Chapter 9

No dreams disturbed the night.

Early the next morning, Yu An went to the theater.

Not long after rehearsal ended, Teacher Su Su told them that the theater would be holding a ball in a couple of days.

“Prepare your own outfits. There will be plenty of activities at the ball, and there’s a good chance of winning prizes.”

Some members of the troupe had been at the theater since the previous year and began sharing their experiences.

“I’m telling you, someone won a car outright last year!”

“That’s not all. Someone else won a seven-day trip abroad!”

“Damn, is the theater’s owner really that rich?!”

“The owner of our theater has quite the background. It’s not simply a matter of being wealthy!”

Everyone wore the eager expression of spectators waiting for gossip, but Song Zhao could not resist pouring cold water on them.

“The odds must be incredibly low.”

“Don’t you want to win those things? They’re free. It’s basically getting something for nothing. Even if you don’t win, surely you can at least indulge in a little daydreaming!”

Song Zhao thought for a moment before saying, “I’m not interested in any of that. But it would be nice if I could see Teacher Yu Ling.”

Teacher Yu Ling was practically a god at Chaoge Theater.

From childhood to the present, she had won nearly every major award, both at home and abroad.

Not only had she promoted and popularized traditional opera, she had also conducted extensive research into Chinese dance, even taking part in the founding and innovation of Chinese dance programs at universities.

In short, she was astonishingly accomplished.

Even receiving instruction from her once would make anyone feel they could die without regret.

At the mention of Teacher Yu Ling, they immediately abandoned their fantasies and began wondering aloud.

“Do you think Teacher Yu Ling will come to the theater’s ball this time?”

“I don’t know. She probably will. If I remember correctly, her tour has already ended.”

Yu An, who had been silent nearby, suddenly said, “Teacher Yu Ling will come.”

Everyone turned to look at him. Assuming he was merely trying to comfort them, they paid little attention to his words.

Song Zhao, however, looked at Yu An’s refined and tranquil expression and could not help pondering it for a while.

—

Over the following week, the theater stopped selling tickets and focused entirely on preparing for the ball.

Yu An devoted himself to training, going to the opera house at his usual fixed hours.

Gu Yuzhou, however, did not come to the opera house during that time, while the balance in Yu An’s account continued to rise.

By now, there was enough money in it to pay his rent.

He acted quickly and immediately contacted the agency. When he learned that one of the apartments he had liked during his previous viewing was still available, he took the subway there, signed the contract, and paid a year’s rent.

The reason he had chosen it was that the apartment had two rooms. The one next door had already been renovated by the landlord into a dance studio.

With only a little tidying, he would be able to practice dancing in his own rented home.

After receiving the keys, Yu An returned to the theater.

—

At seven that evening, in the small villa behind the theater, Yu Ling opened the door and let Gu Yuzhou, who had arrived without warning, inside.

The two of them ate dinner together. It was very quiet, unlike the liveliness that filled the table whenever Yu An was there. The only sounds came from bowls and chopsticks.

After dinner, Yu Ling stared at Gu Yuzhou for a long while before finally asking, “Did you come looking for me today because something happened?”

Gu Yuzhou stopped scrolling on his phone. “Can’t I come see you when nothing’s wrong?”

Yu Ling was rendered speechless. Something about this felt strange.

“You’ve never been one to come here.”

Gu Yuzhou glanced at his watch and stood up. “Then I’ll be leaving first, Aunt Yu.”

Yu Ling was stunned again by his reaction. She watched helplessly as he walked away, still unable to recover her wits.

Could Gu Yuzhou be missing his mother?

She glanced at the calendar. It was not the anniversary of her sister’s death.

Yu Ling closed the door, thoroughly puzzled. Then she looked once more at his retreating figure and noticed that he had not taken the main gate nearby. Instead, he had chosen the path that ran through the theater.

—

Something flashed through her mind, but she failed to grasp it. In the end, she simply stopped thinking about it and closed the door.

—

After finishing his training, Yu An went to the bathroom to shower and change into clean clothes before leaving the rehearsal hall.

He had only taken a few steps when he saw a figure approaching from the distance.

Under the streetlamps, the finely made suit gleamed with a soft luster. At six foot two, the man possessed an imposing presence. With the moonlight behind him, the contours of his face appeared deep and captivating.

Yu An slowly came to a stop, his eyes widening. How could he have run into him here?

The man’s legs were long. After only a few strides, he reached Yu An and stopped in front of him.

It had been a long time.

Yu An suddenly realized that they seemed to have returned to the stage when they were strangers again.

Gu Yuzhou lowered his head toward the distracted young man. Yu An had just finished dancing, and the faint flush on his face had yet to fade. A tuft of hair stuck up on his head, making him look lively and full of vigor.

Unable to resist, Gu Yuzhou reached out, but when Yu An came back to himself, he quietly lowered his hand.

Yu An asked politely, “Mr. Gu, did you come to watch a performance today?”

“Is your throat feeling better?”

The two of them spoke almost at the same time.

Yu An immediately understood. Had Mr. Gu stopped coming these past few days because of what he had previously heard Teacher Yu say?

While he stood there dazed, everything before his eyes suddenly went black.

Before Yu An could react, his body began to tremble uncontrollably. His spine turned cold, and he could not move a muscle.

The darkness came creeping toward him like a monster.

He was so small. Unable to see, he felt that everything around him had become terribly dangerous, as though some unknown creature might leap from a dark corner at any moment and viciously bite through his neck.

Gu Yuzhou’s steady voice gradually grew indistinct.

“There seems to be a problem with the electrical circuit.”

Yu An desperately wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong and answer him.

But the trembling in his tightly clenched voice betrayed him.

Gu Yuzhou immediately noticed that something was wrong. He stepped closer and took hold of Yu An’s wrist.

“Yu An, what’s wrong?”

As though starved for human contact, Yu An collapsed into Gu Yuzhou’s arms. His palm seized the other man’s suit, and he burrowed instinctively into his embrace.

“I’m sorry… Mr. Gu, I…”

A beam of light fell across Yu An. Seeing how deathly pale his face was, Gu Yuzhou frowned.

“You have a stress response to the dark?”

As he spoke, he turned on the flashlight of his phone and tossed it onto the ground.

One arm wrapped tightly around Yu An’s back, while the other cradled the back of his head, drawing him completely into his embrace.

“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. The power will be back soon.”

After a long while, Yu An gradually regained consciousness as he felt himself enveloped in warmth.

Then he realized that Gu Yuzhou was holding him in an extremely secure and comforting position.

Gu Yuzhou’s steady voice sounded above him.

“Feeling better?”

“Much better.”

Yu An nodded and rose from his arms. His feet still carried him a little closer to the phone, whose light illuminated the ground.

Gu Yuzhou took a gray handkerchief from his pocket.

“It’s clean. Wipe your sweat.”

Yu An accepted it and wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck.

He had sweated more in that brief moment than he did after dancing for half a day. The handkerchief soon became damp.

Pressing his lips together, he said, “Thank you, Mr. Gu. I’ll take it home, wash it, and return it to you.”

“You don’t have to.”

Gu Yuzhou took the handkerchief from Yu An’s hand, folded it, and placed it back in his pocket.

Yu An still felt embarrassed. He pointed at Gu Yuzhou’s gray shirt, where several black marks had appeared. He had probably wiped his sweaty face against it just now.

Gu Yuzhou unfastened the buttons of his suit jacket.

“It’s fine.”

After making several phone calls, he looked toward Yu An.

“It’ll be a while before the power is restored. I’ll take you home.”

Yu An asked cautiously, “May I hold on to your clothes?”

Gu Yuzhou did not answer. Instead, he reached out, grasped Yu An’s wrist through the fabric, and led him out of the theater.

Yu An followed him in a daze, his gaze fixed on the hand holding him.

Ten minutes later, Gu Yuzhou released him with great courtesy, opened the car door, and shielded him as he got in.

On the way, Gu Yuzhou asked, “Have you been afraid of the dark since you were young?”

Yu An nodded. “Yes. I’m still afraid of it now. I have to sleep with a small lamp on at night. Does that sound strange?”

Gu Yuzhou kept his eyes on the road, his tone gentle.

“It’s not strange. There are things I’m afraid of too.”

“Things you’re afraid of?”

It was the first time Yu An had heard him say something like that, and he could not help feeling curious.

Gu Yuzhou turned his head and glanced at him.

“I was afraid of dogs when I was little.”

Yu An’s eyes widened slightly. “But dogs are so cute!”

“Strange?”

“No.”

Yu An shook his head, the corners of his eyes curving upward.

Halfway there, Gu Yuzhou suddenly pulled over. Yu An watched him get out and open the door on his side.

“Go sit in the back.”

Yu An did not understand, but obediently moved to the back seat.

During the drive, Gu Yuzhou observed him through the rearview mirror, his brows gradually knitting together.

When they arrived at the entrance to the Yu family villa, they got out of the car together.

Yu An was about to say goodbye and go inside when Gu Yuzhou suddenly asked, “Have you ever been in a car accident?”

Yu An was momentarily speechless.

Gu Yuzhou lowered his head to look at him. Only then did Yu An slowly shake his head.

“No. I’ve never been in a car accident.”

Yu An gave Gu Yuzhou a smile.

“Maybe I’m just not used to sitting in the front passenger seat. I didn’t even realize it until you mentioned it.”

Gu Yuzhou looked at him deeply.

“If you feel uncomfortable, remember to say so. Don’t force yourself to endure it.”

Yu An nodded.

He took a step back and waved at him.

“Then I’ll go home first.”

“Mm.”

—

After entering the Yu family villa, Yu An discovered that the servants were still cleaning despite the late hour.

The butler came toward him.

“Second Young Master, the family is holding a banquet tomorrow for the youngest master to celebrate his admission to university.”

Yu An paused, then acknowledged him before going to take a shower and returning to his room.

It was still early, not yet ten o’clock.

He had only just lain down when his phone displayed an incoming call from his close friend, Qi Qi.

The moment he answered, Qi Qi said, “An-An, I heard that Yu Qing is holding a banquet.”

“Mm,” Yu An replied. “To celebrate his admission to university.”

Qi Qi did not understand.

“What’s there to celebrate? It’s not as if he ranked among the top two nationwide. Which school did you apply to?”

Yu An told him the name of the university that had already accepted him.

“Damn!”

Qi Qi’s voice suddenly rose by an entire octave.

“The school you got into is a whole tier above Yu Qing’s! So why are they throwing a banquet for him and not for you?!”

“I changed my choice of university. They don’t know yet. I’m still working at the theater. You can come visit when you have time.”

Qi Qi readily agreed, then added, “I’ll come over tomorrow. That way Yu Qing won’t have another chance to bully you.”

Yu An could not refuse, so he agreed.

After a brief silence, he suddenly asked, “Qi Qi, do you wear perfume?”

“Huh?” Qi Qi asked, puzzled. “Why are you asking that?”

“I was just curious.”

“Oh.” Qi Qi thought for a moment. “Isn’t your birthday coming up soon? I’ll give you a bottle then.”

Yu An smiled. “All right. Thank you, Qi Qi.”

After ending the call, Yu An calculated the timing. He had received his acceptance letter a few days before his birthday. If things went according to plan, he should be able to avoid the car accident.

Relaxed, Yu An listened to the sounds outside his room and soon drifted into a peaceful sleep.