The Sweet Deception and a Parrot’s Revelation

If you don’t want to go, then don’t.

Su Yan turned and took his black backpack from where it hung on the chair. There was hardly anything to pack, just a charger, though he couldn’t quite explain why he’d designated such a spacious ‘villa’ solely for it.

Over ten minutes had elapsed by the time he finished packing. Su Yan’s fingertips hovered over the ride-hailing app, selecting every option available, intent on securing a car as quickly as possible.

Many A-University students were locals, and on a Friday, hailing a taxi became notoriously difficult; a quick glance revealed dozens of people around him attempting to do the same.

Estimating at least another ten minutes for the car to arrive, he plopped onto the stool, gathering his hair into a small topknot with a hair tie.

A classic ‘apple head’ style.

It offered a deceptively refreshing sensation.

“You’re not afraid of me anymore?” Lu Lin’s chilling voice drifted into his ears from behind him.

Su Yan nearly tumbled off the stool. ‘His reaction time is truly something,’ he grumbled inwardly. ‘At this rate, even a grandmother could have finished an 800-meter race.’

Su Yan had pondered this question himself, and his answer was: ‘I shouldn’t be afraid of the normal Lu Lin.’

“No,” Su Yan replied, pulling a packet of Skittles from a drawer.

With a ‘rip’ sound.

The Skittles tumbled into his palm, then were swiftly deposited into his mouth.

Su Yan’s passion lay in consuming all things sweet: candies, cream, cakes…

Blinking at the drawer overflowing with candies, Su Yan found a moment to reply, “Thank you, Lu Lin.”

Why thank him? Because the drawer, brimming with sweets, was entirely stocked by Lu Lin. It contained every variety Su Yan had ever loved since childhood, some of which he hadn’t even been able to find for sale anymore.

Lu Lin, who had already resigned himself to receiving no answer, was momentarily stunned. This time, a genuine laugh escaped him. “Alright,” he said.

He was responding to the first question.

“So, are you bringing any clothes?” Su Yan scooped the remaining candies into his pocket. “You can wear mine?”

“I still have a few new ones.” As Su Yan stood, his errant topknot bobbed with the movement.

Seeing that Su Yan wasn’t merely being polite, Lu Lin’s usually aloof peach blossom eyes now held a hint of amusement. He responded almost without hesitation, playing along with Su Yan’s words.

“Yours are too small; I wouldn’t fit.”

Su Yan, not quite grasping the implication, even chuckled, “Oh, right, that’s true.”

It wasn’t until Lu Lin tilted his head and let out a soft chuckle that Su Yan realized he’d been teased. He leaned closer to Lu Lin, glaring intensely, and mimicking a villain’s tone, “What exactly is it you wouldn’t fit into?”

Unfortunately, his hairstyle, paired with his innocent face, held no intimidating power whatsoever.

Before Lu Lin could reply, Su Yan, fearing he’d once again be at a disadvantage, quickly retorted, “Lu Lin, you’re so crude.”

“But I won’t hold it against you. Go ask around in Haishi; find out who the most righteous eighteen-year-old named Su at A-University in Haishi is.”

The last few words were enunciated almost syllable by syllable, as if he feared Lu Lin might miss a single one.

‘Hmph, hmph, hmph,’ Su Yan thought, ‘I’m right here in front of you.’

To his surprise, Lu Lin didn’t meet Su Yan’s gaze. As if deliberately trying to provoke him, he answered seriously, “The scope is too broad; I can’t inquire about that.”

Su Yan: “…?”

He was utterly speechless now, unable to find an opening to retort, only managing to squeeze out two words: “Alright, fine.”

‘Next time, I’ll have to narrow the search to a dorm room number,’ he mused.

While waiting for the car, Lu Lin sported a haughty expression, yet his words were, “I can bake small cakes.”

Su Yan’s fingers were idly fiddling with his backpack strap. Hearing this, he looked up at Lu Lin with sparkling eyes. “Don’t lie to me.”

‘If he can bake cakes, then congratulations, he might just capture a Su Yan,’ he thought.

“Actually, I’m just okay with cakes; I don’t particularly love them,” Su Yan declared, feeling that a fondness for small cakes didn’t quite fit his masculine image, and deciding to put on an act.

Lu Lin remained noncommittal, simply nodding. “Have you decided what you’d like to eat? I can make anything.”

Su Yan’s grip on his phone tightened, and he pursed his lips. He hadn’t expected his defensive words to be completely disregarded. In a fit of pique, his amber eyes fixed intently on Lu Lin.

“Fine.” This was Su Yan’s ultimate concession. If he had to eat, he would.

‘Not only will I eat, I’ll eat two pieces, leaving none for you,’ he inwardly vowed.

****

The car slowly started, heading towards their destination. The apartment was relatively close, a drive of roughly ten minutes.

Noticing Lu Lin wasn’t on his phone, Su Yan also put his own away. The atmosphere in the car was eerily quiet, and he knew he should break the awkward silence.

As the driver turned the steering wheel to enter the residential complex, Su Yan nervously picked at his fingers and furrowed his brow. As if struck by a sudden realization, his voice involuntarily grew louder. “Stop here.”

“No need to drive inside.”

“Let’s go to the supermarket to buy a few things; we’re out of supplies at home.” When nervous, Su Yan tended to blurt out a string of irrelevant remarks.

Lu Lin’s expression remained neutral. He opened the car door, his backpack slung over one shoulder, appearing completely oblivious to Su Yan’s “unusual” pronouncements.

When nervous, Su Yan would purse his lips and pick at his fingers; a closer look would even reveal his slender eyelashes trembling subtly.

All these signs of guilt stemmed from the fact that someone was currently at his place! Logically, Qi Nian should have flown to America half a month ago, but who would have thought he’d had a dispute with his parents before leaving?

Qi Nian’s parents had persistently tried to “correct” his sexual orientation, euphemistically claiming it would help him “adapt to society.” This was essentially treating Qi Nian like a pet to be toyed with, and naturally, he was displeased.

He had already compromised enough by studying finance in university to appease his parents, and now they were harping on his sexual orientation again, despite having openly discussed it during high school.

Back then, they had spoken so sweetly: “It doesn’t matter if you like boys or girls, we’ll like whoever you like.”

Thus, Qi Nian, coaxed and cajoled, had cheerfully followed the path his parents chose. After some persuasion and a period of study, they had a crucial argument once more.

Qi Nian was prone to fits of temper and forgetfulness; after an argument, he’d often find himself penniless, leaving him no choice but to seek help from Su Yan.

How could Su Yan possibly abandon his good brother in his hour of need!

Which led to the scene that had just unfolded.

He grabbed Lu Lin’s wrist and headed towards the supermarket a hundred meters away. With his other hand, he fumbled for his phone in his pocket to unlock it, prone to mishaps when nervous.

[SY: Reply! Reply!]

[SY: Urgent!]

[SY: Are you sleeping like a pig? Are you really sleeping like a pig?!]

[SY: ^-^]

Unable to bear it any longer, Su Yan was about to make a call when he looked up and met Lu Lin’s smiling eyes. “What’s wrong? Aren’t we going to buy things?”

The young man casually slung his backpack over his shoulder, the summer evening breeze gently ruffling his silver hair. As he spoke, he looked down, his gaze fixed intently on Su Yan’s eyes, his cool voice so melodious it sent a shiver of pleasure through Su Yan’s entire body.

If not for the urgency of the situation, he would have truly paused to savor the moment.

“How about we stay in a hotel instead?” Su Yan stopped, releasing Lu Lin’s hand, and feigned a natural expression as he said, “My place is really messy.”

This wasn’t just Su Yan making excuses; his home genuinely seemed to be a bit untidy.

Su Ming had originally offered to hire a maid specifically for cleaning and cooking, but Su Yan, being “fussy,” stubbornly refused, insisting he wanted to train himself.

Lu Lin continued to observe him with smiling eyes. “Of course…”

“Not possible.” After uttering these three words, Lu Lin ignored him and walked straight into the supermarket before them.

Su Yan followed closely, step for step. While Lu Lin was selecting ingredients, Su Yan frantically pulled out his phone to call Qi Nian. He dreaded imagining how Lu Lin might retaliate, especially after finally getting him to act a little more ‘normal.’

Lu Lin, who had just been mentally tagged with “10% normalized,” was clutching something abnormal in his hand. From Su Yan’s blind spot, his face grew colder and colder.

He was on the verge of losing control.

He had pretended long enough these past few days, but for Su Yan, he was willing to endure it one more time.

With this thought, he shoved his phone, displaying a search result, in front of Su Yan and, having composed himself, asked, “Want to eat this?”

Su Yan’s face almost collided with Lu Lin’s. In his panic, he could only shove his phone into his pocket, unaware that Lu Lin had observed his every reaction, the chill in his eyes steadily deepening.

Only then did Su Yan have a chance to look up. The strawberry soufflé on the screen immediately brightened his mood; it looked incredibly delicious.

“I like it.”

“Good.” Lu Lin then tossed all the boxed strawberries from the shelf into the shopping cart.

The supermarket was well-stocked with ingredients, allowing them to gather everything they needed quickly. The closer they got to the residential complex, the more nervous Su Yan became, practically shuffling his feet.

[Niannian: ?]

[Niannian: What’s with the early morning barrage? So many missed calls; how much do you miss me?]

Ordinarily, such a remark would have prompted a massive rant from Su Yan, but in his current predicament, he was solely focused on “saving his life.” He hastily typed on his keyboard, but before he could hit send, he received a video from Qi Nian.

Clicking it open revealed a small figure with pink hair blowing a kiss at the camera, ending with: ‘I miss you too~’

His fingertip tapped ‘send,’ and at the same moment, a loud crash echoed from ahead.

It was the sound of a metal can forcefully hitting the ground.

“It seems the canned fruit we bought fell,” Lu Lin said, turning to Su Yan with a smile.

Su Yan frowned, wondering, ‘Would something falling on the ground really make such a loud noise?’

Lu Lin placed a bag on the ground, crouched, and made a few perfunctory prods in front of the bushes. Without any discernible reaction, he murmured, “Don’t let me find you.”

The words were spoken softly, and Su Yan, standing, hadn’t quite caught them. Assuming Lu Lin hadn’t found anything, he self-importantly offered, “Let me look.”

Just as he finished speaking and reached to put his phone in his pocket to crouch down, Lu Lin stood up, disdainfully clutching a can of peaches. The can’s metal exterior was already ruptured, sticky syrup dripping from it.

Su Yan opened his mouth to speak, but Lu Lin cut him off. He tossed the can into a trash bin, then wiped his fingers with a wet wipe. “It’s broken.”

“Will you feel bad about it?”

Su Yan couldn’t fathom why anyone would ‘feel bad’ over a can of peaches. “We can just buy another one; it’s fine.”

He winked at Lu Lin, signaling that there was no need for guilt.

Lu Lin received Su Yan’s wink and promptly ignored it.

On the other side of the screen, Qi Nian had also received Su Yan’s message.

[SY: Please, hide quickly.]

Su Yan knew that asking Qi Nian to leave quickly was no longer realistic, as they had already arrived downstairs.

He had bought the ground-floor apartment for convenience back then; now, he genuinely regretted it.

“Where do you live?”

“I think I forgot,” Su Yan blurted out, oblivious to how absurd his statement was.

Lu Lin didn’t seem angered by this remark, merely gazing at him silently, which only served to inexplicably fill Su Yan with a sense of guilt.

“Alright, it’s here.” Su Yan lowered his gaze and walked directly towards the “door of death.” His only hope now rested on Qi Nian; if he was well-hidden, perhaps he could still escape alive.

Of course, this was merely hyperbole.

‘Lu Lin should be a law-abiding good kid, right? Well, no.’

Click—

The smart lock clicked open in response.

Lu Lin followed behind Su Yan with a dark expression, but the oblivious Su Yan believed he had successfully pulled off his deception, especially since when he turned, he saw not Lu Lin’s gloomy face, but a polite smile.

Lu Lin’s Rules of the Peculiar:

1. No one else’s name shall be uttered by Su Yan.

2. Su Yan shall offer comfort promptly whenever Lu Lin’s face darkens.

3. “Break up” is a forbidden word. Triggering it ten times will result in severe consequences.

…

Violating any rule will earn you achievements such as “Saucy Revelry” and more.

The moment the door opened, Su Yan squeezed his eyes shut. His home was so messy he was embarrassed to look, but he didn’t wait for Lu Lin to utter a single complaint.

What met his eyes was a vibrant green parrot and a spotless, orderly living room.

This parrot, a Monk Parakeet with bright green plumage, had been adopted by Su Yan during his third year of high school. He had even thoughtfully given it a name: Su Xiaosa.

Though it did sound a bit ‘low-brow.’

He had politely declined his parents’ offer to hire a maid for himself, yet he had specifically employed an auntie to care for Su Xiaosa. The auntie would often say, “I feel bad doing so little; perhaps I should do more, otherwise I’d feel guilty about having weekends off.”

Su Yan immediately refused.

Su Yan cautiously opened one eye, only then realizing the room was neat and tidy, with everything neatly arranged. This was clearly Qi Nian’s doing, as Su Yan always tended to pick things up, use them, and then carelessly toss them aside.

Lu Lin placed the bags on the table, rolled up his sleeves to reveal a segment of his fair, strong forearm, and as he took out the ingredients that needed refrigeration, he said with a smile, “You cleaned up quite fast.”

Su Yan listened, a dark line forming on his forehead, completely missing the underlying meaning in Lu Lin’s words. He could only offer a dry chuckle in response, “It’s not bad.”

Outwardly harmonious, the two were inwardly swirling with unspoken currents.

Su Xiaosa, delighted to see Su Yan home, chattered excitedly, “Lu Lin is a stinky idiot.”

Hearing this, Su Yan swallowed hard and automatically retreated three steps. He had only casually cursed Lu Lin a few times back then, never expecting his foolish parrot to suddenly gain intelligence and immediately absorb those words.

But that was back when they weren’t close yet!

Lu Lin, meanwhile, acted as if he hadn’t heard anything. He took the eggs, separated the yolks from the whites, then picked up a whisk and began to beat them.

Su Xiaosa, however, was relentless, repeating the phrase over and over. Su Yan dashed over, attempting to cover its beak.

He wasn’t idle either, frantically defending himself. “Who taught you that? Why are you cursing? You bad parrot!”

“Who knows which idiot taught it that.”

After speaking, he nervously glanced towards Lu Lin in the kitchen. Lu Lin had casually tied on an apron, his back revealing nothing of his true thoughts.

It wasn’t until he spoke in a detached tone, “Tell me, what kind of person is Qi Nian?”