CH 10

Early Saturday morning, Luo Lin Yuan, who rarely stayed in bed, got up early in the morning and threw his clothes on the bed.

Uncle Wu came knocking on the door with milk at exactly 7:30 am as Luo Lin Yuan instructed before going to bed last night. He had just pushed the door open when he saw his Young Master sitting in a pile of clothes, staring at the mirror with his hands on his face in distress.

Luo Lin Yuan saw Uncle Wu coming and he jumped out from the pile of clothes. “Uncle Wu, which one do you think I should wear going out?”

Uncle Wu knew that Luo Lin Yuan is going to a group activity today. He was very pleased. Knowing that the Young Master didn’t have any friends when he was little, Uncle Wu looked saddened.

After Luo Lin Yuan finished drinking the milk, Uncle Wu handed him a tissue to wipe the white beard around his mouth. “Young Master looks good in anything.”

Uncle Wu took the empty glass and looked at Luo Lin Yuan who returned to the bedside to choose clothes. “Young Master is very happy today ah.”

Luo Lin Yuan coughed, put down his clothes, and touched his neck, “It’s alright, I’m happy enough.”

Uncle Wu: “You can hold a party at home and invite all your classmates. Uncle Wu will definitely treat them well.”

Luo Lin Yuan’s eyes just lit up and looked at Uncle Wu, then they instantly dimmed again. “Mom will be unhappy with so many people coming here.”

Uncle Wu wanted to say how could that be but swallowed his words back when he thought of the Madam’s habits.

Luo Lin Yuan finally chose a pair of jeans and a baseball jacket. He carried a bag and went to see his mother before going out.

Lin Shu stayed in her studio as usual with her hands covered in paint; there was a cigarette in her mouth. She was immersed in her own creation and couldn’t extricate herself.

The sound of Luo Lin Yuan pushing the door open obviously affected her. Lin Shu looked back, her expression cold, “Who let you in!”

Luo Lin Yuan was too scared to move. He lowered his eyelashes and uttered, “Mom, I’m going out camping with my classmates today and won’t be home tonight.”

Lin Shu extinguished her cigarette in the ashtray, “Are you still a three-year-old kid that you came to tell me about this?”

Luo Lin Yuan gripped the doorknob tightly. He thought: this is the first time I’ll spend the night outside ah, it’s different from those days in the hospital where I couldn’t come back.

He vaguely remembers that Lin Shu wasn’t like this to him when he was a child. Until Lin Shu discovered that this child, who had survived nine deaths and was still alive, [1] she gave birth through trials and tribulations, [2] hadn’t inherited the slightest bit of her talent.

Moreover, because she lost her health when she gave birth to him, she was unable to have another one who was as talented as her. Lin Shu was very disappointed.

Since then, Lin Shu’s attitude towards him grew colder by the day.

Although in the Luo family, his father, aunts, and uncles are very good to him, he has always wanted to be close to Lin Shu. This is a child’s instinct of wanting to be near his mother.

Luo Lin Yuan carefully stepped forward, “Mom, I will take pictures of the scenery and come back to you. You can use them as material.”

Lin Shu listened and laughed. She got down from her chair. She wore a white shirt which revealed her thin collarbones, appearing delicate. Although she was of a certain age and had years left on her face, it could still be seen that she was once a great beauty when she was young. Luo Lin Yuan was almost carved out of the same mold as her.

Obviously, they are two people who resemble each other so much but aren’t close at all.

Lin Shu examined her son, “Your photography skills are as bad as your talent for painting. How are you going to get your pictures into paintings?”

Luo Lin Yuan lowered his head with some embarrassment as he tried to find another topic, “Does Mom want to eat breakfast?”

Lin Shu took out a cigarette from her pocket, “No, go out and close the door. You’re affecting me.”

Lin Shu has very strict requirements of the environment when she paints. She doesn’t care about anything else. At least, she couldn’t hear any hint of movements in the studio.

Luo Lin Yuan gave a very small oh and closed the door behind him. Uncle Wu stood behind him, “Young Master, the kitchen has made you your favorite noodles.”

Luo Lin Yuan walked towards the dining room on the first floor. “When will Dad be back?”

Uncle Wu: “Master is still discussing business in the United States, so at least half a month away.”

Luo Lin Yuan was stunned, “He won’t come back for my birthday?”

Uncle Wu sighed, “Master will definitely try his best to come back.”

Luo Lin Yuan didn’t say anything and buried his head in eating noodles. After he finished eating, he got into the car and the driver took him to the agreed basketball court. He didn’t go down to play basketball, so he just watched from the side.

Xia Fu was already sitting in the stands, shaking her head and waving her hands excitedly to cheer people on. In addition to Xia Fu, there were other girls in the stands; it was a bustling group.

It seems that except for him, the boys have all gone down to play basketball.

When Xia Fu saw him coming, she waved happily at him and asked him to sit beside her.

As soon as Luo Lin Yuan sat down, Xia Fu clung to his arm pressing her hot cheeks against his shoulders, and snuggled affectionately.

Luo Lin Yuan whispered in Xia Fu’s ear, “There are a lot of people, don’t be like this.”

Xia Fu was unhappy at once. She pulled her hand out, sat up straight, and stared at him closely, “What, do you mind?”

Luo Lin Yuan: “I just don’t like this.”

Xia Fu stared at him suspiciously, “Are you afraid of being seen by someone?”

Luo Lin Yuan wanted to say no but felt that such a conversation was rather meaningless. “Then, whatever you say.”

Who knew that his words ignited Xia Fu’s anger. What girls hate to hear the most is this sentence, ‘whatever you say’.

Xia Fu got up and went to sit in the first row, leaving Luo Lin Yuan to sit in the third row, surrounded by a group of girls.

Luo Lin Yuan is a man of few words. He originally wanted to quietly watch the basketball game but who knew that he would overhear the chatter of the girls around him, questioning why his hair looks shiny and soft, and what shampoo did he use to achieve that.

After a while, they asked again how come his skin is so delicate, what skin products did he use. Then they asked again, what brand of clothes he was wearing, exclaiming that it looks good and they would also buy one for their boyfriend when they go back.

Luo Lin Yuan, who could hardly breathe among a group of girls, finally got up as if fleeing from calamity and left a sentence to buy water and ran away in a hurry.

He bought a lot of beverages, two big bags of all flavors available. After bringing it back and distributing it to the girls, Xia Fu became even angrier when she saw it. Luo Lin Yuan completely forgot that he had to coax his girlfriend. He carried the drinks to the players who were off the court resting halfway through the game.

The captain of Class Ten was a little surprised when he saw him carrying so many and said, “Our class has some too?”

Fang Xiao vigorously patted Luo Lin Yuan’s shoulder and he even wrapped his arm around the person’s neck, “You’re welcome ah!”

Although that’s what he said, Fang Xiao turned his head and stared at Luo Lin Yuan, “We usually don’t see you delivering water when we play basketball! Speak! Did you take a fancy on one of the girls in Class Ten!”

Luo Lin Yuan rolled his eyes at him. “Shut up and drink water!”

He saw that there were still a few left in the plastic bag, so he looked up to see who hadn’t taken it. At a glance, he saw Yu Han sitting on the side. Someone had already handed him a towel and water. Moreover, he showed a gentle smile that Luo Lin Yuan had never seen before, saying thank you to the girls.

Luo Lin Yuan sneered in his heart. He sat next to the bag, took out every remaining bottle of drinks, unscrewed them, and took a sip on all of it.

If not, then not. He doesn’t want to give it okay!