Meeting the girl’s innocent and pitiful gaze, Gu Beichuan’s breath tightened involuntarily, and his gaze inadvertently drifted down a few inches, catching a glimpse of what the pink nightgown failed to conceal.
The girl’s pure yet seductive appearance instantly stiffened his entire body, and a unique, fragrant scent of a young woman rushed to his face.
Gu Beichuan’s pupils slightly contracted, his gaze involuntarily landing on the girl’s slightly parted red lips as she tilted her head up. The image of her hanging onto his neck that night, tilting her head back and pleading with him, resurfaced in his mind.
His throat rolled slightly, his body suddenly burning, and panic surged within him.
Steadying his mind, Gu Beichuan hastily averted his gaze and quickly set the girl down on the sofa.
“I’ll get you some slippers.”
With that, Gu Beichuan glanced at the girl’s bare feet and couldn’t help but sternly add, “Don’t run around barefoot before I get back.”
The man’s expression was very serious, but Su Yanyan didn’t feel afraid; instead, she felt a sense of reassurance.
She placed her hands on her lap and nodded timidly.
The girl’s obedient demeanor was like a child in kindergarten waiting for candy. Gu Beichuan dared not look again—every extra glance made him feel more like a beast.
Soon, Gu Beichuan returned with a pair of slippers—fluffy pink ones shaped like long-eared rabbits.
Yesterday, due to the rush, he’d had Lin Xuan get out of the car midway to buy the nightgown, slippers, and basic toiletries.
Lin Xuan had bought a whole pile of stuff in every color imaginable.
The moment Gu Beichuan saw these slippers, the image of the little girl walking in them with the rabbit ears bouncing back and forth immediately popped into his mind.
He placed the slippers at the girl’s feet, then stood up and said to Su Yanyan, “Go wash up first, then we’ll have breakfast.”
With that, the man turned and walked toward the counter.
Su Yanyan looked down at the long-eared rabbit slippers he’d set before her, her eyes lighting up. She couldn’t resist poking the rabbit’s ear with her toes.
The ear immediately wobbled back and forth.
Gu Beichuan, busy at the counter, glanced up and caught the girl’s little gesture, shaking his head helplessly.
Still just a kid, after all.
After washing up, Su Yanyan returned to the living room in her nightgown.
By now, her mind was much clearer, and she remembered everything from yesterday.
After being kicked out by her mother, the uncle had brought her home, and then a bunch of people had examined her. The nightgown she was wearing had been changed for her by one of the young women.
There was also a doctor surnamed Wang who had asked her a lot of questions, and later, scared and exhausted, she’d fallen asleep.
When she woke up this morning, she’d thought it was all a dream, but it turned out it wasn’t.
Just as Su Yanyan stepped into the living room, she saw the uncle carrying two bowls toward the dining area. She hurried over to help.
“Uncle, let me do it.”
But the moment she reached out, the man dodged her hand. “Go wait at the table.”
Su Yanyan felt too embarrassed to just sit and wait to be fed. She thought for a moment and decided to head to the kitchen to see if there was anything she could help with. But just as she was about to run over, the returning uncle grabbed her arm.
“Don’t run around; you might fall.” Gu Beichuan glanced down at the girl’s slender, straight legs, feeling like a gust of wind could blow her over.
Even though Su Yanyan wanted to help, being turned down repeatedly made her too embarrassed to insist.
So she walked over to the dining table instead.
Gu Beichuan came over quickly and placed a bowl of porridge in front of the girl.
Su Yanyan looked at the white porridge with chopped scallions floating on top and couldn’t help but purse her lips into a smile. She hadn’t expected the uncle to know how to cook.
And he even made her favorite century egg and lean pork porridge.
Su Yanyan scooped up a spoonful—huh?
She scooped another spoonful!
A flicker of confusion passed through her eyes. Could it be that the uncle forgot to put in the century egg and lean pork?
The little girl’s strange behavior immediately caught Gu Beichuan’s attention. He looked up at her and saw a somewhat bewildered expression on her face.
“Ahem… What’s wrong?” Gu Beichuan gave a light cough and asked instinctively.
As he spoke, he casually stirred his own porridge without noticing anything unusual.
Hearing this, Su Yanyan quickly shook her head. “N-nothing.”
She hurriedly scooped up a spoonful and started eating.
It seemed to be just white porridge with scallions, not century egg and lean pork porridge at all.
But white porridge with scallions—Su Yanyan was eating that for the first time.
Very… unique.
After the meal, Gu Beichuan brought over some ointment and handed it to the girl. “You got hurt yesterday. One more application of this ointment and you’ll be fine.”
Gu Beichuan’s words immediately reminded Su Yanyan of what had happened last night. She reached out and carefully took the ointment.
She said in a soft voice, “Uncle, thank you!”
Seeing how cautious the little girl was, Gu Beichuan couldn’t help but ask, “What… exactly happened yesterday?”
Su Yanyan’s hand holding the ointment stiffened for a moment, then she forced a smile and shook her head. “N-nothing.”
Since the girl didn’t want to say, Gu Beichuan didn’t press further.
After saying that, Su Yanyan quickly got up and went to the bathroom to apply the ointment. The bruise at the corner of her mouth was already barely visible. She lifted her clothes and carefully applied the ointment to her chest area.
Thinking about what the uncle had just asked her, Su Yanyan’s hand paused slightly, and she lowered her head, biting her lip hard.
After applying the ointment, Su Yanyan went to the living room, planning to ask the uncle about what was going on with the hotel.
However, the uncle had gone into the study.
Su Yanyan could only sit on the sofa and wait. She waited for a long time until she saw the uncle come out and sit on the sofa with a tablet in hand.
She glanced at the man cautiously, hesitated for a long time, and finally mustered up the courage to speak.
“Uncle, um… about that—did you help me pay for the alcohol money?”
Last night when she’d mentioned this matter, she’d felt no pressure at all. But since the uncle had helped her again yesterday, Su Yanyan felt really embarrassed bringing it up now.
During the meal earlier, Gu Beichuan had noticed that the little girl seemed distracted. So this was the reason.
“It’s already been taken care of. Don’t worry.” He’d had Lin Xuan handle it yesterday.
Hearing this, Su Yanyan instantly let out a sigh of relief.
But soon she realized—since the uncle had already paid, why were the hotel people still asking about her?
Su Yanyan felt uneasy about it, so she told Gu Beichuan about this matter.
“Uncle, the hotel people seem to be asking about me. Could it be… that they’re after you?”
She was just a nobody who wouldn’t attract attention, so the chances were high that they were after the uncle.
Oh right, she still didn’t even know the uncle’s name.