Chapter 116
The first and second days of the new year passed in a flash. Lu Lingxi felt that he didn't do anything, just ate and drank, and the time was gone.
In the morning of the third day, Yi Hang brought Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan and found Lu Lingxi, saying that they were going out to get together. Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan had been back for a few days, and on the day they came back they went to see Lu Lingxi in Tiny Garden. In the past few days, everyone was busy and there were a lot of relatives in the family. Only today did they free up time and arrange a private room to sing.
Lu Lingxi felt quite enthusiastic about this. Although he was not as familiar with Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan as Yi Hang, he also regarded them as friends in his heart. The only depressing part was that he couldn't take Dahei with him. Yi Hang asked when he booked a private room, but the KTV didn't allow pets to be brought in. Originally, Yi Hang wanted to change to another KTV, but in time for the New Year, most KTV in the city were full, and it wasn't as easy to book as usual.
"Dahei, be good and stay at home, I'll be back this afternoon." Lu Lingxi squatted down and stroked Dahei's head, coaxing patiently.
Dahei gave an aggrieved bark and licked Lu Lingxi's fingers with some reluctance.
Yi Hang was okay with it, having gotten used to the stickiness between Lu Lingxi and Dahei, while Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan both watched with the corners of their mouths twitching, trying to remember what Lu Lingxi used to be like.
After Dahei was appeased, Xiaohei started causing trouble. Lu Lingxi thought that since he couldn't take Dahei, it would be fair to leave Xiaohei at home as well. Who knew that Xiaohei would hear Lu Lingxi's words and bite Lu Lingxi's coat, refusing to let go. Lu Lingxi tugged at Xiaohei's tail and wanted to find a biscuit to lead Xiaohei away. Xiaohei hesitantly struggled between the biscuit and Lu Lingxi for a long time, finally slipping into Lu Lingxi's coat pocket with a look of "can't be lured by food".
Lu Lingxi had no choice but to take Xiaohei with him. When they arrived at the KTV, there were many people waiting to sing in the lobby. There was a lot of commotion and people kept asking the waiter when someone was going to check out. Yi Hang was a little smug, "See, isn't it good I booked well in advance, right? Otherwise we'd have to wait half a day too."
Zheng Tan had grown quite tall during the half a year they hadn't seen him. Now he stood a full half head taller than Yi Hang. He smiled and grabbed Yi Hang's neck, saying in a funny voice like he used to, "Boss is wise."
Yi Hang laughed and dragged Zheng Tan to the service counter, leaving Lu Lingxi and Bai Yuan standing aside waiting for the two of them. Bai Yuan was a bit bored and looked for a topic to talk to Lu Lingxi, "Lao San, Boss told you about me not leaving after the New Year, right?"
Lu Lingxi nodded and said seriously, "Yi Hang really wants you to come to the small restaurant and work with him."
Yi Hang had also said this to Bai Yuan, but Bai Yuan was a little less confident, "I only know how to cut radishes, can I do it?"
"Of course." Lu Lingxi was quite confident about Bai Yuan, "It is easy. Yi Hang didn't know anything when he first went there. I didn't know anything when I first went to Tiny Garden either, and I slowly learned."
Bai Yuan felt relieved when he heard that. He was about to speak, but suddenly his face sank and he said quickly in a low voice: "Lao San, look, are those bastards on the opposite side the ones from the park last time?"
Lu Lingxi smiled and looked over, but was at a loss, "Which ones?"
Remembering that Lu Lingxi's amnesia had not yet healed, Bai Yuan walked through the crowd, thinking he would take a closer look. But there were too many people in the hall, and when he got there, those few people across the hall were no longer visible.
"What's wrong?" Yi Hang and Zheng Tan returned and looked at Bai Yuan strangely.
Bai Yuan whispered that he seemed to have just seen the bastards they had fought with in the park last time. At that time after the fight, Lu Lingxi was hospitalised and the few of them hid outside for a few days, and when they came back, they heard that those bastards had been arrested. Although they hadn't suffered any losses, when Bai Yuan thought of Lu Lingxi's bloodied appearance and the fact that he still couldn't remember anything, he was filled with anger and felt that it was all those bastards' fault. After hearing it, Yi Hang's face also turned ugly and he said hatefully, "I guess it's the New Year and they're released."
Zheng Tan looked around but didn't find the people Bai Yuan mentioned. Seeing that the waiter was still waiting aside to take them to the private room, he also whispered, "All right, cut the crap. Lao San almost recovered, so don't make him unhappy."
Ever since Lu Lingxi lost his memory, they were a bit cautious when talking to Lu Lingxi, just in case Lu Lingxi was unhappy when reminded of his amnesia. Yi Hang did feel that Lu Lingxi had adapted quite well, but what if Lu Lingxi was hiding something inside his heart? It was better not to talk about it.
When they stopped talking, Lu Lingxi didn't know what to say either. He understood which time in the park Bai Yuan was referring to, the very time this body had been injured. He looked searchingly in the direction Bai Yuan had just told him to look, but there were only a few young girls giggling. Lu Lingxi looked away and by the way pushed the Xiaohei back into his pocket. Who knows what happened, but Xiaohei suddenly got excited and wanted to get out. Now that there were so many people outside, Lu Lingxi would not dare to let him out; it would be bad to scare people.
While they followed the waiter to the private room, in another corner of the hall, a young man in his early twenties whispered to the people around him, "Are they the ones who fought with you last time and caused you to get locked up for half a year?"
The man next to him was dark-skinned and thin. He nodded in reply and said viciously, "Brother Li, it's them. They fought with us. What bad luck, I just came out and ran into them. I'll get my brothers and beat them up later."
The young man known as Brother Li laughed and said, "What's the point of fighting in the New Year, it'll be bad if we get into trouble with the police. You go and find out which room they are in, and leave the rest to me." He spoke confidently, and the dark-skinned, thin youth knew that Brother Li had some means, so he agreed at once.
Lu Lingxi and the others didn't know that they were being watched and were crowding in front of the computer in the room, ordering songs. The three of them, except for Lu Lingxi, were all mic hogs and were rolling around on the sofa fighting over who would sing first.
Lu Lingxi looked on in amusement and was hesitant to go up and pull them apart when the door of the room opened and the waiter looked in, seemingly because he had seen them rolling in a ball from outside and was afraid something would happen. The waiter saw that they were fine and retreated. Lu Lingxi was just about to reach out and pull Yi Hang up when Xiaohei in his pocket suddenly poked out, showing his tongue and hissing in the direction of the door.
"Xiaohei?"
Lu Lingxi was a little surprised and reached out to touch Xiaohei, who didn't wrap up around his wrist like before, but instead bowed his body and assumed an S shape. Lu Lingxi remembered that Yan Yue said that this was the usual action before a snake launched an attack. Before he could react, Xiaohei's tail stood up, the muscles of his whole body contracted, and his previously curled body shot out violently. A black arc streaked across the room; Xiaohei flew to the door and burrowed under the sofa at a speed that Lu Lingxi had never seen before.
A dozen seconds later, Xiaohei burrowed out from under the sofa, his tail tightly wrapped around another small green-coloured snake. The little snake had a transparent plastic bag around its neck, which seemed to be filled with some white powder.
"Crap, what is this?" Bai Yuan said in surprise.
Zheng Tan wanted to go over and take a look, but Yi Hang stopped him, "Don't move, that green snake is poisonous, look at its head."
Zheng Tan stopped in his tracks as Xiaohei slowly let go of the little green snake and waved his tail, looking at the little green snake with the same expression as if he was looking at a biscuit at home. The little green snake cringed back with some trepidation, its instincts telling it that it had met a natural enemy. There was that one snake that fed exclusively on poisonous snakes, the nemesis of all poisonous snakes.
Xiaohei held his head high and flicked his tail, and the little green snake removed the plastic bag from its neck in a human-like manner. Xiaohei rolled the bag and slithered to Lu Lingxi's side. Lu LIngxi was a little surprised, "What is this?"
Yi Hang picked it up, and his face darkened after just one look. "Drugs."
The moment the word 'drugs' was uttered, the atmosphere in the room immediately changed. Bai Yuan had an incredulous look on his face, "Is this snake trying to harm us?"
Zheng Tan gave him a blank look, "What does a snake know, it must be whichever son of bitch is behind it."
"That's not right either." Bai Yuan still didn't think it made sense, "Even if there was someone behind it, he would have to be able to talk to the snake, right? Look at this snake, It was going straight for the sofa, it was clearly coming for our coats. Was it trying to stuff it into someone's pocket? This fucking snake is too smart for that, right? Can you find one that's smarter than that?"
Zheng Tan's gaze fell on Xiaohei on the floor.
Bai Yuan: "…"
Lu Lingxi frowned slightly. He wasn't sure until Bai Yuan said so but was the little green snake also an evolved animal like Xiaohei? Did that mean that there was another person behind it? He also wondered if Xiaohei could communicate with its own kind, but Big Brother Yan wasn't there, so even if Xiaohei could, Lu Lingxi would not understand what he meant.
While a few people were talking, Xiaohei had already started dripping saliva over the little green snake. Lu Lingxi speechlessly grabbed Xiaohei's tail. The little green snake was still useful and couldn't be eaten now. Besides, he was used to Xiaohei eating cakes and drinking milk. If suddenly he had to see Xiaohei swallowing a snake, it would be a bit uncomfortable.
Xiaohei waved his tail in resignation and kept a close eye on his food.
"So what now? The bastard who did this to us must have called the police. Let's go now?" Bai Yuan asked as he came back to his senses.
"What are we leaving for, we have to find that bastard before we go!" Yi Hang said as his gaze shifted to Xiaohei, his eyes flickering, "Lao San, can you get this snake to take the drugs back to the person who raised it? That son of bitch dares to harm us, let's call the police too, let's see who's afraid of whom."
Lu Lingxi understood what he meant and stroked Xiaohei's head, repeating Yi Hang's words. Xiaohei waved his tail, somewhat reluctant to let his food go. Lu Lingxi had no choice but to compromise with Xiaohei, "A piece of cake."
Xiaohei struggled a little, and Lu Lingxi whispered, "Two pieces."
As he added up to three pieces of cake, Xiaohei dashed out like lightning, whipping his tail and rolling up the little green snake.
Lu Lingxi: "…"
Perhaps the two snakes could really communicate. He didn't know what Xiaohei said to the little green snake, but the little green snake obediently slithered ahead and led the way back to its original room. Xiaohei followed behind with the plastic bag containing the white powder. Lu Lingxi pretended to go to the toilet and watched from afar as the little green snake and Xiaohei slipped forward one after the other against the wall. Occasionally someone passed by the corridor but didn't notice their presence at all. He thought for a while and gave Fang Lei a call, saying he was in a bit of trouble and asking if Fang Lei could come to the KTV.
While Yi Hang said he wanted to call the police against the other party for framing them with drugs, Lu Lingxi was looking for Fang Lei because of this little green snake. With the change in Fengcheng's environment, especially with the existence of several purified places, the evolution of people and animals would definitely happen as well. Just because he had not encountered it before, he couldn't say that this situation didn't exist. This little green snake was just one example; perhaps there were other evolved animals and humans in places Lu LIngxi didn't know about. These people might all be good people, but as long as one of them was a bad person and used evolved animals to do bad things, the harm caused would be greater than average.
Lu Lingxi felt he had an obligation to warn Fang Lei.
Chapter 117
Lu Lingxi made it sound simple on the phone, but Fang Lei hung up the phone and immediately rushed to the KTV. He knew that Lu Lingxi was not the kind of person to invite trouble, and he had been worried all the way that something might have happened to Lu Lingxi if he had arrived late. When he arrived at the KTV, he found that the police had already come, and the reason for their presence was that someone had reported that people were gathering here to take drugs.
In China, the allegations of drug abuse are very serious, and the police officer didn't dare to neglect the call. After receiving the report, he immediately notified the nearby police station. The police station sent the people very quickly, and they went straight to the room of Lu Lingxi and others, but found nothing. The kids seemed to be in a clear state of mind and didn't look like they had taken drugs. The four policemen who came to discuss the matter quickly left one policeman in charge of questioning, while the other three went to another room. The police officer receiving the calls had received two calls separately, and the reported location was the same KTV. The second call was sent directly to the four police officers for the sake of saving police resources.
The fact that they had found nothing at Lu Lingxi's room had already given the officers the idea that this was a prank. But to their surprise, they did find a small bag of drugs in the other compartment.
"This is impossible!"
When the police found the bag of drugs inside the jacket of the sofa, a young man dressed in eye-catching clothes immediately shouted. The young man was none other than Xu Li, who was known as Brother Li. Xu Li had a look of disbelief on his face, as if he had seen something that surprised him. Because the recent shipment was good, he had only kept such a small packet of drugs on him. If it wasn't to show off Shandian (Lightning) and teach those bastards who dared to mess with his brothers a lesson in the process, he wouldn't have taken out this bag of drugs. How could it be here again when Shandian had obviously said she'd already delivered it?
"Be honest, what's not possible!" The cop scolded angrily, "Are these your clothes?"
Xu Li shrank back and nodded. Seeing that the policeman was silent, he suddenly reacted, "Shandian, where's Shadian?"
He mentioned Shandian, and the few people in the room being checked together knew he was talking about the little green snake. The policeman didn't know and thought he had missed someone, so he took it very seriously, "Who's Shan Dian? Where did he go?"
Xu Li hesitated for a few seconds and whispered, "Shadian is a pet snake that I raise."
The policeman was somewhat unconvinced, but several other people testified that Shandian really wasn't a person's name, but a snake's name. The three policemen looked at each other, and the policeman who had previously stayed by Lu Lingxi's side for questioning brought Fang Lei over. The three policemen in the room were all a little surprised to see Fang Lei. They were not from the same police station but they all basically knew him. "Why is Team Fang coming over?"
Fang Lei smiled and explained, "I originally invited my little brother and a few of his friends to sing, but I didn't expect to see Xiao Zheng in the room. So I listened to Xiao Zheng's story and came over to see what was going on."
When he said that, the three policemen from before suddenly realised, "So there was your younger brother among those kids just now. Which one was it?"
"The most well-behaved one." Fang Lei laughed.
He said it in a serious manner, and the policemen laughed, but there was indeed one of the four kids from before who looked particularly well-behaved. Although they didn't know when Fang Lei had gotten a younger brother, looking at the way Fang Lei talked about his brother, it was obvious that the two of them had a good relationship. It was a good thing that it was only a false alarm, otherwise they wouldn't have known how to face Fang Lei.
Fang Lei acted as if he didn't see what they were thinking and only cared about the situation over there. When he heard that a bag of drugs had been seized and they were about to take these people back for a urine test, he waved his hand, "Alright, you guys are busy then."
The police officers nodded to him with a smile and took Xu Li and the others to leave. Xu Li was a bit anxious, "Shandian hasn't been found yet."
"It's such a big KTV, where are you going to find that snake you're keeping?!" A policeman chided.
"Didn't you say that the snake wasn't poisonous? Just inform the KTV to be careful." Another policeman said.
No one took Xu Li's pet seriously. Their manpower was already stretched thin, they had just received another call and were all too busy out on the streets to find the little green snake. Besides, the KTV covered such a large area and there were rooms everywhere, so it wasn't practical to rely on just the four of them to find it. They could only inform the KTV to pay attention. After a few words, the police officers took the guys away and left. Fang Lei's eyes fell on Xu Li and he frowned thoughtfully.
"Brother Fang." Lu Lingxi saw that the police had left and approached him.
Fang Lei smiled at Lu Lingxi and fished out a red envelope from his pocket. "Xiao Xi, take it, it's for you. I was planning to wait for Tiny Garden to open to see you, it's lucky that I met you today."
Lu Lingxi was taken aback for a moment, not expecting Fang Lei to give him a red envelope. While he hesitated, Fang Lei had already stuffed the red envelope into his hands. Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed, as he had already received several red envelopes in just a few days after the New Year. He always felt that red envelopes were something only children received, and it was a bit strange for him to receive red envelopes when he was already an adult. After hesitantly putting away the red envelope, Lu Lingxi was about to hint to Fang Lei about the little green snake when Fang Lei suddenly said, "Was one of the people who were just taken away also able to communicate with animals?"
Lu Lingxi looked up suddenly and gave Fang Lei a surprised look. From the moment Fang Lei arrived, he hadn't even had the chance to say anything, and Fang Lei had already guessed it. Fang Lei looked at Lu Lingxi's expression with amusement, reached out and rubbed his head, asking with a smile, "The one he can communicate with is a snake?"
Lu Lingxi nodded, simply not knowing what to say.
Fang Lei's heart was beating hard; he had been a police officer for many years, reading people's words and expressions was basic. Originally he was still confused as to what was going on. How could Xiao Xi be reported as taking drugs? It was inconvenient for him to ask in front of his colleagues, but when he saw the young man called Xu Li and noticed how nervous he was about a snake, Fang Lei figured out what was going on. Two different reporting calls, the former came from the arrested ones, and the latter was made by Lu Lingxi and the others. The ones who were caught were probably trying to frame Xiao Xi with drugs, but Xiao Xi saw through them, and instead set a trap for them.
As for how they were framed, Fang Lei looked at Lu Lingxi with a smirk, "Where is that snake?"
Lu Lingxi glanced around and tentatively called out to the sofa, "Xiaohei?"
From under the sofa, Xiaohei herded the little green snake to slowly crawl out, guarding his food vigilantly.
Fang Lei had an unexpected expression on his face; he guessed that Xiaohei must be by Lu Lingxi's side. By now, Fang Lei had already affirmed that Xiaohei and Dahei could communicate with people. He remembered that Xiaohei was Yan Yue's pet, which meant… Fang Lei was so envious when this thought flashed. He really couldn't restrain his curiosity and asked in a low voice, "How do you guys do that?"
Lu Lingxi was actually also a little bewildered; at first it seemed like it was natural to communicate. He felt that evolution was a trend in the future. He didn't know about other places, but the number of people who could evolve in Fengcheng would only increase. After thinking about it, Lu Lingxi came up with the idea and said, "Why don't you also keep a pet by your side, Big Brother Fang?" This should be the fastest way to develop a tacit understanding, and the chances of being able to communicate with each other in the future would be greater. Fang Lei smiled and his eyes fell on the little green snake on the ground, "Then I'll take this little green snake back with me as a pet."
He instantly recognised this little green snake as a venomous snake, and quite a dangerous one. Although he didn't know why the little green snake was afraid of Xiaohei, it certainly couldn't be left by Lu Lingxi's side. It would be troublesome in case it accidentally bit Lu Lingxi.
When Xiaohei heard that Fang Lei was going to snatch his food, he waved his tail angrily and hissed at Fang Lei.
Fang Lei looked at him with interest, "Xiaohei disagrees?"
Lu Lingxi looked at Xiaohei speechlessly and explained in a small voice, "The little green snake is Xiaohei's food, Brother Fang, you can exchange it for a cake or a biscuit."
Fang Lei: "…"
After paying five pieces of cake, Fang Lei finally exchanged the little green snake from Xiaohei. He found a plastic bottle and carefully stuffed the little green snake into it, threw it into the car, waved at Lu Lingxi and drove away from the KTV. While he waited for the green light, Lu Lingxi's words flashed in Fang Lei's mind. In fact, even if Lu Lingxi didn't say it, Fang Lei was aware of the problem. It might not seem special that people could communicate with animals, but just as Xu Li had instructed a snake to frame Lu Lingxi today, there might be others who would use animals to achieve their own goals. Fang Lei's initial thought was that if police dogs could communicate with people, it would be more convenient for them to solve cases. But since he could use animals to solve cases, there would be others who would use them to commit crimes, for the same reason.
Fang Lei looked somewhat grave. Although he didn't understand why Lu Lingxi was sure that there would be more and more people like them, but for no reason he believed Lu Lingxi's words. He always felt that Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue knew something, but the other party wasn't willing to say, so he played dumb and didn't ask. Anyway, he was friends with Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi, and that was enough.
Once Fang Lei left, Lu Lingxi and the others also hurriedly checked out of the room. Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan had long since lost the wish to sing, at first waiting excitedly for the police to come over, and later waiting to see what was going on at Xu Li's side. After the excitement was over, their attention was again focused on Xiaohei and they kept asking Lu Lingxi where he bought Xiaohei. They also planned to buy a snake to raise. The scene of Xiaohei catching the little green snake was really too attractive.
Lu Lingxi honestly said that he didn't buy Xiaohei, he found him in the plant nursery, and Zheng Tan immediately yelled that he would go to the plant nursery next time, so he might be able to pick one up too. Lu Lingxi actually wanted to suggest that they should also have a pet, so that they might evolve after a while. But Zheng Tan and Bai Yuan wanted to raise a snake that was the same as Xiaohei. Only Yi Hang guessed something and planned to raise a dog when he went back. He liked dogs more.
Instead of going straight home, they drove around the streets for a long time in Yi Hang's little beat-up Jinbei. When they passed by the police station where Fang Lei was, Lu Lingxi took advantage of their lack of attention and used the point of the power of nature he had been rewarded with last time to purify the soil around the police station. There was only so much he could do to help Fang Lei. He hoped that Fang Lei would soon achieve what he wanted.
Chapter 118
When Yan Yue received the call from Lu Lingxi, he was bored stiff with the Spring Festival dinner hosted by the Ye family.
It was a tradition in the upper class circles of Zhongjing that the Spring Festival dinner was held every year in the first lunar month, and each time a different family hosted the dinner. This year it happened to be the Ye family. Elder Ye waved his hand and left the matter to his grandsons. As soon as Ye Kang saw that the situation was dangerous, he immediately pretended to be sick and avoided this task. In his words, he didn't intend to refresh his sense of existence in front of the old man; whoever was willing to do this kind of hard work could do it.
In order to facilitate everyone's communication, the dinner was served in a buffet style. It didn't take long for Ye Kang to find Yan Yue. Yan Yue was surrounded by many people who were exchanging pleasantries with him, and he seemed to be quite popular. Although everyone present knew that Yan Yue had left Hopewell for the time being, no one was foolish enough to take sides now until the dust had settled. Across the crowd, Ye Kang raised an eyebrow at Yan Yue, signalling that he had made all the arrangements. Yan Yue showed an expression of understanding.
The two quietly got rid of the people around them and stood together. Ye Kang looked around, lowered his voice and smiled, "The one circling around Sister Li is Yan Hai, right?"
Yan Yue glanced faintly and gave an indifferent hmph.
"He's quite good at seizing the moment." Ye Kang said meaningfully. There were many people who had heard the rumours of the marriage between the Yin and Lu families, and Yan Hai looked like he was in a hurry, but it had to be Yan Shihui's idea. "Should we give him a little push?" Ye Kang looked at Yan Yue curiously.
Yan Yue was about to speak when his mobile phone suddenly vibrated. The familiar name on the caller ID made Yan Yue's eyes soften. He said a quick word to Ye Kang and took the phone to a corner of the hall, where there was no one around and it was pretty quiet, perfect for answering the phone.
"Xiao Xi."
"Big Brother Yan." Lu Lingxi's voice was soft and sticky, with a hint of laziness from having eaten and drunk. "Have you eaten yet?"
Yan Yue smiled and said softly, "I have eaten, quite a lot." He didn't really have much of an appetite in the evening, and had only eaten a little. However, in order to avoid Lu Lingxi's worry, Yan Yue would occasionally tell a small lie with good intentions.
Lu Lingxi didn't suspect anything and without waiting for Yan Yue to ask he told about the day's events in great detail. The appearance of the little green snake, the bravery of Xiaohei, and his confession to a certain extent to Fang Lei; Yan Yue listened somewhat tensely, especially when he heard that Lu Lingxi was almost framed for keeping drugs. His face distorted. "Do you know who they are?"
"It seems to be people I had a fight with before." Lu Lingxi said somewhat sheepishly and immediately changed to another topic, "I didn't even know that Xiaohei was so powerful, he can actually eat poisonous snakes."
Yan Yue knew what Lu Lingxi was avoiding and considerately didn't pursue the matter. Speaking of Xiaohei, he was moved in his heart. He had never been able to find out the species of Xiaohei after searching online for a long time before, but if Xiaohei fed on venomous snakes, it was somewhat like the description of a kingsnake. This snake itself wasn't poisonous, but was naturally immune to snake venom, and its favourite food was all kinds of poisonous snakes. It wasn't that Yan Yue hadn't looked up information on kingsnakes at the time, but there were basically no kingsnakes that were as black as Xiaohei, with no spots or rings of colour, and not quite the same shape. Could Xiaohei be a mutant kingsnake?
While this thought flashed, Yan Yue cooperated and praised Xiaohei a few times, and then listened to Lu Lingxi who seemed to have turned on the mic, and Xiaohei's hissing voice sounded. Yan Yue laughed and had to praise a few more times. Xiaohei excitedly wrapped around the phone, shook his tail vigorously and hissed.
Lu Lingxi sat on the bed with his legs bent, smiling as he poked Xiaohei's head. Xiaohei had really spent a lot of time with Dahei, even the way he wagged his tail was exactly the same. "By the way, Big Brother Yan…" Lu Lingxi was just about to say something when the background sound on Yan Yue's side suddenly became noisy, as if someone was exclaiming. "What's wrong?" Lu Lingxi asked worriedly.
"Nothing, it seems like someone has had a little accident." Yan Yue comforted him in a calm voice.
At the entrance of the hall, Yin Ya stood with half of her clothes drenched, leaning into Lu Wei'an's arms, her curves exposed. Her expression was frightened as she looked around with a pitiful look. Yan Yue carelessly swept a glance and hooked the corners of his mouth. Ye Kang noticed his gaze and raised his glass at Yan Yue from afar. Yan Yue raised his eyebrow and smiled, not bothering with what happened next. His goal had been achieved, and it was up to Yin Ya to seize this opportunity. After this slight distraction, Yan Yue's attention returned to the phone.
Lu Lingxi wasn't too curious about what was happening on Yan Yue's side; Yan Yue said it was fine, so he treated it as if everything was fine. After talking about Xiaohei, Lu Lingxi mentioned Fang Lei again. Yan Yue was a little sour. Xiao Xi mentioned Fang Lei a little too often this evening.
As soon as Yan Yue hung up the phone, Ye Kang came over. He exaggeratedly brought a glass of water for Yan Yue and said in a pushy manner, "Do you need to moisten your throat?"
Yan Yue chuckled and nonchalantly took a sip of the water, commenting, "Good service."
Ye Kang gave him a feigned glare, then said with a little pride, "How's that? The person I arranged is reliable, right?"
Yan Yue nodded; Ye Kang's arrangement was quite good. No matter how he brought Yin Ya and Lu Wei'an together, anyway, what everyone saw now was that Yin Ya was drenched and held in Lu Wei'an's arms. In light of the rumours of a marriage between the Yin and Lu families, with a little effort, he was helping Yin Ya achieve what she wanted. Thinking about this, Yan Yue found his father through the crowd. His father's expression looked fine, but Yan Hai's expression couldn't hide a hint of impatience.
"Yan Hai is anxious." Ye Kang whispered, following Yan Yue's line of sight.
Yan Yue glanced at Yan Hai as if nothing had happened, then looked away indifferently, and said, "Father is also anxious."
No matter whether he or Yin Ya joined the Lu family in marriage, it would mean that the Lu family would have an excuse to intervene in the fight for Hopewell. Elder Lu wasn't as easy to talk to as Grandpa, who had too many scruples and was suppressed by his Yan Shihui, only able to oppose him in a small way. Elder Lu, however, had no qualms, and Yan Yue could hardly wait to see the Lu family make a move. Yan Yue was in a happy mood, thinking that he didn't know whose marriage to the Lu family, his or Yin Ya's, would make his father feel more blocked.
With this piece of gossip, the rest of the evening didn't seem so boring. Towards the end of the dinner, Yan Yue met his grandfather, but Yin Ya didn't accompany Yin Yongde. Tonight, Yin Ya was following Grandpa in the name of the Yin family. If something happened to Yin Ya, Grandpa would definitely have to deal with it, but Yan Yue didn't know what agreement the Yin family and the Lu family had reached.
Yin Yongde seemed a little guilty towards Yan Yue, "Ah Yue, Xiao Ya, she…"
The old man was full of hope that Yan Yue could marry the Lu family in exchange for the Lu family's support, and he had even made a deal with the old man of the Lu family to have the children meet formally today and engage them as soon as possible if they were interested. As a result, before he could find Yan Yue, Yin Ya had an accident and completely disrupted his plans. Yin Yongde was furious, but he couldn't be ruthless to Yin Ya. In his heart, he suspected that what happened wasn't an accident but a scheme by Yin Ya. However, he couldn't tell anyone about his suspicions. Holding back, he felt even more sorry for Yan Yue.
Yin Yongde wanted to suppress this matter. There were many new events happening in the circle, and as long as Yin Ya kept a low profile for a while, no one would probably mention it anymore. Even if the marriage between the Yin and Lu families didn't work out, Yin Yongde would never agree to her marrying a sick boy who could have problems at any time. Whether it was Yin Ya's scheme or his plan to abandon the Yin-Lu marriage, Yin Yongde felt that Yan Yue was the most innocent person in this. But Yin Ya was also his granddaughter, so what could he do? Yin Yongde looked at Yan Yue in embarrassment, unable to say anything for a long time.
Yan Yue gently hooked the corners of his mouth; his smile was standard and there was no sign of any discontent at all. As if he didn't know what Yin Yongde wanted to say, he calmly asked, "Did Mother go home first?"
Yin Yongde smiled bitterly, "Your mother sent Xiao Ya back. I'm afraid, tonight she won't…"
"I see." Yan Yue politely interrupted Yin Yongde, "Father has already said that he won't be coming home tonight either. I've asked my assistant to book a flight for tomorrow at seven, and I'm leaving Zhongjing first thing in the morning. Mother's luggage will be delivered by the housekeeper. Is there anything else Grandpa wants?"
He spoke calmly, but Yin Yongde was taken aback, "Ah Yue, you're leaving in such a hurry?"
Yan Yue smiled and said "en", and very smoothly pushed Ye Kang forward. "Ah Kang helped me contact a psychologist. The other party's schedule is very tight and I need to cooperate."
Yin Yongde didn't really believe Yan Yue's words, but he looked at Yan Yue and then at Ye Kang who wasn't far away, let out a silent sigh and didn't say anything else.
Yan Yue lowered his eyes slightly, unconsciously rubbing the wine glass in his hand, and likewise didn't speak again.
He understood all of his grandfather's thoughts, but this was precisely the biggest difference between him and his grandfather. Just as he couldn't trust his father, he couldn't trust his grandfather wholeheartedly either. Even though his grandfather had always been clearly supportive of him in the inheritance of Hopewell and had even shown much favour to him in general, Yan Yue knew very well in his heart that in Grandpa's eyes, he and Yin Ya were both his mother's children and were in fact the same. The reason for Grandpa's favouritism towards him was nothing more than the guilt that arose from his mother's coldness towards him. In essence, there was no difference between how Grandpa saw him and Yin Ya and how his father saw him and Yan Hai.
Chapter 119
That night, Yan Yue had insomnia again. It seemed that after he returned to Zhongjing, he never slept well. Holding back the urge to rush back to Fengcheng overnight, Yan Yue casually took a book from his luggage, intending to use it to pass the time.
Between the pages, a note with a picture of Dahei stealing a tomato showed up. Yan Yue's eyes fell on the note and he couldn't help but smile faintly. He remembered this note, which he had taken away from Xiao Xi's house when he first went there for dinner. At that time, he had been jealous of Dahei being drawn, imagining that one day Dahei on the drawing would be replaced by him.
As the thought flashed through his mind, Yan Yue smiled and flipped the note over, only to be slightly stunned when he saw the back of the note. He didn't know when two little people appeared on the back of the note, one tall and one short, standing hand in hand together. Although the figures looked cartoonish, he immediately recognised that one of them was himself and the other was Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue's heart suddenly raced; the corners of his mouth turned up and the smile was impossible to suppress. He didn't know when Lu Lingxi had found this note and when he had drawn these two little people, but the happiness Yan Yue felt at this moment made him unable to resist the urge to see Lu Lingxi as soon as possible. Yan Yue touched the little people on the paper reverently and changed his mind, intending to rush back to Fengcheng overnight.
An Jie had long been accustomed to his boss's crazy behaviour and packed his bags in one go. In fact, he and Ye Kang had made a private bet on whether Yan Yue could hold out until the fourth day of the first month before returning to Zhongjing. Now it seemed that he had won, and Ye Kang would have to pay.
"Should we let Xiao Xi know?" An Jie asked.
"No need."
Yan Yue shook his head. It was almost twelve o'clock now, and it would be after midnight when they got back. If Xiao Xi knew he was rushing back all night, he might hold back from sleeping and wait for him. Yan Yue didn't want to torment Lu Lingxi, so it was better to forget about it.
There were not many people on the high-speed train at night, and the journey was very smooth. By the time they saw the Fengcheng station, it wasn't yet two o'clock in the morning. Yan Yue was in a good mood all the way, holding the book from before and looking at the note inside for a long time. He didn't know how to describe his mood at the moment; he was so happy he was about to explode. Yan Yue knew in his heart that his methods of getting him and Xiao Xi together were not very honourable; to be more precise, he had snatched Lu Lingxi without the young man knowing anything. He had imagined how Lu Lingxi would look back on their time together when he grew up and had his own understanding of the world, but didn't dare to think about it… until the two little people on the back of the note told him the answer.
Yan Yue looked at the note and smiled faintly.
Hongfu Community
Lu Lingxi didn't know that Yan Yue was about to come back and was sleeping soundly under the quilt. When Dahei closed his eyes and huddled beside Lu Lingxi, he heard a soft noise on the ground, which seemed to be the sound of Xiaohei wagging his tail. Dahei's ears twitched, he opened his eyes and stood up suddenly.
On the floor of the bedroom, Xiaohei excitedly showed his tongue at Dahei, his tail curled around a small snake with red stripes. Dahei squinted his eyes and jumped out of the bed lightly, holding the little red snake with one paw and opening his mouth to bite it. Xiaohei in a hurry stopped Dahei from biting and hissed at Dahei.
"What's the matter?" The movement of the two awakened Lu Lingxi. Lu Lingxi rubbed his eyes and sat up, turned on the light and looked at the floor in a daze.
Xiaohei eagerly showed his tongue at Lu Lingxi, and his tail curled around the little red snake vigorously, trying to pull it out from under Dahei's paw and push it towards Lu Lingxi.
Lu Lingxi looked at it blankly, wondering where Xiaohei had found such a snake and what did he mean pushing it in front of him? "…Xiaohei, are you going to give it to me? "Lu Lingxi guessed hesitatingly.
Xiaohei waved his tail quickly; obviously Lu Lingxi guessed his meaning correctly.
Lu Lingxi had a bit of a headache; what did he need a snake for in the middle of the night? And this little red snake might also be a poisonous snake. After thinking about it, Lu Lingxi patiently said to Xiaohei, "I don't need this snake, Xiaohei, can you send it back to its original place?"
Xiaohei spun around on the floor twice, seeming aggrieved, left the little red snake behind and crawled out. The little red snake moved its body and tried to run, but Dahei held it down with his paw. In a short while, Xiaohei crawled in with half a piece of cake left over from the evening's meal, pushed the cake in front of Lu Lingxi and pushed the little red snake in front of Lu Lingxi as well.
Lu Lingxi looked at the cake and then at Xiaohei, and understood what Xiaohei meant in a flash. "You want to trade the little red snake for the cake?"
Xiaohei waved his tail excitedly.
Lu Lingxi: "…"
He didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Just because Fang Lei had promised five pieces of cake in exchange for the little green snake, Xiaohei remembered this and went out in the middle of the night to catch a little red snake and came back to exchange it for cakes. Lu Lingxi crouched in front of Xiaohei in amusement, thinking how to explain it to Xiaohei. Dahei suddenly twitched his ears and barked in a low voice. Lu Lingxi's eyes lit up and he no longer cared about Xiaohei. He grabbed his coat haphazardly and pulled open the balcony door, running out in a flash, Dahei followed behind Lu Lingxi quickly, leaving Xiaohei staring dumbly at their backs, somewhat aggrieved.
"Big Brother Yan!"
Lu Lingxi and Yan Yue entered the apartment almost simultaneously. As soon as Yan Yue turned around, he saw Lu Lingxi running in from the balcony, looking at him with his eyes curved in a smile. The smile poured out of Yan Yue's eyes, and in a few steps he walked over and hugged Lu Lingxi. "Still up so late?"
"I fell asleep and woke up again." Lu Lingxi meekly explained.
"Boss?" An Jie pushed the door open with his luggage.
Lu Lingxi looked embarrassed and quickly pushed Yan Yue away. "Brother An."
An Jie looked at Lu Lingxi with a smile, "Happy New Year, Xiao Xi, Brother An has wrapped a big red envelope for you."
Lu Lingxi had been receiving red envelopes so much lately that he was a little embarrassed when he heard it. "I'm already nineteen, I don't need red envelopes anymore."
An Jie curved his eyes at Lu Lingxi, gesturing to Yan Yue, and said, "No need to save money for Brother An, just have the boss wrap two red envelopes for me when the time comes. The wool comes off the sheep anyway."
Lu Lingxi held back a smile and nodded.
An Jie didn't stay here much longer and very consciously left after saying a few words. Looking at Yan Yue, he guessed that if he stayed any longer, his red envelope for next year would be half smaller. As soon as An Jie left, Yan Yue hugged and kissed Lu Lingxi eagerly. Lu Lingxi was so softened by his kisses that he leaned into Yan Yue's arms. Yan Yue wrapped one arm around Lu Lingxi and patted his back, feeling that he couldn't get enough of Lu Lingxi. He forced himself to let go of Lu Lingxi and said softly, "Xiao Xi, go back to your room first, I'll come over after taking a shower."
"Okay."
Lu Lingxi didn't go back next door but took off his coat and got under the quilt in his pyjamas. Dahei came over, licked Lu Lingxi's fingers and consciously flopped down on the mat in the living room. In a few minutes' time Yan Yue had finished taking a shower and lay down beside Lu Lingxi with his body still a little wet, encircling Lu Lingxi tightly in his arms.
"Xiao Xi."
"En?"
"I love you."
Yan Yue lowered his head and rested his forehead against Lu Lingxi's, his eyes focused on Lu Lingxi, his gaze burning with amazing heat.
Lu Lingxi blinked and reached out to hug Yan Yue, letting out a low muffled sound.
Yan Yue chuckled and moved over to give Lu Lingxi a kiss on the lips, whispering, "Go to sleep."
Lu Lingxi obediently closed his eyes. Yan Yue smiled and kissed him on the eyes, reaching out to turn off the light. The room was plunged into darkness, but Yan Yue couldn't sleep for a while as he held Lu Lingxi in his arms. For the first time, he wasn't repulsed by the feeling of insomnia; instead he was enjoying the silence almost peacefully. The emotions that had been suppressed over the past few days gradually eased, and the pale emptiness in his heart was filled with the warmth of being with Lu Lingxi. Yan Yue tenderly held Lu Lingxi; his body had no desire to do anything but to embrace Lu Lingxi like this.
Lu Lingxi rubbed himself against Yan Yue's arms and found a comfortable position. He felt in a daze as if he had forgotten something. What was it exactly?
In the next room, Xiaohei was guarding the little red snake, waiting with bated breath for Lu Lingxi to return. He was a little hungry and had already eaten the cake from before. Xiaohei's gaze fell on the little red snake, and he dripped two drops of saliva. The little red snake stiffened and didn't move, trying to convey an air of "I am not tasty, don't eat me".
Xiaohei flicked his tail, aggrieved, and held back from eating the snake. The little red snake = cake, if you eat the little red snake, you won't have any cake; Xiaohei still knew how to calculate. But Xiaohei didn't understand why Lu Lingxi didn't want the little red snake. Was it because the little red snake wasn't as thick as the little green snake? Xiaohei slowly sized up the little red snake, hesitating whether to catch another one.
While Xiaohei was waiting, Lu Lingxi slept until seven in the morning, when Yan Yue had already returned from a run outside with Dahei. He entered the door while answering the phone, found a mat by the door and placed it in front of Dahei, letting him wipe his paws himself.
"Okay, say hello to Grandpa Su for me." Yan Yue chatted briefly and hung up the phone, smiling as he looked at Lu Lingxi, "Awake?"
Lu Lingxi nodded in a daze, asking as he dressed, "Is it Dr. Su?"
"Yes, he told me that the lab is making very good progress on the mice and wants to extend it to clinical use."
The word "clinical" caught Lu Lingxi's attention and he was a little surprised, "So fast?"
Yan Yue came over and kissed Lu Lingxi, explaining, "It is not a general promotion, but the lab will come forward to recruit a group of volunteers to test the new drug. The scope won't be too big, it is estimated to be just a few dozen volunteers."
"Oh." Lu Lingxi nodded and stroked Dahei as he prepared to go wash his face.
Yan Yue helped him squeeze the toothpaste and said smoothly, "I just came back and met Brother Feng, he asked us to go over for breakfast later."
Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue sheepishly. Yan Yue chuckled and rubbed Lu Lingxi's hair, saying in a low voice, "Don't worry, Brother Feng said that your mom hasn't gotten up yet."
When he said this, Lu Lingxi couldn't help but frown slightly. Wang Shuxiu seemed to be getting up a little late these days, was she too tired from the New Year?
Chapter 120
During the morning meal, Lu Lingxi stared at Wang Shuxiu several times. Wang Shuxiu's face was rosy and her speech was full of energy. She didn't look like she was tired from the New Year.
Including Yan Yue, there were only four people gathered around the table. Lu Lingxi's little abnormality was soon noticed by the others. Wang Shuxiu looked at him strangely, "Did I grow flowers on my face? What are you looking at, Xiao Xi?"
"Are you not feeling well, Mom?" Lu Lingxi expressed his doubts simply, "These days Mom has been getting up late, is it because she is tired from the New Year?"
When he said this, Wang Shuxiu and Xiao Feng were taken aback at the same time; they hadn't really realised the problem. Wang Shuxiu thought about it, but it seemed that she was indeed a bit sleepy these days and didn't want to get up in the morning. But she didn't take it seriously; it was normal for her to sleep a lot in winter when it was cold. "It's okay." Wang Shuxiu didn't care much, "It's just that it's cold and I sleep more."
Xiao Feng interjected, "Do you want to go to the hospital?"
Wang Shuxiu laughed, "What hospital, I can eat and drink, don't worry about it."
She said it was okay, and it was hard for others to say anything, so the topic at the dinner table turned to Yan Yue. Wang Shuxiu couldn't help but feel strange about Yan Yue's sudden return. She had never heard Xiao Xi say that Yan Yue would come back so soon before. Hearing Xiao Feng mention it in the morning, Wang Shuxiu was a bit taken aback. Speaking of which, she and Yan Yue had been neighbours for half a year, and she had a very good impression of Yan Yue. The only thing that felt problematic was that Yan Yue hadn't talked about any girlfriend for all this time. She wondered if there was something wrong with Yan Yue's health. But whether to talk about girlfriends or not was Yan Yue's own business. Wang Shuxiu was not particularly gossipy, so she muttered a few words in her heart and forgot about it.
Hearing Wang Shuxiu ask about his reason for coming back so early, Yan Yue used work as an excuse. In addition to the cooperation with Gao Yongliang, Su Lang's research was also mentioned. As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Shuxiu's heart moved and she thought of Pan Liang. The last time she went to see Pan Liang with Lin Mei, Wang Shuxiu really felt that Pan Liang's son Pan Xiaobao was pitiful. He suffered so much at such a young age, but he kept comforting Pan Liang that he was fine. This kind of disease was a black hole for spending money. It had only been a short time since Pan Liang's son was hospitalised, but they had already spent all their savings and were now spending the money from the sale of their house.
Wang Shuxiu was soft-hearted and asked one more question, "Are there any conditions for recruiting volunteers for that research?"
Yan Yue shook his head, "There are no conditions, but there are different types of leukaemia and not all patients are suitable for this experiment."
Leukaemia is just a generic term, and is divided into different types according to the severity of the onset of the disease. The research in Su Lang's lab had shown that the methylin from the mutated donglingcao had a positive effect on the treatment of M2 acute myeloid leukaemia, and was able to induce apoptosis of the pathogenic protein of this type of leukaemia, with remarkable therapeutic effects. In particular, the strain of mutant evolved donglingcao provided to them by Lu Lingxi, which contained 60% more methylin than ordinary donglingcao, became the most ideal raw material for Su Lang's research.
Yan Yue didn't know much about these things but he was used to reading between the lines and quickly realised what was going on, so he asked, knowing the answer, "Auntie, is there a patient you know?"
Xiao Feng listened to Yan Yue's extremely calm voice calling Wang Shuxiu "Auntie" and the corners of his mouth twitched invisibly. However, the way everyone addressed each other in their family had always been confusing, and no one was particular about it. For example, Yi Hang called Lu Lingxi "Lao San" and called Wang Shuxiu "Sister", and Tiger called him "Brother Feng" and called Lu Lingxi "Brother Xiao Xi". It was Yan Yue who was the most consistent, consciously putting him and Xiao Xi in the same generation. Wang Shuxiu was uncomfortable at first, but later got used to it after hearing it for a while.
She nodded, "Yes, there is a colleague, it is his son, the child is not yet ten years old. He looks really pitiful."
Yan Yue understood Wang Shuxiu's meaning and pondered slightly, "I don't know much about this either, I'll get a friend to go and see what's going on. He is an expert in this area. If it is suitable, he can discuss recruiting a volunteer. And even if it is not suitable he can help look at other options."
"Okay." Wang Shuxiu nodded. After eating she gave Pan Liang a call and explained the situation. Pan Liang, who received her call, almost cried on the phone. A big man in his thirties choked back a sob and was somewhat incoherent in his gratitude to Wang Shuxiu. Although being recruited as a volunteer didn't necessarily mean curing the disease, and whether this new drug had any other consequences was anyone's guess. But for Pan Liang, who was in deep despair, this was undoubtedly a light in the darkness.
Hanging up the phone, Wang Shuxiu let out a sigh and gave Yan Yue Pan Liang's address. The father and son had been in the hospital for the New Year and it happened to be the same hospital where Lu Lingxi had been staying when he had an accident. Yan Yue didn't delay and made a phone call to Su Lang right away. Su Lang readily agreed to come and the two sides decided on the time of the meeting. Pan Liang was anxious and Su Lang had a few days of rest for the New Year. The time was also tight, and the two sides simply agreed to meet in a few hours.
Wang Shuxiu had nothing to do in the morning, so she thought she would go and see what was going on. Since she wanted to go, Xiao Feng naturally went with her. Xiao Feng thought about going to the hospital and having the doctor take a look at Wang Shuxiu. Wang Shuxiu was indeed a bit sleepy these days but if Xiao Xi hadn't mentioned it, Xiao Feng wouldn't have noticed. The two of them discussed what to bring over, while Yan Yue turned and saw Lu Lingxi standing with a frozen look on his face. From the moment they mentioned this topic, Lu Lingxi went quiet. Yan Yue understood what was going on and said softly, "Does Xiao Xi want to come along? Meet Su Lang by the way."
Lu Lingxi looked at Yan Yue and nodded hesitantly.
Although Wang Shuxiu wondered why Lu Lingxi would want to go together, it wasn't a bad thing, so she simply said that the whole family would go and buy some food and take it with them, just as if they were going to pay a New Year visit. Everyone said that they were ready. They couldn't take Dahei along; it was not appropriate to take pets to the hospital. Yan Yue looked at Dahei and thought of Xiaohei. It seemed he hadn't seen Xiaohei since he came back last night. Before, Yan Yue was used to Xiaohei being obedient and didn't restrict Xiaohei's activities much. In addition, his mind was on Lu Lingxi since he came back, and he didn't care about looking for Xiaohei. But It was a bit strange that Xiaohei hadn't appeared after he'd been back for so long.
"Where did Xiaohei go?" Yan Yue asked.
Lu Lingxi: "…"
He finally remembered what he had forgotten last night; he had left Xiaohei and the little red snake at home. Not bothering to say anything to Yan Yue, Lu Lingxi turned around and ran back to his room, not knowing if Xiaohei was still there.
"Xiaohei, Xiaohei?"
Lu Lingxi looked around the room and saw neither Xiaohei nor the little red snake. He muttered in his heart, the little red snake couldn't have been eaten by Xiaohei, could it?
"Xiao Xi? What's wrong?" Yan Yue looked at Lu Lingxi's strange behaviour and followed him into the room.
Lu Lingxi was a bit embarrassed and quickly told him about how yesterday Xiaohei had caught a little red snake from somewhere and intended to exchange it for a cake.
Yan Yue chuckled as he listened and couldn't resist reaching out to rub Lu Lingxi's hair. "Don't look for it, Xiaohei has probably eaten it and hides somewhere to digest it."
Lu Lingxi's face scrunched up; the thought of Xiaohei eating that little red snake made him feel a little bad.
Yan Yue's lips curled up; he smiled as he whispered, "Wait to come back from the hospital. We'll catch Xiaohei and brush his teeth well."
He said it so lightly that Lu Lingxi couldn't help but hold back a smile and nod. One of the things Xiaohei hated doing was brushing his teeth, and every time he saw the first hint of brushing, he would hide under the sofa and refuse to come out. It was only Yan Yue who could scare him enough to make him come out, or else Dahei would catch him, but Lu Lingxi himself couldn't cope with him.
As the two of them were talking, Wang Shuxiu came over to tell them that they were ready to go out. As soon as she raised her eyes, she saw the way Yan Yue was looking at Lu Lingxi, and her heart thudded. When her eyes moved to Lu Lingxi's face, she even had a vague feeling that something was wrong. The two seemed to be a little too close to each other?
It was no wonder Wang Shuxiu hadn't noticed it before. Although Yan Yue was usually on good terms with Lu Lingxi, Wang Shuxiu didn't usually come to his place, it was always Lu Lingxi who ran next door to find Yan Yue. Wang Shuxiu was concerned about Yan Yue living alone, so she never came to visit Yan Yue. When they sometimes had dinner together, Yan Yue and Lu Lingxi acted very normal, the kind of friends no different from Lu Lingxi and Yi Hang.
Wang Shuxiu's heart felt indescribably odd; she didn't suspect the two of anything, but she felt that they were a little too close. She used to work in a karaoke bar and she knew that there were men who liked men, but as a normal parent she would not think of her son in this way. Wang Shuxiu paused, and before she could call out the words "Xiao Xi", Lu Lingxi had already turned his head and seen her. Not knowing how long Wang Shuxiu had been standing in the doorway, Lu Lingxi couldn't help but look away a little and call out sheepishly, "Mom."
Wang Shuxiu pressed down the uneasiness in her heart and smiled, "What are you talking about?"
Yan Yue changed the subject smoothly, "Talking about Xiaohei, I haven't seen Xiaohei all morning, I wonder where he's gone?"
Wang Shuxiu unconsciously followed what Yan Yue said and thought of Xiaohei; she hadn't seen Xiaohei all along either.
Yan Yue then said, "Xiaohei is probably hiding somewhere. Su Lang should be at the hospital soon. We should also go."
He said that and Wang Shuxiu thought of their main task, quickly putting her subconscious doubts behind.
Lu Lingxi secretly sighed in relief as Yan Yue gave him a comforting look. In fact, Yan Yue was already considering confessing to Wang Shuxiu, but he just needed to find a suitable opportunity. Unlike with Lu Yishui, Yan Yue didn't intend to use any tactics when dealing with Wang Shuxiu. For one thing, their personalities were different, and for another… Yan Yue glanced at Lu Lingxi who could notice that Wang Shuxiu was getting up late recently. Xiao Xi really valued Wang Shuxiu as a mother.
When they walked out, Lu Lingxi glanced at a notice posted at the entrance of the building. A neighbour on the fourth floor wrote that his family's small brown snake got lost last night and asked the surrounding neighbours to pay attention to it. The snake was poisonous and he had only bought it a few days ago, so he hadn't bothered to pull its teeth out. A picture of the little snake was printed in a large format at the bottom of the notice. Lu Lingxi stared at the photo for a long time, confirming that it wasn't the little red snake from last night.
Yan Yue frowned, "Another snake?"
Lu Lingxi nodded, feeling that this was also the work of Xiaohei.