Chapter 20

After leaving the amusement park, Yu Ling went to a photo studio to print all the pictures taken that day. She even specially bought a thick photo album, intending to use it to keep photos of Yu An from now on.

Once the photos were printed, they had a meal at a nearby hotel, and the day’s journey came to an end. Gu Yuzhou drove them back to the small villa and then departed.

Back in his room, Yu An changed his clothes and went to the dance studio to train. After finishing a routine, he ended with some stretches. He effortlessly rested his leg on the barre, took out his phone, opened the group chat, and saved the group photo Yu Ling had taken of him and Gu Yuzhou. After saving it, he opened it again to take a closer look.

He hadn't paid much attention before, but today, looking closely, he discovered a tiny mole on Mr. Gu’s nose. It was very faint, only visible when one was close by.

Yu An checked the time; at this hour, Mr. Gu should have reached home.

Gu Yuzhou parked his car, took out his phone, opened WeChat, and tapped on the group photo. His gaze lingered on the boy’s smiling face for a few seconds before he exited without saving the image. He didn't get out of the car; instead, he drove to a boxing gym. An hour later, he took off his sweat-soaked shirt, showered, and changed into clean clothes before finally driving home.

-

Yu An had already received a call from his landlord saying the electricity had been fixed. However, Yu Ling hoped he would stay at the small villa for a few more days, and Yu An agreed.

After the weekend, a new week began.

In the morning, Yu An got up, ate the breakfast Yu Ling had prepared for him, played with Pingping for a while, and then headed to the theater.

Once they finished rehearsing, Su Su clapped her hands in satisfaction and reminded Yu An, "Be careful these next few days and try not to get injured. It’s best to avoid practicing those high-difficulty moves for now."

The dance troupe had previously lost two members who were injured while attempting high-difficulty moves in unsafe conditions, which led them to recruit new people. Yu An nodded, promising to be extra cautious.

After speaking, Su Su looked at everyone. "Our troupe begins performances next week. The theater has already opened ticket sales, and time is tight, so everyone please stay focused and try to practice in the theater as much as possible."

The group grew nervous, and their subsequent training became even more intense.

At 5:00 PM, the theater closed on time. Before Yu An could head to the small villa, someone stopped him. "Yu An, someone is at the theater entrance. They said they are your brother, here to take you home."

Yu An paused and thanked the person. He went to the entrance. Some of the troupe members hadn't left yet, and seeing him, they said, "Yu An, we didn't know you had a brother. Why haven't you mentioned him before?"

Yu An politely said goodbye to them. The troupe members understood and left after exchanging greetings.

Once they were out of earshot, Yu An looked at Yu You, who was standing to the side. "Wait for me a moment; I need to go get some things from my teacher."

Yu You wanted to say that everything he needed was already prepared at home, but upon seeing Yu An’s expressionless face, he simply nodded.

Yu An returned to the small villa, where Yu Ling was waiting at the door with Pingping. His face brightened with a slight smile. "Teacher."

Yu Ling nodded and studied his expression. "What happened?"

"The Yu family has come to pick me up."

The smile on Yu Ling's face faded instantly, and she frowned.

Yu An’s eyes curved as he said, "Teacher, I’ll leave Pingping in your care."

Yu Ling replied, "Don't worry, Pingping will be fine with me."

Yu An nodded, went upstairs to his room to pack his backpack with a few changes of clothes, and came back down to say goodbye to Yu Ling.

Yu Ling watched him, her brows furrowed throughout. Seeing this, Yu An hugged her. "Teacher, don't worry about me."

How could she not worry? She instructed, "Remember to call me every night to let me know you're safe."

Yu An murmured an "Okay" and smiled. "I still have to come to the theater during the day; I'm only staying at the Yu family’s place at night." Besides, he had lived like this for over a decade.

Yu Ling softened her expression. "Then come over for lunch, and I'll cook for you."

Yu An nodded, petted Pingping once more, and left.

As he sat in Yu You’s car, Yu An’s mood remained calm.

When they arrived at the Yu family villa, Yu You walked in front, pushing the door open while saying, "We’ve moved you to a new room on the second floor, right next to Yu Qing."

Yu An nodded and looked into the living room. Mrs. Yu was dressing Yu Qing in a stage costume; she had made it two days ago according to Yu Qing’s measurements. "An'an, you’ve loved red since you were a child. I was afraid you’d be impatient, so I finished it quickly this time. Do you like it?"

Yu Qing smiled and nodded. "Mom is the best to me."

Yu You wanted to say something, but seeing this scene, his throat tightened. He instinctively looked at Yu An. Yu An remained expressionless, only looking up at him and saying calmly, "I'll go to my room now."

Yu You nodded.

Yu An went upstairs quietly. He didn't know that as he walked past, Yu Qing and Mrs. Yu also looked at him. But even if he had known, it would no longer have had anything to do with him.

The new room was indeed more than three times larger than his previous one. Not only that, but the wardrobe was filled with many new clothes. Yu An took a cursory glance, feeling little interest. He only hung up the few clothes he had brought from the small villa, cleaned the room briefly, and then went out onto the balcony at the back.

Behind the Yu villa was a garden. When Mrs. Yu was young, she liked planting flowers and often took little Yu An to see them. Later, when he was a bit older and could walk on his own, the first thing he would do every morning was climb out of bed and go to the garden to pick a flower still covered in dew to give to Mrs. Yu.

However, this time, Yu An didn't dwell on childhood memories. Instead, he thought of the rose the old man had given him while performing magic at the amusement park yesterday. And Gu Yuzhou.

That sentence, "I'm not afraid of trouble, and you are not trouble," echoed in his mind. Suddenly, Yu An wanted to see Mr. Gu very much.

His phone kept buzzing with notifications from the freshman group he had joined. People were receiving their acceptance letters one after another and posting photos in the group. Yu An opened it and looked through it carefully for a long time.

Then, he opened WeChat, found Gu Yuzhou’s profile, and sent his first message.

Yu An: [Mr. Gu, could you do me a favor?]

After sending it, he felt a bit nervous, waiting as time ticked by.

There was a knock at the door; it was the butler. "Second Young Master, dinner is ready. Sir wants you to come downstairs to eat."

Just as he spoke, his phone chimed. He looked down and saw that Mr. Gu had replied.

Yu An: [Mr. Gu, could you do me a favor?]

Gu Yuzhou: [Okay.]

No asking why, no asking what the favor was—just one simple yet weighty word.

Yu An’s restless heart was suddenly anchored. He curved his eyes, put his phone away, and walked toward the door.

This was the first time since Yu An had been discharged from the hospital that he was sitting down to eat with the Yu family. Sitting together so formally was a scene he had once dreamed of. The meal was also sumptuous, clearly prepared with effort.

Yu An sat down, with Yu You and Yu Qing beside him, and Mr. Yu opposite. Mrs. Yu sat between Yu Qing and Mr. Yu. Upon seeing Yu An, Mr. Yu paused for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Let's eat."

The butler stepped forward to serve the food, but Yu An had no appetite.

Mrs. Yu suddenly spoke up, "Are you a guest visiting today?"

Yu You’s expression changed instantly. Mr. Yu’s expression was also less than pleasant. Only Yu An looked at Mrs. Yu, his expression natural as he replied, "Yes."

Mrs. Yu smiled. Her eyes were very similar to Yu An’s, like crescent moons when she smiled. She picked up her chopsticks, placed some meat in Yu An’s bowl, and said, "Baby, you’re too thin; you need to eat more." She stood up to reach for some vegetables further away. "Eat this too; it’s delicious and sweet."

Yu An was stunned and didn't make a sound, but he ate all the vegetables Mrs. Yu had placed in his bowl.

After dinner, Yu You walked Mrs. Yu back to her room and asked, "Mom, did you take your medicine today?"

"Xiao You, what’s wrong?" Mrs. Yu asked, puzzled, her tone remaining very gentle. "I took the morning dose, but not the evening one yet."

Yu You watched her take her medicine, but eventually, he couldn't hold back from suggesting, "Mom, let me take you to the hospital another day, okay?"

Mrs. Yu softly agreed.

Yu Qing, who had followed them upstairs, stood at the doorway listening to Yu You. He bit his fingernails repeatedly until he tasted iron in his mouth, then turned and left, heading toward Yu An’s room.

Yu An was lying in bed after a shower when he saw the door lock turning violently. After a minute, the movement stopped. He ignored it and called Yu Ling to report that he was safe.

-

"Then go to sleep. Remember to come over for lunch tomorrow."

Only after receiving Yu An’s call did Yu Ling feel at ease. "Okay, goodnight."

Gu Yuzhou, sitting nearby, frowned upon hearing this. "Yu An went home?"

Yu Ling put down her phone, surprised. "Were you looking for him?"

Gu Yuzhou looked at his chat window with Yu An and remained silent for a moment.

Yu Ling finally reacted. Recalling how frequently Gu Yuzhou had been visiting lately, she teased, "You come to see me so often; I suspect your intentions aren't really about the bar."

Gu Yuzhou didn't refute it, nor did he confirm it. He only said, "Yu An is very talented; he deserves better."

"Better what?" Yu Ling asked.

Gu Yuzhou lowered his eyes and fell silent again.