Bai Wenran asked what was wrong, but he said nothing.
It wasn’t until Zhou Chiyu ran into the room that she saw the faint smile hidden in Gu Yuan’s eyes and understood his feelings.
“Brother, Mommy said I should study hard.”
Zhou Chiyu had just finished a video call with his mother and was extremely excited. “I’ve decided to go to the bookstore and buy some books!”
From a young age, Zhou Chiyu had little interest in reading picture books or stories, so even nearing five years old, he knew very few Chinese characters.
Last time, he’d seen how many books Gu Yuan had and felt deep admiration in his heart. He wanted to be a knowledgeable good child too.
“Bookstore?” Gu Yuan subconsciously asked, “Why not buy on your phone?”
Zhou Chiyu couldn’t sit still and wriggled like a little earthworm. “Because the bookstore is fun!”
“Oh.” Gu Yuan thought about it. It seemed he had never been to a bookstore himself.
“Brother, do you want to come with me?” Zhou Chiyu had already pushed the wheelchair over, beaming. “I’ll push you!”
Gu Yuan quietly glanced at Bai Wenran, his fingers tightening on the book in front of him.
“If Little Yuan wants to go, that’s fine too.” Bai Wenran bent down to look at him. “We’ll all go with you, okay?”
Gu Yuan lowered his eyes and nodded only after a long while.
Gu Yuan needed many preparations for going out: portable nebulizer, pulse oximeter, inhaled antibiotics, and so on. Disinfection was also of utmost importance.
An hour later, the group arrived at the largest bookstore in the city.
Although Zhou Chiyu was interested in the abundance of books on display, what attracted him most was the ice cream vending machine at the entrance. However, Butler Chen ruthlessly rejected Zhou Chiyu’s purchase request, and the little fatty’s face immediately scrunched up.
Butler Chen felt that the food from the automatic ice cream machine wasn’t hygienic.
It was Gu Yuan’s first time at a bookstore, and he was curious about everything there.
They were browsing the 5-10 age children’s section, where many kids were reading.
“Brother, is this speed okay?”
Zhou Chiyu hadn’t forgotten his promise and stayed close to Gu Yuan. “My strength is too much. I’m afraid you’ll fall.”
Gu Yuan smiled inwardly and raised his brow, teasing on purpose. “Zhou Chiyu, my wheelchair is electric. You didn’t even push hard.”
“I did!” Zhou Chiyu suddenly got anxious, big teardrops welling in his eyes. “I’m not talking to you anymore.”
Butler Chen watched Zhou Chiyu’s retreating back with a slight frown. His Little Young Master had such a good temper—how could he get upset over this?
Looking at Gu Yuan again, that usually expressionless little face seemed to show some panic and awkwardness.
Zhou Chiyu ran to an empty bookshelf and stomped his foot in anger.
Butler Uncle bullied him, and Brother bullied him too.
It was just ice cream!
He didn’t want to eat it anyway!
Zhou Chiyu puffed his cheeks in huff and began picking picture books.
While selecting, he suddenly spotted a set of storybooks with blue ocean covers. He stood on tiptoe, stretching his chubby little hands high to grab the set. But just as he pulled it down to look, a boy 20 centimeters taller snatched it away.
The boy excitedly called to his playmates. “Come quick! I found this book!”
Zhou Chiyu wrinkled his brow and put his hands on his hips anxiously. “Hey! This is clearly my book!”
The boy didn’t take the little bean in front of him seriously and scoffed. “Whoever grabs it first gets it!”
Zhou Chiyu felt extremely wronged and pouted. “It clearly was—”
Before he could finish, the boy suddenly shoved the book back into his arms.
He was stunned for a moment, then followed the boy’s fearful gaze backward. He discovered that Gu Yuan had appeared behind him at some point.
Gu Yuan seemed very angry. His fallen bangs cast shadows under his brow bone, obscuring his expression. But when Gu Yuan revealed his full pupils, the sinister and warning in them made people shudder.
“Here, take it back!” The boy bolted like grease on his soles.
Zhou Chiyu hugged the book in a daze for a long time, his little feet shuffling uncomfortably.
Gu Yuan seemed a bit fierce.
“I told Butler Chen it’s okay to buy you Haagen-Dazs ice cream.”
Gu Yuan turned his wheelchair around. “Follow me.”
Mentioning ice cream, Zhou Chiyu had no time to dwell and trotted after Gu Yuan with the picture book in his arms.
“Brother, I like chocolate flavor.”
Zhou Chiyu stood on tiptoe, dazzled by the choices.
Gu Yuan nodded and, following the screen prompts, bought him a box of Belgian chocolate-flavored ice cream.
“Brother, you’re so awesome.” Zhou Chiyu was drooling hard and eagerly tore it open to dig in. “You even know how to buy things with a phone.”
Traces of tears still lingered at the corners of Zhou Chiyu’s eyes, but he smiled contentedly, showing no sign of his earlier anger.
Gu Yuan silently watched him, a hint of relief in his expression.
Zhou Chiyu probably wasn’t mad anymore.
“The following is a local news announcement: After days of search and rescue, the wreckage of the private jet carrying ZN Chairman Zhou Zhengnan has been fully located and collected—”
Gu Yuan jerked his head up and realized there was a TV mounted above the bookstore. Zhou Zhengnan was Zhou Chiyu’s biological grandfather.
“I think I heard Grandpa’s name.”
Zhou Chiyu had eaten messily like a little tabby cat and lifted his grinning little head to look around. Unexpectedly, the person in front of him gently covered his ears.
“Let’s play a game.”
Gu Yuan’s pale face was exceptionally serious. “I’ll cover your ears, and you close your eyes. If you can hold out for 100 seconds, I’ll buy you another box of ice cream.”
“Wow!” Stars bloomed in Zhou Chiyu’s eyes as he hurriedly shut them.
