Stop Being a Black Lotus, Okay? - Chapter 12

The living room was illuminated by a single floor lamp. Its dim, yellow halo stretched the shadows of the two figures on the sofa, making them look like two vines entwined in a symbiotic embrace. One was upright, cold, and hard, while the other was soft and clinging.

Lu Min’s fingers brushed rhythmically through Ying Yulian’s semi-dry hair. The youth had just showered and carried the refreshing scent of soap. His hair was soft, drooping obediently over his forehead. He looked like a weary bird finally returning to its nest, curling himself beside Lu Min to draw comfort from the man’s steady body heat and presence. Outside the window, the city lights were brilliant. It was the “normal world” that Ying Yulian had once feared but now craved.

“Xiao Lian,” Lu Min’s voice broke the silence, sounding steady and devoid of obvious emotion. “How do you feel about your life right now?”

Ying Yulian instinctively leaned closer to him. his voice was muffled as he replied, “It is very good.”

However, it was not entirely good, Ying Yulian thought. In his current life, he relied on his brother for everything, including food, clothing, shelter, and travel. Only his brother was giving. All he could do was cook, wash dishes, and clean the house on the rare days the maid was away. But the maid’s days off were few and far between. Ying Yulian had little opportunity to do anything for his brother or the household.

As for the grades he took such pride in, they were merely a means to get into a good university. To a man like Lu Min, they were just scraps of paper. They were useless except for a bit of negligible emotional value. He had no value to Lu Min. In Ying Yulian’s meager life experience, people without value were meant to be discarded.

“Is that so?” Lu Min’s tone betrayed neither relief nor any other specific feeling. He stopped stroking the boy’s hair and instead used his thumb to gently rub the old scar behind the youth’s ear. The mark had long since faded, but it had once been a bloody, mangled mess. “But I still feel it is not enough.”

Confused, Ying Yulian looked up into Lu Min’s fathomless eyes. There was none of the usual sternness or the occasional leak of warmth. There was only a deep, heavy inkiness he could not understand, like a suppressed sea before a storm. Although the corners of Lu Min’s lips were turned up, Ying Yulian could not find a trace of a real smile on the man’s face.

Before Ying Yulian could say anything more, Lu Min picked up his schoolbag and turned around. “Let us go. It is time for school.”

Ever since the incident after school, Ying Yulian felt that Lu Min’s treatment of him could be described as absolute protection, or perhaps even utter indulgence. In the past, if Lu Min was too busy, he would have his secretary drive the boy to school. Now, Lu Min did everything personally. Previously, Ying Yulian would walk to the car himself, but now Lu Min stood at the school gates, mingling with the crowded masses just to personally take his hand and pick him up.

When the black SUV came to a stop, Lu Min did not unlock the doors immediately. Instead, he leaned over to straighten Ying Yulian’s already neat school collar. “Have you checked your textbooks, stationery, and water bottle?”

“Yes,” Ying Yulian said. His eyes crinkled into crescents, and a practical smile remained on his lips. He watched Lu Min without blinking, then suddenly reached out. His soft fingertip gently brushed Lu Min’s lower eyelid. “Brother, have you not been sleeping well lately?”

The youth’s voice dropped, heavy with heartache. Lu Min instinctively wanted to dodge but stopped himself, letting the warm touch linger. Seeing the worry in Ying Yulian’s eyes, he gave a soft laugh and rubbed the boy’s head. “Do not worry about me. You forgot what I used to do for a living. My stamina is much better than you think.”

“But,” Ying Yulian began. He had to admit that his brother gave him an unprecedented, almost airtight level of protection and care. Yet, the more energy Lu Min invested, the more panicked and afraid Ying Yulian became. Lu Min’s constant giving only made the burden feel heavier. He did not dare truly enjoy the kindness because he did not know when Lu Min would eventually throw him away as a person of no value.

At that thought, Ying Yulian felt a wave of suffocation. He immediately hugged Lu Min’s waist, burying his head in the man’s chest and inhaling deeply of the tobacco scent to soothe his inner anxiety.

“Do not be so clingy,” Lu Min said. A smile touched his eyes as his hand ran through the boy’s soft hair. “I will pick you up after school. At noon, remember to go to the special window on the third floor of the cafeteria. I have already spoken to them. Your meals will be prepared separately. There will be no chili or celery.”

Ying Yulian froze. He remembered mentioning his dislike for those two things only once in passing.

“And one more thing,” Lu Min said as he took a thermos from the storage compartment. “This is warm water with a bit of honey and grapefruit. You are not allowed to drink carbonated sodas from the school store.”

Taking the cup, the warmth spread from his palms straight to his heart. Ying Yulian lowered his head and gave a quiet “Yes.”

As he opened the car door, he saw the person he least wanted to see: his father, Ying Guiquan. Ying Yulian’s face went pale instantly. He stepped back several paces, but he was not seeking Lu Min’s protection. Rather, he was positioning himself in front of Lu Min. He would never let anyone hurt his brother again.

Lu Min, however, mistook the movement for fear. He immediately stepped out of the car and placed a hand on Ying Yulian’s back, patting him gently. “Do not be afraid. I am right here.” He took Ying Yulian’s hand and rubbed it to give him courage through his warmth. “Look, what is he doing?”

Only then did Ying Yulian look closely. Was that stooped figure, slowly sweeping the street with a broom, really Ying Guiquan? The man moved sluggishly but with strange focus, as if that small patch of ground was his entire world. He was a far cry from the memory of the father who smelled of alcohol, had violent eyes, and beat him at the slightest provocation.

“See,” Lu Min stood beside him. His voice was steady and carried a faint, imperceptible sense of gratification. “Xiao Lian, the world is a beautiful place full of hope. As long as the methods are right, even a man like your father can completely turn over a new leaf and start a fresh life.”

Lu Min looked at the slow-moving man with satisfaction, thinking idly that his friend’s surgery had indeed been exquisite. But when he looked at Ying Yulian, the boy’s fingers were cold and curled up unconsciously. There was no sweet, obedient smile as he had imagined. Lu Min’s palm covered the boy’s trembling fingers with a dry, warm, and irresistible comforting strength.

“He has a steady job now, a clean environment, and a structured life. Is this not ten thousand times better than his past chaotic and dangerous life?”

It was indeed ten thousand times better. There was no violence, no debt, no alcoholism, and no coveting or selling his own son. On the surface, it looked like a perfect reformation. But seeing Ying Guiquan’s obviously vacant stare, and knowing the man should have been in a detention center but was instead sweeping streets in the freezing wind, Ying Yulian knew the truth. His brother must have pulled some strings.

This only made Ying Yulian’s heart heavier. His brother was so good to him, but as someone who had nothing, he had nothing to give in return. Ying Yulian’s lips twitched, and his voice was hoarse with the bitterness in his heart. “It is indeed better. But the teacher said that educating people like this is society’s responsibility, not yours, Brother. Have you been working so hard lately just to teach my father? Did you do this because of me? To me, as long as you are by my side, I am happy. You do not need to do these things for me.”

Though his lips were curved into a smile, Lu Min felt it was not sincere. He patted the youth’s shoulder and said with a smile, “It is all what a brother should do. Good boy, go to school.”

As Lu Min prepared to turn away, the boy’s arms suddenly wrapped around his neck. He was forced to lower his head. He was met first by the scent of the same body wash they both used, followed by a moist, soft sensation on his cheek.

Lu Min froze. He stunnedly brushed his fingertips over the spot where the boy’s lips had just lingered. In two lifetimes, the only things Lu Min’s body had ever accepted were the pain of a blade or the numbness of anesthesia. He had never felt this. It was like being nudged by a fluffy kitten’s wet nose, soft and harmless.

But Lu Min quickly frowned. This kind of excessive intimacy was incorrect. A kiss on the cheek might pass for a small child, but for a half-grown youth, the undertones were far too ambiguous. Lu Min decided to exercise his authority as an elder to teach this naive child not to give out sweet kisses so freely. After all, the world was full of people with ill intentions.

Yet, looking at the youth’s face, there was nothing but a sweet smile, utter sincerity, and a wild, animal-like innocence. There was no sexual intent at all.

“This kiss is my reward to you for these past few days,” Ying Yulian said, his eyes curving as he looked at Lu Min. “After all, besides this, everything I have was given to me by you. Besides you, I have nothing.”

Seeing those beautiful eyes clouded with a faint mist, as if the mist might condense into teardrops at any moment, Lu Min could only let out a helpless sigh.

“This is the last time,” Lu Min said.