Lu Xing opened his phone and posted a draft he had saved: a video of him coloring his latest wood carving.
The video he posted previously already had over nine hundred thousand likes, and the comment section was a chaotic mess of anime-subculture slang.
Sigh.
'A cup might be ordinary, but stick an anime girl on it and call it "official merch"...'
It sells like hotcakes!
"Anime fans' money is far too easy to earn."
Lu Xing laughed to himself and set up a giveaway for the wood carving to boost his engagement metrics.
When he opened his private messages, the "99+" notification made his scalp tingle.
He randomly clicked on a chat box.
[Sighs Twice]: Excuse me, does the streamer take advertisements?
【Lu Xing】: I do.
[Sighs Twice]: You do, you do, but I'm not selling anyway, hehe.
Lu Xing: ...
Ahhhhhh!
"What kind of idiot is this 'Sighs Twice'? Block, block!"
Lu Xing took a deep breath and decided not to look at his private messages for the time being.
It was too much!
He did notice some messages from factories looking to mass-produce his designs.
But Lu Xing didn't have the energy for that right now, so he didn't even open them.
Damn it.
Who on earth invented the "read" receipt?
So damn annoying!
"It seems I'm a congenital marketing sacred body."
Seeing the account grow exactly as he’d planned, Lu Xing's mood improved.
Since leaving the amusement park, he had been reflecting.
He felt that he wasn't a pervert at all. Isn't it normal to want to crush cute things to death?
At most, he had a little bit of OCD and was a tiny bit of a control freak.
Lu Xing packed his things and headed out. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw a group of men and women in black suits patrolling the villa.
Seeing him appear, they greeted him in perfect unison.
"Mr. Lu!"
Lu Xing: ???
"When did you all get here?"
Among the lead bodyguards were a man and a woman. They shared a look, and the female bodyguard stepped forward to explain.
"We have always been here. The two villas flanking CEO Wen's house are our quarters."
Lu Xing: ???
Big sister, are you speaking a human language?
That is far too niche!
"Oh. Well... keep up the good work."
Lu Xing nodded nonchalantly, while internally shedding bitter tears.
'Boo-hoo-hoo.'
My self-esteem is being crowded out!
Did I want to know? Did I want to know? Did I want to know?
Who gave you permission to tell me!
Goddamn it!
I'm calling the cops on you!
Now everyone is miserable.
Seeing Lu Xing's mental state crumble as he walked away, the female bodyguard spoke up.
"Mr. Lu, CEO Wen mentioned that if it's more convenient for you, we can drive you to school."
"No need."
"You can choose any car you like."
"I'm not interested in money."
Lu Xing said, putting on his best act of being "aloof and untainted" by wealth.
The female bodyguard tried a different angle. "You can lie down in the car, sleep more, and breakfast is provided."
Mm.
He had refused and pushed back three times now.
This perfectly maintained his character as an innocent, prideful youth, while highlighting the bodyguard’s dedicated professionalism.
Why should one worker make life hard for another? Now, everyone wins!
The female bodyguard drove him. Lu Xing lay paralyzed in the back seat, stuffing his face.
"I say (chew chew chew) this thing (chew chew chew) who invented it (chew chew chew) it's delicious (chew chew chew)."
The bodyguard watched Lu Xing’s lazy behavior in the rearview mirror, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
She had known him as long as he had been with CEO Wen.
And now.
It was crystal clear to her.
CEO Wen had fallen for him. Hard.
Previously, CEO Wen would never have let them show their faces in front of Mr. Lu. Now, she had allowed it.
The bodyguard felt she should say a few words on her boss’s behalf.
"Mr. Lu."
"(Chew chew chew)"
"Actually, CEO Wen..."
"(Chew chew chew)"
"She has a reason..."
"(Chew chew chew)"
The female bodyguard: ...
'Ahhhhhh!'
Psycho!
Even if you don't want to listen, you don't have to act like a total moron, do you?
She gave up. Lu Xing squinted his eyes with satisfaction and finished his breakfast.
'Ah.'
Long live the rich and generous Auntie Wen!
Lu Xing arrived at school and suddenly remembered there was a sports meet today.
The thing was...
If the school didn't think it would look bad for the third-year students to skip it, Lu Xing wouldn't have been signed up for the 3000-meter race.
But his ankle was still injured.
Luckily Li Dachun said he had a plan!
When Lu Xing reached the field, he saw a sign pinned to Hu Zhongzhong’s chest with [Lu Xing] written in large letters. He asked, bewildered:
"This is your plan?"
Li Dachun let out a goofy laugh and slapped Hu Zhongzhong’s back. He had a sign, too.
"Don't worry, adoptive father. I didn't force him."
Lu Xing was silent for a moment, then turned to Hu Zhongzhong.
"If you're being threatened, give me a somersault, a handstand, a 360-degree spin, and then go slap the principal ten times."
Hu Zhongzhong: ...
'You're just as bad as he is.'
Li Dachun picked his ear. "What was that?"
Lu Xing patted his shoulder.
"Nothing. Go play."
Hu Zhongzhong couldn't hold it in anymore. He walked up to Lu Xing awkwardly.
"Do you still remember how we first met?"
"Of course."
Hu Zhongzhong grinned.
"You were a total idiot back then. You believed what people said and thought I stole that money. You interrogated every single student in class before finally finding the real mole."
Hu Zhongzhong stopped grinning.
Sigh.
When people look back at the reckless things they did in their youth, the embarrassment makes their scalps tingle.
Hu Zhongzhong’s face turned red. He said sheepishly:
"You forgave me too easily. I've always felt bad about it. I was just so stupid."
"When Li Dachun said your ankle was hurt, I thought I’d run for you. Even if I don't win, there’s a hundred-yuan consolation prize."
Lu Xing looked at him skeptically. "Don't push yourself."
Hu Zhongzhong felt a wave of warmth and patted his chest. "Don't worry!"
Lu Xing sighed. "I'm mostly just worried you'll try to sue me for medical bills."
Hu Zhongzhong: ...
Lies don't hurt; the truth is a sharp knife! [20]
Pain! Too painful!
Even though Hu Zhongzhong was cursing Lu Xing for being a deadpan, black-bellied jerk, he still took his place at the starting line.
Lu Xing leaned against the railing, even holding a parasol.
Li Dachun looked at him, confused. "What's a grown man doing with sun protection?"
Lu Xing rolled his eyes. "I have my own rhythm."
I'm the rhythm master!
Li Dachun couldn't be bothered. He had his own events, so he said a quick word and ran off.
Lu Xing kept holding the parasol.
Honestly.
It was quite nice.
Mostly, Little Goldie seemed to dislike him being too tanned.
Satisfying a client’s aesthetic tastes is the duty of a professional simp.
Bang!
The starter pistol went off.
The stands erupted with drums, gongs, firecrackers, and a sea of red flags and cheering students.
Hu Zhongzhong—that lanky, shut-in otaku—actually started running.
Lap 0.1.
He moved with unstoppable momentum. [21]
Lap 0.5.
He was looking a bit winded.
Lap 0.9.
Oh boy, here we go!
"You're really something."
Lu Xing caught the collapsing Hu Zhongzhong.
Hu Zhongzhong was delirious, muttering:
"I think... I see my great-grandma..."
Lu Xing: ...
'Great.'
The kid's become a retard!
Lu Xing quickly carried him to the infirmary. The responsible personnel immediately called the homeroom teacher, Li Juanfang.
"Hello? Teacher Li!"
"That kid in your class named Lu Xing fell while running. He was carried to the infirmary by a classmate.He’s delirious He said he saw his great-grandma!"
"You should call his parents quickly!"
Li Juanfang panicked.
She remembered Lu Xing mentioned he had a "little aunt" and had left her number.
And so.
Li Juanfang dialed the number and said anxiously:
"Is this Lu Xing's little aunt? I'm his homeroom teacher."
Wen Lingxiu, in the middle of a board meeting, paused. She looked at the director who was giving a report and lowered her voice.
"What is it, teacher?"
Li Juanfang said quickly:
"The school is having a sports meet. I’m told Lu Xing fell and got hurt while running. He's not lucid!"
"I'm going to see him right now. I'm just letting you know in advance. If you can come, you should come and see him too!"
Wen Lingxiu was stunned.
Not lucid?
She stood up instantly, frantically capping her pen. "I understand, teacher. I'm on my way."
She hung up, her heart pounding against her ribs. She barked out:
"Vice President Xu will chair the rest of the meeting."
She left it at that and sprinted out of the room.
Everyone: ???
Woc!
(TL: (沃草/我靠): This is the censored or "slang" version of a Chinese curse word (similar to "Holy shit!"))
Huge news!
CEO Wen is ditching work!
...
The students of Class 1 who weren't at the field heard from the teacher that Lu Xing "saw his great-grandma" and instantly went into an uproar.
Wang Zhenzhen looked at Wei Qingyu's empty seat, dying of anxiety.
Meanwhile, Xia Yeshuang’s followers saw her empty seat and immediately sent an urgent text:
[Sis Xia! Lu Xing is critically injured! Get back here now!]
...
...
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