Chapter 6: 006 Part 1

The elevator door slowly opened. Gu Yuan straightened his frail body on the wheelchair as much as he could, his small hands gripping the armrests trembling slightly from the effort.

It had been a long time since he last attended a gathering.

He was very worried that Zhou Chiyu’s friends would point and stare at him.

Zhou Chiyu followed closely with his little feet.

Being short, he could barely reach the wheelchair’s armrest. “Brother, is it comfortable when I push you?”

Gu Yuan turned back and looked at those crescent-shaped eyes curved in a smile, utterly baffled.

This was an electric wheelchair; clearly, the electricity was “pushing” him.

“Brother, say something quick.” Zhou Chiyu was very busy on his feet, reaching for the armrest while keeping up with the wheelchair’s speed ahead. He panted from exhaustion. “Am I strong or not?”

Looking at that expectant gaze craving praise and the sweat-dampened curly hair, Gu Yuan pursed his lips, unwilling to lie.

He stubbornly closed his eyes and hummed indifferently, “Mm.”

Zhou Chiyu clearly became even happier. His uneven baby teeth were fully exposed in his grin, his little chest puffed out high. He deliberately stomped his steps to make “da-da-da” sounds.

Gu Yuan secretly glanced at him, his light brown pupils completely filled with that smile.

Just because he praised him once, was he this happy?

They arrived at the lakeside, where five or six little heads turned toward Gu Yuan in unison. Gu Yuan held his breath, his right hand clutching the hem of his clothes tightly.

“Let me introduce him. This is my good friend, Gu Yuan.”

Zhou Chiyu was very proud, as if something tremendously boastworthy had happened. “Everyone, give a warm welcome to our new friend joining us.”

With Zhou Chiyu raising his little hand high, the children instantly erupted in excitement. Gu Yuan was unaccustomed to such a lively atmosphere and buried his small face deep into his scarf, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

Following Old Master Gu’s instructions, the pastry chef had specially made a celebratory party cake for Zhou Chiyu. As the little host of the banquet, Zhou Chiyu naturally cut the giant cake himself.

They were all around four years old, and even though everyone came from well-off families, in this atmosphere, the beautiful cake captured all their attention.

The cake was shaped like a pale pink swan, crafted with floating feather piping techniques where each solidified cream feather adhered closely together, making it incredibly lifelike.

“Oh my god! The swan is even holding a flower ring in its mouth!”

“I bet the flower ring is vanilla mousse flavor!”

“I want that flower ring.”

Gu Yuan wasn’t interested in desserts—or any food, for that matter. The chorus of exclamations around him drew his attention, and he couldn’t help but look at the string of light purple flower ring.

He glanced at Zhou Chiyu, thinking the little fatty must be drooling over it.

“This flower ring is raspberry flavored,” the serving auntie introduced.

“Thank you, Auntie! You’re so clever and handy!” Zhou Chiyu recalled a newly learned idiom and put it to immediate use.

The pastry chef really liked this new little friend in the household, especially since he loved food and had such a sweet mouth and cute demeanor.

She grinned from ear to ear and pinched Zhou Chiyu’s soft chubby cheek. “Then our baby has to eat plenty, okay?”

“You all hurry and cut the cake.”

Under the close watch of all the children, Zhou Chiyu held the bread knife and neatly cut down the entire flower ring.

The friends got extremely excited and crowded over for a close-up look.

Everyone discovered that it was even embedded with several white pearls.

Exclamations rose one after another—

Gu Yuan, seated in the wheelchair and thoroughly blocked from view, furrowed his pale brows slightly. He was full of curiosity yet secretly holding back. His conflicted expression was noticed by his family doctor who was looking after him.

She smiled to herself, thinking that Gu Yuan was still just a five-year-old child, very childish after all.

“Can these pearls be eaten?” Shao Yumeng’s eyes sparkled like stars. “I think the flower’s outer layer might be strawberry chocolate!”

“I guess orange chocolate!”

“I think there’s nuts inside!”

“Hmph~” Zhou Chiyu proudly held the plate and brought the beautiful flower ring right in front of Gu Yuan. “Brother, taste what flavor is inside.”

Gu Yuan’s conflicted expression froze slightly. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Zhou Chiyu to give the cake to him.

“Eat it quick.”

Zhou Chiyu swallowed hard. Though he really wanted it too, he decided to give the most precious part to Gu Yuan.

Under the gaze of several pairs of eyes, Gu Yuan lightly licked his dry lips and carefully took the piece of cake. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other children looking envious. He put a petal into his mouth with the fork. For once, even though he didn’t like sweets, the cake tasted pretty good.

“Is it yummy?” Zhou Chiyu gently tugged at his shoulder, asking greedily.

“Mm.” Gu Yuan wasn’t used to being stared at by so many people. He lowered his thick eyelashes and yanked his scarf up higher to cover his cheeks.

“Brother Gu Yuan, why are you sitting in a wheelchair?” Shao Yumeng was very interested in Gu Yuan and really liked this pretty brother. “Can your legs not walk?”

The adults present changed expressions subtly upon hearing the question. The Gu family servants all knew that the young master’s moods were unpredictable, and his triggers always related to his illness. Those caring for Gu Yuan were always extremely cautious, afraid of upsetting him by mentioning his condition. But everyone understood—for a five-year-old child, knowing he wouldn’t live to adulthood was utterly cruel.

The relaxed ease at the corner of Gu Yuan’s lips slowly solidified. He tried to hide the gloom in his eyes and lifted his gaze to look at everyone. These people meant no harm; he could sense it. Their eyes didn’t hold the mockery of relatives’ children; they were just curious about the wheelchair. One little fatty even came up to touch the wheels.

Even so, Gu Yuan’s fingers still trembled lightly.

He restrained himself from lashing out at everyone and prepared to turn away and leave.

At that moment, Zhou Chiyu beside him spoke up for him. “My brother is a little prince. When he’s tired, he sits on his mobile throne!”

“Mobile throne?” The other children were stunned.

“Yes!” Zhou Chiyu demonstrated on the spot, pressing a button on the wheelchair with his chubby little hand. “It goes super fast—even the White Dragon Horse couldn’t catch it. Only an awesome kid like me can keep up.”

“Wow!”

“Little Fish is so awesome!”

“The mobile throne is super cool! I wanna sit too!”

“Brother Gu Yuan? Can I have a turn sitting in it?”

The atmosphere shifted dramatically, something the adults never anticipated.

Gu Yuan himself was equally surprised.

He stared blankly at Zhou Chiyu’s eyes brimming with smiles, and the pretended strength he’d maintained in his heart for so long seemed to slowly crumble.