When Fu Mingchuan returned, he saw Yu Wen playing with Tiao Tiao on the balcony. As soon as Tiao Tiao heard the door open, it ran halfway toward the entrance before stopping and refusing to move. It stood still, no longer wagging its tail as enthusiastically as before. When Yu Wen called, Tiao Tiao immediately ran back to him.
Fu Mingchuan took off his jacket, loosened his tie casually, and walked toward the pair, ignoring the silly dog he didn’t like. He raised his hand and lightly brushed his fingers against Yu Wen’s cheek. “Now that you have the dog, I don’t even get a greeting when I come home?”
Yu Wen quickly said, “You’re back.”
Fu Mingchuan couldn’t help but pinch his cheek. “So half-hearted.”
Yu Wen was indeed half-hearted, and remained so the entire evening. He went out alone to walk the dog and didn’t return until midnight, and even then, he seemed reluctant to stop.
Having spent so much time walking the dog, Yu Wen felt exhausted after showering. He collapsed into bed, too tired to move. When Fu Mingchuan placed his hand on Yu Wen’s waist, Yu Wen batted it away, mumbling, “I don’t want to.”
Fu Mingchuan, in a rare playful mood, teased him, “Don’t want what?”
In the past, whenever Fu Mingchuan asked him what he wanted, Yu Wen would cling to his neck and shout, “I want you, I want you, I want you!” repeating it many times.
But this time, Yu Wen said, “I don’t want you.”
Fu Mingchuan flipped him over, scrutinizing his expression, and asked again, “You don’t want me for what?”
Yu Wen was forced to change his response. “I don’t want to do it tonight. I’m too tired.” He then asked, “Is that okay?”
Fu Mingchuan stared into his eyes for a long moment before saying, “It’s okay.”
Yu Wen immediately turned away again. Fu Mingchuan thought he was doing it on purpose. Wrapping his arm around Yu Wen’s waist, he pulled him back into his embrace. “The housekeeper is only responsible for cooking. From now on, you need to come home early to walk the dog.”
Yu Wen was a little unhappy, not understanding why Fu Mingchuan had suddenly become so stingy, refusing to pay a little extra for the housekeeper to walk the dog.
With that frustration, Yu Wen fell asleep. The next morning, he got up early to walk the dog, but unlike before, when he could go back to sleep after, he now had to head straight to work.
After a few days of this, Fu Mingchuan, seeing how drained Yu Wen looked every day, like a wilted plant, told him not to go for the morning walks anymore. Feeling a bit wronged, Yu Wen innocently asked, “So the housekeeper is okay to walk the dog again now?”
Fu Mingchuan smirked and patted his head as if petting a small dog. “With extra pay, yes.”
Yu Wen then asked, “Can we pay for many months in advance?”
Fu Mingchuan teased him again, “Depends on your performance.”
Unlike before, Yu Wen didn’t respond with a playful “I’ll perform well tonight” or blush. Instead, he simply said, “Oh.”
And his voice didn’t even drag out the word.
A couple of months later, out of the blue, Fu Mingchuan asked Yu Wen if he wanted to change jobs. Yu Wen was stunned when he heard the question. “Why would I need to change jobs?”
Standing in the position of a life mentor, Fu Mingchuan advised that at his age, Yu Wen should be doing something more productive. “You should be learning something, not wasting your youth.”
He added, “If you have any thoughts, let me know. If you want to go back to school, that’s fine too.”
Yu Wen had graduated from a decent university, though his brother, Yu Fan, had insisted he major in business, even though he had no interest in it. As a result, he ended up with a degree that didn’t quite suit him.
He wasn’t sure if Fu Mingchuan’s suggestion was a criticism of his academic background or his lack of learning in university, so he said, “I’ll think about it.”
Although he said that, he didn’t actually plan to switch jobs. Ever since he was a child, he had always loved kids, and now that he worked in a kindergarten, he was already content.
He was different from Fu Mingchuan. He had no grand ambitions, no desire to rise above others or make a name for himself in any particular field. Now that he had some money saved up, all he wanted was to spend his time with the little kids and animals.
Although Fu Mingchuan didn’t press him further, Yu Wen still felt a subtle pressure—the pressure of being with someone like Fu Mingchuan.
Yu Wen asked Zhou Hui to look into higher-paying industries for him, but after surveying the options, he realized that these jobs either required an advanced degree or exceptional intelligence. Just as Fu Mingchuan had pointed out, he really would need to study more.
Zhou Hui, puzzled as to why Yu Wen was investigating this, cautiously called him. “Did you already find out?”
You Wen was in the middle of unpacking groceries, setting down bags of food from his recent trip to the supermarket. He placed some frozen goods into the freezer and asked, “Find out what?”
“About that guy with the surname Ruan,” Zhou Hui paused. “You don’t know?”
You Wen had no idea what Zhou Hui was talking about, but when he pressed for more details, Zhou Hui refused to say anything further. It wasn’t until a week later, when he saw someone beside Fu Mingchuan outside a hotel, that he finally understood Zhou Hui’s meaning.
At the school, one of the kids hadn’t been picked up after class, and after trying to contact the parents several times, You Wen offered to help take the child home. Since Fu Mingchuan didn’t like him getting home too late, he couldn’t afford to wait indefinitely.
The child’s parents were incredibly grateful and sent him the location of a hotel, where they were attending an event.
When You Wen arrived, he waited by the greenery near the hotel entrance, holding the child in his arms and trying to soothe them while casually glancing around. That’s when he saw Fu Mingchuan.
Or more accurately, he first saw Fu Mingchuan’s car—he recognized the model, the driver, the license plate, and even the little wooden figure on the dashboard.
You Wen originally planned to call out to Fu Mingchuan once he got out of the car, but to his surprise, another person got out with him.
Fu Mingchuan turned around and held the car door open for the other person. Once they were both out, they walked toward the hotel entrance side by side.
The person with Fu Mingchuan was also dressed in a steel-gray suit. Their tousled bangs fell across their forehead, and when a breeze blew by, their eyes, which sparkled like stars, were striking.
Unlike Fu Mingchuan’s naturally aloof demeanor, this person exuded a mixture of professionalism and a certain softness. They smiled as they talked to Fu Mingchuan, and when Fu Mingchuan replied, he looked directly into their eyes.
The words You Wen was using to comfort the child froze in his mouth as he instinctively stepped back into the shadows.
At that moment, the child’s parent emerged from the hotel but didn’t immediately look for You Wen. Instead, they politely greeted Fu Mingchuan at the entrance. It seemed they also recognized the person beside him, and after exchanging a few words, the parent appeared eager to continue the conversation. However, Fu Mingchuan wasn’t interested, so the person with him stepped in to end the exchange.
After being politely dismissed, the parent respectfully watched them leave before finally coming to find You Wen.
You Wen was quite familiar with the parent, so he called out to them before they had a chance to search for him. The parent, Mr. Chen, hurried over with a smile, saying, “Teacher You, thank you so much for your help.”
The parents of the children in You Wen’s class had a group chat where they often discussed how You Wen would willingly help with pick-ups and drop-offs. As a result, they had become quite comfortable asking for his assistance, and You Wen had never raised any objections.
You Wen tried to hand over the child, but the little one refused to let go, clinging to his neck and resting their head on his shoulder, softly comforting him, “Big brother, don’t be sad.”
The child’s parent, surnamed Chen, was the uncle; his brother had left the child in his care before going abroad. Seeing the child’s reluctance, Mr. Chen didn’t force the issue but instead suggested, “Teacher You, you’ve helped so many times already. How about joining us for dinner this time?”
You Wen glanced toward the hotel. “Is your business here done, Mr. Chen?”
After a brief internal struggle, Chen Ming replied, “It’s all wrapped up.”
Originally, You Wen didn’t intend to join them for dinner, but the child suddenly began to cry uncontrollably, and after five minutes of trying to soothe him to no avail, You Wen ended up getting into Chen Ming’s car with the child. In the end, the three of them had dinner together.
During the meal, You Wen casually brought up that the person speaking with Fu Mingchuan outside the hotel had looked familiar. Chen Ming didn’t hold back and immediately said, “That was Fu Mingchuan. You might not know him, but you’ve heard of Huading Group, right? That’s his. He’s basically the god of wealth in Zhongzhou.”
You Wen’s gaze drifted slightly, and then he asked, “Who was the person with him?”
Chen Ming didn’t hold back. “That’s Ruan Jing, the heir to the Ruan family from the west side of the city. He returned to the country about six months ago. He’s quite capable, but I’ve heard Fu Mingchuan helped him a lot.”
You Wen didn’t ask any more questions, but Zhou Hui’s vague comment about “that guy with the surname Ruan” now made sense to him. He finally understood what Zhou Hui had been trying to say but couldn’t quite bring himself to explain.
Sensing something was on his mind, Chen Ming casually added, “I’ve heard Ruan Jing is pursuing Fu Mingchuan.” He watched You Wen’s expression carefully as he spoke. “You know men can be together, right?”
It wasn’t until Chen Ming repeated the question that You Wen snapped out of his thoughts. “I don’t mind. That’s perfectly normal.”
That evening, after getting home, You Wen realized he had forgotten to drive his car back and had been dropped off by Chen Ming. The next day, he didn’t have time to retrieve it, and it wasn’t until several days later, when Fu Mingchuan asked why his car wasn’t in the garage, that he casually said he had lent it out and would get it back soon.
That night, he went to retrieve the car, and Fu Mingchuan asked him who he had lent it to and why he had to pick it up himself. You Wen replied, “That day I helped a parent drop off their child and got held up outside. By the time I came back, I forgot about it.”
Fu Mingchuan felt something was off about the explanation. He asked, “If you forgot your car, who brought you home?”
“A student’s parent,” You Wen answered.
Whether it was his imagination or not, after that conversation, Fu Mingchuan started making time to pick him up from work at the kindergarten, sometimes even bringing the dog, Tiao Tiao. Within two weeks, Fu Mingchuan and Chen Ming had become quite familiar with each other.
Chen Ming, who had always been frustrated about not having any connection to Fu Mingchuan, started visiting more frequently after they met at the kindergarten. He even eagerly invited Fu Mingchuan to join their parent-teacher group chat. “You’re picking someone up from the Red Flower Class too, right? It’ll be easier if you join the group. Teacher You from their class is a great guy. If you ever can’t make it, you can ask him to help with the pickup.”
Fu Mingchuan frowned. “Do you all do that?” No wonder he’s been getting home so late every day.
Chen Ming was taken aback. He noticed that Fu Mingchuan didn’t seem pleased but wasn’t sure why. Trying to explain, he said, “Teacher You is happy to help. I’m not sure what’s going on at his place, but he doesn’t seem to like going home much.”
Fu Mingchuan’s face turned expressionless. “And how did you figure that out?”
Feeling the pressure, Chen Ming regretted speaking but couldn’t escape under Fu Mingchuan’s gaze. “Once, after he dropped a child off, the parent went out an hour later and still saw his car parked in their neighborhood.”
“What was he doing there?” Fu Mingchuan pressed.
Chen Ming pulled out a photo from the group chat. “It didn’t seem like he was doing anything, just sitting there.” The parent had thought they were seeing things and had taken a picture to confirm with others in the group if it was really You Wen. Chen Ming had saved the photo.
Fu Mingchuan stared at the photo for a long time without saying a word. Chen Ming, trying to break the tension, added, “But Teacher You really is a great guy.”
Chen Ming smiled awkwardly. “I was thinking of pursuing him, actually.”
