As an observer, Xu Qingfeng naturally had a clearer analysis of the situation.
“Why don’t you want to see me? Does my coming to see you annoy you?” An Yan spoke with obvious dejection, wounded by the sharp thorns of Gu Tianze’s defensiveness.
“Why does there have to be a ‘why’ for everything in this world? Just let me be for a few days. Don’t anyone bother me!”
The corner of Xu Qingfeng’s mouth quirked up. If he was so “bothered,” why hadn’t he stopped playing video games or eating? He even asked Xu Qingfeng to buy this and that from time to time. This was hardly a “patient” who didn’t want to be bothered by anyone; he was acting like a “young master.”
It was probably just that he didn’t know how to face An Yan.
However, as someone who had been through much, Xu Qingfeng knew that regardless of the situation, avoidance could never solve a problem.
He raised his hand to stop An Yan, who was planning to leave.
“Here are the keys.”
What Xu Qingfeng held between his fingers was, of course, the key to Gu Tianze’s bedroom.
An Yan still had residual tears on his face, looking quite pitiable, but his mouth slowly formed an “O” shape.
From the other’s expression, Xu Qingfeng could guess what he was thinking. He wore a natural smile and said: “You know this kid is very stubborn when he’s throwing a tantrum. If you truly like him, it might be very hard work. Even so… are you still willing to open this door and walk toward him?”
In fact, this kind of relationship was very unfair to An Yan because if he agreed, he would be the one in the passive position, constantly compromising and suffering more hurt.
But when An Yan took the key without hesitation, Xu Qingfeng knew that emotions were different from business calculating gains and losses was useless; feelings were uncontrollable.
He walked downstairs with steady steps, leaving the two of them some time alone.
He hoped in his heart Gu Tianze, don’t go crazy. Gu Tianze, don’t go crazy. Gu Tianze, don’t go crazy…
With such a good “wife,” he had better keep his act together, otherwise, Gu Tianze wouldn’t be the only one with regrets.
Downstairs, Xu Qingfeng didn’t remain idle. He began brewing tea. He appeared leisurely, but in reality…
“Hiss…” His lip was scalded by the tea. Xu Qingfeng touched it gently with his finger, trying to soothe the pain. In the reflection of the mirror, his full lips appeared even redder.
Suddenly, his hand stopped rubbing.
“Why did I think of that night again…” Xu Qingfeng forcibly cast aside the image of that zoomed-in face from his mind. He felt like he was becoming somewhat unusual. Perhaps it was time to have the family doctor check his body.
If there was a problem with his heart, that would be a serious issue.
After the pain on his lips vanished, his gaze fell back onto the exquisite hand-painted ceramic tea set. Aside from the old man, he hadn’t shared tea with anyone else.
He gently swirled the teacup.
If it were in an autumn maple forest, drinking tea and chatting with Huo Xiu would surely be very pleasant.
He took a photo of the steaming teapot and even edited the text; he was only one step away from pressing the send button…
Yet, he didn’t take that final step.
“Strange. Why would even such a normal invitation feel awkward?”
When one is a participant, Xu Qingfeng couldn’t rationally analyze where this awkwardness came from. He simply chose to set the issue aside for now.
He didn’t have to wait long. After about half an hour, An Yan came running downstairs.
The worry was gone from his expression, though his eyes were still red, contrasting with his snowy-white skin like a snow rabbit. His expression was filled with something that had never appeared before anger.
This was the first time Xu Qingfeng had seen An Yan angry. He felt an ill omen, but his expression remained calm as he grabbed the boy’s arm to keep him from leaving, saying in a soft, gentle voice: “Why are you in such a hurry to leave? If you’ve been wronged, just say it. I’ll go deal with him.”
Perhaps this soft approach worked wonders. The “snow rabbit” didn’t rush out. Instead, he stood there looking up at him, so angry that his voice trembled, and he couldn’t form a complete sentence for a long time.
Xu Qingfeng wasn’t in a hurry. The emotional stability of a mature man became a harbor for the little rabbit at this moment.
Unable to speak, An Yan used his trembling finger to point at his own neck. “He… his neck…”
Alright, he didn’t need to finish. Xu Qingfeng roughly understood what had happened, and his heart sank a bit.
But he still patiently waited for the boy to finish.
“He has hickeys on his neck. I gave him a chance to explain, but he wouldn’t say anything. He just threw me out…” An Yan sniffled and added: “He snatched the keys back, too.”
Actually, Xu Qingfeng really wanted to tell him that the keys weren’t the important thing right now.
But this idiot Gu Tianze’s refusal to communicate was truly a headache.
When he should be a “mute,” he talked so much it was annoying. When he shouldn’t be a “mute,” he shut himself off.
Even so, Xu Qingfeng had to use a well-intentioned lie to comfort him: “Give him some time. When it’s time to speak, he’ll tell you. Trust him, okay?”
Sigh, he didn’t even trust Gu Tianze himself, yet he had to ask An Yan to trust him.
None of these inner thoughts showed on his face. To An Yan, Xu Qingfeng was radiating a reliable and trustworthy aura.
Finally returning to a normal state, An Yan even bowed to apologize to Xu Qingfeng: “I’m sorry, Uncle Xu. I’ve made a fool of myself. This was supposed to be a problem between the two of us, yet I’ve burdened you.”
He was so sensible it was heartbreaking. Xu Qingfeng ruffled his fluffy hair and smiled: “Don’t mind it. I like you very much.”
An Yan’s expression froze instantly, his pupils dilating in shock.
“Of course, I hope you and Tianze can walk through this life together properly.”
Naturally, Xu Qingfeng didn’t know about the roller coaster of emotions An Yan was experiencing. He only cared about whether An Yan felt better and how to fix the rift caused by this crisis of trust.
The youth, who was burdened with such expectations, lowered his eyes, avoiding Xu Qingfeng’s gaze, and whispered: “Thank you for li… thinking well of me. But I might also need some time to sort out this relationship and think about what I really want…”
Picking up his bag from the sofa, the rabbit bolted away.
Xu Qingfeng, unable to stop him, sat back on the sofa and looked at the cold tea, letting out a faint, ambiguous chuckle.
Could he not understand what An Yan meant by that?
He had misidentified the situation. This wasn’t just a crisis of trust; it was a Breakup Crisis!
Unfastening his cuffs, he neatly rolled up his black shirt sleeves, revealing smooth, powerful forearm lines.
He stood up slowly, carrying an invisible killing intent as he headed toward Gu Tianze’s bedroom.
“A mute, are you? Do you know you’ve ruined everything?”
Xu Qingfeng grabbed the boy by the neck and gave his “dog head” a sharp smack. It seemed Gu Tianze still wasn’t fit to be called human.
After he let go, Gu Tianze gasped for breath while rubbing the hot lump on his head, but he kept his jaw tightly clenched and said nothing.
He was determined to remain a mute.
Xu Qingfeng felt it necessary to speak more clearly. The smile on his face gradually disappeared, and he looked at the “son” with cold eyes: “An Yan is considering whether to break up with you. If you don’t explain and win him back, you’ll lose him.”
Losing him would only be the beginning. If An Yan ended up with his “destined true love” from the original plot later on, Gu Tianze would truly be left with nothing.
“Impossible. An Yan would never leave me.”
Even with everything laid out so clearly, it couldn’t overcome Gu Tianze’s stubbornness. This immense self-confidence was truly impressive.
So impressive that Xu Qingfeng wanted to smack him a few more times to knock the water out of his brain. But considering that a concussion would make him completely beyond help, he restrained himself.
“He will. There are plenty of men better than you.” Xu Qingfeng wasn’t being a wet blanket; he was stating a fact.
But Gu Tianze just frantically picked up a chair and smashed it into the display cabinet filled with figurines. Amidst the shattered glass all over the floor, the dolls were scattered everywhere.
Gu Tianze panted and glared at Xu Qingfeng, saying word by word: “He. Won’t.”
The obsession swirling in his eyes had reached a terrifying level.
Even Xu Qingfeng felt a momentary pang of unease. For the first time, he faced a serious question.
Could Gu Tianze really become a man worthy of An Yan’s life?
If he forcibly bound them together for Gu Tianze’s happiness, would he be ignoring An Yan’s well-being?
Was this really right?
And who would be responsible for An Yan’s happiness?
Leaving the messy room, Xu Qingfeng opened his phone.
He truly didn’t know what the best course of action was. He needed Huo Xiu. Yes, Huo Xiu would surely know what to do.
After all, he was Huo Xiu.
He deleted the text that had been sitting in the chat box and re-edited it:
I have a very, very good friend. Because of his terrible and seemingly unchangeable piece-of-shit personality, he’s about to be dumped by his boyfriend. But he’s not bad at heart, and his partner is a wonderful person.
If you were in my position, would you advise them to break up or stay together?
The universal formula I have a friend.