Chapter Fifty-Seven: Christmas Eve

Time flows like water, disappearing without return.

In the blink of an eye, it was December 24th, Saturday—Christmas Eve.

Two weeks had passed since Lu You first took Tang Wan’s hand. In that time, their relationship had seen no progress. There were no new hugs, no more hand-holding; they had reverted to how they were at the very beginning.

It wasn’t that Lu You didn’t want to. He longed to take Tang Wan home in his arms and hold her as they slept. But they hadn’t had any private moments together over these past ten days, and they were always at school, where some things couldn’t be made too obvious.

As expected, Lu You had successfully passed the preliminary round of the school’s top ten singers competition and was directly advanced to the finals, bypassing the initial rounds entirely.

The bell rang to signal the end of the third period.

“Brother Lu, could you help me clear up a doubt?”

Lu You had grown used to Yuan Wenliang’s daily emotional consultations; it had become a routine part of his day. If Yuan didn’t ask, Lu You would feel like something was missing.

Lu You closed his textbook, turned to face him, and adopted a serious listening posture.

“Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“Tomorrow’s Christmas. Should I give her a gift?”

“Have you asked her? What did she say?”

“I did. She said, ‘Christmas isn’t really a traditional holiday, no need to make a fuss over it.’”

“So what are you planning to do?”

“I think she makes a good point. No need to celebrate a foreign holiday, so I didn’t prepare anything.”

Ah, this guy was hopeless.

How did Ye Hongsu ever fall for this blockhead?

He had read countless stories of talented scholars and beautiful ladies; how could he be so foolish?

Lu You didn’t want to keep criticizing Yuan Wenliang. He understood what Lu was telling him about how to treat girls but just couldn’t put it into practice.

“She said no need to fuss, so you really won’t give her a gift?”

Yuan Wenliang tilted his head, confusion written all over his face.

“Isn’t that how it is?”

“Sigh!”

Lu You sighed deeply, holding his forehead with his right hand, lowering his head to think about how to explain it clearly. After a while, he looked up.

“Let me give you an example. Do you want to eat chocolate now?”

“Probably not.”

“But if the teacher came up to the podium and handed everyone a piece of chocolate—everyone but you—and even if you didn’t want it now, how would you feel?”

Yuan Wenliang lowered his gaze, replaying the scene in his mind, pondering.

“I’d be pretty unhappy.”

“Exactly! Just because she says she doesn’t care doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give her a gift. If you don’t, she’ll definitely be upset; if you do, there’s still a chance she might be unhappy.”

Yuan Wenliang furrowed his brows, puzzled. “Why would she be unhappy if you give her a gift?”

“What if I gave you a set of women’s clothes? Would you be happy?”

Yuan Wenliang: Õ_Õ

“No.”

“When you give her a Christmas gift, it’s not about celebrating the holiday. It’s about showing her you care, letting her know she’s in your heart.”

“Hm.” Yuan Wenliang nodded in understanding.

“Do you know what to give her?”

“At this stage, it’s not appropriate to give jewelry or things like that. It’s better to give food—fruit, milk tea, chocolate, cake—anything really, as long as it suits her taste and shows your thoughtfulness.”

“That sounds so hard!”

“At first, it is. When you first meet someone, you don’t know what they like or dislike, or their habits. You have to spend time and effort learning about them.”

Yuan Wenliang looked overwhelmed, as if pursuing a girl was as difficult as studying physics—or even more so.

Lu You patted his shoulder sympathetically.

“Take it slow. Who’s born knowing how to make a girl happy?”

“You! You and Tang Wan have made so much progress.”

Yuan Wenliang admired the hair tie on Lu You’s wrist. No boy would wear one unless it was at someone's request.

Lu You touched the hair tie on his right wrist, a vision of Tang Wan appearing before his eyes, and a faint smile curled his lips.

“I wasn’t born knowing either. I learned bit by bit by watching those couple vloggers on Bilibili.”

He had consumed a lot of sweet romantic content from the sci-fi section of Bilibili.

Every night, watching Bilibili, his homepage would occasionally flash a clip of lovebirds, and he felt like a stray dog that had just been kicked.

“Brother Lu!”

Yuan Wenliang grabbed Lu You’s hand, speaking seriously.

“Could you share some videos? Let me observe and learn as well.”

Lu You was about to respond when Meng Yi’s joyful voice came from beside them.

“You two are together! Then I have a chance with those two goddesses, right?”

They quickly withdrew their hands. Lu You even pulled down his sleeve to hide the hair tie. If that big mouth saw it, it would be a disaster. Though he didn’t mind others knowing, he didn’t want to be fodder for gossip.

Turning back, Lu You saw Meng Yi carrying his backpack, holding an apple in his hand.

“You pee a lot, didn’t wake up? Go wash your face.”

“Heh! Brother Lu, that’s pure jealousy!”

Meng Yi twirled the apple in front of them, boasting.

“See this? What’s this called?”

Yuan Wenliang craned his neck to look carefully and answered honestly.

“An apple.”

“No, no! This isn’t just any apple. This is…”

Before he could finish, Lu You answered for him.

“The apple given by Vice Monitor Li Womeng.”

Lu You knew because she had given one to everyone in the class.

“How dare you interrupt me!”

Meng Yi complained, then continued.

“Yes, this is the Vice Monitor’s recognition of my charm. Don’t you think she secretly likes me? Yes, totally likes me! If she confessed, should I accept?”

The two stared at him in disbelief. Where did he get such confidence?

Yuan Wenliang was polite enough to consider his feelings, but Lu You couldn’t stand his smugness.

“Do you like apples?”

“Hm?” Meng Yi didn’t catch his meaning, thinking Lu was just jealous that someone was giving him an apple on Christmas Eve.

“It’s not about liking apples, it’s about the Vice Monitor’s recognition of my charm, got it?”

“Oh.”

Lu You gave an indifferent reply, then picked up a heavy plastic bag full of large, red apples from the floor and placed it on the desk.

“These are from the girls in our class today. If you like, they’re yours.”

The bright red apples seemed like sharp knives piercing Meng Yi’s heart.

His smile vanished like ashes scattered by the wind.

“Wha... it’s just that they gave me a dozen or so more. I only need the one from the Vice Monitor!”

Lu You pressed on.

“You’re right. Two of these are from her. Why not pick them out and take them?”

“No way! I’m done with you! I’m reporting you!”

Meng Yi fled in tears.

If he didn’t throw some punches, he wouldn’t know who he was anymore.

Lu You chuckled softly and began packing his bag.

“Not studying with Tang Wan tonight?”

“No, I have other things to do. I’m leaving first.”

With that, Lu You picked up his bag and left the classroom.

...

At Shen Garden, North Courtyard.

After dinner, Lu You tied on an apron, set up his camera, and began recording.

The camera already held footage from two weeks ago, documenting the entire process from harvesting cocoa beans to making white chocolate.

First, he extracted the kernels and sealed them for seven days of controlled-temperature fermentation. He had specially bought a fermentation box and had to soak and turn them every night after school.

Next, he put the cocoa beans in the oven for repeated drying to reduce moisture and bring out the chocolate aroma.

Then he removed the dried bean shells and pulverized the beans in a blender. Using a filter bag, he placed the crushed bean powder into a steamer for half an hour, then pressed it with gym dumbbells to extract the turbid cocoa butter.

Finally, he filtered the cocoa butter to get translucent butter, mixed in sugar and milk powder, stirred evenly, heated it, poured it into molds, and refrigerated it to solidify. By yesterday, he had successfully produced smooth, glossy white chocolate.

Throughout the process, Lu You was highly skilled, without a single mistake. In his previous life, he had made chocolate many times and was well versed in the lessons from past failures.

Lu You took several pieces of chocolate from the fridge and a basin of ice water, preparing to melt the chocolate for tempering.

Then he noticed one piece was a few centimeters shorter.

“Mom, how could you sneak a bite?”

Shen Yuyin’s unapologetic voice came from the living room.

“What do you mean sneak a bite? Isn’t it made to be eaten?”

“I still need it! What if there’s not enough?”

“Tough! I already ate it, what are you gonna do? And I haven’t even said you’re spending my husband’s money!”

Good grief!

How could she be such a shameless mother!

Lu You had no choice but to endure it. After all, he was her son and had no right to argue. Though the remaining chocolate was still enough, the margin for error had definitely shrunk.

He put the chocolate into a stainless steel melting pot, slowly melting the white chocolate board in 40°C water. Then he poured two-thirds of the melted chocolate onto a marble tempering slab and used a chocolate scraper to spread and cut it back and forth. He frequently checked the temperature with an infrared thermometer, making sure it didn’t drop below 27°C.

At that moment, Shen Yuyin, having heard the noise, walked into the kitchen to see what her son was up to.

When the temperature neared 27°C, Lu You scraped all the chocolate back into the pot and carefully adjusted the temperature with ice water and a heat gun until the chocolate was maintained at 30°C.

An exceptionally handsome boy was already enough to attract the attention of girls. If this boy was also in the kitchen, wearing an apron, earnestly making desserts...

It could only be described as unparalleled—a sight no one could resist.

That was exactly how Shen Yuyin felt.

Lu You’s steady, devoted manner reminded her of the moment when Lu Jianyan had most deeply moved her: making milk tea for her in the kitchen.

A worthy seed of both me and my husband!

Such looks, such skills—how could anyone not be captivated?

Lu You felt goosebumps as his mother watched him so intently, making him uneasy.

“Mom, what are you looking at?”

Snapping back to reality, Shen Yuyin casually said, “Nothing, just keep going. I’m just watching; pretend I’m not even here.”

Hmm, tonight the old man better bring home the provisions.

Meanwhile, Lu Jianyan, upstairs playing with his little sweetheart, suddenly felt a chill down his spine—a looming disaster.

Lu You looked at Shen Yuyin with suspicion but found nothing strange, so he let it go.

“Mom, how does the chocolate you ate taste?”

“Very good. Smooth texture, rich milky aroma, and just the right sweetness.”

Lu You nodded. Since the flavor was good, it was time to focus on presentation.

He didn’t plan to give Tang Wan the plain white chocolate bars directly. That felt lacking in sincerity. Luckily, he had seen a video on Bilibili about making chocolate chrysanthemums. He decided to replicate it.

“Son, what else are you planning to do? Isn’t the chocolate already done?”

Lu You smiled faintly, offering no explanation.

“Just watch.”

At that moment, a WeChat call came through. The screen displayed the name “Wan.” Both Shen Yuyin and Lu You saw it.

Shen Yuyin swiftly grabbed the phone, tapped the answer button and speakerphone, then placed it back on the table—all in one smooth motion, leaving Lu You no time to react.

A voice as clear and melodious as flowing water came from the phone.

“Hello, Lu You? Can you hear me?”