Pandora’s Box

When I heard the doorbell rang, I knew that tonight’s show was on.

I took a stride ahead of everyone else, “I’ll open the door, I’ll open the door!”

As soon as the door opened, it was indeed Ke Luo who came, but not the alluring older sister I expected. I was about to inquire out of disappointment, but caught a glimpse of a man standing beside him.

My mouth rapidly expanded and was fixed in a state that could swallow him alive.

Who did I see?

Who did I just see?

I rubbed my eyes.

The man standing in front of him looked very handsome. His face was very presentable, his figure was well maintained, his hairstyle was well groomed, and his clothes were impeccable. What a deceitful scum.

I let out an exasperated shout, “Ah!!!”

The corners of the other party’s eyes, which were so smooth and did not have a single wrinkle at this age, twitched.

“Lee! Why are you here!? Ah!!!!!”

Wasn’t this my old friend whom I lost contact with for more than half a year? No, old friend, Uncle Lee?

When he stopped contacting me, I comforted myself that people would get distant sooner or later. It was no big deal, I’ve matured, cooled down, and it didn’t matter anymore.

However, the moment I unexpectedly saw him again, I could not predict the rushing flood of emotions.

Was this what it felt like to meet an old friend in a foreign land?

My eyes were a little blurry.

He also stretched out his hands towards me in a panic, “Xiao Jing…”

I pounced on him, hugged him, and choked up while saying, “You’ve lost weight!”

Lee staggered a step back because of my momentum. Obviously, his foot wasn’t as stable as before. After a few months of separation, my physical strength was causing him exhaustion!

I wailed, “I’m getting old too!”

“…..”

Ke Luo next to him voiced out in a surprised tone, “You two know each other?”

I clung tightly to Lee like a koala, and excitedly said, “We don’t only know each other!”

“Oh?”

“We……”

I trailed off.

I suddenly realized that something was off.

Lee’s unprepared reaction obviously indicated that he was not here to see me on purpose, so…

Ke Luo smiled and asked, “What were you?”

Lee said in a relaxed manner, “We have known each other for many years, and we are now old friends.”

Ke Luo looked at me, then at him, and said, “Oh.”

“…..”

I slowly slid off of Lee.

So, he was the one that Ke Luo brought back for dinner? Little Red?!

Several lightening bolts flashed through my mind immediately. The thunder rumbled, shaking my ears and causing my face paralysis.

The two elders came out with bowls and chopsticks. Cheng Yichen greeted us enthusiastically while setting up bowls and utensils. “Why are you still standing there? Come quickly and have dinner.”

The image of a mature, hot, gorgeous, and seductive red rose overlapped with Lee’s instantly shattered my mind, roaring in my head as if water had been poured into it.

Everyone sat down to eat. Cheng Yichen noticed that my face was void of expressions and added food into my bowl for me. He asked, “Don’t you want to eat, Xiao Jing? Don’t you like this?”

I was overwhelmed by the turbulent waves in my heart, and was numbed by the thunderbolts. I had no time to pay attention to the fat abalone.

Ke Luo kept glancing at me and suddenly said, “Lee is the friend I mentioned to you from before. I didn’t expect that you two already know each other.”

Lee also looked at me reactively, “Has Ke Luo talked to you about me?”

Then he asked me, intrigued, “What about me did you two talk about?”

My scalp immediately went numb again, followed by a bout of numbness making its way down my back. My whole body tingled so I forced myself to calm down and smile, “I said you’re fine. Hehe.”

Lee’s eyebrows raised up, “Oh, really?”

I maintained a steady smile while secretly panicking, “Of course!”

The warnings given to Ke Luo to stay away from Little Red repeatedly replayed itself in my head like an endless loop. The more I remembered it, the more I couldn’t maintain a smile. The more I thought about it, the more awkward it became.

Was there any help?

Could I still be saved?

After calming down, I looked left and right. My eyes were blazing and my brain was running rapidly, analyzing the current situation.

Because of the familiarity between Lee and me, Ke Luo looked at me with unfriendliness and distrust in his eyes. This brotherly friendship was probably going to be screwed.

If Lee knew the famous metaphors and analogies I was using to convey to Ke Luo, I guessed he was going to combust.

I could only plan to joke around with Ke Luo first, repair the relationship, and try my best to get through this situation.

Then, I was going to find the opportunity to chat with Lee and gather some inside information for Ke Luo.

Finally, after dinner, the two pairs of father and son played cards due to my insistence. I took the opportunity to quickly drag Lee into the bedroom to shut the door so that we could privately talk.

After a quick recap, I got straight to the point, “Are you going out with Ke Luo?”

Lee didn’t even think about it and without hesitation, he said, “That’s not the case.”

Damn, I felt sorry for our Ke Luo.

I managed to still insult him, “So could it be that you’re in an unrequited love? Hahaha.”

Lee sneered, “Nonsense.”

I was anxious for Ke Luo. “Even if you used to prefer rebellious teenagers, Ke Luo is such a fine young man. Isn’t that good? What do you want, what else is there not to like?”

He smiled halfheartedly.

“Is it possible that you don’t see that you like him, or that you can’t catch up?” I continued and pretended to be serious, “I have a good relationship with Ke Luo. If you need, I can put in a few good words for you.”

Lee expressed indifference, “Go away.”

I could only make a ruthless move, “Fine, Ke Luo is so handsome. It’s normal to be attracted by him. If he’s not your type, then I’ll consider making my move!”

Lee finally said, “Wait a minute!”

See, the aggressive approach was still useful.

“Well, I admit,” Lee said solemnly, “I like Ke Luo’s body.”

“…..”

Lee shrugged, “Just don’t tell Lu Feng.”

My heart sank for Ke Luo.

However, I managed a smile and said, “It would have been nice to admit it earlier. Liking his body is also a type of infatuation.”

“That’s not true, and that brings no results,” Lee disagreed disapprovingly, “There’s nothing to admit to when it comes to something this disgraceful.”

You were also aware that it was disgraceful to only care about someone’s body.

I didn’t know what else to say in that moment. Lee’s flirtatiousness and philandering, fickleness and heartlessness, I couldn’t understand it more than when I was younger.

If it were someone else, I would have fast forwarded to “break up, next question” for Ke Luo.

But because it was Lee, I felt differently. It seemed I couldn’t talk with complete objectiveness and fairness at all.

He had the type of trait that made people not want to let go, even if it was not good.

In other words, beneath his badness, there was also his unique goodness. The two bad and good traits were mixed together, causing people to love and hate, making it hard to tell right from wrong.

Similarly, he treated me so well in the early years, I still couldn’t hate him after all. He was treating Ke Luo like this now, but I hadn’t been able to show my face and scold him clearly.

I continued to talk and laugh with Lee, but I let out a long sigh internally.

What should I do? The palms and backs of my hands were both full of flesh. (Signifies that both were of equal value — my hands were tied)