Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 84: Calm Down

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Zhang Siyi’s mind went blank for a moment. There are two bedrooms? Could she mean the guest room with all the stuff? To confirm his guess, he asked: “You mean the storage room on the second floor?”

When Gu Yao saw his question, she was taken back: “How do you know there are two rooms on the second floor? Have you been to my brother’s house?”

Zhang Siyi: “I spent the night at your brother’s house before we drove back to Ningcheng.”

Gu Yao: “Oh, so where did you sleep at that time? The guest Room?”

While chatting with Zhang Siyi, she sat up and looked around her room. Every time she came to her brother’s house, she stayed in this room. The bedding was specially picked out for her and there was nothing moved on her desk. Everything was as she left it. It didn’t look like anyone had been in her room.

Zhang Siyi: “No. Since it was a long time since someone lived in the room, your brother said that the space was piled up with clutter. It was too cold to stay on the sofa, so I stayed with him.”

Jaw wide open, Gu Yao has never felt so shocked. OMG! They slept together!? Her neat-freak of a brother who would never share a bed, in fact spent the night with Zhang Siyi!  (=口=)

Becoming more excited, Gu Yao’s small heart burst with joy. And to think that all this time, her brother has been acting so nonchalant. She has the evidence now!

Zhang Siyi asked again: “Where you able to clean up that room so quickly?”

Chuckling to herself, she understood immediately what happened. Seeing Zhang Siyi continued questioning, she didn’t want to expose her brother’s ploy, so she went along with it.

“Well…… I spent the night packing up.” She finished looking around the room and snorted. Except for a few boxes of old books piled on the ground and the two blankets that were vacuum packed for storage, there was nothing else out of order.

Zhang Siyi: “Oh …”

Changing the subject, Gu Yao returned the topic to Zhang Siyi original inquiry: “You were asking about my brother; is there something wrong? Don’t you know his WeChat?”

Zhang Siyi: “It’s nothing important. I sent him a message, but he didn’t return it. I was curious to know what he was doing so I asked you.”

What? Gu Yao felt confused. Isn’t it normal for her brother to ignore WeChat? Her workaholic brother usually took several days before he noticed text messages. Once even, it took a week to return one of Gu Yao texts. Anyway, since the information wasn’t important, she didn’t want to disturb her brother so normally, she didn’t pester him about the delay. She understands his preferences, and thus, if it’s an urgent matter she knows to make a phone call directly. Recently however, when she has sent him a text message, he has responded in a short period of time. She found it very surprising. Thinking back to New Year’s at home, she witnessed her brother looking at his phone frequently and smiling. This change, is it not because of Zhang Siyi?

Gu Yao asked: “When did you send it to him?”

Zhang Siyi: “Fifteen minutes ago?”

Gu Yao: “……” If she were sitting on a chair, she would have fallen off! It was fifteen-minutes and not fifteen-hours! Running to Gu Yao to ask… Doesn’t he have something better to do? Go take a cold shower and calm down!  (#‵′) 凸

In order to settle herself, Gu Yu took a deep breath and squashed her impulse to tease him: “What is the issue? I can see what my brother is doing…”

Zhang Siyi: “Well, it’s not urgent. I wanted to show him my photos of my cactus.”

Gu Yao: “%#@……”

Hold back… you are a lady! Endure! ┻━┻︵╰(‵皿′)╯︵┻━┻

Half a minute later, Gu Yao got out of bed and knocked on her brother’s door. After hearing “come in” from inside, she pushed the door in and entered. Gu Yu was bent at his waist slightly, standing intently at his desk with a brush in hand, practicing calligraphy.

The desk surface was covered with felt and on it, was a sheet of rice paper. The word cold (冷) was already half printed on the top and with a few more strokes he was finished. With the brush still in his hand, he paused and looked up at her “Do you need something?”

Seeing the pile of used rice paper with his phone on the top like a paper weight, she shook her head and retreated instead: “It’s nothing. I wanted to know when you will be going to sleep.”

Gu Yu glanced briefly at her, then continued writing: “You can go to sleep first. I’m going to write for a while.”

Gu Yao: “Oh…”

Horizontal, horizontal, vertical hooks… Gu Yu wrote another word: quiet (静). Noticing Gu Yao standing by the door he paused again, raised his brow and looked up at her: “What?”

Fiddling with the edge of her shirt, Gu Yao quietly asked: ”Brother, are you upset?”

Gu Yu stopped his hand: “Why do you say that?”

Feeling deflated, Gu Yao weakly confessed: “Today during our car ride, I chatted with brother Siyi and told him some of your childhood stories.”

Gu Yu smoothly dipped his brush into the ink jar and continued writing: “I know you two were chatting behind my back. You didn’t say anything so what could I say? It’s nothing more than a few embarrassing stories from Dad.”

With a slight smile, Gu Yu voice is very serene. He didn’t appear upset at all, however, by instinct, Gu Yao felt that her brother is quite perturbed. Casually walking over to him, she said: “I think brother Siyi is very curious about you.”

Gu Yu’s wrist trembled, and the brush stroke was shaken. Not lifting his head, he calmly continued writing. The layman couldn’t see his word being poorly written.

She sifted through the pile a used sheets of rice paper and picked out the best written words. He finally put down his brush and said: “Am I so easy to get angry? I don’t know who I learned it from….”

Gu Yao: “……”

Gu Yu: “Go to sleep. I’ll only write for a little longer then I’ll sleep.”

Gu Yao: “Ok. What shall we eat in the morning?”

Unlike his slow practice, Gu Yu flicked his wrist and quickly wrote a string of words: Fried rice fritters, bean curd brain?

Gu Yao laughed, put down the ink and went back to her room.

Gu Yu put down his brush and dragged over a stool to sit. He quietly examined his work for a while then gently picked up his phone to look at the latest WeChat message for the second time.

The last record entry that Zhang Siyi sent to Gu Yu was a kitten selling cuteness expression. The corners of Gu Yu mouth silently rose. With a flash in his eyes, he opened the dialog box and entered one word and…. sent.

Zhang Siyi waited for what felt like the longest forty-five minutes of his life for a return message. When the phone vibrated, he ecstatically opened his phone to view the new message, but he only saw ——- Gu Yu: “Hmm.”

Zhang Siyi: “……”

Zhang Siyi: “???”

In anticipation of receiving praise from Gu Yu or something that would make him happy, Zhang Siyi was picking up his phone every two minutes to check his messages. As they say, A Watch Pot Never Boils. Forty-five minutes took infinitely longer. Compared to a note on a message marked ‘unread’, seeing only “Hmm” from Gu Yu was more devastating.  

Zhang Siyi mind was racing: Don’t you care about this cactus? What was the long talk about it in the past for? Now that it’s alive and well, all I get is “Hmm”? What do you mean, you!

Feeling utterly depressed, Zhang Siyi didn’t want to reply. He turned off WeChat and threw his phone to the floor. His mood to sleep was ruined. Instead, he wrapped himself up in blankets and sat up to watch a movie in bed. Initially, his mind was so full of Gu Yu that he couldn’t concentrate on the film. Feeling irritated, he opened up a game instead. Ready to blow off some steam he played a few rounds of a game he hadn’t played for a while. Each time he lost! Being defeated in both virtual and real-life left Zhang Siyi feeling even more aggravated and empty.

“Aaaaaaaaah!” Slamming the cover of his laptop closed, he held onto his head and fell back onto his pillow. For three hours, he continued to feel restless and was unable to sleep. His mood: Like shit! And it was all Gu Yu fault! His attitude on WeChat was too indifferent and cold.

Blinking back his tears, his emotions felt like a tightly wound coil ready to snap. All of his previous speculations were crushed completely. Gu Yu likes him? No fucking way!

Alone, Zhang Siyi spent the last couple of days of vacation at his apartment. Finally, it was time to head back to work. Although he still felt confused over Gu Yu’s actions, he felt excited to go to work to get the chance to see him. Also, it’s been a while, so he was looking forward to catching up with his colleagues. Returning from their hometowns, his colleagues all seem revitalized with springs in their steps.

Bi Lele wore a new coat and had a new hair style. She smiled at Zhang Siyi and said: “Auntie Four, you came back! I heard the office building plan you did was selected. Congratulations!”

Zhang Siyi: “Thank you. How was your break? Why do you look heavier?”

Bi Lele: “…… Go to hell!”

Dodging, Zhang Siyi ducked to escape the trajectory of the marker that Bi Lele had thrown at him. Laughing, he adjusted his desk chair then addressed his neighbor, Zhu Hongzhen. When he saw him closer, he didn’t think it was possible for him to gain even more weight. Not wanting to stare he returned his attention to his desk: “Piggy, you ate a few meals over News Year’s, huh.”

In self-condemnation, Zhu Hongzhen rubbed his forehead with his hand: “Don’t remind me. At home every day, all I did was eat and sleep. I feel like I really did become a pig.”

Grabbing his own wrist and reaching over his head, Zhang Siyi stretched out like a cat and yawned: “Me too. When I stayed at home being lazy and not doing anything, it made me feel like I was wasting away.”

Yuan Zhicheng looked up with two dark circles under his eyes: “You really are a good boy. You won’t hear me complaining of doing nothing over break.”

Surprised at Yuan Zhicheng outward appearance, Zhang Siyi whispered to Zhu Hongzhen: “The holiday just ended. How is it possible he can he look like that?”

Zhu Hongzhen explained with amusement: “Oh. He is like that three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Even if you gave him three days and three nights to sleep, he will still look like that.” He moved in closer and spoke quietly: “He must have only absorbed the Yin energies in his mother’s womb.”

Yuan Zhicheng’s faint voice can be heard from across the room: “Pig. Don’t think I didn’t hear you.”

Zhu Hongzhen: “……”

Powering on the computer, Zhang Siyi booted up his machine and sorted out his unfinished drawings of the office building. Because he was in a rush at the end of the year, he didn’t document his progress adequately and thus, he spent half of the day getting reacquainted with the plans. At this point, he urgently needed the guidance of Gu Yu to proceed with the project.

Since Gu Yu office was locked and dark, more the once, Zhang Siyi looked up in the direction of the company’s entrance, waiting for Gu Yu to appear. His anxiety was growing and after lunch he asked Zhu Hongzhen: “Pig, why hasn’t Boss come to work yet?”

Zhu Hongzhen stopped his work for a minute and replied: “The higher-ups have longer annual leave than ours. I think he will be back after another week.”

Even though they drove back together, Zhang Siyi couldn’t say anything: “……”

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Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 83: Two Bedrooms

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In a flash, all of Zhang Siyi’s memories are on hyperdrive. There are so many subtle coincidences between Zhang Siyi and Gu Yu that he is starting to believe what used to be thought of as random inextricable phenomenon are as if by fate, linked.

There was the cactus ball and the overtime work day when he woke up to a sensation where he found Gu Yu looking at him. Also, Gu Yu’s tape measure gift. Even though Zhang Siyi started with a white-lie of only playing the violin for a person he likes, Gu Yu unexpectedly asked Zhang Siyi to play the violin for him. There was Zhang Siyi’s properly preserved pumpkin in Gu Yu’s bedroom, and the generous New Year’s red envelope, and of course the increasingly suggestive ambiguous WeChat interactions……

As these thoughts percolated in Zhang Siyi heart and mind, he had to face the facts. When Fu Xinhui asked him that time after KTV, Zhang Siyi immediately rejected the idea because ‘Gu Yu had a girlfriend’. However, this problem was no longer an issue as the girl wasn’t a girlfriend, but his sister.

Even Gu Yao admitted to Zhang Siyi that she suspected her brother was gay more then once. Although he doesn’t know the specifics of why she felt that way, if Zhang Siyi combined this fact with Gu Yu’s actions during the True or Dare game, then it makes sense that Gu Yu would choose dare when Zhang Siyi asked him who he liked.

 …… The answer is on the horizon.

Zhang Si Yi stole a glance at Gu Yu while he was driving. His face was soft and yielding, yet focused and taut. It is a handsome face that very few girls can resist.

If Gu Yu really likes himself……

Then he can try too…….  

With a man…….

A relationship…….

Right? (o////o)

Fuck! Zhang Siyi, what are you thinking about! (&////&)

With his heart feeling like it was going to explode from his chest, Zhang Si Yi quickly withdraw his gaze. Where does he get the confidence to presume there is interest in Zhang Siyi? Gu Yu’s abilities are superior and he makes more money and he is better looking….. Liking him? Not possible!

It is said that when you like a person, people often over think the actions of the other person in order to convince themselves, the feeling are mutual. This is typical attention bias.

Zhang Siyi is a very self-aware person who knows exactly the type of girl he can attract and pursue for a serious relationship. If he approached a girl and was rejected, it’s just a moment of slight embarrassment that can be harmlessly laughed away. However, Gu Yu is a man. If there is a misunderstanding, then how will he put his face forward in the future?

Slumping in the seat in distress, Zhang Siyi didn’t want to think about it further. Since he wasn’t in the mood to chat, he also used the excuse of being sleepy to end their conversation.

At the same time in the backseat, Gu Yao was continuing her analysis of her brother’s love mystery. Through their conversations, Gu Yao confirmed that Zhang Siyi is very curious about her brother. Curiosity is precisely the beginning of all love; a good sign!

The most recent new info: Zhang Siyi gave her brother the pumpkin!

Is this a coincidence? No!

Judging from her brother’s cherished memories of pumpkin lanterns, Gu Yao had long suspected that this was a gift from his sweetheart. Together with these observations over the past few days, she has already made a conclusion. All the signs where there, but she still wanted to further test her hypothesis to confirm whether or not her brother was in love with Zhang Siyi and if Zhang Siyi reciprocated his feelings. Mainly because, Zhang Siyi’s last reaction made her doubt herself.  _ (: З”∠) _

Although it is true that Zhang Siyi is very curious about her brother, his probing only stays at a normal level. He also was quick to point out that the jack-o-lantern was just a happenstance, and not a specific gift.

It is hard to believe, but is this relationship her brother’s unrequited love?

….. No way! Her brother is lovesick?

When Gu Yao was younger, she thought her brother was such a perfect person. He was like an emperor picking out his concubine; a flock of fancy girls to patiently wait to be chosen as a girlfriend. In her eyes, his standards were so high and mighty that he could never take the initiative to talk about relationships and love in this life.

In this lifetime, Gu Yao would never have guessed her brother would have a period of unrequited love. Poor brother; never meeting someone to like and single for almost thirty years. It’s so rare to fall in love with someone, and that someone can’t feel it! But think about it. There are thousands upon thousands of different people in the world. So-what if a man meets a man. Can that not be a romantic story too?

Zhang Siyi seems to be a very normal boy. Its probably very difficult to emotionally disengage from the standard inherit upbringing.

Gu Yao sighed and began to worry about life….. For her brother’s sake, she must think of something and keep trying.

At five in the evening, they arrived in Haicheng. Since Zhang Siyi previously said he had something to do with his friends at night, Gu Yu didn’t say anything else. With only a slight wave of his hand, he silently dropped Zhang Siyi off at his apartment and left with Gu Yao.

Standing in the cold wind feeling abandoned, Zhang Siyi watched the dust get kicked-up as the Lexus drove away on the road. He felt numb as his brain couldn’t compute the emotional rollercoaster he experienced throughout the day. He turned his head and looked at the large pile of packages and bags sitting in front of his apartment building and sighed. As if today’s emotional ride wasn’t enough already, he started to feel angry at the lack of curtesy. Gu Yu couldn’t spare an extra few minutes to help him with the luggage?

Since his friend wasn’t home, there was no one to help him move his belongings upstairs. Zhang Siyi took multiple trips and half an hour later, he was able to move everything into his apartment. As previously mentioned, Fu Xinhui came by the place earlier to drop off Cheer-Up. When Zhang Siyi saw the dog, he was surprised at how much Cheer-Up grew over the past couple of weeks.

When the dog saw Zhang Siyi coming back, Cheer-Up excitedly rushed at him and enthusiastically circled around him. Zhang Siyi affectionately petted the dog’s head: “Well, well, be good and don’t slobber all over me….. Fuck! What did you do to my sheets!”

Before he left for the New Year’s break, he hung his sheets up in the living room to dry. He saw them on the floor in a messy pile. As he approached them to pick the sheets off the floor, he noticed a clear odor of urine on them.

“Cheer up …%￥#……!!”

Zhang Siyi is not amused. Gnashing his teeth, he gathered the soiled sheets into a ball and threw them away in the trash. He looked at the little devil sitting before him. Cheer-Up was giving Zhang Siyi the most innocent, adorable, cute look as possible.

Thinking about the ill-fated Fu Xinhui, Zhang Siyi gave up his urge to pull the dog’s hair out. Instead he patted his head and patiently said: “How many times have we told you not to pee at home? Do you think I’m your good-natured father? I don’t know when he will be back. Be careful so I don’t throw you out!”

Cheer-Up moved his body closer to Zhang Siyi, tilted his head and lifted a hind leg than sprinkled two drops of urine on Zhang Siyi’s foot.

Zhang Siyi: “……”

With the dog downstairs waiting, it took Zhang Siyi another two hours to wash the apartment and unpack his luggage. During this time, Fu Xinhui called to let him know he was unable to go out to dinner with him at night.

Zhang Siyi didn’t find it surprising as he never received a reply to his text to Fu Xinhui earlier while driving back. He didn’t say anything about his past text and instead, he calmly asked Fu Xinhui about his family. Fu Xinhui said they were still dealing with the situation and there was nothing new to report.

Zhang Siyi spoke to his friend on the phone: “You are busy with your family issues. Don’t worry about me.”

He thought he could wait until Fu Xinhui gets back to talk to him about his problems regarding Gu Yu and his own sexual orientation. He wanted someone to help him analyze the situation and come to a conclusion so he could make a plan about what to do. But now that Fu Xinhui is riddled with family problems, he doesn’t want to bother him with his own entangled feelings.

Zhang Siyi concern isn’t something he can easily talk about with others. After all, it is about his own sexual orientation. If he talks to someone who isn’t trust worthy, once the matter is voiced, his image will be completely destroyed. Hanging up the phone, Zhang Siyi collapsed on the sofa laying down. Looking at the empty house, he felt even more desolate.

First, Jiang Hai found a girlfriend and moved out and now Fu Xinhui is away because of his family. In the future, in this large three-bedroom apartment, will he always be alone?

Well…… There is a dog.

Zhang Siyi sighed and turned on his side to see Cheer-Up laying lazily on the floor and not laying in his cozy dog-bed. He couldn’t help himself say: “Stupid dog.”

Cheer-Up: “?”

Zhang Siyi paused for a minute and whispered: “Do you think he likes me or not?”

Cheer up: “??”

Rolling onto his back on the couch he placed his forearm on top of his brow and muttered to himself: “Actually, I kind of like him……”

Cheer up: “….”

Zhang Siyi sighed, sat up and looked at the dog. He firmly admitted: “Well, it’s not kind-of-like. I like him more than my ex-girlfriend or anyone else. This is the first time for me to feel in love…… But he is a man.”

Cheer-Up stood and leaned over.

Feeling despondent, Zhang Siyi looked up at the ceiling: “Do you think I’m gay?”

Seemingly like he wanted to comfort Zhang Siyi, Cheer-Up arched towards his leg.

Zhang Siyi touched his head and said: “Forget it. How can you know when your little guy isn’t yet developed?”

Suddenly, Cheer-up lifted his front paws onto Zhang Siyi leg and thrusted his hips.

Zhang Siyi: “………………”

Go to hell, you stupid dog! (╯’□’)╯︵┻━┻

After dinner and a bath, Zhang Siyi returned to his room to arrange his bed to sleep without sheets. He will have to buy some new ones later. Looking at the cactus on the window sill, Zhang Siyi thought with its bright green color, it looked much better. He stuck his finger out to poke it. The chassis was stable. It’s alive!  (⊙o⊙)

Since Zhang Siyi was so excited, he wanted to show Gu Yu right away. Holding the flowerpot carefully, he snapped a few photos. Eagerly waiting for Gu Yu’s reaction, he sent the best looking two in WeChat.

Ha-ha-ha! Now, you can’t blame me anymore, can you?

After waiting for 10 minutes, there wasn’t any response from Gu Yu. Zhang Siyi thought he missed the text, so he sent another one: “Boss, the cactus is doing well!” He followed up with a ‘kitten-selling-cuteness’ expression. After sending the text Zhang Siyi face-planted into his pillow and rolled around on his bed.

Calming down after a minute, Zhang Siyi checked his phone again, but there was still no reply. He looked at the time; after 10pm. Is he taking a shower? Or is he talking with his sister?

Fretting about it for another few minutes, Zhang Siyi gave up any pretense and sent a message to Gu Yao: “What are you doing?”

Gu Yao quickly replied: “Playing the game, Radish Defense. What’s the matter?”

Zhang Siyi: “How do you still play that? I finished it in one day, even the custom map.”

Gu Yao: “If you have something to say, then say it!”

Gu Yao: “Don’t get in my way of clearing the map! “  (#‵′)凸

Zhang Siyi: “Cough, where’s your brother?

Gu Yao: “He is in his own room.”

Zhang Siyi: “Don’t you sleep in his room?”

Gu Yao: “What!? I am also an adult, a pure flower. How can I sleep with my brother!”

Zhang Siyi: “… So where do you sleep? The couch? “

Gu Yao: “What do you mean the sofa? Of course, I sleep in my bed. My brother has two bedrooms at home!”

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Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling

Chapter 82: Lonely

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Zhang Siyi was eager to learn more. With dexterous fingers he quickly typed: “Did he ever discover your Father’s trick?”

Gu Yao: “In order to keep the ruse going, my dad always made-up some type of excuse to stall him. He even told my brother that to encourage the growth of a healthy child, he had to follow certain rules like eating more vegetables, getting more exercise, sleeping and rising early…… If he didn’t do these things, then the child could die.”

Zhang Siyi: “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Did he really believe it?”

Gu Yao: “He did! But, as children often loose interest quickly, he too forgot about it after a while. At some point later when he was a little older, he understood that Dad was deceiving to him. He never asked about it. My Father said that after the pumpkin incident, he developed a calm personality and always thought carefully of what others were saying. When he was young, he was rather hyperactive, and his curious nature always got him into trouble. My dad was worried about my brother for a long time because he thought maybe his teasing caused a lasting mental trauma, so he paid close attention to his habits and playtime for many years. Since he saw no changes, over time, he stopped feeling guilty about it.”

Zhang Siyi was trying hard to relax his facial muscles so he wouldn’t start laughing. As a result, he had a stiff expression on his face. He couldn’t help but think that the pumpkin incident during Gu Yu’s childhood was the origin of his black belly.

Just then, Gu Yu suddenly glanced at Gu Yao suspiciously: “I can hear the phone vibrations. Why are you still sending texts in the car? Do you think I don’t know you both are talking about me?”

Gu Yao: “…”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

The laughter caused by talking about Gu Yu’s black history, alleviated Zhang Siyi’s recent emotional woes and stress. Gu Yu’s statement interrupted the joyful atmosphere between Zhang Siyi and Gu Yao. Even though Zhang Siyi tried to control his laughter, he shook his head with conditioned reflexes. He struggled between the physical pain he felt from over exerting himself with laughter and by the fear of being caught.

Coughing lightly, Gu Yao denied it: “No. I’m sending messages to my classmates.” Covering for the both, she pocketed her phone with a guilty conscience.

Obviously not believing a word, Gu Xiao snorted from his nose and didn’t say anything else. Silently, they drove onwards.

Sitting behind Gu Yu, Zhang Siyi couldn’t see his expression. He played the part and sat quietly in the backseat. Approximately thirty minutes later, they arrived at the service area. The three of them got out to use the restroom and when Gu Yu was out of sight, Zhang Siyi and Gu Yao immediately started to gossip once again.

Gu Yao: “Geesh! That scared the shit out of me!”

Zhang Siyi: “Yes! I thought he was focused on driving. I didn’t think he knew we were talking about him.……”

Gu Yao: “Admitting it won’t do us any good. Anyway, he can’t come over and look at our mobile phones!”

Zhang Siyi: “Hmm-mmm! Let’s turn off the vibration for a while and make it completely muted so he doesn’t know we are chatting!”

Gu Yao: “Good idea! Oh, right, don’t forget to change position later!”

Zhang Siyi: “What will you say to your brother?”

Gu Yao: “I’ll tell him I’m tired and will take a nap in the back seat for a while.”

Zhang Siyi: “Okay…”

After finishing up in the bathroom, Zhang Siyi made his way through the rest-stop and back to the car. From the distance, he saw Gu Yu with his arms crossed, leaning lazily against the car. He wasn’t wearing a coat. Instead, he was wearing an ultra-thin green, down vest over a smoky gray, cotton shirt. With his slim trousers exposing his straight and long, slender legs, he looked refined and clean-cut. Zhang Siyi noticed Gu Yu’s looking off into the distance with slightly wrinkled brows and squinting eyes. At a glance, Gu Yu looked like a model, but when Zhang Siyi watched him for a few minutes he felt Gu Yu looked distraught and lonely. Gu Yu temperament created an illusion that he was untouchable, but Zhang Siyi saw a vulnerable side not normally visible.

As Zhang Siyi approached, Gu Yu noticed, and his line of sight fell onto Zhang Siyi. Even though he noticed Gu Yu’s expression was in ‘professional’ mode, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the childhood pumpkin story and thus, he couldn’t stop himself from giggling.

Gu Yu instantly narrowed his eyes and waved at him: “Come here.”

Zhang Siyi: “……”

Walking slowly to the car, Zhang Siyi subconsciously maintained a distance of one-meter between them: “What?”

Gu Yu asked: “What’s so funny?”

Zhang Siyi squinted his eyes and said: “Nothing.”

Gu Yu stared at him for a while, and Zhang Siyi stared back. Just when Zhang Siyi was about to raise a white flag in surrender, from behind Zhang Siyi, Gu Yu saw his sister approaching from the distance and said: “Either you tell me now or I will ask her later.”

Although Gu Yu was calm and his face was non-threatening, Zhang Siyi felt like he was on trial for something serious.

Worrying, Zhang Siyi felt embarrassed to have to repeat such an embarrassing anecdote. Since he was just a listener, what does he have to feel guilty about? However, exposing the origin of the story would be a great betrayal between friends which is a serious violation of Zhang Siyi’s principles. He stuck is neck out in denial: “Really! It’s nothing!”

Tranquil, Gu Yu nodded and smiled. He looked straight at Zhang Siyi and said: “I gave you the chance first,” then walked around to the driver’s side.

Zhang Siyi could read-between-the-lines: Since you didn’t seize the opportunity handed to you, don’t cry next time. Zhang Siyi was surprised by his attitude, however. Now that Zhang Siyi had some black history ammo, he didn’t feel threatened by Gu Yu’s words.

Gu Yu opened the driver’s side door and saw Zhang Siyi sitting on the passenger side then asked: “Why are you sitting there?”

Zhang Siyi: “Your Sister said she wanted to take a nap in the back.”

The backdoor opened and Gu Yao got into the backseat: “Ready.” Gu Yu reminded them to fasten their seat belts and they headed out of the service area.

Back on the highway, after a short while, Zhang Siyi checked his phone, and sure enough Gu Yao had sent him a message: “Good Job! ~o(∩_∩)o~ “

Zhang Siyi didn’t want to tell Gu Yao about her brother’s behavior just now. He sent her a cartoon facial expression and in silence, they chatted again: “Were there anything more stories?”

Gu Yao: “Yes! There was another incident at my grandparent’s house. The day my Grandfather gave my brother a wooden toy gun to play with, he was working with his tractor. Upon receiving it, he took aim and ‘pew-pew’ using the tractor as target practice. It just so happened that the break-lever released on the old tractor and started moving on its own. After about twenty meters, the tire blew out with a loud boom. The whole village could probably hear it. My brother thought it was the power of his gun. Since he feared someone coming after him, he hid in Grandma’s closet for the rest of the day. It wasn’t until the evening at dinner that the whole family became worried over his absence. When my brother climbed out of the closet, trembling and crying, explaining the situation and saying he was wrong and won’t ever use the gun again, the whole family laughed like crazy.”

Zhang Siyi: “Ha-ha-ha-ha! How old was your brother then?”

Gu Yao: “Five or six years old, it happened before I was born. “ [Dripping sweat]

Zhang Siyi: “I haven’t been born yet either…… “ [Dripping sweat]

Gu Yao continued with the gossip: “Another thing happened when I was in sixth grade. At that time, my brother was already in high school. Do you remember the ‘PHS’ portable phones?”

Zhang Siyi: “Yes. My mom also gave me one when I was in middle school.”

Gu Yu: “At that time all of our family was on the PHS family network. My father gave me the nickname ‘Little Cotton Jacket’. Do you know what my brother did? One day, he changed my nickname to ‘Buy Food’!

“Heh …” This matter…. Zhang Siyi heard it from Gu Yu while he was at his place last year cooking and staying with Gu Yu.

Gu Yu: “Even though my brother used to call me that in private, my father never would have. When I saw the nickname changed, I thought it was my father’s doing. Because of me being the second child, I thought my father really held negative feelings. I was so angry and hurt, I tried to run away from home. My brother still laughs at me about this!” [angry]

Zhang Siyi: “Pitiful, but is this really a story about your brother?”

Gu Yao: “Well, I’m just talking about stupid things in general about him.”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Gu Yao: “Like I said before, my brother has been very clever since I can remember. Normally, he didn’t do silly things so every time I heard a story from my father, I was always so excited and listened carefully. Since he has thin skin when he was younger, my brother would get worked up after my father teased him every time. Sometimes, he even secluded himself in his room. When he came home from college after the first year, my Father joked about his pumpkin again, but my brother responded to him by saying: “Wait one day. The child’s mother will come back to me with my pumpkin son.” My father was speechless.”

Zhang Siyi: “…”

Hold on. What do you mean? ‘The kid’s mother will come back with his pumpkin boy?’ B, But Zhang Siyi gave him a pumpkin lantern……. ! (o////o)

Not giving Zhang Siyi a lot of time to ponder this thought, Gu Yu suddenly asked him: “By the way, Brother Siyi, do you remember when I asked you if my brother liked anyone in the company?”

Zhang Siyi: “Ah…… Yes, Why?”

Gu Yao: “Last December, when I went to my brother’s house, I found a mysterious pumpkin lantern in his room. I asked him where he got it, but he didn’t tell me. I think it was given to him by the person he likes. Do you know who gave it to him?”

“Err ……” Feeling nervous, Zhang Siyi paused for a bit, then slowly confessed: “If you’re talking about the pumpkin lamp in a transparent box in his room…… I gave that to him.”

Gu Yao: “………”

To explain, Zhang Siyi quickly followed up: “It was created during the company’s Halloween event. It wasn’t anything special. It would have been thrown away, but he asked about it, so I gave it to him.”

Gu Yao: “Oh…”

Zhang Siyi couldn’t suppress his thundering heart. Feeling less doubtful, the questions and answers that were expressed during the True or Dare game at Gu Yu’s house emerged once again in Zhang Siyi’s mind. Gu Yu, could you possibly like him too?

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