Chapter 136: Bonus Chapter

And after Lu Li sensed the Eldest Brother’s gaze, he also opened his phone with a premonition, discovering that the single comment he had jokingly replied to had directly triggered a new round of heated discussion.

Only, Lu Li was not as exasperated as the black fans imagined; instead, he couldn’t help but smile, a muffled chuckle vibrating in his chest.

Gazing down at Xueyan in his arms, Lu Li said softly:

“Would Xueyan want to hit Brother’s face?”

This left Xueyan staring with wide eyes in confusion. Why hit Brother?

And Brother’s face was so good-looking; of course, it could not be hit.

Xueyan immediately shook his head and emphasized very seriously:

“No, nobody is allowed to hit Brother.”

Lu Li also laughed and agreed:

“Yes, it’s best not to hit Brother.”

“What if our Xueyan’s hand gets hurt from hitting too hard?”

Reaching out to rub Xueyan’s palm, Lu Li spoke softly.

This unprincipled appearance made even Lu Xun sigh, feeling that this fellow Old Third—who had been staying at home since his contract termination doing nothing but writing songs and accompanying Xueyan—seemed indeed a bit too idle.

He should get this fellow’s team and company organized as soon as possible and send him off to work.

“But shouldn’t Fourth Brother have picked me up from kindergarten today? Where did Fourth Brother go…”

Xueyan was still thinking about Fourth Brother, because originally the little friends in class had made an appointment to take another look at Fourth Brother after school, and several little friends even said they wanted to take a photo with Fourth Brother!

As a result, the one who came to pick him up today was Third Brother instead.

This left the group of little friends greatly disappointed; although Xueyan’s Third Brother was also very handsome and a big star, everyone’s male god was the white-haired one! It was the exact same hair color as the Heroic Warriors in the cartoons!

“What else could it be? He was summoned for a parent-teacher meeting, obviously. Didn’t you see that Dad didn’t come home today either.”

The Second Sister, Lu Jing, who had walked over, teased with a playful tone.

Parent-teacher meeting!?

These three words were, to the kindergarten-aged Xueyan, simply more terrifying than not turning in homework. How could Brother have been summoned for a parent-teacher meeting… Xueyan’s palm-sized face was instantly filled with worry.

Lu Xun and the others exchanged glances and each shared a laugh.

What else could the reason be?

What high schooler could dye their hair white and still come and go as they pleased in school?

And Shen Huimin was also experiencing a massive headache right now.

To be honest, she had never successfully invited Lu Huai’s parent before. Lu Huai’s father, Chairman Lu Ting, could be said to be busy with a myriad of affairs; it was impossible for him to personally come to school for such a small matter. Every time, various secretaries and assistants were sent instead.

It wasn’t until the last spring outing when he came personally and saw Lu Huai being beaten so miserably that Teacher Shen Huimin also had quite a psychological shadow, feeling that the Lu family’s education style possessed some simple and crude violent tendencies.

However, Lu Huai’s actions this time were truly too bizarre—he actually dyed his hair white! And to avoid the student council’s grooming inspection, he directly climbed over the wall to get in.

In the morning, as soon as Shen Huimin entered the classroom, she heard the whole class break into gasps and ghostly wails.

With his white hair styling, Lu Huai looked no different from a cold big star who had just debuted; even due to the innate sense of arrogance bred from his extremely privileged background, he was cool to the extreme!

Wei Zhili was so jealous his face twisted, wondering why this fellow had put all his stats into his face??

Terrified, Teacher Shen Huimin established the strictest class rule on the spot:

“Whoever dares to follow Lu Huai in dyeing their hair will not be allowed to enter this classroom door starting tomorrow—!”

This successfully extinguished the fire in a group of restless adolescent boys and girls.

Lu Huai, standing over 180cm tall, was also “lugged” to the office by Shen Huimin to write a self-reflection and call his parent.

“Not bad. Old Fourth’s hair is indeed outrageous. Look at this—does he still look like a student? Today when we get back, I will personally shave this brat’s head into a buzz cut!”

And Chairman Lu Ting, who had rarely come directly from the company to pick up his son from school, fully supported all of Teacher Shen Huimin’s decisions.

“Ah? A buzz cut? That… might not be necessary, Chairman Lu. Adolescent boys are still quite sensitive about their self-esteem…”

This tyrannical behavior from a feudal patriarch made Teacher Shen Huimin—who had started out playing the “bad cop”—unable to continue.

“Psh, my dad is just jealous.”

He’s up there in years and probably afraid of going bald if he dyes his hair too much; what else can be said.

Unexpectedly, Lu Huai stood to the side with his hands in his pockets and even let out a scoff, completely unbothered. Don’t think I can’t see through the old man’s plan!

“Young Master Lu Huai, please say a few words less!”

Uncle Zhang, who had followed along, wished he could directly reach out and cover Lu Huai’s mouth, fearing the Chairman would be so triggered he’d say shave the whole head off while you’re at it.

“Good, good, good… so your wings have grown strong now, haven’t they?”

Lu Ting laughed from extreme rage.

Lu Huai: ? Wait, Dad’s for real!?

“Hey, hey, hey—don’t force me to go back and tell on you to Xueyan—!”

Lu Huai’s shout actually managed to stop Lu Ting.

Then, he exploded with fury. This brat dares to use the sweet cub as a shield? If I don’t shave you today, I’ll stop going by the name Lu!

******

And so, when Xueyan—who had been holding a picture book and waiting for his brother to come home—finally saw his brother and dad return, he immediately ran over. But he found his brother wearing a baseball cap? And even trying to avoid him.

“Sweet cub, why aren’t you asleep yet? Go brush your teeth, wash up, and go to bed, do you hear me.”

Seeing the little fellow running out in his small pajamas, Lu Ting’s expression softened. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] But Xueyan was staring at his brother, and he suddenly blocked the small path where his brother was trying to slip away. He stood on his tiptoes and reached out his hand, signaling that he wanted to take off his brother’s hat to see, but Lu Huai was quick and tried to slip past from the side.

“Brother… is Brother ignoring Xueyan now?”

Seeing that he couldn’t catch up as his brother left him behind, Xueyan could only call out “Brother” in a small, aggrieved voice, which instantly made Lu Huai unable to move another step. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Dammit, how could I possibly ignore Xueyan!

“But Brother’s handsome hairstyle is gone. That damn school won’t let me keep the white hair—there’s truly no justice!”

Lu Huai resignedly took off his hat, showing Xueyan his hair that had been forced back to black; and the flashy hairstyle had been shaved into a much cleaner and sharper cut. Although the hot-blooded Alpha high schooler was still strikingly handsome thanks to his sharp, well-defined face, the vibe had shifted from a cold idol to a fierce soldier king.

To Lu Huai’s surprise, Xueyan did not feel disappointed; instead, after feeling his brother’s prickly hair tips, he gave Fourth Brother a big hug.

“Then when Brother becomes a college student, can we have white hair together again? Is that okay?”

Xueyan rubbed his cheek against Fourth Brother’s and negotiated softly.

Holding Xueyan in his arms, Lu Huai wished he could just snatch Xueyan and run away from home right then and there.

“Sweet cub, nobody thinks your hair is weird. Everyone likes your hair very much, you know?”

Only, Lu Ting pressed down on his rebellious son, Lu Huai, while crouching down to have a heart-to-heart with the little one.

It wasn’t that Old Fourth had permed a white hairstyle identical to Xueyan’s and was so loved by the cub for it; Lu Ting really wouldn’t have noticed that Xueyan cared so much about being the only one in the family with white hair.

The most important thing was, the little fellow actually thought milky-white hair didn’t look good!?

Lu Ting looked at his beautiful, sweet cub and felt that anyone who said it didn’t look good either had eye problems or an unstable mind.

“…Really?”

Xueyan asked in a small voice.

“Of course it’s true. When has Daddy ever lied to you, hmm? If you don’t believe me, wait until that magazine comes out soon, and Daddy will read everyone’s comments to you, okay?”

“If everyone says it looks good, then it definitely looks good, right?”

Lu Ting even thought of the cover set Simmons had shot for Old Third.

Of course, in Dad Lu Ting’s eyes, the existence of black fans was never considered.

His philosophy was: if you like the sweet cub, press 1; if you don’t like the sweet cub, he’d just send someone through the internet cables to pluck your eyeballs out.

Xueyan tilted his head and thought for a moment, ultimately saying nothing.

However, Teacher System 444 had said that Third Brother’s magazine cover this time was crucial, and supposedly it would affect the progress of the villain’s career line.

“Then if I shoot it with Brother, will it affect Brother’s progress?”

【Of course not, baby! Shooting it with your Third Brother will absolutely only add N-number of BUFFS to Lu Li’s career line speed!】

System 444 said with absolute certainty.

In fact, that night, many people didn’t sleep well. Some were excited and expectant, while others were worried and anxious.

Even Fu Yao and the others, who claimed not to care, stayed up almost all night waiting for the formal release of 《ELLW》.

So, what if he got the main issue cover?

If he takes a bunch of ugly photos, he’ll still be mocked by the public. In this circle, being forced into a spot you don’t deserve is a known recipe for disaster.

“But, I feel like with Lu Li’s face, it might be quite hard to take a photo that looks bad.”

Bai Ya whispered a sentence, which immediately earned him a glare from Xia Jue.

“Maybe Lu Li isn’t on a solo cover this time either.”

After pondering for a night, Fu Yao suddenly imagined a possibility based on Lu Li’s various statements.

Could it be that because it wasn’t a solo cover, and Lu Li was just a “side dish” for that young, mysterious “favored son of heaven,” that he was able to get on the cover so smoothly?

“Oh, that’s actually possible!”

Xia Jue got excited at the suggestion.

Otherwise, if it really were a solo main issue cover, if he were Lu Li, he would have wanted to post hundreds of Weibo updates to show off. Why would he post something so ambiguous that almost sounded like he was playing second fiddle to the other person!?

Amidst universal attention, the official website and all online and offline channels of 《ELLW》 finally updated the promotional pages and sales links for the latest issue at the top of the hour the next day.

“Wait, why are there two!?”

Fu Yao, like everyone else, instantly discovered that the official account had updated two covers at once—one black and one white!

Could it be a rare double-yolk cover?

【Holy crap, holy crap! It’s not a double-yolk! Both covers feature our Lu Li—wait, and Little Pear!? Are we seeing this right??】

After countless fans flooded the webpage, they were immediately dazed by this massive, heavenly surprise.

【My god, just the two covers alone have stunned me to the point of being speechless! This face is a pure miracle! And two came out at once! (Terrified face-clutching)】

Xueyan’s features and Third Brother’s were indeed the most similar in the family; the shock brought by appearing on the same cover naturally doubled.

On the cover with black rose elements, Lu Li was dressed in a crow-colored haute couture cape suit, sitting high upon a conceptual throne of sharp lines with his legs apart.

Under the cold-toned light and shadow, the Alpha’s deep, handsome face—supporting his chin with one hand—was exceptionally layered. The resolution was so clear that it seemed one could count exactly how many eyelashes he had.

However, this Lu Li, a black pope with such an intimidating aura, was looking down at the cub sitting on his lap. It looked as if in the next second, he would use his other hand to gently tuck back the white hair by the little one’s ear.

The most unexpected thing was Xueyan’s expressiveness.

At the time, Simmons had gesticulated wildly while telling Xueyan that he was now a black, evil rose filled with poisonous thorns; if anyone poked him, they would die instantly, the kind where calling a hundred “Am-bu-lances” (ambulance) wouldn’t save them.

Hearing that, Xueyan’s little face had immediately tensed up.

At this moment, sitting on his brother’s lap, he cast a slight glance backward. Half of his snowy side-profile was just covered by Lu Li’s large, well-defined hand, yet the emotions in the exposed eyes were deeply memorable.

It was as if they held a trace of compassionate melancholy, yet also a trace of extremely innocent confusion.

Because Xueyan really couldn’t imagine how scary or pitiable a disease would be if a hundred “Am-bu-lances” couldn’t save it.

【Heavens, I’m sorry. As a Pear fan, I really want to reach through the computer screen and pry Lu Li’s hand away. Our Little Pear’s big, bright cat-eyes are already this beautiful—let us see what happened to that little face!? I just want to see!】

However, this shot—captured at the absolute peak of perfection by Simmons—became a point that made countless fans’ hearts itch with an unforgettable intensity.

A second earlier, and Lu Li wouldn’t have raised his hand, leaving Xueyan’s face fully exposed.

A second later, and Lu Li would have fully left the shooting state to pull Xueyan into his arms and tidy his hair; then his face wouldn’t be visible at all, and at least it wouldn’t be this painful.

How could this damn photographer be so good at timing!?

#Will there be more photos inside? Is there anything we, the honored VVV-VIP consumers who pay money, are not allowed to see!?#

This kind of bizarre expectation naturally surfaced in the hearts of all netizens.

The impulse to click “Buy” left people hanging completely in mid-air.

They didn’t even have time to appreciate the second white rose cover before deciding to buy at least three or four copies in one go!

One to read, one to collect, and one to give to a friend!

【Huh, why can’t I click it anymore!?】

However, when countless people finished looking at the first cover and chose to click “Buy” directly, they found the button had already turned grey?

No matter how they clicked, it wouldn’t budge??

This is a major official website, is the infrastructure really this bad!?

A few seconds later, the webpage finally refreshed, only to display “Sold Out” across the board.

【???】

【Huh???】

【Wait, I just clicked in!?】

【This bug is too low-level, isn’t it?】

Now, everyone exploded.

And the consequence of the internet exploding was that the 《ELLW》 editorial department’s contact hotlines and emails also exploded.

Countless enthusiastic and urgent fans called in to provide feedback:

“Hello, is this 《ELLW》!? Your website has a bug and you forgot to put Lu Li’s stock up! We fans want to buy but not a single one of us could—get that stock up now! We’re trying to give you money and you’re making us keep it in our pockets!?”

The customer service agents, who were breaking into cold sweats, could only say:

“We are sorry, honored lady/gentleman. It’s not that we didn’t put up stock; it’s that the first batch of online stock has already been completely sold out!”

The countless “Pear” fans who didn’t get a copy: ?

Is this reasonable? Sold out in one second!

“If you really wish to purchase a copy from this batch, perhaps some offline distribution points might still have physical stock available… beep… beep…”

Once that response from customer service came out, the other end of the line was usually hung up immediately.

Because countless people had already jumped out of bed at the first opportunity and were sprinting toward offline newsstands or large bookstores.

When a fan in their pajamas sprinted to the newsstand downstairs, only to watch with their own eyes as the last few copies were snatched up by the person ahead of them, they finally couldn’t help but let out a heart-wrenching wail:

【No, who could have thought this thing would really be a face-slap? Only it wasn’t Lu Li’s face that got slapped, but mine! The face of someone who was so confident and thought I could definitely buy the magazine!】

【So, can any kind soul sell me a physical copy of the magazine? I’ll pay a high price! [Crying like a fountain]】