Reluctantly Willing

In the park, many people were taking a walk along the river, which glittered under the setting sun. Guo Guo was very lively after his nap. An Xiaoyan packed everything up and put it all in the car. Then the three followed the crowd to the riverside.

Most of the early spring flowers had wilted. Only some unfamiliar flowers were still blooming. They walked down the cobblestone road. The firm surface under their feet was very noticeable.

Guo Guo insisted on pulling An Xiaoyan to the front. There was a bridge, but only two people could pass at once. Gu Jun voluntarily stepped back and walked behind them.

When An Xiaoyan was about to reach the end, there was no one in front of him. Gu Jun took out his phone and took a picture.

It wasn’t staged. He’d just taken an off-handed picture, but the effect was great. In the picture, a large hand held a small hand, bathed in the setting sun’s light.

After walking around, the sky gradually darkened. They returned to where they first entered and took the same way back.

It was a three-person-camp, but An Xiaoyan basically did everything. After they returned to the mansion and ate dinner, An Xiaoyan got into bed and fell asleep immediately. Even Guo Guo was still hyped up.

Gu Jun walked into the library and called Nan Qiang.

“I agree to your conditions, but you must promise to not touch him!”

“Gu Second Young Master, don’t worry. I’m just playing around. I’m too old to be like you.”

Gu Jun aggressively puffed his cigarette. “What time?”

“How about the night before the meeting? You know that people think better when they feel good.”

Gu Jun had planned on this too. He could confess after the results were out.

“When should I go get him?”

“You can go to Hotel Royal Duke after the meeting. I’ll have someone bring him down.”

“Make sure he can wake up the next day.”

“President Gu, I know he’s yours. I won’t be that harsh either. Let’s just get this clear. Wait for the good show. With my support, Gu Jing won’t get anywhere.”

The call ended. Gu Jun set down his phone weakly and slumped onto the carpet, blanking out.

He spread his hands and looked at his fingers. Was this worth it? Closing his eyes, he felt like his heart was torn. Tonight will probably be another sleepless night.

When the short hand pointed to three o’clock, Gu Jun took a bottle of red wine from the cellar and started drinking alone. The wine made him feel much better.

The entire mansion was silent. After drinking, Gu Jun entered An Xiaoyan’s room. He could hear him breathing. The glow of the moonlight made is so he could see An Xiaoyan’s face clearly.

“I really didn’t do it on purpose. I have no choice. I want you to be with me my entire life. If I don’t have money or power, would you still be with me? I just want to protect you.”

As he spoke, he became choked up. Before, he’d been an iron wall—cold blooded and cruel. But facing An Xiaoyan, all the walls around his heart had collapsed. He didn’t know what to do. He’d never felt so vulnerable.

After sitting there for more than ten minutes, the man in the bed was still deep in sleep. Gu Jun lowered himself and kissed An Xiaoyan’s right cheek softly.

If liking someone meant putting him at the tip of one’s heart and not daring to touch him lest the perfection was destroyed, then Gu Jun was exactly like this. His violence towards An Xiaoyan and cruelty in bed were just a type of venting. Now, he really didn’t dare to touch An Xiaoyan anymore. He was like a porcelain doll—fragile and so beautiful.

In his dream, An Xiaoyan felt someone speaking beside him. He followed the voice, but he couldn’t find the source or hear the content clearly.

It was probably a dream. He wouldn’t remember when he woke up.

Sunlight streamed through the curtains and shone on his face. The brightness woke An Xiaoyan up. He subconsciously looked at the pillow beside him. There weren’t any marks. Gu Jun hadn’t come yesterday, but he felt like something was on his right hand. He touched it, but he didn’t feel anything.

A new driver drove Guo Guo to school now, so An Xiaoyan put the car keys Gu Jun had given him in the drawer. When he opened the drawer, a breeze lifted the slip of paper inside it.

It was the IOU Gu Jun had given him before. The bright red thumbprint had faded now. There was also an explanation he’d added himself. It was the money he’d earned as a hostess at the Night Charm.

The bank card next to it was from Gu Jun too. An Xiaoyan didn’t know if there was money on it. After all, he already owed so much. Spending more money would just increase his debt.

It was still a huge number. He probably couldn’t pay it back even if he spent his entire life in the mansion.

Why exactly did Gu Jun keep a useless man like him here for so long?

He always overlooked Gu Jun’s confessions automatically. It was definitely a big joke. He couldn’t believe it.

“Mr. An, come sunbathe. The weather is really nice today.”

The nanny’s voice rang out from the first floor. She wasn’t really responsible for Guo Guo’s life anymore and just helped the servants. She still had the same salary, but her workload was much lighter. Her attitude towards An Xiaoyan was obviously great too.

An Xiaoyan didn’t have anything to do, so he went downstairs. The weather was indeed good.

He could still enjoy the sunlight now, but he would be so terrified of it in the future.

The nanny had bought groceries from the supermarket. She planned to make them into mustard greens for a pork dish. After An Xiaoyan came down, she started chatting while working.

“Mr. An, Young Master is like a regular kid now. I’m so happy to see him like this.”

“Yes, Guo Guo has always been smart.”

“I realized that your color looks much better than when you first came last winter. You’re more fashionable too. It makes me happy to see. Now, Mr. Gu’s entire family is doing so well. Before, I could have never dreamed of this. I remember that Young Master kept crying when he was little and Mr. Gu even wanted to give him sleeping pills. Ah, let’s move on. Ever since Mr. An came, Young Master’s luck came too. You’re his lucky charm.”

The nanny praised him with clear happiness in her face. An Xiaoyan didn’t know how to reply. He could only help with the cooking.

The sunlight fell on An Xiaoyan. The nanny couldn’t help but think that he was so handsome and had a nice temperament too. She liked An Xiaoyan more and more.

Of the entire staff, only the nanny didn’t look down on him. She would often chat with him. To An Xiaoyan, she was like family now.

He no longer had any relatives. His family had abandoned him. No, he’d lied to them first.

A person’s life can change easily.

“I’ll go up now.”

The nanny wanted to keep talking, but she sensed that An Xiaoyan was in a bad mood, so she didn’t say anything. Mr. An was always depressed and anyone could tell that he had something on his mind. It seemed to have gotten worse recently.

He returned to his room and got on the sofa. The TV was reporting the economic news.

“A City’s business family, the Gu Family, will hold the next board meeting in two days to choose an heir from the two candidates. This is a large event that will shake up the families of A City. How will A City develop now? Let us wait and see…”

An Xiaoyan changed the channel. He leaned back in his sofa. This was probably why Gu Jun has been so busy.

…

“Young Master Gu, our boss had us come get the man.” Two bodyguards appeared in Gu Jun’s line of sight. They looked determined.

“How do you plan on taking him?”

“However you want is ok, but you must hand him over.”

Gu Jun agreed weakly. What must be done would be done. It felt like a part of him was getting sliced off. He hurt when An Xiaoyan was in pain.

At dinner, Gu Jun purposely gave An Xiaoyan a cup of milk. There was white powder in the bottom of the cup.

He didn’t want An Xiaoyan to be taken away before him. The powder contained some pain relief medicine. He hoped An Xiaoyan wouldn’t suffer too much.

“Uncle, are you going to drink milk with me today?” Guo Guo asked happily, seeing the two cups of milk. It was lonely drinking by himself. Now, Uncle An would drink too!

“What’s this?”

“For you.”

Gu Jun had never had An Xiaoyan drink this before. It was indeed strange, but he didn’t hesitate at all. He drank all the milk in one shot, not giving Gu Jun a chance to regret it.

“Let’s eat.”

The food smelled great, but eating it was like chewing cardboard. Gu Jun kept glancing at An Xiaoyan, but the man was as quiet as usual. He helped Guo Guo get food and didn’t do anything abnormal.

“You aren’t going to ask me why I gave you milk?” Gu Jun couldn’t help but ask. If someone else had done it, would An Xiaoyan still drink it in one shot?

“If Mr. Gu did it, there must be a reason.”

Gu Jun had added drugs to the powder. An Xiaoyan would fall asleep within the hour and then Gu Jun would bring him to Nan Qiang as planned.

An Xiaoyan went to his room after he finished eating. The people who’d set up the room had come as well.

Gu Jun checked his watch. He walked to An Xiaoyan’s room. The man was in bed and seemed to be asleep.

“Xiaoyan, Xiaoyan…”

There was no reply. The sleeping An Xiaoyan was like an animal ready for anyone to butcher.

“Don’t hate me. Please don’t hate me.” The corners of Gu Jun’s eyes felt cold. He lowered himself and pressed his lips softly against An Xiaoyan’s. Then he let go.

When he carried An Xiaoyan down, the two bodyguards had already been waiting for a long while. They took An Xiaoyan from Gu Jun and left the house.

“Daddy!” a bright voice called from upstairs.

“Guo Guo!” Gu Jun wiped his expression away and went upstairs to pick Guo Guo up.

“How come Uncle An left?”

“He has to do something. He’ll be back tomorrow and you can call him Daddy An then.”

“Really? Daddy An, Daddy An! It sounds so nice. Daddy, are you going to marry Uncle An? Can I carry a flower and walk in front of you two?”

His voice was so childish and innocent. Gu Jun never thought that he was a sentimental person, but his heart couldn’t help but twist.

“Yes, Guo Guo will be able to carry a flower and walk before us.”

“Yay!”

After comforting Guo Guo, Gu Jun went to An Xiaoyan’s room. The smell was familiar.

The books on the shelf were organized. An Xiaoyan didn’t have many things—just some clothes and a phone on the bed.

This was his second time feeling so heartbroken. The pain was comparable to when An Xiaoyan had attempted suicide.

The drug’s effect didn’t last long. When An Xiaoyan woke up, there were a bunch of chandeliers above him. The Gu family’s home was very minimalistic. This wasn’t Gu Jun’s home.

He couldn’t move anymore. Gu Jun had made him drink a cup of milk. He couldn’t remember anything that happened afterward.

His arms seemed to be tied up by something. His legs were too. With great difficulty, An Xiaoyan managed to turn around, and was completely terrified at what he saw.