Yu Qingluo began paying attention to Lu Shiming, sometimes deliberately and sometimes without realizing it. Yet from what he observed, Lu Shiming showed no signs of sadness or anger whatsoever. He was still following Yu Qingchuan around.
Were his feelings for Yu Qingchuan so deep that he did not even mind being cheated on?
Or was he simply a good enough actor to hide it?
But after dealing with Lu Shiming a few times, Yu Qingluo had a feeling he was not capable of such deep scheming. He figured there had to be something going on that he did not know about.
If he rashly tried to comfort him, it could easily backfire.
He did not know why he inexplicably cared about Lu Shiming's opinion of him, but he knew Lu Shiming did not have a very good impression of him right now. He had better not make himself any more annoying.
And so, for the first time in his life, Yu Qingluo did not do as his mother asked.
He thought that Lu Shiming was an adult, after all. He could handle his own love life.
After work, Lu Shiming immediately called Yu Qingchuan to head home with him. He would drive. Yu Qingchuan was about to open the front passenger door when Lu Shiming spotted him and panicked. He hurried to stop him and opened the rear door in a flash. "Sister-in-law, sit in the back."
Yu Qingchuan gave him a puzzled look.
Lu Shiming's face practically said, I'm happy to be your chauffeur, and he declared earnestly, "An elder sister-in-law is like a mother!"
In truth, he was inwardly whimpering. My brother's waking up soon. I can't get away with anything anymore. Boo-hoo.
Yu Qingchuan: "..."
Lu Shiming first drove Yu Qingchuan back to the Wedding Home to prepare dinner, then went to the hospital himself to help Lu Shiyi drink his nutritional supplement.
Once Yu Qingchuan finished cooking, Lu Shiming went back to pick him up.
As soon as Yu Qingchuan arrived in the hospital room, he checked on Lu Shiyi. Only after finding him a little better than he had been that morning did he feel slightly reassured.
He would be staying here tonight, and had even brought his Pen Display.
Lu Shiming was shoveling food into his mouth, loudly declaring between bites, "Sister-in-law, you're cooking for me of your own free will, right? Even if my brother forbids it later, you'll insist on cooking for me, won't you?"
Watching Lu Shiming act crazy for the second time, Yu Qingchuan had no idea why, but agreed anyway. "Sure."
Of course, Lu Shiyi understood Lu Shiming's little scheme. He sneered inwardly. Trying to use Qingchuan to keep me in line?
Although their family's fine tradition had always been to spoil their wives and let them have the final say, he would find a way to keep Qingchuan from cooking.
Lu Shiming was still far too green.
As Lu Shiming happily wolfed down his food, a sudden shiver ran through him. He looked warily at Lu Shiyi on the hospital bed. Is that freak of a brother plotting something again?
"Oh, by the way, sister-in-law, you should close the door curtain when you're getting intimate with my brother," Lu Shiming gently reminded him. "A nurse took a picture of you and my brother and even sent it to my coworker, but I told him not to share it."
Yu Qingchuan's brows knitted. Too preoccupied to correct Lu Shiming's choice of words, he asked, "Someone took a picture of us? Do you know who?"
"I didn't ask. Should I go find out?" Lu Shiming replied. "But something about it feels off. Why take a picture like that out of nowhere? It's almost like someone's trying to drive a wedge between us."
Yu Qingchuan's heart slowly sank. Almost instantly, he realized there was more to this than met the eye. Perhaps Su Ningyue had made another move.
In everyone else's eyes, he was Lu Shiming's boyfriend. Anyone would be furious in such a situation, and might even break up with him.
Once he and Lu Shiming "broke up," Liang Xingyao from Xingyi would no longer hold him in such high regard. He might lose his right to participate in this project before it even began.
Yu Qingchuan wanted badly to confront Su Ningyue. Hasn't she already gotten enough? Is she still not satisfied?
Does she really have to push someone until they have no choice but to fight back?
Yu Qingchuan sighed inwardly. He genuinely did not want to fight for anything.
But he had no choice.
He only hoped he could finalize the partnership with Xingyi before Lu Shiyi woke up. That would at least give him some say in things.
And he ought to find a way to strike back at Su Ningyue, too.
Clearly, those few mild remarks from before had done no good at all.
But Yu Qingchuan had never schemed against anyone, so for the moment, he really did not know what to do.
His mind was a tangle of thoughts, but he took care to hide them and let nothing show in front of Lu Shiming. After seeing him off, Yu Qingchuan immediately drew the door curtain, locked the door, and closed the curtains around the bed as well.
Leaning against the headboard, Yu Qingchuan sketched rapidly on the Pen Display with his Pressure-Sensitive Pen. Lu Shiyi lay nestled against him, and that cozy warmth lifted Yu Qingchuan's mood again. Whenever he grew tired of drawing, he would turn to look at Lu Shiyi and feel filled with energy once more.
As usual, he drew until eleven. His whole body ached with exhaustion. Fortunately, he was still young; otherwise, his neck would surely have been stiff by now.
He slipped under the covers and wriggled around a few times. He barely managed to say good night to Lu Shiyi before falling asleep.
Listening to Yu Qingchuan's steady breathing, Lu Shiyi controlled his body and moved a little closer to him.
Unfortunately, he was lying on his back tonight, so he had no way to share an accidental kiss with Yu Qingchuan. But Yu Qingchuan moved closer in his sleep, like a kitten searching for food.
Lu Shiyi's breath caught, and his body tensed slightly.
Lu Shiyi spent almost the entire night like that.
This time, however, it was remarkably effective. Lu Shiyi's charge was practically overflowing. After Yu Qingchuan finished taking care of him and left for work, Lu Shiyi woke right up, picked up his phone with practiced ease, and contacted Lu Shiming.
"Get me discharged. I want to recuperate at home. Also, I'll be fully awake in half a month at most. Lu Shiming, you'd better take stock of all the fine things you've been doing lately."
Lu Shiming: "..."
Waaah, sister-in-law, my brother's bullying me!!
Before you continue