Chapter 38: Lu Guifan’s Home

It was late at night when the local patrol officer arrived. To him, these turf disputes between street vendors were nothing new. After harshly scolding the offending vendors, he tried to dismiss them.

But Jiang Ruotang said coldly, “That’s it? Just brushing it off? Once you leave, they’ll go right back to beating up this couple. If someone ends up seriously hurt and this hits the news, can you take that responsibility?”

“Classmate, situations like this… they happen all the time. You can’t stop them all…”

Jiang Ruotang waved his phone. “I’ve taken photos and videos. If you won’t handle this properly, I’ll send them to the press myself.”

The fat sausage vendor flared up, rolling up his sleeves. “You just don’t know when to stop, do you? I swear I’m gonna beat you to a pulp tonight—”

“Then go ahead. If you hit me, you’ll get convicted. I promise I won’t settle, and I’ll make sure your whole family pays so hard they can’t even afford their underwear. Otherwise, my last name isn’t Jiang.”

The fat man’s rage caught in his throat, but just as he opened his mouth to continue yelling, the patrol officer barked at him, “You wanna spend the night in lockup?”

The officer glanced at the tricycle, which was nearly scrap metal now. These vendors had gone too far. If left unchecked, things could really get out of hand. Seeing Jiang Ruotang so insistent, he decided to take them all in.

The vendors cursed at Jiang Ruotang as they were rounded up. Jiang calmly kept recording. “Looks like No. 14 Middle School needs to improve gate security. Wonder what their principal will think if I show him this? Right now you’re beating up competitors—but what if next time it’s the students? Then what?”

“You wouldn’t dare—”

Before the fat man could finish, the patrol officer forced him away.

Xiao Gao sighed. “Ruotang, why get involved? You don’t even know them. Why stir up trouble for yourself?”

Jiang Ruotang smiled carelessly. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ve lost my mind.”

Because Xiao Gao was the one who called the police and Jiang Ruotang was a witness, they both went to the station for questioning.

The vendors were sternly lectured and educated on the law by “Uncle Cap” and given administrative punishment for provoking trouble. After Jiang Ruotang signed his statement, he heard a familiar voice nearby.

“Dad, Mom—are you okay?”

The cool voice that usually held indifference now carried clear, genuine concern.

“We’re fine… nothing serious. Thank goodness your classmate called the police…”

Jiang Ruotang stood and turned—only to see Lu Guifan.

He was wearing a light jacket, slightly breathless from running. The night wind had tousled his hair, revealing his forehead, and behind his glasses, his eyes were filled with anxiety.

Jiang Ruotang froze. He never imagined that the couple selling chive-and-egg pancakes were Lu Guifan’s parents.

What was going on?

Why hadn’t Lu Guifan mentioned this when they bought pancakes last time?

Was he ashamed of his parents being street vendors?

No… no, Jiang Ruotang, don’t think like that. Lu Guifan was never that kind of person.

Thinking back now, when they’d last bought pancakes together, that couple had kept glancing at them—the look in their eyes was different from how they looked at normal customers.

A bit eager, a bit cautious.

And this explained why, in his past life, when Jiang couldn’t find that couple anymore, Lu Guifan could still bring him pancakes in a thermal box—because they were made by his own parents.

When their eyes met, Jiang Ruotang felt the turbulence hidden in those deep eyes.

It was a complicated mix—like relief after finally confessing, like standing judgment before a verdict.

And Jiang Ruotang was the only judge.

“Thank you,” Lu Guifan said.

Genuine. Sincere. And in an instant, it pulled the distance between them right back to the beginning, so distant that Jiang Ruotang’s heart tightened painfully.

Lu Guifan’s mother looked flustered. “Classmate, I’m sorry we didn’t get to make you chive-and-egg pancakes tonight… Next time, I’ll have Guifan bring some to school for you.”

“Right, right… Thank you for calling the police. Who knows what might’ve happened otherwise… Sorry for making you stay out so late because of us…”

After speaking, they nudged Lu Guifan lightly, urging him to say something more.

It was awkwardly quiet between the two boys. As Jiang Ruotang scrambled to think of what to say, Lu Guifan spoke first.

“Sorry… last time when you bought pancakes, I didn’t tell you they were my parents.”

“Ah… no… no problem…”

Better to know now than never.

Lu Guifan’s mother noticed the tension and hurried to explain, “Classmate, don’t blame Guifan. You’re Jiang Ruotang, aren’t you?”

Jiang Ruotang nodded. “Yes, Auntie. I’m Jiang Ruotang.”

“Lately, Guifan has mentioned you often at home. You might not believe it, but the first time you stood before our stall in your North City Guangyao uniform, asking for our pancakes, we felt something special… Such a kind, polite boy—could he be the classmate Guifan always talks about?”

Jiang Ruotang glanced at Lu Guifan. He wanted to speak but didn’t know how to begin.

His mother continued, “You ride in nice cars, have a driver… clearly from a good family. Guifan says you’re talented, your paintings are beautiful… A boy like you, if you knew Guifan’s parents were street vendors… even if you’re well-mannered and willing to stay friends, there’d still be some distance. Guifan isn’t the sweet-talking type—you two might’ve grown apart without meaning to.”

Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears.

“When Guifan was in middle school, we worked in a rubber factory. His classmates teased him for smelling like rubber every day. Now if they knew his parents sold pancakes… they’d probably joke he smelled like chives… Guifan told us many times, ‘Jiang Ruotang isn’t like that. If he knew the pancakes he loves came from you, he’d be happy.’”

Jiang Ruotang looked at Lu Guifan—so he’d known exactly what Jiang was thinking.

“We told him not to say anything… because we didn’t want him laughed at again…”

Lu Guifan’s father swallowed hard, his throat bobbing from tension and emotion.

Lu Guifan lowered his eyes, his fingers curling slowly into fists, a heavy weight pressing on his chest.

In that moment, Jiang Ruotang understood—Lu Guifan hadn’t hidden the truth to protect his own pride, but to shield his parents’ fragile dignity from being hurt again.

This couple from the fishing villages of Chengtan, who ended up in Sheng City’s rubber factories, had raised such an excellent son.

Over the years—parent-teacher conferences, run-ins with classmates—they must’ve felt inferior because of their background, heard classmates belittle their son even when their grades couldn’t match his.

Just like when Lin Lu, Geng Yu, and Xie Liang once joked about imported detergent scents and perfume, sneering that Lu Guifan probably smelled like rubber when he collected homework. If they’d known his parents weren’t even in the factory anymore but selling pancakes by the school, who knew if they’d buy pancakes on purpose to mock him?

Lu Guifan could withstand such pettiness.

But for his parents, it would’ve been crushing.

They’d always felt like burdens holding their son back.

Sigh… knowing this, Jiang Ruotang couldn’t blame them for hiding the truth. His heart only filled with aching sympathy.

He tilted his head toward Lu Guifan’s blank expression and grinned, eyes curving into a smile.

“No wonder… I always thought Auntie’s eyes looked familiar. Now I know where our class monitor got those good-looking eyes! Beauty like that doesn’t come from nowhere—genes never lie.”

Lu Guifan’s mother blinked, flustered, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You… you really know how to talk…”

“Come on, let’s go. The tricycle’s still outside No. 14 Middle School—we need to push it back, right?” Jiang Ruotang chuckled, walking over and gently clasping Lu Guifan’s wrist.

In that instant, Lu Guifan trembled—like an electric shock—every dark thought sinking into the depths, while this hand easily pulled him out, his heart beating with unfamiliar lightness and peace.

The warmth of Jiang Ruotang’s palm lingered, and he willingly followed.

The family of three left the station with Jiang Ruotang and Xiao Gao.

Lu Guifan’s parents hesitated at the car door, tugging their son and whispering, “This car looks expensive… We’ve got flour and oil on us… If we dirty it, they’ll have to clean it…”

Lu Guifan knew Jiang Ruotang wouldn’t care, but the car’s caretaker—Xiao Gao—might be troubled.

He was about to politely decline when Xiao Gao said warmly, “It’s no problem, Uncle, Auntie. It’s past ten—come on, get in. We’ll take you home first.”

Jiang Ruotang nodded eagerly. “Exactly, exactly!”

On the way, Lu Guifan stayed quiet. He had never felt another person’s presence this clearly.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ruotang chatted with his parents—how the pancakes smelled so good, the secret to perfect egg flowers, and what else Auntie Lu was good at cooking.

At first, Lu Guifan’s mother was still quite reserved, but it didn’t take long for her to open up, and before she knew it, Jiang Ruotang had gotten her to share nearly everything — even how many years it had been since they moved here from Lujia Village in Chengtan.

When they reached the front gate of No. 14 High School, Lu Guifan and his father tried to fix the broken wheel, but they didn’t have the right tools. The metal rim of the wheel was bent out of shape, and who knew where the screws had bounced off to — there was simply no way to put the wheel back on, let alone ride the tricycle home.

Jiang Ruotang stood nearby, leaning on his knees, watching them as they worked.

Lu Guifan turned his head slightly and caught sight of the tip of Jiang Ruotang’s nose and the faintly curled eyelashes. The cold streetlamp light spilled onto his face, but somehow it added a touch of warmth.

Lu Guifan wanted to ruffle his hair, but when he remembered that his own hands were filthy, he simply said softly, “You should head home. We’ll have to carry this tricycle back. There’s no point in you standing around here waiting.”

“Huh?” Jiang Ruotang frowned, then suddenly reached out and pressed the top of Lu Guifan’s head. “Class monitor, are you dumb or something? Why carry it back? Isn’t the front wheel still working?”

Lu Guifan looked at him. “It’s not like we can ride a unicycle, you know.”

“Let Xiao Gao open the trunk. Stick the back of the tricycle in the trunk, and leave the front wheel outside. Can’t we just tow it home like that?”

Father Lu immediately protested, “No, no, we can’t do that! It’ll get your trunk so dirty!”

“You think that trunk’s so clean? If you opened it, you’d probably be scared to death!”

Jiang Ruotang patted Lu Guifan on the back and motioned for him to help.

Before Lu Guifan could move, Xiao Gao had already jogged over to help Jiang Ruotang, and the two of them quickly packed all the messy things into the back of the tricycle. Lu Guifan’s parents stood aside, dumbfounded by their swift, carefree efficiency.

“Guifan, your classmate is being kind — let’s not trouble him anymore.”

“That’s right, that’s right! Cleaning out the trunk costs money! He’s already helped us so much; let’s not be a burden!”

At that moment, Jiang Ruotang’s voice came from the trunk: “Xiao Gao! Did you carry corpses in the car today? The trunk stinks to death!”

Xiao Gao laughed. “Your dad went fishing in the countryside today, caught a bunch of fish. I helped him deliver them to friends and family — but halfway there, the bucket tipped over… haha…”

“So that’s the smell of fish…” Jiang Ruotang pinched his nose and waved at Lu Guifan. “Come here!”

Lu Guifan let out a soft laugh and patted his mother’s shoulder. “See? He said that on purpose so you’d stop worrying about dirtying the trunk — to let you know the smell was already there. If we keep refusing, Ruotang and Xiao Gao will just waste more time trying to persuade us.”

Father Lu took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s just go home and be careful putting the tricycle in. Friends should be straightforward — no need to make a joke of ourselves in front of little Jiang! If we keep hesitating, he’ll stay worried, and he won’t go home either.”

And so, the tricycle was loaded into the trunk.

Traffic at night was smooth. A trip to the old city that would usually take half an hour only took fifteen minutes.

Xiao Gao recognized the area. These were the workers’ dormitories for the rubber factory — originally distributed by the factory for its employees to live in. About a decade ago, the employees were allowed to buy the units.

By rights, Father and mother Lu, as workers in the rubber factory, weren’t poor — certainly not destitute.

But just last year, the rubber factory had been bought out, and every worker over thirty-five with no education was let go. Though they’d received severance pay, if they didn’t find another way to make money, they’d soon run out.

By their family’s means, Lu Guifan should’ve gone to a public high school, with cheap tuition. North City Guangyao was supposed to be out of reach for them.

But Lu Guifan’s grades in middle school had been exceptional. He’d won so many awards in math, physics, and chemistry competitions that North City Guangyao’s principal had waived all tuition and fees to recruit him.

So being smart saved money, after all.

When they reached the building, Xiao Gao helped Father and Mother Lu lift the tricycle down. They were just about to say goodbye when Jiang Ruotang’s stomach gave a loud, continuous growl — “grrrrrrr” — awkwardly loud in front of the quiet dorm entrance.

Mother Lu quickly said, “Little Jiang, if you don’t mind, come up and sit for a while — Auntie will make you some chive and egg pancakes?”

Father Lu added, “Yes, yes! We’re quick — it won’t take ten minutes to make you some.”

Jiang Ruotang glanced at Lu Guifan. He really wanted to get to know him quickly. After all, in his last life, Jiang Ruotang had told him everything — even when chemotherapy made his little tuft of hair fall out, he’d gone to Lu Guifan to complain. He truly wanted to get close again, as they’d once been.

But he also knew that haste would spoil things — it might only make Lu Guifan push him away.

The two of them stared at each other for a while. The dim dorm lights made everything murky, but Jiang Ruotang’s eyes shone bright — so bright that Lu Guifan felt as if, in this world, there really were no true boundaries, no prejudice that Jiang Ruotang’s gaze couldn’t cross.

“Come up. Can’t let you dream about eating chive and egg pancakes, right?”

“Awesome!” Jiang Ruotang bounded forward in two or three steps and threw an arm over Lu Guifan’s shoulders.

The dormitory building was old. The hallway walls were patched and peeling from paint jobs long ago. Under the dim light, if Jiang Ruotang were alone, he’d have thought this was a horror movie scene. But with Lu Guifan walking ahead, Jiang Ruotang suddenly felt like acting — pretending that climbing the stairs was exhausting, tugging pitifully at Lu Guifan’s coat hem.

Lu Guifan slowed his steps, letting Jiang Ruotang pull as he pleased.

By the fifth floor, even without acting, Jiang Ruotang — who rarely exercised — had to admit he was truly tired.

“Ha… ha…”

Xiao Gao and Lu’s parents had already gone up ahead; only Lu Guifan stayed behind with Jiang Ruotang, helping him slowly climb.

At a stairwell landing, Lu Guifan paused slightly. Jiang Ruotang, not paying attention, bumped face-first into Lu Guifan’s back and nearly lost his balance — instinctively grabbing Lu Guifan’s waist.

Lu Guifan froze, his breath catching. Jiang Ruotang immediately felt the tension in him. He saw Lu Guifan raise his hand, thinking he’d brush him away — but instead, Lu Guifan’s palm hovered gently on the back of Jiang Ruotang’s hand.

As if silently permitting him.

Jiang Ruotang’s heart hung in suspense — as long as Lu Guifan didn’t move away, he’d stay in this position.

A moment later, they heard Father Lu opening the door upstairs. Lu Guifan sighed. “How long are you going to rest?”

Jiang Ruotang quickly let go, his face burning, wondering if the other could tell. He muttered nonsense: “Class monitor, your waist’s really slim!”

“Idiot.”

Without turning his head, Lu Guifan walked on.

Jiang Ruotang followed him into Lu Guifan’s home.

It was a cramped two-bedroom apartment. The living room was tiny, furnished with a set of cracked old leather sofas and an outdated coffee table. Against the wall stood a folding dining table and chairs. The bright lights showed signs of wear on the tiled floor.

Xiao Gao made himself comfortable on the sofa, messaging Jiang Huaiyuan to say he was staying with Ruotang for a late-night snack at a classmate’s house.

Jiang Ruotang stood in the middle of the living room, looking around, while Lu Guifan watched him from the side. He wanted to find something to offer him to drink, but there was nothing in the fridge — not even tea.

Lu Guifan knew Jiang Ruotang had grown up in luxury; this kind of home might only appear in TV dramas for him.

As Lu Guifan draped his school jacket over the sofa, thinking Jiang Ruotang could sit on it, Jiang Ruotang suddenly ran to the TV cabinet, squatted down, and pointed at a family photo.

“Wow… your dad was so handsome when he was young! And your mom’s so pretty too! You must’ve saved the galaxy in your past life to inherit the best of both of them!”

Lu Guifan opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

Jiang Ruotang flopped back onto the sofa, grabbing Lu Guifan’s jacket without caring about the cracked leather.

The sofa creaked under him.

Jiang Ruotang sniffed the collar. “Class monitor! Your jacket smells so nice! Is this an ALPHA pheromone or something?”

This was one of Jian Sha’s favorite jokes — always teasing that Lu Guifan had the vibe of a cold, top-grade alpha.

Lu Guifan paused. Jiang Ruotang’s nose was touching only his jacket, yet for some reason, the back of his neck felt hot.

Xiao Gao chuckled. “Ruotang! No one talks like that! Lucky your class monitor’s handsome — or I’d think you were a creep!”

Jiang Ruotang replied earnestly, “Handsome guys are dangerous too.”

From the kitchen came the sound of oil hitting the pan — Lu’s parents were busy cooking.

Jiang Ruotang couldn’t sit still. “Class monitor, can I see your room? You’ve lived here since middle school, right?”

“Mm.” Lu Guifan nodded and opened a side door, revealing a small, neat room.

The bookshelf was packed. One side of the desk was piled with practice papers. A narrow single bed with checkered sheets sat tightly against the wall.

There was barely any space — Jiang Ruotang would have to squeeze past Lu Guifan to leave.

Like discovering a new world, Jiang Ruotang sat at the desk and, closing his eyes, made a mock praying gesture. “Let me absorb some study god aura.”

Lu Guifan leaned against the wall, watching his back in silence.

So close — yet somehow still far.

Jiang Ruotang opened his eyes and played with the only decoration in the room: a small wooden daruma doll.

For him, this room felt like a portal to another world — full of treasures to be found.

Lu Guifan’s old textbooks, and some tattered books that probably came from his grandfather.