Chapter 11

That familiar figure stopped before him, his voice gentle and seemingly tinged with pity.

"Why are you crying?"

Yu An's tears flowed even more profusely. At a loss, he reached out and wiped them away haphazardly, only for new ones to take their place.

A dry, soft handkerchief brushed against his cheek. Gu Yuzhou said nothing, simply waiting patiently to catch every tear.

It is unknown how much time had passed before Yu An stopped crying. Once his mind had cleared, he realized what he had just done. He glanced at Gu Yuzhou and slowly lowered his head.

"Thank you, Mr. Gu."

Gu Yuzhou looked at the teenager's eyelashes, matted into strands by tears, and his ears, which were gradually turning red. He changed the subject: "Aunt Yu asked me to pick you up for dinner at her place. Do you want me to decline on your behalf?"

Yu An did not want to break his promise, so he shook his head.

"Then get in the car."

Gu Yuzhou opened the back door for him. Yu An looked toward the front; there was no driver, and he hesitated slightly. "Mr. Gu, I can sit in the front."

Gu Yuzhou’s tone was calm. "No need."

Seeing this, Yu An obediently got in and watched as Gu Yuzhou took the driver's seat.

As the car headed toward the theater, Yu An looked out the window and suddenly said, "I know my brother can't swim, and I still pushed him into the pool just now."

He pursed his lips. "Am I a very bad person?"

Gu Yuzhou looked up slightly; the teenager's expression in the rearview mirror was tense. He did not answer the question, but instead asked, "Were you wronged?"

Yu An’s fingers, which had been twisting his hem, froze. He looked at the man. "You believe me?"

Gu Yuzhou finally answered his initial question: "If it were me, I wouldn't have just pushed him into the water."

Yu An’s eyes widened slightly. "You..."

Gu Yuzhou: "Of course, through proper legal channels."

The anxiety in Yu An’s heart subsided. The tension and fear vanished, his body relaxed, and he broke into a smile. In the rearview mirror, the teenager's eyes shifted from dull to bright and sparkling.

Gu Yuzhou’s grip on the steering wheel loosened.

Upon arriving at the theater, he did not drive straight to the small villa but instead took a detour to the back lake. Yu An got out of the car and saw the small lake hidden among the shadows of the trees, feeling a pleasant surprise. He hadn't even known such scenery existed behind the theater.

Yu An climbed a small hill and spread his arms. Just then, the wind stirred, blowing the bangs on his forehead. The sunlight fell upon his delicate brows and eyes, and the fine down on his fair, glowing cheek made him look vivid and beautiful.

This was the scene Gu Yuzhou saw as he approached.

The trees rustled, and it seemed as though something else was rustling as well.

Yu An savored the moment for several minutes, the gloom in his heart blown away by the breeze. When he opened his eyes, Gu Yuzhou was standing beside him. He didn't disturb him, just stood there silently keeping him company before handing him a popsicle.

Yu An took it, pleasantly surprised. "You went to buy ice!"

Gu Yuzhou: "Yes, you can use it to soothe your eyes first."

Yu An’s eyes curved, and he suddenly leaned in close. "Help me look—are my eyes swollen?"

Gu Yuzhou lowered his head slightly, inspected him carefully for a moment, and said, "Not swollen, just a bit red."

Yu An let out a sigh of relief but still obediently pressed the popsicle against his eyes so that Teacher Yu wouldn't notice and worry later.

Half an hour later, Yu Ling called. Gu Yuzhou led Yu An along the path to the small villa. Hearing the doorbell, Yu Ling welcomed them joyfully, took Yu An’s hand, and said, "Xiao An, I bought your favorite strawberries today! The owner said they’re super sweet!"

Yu An let out a "Wow" and said with surprise, "Teacher, you are so good to me!"

The emotional response was so sincere that Yu Ling laughed heartily. She patted Yu An’s head and said, "You’re my only student. If I'm not good to you, who would I be good to?"

Yu An instinctively nuzzled her palm, his eyes curving into crescents. He looked very well-behaved. Watching this, Gu Yuzhou’s fingers, resting at his sides, curled inward.

They arrived just in time. Yu An had only managed to eat one strawberry before the nanny brought out the dishes. This time, they were all home-cooked meals, and it wasn't until halfway through the meal that Yu An realized most of them were his favorites.

More vegetables appeared in his bowl—they had been placed there by Gu Yuzhou. A moment later, Yu Ling added a piece of fish, carefully deboned, to his plate.

Here, he felt as if he had become that child again who wasn't allowed to eat with his parents, yet this time, he wasn't being ignored. Yu An couldn't describe his feelings; he only felt as if tiny streams were converging, flowing toward that parched riverbed in his heart.

After dinner, they watched television together for a while before leaving. Yu Ling packed the remaining strawberries in a bag, placed them in Yu An’s hand, and instructed Gu Yuzhou to take him home.

Hearing the word "home," Yu An hesitated. He thought about it and decided he would find another opportunity to tell his teacher later. If he said it now, his teacher might insist on him moving into the villa.

When Yu Ling returned to the villa, Yu An was about to follow Gu Yuzhou to get the car, but the man made him stop.

"Wait here for me, I'll go get the car."

Yu An was stunned for a moment. As he watched Gu Yuzhou walk straight into the dark path, an incredible thought crossed his mind. *Does Mr. Gu remember that I'm afraid of the dark, and that’s why he’s making me wait here?*

Bright yellow headlights flashed, interrupting his train of thought as the car pulled up before him. Gu Yuzhou rolled down the window. "Get in."

This time, he obediently opened the back door and sat in the rear.

Once they drove out of the theater, Yu An said, "Mr. Gu, I’ve rented a place outside. I won't be returning to the Yu family house today."

Gu Yuzhou nodded without asking why and dropped him off at the apartment building. Both of them got out of the car. Gu Yuzhou looked at the surroundings and frowned. It was an old street with tangled wires hanging overhead; it looked unsafe. Standing in front of this building, Yu An seemed completely out of place.

He called out, "Yu An."

Yu An looked over. "Yes?"

"Save the number I called you from today. You can find me if you need anything."

Yu An’s lips curled upward. "Okay!"

He thanked him earnestly. "Mr. Gu, thank you for comforting me today. Next time I cook, I'll invite you to dinner!"

Gu Yuzhou’s brow relaxed, and he agreed. "Alright."

He waited until Yu An went upstairs before driving away.

***

He climbed to the third floor, turned right, and went to the third room at the end of the hall. Yu An took out his key and opened the door. The landlord had cleaned it earlier, but Yu An cleaned it once more. After he had finished tidying up completely, he went downstairs to a supermarket to buy a quilt.

Back in his room, he made the bed and sat on the floor to rest for a while. At five in the afternoon, he went to a nearby market and bought a small bundle of vegetables, a carton of eggs, and a bag of noodles. The small room was slowly being filled by him.

That evening, Yu An cooked himself a bowl of egg noodles, topped with a golden, sunny-side-up egg and a handful of crisp, green vegetables. It was an old building; although it had good natural light, there was no air conditioning. By the time he came out of the kitchen, he was drenched in sweat. He opened the window and, sitting by the old fan the landlord had left behind, ate his bowl of hot noodles.

Even though this was the simplest food compared to what he had at the Yu house, he felt a rare sense of happiness.

It turned out that by not expecting their love, he could still feel happiness.

After eating, Yu An went downstairs to take out the trash and took a walk to familiarize himself with the neighborhood. In a nearby small park, an old man placed a puppy on a swing. With a gentle push, the swing rocked, and the puppy wagged its tail happily. Yu An couldn't help but smile as he watched.

He vaguely remembered that when his mother was changing the sheets at home when he was little, he always liked to crawl inside. His mother would call his father, who was working at home, and the two would pull the ends of the bedsheet, lifting him up as he sprawled inside. The whole world turned upside down; he could still feel that joy even now.

As he returned to his senses, he looked away and saw, in the garden on the other side of the puppy, a kitten staring blankly with wide eyes, looking envious. Sensing a human looking at it, it licked its paw and glanced toward Yu An. It didn't meow, but its tail quietly curled upward.

Later, as Yu An headed home, it followed him. It kept a distance that was neither too close nor too far, as if it were just going the same way. Yu An knew it was following him, but he had his reservations—until the building came into view. It was no longer that villa, but the home he had rented himself.

His eyes curved, and he slowly squatted down, extending a hand toward the kitten.

And so, the little room gained a new tenant, and Yu An gained a family member to keep him company—a cause for celebration!

Yu An loved small animals. When he was wandering outside in the past, his best friends were the cats and dogs he roamed with. Thus, he expertly checked the kitten over. Its eyes were normal, its ears were clear, there were no wounds on its body, and its fur was clean; it was a tidy little cat.

He patted the kitten’s head, and the kitten pressed its soft paw against his hand, as if to say that this was a brave and kind human.

One person and one cat, bridging the gap between species, communicated happily. Yu An gave the kitten a bath and settled it into a small cardboard box. Only after the kitten was settled did he take a shower, hang up his clothes, and get into bed.

No one from the Yu family had called today. Thinking of what Mr. Gu had said when he dropped him off, Yu An lay down peacefully. In the room lit by a warm yellow lamp, the person and the cat drifted off to sleep to the hum of the rotating fan.

***

At the Yu family villa, Yu Qing was lying in bed with a high fever.

At the time, Mrs. Yu was in her room, while Mr. Yu and Yu You were both at the company, busy trying to secure a connection with the Gu family, and were unaware of what had happened today. The housekeeper was busy in the back kitchen, and the servants, afraid of being held accountable, kept quiet.

Mrs. Yu was in the kitchen downstairs, cooking porridge, muttering, "An'an is sick, he needs to drink porridge, something light..."

Yu You sat on the sofa and suddenly recalled a scene from his childhood that was just like this. The only difference was that back then, Mrs. Yu hadn't lost her sanity, and "An'an" hadn't been Yu Qing.

An image from a long time ago suddenly surfaced in his mind. He couldn't remember what the incident was, but he had asked Yu An to contact Mrs. Yu, only to find that he had been deleted from her WeChat.

What expression had Yu An worn back then? He hadn't cried; he had even smiled casually, as if he had experienced such things many times before, saying, "Mom must have deleted me, thinking I was a stranger."

He couldn't help but call out to Mrs. Yu, "Mom, you..."

Mrs. Yu looked toward him. "Xiao You, An'an is sick. As his brother, you should be going to take care of him. Why are you still sitting here?"

Yu You was urged to go upstairs, but his hand dialed Yu An’s number instead. The phone rang for five seconds; he checked the time and hung up.

*Forget it, I'll wait until tomorrow morning when he's awake to talk to him.*