Chapter 474: It Was Worse Than Being Corroded By Ten Thousand Insects
“Don’t answer if you don’t want to.”
Seeing the little fellow’s conflicted expression, Lu Ran spoke indifferently.
Upon hearing that he did not have to answer, Letong heaved a sigh of relief.
Hence, the two of them spent the journey in silence.
When they reached the Hua family, Lu Ran knocked on the door.
The person who opened the door was a servant.
When he saw Letong, who was standing beside Lu Ran, the servant was stunned.
“Young Master, you’re back?”
Letong nodded. He looked up at Lu Ran and said to the servant, “This brother sent me back.”
“Oh.”
The servant looked at Lu Ran and hurriedly thanked him. “Thank you, Young Master, for sending our Young Master back.”
“Yes.”
Lu Ran scanned the Hua family’s courtyard but did not see Leya. He was a little disappointed.
After handing Letong over to the servant, Lu Ran was about to leave when he saw a beautiful figure walking out from the corridor.
He stopped in his tracks and watched in a daze as that beautiful figure gradually approached him. His heart rate subconsciously increased.
“Tong Tong is back?”
Leya returned and lay for a long time. It was almost evening, but Lu Sheng had not sent him back.
She was about to fetch him when she saw Letong standing at the door with a servant from afar.
Letong nodded. “Yes, this brother sent me back.”
Leya was stunned. She looked up at Lu Ran with a doubtful expression.
They had not seen each other for eight years. Her appearance had not changed at all, but he had changed a lot.
When Lu Ran was young, he was a little tanned and loved to smile. Every time he saw someone, he would grin.
However, his skin was much paler than when he was young. He was also more handsome than when he was young. Moreover, his personality had changed drastically, so Leya could not recognize him at a glance.
Lu Ran stared at her silently.
After Leya glanced at him, her eyes widened. “You’re… Brother Ran?”
“It’s me.”
Lu Ran nodded slightly, but his gaze remained on her face.
Leya was stunned for a while before hurriedly getting the servant to bring Letong back first.
“How… have you been all these years?”
Lu Ran was silent for a long time before asking faintly.
“Very good, I’m very good!”
Leya nodded agitatedly. “What about Brother Ran? How have you been all these years?”
He said lightly, “Normal.”
Leya was stunned and did not know what to say.
“When… did you return to the village? I’ve been looking for Lu Sheng to play recently.”
She squeezed her left hand nervously and tried to find a topic.
“I just came back not long ago.”
After answering her question, Lu Ran suddenly saw someone walking over from the corner of his eye. He frowned slightly and looked at her. “It’s getting late. I’ll get going first.”
Then, he turned around and strode away.
Leya’s expression darkened and she stared at his back in a daze.
“Oh, who are you waiting for?”
Mdm Peng walked over with a fan. She looked outside the door but saw nothing.
Upon hearing her voice, Leya regained her senses.
So, the reason why he left so quickly was because Mdm Peng was here?
Her lips curved upwards and her mood improved.
“Why are you smiling?”
Seeing Leya’s sudden smile, Mdm Peng felt puzzled.
Leya’s smile disappeared immediately and she walked past her.
“This little hussy has no manners at all. I’m so angry!”
Mdm Peng watched her leave and stomped her foot angrily.
—————
“Brother is back?”
On the other hand, Lu Sheng, who was sharpening her knife beside the water jar, saw Lu Ran’s return and hurriedly stood up with a smile. “How was it? Did you see Sister Leya?”
Lu Ran nodded. “Yes, I saw her.”
He seemed to be in a good mood. Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow.
“Brother, since you’re back, help me chop the ribs.”
Lu Sheng passed the knife to him. “Don’t chop them too long. It should be as long as Ah Jiang’s middle finger.”
When Lu Jiang heard this, he silently raised his middle finger.
Lu Sheng was amused by his actions.
“What delicious food are you making today?”
Lu Ran sat on the stool and asked faintly.
“Pork ribs with steamed glutinous rice, steamed fish, spicy chicken, and fish soup with sour bamboo shoots.”
Lu Ran had eaten these dishes in the Lu family’s restaurant before, so he did not react when he heard that.
—————
The next day.
Lu Sheng did not know when Lu Zhou and the rest would come back or if they would go straight to Liu Yue Village.
Despite that, she still carried a stool and waited in the courtyard early in the morning.
After waiting for a day, the day was about to pass again, but they were still nowhere to be seen. Lu Sheng could not help but be disappointed.
There was no wind tonight, and the weather was a little hot.
After dinner, she carried a stool and sat outside.
The night sky in the countryside was always filled with stars. Even the moon felt round and big.
Lu Sheng stared at the sky silently.
“Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”
Lu Ran, who could not sleep, wanted to walk around the vegetable field.
When he came out, he saw Lu Sheng sitting outside.
Lu Sheng mumbled, “My master said he was coming over today.”
She had not seen Chu Sihan for a month since the last time.
“Third Prince?”
Lu Ran frowned. “But it’s already so late. Will he still come?”
“I don’t know.”
Lu Sheng shook her head. “I’ll go back and sleep when it’s midnight.”
She looked up at Lu Ran and asked, “Why isn’t Brother asleep yet?”
“It’s too hot. I can’t sleep.”
Lu Ran sat down beside her.
The siblings stared at the moon in the sky and did not speak further.
The insects in the surroundings chirped. After some time, Lu Ran suddenly said, “I suddenly want to eat lotus seeds.”
The He family had a lotus pond. The lotus seeds were the most tender and sweetest in June every year.
At that time, their family was poor and so was the He family. When Mdm He brought them to An Mu Village, they had to walk for two hours.
Every time they went back and forth, he would be so tired that he would pant. However, when he was young, Lu Ran would go over with Mdm He every June and pluck a bunch of lotus seeds back to eat.
At the mention of lotus seeds, Lu Ran thought of his mother, Mdm He. His eyes naturally reddened.
Sensing his sudden gloomy mood, Lu Sheng hurriedly smiled and said, “If Brother wants to eat, we can go to Grandma’s house to pluck some next month.”
Actually, she knew very well that Lu Ran was not thinking about the lotus seeds, but the person who plucked the lotus seeds for him.
“Yes.” Lu Ran nodded faintly.
Lu Sheng glanced at him and asked, “Brother, you’re going to be nineteen this year, right?”
She vaguely remembered that Lu Ran’s birthday was in June, which was next month.
Lu Ran looked at her suspiciously. “Why did you suddenly ask this?”
“Brother, have you thought of forming a family?”
Lu Sheng did not answer his question. Instead, she asked another question.
Lu Ran was stunned. Leya’s face flashed across his mind.
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Then, go to the restaurant and help out.”
Lu Sheng looked at him and said seriously, “North City is not bad. Let’s open one there first. I’ll leave it to you to manage then. Brother, what do you think?”
“Me alone?”
Lu Ran frowned. “But I’ve never managed one.”
“If you haven’t, you just need to learn.” Lu Sheng smiled. “Actually, you don’t have to manage much. When the time comes, you can just do the accounts at the counter. There’s no need for you to do anything else.”
“Of course, if you’re afraid that you can’t manage alone, you can get Uncle to manage with you.”
Actually, she had already thought about it. When the time comes and there was one restaurant in each of the four cities, He Lai, Lu Ran, He Zhang, and He Qin would manage one each.
Anyway, as long as there were recipes and ingredients, they could hire a few more reliable chefs.
It would be great if the items she asked the King of Hades to buy could be brought back earlier.
“Okay!”
Lu Ran nodded. “I’ll manage it.”
Lu Sheng nodded and smiled. She blinked and asked softly, “Brother, I want to ask you something. You have to answer me seriously.”
“Ask away.”
“You… actually like Sister Leya too, right?”
“Too?”
Lu Ran suddenly turned to look at her.
“Ignore this first. Answer me first. Do you like Leya or not?”
“Yes.”
Huh?
Lu Sheng frowned. “Do you like her or not?”
Lu Ran sighed softly and nodded. “Yes.”
No one knew that he had waited for someone for eight years because of a promise.
That’s right, the person who promised him was Leya.
At that time, she would always follow him and say with a smile that she would be his bride when she grew up.
Hence, after Leya left, no one knew how long he hid and cried.
“Since you like her, hurry up and marry her.”
Like an elder, Lu Sheng said earnestly, “She’s already eighteen. If we wait any longer, she might become an old lady.”
That was because people here usually married at fifteen or sixteen.
Hence, eighteen-year-old girls here were like unmarried girls in their thirties in the modern world. They would be criticized.
“She has to be willing as well.”
Lu Ran spoke after holding it in for a long time.
What if he was the only one in love?
“Of course she’s willing.”
Lu Sheng smiled and said, “Wasn’t it all because of you that Sister Leya is still single?”
“Because of… me?”
Lu Ran was in disbelief.
“Yes!” Lu Sheng nodded. “She admitted it to me personally. She said that the reason why she didn’t get married was because she was waiting for you, Brother.”
Lu Ran’s heart raced. “Really… Really?!”
“Yes, I heard it with my own ears. How can it be fake?”
“Then… then I’m willing to start a family.”
“Chuckle…”
Lu Sheng was amused by his impatient tone.
Lu Ran also noticed his anxiousness and felt a little awkward.
He coughed lightly. “But we don’t have any elders in our family. Who should we invite to talk about marriage?”
He could not count on Mdm Zheng and Lu Daming anymore. Moreover, he did not want to be involved with that family anymore.
“That’s not the only way to get married.”
Lu Sheng pouted. “No matter what, there’s still Aunt Yu and Aunt Tao. Can’t we just invite them over?”
“Okay!”
Lu Ran nodded. “Then, I’ll tell them tomorrow and get them to find a date to visit the Hua family.”
Lu Sheng was speechless.
“Brother, why are you in such a hurry? Have you asked Sister Leya?”
If she remembered correctly, yesterday was their first meeting after eight years.
What if they realized that they had changed after interacting?
“Ah… Do I still have to ask her?” Lu Ran asked seriously.
Lu Sheng held her forehead.
Why did she not realize in the past that Lu Ran was a straightforward man?
She suddenly sympathized with Leya’s life in the future.
Seeing her expression, Lu Ran looked innocent, not knowing what he had said wrong.
“Brother, can you at least give her a chance to interact with you?”
Lu Sheng said helplessly, “You haven’t seen each other for so many years. The moment you see each other, you want to mention about marriage. Wouldn’t that scare her off?”
Although one clearly knew that Leya liked him, he could not marry her so willfully.
He had to give her a buffer period, right?
“How long do we have to wait?” Lu Ran was puzzled.
“No matter what, you have to spend some time together first. You haven’t seen Sister Leya for eight years. What if you realize that the two of you aren’t compatible after interacting with each other?”
After speaking, Lu Sheng hurriedly added, “I’m saying, what if you think that the two of you aren’t compatible?”
“Is that so?”
Lu Ran pondered for a moment and nodded. “I’ll listen to you.”
He stood up and yawned. “I’m going back to my room. You should rest early too. It’s already so late. The Third Prince shouldn’t be coming.”
“Brother, rest first. I’ll wait a while more.”
Lu Ran shook his head helplessly and returned to his room to sleep.
Lu Sheng’s surroundings returned to silence.
Lu Sheng waited outside. When it was almost midnight, she did not see Lu Zhou.
She stood up disappointedly. Just as she was about to return to her room, she was suddenly hugged from behind.
A familiar smell spread to the tip of her nose. She was stunned and immediately pried that person’s hand away before turning around.
Under the moonlight, a handsome smile appeared.
“Lord… Lord?!”
“It’s me!”
Chu Sihan pulled her into his arms again and lowered his head to press his profile against her neck.
“I miss you so much!”
He would miss her in the past, but it had never been as intense as this time.
Lu Sheng’s body was held tightly, almost sticking to his.
Her body stiffened and she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and asked softly, “Where… have you been recently?”
“I encountered some trouble in Lin Jiang Mansion, so I returned to the Netherworld to find Mother for help.”
During Qingming Festival, when the Netherworld released ghosts, they accidentally released an old man.
Although that old man was a few thousand years older than him, his cultivation level was inferior to his.
Coincidentally, he suffered a backlash from forcefully summoning the high-level Red Spider Lilies that day.
Perhaps because his expression was not right, that old man could tell what was wrong with him then.
During the fight, both he and that old man were severely injured. That old man was sent back to the Netherworld by him, and he fainted because his ghost aura was exhausted.
When he woke up, he realized that he was in Water Palace.
After he woke up, he wanted to come and find her. However, due to the lack of ghost aura, he did not even have the strength to open the door to the Netherworld. Hence, he could only stay in the Netherworld.
For the first time, he, who had never known what it meant to lead a long life, experienced it.
That feeling was even worse than being corroded by ten thousand insects.
“What should I do?”
He stood up and hugged her.
He had never thought that he would love someone to this extent.
However, his mother said that they only had fate in this lifetime.
“Huh?”
Lu Sheng looked up at him blankly.