Don’t Be a Kept Man

br>Even if he turned good or honest, no one would believe it.

If Huo Ming Chen could be silenced with these words, he wouldn’t be Huo Ming Chen.
His face still wore a smiling expression that looked like he was obedient and respectful towards his elders, but under the table he was holding Lu Qi’s hand, signalling him to not mind it.

When the elderly are displeased in their hearts, they need to exert their authority as they always feel like they know better and they are still the elder.
Since Huo Ming Chen has already hooked her son over to his side, even if he had to endure some beatings, that was no problem.
Just a few unclear but pointed words couldn’t be considered that serious.

Mama Lu didn’t continue on the subject and they began to dine as the waiters brought them their dishes.
She would occasionally ask about Huo Ming Chen’s studies and then talk to Lu Yuan.
Although she wasn’t really passionate, she was not ignoring him outright.
Instead that right was bestowed to Lu Qi who looked like he wanted to win an award on who could be a better piece of furniture.

It wasn’t until they finished their meals that Mama Lu put down her chopsticks and finally gave him the time of day.
She asked, 

“Did you two think about it?”

Lu Qi nodded his head, 

“We did.”

Mama Lu gave a sudden and faint sigh, causing Huo Ming Chen to become nervous, thinking that he would be assigned as the guilty party.
But he only received the words, 

“…… It’s pretty late.
You two should head back for your classes.
I have bothered you two enough for today.
As you are living on your own, make sure to take care of yourself.”

The last sentence was clearly directed towards Lu Qi.

Huo Ming Chen was a bit stunned when that was all he heard.
Before he could react however, he was already being dragged up by Lu Qi.
Lu Qi bowed slightly, 

“Thank you Mother.
Then we will head back first.”

Huo Ming Chen followed him, 

“Thank you Auntie.
We will take our leave first.”

The two of them left the room and Huo Ming Chen couldn’t help but ask, 

“What did Auntie mean? Did she agree or did she not agree?”

Lu Qi sometimes thought that Huo Ming Chen was a little bit dumb.
He ruffled Huo Ming Chen’s hair and said, 

“Did you think that she agreed? It does not matter anyway as it’s the same as always.
She cares about me, but ever since I was born, she has never had control over my life.” 

Huo Ming Chen’s heart suddenly started to skip.
He grasped Lu Qi’s hand, 

“Auntie is so open.
And that doesn’t matter, from now on, I will manage you.”

Lu Qi slowly smiled, 

“……Alright, from now on, you will manage me.”

Seeing the two of them leave, Lu Yuan finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and stood up noisily, anxious and angry, 

“Mom, did you see the face of that Lu Qi? It’s time to make him reconsider his life choices!”

Mama Lu looked down, a silent tell that showed that her heart was not as calm as it looked, 

“To manage him and his life, that depends on him listening to me.
Ever since he was a young child, he’s always had his own opinion on whatever he did.
Now that he has directly brought this up to my face, it’s not something that we can persuade him away from, with just a few words.
Do you think that I need to act like the evil mother from television dramas? To cry and wail that I will die because of this? What would be the point of doing all that?”

She closed her eyes in silence after she said that.
When she opened them, she could see the unwillingness and unhappiness on Lu Yuan’s face.
She reached up to pinch her daughter on the nose, 

“Dummy.
Your brother, he’s grown up now.
Whatever he’s doing, he has his own thoughts.
The more you try to stop him, the more he would do it just for the spite of it.
If we break them up now, Ah-Qi will never forget about him.”

“You forever immortalize what you cannot obtain.
You just have to let him see if that is something he really wants.
If it is, let him go.
Who can live a life without a few setbacks and failures? They will know pain when they bang their heads until they bleed.
Once they understand the concept of pain, they will not be so stupid again.”

Mama Lu was a rarity among the vast majority, being such an open-minded person.
But this kind of thinking made her seem a bit coldhearted in Lu Yuan’s eyes.
Lu Yuan pursed her lips.
She thought about her childhood up to now and found that Mama Lu has never had control over Lu Qi’s life.
Perking up with interest, she asked, 

“Mom, honestly speaking, did brother really come out of your womb?”

Mama Lu paused after hearing this and felt as if she was suddenly transported to a strange place.
She asked back, 

“Are you and your brother twins?”

The exact meaning being, if Lu Qi was not her child, could Lu Yuan be hers too?

Lu Yuan’s words immediately got stuck in her throat and she knew that her own family would not be able to put a stop to this relationship.
She could only put her hope on one other person.

What she didn’t know was that after their last conversation, Huo Ming Cheng was travelling on an entirely rocky road.
He himself can’t stop Huo Ming Chen and he can’t really break the news to their grandfather and father who’s outside of the country right now. 

Not even thinking about their current health, to be quite honest, they only have a few years left to live given their age.
Why give them more things to worry themselves over? As long as they lived safely and in happiness, that was enough.

He also doesn’t dare to break them apart by force and that Lu Qi looks like he doesn’t hold his own idiotic brother in his heart.
What if he does forcefully separate them, threatening with his own life to break them apart and it just results in two deaths?

He could only hope that Huo Ming Chen would soon see and think with clarity again.
Once their relationship starts to fall apart, breaking up on their own was the best option.

And yet time passed by very quickly, like the blink of an eye.
A year passed, then two and then three.
Even when Lu Qi and Huo Ming Chen both graduated from ‘C’ university, his hope still did not get realized.

In that time, Feng Jie’s start up company, M&E, had officially barged into the market and they were successful in securing their own part of the territory.
In the midst of the youngsters that had joined, there were some that left, there were some that continued down the path.
They all received a different result based on their choices.

Lu Qi was now the vice president of M&E, and in the business world of this time, he was considered a very young and handsome fellow who was good at what he did, to the point where people called him President Lu everywhere he went.

He was on a completely different path from his past life……

With his own hands, he earned more than enough money to let his family have a better life and from his own efforts and hard work, successfully gained the position of an equal beside Huo Ming Chen.
Having the ability to stand side by side…… This was the life he had slowly, one step at a time, achieved.

It was hard climbing up, but it was not as hard as he imagined it to be.
Using his own blood and sweat to claw out his own life and territory, the heavens couldn’t take it away as easily now as it had in his past life.

It was another bright and sunny morning and Lu Qi was still sleeping away, when he was suddenly woken up by a long forgotten voice in his head.
He was dazed and out of it but then recalled something.
Slowly taking a look at the person who was still in Morpheus’ arms, he gently and lightly extracted his arms and left the bed to head for the balcony.

[ Ding! The galaxy’s most strongest self improvement system is happy to be at your service.
]

When Lu Qi committed any actions that made him a kept man, the system would automatically and instantly dole out punishment.
Since a very long time ago however, the system had never made another sound.
It had been so long that Lu Qi even forgot about its existence.

After so many years, this was the first time that the system had rang out with its voice, and Lu Qi narrowed his eyes, not knowing what commotion it was trying to make now.
He pursed his lips, waiting to hear the rest but then……

[ This service is about to conclude after seven years.
My dear host has successfully relied on his own efforts to carve out a path that is different from your previous life.
Judgment from our galactic jury has reached the levels of passable and we wish for you to continue to do your best, to continue to maintain this path ~ ]

Lu Qi finally reacted after hearing this message, 

“You mean…… you will be leaving?”

[ Yes my dear host ~ You must really hate me, the dear system, no~ Now you are released ~ ]

“No ……”

Hearing this Lu Qi’s eyes looked far away, and with his mind taking on a very different perspective, he shook his head, 

“I don’t hate you.”

[ Wuwuwu I’m so touched, I have tortured you so many times, my dear host, but to me you…… ]

“It’s hate.”

Lu Qi expressionlessly said.

[ …… (biting handkerchief) ]

If the system had a human form, it must be in a tearful state with a constipated look.
The corners of Lu Qi’s mouth tugged up and he suddenly and lightly chuckled, 

“I’m lying.”

“I am really thankful to you……”

“Not everyone who has done something wrong has a chance to fix their mistakes.
Thank you for letting me have a second chance, to catch those who I have missed and to give back to those who I have wronged……”

“Thank you……”

The system was silent for very long time before it said,

[ Not everyone has the clarity and good sense that you have come to gain.
Some people, even if they have a second do-over, still do not have a good life.
But you, you are very lucky.
]

Someone lying on the king size bed inside was shifting his body and that person furrowed his eyebrows, trying to hold onto something.
He seemed to be muttering something incomprehensible and then flipped over to get out of bed.
Rubbing his eyes, he looked over to the balcony just as the system rang its last few sounds inside Lu Qi’s head.

[ Ding! Activating System Withdrawal, please make your preparations my dear host.

Starting Program Check,

Program Check Complete.

Withdrawing,

20%

50%

100%

Withdrawal Success.
This mission has been completed to its conclusion.
We are thankful for our every encounter.
See you never again ~ ]

Lu Qi’s waist was grabbed by someone behind him and Huo Ming Chen’s sleep befuddled voice rang out as he put his head against his shoulder, 

“What are you doing standing out on the balcony so early in the morning? Aren’t you cold?”

Lu Qi chuckled but didn’t say anything.
He turned his head a little bit to kiss his face, but Huo Ming Chen was very displeased, pinching Lu Qi’s chin, 

“Why did you not kiss the lips?”

Lu Qi laughed out loud, 

“Puh hahahaha because you didn’t brush your teeth.”

“Fuck! You didn’t fucking brush your teeth either!”

For the both of them, this was a perfect capture of the rest of their lives.
Besides the floating clouds in the sky and their hair turning white with the passing of many moons, nothing would change.

Notes:
And we are done! For Volume 1 ✧｡٩(ˊᗜˋ)و✧*｡ Once again, Plum and I cannot thank everyone enough for reading, commenting and liking for almost 2 months! Thank you for coming along this journey with us from our fledging kindle to now a rolling snowball by itself… (๑◕︵◕๑)