Chapter 54
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Gu Yang entered the bathroom briskly and placed a small mirror on the side before turning on the hot water to take a shower.
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me, is Fan Yuan becoming more and more childish?”
With the sound of rushing water in the background, Gu Yang’s voice transmitted to Fan Yuan through the magic mirror. Fan Yuan picked up the small mirror around his neck and looked at it, only seeing a blurry figure under the misty white vapor. He immediately put the mirror down and didn’t answer Gu Yang’s question.
Not getting a response from the mirror, Gu Yang wiped the water vapor off the surface and knocked on it with a curved finger, “Mirror, mirror? Quickly answer my question! Is Fan Yuan becoming more and more childish? Is it related to him shrinking during the day? It doesn’t matter, just tell me. It’s just you and me here.”
A flash of light passed over the mirror’s surface, and a cold reply came through, “No.”
Gu Yang grinned, “See, I was right. He’s competing with me like a child, isn’t he childish? Fan Yuan is just stubborn. You’re pretty stubborn too, mirror.”
After placing the small mirror aside again, Gu Yang continued to shower merrily and occasionally hummed some strange songs.
Outside the bathroom, Fan Yuan laid on the large bed, listening to the clear sound of water and soft melody coming from the small mirror around his neck, and closed his dark eyes.
When Gu Yang finished his shower and came out, he saw Fan Yuan get up from the bed and stride past him into the bathroom.
“What are you doing? Didn’t you just finish showering?”
Gu Yang and Fan Yuan passed each other closely, both of their body temperatures high.
The bathroom door closed behind Gu Yang, and Fan Yuan’s muffled voice came through, “I have a stomachache.”
Gu Yang walked towards the bed, using a towel to dry his messy long hair.
As he walked, he reminisce about what they had eaten that day. It seemed like nothing they had eaten could have upset their stomachs. So why did Fan Yuan suddenly experience stomach pain?
After a while in the bathroom, Fan Yuan still hadn’t come out. Soon, the sound of water could be heard from inside.
Gu Yang walked up to the bathroom door and knocked, “Fan Yuan, are you okay?”
The sound of water stopped briefly, and then Fan Yuan’s chilly voice came through, “I’m fine. Dry your hair and go to bed first.”
The sound of water resumed, and Gu Yang finally relaxed. But instead of drying his hair, he went downstairs.
While Fan Yuan was in the bathroom, Gu Yang immediately went to the fridge and pulled out a few small cakes. He sat on the couch in the living room, turned on the TV, and started eating while watching a comedy show.
It was winter break, and many variety shows had started airing. Gu Yang picked a funny one, turned up the volume, and began to watch and laugh.
“Dong Dong -“
Suddenly, knocking on the door sounded, but Gu Yang didn’t hear it at first because of the noise from the TV.
“Dong Dong -“
“Dong Dong -“
The knocking became more urgent, and Gu Yang finally noticed the sound. He quickly turned down the volume on the TV and listened carefully.
“Dong Dong -“
It was indeed knocking on the door, coming from the front entrance on the first floor.
Gu Yang was taken aback, and he immediately felt a chill run up his spine.
Ever since Fan Yuan had dismissed the maid, only the two of them had been living in the small villa. There was a large iron gate outside, and even if someone came, they would ring the doorbell outside the gate. How could someone knock on the villa door directly in the yard?
Gu Yang quickly ran upstairs and happened to bump into Fan Yuan coming out of the bathroom.
Fan Yuan came out, held Gu Yang’s shoulder, and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Gu Yang felt the icy coldness of Fan Yuan’s hands on his shoulders and asked unconsciously, “Why did you take a cold shower?”
Before Fan Yuan could answer, Gu Yang immediately remembered the main issue and said, “Someone is knocking on the door downstairs!”
Without needing to explain in detail, Fan Yuan immediately understood the situation. He turned and locked the bedroom door, then took out two small knives from the bedside table, throwing one to Gu Yang and putting the other in his own pocket.
Fan Yuan picked up his laptop and opened it, clicking a few times to access the surveillance system outside.
In the dark surveillance screen, the iron gate and courtyard outside the small villa were empty.
Fan Yuan adjusted the camera and switched to the villa’s entrance.
Gu Yang nervously watched the computer screen and saw a little boy continuously knocking on the door, jumping and appearing very anxious.
“How could a child suddenly appear at this late hour?” Gu Yang wondered.
Neither of them rushed to open the door, and there were a series of small footprints on the snow behind the child.
Fan Yuan switched the surveillance camera to the corner of the courtyard and saw a small dog hole. It must have been dug by the three puppies before. The little boy had crawled in through the dog hole.
After confirming that there was only this one child in the villa’s courtyard and no other suspicious individuals, Fan Yuan finally led Gu Yang down to open the villa’s gate.
As soon as the gate opened, the little boy rushed in and, after scanning Fan Yuan and Gu Yang, plunged into Gu Yang’s arms, shouting loudly, “Mom! Mom! Why did you take so long to open the door? I’m freezing to death!”
Gu Yang was bumped back several steps by the little bean, and looked in astonishment at the little boy who held onto his waist tightly with his small hands.
He pushed the little boy’s shoulder several times until the boy finally stepped back with a red and frozen face.
Fan Yuan remained calm and called the police as soon as the little boy jumped onto Gu Yang.
Soon the police would come and take the little boy to find his family.
Gu Yang led the little boy to sit on the sofa and poured him a cup of hot water.
“What’s your name? How old are you? How did you come here?” Gu Yang asked, and the little boy obediently answered every question.
“Mama! I’m Little Miao! Mama, don’t you remember? Little Miao is eight years old this year!” The little boy held the hot water and still called Gu Yang “mama.”
Gu Yang pulled his hair hanging in front of him in frustration and said, “I’m not your mama, I’m a man. Don’t call me that.”
Little Miao didn’t understand and continued to call him “mama.”
Fan Yuan interrupted and asked again, “Why did you come here?”
Little Miao showed some inexplicable hostility towards Fan Yuan and turned around to cling tightly to Gu Yang, filled with vigilance. “My mama is here, so of course I came!” he said.
After questioning him, they were still at a loss and could only wait for the police to arrive.
The two adults and the little boy stayed in the living room on the first floor. Gu Yang turned up the volume on the TV.
Fan Yuan was about to sit next to Gu Yang, but Little Miao immediately jumped off the sofa to block Fan Yuan and squeezed himself between the two, looking particularly proud as he glared at Fan Yuan.
Gu Yang pressed his lips together and suppressed the laughter that almost spilled out. He stood up and walked to Fan Yuan’s side, sitting next to him and rubbing his wet hair against Fan Yuan’s neck.
Little Miao sat on the sofa sulking when Gu Yang walked away.
Fan Yuan gently pushed Gu Yang’s head and said, “Didn’t I tell you to dry your hair? Why haven’t you done it yet?”
Gu Yang didn’t speak, but instead leaned on Fan Yuan’s legs. Fan Yuan brought over a hair dryer and plugged it in. Before Fan Yuan could react, Gu Yang had already laid down on his lap.
The sound of the hair dryer filled the room. Gu Yang’s hair weaved in between Fan Yuan’s fingers, and the warm air blew over his head. After a while, Gu Yang yawned and began to feel sleepy.
Fan Yuan saw Gu Yang yawn and immediately lowered the power of the hair dryer by one level.
The whistling sound became quieter and Gu Yang slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep after a while.
Gu Yang slept until midnight. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself snuggled in Fan Yuan’s arms, lying on a big bed.
As soon as he woke up, Fan Yuan woke up immediately.
Gu Yang asked him about Little Miao: “Did the police take Little Miao away?”
Fan Yuan remained silent for a moment before answering: “…No, he’s in the guest room.”
Gu Yang was stunned for a moment before realizing:
“What? In the guest room?”
Fan Yuan gently brushed the smooth hair on Gu Yang’s back with his fingertips.
“No one around here has lost a child. As soon as they said he was going to be taken away, he cried and the police couldn’t do anything. In the end, they decided to leave him here for two days. If the police can’t find his parents in these two days, they will come and take him away.”
Listening to Fan Yuan’s explanation, Gu Yang’s smile grew bigger and bigger. He couldn’t help but turn around and bury his face in the quilt, laughing so hard that his shoulders were shaking.
As his laughter grew louder and louder, Fan Yuan narrowed his eyes and gently placed his hand on Gu Yang’s shoulder.
“Gu Yang, what are you laughing at?”
Gu Yang’s laughter stopped for a moment before becoming more unrestrained and louder.
He turned around and laid on the bed, covering his stomach with his hands while laughing and whimpering.
Fan Yuan laid on his side on the bed, watching Gu Yang laugh uncontrollably. He slowly extended his fingertips and touched Gu Yang’s Adam’s apple.
“Gu Yang, I’ll give you three seconds to stop.”
“Three.”
Gu Yang was still laughing heartily and even rolled on the bed.
“Two.”
Gu Yang covered his mouth and turned to look at Fan Yuan, with tears of laughter in the corners of his eyes.
“One.”
Gu Yang buried his head in Fan Yuan’s embrace and pressed his cheek against Fan Yuan’s chest. His shoulders were still shaking a little, but at least he wasn’t laughing out loud anymore.
He grabbed Fan Yuan’s shirt and finally stopped laughing. He whispered against Fan Yuan’s chest:
“Fan Yuan, you’re so gentle.”
He said it so softly that he could barely hear himself.
Fan Yuan seemed to have not heard it, just gently stroking Gu Yang’s back.
“Not laughing?”
Gu Yang nodded, “Mm, not laughing.”
The next moment, Gu Yang was pressed onto the bed, and the zipper behind his long skirt was pulled all the way to the end.
Gu Yang was startled and knew what Fan Yuan was going to do.
Sure enough, Gu Yang immediately felt a pain in his shoulder as Fan Yuan bit him.
Under the stimulating pain, Gu Yang’s mind wandered, and he suddenly thought of something else.
Why did he suddenly attract children?
Even at the clinic, this little Miao would run to him inexplicably from a distance.
Gu Yang guessed that it might still be related to the “golden finger” of “Snow White”. Snow White was very popular with dwarfs, and children were also dwarfs!
After the shoulder, there was a pain in the back of his neck.
Gu Yang buried his face in the quilt and whimpered, curling his shoulders in pain.
Fan Yuan leaned close to Gu Yang’s ear and whispered to him, “Gu Yang, what are you thinking about?”
Before Gu Yang could speak, the bedroom door suddenly pushed open. Little Miao rushed in like a small cannonball, pounced on the bed, and punched and kicked Fan Yuan.
“What are you doing! You are not allowed to bully my mother!”
Gu Yang pulled the blanket back and leaned against the head of the bed, watching the scene in front of him. He couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Fan Yuan finally frowned, lifted Little Miao’s collar off the bed, and threw him back into the guest bedroom.
As soon as Little Miao’s feet touched the ground, he immediately hugged Fan Yuan’s legs and didn’t let him go.
“You are not allowed to bully my mother!”
Fan Yuan looked down at Little Miao’s angry little face. Gu Yang’s vague words drifted past his ears.
“Fan Yuan, you’re so gentle.”
Fan Yuan bent over, pushed Little Miao away, turned around, and closed the door of the guest bedroom.
He walked through the dark hallway and returned to the bedroom, holding Gu Yang who was still laughing tightly in his arms and burying himself in the blanket.
The bedside lamp in the bedroom was turned off.
Gu Yang fell asleep again in no time, and Fan Yuan let go of him, pulling his small face out of the blanket.
He lowered his head and slowly pressed his forehead against Gu Yang’s.
He was not gentle.
He was never gentle.
What Gu Yang didn’t know was that when the police came to take Little Miao away, Fan Yuan had already brought Gu Yang back to the bedroom to rest.
Little Miao struggled and cried in the hands of the police, using all his tiny limbs to protect himself.
The look he gave Fan Yuan was so desperate.
He cried out:
“I don’t want to go back! They will kill me! I don’t want to go back! I want to stay with my mother! I don’t want to be beaten anymore!”
At that moment, Fan Yuan saw himself in Little Miao.
So, he decided to keep Little Miao for a few more days.
Just for these two days.
In the middle of the deep sleep, Gu Yang suddenly stretched out his hand and groped around.
He found Fan Yuan’s palm and immediately stuffed his own hand into it. He leaned his head over and rubbed against Fan Yuan’s, murmuring indistinctly in his sleep:
“Fan Yuan… hug me, please.”
Fan Yuan opened his arms and held Gu Yang tightly, so tightly that they seemed to merge into one person, and they would never separate.
Finally, it was winter break, the last long holiday before the college entrance examination. No matter how much Fan Yuan tried to wake him up in the morning, Gu Yang refused to get up, using all his tactics to stay in bed. Eventually, Fan Yuan agreed to let him sleep a little longer.
However, Gu Yang never expected that he could escape from Fan Yuan but not from Little Miao.
As Gu Yang laid in bed comfortably, he felt as if someone was staring at him. He opened his eyes and saw Little Miao looking at him eagerly, with his little hands grasping the edge of the bed.
As soon as Little Miao saw Gu Yang wake up, he hurried over and said carefully:
“Mama, you’re awake? I fried an egg for you. Do you want to eat it?”
Fried an egg? Such a young child frying an egg?
Gu Yang sat up abruptly and checked Little Miao’s small hands to make sure there were no burns. Then, he breathed a sigh of relief and told him:
“Don’t do this kind of thing again. You’re too young to do such dangerous things.”
Little Miao stuck out his tongue and nodded obediently.
Gu Yang got up and washed up before going downstairs. He saw two breakfasts on the table, one prepared by Fan Yuan and the other by Little Miao.
At this moment, Fan Yuan was looking at his phone on the side. When he saw Gu Yang coming down, his gaze fell on him and then immediately shifted away.
Little Miao seemed to have no interest in Fan Yuan shrinking during the day, and neither Fan Yuan nor Gu Yang had any intention of explaining it.
Gu Yang looked at the two breakfasts in front of him and couldn’t help but say that although Little Miao was small, the breakfast was really good. Gu Yang generously ate both breakfasts, which made him feel full and he couldn’t eat much for lunch.
In the afternoon, the police called to inquire about Little Miao’s situation and brought some news.
It was true that a family had lost a child, but the child’s name was not Little Miao and he was not eight years old. He was a seven-year-old boy named Wei Yan. They had already compared photos and results should be available soon.
Gu Yang answered the phone and after hanging up, he went online to search for information about Wei Yan. However, he couldn’t find anything.
Gu Yang thought for a moment, called Little Miao over, patted his head and asked him gently, “Little Miao, can Brother ask you some questions? Can you answer them for me?”
Little Miao obediently nodded and loudly agreed, “Okay! Mommy!”
Gu Yang sighed and began to ask Little Miao about his name and where he lived, and Little Miao answered all the questions honestly.
After asking, Gu Yang let Little Miao go watch TV, and he began to search for information about Little Miao online. He quickly browsed through the web pages and found that this information had already been searched before. The only other person who used this laptop in the building besides Gu Yang was Fan Yuan.
After reading all the information, Gu Yang suddenly closed the laptop lid.
He took a deep breath and turned to leave.
In the study, Fan Yuan seemed to be talking on the phone with someone. Gu Yang walked past the study door without going in and instead turned downstairs to watch TV with Little Miao.
The police acted quickly and came to pick up Little Miao the next day, saying that they had found Little Miao’s family and would send him back immediately.
However, Little Miao was not happy and cried with a sad face, tightly holding Gu Yang’s hand and refusing to leave.
Gu Yang bent down, took off his hat, and put it on Little Miao’s head.
As he took off his hat, Gu Yang’s long and shiny black hair cascaded down, falling in front and behind him.
Several police officers looked at Gu Yang in confusion. He was clearly a teenager, yet he had long hair.
However, Gu Yang didn’t care at the moment. He put the slightly oversized hat on Little Miao’s head.
“Don’t be afraid, Little Miao. I promise you that nothing bad will happen after you go back this time.”
Finally, Gu Yang leaned close to Little Miao and spoke in a voice that only they could hear:
“Little Miao, you are very capable and have done very well. Wei Yan will be grateful to you. You should also quickly find your new parents. Trust me, your new parents will definitely like you very much because Little Miao is so amazing.”
As Gu Yang finished speaking, Little Miao widened his eyes and looked at him, whispering:
“Mom… No, thank you, Brother Gu Yang.”
Little Miao finally went with the police, but before leaving, he turned around and bowed to Fan Yuan.
“Thank you too, big brother with a grumpy face!”
After Little Miao left, only Fan Yuan and Gu Yang were left in the small villa.
Fan Yuan still kept an eye on Gu Yang, always studying with him, while Gu Yang always found various excuses to avoid doing a problem.
At night, Fan Yuan went to take a shower.
Gu Yang was lying on the bed with his feet up, swaying them back and forth. He was browsing on his phone, which displayed an unusual financial news report with the latest updates.
“After the chairman of the Seiwa Group passed away, the company had been struggling and unstable. Yesterday, the only legitimate heir of the Seiwa family who had gone missing was found. When the police sent the child back home, they discovered that the uncle’s family, who is the current acting director of the Seiwa Group and the legal guardian of the young heir, had been abusing the child for a long time. They had been detained and, with the consensus of the rest of the Seiwa family, their power as acting directors will be revoked.”
The report was accompanied by a photo of a young boy with a serious expression, surrounded by a group of black-clad bodyguards, walking outside wearing a hat that was too big for him.
As he read the news on his phone, a WeChat message suddenly popped up.
“Hey Yang, we looked into the matter you asked us to help with, but someone had already taken care of it. It seems to be the same person as last time…”
Gu Yang smiled slightly, opened his bookmarked webpage, and scrolled through the news. He sighed.
“Little Miao, you will definitely find loving parents.”
The news displayed on his phone screen was an old social news story from five or six years ago.
It was about a boy named Miao Yongming. His father was addicted to drinking and gambling, and his mother had left them. After his mother ran away, Miao Yongming’s father continued to drink heavily and abuse him. Finally, in a fit of rage, Miao Yongming’s father beat him to death when he was only eight years old. His father also died of alcohol poisoning because of the same incident.
After Miao Yongming’s family died, their house was quickly demolished, and a new building was built in its place. That building was now the home of Wei Yan.
When Little Miao’s uncle’s family visited the area near Fan Yuan’s house, Little Miao took Wei Yan and hid him in the car, and they arrived at the doorstep of Fan Yuan’s house. Because of the influence of the “golden finger” of “Snow White,” Little Miao was attracted to Gu Yang, which is why he came to Fan Yuan’s house to knock on the door.
Gu Yang read the news again, feeling depressed and uncomfortable.
He exhaled and found a recent photo of him and Fan Yuan, which he set as his phone wallpaper. Then, he closed the news app. Fan Yuan had just come out of the shower…
Fan Yuan sat on the bed with his back turned to Gu Yang, when suddenly he felt Gu Yang’s forehead hit his back.
“Fan Yuan?”
Fan Yuan put down the towel and answered gently.
“Yeah?”
Gu Yang reached out and slowly wrapped his arms around Fan Yuan’s waist.
“Fan Yuan, I’m not a coward. As long as I have you, I’m not afraid of anything. So, if there’s anything, you can tell me.”
After a long time, Fan Yuan nodded.
“I know.”
Gu Yang put his face on Fan Yuan’s back and laughed.
Fan Yuan was clearly very gentle. He knew about Little Miao’s true identity but was afraid of scaring him, so he never mentioned it. He also silently helped Little Wei Yan escape from his abusive uncle’s family. These were all things that Fan Yuan did quietly.
Fan Yuan’s experiences shaped who he is today, but deep down, his heart is still pure and transparent.
Gu Yang snuggled up to Fan Yuan, enjoying the peaceful time.
Suddenly, Fan Yuan turned around and picked up Gu Yang. They went downstairs to the first floor and turned off all the lights, leaving only the dim light of the TV.
Fan Yuan put Gu Yang on the sofa and chose a horror movie to play.
Gu Yang sat close to Fan Yuan, not very sure and asked, “Fan Yuan, why do we have to watch this?”
Fan Yuan reached out and pinched Gu Yang’s neck.
“I thought you said you’re not afraid?”
Gu Yang was at a loss and had to endure watching two classic horror movies with Fan Yuan. As a result, Gu Yang’s attachment to Fan Yuan grew stronger. Before, he liked to stick to Fan Yuan, but not to the point of being with him 24/7. But now, even when Fan Yuan goes to the bathroom, Gu Yang will squat at the door, pitifully waiting for him.
In the middle of the night, Fan Yuan got up to use the bathroom. As soon as he opened the bathroom door, he saw Gu Yang squatting at the entrance.
When Gu Yang saw Fan Yuan come out, he immediately reached out and grabbed Fan Yuan’s pants leg, pitifully looking up at him.
“Fan Yuan… how could you leave me alone on the bed?”
Fan Yuan bent down and picked up Gu Yang, letting him wrap his arms and legs around him.
Gu Yang pressed his cheek tightly against Fan Yuan’s neck and rubbed against him like a little puppy.
Fan Yuan hugged Gu Yang up a bit higher and leaned against the wall instead of going back to bed.
“Gu Yang, don’t be afraid, we won’t watch horror movies again in the future.”
But Gu Yang shook his head.
“I, I still want to watch it, but I just can’t watch it alone…”
Fan Yuan stepped back a bit and looked at Gu Yang’s moist eyes, his lips slightly curved.
“You want to watch even though you’re scared?”
Gu Yang nodded helplessly.
“En, as long as you are there with me.”
Because Gu Yang was afraid, they didn’t close the heavy curtains in the bedroom tonight.
The night sky outside the window was bright and clean, covered with stars.
A shooting star flashed by, dragging a long tail, like a growing sapling.
Gu Yang poked his head out of Fan Yuan’s neck and saw the shooting star.
He whispered in Fan Yuan’s ear:
“Tomorrow will be a good day.”
Fan Yuan lowered his eyelids and softly responded:
“Mm.”
Author’s note: Fan Yuan is only 18 years old.
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