The weather in September is still quite hot. After the teacher arrived and finished a brief self-introduction, he gave the students a heads-up: “Ah, students, since the weather is quite hot, our opening ceremony won’t last too long. There’s no need to worry.”
The freshmen below started to wail. The sun outside was so blazing that they didn’t want to step out for even a second.
“What are you wailing about? Seriously, you think you can skip the opening ceremony and get away from the military training?” The teacher tapped the podium with a chalk eraser, quite ruthlessly. “Move, move, move, all of you, get outside.”
The students lined up voluntarily, without any teacher watching or class leaders organizing…
This would be impossible in high school.
“Where are you going?” The tall Wen Ling shouted at a well-behaved student who wanted to join the line.
“I’m short, I should stand at the front…” An Wuyang replied, holding the cheap backpack he used in high school.
“Won’t you get sunburned there?” Wen Ling pointed to an empty spot in front of him. “Stand here, someone will shade you from the sun.”
The guy in front, hearing this, turned around and glared at Wen Ling.
He wanted to see who was being so sneakily mean!
“Hi.” Wen Ling, however, gave him a refined and polite smile, shamelessly saying, “We should help each other out as classmates.”
“Pfft…” An Wuyang thought it made sense and went to fill the spot. It seemed indeed less sunny there. “Thanks, Wen Ling.”
The boy behind him stroked his chin. “Your name is An Wuyang? Why does that name sound familiar?”
An Wuyang’s heart skipped a beat. Was he recognized?
Thinking about it, he realized he’d been in the news quite a few times, so it was normal for someone to recognize him.
“Safe and sound?” Wen Ling snapped his fingers, laughing. “Your parents really know how to name you.”
“Hey?” The boy, who thought his identity was exposed, blushed. How embarrassing, did he really think he was that famous?
Actually, it made sense. The name spread online wasn’t An Wuyang’s real name. His fans preferred to call him Sweet An or Little Sweet, and every time he appeared on camera, he was meticulously groomed.
Suddenly wearing shorts and a T-shirt, it would be strange if someone recognized him.
To be truly famous, to the point of being recognized everywhere, you’d have to be a major star constantly on screen.
An Wuyang was nothing special. He had no works and no time to build a reputation. His recognizability among the public was probably lower than a minor internet celebrity.
“It’s really hot.” The boy muttered, taking a small fan from his bag and blowing it directly on his face.
“You actually have something like this?” Wen Ling was a bit suspicious, thinking he might have encountered a gay guy.
“My family helped me pack it. I even have a spare one.” An Wuyang took out a spare fan and generously lent it to his new classmate. “Here, it’s quite cool.”
Wen Ling accepted the handy gadget. Since it was prepared by his family, An Wuyang was just a well-loved kid from a happy family, probably not gay.
“Thanks.” He turned it on, and it was indeed very refreshing.
An hour later, the opening ceremony finally ended amid the students’ strong discomfort.
Everyone rushed to buy water and use the restroom.
An Wuyang leisurely took out two bottles from his bag, one filled with plum juice and the other with plain water.
He took a sip of plain water, then a sip of plum juice, and then another sip of plain water. It was very refreshing.
Wen Ling looked at him, not sure what to say about this meticulous boy. “Ahem, I’m going to buy some water. I’ll return the fan to you later.”
An Wuyang nodded, “Yeah, go ahead. No rush.”
The running little fan blew An Wuyang’s bangs, revealing his fair forehead.
This was definitely a pampered kid with good family upbringing and a nice personality. As Wen Ling enjoyed the cool breeze from the fan, he thought indifferently, “A simple little lamb, the type who gets tricked and even counts the money for the con artist. Tsk, tsk.”
Soon, Wen Ling came back, took an Alpenliebe lollipop from his jeans pocket, and handed it to An Wuyang. “Here, have some candy.”
This candy cost 1.5 yuan, An Wuyang remembered clearly.
“Thanks.” He saw it was chocolate-flavored.
“Ah, Wen Ling is so nice, even buying candy for his deskmate,” said Hai Qiong, the girl in front, as she turned around just in time to see An Wuyang unwrapping the candy.
Caught in her envious gaze, An Wuyang felt embarrassed about eating it. “Why don’t you have it instead?”
Hai Qiong, of course, felt shy about accepting. “I…”
“If none of you want it, I’ll have it then,” Wen Ling said with a smile, snatching it back and pretending he was about to eat it himself.
Hai Qiong teased him a bit, but he didn’t seem to care.
After things quieted down, Wen Ling returned the lollipop to An Wuyang. “Go on, take a lick.”
This was the first lesson for the little lamb: good things should be kept for oneself, and don’t let others have a chance to covet them.
An Wuyang was stunned by his deskmate’s audacity. But it had indeed been a long time since he had an Alpenliebe lollipop. Quietly, he hid his mouth with his hand and began to enjoy it.
Before long, the teacher came over, said a few simple words to them, and then let them go.
Some students went to eat, others returned to their dorms.
A boy with glasses patted An Wuyang on the shoulder with a book. “Hey, want to go to the cafeteria?”
An Wuyang hesitated and asked Wen Ling, “Are you going?”
Wen Ling replied tactfully, “The cafeteria might not suit my taste. I’ll eat in the dorm.” Then he asked An Wuyang, “Which dorm are you in? I haven’t seen you.”
“I don’t live on campus,” An Wuyang had to decline the offer from the academic star. “I’ll go home to eat since I don’t have to come back this afternoon.”
“Oh, you’re a day student.” The boy with glasses gave him a once-over. “You must be from a well-off family.”
His parents had told him that anyone who owned a house in Beijing was rich.
“Haha.” An Wuyang laughed, “I’ll bring you some homemade dumplings tomorrow, Beijing style.”
“What about me?” Wen Ling glanced at him.
“You’ll get some too.” An Wuyang packed up his things, said goodbye to his new classmates, and happily went home.
“Aunt Zhang—I’m home from school—”
The man who had been waiting for An Wuyang all morning twitched his mouth expressionlessly: “…” It seemed like the person An Wuyang missed most wasn’t him, but Aunt Zhang.
“Oh, you’re home?” An Wuyang said in surprise, then immediately rushed into the kitchen to find Aunt Zhang. “Aunt Zhang, Aunt Zhang, quickly prepare the ingredients to make dumplings. I’m treating my classmates to dumplings tomorrow.”
“Sure, let them taste Auntie’s cooking.” Aunt Zhang smiled cooperatively. If this were her own grandson, she thought, he could bankrupt the family.
“Oh, I haven’t checked on Dun dun yet.” The boy rolled up his sleeves and ran out of the kitchen. He found his precious son on the small wooden bed in the living room. “So here you are?” He put down the backpack on his shoulder and happily played with his son. “Little Dun dun…”
The small bed was adorned with jingling toys, and Dun dun was easily amused, able to play by himself for a long time.
Hearing the familiar voice, Dun dun waved his little hands and feet excitedly, looking incredibly cute.
An Wuyang leaned over the small bed, playing with him for a long time. The father and son giggled happily.
“…” President Huo remained silent, diligently focused on his work.
He occasionally gave a gentle reminder, “Be sure to wipe his drool, so he doesn’t choke.”
“Got it.”
Dun dun liked to grin and drool, and sometimes when he laughed too hard while playing, he would choke.
They had asked a doctor about this, who said it wasn’t an illness and that he might adjust as he grew older.
“Are you busy today?” After finishing playing with his son, An Wuyang finally looked up at Huo Yunchuan, who was writing.
“Not too much.” Huo Yunchuan put down his pen and looked at him. “First day of school, how was it?”
An Wuyang immediately smiled and enthusiastically described, “The school atmosphere is great, everyone is very friendly, and no one recognized who I am…” He scratched his head shyly. “My deskmate even gave me candy.”
Huo Yunchuan frowned instantly. “I told you…”
“Not to eat junk food, right?” An Wuyang knew he would say that.
Feeling a bit deflated, he slumped his shoulders and didn’t feel like talking about school anymore. “I’ll be more careful in the future. I’m going to the kitchen to help Aunt Zhang make dumplings.”
Huo Yunchuan sat there, watching the boy’s back and then looking at his adorable son. “…” A strange sense of irritation arose within him, but he couldn’t pinpoint why.
At lunchtime.
“Wuyang, come here.” The handsome man patted his own lap.
“Uh?” An Wuyang looked up and then showed an ‘Oh, please’ expression, awkwardly saying, “I’m not a child anymore, you don’t have to do this…”
The man, rejected, had a fleeting look of disappointment in his eyes.
A year ago today, the obedient boy would have sat on his lap, full of dependence, to eat.
Since Dun dun was born, that hadn’t happened.
“As you wish.” Huo Yunchuan calmly let it go without insisting.
After lunch, An Wuyang dove into the kitchen, working hard with Aunt Zhang to make dumplings, and ended up making several hundred of them.
In the evening, he carried a plate of his own dumplings, with sauce, into Huo Yunchuan’s study.
“Hi.” An Wuyang’s expression was gentle as he used chopsticks to pick up a dumpling, blew on it to cool it, and brought it to the tight-lipped face of his lover. “I made these beef dumplings especially for you. Want to try?”
Huo Yunchuan glanced at the plump dumpling, then shifted his gaze to the boy’s expectant face. “I don’t want you to grow up.”
An Wuyang: “…”
An Wuyang put down the dumpling, turned Huo Yunchuan’s chin towards him, and bit his tightly pressed lips. “People inevitably grow up. Dun dun will grow up too, and eventually leave us, but I won’t leave you. Even when we’re old and toothless, we’ll still be together.”
The irritation that President Huo felt was immediately soothed by the little angel’s firm reassurance.
“I also like sitting on your lap, but when there are others around, it’s not about romance anymore. Don’t I need some dignity?” The boy sat on those strong legs, his safest place, then picked up the plate of dumplings and fed his partner with a smile.
“…I’ll grant you that dignity.” Young Master Huo, thoroughly placated, enjoyed his meal happily.
“Mm, thank you.” The super good-tempered boy fed himself a dumpling and, while chewing, mumbled a request, “Take me to school tomorrow, okay? Because there are so many dumplings.”
Huo Yunchuan looked at him, thinking, who wouldn’t like him?
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading ❤️”
