Chapter 37 Part 1

“Brother.”

Zhou Chiyu slowly curved his lips upward, hooked his arms around Gu Yuan’s neck, and nuzzled him. The scent on Gu Yuan’s clothes was very familiar, exactly the same as when they were children.

“I want to go study in the USA with you.”

Back in the country, he actually had plenty of good friends. After Gu Yuan left, he made many like-minded friends in junior high and high school, and they often gathered on weekends.

But without Gu Yuan, there was always a piece missing from his heart, especially when he returned home. Every item in Gu Yuan’s bedroom constantly evoked his childhood memories.

He had many regrets and much remorse.

He always felt that Gu Yuan had been thrown into the water by those bad guys because of him. As a clueless child back then, this incident became a lingering knot in his heart after he grew up.

If not for that accident, Gu Yuan probably would have received treatment step by step.

“But I’m a little reluctant to leave Grandpa.”

Zhou Chiyu furrowed his brows in conflict and gently buried his face in Gu Yuan’s neck: “Brother, do you know? Aside from Langlang, Gu Feng and Yu Xiao rarely visited Grandpa. Whenever they came, they said some strange things and always seemed to want something from him. Langlang went abroad to study too. I’m afraid Grandpa will be lonely.”

Ever since he came to the Gu Family, everyone treated him like their own child, especially Old Master Gu. He was extremely grateful for Gu Lao’s protection and care.

“I understand.”

Gu Yuan naturally held Zhou Chiyu, his palm gently grasping the back of his neck: “With you by Grandpa’s side, he must be very happy.”

“Mm-hmm.” Zhou Chiyu grinned smugly: “They all say I’m closer to Grandpa than his own grandsons.”

Gu Yuan slowly tightened his arms, drawing Zhou Chiyu even closer until there was no gap between them, and they could even hear each other’s heartbeats.

“For now, I can stay in the country for another half year. Once I work hard on my studies, I’ll come back to you early.”

“Mm-hmm!” Zhou Chiyu was very satisfied with this plan and eagerly stood up: “Brother, let me show you how excellent I’ve been these years.”

Gu Yuan’s original bookshelf was filled with Zhou Chiyu’s trophies.

There were the Math Olympiad, Science Skills Competition, Sailing Gold Award, and even the Tug-of-War Champion King title from sixth grade.

Gu Yuan slightly bent his long legs and leaned against the cabinet, his light brown eyes completely filled with Zhou Chiyu’s smile.

Zhou Chiyu’s smile was extremely charming; the corners of his eyes curved slightly, pure yet with a hint of sweetness, gradually overlapping with the image in Gu Yuan’s memories.

The light in Gu Yuan’s eyes slowly gathered, carrying a subtle indulgence and tenderness.

“Brother!”

“I also won the Big Eater Competition championship!”

“That was in my first year of junior high.”

Zhou Chiyu grew more excited as he spoke, even his eyelashes fluttering with joy.

“Little Fish is amazing.”

Gu Yuan raised his finger and rubbed Zhou Chiyu’s nose tip. Zhou Chiyu felt a bit ticklish and shrank his neck, squinting his eyes. When he secretly opened them and met Gu Yuan’s gentle, focused gaze, his ears suddenly turned red.

He looked away, suddenly recalling the first time he saw Gu Yuan.

“Can you tell me what’s up with that art student who was crazily confessing to you?”

Gu Yuan had been keeping this in mind, but in the video calls, Zhou Chiyu refused to elaborate. Their years of tacit understanding told him that Zhou Chiyu was deeply troubled by this.

“Him…”

Zhou Chiyu’s tone grew dejected as he explained the whole story from beginning to end.

After hearing it, Gu Yuan gently unbuttoned his shirt cuff, his mood visibly worsening: “Has he been harassing you lately?”

“Not recently.” Zhou Chiyu flashed a confident look: “Now that you’re back, Brother, he probably won’t dare show up again.”

Gu Yuan knew Zhou Chiyu didn’t want to make a big fuss, so he crossed his arms, his distinct knuckles lightly tapping his arm: “Find some time to take me to see him.”

“Okay.” Zhou Chiyu nodded lightly.

…

At dinner, Old Master Gu brought up Zhou Chiyu’s coming-of-age ceremony and asked the Gu Cheng couple for their opinions.

“Little Fish, do you want to go play at sea?” Bai Wenran suggested. “Your uncle recently bought a yacht. You can invite your good friends to have a party on it.”

“That’s great!” Zhou Chiyu started looking forward to it: “I haven’t been out to sea in a long time.”

“Eat some shrimp.”

Just like when they were young, Gu Yuan peeled the red shrimp clean for Zhou Chiyu.

“Thank you, Brother.”

Zhou Chiyu suddenly remembered something and looked at Old Master Gu: “Grandpa, have you booked the photographer?”

A few days ago, Old Master Gu had told him he wanted to specially shoot a coming-of-age photo album for him and had invited a gold medal photographer from the Fashion Magazine Society.

“It’s booked.” Old Master Gu took the opportunity to share his idea with everyone. “Shouldn’t we take a Family Portrait?”

Gu Cheng paused slightly and exchanged a glance with Bai Wenran: “The Family Portrait you mean is…”

Gu Cheng didn’t mind including Zhou Chiyu; he was conflicted about whether to invite the other siblings. Over the years, Gu Ming had opposed him on everything, and their brotherly relationship had deteriorated to an irreparable point.

“Little Fish and me, plus your family of four.”

“That’s perfect, of course.” Bai Wenran touched her belly and smiled: “Everyone’s here now anyway.”

Zhou Chiyu was thrilled to hear about the Family Portrait and clapped cooperatively: “Great! I’ll have a new Family Portrait.”