Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 35: Going Home

Lu Qi stared at her for a while and did not immediately reply with an answer.
It wasn’t until Lu Yuan became nervous from his staring that he finally said, 

“You already know this person.”

“I already know?”

A woman’s intuition is sometimes very sensitive.
Lu Yuan narrowed her eyes, weirdly feeling a bit uneasy.
She quickly tried to recall every female about the same age as Lu Qi that she knew and realized that none of them were quite possible.
In the end, she lightly pushed him, 

“Ack, don’t play riddles with me.
Tell me quickly.
I can’t guess who.”

Lu Qi did not speak and only looked at her with his dark eyes before lifting his hand to point at the neighbouring room.

Lu Yuan: “……The room beside us???”

She looked deep in thought as her brain zoomed with that information, going down deeper and deeper, until her entire world was tilting on the edge of destruction.
But she still held on to a sliver of hope and forcefully plastered on a smile, asking, 

“……The nurse next door?”

Lu Qi shook his head, 

“The patient.”

Patient? Then wasn’t that……

Lu Yuan lost her voice screaming out,

“Huo Ming Chen–?!!!!”

“Shh–“

Lu Qi lightly lowered his eyes and placed his finger on his lips, signalling for her to quiet down.
But in the next second, Lu Yuan flew straight towards him like a rocket, dragging him up by his shirt collar, 

“Motherfucking shh! Did your brain get stuck in the door and a donkey kicked it?! What kind of next level joke are you making at this time? It’s not even a little bit funny!!”

Lu Qi used a little force to push her hands off of him, 

“I never joke about these kinds of issues, and also, my mom is your mom.”

Lu Yuan of course knew that he would not joke about these kinds of things, but she was going out of her mind because she did know.
She grasped onto the wall, as if this chain of events gave her too many punches that she felt a bit dizzy.
Lu Qi wanted to go help her up but instead was pointed at and got scolded, 

“Lie there and don’t even think about coming over.”

Lu Yuan pointed at him, poking at the air with force a few times, 

“Lu Qi, you are dead for certain.
You came here to not study like a good boy, and instead started to play this homosexual game with someone.
I asked before why you and that wealthy prince Huo Ming Chen had such a good relationship, and it was because…… because……”

She thought for a while but did not know what kind of words could describe this, and so she could only inhale a deep breath before laughing coldly, 

“I don’t care about your stupidity! You don’t care about anything except for money, relying on that face of yours having some attractiveness to ruin other people’s lives.
I’m going to call mom right now and let her take care of you!”

A family knows each other well.
Lu Yuan would not believe, did not believe that Lu Qi could like someone out of the pureness of his heart.
It was most likely yet another poor soul that had been played, running around chasing their own tail in Lu Qi’s web of deceit and lies.

Lu Yuan stumbled out of the hospital room in her high heels.
The first step she took she felt like she was wobbling and in danger of falling.
She could only lean against the wall by herself and take deep breaths, trying her best to control her feelings.
She would never have been able to expect that at this time, the door next door would suddenly open and Huo Ming Cheng would walk out of there and the two would meet up in this coincidence.

Four eyes stared at each other with a weird lingering sense of embarrassment and shame floating in the air.

The two of them were both pale white, looking quite sick, as if they suffered something that shocked their systems.
Anger was tinted with disbelief, and in their expressions, it looked like their hearts had crumbled to ash in despair.

Lu Yuan almost didn’t react to seeing Huo Ming Cheng.
Huo Ming Cheng was also shocked at seeing her as he still did not know that she and Lu Qi were sister and brother.
He pushed up his glasses and said in a voice tinged with tiredness, 

“Why are you here?”

Lu Yuan subconsciously straightened her body, but her brain was still dazed.
Her face was a pale white as her mouth opened and closed, but she could not find an excuse.
In the end, she spitted out some words with great difficulty, 

“I came…… I came to quit……”

After this kind of coincidence, she probably would not be able to work at the company any longer.

Handling matters like these should be the responsibility of the human resource department.
There was no need to come so far away to the hospital, but Huo Ming Cheng did not immediately think of that as he subconsciously furrowed his eyebrows, 

“Why do you want to quit?”

Because my brother and your brother are gay for each other……

Lu Yuan looked at him, but she couldn’t really say that out loud.
In the end, she could only cover it up and lower her head, vaguely saying something as an excuse as she shook her head, 

“I’ve some urgent family matters, and I need to hurry back so……”

Hearing this, Huo Ming Cheng became contemplative, 

“I see.
That’s not a big deal.
There’s no need to hand in your resignation.
When I head back, I’ll let Secretary Lee know, and you can apply for as many days off as you need.
That position will be kept open for you.”

Huo Ming Cheng has always remembered in his heart that Lu Yuan saved his life.
This little lady does not look very old, but she can do things with good judgment and is quick on her feet.
As long as it was in his power to help out, a little thing like this wasn’t such a big deal.

The more he was like this the more guilty Lu Yuan felt.
She immediately nodded her head and didn’t dare to speak anymore, thinking to herself that once Huo Ming Cheng returns to his normal self, he would probably be firing her instead of her handing in her resignation.

Huo Ming Cheng dialed a number to call someone, which sounded like he was finishing up some logistics for a hospital transfer.
The moment he left, a few black suited bodyguards went to guard the room entrance, drawing a lot of attention over.

Seeing this Lu Yuan bit her bottom lip on the inside of her mouth and walked down by herself to the bottom floor, to a place with more privacy and less people.
She prepared to call Mama Lu by the courtyard with many decorative flowers, but her hand trembled for a long while and she couldn’t dial the number at all.

She dropped her head into her hands, dispirited.
She sat there for who knows how long until she felt a weird touch by her shoulders, as if someone covered her with a jacket.
Lu Yuan opened her eyes and saw Lu Qi standing right in front of her.

“You’re not cold here sitting by yourself?”

Taking a seat beside her, Lu Qi became silent and looked out into the trees swaying in the dark with his mind flying elsewhere.
Lu Yuan heart softened when she saw him like that and couldn’t stop the urge to warn him, 

“I haven’t told mom yet.
I’ll give you three days.
Immediately break up and don’t go ruining someone else’s life.”

Lu Qi crossed his legs and lowered his head to pat off dust on his pants, 

“How do you know that I must be ruining someone’s life?”

“Didn’t you get together with him because he’s rich? When you have deceived him long enough to get all that you want into your hands, that person will have no more value to you anymore.”

Lu Yuan widened her eyes, eyes bright to the point of being frightening in the dark night.
Her chest was heaving unevenly, but her intuition was still viciously spot on.
If Lu Qi did not get this second chance at life, that was basically what happened to Huo Ming Chen in his previous life.

Indeed, Lu Yuan was not wrong.
There was no way Lu Qi’s heart would be this easily broken into, but what she didn’t know, what she couldn’t have ever known, was that that person had used the entirety of two lifetimes to do so.

Lu Qi didn’t know why but he laughed out loud.
He patted his knees and sighed after heaving an “ack” out.
He stared at the night sky and the faint outline of the curved moon, as if that stare could suddenly see through time, going back to his first life.

He held onto his chin, ruminating on some past memories but then thought that it was unnecessary.
Humans must always look forward, always be walking forward.

Lu Qi reached out to ruffle Lu Yuan’s hair.
His hands were ice cold, and within a second, a cold breeze flowed through her hair and Lu Yuan couldn’t help but shiver.
She heard him say, 

“Maybe in the past, but this time, it’s really not.”

A second chance.
He now fundamentally knows what he really wants and desires.
Money is still important, but it is not the number one in his heart anymore.

Lu Yuan did not believe it but remained silent.

Lu Qi continued to speak, 

“I also thought that this kind of thing was quite out of the ordinary and unbelievable.
Not even talking about you, I, myself can’t believe it…… But there are some times where it is fated in your life.
Going in circles at different points in time, whatever you owe someone, it’s destined to be returned.
This is, in some essence, the rule that humans live by.”

Last life, Huo Ming Chen lost.
This life, he’s the one who lost.
Pretty fair.

There was no need to lie to her.
Lu Yuan’s shoulders shook for a moment but in the end she was still unable to accept it.
She stared at the floor, and a pale beam of moonlight shone on the tip of her high heels, showing a glimmer of colour in the dark.
After a long pause, she muttered out in defeat, 

“I don’t hope for you guys to be together.
This road is too difficult to go down……”

Won’t be recognized by the world, won’t be understood by family.

One corner of Lu Qi’s mouth tugged up.
His youthful face was reminiscent of the gentlest jade.
At this moment, all his thoughts have left, leaving only weighted words in their absence, 

“The world has many difficult roads.
If there is one day that you find someone that can accompany you and walk down this road with you, then you don’t think it’s difficult anymore.
You’re still young right now, so you don’t understand.
But you will one day.”

Lu Yuan lifted her head to look at him, showing a rare bit of childishness, 

“It’s not that I don’t understand.
It’s just that I haven’t met that person who could make me like them yet.”

After she said that, she stood up and threw the jacket back at Lu Qi, 

“From the time you were born, your brain has always been filled with nothing but schemes.
It’s always you making others suffer and never someone else making you eat a loss.
Your heart is set on a path, and I know I can’t change it.
I don’t want to be involved at all right now…… I’m going to tell the truth as it is to mom, and I will definitely and absolutely not help you.
Take care of yourself as you’re going to be on your own for this.”

Lu Yuan took a deep look at him and desperately hoped to see him say something about regretting it, but unfortunately she was only met with silence.
She could only pursed her lips and turn around, leaving with her bag in hand.

The same kind of thing happening to different people will have a different kind of choice being made, because everyone’s status and environment is different.
In the case of Huo Ming Cheng, he was unable to leave so cleanly and cut his brother out of his life like Lu Yuan did.

“My leg’s broken.
Leave the hospital? Leave what hospital? Are you thinking that I’m not dying fast enough?”

Huo Ming Chen sat on his hospital bed, full of anger as he scanned over the bodyguards in front of him with a fake smile.
Staring at them until their backs grew cold.

“Er-Shao, these are the orders from the chairman, he said…… he said your injuries won’t kill you and the doctors said it was not serious.
If you were unluckily crippled, the Huo family could still take care for you for the rest of your life.”

The guards resisted his ice cold stare and swallowed down their saliva, thinking at least they did their job in doing what they were told.

The company was now one big mess, and there were a lot of things waiting for Huo Ming Cheng to smooth over.
He was way too busy, so busy that he had headaches everyday and didn’t even have the time to care about his own blood related brother coming out of the closet.
Huo Ming Chen also did not want to bother him at this time, to create even more trouble, but he did not want to obediently follow his brother’s orders and be confined at home.

Huo Ming Chen thought about it and conducted a plan inside his heart.
He became weirdly accommodating and did not fight back.
He was very silent, not muttering another complaint and even obediently sat in the car during the ride back to the Huo family home, much to the disbelief of the two bodyguards.

“Turn left in the upcoming intersection, to Tourmaline Bay.”

Huo Ming Chen sat in the back seat and ordered them with such coldness that it made the bodyguards up front shiver to the point where their organs were shivering as well, 

“That road is not the right way…..
What will you do there?”

Huo Ming Chen’s eyes turned to scan the bodyguards from head to toe, and he narrowed his eyes before sharply asking, 

“What’s the point of asking so many questions? My brother only let you pick me up from the hospital.
Don’t bother with things that don’t concern you.
What are you going to do about the fact that my house is near the ocean?”

The moment the bodyguards heard his words, they knew that he was causing trouble and subconsciously wanted to press down on the brakes.
As if Huo Ming Chen could hear their thoughts, he gravely said, “You dare try to stop me?”

Can’t disobey the big one, can’t disobey the small one.
The hearts of the bodyguards were in pain and could only listen to him and drive the car to Tourmaline Bay.
Huo Ming Chen didn’t let them help him and got out of the car by himself using a pair of crutches.
The exact picture of a sick patient, but somehow also very mean and arrogant, just like a useless second generation wealthy son.

The bodyguards sat in the car, not daring to follow him.
Once they saw him leaving, they quickly pulled out their phones, wanting to send a message to Huo Ming Cheng.
But at this exact moment, there was a knock on the window and they looked up to see Huo Ming Chen by their window.

Bodyguards: “!!!”

Huo Ming Chen: “Give back my cellphone.
I know you have it.”

One of the bodyguards hesitated and then rolled down the window a little bit, using that tiny opening to pass him the cellphone.

Huo Ming Chen bent down, eyes flashing in warning and using his finger to poke at them through the window, 

“You two better keep your mouths shut tight.
Don’t say what you don’t need to say.”

Although Huo Ming Cheng would be able to investigate and find this place sooner or later, it was two different things for Huo Ming Cheng to investigate himself versus someone making a report behind his back.
Huo Ming Chen hated being betrayed by someone the most and it was only after seeing the bodyguards nod their heads in acknowledgement that he snorted coldly and then walked into the condo complex with his crutches. 

The first thing he did when he received his phone back was to call Lu Qi.
Thankfully there were still two bars left, and Huo Ming Chen left the crutches leaning by a tree and sat noisily by the flower courtyard, waiting patiently for the call to be picked up.

It was currently the dead of night with not a single soul around, but a vibrating sound that was close by transmitted to his ear quite clearly.
Huo Ming Chen reflexively turned around to look and found that someone was standing by a nearby streetlamp, someone who was clearly Lu Qi.

“Fuck me! When did you get out of the hospital!”

Surprise and happiness immediately filled his entire body, as if fireworks were exploding in the night.
Huo Ming Chen wanted to stand up, but he seemed to have forgotten his leg had a cast.
He couldn’t find his crutches and struggled to stand up for a long time.

Lu Qi quickly walked to him and knelt on his knees.
His fur coat had a high collar that was covering his face, but it couldn’t hide the laughter in his warm and gentle eyes, 

“Prince Huo’s bones were broken, but he’s still so stubborn.
I only have such small wounds, so how could I dare stay in the hospital?”

Huo Ming Chen was laughing like a child, too happy to know what to say.
He forcefully controlled the urge to twitch the corners of his mouth up and cleared his throat, 

“We are not the same.
My cardio and strength is quite good.
It doesn’t matter if I don’t stay at the hospital.
But you are a useless fighting idiot, you should know to obediently stay at the hospital.”

Lu Qi said, “It’s the same as staying at home.”

“Home”, this word suddenly melted Huo Ming Chen’s already softened heart, drowning him in the waves washing over him.
He bit his lip, looking at Lu Qi, but the other was looking at him so patiently and indulgently that the two of them just started smiling at each other.

“Hey, bring my crutches over here,”

Huo Ming Chen was the first to open his mouth and then added 3 words, “…… Let’s go home.”

“Alright.”

Hearing this Lu Qi stood up and passed the crutches over to him.
Huo Ming Chen was about to stand up with them when his body felt weightless in the air.
He widened his eyes in shock, almost dropping his crutches.

Lu Qi held him stably in his embrace, the same way he did that rainy night where the streetlights highlighted him in such cold, freezing tones but he somehow seemed so gentle, so warm.
He lowered his head and kissed Huo Ming Chen on the forehead, saying in a low voice,

“Home, we’ll go home.”