Chasing Game – 7

Edited and Proofread by: jie

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[Unreasonable and rapacious]

After school, Xu Xingzhe was so nervous that he almost fell downstairs. Fortunately, Chen Xiaoming rushed over and grabbed him.

“Fuck, what’s the matter with you? Why are you out of your mind these days?”

Xu Xingzhe glanced upstairs, forcibly holding back the upturned corners of his mouth. He stretched out his arm to tightly circle around Chen Xiaoming’s neck and leaning on Chen Xiaoming’s body, he used his strength to hop downstairs, whispering, “Ming-zi, do you understand what the feeling of being interested is like?” 

“I don’t know, I just know you’re getting fucking heavier and heavier.” Chen Xiaoming struggled to carry Xu Xingzhe to the first floor, about to be suffocated by Xu Xingzhe before they even left the teaching building.

Xu Xingzhe was someone who liked to get handsy and clingy with others whether he had a problem or not. As a close friend he had played with since childhood, Chen Xiaoming had not been bullied any less by him, so Chen Xiaoming’s first reaction when he heard that Xu Xingzhe was injured was that this kid must rely on himself to carry him to class every day. However, who would’ve thought that Xu Xingzhe’s spirit had been hooked onto something. He neither yelled about the pain nor took advantage to order others about. He’d been grinning foolishly from morning till night, and today after school, he even took out a small notebook seriously and copied the assignments on the blackboard assigned by various subject teachers.

“Xing, are you sure you didn’t fall and hit your head?”

“Why are you saying that about me too?”

Chen Xiaoming lifted Xu Xingzhe’s arm and casually said, “Why don’t I come over to your house to play tonight. I’ll bring my game console over.”

Xu Xingzhe hurriedly waved his hand, “No! I have something on tonight!”

“What do you have?”

“Homework! I have to do homework, didn’t you see how much homework there was on the blackboard today? These teachers are so inhumane that they really assigned so much?! It almost filled up half the blackboard.”

Chen Xiaoming shot a glance at Xu Xingzhe, speechless, “Bro, there’s that much every night, okay?” 

“Ah? Really?”

Shame only hit Xu Xingzhe for a few seconds before he soon told himself in self-consolation that it was normal to have not adapted after just one month of school.

“To sum it up, I’ll start studying hard from today on! Don’t disturb me, I want to enter the top thirty of the class.”

Chen Xiaoming rolled his eyes so hard that they were about to turn towards the sky. He shook off Xu Xingzhe’s arm, took a step back to maintain his distance, and even spread his hand in a “please” posture, “Xue-ba, please take your time, I’m off to the internet cafe.”

Hearing the two words ‘internet cafe’, Xu Xingzhe subconsciously asked, “I want to g-”

Just as he said the word ‘go’ halfway, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure coming out of the teaching building. Xu Xingzhe immediately shut up, turned around and stood up, calculating Lu Zhaoshen’s location in his heart. After a brief pause, he took two steps forward and didn’t forget to wave his hand, telling Chen Xiaoming to stay away from him.

When Lu Zhaoshen walked up to Xu Xingzhe, he was still struggling to jump forward with one leg, but for some unknown reason, just as the two of them passed each other, Xu Xingzhe’s body tilted and he landed in Lu Zhaoshen’s arms.

Lu Zhaoshen was half a head taller than Xu Xingzhe. He was wearing a clean school uniform with his jacket zipped up to his collarbones and his collar folded flat behind his neck. The sophomore year’s uniform was clearly the ugliest of the three grades in light blue and white. The shirt to pants ratio of five to five concealed the advantages of all the students’ physiques without reservation, regardless of gender. 

But Lu Zhaoshen was an exception.

“Hey, hey, we meet again,” Xu Xingzhe lifted his head and met Lu Zhaoshen’s slightly sullen eyes with a cheeky grin.

Lu Zhaoshen wanted to push him away, but Xu Xingzhe was glued to his chest and his two claws looked like they were coated with strong glue, so he couldn’t be torn away.

“You-”

“I bet a hundred yuan that you definitely don’t remember my name.”

Lu Zhaoshen didn’t speak, but Xu Xingzhe started talking on his own, “My name is Xu Xingzhe, the ‘Xu’ in Xu-Xian, ‘Xing’ from the word stars, and ‘Zhe’ from the word philosophy. Lu Zhaoshen, I invite you to my house for dinner tonight!”

The setting sun shed an orange-red afterglow. October bumped into a slightly cool early fall, scaring it such that it retracted the last little tail of summer. The leaves rustled, and not far away came the sound of car horns, as well as the carefree laughter of teenagers.

Unfortunately, Lu Zhaoshen was someone who had no sentiment. 

He broke the pink bubble that Xu Xingzhe’s brain had filled up with. He lifted Xu Xingzhe away, his face extremely unpleasant, “What on earth are you doing? Why are you always pestering me?”

The corners of Xu Xingzhe’s lips drooped down as if he was the one who was wronged, “I just want to be friends with you, I’ve said it so many times.”

“You can’t.”

Although Xu Xingzhe had not yet fully gotten used to Lu Zhaoshen’s cold words, the thought of Lu Zhaoshen going to his house tonight made him so excited that he completely forgot about everything. No matter what Lu Zhaoshen said, he greeted him with a smiling face, grinning so wide that his lips turned up to the sky, even Lu Zhaoshen couldn’t get angry.

At this moment, Lu Guoyuan walked into the campus. He knew that Xu Xingzhe had a leg injury that made it difficult to walk, but unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the gate, he saw Xu Xingzhe and Lu Zhaoshen standing midway, talking about who knew what. 

Before he approached seven to eight meters away from them, he yelled, “Xing Xing, let uncle carry you to the car.”

Seeing Lu Guoyuan, Xu Xingzhe immediately withdrew his hand and stood obediently, waiting for him to approach. 

“No need, uncle, Zhaoshen gege can just lend a hand, my foot can touch the ground slightly, it’s fine.”

Lu Guoyuan still insisted on carrying him on his back, but after Xu Xingzhe made a few tries to evade it, he could only give up and instruct Lu Zhaoshen, “Zhaoshen, quickly help Xing Xing, the car is right by the gate.”

Lu Zhaoshen’s expression was extremely gloomy. Xu Xingzhe took the opportunity to lean on him again, his face full of accomplishment. 

In the end, Lu Zhaoshen reluctantly supported Xu Xingzhe’s arm. The temperature of his palm spread through his school uniform jacket to Xu Xingzhe’s skin, causing him to feel hot all over, and his heart rate accelerated while his breathing became uneven. Fortunately, a large ice block stood next to him, reminding him at any time that he was hallucinating with self indulgence. 

After finally getting into the car step by step, Lu Guoyuan fastened his seat belt and asked Xu Xingzhe, “When was Xing Xing born?’

“April. April 15.”

“Eh Zhaoshen is younger than you, Zhaoshen’s birthday is on September 2nd.”

Xu Xingzhe was stunned and jotted down Lu Zhaoshen’s birthday in his heart. Then he looked at Lu Zhaoshen sitting precariously close to the car door.

Xu Xingzhe smiled. With a lift of his buttocks, he slid over to Lu Zhaoshen’s side and stuck close to Lu Zhaoshen, saying with a tone that was asking for a spanking, “That won’t do, I still want to call you gege.”

Lu Zhaoshen lowered his voice, “Disgusting.”

Xu Xingzhe didn’t care at all and even grinned as he shouted, “Zhaoshen gege.”

　　*

In the car, when Lu Guoyuan was in front of Xu Xingzhe, he felt embarrassed to directly warn Lu Zhaoshen repeatedly with things like “at the boss’s house, you have to follow the rules and know your place”, “help Xu Xingzhe with anything he needs help with”, and “it’s best to save face for your dad.”

But Lu Guoyuan only smiled and said, “Xing Xing, if you don’t know anything when you’re learning, just ask Zhaoshen.”

At this moment, Xu Xingzhe was very obedient like he was the student of the year. He pushed up his non-existent glasses, placed his hands on his knees, and nodded seriously, “Mn, I’ll be troubling Zhaoshen then.”

Lu Guoyuan looked at Lu Zhaoshen from the rearview mirror. His son still had a cold and indifferent appearance, as if he wasn’t interested in anything. He quietly looked out of the window, half of his face hidden in the shadows. Lu Guoyuan was a bit nervous. He was afraid that Lu Zhaoshen would still be like this when they reached the Xu family’s house, which would make the Xu couple unhappy. But then he looked at Xu Xingzhe—who knew what this child was so happy about. The corners of his mouth rose and flattened now and again, as if he had won the lottery, looking completely unaffected by Lu Zhaoshen.

Lu Guoyuan hadn’t had much confidence in sending his son to the Xu family as a study companion for the young master. One, he was afraid Lu Zhaoshen would say the wrong things and make things or do the wrong things and make the situation unpleasant. The other reason was that being the son of an ordinary driver, whether it was family conditions or living environment, Lu Zhaoshen and Xu Xingzhe were incomparable. Lu Guoyuan was also afraid that once Lu Zhaoshen reached the Xu family house, he would be captivated by their wealth and look down on his father when he turned around, then Lu Guoyuan’s gains outweighed his losses. 

Lu Guoyuan used to be a full-time driver for Xu Xingzhe’s father, Xu Chengshan, but since the beginning of this year, Xu Chengshan had been living abroad for a long time due to the expansion of his company’s business. Lu Guoyuan was then sent to pick up and take Xu Xingzhe to school. At the end of September, Xu Chengshan finished his overseas business and returned to Xicheng, so Lu Guoyuan had also become busy. 

Fortunately, Xu Chengshan treated Lu Guoyuan quite well and gave him a salary increase at the beginning of the month. In addition, Xu Chengshan knew that Lu Guoyuan was a widower who had to bring up a teenage child and there was no woman to care for him at home, so after his social activities, Xu Chenghan often asked Lu Guoyuan to pack up the food to take home. With all kinds of favours combined, Lu Guoyuan couldn’t refuse Qin Jiazhen’s request.

Lu Guoyuan stopped the car when they reached the entrance of the Xu family’s villa. He then walked to the back and helped Xu Xingzhe off the car. 

Seeing Lu Zhaoshen standing beside him with a cold and indifferent face, Lu Guoyuan felt a bit anxious, but he didn’t dare to show it. He could only secretly remind Lu Zhaoshen with his eyes.

Xu Xingzhe was also looking at Lu Zhaoshen. He watched with full satisfaction as Lu Zhaoshen walked into his house with a face of resistance yet helplessness, feeling inexplicably like the domineering CEO in Qian Sijia’s favourite dog-blood TV series.

Unreasonable and rapacious. 

He grabbed Lu Zhaoshen’s hand and said with a wide smile, “The auntie at home makes delicious food, I guarantee you’ll want to have another meal after eating!”

Lu Zhaoshen made the standard expression of the female lead in a dog blood TV drama, with a light snort and a cold stare.

Xu Xingzhe quickly pretended to act pitiful towards Lu Guoyuan, the corners of his mouth drooping, “Zhaoshen is being fierce towards me.” 

Lu Guoyuan slapped Lu Zhaoshen on the shoulder and scolded, “Why are you so impolite?”

They were about to reach the doorstep, and inside was his dad’s boss, so Lu Zhaoshen could only swallow down the grievances he had to suffer by himself.  

Qin Jiazhen followed Xu Xingzhe’s instructions and had the auntie prepare braised shrimp and sweet and sour pork ribs, as well as many other dishes. When she heard the doorbell  ring, she quickly came out of the room to welcome Lu Zhaoshen.

“Lao Lu, where did you get such good fortune to have such a good son?” Qin Jiazhen passed Xu Xingzhe and looked carefully at Lu Zhaoshen. She couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, “Your lover must have been a beautiful woman.”

Lu Guoyuan smiled, “Yes, his looks are really inherited from his mother.”

Xu Xingzhe leaned against Qin Jiazhen’s shoulder and looked Lu Zhaoshen up and down with her, thinking: seems like my judgement of beauty is also inherited from my mom. 

Lu Zhaoshen put aside his coldness towards Xu Xingzhe and politely greeted Qin Jiazhen, “Hello auntie.”

“Hello, hello, come in. Dinner’s already prepared, just waiting for you all to come back.”

Qin Jiazhen took good care of herself. She smiled as brightly as she did when she was young, and she had dimples on her cheeks, a deep one on the left and a shallow one on the right. Xu Xingzhe also had the exact same dimples, but he had more collagen, so his dimples looked a little more cute and made others want to poke them with their fingers. 

Lu Guoyuan had gone to pick up Xu Chengshan to the hotel for a party, so he didn’t stay to eat. When the door closed, Lu Zhaoshen turned around and saw Xu Xingzhe holding his arm, raising his eyebrows, and even mouthed to him, “You can’t escape now.”

Lu Zhaoshen walked past him and went straight to the dining table.

　　……

“Is the braised shrimp delicious?”

Xu Xingzhe filled a bowl of shrimp for Lu Zhaoshen, who was still shelling the first shrimp.

“God! Why aren’t you eating it with the shell? This shell is soft and fragrant, and the taste of the sauce is all over the shell, don’t you know?” Xu Xingzhe was allergic to seafood and although he couldn’t eat it, he heard Qin Jiazhen say that food tasted best if you knew how to eat it. 

Despite Xu Xingzhe’s incessant chatter, Lu Zhaoshen still insisted on peeling off the shell of the first shrimp.

Xu Xingzhe was so angry that he picked back the shrimp from Lu Zhaoshen’s bowl, peeled the shell and dipped it in sauce before bringing it to Lu Zhaoshen.

Lu Zhaoshen didn’t take it, “No need, you can eat it yourself.” 

Qin Jiazhen couldn’t help but laugh as she saw it in her eyes. The devil incarnate of her family even had such a day of suffering defeat, “You eat yours, don’t bother Zhaoshen. You’ve been running your mouth all day long, you can’t even stop when you’re eating.”

Xu Xingzhe put the shrimp into Qin Jiazhen’s bowl in frustration and stifling anger.

In the second half of dinner, Xu Xingzhe stopped making noise, and Lu Zhaoshen breathed a sigh of relief, but he forgot that the real beginning of the horror story was the study session after that.