Chapter 20

A lifetime? Ji Wei didn’t quite understand. Watching the young man’s earnest, thinking expression, the corners of Lu Shenxing’s lips curved slightly. He deliberately slowed his speech and said with deep meaning, “No rush. You can take your time to think about it.”

Ji Wei nodded, half-understanding.

Lu Shenxing lowered his gaze, concealing the obscure emotions within—the desire and possessiveness that would frighten the young man. Ji Wei was completely unaware of this. He followed Lu Shenxing forward, and when they reached the side of the road by the flowerbed, they prepared to get in the car. There were only seven seats, and with Su Wen’s assistant, there wouldn’t be enough space.

The assistant, a young girl who had just graduated, immediately stood up and offered her seat. “Film Emperor Lu, you guys sit first. I can just wait for the next car.”

Ji Wei shook his head.

“The next car won’t be here until ten at night. It’s not convenient for a young girl like you,” Ji Wei said disapprovingly.

He looked at the space inside the car. It was more than enough for seven people; accommodating eight shouldn’t be a problem. “Why don’t we squeeze in?” Ji Wei suggested.

Lu Shenxing let out a faint “mm.”

No one else had any objections. Su Wen’s assistant sat back down. Lu Shenxing chose an empty seat by the window, casually crossing his long legs, occupying a space meant for two all by himself. When Ji Wei saw this, he hesitated for a moment. He really couldn’t bring himself to ask his idol to move his legs, so he decided to wait for the next car.

Just as he turned to get off, a deep, slightly hoarse voice came from behind him. “Why aren’t you sitting?”

Ji Wei turned back and said hesitantly, “There’s no space.”

Lu Shenxing drew out a long “oh.”

Ji Wei thought that was the end of it, but unexpectedly, the man patted his own leg and asked with extraordinary matter-of-factness, “Isn’t this a seat right here?”

In an instant, everyone in the car turned to look at Ji Wei. Even Su Wen took off her headphones and couldn’t help but glance at him. The tips of Ji Wei’s ears slowly turned red. He took a deep breath and said calmly, “No, thank you. I’ll just wait for the next car. It’s fine for a guy like me to go back a little later anyway.”

Lu Shenxing looked up at him and asked slowly, “You have class tomorrow morning, don’t you?”

Hearing this, Ji Wei stiffened. He had just remembered that tomorrow was Monday, and his morning was packed with classes, including one with Abbess Miejue, whose attendance policy was obsessively strict. The only outcome for skipping her class was failing.

The man seemed to see right through him and said calmly, “Sit.”

“Sorry to bother you.”

Ji Wei had no choice but to walk to Lu Shenxing’s side and sit lightly on his lap, not daring to put his full weight on him. The car started moving. He kept his eyes fixed forward, silently chanting for time to pass quickly, for the car to go faster, even faster. But perhaps because the scenery on both sides of the road was the same, he felt like they hadn’t gone far at all.

Suddenly, there was a sharp turn ahead. Due to inertia, Ji Wei’s body pitched forward and then fell heavily back into Lu Shenxing’s embrace, pressing hard against his chest. He immediately heard Lu Shenxing let out a muffled grunt.

He quickly turned back in concern. “Are you okay?”

The man exhaled. “I’m fine.”

Ji Wei didn’t quite believe him and wanted to stand up to check, but his wrist was suddenly gripped by Lu Shenxing. The man whispered in his ear, “But don’t you move.”

His voice was restrained, but his lips brushed almost imperceptibly against Ji Wei’s earlobe. Ji Wei’s eyes showed confusion, not understanding what Lu Shenxing meant. But the next second, he felt it, and his face instantly burned hot, his breathing becoming heavy.

To make matters worse, Du Ruosong was right beside them, asking with confusion, “Weiwei, do you feel stuffy in the car? Why is your face so red? Should we open a window?”

Ji Wei managed to refuse with difficulty. “N-No, thank you.”

“Are you sure you don’t need it?”

Du Ruosong looked at him with some concern.

“I’m really… fine.”

Ji Wei used almost all his strength to speak.

The moment the car arrived at the airport, he bolted out as if he were flying. Du Ruosong watched him, marveling, “Weiwei is really something else. When I was in college, I was never this eager to get back to class.”

“A kid?” Lu Shenxing said, pausing as he passed him. “Hearing you say that makes me feel quite guilty.”

Du Ruosong agreed. “That’s a good word for it. I feel pretty guilty too. I didn’t study hard back then, and now that I’ve graduated, I don’t have time to learn. In the future, I need to have a good talk with my son…”

***

Ji Wei flew for over seven hours to get back to Yancheng. He had just arrived at school, not yet over his jet lag, when his phone received a message. Could it be from his idol? Ji Wei’s heart leaped into his throat. After some mental preparation, he opened the message with a trembling finger.

It was from World Destroyer. He breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a faint sense of loss.

[World Destroyer] Have you seen the new official poll? Hurry up and post on Weibo to call for fan votes. The top ten get a month of homepage recommendations.

[Ji Wei] I’ll take a look.

He opened Bilibili and indeed saw a poll for “The Streamer You’re Most Looking Forward to Meeting.” The top ten streamers would not only be invited by the platform to a meet-and-greet but would also be featured in a rotating promotional spot on the homepage. The current number one was Wen Zheng, the undisputed top celebrity of the gaming section. The rest were all great gods from various sections; it was a battle of titans.

Even Wen Zheng’s boyfriend, Wen Zimu, despite the popularity of PUBG, hadn’t made it into the top fifty. Ji Wei opened Weibo, intending to post a promotional message, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. Other big streamers had millions of fans on Bilibili alone. His Weibo follower count was just over a million, and it was likely that someone had bought followers and put them on his account by mistake. Wouldn’t that be asking for humiliation?

He decided not to join in the excitement. Besides, if he ran into Wen Zheng, it would be a bit awkward.

So, Ji Wei switched to his celebrity-following side account and skillfully searched for “Lu Shenxing” in the real-time Weibo feed. If he saw excessive praise for his idol, he would like it. If he saw slander against his idol, he would present the facts and argue rationally. This was the basic duty of a ten-year veteran fan like him.

However, when the search results appeared, he saw a Weibo post that made his expression turn indescribable.

[Eighteen Tails] A rational discussion: is Film Emperor Lu asexual? In the ten years since his debut, whether filming or attending events, there has never been a photo of him with an erection. Not even a suspected one. It’s a bit strange.

The comments below mostly agreed with the original poster’s view.

[Seven Leaf Law] Hmm… for a normal male, there should be something, right? I have a feeling you’re going to get flamed by fans. Here’s a helmet for you.

[Crayfish] My main subject has good looks, great acting skills, and impeccable character. When you can’t find anything to criticize, you resort to spreading baseless sexual rumors, is that it? Whether he’s asexual or not is none of your business.

[Brown Sugar Rice Cake] Emmm, the OP isn’t really slandering him, just stating an objective fact. Considering Film Emperor Lu hasn’t been rumored to be dating for so many years, I also find it quite strange…

Ji Wei was speechless. Without a second thought, he posted a comment.

[Brother Lu’s Little Fanboy] He’s not, and it’s huge.

Ji Wei had seen too many comments under Weibo posts and felt that he had been a bit too harsh before. They were both men, and his idol’s physical reaction was perfectly normal. Moreover, he had held him and endured a long ride. He hadn’t even said thank you. He wanted to send Lu Shenxing a WeChat message, but he kept putting it off until after his noon class.

He was the only one left in the dorm. He nervously opened his phone, found Lu Shenxing’s chat, and typed out a long message of thanks. Just as he was about to send it, he accidentally tapped the video call button. Ji Wei was so shocked that he froze for two seconds. While he was still dazed, Lu Shenxing actually answered.

Lu Shenxing didn’t have his camera on. He only heard the man’s slightly hoarse voice. “Is something wrong?”

Ji Wei took a deep breath. The black call screen gave him a sense of security. “I forgot to thank you before I left in such a hurry.”

The man was silent for a moment, then chuckled. “I hear you now.”

Ji Wei said “mm,” blinked, and stared blankly at the phone’s camera, not knowing how to end the call. Suddenly, the man’s voice became deep and restrained, and he seemed to be panting. The effort made it sound even more sensual. “Don’t look at gege like that.”

Was he talking about the camera? Ji Wei was a bit confused.

Then, he heard the man say slowly, “Gege is taking off his clothes.”