Reluctantly Willing

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

“Sir, we will go install the air conditioner at four o’clock. Please be present.”
An Xiaoyan was confused. He didn’t buy any air conditioner.
Ji Lin seemed to understand it all. “You can leave early,” he said. “We’re here. Don’t want to hold you back.”
“Sure. I’ll go home and see what’s happening.”
When An Xiaoyan reached home around four o’clock, there was a big truck outside the building. A worker got out and asked, “Are you Mr. An Xiaoyan?”
“Yes.”
The worker started unloading the truck.
“You live on the sixth floor. We’ll go install it now. Please open the door.”
An Xiaoyan was confused, but he still opened the door. As soon as he opened the door, six cats and one dog surrounded him.
“Hurry on in. There’ll be a stranger later.” As soon as he herded the pets into the bedroom, the workers came in with the stuff.
“Here are two air conditioning units and a fridge. Please sign here.”
“I never ordered these things. What’s going on? This must be a mistake.”
The worker checked the receiver’s name and address. “No mistake. We’ll hurry and install it now. We must finish the job today.”
An Xiaoyan gave them space. He thought for a moment. Someone else must have bought it. Gu Jun was the most likely candidate.
“What’s the name of the buyer?”
As the worker took the unit out of the box, he said, “We don’t know either. We just come over to install it after he pays.”
He first installed the air conditioning inside the room. The pets that had been chased into the bedroom now sat obediently on the bed to watch the worker.
At first, only An Xiaoyan had stared at him. Now, there was a crowd watching him. The worker felt a bit uncomfortable.
“Can you get them to the living room?”
An Xiaoyan thought they were in the way, so he picked up three kittens and led the rest out.
Summer days were still hot in the afternoon. An Xiaoyan turned on the fan. The dog was the first to go sit in front of it.
“Yippy, let the cats get the fan first.”
An Xiaoyan nudged the dog to the side and lined the five kittens up in a row. Wonton sprawled in the back of the group.
It was difficult for one man, one dog, and six cats to share a small fan. An Xiaoyan sat furthest back and could only get a bit of wind. His back was soon soaked in sweat.
He thought about how the animals were covered in fur. They were probably much hotter.
Half an hour later, the worker called for An Xiaoyan. He said the air conditioner was installed and they could go in to enjoy it. He would continue installing the one in the living room.
“Let’s go get air conditioning inside.”
The worker had already let it run on for a bit. The cool air hit them as soon as they entered. First Dumpling lay down onto the ground, showing its stomach. It spread out to get as much coolness as possible. The six cats jumped onto the bed and scattered about. They took up the entire bed.
After adjusting the temperature to 78 degrees Fahrenheit, An Xiaoyan closed the door and went to watch the worker in the living room.
“You really love your pets. You let them get the air conditioning while you’re sweating out here.”
“They have too much fur. They were just outside for a moment and started panting. It’s really hot this summer.”
“It’s alright now. In ten days, you won’t be able to live without air conditioning. You’ll see then.”
He’d finished installing the air conditioner in the living room. Only the fridge remained. Thankfully, the living room cooled down too.
After the worker installed everything, An Xiaoyan signed his name and the man left.
He turned off the air conditioner in the living room. He didn’t know how much electricity he would waste by keeping it on. The furry friends were rolling around on his bed. When An Xiaoyan came in, they immediately became obedient again.
The days gradually grew hotter. An Xiaoyan put all the cat and dog beds into his room. This way, they could always get air conditioning.
After cleaning up, An Xiaoyan called Gu Jun.
“Xiaoyan, what’s wrong?”
“Thank you for the air conditioning.”
There was a low chuckle. “No problem. Don’t try to save electricity. It’ll be bad if it’s too hot.”
An Xiaoyan didn’t say much, but Gu Jun was still overjoyed. However, the joy only lasted a few seconds because Old Mr. Gu wanted him to try on clothes for the engagement.
As soon as Gu Jun got out of the car, he saw Xiu Yijian and Guo Guo sitting inside.
“Daddy, you’re here.”
Gu Jun sat beside Guo Guo. He was still cold to Xiu Yijian. “I’m not going to marry you. I don’t have to keep repeating this, right?”
Xiu Yijian didn’t care. “You’re not in charge. Do you see the people across from us? They’re all bodyguards. If you try to walk out today, they’ll capture you without hesitation.”
Old Mr. Gu was being cruel. He actually did this to force him to get married.
“Sir, Miss, we’re ready. Would you like to start now?”
It was just an engagement—not marriage. They weren’t going to get a certificate or anything.
“Let’s hurry. I need to go back.”
Xiu Yijian put down her magazine and went to change into the dress. Guo Guo was also led away by workers. Gu Jun accepted the suit. He felt uncomfortable in this place.
Now, he could only give in and take Guo Guo back home. He had to keep Guo Guo by his side all the time now. He couldn’t let Old Mr. Gu use Guo Guo again.
Old Mr. Gu would definitely control the engagement pictures. For as long as they’d been talking, he wouldn’t leak them.
Gu Jun had to hurry up and follow An Xiaoyan. Otherwise, they would grow further and further apart.
The three didn’t focus on the photoshoot. Only Guo Guo found it interesting. He laughed at the camera. Gu Jun didn’t look at the pictures. After changing his clothes, he brought Guo Guo into the car and drove back home.
“Daddy, are you getting married to Aunt Xiu? Didn’t you say you’ll marry Uncle An?”
“Daddy is going to marry Uncle An. I’m just taking pictures with Aunt Xiu. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“But they all say that you’re going to be together with Aunt Xiu. They didn’t even mention Uncle An. Daddy, are you lying? It’s been so long and Uncle An still isn’t back.”
Teardrops rolled down Guo Guo’s face. Gu Jun hurriedly wiped the boy’s cheeks. “Then Daddy will take you to see Uncle An in a few days, alright?”
“Really? Daddy, don’t lie or you’ll be a meanie.”
“Okay. I won’t lie to you.”
After they returned home, the nanny personally came out to welcome them. The Young Master had been gone for about half a month. She was worried the entire time. Nothing bad would happen at the old mansion, but she was still worried they would be too strict. After all, there were many people there.”
“Young Master.”
Guo Guo waved and walked to the nanny. He didn’t have a bad temper.
“How was Guo Guo taken away?”
The nanny thought Gu Jun was blaming her. She lowered her head and said fearfully, “Old Mr. Gu came personally to take him away. We’re just servants, so we couldn’t say anything.”
“Okay. Organize Guo Guo’s things. I’m taking him out in a few days.”
“Sure.”
Since he had the engagement photoshoot pictures, Gu Jun didn’t get any more orders from Old Mr. Gu. He was very angry at Old Mr. Gu. He’d already retired, but he was still disturbing Gu Jun’s life. Wasn’t he being too overbearing? However, there were still a lot of his men in the company. Gu Jun couldn’t do anything rashly.
He planned to visit the island in three days, but before leaving, Chen Chen said Stars Entertainment had successfully negotiated with Sheng Kong. They should go thank Stars Entertainment and also supervise their work. Gu Jun had to push his plans back a day.
Sheng Kong was Gu Jun’s company. It had nothing to do with the Gu Group. He’d also transferred most of his assets to Sheng Kong during the vote. This was basically his personal treasury.
It was his first time visiting Stars Entertainment. Entertainment companies were very fashionable and had a different aura from typical companies. They didn’t have the solemn atmosphere. Gu Jun relaxed after entering.
He said he’d come to supervise, but it was just to see if the partnership was going as planned. As he chatted in the main hall, he saw someone in the distance that looked familiar. He seemed to have seen the man before.
“Who is that?”
The representative said that he was Asten, the top star of Stars Entertainment. He’d gone from nothing to a VIP celebrity in seven years. He’d won many awards. Apparently, he’d started off as a singer but successfully entered the film industry.
“Asten, come over here.”
When the man heard, he walked over to Gu Jun. As he got closer, Gu Jun found him even more familiar. He’d seen this person’s poster on An Xiaoyan’s wall at home. An Xiaoyan liked him. If Gu Jun got him an autograph, An Xiaoyan would probably be super happy.
“I have a friend who’s a loyal fan. Can I get a signed picture?”
Asten was very willing. He took out a poster that had just come out. Signing his name with a marker, he handed it to Gu Jun.
Gu Jun treasured everything related to An Xiaoyan.
Seeing how careful Gu Jun was, the representative couldn’t help but gossip. “It’s for your girlfriend, right? Girls all love Asten now. We’re lucky to be able to sign him.”
“It indeed is for my significant other. He really likes Asten. This will be it for today. I hope we work well together.”
Gu Jun was in a good mood. The other company’s representative nodded. He’d completed his task today.
Thinking back to An Xiaoyan’s interests, Gu Jun actually remembered some things. An Xiaoyan mostly stayed in his room and read or slept. He didn’t touch anything else. He had a good relationship with Guo Guo, but that wasn’t a hobby or interest.
Gu Jun felt like he’d held An Xiaoyan back too much.
He finally found a day to go to the island. Gu Jun brought Guo Guo along.
“Greet Uncle An when you see him later.”
“Okay.”
“Also, if Uncle An asks if you want to go back, say no. Say you want to be with Uncle An.”
Guo Guo had a look of disdain. “Daddy, I would do that even if you didn’t tell me. Don’t worry.”
“Hey, I’m just worried you’d say the wrong thing. If you mess up, Uncle An will force you back home.”
This time, Guo Guo understood. He listened to Gu Jun carefully.
His son was completely different now. Under his care, Guo Guo had been like an idiot. Now that An Xiaoyan took care of him, he was so smart. Gu Jun even wondered if this was really his son.