Dean Liu was the first to notice the subtle awkwardness between the two and smoothly steered the conversation with a smile: "Though you've arrived at just the right time—we're about to have dinner. Let's head upstairs and get ready to eat."
An Yao touched her nose and followed Yan Muzhou up the stairs, one after the other.
The welfare home now only had Dean Liu and his wife running things. They had originally hired a few cooks and life-skills teachers, but since the compensation they could offer was modest, those people never stayed long. After a series of resignations, the couple decided not to hire anyone else to save costs and simply took on all the work themselves.
There weren't many children at the home now—about twenty or thirty in total—and the older ones could help look after the younger ones. Though the couple was busy, they managed well enough.
The children all ate in the cafeteria on the first floor. When Aunt Sun heard in the kitchen that Yan Muzhou and An Yao had come, she insisted on cooking them an extra dish in a separate pot, so they had to wait a little longer before the meal was served.
The four of them ate in Dean Liu's office. Though it was called an office, it actually served multiple purposes, doubling as a small dining room and a small meeting room.
During the meal, Dean Liu brought up the little girl who had been sponsored under An Yao's name: "Chen Sijie got into Linjiang No. 1 Middle School last year—it's the best school in Linjiang. It's a boarding school, and the coursework is especially demanding. She even has extra classes on Saturdays, with only Sundays off."
He glanced at the time. "She should be back in about an hour. When she first got into Linjiang No. 1, she said she wanted to thank you in person."
An Yao remembered that the girl had called her once last year, but the money had been donated by Yan Muzhou—she was just a name on paper. Besides, she had only met the girl a few times, so she didn't feel anything particularly special about it.
She even felt somewhat at a loss for how to respond to such sincere gratitude.
Dean Liu seemed to notice and said with a smile, "No need to feel any pressure."
Aunt Sun chimed in from the side: "We feel the same way. We've never expected these children to treat us as benefactors or anything like that. Just watching them grow up safely and live happily is already more than enough for us."
An Yao instinctively glanced at Yan Muzhou.
After a moment, Yan Muzhou said, "For them to live happily is also their wish."
An Yao lowered her eyes, thinking back to the first time she had come here with him five years ago.
Perhaps because Yan Muzhou had brought her along, Dean Liu and Aunt Sun also tacitly treated her as one of the family. During the meal, they talked a lot about Yan Muzhou's childhood.
It was also that time that An Yao learned Yan Muzhou wasn't a biological child of the Yan family—he had been adopted at the age of six. Before that, the Yan family had already been sponsoring him. Perhaps there had been disagreements within the family about the adoption, which was why he wasn't taken to Beiyang until he was six.
According to Aunt Sun, young Yan Muzhou was exceptionally outstanding in both appearance and intellect. At three or four years old, he didn't cry or fuss like other children his age. Most of the time, he would sit in the small classroom with a serious little face, intently reading picture books.
When Elder Yan and his father came to visit, they had spotted him almost immediately from among the crowd of children.
But An Yao had only heard these fragments from Dean Liu and his wife, piecing together Yan Muzhou's childhood experiences from their words.
As for why he had been in the welfare home in the first place, and why the wealthy Yan family had decided to adopt a little boy—An Yao had no idea.
Yan Muzhou had never specifically told her about these things, and she had never taken the initiative to ask.
Even when she first heard Aunt Sun mention it, An Yao, putting herself in others' shoes, hadn't shown excessive surprise or curiosity—she had simply listened quietly.
But from what An Yao had seen and heard during the three years she lodged with the Yan family, Yan Muzhou's true origins were something of a taboo topic within the household.
Whether or not everyone knew, she had never heard anyone bring it up.
In Linjiang, Yan Muzhou was noticeably more relaxed.
An Yao felt this difference especially keenly.
He was never much of a talker at meals, but occasionally he would initiate topics himself, chatting casually with Dean Liu and Aunt Sun.
Though what they talked about were trivial little things—whether some child at the orphanage was being too mischievous, whose grades had improved, or some squabble the couple had gotten into over something or other.
But these ordinary, mundane topics, when placed in Yan Muzhou's mouth, lent him a warmth of everyday humanity.
Unlike at the Yan residence, where everything he said sounded like watertight diplomatic rhetoric, devoid of any warmth.
It was also clear that Yan Muzhou's relationship with Dean Liu and his wife was far closer than his relationship with the elders of the Yan family.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the rain mixed with snow forecast by the weather report arrived right on schedule.
Fine, misty white ice crystals drifted across the courtyard, illuminated by the dim yellow streetlamp at the gate, falling like ox hair.
After dinner was playtime for the children, and a few of the younger ones ran around the courtyard under the icy drizzle, laughing and shouting.
Aunt Sun went out with an umbrella, shooing the children back into the building, telling them not to catch cold.
Given the weather, An Yao would be staying the night as well.
There were a few small rooms on the second floor that were empty—originally used as staff quarters for hired cooks and teachers, but after they left, Aunt Sun had converted them into guest rooms.
Yan Muzhou mentioned it to Aunt Sun, who, after calling the children in from the yard, bustled upstairs to change the bedding for them.
An Yao didn't feel right being idle either—this wasn't like the Yan residence, where servants handled everything with dedicated roles.
She followed to the guest room and helped Aunt Sun with the duvet covers.
Yan Muzhou had just gone to fetch fresh sheets and a duvet cover for his own room. When he came back, he overheard Aunt Sun and An Yao chatting.
Aunt Sun, holding one corner of the duvet, laughed: "You've really grown up—quite skilled at this now. I remember when you came before, you also offered to help, but you ended up sweating buckets, and the quilt got twisted into a pretzel inside the cover."
An Yao recalled that scene too and smiled: "I really hadn't done much housework back then—all thumbs. Now that I'm studying away from home on my own, I've had to learn these everyday tasks."
Yan Muzhou paused at the doorway for a long moment before turning to head to his own room.
When An Yao came out, she found he had been very quick—his bed was already made, neat and tidy.
He was probably used to doing these things himself.
An Yao hadn't brought her tablet with her and was wondering how to pass the evening when a girl of about twelve or thirteen came clattering up the stairs, wearing a school uniform.
An Yao didn't actually recognize her at first—it was only when Chen Sijie introduced herself that she knew who the girl was.
Chen Sijie smiled and shared her good news: "Sister, I got into a key middle school in the city last year. I'm hoping to keep up the steady performance in the high school entrance exam—if I can get into a key high school, maybe I can get into Nancheng University just like you. I've been telling Aunt Sun all along that I have to thank you in person."
The scene wasn't as awkward as An Yao had imagined. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips: "No need to thank me—it's all the result of your own hard work. Besides, I'm sure you'll get into an even better school than I did. I actually took the art track back then, and my academic scores weren't all that great."
"That's still impressive! I heard art students have it really tough—no easier than regular exam takers!"
Chen Sijie glanced downstairs and added, "Oh, by the way, do you play badminton, Sister An Yao? Huzi just said no one would play with him. If you can play too, we could make a doubles match."
An Yao had noticed earlier when she was downstairs that the children had all been shooed back inside by Aunt Sun and had gathered in the activity room on the first floor.
There was plenty of space inside—enough to set up a foldable badminton net.
"I know a little, but for doubles… aren't we still one person short?"
An Yao and Chen Sijie both looked at Yan Muzhou at the same time.
Chen Sijie had seen him many times before, but she always found him too stern to dare speak to him at length, let alone make any requests.
"Three players, one short again."
An Yao, on the other hand, wasn't afraid at all. She spoke up first: "I remember you know how to play, right?"
Yan Muzhou hummed in acknowledgment and said, "Let's head downstairs and play with them for a bit."
Chen Sijie let out a "Yay!" and trotted off toward the director's office: "I'll go ask Uncle for two more rackets!"
An Yao had never played badminton with Yan Muzhou before. She knew he could play because once, when he came to pick her up, he'd mentioned he'd just finished a game with some friends.
But she never expected that such a small detail, from so long ago, would still stick in her memory.
Perhaps it was because she'd paid too much attention to Yan Muzhou back then—her heart was full of him, and those memories had been replayed in her mind so many times that they'd left a deep impression.
It wasn't until they faced off with rackets in the activity room that An Yao realized the man actually had some real skill at badminton.
An Yao was at best at the level of being able to get the shuttlecock over the net reliably. To accommodate Huzi, who was still in elementary school, she was paired with Chen Sijie.
But Yan Muzhou didn't go easy on them at all—a few smashes left the two of them completely helpless.
Some kids who'd gathered to watch even started keeping score on their own, shouting out, "Eight to zero!"
Yan Muzhou wasn't even wearing athletic clothes—he'd only taken off his watch before they started.
After the exercise, a few strands of hair fell messily across his forehead, a stark contrast to how he usually looked at the group—less mature and solemn, radiating the kind of masculine energy of a young man.
It was Yan Muzhou's serve again. Before swinging his racket, he remarked casually, "Twenty-one point system. Lose thirteen more in a row and you're done."
"…"
That remark instantly ignited An Yao's competitive spirit.
Though the gap in skill was far too wide and the outcome was all but decided, getting shut out completely would be too embarrassing.
An Yao got noticeably more serious. In the second half, she managed to scrape a few points by exploiting the elementary schooler on the opposing side—in a rather "undignified" manner.
But with Yan Muzhou on the other team, the score gap remained huge.
When they reached twenty points, the shuttlecock came flying over from the other side. An Yao could see she was about to miss it, so she lunged forward with her racket in a diving leap.
The ball was caught, but she took quite a fall.
The activity room wasn't quiet, and all four of them heard a loud thud as she hit the ground.
Chen Sijie put down her racket and rushed over first, her eyes full of concern. "Are you okay, sister?"
Huzi also shouted, "Did you break something? One of my classmates broke a bone playing basketball before!"
An Yao couldn't get up right away. Both her knees and her right elbow throbbed with pain, and she sat up with a deep frown.
Yan Muzhou, with his long legs, reached her in just a few strides.
As An Yao tried to stand, she heard him say calmly, "Don't move yet."
An Yao looked up at him.
Yan Muzhou: "Slowly stretch your legs first. Don't use too much force."
An Yao didn't understand why, but she did as he said.
Yan Muzhou: "Probably no fracture. Try moving your elbow too."
An Yao stood up and obediently moved her arm as well.
The activity continued as usual. The spots where she'd hit hurt badly, but it really didn't seem like anything was broken.
An Yao herself breathed a sigh of relief. "It's not that bad. I'm young, my bones are tough."
Yan Muzhou: "Why were you in such a hurry? Losing is losing."
An Yao could hear the seriousness in his tone, and with her arms and legs already hurting, she didn't bother talking back for once. Her lips drooping, she let Chen Sijie help her over to a bench nearby.
Huzi followed and said, "Should we spray some medicine? Auntie Sun has all kinds of stuff—I'll go up and get it!"
"Uh… okay."
An Yao rolled up her pant legs and sleeves to check her injuries.
Both knees had turned a dark purple, and so had her elbow. It looked alarming.
Huzi was quick. He soon came back down with two spray bottles and a small plastic bag, handing them to An Yao. "Auntie Sun said to ice it first, then spray the medicine. Spray the red one first, then the white one."
"Okay, thanks…"
An Yao sat on the chair, thought for a moment, then picked up the medicine and ice pack. "I'll go back to my room to take care of this. Otherwise the whole activity room will smell like medicine. It's fine—you guys keep playing. Xiaojie can play singles with Huzi."
Besides, rolling up her pant legs in front of everyone wasn't exactly the most elegant sight.
With that, An Yao, determined despite her injuries, stood up and carried the things forward.
She hadn't taken more than a few steps when her knees buckled from the pain. She stumbled, nearly hurting herself a second time.
Yan Muzhou let out a soft sigh. He walked over, took the medicine from her hands, then reached out and steadied her uninjured arm. "Don't push yourself. If you fall down the stairs again, it won't be as simple as icing and spraying medicine."
An Yao gave a dull "oh." Her heart seemed to carry some lingering conditioned reflex—the moment he grabbed her arm, it thumped harder twice.
She limped up the stairs toward the guest room.
Though it was a private space, it was still a guest room at the welfare home. It had little in the way of furnishings, and the layout of the two rooms was basically the same.
She didn't close the door. An Yao sat down on the small wooden chair by the window. The two of them alone in the room didn't feel awkward at all.
By the window was a small square table serving as a tea table, with two wooden chairs.
After seeing her in, Yan Muzhou didn't leave. He sat down on the other chair.
An Yao had just climbed the stairs, her knees bending and straightening repeatedly, and now the pain was even worse. She couldn't bother with him and quickly placed the ice pack on her knees.
After about ten minutes, she felt it was about enough. She took off the ice pack and sprayed the medicine in the order Huzi had mentioned.
But at this step, An Yao found it hard to manage on her own.
Her knee was fine—she could spray it just by looking down.
The spot on her right elbow was a bit trickier, especially hard to aim at. She pressed the bottle twice with her left hand.
The first spray hit the sleeve of Yan Muzhou's jacket beside her. The second time, she raised her right arm higher, but unfortunately ended up spraying her own lower face instead.
"Hey…"
An Yao's mouth was full of the medicine's bitter taste, her brows furrowed tightly.
"Give it to me." Yan Muzhou took the bottle from her hand, then gently held her wrist and turned it to a more convenient angle for spraying.
Her now-free hand unconsciously gripped the edge of her sleeve.
She'd applied ice earlier, so her elbow didn't hurt much now. The cool spray landing on her elbow felt fine—no discomfort at all.
But the wrist Yan Muzhou was holding felt slightly itchy all around.
His grip was too light. Every time he shifted the angle, the skin of his fingertips brushed against her wrist like a gentle caress, and An Yao couldn't help but take a deep breath.
She turned her head to look at his meticulous expression.
An Yao lightly pressed her lips together, suddenly feeling at a loss.
To be fair, whether in the past or now that she'd returned to Beiyang for her internship, Yan Muzhou had always treated her quite well.
From initially offering to change her living arrangements, to buying her grandfather's jade carving at the auction, to bringing her to Linjiang today.
Not just taking care of her—it seemed he still didn't treat her as an outsider.
An Yao hadn't said anything, but she could feel it all.
After Yan Muzhou finished spraying, he turned the bottle around, looked at the instructions, and said calmly, "Three to five times a day, with at least four to five hours between applications. If it's inconvenient, just call me again."
An Yao glanced sideways at him, silent for a long moment, her expression hesitant.
There was a question she'd never dared to ask before—not just because she was afraid Yan Muzhou might catch on, but because she was afraid of hearing an answer she didn't want.
But now, she had the courage to ask.
The worst outcome would be him guessing something and cutting off contact from then on.
Just as she'd originally planned.
An Yao moved her lips and spoke softly: "Is the way you take care of me… completely because of what Grandpa Yan asked you to do before?"