When Lin Gejie called, Lu Yao was packing the things he planned to take to Sea City.
The moment he answered, Lin Gejie's excited voice came through. "Yao, Old Chenpi was arrested!"
Lu Yao raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What happened?"
Lin Gejie said, "A few people suddenly came to the school and took Old Chenpi away from his office. The whole school is in an uproar now. When I passed the teachers' office earlier, I overheard them saying those people seemed to be inspectors sent from above. Old Chenpi is done for this time."
As he said that, Lin Gejie could not help laughing happily.
"That bastard Huang Li turned pale the moment he saw Old Chenpi being taken away. He immediately asked Old Liu for leave and ran home. Serves those bastards right for deliberately framing you. In a while, Yao, your name should be cleared. Then you can come back to school. You have no idea—ever since you stopped coming to school, all the girls in class have been sighing every day. My ears are worn out from listening to them."
Listening to Lin Gejie complain over the phone, Lu Yao chuckled softly. "Does your goddess sigh too?"
Lin Gejie had a crush on the class's entertainment committee representative and secretly regarded that girl as his goddess.
He sighed. "She doesn't sigh. She just looks miserable..."
Lu Yao said, "...Then I'm afraid you'll have to keep enduring their sighing and miserable faces."
Hearing that Lu Yao did not seem to be planning to return, Lin Gejie was shocked. "What's going on, Yao? You're not coming back to our school? I heard Lu Group is going to donate fifty million to the school to build a new teaching building and computer rooms and stuff. Our school will be the most impressive one in Mountain City after that. No other school will be able to compare. If you go to another school now, don't regret it later and say I didn't tell you."
Lu Yao smiled and briefly told Lin Gejie about Lu Yao's father and the others coming to find him.
Lin Gejie did not connect Lu Yao's father with the "Lu" in Lu Group. When he heard that Lu Yao's biological parents were coming to take him back to Sea City, he was happy for Lu Yao as well.
After chatting for a few more minutes, the class bell rang on Lin Gejie's end, so Lu Yao ended the call.
After hanging up, Lu Yao turned on his computer and emailed all the evidence he had gathered about Old Chenpi and Huang Li's relative at the Education Bureau taking bribes and engaging in corruption to the relevant staff.
When they first received the documents, they were completely bewildered. Who had sent such highly confidential internal files? They immediately traced the address, but unfortunately, the sender had erased every trace perfectly. In the end, they never found out who had given them such an enormous gift.
With the help of those documents, the investigation naturally sped up considerably.
Because of Old Chenpi's case, the principal was naturally called in for questioning as well.
By the time he walked out of the interrogation room, the principal's legs had nearly gone weak. He could not help wiping away a cold sweat.
Luckily, he had always been overly cautious and timid by nature. All he wanted was to work steadily until normal retirement. If he had been as blinded by greed as Vice Principal Chen and done something foolish, he would probably have ended up the same way today.
Given the current situation, aside from being stripped of all his positions, Old Chenpi would likely have to spend several years in prison.
The investigators also uncovered every detail of Old Chenpi maliciously forcing students to withdraw from school.
Although the principal was harshly reprimanded by his superiors over the matter, he was fortunate enough to still be able to retire safely. As for Teacher Liu, this misfortune turned into a blessing. Although he had offended Old Chenpi over Lu Yao's case, his efforts to seek justice over Lu Yao being forced out of school left the Education Bureau leaders with the impression that he cared for his students like his own children.
Because of this sudden turn of events, Huang Li's family had been shrouded in gloom these past few days.
Huang Li's father and their relative at the Education Bureau had both been taken away for investigation on suspicion of collusion between officials and businessmen and bribery. Huang Li's mother had lost count of how many calls she had made to beg for help, but most had been rejected, or hung up on before she could even speak.
In the end, someone only gave her a hint out of consideration for their past relationship. "Someone higher up is putting pressure on this matter. No one is allowed to interfere. Everything will be handled impartially, so stop asking people for favors. Helping you now would be inviting trouble and courting death. That student you people recently tried to destroy isn't an ordinary person. You went too far and offended him beyond repair. There's no turning this around now."
When she learned that this entire chain of events had happened because they had offended Lu Yao, Huang Li's mother flew into a rage and slapped Huang Li hard. "It's all your fault, you animal! How did I give birth to such a useless idiot who does nothing but cause trouble for this family?"
Hearing that the poor Lu Yao had such powerful backing, Huang Li was stunned senseless. He grabbed his mother's hand in panic. "Mom, then... then what do we do now?"
Huang Li's mother knew that the one who tied the knot had to be the one to untie it. But by the time they rushed anxiously to Lu Yao's home to beg him for mercy, Lu Yao was already far away in Sea City.
Lu Yao had only told Lin Gejie and his neighbor, Grandpa Bai, about his biological parents coming to find him.
Although the day Lu Yao moved happened to be Saturday, First High School was holding make-up classes that day because National Day was tomorrow, so Lin Gejie could not come to see Lu Yao off.
Huiying High School had begun its National Day break yesterday. For some reason, Lu Qi had actually flown from Sea City to Mountain City last night.
When Lu Yao opened the door that morning and saw Lu Qi there too, he was speechless. Did he have nothing better to do? They were going back today anyway, so why go through all that trouble?
Lu Yao's father thought exactly the same way. When he saw Lu Qi suddenly appear in Mountain City yesterday, he scolded him, saying he had too much free time on his hands.
Lu Qi could not be bothered with him. Lu Yao returning home was such an important event—how could his older brother be absent? He had to be involved from beginning to end!
Lu Yao's luggage was actually very simple: a few clothes, plus his little kitten, Milk.
Although it was the Lu family's private plane and Milk could be brought directly into the cabin, Lu Yao was worried that the little kitten might misbehave during the flight, so he had specially prepared a cat backpack for him.
Lu Yao's suitcase had already been carried to the door by his father. After confirming that the water, electricity, and gas were all turned off, Lu Yao locked the door.
Grandpa Bai from next door was waiting at the stairwell carrying a large pile of Mountain City specialties. When he saw Lu Yao and the others come out, he walked over.
Lu Yao's father and Ms. Li respectfully greeted the old man. They knew that he had taken great care of Lu Yao in daily life, so they were deeply grateful to him.
Grandpa Bai handed the specialties to Lu Yao's father. "This old man doesn't have much worth buying, so I prepared a few Mountain City specialties for you. Consider it my hospitality as the local host."
Lu Yao's father was flattered and hurriedly said, "How can we accept this? You've troubled yourself too much. We should be the ones thanking you."
Grandpa Bai directly stuffed the gift boxes into Lu Yao's father's arms. "I'm giving them to you, so take them. If you keep being polite, I'll take it as you looking down on this little token from an old man like me."
Hearing that, Lu Yao's father could not bring himself to refuse again.
Ms. Li could tell that Grandpa Bai was straightforward and frank by nature. Smiling warmly, she said, "Uncle Bai, we'll accept your kindness. If you ever want to visit Sea City, please be sure to contact us so we can return the hospitality."
Grandpa Bai laughed heartily. "All right, no problem. I'll say a few more words to Lu Yao, then I won't delay you any longer."
Grandpa Bai pulled Lu Yao a short distance away. He patted Lu Yao on the shoulder and said with relief, "Good people are rewarded in the end. It's time for you to finally live a good life." Over the years, the old man had seen all the hardships Lu Yao had endured. Though he did not recognize Lu Yao's father or Ms. Li, their clothes and appearance alone told him that they were probably well-off.
Although Grandpa Bai felt that Lu Yao's father and Ms. Li seemed reliable, he was still worried just in case and added, "If you're unhappy over there, come back. Grandpa Bai's door will always be open for you."
It took some time to get from here to the airport. Lu Qi walked over to remind them that it was getting late, only to hear the old man's words.
He huffed indignantly to himself. That won't happen. How could Lu Yao possibly be unhappy with the Lu family? That was his real home.
When he had locked the door to his home, Lu Yao had not felt the separation quite so deeply. But after hearing the old man's words, his eyes could not help reddening slightly.
Lu Yao, who rarely showed his emotions, suddenly reached out and hugged the old man's frail body. He buried his head against Grandpa Bai's shoulder and gave a low, hoarse "Mm."
Seeing Lu Qi standing nearby, Grandpa Bai smiled and patted Lu Yao on the back. "Go on. Your family is waiting for you. Today is a good day. Everyone should be happy."
Because of the farewell, Lu Yao's mood remained low even after boarding the plane.
Seeing that he seemed unhappy, Lu Yao's father and Ms. Li thoughtfully left to rest elsewhere on the plane.
Lu Qi, meanwhile, stayed by Lu Yao's side.
Seeing Lu Yao silently staring at the clouds outside the window, Lu Qi suddenly said to him out of nowhere, "My name is Lu Qi. I'm two years older than you."
Hearing Lu Qi's words, Lu Yao turned around and gave him a baffled look, then nodded lightly. "Oh."
Oh?!
That was it? That was his reaction?
Lu Qi thought Lu Yao might not have heard him clearly, so he loudly emphasized it again. "I'm two years older than you."
[Honestly, I've recently been using reading apps to follow updates. They support switching sources and offer many narration voices, on both Android and iPhone.]
As he spoke, he raised two fingers.
Lu Yao looked calm as he said coldly, "Mm, I know."
What the hell did "I know" mean? Shouldn't he be calling him big brother?
Lu Qi wanted to say it outright, but then he reconsidered. Wait—if he said it so directly, wouldn't that make him, the older brother, seem immature and lacking in authority?
No, he had to make this brat say it himself. He would conquer him with his personal charm.
For a long while afterward, Lu Qi kept chattering in Lu Yao's ear, trying every possible method just to hear Lu Yao call him "brother."
By the time the flight attendant came over with menus and asked what they wanted for dinner, he was so exhausted that he could barely speak. Why was this little brat so unwilling to call him big brother even once?
Lu Yao had been looking through the menu. When he caught sight of Lu Qi slumped dejectedly over the table from the corner of his eye, a smile suddenly tugged at his cold features. He really was an idiot.
The flight attendant standing nearby had witnessed everything. When she saw Lu Yao's lips curve up, she remained poised and composed on the outside, but inside she was screaming wildly at how adorable it was. This affectionate interaction between the icy younger brother and foolish older brother was far too heartwarming.
Perhaps because it was mealtime, the little kitten that had been sleeping soundly in the cat backpack gradually woke up and let out a soft, babyish meow.
Lu Yao looked at Milk awkwardly. The moment Lu Qi saw his expression, he guessed what he was thinking.
Lu Qi had never brought a pet onto a plane before, so he directly asked the flight attendant, "Excuse me, can we let this kitten out?"
The flight attendant nodded. "Of course. As long as you make sure the kitten doesn't run around. Our crew has pet formula suitable for kittens as well. If you need it, we can provide some."
Lu Qi said, "Then please prepare some formula for him too."
Lu Yao and Lu Qi's dinners were still being prepared, but Milk's warm formula had already been mixed.
The little kitten looked adorably cute while drinking his milk. Lu Qi could not help reaching out to pet him, only for Milk to mercilessly smack his hand with his tail.
Lu Qi raised an eyebrow. "Hey! I'm the one who let you out, and I'm even the one who had them make this milk for you. Don't you know the saying, 'Don't forget the one who fed you milk while you're drinking it'?"
As though he understood Lu Qi was scolding him, Milk let out an angry meow.
Lu Qi pointed vaguely at Milk's little head with his finger. "What's wrong? I said a few things, and you dare talk back? You're so young, but you've got quite the temper."
Milk seemed to be full. He impatiently raised his head and bit Lu Qi's finger, then quickly let go and ran back into Lu Yao's arms.
Milk's teeth were not sharp, so rather than saying he had bitten Lu Qi's finger, it would be more accurate to say he had gnawed on it.
Although Lu Qi's finger did not even lose a layer of skin, he started arguing with the kitten.
Inside the cabin ten thousand meters above the ground, the bizarre sight of a man and a cat "quarreling" actually unfolded.
After Lu Qi fiercely said a few words, Milk would let out an unyielding meow, as if retorting.
They clearly did not even speak the same language, yet they seemed to be arguing with tremendous enthusiasm.
When the flight attendant brought over their meals, the smile at the corners of her lips was nearly impossible to suppress. Even Lu Yao, who was usually so composed, wanted to cover his face.
It was too embarrassing. Lu Qi was the childish idiot acting foolish, yet he was the one suffering the shame.
Fortunately, the food was enough to shut Lu Qi up, and the little kitten fell asleep again soon after drinking his milk. Otherwise, Lu Qi had no idea how long they would have kept arguing.
Not long afterward, the plane began its descent.
After getting off the plane, Lu Yao's father and Ms. Li exchanged a glance when they saw that the brothers seemed much closer. Gentle smiles appeared in both their eyes.
Watching Lu Yao and Lu Qi walking ahead of them, Ms. Li smiled brightly.
From now on, everything would get better.
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