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- Chapter 74 (2) - - I've Got This Servant's Back (3)
I’ve Got This Servant’s Back (3.2)
When Lu Qingshi’s body got better and the weather started to warm up, the seven or eight elder brothers finally began to take turns to accompany him out for some fresh breath of air.
As a servant of Lu Qingshi, he ran around the entire Lu family with the Youngest Master’s medical examination report and the report of applying for going out. He obtained the signatures of each of Lu Qingshi’s brothers, and worked hard to get the rest through remote connections. After the four or five elder brothers, who followed the Patriarch on a business trip, responded as soon as possible, Gu Song finally understood why Lu Qingshi chose to run away through the window.
The twelve elder brothers not only had to schedule shifts, but also held a small meeting that allowed remote communication. Everyone explained in the form of essays and PPT about the ingenious forms of companionship and the benefits to the youngest brother’s body and mind. And thirteen sets of cold-weather clothing suitable for children were ordered at a high price.1Anna: Bro-con extreme! I can’t believe they made a PPT! Jue: Oh God! We don’t want to write essays even for our assignments and yet they willingly did it for their brother!!! MG: Please, I already have PTSD from all these online classes, I- Micros*ft is almighty and transcends spacetime?!!
The eldest brother Lu Fanghai ordered two sets, and overwhelmed the eleven younger brothers with the excuse that if he got wet, it would be easy to change. That got him the custody of the youngest brother to play in the snow for the first time.
Gu Song, who was forced to attend the small meeting, had lingering fears. Under the pressure of twelve eyes even through virtual images, he hugged the Youngest Master who was dozing off early and hid him in his arms.
For more than a month, he had been coaxed to sleep like this every day. The pampered and arrogant Youngest Master Lu opened his eyes in a daze, and skillfully took off the bow tie between Gu Song’s neck, and unbuttoned three buttons along the way, revealing a small piece of skin. The chest was not that thin and weak. After touching it twice, it felt satisfied and only then was he comfortably buried in the neck.
Gu Song: ……
But, the Youngest Master’s process was not over yet. Gu Song played dead, indulging that soft little hand clutching his little fingers, hiding under the hem of his shirt.
Under the sudden overpowering chill of the twelve gazes, he shivered.
It had been about a month since he started working here and for the very first time, he felt that his life seemed to be in danger.
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Compared to the other brothers, Lu Fanghai, being the eldest son, was much more mature and relatively easier to communicate with.
Letting Gu Song tightly wrap his youngest brother in warm clothes, Lu Fanghai personally carried Lu Qingshi to the specially sifted and paved snow, half squatting down to help the child don his gloves: “Big brother will accompany you to build a snowman.”
There were actually many ways to play in the snow, but most of them were too intense. Lu Qingshi’s weak body couldn’t bear it and he might even get sick.
Therefore, six of the proposals made were of snowmen, and he was the first person who got the opportunity to go play with Lu Qingshi. The brother waiting next in line for the chance must be out of ideas for playdate activities.
Compassionately sympathizing with the younger brothers who would follow after, Lu Fanghai still looked calm, and carefully buttoned the strap between his gloves and sleeves: “Okay, let’s make a snowball.”
What the youngest brother truly wanted was to have fun in the snow, not to be immobilized by his brothers. Lu Fanghai was well-versed in the art of being an understanding brother and had a thorough grasp of his youngest brother’s thoughts. Although he had grabbed the first place to accompany him, he did not intend to interfere too much with his youngest brother’s playing.
Lu Deng had been spoiled by his brothers in turns for a month. And now being taken care of by his elder brother so meticulously, Lu Deng’s face became slightly hot and hiding his reddish face into the scarf, he gently hooked his gloved finger in the bigger hand: “Thank you, big brother…”
The system unfolded the shield in time to block the data turbulence caused by the change in the personnel settings. He had been very proficient, and not even a little movement had been transmitted.
Although Lu Qingshi was arrogant, he was still obedient in front of his family. Even though his attitude became a little better, it was not enough to collapse the character setting!
The system was bent on protecting his master. It had long ago thrown the idea of reminding his master to maintain the plot and his persona.
Lu Fanghai was stunned by his youngest brother. He calmly and casually raised his knee, which was stuck in the snow, and patted it twice. The smile on his face became warmer: “Don’t mention it, elder brother is really happy.”
The snow was very thick, and he didn’t feel any pain when he knelt down like this. Even if his brother fell, there would probably be nothing wrong with him.
Hearing that it was the youngest brother’s close servant who personally took care of it, Lu Fanghai raised his head slightly and his eyes fell on the juvenile slave who had always been guarding not far away, his expression relaxing a little.
……
Then he helplessly watched as the youngest brother’s expression became brightened as he made a U-turn to fling himself into Gu Song’s arms.
Still being lively and pointing around while talking, he firmly grasped a small snow ball in his palm, and showed it to him excitedly.
……
Lu Fanghai decided to personally interfere.
With the spirit of the brother of the commander of the First Army of the Mecha Fleet, Lu Deng was making two small snowballs with the help of Gu Song when a huge snowman appeared beside him.
The top and bottom were standard snowballs, and the once loose snowflakes were put together firmly. The diameter of the top snowball was one-third smaller than that on the bottom. Even if a vernier calipers were to be used to measure the diameter, it would still be perfect.
Gu Song came from a place where there was no snow so he was inexperienced and the snowball didn’t stay firm and kept falling apart. It had not been successful even once so far.
Under the shocked and adoring eyes of the youngest brother, Lu Fanghai successfully turned the tables.
”I’ll help you stack the snowballs like this. You can decorate them however you want.”
After soothing his hands that were red from the ice, Lu Fanghai was afraid of leaving his brother in the cold, so he just squatted down beside him and patiently and warmly said: “Play with ease, let Gu Song get it for you if anything is missing.”
As long as the youngest brother was happy, it’s okay to use crystals2Anna: 晶石 means spar, an old term for crystals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spar_(mineralogy)to make eyes for the snowman.
Thinking about what else he could do to make his brother happy, the soft cloth of the glove suddenly covered his hands.
Lu Fanghai was startled slightly. Looking at the youngest brother who was serious about warming his hands, a rare soft expression was shown on his face and he shook the two small hands gently: “Big brother is not cold. Big brother just wants to see you smile.”
Because of a weak body like this, he had to take medicine three times a day. Ever since he had started to become sensible of his surroundings, he couldn’t get too excited, couldn’t work too hard, or couldn’t go out to play. So he couldn’t even have playmates of the same age. Of course, that was really too much for the child who just started to learn about the world.
Therefore, he comprehended pretty well why his brother was always upset.
However, he still wanted to see his brother smile.
As long as you said it a few times, and accompanied your youngest brother out to play when his condition was good, it would definitely be effective. Lu Fanghai had never lacked the firmness and decisiveness to implement a plan. He spoke warmly and was about to get up, but his actions suddenly halted.
In his eyes, the thin and soft youngest brother slowly unfolded his eyebrows, and his dark pupils carried traces of a smile as he smiled sweetly at him.
The snow was still falling, softly and silently.
Taking a breath lightly, Lu Fanghai half-knelt in the snow and raised his hands to hug his brother into his tense body.
.……
The character setting had collapsed beyond hope. The system that was drowning in a frenzied stream of data spinning around, was about to call for help, but suddenly came the sound of experience points arriving.
There was no problem that could not be solved with experience points, as long as there were enough points.
Fifty million experience points were dropped down, forming a solid shield in the blink of an eye and fishing the system out of the data. And the data, which was in turmoil because of the change in character, also returned to a calm state instantly.
Lu Deng obediently leaned in his brother’s arms, and secretly knocked on the system in his mind: “Is fifty million enough? I still have…”
“Enough! It’s enough to reach into adulthood, host!”
An additional 50 million could even buy the world!
For the first time, the system experienced the joy of being hit by so many experience points. Although he had to give them all out, it was still an experience worth bragging about in the system circle. The system was equally giddy with happiness, excitedly waving the data: “The host can reassure! Leave the rest to me!”
Backed up by the guarantee of the system, Lu Deng became completely relaxed and raised his arms to embrace the older brother back while nestling himself in his arms and said softly: “Thank you brother…”
As if finally breaking through some barriers, the light in the soft black eyes lit up finely, and the small body suddenly became excited and repeated aloud: “Thank you brother!”
……
No no no, not at all!
This time, Lu Fanghai couldn’t say anything. Following the Youngest Master’s personal servant3Anna: 烟花 can also mean prostitute, oof, the eldest brother also quietly exploded into a firework.
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With the reassurance from the system, Youngest Master Lu smoothly grew up until he was 15.
Ten years had passed in a flash, except for Gu Song who was guarding him every step of the way. The twelve older brothers took turns taking care of him, and Lu Feng often took time out of his busy schedule to come back and attend carefully about the growth of his youngest son. The whole family cautiously held and protected him in the palms of their hands, and Lu Deng was particularly obedient and cooperating, so he had been in peace for ten years without any serious accidents.
Firmly believing that his youngest son would live for a long time, although Lu Deng’s body was much weaker than his peers, Lu Feng still arranged many courses for him. From technology and economics to literature and art, whatever Lu Qingshi was found to be interested in, the best teachers would be brought to him and come to the Marquis’ residence to give one-on-one specialized lessons while ensuring that he was not overworked.
Although he didn’t like homework very much, the courses were interesting enough. Lu Deng accepted a new rhythm of life without much resistance.
“Youngest Master, do you want to rest for a while?”
When the piano teacher left, Gu Song sent in the snacks and fruit in time to see the teenager on the piano bench extending his arms towards him. He couldn’t help but smile and quickly put the tray aside before leaning down to hug him.
Probably because he was often carried around when he was a child, Lu Qingshi was sometimes too tired to move, and would naturally stretch his arms towards him. The two had already developed a silent understanding.
After ten years, Gu Song had already grown into a youth. He was a lot taller and his chest had long become broad and sturdy. The bulging muscles of his body were hidden under the uniform, but if he used a little force, it could reveal a faint outline of his muscles. Picking up the still thin Youngest Master did not take much effort.
When the body on the piano bench leaned forward, he could see the cold sweat on the neck, and the arms hovering behind his back sensed a little dampness.
Gu Song was still smiling while he steadily picked up the Youngest Master and let him lean on him to relax and rest completely, but the glow in his eyes became a little dim.
Piano lessons were always more physically demanding than others. Although his Youngest Master was not that willful, he became really tired to the point where he couldn’t say a word and couldn’t move a finger.
“In fact, you don’t always have to work so hard, Youngest Master…”
Gu Song spoke gently and put him down carefully on the sofa equipped with a magnetic therapy device before wiping the sweat away from the forehead with his handkerchief. As he was about to persuade further, his mouth had been covered by a slightly cold hand.
As soon as the palm of his hand touched his lips, Gu Song’s heart skipped a beat, immediately clearing away the thoughts in his mind and he obediently stopped talking.
Lu Qingshi closed his eyes tightly. He tried to blink and open his eyelids twice with much difficulty but they were immediately closed again.
Over the years, he had been careful. Fortunately, his body didn’t have any major problems, but he still had to suffer from minor illnesses. Recently, he had been troubled by dizziness.
It happened from time to time and he would be alright after a while, but the whole person felt like everything was spinning around when it happened. There was also a little sound near him and it was so noisy that it evoked a deeper level of dizziness.
It’s not a big deal, so he didn’t tell his father and brothers. The only one who knew was Gu Song.
Noticing the Youngest Master’s abnormalities, Gu Song’s heart tightened and hurried to carefully hold his body steady, holding a clenched white hand and slowly massaging, until the thin fingers gradually relaxed, soothingly fit in his palm.
His Youngest Master leaned against the sofa with his eyes closed, as if he was very relaxed. Even if it was seen by Lu Fanghai himself, he would only think that the youngest brother was just in a bad mood and wanted to rest quietly by himself without caring about other things.
But he knew it wasn’t so.
The fingers in the palm of his hand were slightly shivering. The delicate eyebrows were knitted into an unperceivable curve. The corners of the lips were taut. The thin body was tensed into a tight bow under the clothes.
The Youngest Master Lu was rumored to be very arrogant to the point that he was unpredictable. When he was in a good mood, he got along with others well but once he was in a bad mood, he became so cold and ill-tempered like there was no one in his eyes. From head to toe, all the servants had to respectfully wait on him. In fact, none of these rumors were true.
It would be great if he could take his place when he felt uncomfortable.
The bitter thoughts surged in his heart. Seeing the Youngest Master’s silent shudder had spread to his thin chest and shoulders, Gu Song finally couldn’t help it anymore and leaned over to hug him in his arms.
He didn’t know how long the impulse had been building inside of him, but looking at his trembling lips despite all those efforts to hold it in, he felt really sorry for his Youngest Master and his sharp and elegant eyebrows scrunched up.
The warm kiss fell on the pale brow soaked with cold sweat and like some arcane magic, the dizziness in the mind strangely calmed down at that moment.
Lu Deng opened his eyes and met the handsome face that was immensely pale because of his dizzy spell.
“Youngest Master, I—”
Gu Song’s heart almost jumped out of his throat, hurriedly trying to retreat, but Lu Deng grabbed his sleeves and pulled him back again.
The arrogant overstep just now exposed the thoughts from the bottom of the heart. Gu Song gritted his teeth and lowered his head, but still had no intention to defy against him and let himself get pulled easily by the hand with not much strength.
Even if it was punishment, it didn’t matter… Today he had really overstepped his boundaries.
Perhaps it was when he first found out that Lu Qingshi had deliberately lost his temper and blown him away in order to prevent him from his father’s anger, before hiding in his study alone to bear through his illness.
Perhaps it was while accompanying his Youngest Master on his interstellar voyage, watching the shooting stars passing overhead and being urged to make a wish by the tightly pulled hand.
Or perhaps a little earlier, from the first time he accompanied his Youngest Master to build a snowman, but nothing was successful. When the snow ball he made fell apart, it was carefully rolled solid by the Youngest Master secretly with his bare, slightly frozen red hands.
Or it had begun from the moment his collar was clutched by his Youngest Master in the snow that day, blocking the cold snow with a face full of displeasure, but secretly placing the blanket against his frozen chest and shoulders.
Gu Song’s heart thumped violently. His head remained buried down, not daring to face the pair of eyes that might now be filled unfamiliar emotions. He wouldn’t be able to bear such a gaze from his beloved master.
“……”
The body that had just gotten sick really didn’t have much strength. Lu Deng’s ability to pull him back was already at the limit. He moved his fingers to no avail, so he had to resort to the unsuccessful methods he tried over the years.
The Youngest Master, who was only a few centimeters in front of him, remained silent, making Gu Song couldn’t help but worry so much that he might even faint from all those turmoil feelings.
With worry overpowering his anxiety, Gu Song took a deep breath and raised his head cautiously, only to meet his Youngest Master whose face was weighed full with seriousness and dissatisfaction: “Kiss again.”
❆❆❆
Additional Notes:
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- TL – Anna; TLC – MamaGoose; ED – Jue
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- As promised, the second update this week! It was pretty long, haha.
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- MG skipped PR this time and we spared her, cause… *glances below*
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Mini Theatre:
Scene opens with noises of boulders being turned.
An abrupt inhumane screech filled the halls.
MG: Drags herself out of the exam dungeon to update, sobs instead of doing PR, and collapses back into the pit
MG: (′д` )…彡…彡
Anna: Goose, live. This is a command.
MG: Wrote 20 exams this month, and have 15 more over the following week and half- hics
Jue: Goose, fighting!
Boulders grovel again.
Birb is dragged by the ankles back to the 420th circle of hell.