LZX Extra 7

In his hazy state, Lu Xiaochan smelled a very pleasant fragrance.

He felt like he had returned to his original world, in that small boat, held in Shu Wuxi’s arms.

The misty rain, blending with the scent of earth and dew.

At that moment, someone gently patted his cheek.

“Wake up, the IV drip is finished.”

Lu Xiaochan frowned slightly and opened his eyes, only to find himself still in the hospital.

How disappointing…

Lu Xiaochan looked up and realized he had been leaning on Shu Wuxi’s shoulder all along, with Shu’s suit jacket covering him.

Lu Xiaochan recalled his conversation with Shu Wuxi from the previous night, and suddenly felt a little thrill of excitement.

“I’m not even the male lead yet, so why did you cover me with your jacket?”

Shu Wuxi turned his face slightly, his eyes downcast, which was his characteristic gentle expression.

“Give you some sunshine, and you’ll bloom.”

Shu Wuxi stood up and retrieved his suit jacket from Lu Xiaochan.

Nonsense, given sunshine, if not blooming, should I be melancholic instead?

Shu Wuxi walked ahead, carrying a plastic bag containing medicine prescribed by the doctor for Lu Xiaochan’s fever.

His legs in suit pants were straight and long, his stride naturally commanding. Lu Xiaochan had to quicken his pace to keep up.

“Shu Wuxi! Shu Wuxi!”

“What is it?”

“I have a question for you!”

“Go ahead.”

“What would it take for you to treat me as attentively as you did when I was getting an IV drip?”

Because that belongs to me, no matter where, I will take it back.

“When you fulfill those three conditions and inherit the Lu family assets.”

“Oh, you mean once I become your boss, I can do whatever I want with you?”

Lu Xiaochan suddenly felt his future looked bright again.

Back in the car, Lu Xiaochan sat in the passenger seat and kept turning his head to watch Shu Wuxi driving.

Shu Wuxi’s fingers moved downward lightly, flicking the turn signal, his shoulder line slightly taut as he elegantly turned the steering wheel.

“What are you looking at?” he asked after being stared at by Lu Xiaochan for a full ten minutes.

“Looking at you! The way you drive makes me think of the sun!”

Lu Xiaochan knew very well that Shu Wuxi definitely wouldn’t understand what “think of the sun” meant. (TL: Lol, LX is probably thinking of that “thing” since 阳 from 太阳 (sun) can also mean male or masculinity; 太阳 “high/great/extreme” “yang/masculine” )

“The sun is over there,” he tilted his chin slightly.

Lu Xiaochan was amused. Hehe, exactly as expected!

After being stared at for nearly another ten minutes, the tips of Shu Wuxi’s ears turned suspiciously red.

As he happened to turn his face away, Lu Xiaochan reached out and touched the reddened ear.

“I’m driving.”

A very cold voice.

“Your ears are red. What are you thinking about?” Lu Xiaochan smiled mischievously.

“Nothing.”

Shu Wuxi freed one hand and pushed Lu Xiaochan’s head back. Lu Xiaochan keenly sensed that the temperature of Shu Wuxi’s palm was higher than when he had touched his forehead earlier.

Whether you remember me or not, you still can’t escape my Five Finger Mountain!

After returning home, Lu Xiaochan immediately collapsed onto the sofa.

Shu Wuxi sat beside him and glanced at him. “Don’t you want to decide what to have for dinner?”

“Don’t want to move…”

Lu Xiaochan tried his best to imitate how his female college classmates acted during those days of the month.

Shu Wuxi took out his phone, probably about to use an app to order takeout again.

“…stomach ache…” Lu Xiaochan curled up. “I wonder… if the takeout I had this morning… was unclean…”

He was referring to the porridge that Shu Wuxi had ordered for him.

Shu Wuxi continued holding his phone, looking at something unknown, even propping his chin with his hand, his gaze very focused, studying something intently.

Stocks? Funds? Or futures?

Serious Brother Wuxi is still the most handsome!

After a few minutes, Shu Wuxi put his phone back in his pocket and got up to leave.

“Where are you going…” Lu Xiaochan asked with a feeble voice.

“The kitchen, to cook.”

Lu Xiaochan’s eyes lit up—See, when I get sick you soften up, why pretend you don’t care about me? Hahaha!

For the first time, he felt his parents had chosen the wrong major for him. If he had entered some film or drama academy, he might have already broken into the international scene and been on his way to the Oscars by now!

Listening to Shu Wuxi chopping vegetables, at first there was some hesitation, but it gradually became faster. Indeed, Brother Wuxi picked up skills exceptionally quickly!

Then came the sound of oil sputtering. Lu Xiaochan felt a bit nervous, hoping that Shu Wuxi’s beautiful face wouldn’t get splashed by the oil.

Before long, two dishes were served, and Lu Xiaochan could smell the aroma of soup as well.

His stomach growled; he was truly hungry.

Shu Wuxi walked to the sofa and said to Lu Xiaochan, who was still curled up pretending to be dying. “Come eat.”

The most important aspect of acting was consistency. Lu Xiaochan tried to get up, then fell back, weakly saying. “Can’t get up…”

Sure enough, Shu Wuxi bent down, wrapped an arm around Lu Xiaochan’s neck, and propped him up.

Lu Xiaochan suddenly wondered, when they went to the hospital in the morning, had Brother Wuxi carried him into the car?

Hehehehehe! Look, he didn’t just support me or give me a piggyback ride—he carried me!

Lu Xiaochan was inwardly delighted again.

Shu Wuxi was very close to him. That fresh scent made Lu Xiaochan unable to resist kissing him on the neck.

“What are you doing?”

Shu Wuxi suddenly released Lu Xiaochan and covered his neck with one hand while looking at him.

That’s right, the side of the neck was the spot that would arouse Shu Wuxi. In the past, when Lu Xiaochan was tormented too severely by him, he would bite Shu’s neck hard for revenge, but if he did that, Shu Wuxi would definitely become even more intense.

“…Hmm… what’s wrong…”

Lu Xiaochan acted completely unaware of what he had done, struggling to open his eyes and looking innocently at Shu Wuxi.

“Nothing. Let’s eat.”

This time, Shu Wuxi was not so gentle; he practically yanked Lu Xiaochan up.

There were only two dishes on the table: classic beginner’s tomato and egg stir-fry, and pickled vegetable with shredded pork—perfect with rice!

“You know how to cook…”

Outrageous! I’ve been with you for hundreds of years, and you never cooked a meal for me!

“I just looked it up on Baidu on my phone.”

Lu Xiaochan was surprised. “You know how to use Baidu?”

Shu Wuxi looked up at him. “Why wouldn’t I?”

You have the nerve to ask? You used to be an unworldly bumpkin from Wuyi Jingtian!

Lu Xiaochan picked up a piece of tomato and egg. It had the perfect balance of sweet and savory, and the eggs were fluffy and soft, making him want to pour the entire plate into his mouth.

Let me try the pickled vegetable with shredded pork. Brother Wuxi probably doesn’t know that pickled vegetables need to be blanched first; it’s probably going to be super salty!

Oh, the pickled vegetable was crisp, the meat was tender—delicious!

Lu Xiaochan looked up. “Have you really… never cooked before?”

“Never.”

Brother Wuxi’s learning ability is too incredible!

I’m envious, but if you’re nice to me, I can give up jealousy and hatred.

Lu Xiaochan ate an entire bowl of rice and felt very satisfied.

His body hadn’t fully recovered, so he didn’t take a shower that night. Instead, he boiled water for a foot bath.

Shu Wuxi sliced some ginger and put it in the hot water for Lu Xiaochan’s foot bath.

Lu Xiaochan felt warm inside. You wouldn’t dry my hair for me before, so let me test again if you really don’t care about me.

So, while soaking his feet, Lu Xiaochan pretended to fall asleep with his head tilted to one side.

After more than ten minutes, the water had cooled, but Lu Xiaochan acted as if he couldn’t feel anything, letting out tiny snores. He specifically imitated the sound of a little lion from a certain antivirus software during virus scanning.

Shu Wuxi remained motionless, which made Lu Xiaochan grow anxious with his act.

“Stop pretending. I know you’re not asleep.”

Lu Xiaochan kept his composure, opening one eye first, but suddenly realized that Shu Wuxi was sitting on the coffee table in front of the sofa, arms crossed, watching him.

That gaze was very intimidating—cool with a hint of sternness, as if seeing through Lu Xiaochan.

Lu Xiaochan became nervous and lifted his foot onto the edge of the basin, almost tipping it over. Just as his foot was about to step on the cold ceramic floor, Shu Wuxi suddenly leaned forward, gripped his calf and lifted it up, preventing his foot from touching the ground.

His heart racing, Lu Xiaochan lost his balance and fell backward, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Shu Wuxi let go, and Lu Xiaochan’s foot landed perfectly in his slipper. His calf still retained the pressure and warmth of Shu Wuxi’s touch.

“Empty the water and go to bed.”

Lu Xiaochan sat up straight, watching Shu Wuxi stand up and leave the coffee table.

Hey… there’s hope!

Lu Xiaochan happily emptied the water and crawled into bed. On the other side, Shu Wuxi was leaning against the headboard reading a book, having removed his glasses.

The bedside lamp cast a soft light. The contours of his forehead, nose, and chin somehow emanated a sense of deep attachment, and even his slightly upturned eyelashes were provocatively heart-stirring.

Lu Xiaochan’s throat felt hot. He stretched his foot out from his own blanket and slipped it into Shu Wuxi’s blanket.

“What are you doing?” Shu Wuxi continued reading, not even turning his head.

“My feet are cold.” Lu Xiaochan’s toe touched Shu Wuxi’s body lightly, not daring to be too bold.

Shu Wuxi put down his book, turned off the light, then wrapped himself in the blanket and turned his back to Lu Xiaochan.

Hmph… what’s with the act of chastity?

Lu Xiaochan pulled his foot back into his own blanket and also turned his back to Shu Wuxi, secretly planning how to fulfill those three conditions.

The next day was Monday, and Lu Xiaochan had to return to school.

Shu Wuxi personally drove him there. At the school parking lot, Shu Wuxi and Lu Xiaochan walked out side by side, looking like a scene from a movie. Students stopped to watch.

Of course, everyone was looking at the incredibly handsome, elite-aura-exuding Shu Wuxi.

Lu Xiaochan was wondering if Shu Wuxi would actually accompany him to class.

At that moment, a person as skinny as a firewood stick ran towards Lu Xiaochan, waving his hand. It was Lu Xiaochan’s classmate, whom Lu Xiaochan had nicknamed “Little Match.”

“Xiaochan! You’re back! How are you feeling? I heard because of that… series of blows in your life… you got depression…”

“Huh?”

What blows? Oh! Parents gone, house gone, debt collectors after me—a series of blows indeed.

But I, Lu Xiaochan, face the sea with spring warmth, my heart is strong; how could I be depressed?

Little Match looked at Shu Wuxi with an expression of utmost admiration. “You must be the legendary guardian who watches over our Xiaochan 24 hours a day!”

“Yes.” Shu Wuxi nodded slightly.

Lu Xiaochan still hadn’t fully understood the situation.

Not until Shu Wuxi followed Lu Xiaochan into the classroom and sat down beside him did Lu Xiaochan couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you have to go to work?”

“You said it yourself—missing even an hour, a minute, or a second wouldn’t be 24 hours.”

Lu Xiaochan’s eyebrows rose with joy. He could be with Shu Wuxi even during class—how wonderful!

Wait… did Shu Wuxi tell the school that he had depression, so that he could come in as a companion?

Ah, if that was the case, should he pretend to be depressed?

So, for the entire day of classes, Lu Xiaochan looked at the professor in front, but his mind was full of Shu Wuxi beside him. And all the classmates occasionally glanced at Shu Wuxi. In short, Shu Wuxi was the real “focus” in the classroom.

When the day’s classes ended, Lu Xiaochan went to the professor’s office.

On the professor’s desk was a painting that Lu Xiaochan had done last semester. The professor was frowning, looking very troubled.

“Oh, Xiaochan is here. Sit down, you too, sir.” The professor glanced at Shu Wuxi beside him.

Lu Xiaochan sat down nervously, afraid the professor might say something unflattering that would give Shu Wuxi a bad impression of him. After all, because he hadn’t been passionate about painting, he had often skipped classes before.

“Xiaochan, for the remaining year, study hard. Keep your mood bright and hopeful, and the paintings you create will have spirit.”

What does that mean?

I’ve always been cheerful and hopeful. Haven’t you seen the spirit in my paintings?

“Well… immature technique can be compensated by emotional depth.”

Professor, I was originally vibrant, but now I’m depressed.

“As long as you don’t waste this remaining year, you can enter the art profession and become a teacher without any problems.”

Good thing the professor didn’t say a children’s painting class…

The professor was very mindful of Lu Xiaochan’s depression, feeling that this child was really pitiful for pretending to be fine when his mood was clearly not good.

After leaving the professor’s office, Lu Xiaochan remained very quiet.

Before meeting Shu Wuxi, the professor’s words wouldn’t have affected him at all. But now what could he do? He needed to achieve something in his field, hold an exhibition, and have people call him “teacher”?

Oh my! Forget it!

A youth interest class holding an exhibition? Then the students would all have to call him teacher!

As he walked, the back of his collar was caught. Lu Xiaochan turned around to find it was Shu Wuxi.

“The car is that way.”

Once in the car, Lu Xiaochan propped his chin, not looking at Shu Wuxi but out the window.

Perhaps this made Shu Wuxi feel that the person who normally stared at him like an idiot was suddenly not looking at him, which seemed abnormal.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I’m contemplating life.”

Lu Xiaochan was sure he now looked more like someone with depression.

Even during dinner that evening, Lu Xiaochan was absent-minded, resulting in getting a fish bone stuck in his throat. It hurt so much that tears fell.

“Vinegar! I need vinegar!”

“Vinegar won’t help.”

Shu Wuxi pulled Lu Xiaochan in front of him, made him sit down, and then lifted his chin.

He used a spoon to press down on Lu Xiaochan’s tongue root, his gaze focused, and very quickly and accurately pulled out the fish bone with chopsticks!

Lu Xiaochan looked at him in surprise, wiped the tears hanging at the corner of his eye, and said, “I thought you were going to kiss me!”

Shu Wuxi turned and went to the kitchen.

Lu Xiaochan tilted his head to look and saw Shu Wuxi with his hands braced on the sink, his back still perfectly straight, head tilted back, as if he had just sighed.

—Perhaps he really did want to kiss him just now?

That night, Lu Xiaochan wrapped himself in his blanket and, though his back was against Shu Wuxi’s, he kept inching towards him.

“You’re crowding me.”

“If I crowd you and you back away, then I’ll know where your territory is. Otherwise, I might think it’s all my territory.”

Shu Wuxi didn’t move.

Lu Xiaochan leaned against him and made a very significant decision in his heart: he would not become a painter, but a manga artist!

He would combine the qualities of ink painting with manga and draw out the previous story between himself and Shu Wuxi!

He refused to believe that in the manga field, he couldn’t hold a personal exhibition and have people call him “teacher.”

His future suddenly seemed bright again. Lu Xiaochan stopped worrying about anything and went to sleep.

So every night at home, Lu Xiaochan stopped watching variety shows and began drawing manga.

Shu Wuxi sat nearby, reading some kind of documents.

Sometimes when Lu Xiaochan tilted his head to compose a frame, he could see in the reflection of the TV screen that Shu Wuxi was watching him.

How about that? How about that? Isn’t a serious man the most handsome?

After a month, Lu Xiaochan submitted his first manuscript to “Manga Artist” magazine, but a month passed with no response.

This sent Lu Xiaochan back into a depressed state. Did he have no future even in the manga field?

“You’ve been eating less than before.” Shu Wuxi put down his chopsticks and looked at Lu Xiaochan, who was counting rice grains.

“Don’t feel like eating… I’m probably pregnant…” Lu Xiaochan casually made something up.

“Crack!” The chopsticks across from him broke.

“With whom?”

Shu Wuxi’s voice sounded, ice-cold with intense pressure. Lu Xiaochan even felt that the other man was about to crack his jaw.

“Huh? Men…men can’t get pregnant! I was just joking… joking with you…”

Lu Xiaochan was dumbfounded because, in that moment of eye contact with Shu Wuxi, he suspected the other might flip the dining table and immediately initiate a hundred years of spiritual cultivation.

Shu Wuxi leaned forward slightly and looked into Lu Xiaochan’s eyes. “Listen carefully, even if you want to satisfy the third condition—branching out the Lu family before the age of 25—it absolutely does not mean the Lu family would approve of you fooling around with just anyone.”

“Is… is that so?” Lu Xiaochan was so shocked he could barely think.

“Eat your meal.”

Just then, Lu Xiaochan’s phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

Assuming it was either a debt collector or an advertisement, Lu Xiaochan dismissed it without a thought.

But the number called four or five times in succession, persistent and relentless, clearly determined not to give up until Lu Xiaochan answered.

Lu Xiaochan got angry and shouted after answering. “I have no money—won’t repay! No loans! No buying houses!”

The person on the other end paused, then burst into laughter.

“Hello, I’m the chief editor of ‘Manga Artist’ magazine. I’ve read your submission, and it’s truly—amazing! The combination of ink painting and manga, the flowing grace, the smooth panel transitions! And the story is so moving too! Are you free now? No, wait—tomorrow! Do you have time tomorrow to come to our magazine office for a chat?”

Lu Xiaochan was stunned and replied without thinking. “I have classes tomorrow…”

“Then the day after tomorrow!”

“I have classes then too…” Lu Xiaochan almost wanted to bite off his own tongue.

“That’s fine, Friday afternoon! Universities generally don’t have classes on Friday afternoons! You’re… not a high school student, right?”

“I’m a college student.”

“Then it’s settled, Friday at 3 PM!”

“Alright, it’s a deal…”

Lu Xiaochan was in a daze, then suddenly came to his senses, threw down his phone, rushed to Shu Wuxi, and hugged his neck.

“Brother Wuxi—I’m going to become a manga artist!”

“Manga Artist” magazine contracted Lu Xiaochan for a six-month serialization, but when his first installment “Wuyi Jingtian: Prequel (Part 1)” was published, it already ranked third among all serialized stories. By the time the middle section was published, it had jumped to second place, and when the final part concluded, it reached first place.

The magazine contracted Lu Xiaochan for another year of serialization, which meant that besides attending classes during the day, Lu Xiaochan had no time to play games or watch variety shows at night—he was just drawing manga.

To meet deadlines, Lu Xiaochan had to recruit Little Match as his assistant to help with the manga.

Soon, the small one-bedroom apartment was filled with various manga tools and digital drawing tablets.

Shu Wuxi sat on the sofa, watching the two hunched over the table working hard, without even lifting his head.

Due to staying up late drawing, Lu Xiaochan had developed dark circles under his eyes.

Who would have thought that on the night before the submission deadline, Little Match would get hit by a bicycle—and break a bone!

Lu Xiaochan anxiously paced around the table. “What am I going to do? Where can I find someone to help me? There are still more than fifty pages of scenes to process! What should I do?”

Shu Wuxi, who had been sitting calmly on the sofa flipping through “Manga Artist” magazine, said quietly, “I’ll do it.”

“You… you will?” Lu Xiaochan wondered if he had misheard. “Do you know how to use a digital tablet? Do you know Photoshop? Do you know Paint Tool SAI?”

“I may not have eaten pork, but I’ve seen pigs run for so many days.”

Shu Wuxi unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and folded them up to below his elbows. With an operational proficiency that left Lu Xiaochan dumbfounded, he began processing the fifty-plus pages of scenes.

Could it be… that the Qiankun pouch comes with a built-in operating system, allowing Shu Wuxi to know everything?

Supreme Lord Yehua! You’re playing favorites!

But a Wuxi like this still made Lu Xiaochan “think of the sun”!