Chapter 107 – Otherwise, Luo Luo is back.
The knocking outside the door continued.
Jian Luo had no choice but to grit his teeth and go out. Since he got pregnant, his body had become quite heavy. Suddenly feeling lightheaded, he almost stumbled, unable to control his walking posture and strength.
Outside, Tie Zhu saw Jian Luo almost stumbling in the yard through the crack in the door. He shouted, holding his neck, “Luo Luo, are you okay?”
Jian Luo bypassed the chicken droppings in the yard and took off the door latch. “I’m fine.”
In front of him stood the memory of Tie Zhu, with dark skin and a naive smile, all revealing the simplicity of a rural guy. He looked at Jian Luo, suddenly took something out of his pocket, and asked, “Luo Luo, guess what I brought for you?”
Jian Luo was feeling guilty at the moment and asked, “What?”
Tie Zhu grabbed his hand and walked into the house, saying, “This kind of treasure can’t be talked about at the door. Come in!”
“Hey, you…”
Due to the huge difference in strength, Jian Luo couldn’t resist being pulled in. Now, in his heart, he was on the verge of collapse. Before he could react to everything, Tie Zhu and Lu Shifeng in the room locked eyes.
One was a rural guy wearing coarse clothes, while the other turned out to be a military marshal in traditional military attire. The two stood in opposition, creating a strangely bizarre scene.
The atmosphere became extremely awkward.
A somewhat dangerous tension inexplicably spread in the air.
Jian Luo’s scalp tingled. “Um…”
Both Tie Zhu and Lu Shifeng looked at him simultaneously, asking, “Who is he?”
“Um…” Jian Luo’s eyes wandered, “It’s like this, listen to my explanation, don’t get too excited.”
Jian Luo’s gaze moved back and forth between Tie Zhu and Lu Shifeng. Finally, he took a deep breath and said to Tie Zhu, “He is my distant cousin, surnamed Lu.”
Tie Zhu couldn’t believe it. “Aren’t you an orphan?”
“…,”
Jian Luo insisted, “What nonsense are you talking about? I am a member of the Jian family, and he is my distant cousin from the Jian family.”
As soon as these words came out, Tie Zhu felt a bit guilty. He was not very bright and often said the wrong things. Now he had inadvertently embarrassed Jian Luo again. Tie Zhu was straightforward. After some self-reflection, he took a step forward, actively and warmly patting Lu Shifeng’s arm, “Brother, which village are you from, and why are you dressed like this?”
Jian Luo widened his eyes, never expecting that a slip of the tongue would magnify his cousin’s identity!
However, the catastrophic scene he anticipated where people would be in trouble did not occur. Lu Shifeng raised an eyebrow, looking at Jian Luo. He repeated, “Cousin?”
Jian Luo choked.
A cold smile appeared on Lu Shifeng’s lips, giving Jian Luo a chilling feeling.
Tie Zhu was oblivious to Jian Luo’s cautiousness and nervousness, lacking any survival instinct. He said, “You are Luo Luo’s cousin, so from today, you are my cousin too. Rest assured, coming here is like coming to your own home. If you have any difficulties, just speak up, and I will do my best!”
Lu Shifeng withdrew his gaze from Jian Luo and focused it on Tie Zhu. “What’s your relationship with him?”
Jian Luo’s heart skipped a beat.
As a rough man, Tie Zhu had never experienced such questioning before. A faint blush appeared on his dark face, and he said, “Hey, do we still need to ask about this?”
“…”
Please, just shut up.
Jian Luo cleared his throat lightly and said, “Tie Zhu is my elder brother, and he usually takes good care of me.”
Can’t control it anymore. Just treat it as a dream. May God forgive this bad man! Mainly, he didn’t want to die now!
Lu Shifeng lightly lifted his thin lips and repeated, “Elder brother?”
Thinking that Jian Luo was just shy, Tie Zhu didn’t insist. “Yep, calling me elder bro is fine too!”
…
A silence filled the room.
Though it seemed like the explanation was clear, the awkward yet mysterious atmosphere did not dissipate.
Jian Luo decided to shift the topic a bit and said to Tie Zhu, “Uh, Tie, didn’t you say you brought something for me? What is it?”
At the mention of this, Tie Zhu became enthusiastic. He suddenly pulled out a large wooden sculpture from his pants, handed it to Jian Luo like a treasure, and said with great enthusiasm, “Luo Luo, I made this myself. Look, this is me, and this one is you. It represents us being together forever, never parting.”
“…”
They are two separate sculptures, and you say never parting, big brother, are you kidding me?
Jian Luo didn’t bother to look at the wooden carvings. He cast a somewhat timid glance at Lu Shifeng not far away, locking eyes with those red pupils, feeling a bit pressured.
His survival instinct was still strong. He stuffed the wooden carving into Tie Zhu’s hands and hastily found a reason, “Uh, Tie Zhu, since they are never to part, it’s better to keep them together for good luck, don’t you think?”
Tie Zhu looked at Jian Luo in confusion.
Jian Luo wiped the sweat off his forehead and said to Tie Zhu, “Alright, alright, you’ve delivered the gift. Hurry back; I’ll find you another time.”
“No, Luo Luo…”
“Nothing to wait for; go quickly!”
“Wait…”
“Bang!”
The door was closed.
Having sent away this time bomb, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Lu Shifeng, feeling a bit guilty. “My big brother just likes to joke. Don’t mind him.”
Lu Shifeng tapped the table with his slender fingers and said calmly, “How many is he? Your ex-boyfriend.”
“Huh?”
“Your history of boyfriends.”
“…”
You remember that?
Jian Luo recalled the times when he had mentioned his ex-boyfriends to Lu Shifeng and said awkwardly, “None.”
Lu Shifeng asked, “Shall I go ask for you?”
“Well, the first one.” Jian Luo sighed, “But he was an honest guy. We only held hands at most. Not long after, he got married, so we didn’t have much interaction.”
Can’t compete with Lu Shifeng; the old man hits a home run right from the start!
Lu Shifeng seemed satisfied with this information. “Hmm.”
…
Jian Luo decided to do something to lighten the mood. He heard the pigs outside, realizing, “Oh, I haven’t fed the pigs.”
Thinking of this, he rushed outside.
Feeding the pigs involved a somewhat troublesome process and procedure, especially the bucket, which was heavy to lift. People in the countryside would collect green leaves from the mountains, dry and crush them. A bucket of green soup with some added ingredients was sufficient for pig feeding.
Jian Luo skillfully prepared everything quickly. Just as he was about to lift the bucket, Lu Shifeng took a step ahead and picked it up.
Jian Luo: “Don’t carry it, it’s dirty.”
Lu Shifeng glanced at him: “Where should I put it?”
“There.”
Jian Luo pointed to the pig trough. In this lifetime, who could have imagined seeing Lu Shifeng, with his precious hands that usually held guns, carrying a pig food bucket? The tall and handsome man, dressed in a neat military uniform, holding a shiny green bucket, stood in front of the pigsty pouring food while the pigs squealed. The scene looked amusing no matter how you looked at it.
Jian Luo chuckled.
Lu Shifeng turned around: “What’s so funny?”
“It just feels so out of place.” Jian Luo, with a smile in his eyes, patted his flat abdomen. “I never thought you would do these things again. Actually, I can do it myself; I’m not pregnant right now.”
Lu Shifeng placed the bucket aside: “Feeding a pig is nothing. In the military, during special circumstances, what we eat is worse than what it eats.”
“…”
Jian Luo’s smile froze on his face.
Lu Shifeng walked to the nearby water tank to wash his hands and casually said, “Helping you with tasks doesn’t depend on whether you’re pregnant or not.”
Jian Luo’s eyes widened: “Huh?”
He could hardly believe what he heard. He always thought that the care he received was because of the child. But today, the Marshal said such things. Could it be that, even without a child, he could still be treated well?
Lu Shifeng glanced at him: “Any questions?”
“…No.”
After feeding the pig, Jian Luo remembered that the vegetables in the field needed to be harvested. Although it was a dream, he decided to follow the dream’s rules. Since Lu Shifeng hadn’t come back for a long time, it was a good opportunity to explore.
Thinking of this, Jian Luo said to Lu Shifeng, “Do you want to see our village? You’ve probably never seen a place like this.”
Lu Shifeng said, “Seen it.”
“Oh?”
Lu Shifeng didn’t elaborate: “Let’s go.”
Jian Luo was afraid that others might see him, so he added, “Would you mind changing your clothes first?”
Suddenly, he remembered that he didn’t know what possessed him before to learn sewing and make clothes for his lover. He still had a set of clothes for Tie Zhu, who was a bit shorter than Lu Shifeng but could make do.
Lu Shifeng swept his eyes over Jian Luo’s body with a meaningful look: “What about your clothes?”
“…”
Who was looking down on whom!
Angrily, Jian Luo rummaged through the wardrobe and handed over the poorly made clothes to Lu Shifeng: “Here, try these.”
Lu Shifeng took the gown without showing any disdain, went to another place to change, while Jian Luo fantasized in place about how the Marshal would look in the clothes he made.
“Squeak.”
The door creaked.
He turned around and saw Lu Shifeng wearing his poorly crafted gown – a blue and white combination that seemed like a deathly color scheme. The tight-fitting clothes had a few unfinished seams, yet this appalling outfit strangely exuded a sense of high-fashion on Lu Shifeng.
The saying goes, “Clothes make the man,” but for some inherently beautiful people, it’s all about the clothes coming to the rescue. Clearly, a beggar’s attire on someone’s body could inexplicably transform into a limited edition fashion statement.
Jian Luo praised, “It actually looks quite good.”
Lu Shifeng asked, “Made for your big brother Tie Zhu?”
!!
Jian Luo stammered, “No, definitely not.”
“Is it?” Lu Shifeng pointed to the cuff, where an extremely unattractive “iron[/mfn]Tie1” character was embroidered. “What’s this?”
Oh no, forgot about that.
Jian Luo tried to sound resolute: “My heart is like iron, strong!”
“…”
Lu Shifeng looked at his struggling appearance and couldn’t help but find it amusing.
After some fuss, they finally left. On the rural path, you would often encounter chickens or dogs from neighboring households taking a stroll. Along the way, any dog that saw Lu Shifeng would inexplicably tuck its tail and run away.
Jian Luo laughed, “Scaredy-cats.”
Lu Shifeng glanced at him indifferently.
Jian Luo stopped laughing, “Uh, what I meant to say is that they seem quite discerning.”
“…”
Many people on the road also cast glances at Marshal Lu, but Jian Luo mostly ignored them. He didn’t have much presence in the village anyway, so it didn’t matter.
They arrived at the cornfield, the sun shining brightly. The corn was growing well, but there were quite a few weeds below.
Jian Luo sighed, “Alright, let’s get to work!”
He was diligent in his tasks, ready to start pulling weeds. Lu Shifeng squatted down behind him and said, “Go rest over there.”
Jian Luo was stunned.
Lu Shifeng said, “I’ll take care of this.”
??
After feeding pigs, now there was weeding service?
Jian Luo didn’t actually leave, “You haven’t done farm work before. How about I show you? Consider it a new experience.”
Lu Shifeng replied, “I’ve done it before.”
Jian Luo was genuinely surprised this time, “Ah?”
Lu Shifeng squatted down to weed and said while moving, “Back in Dragon Valley.”
Hearing the mention of Dragon Valley, Jian Luo couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness. He always felt that the place hadn’t brought much happiness to Lu Shifeng.
Since it’s a sad place, let’s not dwell on it.
The two of them pulled weeds together for a while. The sun was too intense, so Jian Luo sat by the bank for a bit, drank some water, and then washed his face in the nearby ditch. When he was about to find a towel to wipe his face, he unexpectedly pulled out a small comic book from his pocket.
He was startled, opened the book, and inside were densely packed, somewhat distorted characters—all his own handwriting. Time had passed so long that seeing the comic book in his hand now felt complex.
Lu Shifeng walked up behind him: “What are you looking at?”
“Huh?” Jian Luo said, “A comic book.”
Lu Shifeng took a glance at what he held: “Study materials from here?”
“No, it’s for entertainment, but I use it for studying.” Jian Luo looked at the pages in his hand and inexplicably said, “Actually, I haven’t had much formal education.”
Lu Shifeng silently watched him.
Jian Luo’s voice was indifferent: “Our family was poor. We could only send two to school, and one had to stay home to help with chores. But if I finished my work quickly, I could go outside the school window to listen. When my sister and brother came home to do homework, if they were happy, I could learn a bit too.”
Lu Shifeng asked, “You want to learn?”
Jian Luo sighed, “Coming from the countryside, who doesn’t want to change their fate through knowledge?”
It was because he had suffered that he wanted his younger siblings to go to the best schools. Many elders imposed their regrets on their children, and he was no exception.
Lu Shifeng sat down beside him, “It’s not very apparent.”
Jian Luo asked, “What?”
Lu Shifeng raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat teasingly at him, “Like when the High Priest taught you.”
“…”
How could they be the same!
The atmosphere tensed for a moment. Jian Luo’s face turned red, and he argued, “I used to want to study to go to college and change my fate. When the High Priest taught me, I was already grown up. What fate could I change? Besides, he was clearly teaching prenatal education!”
Lu Shifeng’s deep red eyes looked at him seriously, “Is that what you thought?”
Jian Luo choked.
“Changing fate depends not on planning but on action.” Lu Shifeng’s voice was deep and magnetic, “It’s not too late now. Waiting for the next second is already late.”
Holding the small comic book, Jian Luo seemed lost in thought.
Lu Shifeng said, “You’ve gained access to many resources that others can’t touch. Every day you can learn from these people is an immeasurable treasure. This is your chance. Use the resources that can be utilized while you still have control.”
Jian Luo asked, “Utilize?”
He hadn’t expected Lu Shifeng to use that word. If they talked about resources, was he using Lu Shifeng, or was Lu Shifeng also using him?
Suddenly, Jian Luo felt a bit confused.
But Lu Shifeng didn’t give him much time to think, “We’ve finished weeding. Let’s go back.”
Jian Luo nodded.
As they walked back, when they reached the house door, Jian Luo noticed that the relatives who came for a visit had returned. He stood at the entrance and could hear voices from inside.
A woman’s voice came, “Da Mao, your aunt asked you to bring back the sugar?”
The sister said, “Here it is.”
“Bring it here. I’ll put it away. You and your brother shouldn’t eat too much; it’s bad for your teeth.”
“Mom, Luo Luo hasn’t eaten it yet.”
“He’s even younger; how can he eat candy!” The woman’s voice carried a hint of reproach. “You and your brother mustn’t tell him we have candy at home, understand?”
The sister nodded, “Understood.”
After a while, the woman remembered, “Oh, I remembered. There’s still a piece of cake here. Can you call your brother to come and split it? Hurry up and eat, or Luo Luo will be back soon.”
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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I know it’s not your son related by blood but there’s really a need to be so petty 😠
Thanks for the update
How sad. Luo Luo isn’t welcomed in the home he was raised.
Thanks for the update.