Yuncheng. The weather was sunny today and the autumn sky was high and clear, like an upside down blue crystal above everyone’s heads.

Lu Fangshu packed up and went to the vegetable market. When purchasing vegetables, she almost subconsciously picked out a few of Lu Qi’s favorite foods. She put them in the cart and dragged them to the market entrance. A wheel of the cart caught on a brick and the bump overturned it, making baby cabbage and pumpkins spill out to be soiled by dirt.

She stared at the vegetables blankly, and all at once thought it was meaningless. Even if the meal was prepared, her child would not come back to eat it.

“Fangshu?”

Someone called her name, and Lu Fangshu looked up in a daze. It was Aunt Su, who had introduced Lu Qi to a girlfriend last time. The last blind date had ended in such a way, and she really didn’t have the face to see her old colleague, whom she had not contacted for several months.

She subconsciously tried to avoid her, but Aunt Su had already come over. She helped pick up the vegetables on the ground and asked worriedly: “Are you okay? You haven’t been answering calls these days or responding to WeChat messages. Why are you still out of contact?”

“I…..” Lu Fangshu said, “I didn’t have the face to see you.”

“What is this, ah? Blind dates are just a matter of luck. What do the issues of children have with us sisters?” Aunt Su held her arm affectionately. “Though, did you have a quarrel with Xiao Qi? I’m not blaming you, marriage can’t be rushed. If you push, the child will have a rebellious mentality…..”

Lu Fangshu didn’t quite hear what she said next, only thinking of what Lin Chunhe said to her the night before.

“Think about it, Xiao Qi is a boy, and you are holding and protecting him, but if he was a girl, the whole family would treat her as the apple of their eye. Whose daughter is not pampered? Would you be willing to let your precious one become the wife of someone who could never fall in love with her? Put yourself in their shoes, Fangfang…..”

She had thought about it all night, and her heart ached.

When she heard Aunt Su say that she would introduce another girl to Lu Qi next time, she suddenly let out a long breath.

As if she had exhaled something else out of her body with this breath, Lu Fangchu said: “There’s no need to introduce Lu Qi to any more.”

“Ah?” Aunt Su was stunned. “Why are you suddenly saying this?”

Lu Fangshu seemed to have walked a long distance. Exhausted, she looked up at her friend. “Lu Qi…..he likes men.”

Aunt Su: “…..Ah?”

She processed for a good while, then opened her eyes wide in shock: “This…..how can a man like a man? This…..isn’t this perverted?”

Perverted, mentally ill, abnormal…..

Lu Fangshu was afraid that these words would be directed toward her Xiao Qi, but at this moment, she found that it was not as embarrassing as she had imagined. She even couldn’t help but think: Couldn’t Lu Qi have heard such unpleasant words outside?

When her child was wronged, would she stand with those who accused him?

Her body seemed to have a surge of strength, and the words of defense seemed to have been rehearsed thousands of times in her heart so that when she blurted them out, there was no hesitation.

“My son is not a pervert,” Lu Fangshu said. “Those who sexually assault children, kill people and dismember bodies, and retaliate against society are perverts. My son is an upright person, and it is no harm to anybody if he likes men.”

Aunt Su looked at her blankly, then returned to her senses and said sheepishly: “I…..who are you directing this at? I used the wrong word just now, I didn’t mean to say that Xiao Qi is…..is something like that.”

Lu Fangshu turned and left. Aunt Su stood there for a while, patting her thigh regretfully.

“Aiyo, what did I just say…..”

Something had gone wrong with shopping in the vegetable market today, so Lin Chunhe went to deal with it and didn’t come back for lunch. Lu Fangshu sat alone on the sofa and turned on her phone to take a look.

The pinned message was a photo, but she had never looked at it. When she opened it, she found a field of camellias in full bloom. Lu Qi said that they had moved.

Lu Qi’s avatar had changed, and when she zoomed in, she found that it was a white cartoon deer. It had a brilliant, exaggerated smile, and red scarf tied around its neck with a fox doll hanging under it.

She could see that her son was in a good mood recently. Lu Fangshu’s furrowed eyebrows subconsciously relaxed, but when she noticed the gesture of the cartoon deer, her smile froze again.

It was holding up its paw in half a heart, and the other half of the heart was a brown-red paw.

. . . . . . .

Mu Chuanbai discovered that Mu Nanqiao had changed his avatar, and clicked on the picture to see a big red cartoon fox. It had a wicked, arrogant smile, with a white scarf died around its neck and a small deer doll hanging under it.

The brown-red paw and a white paw made a heart.

Mu Chuanbai felt that his teeth were sore, and turned to Talia, who was sitting beside him. He said: “Honey, I also want to use a couples’ avatar with you.”

This was a small request and nothing that couldn’t be fulfilled, so Talia nodded. No problem.

Lu Qi and Mu Nanqiao were upstairs. Talia said that when the interview came to the family part, she wanted some photos of Mu Nanqiao as a child for material, so he took Lu Qi upstairs to look for some.

At this moment, Lu Qi was lying in Mu Nanqiao’s lap. The two of them were sitting on the bed, looking one by one at photos of Mu Nanqiao when he was a child.

The little baby slept in a cradle, wrapped in a blue floral blanket. Such a tiny baby had a long nose bridge, a pouty mouth, and thick, shiny black hair on his head.

“So cute…..” Lu Qi took a photo on his mobile phone and turned back again.

The little baby grew up into a handsome little boy and was carried around the zoo on Mu Chuanbai’s shoulders. He was smiling so hard that there was only a sliver left of his eyes, and his eyelashes were long and curled, like an exquisite doll.

Lu Qi squealed at the cuteness and took another photo.

Mu Nanqiao rubbed his head in amusement: “Lu Baby, you’ve seen my pictures, so show me yours in the future.”

“There’s no problem with looking at the pictures…..” Thinking of his mom’s opposing manner, Lu Qi sighed. “But we’ll have to wait. Or you can wait for me to go home in two days and steal a couple for you!”

“Steal them?” Mu Nanqiao raised his eyebrows. “Then this is a huge loss of property, ah. What should be done if Auntie calls the police?”

“If she calls the police, I’ll just have to hand the steering wheel to my dad, la.” Lu Qi kicked his feet and turned another page.

In the images, the little boy gradually lost his baby fat, and the contours of his facial features became more and more deep and handsome. His figure also grew from a short and squat little dumpling to a tall, slender figure like a sprout.

Lu Qi’s smile faded little by little, and his fingertips lightly brushed over the last photo in the album.

That was probably taken before Mu Nanqiao went to the Mu residence. The boy was wearing a backwards baseball cap, short sleeves, and shorts. He had a water hose in his hands, and it was unknown who he was having a water fight with. His clothes were half-wet from the water, his smile bright and dazzling.

At that time, his facial features were almost the same as now, but their outlines were softer and less mature. The upturned fox eyes were not gloomy and indifferent, but like a little fox cub having fun in the grass.

Lu Qi couldn’t connect this boy with the gaunt teenager in the warehouse for a moment, and his heart felt heavy.

A mobile phone suddenly appeared in his sight. The fingers holding it were strong and slender, clean and beautiful. On the screen of the phone was a photo with white doves flying over a church spire in the background. Holding the phone and smiling at the camera, Mu Nanqiao had his head lowered, kissing the side of his face.

The capture was very good, and the gentle and contented smile on his features was clearly visible. “What’s so interesting about a silly boy playing in water?” Mu Nanqiao shook the phone screen. “You see? This is the charm of a mature man.”

Lu Qi: ……

This man was so sour that he even drank his own vinegar.

Mu Nanqiao casually took two photos. Closing the album, he gently tossed it to the foot of the bed and took Lu Qi by the collar, pulling him into his arms.

“Were you feeling sorry for me just now?” He kissed Lu Qi’s earlobe softly. “If you feel sorry, don’t you have to take action to show it?”

As he spoke, he tapped his lips suggestively. His long, narrow fox eyes were filled with a smile, and the small red mole at the tip of his eye was only the size of a grain of rice, but it had a strong, burning sense of presence.

He had originally just intended to make Lu Qi smile, and didn’t expect Lu Qi to actually lean in, grab his collar with his fingers and raise his head. Cool lips fell on his eyes.

“I especially like the way you smile.” Lu Qi said earnestly: “Mu Nanqiao, I will love you from now on, so you have to smile more, ah.”

“Okay, ah.” Mu Nanqiao kissed him on the lips with a mwah, then lowered his eyelashes and tried to kiss more.

Lu Qi covered his mouth, adding: “I actually quite like you wearing casual clothes. After Auntie finishes recording, shall we go clothes shopping?”

Mu Nanqiao’s eyebrows rose slightly. He smiled knowingly and said: “It’s up to you.”

Lu Qi blushed at his look and whispered: “What is that look you’re giving me…..I just think you look good in some casual clothes. Do you remember that time when you didn’t even give me an explanation, and just turned around and ran away? Then you came to confess. I was willing to forgive you then, and the clothes you were wearing played a major role!”

Mu Nanqiao considered it for a moment. He had come out of the boxing gym that day. The skin on his hands was scratched, and the clothes on his body had not been changed for several days. He looked like a stray dog.

He couldn’t see Lu Qi like this, so he took a shower in the boxing gym’s locker room, cleaned himself up, and then picked out a nearby luxury brand sports store that mainly served teenagers.

That set of clothes was still hanging in the cloakroom, but Mu Nanqiao basically never wore it again.

“It turns out Lu Baby likes this style…..” Mu Nanqiao faked a sigh. “You like me young. What will happen if my beauty fades with age?”

It was a pity that Xiao Lu had seen him act too many times and could no longer be fooled. Not only did he not comfort him, but he even scoffed self-righteously and said very cockily: “What’s wrong with liking young people? I’m just making a mistake that all men in the world make!”

Mu Nanqiao laughed out loud. “It seems having thick skin is contagious. You’re really following in my footsteps now.”

He drew closer and rubbed the side of Lu Qi’s face with the tip of his nose: “Let me take a bite and see how thick-skinned you are.”

“No way!” Lu Qi tried to crawl out of his arms. “How embarrassing would it be to have Auntie and Uncle see a mark……”

He was pulled back by his waist, but because he was wearing casual trousers, such a tug nearly pulled them off. He quickly grabbed them with one hand.

The two of them fussed around like children for a while. Lu Qi finally gave in due to being ticklish, and was pushed onto the pillow by Mu Nanqiao and kissed again and again.

In fact, the reason he wanted to buy clothes was very simple.

Lu Qi blinked his eyes.

He wanted to see Mu Nanqiao dressed like a young person, because like this, he could hug that brilliantly smiling young man.

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Chapter Forty-Five << Table of Contents >> Chapter Forty-Seven