A bowl of rice with a cup of soup, and several pieces of fried rice cakes, nearly filled up An Wuyang’s stomach.
However, the two people beside him kept urging him to eat a bit more, clearly making things difficult for the little angel.
“I’m full,” An Wuyang said.
“Have another meatball,” Huo Yunchuan said, handing it to him. “Your favorite.”
The fragrant smell was right in front of him. The young man, already full, evaluated the size of the meatball and, under the watchful eyes of several people, opened his mouth and ate it.
Huo Yunchuan felt a wave of pleasure and then turned his gaze away, picking up his bowl to finish his own meal and preparing to leave the table.
“Wuyang, say goodbye to everyone,” he said softly but firmly, leaving no room for doubt.
An Wuyang nodded, stood up obediently, and said, “Grandpa, Dad and Mom, and all the uncles and aunts, please enjoy your meal. I’m going to check on Dundun in the room.”
“Go ahead,” Huo’s grandfather said immediately.
“Rest early,” Huo’s mother and Huo Xiu both looked at him with loving expressions.
“Okay,” the young man smiled, struggling to suppress his excitement about returning to the room for some freedom, maintaining a dignified appearance as he left the table under the gaze of many guests.
Huo Yunchuan, however, never cared much about such things; after all, he had never had any concept of rules growing up.
He would occasionally remind An Wuyang to avoid unnecessary stress.
“You don’t need to mind what they say,” Huo Yunchuan said.
“Huh?” An Wuyang, walking down the long corridor on the third floor with his shoulder intimately embraced, replied, “It doesn’t help to mind, since I can’t have a baby girl.”
At this point, Huo Yunchuan felt he should clarify things with An Wuyang.
He said seriously, “We don’t need a baby girl or a baby boy. Having Dundun is enough.”
“Huh?” An Wuyang was surprised.
“What’s with the ‘huh’?” Huo Yunchuan asked.
Wasn’t this little fool aware that having a child is risky and exhausting?
Thinking of this, Huo Yunchuan immediately moved his arm to An Wuyang’s waist, feeling as expected that he was frighteningly thin.
So he would take any opportunity to make him eat more.
“You don’t want a second child?” An Wuyang, relieved to hear this, said, “That’s good. Having just one child avoids favoritism.”
At least for now, he didn’t consider himself good enough to be a perfect parent.
“I’m worried that if you have another child, you might be in danger,” Huo Yunchuan said, hugging An Wuyang, who seemed to be worried about having a second child. He comforted him, “If you want a second child, then you need to eat well and take care of your health, okay?”
This tone clearly showed a desire for a second child, but the hesitation remained?
An Wuyang thought to himself that he was worried about the potential consequences if things went wrong.
Dundun couldn’t be without a father; that would be too pitiful.
Hearing his partner speak to him softly, as if afraid to startle him, warmed An Wuyang’s heart.
“Okay.” He also wrapped his arms around Huo Yunchuan’s broad shoulders, making a mental note to start eating five meals a day, each with meat.
“Good boy.” Huo Yunchuan kissed him and then picked him up, carrying him the rest of the way.
After the third day of the Lunar New Year, social engagements increased, and Huo Yunchuan was no exception.
When he was out, the little angel would leave Dundun with his grandfather and happily go out to play with friends.
Just yesterday, his good friend Xiaopang called him with a melancholic tone, “Don’t you feel like we haven’t seen each other in years?”
An Wuyang was surprised and laughed, “What years? We saw each other just last July.”
“That’s still over half a year ago,” Xiaopang insisted. “Come out and play.”
“This…” The unsupervised young man looked around and noticed that Huo Yunchuan was not home. “Sure.”
But getting out was an issue since he couldn’t drive and didn’t have his own car.
After some thought, An Wuyang approached Dundun’s grandmother and said, “Mom, I want to go out and meet some friends. Can you arrange for a driver for me?”
He was very sincere.
Huo’s mother first reaction was, “Me?”
How could she decide this?
“Hm, I’m not sure if the driver is back today,” Huo’s mother said. “I’ll have to make a call to check.” She then quickly rushed to her husband’s study, using the excuse of getting her phone as a pretext.
Huo Xiu looked up from his work and removed his reading glasses when he saw his wife.
Huo’s mother, looking troubled, said, “Wuyang wants to go out and meet friends, and he’s asked me to arrange for a driver. What do I do?”
Arrange it? Or should she call their son?
Huo Xiu asked, “Does Yunchuan not know?”
Huo’s mother replied, “It’s obvious he doesn’t.”
This was getting a bit tricky.
Huo Xiu said, “Then just find a reason to keep him here and say the driver has gone out.” He glanced at the clock. “At this time, Yunchuan should be about to return as well.”
Huo’s mother asked, “Can you bear to do that?”
During the Spring Festival, everyone is usually out eating, drinking, and chatting with family and friends.
Only their little Dundun’s dad doesn’t fuss about going out to play during the winter break and doesn’t enjoy leisure and pleasure.
These days, back at the Huo house, after eating, he spends time with the child and grandfather, and still insists on studying in the remaining time.
Huo Xiu, feeling reluctant himself, said, “Then I’ll let Yunchuan know. You should go arrange it now.”
“Okay.” Huo’s mother nodded and went out to call the driver.
Not long after, she came downstairs to tell An Wuyang that he could leave now.
“The driver is waiting in the car, but you should dress warmly, pay attention to safety, avoid crowded places, and don’t come home too late.”
An Wuyang listened very seriously to these instructions, nodding repeatedly to show he understood.
“Your dad called Yunchuan,” Huo’s mother said thoughtfully, “It’s best if you also tell Yunchuan yourself. He’s very worried about you.”
Seeing An Wuyang’s not-so-grown-up face, Huo’s mother grew increasingly uneasy and even entertained the frightening idea of accompanying him herself.
Even though he was almost twenty, Huo’s mother, who valued independence and strength, had complex feelings about it.
“Alright.” An Wuyang said obediently, “I’ll call him when I get to the car…”
However, as soon as he got in the car, the phone rang faster than he could dial out.
Feeling guilty, An Wuyang hesitated and was reluctant to answer.
But after a moment, he decided he was in the right and had nothing to be afraid of.
Huo Yunchuan asked, “Where are you?”
His tone was stern. Oh no.
An Wuyang replied, “In the car.”
“How about asking the driver to turn around and come back home?” Huo Yunchuan said, “I’ll be back soon. We can go out this afternoon.”
“That’s too troublesome.” An Wuyang held the receiver, waved his hand to signal the driver to speed up, and said, “I’m almost there.”
Lying, of course.
“Nonsense.” How could it be that fast? He asked again, “What are you going out for in this cold weather?”
An Wuyang answered, “To see friends, and have something to drink.”
“What are you drinking?”
An Wuyang blinked and asked curiously, “Besides juice and milk, what else can I drink?” His tone even carried a hint of small expectation.
What else did he want to drink besides juice and milk?
“……” Huo Yunchuan pretended not to catch the little angel’s expectation and said, “I’m just worried about you. What if you get hurt or something?”
Worried? What if he gets lost?
An Wuyang glanced at his phone with location tracking and then at the tall and burly driver who could handle ten people, saying, “You can rest assured, I won’t get lost.”
Huo Yunchuan: “……”
With things to handle on his end, Huo Yunchuan quickly ended the call after a few brief words.
When An Wuyang met Xiao Pang, he was surprised to find that it was only Xiao Pang who showed up. “Only you?” He had expected Xue Jiyang to bring Xie Ran along.
“Yeah, why would I?” Xue Jiyang said. “We’re reminiscing about the past; why would we bring our partners?”
An Wuyang nodded. That made sense.
“Man, you’ve gotten even thinner!” Xue Jiyang said, giving An Wuyang’s shoulder a pat, only to find it felt oddly bony. “Isn’t life in a wealthy family supposed to be good?”
It looked like his friend hadn’t changed much since they first met in middle school.
“I’m just someone who doesn’t gain weight easily.” An Wuyang sat down opposite him with a slightly annoyed expression. “You think I’m like you, gaining weight just by catching a breeze?”
Xiao Pang, who had suffered quite a bit over the years, gave An Wuyang a kick under the table. “Show off.”
“Hey.” An Wuyang dodged and said, “What do you want to drink? It’s on me today.” Since his little savings had grown, he hadn’t spent much and had almost forgotten what spending money felt like.
“Alcohol.” Xiao Pang ordered his favorite cocktail.
An Wuyang agreed, called over a young waiter in uniform, and ordered for Xiao Pang. “I’ll have a pear juice.”
Xue Jiyang raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
It seemed like his friend had noticed his concern, and with a smile, calmly explained, “It’s fine. I really just can’t gain weight. My family is also worried, so they forbid me from drinking and eating too many snacks. It’s all for my own good.”
Not like some netizens speculated, where he entered a wealthy family from an ordinary background and appeared prosperous on the outside but struggled in secret.
It wasn’t bitter at all, An Wuyang thought; in fact, it was quite pleasant.
“That’s good.” Xiao Pang didn’t say much more. At least from his perspective, An Wuyang’s smile was genuine and filled with happiness.
And then thinking about it, what was An Wuyang like back then?
He seemed quieter than he is now, rarely laughing foolishly without a reason.
When chatting, he would answer one question at a time, appearing particularly introverted.
Xue Jiyang remembered that the reason for his early marriage was actually due to a shotgun wedding, which was quite a pain…
It was really impressive, like hearing about a cousin who found a red aristocrat boyfriend through a message in a bottle—a miracle.
They hadn’t met in over half a year, and who knew when they’d see each other again.
An Wuyang was full of feelings for his old friends, but he was bad with words, unsure of what to share, so he poured out stories about Dun Dun and his daily life all at once.
Knowing that he continued to study every day, Xue Jiyang was quite pleased; that was how it should be.
“Oh, look, it’s snowing again while we’re talking,” An Wuyang said, his joyful gaze fixed on the window. “Look, doesn’t it look like our high school playground? They had trees like these there too…”
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! ❤️”
