Taking advantage of the chaos, Wen Yun grabbed Su An’s hand and slipped out of the crowd.
Su An looked at Wen Yun as she pulled him along. Rumor had it that the designer Wen Yun was already in her fifties and had been forced to retire from the design world years ago due to family reasons. However, the woman in front of him appeared far younger than her age, showing no signs of aging at all. Su An felt more and more that the rumors were unreliable.
Wen Yun led Su An to a slightly secluded and quiet corner. “What’s your name, young handsome?”
“My name is Su An,” Su An answered obediently.
Wen Yun said with a smile, “Then can I call you Xiao Su?”
Su An nodded. “Of course.”
Seeing that there was no one around, the aura Wen Yun had been maintaining instantly vanished. “That was truly wonderful just now! Xiao Su, did you see that person’s face? It looked like he had knocked over a paint palette.”
The fact that Wen Yun was now a completely different person from before shocked Su An. He opened his mouth soundlessly.
Looking at the startled youth, Wen Yun asked carefully, “Did I scare you?”
Su An shook his head vigorously. “No, Auntie Wen. It’s just a bit shocking. You seem… different from the rumors.”
Seeing Su An’s flustered and cute appearance, Wen Yun affectionately grabbed his hand.
“Xiao Su, you’re so much better than my cocky son. How about I take you in as my godson?” Wen Yun’s topic jumped so quickly that Su An couldn’t keep up with her train of thought for a moment.
When Su An finally reacted, he hurriedly waved his hands. “That… wouldn’t that be inappropriate, Auntie Wen?”
Although Su An really wanted to learn from Wen Yun about design, he had never thought about becoming someone’s godson! Looking at the overly enthusiastic Wen Yun in front of him, Su An was a bit at a loss.
“You are so much better than my son. That son of mine isn’t cute at all; he’s been cocky since the day he was born. He’s no fun at all.” Wen Yun furrowed her beautiful brows, criticizing her son without the slightest reservation.
Listening to Wen Yun’s complaints, Su An actually felt a trace of envy in his heart. For as long as he could remember, he had never seen his biological parents.
The young Su An of the past used to watch his classmates being picked up by their parents after school. When he returned to the orphanage, he would cry to the Headmistress, asking obediently through his tears if his parents didn’t want him anymore.
He still remembered the Headmistress taking him into her arms and patting his back to soothe him, saying that his parents had simply gone to work in another city and would come back to get him once they had made enough money.
The young Su An believed her. Thus, holding onto that faint sliver of hope, he waited and waited. Like the most devout believer, he waited from dusk till dawn, from bitter winter to midsummer, yet he never managed to wait for the people he wanted to see.
Later, as Su An grew up, he understood that it was a well-intentioned lie and stopped thinking about those illusory expectations.
“Xiao Su, what’s wrong?”
Wen Yun’s concerned voice pulled Su An back from his memories.
“Auntie Wen, can I study design with you?” Su An asked softly. He didn’t have much confidence that Wen Yun would agree to his request and was already prepared to be rejected.
Wen Yun froze upon hearing his words. Seeing that she didn’t answer, Su An felt a bit disappointed but still feigned a relaxed tone. “It’s okay, Auntie Wen. Thank you so much for today.”
He bowed slightly to thank Wen Yun for helping him out of the situation earlier and then prepared to turn and leave.
Wen Yun hurriedly grabbed his hand. “Of course you can! Xiao Su, as long as you don’t find me tiresome—after all, I’ve been retired from this circle for over a decade.”
Su An was stunned. So, Designer Wen Yun actually agreed?
He turned around and thanked her sincerely once more, “Thank you so much.”
“Xiao Su, why do you keep saying thank you? It makes us seem so distant.” Wen Yun held Su An’s shoulders to prevent him from bowing again. “If we can’t make the ‘godson’ thing work directly, then you shall become my apprentice first, and then my godson later.”
Listening to Wen Yun, Su An felt a bit of a headache. Was this “godson” thing absolutely mandatory…?
“Xiao Su, come to my house for dinner tonight. My son’s cooking is delicious!” Wen Yun suggested to the person beside her while tapping away at her phone’s chat screen.
Su An found it difficult to withstand Wen Yun’s enthusiasm. “There’s no need, Auntie Wen. I’ll be heading home in a bit.”
“Consider it an apprenticeship banquet. Xiao Su, don’t refuse me.” Wen Yun looked at the Su An who was refusing her, and the smile on her face vanished instantly. The corners of her mouth drooped, and she appeared quite dejected.
Seeing her like this, Su An couldn’t bear to refuse. “Auntie Wen, then I’ll go with you. Sorry for the trouble.”
“No trouble, no trouble at all!” Wen Yun beamed with that familiar smile again, as if the dejection from a moment ago was merely an illusion or a trick of Su An’s eyes.
Su An: I suspect I’ve boarded a pirate ship, but I have no evidence.
Su An had no choice but to take out his phone and send a message to Yu Feng, telling him that he wouldn’t be coming home for dinner tonight. However, this time, Yu Feng did not reply quickly.
He’s probably busy, Su An thought.
Just as he put his phone away, Wen Yun said to him, “My son is here to pick me up. Let’s go, Xiao Su.”
Su An followed Wen Yun out in a daze. Until they reached the entrance and saw a familiar car parked by the roadside, Su An felt more and more that something was wrong.
Wen Yun didn’t notice Su An’s unease. She walked up to the car and knocked on the closed driver’s side window. A few seconds later, the window was rolled down.
“Son, are you surprised to see your mother?!” Wen Yun spread her arms, looking at the man in the driver’s seat.
In a corner where no one was paying attention, Su An saw the face that appeared after the window was lowered and was so shocked he froze in place.
“Ms. Wen, I was the one who bought your plane ticket back to the country.”
The man in the car didn’t notice that there was someone else standing next to his mother.
Wen Yun said with disdain, “How boring. Can’t you act a little more surprised? Do you understand the concept of emotional value?”
“Oh. I’m so surprised.” The man raised his tone slightly, feigning surprise, but his face didn’t look surprised at all.
Wen Yun selectively ignored her son’s dull performance. She pulled over the Su An who was covering his face with both hands and introduced him to her son. “This is Xiao Su, my godson. We met while browsing the exhibition and really hit it off.”
The man in the driver’s seat was surprised for a moment. His brow twitched, and he spoke with a half-smile, “Xiao Su?”
Su An tried his best to reduce his presence, attempting to deceive himself like an ostrich—as long as he couldn’t see, the other party couldn’t see him either.
Wen Yun was dissatisfied. “Why are you calling him Xiao Su? He’s younger than you. Call him ‘Younger Brother’!”
“Oh, is that so? My… younger brother…” The man dragged out his tone.
No one spoke; an awkward silence permeated the air. Su An, acting like an ostrich, seemed to accept his fate. He lowered the hands covering his face and raised a somewhat forced smile.
“Hi. Long time no see, Yu Feng.”
“Younger brother, didn’t we just see each other this morning?” Yu Feng feigned a thoughtful look. “However, a single day apart feels like three autumns. Looking at it that way, it has indeed been a long time since we last met.”
Watching this scene, Wen Yun’s brain which had been so flexible just a moment ago—couldn’t quite keep up.
“Wait… you two know each other?!”