Love Has Fireworks - Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Li Yixin and Lu Yao

The Little Bun, Li Yixin

My name is Li Yixin, and I’m almost ready for elementary school. I have a twin brother named Li Yiyi. Dad says our names combined mean "wholehearted devotion." But I have a question: if you follow the order of the phrase "wholehearted devotion," shouldn't my brother be called Yixin and me Yiyi?

I brought this question to Mom, and she said, "My little treasure, you’re a girl; Yixin sounds prettier than Yiyi! So we just flipped the order with your brother! Also, my little darling, you’re just a kid, you should just be happy and carefree. Don't worry so much about these little details!"

...Actually, I’ve had a feeling for a long time that sometimes Mom is a bit silly. Later, I heard Dad and Uncle Juncheng chatting, and from their conversation, I was certain that this specific kind of silliness is called "being a dork."

★★★★★

Let me systematically and thoroughly introduce my family again.

My family has a handsome Dad, a beautiful Mom, a strict Grandpa, a fun Grandpa (maternal), a gentle Grandma (maternal), and a stupid brother.

Why do I say my brother is stupid? Because he always loses at card games to me; he has never won once. Mom, perhaps for the sake of his pride, tells me: "Your brother is letting you win!"

Heh, I don't believe it for a second.

Also, when Mom and Dad fight, he won't let me watch and always pulls me away, which makes it so I can't even offer any help. What a dummy.

Once, when Mom and Dad were fighting again, I took advantage of my stupid brother’s distraction and snuck downstairs. I hid outside their bedroom and peeked in; while they were shouting, Dad suddenly lunged at Mom to bite her.

I was terrified! I wanted to rush in and help Mom, but my stupid brother actually realized I had snuck off, chased after me, and dragged me away by force.

That dummy, Dad was going to eat Mom!

I worried about it all afternoon. Luckily, when we were having dinner, I saw Mom was perfectly fine and laughing happily—no, she was laughing even more happily than before. Only then did I relax.

Mom is so strange; she was bitten by Dad and yet she’s still so happy.

Sigh, in this problem-filled family, I truly worry about every single person.

★★★★★

The adults all say my stupid brother has a high IQ. What is an IQ, anyway? I wonder if it’s edible.

The adults also say I might have ADHD. What is ADHD, anyway? It sounds like it means I’m very lively.

Dad says my ADHD must come from Mom, and my brother’s high IQ is definitely inherited from him.

After Dad said that, Mom widened her eyes and told him, "Inherited from your sister!"

I copied Mom, widened my eyes, turned my head to my stupid brother, and said, "Inherited from your sister!"

Brother looked at me and said, "...You are my sister."

...This whole "your sister" thing—why does it feel so annoying, like I didn't actually gain any advantage at all?

Mom told Dad that they should set up a savings account for both my brother and me, so that all the money we earn in the future can be saved, half for each of us.

Brother then said to Mom, "I don't want to. Just save my share for my sister too. When I grow up, I’ll earn my own money."

Oh, my stupid brother, if he doesn't even keep some capital, how is he going to earn anything?

No way, I have to secretly keep half for him.

★★★★★

My Grandpa (paternal) looks like a very serious person, quite intimidating. But actually, he really dotes on my brother and me. Grandpa (maternal) is different; he is always smiling and likes to tell jokes.

Grandpa and Grandpa (maternal) often get together to play mahjong. It’s hilarious when they play; Grandpa is always fuming and glaring, while Grandpa (maternal) is always grinning and provoking him. As Mom puts it, they are like fire and water, but they just love to stick together. In Dad’s words, they are just two cantankerous old men.

I see that Dad also loves to stick to Mom, so I call Dad "cantankerous Dad." As a result, Dad spanked me. I ran to report it to Mom, and Mom was great—she said she’d help me spank Dad.

But I feel like Mom deceived me. Because I lay outside the door listening, and I didn't hear the sound of Dad being spanked; instead, Mom was making strange noises. I thought maybe Mom wasn't winning against Dad, so I wanted to rush in to help her, but my stupid brother somehow found me again and dragged me away!

Brother is seriously so annoying!!!

My whole family is so weird; not one of them is normal!

Forget it, I’m going to Aunt Jingjing’s house to find that blockhead Lu Yao!

High Schooler, Li Yixin

Speaking of Lu Yao, he is Aunt Jingjing’s son. Mom says he is very handsome, on par with my brother. I don't see what's so handsome about him—he has an ice-cube face, like he’s had too much Botox; it's so stiff you can barely see any expression other than blinking.

When we were little, he loved to cling to me, but after growing up, he suddenly became stuck-up. He hangs around with an expressionless face all day, trying to look cool, acting like he doesn't even know me. It’s annoying to die.

I don’t know what went wrong with the wheels of fate, but I always end up in the same school as him, even the same class in high school, and in senior year, we’re even desk-mates.

Ever since graduating elementary school, in my eyes, Lu Yao has slowly developed into a pervert.

He drags his face around all day. If he can say something in one word, he’ll never use two, and he’s even too lazy to express emotions through punctuation. It’s pervertedly laconic.

His grades are great; he’s always the top student in the class and even the whole grade. He gets first place every time—if that’s not a pervert, what is?

After we were reassigned seats in senior year, I became desk-mates with this cold-faced little pervert.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the two years of high school that have already passed, the total number of words I’ve spoken to this pervert doesn’t exceed ten. And those ten sentences were basically: (Lu Yao, can I borrow your homework to copy?) × 10

Usually, these were lonely questions, because Lu Yao never answered me once. After the first time, he wouldn't even lift his head, directly ignoring me.

I am a person with ambition. After trying ten times, I stopped asking him for homework. It’s no big deal; I’ll just copy from other classmates. Since other classmates have a higher error rate, it actually makes the work look more authentic.

Thinking this way, I didn't hold a grudge against him anymore. Except for occasionally calling him a pervert in private.

My junior high classmate and best friend, Yang Didi, is in the class next door. Once during break, she asked me, "That top student in your class is really handsome. Does he have a girlfriend?"

I said, "He’s such a pervert, who knows if he likes men or women."

Yang Didi said, "Is he a pervert? How is he a pervert?"

I said, "He won't lend me his homework to copy."

Yang Didi said, "That’s not called being a pervert; that’s called being upright."

I said, "Yang Didi, do you still want my help dealing with your stepmother in the future?"

Yang Didi said without hesitation, "Lu Yao in your class is truly a pervert!"

I nodded through gritted teeth. "Come on, repeat after me: Someone who won't even lend homework is no classmate; he’s simply insane! Perversion knows no bounds!"

Yang Didi repeated it after me.

Just as I was satisfyingly patting her shoulder, I felt a chill on the back of my neck. I couldn't help but look back, and I was so shocked I shivered.

Lu Yao, I don’t know what got into him, was standing right behind the two of us.

The look he gave me was like a frozen tundra; I almost caught a cold.

I thought he was going to grill me on why I was talking about him behind his back. I had even prepared a rebuttal.

If he asked: Why were you bad-mouthing me behind my back?

I’d reply: You were the one standing behind me; I was standing in front of you.

If he asked: Then why were you bad-mouthing me while standing in front of me?

I’d reply: If you have an opinion on that, I can stand behind you next time.

I was having a great time rehearsing this in my mind and imagining I had already made him so angry he was spitting blood. But this guy just gave me a cold, detached look, walked past Yang Didi and me, and with an air of indifference and contempt, walked away with his head held high.

I asked Yang Didi if there is such a thing as "the rage of being ignored."

But Yang Didi just drooled and said to me, "Oh my god, this is the first time I've seen the pervert from your class this close. He is so handsome!"

I’ve decided I’m not helping her deal with her stepmother anymore.

★★★★★

Actually, a pervert isn't scary; what's scary is a pervert who doesn't talk.

During our time as desk-mates, this guy Lu Yao always had a cold face toward me, as if he had no emotions or desires, and I never saw a smile on him. Once, I fell asleep on the desk during class; he didn't wake me up, and I was caught red-handed by the teacher.

After being dragged to the office and scolded heavily by the teacher, I returned to the classroom with spit flying, and asked him resentfully, "Young Master Lu, if you run into a situation like that again, if you don’t want to talk to me, could you just kick me? Even if you think of it as taking revenge for yourself, a little force would be fine!"

The pervert just gave me a light glance and said the eleventh sentence of our high school life: "So there was someone sitting next to me."

It took me a long time to figure out what he meant.

He basically acted like I didn't exist until now, didn't he...

I really want to go complain to his mother!!! Aunt Jingjing, do you know your son is such a pervert?!

I rose to my feet, furious, and slammed the desk: "You damn pervert, from today on, watch how Li Yixin messes with you!"

Lu Yao

Little four-year-old Lu Yao returned home from kindergarten, pulled on Yao Jingjing, and asked in his childish voice, "Mommy, Mommy, when can I inherit Daddy’s property?"

Yao Jingjing wanted to say, "Not until your dad dies," but she thought talking about life and death with a four-year-old was a bit cruel, so she said, "That depends on your dad. But son, why are you asking this?"

Little Lu Yao had an innocent, passionate, and upward-looking expression. "Li Yiyi said that if I want to marry Li Yixin as my wife, I have to provide a dowry to their family!" He tugged on Yao Jingjing’s arm and shook it, "Mommy, Mommy, make Daddy give me money to marry a wife! I want to keep Li Yixin at our house and have her play with me every day!"

Yao Jingjing looked at her son’s adorable, rosy face, which was full of the expression "Hurry up and give me money, I want to go exchange it for a wife," and felt like she wanted to tear up.

My son, that you are so small and can already make your mom feel like she gave birth to a money-losing asset... you are truly amazing T_T. Lu Ze, you idiot, how could someone as stupid as you give birth to little monsters like Li Yiyi and Li Yixin, who are full of schemes?! They are going to ruin my son!!!

★★★★★

After Lu Yao started middle school, one day, Lu Ze gave him a very profound moral education.

From that day on, Comrade Little Lu Yao became very cool, especially toward the little girl from the Li family.

Because his dad told him how to win over Li Yixin.

For this girl, if you are nice to her, she’s prone to ignoring you; only by being cold to her can you stir up her fighting spirit.

In the days that followed, he put "acting cool" on his daily agenda. After entering high school, he and Li Yixin ended up in the same class. In senior year, he had his mom, Yao Jingjing, have a little chat with the teacher, and Li Yixin became his desk-mate.

Li Yixin, this girl, is just too slow-witted and too hateful; she actually told her best friend that he is a pervert.

But that’s okay; at least he is finally in her line of sight.

How can he make her completely wake up and have a moment of romantic awakening toward him?

He thought of a way.

After she slammed the table and shouted, "You damn pervert, from today on, watch how Li Yixin messes with you!" he put on a cold expression, squinted his eyes, and said to her, "Li Yixin, you’re so agitated; do you like me?" He saw the shock and bewilderment on her face.

He continued, "Li Yixin, dare to make a bet? No matter what method you use to get me to notice you, I will never like you."

He was expressionless on the outside, but extremely nervous on the inside.

He saw her face turn bright red. After holding it in for a long while, she finally slammed the table hard again. "Bet! Lu Yao, if I don't make you kneel down and say you like me first, then I’m just a kid my parents picked up!"

★★★★★

In that instant, although he was as cold as jade, his heart was blooming with flowers.

Even though he said: "Li Yixin, dare to make a bet? No matter what method you use to get me to notice you, I will never like you."

But what he was actually thinking was: Li Yixin, hurry and use every method you have to fall in love with me!