Li Mei was driving a large six-seater Jeep.
Before getting into the car, Lan Guoguo wanted to sit in the back with Lu Chengxuan but was pushed into the passenger seat by Chu Shiling. Lan Guoguo remained sullen and low-spirited the entire time, while Chu Shiling ignored him and turned to ask Lu Zhi, "Your adoptive father's surname is also Lu, quite a coincidence."
After getting into the car, Lu Zhi remained silent, not acting too warm or too distant, maintaining the demeanor of interacting with a casual friend. However, he still appeared somewhat reserved. Hearing Chu Shiling's question, he replied, "Yes, my dad… his name is Lu Yi."
As he uttered the word "dad," Lu Zhi glanced at Lu Chengxuan's profile. Seeing that his expression was normal and he didn't seem to care much, Lu Chengxuan, noticing Lu Zhi's cautious gaze, turned to him. A faint smile appeared on his handsome face as he said, "You don't need to be nervous. Your parents… are actually our second uncle and aunt. The story is a bit long, would you like to hear it?"
Lu Zhi hadn't expected Lu Chengxuan to be so gentle. His personality was completely different from the male protagonist described in the book. Or perhaps, had he experienced some changes that led to his personality shift later on?
Lu Zhi was very curious and said, "I want to know."
"Alright." On the way back, Lu Chengxuan recounted everything that had happened eighteen years ago.
The year Lu Zhi was born, the Lu family encountered a disaster. It seemed that someone from the Lu family had offended an apostle of a deity and faced retaliation. The entire Lu family was implicated; some died, some were injured, and no one from the Lu family escaped unharmed.
Lu Chengxuan's parents, in order to protect their two sons, had no choice but to entrust the young Lu Zhi to their second uncle, Lu Yi.
"Isn't Second Uncle also a member of the Lu family?" Lu Zhi thought that if the enemy wanted to cut off the roots, why would his second uncle be able to escape.
Lu Chengxuan explained, "Actually, Second Uncle is not a member of the Lu family. He was adopted by our grandfather and has no blood relation to us."
Lu Zhi immediately sensed the issue, "Anyone with a blood relation to the Lu family… all died?"
Lu Chengxuan's eyes darkened slightly, and he nodded. "Mom and Dad pulled strings to buy a treasure that hides your aura, allowing Second Uncle to take you away safely from the Lu family."
Lu Zhi immediately thought of the jade pendant the village chief had given him. It was likely the treasure Lu Chengxuan was referring to. As far as he knew, treasures had many uses, but they were also extremely expensive. Did this mean Lu Chengxuan became a demon hunter…
"I know what you want to ask." Lu Zhi's hesitant expression was too obvious. Lu Chengxuan immediately guessed the question he wanted to ask: "Not long after Second Uncle took you away, Mom and Dad were killed saving me. While I was being chased, I encountered the descent of a Long Kan, and in the end, only I survived."
Lu Zhi pursed his lips, his emotions complex. How to put it? Perhaps it was because he hadn't fully adapted to his new identity.
But no matter what, he and Lu Chengxuan were brothers, already in the same boat. Moreover… from the first moment he saw Lu Chengxuan, he felt an inexplicable sense of closeness. He asked, "Who was the killer?"
"You don't need to know," Lu Chengxuan replied too quickly. Meeting Lu Zhi's bright, dark eyes, his younger brother who resembled their parents so much, he unconsciously raised his hand to ruffle his hair and said, "I will avenge our parents. You just live the life you want, without any pressure. I came to find you just to confirm…"
Lu Zhi looked confused. "Confirm what?"
Lu Chengxuan smiled, his eyes gentle. "To confirm that there are still relatives in this world who need my protection."
Lu Zhi's heart trembled, and an indescribable feeling surged through him. He blurted out, "Ge."
Lu Chengxuan froze, then, a second later, revealed a brilliant smile that was contrary to his usually steady demeanor. "Yes."
"Ahem, ahem, ahem…" Li Mei didn't want to disturb the captain and his brother's bonding moment, but she pointed outside the car. "Captain, we've arrived."
Lu Zhi only then realized they had stopped in front of a five-star hotel. Several bodyguards in suits opened the car doors for them. One of them bent down respectfully and said, "Please."
Such a grand display suggested the other party's identity must be quite special. Lu Zhi mused silently.
"Do you want to come in with us?" Lu Chengxuan asked as he got out of the car.
Lu Zhi pointed to himself. "Me? I won't go in."
"Alright." Lu Chengxuan walked a few steps, then suddenly turned back and handed him a black card. "I'll be out soon. We'll go have dinner later. Why don't you and Li Mei go around? Maybe get some new clothes for yourself?"
Lu Zhi was about to refuse, but seeing the fawning look in Lu Chengxuan's eyes, he couldn't help but smile and took the card. "Thanks, Ge. You go ahead and be busy."
Lu Chengxuan grunted and turned away contentedly, walking into the five-star hotel.
"Wow, a black card!" Li Mei's eyes sparkled as she stared at the black card in Lu Zhi's hand, urging him, "Let's go, let's go to the mall."
"I'm not going," Lan Guoguo said with a stern face. "I'll wait for Lu Ge in the car."
Chu Shiling took a pair of sunglasses from the car and put them on. "Let's go, ignore him. He's just being childish."
Lu Zhi didn't intend to argue with a child. Although his current physical age was only two years older than Lan Guoguo, his actual soul was twenty-two.
...
Hengyuan Mall was the largest commercial building in Nianfeng City, housing the most fashionable clothing stores and supermarkets from around the globe.
Lu Zhi didn't have anything specific he wanted to buy; he just wanted to look around and observe the surroundings.
Li Mei and Chu Shiling led him to the exclusive elevator on the sixth floor, a clothing section only accessible to VIP customers with premium cards. All the clothing there was designed by renowned designers, unique, and priced at a minimum of one hundred thousand yuan.
"Shiling, isn't that outfit you're wearing the latest limited edition from AO last season?" Li Mei pondered, stroking her chin, her eyes lighting up. "I remember it was 320,000 yuan?"
Lu Zhi almost choked on his own saliva. He meticulously examined Chu Shiling's white shirt and gasped, "320,000? Is the material of this outfit very special?"
Forgive Lu Zhi's astonishment; he worked hard laboring for six thousand yuan a month.
Chu Shiling raised an eyebrow. "No, it's just a regular piece of clothing."
Lu Zhi: …I really don't understand the world of the rich.
Chu Shiling stared at him, then suddenly tutted, looking disdainful. "Your outfit…"
Li Mei chimed in with a killer blow, "It's very unfashionable, right? Hahaha."
An arrow seemed to pierce the little man in Lu Zhi's heart. He lowered his head and looked at the clothes he was wearing today: a white short-sleeved T-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers… Weren't these the only clothes he had for summer?
Ding—
The elevator doors opened, and Lu Zhi was dazzled by the opulent displays. Especially when Li Mei and Chu Shiling pulled him into a men's clothing store and handed him a pile of clothes to try on, seeing the string of zeros on the tags, he felt his breath catch.
Were these clothes, or were they banknotes?
"Hurry up and change," Li Mei shoved Lu Zhi into the fitting room, threatening with a mischievous glint, "If you don't know how to change, I can come in and help you, sister."
"No need!" Hearing the veiled threat in Li Mei's words, Lu Zhi quickly locked the door and cautiously began to change.
Then, for the next entire hour, Lu Zhi was forced to play a real-life dress-up game. Li Mei would be satisfied with an outfit for Chu Shiling, only to reject it. When Chu Shiling liked something, Li Mei would find it too flashy.
"No, this outfit makes him look too old. Xiao Zhi is only eighteen!" Li Mei threw the clothes onto the sofa with a dissatisfied expression.
"Lotus pink makes him look old? Is there something wrong with your taste?" Chu Shiling picked up the outfit again and held it against Lu Zhi's chest, gesturing. "Open your eyes and see. It's clearly very fashionable, isn't it?"
Seeing the two of them disagreeing and on the verge of a fight, Lu Zhi, caught in the middle and stressed, found it both amusing and exasperating. "Um…"
Chu Shiling and Li Mei: "Be quiet!"
Lu Zhi: T_T
Being a dress-up tool was so difficult.
A phone call saved Lu Zhi from his predicament. He slipped aside to answer it. "Ge, are you done with your business?" He found himself calling him "Ge" more and more naturally.
Lu Chengxuan asked, "Where are you?"
Lu Zhi glanced at the two who were still arguing, his face filled with a plea for help. "Ge, you'd better come over quickly. Sister Li Mei and Brother Chu are about to fight."
Ten minutes later, seeing Lu Chengxuan appear at the store entrance, Lu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. "Ge, you're finally here. Please, persuade them. I have enough clothes, I don't need to buy any more."
Lu Chengxuan looked him up and down, then at the two still arguing. He turned to a bewildered-looking salesperson who had been standing by for a while and handed over another black card. "Take it all."
Lu Zhi: ???