Pastoral Daily Life

The kang bed was a completely new experience for Lu Lingxi.

He sat on the edge of the kang bed and kicked it curiously, but the grey bricks were so tightly assembled that there was no sound when he kicked them. Dahei was curled up on the bed like he was at home, separating Lu Lingxi from Yan Yue.

“Can you really make a fire under here?” Lu Lingxi took off his shoes and got on the bed, patting the hard edge of the kang bed and asking Yan Yue curiously over Dahei.

Yan Yue, who was also sleeping on the kang bed for the first time, smiled faintly, “We can try it out when it gets cold, then we’ll know if it’s possible.”

Lu Lingxi didn’t hear the subtle meaning of this statement and agreed with shining eyes. He was really tired today and fell asleep not long after the light was turned off. The night in the suburbs was very quiet, without the friction of passing cars on the road or the noise of the roadside stalls. Only the occasional sound of insects accompanied by the clear moonlight spread over the house, weaving a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere.

Yan Yue thought he would not be able to sleep, but instead, he closed his eyes under the sound of insects and slept through the night till dawn. There was no insomnia and no nightmares, and he seemed to be surrounded by the scent of grass and trees all night long, so much so that he even ignored Dahei’s snoring.

It was just after six when Yan Yue woke up. He was used to insomnia in the past and had always been disciplined, rarely sleeping past six o’clock. When he first opened his eyes, he was in a momentary trance, surrounded by a completely unfamiliar environment; but unexpectedly it gave him a feeling of reassurance. As soon as he moved, Dahei opened his eyes and raised a little to look at him. Yan Yue sat up and looked at Dahei who was crouching. In a good mood, he reached out his hand and scratched Dahei’s chin like Lu Lingxi did, smiling quietly, “Don’t make any noise, be careful not to wake up Xiao Xi.”

He didn’t know if Dahei understood but he curled up on the bed again.

Behind Dahei Lu Lingxi was sleeping soundly. The young man’s sleeping face was pure and quiet, his skin almost transparent, and the pale morning light spilled through the window onto his face, as if tingeing it with a golden halo, making it impossible to give birth to a single thought of blasphemy. Last night, the two of them stayed overnight unexpectedly and didn’t bring any change of clothes with them. When they went to bed at night, Lu Lingxi only took off his shorts and wore his t-shirt as pyjamas. During the night, the t-shirt rolled up to his chest, revealing his white, tender belly that rose and fell gently with his breathing.

Yan Yue’s eyes slowly filled with laughter as he looked at Lu Lingxi’s round belly button and followed all the way down. Lu Lingxi’s underwear had a big yellow duck printed on it, and under it were the boy’s long legs; the sheet that had originally covered them long since had been stomped under his feet.

The desire to get close to the boy and touch him was clamouring madly in his mind. Yan Yue’s eyes were obscure as he leaned over and gently pulled the sheet to cover the boy’s exposed parts.

Although Lu Lingxi was not as tall as he was, his proportions were just right. Yan Yue himself was 186cm, and Lu Lingxi was half a head lower than him, so he should be about 178cm. But Lu Lingxi was only eighteen, so he would continue to grow taller.

Yan Yue was thinking all sorts of thoughts to distract himself from his desire to get closer to the young man, while he quickly dressed, pushed open the door and walked out. He remembered that Lu Lingxi said last night that all the green plants that had been repotted needed to be watered this morning. In order not to let Lu Lingxi get too tired and to find something to distract himself with, Yan Yue washed up and then found a plastic can in the plant nursery and started watering.

When Uncle Li came over to call the two of them to eat, he saw Yan Yue bending over and sticking a bamboo stick in the flower pot to see if the soil underneath was all wet. The old man burst into laughter, thinking that Yan Yue was a smart young man. Although he didn’t know much about how to take care of these flowers and plants, he knew how to come up with a solution. It’s just that this solution was a bit stupid; unlike that child Xiao Xi, who could tell with just a glance whether water was enough or not.

But no wonder, Yan Yue didn’t look like someone who would fiddle with these things. He was quite similar to the kind of white collars Uncle Li saw on TV or something. The old man came over with a smile, “Where’s Xiao Xi?”

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Yan Yue turned around, saw Uncle Li and greeted him politely, “Xiao Xi is still sleeping.”

Uncle Li looked a bit distressed, “Oh, but you were exhausted yesterday, so let the child sleep a little longer. I’ll heat up the meal for you, remember to come and eat later.”

Yan Yue was about to nod in agreement when Lu Lingxi pushed the door open rubbing his eyes. “Big Brother Yan?”

“Awake?” Yan Yue put down the can and walked over.

Lu Lingxi came out completely awake and smiled shyly when he saw Uncle Li, “You’re here?”

Uncle Li liked Lu Lingxi; the child was so white and tender that he was a delight to look at. “Go and wash your face, we’ve made porridge and steamed sweet potatoes, it’s not delicious if it gets cold.”

“En.” Lu Lingxi curved his eyes. He was too tired from last night’s work and he was really hungry now, so he didn’t try to be polite.

The breakfast at Uncle Li’s house was very tasty. The thick white porridge was accompanied by refreshing and tasty side dishes. The emerald greens looked like they were just taken out of water, and you would feel your mouth watering just by looking at them. There were also soft sweet potatoes steamed, and as soon as they were brought out of the pot, a sweet aroma filled the air. Lu Lingxi had never seen sweet potatoes steamed directly like this before. He had eaten sweet potatoes when he was with the Lu family, but they were already processed sweet potato cakes and had lost their original taste.

Uncle Li broke a sweet potato in halves and handed them to Lu Lingxi. The sweet potatoes fresh out of the pot were still hot, and when Lu Lingxi sniffed them at such a close distance, the sweet aroma filled his nose. Lu Lingxi blew on the sweet potato twice, eager to eat it but afraid of the heat. This dilemma was noticed by Yan Yue, who felt both amused and helpless; he didn’t say a word but just watched Lu Lingxi’s anxiety.

When Uncle Li saw that Lu Lingxi liked sweet potatoes, he was very happy, so he told his wife to pack some sweet potatoes for Lu Lingxi to take back home. Their sweet potatoes were all home-grown, no pesticides, absolutely pure and natural. Lu Lingxi’s heart stirred when he heard they were home-grown. He also wanted to grow some sweet potatoes in the backyard, but it was too late this year, so he could only wait for next year.

The two of them went back to the courtyard after eating and prepared to go back to the city. Lu Lingxi scanned the plants and found that all of them had been watered, and that they had been watered properly. There were no cases where the soil was still dry underneath the wet surface, nor was there any overwatering that dripped everywhere.

He looked at Yan Yue with some surprise. Yan Yue didn’t understand what he meant, “What’s wrong?”

The corners of Lu Lingxi’s mouth turned up and he vigorously praised him, “Big Brother Yan, you’re really quite good, these potted plants are all watered just right.”

This was already the second time Lu Lingxi had complimented him, and Yan Yue was a bit teary-eyed. It seemed that he really had talent in tending to these flowers and plants. However, Yan Yue hooked the corner of his mouth and looked at Lu Lingxi, “Xiao Xi is even better, he knows how well the plants are watered just by looking at them.”

He only meant to compliment Lu Lingxi, but he didn’t expect this comment to poke at Lu Lingxi’s guilty conscience. Lu Lingxi peeked at Yan Yue, making sure that there was no strange expression on Yan Yue’s face, before sighing in relief.

There was a slight traffic jam on the way back because of the morning rush hour. Lu Lingxi had always been kept at home before, and now that he had a job, it was the first time he faced the morning rush of people going to work. The two of them were stuck on the highway into the city, with cars in front and behind them. Yan Yue reassured him, “There’s a toll booth up ahead, it’ll be better once we get past it.”

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Lu Lingxi nodded; he was not in a hurry, he was now one of the little bosses of Tiny Garden, and the person sitting next to him was his partner. Yan Yue would not accuse him of being lazy and not working, right?

When he said this, Yan Yue couldn’t help but smile.

Speaking of which, when Lu Lingxi first met Yan Yue, Yan Yue rarely smiled. The reason Lu Lingxi thought Yan Yue was cold was because he always saw Yan Yue’s expressionless face. But now that the two of them were familiar with each other, Lu Lingxi found that Yan Yue could actually smile, not the kind of smile that didn’t reach his eyes as he curled his lips, but a real smile.

“Big Brother Yan, you should smile more, so that you will be in a good mood every day,” Lu Lingxi said seriously.

Yan Yue looked at him with a smile on his face and nodded.

The car in front of him began to slowly creep forward, and Yan Yue was just about to follow when the tide of cars stopped once again. Usually, Yan Yue would have been in a grumpy mood by now, but because Lu Lingxi was sitting beside him, it seemed that even the traffic jam had become a tolerable and even somewhat enjoyable thing.

While they were talking, Yan Yue’s mobile phone rang by his side. The caller was An Jie. Yan Yue glanced at Lu Lingxi and picked up the phone.

“Hey, what’s the matter?”

An Jie’s tone was a little heavy, with the implication of feeling aggrieved for Yan Yue. “News has come from the headquarters that the chairman seems to be interested in sending Yan Hai abroad.”

The name “Yan Hai” caused Yan Yue’s eyes to darken slightly. A little over half a month ago, Professor Susan’s office had been robbed. Then just as Yan Yue had expected, a rumour started circulating in the company’s headquarters in Zhongjing that Yan Yue had actually been seeing a doctor abroad for many years, and even his refusal to return home after graduation was because he was unwell. In the rumours, his visits to the psychologist turned into visits to a psychiatrist, and everyone seemed to be certain that he was a psychopath.

Yan Yue didn’t come forward to explain this matter; he acted as if he knew nothing about it. Soon after, Yan Shihui called him back to Zhongjing. Both father and son knew exactly what was going on. It was just that in Yan Shihui’s eyes, whether it was psychological disorders or mental illness, there was something really wrong with Yan Yue. He politely said that Yan Yue should not have too much stress and that his health was more important. Yan Yue understood Yan Shihui’s hint and perceptively relinquished his position overseas, taking a week to hand over the specific tasks. This was also the reason why he had been busy lately without appearing in front of Lu Lingxi.

Yan Yue’s concession was only the first step, and he was waiting for his father’s subsequent reaction. For Hopewell Group, the overseas market was very important, and Yan Shihui definitely had to put in someone he was comfortable with there, and this candidate would reveal his true attitude towards Yan Yue.

Yan Hai!

A touch of mockery flashed at the corner of Yan Yue’s mouth, and his voice was cold, “Since the board of directors has made a decision, let him go. Hand over the affairs there and return home as soon as possible.”

An Jie agreed, “What about the negotiations with NT Group?”

Yan Yue said lightly, “Stop the negotiations. Re-contact NT’s people in the name of Dezhi Investment. Email me the relevant information, and I’ll give them a call.”

“Good!”

The cooperation with NT was a major overseas project for Hopewell Group this year, and Yan Yue had started contacting the other party two years ago. The two sides had been talking on and off for nearly two years. Some time ago, a breakthrough was about to be made, but Yin Qinglan wanted Yan Yue to return to China, so Yan Yue left the follow-up to An Jie. An Jie had previously advised Yan Yue to approach NT in the name of Dezhi Investment to take over the project. After considering it, Yan Yue rejected An Jie’s proposal. He had no intention of returning to China at that time, and it made no difference to him who won the project between Hopewell and Dezhi. But now everything was going to be different.

The two said a few more words before Yan Yue hung up. Only after putting the phone away did he realise that Lu Lingxi was right beside him. Yan Yue had some regrets, more chagrined than anything else. He had no defences against Lu Lingxi and made no secret of his calculations against Hopewell during the phone call. He wondered what Lu Lingxi would think of him after hearing this. The young man was simple and sincere and had just entered society without any exposure to such things. Would he decide that Yan Yue was a bad person? Adding to his family’s mess, Yan Yue became a bit apprehensive and turned his head to look at Lu Lingxi.

Lu Lingxi’s expression was a little surprised and somewhat understanding. Yan Yue wanted to explain, but didn’t know how to speak.

Lu Lingxi smiled shyly and averted his eyes to look out through the car window.

He didn’t mean to listen to Yan Yue’s phone conversation, but it was just hard not to hear it when they were sitting together. He had never asked about Yan Yue’s identity before. He had already decided in his heart that Yan Yue was a good person because of Dahei, and Yan Yue’s identity and background were not important in his eyes. Through the time they had spent together, he took Yan Yue at the face value. But this phone call made him realise that the Yan Yue he saw, a gentle person who loved animals and plants, was only one side of him, and that there were many other aspects that he had not seen.

The things Yan Yue mentioned on the phone reminded him of the Lu family in the past. Several uncles fought over the family’s assets, and whenever they got together for the New Year, the atmosphere in the Lu family mansion would be very odd. Lu Lingxi was actually a bit puzzled, what was the point of such a life?

He pretended to unintentionally sneak a glance at Yan Yue and felt even more puzzled in his heart.

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