Lu Zhuonian doesn’t believe in fate, but he believes in Chen Zemian.
Lu Zizhen does believe in fate.
Perhaps these elderly rich people are particularly superstitious about Feng Shui and fortune. Not to mention the Buddha’s birthday—a major spiritual day—even before starting a construction project, they must invite someone to perform a ritual to feel at ease.
Among the Taoist temples in Beijing, Lu Zizhen was most compatible with Abbot Jingchen of Tanshan Temple. He would occasionally visit to eat vegetarian meals and discuss Buddhism. Every year, they sent countless incense offerings.
To avoid disaster, Chen Zemian came up with a roundabout plan: borrow flowers to offer to the Buddha and go with the flow. He decided to bribe Abbot Jingchen and have him, in turn, subtly warn Lu Zizhen that there could be bloodshed in the next two years. He advised avoiding high places and leaning against railings to prevent accidents.
Compared with Chen Zemian’s indirect approach, Lu Zhuonian’s way of eliminating danger was much simpler and more direct.
He tripled the number of bodyguards around Lu Zizhen and instructed the butler, driver, and other logistics staff to report Lu Zizhen’s itinerary on time.
No one could figure out why Lu Zhuonian suddenly issued such an overreaching order. Some even suspected discord between father and son in the Lu family and speculated whether a power transition was underway.
The Lu household was in a state of quiet panic.
But Lu Zhuonian was always meticulous. How could he rashly interfere in his father’s affairs? In fact, all of the above arrangements had been approved by Lu Zizhen.
Before making the arrangements, he had specially called home to ask his father about his upcoming plans. He explained that the summer vacation was approaching, most of his courses had ended, and he had free time to help the family business before going abroad.
Lu Zizhen hung up the phone feeling gratified, noticing nothing out of the ordinary.
After all, his son was about to study abroad for a whole year.
It was perfectly natural for a child to suddenly miss his parents before leaving home. No matter how mature and capable Lu Zhuonian seemed outside, to his father Lu Zizhen and his mother Cheng Yun, he was still a 20-year-old boy.
Thus, instead of seeing it as overstepping authority, Lu Zizhen viewed his son’s actions as an expression of filial piety.
Privately, Lu Zizhen and Cheng Yun sighed and said, “Our son has changed since finding a partner. He’s learned to care for others.”
Cheng Yun, looking at the newly planted hydrangeas in the greenhouse, replied, “He’s really affectionate. He dug up all the flowers I planted over the last 20 years just to please him—not a single one left.”
Hydrangeas symbolize hope and rebirth, reunion and happiness, protection and eternity.
The hydrangeas in the Lu family greenhouse held even deeper meaning. Cheng Yun and Lu Zizhen planted them when Cheng Yun discovered she was pregnant 20 years ago. They were filled with the couple’s love and hopes for their unborn child.
The hydrangeas had thrived, just like Lu Zhuonian, who grew into a handsome, noble, and accomplished young man.
Then, at the age of 19, he suddenly dug up all the hydrangeas his mother had nurtured for two decades—overnight.
Every single one of them.
He didn’t just mean to send flowers. He sent all the hydrangeas that symbolized himself. Wasn’t the meaning behind that clear?
“I told you at the time—there must be something wrong with our son,” Cheng Yun said as she put down her pruning shears. “Look at how much he’s changed recently. No wonder people say to marry before building a career. A few days ago, he went to inspect all our real estate projects. He never cared about business before. Every day now, he’s either at the shooting range or doing extreme sports. I’m so worried I can’t sleep, but I don’t dare interfere.”
Lu Zizhen replied, “You don’t need to worry so much anymore. Lately, Zhuonian has been coming and going constantly… When someone has someone they care about, they start to cherish feelings and learn to miss others.”
He really did miss him. In the past, Lu Zhuonian never asked about his father’s whereabouts, but now he checked his schedule constantly.
At first, Lu Zizhen was proud and pleased by his son’s sudden concern.
But within a week, he couldn’t take it anymore.
The daily routine of reporting in the morning and checking in at night was too much. Lu Zizhen couldn’t tell who was the boss anymore. Even if Zhuonian was only asking, not interfering, it was still unbearable.
He wanted to block his son’s number several times just to get some peace. His son’s need for control was overwhelming.
Who could tolerate that?
A name flashed through Lu Zizhen’s mind. He immediately picked up the internal phone and gave an order to the butler:
“Send those special admission offers from the U.S. universities to Chen Zemian.”
The only person in the world willing to be strictly managed by Lu Zhuonian was probably Chen Zemian.
Lu Zizhen decided to redirect his son’s obsessive attention and get him to stop monitoring his father’s schedule.
After Lu Zhuonian decided to study abroad, Lu Zizhen had been worried that his son would change his mind because he couldn’t bear to part with his lover. So, he quickly helped Chen Zemian apply to several universities abroad and secured development-track admission through a generous donation.
Lu Zizhen never intended to interfere with the affairs of young people. After all, not everyone wants to study abroad. So, he only kept the special offers as a backup plan, waiting for the right time to use them.
Now was the right time.
Why was his son suddenly so idle? Wasn’t it enough for him to manage Chen Zemian? Why was he now also managing his own father?
Annoyed, Lu Zizhen had someone send the prepared special offers directly to Chen Zemian’s inbox.
It was like throwing a stone into a still pond. Whether Chen Zemian accepted or not, at least Lu Zhuonian’s energy would shift to him and stop being so focused on Lu Zizhen’s daily movements.
Lu Zizhen’s plan was clever and forward-thinking—unfortunately, Chen Zemian didn’t check his inbox very often.
So, by the time he discovered the special offers, many days had passed.
He didn’t see them himself. He heard about them from Zheng Huaiyu.
As Mr. Chen’s secretary, Zheng Huaiyu logged into Chen Zemian’s inbox weekly to handle emails for him.
Luckily, if Chen Zemian had seen those offers, he likely would’ve ignored them or deleted them as spam. But Zheng Huaiyu had applied to foreign universities before. His English was fluent, and he immediately understood the titles and recognized the offers were real.
Zheng Huaiyu had no idea someone else had applied on Chen Zemian’s behalf. He assumed that Chen, lovestruck, had submitted his own applications to study in the same city as Lu Zhuonian.
“Can you please wake up a little?” Zheng Huaiyu said bluntly. “I thought you were going abroad to expand your game company’s overseas market. Turns out it’s just a publicly funded love story.”
Chen Zemian was baffled. “What are you talking about?”
Zheng Huaiyu snapped, “He’s only going abroad for one year, but you applied to study for four! Can’t you count? Which is longer—one year of being apart, or three?”
Even more confused, Chen Zemian asked, “When did I ever say I was going to school? I hate school the most.”
Zheng Huaiyu grunted skeptically and listed several university names. “Didn’t you apply to these?”
Completely at a loss, Chen Zemian and Zheng Huaiyu spent a long time tracing the situation back step by step—until they finally figured out what had happened.
He couldn’t imagine that those study abroad applications came from Lu Zizhen, no matter how hard he tried and simply assumed that he wanted him to accompany him abroad and had made preparations in advance.
“He can’t live without you for even a minute?” Zheng Huaiyu said speechlessly. “If you don’t want to study abroad, I’ll just delete these emails.”
Chen Zemian said, “Wait, let me think about it first.”
Zheng Huaiyu rolled his eyes. “Can you stop being so obsessed? Weren’t you just saying you hate school the most?”
Chen Zemian replied with feigned helplessness, “Hey, my boyfriend is too clingy. What can I do?”
Zheng Huaiyu had only one comment. “Don’t pretend. I can hear how proud you are.”
Chen Zemian felt that no matter how much he pretended, he could never outdo Lu Zhuonian.
Lu Zhuonian had never mentioned wanting him to study abroad, yet had quietly arranged for everything—even applying to schools on his behalf.
Although Chen Zemian didn’t particularly want to study overseas, he had no problem accompanying him.
Zheng Huaiyu, who despised people in love the most, poured two metaphorical buckets of cold water over him. “Maybe he thinks you’re undereducated and wants you to gain some experience, improve yourself.”
Chen Zemian split that cooling H₂O into fuel-grade H₂ and O. “He’s not entirely wrong. A healthy relationship should involve growing and progressing together.”
Zheng Huaiyu took a deep breath, hung up, and cursed silently.
Some people cursed in silence; others cursed out loud.
Xiao Kesong, who had already gone abroad for language classes, still made a special overseas call when he heard the news—a defensive one.
“I begged you to study abroad with me, and you refused!”
His language system was scrambled from classes, and he mixed English into his Mandarin tirade: “Who was it that said the life cycle of mobile games is only a few months? That the game would be dead before a year abroad?”
Chen Zemian explained, a bit guilty, “This game has longevity—it’s not so easy to kill. Besides, I’m going abroad mainly to expand the overseas market, not just to keep Lu Zhuonian company.”
Xiao Kesong was so furious he kept making guttural noises.
Chen Zemian had always been independent and resistant to being managed, but he had no temper when it came to Xiao Kesong.
After all, Xiao Kesong was the first person to reach out to him after he arrived in this world. It was also because of Xiao Kesong’s instructions that Lu Zhuonian had gone to Lushui Pavilion to rescue Chen Zhe that night.
So, facing a fuming Xiao Kesong, Chen Zemian could only wonder, how did he even know about the study abroad plan before Lu Zhuonian did?
Realizing he’d called too hastily and nearly exposed his only ally, Zheng Huaiyu, Xiao Kesong made a quick pivot and threw the blame onto Ye Chen.
Chen Zemian said with amusement, “So Mr. Ye is that concerned about my education? I’ll treat him to dinner another day.”
Xiao Kesong’s mind short-circuited, and he hung up angrily.
After struggling for a while, Chen Zemian finally chose a university that was easy to graduate from.
That evening, after Lu Zhuonian returned, Chen Zemian took out the printed offer letter and solemnly announced, “If you really want me to study, I can make do.”
Lu Zhuonian looked at him, surprised. “When did I ever say I wanted you to study?”
Chen Zemian: “???”
He pulled Lu Zhuonian over to the computer and opened the emails. “Didn’t you apply to these schools for me?”
Lu Zhuonian scrolled through them. “Nope.”
Although Chen Zemian had said something earlier about ‘growing together,’ deep down he really didn’t want to go. So when he found out it wasn’t Lu Zhuonian who had applied, his whole mood lit up.
“So you don’t want me to go abroad and ‘upgrade my degree?’” Chen Zemian leaned against Lu Zhuonian’s back and started tearing the offer in half. “I thought you were looking down on my low academic background.”
Lu Zhuonian chuckled and turned to face him. “I’m not highly educated either. I majored in liberal arts, which hasn’t been popular since the Song Dynasty. You haven’t looked down on me—what right do I have to look down on you?”
When it came to persuading Chen Zemian, Lu Zhuonian was an expert.
His words were sweet.
And his mouth was beautiful.
Chen Zemian stared at his lips, briefly dazed.
Lu Zhuonian slowly lifted his eyelids. The moment their eyes met, both of their hearts skipped a beat.
“What are you thinking?” Lu Zhuonian asked.
Chen Zemian swallowed. “Your mouth is really beautiful. It’s M-shaped—no wonder it feels so good to kiss.”
Lu Zhuonian: “…”
“Shouldn’t you be wondering who applied to schools for you?” he said, taking out his phone to send someone a message. “Why are you staring at my mouth?”
Chen Zemian leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “It’s soft and springy.”
Lu Zhuonian knew exactly what was going on in his mind. “What kind of dirty things are you thinking about now?”
Chen Zemian didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his head and kissed Lu Zhuonian again—this time longer—before lowering his gaze and tracing kisses down his jawline to his Adam’s apple.
His kissing skills were excellent—so much so that he awakened a long-dormant desire in Lu Zhuonian.
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes darkened, his breath catching slightly.
Half-kneeling, Chen Zemian closed his eyes and trailed his tongue slowly along Lu Zhuonian’s neck, leaving a string of red marks in his wake.
“We’re going to Tanshan Temple tomorrow to see Abbot Jingchen,” Lu Zhuonian said, eyes half-lidded, threading his fingers through Chen Zemian’s hair and gently rubbing. “Didn’t you say we needed to bathe, fast, and burn incense today?”
Chen Zemian, flushed and breathless, replied, “The vegetarian food at noon was tasteless. I was starving by afternoon and ended up ordering fried chicken. I already broke the rules—what’s one more?”
Lu Zhuonian let out a soft laugh. His chest resonated with a deep, magnetic hum.
Chen Zemian stood and pressed lightly on Lu Zhuonian’s collarbone, leaning forward.
When their lips met, stars burst behind Chen Zemian’s eyes. Light flashed. His breath hitched. He muttered something, almost inaudible.
It was soft and dreamlike, barely more than a sigh.
But Lu Zhuonian heard it clearly.
What Chen Zemian said was—
“Buddha will forgive me.”
*****
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Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal wondering in the void and falling into the translation abyss.
