LHKE Ch42

Jiang Chifeng’s house and Fengchun Villa were in opposite directions. By the time Lu Changting and Shen Li returned to the villa, it was already early morning, and Shen Li had even taken a nap in the car.

At first, he closed his eyes thinking about how to explain things to Lu Changting if he asked, but he eventually drifted off to sleep. By the time they got home, he was awake, feeling sticky with sweat. He went straight upstairs, heading to the bathroom with his pajamas to shower, not giving Lu Changting a chance to speak.

After his shower, he came out with damp skin, drying his hair. He told Lu Changting to take a shower while he stood in a small compartment, blow-drying his hair. Lu Changting came over naturally, taking the hairdryer from his hand. With his long fingers, he gently combed through Shen Li’s wet, messy hair.

“Shen Xiao Li, shouldn’t you explain the chocolate situation?”

He had always known that Shen Li was hiding some things from him, like the chocolates he couldn’t find in any store or that mysterious “Xiao Gege.” But it didn’t matter. Everyone has a past. Though he sometimes cared and occasionally probed, those things were in the past. He was Shen Li’s present and future, and he believed that one day Shen Li would open up and share those secrets with him.

But Shen Li was like the ocean, showing only the glittering surface while hiding the jagged rocks and murky depths below, with secret undercurrents and submerged mysteries. Lu Changting had to dive deep into the waters just to catch a glimpse.

As the blow-dryer hummed, Shen Li sighed softly, “The chocolate… I made it myself.”

One lie leads to many more. Shen Li didn’t want to lie to Lu Changting forever. He wanted to slowly reveal everything from the past, so after some thought, he admitted, “I’m sorry for lying before, saying I bought it from the store.”

“Why did you lie?” Lu Changting gently pinched Shen Li’s ear, not angry but understanding. No wonder he had searched countless stores and never found the same chocolate.

“I tell everyone that.” Shen Li said honestly, “If anyone asks, I say it’s store-bought.”

But not many people had tasted his homemade chocolate.

Lu Changting wasn’t sure how to feel. He’d thought he was special to Shen Li, only to realize he was just one of many, even though they had only just met at the time. Love makes people insecure.

“Why does Jiang Chifeng know about it?”

“On Valentine’s Day, he wanted to give Wei Wenxing some chocolate but thought store-bought ones were too ordinary, so he wanted to make his own.” Shen Li paused, then continued, “Back then, he had just started dating Wei Wenxing, and he told me everything. He asked for help making the chocolate, and I offered to teach him.”

That part was true.

Jiang Chifeng had been surprised that Shen Li could make chocolate, especially since he wasn’t fond of sweets. Although he knew Shen Li always carried chocolate, today was the first time he had asked for some, clearly just to irritate Lu Changting.

When men get childish, they can be really childish.

“You lied to me once, and I lied to you once.” Lu Changting turned off the blow-dryer and hugged Shen Li from behind. “We’re even.”

Thinking about how he had tricked Shen Li into giving him chocolate and honey grapefruit tea, Lu Changting buried his head in Shen Li’s neck, his ears slightly red.

Shen Li smiled but didn’t expose him or bring up old grudges. He just patted his head.

“Go shower.”

As Lu Changting breathed in the light scent of Shen Li’s body wash, his thoughts wandered back through memories, searching.

If Shen Li made the chocolate, then was that piece he had eaten before… a mistake in his memory?

…

The next day, Lu Changting asked someone to track down Tang Yao’s contact information.

He didn’t plan to meet her in person, just called to clarify his identity and asked her about the past.

The weather that day was stifling, with the sun shining brightly at noon, but by the afternoon, the sky had darkened. Looking out the window of his office, Lu Changting could see the clouds piling up on the horizon. As he spoke to Tang Yao on the phone, he was already thinking of reminding Shen Li to bring an umbrella when he went out later.

Years had passed, and Tang Yao felt a bit strange that her ex-boyfriend suddenly wanted to talk about when they first met.

But she wasn’t vain enough to think that Lu Changting still had feelings for her. After all, if he did, he wouldn’t have hesitated to give her his phone number back then. Though she was curious why he was asking about their first meeting, she restrained that curiosity and answered his question.

“The chocolate wasn’t mine.”

“I went to the medical room after you had already started getting IV fluids.” Tang Yao’s voice softened, recalling her feelings back then. “I already knew about you and had a crush on you… So when you mistakenly thought I was the one who took you to the medical room, I didn’t deny it.”

“The chocolate was probably left by the person who brought you there.”

Lu Changting had already suspected this and wasn’t surprised by her answer. Instead, he felt a strange satisfaction in having his guess confirmed, along with a nervous excitement at the thought of uncovering more.

“Do you know who brought me to the medical room?”

“I didn’t see.” Tang Yao was puzzled by his attitude but tried to recall. “But I asked the school nurse. She said the person who brought you was a tall, skinny boy. He helped you to the medical room, sweating so much that his whole back was soaked. But after dropping you off, he left quickly, probably heading back to his dorm for a nap.”

Because she had always felt guilty for taking credit for someone else’s kindness, Tang Yao had remembered the details clearly. Now that she had told Lu Changting, she felt a sense of relief.

A tall, skinny boy…

The fingers holding the phone slowly tightened, and Lu Changting felt a lump in his throat. He vaguely sensed that he was just one step away from the truth.

“I understand.” He looked at the darkening sky, frowning slightly. It was about to rain.

Tang Yao, curious, asked, “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

Lu Changting didn’t respond. Sensing something was off, Tang Yao couldn’t help but ask another question, “Don’t tell me… you started dating me back then because of a piece of chocolate?” Her questions came one after another. “Did you find the person who brought you to the medical room?”

So many years had passed… had Lu Changting been searching for that person all this time? What did that make her, then?

Women are often sensitive, and Lu Changting picked up on her unspoken feelings. He sighed and quietly explained, “To be honest, I did wonder back then how you, as a girl, managed to help me to the medical room.”

He remembered fainting on the way from the basketball court to the cafeteria, and though the distance from there to the medical room wasn’t far, how could a girl like Tang Yao have helped him over there?

But sometimes affection makes the heart irrational, and emotion overcomes logic. He had believed Tang Yao back then and didn’t question it further.

Tang Yao was silent for a while before smiling wryly, finally letting go of her past feelings. “It’s been so many years. Let me just apologize for my little selfishness back then, and I hope you can forgive me.”

“If I find that person,” Lu Changting said, “I’ll pass along your apology.”

After hanging up, Lu Changting sent Shen Li a WeChat message saying he needed to work late and that Shen Li didn’t have to wait for him for dinner. He also reminded him to bring an umbrella if he went out. Then, he continued with his work.

Summer thunderstorms always arrive with great intensity, and soon the rain was pouring down, accompanied by the “crash” of rain and the rumbling of thunder, like a lively symphony.

Yet, Lu Changting seemed not to notice. The only sounds in his office, aside from the faint noise of the storm, were the occasional turning of papers and the scratch of a pen signing documents.

Time flies when you’re busy. By the time he finished a few files, an hour had passed. At some point, the thunder had stopped, and the rain seemed to have lightened. Someone knocked on the office door. After Lu Changting said, “Come in,” he signed the last document and looked up—right into a pair of smiling eyes.

“I’m here to pick up my boyfriend from work.” The young man, wearing a light bamboo-green shirt, looked elegant, his eyes full of amusement. “Everyone else’s boyfriend has already finished work, so why hasn’t mine?”

Lu Changting stared at him for a moment, as if slightly dazed, then slowly smiled. “Come here.”

Shen Li walked over, circling around the wide desk, and was pulled into a full embrace by Lu Changting.

“Your boyfriend is about to shut down. Let him recharge for a while.”

Smelling the faint woody fragrance on Shen Li, Lu Changting sighed contentedly. “Today was one of those days I wanted to just throw everything down and quit.”

Shen Li turned around and massaged his shoulders. “Tired?”

Lu Changting pointed to a file he had set aside casually. “Someone’s trying to get in on the Songshan project.”

“He’s got some connections, and he knows Grandpa San a little. If it were Grandpa San handling this project, he might let him in. But I’ve been working on this project for a long time. Why should I just hand over a share of the profits?”

“Then don’t bother with him,” Shen Li said. “If you’re going to give away money, might as well donate it to charity.”

Lu Changting’s furrowed brow slowly relaxed, and he suddenly laughed. “You’re right, babe.” He turned his head and kissed Shen Li, then hugged him a little tighter. “That’s exactly what I’ll do.”

“We’ll take 10% of the profits from this project and donate it to charity, straight from the main account.” Lu Changting was already thinking about drafting a notice. “Knowing Lu Shihe, he’d never part with that money.”

Hearing the name Lu Shihe, Shen Li frowned. “Is he a family relative?”

Lu Changting’s tone was indifferent. “Supposedly, he’s a child from my great-grandfather’s generation who was adopted out. He was later accepted back into the family, but the connection is quite distant.”

Shen Li, losing interest, nodded and didn’t ask any further questions.