Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“What’s on your mind?” asked Lu Yi as he walked beside Yan Huan. She had put on some weight, he noted to his relief.
“I’m thinking about Su Muran. I wonder if Lu Qin is going to toss her aside now that he has someone more useful,” she said as she laid down on Lu Yi’s lap, absorbed in the thought.
A man with ambition will want to conquer more wealth, power, and women.
A woman with ambition will want more men.
Lu Yi peered into the distance coolly. “My instinct tells me that Sun Yuhan will not be content with Lu Qin alone, and Lu Qin will want the wealth of both families.”
“Aren’t they biting off more than they could chew?” asked Yan Huan, pressing her face against Lu Yi’s shoulders. The drama between those three was getting more and more convoluted.
“That’s their business. All you have to worry about is eating properly,” said Lu Yi, putting his hand around Yan Huan’s shoulders. She had been looking healthier and plumper lately.
Other women will be worried, or even distraught if they heard that they gained weight, but Yan Huan was different. She was only 40kg, so she didn’t mind putting on some weight. If Lu Yi wanted her to be plumper, she would make it happen for him.
“I’m going over to Mom and Dad’s for lunch tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?” inquired Lu Yi. He knew that Yan Huan had been reluctant to go out ever since that incident, and he was fine with it for a time, but he didn’t want Yan Huan to turn into a recluse. He wanted her to interact with other people, and not trap herself within one location and point in time.
Yan Huan thought about asking if she could not go, but in the end she nodded.
It was about time she went back once. Hiding was only a temporary solution, and she had to go back someday.
Lu Yi brought Yan Huan to the Lu House on the following day. To her surprise, even Old Master Lu was there. She was a little uneasy when she stepped into the house, but that was until Old Master Lu gave her a glare.
“Are you a turtle? Hiding in your shell all day and shutting everyone out. Where are my shoes?”
“Shoes?” asked Yan Huan blankly. For a moment, she didn’t know what he was talking about.
“You know what I’m talking about. Look for yourself!”
In truth, Old Master Lu was a little pissed off at how weak Yan Huan was. It wasn’t even a huge deal to him, yet the incident had knocked her off her feet and left her hiding in her shell like a turtle. It wasn’t even something to be embarrassed about. If anything, he should have been the one embarrassed. None of this would have happened had he not tried to break the couple apart. To cover up for that, he had to yell all the time.
Yan Huan looked down and saw a few pairs of shoes neatly lined up at the doorstep. The black kungfu-shoes caught her eyes almost immediately. The battered shoe had a hole at the front, yet he still wore them all the same. It was a handmade shoe, a relic of the past. For a moment, Yan Huan thought she had travelled through time again.
“Where are my shoes?” demanded Old Master Lu again. “Didn’t I ask you to get me a few more pairs? What am I supposed to wear now? You even told me to get off my wheelchair because they are for disabled people! Can’t an old man use a wheelchair? Huh?!”
Yan Huan was so befuddled by his yelling that she forgot her fears.
“You are scaring her, Grandpa,” said Lu Yi, moving before Yan Huan protectively. His loud voice would have scared any living soul.
“I have always been talking like this!” yelled Old Master Lu. “And she used to be even louder than me! She was relentless back when she scolded me! Where did all that fight go? You are almost behaving like a meek wife now!”
“I am a meek wife,” whispered Yan Huan. Since when was she a tigress?
Lu Yi gave her fingers a light squeeze.
“Shh. Talk less, eat more,” he whispered.
Yan Huan nodded vehemently. Eat less, talk more, got it. Or was it the other way round? The only problem was she had already been eating a lot lately. She would turn into a pig if she kept it up.
Lu Yi could tell with a glance that she had put on at least 2.5 kg. He sure did a good job at fattening her up; she hadn’t reached this weight in years.
That was when Ye Shuyun came in. Taking in the situation, she did her best to de-escalate things.
“Why are you two just standing there? Come sit down and eat!” she chirped as she reached out to give Lu Jin a surreptitious pinch. “Why didn’t you interfere? Are you just going to watch as our children stand there getting scolded?”
“It’s his job to protect his own wife,” said Lu Jin, sitting down and massaging the flesh at his waist. “And can you stop pinching me here? Pick somewhere thicker next time. You do this all the time.”
Ye Shuyun gave him a look. “Speak less. Focus on eating.”
Lu Yi brought Yan Huan to the table.
Yan Huan was filled with unease—a feeling she hadn’t felt in years. The seat felt like a spiked cushion below her bottom.
She glanced around at her hosts carefully. It seemed as though they had made it a point not to mention that incident. Their treatment towards her remained unchanged.
“Eat,” prompted Lu Yi, putting some food into Yan Huan’s bowl.
Yan Huan dipped her head knowingly.
Eat more, talk less.
None of them made any attempts at small talk throughout the meal. All they could hear was the clinking of chopsticks against plates. Overall, it was a little awkward.
She didn’t know how it was for the others, but Yan Huan herself felt pretty awkward.
She nearly burrowed her head in the bowl, following Lu Yi’s instructions closely.
“She’s been eating more lately,” said Ye Shuyun, pleased with Yan Huan’s appetite. “Nearly done with her second bowl.”
“Mhm,” agreed Lu Yi, putting more food into her bowl. “She has learned the art of gluttony.”
Talk less, eat more, Yan Huan told herself.
“That’s good,” said Ye Shuyun, heaving a sigh of relief. Her greatest worry was that Yan Huan would starve herself in her distraught state. If she got any skinnier, she would be nothing but skin and bones.
Throughout the meal, Lu Jin seemed to be distracted by whatever was on his mind.
“What are you doing?” Ye Shuyun bumped him on the elbow. Didn’t we agree on behaving normally so that Yan Huan wouldn’t overthink?
“Nothing,” said Lu Jin. In his absent-minded state, he put the thoughts in his mind to words. “I’m just wondering when Dad would stop coming to my place. Every time he comes, my collection diminishes.”
Whenever he thought about his antiques leaving him one by one, his heart bled and ached and breathing became difficult.
