The Unappreciated Coaxing

Lu Xingye ignored him, deliberately drawing an imaginary ‘line of demarcation’ down the middle of their shared desk, leaving Qiyu only with the cold, aloof sight of his back.

Qiyu: “?”

Qiyu looked at his ‘mentor’ before him, feeling a pang of confusion. ‘Could Lu Xingye think I’m heartless and ungrateful?’

“What are you doing?” Qiyu leaned in closer, asking the question to the disdainful back of Lu Xingye’s head.

Based on years of experience, Qiyu knew Lu Xingye was currently a complex mix: a third coldness, a third simmering anger, a third gloom, and a sliver of grievance. When it came to matters of the heart, Qiyu could rack his brain all he wanted, but he’d never pinpoint the issue.

He could only persist, “What exactly is wrong with you?”

‘Had the Lu Xingye from a while ago simply vanished?’

Although Wen Nuo, seated at the front desk, was packing his belongings, his ears were entirely focused on the “little couple” behind him. Leaning back in his chair, he appeared utterly engrossed.

Lu Xingye still ignored him, yet Qiyu wasn’t angered. Instead, his mind began to race.

Regardless of the reason for his anger, appeasing him was paramount. Otherwise, nothing Qiyu said would ever get through to him.

Qiyu recalled how he used to coax Lu Xingye when they were children.

Lu Xingye lay sideways on the desk, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the wildly growing branches outside the window. He still couldn’t fathom the source of the inexplicable anger burning within him.

What did it matter if he didn’t understand? He just needed to calm down for a while.

“Gege,” Qiyu whispered softly into his ear.

Lu Xingye initially had no intention of responding; this person was, after all, the culprit who had provoked him. However, he then remembered that whenever Qiyu used such a term of endearment, it invariably signaled mischief.

And so, he reluctantly turned his head.

What greeted his eyes was Qiyu’s obedient smile.

When the young man smiled, his eyes curved into two crescent moons, his eyelashes fluttering like a butterfly about to take flight, and his crimson lips were pressed tightly together.

Before Lu Xingye could react, Qiyu immediately leaned in, deftly shielding them from prying eyes with his hand, and his soft, warm lips lightly brushed against Lu Xingye’s cheek.

Lu Xingye’s pupils dilated, his breath hitched, and every cell in his body burned with feverish heat, his face flushing so deeply it looked as if it could bleed. In stark contrast, Qiyu seemed as casual as if he’d just kissed a stray kitten or puppy on the street.

Before his heart could stop altogether, he abruptly pushed Qiyu away, asking with a hint of vexation, “What’s going on in your head?”

Qiyu stumbled from the push, asking somewhat blankly, “Is there a problem?”

The main reason Qiyu had been embarrassed last time was getting caught ‘stealing a kiss.’ This time, he hadn’t been ‘stealing’ anything, so there was no shame to be had.

Lu Xingye, however, was in no mood to listen to Qiyu’s twisted logic. He shifted his seat further away, his tone still far from pleasant.

“My dear little brother, one second you’re clamoring to cancel our engagement, sever all ties, break off everything, and never contact me again for eternity. The next second, you forcibly kiss me.”

“That, my dear, is what they call a scumbag. Did you know that?”

Qiyu’s mind continued to process this string of accusations, leaving him even more bewildered. ‘So, my comment about canceling the child-fiancé arrangement held all these implications?’

‘Besides, he wasn’t the only one who wanted to cancel this arrangement! What was he putting on an act for?’

Seeing Qiyu remain silent, Lu Xingye gritted his teeth and said, “Do you honestly think that if you kiss me, my affection for you will multiply, and I’ll become your obedient dog?”

“I think you’re just incredibly self-absorbed.”

Qiyu blinked his round eyes, his brow furrowing slightly, like a small cat whose pause button had been pressed. He responded in utter bewilderment, “Ah…?”

“Even flirting won’t work.”

Qiyu: “……I wasn’t flirting.”

‘How was this different from what he’d imagined? He remembered in elementary school, whenever Gege frowned, all he had to do was stand on tiptoe and give him a kiss, and any bad mood would vanish like smoke.’

Qiyu: “Isn’t this how you’re supposed to coax someone?”

The correct way to express this sentiment would have been: ‘This is how I’ve always coaxed you before; it always made you feel better.’

Instead, Qiyu had blurted out a condensed version of that complex thought, and in Lu Xingye’s eyes, the meaning had twisted into something else entirely:

‘What do you want? I coax everyone like this, why are you so troublesome?’

“How many other… people have you coaxed like this?”

Qiyu found himself understanding Lu Xingye less and less. ‘Hadn’t he only ever kissed one person like this? He wasn’t some pervert.’

To Lu Xingye, Qiyu’s ten-second silence was practically an admission of guilt. The mere thought of such a scenario gave him a headache:

‘If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t be so suspicious, but it was Qiyu. What if he really did… just casually embrace and kiss people at random?’

‘It was a sight utterly unbearable to imagine.’

At this thought, he was completely engulfed by a wave of discomfort.

Feeling utterly annoyed, Qiyu slapped Lu Xingye’s thigh with considerable force. However, his aim was slightly off, and the impact inadvertently struck an innocent organ. Yet, Qiyu himself remained completely unaware of his mistake.

Once Qiyu realized what he’d done, he immediately retorted, “Are you crazy? I was trying to be kind, to coax you, and you’re just unappreciative!”

Lu Xingye’s ‘life organ’ had suffered a heavy blow. He let out a muffled groan, saying nothing, merely pressing his lips together and indifferently lifting his eyelids, enduring the pain as he asked,

“Where did you hit?”

Qiyu discreetly estimated where he had just struck. Considering the force he’d used, he instantly felt that Lu Xingye was the person he owed the most apologies to in the entire world.

Yet, to be fair, Lu Xingye truly possessed remarkable endurance. Qiyu imagined that even if his “bird” exploded, he would merely lift an eyelid indifferently and ask, “Where did you hit?”

‘Putting on a show, the one who suffers most is the bird.’

“Do you… need me to rub it?” Qiyu blurted out, without thinking.

Lu Xingye: “……Get lost.”

Qiyu pondered for a moment, realizing his words might be misinterpreted, and quickly clarified, “I’m not being lewd; I just meant to simply rub it.”

Lu Xingye was speechless. The pain from below had just spread through his entire body, and now he was being harassed. He truly couldn’t utter a single kind word. “My good boy,” he said, “our relationship isn’t close enough for you to ‘simply rub’ me.”

Qiyu: “……That’s not what I meant.”

Lu Xingye’s face turned cold. “I beg you, please stop talking.”

The tender evening they had shared seemed to have vanished completely. Ultimately, the only reason they had ever managed to coexist harmoniously was Lu Xingye’s softened heart after falling ill and Qiyu’s clinginess after drinking.

“You two are so sweet together!” Wen Nuo, at the front desk, had only caught snippets of their conversation and didn’t fully understand, but he gathered that Qiyu’s romantic progress seemed to have increased significantly.

Though this comment might earn him a glare from the ‘academic god,’ it was worth it to fan the flames of his brother’s love!

Qiyu: “……”

Qiyu felt that Wen Nuo had been acting strangely since yesterday. While he had helped conceal Qiyu’s identity, his actions increasingly suggested he was trying to matchmake him with Lu Xingye.

After much thought, he decided to find a time to ask Wen Nuo directly.

****

That afternoon, back home.

Qiyu walked into the villa’s main hall, immediately tossing his backpack aside and sprawling haphazardly onto the sofa.

He squinted as he watched Lu Xingye, like a dutiful wife, pick up his discarded backpack and school uniform jacket from the floor. “Keep it up, Little Yezi. Once you’ve cleaned up this mess, remember to come serve me.”

Lu Xingye hadn’t yet cooled down, and hearing these words only intensified his irritation. He said, almost grinding his teeth, “Oh, I will. I’ll gently rub you later.”

Qiyu: “……” ‘Little Yezi really holds a grudge.’

In less than a month, the distance between the two had significantly narrowed; they were no longer as aggressively at odds as they once were.

For instance, Qiyu was now shamelessly enjoying Lu Xingye’s care, not finding anything amiss whatsoever.

He didn’t even consider that those who received such care often ended up losing their ‘back door.’

Tonight, he would stand on the table, microphone in hand, and announce to everyone in the Lu family that he, Qiyu, had gotten into the elite class!

And he would loudly tell his parents: he didn’t want to be with Lu Xingye!

The Lu family, a venerable clan with a history spanning centuries, had many branches, yet their family group chat contained only about thirty members. Only those from the main branch were qualified to join.

To spread the good news globally, Qiyu tapped open the pinned group chat on Green Bubble.

Family Full of Love

[Little Fish: I need to inform everyone today that I, in the recent monthly exam at St. Linxuan Academy, joyfully secured a spot in the top hundred.]

[Dear Cousin: Cousin, you’re that awesome?!]

[Lotus: Lu Chuan, no swearing.]

[Listening to Rain on Half Mountain: What reward does Little Fish want?]

[Calm Smile: A 24K pure gold cake has been custom-made. Take it to school and celebrate with your classmates (smile emoji).]

[,.: Average, need to work harder.]

Qiyu lay casually on the sofa, his head hanging down over the edge, soft strands of hair falling freely, and his legs splayed haphazardly over the top of the backrest.

He inwardly gloated as he read the various praises in the group, until he saw Lu Xingye’s last message, and his mood instantly plummeted ten degrees.

‘Would the Earth be destroyed if he praised me? Would the universe explode? Would humanity go extinct?’

‘If it truly would, then Lu Xingye would be the peerless hero who saved all living beings.’

Lost in thought, Qiyu’s hand relaxed, and his phone dropped directly onto his fair face, making his mood even worse.

He sat up, picked up his phone, and felt that the fundamental reason for being ‘bullied’ by his phone was: seeing Lu Xingye’s message.

So, he shouted towards Lu Xingye, who was upstairs putting away his backpack and clothes, “Lu Xingye, come down and serve me!”

‘That’s what you get for not praising me, for having so much to say. How about that? Are you fuming with anger now? Feeling humiliated, aren’t you?’

His recently picked-up phone vibrated. He opened the message tab, and he was doomed. He hadn’t meant it that way at all.

[,.: Oh, so you want me to gently rub you now.]

He could almost picture Lu Xingye’s infuriatingly handsome face, staring coolly at the screen, putting on an act as he typed out that suggestive message…

[,.: I’m coming down now.]