Reluctantly Willing

There were no hiccups in the preparations for the engagement. All preparatory activities were going as planned and Gu Jun had gradually accepted the fact that he was getting engaged. However, he left everything to be managed by Chen Chen as he did not want to be involved in it. Every single day, he spent his time outside of work accompanying Guo Guo and Fifth Dumpling at the villa.

He wanted to wait until after his engagement to see An Xiaoyan, but what the security guard reported to him next surprised him.

At the main gate, a familiar figure with a big bag was looking inside.

An Xiaoyan had intentionally asked for a week’s leave. Bearing in mind that he had not seen Fifth Dumpling or Guo Guo for some time and had nothing urgent on the island to attend to, he made a special trip down. He brought along a pile of his “fur kids” too. Once he stepped into the house, the cats and dog jumped out of his bag.

Gu Jun could hardly imagine how An Xiaoyan could have brought these cats and a dog from thousands of kilometers away.

Why didn’t he cherish such a persistent and resolute person?

The Big Dumpling Army and Yippy were overjoyed to come to such a huge place. Yippy still remembered Guo Guo and lay directly on Guo Guo’s lap.

“Why are you here?”

“I kept thinking of Guo Guo and Fifth Dumpling and can’t get them off my mind, so I thought of coming over to see how things are going.”

Gu Jun embraced An Xiaoyan tightly. The familiar scent was back. He wanted to fill every corner of the house with the smell of An Xiaoyan.

An Xiaoyan had summoned all of his courage to get on the boat and leave the island. In fact, he did not know whether it was the right thing to do. He clearly wanted to leave this place full of sorrows, but now he took the initiative to come back. He was still so spineless.

But he had no regrets about it. The current situation was different from before. If Gu Jun dared to behave the same as before, it would mean that they were really incompatible. In that case, he would never come back again.

It was Gu Jun’s last hope, but also An Xiaoyan’s last hope.

“Okay, this time, you can decide how long you want to stay and go wherever you wish to go.”

“I have asked for a week’s leave, so I’ll only stay for 5 days before I leave.”

Five days later happened to be June 15, the day of Gu Jun’s engagement. An Xiaoyan would not ask. He was still afraid and his fear could only be concealed by superficial joy.

With so many additional members in the family, the house suddenly started to become lively once more. When the nanny was cooking, she saw Ann Xiaoyan and thought she was seeing things.

After she was sure that she wasn’t mistaken, she intentionally cooked a few more dishes to celebrate Mr. An’s return.

“Xiaoyan, do you have any plans for your return this time?” Gu Jun was feeling a bit guilty when he spoke. Now that the news of his engagement filled the city, he did not want An Xiaoyan to go anywhere too crowded.

“No, I have no plans. I only wish to come back and see how things are going. I will be leaving in a few days’ time.”

“Okay, just tell the nanny what you need and she’ll help you get it.”

An Xiaoyan nodded. Although there were bad memories in this house, it felt much better stepping into the house now. At least, he did not feel as oppressive as before.

After dinner, Guo Guo was sleeping in the arms of the nanny. The pets were sleeping in the nest prepared for them. After An Xiaoyan took a bath, he went to the original bedroom he used to stay in and Gu Jun was already lying in his bed.

“Gu Jun, why are you here?”

“I will sleep on this side. I feel more comfortable sleeping with you. Don’t worry. I am not going to do anything.”

Now that they were friends and An Xiaoyan was in Gu Jun’s house, it would not be polite of An Xiaoyan to shoo Gu Jun out of his bedroom. Thus, he could only lie on the other side obediently.

It was as if his body had recognized the bed; he fell asleep in it very quickly. Gu Jun inched his way towards An Xiaoyan. Finally, the two of them were leaning against each other and Gu Jun carefully embraced An Xiaoyan.

For the next four days, An Xiaoyan’s routine consisted of quietly staying in the villa, helping the nanny cook, reciting poems to Guo Guo, and bathing his pets.

On the fifth morning, Gu Jun said that he would take Guo Guo to a dinner party, and An Xiaoyan had no doubt about it. He helped Guo Guo dress up and saw them off to the door with Wonton in his arms.

Seeing An Xiaoyan’s figure at the gate getting smaller as the car departed, Gu Jun felt oppressed again. It was a big lie, but he could not tell the truth.

The engagement would be held in the famous hotel, Han Lin Hotel, in A City. On the car, Gu Jun reminded Guo Guo that he need not do anything at the venue, he could eat anything that he liked, and not to talk to others.

Marriages of the rich and powerful were usually done out of the public eye. The engagement scene had tight security and all the media were not allowed to enter. Thus, Gu Jun felt at ease to bring Guo Guo along.

This was more extravagant than Gu Jing’s wedding. People with and without connections were present to join in on the fun.

When old Mr. Gu saw his young and promising son enter the venue, he was naturally smiling happily. In fact, he was already mentally prepared to see Gu Jun absent today, but unexpectedly, he came by his own free will.

Xiu Yijian was upstairs in the hotel. First, the people in the shopping mall greeted each other, and then the engagement ceremony began.

Naturally, Nan Qiang was the first person who would dare approach Gu Jun. “Chairman Gu is not only successful in your career but has a beautiful fiancée. It can be said that you are the epitome of a successful family man. Now that you are going to get married, you won’t fancy those old rotten flowers and weeds from the past anymore. To tell you the truth, I really envy you, Chairman Gu. It is right to do what’s age appropriate. When you reach my age, you will have a different experience.”

“Boss Nan, you are too kind.” The cups touched and made a clinking sound, but the two of them were each harboring bad intentions in secret.

“Chairman Gu, you’ve chosen the right time to get married. People like us didn’t choose the right time, that’s why we couldn’t become a talented person like you!” Seeing another sycophant, Gu Jun just gave a perfunctory response.

After a while, a man in his fifties came over with a cup. Gu Jun did not have an impression of who this person was.

“Chairman Gu, please pardon my little girl if there is anything not good enough about her. My little girl has been spoiled by me since childhood. Fortunately, Chairman Gu did not mind and has agreed to marry my little girl. It is considered a great honor for my family. With the help of old Mr. Gu’s fund, the Xiu family’s business is doing very well and we have attained higher social standing.”

It was but a small family, and Gu Jun did not pay much attention to it. He did not have a favorable impression of Xiu Yijian’s father at all.

After Gu Jun downed the cup of wine in his glass, he stood in the middle of the hall and looked at the splendid place.

Maybe when he could finally give all this up, he could really be with An Xiaoyan.

The engagement ceremony officially began after everyone was almost done with their conventional greetings. The Pipeline Orchestra was playing some music, creating an elegant atmosphere in the hall.

…

No one in Gu Jun’s villa knew about his engagement as he had intentionally kept it a secret. An Xiaoyan did not have any suspicions during his brief stay in the villa either. After all, Gu Jun was usually busy.

While the nanny was preparing lunch, An Xiaoyan went to help out and the two of them were chatting together.

“Mr. An, why were you absent some time ago? Did you have something going on?”

“Yes, indeed I had something to attend to, but I will come back more often to pay a visit. Maybe, I’ll just find a job here.”

The nanny was overjoyed to hear that. “Actually, when I first saw you, I could tell that you were a very nice person, and you are very compatible with Mr. Gu as well.”

For the first time, someone said this right in An Xiaoyan’s face. He blushed from his face to his neck and replied, “You must be joking, we are just friends.”

The nanny could tell that An Xiaoyan was embarrassed and continued to joke, “A friend can also become a boyfriend.”

At noon, An Xiaoyan was alone, and the nanny did not intend to cook too much. She planned to cook a seafood soup, then make a red stewed hot chicken, and then stir-fried some bamboo shoots with dried tofu.

After they’d both prepared the necessary ingredients, the nanny wanted to start cooking when An Xiaoyan suggested that he try it himself.

The nanny had witnessed An Xiaoyan’s culinary skills before. He was as good as her, so she acted as his assistant and allowed him to take over.

The seafood soup was a soup stewed with shrimps, oysters, and crabs. Then the shrimp meat was fished out and cut into cubes and eggs were beaten before being added to the soup. Chopped scallions and coriander were added last. As soon as the pot of soup was ready, the fragrance of the soup permeated the air. The red stewed hot chicken and fried bamboo shoots with dried tofu were not as complicated, and he just needed to follow the usual steps.

After cooking the meal, An Xiaoyan was tired out. After all, preparing a meal in the Gu family residence was not as casual as preparing his own meal at home. He took more than an hour just preparing the soup.

Since Gu Jun was not at home, An Xiaoyan told the nanny to sit down and eat with him.

The nanny took a sip of the soup and gave a thumbs up. Although the soup was made under her guidance, it was much better than hers. “Mr. An, I think you could open a restaurant!”

An Xiaoyan smiled and said, “I just cook my own meals to satisfy my appetite. It’s far the standard of being able to open a restaurant.”

After the meal, the nanny took the initiative to wash the dishes. An Xiaoyan was lying on the sofa, playing with the Big Dumpling Army with a cat stick. Fifth Dumpling lived a comfortable life in Gu Jun’s house, thus it had grown up a lot and even caught up with the growth of the other kittens. It looked about the same size as Fourth Dumpling. Sixth Dumpling and Seventh Dumpling had also begun to grow from a skinny kitten to a size more akin to a fat middle-aged uncle.

In order to prevent the kittens from scratching the sofa and destroying the furniture, An Xiaoyan had clipped the kitten’s claws. With their claws cut, even if the kittens wanted to show off their sharp claws, they could not.

At noon, when the sun was hot, An Xiaoyan was lying on the sofa. There was a lot of noise outside, thus he had to go upstairs to take his nap. The coach ticket back to the island had already been purchased. He would be waking up at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning to catch the first bus to the coach station.

In less than twenty hours, An Xiaoyan would be leaving. Though he felt a little reluctant to leave, there was no reason for him to stay here. Besides, Ji Lin was still waiting for him to return.

He would consider coming back for another visit after he managed to save a little more money. With a plan in mind, An Xiaoyan felt at ease and lay in his bed. When he was about to doze off, his mobile phone suddenly rang.

An Xiaoyan opened his eyes in a daze and did not know whose number it was. The caller display showed that it was a number from A City.

His mobile phone number was never leaked. An Xiaoyan casually cancelled the call, but when he was about to turn around and continue to nap, his mobile phone rang again.

It was still the same number displayed on the screen of his mobile phone. After An Xiaoyan thought for half a second, he pressed on the answer button.

A quiet and pleasant male voice could be heard saying, “Mr. An Xiaoyan, I have a will here with me.”