“It’s okay. It’ll grow back.” Gu Yuan raised his hand to wipe away his tears. “I looked it up online yesterday. It’ll grow back in 12 months.”
“12 months?” Zhou Chiyu sounded as if he’d heard terrible news. “Does that mean it won’t grow back until we go to Mount Fuji?”
Gu Yuan hummed in affirmation and went to open the door for the delivery staff.
“Little Fish, I ordered your favorites: pineapple roasted wings, shrimp fried egg, and asparagus beef stir-fry.”
Zhou Chiyu smelled the aroma, and his mood lifted a little. “But I can’t eat them. They’re too hard.”
“I have a way.” Gu Yuan put on clean disposable gloves and methodically tore and snipped the food into tiny pieces. “I saw it on TV. This is how you take care of a little baby.”
Gu Yuan cut it very finely, so Zhou Chiyu could swallow it with just a few chews.
Zhou Chiyu’s teary eyes widened slowly. He opened his mouth expectantly for Gu Yuan to feed him. When he tasted the first bite of meat, he squinted happily and gave Gu Yuan a thumbs-up. “Brother, you’re super awesome.”
Gu Yuan pursed his lips and snipped the asparagus into bits. Zhou Chiyu didn’t like veggies, but asparagus was one he actually enjoyed.
“Brother.” Zhou Chiyu chewed on the tender beef, sighing with furrowed brows. “How did I get such a great brother?”
“My brother is the best brother in the whole world.”
“Mm.” Gu Yuan seemed focused on his task, but his peripheral vision was full of Zhou Chiyu’s cute antics. “Did you forget? You’re going to marry me someday. Of course I should be good to you.”
“Right! Marriage!” Zhou Chiyu kicked up his chubby little legs excitedly, thinking of their grown-up future.
If they got married, they’d definitely be super happy.
“If you married Zhou Junyi, would he be good to you?” Gu Yuan analyzed calmly. “He definitely wouldn’t give you all his only cookie.”
Zhou Chiyu got drawn into the topic, nodding along with Gu Yuan’s train of thought. “He definitely wouldn’t be as good to me as Brother.”
“Mm.” Gu Yuan withdrew his appraising gaze, satisfied. “Little Fish, if next year I can’t go to Mount Fuji with you, would you invite Zhou Junyi and the others?”
Zhou Chiyu countered, “Why wouldn’t Brother go?”
Gu Yuan: “Hypothetically.”
Zhou Chiyu hesitated. “Then I won’t go either. I’ll wait for Brother.”
Gu Yuan finished preparing all the food and fed it to Zhou Chiyu spoonful by spoonful from the little bowl. “Good. It’s a deal.”
Zhou Chiyu didn’t notice at all that the way Gu Yuan looked at him was different from usual.
A bit obsessive, like his favorite treasure had finally stayed by his side.
Two days passed in a flash.
The night before departure, Gu Yuan felt unwell and lay resting early. The night before that, they’d visited the cruise ship and caught a night breeze by accident. He’d been coughing since morning, and the accompanying doctor monitored him closely, ready to intervene. Fortunately, Gu Yuan’s condition was decent this time—no fever—and the doctor said if the cough stopped by tomorrow, it wouldn’t be a big issue.
“Little Yuan, have some water.”
With the doctor’s help, Gu Yuan sat up and held the cup himself. His gaze was drawn to the white light of the lighthouse in the night.
He had arrived at the Underwater Labyrinth he’d longed for.
It was a pity there were no fairy tales in the real world.
“Where’s Little Fish? He’s been with you all day. How come he’s suddenly gone?”
Auntie’s voice interrupted Gu Yuan’s thoughts. “He went to eat.”
“Little Fish is such a gentle child.” Auntie smiled wistfully. “It’s rare for an eight-year-old to be so gentle, thoughtful, and empathetic.”
Gu Yuan: “Empathetic?”
Auntie smiled but said no more.
From her observations, though Zhou Chiyu hadn’t shown it while playing with Gu Yuan during the day, he seemed to have some worries on his mind.
Zhou Chiyu appeared a bit unhappy.
Speak of the devil. Zhou Chiyu pushed open the door right then.
Unlike usual, he also wheeled in a wheelchair.
The noise woke Gu Yuan. He opened his eyes and asked softly, “What’s up, Little Fish?”
Zhou Chiyu clasped his hands behind his back, his dark eyes twinkling with a smile. “Brother, I want to take you somewhere.”
The spot where the front tooth was missing looked pitch black, and every time Zhou Chiyu grinned, it had a comical charm.
Gu Yuan chuckled along, then got up and put on his clothes.
The doctors were aware of Zhou Chiyu’s plan this time—they were just taking a quick spin around the Oceanarium and would return right away.
“Brother, this is my Underwater Labyrinth.”
The Oceanarium spanned the underground fourth floor and was vast. Since Zhou Chiyu wanted to play there today, the hotel had closed off public reservations.
Glowing blue spots drifted around them. Gu Yuan leaned back in his wheelchair and noticed that the light rippling across the floor resembled the deep blue surface of the sea. It felt as if they were truly submerged in an underwater world, gliding among schools of jellyfish and silver pomfret.
“Pretty, right?”
Zhou Chiyu pushed Gu Yuan up to the glass wall and waved at the dolphin in front of them. “Brother! The dolphin sent you a gift!”
He scampered over to the glass wall, pulled a seashell from his pocket, and pretended it had come from the dolphin, telling Gu Yuan to close his eyes.
Though Gu Yuan had seen through it all from the start, he still played along and covered his eyes with his hand.
“Ta-da!”
Zhou Chiyu opened the seashell. Inside, the Pearl Necklace gleamed with luster, sparkling with tiny flecks of light amid the blue glow of the underwater scene.
“A necklace?”
Gu Yuan took out the necklace and discovered a card tucked underneath.
He slightly raised his frail eyebrows and asked softly, “What’s this?”
“You’ll know once you open it.” Zhou Chiyu beamed at him.
Gu Yuan opened the card, and several lines of crooked handwriting appeared before his eyes.
[Dear little Gu Yuan, this letter is from the Undersea Dragon King!]
[Because you’re so smart, the Dragon King has decided to grant you one wish.]
[If you want your illness to get better soon, you can make your wish to me.]
Gu Yuan slowly lifted his gaze to meet those smiling eyes. “Make a wish, huh…”
His pale, thin lips parted slightly. “Then I’ll wish that every winter from now on, Little Fish and I can go to Mount Fuji.”
