“Then should your kid call me uncle or dad?”
Zhou Chiyu grew more aggrieved as he spoke, his voice carrying a slight choke: “Oh, I get it. Little dad.”
“Of course not.” Gu Yuan walked to Zhou Chiyu’s side and gently squatted down: “What I’m worried about isn’t that. If they force me, there are plenty of ways to make me infertile.”
“Infertile?” Zhou Chiyu’s brows furrowed slightly: “Bro, you’re not thinking of getting a vasectomy, are you?”
Gu Yuan’s jaw tightened: “Chemical suppression and hormone intervention can also prevent pregnancy, but long-term use damages the body. Vasectomy is actually a more reliable method. I’ve already contacted a doctor for a medical certificate, saying it’s a side effect of my long-term cystic fibrosis treatment.”
“But…”
“But…”
Zhou Chiyu’s voice trembled slightly: “Have you thought about how much this will affect you?”
He had always remembered what Old Master Gu told him last time.
Gu Ming and his son Gu Feng were eyeing the position covetously and had always been wary of Gu Yuan. If the elders in the family learned that Gu Yuan had lost his fertility, they would definitely make a big fuss about it. Wouldn’t the position of heir to the Gu Yuan Group be handed over just like that?
He shared these concerns with Gu Yuan, wringing his hands in silence.
The Gu Family was too complicated; this would be like handing a sword to others to stab at Gu Yuan.
“As long as it doesn’t affect our future life together, it’s fine.” Gu Yuan smiled at him: “If the corporation heir must have children, then even if we’re together in the future, I still couldn’t take over Grandpa’s position, right? So I don’t care about these things at all.”
Ever since he fell ill, his only wish had been to live a little longer, to spend more time with his family and Zhou Chiyu.
He studied so hard not to inherit the family business, but to pursue freedom and meaning.
Zhou Chiyu’s nails nearly dug into his palm: “Bro, but I feel like this makes me selfish.”
“Selfish?” Gu Yuan lifted his hand and kissed the back of it: “The selfish one is actually me. I’m the one who wants to be with you, who disrupted your peaceful life, who’s making you bear all this pressure from every side.”
“Bro…” Zhou Chiyu buried his head in Gu Yuan’s neck like a kitten, rubbing against it, his voice hoarse: “But love requires effort from both sides. I want to do something for our relationship too.”
Gu Yuan smiled faintly and pressed his warm lips gently against the soft strands of hair in front of him: “You don’t need to do anything. If one day Grandpa asks you about us, you just need to say yes.”
“Why?” Zhou Chiyu grabbed Gu Yuan’s palm and placed it over his own chest. “Do you have a plan?”
Gu Yuan’s voice was low: “You’ll find out when the time comes.”
…
Half an hour later, Wang Yang, Chen Qiming, and the others arrived one after another.
“The park has mountain bikes and tandem bicycles. We can head to the Sunshine Grassland three kilometers away for a barbecue.” Wang Yang had brought his girlfriend here twice before. “Five kilometers out, there’s bungee jumping and skydiving. Those who aren’t scared can give it a try.”
The camping ground staff had already prepared the barbecue materials. While Zhou Chiyu was moving the supplies, he looked left and right. Chen Qiming thought he was curious and smiled: “The ingredient list is in the group chat.”
Zhou Chiyu didn’t make a sound, but only Gu Yuan understood his thoughts: “He’s afraid there won’t be enough to eat.”
With his intentions exposed, Zhou Chiyu shot him a sneaky glare. Gu Yuan smiled faintly, took the heavy item from his hands: “Do you know how to ride a bike?”
At these words, Wang Yang and the others were stunned.
“In this day and age, there’s actually a guy who doesn’t know how to ride a bike?”
Faced with everyone’s shocked expressions, Zhou Chiyu felt embarrassed: “I do know how. The kind with training wheels.”
Chen Qiming burst out laughing: “I get it. After all, the Young Master has always been chauffeured around since he was little.”
Zhou Chiyu’s ears burned red as he turned his anger toward the chief culprit: “Bro, do you know how?”
In his memory, Gu Yuan rarely exercised, let alone rode a bike.
“I do.” Gu Yuan pushed out a mountain bike: “I learned it in the USA while getting treatment.”
“Tch.”
Zhou Chiyu’s exhaled breath condensed into mist in the air. He rubbed his palms and looked at the mountain bike, starting to worry.
He wanted to invite Gu Yuan to ride the tandem bicycle with him, but felt it would be too spineless.
“Young Master, why don’t you ride the tandem with your bro?” Wang Yang raised an eyebrow: “It’s just not that easy to ride.”
To save face, Zhou Chiyu rejected it outright: “No need. I can do it myself.”
Once all the ingredients were loaded, the six of them set off on their bikes one after another.
Before leaving, Chen Qiming glanced at Zhou Chiyu: “Ride slow, Young Master. Don’t fall.”
Zhou Chiyu was stubborn: “How could I possibly fall? I used to ride my bike all the time as a kid, taking my bro for spins.”
The bike bells pierced the quiet morning, wheels crunching over dry twigs, producing crisp snapping sounds on the road.
Gu Yuan stood in place and borrowed a camper van from the staff, padding it with a thick jacket inside and smoothing it out flat.
Zhou Chiyu fastened his hat tight. Although he really wanted to ask what Gu Yuan was doing, he held back his curiosity and went to push the mountain bike by himself.
“Little Fish.”
Gu Yuan called out to him: “Hop in. I’ll pull you.”
Zhou Chiyu turned back and saw that Gu Yuan had tied a rope between the camper van and the mountain bike.
“What’s this?”
“Sit inside.”
With his back to the sunlight, Gu Yuan revealed a faint smile: “I’ll ride and pull you.”
Gu Yuan’s approach made Zhou Chiyu feel a bit embarrassed instead.
He deliberately refused, crossing his arms and turning away: “No way.”
Gu Yuan smiled slightly and didn’t ask why he refused.
“Little Fish, reach out.”
Zhou Chiyu twitched his ears and cautiously turned his head: “What?” (TL: Garbled text in original, likely a typo; ignored as non-essential.)
“A gift for you.”
Gu Yuan extended his frozen-red palm and placed the long-hidden Koi-Shaped Ice Sculpture into Zhou Chiyu’s hand.
Zhou Chiyu gazed at the lifelike little fish and smiled in delight: “Did you make th—?”
Mid-sentence, Gu Yuan had already picked him up and sat him in the vehicle.
“Let’s go.” Gu Yuan mounted the bike and touched the tip of his nose: “If you get bored, you can play with it.”
A hint of disdain crept into Zhou Chiyu’s smile.
Was this treating him like a kid?
