8 – Sister, May I Stay?
Gu Yuan set down her wine glass.
She didn’t respond with words, nor did she push him away. Instead, she raised a hand to stroke the hair at the back of his head, then slowly trailed her fingers down to his nape.
It made him tremble slightly.
Gu Yuan let out a laugh, tinged with meaning. “You certainly know how to pick your people…”
Of all the people to latch onto, why did it have to be her?
Chi Yu stayed quiet, saying nothing.
Gu Yuan pushed him away and stood up, straightening her clothes. Looking at him, slightly flustered, she said, “Go change your clothes and wait here.”
“Okay.”
Chi Yu nodded obediently.
The housekeeper was perceptive—last night, when she’d brought him back, she’d already gone out to buy clothes for him.
Chi Yu changed into a clean shirt and sat quietly on the sofa. The living room was silent and empty.
He knew she was deliberating over whether to keep him.
Chi Yu was like a man awaiting a court verdict—every second was pure torment. The fruit knife on the coffee table found its way into his hands, and he toyed with it absently.
His expression appeared calm.
But as time passed, the knife spun faster and faster in his grip, leaving cold, pale afterimages in the air.
Something seemed to churn within his eyes.
“Woof! Woof woof woof!”
Yatou ran to the living room entrance again, barking at him warily, every muscle in his body taut.
Chi Yu suddenly lifted his gaze, knife in hand.
His eyes were black as night, concealing boundless ferocity, like a bottomless, freezing pool.
Yatou fell silent at once.
He let out a whimper, pacing anxiously at the doorway, before finally leaving.
Chi Yu withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened.
The mirror-bright blade faintly reflected his face, and he caught a glimpse of the unease in his own eyes.
She had finally come back to him.
But would she want him?
…
Gu Yuan was in Ryan’s study.
Ryan hadn’t slept a wink all night, and had only just lain down when he was roused again.
He opened his bloodshot eyes in accusation. “Gu Yuan! At this rate, I’m going to become the first psychologist in the world to be worked to death by his patient!”
“Sorry. Ten times overtime pay.”
Gu Yuan’s expression was also somewhat helpless.
Ryan was placated by the tenfold overtime pay, instantly perking up with renewed energy. He said seriously, “No problem, my dear, I’m full of energy now!”
“Please, patient, describe your issue.”
Ryan even took out a notebook and pen.
Gu Yuan frowned slightly and told him about Chi Yu, as well as the effect he had on her.
Ryan’s expression grew increasingly serious, tinged with surprise. “So you’re saying that when you’re with him, you feel at ease, and you can temporarily forget those bad things?”
“You could say that.”
Gu Yuan paused briefly, then gave a slight nod.
Ryan tapped his pen against the notebook. “Then that means, in your subconscious, he’s someone you trust wholeheartedly…”
“Impossible.”
Gu Yuan smiled and shook her head. “How could I wholeheartedly trust a complete stranger?”
Ever since the incident four years ago.
She had become so vigilant she was nearly paranoid, finding it hard to trust anyone.
Chi Yu had almost died at her hands because of it.
She didn’t think she trusted him.
Ryan pondered for a moment, his pen tapping continuously against the notebook. “There’s another possibility…”
“He carries a trait of someone you trust—what you mentioned as the scent—that makes your subconscious mistake him for someone you can trust.”
That explanation did make sense.
Gu Yuan ran through the people she trusted in her mind, but none of them matched.
Ryan observed Gu Yuan’s expression and knew he had likely guessed wrong again, falling into deep thought.
“Forget it, it doesn’t matter.”
Gu Yuan said indifferently. That abstract sense of “familiarity” was truly elusive—perhaps she simply liked the scent.
She didn’t want to dwell on it either.
What she was considering was, “Ryan, do I need to keep this person here?”
Ryan shrugged teasingly. “Yuan, you’re someone with strong opinions. If you wanted to kick him out, you wouldn’t be asking me right now.”
Gu Yuan smiled. True.
But she didn’t quite like someone suddenly barging into her world.
Le Meng stood nearby listening, seemingly aware of Gu Yuan’s thoughts. Another flash of inspiration struck her, and a dangerous idea popped into her head.
“Sister Yuan, I have an idea!”
“What idea?”
Gu Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked her.
Le Meng wore an innocent, harmless expression and spoke in a sweet, girlish voice. “We could turn him into a specimen and put him in Sister Yuan’s room~”
“…………”
Ryan stared at her in horror. “Sweetheart, you must be joking!”
Only then did Le Meng realize her thoughts weren’t exactly aligned with socialist core values. She quickly covered her mouth and blinked innocently. “Ahem, I was just saying…”
It wasn’t like she’d never done it before.
She’d even dressed the “specimen” in a cute princess dress, even though that person had been male.
Gu Yuan shot Le Meng a warning look.
Once Gu Yuan had made up her mind, she sent Ryan off to sleep and returned to the living room.
On the way, she ran into Yatou, who circled around her anxiously, as if trying to stop her.
Even more so when they reached the living room door.
As if she were trying to prevent her from going in.
Gu Yuan bent down slightly, stroked her head, and slowly calmed her down, her gaze somewhat deep.
After Yatou was soothed.
Gu Yuan turned and walked into the living room.
Chi Yu sat obediently on the sofa. Seeming to sense her footsteps, his hand playing with the fruit knife trembled slightly, and the blade left a shallow cut on his hand.
“What are you doing?”
Gu Yuan walked up to him.
Looking at the wound on his hand—the youth’s hand was fair as jade, and this small red mark with traces of blood seeping out looked rather startling.
“It’s nothing…”
Chi Yu put the knife down and covered the wound with his other hand, lowering his gaze and explaining in a soft voice, “I just wanted to peel some fruit for Sister…”
Gu Yuan glanced at it and didn’t ask further.
Sensing she had walked away again.
Chi Yu looked at her uneasily, but saw Gu Yuan fetch a band-aid, take his hand, and help him put it on.
Chi Yu looked up at her.
As Gu Yuan applied the band-aid, her expression was calm and gentle, without her usual aloofness and wariness. From a distance, it almost looked warm and tender.
Chi Yu’s other hand clutched the hem of her clothes. He sat obediently on the sofa, looking up at her, and spoke cautiously, “Sister, can I stay?”
He knew exactly how to stir her protective instincts.
When Gu Yuan looked down at him.
His eyes were full of hope and nervousness, clutching her clothes like grasping at the last straw, just like a cat afraid of being abandoned.
Utterly endearing.
“Mhm.”
Gu Yuan gave a slight nod, finished applying the band-aid, and reached up to pat his head. Her gaze then fell on the bruise marks around his neck, which stood out starkly against his fair skin.
Her fingertips brushed over the marks.
“Does it hurt?”
He gave her a clean, boyish smile, and when he heard her agree to let him stay, his eyes seemed to brim with starlight.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
The light in his eyes dazzled her.
Ryan was right—being with him, she could feel at ease, and she would unconsciously forget the bad things.
When he smiled, her mood brightened instantly.
As if she had met an old friend.
Author’s note:
My darlings, can you stay~