Edited and Proofread by: cream
[He’s so virtuous, I like it a lot]
The first time Xu Xingzhe met Lu Zhaoshen was downstairs of Lu Zhaoshen’s house.
At that time, in order to avoid He Kai and his group, he hurriedly ran into an old-fashioned neighbourhood in a panic. Using the dim street lights, he groped his way into one of the corridors and was about to climb the stairs when he suddenly fell violently into a person’s embrace.
That person had a pleasant smell, like lavender with a refreshing mint scent.
As footsteps approached, Xu Xingzhe reached out to cover the man’s mouth and hissed.
“Please help me.”
Xu Xingzhe’s voice was very low. The sound-activated lights were not even on and in the darkness, he could only hear his own breathing. He couldn’t see the person’s appearance, but inexplicably felt at ease, as if he was confident that the person would definitely help him.
Fortunately, he didn’t bet wrong.
When He Kai found him, the old sound-activated lights made a sound as they turned on. After a few electric currents flickered, Xu Xingzhe didn’t hide yet, but the person pulled him behind and blocked him.
Xu Xingzhe looked at Lu Zhaoshen’s broad back and stared blankly. Lu Zhaoshen was very tall, and his navy blue school uniform blended with the dark corridor, almost obscuring the weak light. Xu Xingzhe could see nothing for a moment and could only hear his heartbeat and Lu Zhaoshen’s breathing mixed together.
Rapid, flustered, violent, deafening.
In Xu Xingzhe’s eyes, ‘heart palpitating’ was originally a very sentimental term, but at this moment, he thought that ‘heart palpitating’ wasn’t enough to describe his heartbeat. It should be a single spark that can ignite a great fire, or the power of ten thousand horses and a thousand soldiers.
Lu Zhaoshen had a tall figure, and although his physique wasn’t considered burly, his subtle arm muscles exposed by the sleeves of his clothes were a significant deterrent to the people around him.
He Kai threw a stick at Xu Xingzhe and was stopped by Lu Zhaoshen halfway. He Kai threatened him, “You’d better not meddle in others’ business.”
“You’d better not cause trouble here,” Lu Zhaoshen said calmly.
With the fight on the verge of breaking out, how could Xu Xingzhe be willing to let Lu Zhaoshen block him? Taking advantage of Lu Zhaoshen’s lack of attention, he rushed forward and kicked He Kai in the crotch. He Kai’s baseball bat swung at Xu Xingzhe’s ankle, causing him to roll on the ground in pain. Lu Zhaoshen immediately picked him up and placed him on the steps.
He Kai sneered and was about to step forward when a few angry questions came from behind,” The kids over there, what are you up to?”
Subsequently, two middle-aged men dressed in police uniforms walked up. He Kai and the others looked at each other before fleeing in all directions and quickly disappeared. Xu Xingzhe froze and shrank into Lu Zhaoshen’s arms, saying in fear, “What’s happening?”
Two fierce-looking middle-aged men suddenly changed their expressions when they saw Lu Zhaoshen, becoming more gentle. They walked up to Lu Zhaoshen and leaned over to look at Xu Xingzhe on the steps, “Xiao Lu, what’s the matter? Where did this kid come from?”
Lu Zhaoshen replied calmly, “My classmate. We just had a bit of conflict with that group of thugs from school.”
The man then understood. Having an occupational disease1, he said to Xu Xingzhe, “This place is too dangerous, little student. Next time you encounter something like this, you should look for your teacher first.”
Xu Xingzhe nodded vigorously and repeatedly agreed.
Later, Lu Zhaoshen brought him home. Enduring the pain and taking off his shoes and socks, he rested his feet on Lu Zhaoshen’s knee while the latter poured safflower oil into his palm, rubbed it to warm it up, and then spread it on Xu Xingzhe’s ankle.
“Is it here?”
Lu Zhaoshen asked him, but when he couldn’t hear any response for a long time, he lifted his head and was met with the gaze of this person staring dazedly at him, unmoving.
“If it doesn’t hurt, go home,” Lu Zhaoshen said.
Only then did Xu Xingzhe regain his composure and place both of his hands on the back of Lu Zhaoshen’s hand, refusing to let him go, “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much, rub it.”
Lu Zhaoshen then continued.
The front contour of Lu Zhaoshen’s face was more masculine than his side profile. His jawline was like a sharp blade, but he also wore black framed glasses specifically designed for good students, which made him look a bit less cold and more elegant. Especially when he lowered his head and applied medicine with concentration. He was in such a gentle mess that Xu Xingzhe felt too embarrassed to look at him more. If he continued to look, he might die of a rapid heart rate.
Xu Xingzhe wanted to remember the name of his saviour before he died.
“My name is Xu Xingzhe, and I’m from Class 15 of Xizhong High School. Are you also from Xizhong? I really want to make your acquaintance.”
“Mm, Class 12.”
Xu Xingzhe then asked again, “What is your name?”
“Lu Zhaoshen.”
Xu Xingzhe noted it down and recited it several times in his heart.
“Classmate Lu, thank you. If it weren’t for your help today, I’d be done for,” Xu Xingzhe said and then remembered something. He quickly explained,”It wasn’t me who provoked them today, I just… I just fought against injustice, and then… and then drew the fire upon myself.”
Lu Zhaoshen responded with an “ngh,” not saying whether he believed him or not.
Xu Xingzhe’s stomach grumbled at this moment.
Lu Zhaoshen put the safflower oil back in the medicine box, went to the bathroom to wash his hands, and then returned to the living room. Xu Xingzhe eagerly looked at him and said, “I’m a little hungry.”
Xu Xingzhe originally thought that Lu Zhaoshen would give bread to eat at most, but ten minutes later, Lu Zhaoshen came out of the kitchen and directly put a bowl of egg noodles in front of him.
Xu Xingzhe was once again moved. He looked at the egg noodles, then at Lu Zhaoshen, and secretly exclaimed: He’s so virtuous, I really like him.
Lu Zhaoshen was not only virtuous, but also very talented. The simple bowl of egg noodles he surprisingly made had such a delicious flavour. It even made Xu Xingzhe, who had always refused to eat noodles, be greedy. As he ate, he thought, ‘Isn’t it said that you should grab a man’s appetite first before grabbing his heart?’ Lu Zhaoshen was too terrifying. It’s just been half an hour but Xu Xingzhe’s little heart had been grabbed so deathly tight by him already.
Alas, all is lost!
Xu Xingzhe was touching his full belly with a sigh after finishing the whole bowl of noodles when he suddenly felt something fluffy rub against his legs. He looked down and saw a huge golden retriever crouched under the table, playing with the thread of his pants.
Xu Xingzhe was so scared that he lost his soul. He turned around and was about to run, but forgot about his injured left ankle so he fell to the ground when his centre of gravity tilted, crying and shouting for Lu Zhaoshen.
The golden retriever was also frightened by him, dragging his heavy body to the wall and glancing at him with a puzzled expression.
When Lu Zhaoshen rushed over, he saw Xu Xingzhe lying on the ground crawling forward with tears on his face. Lu Zhaoshen walked up to him, but before he touched Xu Xingzhe, Xu Xingzhe twisted around and arched into Lu Zhaoshen’s arms, tightly wrapping around his waist, “I’m most afraid of dogs! Lu Zhaoshen save me!”
Lu Zhaoshen weighed the options between Xu Xingzhe and the dog. He finally decided to pull Xu Xingzhe off of him and walked forward and patted the golden retriever’s head to comfort him.
“Duo Duo is a stray dog and is sensitive to human emotions. Don’t scare him.”
Lu Zhaoshen lifted Xu Xingzhe up and helped him onto a chair.
Xu Xingzhe said tearfully, “I’ve been afraid of dogs since I was young.”
Lu Zhaoshen poured some dog food into Duo Duo’s rice bowl, drawing Duo Duo over to eat.
When Xu Xingzhe saw how gentle Lu Zhaoshen was towards the dog, and then heard Lu Zhaoshen say that the dog was a stray dog, he suddenly had a plan in his mind.
“Actually…actually, I’m also very pitiful. My mom doesn’t want me anymore, my dad and I depend on each other to live.”
Lu Zhaoshen suddenly paused, his heart moved, and his tone also softened a bit, “Really?”
Xu Xingzhe quickly nodded.
“Do you want to call your dad and ask him to pick you up?”
Xu Xingzhe nodded and took out his phone from his pocket. He called Lu Guoyuan, but as soon as he got through, he quickly hung up again. He smiled brazenly at Lu Zhaoshen and said, “My dad seems to have something on. I’ll send him a message.”
He turned his back and sent a message, ‘Uncle Lu, come to the Xinxia residence and help me. Pretend to be my dad, come quickly!!’
*
Once Xu Xingzhe had had enough to eat and drink, he didn’t stop talking. After asking about Lu Zhaoshen’s interests and hobbies, he began to ask about his class when there was nothing else to talk about.
“There must be many many girls who like you, right?”
Lu Zhaoshen came out after washing the dishes and took out a tissue from the table to dry his hands. He didn’t pay much attention to Xu Xingzhe, responding with an “mm” if he wanted to answer, and ignored anything he didn’t want to.
Fortunately, Xu Xingzhe didn’t need any interaction when he was chatting, he could talk about everything on his own, “Don’t think further, there must be a lot of people who like you.”
“When is your dad coming?” Lu Zhaoshen seemed a bit impatient, but he still kept his manners.
Xu Xingzhe looked at the text message and said, “In about half an hour.”
“You should sit then.”
After Lu Zhaoshen finished speaking, he turned around and went to his bedroom, seeming like he was going to do his homework. Xu Xingzhe instinctively wanted to follow, but forgot that he was a disabled person. His left foot stepped on the floor with a ‘bang’, causing him to wail out in pain and grab onto the back of Lu Zhaoshen’s school uniform, and then tried to take the opportunity to hug his waist.
But Duo Duo was also scared by him. Xu Xingzhe first squeezed into Lu Zhaoshen’s arms and cried for help.
“…”
This fat dog was actually fighting over a man with him!
Xu Xingzhe then lay on the ground, looking up at Duo Duo’s bean eyes and conveyed his stern warning with a fierce look.
Duo Duo was even more afraid and buried his face in Lu Zhaoshen’s chest, feeling extremely aggrieved.
Xu Xingzhe also rolled beside him, “Ah, it hurts so much, Lu Zhaoshen. My leg is broken, I’m gonna become disabled!”
Lu Zhaoshen was bothered so much that he wanted to run away from home. He sent Duo Duo to his room first, then closed the door and turned back to pick Xu Xingzhe up, “Can you settle down a bit?”
“I didn’t mean to, I just suddenly thought of my mom,” Xu Xingzhe quickly recalled the plot of the dog-blood soap opera that Qin Jiazhen had watched yesterday, and then began to exert his acting skills of acting pitifully, “The way you turned around just now looked really like when she left me…”
In the end, Lu Zhaoshen was still soft hearted and didn’t shake off Xu Xingzhe’s hand.
He glanced at the small photo frame on the coffee table in the living room, where a family photo was placed. If the woman in the photo were still alive, she would have been around forty two years old this year, and she should still be beautiful, smiling like a spring breeze. Unfortunately, an illness took her away when Lu Zhaoshen was seven years old.
Children who have lost their mothers are always causing pain for others. Lu Zhaoshen could empathize with them.
Xu Xingzhe tightly grasped Lu Zhaoshen’s hand and was about to take advantage of the victory when the phone rang, indicating that Lu Guoyuan had arrived early.
Xu Xingzhe couldn’t do anything and was frantic, but he dared not show it in front of Lu Zhaoshen. He had to pester Lu Zhaoshen to carry him downstairs to the entrance of the residence.
“Don’t you feel embarrassed for troubling others?”
Lu Zhaoshen helped Xu Xingzhe put on his socks, put his left shoe into a bag for Xu Xingzhe to carry on his own, and then squatted down in front of Xu Xingzhe. Xu Xingzhe immediately hung himself over, his arms quickly wrapped around Lu Zhaoshen’s neck, and his face leaned against Lu Zhaoshen’s nape.
“Of course I feel embarrassed, I swear I’ll do my best to repay you.”
Lu Zhaoshen sighed, “That’s not necessary.”
Xu Xingzhe started mumbling, “Lu Zhaoshen, have you remembered my name?”
“Mm.”
Xu Xingzhe pressed his cheek against the side of Lu Zhaoshen’s neck and deliberately said, “I don’t believe you.”
The soft touch made Lu Zhaoshen freeze for a moment, he said coldly, “Xu Xingzhe.”
“Present! ‘Xu’ written with a ‘yan’ , ‘Xing’ from the word stars, and “Zhe’ from the word philosophy,” Xu Xingzhe seriously reported his self introduction, “Can we be friends?”
“No.”
Xu Xingzhe angrily hugged Lu Zhaoshen’s neck tightly, “I’m already so pitiful, can’t you just be a good person til the end?”
Lu Zhaoshen ignored him and walked straight towards the entrance of the old-fashioned residence. Even pedestrians were scarce at the entrance. From a distance, Lu Zhaoshen saw a black car parked on the side of the road, and a middle-aged man standing by the driver’s door to smoke.
Lu Zhaoshen froze. The figure of this middle-aged man was inexplicably familiar
When Xu Xingzhe saw him as well, his eyes lit up and waved desperately to the man, “Dad! Here!”
Lu Guoyuan looked over when he heard. He stubbed out the cigarette and greeted his smiling face, “Xing Xing you–” Speaking halfway, he just stood there dumbly.
Xu Xingzhe, still unaware, smiled and waved to Lu Guoyuan, “Dad, I almost got beaten up today but luckily this classmate saved my life.”
Lu Zhaoshen walked up to Lu Guoyuan with Xu Xingzhe on his back, then put down the crippled Xu Xingzhe and carried him to Lu Guoyuan’s side. He said coldly, “I really didn’t know you had an illegitimate child outside.”
Xu Xingzhe’s gaze flickered back and forth between Lu Guoyuan and Lu Zhaoshen’s faces, suddenly realizing that he might have done something extremely foolish.
……
Finally, after Lu Guoyuan’s painstaking explanation, he finally proved his innocence, but Xu Xingzhe was not so lucky. His impression on Lu Zhaoshen suddenly fell from a poor little cabbage to a little cheater full of lies.
When Lu Guoyuan helped him into the car, Xu Xingzhe eagerly opened the car window and apologized to Lu Zhaoshen, begging for his forgiveness.
Footnotes
1. 职业病犯: lit. occupational disease, where people take their jobs very seriously and love their jobs. In this context it means the policeman has the habit of telling others to be careful/ cautious
red rabbit 
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