Mr. Lu Was Devastated After I Left - Chapter 11

His head felt as if it were splitting. His chest burned, as if he were holding a furnace, and he felt unbearably hot. Lu Beiye reached out habitually to the person beside him. The sensation of warm skin against his palm initially calmed him, but a moment later, he realized something was wrong and snapped awake.

He sat bolt upright, staring at the naked Mu Yuan beside him. His scalp felt as if it were about to explode.

The sudden movement woke Mu Yuan, who sat up slowly, rubbing his sleep filled eyes. “Brother Lu?”

Mu Yuan’s body was covered in the marks of a passionate night—bruises in shades of blue and purple—and his lips were swollen and cracked, bearing silent witness to the madness of the night before.

Lu Beiye massaged his throbbing temples. He only remembered arriving at Mu Yuan’s apartment, Mu Yuan in his bathrobe, the two of them eating and drinking some red wine, and then everything else was a blank.

He wiped his face and said in a low voice, “Little Yi, I drank too much yesterday. I may have forced you to do something you did not want to do.”

Mu Yuan suddenly grasped his hand, as if gathering his courage. “Brother Lu, you did not force me. It was my own choice.”

Lu Beiye was shocked, his voice wavering. “Little Yi.”

Mu Yuan squeezed his hand tighter. “Brother, I have no friends or family in this city. I only have you. So,” Mu Yuan looked up, his alluring peach blossom eyes brimming with tears, “stay here with me. Stay by my side, will you?”

Lu Beiye looked at the anxious, pitiful youth before him, his heart aching. He pulled him into his arms. “Alright, I will stay with you.”

“Brother Lu.”

Mu Yuan wrapped his arms around Lu Beiye’s waist, the corners of his mouth curling upward. He was no longer content to simply look up to Xu Zhuoyang; he wanted to secure this big catch as quickly as possible. He needed Lu Beiye to help him ascend to a position equal to Xu Zhuoyang’s as soon as possible. If he could not triumph in the workplace for now, he would have to win in the arena of love.

Xu Zhuoyang, I will always find a way to beat you.

Lu Beiye, unaware of these thoughts, felt his eyes grow moist with emotion. After graduating from high school, he had been accepted into University A, while Mu Yuan had gone abroad to study. He could not defy his grandfather’s wishes to stay at University A rather than going abroad. He had brought Mu Yuan home to meet his family, but for some reason, the old man had despised him, insisting on tearing them apart to the point of a heart attack that put him in the hospital. Having no other choice, Lu Beiye had let go, but he had waited in silence for seven years, always believing they would be together again. And now, they finally were.

While the two were lost in their own world, Xu Zhuoyang had spent the entire night wide awake at home.

After Xiang Liang vomited, Xu Zhuoyang had not been able to deal with him, leaving Xiang Liang to wake up the next morning feeling like his mouth was full of trash. He brushed his teeth for an entire hour, but the taste refused to go away.

Xu Zhuoyang had sat in the living room all night, waiting for Lu Beiye to return so he could apologize. When Lu Beiye did not come, he stayed put, sending text messages that went unanswered. He crouched by the door like a jilted wife.

Xiang Liang emerged from the bathroom, wiping his mouth, and leaned in close to Xu Zhuoyang, opening his mouth to let him check for any lingering odor.

Xu Zhuoyang turned away in disgust. “You should just pull your teeth out and get dentures. If you cannot brush the taste away, just replace them.”

“Get lost,” Xiang Liang said with a laugh.

Xu Zhuoyang checked the clock; it was nearly ten. They had not had breakfast yet. Since Lu Beiye was not coming home, he could not leave Xiang Liang to starve. He sighed, got up, and went to the kitchen. He took out the meat filling and began stuffing wontons one by one. Xiang Liang cleaned up the living room, which he had turned into a pigsty, and by the time he finished, the wontons were ready.

Xu Zhuoyang placed two bowls of wontons on the table, and the aroma immediately drew Xiang Liang over. Xiang Liang ate them one by one, finishing the massive bowl in no time. He wiped the corners of his mouth, still wanting more. “That was delicious. If you did not already have a boyfriend, I would definitely chase you.”

The remark made Xu Zhuoyang choke. His face turned bright red as he looked at him in terror. “How do you know?”

“You told me yourself. You even said you ordered a ring to give to him on his birthday.”

Xiang Liang smacked his lips, savoring the memory. While his tolerance for alcohol was not high, he remembered everything that happened when he was drunk; he had not forgotten a word of what Xu Zhuoyang had told him the night before.

He smiled mischievously. “And your boyfriend is Lu Beiye, the CEO of the Shengfeng Group.”

“Damn it! I said that too.”

Xiang Liang did not answer. He had figured it out when he saw the framed photograph of Xu Zhuoyang and Lu Beiye in the living room.

He looked at Xu Zhuoyang with a complicated expression, hesitating over whether he should speak. Although Lu Beiye projected an image of a refined, capable gentleman, everyone in the industry knew he kept countless lovers—both men and women. The partners he brought to banquets were never the same. There was a strange rumor in the circle that Lu Beiye was actually a devoted man who had refused to marry for years, waiting for his high school sweetheart to return. Once that person came back, Lu Beiye would immediately settle down and be entirely loyal to them, dismissing his current dalliances as mere entertainment or stress relief.

Xu Zhuoyang, completely oblivious, was busy agonizing over how much nonsense he had spouted the day before.

Xiang Liang sighed and swallowed his words. Rumors were just rumors, after all, and he did not know if they were true. He had only seen Lu Beiye a few times; speaking out of turn would be a mistake.