Chapter 4

By the time Father Lu, Ms. Li, and Lu Qi's plane arrived in Mountain City, night had already fallen.

They knew it was too late to disturb that child, but they still couldn't help wanting to get a little closer to him as soon as possible.

By the time the three of them stood beneath the run-down apartment building, it was already deep into the night. Lu Yao had long since turned off the lights and fallen asleep.

Father Lu and Ms. Li stood solemnly downstairs, staring up at the location of Lu Yao's home. No one could say what they were thinking at that moment.

After a while, Father Lu finally said, "Let's go. Get some proper rest tonight. We'll come back tomorrow."

They called it proper rest, but all three of them knew this was destined to be a sleepless night.

Father Lu casually found a budget hotel nearby that was still open, intending to make do for the night.

Lu Qi had always been extremely demanding about hotel accommodations whenever he traveled, but today, he had no objection whatsoever to Father Lu's arrangement.

Meanwhile, Lu Yao had barely fallen asleep when he realized he had once again been pulled into that strange dream. Recently, he had dreamed this dream every night.

Lu Yao's translucent figure floated in midair as he silently watched the dream from a godlike perspective.

In the dream, he stood on a rooftop, laughing like a madman.

At that moment, a strikingly beautiful girl suddenly came up to the rooftop. The crazed version of him abruptly quieted upon seeing her, merely gazing at her with pleading eyes.

The girl coldly shook off the hand he tried to reach toward her. After saying something to him, she turned and left in her high heels.

Not long after she left, he suddenly climbed onto the wall at the edge of the rooftop. His expression was calm, and a relieved smile appeared on his face before he leaped off.

Lu Yao could no longer remember how many times he had seen this scene, but even so, his brows still furrowed in obvious disapproval whenever he saw it again.

After so many dreams, Lu Yao had also learned that the world he was currently in was the world of a brainless Mary Sue novel called The School Bully Boyfriend Loves Me to the Point of Terminal Illness.

The Lu Yao in the novel was cannon fodder, while the male lead was his half-brother, the school bully Lu Qi.

As a disposable cannon-fodder character, Lu Yao actually tried to compete with the male lead for the Mary Sue heroine. His ending was naturally doomed to be miserable.

Although the cannon-fodder Lu Yao in the novel was the young master of the Lu family, he had been separated from them since childhood.

He had been abducted by a nanny when he was young. At the time, the nanny was fleeing from the police and tried to strangle him to death before tossing him into some bushes.

Fortunately, he had a strong will to live and somehow survived. His adoptive father, who had been working in Sea City at the time, passed by those bushes and heard him crying. Remembering a fortune teller's claim that a son would bring him wealth, but knowing his wife was not pregnant, he decided to take the child home first and abandon him once his wife became pregnant.

Later, after racking up a mountain of gambling debts in Sea City, his adoptive father fled back to his hometown in Mountain City to escape his creditors.

After the Lu Yao in the novel was brought back to the Lu family by his biological parents, he felt that a country bumpkin like him did not fit in with the noble Lu family at all, so he became extremely insecure.

In the novel, he transferred to the elite high school attended by the male lead, Lu Qi.

Faced with an environment completely different from anything he had known before, he was constantly uneasy. Then, the heroine reached out to him, allowing him to feel kindness at school for the first time. Inevitably, he fell for her.

To please the Mary Sue heroine, the male supporting character did many things. He thought they loved each other, but when he planned to confess to her, he discovered that she liked his school-bully brother, Lu Qi, and that the two were already together.

Inferiority and jealousy drove the Lu Yao in the novel mad over the heroine. He began targeting the school bully again and again, trying to replace him, but every attempt backfired. Instead, he provoked everyone's disgust and became universally hated.

In the end, after the school-bully male lead inherited the Lu family's enormous fortune, he drove Lu Yao, the cannon-fodder male supporting character, out of the Lu family. At some point, the supporting character also became deranged and eventually jumped to his death.

After the cannon-fodder version of him leaped off the building, Lu Yao knew this dream was probably nearing its end again.

He turned to look at the glowing blue sphere that followed behind him every time he dreamed and asked, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Lu Yao knew the sphere could understand him. There was a high chance it was responsible for making him repeatedly have this dream lately.

The blue light flickered, but it gave no response.

Morning sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains and into the room.

When Lu Yao opened his eyes again and saw the familiar ceiling, he knew the sphere had expelled him from the dream.

He lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Though he had already awakened, everything from the dream still seemed vividly clear.

In Lu Yao's opinion, the one with the most functioning brain cells in this novel world was probably that Mary Sue heroine.

Thinking about how the version of himself in the dream had been played like a fool by that heroine, only to stupidly jump off a building because of her in the end, Lu Yao gritted his back teeth and muttered a curse at his novel counterpart.

And that idiotic school-bully male lead—despite being the Lu family's carefully cultivated heir for so many years, he had also been led around by the nose by that venomous beauty. He really was an idiot.

There was no need for the male lead to despise him for supposedly bringing shame to the prestigious Lu family with his existence as a country bumpkin. Whoever wanted such a dumbass brother could have him.

In any case, he had no intention of returning to the Lu family.

Wasn't it better to just live well? Why did he have to return to the Lu family, acknowledge his ancestors, and end up with such a stupid fate?

Lu Yao reached for the phone beside his bed and checked the time. It was already seven thirty, so he got up.

Milk was the name Lu Yao had given the kitten he had picked up yesterday.

The little kitten, Milk, had slept in the same room as Lu Yao last night. When it saw Lu Yao get out of bed, it emerged from its cat bed and circled around him like a clingy little shadow.

After waking up, Lu Yao had been feeling somewhat irritated, but when he saw Milk acting so adorably, his expression softened despite himself. With one long reach, he scooped Milk up from the floor and into his arms, unable to resist stroking its fluffy fur with one hand.

Just after Lu Yao finished preparing formula for the kitten, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Father Lu, Ms. Li, and Lu Qi were standing outside the door.

After pressing the doorbell, the three of them could not hide the nervous expressions on their faces.

If Father Lu's or Ms. Li's subordinates saw their expressions now, they might have been shocked speechless. These two people could actually get nervous in their lifetimes?

When no one came to open the door after the bell rang, Ms. Li raised her hand to check her watch. It was only a little after eight.

She looked at Father Lu and said worriedly, "Did we come a little too early? Yangyang might not be awake yet. Could we be disturbing his sleep?"

Lu Qi, who had barely slept at all from excitement the previous night, nodded. "It is a little early. I'm usually still asleep at this time on weekends too."

Father Lu said, "Let's wait outside for a while." They were now separated from Lu Yao by only one door. It was impossible for them to leave now.

Usually, other people were the ones waiting for these two powerful figures, Father Lu and Ms. Li. Today, however, they were getting a rare taste of waiting.

When Lu Yao heard the doorbell and started toward the door, the kitten that had been drinking milk on the floor followed after him clingily again. Lu Yao had no choice but to indulgently pick it up.

Other than debt collectors occasionally coming to his door, the only other visitor Lu Yao had was Old Bai from next door, who sometimes brought him things. At this hour, those nocturnal debt collectors were probably sleeping like dead pigs, and he had nearly paid off the debts left by his adoptive parents anyway, so there was even less reason for them to come collect.

Therefore, he assumed the person outside was Old Bai from next door and opened the door without any hesitation.

Lu Qi's feet had started to ache while he stood outside, so he leaned against the door and squatted down.

Who would have thought that not long after he squatted down, Lu Yao would suddenly open the door from inside?

Caught completely off guard, Lu Qi fell backward the moment the door opened, landing flat on his back and meeting the eyes of Lu Yao, who had come to answer the door.

At that moment, Lu Qi's face was the very picture of embarrassment.

Lu Qi had never imagined that his first meeting with Lu Yao would involve such an unforgettable entrance.

Ever since learning Lu Yao's whereabouts, he had rehearsed countless ways to make his entrance, all so Lu Yao would see how mature and dependable his older brother was and then develop admiration for him. Yet all his preparations seemed to have gone to waste?!

Although he was dying of embarrassment inside and wanted to pound the floor in humiliation, Lu Qi had been the Lu family's heir for many years. On the surface, he remained perfectly calm. He patted off his pants and rose leisurely to his feet, as if nothing had happened.

Watching him put on such an act, Lu Yao lowered his eyes and silently thought, He really is an idiot.

If he was this foolish, then it was understandable that the Mary Sue heroine had wrapped him around her finger.

In this brainless Mary Sue novel, the author primarily wrote from the heroine's perspective, focusing on her universal appeal and the male lead's and other suitors' love for her. The male lead's parents merely served as background characters. Therefore, Father Lu and Ms. Li rarely appeared in Lu Yao's dreams.

Though he had already seen Father Lu, Ms. Li, and Lu Qi in his dreams, this was Lu Yao's first genuine contact with them in reality.

When Lu Yao opened the door and saw them outside, perhaps because the same blood flowed through their veins, he inexplicably felt nervous around Father Lu and Ms. Li.

Fortunately, Lu Qi's little mishap had eased his sudden nervousness.

Over the years, Ms. Li had accumulated countless words in her heart.

She stared unblinkingly at Lu Yao, who stood before her holding the kitten. She had so many questions she wanted to ask. Had he been happy all these years? Why was there a bandage on his face? How had he been injured?

She parted her lips slightly, only to find that her throat was trembling too badly from nervousness for any sound to come out. Tears began falling down her face in drops.

Ms. Li hurriedly wiped away her tears and turned slightly to the side, unwilling to let Lu Yao see her in such a disheveled state.

Seeing Ms. Li crying, Lu Yao felt as though his chest was beginning to tighten as well. He pressed his lips together and held the kitten closer.

"Thump, thump, thump."

At that moment, a middle-aged woman came downstairs from above.

She looked doubtfully at Father Lu and the others. That unwanted orphan, Lu Yao, actually had people coming to look for him? Who were these three? From the way they were dressed, they looked wealthy, not like people Lu Yao could possibly know.

At the crucial moment, Father Lu took charge.

Looking at Lu Yao's phoenix eyes, so similar to his own, he asked, "Would it be convenient to go inside and talk?"

Compared with Ms. Li, he appeared extremely calm and composed—if one ignored the hand trembling slightly behind his back.

After Lu Yao stepped aside to let them in, he closed the door, cutting off the middle-aged woman's gossiping gaze.

Father Lu and the others did not know that Lu Yao had already learned of his background through his dreams, so Father Lu clearly explained everything to him from beginning to end.

Worried that Lu Yao might not believe him, he even took out a paternity test report between himself and Lu Yao. He had previously ordered someone to secretly collect Lu Yao's DNA for the test.

Ms. Li had already calmed herself. Her gaze was gentle as she looked at the teenager's cool, exquisite features, as though she wanted to etch every detail of him into her memory.

After looking through the paternity test report, Lu Yao placed it on the table in front of Father Lu and said flatly, "I won't return to the Lu family."

Lu Qi had been secretly gazing enviously at the kitten sprawled so freely on Lu Yao's shoulder. Damn it, even a cat was closer to Lu Yao than he was. Once Lu Yao came home, he would make this kitten experience what it felt like to fall out of favor.

Ever since Lu Qi learned of Lu Yao's whereabouts, he had never considered the possibility that Lu Yao might refuse to return to the Lu family.

After all, in his view, Lu Yao's adoptive parents had never treated him well, and the two had died in a car accident. Once Lu Yao learned who his biological parents were, wasn't going home the natural thing to do?

Therefore, upon hearing Lu Yao's rejection, he stared at him in shock with his eyes wide open. What had Lu Yao just said? Had he heard wrong?

Father Lu and Ms. Li were different from Lu Qi, who was still a high school student. As adults, they had naturally considered this possibility beforehand. Yet even with that mental preparation, Lu Yao's refusal still brought sorrow and disappointment into their eyes.

Lu Qi looked at Lu Yao and could not help asking emotionally, "Why?"

Lu Yao remained calm. "There's no reason."

Lu Qi said, "You..."

Lu Qi wanted to keep pressing him, but Ms. Li suddenly placed a hand over his, signaling for him to stop. Seeing her attitude, Lu Qi could only fall silent.

Ms. Li's eyes were red, but she quietly clenched her hands and tried her best to hold back the tears gathering in her eyes. She did not want Lu Yao to feel guilty because of her tears.

She had wanted to ask why too, but she did not dare.

She was afraid the answer she would hear from this child was that he hated them.

For all these years, Ms. Li had kept thinking that if she had not gone on that business trip, if Father Lu had not answered that phone call, perhaps none of this would have happened. While taking out her resentment over Lu Yao's disappearance on Father Lu, she had also constantly blamed and tormented herself.

Because of Lu Yao's unexpected rejection, the living room fell into an awkward silence.

After seeing Lu Yao's resistance toward them, Father Lu did not say anything. He merely left behind his and Ms. Li's contact information, then naturally stood up and said goodbye to Lu Yao, as if they had simply stopped by to greet him.

In Lu Yao's view, their first meeting might also be their last.

Although the three of them felt completely different in person from how they had seemed in his dreams, Lu Yao did not think the Lu family would come to his door again after being rejected once.

For some reason, Lu Yao stood alone by the window, watching their departing figures downstairs with a heavy gaze.

Someone who had never felt the blazing summer sun would not find the winter wind piercingly cold.

Since he already knew how tragic the ending would be, why begin at all? He could live well by himself, couldn't he?

After saying goodbye to Lu Yao, Father Lu and the other two fell into a deathly silence. No one had the heart to speak as they simply walked quietly.

As Father Lu walked, he suddenly turned around and looked up toward the window of Lu Yao's home. To his surprise, his gaze met Lu Yao's through the curtains.

Lu Yao had not expected Father Lu to turn around so suddenly. He pulled the curtains shut and turned away from the window.

Seeing the child close the curtains and hide away, a trace of a smile finally appeared in Father Lu's deep eyes. The tightly furrowed brows he had worn since leaving the building finally relaxed slightly.

Was that child curious about them too? Did he also want to get closer to them?

If they gave each other a chance to get to know one another, could everything turn out differently?