No One Else Will Do But You - Chapter 12

Shu Luo looked at them in confusion. What’s with these two?

Jiang Mu frowned at the man in the car and said coldly, “Luo Luo, did you thank him? After all, he personally drove you back, no matter what his intentions are.”

Su Jingfeng looked at Jiang Mu with interest, a smirk on his face. “Hello, my name is Su Jingfeng. This morning, Luo Luo came to my house for a while. We chatted, and he has a very cute personality.”

This air of provocation… made Jiang Mu grit his teeth.

“Is that so? Well, thank you very much for your trouble. Luo Luo, say thank you to him, then come home with me.”

Jiang Mu’s face was very dark. Shu Luo didn’t dare to say anything else. He quickly thanked Su Jingfeng and scurried back with Jiang Mu.

Su Jingfeng put on his sunglasses, but a knowing smile appeared in his eyes. Hehe, so that’s how it is. Interesting.

Shu Luo pushed his bicycle without saying a word. He had just gone out for a while, but it felt like he had committed a great sin.

“A Mu, um, I didn’t turn off my phone on purpose.” He could only use this opportunity to explain.

The two of them walked to the underground parking lot and parked the bicycle next to their family’s parking space.

The underground parking lot was eerily quiet, and neither of them spoke. The atmosphere was incredibly strange.

“A Mu, I, uh—”

Jiang Mu suddenly pushed him against the wall, placing his hands on either side of his head, looking at Shu Luo’s surprised eyes.

Shu Luo was startled and met Jiang Mu’s bottomless eyes, which seemed to be filled with suppressed emotions. Was he angry?

“Luo Luo, who was that person?”

Hearing Jiang Mu’s question, Shu Luo answered, “He’s just someone I met while fishing. We just met.”

“You just met, and you smiled so happily at him?”

Jiang Mu’s tone was accusatory, and Shu Luo felt his displeasure. “Are you mad? But what you just said is wrong. The teacher taught us to be friendly to people and to smile more.”

“Smile? Was that a smile? A smile keeps a distance. You let him drive you home the first time you met him. Aren’t you afraid he’ll sell you?”

Shu Luo hadn’t thought that much. “No one will sell me. I’m not a girl; no one wants me.”

Jiang Mu was so angry he dropped his hands. He was truly an unteachable child. The two-year gap in maturity was so vast.

Forget it.

He ruffled his head, not saying another word.

After he explained everything to Shu’s mom, everything was fine. At most, he was told a few times to remember to turn on his phone when he went out and not to make his family worry.

When they were going to bed, Jiang Mu gave him a call.

He pushed open his window, and their rooms were facing each other.

“Luo Luo, we promised to go to Zhengcheng together. Don’t waste all the time I spent tutoring you.”

Shu Luo felt that talking on the phone like this was new. He then remembered the question he had always wanted to ask. “A Mu, why do you insist that I go to Zhengcheng?”

Although there was still some distance between the two rooms, Jiang Mu could see Shu Luo’s expression clearly.

“Because I’m used to it. You’re the first friend I made in China, my first brother. I can’t be without you by my side.”

Shu Luo suddenly got worked up, pointing at the window across from him. “You’re scheming! How can you do that? You can’t force me to do something just because of your habits!”

“Then you don’t want to go to the same school as me?”

“Uh… I do.”

“You don’t want me to help you when someone bullies you?”

“I do…”

“Didn’t you envy others for having a big brother who’s always by their side?”

“Yeah…”

“I’m that person, aren’t I? What you want, you have.”

Shu Luo thought for a moment. It seemed he was right. “Then I also want a Ferrari.”

“…” What a big mouth.

Jiang Mu held his phone, thinking that he could give him anything except the sun, moon, and stars.

“Fine. I’ll buy you one when you’re older.”

“Really? Do you have the money?”

“Yes.” I don’t have it now, but I will in the future.

“Alright, alright. I’ll reluctantly go to Zhengcheng.”

“Alright. Get some rest. See you tomorrow.”

After hanging up, Shu Luo waved at him from the window, and Jiang Mu nodded.

Jiang Mu thought about his actions and couldn’t help but find them funny. He really was just a boy experiencing his first crush, wasn’t he? Do two boys usually call each other and talk like this? Only Shu Luo didn’t feel anything.

The three-day exam passed with full energy and normal performance. It was a smooth ride.

After the exams, the two families went out to dinner.

Shu’s dad also came back. The children’s exam was very important, so he had taken a leave from work at noon on the first day of Shu Luo’s exams.

“Come, eat more. Boys are at the stage where they’re growing, especially Luo Luo. Try to grow taller so you’re not shorter than me,” Shu’s dad said as he piled food onto their plates.

Shu Luo gave Shu’s dad an unamused look. “Dad, can you please not bring up my height? It hurts my heart.”

Jiang’s mom smiled gently. “Luo Luo is only 14. He still has several years to grow.”

Shu’s mom took a sip of her tea. “A Mu was already 5’9″ last year, wasn’t he? He was 5’7″ when he was 14. Luo Luo, you’re so picky. How tall are you now?”

Shu Luo angrily stuffed a mouthful of rice into his mouth, his cheeks bulging. “Mom, you’re playing favorites. You praised me for growing fast at home, and now you’re praising A Mu. You’re a fair-weather friend!”

Jiang Mu reached out and patted his face. “Who are you talking to? Watch your mouth.”

Shu Luo’s face was patted by Jiang Mu, and he accidentally spat out a few grains of rice. He silently looked at Jiang Mu’s plate and face.

“Hey, this isn’t my fault. You hit me first, so you can’t blame me.”

Jiang Mu could only helplessly wipe the plate with a napkin, not wanting to get a new one.

“He’s still so picky.”

Shu’s dad patted Jiang Mu’s shoulder. “A Mu, Luo Luo is just like this. Don’t mind him.”

Jiang Mu was already used to it.

Jiang’s mom’s expression was hesitant during dinner, as if she had something to say.

Jiang Mu noticed and refilled her tea while asking, “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask your parents.”

Shu’s mom smiled. “Oh, just say it. It’s nothing. We’re all so familiar with each other.”

What Jiang’s mom wanted to say was about custody. Because Jiang Mu’s father refused to give up custody, Jiang’s mom had no choice but to file a lawsuit. It also involved citizenship issues, so the problem might be complicated. She needed to go to France for a while and had to fight for custody.

“A Mu might have to stay with you for a while. I can’t leave him alone, so I can only ask you to take care of him. I’ll send you money every month.”

Jiang Mu quietly ate on the side, not saying a word, because this matter was very tricky, and his abilities were limited right now.

“A Mu’s mom, you’re being too polite. My Luo Luo causes A Mu so much trouble, and I haven’t even thanked you yet. It’s nothing; just let A Mu come over for a while. It’s the holidays anyway, and we were planning to take the kids on a trip. If A Mu is here, they can go together. We’ll feel more at ease if they join a tour group.”

Shu Luo didn’t care what the adults were talking about. He just noticed that Jiang Mu seemed a little down. He had been in a good mood after the exam.

“Jiang Mu, what’s wrong? Are you full?” He found a topic to start a conversation.

“Yeah, I’m full. Let’s go for a walk.”

Shu Luo immediately shoveled a few more mouthfuls of rice and told his parents before going out for a walk with Jiang Mu.

Night fell, and the streetlights lit up.

They walked along the riverside path and could feel the breeze from the lake.

“Jiang Mu, will you go back to France if your mom loses the lawsuit?”

Under the dim streetlights, Jiang Mu’s face was still clearly visible. He smiled. “What, are you afraid I’ll leave?”

Hearing the teasing tone, Shu Luo punched him in the arm. “It’s not that bad if you can still joke about it. I thought you were really upset.”

“Upset? Of course I’m upset, but that won’t solve the problem, will it?”

Jiang Mu leaned his hands on the railing by the lake, looking into the distance.

Shu Luo leaned his back against the railing. He was suddenly very curious about why Jiang Mu’s parents had come to this point.

“Were you born in France?”

“No, in China.”

Shu Luo looked at him in confusion. “Didn’t your parents get married in France? Did your mom purposely bring you back to give birth to you here?”

“They probably had no love between them. I’ve never seen them in the same room, calling each other pet names. They’ve always kept their distance. I noticed that something was wrong in fifth grade. They had no arguments, no passion, just a terrifying distance.

His father was younger than his mother, had a very free-spirited personality, and was very caring toward his younger brother, Jiang Mu’s uncle, who was only seven years older than him.

Thinking back to the dozen years he spent in France, although his home was there, it never felt as warm as when he visited his maternal grandparents. The walls of the house in France were like shields blocking affection, isolating everyone’s thoughts, with a suffocating smell of hidden emotions.

Hearing Jiang Mu talk about his family in France, it felt like he was telling a story that had nothing to do with him, but he was the main character, and he was able to talk about it so calmly.

Shu Luo himself was a person who hated thinking because he believed his emotional intelligence wasn’t that high.

But tonight, he suddenly wanted to be Jiang Mu’s cheerleader. Even if Jiang Mu looked calm, he must have been feeling bad inside.

“A Mu, stop talking. No matter what the outcome is, the fact that we’re good brothers won’t change. If you end up going back to France, you can always apply to a university in China, or I’ll go to France to find you.”

Jiang Mu looked at him in surprise. The Shu Luo he knew was carefree and a little heartless. Although his words weren’t eloquent, they touched him deeply.

“Shu Luo, you said that.” The curve of his lips showed how happy he was right now.

“Of course. I, Shu Luo, always keep my promises.”

Jiang Mu ruffled his hair and put his hand on his shoulder. “I’m so pleased that my Shu Luo has finally come to his senses. Let’s make plans tonight for where to go. Your brother will take you on an adventure.”

Shu Luo gave him a strange look. “Why does that sound so… rebellious?”

“I learned it from you.”

“Don’t. Your image will be ruined if you go down my path.”

“Is that so…”

It doesn’t matter what my image is, as long as it’s the same in your heart.