Chapter 125#
Returning to the banquet hall, the dining table was still harmonious.
Several children were full and playing on the side. Lu Suian was talking to Lu Lin, and Lu Lin occasionally responded.
As soon as Yan Heqing returned, Lu Lin pulled out a chair for him. Others couldn’t see it, but Lu Suian saw it clearly. He smiled and said, “Mr. Yan, are you and Brother Lin getting the certificate first or holding the wedding first?”
Yan Heqing was slightly stunned. He hadn’t thought about this. He didn’t have much concept of marriage, nor had he attended a wedding. When Zhao Huilin and Yan Shengbing attended wedding banquets, they only took Yan Feng. However, Zhao Huilin felt distressed about the gift money, so most of the time after eating, she would pack some leftovers and drinks for him. In Zhao Huilin’s words, they must eat back the value of the gift money.
The moment he agreed to marry, he was married to Lu Lin.
As for getting the certificate and the wedding, they were all dispensable things.
Yan Heqing handed this question to Lu Lin. “Lu Lin, what do you say?”
Lu Lin’s expression had been indifferent all along. Only when Yan Heqing asked this did he smile. “Get the certificate first.”
Yan Heqing nodded, paused, and asked, “The day after tomorrow?”
Lu Lin was somewhat surprised, but he naturally had no objection. “Okay.”
The matter was settled just like that. The gathering didn’t end until ten o’clock, mainly because several little girls pestered Yan Heqing to play, refusing to sleep or go home. Yan Heqing taught them to fold swans with napkins and promised them that once they learned to fold swans, he would take them out to play.
The little girls happily asked for a pile of napkins to take home and practice folding swans.
Lu Suian’s daughter got into the car, but still asked her mother to roll down the window and waved to Yan Heqing. “Brother, come here for a moment! I want to whisper something to you!”
Yan Heqing stepped forward and bent down to listen to her whisper.
The little girl’s eyes were round and big. She put up her chubby hand to cover her mouth and whispered in Yan Heqing’s ear, “Brother, can I kiss you? Uncle is fierce, I’m afraid he’ll scold me!”
Yan Heqing turned his head and glanced at Lu Lin. Lu Lin was waiting for him, his cold and stern profile, even softened by the warm light, was hard to hide the sense of unattainable indifference.
Seeing Yan Heqing look over, Lu Lin narrowed his black eyes slightly, asking him what was the matter. The corners of Yan Heqing’s lips curled up, and he turned back to whisper to the little girl, “Yes.”
The little girl quickly glanced at Lu Lin, stretched her neck, and planted a crisp kiss on Yan Heqing’s cheek. “Goodbye, brother!” Then she happily shrank back into her mother’s arms, only revealing a pair of big eyes blinking at Yan Heqing. The young mother was very embarrassed and smiled apologetically at Yan Heqing. Yan Heqing smiled back to indicate it was fine and waved to the little girl. “See you next time.”
As the car drove away, Yan Heqing just stood straight when Lu Lin walked over, his dark pupils shining. Just as he was about to speak, Yan Heqing stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek first, very quickly and lightly, like a wisp of wind passing by. Yan Heqing curved his lips. “Smile more in the future, and children won’t be afraid of you.”
Lu Lin smiled. “As long as you’re not afraid.”
Their car arrived at this time. Lu Lin didn’t call a driver today and drove himself. After fastening his seatbelt, he glanced at the rearview mirror and didn’t find Lin Fengzhi. He had seen Lin Fengzhi in the corridor earlier.
He guessed that Yan Heqing had been away for so long just now because he met Lin Fengzhi.
However, since Yan Heqing didn’t mention it, Lu Lin didn’t ask. He started the car. “Don’t mind what my dad said.”
Yan Heqing opened the armrest box and took another pack of dried pineapple. The dishes at the banquet were exquisite, but not to his taste, so he only ate a small bowl of rice. “He didn’t have time to say anything.”
Yan Heqing briefly recounted his conversation with Lu Changcheng. Lu Lin was good at picking the key points. “How long did you discipline Lu Muchi?”
Yan Heqing stuffed a piece of dried pineapple directly into his mouth. “Mr. Lu, stop being jealous. Come with me to a place tomorrow.”
“Where.”
“To see my parents.”
Chatting along the way, they arrived at the apartment in the city center.
Yan Heqing took off his glasses and went to take a shower first. He also finished the 15 minutes of standing against the wall in the bathroom. When he came out, Lu Lin wasn’t in the living room. He looked around and heard movement in the cloakroom. He walked to the cloakroom and looked inside, seeing a rare mess in the cloakroom.
The long table was piled with clothes.
Lu Lin was still choosing.
Yan Heqing didn’t disturb him and waited quietly at the door.
Lu Lin prepared the clothes for sweeping the tomb tomorrow before turning back to look at Yan Heqing. “Going to sleep?”
After Yan Heqing showered, for the first time his hair wasn’t curly; he must have used a hairdryer. He guessed Yan Heqing wanted to rest early today to meet his parents in the best state tomorrow.
Sure enough, Yan Heqing nodded. Lu Lin came over and rubbed his hair, confirming it was dry. He lowered his head and kissed Yan Heqing’s eyes: “You sleep first, I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight.”
Lu Lin went out and closed the door gently.
Only then did Yan Heqing return to the bed, but he didn’t sleep immediately. He took his phone, opened the video of Lu Muchi kissing Lin Fengzhi, cut off the last few seconds of Lu Muchi calling “Qingqing”, and sent it to Lu Muchi.
Then he turned off the phone and put it in the drawer.
He wouldn’t turn it on until tomorrow night.
*
Early the next morning, after the two had breakfast, without Yan Heqing mentioning it, Lu Lin drove him to the flower market.
To buy the freshest and most complete flowers, there was no place more suitable than the flower market.
Yan Heqing picked a bunch of light purple gladiolus and a bunch of yellow and white chrysanthemums.
Compared to flower shops, these two bunches of flowers arrived at the flower market only an hour or two ago, incredibly fresh.
Getting in the car, Yan Heqing was worried about damaging the flowers, so he held them all the way.
Lu Lin drove steadily to the cemetery. It was just past nine o’clock. Unlike previous visits, today was sunny but not scorching. Golden light shrouded the cemetery. They weren’t the only ones sweeping tombs; they met quite a few people on the way.
Yan Heqing first took Lu Lin to his father’s grave.
He put down the chrysanthemums and introduced him to Lu Lin with a smile. “My dad was a history teacher.”
Lu Lin listened quietly.
“I don’t have much impression anymore, only remember that he liked reading very much. We should have had many books at home…”
Yan Heqing paused for a moment. Many books, so the fire burned faster.
He squatted down, carefully wiping the tombstone with a newly bought small square towel, and continued, “He had a very good temper and always smiled. I think his students should have liked him very much.”
“Which school did he work at?” Lu Lin also squatted beside him, clearing the fallen leaves on the ground.
He went through the list of teachers in his mind. Before the second year of high school, he had three history teachers, none of whose names matched Yan Heqing’s father.
“Don’t remember.” Missing memories of his parents had always been Yan Heqing’s deepest regret.
Fortunately, Lu Lin helped him make up for one of the regrets.
At least now, he remembered Yan Qiushuang’s appearance again.
He tilted his head to look at Lu Lin. Lu Lin looked over, seeing a smile in the young man’s eyes, he was rarely puzzled. “What are you laughing at?”
“Happy.” Yan Heqing didn’t hide his emotions. “I’m very happy that you accompanied me to sweep the tomb.”
Lu Lin’s fingertips tightened, and he chuckled low. “Really easy to satisfy.”
After staying in front of Yan Heqing’s father’s grave for a while, the two went to Yan Qiushuang’s grave.
Yan Heqing put down the gladiolus, his eyes curving slightly.
“Mom, he is Lu Lin.”
“We are registering tomorrow. He is a very good person, don’t worry.”
*
Yan Heqing drove on the return trip.
He suddenly asked, “Can I raise another 50Hz?”
Lu Lin’s eyes darkened a bit. He had prepared a German Shepherd for Yan Heqing before, but Yan Heqing proposing to raise another one himself was different.
Yan Heqing didn’t make friends and kept a distance from people.
The only exception was him.
Before this, Yan Heqing didn’t want to have ties with anyone or anything, but now besides him, Yan Heqing was willing to form a bond with another dog.
He was embracing this world.
Lu Lin rubbed his hair vigorously. “As long as you want, any number is fine.”
Yan Heqing drove to the stray animal rescue station.
Seeing the two enter, the staff was stunned for a long time before coming back to their senses and asking, “Can I help you?”
Yan Heqing handed over the prepared documents. “I want to adopt a pastoral dog.”
Few people came to adopt pastoral dogs. The staff opened Yan Heqing’s documents, one of which was a student ID. Seeing it was a Beijing University student, the staff closed it and stopped looking, smiling and saying, “What a coincidence, we picked up a pastoral dog last month.”
A newborn puppy, abandoned by the roadside in a cardboard box.
Passersby called the rescue station. When they arrived, only one was saved.
Yan Heqing followed to the backyard. It was an orange puppy with a pair of spirited black bean eyes, having no defense against this world. Seeing people, it immediately ran over and clung to the fence, wagging its tail so hard it almost broke.
The rescue station was struggling to operate. The staff especially hoped that kind-hearted people would adopt the dogs. “This dog has been vaccinated once and dewormed once. It’s very healthy and obedient.”
Yan Heqing squatted down and reached out to touch the puppy. The puppy enthusiastically stuck out its tongue to lick his fingertips.
Yan Heqing picked up the puppy and smiled at the staff. “Can I take it away today?”
The staff handled the procedures efficiently. Before leaving, Lu Lin donated 200,000 yuan.
Getting back in the car, Lu Lin drove again. Yan Heqing held the puppy in the back seat.
Lu Lin didn’t ask Yan Heqing and drove directly back to the old residence. 50Hz going home, naturally had to take it to see 51Hz.
Arriving at the old residence, 51Hz ran out first. The puppy grew very fast. Not having seen it for a while, it was already quite big. It clung to Yan Heqing to receive the puppy. The puppy was also very happy to see it and struggled to get down. Yan Heqing put it down, and the two dogs chased and played.
Yan Heqing watched them run into the flowers to play before withdrawing his gaze.
The old butler was taking a nap. Lu Lin didn’t let the servants wake him up and asked the kitchen to cook and send it to the small living room on the second floor.
Although called a small living room, it was actually twice the size of Yan Heqing’s residence. The two only made just enough portions, two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, one cold dish, and one soup. The seasonal vegetables were grown in the backyard and had a natural sweetness. Yan Heqing had a good appetite, eating two bowls of rice and drinking a bowl of soup.
Whatever wasn’t finished was finished by Lu Lin.
Outside the house, cicadas chirped in bursts. The afternoon sun shone into the cozy small living room. The two found a suspense movie and watched until the afternoon. After having dinner with the old butler, they drove back to the apartment in the city center.
On the way, the two talked about the old butler. Yan Heqing learned that the old butler never married in his life and treated the Lu family as his own home. So even though he retired early, Lu Lin still let him live in the old house.
“Related to grandma and grandpa, besides that house, only he is left.”
Lu Lin’s longing for his grandparents could be heard from just a few words. Yan Heqing looked at him and suddenly said, “Can the old house be the new house?”
Lu Lin’s brow twitched.
Yan Heqing’s idea coincided with his.
He didn’t plan to expose the house in the Beijing University family area.
That place belonged only to him and Yan Heqing.
The apartment in the city center wasn’t suitable for a new house, and buying a new one was meaningless. He considered for a long time, and the old house was the most suitable.
But he still teased Yan Heqing. “Reason.”
Yan Heqing heard the smile in his voice but still said honestly, “That’s where you grew up.”
Lu Lin’s heart exploded instantly. Encountering a red light, he stopped and immediately reached out to hold Yan Heqing’s hand.
Returning to the apartment, just out of the elevator, Lu Lin pressed Yan Heqing against the entrance cabinet and kissed him solidly for a while before picking him up by the waist to go to the bathroom. Yan Heqing was kissed dizzy at first, but when Lu Lin picked him up, his reason returned. He struggled down from Lu Lin’s arms, panting slightly. “Not today.”
Lu Lin’s voice was hoarse. “What’s wrong?”
Yan Heqing found an excuse. “Registering tomorrow morning, need to rest early.”
Lu Lin naturally didn’t believe this reason, but he saw Yan Heqing was guilty. Although his physical reaction was strong, he still complied with Yan Heqing. “Lock the door well tonight.”
He wasn’t joking.
When it came to Yan Heqing, his self-control was just for show. If he wanted to be a beast in the middle of the night, it wasn’t impossible.
Yan Heqing really locked the door.
Coming out of the bathroom, Lu Lin calmed down a lot. Seeing it was still early, he went to the kitchen to heat a cup of milk for Yan Heqing. However, when he pressed the door handle, the door didn’t budge.
Lu Lin laughed incredulously, finished the milk himself, and went to the guest bedroom.
At the same time, inside the room, Yan Heqing wasn’t asleep either. He turned on his phone, and countless missed calls and text messages from Lu Muchi popped up immediately.
[Answer the phone!]
[Qingqing, I beg you to answer the phone!]
[Contact me when you turn on your phone, okay?]
[I have something to tell you.]
…
Almost as soon as he turned it on, Lu Muchi’s call came in again.
Yan Heqing answered.
“Qingqing.” Lu Muchi felt like he was dreaming, daring not breathe too heavily. “Qingqing, are you listening?”
His reactions were all in Yan Heqing’s plan. Yan Heqing said indifferently, “What do you want to say.”
“Let’s meet and talk the day after tomorrow.”
Yan Heqing was noncommittal and asked back, “Will your grandfather let you see me?”
Lu Muchi was stumped.
When he sobered up this morning, Lu Changcheng scolded him severely and repeatedly ordered him not to see Yan Heqing again.
“If you go see him again, I’d rather break your legs!”
Lu Muchi knew Lu Changcheng wouldn’t really break his legs, but locking him up again was definitely something Lu Changcheng could do. He lowered his voice, “I have my ways…”
Immediately, his heart beat heavily a few times.
Yan Heqing asking this, was he worried about him?
This confirmed his thoughts even more. Seeing the video Yan Heqing took, he knew. Yan Heqing was still angry, angry that he once liked Lin Fengzhi, angry that he once wanted him to be a substitute. So Yan Heqing wanted to anger him by deliberately approaching his uncle?
Lu Muchi instantly raised hope.
He couldn’t wait to verify with Yan Heqing.
“Qingqing.” His tone was aggrieved. “Do you know how I’ve been living during this time…”
“Contact me again when you get out.” Yan Heqing hung up the phone.
Lu Muchi’s so-called way was nothing more than sneaking out while avoiding the bodyguards when Lu Changcheng wasn’t paying attention.
Although his driver’s license was revoked, it couldn’t stop Lu Muchi from driving. But driving made a lot of noise. If Lu Muchi wanted to avoid attention, he could only run out of the Lu house and call a car.
Yan Heqing put down the phone calmly.
Having solved one matter, he opened his laptop.
Searched for a gay website.
He had no experience in love, and sexual matters were even more blank, all guided by Lu Lin.
But tomorrow…
Yan Heqing’s skin all over his body was burning.
He rejected Lu Lin just now because he wanted to save it for tomorrow.
Yan Heqing withdrew his thoughts and clicked on the midnight private section.
Yan Heqing didn’t close the computer until the early morning.
*
Early the next morning, Yan Heqing and Lu Lin arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau at nine o’clock sharp.
They were the first couple.
Taking photos, taking oaths, and once the staff stamped it, two small red books were handed over.
Yan Heqing carefully put away the marriage certificate before saying to Lu Lin, “I have something to do, you go back first.”
Lu Lin smiled. Locked in the room doing bad things yesterday, and again this morning?
He didn’t ask further, just rubbed Yan Heqing’s hair. “Come back early.” Still somewhat resentful, he whispered in Yan Heqing’s ear, “I’ll wait for you at home.”
As a result, he waited until six in the evening before receiving Yan Heqing’s call.
“I’m at the house in the family area, can you come over now?”