Mr. Lu Was Devastated After I Left - Chapter 22

Xu Zhuoyang looked at the man before him, feeling as though he were floating in a dream. Lu Beiye took the medicine out of the bag and placed it on the table, introducing each item one by one and explaining how to take them. Although his tone remained meticulous and businesslike, Xu Zhuoyang could sense the underlying current of care.

His eyes suddenly grew hot.

In such a fragile atmosphere, he felt he would be doing a disservice to his four stitches if he did not say something to soften the rigid tension between them.

He cleared his throat. “Brother, are you and Mu Yuan friends?”

He did not realize that his voice was trembling as the words left his lips. He was terrified that Lu Beiye would deny what he had seen; he did not want to hear that they were anything more than that.

Lu Beiye’s hand, holding a box of medicine, paused for a beat. He acted as if he had not heard the question and continued in his own steady tone. “Remember to take the medicine, and do not forget to apply the scar removal ointment later.” He set the bag on the table, glanced at his watch, and said without looking up, “It is getting late. I need to go.”

Xu Zhuoyang stood up immediately, his voice filled with anxiety. “Go where? Back to Mu Yuan? Is this not your home anymore?”

“Keep living in this apartment. I will come back occasionally.”

Xu Zhuoyang could not help but ask, “Are we dating, or have we broken up?”

He felt rage churning in his chest, yet he dared not express his anger.

Lu Beiye’s warmth toward him had only existed during their college years. After graduation, as they both started their careers, Lu Beiye’s personality began to grow increasingly cold and distant. Xu Zhuoyang had assumed it was simply the maturity that came with age, but he never expected their relationship to reach this point. Was this just Lu Beiye’s nature, or was Xu Zhuoyang truly so insignificant to him?

He had seen with his own eyes the way Lu Beiye walked side by side with Mu Yuan, protecting him at every turn, a level of intimacy Xu Zhuoyang had never dared to dream of.

Ever since they left school, he and Lu Beiye had never walked side by side again. Their relationship seemed to exist only within the confines of this apartment. Once they stepped outside, Lu Beiye was the esteemed young master of the Lu family, and Xu Zhuoyang was merely a celebrity; they seemed to have no overlap at all.

Lu Beiye sighed and sat back down in the chair. Avoiding the question, he said, “You love your job as an actor, do you not? You have worked hard to get where you are today. A-Yang, do you want to climb even higher?”

Xu Zhuoyang had a sudden, sinking premonition. “Brother, what do you mean by that?”

Lu Beiye took out a bank card he had prepared in advance, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Xu Zhuoyang. “I will be your benefactor. I will help you climb to the top. I will provide you with whatever resources you want, and I promise to make you even more famous and successful than you are now.”

Xu Zhuoyang felt as if he were hallucinating. He watched Lu Beiye’s lips moving, unable to believe what he was hearing. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

His body felt stiff. It took a long time before he regained control, and he reached out to pick up the bank card. The simple motion felt like it took an eternity. The light, thin card felt as heavy as a mountain in his hand.

He stared unblinkingly at Lu Beiye. “I like you so much. Yet, this is the way you choose to insult me.”

“This is the only way I can think of for us to continue our relationship.”