Global Film Emperor

Chapter 553 Lu Nan and her lover

"Hey..."

He vomited again, but this time there was nothing left to vomit. After a few sips of water and stomach acid cleared his stomach, he experienced a long period of dry heaving, accompanied by tinnitus and blurred vision. After a while, he rinsed his face and mouth with water. Lu Ze walked out of the bathroom as if nothing had happened. He felt his parents' concerned gazes, but he didn't reply or offer any comfort. Instead, he sat back on the sofa with his legs crossed, lit a cigarette, and switched the news his parents liked to watch to the sports channel.

"Have some tea, it'll help you get rid of the grease."

Li Yumei brought over a large enamel mug. The freshly brewed tea leaves hadn't yet unfurled, tumbling freely in the water, steaming and carrying a fragrant aroma. Lu Ze took it, looked at it, and then put it back on the coffee table, replying.

"Tea is still irritating to the stomach. Just pour me a cup of hot water, Dad. You can drink the tea."

In rural northern China, elderly people rarely use tea tables or tea trays to drink tea. Lu Ze didn't buy any for his family either; otherwise, they would probably just be gathering dust. When there are many guests, they use a small teapot to brew tea. When they drink tea themselves, they use a tea mug or a thermos, and spitting out tea leaves from time to time is the norm.

Although the first brew is strong, the second is weak, and the third and fourth brews are scalding hot, and the flavor is not as varied as that of Gongfu tea, drinking such expensive tea is a bit of a waste. However, for someone like Lu Ze who is not short of money and does not have high requirements, it is not a waste to be able to drink a flavorful tea.

Today, the Spurs were playing the Suns. It was only halfway through the second quarter, and the score difference was quite large, so the atmosphere hadn't really heated up. Lu Ze and Lu Weiguo were both watching TV quietly, making the room rather quiet. Li Yumei didn't say much, turned around and went to the kitchen. Soon after, she brought back a cup of hot water and placed it in front of Lu Ze. She then sat down next to Lu Ze, keeping the father and son company as they watched the game, which she couldn't understand at all.

Unable to understand, she naturally had no interest. Soon after, she focused her attention on her son, gently touching the back of Lu Ze's hand. Then, she lifted Lu Ze's hand and placed her own right hand next to it for comparison. Finally, she pulled Lu Ze's hand onto her lap, gently pulling and smoothing the slightly loose skin on the back of Lu Ze's hand with her two thumbs, remaining silent for a long time.

Lu Ze returned home in the morning, arriving around 8 a.m. He looked pale and was thinner than Li Yumei had ever seen him before. Naturally, it took a long explanation to calm his parents' worries.

His parents didn't comment much on this, only telling him to take care of his health and not to ruin it by dieting. Of course... that was obvious, since he was losing weight so quickly and in such large quantities that even a body made of iron would have problems. But Lu Ze could only nod and promise, so as not to make his parents overly concerned.

So the topic of weight loss ended there, and there were no classic scenes of parents admonishing or stopping their son from continuing. After all, Lu Ze wasn't new to this job, and discussing the choice between health and work was a bit unrealistic. Those arguments about the body, health, and dreams were no longer possible as he got older. Apart from a few words of advice, there was no need to say anything more.

The halftime whistle blew. After checking the time and drinking a swig of warm water, Lu Ze got up and took out the pig's trotters and flintlock gun he had bought at the morning market from the kitchen and went outside.

"If you're feeling unwell, just lie down and let your dad do the work."

"No need, moving around will make me feel better, Dad, don't get up."

He quickly waved for his father to sit down, put on his slippers, and a chubby old cat quietly followed. It sat on a stool in the yard, not in a hurry to do any work. The sun was shining brightly, and the warm breeze felt so comforting. He stretched and picked up the fat cat next to him to look at it. Even when Lu Ze suddenly reached out his big hand, it didn't flinch, letting Lu Ze pick at the sleep in the corner of its eye with his little fingernail.

When it was a puppy, it was very affectionate and would snuggle into Lu Ze's arms. But whenever Lu Ze reached out to pet it, it would stare warily and flinch slightly. As it grew older, it became less affectionate and rarely allowed anyone to touch it. Now that it's almost ten years old, it prefers to lie in people's arms like a lump of mud, letting them handle it without resisting. Perhaps on countless afternoons, it lies like this in Li Yumei's arms, basking in the sun, enjoying the comfort of having its fur groomed, and then falling fast asleep.

"You're really heavy, get down now."

He picked it up and put it on the ground. It barked a couple of times in dissatisfaction but didn't leave. It curled up on its front paws and crawled next to Lu Ze, watching the flamethrower roast the pig's trotters until they were charred black.

After roasting, put it in water and wait a while. Then, use a dagger to scrape off the black skin, revealing the yellowish flesh underneath. Just then, the sound of a car came from the doorway. Lu Ze turned his head and saw a car parked at the door. A person quickly jumped out of the passenger seat and smiled with narrowed eyes as he looked at Lu Ze, who was tidying up the ingredients.

"elder brother!"

"Hey."

He responded but did not get up. Lu Nan pushed the gate open completely. Before he could even direct the car to park in the yard, he ran over quickly, put his hands on Lu Ze's shoulders, bent down and stared intently at the basin of water.

"Did you prepare these pig's trotters especially for me? That's so thoughtful!"

"I bought four, they have to finish them." "If they can't finish them, I'll let them eat them as snacks while I'm watching TV."

Lu Nan often video chats with Lu Ze, so she wasn't surprised by Lu Ze's current thinness and deliberately avoided mentioning the topic. She just smiled and massaged Lu Ze's shoulders.

"Alright, alright, stop piling up in front of me like cow dung, go to the side."

Lu Nan wasn't angry. She smiled and hugged the cripple, pressing her face against his, and kept saying things like "smells good" and "smells bad" like she was coaxing a child. When Lu Ze saw the car stop, he put down what he was doing and got up to wash his hands. The man who was driving got out of the car, walked quickly forward, and with a somewhat ingratiating smile, bowed slightly to Lu Ze and extended his hand.

"elder brother."

The two shook hands. The other person's hand was slightly more delicate and fairer than Lu Ze's. Lu Ze showed no hostility. The classic scene of a firm handshake, often described in novels, did not play out. He gave it a light handshake and then let go. Lu Nan, who was holding a cat, interjected to introduce them.

“Brother, Zhang Zhicheng, you can call him Xiao Zhang or Xiao Cheng, that’s what his bosses call him anyway.”

Now that the person had come home, Lu Ze couldn't possibly be completely unaware of anything. On the contrary, he knew a great deal about the person, not just relying on Lu Nan's side of the story, but also inquiring about what kind of person he was through his connections.

Zhang Zhicheng, a doctor at a top-tier hospital, is four years older than Lu Nan. He is thirty-four years old this year and is an only child. His father is a senior employee and his mother is a high school teacher. He is a city kid raised in a very wealthy family. According to Lu Nan, he has a very good personality and is confident and talkative. This was also the impression Lu Ze had of him when they met.

He had a buzz cut and a round face. He was about 1.8 meters tall, a little shorter than Lu Ze. He had big eyes, a big mouth, and big ears. He had a kind, smiling face and didn't seem like a bad-tempered person. He wasn't fat, but he was a bit chubby. I could tell from our handshake earlier that he was plump. His hairline wasn't high either. He wasn't balding like people say, even if you study medicine. He definitely couldn't compare to Lu Ze in looks, but he wasn't ugly in a crowd. He was above average in appearance.

"Hmm, how long did it take to drive here from home?"

"About three hours."

He was clearly nervous. He answered questions one by one, seemingly hesitant to initiate conversation with Lu Ze, and could only laugh awkwardly.

Hearing the car, Li Yumei came out and greeted him with a smile, "Zhicheng, come in quickly."

"Hey, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, Auntie."

Having said that, she took two steps toward the door, then looked at the work Lu Ze hadn't finished and quickly said, "Brother, let me do it..."

"Aren't you going to take your things inside yet? Aren't you going to tell my dad?"

After Lu Nan finished her introduction, she remained silent, squinting and chuckling to herself. When she saw Zhang Zhi trying to take over the work, she interjected, leaving Zhang Zhi completely bewildered. He didn't know where to go next, and sweat began to bead on his forehead. Lu Ze had no choice but to respond.

"Let's go inside, I'm almost done here."

"No, I'll do it, my car keys... Did I forget to lock the car? Wait a minute, I'll be right out."

Seeing him sprint towards the car, shouting for Lu Ze to rest as he ran, the siblings exchanged a glance. Seeing Lu Nan still secretly smiling, they said helplessly, "Aren't you going to lend a hand?"

"Oh."

"..."

(End of this chapter)