When leaving Lu’s house, Chen Zemian was still in a trance.
Lu Zhuonian glanced at him, opened the car door, and pushed him in.
“Is this really one hundred million?”
Chen Zemian raised the check in his hand. “Lu Zhuonian, I’m not dreaming, right?”
Lu Zhuonian didn’t know what to say. After a few seconds of silence, he couldn’t help asking, “Weren’t you still planning things out? Why did my dad give you one hundred million—and why did you admit you were in love with me?”
Chen Zemian looked at Lu Zhuonian in disbelief.
Lu Zhuonian looked at him expressionlessly, waiting for him to say something.
Chen Zemian lowered his voice. “This isn’t about one hundred million.”
Lu Zhuonian listened attentively. “Then what is it about?”
Chen Zemian said, “It’s 111111111.”
“…”
Hearing this, Lu Zhuonian didn’t know whether to feel happy that Chen Zemian had admitted their relationship in front of his father, or angry that he had compromised so easily after getting the money.
After the two emotions tugged at each other, joy ultimately won.
“So we’re together now?” Lu Zhuonian confirmed. “You’ve already accepted the gift—you can’t back out now.”
Chen Zemian was still focused on the check and replied absentmindedly, “Mm.”
Lu Zhuonian grew a little angry again. “Chen Zemian!”
Chen Zemian turned to him. “What’s wrong?”
Lu Zhuonian turned the steering wheel and pulled the car into a temporary parking space. “Can you be more serious?”
Chen Zemian said innocently, “I am serious.”
“How are you serious?” Lu Zhuonian felt a stone pressing on his chest. He didn’t know why he suddenly cared about these details. “Have you ever been serious?”
Chen Zemian tilted his head, eyes blank, looking eerily robotic.
At that moment, Lu Zhuonian wanted to tear apart his circuit board.
Face cold, tone flat, Lu Zhuonian said, “Do you even understand what I’m saying?”
Chen Zemian raised his hand and handed over the check. “Here. I don’t want it.”
“…”
Lu Zhuonian closed his eyes, suppressing his anger. “Are you kidding me, Chen Zemian?”
Chen Zemian didn’t understand why Lu Zhuonian was upset. “You said I could take the check. After I took it, you said I wasn’t serious. Now I’m giving it back and you’re still mad. So… do you want me to take it or not?”
“Is it the check I want you to take?” Lu Zhuonian laughed in frustration and turned Chen Zemian by the shoulders. “I want you to take me!”
Chen Zemian’s pupils dilated slightly, and he looked away in panic.
Lu Zhuonian grabbed his neck with one hand and forced him to look up. “Look at me when you talk.”
Chen Zemian’s eyelashes trembled as he looked up at Lu Zhuonian.
Lu Zhuonian’s face was stern, his eyes cold and hard. His tone, calm at first, grew urgent.
“Whether it’s the check or anything else, I can give it to you. If money could buy your sincerity, that would be too easy. The Lu family doesn’t lack money.”
His gaze was like a cold pond, yet burning with scarlet fury. His voice caught, rough and heavy. “Chen Zemian, I’m very, very rich. If you like me, please take it seriously. Okay?”
Chen Zemian was completely stunned.
He had never seen Lu Zhuonian like this. But he knew—Lu Zhuonian was like this because of him.
Seeing Lu Zhuonian’s mood deteriorate because of him, Chen Zemian subconsciously apologized. “I’m sorry.”
Hearing those three words, Lu Zhuonian sneered quietly, not knowing if he was laughing at Chen Zemian or himself.
He was too greedy.
Chen Zemian had never understood. He still couldn’t tell the difference between friendship and love. His feelings for Lu Zhuonian had always been more dependent than romantic.
What was he even arguing about?
“Forget it,” Lu Zhuonian restarted the car. “Let’s go home.”
At that moment, Chen Zemian suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.
Lu Zhuonian turned his head—just as Chen Zemian leaned in.
The distance between them instantly disappeared.
Chen Zemian curled his fingers slightly. “Some things should’ve been made clear a long time ago. I’m sorry—not for today.”
Lu Zhuonian’s expression didn’t change. “Then what for?”
Chen Zemian started from frame zero. “When you first said you liked me, back at Lanting Hot Spring, I should’ve told you I liked you too.”
Lu Zhuonian’s heart skipped two beats. “Are you serious?”
Chen Zemian leaned forward and pressed his lips to Lu Zhuonian’s.
Lu Zhuonian’s breath caught. His pupils shrank violently.
Chen Zemian kissed him softly. “Lu Zhuonian, I’m super serious.”
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes fluttered slightly.
He raised a hand to cradle Chen Zemian’s head, kissing the lips that could either kill him with a touch—or save him.
Afterward, both were breathless, slightly dazed.
Chen Zemian leaned back slightly, looking into Lu Zhuonian’s cold but tender eyes. “Lu Zhuonian, I can tell the difference between friendship and love.”
Lu Zhuonian’s pupils constricted instantly.
Chen Zemian’s tone was firm. “When I say I like you, it’s not because your father gave me a check. It’s not because of lust. It’s not to please you. It has nothing to do with any other reason.”
Lu Zhuonian responded, “Okay. I get it.”
Chen Zemian slumped his shoulders, saying dejectedly, “I performed so poorly. I didn’t respond to your feelings in time. No matter what I do now, it must seem like a calculated response in your eyes. But it’s not. It really isn’t.”
Lu Zhuonian gently touched his face. “As long as you’re willing to respond, any moment is the right time.”
Chen Zemian’s eyes turned red. He hugged Lu Zhuonian tightly, voice choked: “I like you, Lu Zhuonian. I really like you. Zheng Huaiyu knew I was going to confess. He said he saw how you felt about me long ago and warned me to be careful—that maybe you planned everything and had ulterior motives.”
Lu Zhuonian curled his fingers against Chen Zemian’s back.
Chen Zemian’s voice broke: “The more I thought about it, the more I realized… you’ve treated me far too well for too long. And I was slow. My responses were poor. I made you sad for so long.”
After saying that, Chen Zemian was overwhelmed with sorrow.
Only now did he realize how long he had let down the person he loved. The delayed emotion surged up, dull and heavy, cutting through him bit by bit.
It didn’t exactly hurt—but it felt suffocating.
Like a cup of flat cola: no bubbles, just cloying sweetness with bitterness underneath.
He felt wronged.
He was still so slow, he couldn’t even identify the source of his emotions. Was he wronged for himself? For Lu Zhuonian? For both?
It was too hard to tell.
Chen Zemian wanted to cry.
He hadn’t even confessed properly. Hadn’t made Lu Zhuonian feel loved. And yet—he had already made him sad.
Love was too hard. Why was it so hard from the very beginning?
Chen Zemian was lost, like getting a math exam paper and not knowing how to answer the first question. His nose stung, and the tears spilled out.
Lu Zhuonian: “…”
“Why are you crying again?” Lu Zhuonian stroked the back of his head, gently combing through his hair as he coaxed in a low voice. “Zheng Huaiyu knew you were going to confess, but I didn’t. I haven’t even cried yet.”
Chen Zemian buried his face in Lu Zhuonian’s neck, tears flowing. “It’s so hard to fall in love. What if I don’t know how?”
Lu Zhuonian chuckled through his words: “This is the first time I’ve seen someone cry because they don’t know how to date.”
Chen Zemian said, “I’ve never dated before. Will it be a problem?”
Lu Zhuonian looked at him. “I haven’t either. We can learn together.”
Chen Zemian: “Yeah.”
Lu Zhuonian said, “Don’t be anxious, and don’t be scared. Okay?”
Chen Zemian lowered his head. “I am a little scared. I’m afraid we won’t even be friends in the end. Everything I’m familiar with revolves around you. Croissant is your childhood friend. Liu Yuebo and Xue Duo play with me because of you. If we break up, I won’t have any friends.”
Lu Zhuonian cupped his face and gently wiped away the tears. “Then choosing to be with me was a really brave decision.”
Chen Zemian nodded, eyes still red. “I am brave.”
Lu Zhuonian couldn’t help laughing. He stroked his face again.
Chen Zemian grabbed his hand. “I’m really serious. I didn’t say yes just for the money.”
“I know. I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that earlier.” Lu Zhuonian kissed the back of his hand. “Our Mianmian isn’t someone who would sell his feelings for money, right?”
Chen Zemian sniffled. “I’m rich now. One hundred million is nothing.”
Lu Zhuonian took out two tissues, wiped his nose, and said, “Then if one day my dad gives you one hundred million to leave me, tell him the same thing.”
Chen Zemian held the check. “Then I’ll give it back to him and say, ‘I’ll give you one hundred million. Leave your son.’”
Lu Zhuonian chuckled.
Chen Zemian looked down at the check. “But your dad gave me this just for meeting you. Will he object in the future?”
“Don’t worry about him.” Lu Zhuonian pulled onto the main road. “You mentioned you were planning something recently. Were you going to confess?”
Chen Zemian had let it slip. It was too late to deny. “Yeah.”
Lu Zhuonian asked, “Then why’d you tell Zheng Huaiyu?”
Chen Zemian hesitated. “Do you really want to know now? It won’t be a surprise.”
Lu Zhuonian recalled his “unforgettable” comment earlier and decided to be mentally prepared. He said he wanted to know.
Chen Zemian thought it over and agreed.
They’d already confirmed their relationship. The biggest hurdle had passed. The process no longer mattered much.
And for someone like Lu Zhuonian, who hated losing control, surprises might not even be ideal.
So Chen Zemian shared everything—how he asked Zheng Huaiyu to help order a sports car, booked a rooftop restaurant at the Century Building, even rehearsed his conversation with the waiter and prepared a speech.
Chen Zemian felt embarrassed as he talked, not daring to meet Lu Zhuonian’s gaze. “It sounds kind of cringey now, but I’ll say it with feeling when the time comes. With music and the sunset, the vibe will help…”
Lu Zhuonian gripped the wheel tightly.
He really didn’t like surprises.
Unplanned things always came with instability. He was used to control. Surprises felt dangerous.
Knowing the plan in advance was the best—and worst—decision.
It meant less surprise when the day came. But that was a good thing.
Otherwise, he might’ve had an emotional meltdown on the spot.
No need for sunsets or ambient lighting.
Just hearing the words was enough to make his fingers tingle.
Chen Zemian drove the second half of the trip.
When they got home, before the car had fully stopped, Lu Zhuonian leaned over and kissed him.
Because the handbrake wasn’t on, the Pagani Huayra—soon to be replaced by a Koenigsegg One:1 and already sulking—slid backward in protest.
Chen Zemian shoved Lu Zhuonian away and quickly yanked the handbrake.
The car was too cramped, and it was still daylight.
They looked at each other, opened the doors at the same time, and decided—better to play it safe.
They moved to the villa’s master bedroom.
The velvet curtains slowly closed, sealing in the spring scenery blooming behind them.
*****
Chen Zemian’s confession plan had proceeded in an orderly and remarkably smooth manner.
After the sports car was transported to Beijing, he booked a restaurant, hired a band, and even chose the meaningful date of May 20th for the confession.
Unexpectedly, a bolt from the blue struck—and the situation suddenly changed.
“Red warning for heavy rain: From the evening of the 19th to the 21st, our city is expected to experience heavy to torrential rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds reaching levels 8–10 in some areas…”
It’s fine. It doesn’t matter if it rains.
Although they wouldn’t get to watch the sunset or enjoy the rooftop breeze, they could still book an indoor restaurant.
But the very next second after Chen Zemian rebooked the restaurant, everyone in Beijing received a new notification on their phones simultaneously:
“Beijing Flood Control Office Reminder: Our city will launch a city-wide red (Level 1) flood control emergency response at 19:00 on the 19th. In principle, all enterprises and institutions in the city will work from home or suspend operations. Residents are advised to stay indoors and minimize outings, except for essential personnel responsible for maintaining the basic operation of the city.”
Chen Zemian: “…”
Damn, are they targeting me?
It’s just heavy rain—why suspend all work and business?
How is this even allowed?! Just like that, a plan he had worked on for a month was shut down!
This was too much.
Against the backdrop of a city shutting down, Chen Zemian’s confession plan fell apart.
Physically and literally.
Thunder roared outside, lightning split the sky, and the wind howled. Although he could still find a private chef willing to operate, it was far too dangerous to venture out in such a storm. Driving a low-chassis sports car in this weather was simply out of the question. All he wanted was to express his feelings properly—he didn’t want to die doing it.
Rain pounded the windows. Tree branches whipped violently in the wind. Leaves swirled through the air like fragments of a crumbling world.
Chen Zemian now stood by the window, staring blankly at the curtain of rain.
How! Could! This! Be! Happening!
*****
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Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal wondering in the void and falling into the translation abyss.
