Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 4: Resist the Temptation

Lu Qi could clearly remember everything about Huo Ming Chen. He knew how to make Huo Ming Chen happy, knew how to make him angry. He knew what made him tick, and what made him sad. Lu Qi probably knew more about Huo Ming Chen than about himself.

So in a situation like this, he was willing to coax Huo Ming Chen.

He parked the car underneath Huo Ming Chen’s dorm and said,

“I’m going to return to my dorm. Make sure you go to bed early.”

Huo Ming Chen wanted to smoke again, but his mind blanked before killing that idea. He unconsciously fidgeted around with his hands before replying back,

“I know.”

Underneath the dormitories, there was no end to the couples displaying their love. All of them were either hugging or kissing, hoping that they can be together until the morning. When Huo Ming Chen saw these displays of love before, he felt annoyed. Now however…… he can understand the feeling.

He thought about the situation in the car, with the kiss, and he suddenly rolled down the window and said,

“Come over here.”

This kind of action made it hard to believe that Huo Ming Chen was purely a bottom. Lu Qi moved closer and leaned one arm against the top of the car, as if trying to understand what he was doing,

“You aren’t scared that you’d be seen by other people?”

Huo Ming Chen has never been scared of anyone except for his grandfather, so he impatiently said,

“What are you waiting for, hurry up.”

Lu Qi sighed, and looked around to see if there was anyone looking at them. He then ducked his head, using the shadows of the tree and the darkness of the night to give Huo Ming Chen a kiss. This was not like before where their kiss was about sexual passion and dominance. It was so gentle and soft that it made their hearts flutter.

Huo Ming Chen did not know how he got back to his own dorm. His footsteps felt like they were floating as he walked, and he immediately planted face down on his bed. Fang Qi was playing a game, and took a look at him,

“Why’d you look so dead? Did you drink too much?”

“I didn’t drink anything.”

Huo Ming Chen opened his phone, and his fingers hovered over the display picture of Lu Qi’s SNS for a long time. In the end, he did not press down. He rose from his bed to take a shower but then remembered something.

He grabbed his phone and went to the balcony, and closed the door behind him. You could barely make out some of the things he said,

“…… I remember the company is trying to hire translators…… Yeah, that’s right, send some of the documents to me…… I have someone suitable on my end, we can probably head over on Saturday or Sunday…… Don’t have to tell my grandfather. The pay can automatically be taken from my account.”

After Huo Ming Chen made his phone call, he went towards the shower, feeling kind of irritated. He thought that this was the first time in his life that he was spending so much time and effort to help someone else. Lu Qi, that bastard, he better not betray him, otherwise he was going to make him impotent.

Fanq Qi’s bed was close to the balcony, and although he couldn’t hear clearly, he could still infer what was said. He was worried for his best friend who was like a brother to him. He sighed, as he played his game,

“Pretty good if you even use your connections with your grandfather. Don’t blame me as your close friend for saying this, but he doesn’t look like a good thing. He could be your downfall.”

If Huo Ming Chen was only playing, Fang Qi wouldn’t be so worried. But looking at the situation now, it’s very unsettling.

“He’s a human, obviously not a thing.”

Huo Ming Chen took off his jacket and placed it on the back of the chair. He did not hold back his words,

“The only good thing in the world is you.”

He just finished snapping back at Fang Qi when he heard something fall on the floor next to his feet. A credit card had fallen out of his jacket pocket. He looked at it suspiciously, and picked it up, thinking it looked very familiar. He then realized that it was the card he gave to Lu Qi today.

He was not so stupid to believe it was placed there accidentally. There was only one answer – Lu Qi did not want it.

But…… Why didn’t he want it……

Huo Ming Chen couldn’t figure out the answer. He was a naturally sensitive person who is usually pessimistic and tends to be cynical. He didn’t know if what he was feeling in his heart was happiness. His eyebrows were scrunched up so much that they could squeeze a fly to death. He unconsciously gripped the credit card harder, and then loosened his grasp. In the end, he threw it into his drawer.

It seemed like joining a club has monetary rewards, which Lu Qi recently found out. In his previous life he had joined the student council and went up all the way to vice president. In a few years, he had expanded his network which had helped him immensely in his future. In this life, he decided to go down the same path and interviewed for a position in the student council.

[ Ding! Congratulations on successfully passing the interview for a student council position, Networking +3. You have earned five hundred yuan which has been deposited to your account. Please check on your own time.]

When Lu Qi heard the system, he paused, and then with determination ran straight to the department of student affairs for an interview. He was handsome, and he was smart. With the past added to his experience and skills, he made people feel that he was worldly, and all knowing. His report cards were also full of excellent scores, so whichever department or council club he tried to interview for, he passed. The entire time the system never stopped ringing.

[ Ding! Congratulations on passing the interview for the department of student affairs, Networking +10. You have received the reward of six hundred yuan. ]

[ Ding! Congratulations on joining the photography club. Please continue to work hard to express your interests, to become a multifaceted role model. As a reward, please accept a hundred yuan. ]

[ Ding! Congratulations on joining the literary arts club. You have received a hundred yuan as a reward. ]

Lu Qi only joined two departments and two clubs, as he does not have a lot of free time in the first year of university. If he got too greedy for the rewards, he knew he would not be able to handle it. He’ll lose more than he’ll have received.

In the blink of an eye, the mandatory military training was over. As the first year of university has too many things to do, and Huo Ming Chen was probably too busy, the two of them did not keep in contact. Lu Qi took the time to find some part time tutoring jobs, and so his schedule was still pretty flexible. Every day between 8 to 10pm, he tutored for 2 hours. If he can persevere through it, he’ll be able to earn quite a bit in one month.

But this was still not enough. He’ll still need to plan further.

One part of his job in the student council was to check on the classrooms during the self-study period. Even if Lu Qi was the vice president in his previous life, he was still a lowly junior in this life, so there was no escaping out of this.

Perhaps it was a coincidence but, he and his partner, Li Zhao were assigned to the finance building. More specifically, it meant that he could encounter Huo Ming Chen.

“Ugh, we are so unfortunate. The finance students all have exceptional backgrounds, you absolutely can’t make an enemy out of any of them.”

Both Li Zhao and Lu Qi were commoners, but Li Zhao was from the Capital, so he knew a bit more than the average student would about the backgrounds of other students.

His voice was filled with irritation,

“When we go to collect their cellphones, you’ll see. No one will hand over their phones. Even if they don’t hand in their phones, they don’t even turn their phones silent. Last time the teacher in charge was inspecting, and by coincidence someone’s phone rang. Because of that, I was almost kicked out of the student council.”

The evening self-study period always had a rule where you can voluntarily hand in your phones if you were afraid of distractions.

Yes, it’s voluntary.

This guy was such a blabbermouth. Lu Qi let the guy talk, and never responded, keeping his silence. The school bell rang exactly at 7pm to start the self-study period. Every classroom started to fill with people. Lu Qi and Li Zhao walked into a classroom, and Lu Qi could immediately spot Huo Ming Chen sitting in the last row.

Birds of a feather flock together, each person attracts someone who is similar to them as a friend. The sons and daughters of wealthy generations all have their own hierarchy. Huo Ming Chen was no doubt at the very top, and sitting around him were people related to those with the highest status of power and money. This was a circle of people you cannot even try to enter.

Within the back row that sat these very people, some were sleeping, some were on their phones. They were totally ignoring Li Zhao, as if he was air. But Lu Qi, because of his face and his demeanor, was like a magnet to all the women, catching their gazes.

To enter this university, you don’t have to be a good student. A lot of those with a finance major come to the evening self-study period not to study but to hook up with girls.

To make sure that new students adapted to the university environment, during the first couple weeks, inspection was tight. However, after a month, they wouldn’t be as strict anymore.

“Evening self-study period has started. If you are concerned about your phone distracting you, you can temporarily hand over your phone and your battery chargers.”

With a stern face, Lu Qi used his own phone as an example. You could say he was very emotionless, but no doubt this made him look cold hearted, making it hard for people to approach him.

When Lu Qi first entered the classroom, Huo Ming Chen had already spotted him. This was the first time since that night they saw each other. He chuckled softly, staring at Lu Qi with interest. His phone was on the table and Huo Ming Chen kept playing with it, turning it in a circle over and over. Lu Qi could not even pretend he did not see it.

Li Zhao was recording the details, and Lu Qi had a bag for the students to drop their phones in. He walked from the first row to the last. Mesmerized by his handsomeness, a few girls dropped their phones into the bag without thinking.

However near the end, the bag was still light with not a lot of phones. Some had played dumb and pretended they did not bring their cellphones. Lu Qi didn’t really care. However many cellphones they collect will be how many they received.

The classroom had been very quiet until Lu Qi came up to and knocked lightly on Huo Ming Chen’s desk,

“Hey student, please hand in your phone.”

Everyone turned to look at Lu Qi as he said that. Cheng Tian Yao looked on in glee as if it was a tv show in front of him, and said to Fang Qi,

“Wow, this one is brave. Another daring stickler for the rules.”

For him to be so concerned about Huo Ming Chen’s phone, and none of the other students, didn’t this mean he was purposefully trying to attract his attention?

Huo Ming Chen also thought the same way. He stared at Lu Qi, thinking that there were too many things to do these couple of days, so he never found the time to find Lu Qi.

He slowly leaned back, with a contemplative look on his face. Just as the others thought Huo Ming Chen would not give up his phone, he moved. Before everyone’s piercing gaze, he dropped his phone into the bag.

No matter if Lu Qi came up to him with the purpose to make sure that he would not forget about Lu Qi or that Lu Qi thought he could act in whatever way he wanted now that they were together, in front of so many people, Huo Ming Chen decided he would protect Lu Qi’s dignity.

They can fight or curse each other behind closed doors, but they won’t put a show for other people to watch. This was how he lived.

As it was a new school term with a new influx of students, that meant there would be seniors graduating, seniors with positions of power. The department heads would be changing to fresh faces. Those who finally get into a position of power would need to produce some results that show that they were fit for their positions.

Lu Qi remembered at this time in his past life, tonight there would be a group of leaders doing a sudden inspection. Those who did not hand in their phones had their points deducted, and it would be added to their student file.

Although it’s not really a huge matter in the grand scheme of things, it was still not a good reflection on your records. The Huo family has a lot of influence and clout, but that does not mean Huo Ming Chen can act carelessly. In fact, it was the opposite. Because with this kind of family, they have a lot more strict rules than the average household.

If Huo Ming Chen’s grandfather knew he was horsing around at school, his grandfather would be the first in line to beat him until his entire body had regenerated new skin cells.

Lu Qi purely had a moment where his tiny little piece of conscience came alive, and decided to remind Huo Ming Chen. If Huo Ming Chen did not voluntarily hand over his phone, he wouldn’t have done anything else. It didn’t really matter to him.

He hung up the bag with the phones by the wall, and stood along the back with Li Zhao. One looked at the right side of the classroom and the other to the left to make sure the students were studying. There were a few girls near the back rows that kept sneaking a peek at Lu Qi. Every minute they would turn their heads, and they were more precise than an alarm clock. Li Zhao was really scared they would snap their heads off given the frequency of turning.

“Ah, the hottest girl in the finance major, He Jia, has been giving you some looks.”

Li Zhao whispered to Lu Qi before leaving his spot, heading to walk around the classroom to check up on the other students. Li Zhao lamented why his parents did not give birth to a more handsome son.

He Jia was not as shy as other girls. She had beautiful long hazy blue hair, and she was confident. She was rumored to be mixed hence she had an attractive face, and an even more fiery hot body. By the end of the first day of school, she was already crowned the title of beauty queen in the finance department.

She seemed to be interested in Lu Qi, as she gave him a few head turns and glances. Unfortunately for her, Lu Qi did not even move. He was looking at the classroom as if it was a picture that he had and did not care for, as if he was a frozen mountain.

However, this kind of demeanor can easily entice women to try to conquer him. She focused on scribbling something on her notebook, and then tore the corner off. When no one was noticing, she scrunched it up and tossed it towards Lu Qi.

He Jia thought her actions were not seen by anyone, but did not realize that everything was being played out in Huo Ming Chen’s field of view. His hand that was lying on the desk slowly made a fist, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. He did not do anything else however — he wanted to see what Lu Qi would do.

Was he going to accept the invitation from a beautiful woman, or ……

‘Tup.’

Lu Qi did not even look, and kicked the ball of paper into a nearby dustpan. Huo Ming Chen could not have even imagined that kind of conclusion.

He Jia’s eyes widened in shock, unable to believe that there would be a guy out there that could reject her. She found a perfect match, and he rejected her. This gave her a very big shock, and she pursed her lips. Then turned back to face the front, holding her shoulders high and her back straight. She did not look back once after that for the entire study period.

The author has something to say:
Beauty Queen: There’s a man that could reject me????
Author (nibbling on melon seeds*): Men won’t, but homosexuals will.

Notes:
*it’s the equivalent expression in english for “let me grab some popcorn” – literally as like grabbing/eating some popcorn for this show/drama that I’m watching (right now or right after this) and more figuratively, there’s a delicious sense of drama coming here and I want to be here to watch it from the beginning to the end. In this case, that fits more into the culture’s taste, melon seeds.