CH 44

Hotel lobby.

Cheng Shaohua was biting on his lollipop, attentively watching the fish in the aquarium. When he noticed Gu Zhongyi coming out while holding Lin Yuxing, he excitedly ran up and shouted, “Brother!”

He handed Lin Yuxing an orange-flavored lollipop from his pocket and said, “Uncle bought this for me, and I said thank you.”

With the warm lollipop in his hand, Lin Yuxing’s attitude towards Cheng Shaohua didn’t change much. “Where’s your coat?”

“This kid put his coat in the fish tank to catch fish. I had the hotel staff take it to dry, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to wear it,” Li Yuan, who followed along, said to Gu Zhongyi without delay, “If everything is fine on your end, I’ll have the driver send them back to the town later.”

“Alright,” Gu Zhongyi thanked him, “Mr. Li, you’ve been very helpful these past few days.”

“You’re welcome.”

Gu Zhongyi noticed that Lin Yuxing had something to say to Cheng Shaohua, so he let him down from his arms.

“Senior?” Lin Yuxing said.

Gu Zhongyi raised his hand and ruffled Lin Yuxing’s head, saying, “I have something to talk to Mr. Li about. Wait here for me.”

Just as he finished speaking, Cheng Shaohua eagerly stepped forward and said, “So it was you that my brother mentioned!” That silly kid had already forgotten that Gu Zhongyi had scared him to the point of wetting himself previously.

Gu Zhongyi didn’t understand, and Lin Yuxing also looked at him wide eyed.

Cheng Shaohua thought they were both dumb and pouted, saying, “My brother really likes to pat my head. He said he learned it from a very nice and handsome person, and that person is you, right? My brother really likes you!”

With one remark, Cheng Shaohua “sold out” Lin Yuxing without hesitation.

Lin Yuxing blushed and covered Cheng Shaohua’s mouth. “Senior, don’t listen to his nonsense!”

“Nonsense?” Gu Zhongyi asked.

Lin Yuxing, “…”

Li Yuan, who was on the side, didn’t want to get involved in their affairs and didn’t want to embarrass Lin Yuxing further. He coughed a couple of times, took the lead and walked to the side, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.

Cheng Shaohua happily waved his hands, indicating that he guessed correctly. He whimpered in a muffled voice.

Lin Yuxing reluctantly let go of his hand and turned his face away, whispering to Gu Zhongyi, “…it’s not true.”

Gu Zhongyi smiled and said, “okay.” His smile was very attractive, making Lin Yuxing’s face turn even redder.

Gu Zhongyi had specially prepared some cash in case of need. Now he had the opportunity to use it. He took out two large bills and stuffed them into Cheng Shaohua’s hands, approvingly saying, “Go buy some more candy.”

Cheng Shaohua jumped up and exclaimed, “The person my brother likes is so nice!”

…………………………

When it was time for Lin Xiufeng and her son to leave, Cheng Shaohua refused to go no matter what.

He insisted on taking Lin Yuxing back with him, causing a continuous ruckus. It took Li Yuan and the driver a while to finally get him into the car and close the door.

Cheng Shaohua pressed both hands against the car window and burst into tears.

Lin Xiufeng sat wearily in the car, seemingly absent-minded, unexpectedly not soothing her beloved son.

That scene made Lin Yuxing feel very low.

Because of this, Gu Zhongyi changed their plane tickets to a flight for that night. Since the journey to the airport was a bit far, they left early.

In the taxi, the two sat in the back seat.

To prevent Gu Zhongyi from worrying too much about him, Lin Yuxing deliberately chatted with Gu Zhongyi, talking about all sorts of things.

Gu Zhongyi held Lin Yuxing’s hand, patiently listening to his rambling.

D City held many sad memories for Lin Yuxing, but it also bore the traces of his growth since his teenage years.

If one were to say that Lin Yuxing completely hated D City, that wouldn’t be entirely true.

Gu Zhongyi sensed Lin Yuxing’s hesitation after he calmed down, and he glanced at the time. “If there’s anyone you still want to meet here, or anything you want to do, we still have plenty of time.”

Outside the car window, the scenery passed by rapidly.

At an intersection, Lin Yuxing whispered, “There’s someone I want to meet.”

“Who?”

“But I don’t know if he still remembers me. I worked for him for only two months.” Lin Yuxing said, “At 178 Guanhai Road, he’s the owner of a restaurant.”

Lin Yuxing told Gu Zhongyi, “Two years ago, my uncle made me drop out of school for a while, so I had to come out to work and support the family. Although my aunt promised me that I could continue to attend high school later, I was very frustrated. This boss helped me a lot.”

Lin Yuxing remembered that at that time, he was afraid of getting beaten every day and dared not go home. When the boss found out the reason, he placed a folding bed for him in the storage room behind the kitchen, giving him a place to rest peacefully.

Moreover, that boss also gave him the notes left by a relative’s child after they finished their college entrance exams, encouraging him to study well and not give up any opportunities to change his life.

“After I got into C University, I originally wanted to come and tell him the good news. But I was afraid my uncle would cause trouble for him…”

Speaking of which, Lin Yuxing quit his job because Cheng Rong repeatedly went there to cause trouble.

But the boss didn’t blame him. Instead, when settling the wages, he secretly gave him an extra 200 yuan.

Gu Zhongyi listened, and his grip tightened slightly.

But Lin Yuxing noticed it and said, “Senior, don’t be upset. That’s all in the past.”

Moreover, Lin Yuxing didn’t think those years of hardship were entirely bad. He had indeed gone through difficulties, but he also encountered many good things. For example, meeting Gu Zhongyi was a very lucky thing.

He brushed away the heavy topic, “Their fried noodles are also delicious. How about we eat there before we leave?”

Gu Zhongyi stroked the back of his hand and said, “Okay.”

Fortunately, the restaurant was still there, so their trip wasn’t in vain.

The restaurant was doing well, and the storefront had expanded quite a bit. The owner, a chubby male Beta, stood beside the cash register chatting with someone, looking particularly conspicuous.

As soon as Lin Yuxing entered the door, he saw him.

The owner didn’t recognize Lin Yuxing at first glance, only realizing it when Lin Yuxing called out to him.

“Xiao Lin?! How… How did you…” He looked at Lin Yuxing’s miserable appearance, then answered his own question indignantly, “It’s your damn uncle again, right? I knew he was no good when he came here causing trouble for you!”

Lin Yuxing didn’t deny it and simply said, “I cut ties with him and won’t have anything to do with him anymore.”

The owner hastily swallowed his curse and stared at Lin Yuxing in surprise. Then, he glanced at Gu Zhongyi.

Gu Zhongyi politely extended his hand and smiled, “Hello, I’m Yuxing’s boyfriend. We met at C University.”

The owner had never seen an Alpha like him before. He instinctively wiped his palms on his clothes and shook Gu Zhongyi’s hand politely.

Pausing for a moment, he said, “C University… C University?!” His eyes widened, and he shouted to Lin Yuxing, “You got into C University?!”

“Yeah,” Lin Yuxing smiled shyly. He first congratulated the owner on the success of his business, and then said, “I plan to go back to C City tonight, so I came here specifically to see you.”

The owner was genuinely surprised and delighted. He was genuinely happy for Lin Yuxing from the bottom of his heart.

When the owner heard that Lin Yuxing wanted to eat the restaurant’s fried noodles, he led them to a small private room and had the waiter take their orders for two servings of fried noodles and some signature dishes from the restaurant.

“Xiao Lin getting into C University is a joyous occasion. I must treat you both today. Don’t you two be polite to me!”

In that small town, students who could got into C University were few and far between, let alone someone like Lin Yuxing, who had faced so many hardships in life.

The owner personally poured them tea and constantly praised, “Didn’t I say it right? You, have always had good luck after surviving great difficulties.”

Gu Zhongyi didn’t understand.

The owner, being familiar, mentioned past events to Gu Zhongyi, “Xiao Gu, you may not know, but two years ago, we had a major traffic accident here. It was a stormy day, and a drunk driver hit and ran, causing several people to be sent flying while the pedestrian light was on!”

That incident was reported in the news and caused quite a stir at the time.

“That driver was a beast, driving like a madman. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he circled back and apparently hit and killed someone on a nearby road… I heard that he intentionally rammed into the person, but I don’t know what grudge they had. The person was sent flying and fell into the river under the overpass. They still haven’t found the body to this day!”

Gu Zhongyi’s brows furrowed as he listened.

But the owner, with lingering fear, continued, “Xiao Lin would have been one of the victims that day as he had gone out to make a delivery. But while he was waiting for the green light, he was inexplicably grabbed by a masked and sunglasses-wearing lunatic who wouldn’t let him cross the road! When the light turned green, that person even intentionally pushed him down.”

Gu Zhongyi was puzzled, and he looked at Lin Yuxing.

Lin Yuxing nodded, “It’s true.”

The owner clicked his tongue and found it particularly mysterious, “That lunatic ran off after pushing him, and because of that, Xiao Lin scraped his knee.”

Originally, it was a very unfortunate incident.

But then, the car sped by.

After witnessing that bloody scene, Lin Yuxing fell seriously ill and had nightmares for a long time.

“Although getting sick isn’t a good thing, at the time, I felt that Xiao Lin, had some luck on his side. To turn disaster into fortune, not everyone can experience that.”

It was still on such life-and-death matters that fortune reversed.

Dishes and fried noodles were served one by one, all of Lin Yuxing’s favorites.

Lin Yuxing specifically recommended the plate of fried noodles to Gu Zhongyi. In the past, he could eat two plates in one go. The first time he ate it, he genuinely scared the owner, who thought he had brought in a big eater.

The owner took a sip of wine and noticed Gu Zhongyi’s gaze, which occasionally fell on Lin Yuxing.

He couldn’t help but sigh, “Big cities are great.”

With vast skies and lands, there were many outstanding people.

Lin Yuxing, unaffected, ate the fried noodles and replied, “Yes, it’s great.”

The owner grinned and looked at both of them, saying, “Do you know, your eyes have changed.”

Lin Yuxing asked, puzzled, “Is it because I have dark circles?”

“What does that have to do with anything!” The owner habitually clicked his tongue and explained, “Before, I always thought your eyes, so beautiful, were always hazy.” He chewed on a peanut and waved his hand, “Not anymore. Look, they’re bright now, they shine!”

Lin Yuxing was puzzled. His eyes weren’t light bulbs. Did they install a switch or something?

However, Gu Zhongyi understood that point very well and couldn’t help but agree, “Yuxing’s eyes have always been beautiful.”

As a result, after hearing Gu Zhongyi’s words, Lin Yuxing’s ears turned red all of a sudden. “You, you shouldn’t say such things.” He lightly tugged on Gu Zhongyi’s clothes.

Gu Zhongyi indeed stopped saying “such” things.