Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 10: His Sister

“What?”

This sudden turn in conversation made Huo Ming Chen question himself, thinking he had imagined it. But Lu Qi did not repeat himself, and he knew Huo Ming Chen had heard him, so he could only pretend that nothing happened and looked out the window at the passing cars.

The silence in the car became deafening.

Huo Ming Chen did not know how to answer the question, or it should be said that he had never thought about it. He patted his pockets to grab the pack of cigarettes that he had not touched in a long time. A ‘clink’ sounded clearly in the car as he opened the lighter, the blue flames reflecting in his eyes.

Huo Ming Chen had always disliked explaining things, and never wanted to take the time to do so. After his cigarette had burned down to half a stick, he had the unusual patience to explain,

“I don’t like women, and I won’t be getting married.”

Lu Qi, out of a rare interest that emerged from this answer,

“What if they force you to get married? You won’t be able to fight it.”

“It’s different for different people. Just because Zhao Shi Han couldn’t fight against it, doesn’t mean that I can’t either. If I wanted to, my parents can’t do anything to me.”

But of course, this was dependent on whether he wanted to fight for it or not.

There were too many walls between the both of them. Family status and background, power, authority, money. Take your pick. Each one is a huge hurdle to go through, and Huo Ming Chen’s status does not allow him to fool around. 

He asked Lu Qi in return,

“And you? Are you going to get married?”

“Me?”

Lu Qi raised his eyebrows, pondering for a bit,

“Who knows what will happen in the future? The answer I can give you now doesn’t mean it can’t be changed. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.”

Although, in his past life, at the time of their deaths the two of them were still unmarried. That much was true.

Huo Ming Chen did not seem to like that answer. His right hand loosely made a fist, and he kept hitting on the window with disinterest. The outside scenery flashed by, and some kind of regret was reflected in his eyes.

“You can’t get married.”

Just thinking about that scene made him so irritated he wanted to kill someone.

“Why not?”

“I won’t let you.”

Huo Ming Chen scowled, and his eyes were wavering as if he was still drunk.

“I’m not going to get married, you can’t either. You can’t think of these useless things when you’re with me. Otherwise, wait and see what I’ll do to you. Killing you will be a mercy.”

Lu Qi did not speak. Huo Ming Chen frowned and said,

“Hey, did you hear me?”

“I heard you.”

Only an “I heard you”, but it did not mean that he would listen to him. Lu Qi was an ambitious man. His dream was to make lots and lots and lots of money. As for marriage, let’s talk again after he has made a lot of money.

In front of money, everything else must stand aside.

Lu Qi was not so naive as to believe that Huo Ming Chen introduced him to his close friends today because he recognized him as an equal partner. It was not as if he couldn’t be Cinderella, but that possibility was too minuscule. Huo Ming Chen had the ability and the backing to play around. If Huo Ming Chen lost the game, it wouldn’t cost him anything, but for Lu Qi, as a small fledgling, it would be the death of him.

Out of anyone, Lu Qi is the most rational, and his goal has always been very straightforward.

Lu Qi has always been obedient, and this kind of obedience made Huo Ming Chen feel a bit uncomfortable. Someone who doesn’t seem to need anything is like the clouds in the sky; you cannot catch them no matter how much you try.

The car stopped under the condo complex. Lu Qi helped carry the drunkard Huo Ming Chen into the elevator, holding him upright with his arm across his back. At this time, it was past midnight, and there was no one around. Even the hallway was empty.

The two were in a half hugging position, where they could hear each other’s heartbeat very clearly. Huo Ming Chen lifted his eyes and stared at Lu Qi’s face from below his jaw. His eyes naturally fell to his Adam’s apple and lurched forward to bite it hard. He said in a murmur,

“Why do you always look so heartless, so apathetic?”

Lu Qi was in so much pain that his eyes furrowed, and broke out in a cold sweat. He covered Huo Ming Chen’s mouth and dragged him out of the elevator, voice very low,

“I said you were a dog, and I was right.”

Huo Ming Chen licked his palm, and successfully made Lu Qi take his hand back. His drunken words had a tone of comfort in it,

“The future is the future. What’s most important now is the present. After all, I won’t be bad to you, hmm?”

Subconsciously, he was still unwilling to make their relationship too complicated, to be weighed down by certain emotions. After all, this was technically still an exchange, a trade between the two of them. If it was a different person here today, they probably would have fought about it. Lu Qi was different, because he has never given their relationship any consideration.

“Accepted. You can never treat me badly.”

……

These two seemed to be competing for who was the most heartless.

 

Huo Ming Chen had his family dinner over the weekend, so he would not be coming home. Lu Qi was just heading back from his part time tutoring job, when he unexpectedly met a familiar person on the road.

“Ah-Qi!”1

An attractive and elegant lady was waving to him from across the street. When Lu Qi saw her running over to him, his eyes twitched. He was so surprised that he stopped walking.

“I heard that you got into the capital university. I originally thought that I would give you a call, but this is perfect.”

This person in front of him was Lu Qi’s twin sister, Lu Yuan. Both of them came out of the same womb with the same set of parents, but their personalities were completely different. Lu Yuan was like their mother, strong and confident, and full of extravagance. When she was small, she was a genius who skipped grades, but after she graduated from high school, she didn’t continue on with her education. She entered the job force about two years earlier than Lu Qi.

The two looked at each other, and Lu Qi’s eyes softened for a moment,

“Why are you here in the capital? Weren’t you in Shenzhen?”

“Like I would have a fixed spot to be at. I’m following my boss who’s running around everywhere.”

Lu Yuan was wearing a pair of high heels so high only very confident women would wear, with a tight fitting white dress that ended above her knees and a blue jean jacket on top. Her beautiful curls made her look even more seductive. She took off her sunglasses, and with a face more beautiful than that of the stars from Hollywood, she scanned Lu Qi from head to toe.

“You’ve grown…… My plane’s at 7pm, there’s a coffee shop nearby. Sit with me for a while.”

Lu Qi naturally consented, and the both of them went to the coffee shop to sit down. They were seated by the window, where their exceptional looks attracted quite a few gazes. 

Lu Yuan was used to the attention, and crossed her legs, smiling, 

“As expected, there’s always this kind of pressure when you’re beautiful.”

She took a sip of her coffee.

“How’s the new school? Didn’t seduce any girls, did you?”

Lu Qi paused, and honestly shook his head,

“No.”

Lu Yuan narrowed her eyes, a little suspicious.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Lu Qi just answered, and felt his shirt collar tightening. Lu Yuan had suddenly pushed herself against him, putting their heads together as she carefully scanned their surroundings. She very seriously and quietly asked,

“Ah-Qi, do you know how much the clothes on your body cost?”

Lu Qi’s heart stuttered for a second when he heard that. The past few days that he’s been on sick leave had been spent with Huo Ming Chen. Their clothes naturally got mixed up. He did not think Lu Yuan’s eyes were so sharp that she would know with one look.

However, he has perfected lying by now, so with a straight face, no blush in sight and no quickening of the breath, he said,

“I don’t know. It was a bit chilly this morning, so I borrowed my roommate’s.”

Lu Yuan looked downwards and stared at the logo of the designer shoes on his feet,

“And your pair of shoes……?”

 

Of course they were also Huo Ming Chen’s. Lu Qi brought his shoes up to let Lu Yuan see them clearly.

“Putian, high quality counterfeits2.”

“……”

Lu Yuan didn’t know why, but she was skeptical. She fell silent for a bit and then slowly took a silver card out of her bag,

“It was on the way, so I went home for a visit. Mom knew that I was coming to the capital, and she wanted to give this money to you.”

Thanks to the excellent learning experience he’s received from the system, Lu Qi wanted to throw bank cards out of his sight the moment he sees them. He fought the urge and asked,

“How’s Mom doing?”

Lu Yuan smiled, showing a rare and gentle expression on her face,

“She’s doing alright. Hold on to this money. If you need to spend it, then spend it. Don’t save it. You’re a university student now. Buy some clothes and shoes, so people won’t look down on you when you go out. If you don’t have enough, make sure you don’t come to me. I don’t have any money.”

“……”

Lu Qi took the card and with a blank face, put it in his pocket.

“Is that last sentence from you or mom?”

“Both of us.”

The author has something to say:
Lu Qi: I lived and am living through a difficult childhood.

 

Notes:
*1 “Ah-Qi!” is an very common informal greeting (usually from family)/a way to call someone; put the sound “ah” and then the last word of the name (for example if it was for Huo Ming Chen, it’d be “Ah-Chen”)

*2 Putian is a city known for its counterfeit operations of designer items

I’ve been busy this week, and unfortunately I messed up the schedule time and posted this too early haha … >.<” I’ve updated all the links now! The note jumps should also be taking you back the place you were reading from now instead of making you log in. Sorry about that!

>>>> Somehow chp 10 had a bit in the opening from the ending of Chp 9 and missing the ending bit. (　ﾟдﾟ)?? This should be fixed now!