I Can Do It

Chapter 117

The auntie was on break today. Ding-ge was worried that these champions would be hungover, headache-stricken, and have nothing to eat, so he grumbled and cursed as he ordered takeout from their favorite restaurant and took it back to the base.

He smelled cigarette smoke the moment he entered the base. As a result, he followed the scent all the way over to the balcony and faintly caught sight of half of Lu Boyuan's body.

Ding-ge didn't even bother putting down the food. In a practiced motion, he pulled up his QR code for payments and rushed over. "You're flying high now that you just won the championship, huh? You aren't even closing the balcony door anymore to try and hide the fact that you're smoking, isn't that a bit disrespectful to me..."

When Ding-ge got closer and saw the woman standing beside Lu Boyuan, he swallowed everything else he was about to say back down into his stomach.

He had always thought of Mama Lu as someone elegant and distinguished, but she was currently leaning against the wall with a cigarette dangling from her lips. Her beautiful eyes were narrowed as she gazed off into the distance, and a few seconds passed before she slowly turned her head. "Is smoking not permitted here? My apologies, he didn't tell me either."

Sensing the serious atmosphere, Ding-ge went quiet for a few seconds. Then he put his phone back into his pocket and gripped the door handle considerately. "Of course it's okay. Please, smoke as much as you'd like, I have some more if you need it. I'll close the door so it's more convenient for you two to chat."

Both doors were tightly shut, and the balcony fell silent again.

Actually, before Ding-ge arrived, this mother and son duo already weren't talking all that much.

Earlier in the living room, Mama Lu had calmly asked him what he meant by his previous statement.

To which Lu Boyuan had replied, My partner is male.

Mama Lu met his eyes for a long time before she asked if he had any cigarettes. Lu Boyuan went upstairs and got a pack, after which they came out onto the balcony.

For a brief second, both of them felt like they had traveled a few years back in time to the day Lu Boyuan said that he wanted to get into esports instead of going to school. Back then, Mama Lu didn't even know what the concept of "esports" was, so she had searched it up on her phone. The first result that came up was a web forum containing a netizen's opinion—"Only lazy video game nerds who don't like studying would choose to make gaming their career, and they call it esports to make it seem more professional."

Upon seeing that, Mama Lu had instantly smoked two packs of cigarettes in a row.

Lu Boyuan sent a text to Jian Rong, asking if he had applied the ointment yet.

R-ong responded very irritably with two smiling emojis.

Lu Boyuan laughed and locked his phone. He noticed that the person next to him was about to light her third stick, and he said, "Enough, you're going to get addicted again."

In her youth, Mama Lu had a tobacco addiction that she couldn't completely get rid of despite many years of Papa Lu's earnest persuasion while they were dating in college. It lasted until she got pregnant with Lu Boyuan.

She used to be a little troublemaker, getting into fights and loitering around ice skating rinks, but she also ended up becoming a gentle and virtuous housewife. Perhaps because she had experienced too many things in life, she didn't actually react that strongly when she found out about her son's sexual orientation.

"Mn, this is the last one." Mama Lu blew a smoke ring. "When did this happen? Were you already dating before you brought him home?"

She hadn't imagined them being together in this way before, which was why she hadn't paid particularly close attention at the time. But when she thought about it carefully now, she realized that her son had never once brought anyone home except for Jian Rong, despite having lived on his own for so many years.