It was still unknown whether Xiao Kesong could be saved.
Left alone in the lounge, sharing a room with Lu Zhuonian, Chen Zemian felt as if he were dying.
Lu Zhuonian seemed a little unhappy. Ever since Ye Chen and the others left, he had kept a cold expression and remained silent.
Chen Zemian suddenly realized that the reason he had been able to get along well with Lu Zhuonian before was that the latter had been willing to treat him kindly. Once Lu Zhuonian adopted a cold and aloof attitude that kept people at a distance, the atmosphere in the entire room would instantly become heavy. Not to mention having a smooth conversation — even breathing normally would be difficult.
The invisible pressure was hard to describe. If one had to describe it, it would probably be like a hero’s majestic power.
Who had offended this prince again?
They were just talking and laughing a moment ago. Why did he suddenly look unhappy?
The power of God was truly unpredictable.
Chen Zemian wanted to say something to break the awkward silence, but he didn’t know where to start — or whether Lu Zhuonian was even willing to chat. He could only silently take a handful of melon seeds from the dried fruit plate and play with them.
Thinking it over carefully, it seemed that every time he was alone with Lu Zhuonian, the latter would show some displeasure to some degree.
Whether he talked back or flattered, the outcome was not much different.
Given these failed experiences, Chen Zemian felt there might be only one reason for Lu Zhuonian’s bad mood: he was simply annoyed with him.
That made sense.
No wonder Lu Zhuonian rarely came to the shooting range lately. Yan Luo said that Lu Shao used to come one or two times a week, but since Chen Zemian started working there, he had only seen Lu Zhuonian two or three times in more than a month.
In that case, he should stop trying to talk to Lu Zhuonian. The more he spoke, the more annoyed Lu Zhuonian became.
Maybe after a while, Lu Zhuonian would be able to be happy on his own.
It would be difficult for Lu Zhuonian to become happy quickly.
After experiencing several episodes of abnormal emotional fluctuations caused by Chen Zhe, Lu Zhuonian ruled out accidental events and concluded that Chen Zhe did affect his emotions.
With this conclusion, Lu Zhuonian made an appointment to see his psychologist.
He said to the psychologist, “I met a very special person.”
The psychologist showed a faint hint of surprise, but Lu Zhuonian caught it.
“Can you tell me what’s special about him?” the doctor asked.
Lu Zhuonian described Chen Zhe’s abnormal behaviors in an extremely objective manner, finally adding a subjective evaluation: “It feels like he has become a different person overnight. I suspected he had a second personality, but after further observation, I ruled out that possibility.”
The doctor did not ask how he ruled it out specifically but simply said, “Everyone has different sides. Maybe you didn’t know him well before, or maybe he went through something that affected his personality…”
“He suddenly possessed skills he had never demonstrated before,” Lu Zhuonian added. “This ability has never appeared in his entire life experience, which is very abnormal.”
The doctor asked, “You noticed his ‘abnormality,’ so you think he is special?”
Lu Zhuonian said, “That’s one reason, but the main reason is that his changes are beyond my control. Things beyond expectations are too uncertain and very… dangerous.”
The psychiatrist had treated Lu Zhuonian many years ago and had watched him grow from a little boy to who he was now. The doctor was aware of the patient’s special illness and the self-control he had developed because of it — far beyond that of ordinary people.
Lu Zhuonian was a man of strong character and resolute attitude. He was unwilling to succumb to his illness, and his way of overcoming and suppressing it was almost harsh, even to the point of overcorrection.
He maintained strict control over his body and emotions.
His overly strong sense of self-control gradually extended to his life, evolving into absolute dominance over everything around him. Like a high-performance computer with precise settings, Lu Zhuonian was used to everything running according to his calculations and developing step by step, without accidents or errors.
Chen Zhe was an accident.
Ever since he showed up, Lu Zhuonian’s emotional stability system had been showing error messages.
This itself was a dangerous signal.
A sign of loss of control.
Lu Zhuonian prepared for the worst: “Emotional fluctuations are not worth worrying about. What I’m worried about is the impact of emotional changes on the body. Scientific research shows that physical reactions can be affected by emotions.”
The psychiatrist understood the unspoken meaning and gave his own advice: “You are projecting too many expected results that have not yet happened onto him. This projection will increase your psychological burden. Sometimes, the more people try not to pay attention to something, the more they actually focus on it.”
Lu Zhuonian agreed, “Indeed.”
The doctor continued, “You can try shifting your attention to other things, or gradually reduce your ‘sense of crisis’ through moderate contact.”
Lu Zhuonian frowned. “So, what you mean is that I should become familiar with his behavior patterns, summarize the rules, and use this model to anticipate and prevent emotional fluctuations caused by loss of control.”
The doctor was silent for half a minute. “I didn’t say that. What I meant was that desensitization training can enhance adaptability.”
So, Lu Zhuonian selectively accepted the doctor’s advice and arranged for Chen Zhe to work at the shooting range, where he could observe him.
Although he had only seen Chen Zhe twice in the past month and a half, he had been observing him for a long time.
His phone could check the surveillance footage at any time. In his spare moments, Lu Zhuonian would occasionally open it to take a look.
Unfortunately, so far, the results were minimal.
More than a month passed, and he had neither been able to summarize Chen Zhe’s behavioral model nor improve his own adaptability.
He still had various emotional reactions because of Chen Zhe, and the tendency was to grow.
Perhaps the accumulation of quantitative changes was insufficient to bring about a qualitative change.
The reason for failure was Chen Zhe’s lack of cooperation.
Chen Zhe was too unpredictable.
Lu Zhuonian had been an excellent student since childhood, but he never expected to be repeatedly frustrated in the subject of predicting Chen Zhe’s behavior.
Chen Zhe was like the most hated college professor: not only did he not provide key points, he didn’t even give Lu Zhuonian the chance to practice.
When Xiao Kesong was around, Chen Zemian behaved like a normal person, but as soon as Xiao Kesong left, Chen Zemian huddled in a corner, preferring to play Go with himself using melon seeds rather than talk to Lu Zhuonian.
If this continued, it would be difficult to achieve a qualitative change quickly.
Lu Zhuonian was very pragmatic and was a little unhappy with the slow progress.
He looked at Chen Zemian, his eyes becoming increasingly profound.
Chen Zemian felt uneasy and wanted to find a way to escape. He raised his head to see what Lu Zhuonian was doing, but their eyes met.
“Mr. Lu,” Chen Zemian couldn’t bear it anymore and made up an excuse, “Are you hungry? I’ll get you something to eat.”
Lu Zhuonian said, “No, are you hungry?”
Chen Zemian was indeed hungry, so he nodded and said, “A little.”
Lu Zhuonian seized the opportunity to gather information and immediately asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Chen Zemian wanted barbecue, hot pot, and spicy chicken, but Chen Zhe’s stomach wasn’t very good, and he would get a stomachache if he ate those at night, so he reluctantly said, “Have some noodles.”
Lu Zhuonian noticed Chen Zemian’s expression and said, “You don’t seem very sincere about wanting to eat that.”
Chen Zemian smiled and complimented, “Mr. Lu is really insightful—you noticed everything.”
Lu Zhuonian generously shared his observation: “It’s obvious—you wrinkled your nose just now. When you’re dissatisfied or unhappy, you do that little gesture.”
Chen Zemian was a little surprised. “How did you know?”
Lu Zhuonian didn’t answer but rang the bell to call the waiter. “Order first.”
Chen Zemian flipped through the menu and wanted to eat everything, but in the end, he ordered only a bowl of noodles.
I have to go out with Xiao Kesong to play tonight, and having a stomachache would be a real bummer.
Chen Zemian felt that Lu Zhuonian’s mood had improved, and the pressure on him suddenly eased. He chatted with Lu Zhuonian a few more words.
Lu Zhuonian was used to Chen Zhe’s nonsense and could tell that the other party was trying to curry favor with him.
Lu Zhuonian had heard so much flattery that he inevitably felt a little bored and subconsciously thought Chen Zhe shouldn’t be like this.
If it were because of his status, Chen Zhe never flattered Ye Chen. He could still joke with Xiao Kesong with a smile on his face and was even ruder to people like Xu Shaoyang and Liu Yuebo.
It was normal when interacting with others, but it felt fake when he was with Lu Zhuonian.
Lu Zhuonian didn’t know what went wrong, which was the main reason why he couldn’t predict Chen Zhe’s behavior.
The waiter arrived quickly. Chen Zemian ordered a bowl of noodles, and Lu Zhuonian ordered a few more dishes. The waiter wrote down the names, bowed, and left.
Chen Zemian flattered, “It seems you’re very familiar with the signature dishes here.”
“There are a few edible ones,” Lu Zhuonian paused for half a second, then suddenly said, “Don’t use honorifics anymore. It sounds weird.”
Chen Zemian responded, “Okay, I’ll listen to you, Mr. Lu.”
Lu Zhuonian said lightly, “Really?”
Chen Zemian said, “Of course. You said my hair was dazzling before, so I dyed it black.”
Hearing this, Lu Zhuonian’s eyes shifted slightly.
“Why should you listen to me?” Lu Zhuonian asked.
Chen Zemian said matter-of-factly, “I am Mr. Lu’s younger brother, so of course I have to listen to my elder brother.”
Lu Zhuonian’s voice was cold and solemn, without a trace of emotion: “You’re very persistent about being my younger brother.”
Chen Zemian thought of Chen Zhe in the original book, and his thoughts drifted for a moment.
Lu Zhuonian was very familiar with Chen Zemian’s distracted look, so he tapped the table skillfully to start the wake-up process. “Chen Zhe.”
Chen Zhe really came back to his senses. “Lu Shao.”
Lu Zhuonian asked again, “Why do you want to be my little brother?”
Chen Zemian was silent for a few seconds, an indescribable emotion flashing in his eyes. He said slowly, “Maybe he thinks… if he has Lu Shao’s protection, he won’t be bullied or humiliated.”
Lu Zhuonian’s fingers moved slightly, and he raised his eyes. “Did many people bully you?”
Chen Zemian didn’t know how to answer, so he said, “I don’t remember clearly.”
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes were like a swan’s feather, gently resting on Chen Zemian’s face.
Chen Zemian curled the corners of his lips politely.
Neither of them spoke again.
After a while, the waiter knocked on the door and brought the food they had ordered.
Chen Zemian picked up a piece of noodles with his chopsticks.
The bowl of noodles tasted a bit bland. Just as Chen Zemian was about to take the seasoning bottle from the table, someone else picked it up.
Chen Zemian raised his head, a noodle still in his mouth.
In front of him was a hand with distinct joints.
“Chen Zhe,”
Lu Zhuonian called his name first, then pushed the seasoning bottle toward him and said in a deep voice, “If someone bullies you in the future, no matter who it is, you can come to me.”
*****
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