Mr. Lu Was Devastated After I Left - Chapter 15

The most unforgettable memory of Lu Beiye’s life was his middle school years, though he was not the Lu Beiye people know today.

Today, he is a man of striking appearance with flawless features, naturally commanding attention wherever he goes. His sharp, sculpted profile makes him a standout even in the entertainment industry, a world filled with beauties and heartthrobs.

But back then, Lu Beiye was in the throes of puberty. He was not only short but also suffered from obesity due to a hormonal medical treatment he had undergone. No matter how refined his underlying bone structure might have been, it was buried under a round, fleshy face. His grandfather, a stubborn man, believed that children from wealthy families should attend ordinary public schools rather than expensive private ones to learn the value of a hard life.

As a result, Lu Beiye lived a remarkably frugal existence. He could not be driven to school; instead, he had to pedal his bicycle for miles every day. His clothes were more worn and patched than those of his classmates, to the point where even his teachers felt pity and registered him for financial aid.

At home, he was the young master of the Lu family; at school, he was the fat, awkward outcast. He grew to loathe school, living in a constant state of bullying. His grandfather, seeing the bruises on his body, remained unmoved, telling him that if a boy was hit, he should hit back, and that it was shameful to cry to his parents about it.

However, the younger Lu Beiye was too afraid to retaliate. When cornered in the bathroom and forced to hand over his pocket money, he would remain silent, handing over every cent just to avoid a beating. This life dragged on for a long time, and he believed his entire school life would remain shrouded in darkness. Then, a light broke into his life and illuminated it.

He remembered it was an afternoon after class. He was cornered in the bathroom, reaching into his pocket to give his money to the bullies, when a boy suddenly burst in, grabbed him, and began cursing at his tormentors.

The boy shouted at the top of his lungs, “I have been watching you for days. Are you not ashamed of yourselves, shaking people down for money? Who are you, their father? Do they have to provide for you?”

The bully was instantly enraged. “Have you grown all your hair yet, you brat? Oh, I remember you now. You are that kid from the first year, are you not? What, are you two charity cases sympathizing with each other? I am shaking him down, so what? What can you do about it? Today, I am shaking you down too. If you do not have money, I will beat you both to death.”

Lu Beiye was terrified of getting hit and was ready to hand over his money just to get it over with, but the boy beside him showed no fear. He grabbed the bully by the collar and started fighting, shouting, “You want to hit your father? You unfilial brat.”

Lu Beiye stood paralyzed with fear, but the boy, despite being shorter than the three older bullies, fought back relentlessly. Although he eventually lost and ended up badly beaten, he had managed to leave several deep scratches on the bullies, and the group did not dare ask for the money. After throwing out a few more threats, they left.

The boy, with blood trickling from his bruised eye, smiled at him. “We are both poor kids from poor families. We do not have much money. How could we give the hard earned money our parents sweat for to those animals? We have to keep it for ourselves.”

Lu Beiye thought the smile on the boy’s face was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He felt like a rat living in the shadows that had suddenly caught sight of a warm ray of sunshine, joyful and bewildered.

From that day on, he was no longer silent when others bullied him. Whether he won or lost the fight, he refused to let them walk all over him.

“What is your name?”

The boy thought for a moment. “Just call me Brother Mu.”

“You do not seem older than me.”

The boy snorted. “Who says I am not? If you do not believe me, let us drop our pants and compare. I can pee much further than you.”

Lu Beiye felt his face flush red.

“My mom told me that you should not spoil bad people. If you do not discipline them, they will discipline you. We do not bully others, but we cannot let them bully us either.”

In the sunset, the soft down on the boy’s face was clearly visible. His almond eyes were crystal clear and pure, and his chubby, round face made people want to take a bite out of it.

The boy was small and thin, but just by standing there, he made Lu Beiye feel at peace. It was as if he finally had someone to lean on.

At that moment, Lu Beiye’s heart thundered in his chest. His face burned like a ripe tomato. His gaze remained fixed on the boy, unable to look away. It was the first time he had wished that time would stop in that very moment. He wanted to stay by that person’s side forever; even if they did nothing at all, just watching him quietly brought him infinite satisfaction.

For the first time, he felt that school was actually fun, not for anything else, but simply because he could see him.

He brought him breakfast every day just to see the happy look on his face while he ate. Every day after class, he would run to find him, listening to him share which problems he could not solve or what had made him happy or sad. He carefully taught him how to ride a bicycle. When school ended, he was always reluctant to leave, wanting to spend just a little more time with him, wishing he could stick to his side every second of the day.

But those days did not last long; they did not even reach the end of the semester.