When did Ren Zexi come to love him, he wondered?
It could be when he woke up one day and found Lu Yizhou sleeping beside him with their hands tightly clasped together, warm and firm. He was as beautiful as he was cold, his dazzling exterior betrayed the chill that came from within. Ren Zexi found himself staring, wishing that he would open his eyes and when the man did, his heart started to beat faster in happiness.
It could also be the time when he was bullied in the new school he had just moved into, just because he had no father and mother he could brag to others. He returned home crying and the next day, Lu Yizhou went personally to his school. Ren Zexi had no idea what the man had done but those kids who treated him with nothing but ridicule became as meek as little lambs, scrambling to ask for his forgiveness. Even their parents came to please him, calling him their little ancestor. After that, he never saw them again.
Or maybe it was the time when it was his parents' first death anniversary. He recalled that the temperature had dropped recently and Lu Yizhou's health deteriorated — he would always feel sick when it got colder. Despite that, the man still held his hand and brought him to the cemetery, telling him to pay his respect. Ren Zexi stared at his mother and father's wide smile in the photographs. The sadness was still there, but it had already been dulled by Lu Yizhou's constant accompaniment. With that man here, Ren Zexi never felt lonely.
He didn't know what to say so he just blabbered about the things he did recently and how good Lu Yizhou was to him. He told them not to worry about him because he had Uncle Lu with him from now on. Turning around, he found Lu Yizhou staring at him with a thin smile. Ren Zexi flushed red and hastily went to hold his hand. He didn't know why but somehow, he got the feeling that Lu Yizhou looked especially lonely and desolate at that moment.
He told himself, I really want to accompany this man for as long as I can.
It wasn't just one day he woke up to find that he was in love. That feeling had always been there, slowly accumulating with time. It was only when he matured did he realize how deep his feelings had grown to the point where he couldn't wake himself up from it anymore.
Unbeknownst to him, the very existence of Lu Yizhou had become his world; the axis of his entire world.
Ren Zexi woke up to another bright morning. The rain had stopped, leaving only a trace of chill in the air. Dew lingered on the leaves and birds chirped happily outside the window.
It had been so long since he dreamt of the past. Sighing, he went to the bathroom to refresh himself. It might have something to do with the fact that he drank alcohol last night for the first time, causing his self control to waver in the face of the man he had always loved for his whole life.
"Good morning, Uncle Lu." He stepped into the dining hall to find Lu Yizhou sitting in his usual seat with a tablet in his hands, reading news as always.
He stepped forward gingerly and bent his waist to the man's eye level, staring.
"What are you looking at?" The man asked without lifting his head.
"Are you still angry with me?"
"Do I look like I'm angry?"
Ren Zexi sulked. "You aren't even looking at me."
Lu Yizhou finally looked up and raised one of his brows as if asking, "Satisfied now?"
Ren Zexi chuckled and leaned forward to kiss the man's cheek, today a bit longer, savoring the taste of the man's skin against his lips. Pulling away, he stared up at him with his trademark puppy eyes. "I know I'm wrong. I have been repenting the whole night. Forgive me, okay?"
Lu Yizhou put on a helpless look and flicked his forehead. "Go and sit down. Breakfast will be served soon."
Ren Zexi couldn't suppress his smile and sat on his seat to Lu Yizhou's right. Today's breakfast was Japanese sushi and a bowl of piping hot shoyu ramen. It smelled heavenly. Nonetheless, Lu Yizhou still had the same plain porridge he had eaten for the last decade. "Aren't you bored eating the same stuff again and again every morning?" He couldn't help asking.
"It's a habit." The man answered curtly.
Lu Yizhou didn't really like talking and at times like this, Ren Zexi would prefer to eat in silence and appreciate the sight in front of him instead. The way Lu Yizhou brought the spoon up to his mouth and tasted it a bit with his tongue before eating it; the way his pale lips glistened into reddish color due to the warmth.
Such was the eye candy Ren Zexi got to savor every single day.
"Right," Ren Zexi was suddenly reminded of something. "There's a new system in school. Do you know about it?"
As expected, Lu Yizhou nodded. Not as expected, he put the spoon down and turned to him, asking seriously. "How is it? Any problem?"
"No," Ren Zexi chuckled lightly. "What could be the problem? Everything is just the same except for a few new classmates."
Lu Yizhou nodded. It seemed like there was something in his mind but in the end, he decided against voicing it out loud.
Ren Zexi enjoyed the sight of Lu Yizhou worrying about him. He liked it so much that joy burst out vividly in his eyes, making Butler An who witnessed everything shake his head, amused.
"Don't worry." He reached for the man's hand and rubbed his calloused, thin fingertips in a circular gesture. "I will be fine. If there's something, I will definitely tell you. Oh there's one more thing!" Ren Zexi went to grab a form in his school bag. "The teacher wants our parents to come for a meeting. The time is still three months away. You can come if you want or if you're busy, having Butler An go in your stead is also fine."
Lu Yizhou glanced at the form. University Choices and Aspirations. He nodded. "I will go."
It was about time for him to meet this world's protagonist. He ought to measure whether he was a dangerous existence for Ren Zexi or not and what his next steps would be shall Jing Xuehao pose as a problem.
***
Jing Xuehao yawned as he entered the classroom. He thought that he was already tired enough of forming business plans all night but it turned out, more than half of the students slumped onto the table, lifelessness hung over them.
Even Guang Li wasn't an exception. Seeing Jing Xuehao, he waved weakly. "You're here."
"What's wrong with you?" Jing Xuehao couldn't help asking.
"Oh that, yesterday was so fun!" Guang Li's eyes lit up. "We went to the newest BBQ place to eat and the Sun Emperor treated us and then, we moved to a karaoke bar that was owned by Du Minshen's parents. The drink was very delicious!"
Jing Xuehao frowned, disgusted. "So you're wasted?"
"Yeah, a little." Guang Li massaged his brows. "My head feels a bit heavy too. So this is what a hangover is like."
Jing Xuehao scoffed and prepared his notebooks for the first lesson. Students gradually poured into the room and the atmosphere turned rowdy, most of the talk was about yesterday's fun. The line separating Special students and Normal students seemed to have thinned. Jing Xuehao sneered and shook his head, pitying how those people were so easily swayed just by a few delicious dishes and a show of wealth.
A commotion sounded outside the classroom and Jing Xuehao instantly knew. It must be either Ren Zexi or Huang Zhihe, or both of them at once.
It was Ren Zexi. Although he also joined the outing last night, he had none of the exhaustion or paleness the others had. On the contrary, he looked much more cheerful, his eyes bright and dazzling. Earpods stuffed his ears and he hummed softly along with the song, nodding once in a while at others' greetings as he made his way to his seat.
"Wow…" Guang Li sighed beside him. "How can someone shine so bright? He's literally covered in a halo."
Jing Xuehao tore his eyes away from Ren Zexi and hummed. "Have you studied for this week's mock exam?"
Guang Li blinked, taken aback. "Ah, n—not yet."
He sneered. "Remember that scholarships only applied for top three rankers. Do you want to drop out of school if you flunk the exam? There's already a genius young master in our class. Be careful if you don't want to fail."
"No!" Guang Li grabbed his hair. Copying Jing Xuehao, he also took out his notebook with a serious and solemn look. "I have to be in the top three this midterm!"
Jing Xuehao nodded. That's right, he should have focused on his own goal. Only then would he be able to slap them — especially Ren Zexi — right on his face. There was no time to brood about status. Inside the school, the smarter one always won.
"Speaking of Ren Zexi," Guang Li scooted closer and whispered into Jing Xuehao's ears, much to his annoyance. "Did you know what I heard last night? He's the sole heir to the Lu Group! You know, that huge, prestigious Lu Group!"
"What?!" Jing Xuehao's tone raised in shock. He covered his head with books to hide from other students' gazes. "Y—You mean that Lu Group?" He almost choked on his breath.
Who doesn't know Lu Group these days? The gigantic corporation dominated almost 70% of the government's project. They were involved in modern technology and real estate. Not only were they a major investor, but Lu Group also had many subsidiary companies. In every ad shown on the street, one would always be able to spot Lu Group's logo.
And Ren Zexi was the Young Master of that multibillionaire corporation?
Jing Xuehao recalled that Lu Group was a family company. Breathless, he exclaimed. "But Ren Zexi is not a Lu!"
"That...I don't know." Guang Li scratched his head. "It's not official yet but apparently, it's already an open secret among the Special students."
Jing Xuehao slowly recovered his senses. So that's why… That's why people scrambled to lick his shoes, that's why even Teacher Shu liked him very much. He let out a laugh. With Lu Group behind him, who would dare to do anything to him?
This world was really unfair… a sense of loss overwhelmed Jing Xuehao.
No! He shook his head. He shouldn't think negatively like that! Ren Zexi was only good because of his family's status whereas he was going to climb his way up with his own effort! Jing Xuehao was surely better than him! Only after reassuring himself again and again did he manage to calm down.
In this way, Jing Xuehao truly had the protagonist trait; he was stubborn, competitive, hardworking and wasn't dejected by the slightest obstacles. On the contrary, it just motivated him further.
However, he hadn't recovered fully from the shock yet when a new message arrived on his phone. This time he couldn't contain himself anymore. Standing up, he ignored Guang Li's confused remarks and dashed to the toilet to make a call.
"Brother Tang!" He cried out anxiously. "What do you mean the competition might be cancelled?!"