Ever since the last time they had parted on slightly unhappy terms, Qiao Shu had not heard the name Lu Chengye mentioned in the Feng Family again.
Since she had only met him once, Qiao Shu had long since put that sixteen-year-old boy out of her mind.
However, what she had not expected was that today, with the Feng Family members all out, Lu Chengye had actually come to find her alone.
However…
Qiao Shu looked at the sixteen-year-old boy in front of her, but he was completely different from the last time she had seen him.
The last time she saw Lu Chengye, he had been full of that reckless, flamboyant youthful vigor.
But now, though it was still the same face, the aura around him had changed somewhat.
He looked just like an abandoned little puppy, all wilted and particularly pitiful.
“Sister, can you let me in to sit for a bit…”
Lu Chengye’s starry eyes, shining brightly, stared pitifully at Qiao Shu, making it impossible to refuse.
Qiao Shu saw that the boy looked quite pitiful, and since the Feng Family and Lu Family were old family friends, even though no one was home, she still nodded and let Lu Chengye in.
Though Qiao Shu had no idea what there was to sit for in their house.
But soon enough, after Qiao Shu led the boy into the living room and had him sit down, she understood why Lu Chengye wanted to come in and ‘sit’.
“Sister… I didn’t eat lunch, I’m so hungry. I really want to eat the Sugar Steamed Crispy Cheese you made last time…”
Lu Chengye, who had obediently followed Qiao Shu and sat on the sofa, blinked his sparkling eyes, clutched his stomach, and mumbled weakly in a very pitiful voice.
“…I didn’t make Sugar Steamed Crispy Cheese today, but I made some other desserts. Do you want to eat them?”
Qiao Shu was the type who yielded to gentleness but not force, and she particularly respected the elderly and loved the young.
Faced with such a pitiful and weak boy, even though Qiao Shu knew he might be putting on an act, she still satisfied all of Lu Chengye’s requests one by one and treated him kindly.
“Yes! I love anything Sister makes!”
When Lu Chengye first heard Qiao Shu say she had not made Sugar Steamed Crispy Cheese today, disappointment had dimmed his eyes a little. But when he heard her say there were other desserts, his eyes lit up again in an instant.
Seeing Lu Chengye looking just like a little dog, Qiao Shu could not help but find it somewhat amusing.
“Then you sit here obediently. I’ll go bring them for you.”
“Sister, I’ll go to the kitchen with you! I’ll help you carry them! We can’t let Sister get tired!”
Lu Chengye ‘disobediently’ followed behind Qiao Shu, just like a little dog wanting to stick to its owner, happily circling around her.
In the end, Qiao Shu simply reheated the leftover lunch dishes for Lu Chengye and had him sit obediently in the kitchen to eat.
“Sister, your cooking is so delicious! I want to eat the meals you make for the rest of my life~!”
The boy, who was usually spoiled rotten at home and particularly picky about food, did not mind eating leftovers from someone else’s house at all. He ate with relish, praising as he went.
Qiao Shu did not take Lu Chengye’s words to heart. After all, her cooking was delicious because of the addition of spirit spring water.
So she did not mind it. At this moment, her attention was more drawn to the injuries that occasionally peeked out from Lu Chengye’s wrist.
Every time Lu Chengye reached for food, perhaps because his movements were too large, his long sleeves would slide up his arm. And once the sleeve slid up, she could see the bruises on his arm, clearly from being beaten by someone.
“Why do you have so many injuries on your arm?”
Qiao Shu asked, somewhat puzzled.
What she did not know was that the seemingly innocent and pitiful boy had been waiting for her to ask exactly that!
“Sister, it’s nothing. These don’t matter. I just fell by accident.”
Lu Chengye hurriedly pulled his sleeve down in a panic, saying it in a shifty, evasive manner.
If it were anyone else, seeing Lu Chengye like this, they would definitely keep pressing for the full story, since it was obviously a lie.
However, Qiao Shu was not an ordinary person.
Though Qiao Shu was curious about gossip too, it was limited to eating melons online.
For people she was not close to, Qiao Shu had no curiosity.
So, seeing Lu Chengye say that, she did not continue asking.
However, this attitude of hers made Lu Chengye a bit anxious.
After all, he had gone to great lengths to sneak out of the house today just to see Qiao Shu!
If his family discovered he was missing, they would definitely drag him back soon!
So, seeing no sign of Qiao Shu asking about it, he could only touch his nose and proactively say in a small voice.
“Sister, I’ll tell you anyway. These were all beaten by Brother Feng Xiao…”
Hearing Lu Chengye say this, Qiao Shu instinctively felt the boy was lying.
Though she had not known Feng Xiao for very long, she understood what kind of person he was.
He would not hit someone for no reason.
So she instinctively said, “Impossible. If he really hit you, there must have been a reason.”
Then Qiao Shu said seriously, “Moreover, Feng Xiao has been gone for a while now. If it was really him who hit you, the marks should not have lasted this long…”
“…”
The boy, who had originally wanted to badmouth Feng Xiao in front of the girl he liked, was truly choked up when Qiao Shu denied it without thinking.
He suddenly felt that the girl he liked… was not as easy to fool as he had imagined!!!
It was true that Feng Xiao had beaten him up.
But the lie was that the injuries from Feng Xiao had long since healed without a trace. The bruises on him now were all self-inflicted.
All to create an image in front of Qiao Shu that Feng Xiao was someone who casually hit people, then play the victim here to gain her sympathy.
He had used every trick in the book.
Unfortunately, Qiao Shu, the straight woman with a natural wariness toward men, did not buy Lu Chengye’s act at all.
Looking at Qiao Shu’s clear, bright eyes, Lu Chengye ultimately surrendered and confessed to her.
“Sister, I’m sorry… I lied. You’re right. Brother Feng Xiao would not hit someone for no reason. That day, I provoked him…”
Hearing about how Lu Chengye got beaten, Qiao Shu felt that the boy in front of her really deserved a beating.
She was Feng Xiao’s fiancée, yet this brat not even fully grown dared to show off in front of Feng Xiao, saying he could not bring her happiness, challenging him to a 1v1 duel with a ridiculously childish bet—whoever won would get the beauty.
When Qiao Shu heard this part, she rolled her eyes inwardly, muttering to herself that no wonder Feng Xiao had beaten the crap out of this punk.
If she had been there, she would have beaten him too. What kind of nonsense was that? He really needed a good thrashing.
“So you got thoroughly beaten by Feng Xiao, and since you could not let it go, you came to me to tattle on him?”
Qiao Shu shook her head with a bit of amusement, feeling that the boy in front of her was really so childish.
So she did not take his ‘like’ seriously.
After all, he was still just a childish, immature ‘kid’.
The poor boy had no idea that at this moment, Qiao Shu had already classified him as a ‘kid’ in her heart. Not only did he have no chance before, now he was completely out of the running!!!
“…Actually, it’s not entirely that.”
Lu Chengye’s face flushed slightly as he pursed his lips. He looked at Qiao Shu cautiously, then mumbled softly, “Actually, I sneaked out today just to see you.”
“Sneaked out? You sneaked out of the house???”
When Qiao Shu heard that this childish boy had actually sneaked out of his house, her eyes widened instantly.
“Yeah, it’s all Brother Feng Xiao’s fault! He beat me up and that was one thing, but then he dragged me home and tattled to my parents! He really did not play fair!”
When it came to this matter, the boy became indignant.
“And not only did he tattle to my parents, he made it sound super serious, saying he did not want me disturbing his wife anymore. Tch! You two are not even married yet. What wife is he talking about? He really looks down on…”
Lu Chengye’s words were cut off by Qiao Shu before he could finish.
“Lu Chengye, though we are not married yet, I am indeed Feng Xiao’s wife, and Feng Xiao is indeed my husband. He did not get that wrong.”
When Qiao Shu heard from Lu Chengye’s mouth that Feng Xiao had publicly acknowledged their relationship in front of outsiders, her heart was simply overjoyed.
Did this not mean that the chances of Feng Xiao marrying her as promised when he returned were even higher~!
But seeing the smile on Qiao Shu’s face and hearing her firm words, Lu Chengye felt not the slightest bit happy!
He had originally thought that since Feng Xiao was not often home, and he was, he would have more time to spend with Qiao Shu. He figured he was not much worse than Feng Xiao, so given enough time, Qiao Shu would surely fall for the man always by her side.
But now…
“Sister, what’s so great about Feng Xiao? Why do you like him so much and insist on marrying him???”
The overly angry boy dropped the ‘Brother’ now. He just wanted to know exactly where he fell short.
“You wouldn’t understand. Liking someone does not need a reason.”
Qiao Shu had also seen that the boy liked her. Though she found his affection very childish and not to be taken seriously, she still played along earnestly.
“Sister, but Feng Xiao cannot even come home often to keep you company. My sister says marriages like that are the same with or without a husband—better not to marry at all.”
Hearing Qiao Shu’s answer, Lu Chengye sounded like he had drunk a whole jug of vinegar, his voice sour.
However, what he thought would deduct points for Feng Xiao in front of the girl he liked actually added points in Qiao Shu’s eyes!!!
After all, what Qiao Shu valued most was precisely that Feng Xiao was busy with missions and could not come home often—the ‘has husband or not’ attribute!