The Sickly Double Doesn't Want to Be Spoiled - Chapter 20.1

Chapter 20.1

The sunset gradually slanted, and the bright, sun-drenched house finally took on some dark hues.

Lu Cong held Meng Yuan, feeling the boy’s back stop convulsing and trembling, as his sobbing gradually weakened.

It should be about enough now?

Lu Cong looked tentatively at the top of Meng Yuan’s head. Out of courtesy, he only loosely circled Meng Yuan’s waist without holding him too tight. Having maintained one position for so long, his arms had long since gone stiff.

But Meng Yuan didn’t react. He had clearly stopped crying long ago, but he just clung to him and wouldn’t get up, acting shamelessly for some reason.

After waiting a while, Lu Cong couldn’t help himself: “Meng Yuan, did you fall asleep again?”

Meng Yuan’s body stiffened. He wanted to shake his head but stopped; finally, he nodded lightly, his hair rubbing against Lu Cong’s neck.

Yes, he had fallen asleep.

Lu Cong almost laughed out of irritation: “Then are you sleepwalking right now?”

“Now that you’re done crying, get off me,” he pushed the boy’s head with a tensed jaw. “What kind of habit is this, acting shamelessly and demanding hugs? Am I your dad?”

Meng Yuan then got up. His movements were sluggish; he lowered his head and covered his face with both hands.

Lu Cong pulled at his wrist once but didn’t move it. He stopped forcing it but remained sharp-tongued: “What, too ashamed to see people?”

Meng Yuan gave a muffled “Mhm.”

In fact, he had woken up long ago roughly when Lu Cong was holding him and talking about how he would deal with those siblings. Because he was awake, it was embarrassing.

Thinking back carefully, he seemed to always be weeping in front of Lu Cong, even though he hadn’t been like this before. Meng Yuan admitted he was a bit weak, but he was also strong most of the time; he stood by his self-perception that he wouldn’t normally cry in front of others.

But lately… he didn’t know what was happening. It was probably just a nightmare. But it was truly embarrassing, and Meng Yuan didn’t want to face it for the moment.

Lu Cong crossed his arms and watched him with interest, as if intentionally teasing him. He stared at Meng Yuan without blinking until Meng Yuan curled back into a ball.

“Then should I go down first?” he finally relented. “You adjust yourself?”

“Can I?” Meng Yuan immediately looked up, then hurriedly covered his eyes, which were swollen like walnuts.

His eagerness was too obvious; for a second, he didn’t even catch his tone, appearing as if he had been waiting a long time. Lu Cong took this in and felt a bit disgruntled. After coaxing him for so long, the boy wanted to discard him the moment he turned around.

“Fine.” He stood up and patted his clothes. “I’ll give you ten minutes.” He turned and left.

Meng Yuan quietly lowered his hands and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he must look terrible right nownot pretty at all, with tears matting his hair to his face and his eyes swollen and painful. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this.

“By the way” Lu Cong suddenly turned back.

Meng Yuan reflexively covered his face again, then heard the man’s light chuckle.

“No need to hide,” Lu Cong said. “I saw that face long ago. Do your eyes hurt badly?”

Meng Yuan nodded hesitantly. How did he know? They actually hurt so much he could barely open them, especially the right eye; Meng Yuan was worried he had cried himself blind. He hadn’t expected Lu Cong to be quite observant, noticing even this.

“That’s because you have three eyelashes in your right eye.”

Meng Yuan: “?”

…

It took Meng Yuan over twenty minutes to get all three eyelashes out of his eye. It hurt like death! By the end, his conjunctiva was completely bloodshot, and the entire eye was swollen.

Meng Yuan applied some eye drops, but it was useless; he probably just had to wait for the swelling to subside naturally. He washed his face, thought about Lu Cong waiting downstairs, looked at his drafty “old man” tank top, and changed into more decent clothes before heading down.

The food was ready. Qin Qing was waiting for him in the dining room. Seeing him come down, she quickly signaled the aunties to bring the dishes to the table.

“Oh my, why are your eyes so red, Xiao Yuan?” As soon as she got close, Qin Qing noticed and asked nervously.

Mentioning it made Meng Yuan feel aggrieved: “Eyelashes fell in.” He held up his fingers: “Three of them!”

“So it was eyelashes,” Qin Qing breathed a sigh of relief, unable to stifle a laugh. “Okay, okay, it’s fine. I’ll get you some eye drops; they work very well.”

Meng Yuan nodded. “Okay, thank you, Sister Qin Qing.”

He sat at the table. As he brought a piece of food to his mouth, he realized something was missing. He looked around: “Where is Mr. Lu?”

“He left,” Qin Qing said. “Said some work suddenly came up and he went back to the company first.”

Meng Yuan’s chewing stopped: “So he didn’t eat?”

“He didn’t have time.” Qin Qing shrugged regretfully.

Meng Yuan put down his chopsticks, feeling guilty. He realized he was the one who had delayed the time; dinner was much later than usual today. If it hadn’t been for his sudden episode, Lu Cong would have had just enough time to finish dinner before going to the company.

“People are made of iron and rice is made of steel” how can one skip a meal? Meng Yuan felt uneasy, feeling like he had caused trouble for someone again. The food in his mouth no longer tasted good.

“Don’t worry, Xiao Yuan, he just isn’t eating at home,” Qin Qing said with a smile. “If he’s really hungry, he knows how to find food. Is he the type to mistreat himself?”

“I’m not worried” Meng Yuan started but stopped. He shook his head: “Never mind, Sister Qin Qing, you’re right.”

…

Lately, Qin Qing had become obsessed with buying clothes for Meng Yuan.

A new stylist had arrived at the house, specially chosen by Lu Cong. He had very good taste and dressed Meng Yuan beautifully every day. Qin Qing couldn’t contribute much to the styling, so she just kept buying and buying. Seeing her purchases styled into outfits and appearing randomly on Meng Yuan every day made her feel a sense of pride.

Today was no different. On a lazy afternoon, Meng Yuan sat on the second-floor terrace eating cake, idly watching the gardener downstairs planting a new row of flowers by the fence.

Qin Qing was in the room tidying his clothes. They were about to go on vacation to the South Pacific, and Qin Qing was carefully checking the luggage.

Occasionally, she would look up and see the beautiful boy sitting under the blue sky and white clouds. It was a feast for the eyes. Meng Yuan was wearing a custom royal blue silk shirt, ivory cotton-linen blend casual pants, and his house slippers, his slender ankles swinging back and forth.

The voices of the gardeners occasionally drifted up from below indistinct and intermittent but Meng Yuan watched them very seriously, propping up his head with his wrist bent at an extremely beautiful angle.

After watching for a while, he got bored and went inside to help the Qin Qing pack. He had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. It was his first time going abroad alone, taking a flight of over ten hours to a completely foreign country. The thought made him a bit nervous.

Strictly speaking, he wasn’t alone, as Qin Qing was accompanying him. Qin Qing was experienced in everything, and Meng Yuan trusted her completely. His heart felt a bit warm; beneath the nervousness, there was mostly anticipation.

“This set must be taken.” Meng Yuan pulled a set of clothes from the walk-in closet that the stylist had just coordinated and placed in a dust bag yesterday. “This set is especially beautiful; it will definitely make for great photos at the beach!”

“Right, right, there’s another set that’s also great,” Qin Qing chimed in. “Take it, take it, take them all! No matter what, I’m going to take several sets of ‘life photos’ (best photos of a lifetime) for you!”

Meng Yuan was excited: “Yay!”

Knock knock. Auntie Li knocked on the door: “Sister Qing.”

Meng Yuan looked up and greeted her happily: “Hello, Auntie Li.”

“Oh, hello Xiao Yuan,” Auntie Li smiled. “It’s so lively here.”

“Isn’t it?” Qin Qing said dotingly. “He’s going on a trip, so he’s incredibly excited Auntie Li, is there something?”

Auntie Li: “Nothing much, just letting you know I’m heading to the company to deliver a meal to President Lu.”

“Deliver a meal? Why did the big boss think of this today?” Qin Qing said curiously.

Although Lu Cong was picky, he mostly adhered to simplicity and efficiency, especially when it came to work. Usually, his three meals were ordered by Song Zhen and delivered on time; he almost never asked the house aunties for specific dishes to be delivered to the company. It was strange today.

Auntie Li: “Yes, I was thinking that too. But President Lu meant he wanted to eat the home-made fermented rice steamed fish slices. He didn’t get to eat it last time he came back, and the ones in restaurants aren’t good.”

Qin Qing remembered that last time Lu Cong came back for dinner, he had indeed ordered this dish, but ended up leaving early without tasting a bite.

“Alright,” she said to Auntie Li. “Go ahead. Drive safely.”

Meng Yuan: “Wait.”

He had been listening on the side, but now he suddenly spoke up.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Yuan?” Qin Qing looked at him gently.

“I’ll deliver it,” Meng Yuan said.

Last time Lu Cong missed his meal because of him. He thought the matter had passed, but he hadn’t expected Lu Cong to still be thinking about that bite of food. Meng Yuan suddenly felt uneasy again, feeling like he should do something.

“Xiao Yuan, with your body, don’t toss and turn” Qin Qing blurted out, but before she could finish, someone nudged her elbow.

Auntie Li winked at her.

Qin Qing froze for a second, then suddenly realized. The words in her mouth immediately pivoted: “This that’s great!” She laughed: “Great, great! It’s best if you’re willing to go, Xiao Yuan.”

“Hurry, where’s the driver?” She started organizing things as if afraid Meng Yuan would suddenly regret it. “Prepare the car, prepare the car!”

Meng Yuan: “?” It was his first time seeing Qin Qing so enthusiastically.

Three minutes later, he was packed into the car, holding a thermal bag in his arms. The way Qin Qing looked at him was as if he were a gift box tied with a silk ribbon, smiling and waving goodbye.

Meng Yuan: “.” Dazed.

Amidst the lush greenery, Qin Qing and Auntie Li stood side-by-side, watching the receding tail of the car with smiles filling their eyes.

“So good,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Xiao Yuan has grown up; he knows how to care for people.”

“Yes,” Auntie Li sighed. “So good.”

…

Bang!

The office door was pushed open. Song Zhen walked in hurriedly, uncharacteristically lacking his usual composure.

“Boss.”

Lu Cong frowned, not even looking up: “Why are you so flustered?”

“Sorry,” Song Zhen swallowed, steadying his breath. “Sister Qing just called. She said Young Master Meng is on his way here.”

You couldn’t blame him for being flustered. He had been with Lu Cong for years and had seen his share of big storms; there was basically nothing left that could make him lose his composure. But no matter how battle-hardened one is, there are always areas left unguarded. For example: a “surprise inspection” by the wife.

To some extent, Lu Cong was a rather mundane person who scoffed at love and only liked the thrill brought by power and money. While other bosses’ assistants were experts at handling various “entanglements,” this was a first for Song Zhen.

The hand Lu Cong was holding the pen with paused. He finally looked up from the documents: “What is he running here?”

This fellow really doesn’t let a single day be peaceful. Lu Cong remembered him as a rather lazy kid he loved going out but got tired easily, needing the driver to carry him everywhere; he was very high-maintenance. Why did he think of coming here today? Lu Cong didn’t believe his work would hold any fatal attraction for that child.

“Supposedly, he’s here to bring you dinner,” Song Zhen said solemnly. He knew this was an excuse! Every wife on a surprise inspection uses this same reason. Even if Song Zhen “hadn’t eaten pork, he’d seen a pig run” (hadn’t experienced it, but had seen it). Meng Yuan was finally starting to exercise his rights as a wife.

“Boss,” Song Zhen said, standing ready. “I suspect… no, I’m certain, he must be here for a surprise inspection.”

Lu Cong: “…”

“I’ll clear the area right now,” Song Zhen said. “Don’t worry, I’ll instruct everyone upstairs and downstairs not to let anyone run their mouths.”

“What are you instructing them on?” Lu Cong asked him.

Song Zhen: “?”

“I’m asking what you’re instructing them on?”

“Just…” Song Zhen pondered. “Tell them to keep their mouths shut and not say what shouldn’t be said?”

Lu Cong sighed and scratched his temple. “Is there anything that can’t be said? I act upright and sit straight. Is there anything I’m afraid of him knowing?”

Song Zhen thought about it and realized it was true. His boss, if nothing else, had a very clean private life.

The air suddenly went silent. Lu Cong waved his hand irritably: “Get out.”

Song Zhen scurried out.

The office desk was a mess, with leftover coffee cups, mountains of documents, and scattered A4 papers. Lu Cong didn’t like people coming in to tidy up while he worked, so after a whole day, these things were still sitting on the desk exactly as they were.

He instinctively moved to tidy up, his hand picking up the coffee cup, but after pausing a moment, he put it back. What is there to tidy? It’s not a big deal.

He leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms casually, recalling Song Zhen’s words.

“Surprise inspection?”

Heh.

…

The car door opened. Song Zhen shielded the roof of the car as he welcomed Meng Yuan out, taking the thermal bag from his hand. “You’re here. The Boss is already upstairs waiting for you.”

Meng Yuan smiled and thanked him, then suddenly asked: “You knew I was coming?”

Song Zhen had a non-obvious stall for a second, then immediately followed with a smile: “Just got the news, so I hurried down to receive you. Sorry for the wait.”

“No, no,” Meng Yuan waved his hand. “I just arrived too. Your timing is perfect.” He had just mentioned it in passing and hadn’t thought much of it; he quickly put it out of mind and followed Song Zhen into the company.

The group building was built so magnificently a towering structure with cold, hard walls. The glass of the entire building was one-way visible, reflecting the scorching light of the sun. The air conditioning inside was set very low, a faint cold fragrance floated in the air, and the flooring was a uniform, cold tone.

Meng Yuan didn’t make a sound, glancing around with his peripheral vision as he walked.

Strange, this company is so quiet. In his previous life when he delivered food, he often delivered to white-collar workers in these office buildings, but those companies were very noisy; as soon as you walked in, you heard phone rings rising and falling amidst various perfume scents.

But here, surprisingly, no one was making calls. Everyone was buried in their work, and from start to finish, not a single person even glanced toward him.

Their salaries must be very high, Meng Yuan thought, curiously craning his neck. Even when gossip was served to their mouths, they remained as still as water.

Song Zhen used a card to swipe open the private elevator and made a gesture: “Young Master Meng, please.”

Meng Yuan retracted his gaze and smiled at Song Zhen: “Thank you.”

He stepped into the elevator and let out a breath. Truly a big company.

The elevator doors closed and it ascended, completely cutting off the sounds from outside. Song Zhen also let out a non-detectable sigh of relief.

At the same instant, the entire floor completely lost its composure and broke into intense gossip.

“F*ck, that nearly killed me!”

“I’ve never been this refined in my life. Do you know how hard it was to pretend I was working seriously?”

“I finished my performance by pinching my thigh!”

“Was that the young master of the Meng family? Damn, I didn’t see what he looked like clearly.”

“I saw him. He’s quite good-looking, a very well-behaved kid.”

“Didn’t they say he was a troublemaker? Why did I think he looked quite elegant, very quiet…”

“Back then he was dying and refusing the marriage alliance; how long has it been, and he’s personally delivering a ‘love bento’?”

“President Lu actually has a wife delivering meals. So eerie…”

“A man who can make an annual meeting as boring as the Spring Festival Gala can actually have a wife. So eerie!”

Amidst the eerie silence, Meng Yuan arrived at the door of Lu Cong’s office.

Song Zhen knocked. After receiving a neither-light-nor-heavy “Enter” from inside, he pushed the door open and led Meng Yuan in.

“Boss, Young Master Meng has arrived.”

His tongue tied as he stared in shock at the brand-new-looking office desk. The documents were organized, the messy A4 papers were all thrown in the trash, and even the coffee cups had been washed and hung up in neat rows. Who was that person who didn’t care just now? Song Zhen thought he was having a hallucination.

Lu Cong responded casually: “You can go.”

“Alright.” Song Zhen bowed, handed the thermal bag to Meng Yuan, then nodded to Meng Yuan and walked out of the office, gently closing the door.

Meng Yuan held the bag and took two steps closer to Lu Cong. Lu Cong was focusing on work, so he didn’t disturb him and waited quietly for a bit.

At the same time, he took a look at Lu Cong’s working environment. Like an android’s residence. How could someone’s office not even have a single scrap of paper? Meng Yuan’s eyes shook with unease.

Lu Cong finished the page he was reading, wrote a few notes, then capped his pen and looked up: “Don’t just stand there. Sit.”

He stood up and led Meng Yuan to the lounge area to sit, pouring a glass of hot water for him: “The place is a bit messy, don’t mind it.”

“Ah?” Meng Yuan was shocked. “No, it’s very clean.”

This office was so tidy it bordered on obsessive-compulsive disorder. Meng Yuan was worried that if he sat on the sofa, the wrinkles he made would break the balance of the room. And Lu Cong actually said it was messy.

“Mr. Lu, you really love tidiness,” Meng Yuan said sincerely.

The corner of Lu Cong’s mouth tilted up, then he pressed it down, saying indifferently: “It’s just what a normal person should maintain daily.”

Meng Yuan: “Wow.” Then I am indeed extraordinary.

“What made you think of coming here today?” Lu Cong sat across from him.

Meng Yuan took the containers out one by one: “Auntie Li said she was coming to deliver food to you. I had nothing to do anyway, so I ran the errand for her.”

“Is that so?” Lu Cong’s brow twitched. He non-committally gave a playful smile.

Meng Yuan looked at his expression and didn’t understand at first, but in a certain moment, he suddenly had an epiphany.

“I didn’t come here on purpose to check on you or anything!” he said hurriedly. “I just… I…” Meng Yuan hesitated. To say “sorry” felt too serious; to say “thank you” felt a bit hard to say and embarrassing. He made himself flush red for a moment. “Anyway, I’m not here for a surprise inspection.”

After saying it, he reflected and felt it sounded even stranger. Meng Yuan lowered his head again.

Lu Cong didn’t speak. He stared at his bright red ears for a while, then his gaze landed on Meng Yuan. The clothes coordinated by the stylist suited Meng Yuan’s temperament perfectly. The shirt sleeves were rolled up slightly, a button was left open at the collar, and even the wrinkles where his shoulders filled the fabric were quite elegant.

Lu Cong hadn’t thought before that Meng Yuan would look so good in this blue. He couldn’t help but admire it quietly for a while, thinking that the stylist was truly a good hire. He even involuntarily thought about the recently released fashion lines which ones would suit Meng Yuan? He’d have the stylist buy them all back and coordinate a different look for Meng Yuan every day.

A beautiful child should dress beautifully.

Feeling better, Lu Cong didn’t bother to pursue exactly why Meng Yuan had come. He picked up the chopsticks and asked him: “Are you eating?”

Meng Yuan’s attention was indeed drawn. “I’m not eating,” he said, while pushing the dishes closer to Lu Cong. “I ate a cake before leaving, I’m not hungry yet.”

His eyes blinked at Lu Cong, as if silently conveying, “You must finish it all, don’t waste it~”

Lu Cong: “.” For some reason, he always felt that whenever Meng Yuan mentioned food, he had a stubborn streak; he even spoke word by word, which was a bit funny and a bit fun.

He followed the topic: “What kind of cake?”

“Strawberry cake!” Meng Yuan was very happy. But seeing Lu Cong’s suddenly furrowed brows, he hurriedly added: “Strawberry-flavored. I only had a taste.”

“You still have to be careful,” Lu Cong said seriously. “Some cakes claim to be just flavorings, but occasionally there’s real jam inside. Your allergy is very severe.”

Meng Yuan nodded repeatedly. “I know. Sister Qin Qing checked it carefully before I ate it. There won’t be another incident.” He knew that the last time he ate strawberries, it caused a huge mess; he nearly died from strawberry poisoning, and after barely regaining his life, he was nearly strangled to death by a furious Lu Cong.

Meng Yuan felt lingering fear just thinking about it. He sat up straight, hands placed obediently on his knees, head slightly lowered like a child being lectured.

“I’m not scolding you,” Lu Cong sighed. “Anyway, it’s your own body. You know best; I don’t need to say more.”

“Mhm,” Meng Yuan responded.

“Relax a bit.”

So, Meng Yuan leaned back into the sofa, sprawling out in a “star” shape.

Lu Cong: “…”

Meng Yuan blinked, staring blankly at the ceiling: “Can I sleep for a bit?”

Lu Cong: “?”

“You eat slowly. When you’re finished, I’ll be awake. Then I’ll tidy up the dishes to take back. Don’t worry… I’ll do the work.”

As Meng Yuan spoke, his speed slowed, as if he were holding his last breath waiting for Lu Cong’s response.

Lu Cong had an indescribable look on his face. Are you sure you can even wake up? In the end, wouldn’t it be Lu Cong himself tidying the dishes and then carrying this “ancestor” (honored guest/troublemaker) back from the sofa? What work could Meng Yuan do?

The words in his mouth turned into a sigh. Lu Cong waved his hand: “Sleep, sleep, sleep.”

Meng Yuan nodded: “Okay. Please give me a blanket. The temperature in your office is too low; I might catch a cold.”

Lu Cong: “?” A piece of food stayed in his mouth three times and still wasn’t eaten.

Is this fellow getting revenge? He just made him turn off the lights once; is he this spiteful?

However, Meng Yuan had already fallen asleep. Seeing his breathing stabilize, the answer could not be known. His lips were a bit white, his fingertips lacked color, and there always seemed to be a faint blue under his eyes, as if he weren’t sleeping well.

He sleeps all the time like this, and he still isn’t sleeping well?

Lu Cong watched him for quite a while. Finally, he put down his chopsticks, went to find an unused blanket, and spread it over Meng Yuan. After sitting back down, he thought for a moment and raised the indoor temperature.

After ensuring nothing else could affect that “ancestor,” Lu Cong finally ate his first bite of food.

…

Meng Yuan slept until the sky turned dark. When they arrived it was afternoon with a clear sky, but in the blink of an eye, twilight had fallen. Lu Cong finished his last meeting and returned to the office; Meng Yuan was still lying on the sofa.

He’s been sleeping too long.

Song Zhen followed Lu Cong into the office and was also surprised to see this. Lu Cong quickened his pace, stopped beside Meng Yuan, paused, then leaned down and gently patted his shoulder.

The person on the sofa gave no reaction. The blanket was wrapped very tightly. Lu Cong pulled the blanket back; Meng Yuan’s mouth was closed tight, his breathing was very light, and his chest showed almost no movement. His complexion was as pale as ever, appearing extremely lacking in vitality.

So quiet. Too quiet. It was so quiet it caused a sudden, groundless panic.

Song Zhen, standing less than a meter behind Lu Cong, suddenly saw Lu Cong’s back stiffen, and then he crouched down. As if possessed, Lu Cong extended his finger and placed it in front of Meng Yuan’s nose and mouth.

Is he checking for breath? Song Zhen opened his mouth in shock.

A moment later, Lu Cong’s tensed shoulders and back relaxed. A shallow breath brushed against his hand. Lu Cong breathed a sigh of relief, not understanding why he had made that move. But his back had truly broken into a sweat.

Lu Cong stared blankly at his own hand for a while.

“Boss?” Song Zhen called him cautiously.

Lu Cong snapped out of it, seeing the terrified look in his subordinate’s eyes.

“Is he… is Young Master Meng alright?” Song Zhen stammered.

“He’s fine.” Lu Cong sat up, his expression returning to normal, as if the momentary tension just now was entirely Song Zhen’s hallucination. “Have the driver be downstairs in ten minutes,” he said.

“Alright.” Song Zhen accepted and turned to leave.