Reluctantly Willing

“Daddy, you lied!” Guo Guo said, pouting. “You said you’d marry Uncle An.”

“Daddy wasn’t able to get Uncle An’s heart.”

Guo Guo seemed to sense the seriousness of the matter. He ran forward with his short legs while calling for his uncle.

“Guo Guo, come back.”

Guo Guo looked back, his expression grim. “Daddy doesn’t want Uncle An. Uncle An doesn’t want Guo Guo.”

“No, I didn’t say that I don’t want him. Uncle An went on vacation. He’s always busy at home, so he went out to relax. He’ll be back in a bit.”

Guo Guo wiped away his tears. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Then we have to wait together for Uncle An to get back.”

“Okay.”

…

Carrying the little luggage he had, An Xiaoyan arrived at the bus station. He had nothing now. He just wished he could start over.

He had a few hundred dollars in his pocket. The money was for emergencies; it was his last bit of savings.

“I want to buy a ticket.”

The worker glanced at An Xiaoyan. “To where?”

“B City.”

“One hundred and eight.”

After paying, An Xiaoyan tightened his clothes around him. He prepared to leave when a crazed woman came in. She was dressed elegantly, but her expression wasn’t good. A few bodyguards followed her.

“An Xiaoyan, I finally found you. Save me, please save me.”

An Xiaoyan recognized the woman after seeing her face clearly—Gao Shan.

“What’s wrong?”

“Gu Jun took revenge on Gu Jing. Now, Gu Jing is fired and no one wants to take him. He’s going to prison soon because of the car accident too.”

An Xiaoyan understood that Gu Jing had tried to run over Gu Jun, but what did this have to do with him?

“I can’t help you. I have nothing to do with Gu Jun now.”

Gao Shan still didn’t give up. “Go talk to Gu Jun. Tell him that I was the one that decided to give stocks to the supporters. It has nothing to do with Gu Jing.”

Right now, Gao Shan was completely different from the proud woman at the meal. An Xiaoyan didn’t understand the company’s matters and he didn’t plan on getting involved.

“You can tell Gu Jun yourself.” With that, he started making his way to the bus station.

“An Xiaoyan, Gu Jun likes you so much. If you ask him, he’ll definitely let Gu Jing go!”

Likes you. Why did everyone say that Gu Jun liked him? If Gu Jun did, why would he hurt him like this? He felt lucky that he’d pushed Gu Jun. If Gu Jing hadn’t run him over, he might still be under Gu Jun’s control.”

An Xiaoyan turned around. “Thank Gu Jing for me. Thank him for the accident.”

Limping forward, An Xiaoyan gave his ticket to the worker and didn’t look back.

None of this had anything to do with him now.

“You didn’t think I’d come, right?” Gu Jun asked Gu Jing, who was in a prison uniform while playing on his phone.

“You used me. You bribed people. I clearly had more supporters, so you must have done something. Otherwise, the stockholders wouldn’t suddenly turn on me.”

“Do you know how much I paid to get rid of you? If you didn’t use stocks to tempt those old guys, they would’ve voted for me anyway. You’ve been relying on the Gu family all these years. What can you do?!”

“I can do a lot. I have capital. Otherwise, why would they choose me? Otherwise, how could I have bribed them?”

Gu Jun relaxed. “I didn’t come today to argue with you. I just wanted to see how pathetic you look now. Do you know that I’ve decorated my entire home with roses for a confession? But you destroyed it all. If you didn’t pull those tricks, An Xiaoyan would accept me. It’s all because of you!”

“Gu Jun, you actually fell in love with your rival. This is hilarious…”

Gu Jun wasn’t in the mood to listen to Gu Jing’s complaints. He’d already talked to the police station to give Gu Jing at least a year or two. The Gu family was at a high point now. No one would dare try to get him out.

This is the price you should pay!

The sunlight was so warm, but without An Xiaoyan, his heart was still cold.

Gu Jun printed out all of An Xiaoyan’s pictures and placed them beside his bed. He only had three pictures. It wasn’t enough.

…

After getting off the bus, An Xiaoyan felt the humid air. He’d only gone a bit south, but the air was different.

“Brother!” The two at the podium waved at An Xiaoyan.

“You guys are here.”

Dong Zi hurriedly took An Xiaoyan’s suitcase. When Ye Qing saw Wonton, she happily went to hug it. The three started walking. Dong Zi and Ye Qing noticed An Xiaoyan’s leg wasn’t normal, but they didn’t ask.

“It’s been half a year. Brother, you’re finally here.”

An Xiaoyan had called Dong Zi before getting on the train. He’d purposely memorized Dong Zi’s number. Evidently, it was necessary, because after he’d met Liu Cheng, Gu Jun had deleted all his contacts.

“Now that you’re here, you won’t leave, right?” Dong Zi asked tentatively. He was afraid An Xiaoyan would leave again in a few days.

“I won’t. How are you two?”

Dong Zi blushed. “We’re going to get married!”

“That’s good. I didn’t think you two would become a couple.”

“We opened a restaurant,” Ye Qing said shyly. “Business is quite good. We can go over and I can make some food for us to talk over.”

Dong Zi’s restaurant was in the ghetto. This was where people from outside the city lived and worked. The restaurant was a small business, but they could make good money. Dong Zi was naturally talkative, so he was familiar with everyone who came through.

“I’ll go prepare some dishes. You two talk.” Ye Qing stuffed the cat back into An Xiaoyan’s arms. She turned and went into the kitchen.

“How have the past six months been?”

“Not bad. I just want to make some money now.” An Xiaoyan pet Wonton as he talked. Wonton was very smart. It just laid there and slept.

“I know some people here. If you need a job, I can ask around.”

An Xiaoyan refused politely. He wanted to find a place by himself and have some quiet time. Too many things had happened these years. His will to fight had been ground away.

Dong Zi didn’t dare to say anything. He just said, “Okay, just settle down here and think about the other stuff later.”

The dishes came quickly. They were all typical home-cooked dishes. An Xiaoyan was genuinely happy for Ye Qing and Dong Zi to be leading such a good life. He’d told them to leave before so he wouldn’t drag them down.

“We have some savings from this half year and we’re prepared to get married. When we get enough money, we’ll buy a home too.”

“That’s good. If you two work well, you’ll have a great future.”

Ye Qing took a bottle of wine from the cabinet. An Xiaoyan waved his hand. His body was still too weak and he couldn’t drink wine. Thankfully, Dong Zi didn’t force him. He started drinking by himself.

Dong Zi was completely different from last time. His youthful spirit and vigor had faded. He was a true 20-year-old now.

“Brother, what are your plans?” Ye Qing asked. She got a small bowl for the cat.

“I’m just here to see you two. I’ll leave in a few days.”

“You’re leaving so soon! Why won’t you stay a few more days?”

“I have my own plans.”

An Xiaoyan lay in bed at night. Wonton was purring on his chest, but he couldn’t fall asleep.

Who would hire a disabled man like him? The easiest job would be a cashier at a supermarket or a dishwasher at a restaurant. First, he had to find a home. If he had somewhere to live, Wonton wouldn’t suffer with him.

After he’d left Gu Jun, his heart was at ease, but his life had grown harder.

It was uncomfortable to stay in that position, so An Xiaoyan moved. Wonton’s purrs stopped. It raised its little head to look at An Xiaoyan. Then it changed its position and continued sleeping.

Cats didn’t understand a man’s worries!

“Wonton, you don’t have high-class cat food and cans to eat now. You only have leftovers. Can you still sleep?”

Wonton seemed to understand. It arched up and looked at An Xiaoyan with resentment.

“I shouldn’t have given in and taken you out. If you stayed at the Gu home, you’d still be a rich cat. You won’t have to worry about food. Now that you’re out here with me, you’ll have it rough. You don’t even eat the food I give you. Your fat is going to disappear. What a pity.”

Wonton walked to An Xiaoyan and licked his face, leaving sticky saliva behind. It was some kind of comfort. An Xiaoyan settled in and put Wonton on his chest. “Okay, let’s sleep.”

Wonton was a lazy cat. It quickly fell asleep, but An Xiaoyan hadn’t fallen asleep yet. He thought of Guo Guo. After all, he’d watched Guo Guo grow up and the kid clung to him. Now that he’d left, Guo Guo probably cried a lot.

However, Gu Jun could probably take good care of him. He didn’t really understand what Gao Shan had said, but Gu Jun was apparently powerful. He didn’t understand the conflicts between rich families.

On that, two separate people were sleepless in their respective beds.

Gu Jun lay in An Xiaoyan’s room. For some reason, An Xiaoyan’s scent faded after he left; the more it faded, the more Gu Jun missed him.

He missed how An Xiaoyan lay in bed and that calm expression. Before, Gu Jun would never confess that he was gay. Now, he wanted the entire world to know.

He couldn’t sleep after An Xiaoyan left. His heart felt empty, as if something were missing.

He turned on the light. It was three in the morning. He hadn’t slept in days, but his brain was still on overdrive.

He’d finished all the sleeping pills in the drawer. When he opened the drawer, he happened to see the card that he’d given to An Xiaoyan. It was still lying there.

An Xiaoyan didn’t have money and he’d taken Wonton away by himself. Would he run into bad people? What if they went hungry? What if they’re cold?

A strange kind of worry overtook him.