Is it already so late over there?
An Wuyang frowned and asked with concern, “Have you eaten? Are you tired?” What he really meant to say was that, given the time, there was no need for Huo Yunchuan to call him—he should rest earlier.
“I’ve eaten. Just got back to the hotel,” Huo Yunchuan replied, his frustration from earlier with the foreign guests easing slightly as he heard An Wuyang’s voice.
“Are you tired?” An Wuyang asked again.
Huo Yunchuan, halfway around the globe, surprisingly made a suggestive comment, “Not really tired. I could manage a few rounds with you right now if needed.”
It was just mentally exhausting, dealing with a bunch of scheming old-timers.
And his temper was such that he didn’t take well to being pushed around.
If he didn’t have an assistant with him, he didn’t know how many deals would have fallen through these days.
“You…,” An Wuyang glanced at his classmates around him, blushing as he found a quiet corner to continue the conversation. “I’m about to start class. You’ve had a long day. How about taking a hot shower and going to bed early?”
On the other end, Huo Yunchuan said, “No rush. Let’s talk a little more.”
An Wuyang’s heart softened, and he nodded obediently, his voice unconsciously becoming softer. “I miss you so much.”
A light laugh came from the other side, making An Wuyang’s ears feel ticklish again.
Embarrassed, he gritted his teeth and said, “Why are you laughing? You’re the one who wanted me to talk more.”
Now, when he did speak, he was laughed at. He didn’t know what to do.
Huo Yunchuan said, “Isn’t it allowed to laugh when I’m happy?”
An Wuyang was left without a comeback, scratching his other ear as he continued talking. “Dun Dun misses you too. We both do.” As a self-proclaimed prince of sweet talk, he had a special skill for being shy yet passionate. “Come back soon. If you don’t, the condoms in the drawer will expire.”
There was a brief silence on the other end.
After a moment, Huo Yunchuan sighed, “Little troublemaker.”
“Haha.”
“And I’ll be back in three days. Don’t be all cuddly and say you’re tired then.”
An Wuyang: “…”
The two chatted for a little while longer until someone knocked on Huo Yunchuan’s door. He told An Wuyang, “Hold on a moment, I need to open the door.”
At that moment, the school bell rang. “Yunchuan, hang up. I need to go to class,” An Wuyang said, hearing a woman’s voice on the line speaking a foreign language he didn’t understand. He didn’t mind.
Huo Yunchuan replied after a moment, “I have some things to handle. You go to class.”
“Okay,” An Wuyang said. “Goodbye, and I’ll wait for you to come back.”
The call was ended efficiently on the other end, indicating there were matters to attend to.
Running a business was really not easy, and it was truly hard work. This was An Wuyang’s only thought after being hung up on.
In the following days, Huo Yunchuan was indeed very busy, constantly moving from one region to another, dealing with unexpected situations between events.
In such circumstances, he could only ensure he called An Wuyang every day.
Sometimes the calls lasted ten minutes or so, and sometimes just three to five minutes.
Every time, An Wuyang had to urge Huo Yunchuan to hang up the phone and get some rest.
But he noticed that as long as there wasn’t an urgent issue to handle, Huo Yunchuan wasn’t in a hurry to end the call; he seemed quite clingy in this regard.
It was a bit unexpected.
An Wuyang thought about it secretly, feeling sweet inside.
Neither of them were particularly chatty, so being able to talk aimlessly for ten minutes or so made him quite content.
To be honest, with the addition of a nanny, the task of taking care of the child suddenly became much easier.
With the extra time, An Wuyang found himself with plenty of leisure.
The row of baking books on the bookshelf hadn’t been touched for a long time.
When he saw them while organizing the bookshelf today, he felt a sense of familiarity.
As he picked up a book, he murmured, “No wonder moms always say that after marriage and having kids, everything revolves around the child…”
It was true.
Since Dun Dun was born, daily life had revolved around either studying or taking care of the baby.
He had even forgotten how to make something as simple as croissants.
Thinking about this, An Wuyang carried the book to the kitchen, retrieved the materials and tools he had left behind, and prepared to make some croissants.
“Wuyang, baking bread?” Aunt Zhang asked in surprise.
“Yes, it’s been so long since I practiced, I’m afraid I might have forgotten,” he replied.
“Yes, if you don’t practice for a long time, you’ll get rusty,” Aunt Zhang said with experience.
After chatting idly in the kitchen for a while, she asked, “When will Mr. Huo be back?”
As An Wuyang was kneading the dough, he paused. Hearing Huo Yunchuan’s name, he felt a pang in his chest.
He said, “Probably in two days. At the latest, he should be back in three.” Then he resumed kneading the dough.
Noticing that the fridge only had pork floss, he decided to make the entire batch with that flavor.
As the bread baked, its aroma gradually filled the kitchen.
Unexpectedly, An Wuyang, who wasn’t very hopeful at first, became quite excited.
After taking out the freshly baked bread, he eagerly tasted a piece. The rich flavor of the bread combined perfectly with the slightly salty pork floss.
It tasted surprisingly good.
“Aunt Zhang, Aunt Lin, come and try the bread. It’s quite good,” An Wuyang said happily, bringing out all the bread.
After everyone had some, he let the rest cool and packed them in paper bags.
“I’m going out for a bit,” he said, heading out to deliver bread to his classmates.
“Be careful, Wuyang,” Aunt Zhang reminded him, turning to Aunt Lin and saying, “I told you so, Wuyang is just such a sincere child.”
He is honest with everyone, so it’s no wonder Mr. Huo is always worried about him being deceived.
In the dormitory of the University, the weather was cloudy and cool today. The boys were all staying in their dorm rooms, playing games and listening to music, with no one wanting to go downstairs for a meal.
When someone goes out, it means they have to play the hero of the dorm—bringing food for the other roommates.
So why should he?
He decided not to go.
“Sigh.” Xu Yuanhang’s stomach growled with hunger. He closed his book, ready to sacrifice himself for the greater good.
Just then, the dormitory door was knocked on. Everyone looked at each other, as all four roommates were present.
“Who’s there?” Xu Yuanhang went to open the door and was surprised to see An Wuyang standing outside. “What are you doing here?”
An Wuyang smiled at him and held up the bag of bread. “I made pork floss bread for you guys.”
“Holy cow!” Xu Yuanhang smelled the aroma and immediately grabbed the bag of bread like a hungry wolf. “What a timely rain! An Wuyang, you’re the people’s little angel!”
The other dorm mates, hearing there was food, flocked over. “Third, is there food?”
“Yes,” Xu Yuanhang shouted. “An Wuyang brought us food!”
Wen Ling, who had been playing a game with headphones on, took off his headphones and looked at An Wuyang with surprise. “You’re here?” As everyone rushed for the food, he was the only one to ask, “Aren’t you coming in?”
An Wuyang shook his head. “No, I’m heading back now.” Afraid that Xu Yuanhang and the others might finish all the bread without leaving any for Wen Ling, he specially reminded him, “Yuanhang, remember to save two for Wen Ling!”
Xu Yuanhang teased, “Got it. Do you think I’d let him miss out on what you gave us?”
He then went over to share the food with Wen Ling.
An Wuyang took his leave amidst their laughter and chatter.
“Hey, snap out of it.” Xu Yuanhang nudged Wen Ling, who had been staring at the door. “I know An Wuyang is great, but he showed up too late, buddy.”
Wen Ling smiled and turned back to put on his headphones and continue playing the game.
“Sigh…” Xu Yuanhang’s sigh was muffled by the headphones.
The fourth roommate was immersed in his game.
As expected, the gloomy weather eventually turned into rain.
Luckily, An Wuyang quickened his pace on the way back; otherwise, he might have ended up drenched as he didn’t have an umbrella.
When he got home, he saw the two aunties sitting in the living room, knitting and watching TV, creating a stark contrast to the wind and cold outside.
An Wuyang thought about his childhood, when he and his siblings would be stuck at home on rainy days, passing time with card games or what now seemed like silly games.
The sound of the rain woke up Dun Dun from his little bed. “Wahh…” The spoiled little master turned his eyes around, and upon seeing his father, immediately settled down, wanting to be held.
An Wuyang picked him up and explained that it was raining, which was a normal occurrence.
He wasn’t sure if his son understood, but at least Dun Dun had stopped crying and began being playful, tugging at his ears.
“So naughty,” An Wuyang said with a grin, quickly putting the little troublemaker down.
Dun Dun then trotted over to the two aunties, with his target being the brightly colored balls of yarn.
“Dare,” Aunt Zhang raised her hand, pretending to be angry and threatening him.
Dun Dun looked up at Aunt Zhang, then turned around, scared, and leaped into his father’s arms. But that didn’t mean he had lost interest in the yarn; he was pulling on his father’s hand to reach it.
An Wuyang loved his child but didn’t spoil him.
“You can’t play with the yarn,” he said, handing his son his favorite teddy bear toy. “Here, your bear brother.”
Dun Dun took the bear toy and threw it away, showing his displeasure.
“Fine, if you don’t want to play, don’t,” little dad said. “When your big dad gets back, I’ll tell him.”
Three more days passed, and finally, Huo Yunchuan’s work was done.
After finishing up, he called An Wuyang. “Wuyang.”
Finally, receiving the call, An Wuyang sighed in relief.
“It’s Monday already. Aren’t you coming back?” he asked with a tone of confusion and a hint of cautious whining. “You didn’t keep your promise, making me overthink.”
Last night, An Wuyang had considered calling to check, but wasn’t sure what Huo Yunchuan was doing, so he refrained.
Huo Yunchuan quickly replied, “Come home for lunch.”
The simple statement left An Wuyang dumbfounded. “Lunch? You mean lunch?” He couldn’t believe it.
It was already past seven in the morning—weren’t there still a few hours left?
An Wuyang was thrilled, and his attention in the morning classes was even more distracted than it had been the entire week.
He was coming back.
This is wonderful.
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! ❤️”
