Reluctantly Willing

“Guo Guo, it’s all my fault. I was angry, so I didn’t give you food. I’ll take you to eat a big meal. How about that?”

Guo Guo’s large eyes shone. He’d already forgotten about Gu Jun getting angry at him. “Daddy?” he asked sweetly. “Will Uncle An go? Uncle An likes eating big meals too.”

“Uncle An can’t go. He’s sick and needs to rest in the hospital. We’ll go again after he gets better.”

“Okay!”

Xiu Yijian went to the movie theater to wait as planned. She was surprised to see Gu Jun holding Guo Guo’s hand. This time, she was sure that the child was important to Gu Jun.

“Greet Aunt Xiu.”

“Hi, Aunt Xiu.”

Xiu Yijian didn’t dare to reveal her feelings in front of this cute kid. She squatted down to greet Guo Guo. The three went into the theater together.

Old Mr. Gu had bought the movie tickets personally. The tickets were for a couple seats in the last row. Most people would think this was a great opportunity, but Guo Guo’s unexpected appearance ruined everything.

Gu Jun put Guo Guo in the middle to separate him and Xiu Yijian. He couldn’t help but find this funny as well.

“Daddy, pretty flower,” Guo Guo said, pointing at a bouquet in the center of the screen. “Uncle An likes flowers too.”

Now basically the third wheel, Xiu Yijian’s good mood was destroyed. She didn’t want to come in the first. After coming, she had to deal with a chatty kid too. Couldn’t she watch the movie in peace?

Gu Jun looked at Xiu Yijian, so she replied with a big polite smile.

A while later, Guo Guo said loudly, “Daddy, let’s come watch with Uncle An next time. Let’s watch big dinos. Guo Guo doesn’t get this.”

Thankfully, there weren’t many people present. It was a romance movie too. In this romantic atmosphere, the various couples in attendance were all in their own worlds. No one cared about what was happening with Gu Jun.

Two torturous hours finally passed. When they walked out the theater, Xiu Yijian burned with fiery impatience. If not for the spot in the competition, she definitely wouldn’t suffer that kid’s presence for so long. He was too noisy.

Ever since Guo Guo learned how to speak properly, he would start screaming whenever he saw something. His childish nature was revealed in full. The quiet personality from before had utterly vanished.

“Daddy, big dino!” Guo Guo said, pointing at a poster on the wall as they walked out.

Gu Jun glanced over. On Labor Day, the theater would show Dinosaur Zoo, an American sci-fi movie. Guo Guo was at the age where he’d be interested in these things. Gu Jun decided that he’d bring An Xiaoyan and Guo Guo to watch it together.

“Okay, Daddy will take you to watch it.”

It was like Xiu Yijian was merely a fly on the wall.

After the movie, it was time for dinner. Old Mr. Gu had reserved a rotating restaurant at the highest floor. They could see the nighttime view of the entire city.

Guo Guo pressed against the glass, exclaiming, “Daddy, circle. Circle!”

Xiu Yijian looked over. The Oriental Eye was brilliant under the distant night sky. Gu Jun naturally saw it as well. Seeing the Oriental Eye, he thought about Liu Cheng kissing An Xiaoyan.

“Guo Guo, stop looking and come eat.”

This was a western restaurant. Guo Guo had never eaten these things before, so his eyes glowed with curiosity. Gu Jun really felt that An Xiaoyan raised his son well. He was completely different from before.

“Guo Guo, order whatever you want to eat.” Smiling, Xiu Yijian gave Guo Guo the menu.

Guo Guo had never seen these things before. Being a kid, he chose the most eye-catching items.

“Guo Guo, Daddy will go out for a bit. Chat with Aunt Xiu. Remember not to make her mad!”

Guo Guo nodded obediently. Holding the juice that the waitress had given him, he gazed at Xiu Yijian.

“Auntie, why are you eating with my daddy?”

“Because I want to be with your daddy. Does Guo Guo accept that?”

Guo Guo cocked his head and thought for a bit. Confused, he said, “But Daddy has Uncle An. Why does he still need you?”

It was natural for Xiu Yijian to misunderstand a child’s words. “Uncle An is an uncle. He can’t be with your dad. Other people will judge your dad.”

“Oh,” Guo Guo uttered, but he still didn’t understand. It was great for Uncle An to be with Daddy. Uncle An cooked food and played with him.

Gu Jun returned to see the two ignoring each other. For some reason, he felt happy. As long as Guo Guo didn’t like Xiu Yijian, Old Mr. Gu wouldn’t be able to do anything, no matter how powerful he was.

The food was soon served. Gu Jun personally cut the meat and put it on Guo Guo’s plate. A few bites later, Guo Guo started only eating the vegetables and fruits.

“Why isn’t Guo Guo eating meat? Does it not taste good?”

“Uncle An said that I’m still too little. I can only eat a little bit of meat. When I get bigger, I can eat more.”

It was An Xiaoyan again. Xiu Yijian couldn’t help but suspect that An Xiaoyan and Gu Jun had something going on. Otherwise, how could he hand his son to his enemy?

The meal ended without much action. Gu Jun was about to bring Guo Guo away directly. Before leaving, he told Xiu Yijian, “You should know what to say to Old Mr. Gu, right?”

Seeing the father and son’s backs, Xiu Yijian felt that it was a mistake to agree to the blind date. He clearly didn’t care about her. However, she was quite curious about An Xiaoyan.

“How about we go visit Uncle An?”

“Okay!” Guo Guo yelled. He really liked Uncle An, but how come Uncle An was laying in bed and not playing with him?

As soon as they got to the hospital, Guo Guo pounced on An Xiaoyan. Gu Jun’s phone rang at that time.

“I found some information on Liu Cheng. The situation isn’t good.”

“Come to the hospital. We’ll talk face to face.”

Chen Chen drove to the hospital and showed all the information to Gu Jun.

“Earlier, you wanted someone to punish him, so we found someone to beat him up. However, the situation is more serious than we imagined.”

When Gu Jun had seen that Liu Cheng wanted to go home with An Xiaoyan, he took Liu Cheng away and had a gang beat him up. They’d just wanted to teach him a lesson, but the underworld was darker than they’d thought.

“There was someone called Blackie among the people we hired. He likes to play with boys. We handed Liu Cheng to him and he just played with him. Then he found some bros and…gang raped Liu Cheng. He couldn’t recover from that. By the time we found out, he’d already been in the Night Charm for a long time.”

Gu Jun knew that Liu Cheng went to the Night Charm after that, but he didn’t know the reason. He’d always thought that Liu Cheng went there for his own reasons. Thinking about how he’d brought An Xiaoyan to the Night Charm to see Liu Cheng’s pathetic state, he suddenly felt stupid.

“Also, Liu Cheng caught AIDS. After he returned home, the Liu Family somehow heard about what he’d done and disowned him. According to the illegal hospital that Liu Cheng visited, the disease is already in effect. He probably won’t live for much longer.”

The shock that this news brought was beyond his imagination. He seemed to understand something.

At the end of someone’s life, they always wanted to fulfil their lifelong wish. Liu Cheng’s wish was An Xiaoyan.

Everything made sense now.

An Xiaoyan must have gone out to help Liu Cheng, while Liu Cheng had An Xiaoyan pretend to be his temporary boyfriend. They went to the Oriental Eye together…

Sitting in the chair, Gu Jun buried his face in his hands. Had it truly come to that? Once again, Gu Jun felt apologetic towards An Xiaoyan, but he couldn’t change anything.

“Don’t let An Xiaoyan know about this.”

“Okay.”

Gu Jun returned to the patient’s room. An Xiaoyan was playing with Guo Guo, who’d climbed onto the bed. Guo Guo talked about today’s movie and dinner. An Xiaoyan listened attentively and reacted occasionally.

“Guo Guo, Uncle Chen wants to take you out to eat. How about you go with Uncle Chen?”

“But Uncle An will be bored by himself.”

Gu Jun picked Guo Guo up from bed. “Then help pick something for Uncle An too, okay?”

When he heard “Uncle An,” Guo Guo happily ran out to find Chen Chen.

Only two people remained in the room. Gu Jun closed the door. Hearing the click, An Xiaoyan flinched involuntarily.

Perhaps because he noticed the subtle reflex, Gu Jun chose a chair further away to sit down in.

“An Xiaoyan, don’t hate me,” Gu Jun said after thinking for a long time. He didn’t know how to tell An Xiaoyan about Liu Cheng. If An Xiaoyan knew, he would be very sad.

“Mr. Gu, I don’t hate you.”

“I was too harsh before. I’m sorry. After you heal, I won’t hit you or use force against you anymore.”

These words had a different kind of emotion to them. An Xiaoyan raised his head, surprised that Gu Jun would say something like that.

“I have a gift for you.”

Gu Jun took a key out of his suit jacket’s pocket. Walking to the bed, he pressed it into An Xiaoyan’s hands.

An Xiaoyan opened his hands and saw car keys. “So I’ll drive Guo Guo to school in the future?”

“No, the car is yours.”

An Xiaoyan’s hand shook as if he were holding a hot potato. The key dropped onto the bed, standing in stark contrast to the white sheets. “Mr. Gu, I haven’t repaid my debt yet…”

“It’s okay. You already owe so much. This bit won’t matter.”

“Mr. Gu, you know that I don’t have the money or right—”

“An Xiaoyan, don’t resist!” Gu Jun interrupted.

“Okay, Mr. Gu. I will keep it.”

Seeing An Xiaoyan put the key in his pocket, Gu Jun suddenly felt happy, like a kid who’d received a lollipop. It was like he found his first love.

“Recover well. When you’re healed, you can go out. I won’t restrict your freedom, as long as you don’t go find other men or women.”

“Mr. Gu, I’ll just stay home.”

An Xiaoyan had experienced too much. Whenever he snuck out, he would be punished by Mr. Gu. He’d been conditioned to be afraid now. The fear stopped him from going out anymore.