Reluctantly Willing

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

An Xiaoyan placed the syringe at Fifth Dumpling’s mouth but it did not open its mouth to eat. It must have fallen ill.
Without eating his breakfast, he rushed to the pet hospital with the kitten in his arms. As soon as he stepped out, thunderstorms and torrential rains spread all over the road. If he were to go out now, not only would he get wet, but the kitten would get wet as well.
There was quite a distance between the place he stayed and the hospital, and hailing a taxi at this time was not easy. An Xiaoyan could only hope that the rain would subside a little so that he could hurry out.
When Gu Jun went out in the morning, the rain was not as strong, but as soon as he stopped the car, a heavy downpour occurred.
An Xiaoyan stood downstairs in a building opposite Gu Jun’s, pacing back and forth. He seemed to be holding something in his clothes and looked very anxious.
“Drive the car next to the man across the street.”
An Xiaoyan waited for a long time and there was not a single car in sight. The cat seemed to have lost its warmth. He was afraid that if he were to wait another second, the kitten would leave him forever. It was cruel to see the cat leave this world before it even had a chance to grow up.
A car parked across the street drove towards him. He waved his hand and the car stopped beside him. Without any hesitation, he pulled the car door open and went in.
“Go to the vet as soon as possible.”
The driver drove forward. When An Xiaoyan calmed down a little, he turned and saw Gu Jun sitting next to him.
“Dry your hair or you’ll catch a cold.”
The familiar voice made him fix his eyes on Gu Jun. His hand did not reach over to pick up the towel and his eyes were filled with doubt. Why is Gu Jun here, by chance or by design?
When he needed help the most, Gu Jun was the first one there.
“Wipe yourself dry quickly.” Gu Jun stuffed the towel into his hand; An Xiaoyan was in the passenger seat, dripping wet from head to toe. Helplessly, he lifted up the towel in his hand and wiped the hair on his forehead.
The car quickly pulled to the side of the road, but as it was raining heavily today, the traffic was not smooth. Seeing that the animal hospital’s door had not yet opened, An Xiaoyan looked at the kitten in his arms at a loss.
“Do we wait here, or look for other pet hospitals?”
“Wait here, I’ll call Ji Lin.”
Ji Lin was still stuck in the traffic due to the rain. After hearing An Xiaoyan’s description of the kitten’s condition, he told An Xiaoyan to go into the pet hospital and put the kitten in the incubator.
“Don’t get out first.” Gu Jun went down with his umbrella and opened the car door on the side of An Xiaoyan. He sheltered An Xiaoyan with his umbrella and placed his hand on An Xiaoyan’s waist involuntarily to support him.
After placing Fifth Dumpling in the incubator, An Xiaoyan sat down and waited for Ji Lin and the rest, hoping that one of them could arrive soon.
“Don’t worry, the kitten will be alright. It will be treated once they arrive,” Gu Jun comforted him.
An Xiaoyan cowered and nodded. He could not imagine how he would react if the kitten met its death.
Fortunately, the rain outside had subsided a little and Ji Lin arrived soon after. He looked at the kitten in the incubator and gave it an injection after the diagnosis and treatment.
“The kitten is too weak. Let it stay here for observation first. It rained so heavily today that I did not intend to open for business today, but I had to rush down because of your phone call.”
An Xiaoyan was embarrassed and apologized.
Ji Lin looked at Gu Jun’s half-wet shoulder and thought that this man was really persistent.
“Xiaoyan, if there’s nothing else, I’m getting out of here. You can leave when the kitten is out of danger.”
Gu Jun stood up and was about to leave. An Xiaoyan looked at the broad figure and softly said, “Thank you.”
After he completed his step, Gu Jun turned his head sideways and replied, “You’re welcome, I ought to.” On the surface, Gu Jun appeared so calm, but in the bottom of his heart, he was feeling so warm. After putting in so much hard work, he felt that all was worthwhile when he heard that “thank you” from An Xiaoyan.
After Gu Jun left, Ji Lin’s gossip-heart came up again. “That’s really your pursuer?”
“No.” An Xiaoyan denied it.
“Gee, he cares about you so much and you think I can’t tell?”
An Xiaoyan refused to admit it and went to check on the kitten every few minutes to make sure that it was not dead before feeling at ease. “Don’t ask so many questions. I really have nothing to do with him.”
Gu Jun said that he was his fiance and An Xiaoyan refused to admit that. This pair is rather interesting.
It was raining cats and dogs in the morning, but just after noon, the sun came out. Fifth Dumpling woke up and mewed softly. An Xiaoyan went over to feed it.
“Where did this cat come from? I dare say your house is a cat’s nest.”
“There are six cats in my house now. Besides Wonton, there are five small ones.”
Ji Lin was stunned when he heard that, as it was no easy feat to take care of six kittens.
“I take care of them willingly. Besides, if I don’t, these kittens would die. Not to mention anything else, as long as they are white and chubby, I’ll be satisfied just by looking at them.”
Okay, mister, as long as you are happy. Anyway, Gu Jun is so rich that it’s not difficult to keep a house full of kittens.
After this shock, An Xiaoyan would pay extra attention to the kittens from time to time. Every time he went home, he would check the kittens first to ensure that they were doing fine before doing anything else.
Bang bang bang… There was a knock at the door.
From the peephole, An Xiaoyan saw Gu Jun standing outside the door. He really should be grateful for what Gu Jun had done for Fifth Dumpling.
After opening the door, Gu Jun put a small box which he was holding on the ground. A puppy jumped out of the box and startled An Xiaoyan.
“This?”
“It is a dog from the rescue group. No one adopted it, so I sent it here.”
An Xiaoyan put the dog back into the box and placed it outside the door. Then, he blocked the door frame with his body and said with a hint of anger, “Gu Jun, I’m not running an animal shelter here. You keep sending wayward cats and dogs over here; I can’t afford to keep them all!”
“Why aren’t you addressing me as Mr. Gu like before?” The focus of this question was not on the animals at all. An Xiaoyan did not know how to answer it for a moment.
“Xiaoyan, I just want to do my part. You used to keep Wonton and took such good care of it, so I was thinking if these animals were to be kept by you, they would also be well taken care of. Money is not a problem. I’ll pay for all that is needed. You just have to take care of them.”
He could not find anything wrong with that statement. Gu Jun was sure that he would not give up raising these animals, thus he sent them over.
“In the future, if you have any other animals, just put them at the door. You don’t have to come in.”
“Since I’ve come in today, would you treat me to a meal?”
An Xiaoyan put the puppy in the living room. The whole living room was bustling with noise and excitement. Five kittens had already gone running around the floor, while the puppy was getting familiar with the new environment and jumping on the sofa. Only Wonton was being a cool customer, lying alone on the sofa.
Although Gu Jun entered the house, he did not dare to freely move around as he might get himself kicked out if he spoke too much and said the wrong thing. He could only accompany the kittens and puppy in the living room.
In the kitchen, An Xiaoyan did not change the menu just because there was an additional person, and was still making the usual simple dishes.
Soon, a portion of sweet and sour rib, tomato and egg soup and roasted eggplant were served.
After the dishes were placed on the table, An Xiaoyan arranged two sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table.
It was very quiet as nobody spoke. The food was delicious. When he was in the villa, An Xiaoyan often cooked. At that time, he did not feel anything special about the food. However, this time, he suddenly felt that this food was much better than anything else he had eaten before.
“You can leave after eating.”
In this way, Gu Jun was chased out. Though he was not satisfied with the outcome, he agreed to leave.
“When I come around next time, I’ll bring you the dog’s necessities.”
Nearing the entrance, when Gu Jun pushed open the door, behind him came a voice, saying, “Gu Jun. Don’t ever come again.”
When the door was closed, An Xiaoyan sat on the sofa with Wonton in his arms. He was confused. Why did he promise to take these animals in? It was he who gave Gu Jun a chance, but now he asked him not to come again.
As Gu Jun reached downstairs, his mobile phone rang and he saw old Mr. Gu’s name on the screen.
“Come back quickly. You can’t be away from the company for such a long time even you are on a business trip. If you insist on not returning, how will you explain it to the board of directors when you eventually do come back?”
“Alright, I got it.”
Looking back at the building: Xiaoyan, I’m going home first, and I’ll come back again to see you.
Chen Chen had been presiding over the overall situation of the company. Gu Jun’s workload was lightened when he returned. The reason why old Mr. Gu hurried Gu Jun back home was because of his marriage.
A man should be independent at the age of 30 and Gu Jun was already 30 years old. Though he had a child, he was still an eligible bachelor. Many women were dying to get in line to marry into the Gu family.
Early in the morning, when Gu Jun had just arrived at the office, old Mr. Gu was already waiting at the door of the office.
“You are finally willing to come back?” Old Mr. Gu had always had an imposing build, and he’d been a well-known figure in the business for many years. His sense of authority could not be underestimated.
“What’s so urgent?”
“Miss Xiu has recently been awarded a place in that international competition and she could be considered talented. I want the two of you to get engaged. The sooner this gets settled, the sooner I’ll have peace of mind.”
Gu Jun impatiently refused as he was not interested in that woman. “I am now in the ascendant stage of my career. Do you think I have the heart to do this now?”
Old Mr. Gu had long guessed that Gu Jun would use this excuse. “You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ll arrange it entirely. You just have to be present.”
“That’s not right.”
“What’s wrong? I’ll bring Guo Guo to my old house to stay. After you are engaged, I’ll send him back to you. I finally have a grandson in my old age; he is so precious to me.”
After old Mr. Gu left, Gu Jun was filled with anger. Old Mr. Gu was using his son as a threat. If he refused to get engaged, Guo Guo would have to continue to stay in the old house.
What a cruel move!
Gu Jun went straight to the old house after work that night. Not surprisingly, he saw Guo Guo playing in the living room. When Guo Guo saw Gu Jun, he ran to him.
“Daddy, Grandpa said you’d come to see me today. You really came!”
Gu Jun embraced Guo Guo, kissed his cheek and put him on the sofa. Gu Jun’s absence over the past few days had given the old man an opportunity.
“Has anyone bullied you here?”
Guo Guo shook his head. “But there’s still no Uncle An. Daddy, you said that Uncle An has gone traveling, but it’s been almost a month now! Why hasn’t Uncle An come back yet?”
“He will be back soon. When he comes back, we will all live together.”
“Yes, yes! Daddy, you said that we will be going to the movies together.”
Gu Jun had already forgotten but Guo Guo remembered. When he first watched a movie with Xiu Yijian, he told Guo Guo that they will take Uncle An to watch a movie in the future. Now that the movie had already been released, the man they wish to watch the movie with was not present.
“Daddy will take you there in two days.”
“Great!”
“Daddy, where is Wonton?”
“Wonton and An Xiaoyan have gone traveling together. When Uncle An comes back, Wonton will come back with him.”
Guo Guo was fully convinced and hadn’t a shred of doubt. His big eyes were looking forward to An Xiaoyan’s return.
The summer heat was ramping up. Walking outside, Gu Jun felt as if he were being baked in an oven. Gu Jun remembered that An Xiaoyan lived on the sixth floor with no air conditioner. He must be very hot.
He dialed the telephone number of an air-conditioning company and asked them to go over to An Xiaoyan’s house to install an air conditioner.
He was enjoying the happiness brought by money, while An Xiaoyan was suffering on the other side.