Chapter 17

Inside the car.

In the rearview mirror, the young man kept looking back.

Gu Yuzhou frowned slightly and also shifted his gaze to the man standing at the theater entrance.

It wasn’t until the car had taken several turns and Yu You’s vehicle still hadn’t caught up that Yu An finally relaxed.

He turned his head, looking apologetic toward the man in the driver's seat. “Mr. Gu, did I disturb you?”

Gu Yuzhou replied, “No.”

After a pause, he added, “Do you need any help?”

Yu An immediately understood he was referring to Yu You coming to the theater looking for him. His eyes curved into a smile. “Thank you, no need.”

The boy’s smile showed his mood hadn’t been much affected.

Gu Yuzhou’s furrowed brows softened. “There are strawberries in the back.”

Yu An tilted his head and noticed the fruit basket beside the seat. Large, plump strawberries were neatly arranged inside, almost overflowing, emitting a faint sweet fragrance.

His eyes widened slightly. “Are these for me?”

Gu Yuzhou answered, “Yes.”

The feeling of being thought of was very pleasant, and Yu An smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Gu.”

The dark clouds dispersed, and the rain outside gradually subsided.

Yu An ate a few strawberries and recalled that earlier today, when Qi Lin asked him about Gu Yuzhou not attending the theater performance, he took the initiative to say:

“Mr. Gu, recently I practiced a new piece with Teacher Yu. When you come to the theater next time, I’ll sing it for you.”

Gu Yuzhou’s lips curved slightly as he replied, “Alright.”

Yu An truly loved strawberries but rarely bought them for himself. Once he started eating, it was hard to stop. Before long, more than half of the strawberries in the basket had disappeared into his stomach.

Gu Yuzhou asked, “Have you eaten dinner?”

Focused on eating, Yu An shook his head.

“I haven’t eaten yet.”

“I’ll invite you then,” Yu An said immediately.

Gu Yuzhou stopped the car and turned to look at him. “This time, I’ll treat you.”

Yu An met the man’s gaze and gave in. “Alright, then I’ll treat you next time.”

Gu Yuzhou responded with a hum.

The rain had completely stopped. The hotel Gu Yuzhou drove to was busy with people. He didn’t hurry to enter but waited for other cars to go in first, opening the window to let in fresh air.

Yu An ate another strawberry and, upon arrival, offered one to Gu Yuzhou.

“Mr. Gu, would you like some?”

While asking, Yu An glanced out the window.

At some point, a couple had walked by. The woman held a bag of strawberries and, at that moment, fed one to the man.

Yu An stared blankly, still holding the strawberry near Gu Yuzhou’s lips, momentarily frozen.

It was quiet inside the car, and with the window open, he clearly heard the man say to the woman, “Thank you, baby.”

The man ate the strawberry, then leaned toward the woman, and they shared a sweet, slightly sour kiss.

Yu An’s face instantly flushed deep red.

As he tried to pull his hand away quickly, Gu Yuzhou calmly bit the strawberry from his fingers. He could even feel the subtle, warm breath against his hand.

The car started moving again.

Yu An sat back in his seat, heart pounding.

He suddenly realized that the gesture might have been a bit too intimate.

He looked at the man driving ahead as usual, then composed himself to stay calm.

The two got out of the car and entered the hotel.

During this time, Gu Yuzhou’s manner was perfectly normal, even gentlemanly, and the awkwardness that had just arisen in Yu An slowly faded away.

After dinner, Gu Yuzhou saw Yu An home.

When Gu Yuzhou left, Yu An went to a nearby courier station to pick up a package.

---

After deciding to adopt Pingping, Yu An bought a camera and canned food.

Once the camera was installed, Yu An opened a can for Pingping. After watching him finish, he took him to the park lawn downstairs to play.

The rain had just stopped, and the air outside was cool.

During this time, Yu An also took Pingping on a swing.

On the way back, Pingping’s tail was wagging, sticking close to Yu An’s feet.

The man and cat returned home, inseparable.

---

In the Yu family villa.

The butler instructed the servants to move Yu An’s belongings out and place them in a cleaned room on the second floor.

Yu You sat on the sofa, inadvertently glancing at the family portrait hanging on the wall.

It was a family photo of Yu father, Yu mother, himself, and Yu Qing.

Yu An was not in it.

Rubbing his temples, the pain worsened instead of easing.

The butler noticed and approached. “Young master, the photo is cleaned daily. Is something wrong?”

Yu You looked again. In the photo, Yu mother held Yu Qing, her expression gentle.

He moved his fingers slightly but shook his head. “Nothing.”

The butler nodded and, seeing Yu Qing, said, “Little master, please sit on the sofa. Be careful not to get hurt when the servants move things.”

Yu Qing was still stuck on how Yu You ignored him earlier.

Hearing the butler, he snapped out of it and was about to nod when the butler added, “So Madam won’t worry.”

A trace of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, but he obediently replied, “Okay.”

Yu father frowned as he saw the servants busy at work.

“What’s going on here?”

Yu You stood up. “Dad, Yu An’s room is too small. It’s not suitable for him to stay there.”

Hearing this, Yu father walked toward Yu An’s room. Seeing its size, he froze.

Then he entered and opened the only piece of furniture—the wardrobe.

The wardrobe was packed with clothes, and outside sat five pig plush toys. Yu father vaguely recognized them but couldn’t recall when they were bought.

Looking at the hanging clothes, he frowned.

The wardrobe was full of suits; only a few were brightly colored. The rest were black or dull-toned down jackets, hardly fitting for a teenager.

Yu father ordered, “Buy him some appropriate clothes.”

Closing the wardrobe, he noticed a mirror stuck outside and recalled that Yu An had been secretly practicing dance. He fell silent for a moment before adding, “Are there any spare rooms in the house?”

The butler was about to reply.

Yu father spotted Yu Qing standing in the distance and said, “Your dance room will be shared with your second brother. He treats you well.”

The servants knew well that “treating well” included washing hair, helping with homework, and often seeing Yu Qing running over with a pillow to sleep beside Yu An at night.

Yu Qing stood there, somewhat dazed.

Something felt wrong.

A thought crossed his mind—things shouldn’t have developed this way.

He instinctively looked around for Yu An, but seeing Yu An’s room empty felt like a sharp needle pricking his heart, causing a subtle, persistent ache.

He ran upstairs to find Yu mother, knocking on her door for a long time with no answer. Finally, heavy feet carried him back to his own room.

Yu father, seeing Yu Qing leave, said nothing and turned toward the study.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Yu mother standing motionless by the desk.

He approached. Yu mother held a photo of Yu An as a child, her eyes fixed on it as if she couldn’t get enough.

Yu father immediately took the photo, placed it inside a book as a bookmark, and led her away.

As they stepped out of the study, Yu mother looked back once, staring unblinkingly at the book, as if memorizing where the photo was placed.

---

The next morning.

Yu An got up, washed, and stroked the cat’s head.

Before leaving, he threw the forgotten delivery bag and empty cans into a garbage bag, along with a family photo that didn’t include him, and discarded them all into the dumpster downstairs.

Then, he headed toward the theater, basking in the sunlight.

They were still rehearsing movements and precise positioning. Teacher Su Su appeared casual but demanded perfection in dance, timing every motion to the second.

Yu An was the only one Teacher Su was somewhat satisfied with, so he was allowed to leave early.

The others were left to struggle through basic training under Teacher Su’s strict gaze, watching Yu An’s retreating figure with envy.

The weather was fine today; the sun still shone brightly at five in the afternoon.

The theater had just paid their wages.

Yu An decided to visit Teacher Yu. On the way, he bought apples and strawberries—one for Teacher Yu, the other for himself.

Upon arriving at the small villa, to his surprise, Gu Yuzhou was there.

He greeted, “Teacher Yu, Mr. Gu.”

Gu Yuzhou, carrying a large bag, acknowledged him.

Yu Ling, however, was more surprised. “Xiao An, what a coincidence you’re here today. I was just thinking of having Yuzhou pick you up.”

Yu An followed her inside. “Teacher, did you need me for something?”

“Did you see the bag Yuzhou is carrying? It’s all things I bought online for you.”

Yu An was stunned for a moment before Yu Ling pulled him to sit on the floor. “Come, open them!”

Seeing this, Gu Yuzhou went to fetch a small stool and placed it beside Yu An. “Sit here.”

Yu An complied, thanking him.

Yu Ling looked at Gu Yuzhou with increased surprise.

But soon, she turned back to Yu An.

Yu An sat on the little stool, unpacking item after item. There were too many. Later, Yu Ling helped—mostly dance costumes, pajamas, fans for performances, hydrating sprays, small battery-operated fans...

Everything she could think of that Yu An might need or like, she had bought.

Finally, they unpacked several clothes adorned with a cat motif, the plush fur three-dimensional, ears made of separate fabric, and a small tail at the bottom.

Yu An’s eyes lit up instantly.

Yu Ling immediately asked, “Do you like it?”

Yu An nodded, touching the cat design. “Teacher, I recently got a cat too, very much like this one.”

He took out his phone and showed a photo he had taken before.

Yu Ling looked carefully and asked, “What’s its name?”

“Pingping.”

Yu Ling nodded slowly, her tone gentle. “Safe and sound—then I have two treasures now!”

Yu An widened his eyes, unconsciously smiling again.

Gu Yuzhou sat quietly nearby, saying nothing.

Yu Ling urged Yu An to change clothes. She remembered how cute Yu An’s childhood clothes were, but his later clothes became increasingly mature and didn’t suit his age at all.

“How nice it would be to wear something cute!”

When Yu An came out wearing clothes with a cartoon cat pattern, Yu Ling laughed instantly, getting up to ruffle his hair.

“Our little An is really handsome!”

Afraid Yu An wouldn’t believe her, she casually asked Gu Yuzhou, “What do you think? Is our An handsome?”

Yu An was turned around by Yu Ling to face Gu Yuzhou.

Meeting the man’s eyes, for some reason, he felt both anticipation and nervousness.

Then he heard Gu Yuzhou say seriously, “Yes, handsome, very cute.”