Time Has Grown Dim, And Evening Has Already Fallen - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When Cheng Xun first met Lu Xingshu, he was carrying the distinct scent of grease and smoke from the small noodle shop—it wasn’t a particularly pleasant smell.

In the cramped, narrow living room, he was caught off guard, locking eyes with the boy’s long, narrow, and beautiful eyes. Before he could even begin to decipher the emotions hidden within them, Cheng Xun looked away, feeling a flash of discomfort.

Truth be told, he wasn’t used to making eye contact with people.

He quickly regained his usual composure, tugging the corners of his mouth into a slight curve as he smiled and greeted Grandma.

Grandma was a kind-faced old lady. Her expression brightened, and she urged the two of them to introduce themselves.

“Hello, I’m Cheng Xun.”

His voice was a bit raspy, currently in that unique vocal transition period of adolescence. He gave the person standing before him a polite smile. When he smiled, his eyes crinkled into crescents, making it easy for people to take a liking to him.

The boy standing opposite him was very tall. He cast a downward glance at Cheng Xun, his features clean and elegant, though the heavy dark circles under his eyes gave him a somewhat gloomy air.

“Lu Xingshu.” His voice was low, magnetic, and surprisingly gentle.

His expression remained unchanged—the slight droop at the corners of his eyes paired with his cold demeanor made him look both innocent and aloof. It was a complete contradiction.

A bit taller than me, Cheng Xun thought privately, a small spark of secret joy rising in his chest. Thankfully, only by a few centimeters.

He tugged at the hem of his black T-shirt and turned back to Grandma. “Grandma, I’m going to take a shower first.”

Grandma quickly stopped him. “Xiao Xun, eat something first.”

Cheng Xun nodded and didn’t refuse, turning to head downstairs.

It was already late by the time he returned from helping out at the noodle shop. Usually, Grandma would finish her dinner first and leave his portion ready for him.

Cheng Xun ate quickly downstairs, then headed back up to the second floor to shower. He didn’t turn on the water heater; instead, he chose to shower in cold water to wash away the stifling midsummer heat.

After finishing, he tossed his dirty clothes into the hamper, planning to throw everything into the washing machine before bed.

He wore a loose cotton T-shirt and comfortable athletic shorts as pajamas. He towel-dried his hair until it was damp, ran his fingers through it a couple of times, and walked out of the bathroom.

The household used “Seven Spirits” body wash—the giant, bulk-sized bottles. It was economical and practical.

As the bathroom door opened, a faint lime scent escaped, and the surrounding air felt as though it had been saturated with mist.

Lu Xingshu was busy organizing the luggage piled up in the living room. Hearing the door, he lifted his eyelids to glance toward the sound.

Cheng Xun’s skin was very fair, and he emerged from the shower carrying a light trail of steam. Dark short hair, thin red lips, and delicate features—looking at him now, it was clear he had been a good-looking child. He didn’t look like the kind of kid someone would just abandon.

Cheng Xun had been picked up by Lu Xingshu’s grandmother.

He was at most ten years old when she found him. His head was injured, and he remembered nothing except his own name. His exact birthday was unknown, and even his age was just Grandma’s best estimate. In the end, they simply and crudely set the day he was found as his birthday.

Six or seven years had passed since then.

During this time, Lu Xingshu had never met Cheng Xun. Or rather, in all those years, the number of times he had even seen his grandmother could be counted on one hand.

While Lu’s mother was still alive, she and Grandma had a falling out over her choice of husband—Lu’s father. Grandma hadn’t approved of the marriage, maintaining a cold attitude and seemingly convinced that Lu’s father wasn’t a man who could settle down. The cold war between mother and daughter only slightly thawed after Lu Xingshu was born.

As it turned out, Grandma’s intuition was correct.

Later, due to various incidents, the two families cut ties completely. If not for the recent tragedies, Lu Xingshu would never have been brought back by his grandmother.

He was lost in thought until Cheng Xun called out to him.

Do you want to shower? Cheng Xun ran a hand through his medium-length hair, walking over as if intending to help him unpack.

Lu Xingshu’s eyes darkened slightly. “Not for now,” he said.

Cheng Xun nodded. “Oh.”

Grandma’s voice drifted up from downstairs, urging them both to come down for watermelon. The watermelon had been sliced the night before; half was eaten then, and the other half had been wrapped in plastic and chilled in the fridge. In this sweltering weather, cold watermelon was the perfect way to beat the heat.

Cheng Xun looked at the luggage scattered across the floor and glanced at Lu Xingshu. “Hey, let’s finish the watermelon before coming back to organize.”

Lu Xingshu nodded and didn’t refuse.

The two went downstairs one after the other. Grandma had already placed the sliced watermelon on a fruit platter. The pedestal fan whirred loudly, blowing air around, but even though night had fallen, the weather remained humid and stifling.

“Eat first. Grandma will help you unpack afterward,” she said, looking at her grandson with a smile.

Though they hadn’t seen each other in years and Lu Xingshu’s personality was vastly different from when he was a child, seeing his face—which so closely resembled his mother’s—filled Grandma with a sense of sorrow and nostalgia.

“I can do it myself,” Lu Xingshu said, picking up a piece of chilled watermelon and taking a bite.

Seeing them both eating, Grandma started talking about school. Lu Xingshu seemed somewhat preoccupied. Seeing his state, Grandma didn’t say much, only sighing silently in her heart, thinking of the boy’s hard life.

Grandma had raised Lu Xingshu’s mother alone. His short-lived grandfather had been working as a laborer, moving rocks, when he was accidentally crushed by a falling boulder. He died instantly. With the main breadwinner gone, life was difficult for the widow and her daughter, but Grandma had struggled through the bitterness to raise her.

She was good in every way, except that years of hardship had made her a bit too forceful. This included her daughter’s marriage; she wanted to keep it within a controllable range. Unfortunately, Lu’s mother was also a woman of strong conviction. Once she decided on Lu’s father, she followed that path to the end, regardless of Grandma’s warnings.

Lu’s mother never told Grandma about the complications she faced during Lu Xingshu’s birth; her health had been severely compromised. By the time Grandma found out, it was too late.

Grandma was already heartbroken over losing her daughter, only to hear within a year that Lu’s father had remarried  to his secretary, no less. Furious, Grandma had a massive confrontation with them and severed all contact. As much as she missed her grandson, she never reached out to the Lu family again.

Lu Xingshu lost his mother at a young age, and his father married a young stepmother. They soon had their own child, and his position in the house became increasingly delicate. His personality shift was tied to these events.

Regardless, life went on. Lu’s father ran a tech company, so at the very least, Lu Xingshu was never neglected in terms of money. He didn’t get along particularly well with his stepmother or younger brother; though they were distant, they maintained a surface-level politeness.

When Lu Xingshu attended the Provincial Experimental High School, skipping class, fighting, and spending time at internet cafes were common occurrences. He was the kind of student who gave teachers headaches. Yet, when it came to academics, he never lagged behind—he was the one thing his father didn’t have to worry about.

There are always people like that extremes. He seemed to obtain without effort what many others struggled for. He was uniquely blessed.

So, when the Lu family collapsed, there was no shortage of people waiting to see them fail.

Lu’s father had put up a perfect front. He never told his family that his company was facing massive financing issues, eventually reaching a point where debts exceeded assets. His stay-at-home wife and young son knew nothing.

When the news of Lu’s father jumping from the company rooftop reached home, it was a bolt from the blue for everyone. Reality struck them with a heavy blow, leaving no time for shock.

During that period, debt collectors, media personnel, and relatives appeared in Lu Xingshu’s life in a chaotic blur, but none of them brought genuine concern. He became even more silent, his elegant face hiding a cold, sharp edge.

The school used his excessive absences as a “friendly” excuse to have him take a leave of absence. A top-tier school like Provincial Experimental wasn’t short on high-scoring students, and he was far too hot-headed and out of line.

In the end, the stepmother shed her usual fragile persona and numbly handled everything. The funeral, the debts, the troublesome relatives the family properties were sold one by one to repay creditors. She decided to take the younger brother back to her hometown, leaving this city forever.

In that moment, no one knew better than they did that they were essentially strangers.

Lu’s paternal grandparents were long gone, and his relatives, wanting no part of the mess, turned a blind eye to him. Finally, it was the grandmother who hadn’t been in touch for years who asked around through a wide circle of relatives and eventually found him.

He spent his days in internet cafes playing games and only returned to a hostel at night. His luggage from the Lu house sat haphazardly on the floor, as if he didn’t care if it was stolen.

Lu Xingshu wore headphones, his thin lips set in a graceful curve. His prominent brow bone and straight nose gave him an aura that stood out starkly among the crowd of gaming addicts.

Grandma’s presence in that run-down internet cafe was equally out of place. Amidst the haze of cigarette smoke, Lu Xingshu finished a game and looked up to see the old lady standing before him. She looked awkward, her face full of worry.

With one look, he recognized her, even though they hadn’t met in years.

Grandma didn’t scold him for being at the cafe. She simply smiled and said, “Xiao Shu, come home with Grandma.”

They returned to her hometown, C-County, that same day. The small county felt completely different from S-City. Lu Xingshu remained silent for most of the journey.

Perhaps to cheer him up, or perhaps because she wanted something to talk about, Grandma brought up Cheng Xun. She said she had found him in a bridge culvert near the riverbank below the highway. The teenage boy was unconscious. At the hospital, the doctor said he had lost his memories due to a concussion.

He knew nothing, only remembering that his name was Cheng Xun. Grandma had initially wanted to send him to the county orphanage, but they refused to take him in.