“Can you even drive!” The driver slammed his foot on the brake, rolled down the window, and roared angrily at a van that had suddenly darted out from the corner.
The driver’s wide-eyed, furious expression instantly softened as he glanced into the rearview mirror, comforting the passenger in the back seat with a gentle tone. “I’m so sorry, did that startle you awake? Are you alright?”
Chu Kai straightened up slightly, composed himself, and answered with a lingering trace of panic, “I’m, I’m fine.”
With that, he picked up a tissue and wiped away the fine beads of sweat dotting his forehead.
The tissue trembled slightly in his hand, dampening a small patch.
His other hand gripped the seatbelt tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.
He didn’t dare close his eyes again, but the moment he took a deep breath, the scene of Yan Chi telling him to get lost involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
Back then, Yan Chi had been just as heartbreakingly distraught.
Heartbreakingly asking him whether he truly loved him, and whether he had any place for him in his heart.
Trapped in the middle of this heartbreaking scene was Yan Chi, who had finished taking his medicine and lay in bed breaking out in a cold sweat.
His eyes were tightly shut, his brows furrowed, and his body twitched from time to time, as if he were locked in combat with the nightmare swamps deep within hell.
This nightmare had haunted him for over four years, and only today did it feel completely real.
As he gradually recovered and accepted this dream once more, the voice beside him pulled him right back in.
“Awake?” Seeing that Yan Chi had opened his eyes, Qiu Yuanming poured a cup of water from the flask sent over by the staff and handed it to him after he sat up. “Your older brother is away on a business trip, so he asked me to come check on you.”
Yan Chi raised a hand to take the cup, tilted his head back, and took two large gulps, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as it produced a muffled sound.
He asked in a hoarse voice, “Check on what?”
Hearing this, Qiu Yuanming paused. A flash of surprise crossed his face before he chuckled softly, saying, “To watch you hand-deliver your own black materials and assault footage straight to the trending searches, to watch you get sued by Zhang Zijun, and to watch you get blacklisted by the entertainment industry.”
At the mention of the name Zhang Zijun, Yan Chi’s nerves tightened.
Clutching his head, he vaguely remembered in his dream that he had interrogated someone, and that person seemed to share the surname Zhang.
Why had he interrogated this person again? Because this person, because.
His gaze suddenly glazed over.
Having originally found House 6, he had already accepted the reality that it was a dilapidated bookstore. Yet there wasn’t even hot water here, making it impossible for him to conjure up water out of thin air to mix formula for Chu Zhuo, who was holding his milk bottle and clearly starved of physical strength.
While wandering anxiously around the courtyard, he was amazed to discover a small path leading straight to the village chief’s house.
So, holding the milk bottle, he set off.
Then, he heard the familiar voice, saw the familiar way of holding a spoon, and spotted that familiar Beta.
“Yan Daddy~”
A childish cry, crisp as a bird’s song, shattered the surrounding silence and barged straight into Yan Chi’s memory.
Looking toward the doorway, through his blurred vision, the figure of Chu Zhuo crouching at the entrance looking utterly wronged seemed to gradually merge with the image of that Beta.
“Cough, cough, cough.” Yan Chi abruptly snapped back, his body struck by an invisible force as he covered his mouth and coughed violently.
“Drink some more water to soothe it.” Qiu Yuanming walked over, his figure completely blocking Chu Zhuo at the doorway. “I’ll handle the matters here, so you don’t need to worry. Get some good rest today. If your body permits, I still hope you can push through with the filming.”
With that, Qiu Yuanming walked toward the door, bending down to signal Chu Zhuo to head outside together.
“Uncle,” Chu Zhuo raised his little face, his two small eyebrows tightly knitted in worry, “what’s wrong with Yan Daddy? He’s been sleeping for so long.”
Qiu Yuanming half-squatted down, gently stroking Chu Zhuo’s hair while once again scrutinizing his features closely.
If catching a distant glimpse of this child for the first time felt too subjective to judge him as resembling the timid teenager in the portrait, then studying him closely right now made him certain that this child looked identical to the boy standing in front of Yan Zuo in the photograph.
Yet, a Beta, could that really be possible?
“Your Yan Daddy is sick.”
Qiu Yuanming spoke up, keeping his voice as gentle and soft as possible. “Can Little Water Chestnut be a good boy and eat his meal, and play with Yan Daddy after he feels better?”
Chu Zhuo nodded with a hint of disappointment, his little head drooping, his small hands clutching tightly at the hem of his shirt as he asked with tear-filled eyes, “Then will Yan Daddy eat? The love-filled breakfast is going to get cold.”
Qiu Yuanming recalled the food laid out on the table inside the room: a little bear sandwich, a heart-shaped fried egg, and a thick bowl of eight-treasure porridge.
It seemed it had already grown cold.
Even if it hadn’t, Yan Chi surely wouldn’t have any appetite for it right now.
“He’ll eat once he gets better,” Qiu Yuanming answered vaguely, taking Chu Zhuo’s hand and leading him toward the tables and chairs temporarily brought out by the bodyguards. “Now, shall we eat first?”
“Mm-hmm~” Chu Zhuo obediently followed along, his little shoes shuffling softly against the ground.
Qiu Yuanming filled a small bowl with seafood and lean pork porridge, clumsily scooped a small spoonful with a spoon, blew on it gently, and brought it to Chu Zhuo’s lips. “Little Water Chestnut, try this seafood porridge.”
Cupping the bottom of the bowl with his round, tender palms, Chu Zhuo revealed teeth as tender as spring bamboo shoots and said, “Uncle, I can eat by myself~”
A flush crept onto Qiu Yuanming’s face. He slowly let go of the bowl, smiled sheepishly, and looked on with paternal fondness as Chu Zhuo fed himself.
A moment later, he couldn’t help asking, “Little Water Chestnut, is your full name Chu Zhuo?”
“Mm-hmm~” Chu Zhuo nodded, biting down on his spoon.
“Eat slowly,” Qiu Yuanming reminded him with a smile before following up, “Then do you know your daddy and mommy’s names?”
Hearing the question, Chu Zhuo slanted his eyes away, his chewing slowing down considerably.
He set the bowl down, lowered his head to grip the spoon, and poked at the empty air inside the bowl. “I only have a daddy~”
“My daddy is super amazing~ He can ride a bike, knows every single road, and even sews clothes for dolls…” Chu Zhuo raised his head again, seemingly trying to use a raised volume to mask the sadness in his eyes. “I have an auntie too, auntie buys me lots of toys~”
After patiently listening to Chu Zhuo, Qiu Yuanming already had a fair idea of the situation, but he couldn’t help wanting confirmation. “What is your daddy’s name?”
“Chu Kai,” Chu Zhuo answered without hesitation. “My daddy and I are the closest kind of family, so we both share the last name Chu~”
“Your daddy must love you very much.” Qiu Yuanming gently wiped the corner of Chu Zhuo’s mouth with a tissue, his eyes filled with an uncontrollable mixture of envy and pity.
Over four years of life, relying on memories from just over a month must have been so difficult.
Standing up, Qiu Yuanming reached out to stroke Chu Zhuo’s cheek, gave a few instructions to the bodyguards, and then headed back out to negotiate matters.
All afternoon, Chu Zhuo wasn’t allowed to go outside, nor did he dare step into the room, leaving him stuck in the courtyard playing with the fierce-looking bodyguard uncles.
“Uncle,” Chu Zhuo tugged at the trouser leg of one of the bodyguards and asked, “Is Yan Daddy awake?”
The bodyguard glanced into the room, bent down, and shook his head.
Where did Chu Zhuo get the courage from? He took determined steps and headed straight toward the room. “I’m going to see Yan Daddy~ Getting sick makes people faint, I’m going to feed Yan Daddy his medicine~”
Unfortunately, his tiny steps were no match for an adult’s stride. Before he could take many steps, his small body was scooped up into the arms of a bodyguard.
“Wuwah. Wu. Wuwu.” The grievance bottled up in the little fellow’s throat broke like a breached dam, turning uncontrollable as tears and saliva sprayed out together.
An infant’s crying voice seemed naturally equipped with a megaphone, piercing straight to the sensitive heartstrings of any adult.
Clutching his head, Yan Chi stood up once again, his sharp, Rakshasa-like gaze locking onto the bodyguard at the doorway.
Clearing his throat twice, his voice still raspy, he demanded, “What’s all the racket?”
The bodyguard stiffened his posture and thrust the sobbing, snot-streaked culprit straight toward Yan Chi.
Little did they know how bold this culprit was; breaking free from the bodyguard’s grip, he flung himself forward and locked his arms tightly around Yan Chi, who felt as cold as an ice cellar.
“Yan Daddy,” Chu Zhuo pressed his small body tightly against Yan Chi, sobbing on his shoulder with intermittent hiccups, “don’t be sick~”
Mimicking Chu Kai’s usual tone, he blew milky, gentle breaths against Yan Chi’s neck. “Xiao Zhuo is blowing on it. All the pain will fly away.”