1.4 I Can't Sleep
Lu Yizhou raised a brow.
"Ah…!" Ren Zexi covered his mouth in shock. How could he say something like that?! Would Uncle Lu be offended? After all, saying a man was beautiful to his own face was quite…
He looked at Lu Yizhou nervously yet the man only replied with a single sentence. "Yeah, I get that a lot."
Ren Zexi was dumbfounded for a while before sighing in relief. Of course… such a sophisticated man like Lu Yizhou, he must have received a lot of compliments! What was he scared of? Ren Zexi laughed at his own stupidity.
He rubbed his own chest, frowning in the next second. That's weird, why did he feel disappointed?
Lu Yizhou observed as the child's expression changed rapidly. One moment he was blushing, then the next moment he frowned and pouted his lips. He wondered whether there's a private theatre running in that small head of his.
[Do other children also like this?]
[666: Um… 666 is also not sure. Wait, let me check through the library. Let's see. Young children, especially around the age of three to six will have a very strong sense of curiosity. They will take in their surroundings like a sponge. So that's why, Mommy and Daddy have to be careful of their actions and words in everyday life so that—]
[Stop. Even I know all of that nonsense.]
[666: QAQ this is the encyclopedia of 'How To Raise a Good Baby' from Admin God's online library! How can it be nonsense? Host is so mean!]
Lu Yizhou sighed and stood up, prompting Ren Zexi to look at him. "I'm done." He said. "You can take your time if you want."
"I am also done!" He stood up suddenly, making the water splash all over the floor. "Uncle Lu, wait—"
"Careful." Lu Yizhou offered him a hand. "I don't want to see you get into an accident on the first day you're here."
Ren Zexi pursed his lips tight so that his smile wouldn't look so obvious. He clung onto Lu Yizhou's hand, his eyes twinkled like two plump black grapes. Side by side, the two rinsed their bodies in the shower room, toweled it dry then put on underwear and bathrobe. Their action was surprisingly in sync.
Stepping out of the bathroom, two sets of clothes had already been prepared on the hanger for them. Lu Yizhou wore the loose sweater over his head and put on the cotton pants, all of it was executed in less than five seconds. Turning around, he found Ren Zexi still struggling with his clothes yet unwilling to call for help, mulling over them in bewilderment.
He noticed Lu Yizhou's gaze and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, Uncle Lu...please, give me a moment!"
Lu Yizhou sighed, walked toward him, lifted him by the armpits then proceeded to move him to sit on the sofa. The series of action was done smoothly. He grabbed Ren Zexi's shirt and commanded. "Lift your arms."
Ren Zexi meekly complied, lifting both arms over his head.
Lu Yizhou slipped the shirt through his arms, eyes landing on the mole under Ren Zexi's collarbone. It was shaped like a little star. He had never seen such a mole before. It didn't look bizarre at all. Unexpectedly, it was quite...adorable.
"You have a star on your chest. How unique." He commented.
Ren Zexi exhaled loudly when the shirt slid successfully down his body. "Uncle too!" He pointed toward Lu Yizhou's chest. "There's one there. Is it the same as my birthmark?"
Lu Yizhou blinked and it took a moment for him to realize that Ren Zexi was talking about the surgical scar on his chest. Chuckling helplessly, he shook his head.
Ren Zexi's eyes rounded. He's smiling! Uncle Lu was smiling! This was the first time he had seen the man smile. Just as he expected, it looked very nice and beautiful. Seriously, there's nothing about Uncle Lu that wasn't beautiful, Ren Zexi lamented.
The knowledge that he was the one who put the smile on Lu Yizhou's face filled him with an unprecedented sense of achievement. All these while, Lu Yizhou had always put on a stoic face, rendering him unable to guess what the man was thinking about.
Lu Yizhou finished dressing Ren Zexi up, turning him into a warm, little dumpling. In a timely manner, Butler An knocked on the door. "Master, Young Master, the lunch is ready."
They rode the elevator down to the second floor and stepped into the dining hall. Once again, Ren Zexi's jaws dropped to the ground. Huge, antique chandelier hanging down the ceiling, a long table that could host at least twenty people, and a French window that's covered by rainbow glass. The room was absolutely breathtaking.
Groooowl~
Ren Zexi's tummy just had to protest at this moment, once again making him lose his face. Butler An chuckled and gestured for him to sit on the right side of the head table. "Please make yourself comfortable, Young Master."
The dishes were served the next moment.
The rims of Ren Zexi's eyes reddened. Since his parents' death, this was the first time he had a warm meal. Uncle Ren would usually bring home a lunchbox that had cooled down, the rice was hard and difficult to swallow and the meat smelled weird.
"Eat as much as you want." Lu Yizhou said in an impassive tone. "You can add more if it's not enough."
Ren Zexi brought a spoon of rice into his mouth, tears streaming down his face. Of course this was enough. It was more than enough already. No one had treated him this well other than his parents.
"Slow down. No one is going to steal it from you." Lu Yizhou said with a frown. "And also, stop your tears."
"En!" Ren Zexi nodded yet the tears still couldn't stop. "Sow-hy, Unc-lhe Lu…" Not only that, he also started to create a mess on his face that was newly washed.
Sighing, Lu Yizhou grabbed a napkin and wiped the rice on the corner of his mouth. His action left Ren Zexi stunned to the point where his tears stopped, yet the related party didn't react at all. For Lu Yizhou, Ren Zexi was akin to the humanoid version of his cat. Everytime it drank milk, it would also make a mess around its mouth and even drenched its whiskers white. After that, its round eyes would stare up at him, prompting him to help it wipe its mouth.
Pampered, adorable.
Lu Yizhou observed Ren Zexi for a while and nodded. Very similar.
[666: ….]
[666: 666 is actually rendered speechless. To compare a cat and a human, only Host is able to do it. Well, everyone's coping mechanism is different anyway so 666 knows it shouldn't complain…]
Lu Yizhou automatically filtered out 666's unnecessary remarks.
The lunch ended harmoniously and soon after, Lu Yizhou threw Ren Zexi to Butler An because he still had a lot of work to do. And when he meant a lot, he wasn't exaggerating at all, his schedule was even filled up to midnight.
Lu Yizhou got a headache just by looking at it. [You know, is there a fast forward button I can use? I am not a CEO and I have no idea what this world's Lu Yizhou is working on.]
[666: N-ope ^^ don't worry, Host! The system has been equipped with automatic adjustment so you can continue to work as CEO Lu without needing to learn about business!]
[Useless.]
[666: Uwaaa QAQ 666 is the most useful system around!!!]
Lu Yizhou ignored 666's cries and sat down on the chair, frowning. True to the system's words, as soon as he grabbed the pen, it was as if an unknown entity was enveloping him and directing his movements. He let go of the control over his body and watched himself flip through one contract after another and signed it efficiently.
...Fine, it was quite awesome.
[666: I know, right?!!!!]
[Shut up.] He let out a sigh and gave the mountain of documents another glance. [Can I sleep?]
[666: Of course! That is...if you can sleep with your eyes open :)]
Lu Yizhou wanted to give 666 a beating.
666 shut up in an instant. Fortunately, it didn't have a physical body otherwise it would have been beaten to pulp.
***
As Lu Yizhou worked into the night, Ren Zexi received a house tour from Butler An and two other servants. Lu Yizhou's house — or a mansion, to be exact — consisted of five floors and it was equipped with, including but not limited to, guest rooms, gym, library, study room, mini theater, greenhouse and swimming pool. Ren Zexi's outlook kept being refreshed every five minutes.
After they left the swimming pool area, Butler An glanced at his pocket watch and decided to call it a day. "Okay, it's already nine o'clock so Young Master should go to bed now. Please follow me to your bedroom."
"I...also have my own room?" Ren Zexi asked in shock.
"Of course." Butler An chuckled. "Master Lu didn't tell me ahead that you're coming so we can only refurbish a guest room as best as we can." They rode the elevator to the fifth floor and turned into another hallway. A large double door stood in front of Ren Zexi. "This is it." Butler An pushed the door open.
It was as if Ren Zexi entered another universe. The wallpaper of his room was sky blue and the ceiling was decorated with numerous light-in-the-dark stickers. A single bed in the shape of the car settled in the middle of the room. Other than that, there was also a walk-in closet and private bathroom.
Ren Zexi hesitated when he was about to enter. "Err...Butler An, may I ask...where is Uncle Lu's room?"
Butler An suppressed the urge to smile and gestured down the hallway. "You only need to turn left once and you will see a door signed with Master Lu's name. That's his room."
Ren Zexi fidgeted nervously. "Uncle Lu is still not done with his work?"
"No, I'm sorry but he won't seem to finish anytime soon so it's better for Young Master to wash up first and go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, you will get to see him again, what about it?" Butler An received a glass of warm milk from the servant behind and handed it over to Ren Zexi.
When he put it like that, Ren Zexi couldn't bring himself to admit that he couldn't get used to such a large space. Nodding, he gulped down the milk and bid goodnight to Butler An and the two servants.
Ren Zexi circled around the room nervously. It was actually smaller than Lu Yizhou's room but somehow, he felt like it was too big for him alone. Even after brushing his teeth and getting into the bed, Ren Zexi couldn't get used to the stillness and quietness.
He could even hear his own breathing. It was scary but Ren Zexi knew better than whining like a child. Father and Mother weren't here anymore so he had to be independent. His tummy was full and his body didn't hurt, so why did he still complain even after being granted such a nice room?
Ren Zexi grumbled, lifted the blanket to his neck and closed his eyes, starting to count sheep.
The hour hand of the clock gradually moved from nine to eleven and he had counted more than five hundred sheep. Nonetheless, he didn't feel drowsy at all.
From afar, the faint sound of footsteps rang down the hallway. Ren Zexi strained his ears to listen, his heart beat faster with anticipation. Was it...Uncle Lu? Was he finally done with his work?
No, no. So what if he was done, Ren Zexi still shouldn't bother him anymore, especially in the middle of the night like this. He buried his head into the pillow and shut his eyes firmly.
.
.
.
A few minutes later, he found himself standing in front of Lu Yizhou's room, a pillow hugged to his chest. Gulping, he knocked on the door nervously. "U—Uncle Lu…?"
The door swung open, revealing Lu Yizhou who had his hair down. The light brown bangs fell over his forehead, making him look younger and softer. Once again, Ren Zexi was dazed by his beauty.
"What are you doing here?" The man asked in his signature cold tone. "Still not asleep?"
Ren Zexi put on a look which was effective on his parents 9 out of 10 times. Tugging on the man's pants, he stared up at Lu Yizhou with pitiful eyes and said in a milky voice. "Uncle Lu, I can't sleep…"