For breakfast, their mother prepared rice porridge with fried dough sticks (youtiao). Everyone enjoyed their meal, except for An Wuyang, who stared at the fried dough sticks and salivated, not out of desire but a feeling of nausea.
“Here,” their mother offered a large, freshly bought fried dough stick to her younger son, while An Wuyu ate her rice porridge.
Their father, noticing An Wuyang’s reluctance, said, “Why is Wuyang suddenly so picky? He won’t even eat these delicious fried dough sticks.”
An Wuyang replied, “I’m afraid I’ll feel nauseous during the car ride later.” He finished his rice porridge and packed the “nanny bag” provided by Mr. Huo, which contained a water bottle, umbrella, wet wipes, bottled dried fruits, and a brightly colored small blanket with a “Happy Sheep” pattern.
At 8:30 AM, the An family, all dressed neatly, left their home.
Their mother and sister wore bright, form-fitting dresses and applied light makeup, making them turn heads with their appearance.
Their father, in his forties, had a good figure for his age and looked dashing in his casual suit.
An Wuyang and his younger brother kept it simple, wearing T-shirts, shorts, and sneakers.
“Mr. An, Mrs. An, going out?” They ran into a neighbor from the same community on the street, who envied this picture-perfect family.
“Yes, Mrs. Chen,” Ding Wei replied. She knew that these full-time housewives in the community admired her, with her high education and good job, and her husband and children who all listened to her.
Sometimes she felt quite content. While they had their share of pressure, the middle-class lifestyle allowed them to get by. They had a house their parents had saved for their whole lives, purchased outright when they got married. Their family had no mortgage stress, something many of their colleagues envied.
Their car was a new Honda Civic they bought a few years ago, with a down payment and a two-year installment plan. When they both commuted to work together, it was cost-effective and convenient. However, after they separated companies, Ding Wei commuted by car, while An Cheng also took the car to work.
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Coming from a small city, they improved their status through education. The An family’s values were deeply rooted in diligence, frugality, and tolerance. These traits had all been passed down to their younger son, although his academic performance didn’t quite live up to the rest, he still carried the values of hard work and resilience.
An “Endure Hardship and Labor” An, An Wuyang, sat by the window. His abdomen was covered with the cheerful little blanket, and he munched on licorice-flavored dried plums.
“Bro, I want some too,” An Wujie, his younger brother, who was very age-appropriate in his eating habits, said.
“Sure, have it,” his brother offered him the entire can.
Their sister, hugging her arms, gave them an odd look. She couldn’t help but notice her younger brother drinking what? Goji berries soaked in water? Carrying a little blanket into the car? Sunscreen wipes and an umbrella! Weren’t these essentials for refined girls?
“Is the cup also a gift from someone else?”
Luckily, their sister spoke quietly, and their parents were too engrossed in their conversation to hear her.
An Wuyu, bored, decided to search for the logo. What a surprise, this inconspicuous, little worn-out cup was valued at 2,000 yuan. As expected, it’s from a wealthy lady, even more generous than the rich second-generation suitors chasing her.
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Judging from her sister’s expression, An Wuyang knew that the items used by Mr. Huo were not budget-friendly.
But it was normal since someone who could acquire a large private enterprise was likely very wealthy.
Accidentally, An Cheng looked into the rearview mirror and his eyes lit up. It was a luxury car, a man’s favorite. Unfortunately, in this lifetime, he could never afford it, only admire it from a distance.
“Tsk, tsk.” The license plate number was also easy to remember, exuding a rich aura.
An Cheng’s speculation unjustly maligned Huo Yunchuan; he wasn’t a nouveau riche, he had money in his family for three generations. Among his childhood friends, only Ji Mingjie and he were true scions of wealthy families, born with golden spoons.
Jiang Shaofei and Chen Chu were both second-generation, their fathers had built their fortunes from scratch, and their family backgrounds and resources were far inferior to the Huo and Ji families.
When they became friends, their circles of acquaintances didn’t place particular emphasis on these aspects. They cared more about shared interests and sincerity.
It’s worth noting that among people in their circles, it wasn’t easy to find genuinely sincere friends once they became adults.
Huo Yunchuan followed the Honda in front, occasionally sending voice messages to the teenager inside the car: “Feeling nauseous? Is everything okay?”
An Wuyang replied, “No, Mr. Huo, you drive seriously.”
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“My driving skills are excellent,” the man with a deep and gravelly voice said.
An Wuyang had long discovered the special quality of Mr. Huo’s voice. He rubbed his ear with the earphones still on, not thinking too much, unsure of the right adjective for this voice – sexy and seductive.
However, every time he listened to the phone, his ears would itch for some reason.
“Yeah, I’ll take a nap. Dad said there’s still thirty kilometers to go.”
At their current speed, it would take around half an hour more.
“Have you covered yourself with the blanket? Don’t sit right in the direction of the wind.”
“Is the Pleasant Goat blanket the one you bought?”
Huo Yunchuan paused for a moment and denied it, “No, it was bought by my assistant.”
There were no more messages after that because An Wuyang put down the phone and leaned over to sleep.
Half an hour later, they arrived directly at the restaurant to have their meal. After getting out of the car, each of them went in search of the restroom.
An Wuyang, who had been holding it in, was followed into the men’s room by Huo Yunchuan. An annoyed look was on his face, and he wasn’t in the mood for greetings. He decided to relieve himself first.
“Are you going to pee here?” Huo Yunchuan gritted his teeth and said, “Go inside.”
His younger brother, who was standing beside him with a bewildered look, watched as a tall stranger grabbed his brother’s arm and led him into a stall.
“What are you doing?” An Wuyang was displeased. “My brother is outside. Pay attention.”
Huo Yunchuan looked at him with a cold expression. “You also need to pay attention.”
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Peeing in a public restroom, others could easily see his furry eggs…
“We’re all guys, and I’ve got what they’ve got,” An Wuyang retorted as he finished peeing and zipped up his pants.
“I mind,” Huo Yunchuan stared at him.
When he opened the door and saw the worried expression of his little brother, An Wuyang waved to reassure him. “It’s okay, I know him.” Then he washed his hands and quietly reminded the man, “Be discreet.”
“Go ahead,” Huo Yunchuan also washed his hands.
Seeing the An family’s little boy looking at himself in the mirror, he smiled. After all, was he his little nephew?
An Wujie shook himself and caught up with his big brother.
The family of five gathered in the lobby, took the elevator up to the eighth floor, and entered a banquet hall where there were many guests, making the atmosphere lively. It seemed that a lot of relatives and friends had arrived.
Ever since becoming pregnant, An Wuyang had realized that he became especially fearful of noise and crowds.
The crowded scenes and noisy atmospheres were torment for him.
“Mom…” The people in front were moving quickly, and An Wuyang felt intimidated as he fell behind.
“Cousin, wow, it’s been a long time! Did your whole family come today?” An Wuyang heard his mother’s cheerful and joyful voice, and she seemed to be adapting well to the occasion. “Our whole family is here too. Wuyu, come and meet Table Aunt. Hey, this is my daughter, and this is my son.”
His own family was all ahead, each socializing with the people around them. An Wuyang sighed when he realized he didn’t know anyone, and no one was introducing him to others.
The main problem was that there were too many people here, and the air conditioning couldn’t keep it cool. After a while, he began to feel short of breath and anxious.
An Wuyang hesitated about whether to move forward or backward. Ultimately, he followed his body’s protests, turned and walked outside to breathe in some fresh air.
He immediately sent a message to his mom on WeChat: “Mom, I’m not feeling well. I’ll go eat outside by myself. Call me when you’re done.”
Then he waited for the elevator and went down to the first floor.
The lobby was well air-conditioned and cool. An Wuyang found a leather sofa to sit down and catch his breath.
Five minutes passed, but there was no response on his mother’s WeChat.
An Wuyang sent another message to his dad: “Dad, I’m not feeling well. I’ll eat outside by myself. Remember to call me when you’re done.”
Two minutes later, his dad responded with a voice message: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling carsick? Where will you eat?”
An Wuyang replied: “Just on the street, maybe it’s carsickness. I feel nauseous and want to vomit. I’ll wait in the hotel lobby.”
His younger brother, An Cheng, asked, “Can you manage by yourself?”
An Wuyang replied, “Yes, it’s not that severe. You all enjoy your meal. Let Mom know for me.”
An Cheng said, “Alright, drink more water. Get whatever you want to eat, and Dad will reimburse you.”
An Wuyang calculated, but it probably wouldn’t work. His dad’s monthly allowance was only about a thousand yuan, which wouldn’t be enough to buy even a cup for Mr. Huo, let alone a meal.
“Okay, I won’t talk more. I’ll go now.”
Huo Yunchuan was driving on the street, planning to find some food for himself when he received a call from An Wuyang. He immediately turned his car around and sped back to the hotel entrance.
Looking at the young man relaxing inside, he sighed quietly.
He got out of the car and approached him. Huo Yunchuan removed his sunglasses from the bridge of his nose, revealing a worried expression.
“What’s wrong? Weren’t we supposed to have dinner with your family?” He looked at An Wuyang, who seemed a bit downcast.
“Mr. Huo?” The young man, who was dozing off on the couch, raised his head, sounding drowsy. “You haven’t had dinner yet, right? How about we eat together?”
“What happened?” Huo Yunchuan asked, pulling up his trouser cuffs as he crouched down in front of An Wuyang.
“The people up there are as crowded as Tiananmen Square on National Day. It’s not just noisy; it’s also crowded, and I couldn’t stand it,” the young man explained with puppy eyes. “It’s not my fault; the situation is just like this.”
Huo Yunchuan interrupted, saying, “Who blamed you?”
For those who cared about him, they couldn’t bear to blame him.
An Wuyang nodded, feeling the same way. If he wasn’t feeling well, why should he force himself to do something he didn’t want to do?
“Let’s go eat.” The tall man stood up and extended his hand.
In response, An Wuyang reflexively placed his hand into the broad palm offered to him.
Huo Yunchuan gripped it firmly, and the child’s hand was slender and somewhat cold.
“Give me your stuff.” The “nanny bag” was handed over, which was a bit of a pity considering the short distance they had to travel, just twenty meters away.
Meanwhile, An Wuyu, in her little black dress, walked out of the lobby while talking on the phone. When her younger brother answered, she saw a handsome guy opening the door of a luxury car and getting inside.
“Hey, sis?” An Wuyang exclaimed in surprise.
“You left without a word. Do you usually handle things this way?” After the call connected, An Wuyu scolded him, “Really, if you weren’t feeling well, you should have spoken up. We would have taken you to see a doctor. What’s the point of sneaking off by yourself?”
Their father mentioned that their younger brother didn’t want to disrupt their meal, wanted to be independent, and so on. An Wuyu was fuming; it was clear that he just didn’t know how to handle situations. Where did this so-called independence come from?
You could put it nicely as having low emotional intelligence, but the harsher truth was that he had a personality flaw!
For breakfast, their mother prepared rice porridge with fried dough sticks (youtiao). Everyone enjoyed their meal, except for An Wuyang, who stared at the fried dough sticks and salivated, not out of desire but a feeling of nausea.
“Here,” their mother offered a large, freshly bought fried dough stick to her younger son, while An Wuyu ate her rice porridge.
Their father, noticing An Wuyang’s reluctance, said, “Why is Wuyang suddenly so picky? He won’t even eat these delicious fried dough sticks.”
An Wuyang replied, “I’m afraid I’ll feel nauseous during the car ride later.” He finished his rice porridge and packed the “nanny bag” provided by Mr. Huo, which contained a water bottle, umbrella, wet wipes, bottled dried fruits, and a brightly colored small blanket with a “Happy Sheep” pattern.
At 8:30 AM, the An family, all dressed neatly, left their home.
Their mother and sister wore bright, form-fitting dresses and applied light makeup, making them turn heads with their appearance.
Their father, in his forties, had a good figure for his age and looked dashing in his casual suit.
An Wuyang and his younger brother kept it simple, wearing T-shirts, shorts, and sneakers.
“Mr. An, Mrs. An, going out?” They ran into a neighbor from the same community on the street, who envied this picture-perfect family.
“Yes, Mrs. Chen,” Ding Wei replied. She knew that these full-time housewives in the community admired her, with her high education and good job, and her husband and children who all listened to her.
Sometimes she felt quite content. While they had their share of pressure, the middle-class lifestyle allowed them to get by. They had a house their parents had saved for their whole lives, purchased outright when they got married. Their family had no mortgage stress, something many of their colleagues envied.
Their car was a new Honda Civic they bought a few years ago, with a down payment and a two-year installment plan. When they both commuted to work together, it was cost-effective and convenient. However, after they separated companies, Ding Wei commuted by car, while An Cheng also took the car to work.
Advertisement
Coming from a small city, they improved their status through education. The An family’s values were deeply rooted in diligence, frugality, and tolerance. These traits had all been passed down to their younger son, although his academic performance didn’t quite live up to the rest, he still carried the values of hard work and resilience.
An “Endure Hardship and Labor” An, An Wuyang, sat by the window. His abdomen was covered with the cheerful little blanket, and he munched on licorice-flavored dried plums.
“Bro, I want some too,” An Wujie, his younger brother, who was very age-appropriate in his eating habits, said.
“Sure, have it,” his brother offered him the entire can.
Their sister, hugging her arms, gave them an odd look. She couldn’t help but notice her younger brother drinking what? Goji berries soaked in water? Carrying a little blanket into the car? Sunscreen wipes and an umbrella! Weren’t these essentials for refined girls?
“Is the cup also a gift from someone else?”
Luckily, their sister spoke quietly, and their parents were too engrossed in their conversation to hear her.
An Wuyu, bored, decided to search for the logo. What a surprise, this inconspicuous, little worn-out cup was valued at 2,000 yuan. As expected, it’s from a wealthy lady, even more generous than the rich second-generation suitors chasing her.
Advertisement
Judging from her sister’s expression, An Wuyang knew that the items used by Mr. Huo were not budget-friendly.
But it was normal since someone who could acquire a large private enterprise was likely very wealthy.
Accidentally, An Cheng looked into the rearview mirror and his eyes lit up. It was a luxury car, a man’s favorite. Unfortunately, in this lifetime, he could never afford it, only admire it from a distance.
“Tsk, tsk.” The license plate number was also easy to remember, exuding a rich aura.
An Cheng’s speculation unjustly maligned Huo Yunchuan; he wasn’t a nouveau riche, he had money in his family for three generations. Among his childhood friends, only Ji Mingjie and he were true scions of wealthy families, born with golden spoons.
Jiang Shaofei and Chen Chu were both second-generation, their fathers had built their fortunes from scratch, and their family backgrounds and resources were far inferior to the Huo and Ji families.
When they became friends, their circles of acquaintances didn’t place particular emphasis on these aspects. They cared more about shared interests and sincerity.
It’s worth noting that among people in their circles, it wasn’t easy to find genuinely sincere friends once they became adults.
Huo Yunchuan followed the Honda in front, occasionally sending voice messages to the teenager inside the car: “Feeling nauseous? Is everything okay?”
An Wuyang replied, “No, Mr. Huo, you drive seriously.”
Advertisement
“My driving skills are excellent,” the man with a deep and gravelly voice said.
An Wuyang had long discovered the special quality of Mr. Huo’s voice. He rubbed his ear with the earphones still on, not thinking too much, unsure of the right adjective for this voice – sexy and seductive.
However, every time he listened to the phone, his ears would itch for some reason.
“Yeah, I’ll take a nap. Dad said there’s still thirty kilometers to go.”
At their current speed, it would take around half an hour more.
“Have you covered yourself with the blanket? Don’t sit right in the direction of the wind.”
“Is the Pleasant Goat blanket the one you bought?”
Huo Yunchuan paused for a moment and denied it, “No, it was bought by my assistant.”
There were no more messages after that because An Wuyang put down the phone and leaned over to sleep.
Half an hour later, they arrived directly at the restaurant to have their meal. After getting out of the car, each of them went in search of the restroom.
An Wuyang, who had been holding it in, was followed into the men’s room by Huo Yunchuan. An annoyed look was on his face, and he wasn’t in the mood for greetings. He decided to relieve himself first.
“Are you going to pee here?” Huo Yunchuan gritted his teeth and said, “Go inside.”
His younger brother, who was standing beside him with a bewildered look, watched as a tall stranger grabbed his brother’s arm and led him into a stall.
“What are you doing?” An Wuyang was displeased. “My brother is outside. Pay attention.”
Huo Yunchuan looked at him with a cold expression. “You also need to pay attention.”
Advertisement
Peeing in a public restroom, others could easily see his furry eggs…
“We’re all guys, and I’ve got what they’ve got,” An Wuyang retorted as he finished peeing and zipped up his pants.
“I mind,” Huo Yunchuan stared at him.
When he opened the door and saw the worried expression of his little brother, An Wuyang waved to reassure him. “It’s okay, I know him.” Then he washed his hands and quietly reminded the man, “Be discreet.”
“Go ahead,” Huo Yunchuan also washed his hands.
Seeing the An family’s little boy looking at himself in the mirror, he smiled. After all, was he his little nephew?
An Wujie shook himself and caught up with his big brother.
The family of five gathered in the lobby, took the elevator up to the eighth floor, and entered a banquet hall where there were many guests, making the atmosphere lively. It seemed that a lot of relatives and friends had arrived.
Ever since becoming pregnant, An Wuyang had realized that he became especially fearful of noise and crowds.
The crowded scenes and noisy atmospheres were torment for him.
“Mom…” The people in front were moving quickly, and An Wuyang felt intimidated as he fell behind.
“Cousin, wow, it’s been a long time! Did your whole family come today?” An Wuyang heard his mother’s cheerful and joyful voice, and she seemed to be adapting well to the occasion. “Our whole family is here too. Wuyu, come and meet Table Aunt. Hey, this is my daughter, and this is my son.”
His own family was all ahead, each socializing with the people around them. An Wuyang sighed when he realized he didn’t know anyone, and no one was introducing him to others.
The main problem was that there were too many people here, and the air conditioning couldn’t keep it cool. After a while, he began to feel short of breath and anxious.
An Wuyang hesitated about whether to move forward or backward. Ultimately, he followed his body’s protests, turned and walked outside to breathe in some fresh air.
He immediately sent a message to his mom on WeChat: “Mom, I’m not feeling well. I’ll go eat outside by myself. Call me when you’re done.”
Then he waited for the elevator and went down to the first floor.
The lobby was well air-conditioned and cool. An Wuyang found a leather sofa to sit down and catch his breath.
Five minutes passed, but there was no response on his mother’s WeChat.
An Wuyang sent another message to his dad: “Dad, I’m not feeling well. I’ll eat outside by myself. Remember to call me when you’re done.”
Two minutes later, his dad responded with a voice message: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling carsick? Where will you eat?”
An Wuyang replied: “Just on the street, maybe it’s carsickness. I feel nauseous and want to vomit. I’ll wait in the hotel lobby.”
His younger brother, An Cheng, asked, “Can you manage by yourself?”
An Wuyang replied, “Yes, it’s not that severe. You all enjoy your meal. Let Mom know for me.”
An Cheng said, “Alright, drink more water. Get whatever you want to eat, and Dad will reimburse you.”
An Wuyang calculated, but it probably wouldn’t work. His dad’s monthly allowance was only about a thousand yuan, which wouldn’t be enough to buy even a cup for Mr. Huo, let alone a meal.
“Okay, I won’t talk more. I’ll go now.”
Huo Yunchuan was driving on the street, planning to find some food for himself when he received a call from An Wuyang. He immediately turned his car around and sped back to the hotel entrance.
Looking at the young man relaxing inside, he sighed quietly.
He got out of the car and approached him. Huo Yunchuan removed his sunglasses from the bridge of his nose, revealing a worried expression.
“What’s wrong? Weren’t we supposed to have dinner with your family?” He looked at An Wuyang, who seemed a bit downcast.
“Mr. Huo?” The young man, who was dozing off on the couch, raised his head, sounding drowsy. “You haven’t had dinner yet, right? How about we eat together?”
“What happened?” Huo Yunchuan asked, pulling up his trouser cuffs as he crouched down in front of An Wuyang.
“The people up there are as crowded as Tiananmen Square on National Day. It’s not just noisy; it’s also crowded, and I couldn’t stand it,” the young man explained with puppy eyes. “It’s not my fault; the situation is just like this.”
Huo Yunchuan interrupted, saying, “Who blamed you?”
For those who cared about him, they couldn’t bear to blame him.
An Wuyang nodded, feeling the same way. If he wasn’t feeling well, why should he force himself to do something he didn’t want to do?
“Let’s go eat.” The tall man stood up and extended his hand.
In response, An Wuyang reflexively placed his hand into the broad palm offered to him.
Huo Yunchuan gripped it firmly, and the child’s hand was slender and somewhat cold.
“Give me your stuff.” The “nanny bag” was handed over, which was a bit of a pity considering the short distance they had to travel, just twenty meters away.
Meanwhile, An Wuyu, in her little black dress, walked out of the lobby while talking on the phone. When her younger brother answered, she saw a handsome guy opening the door of a luxury car and getting inside.
“Hey, sis?” An Wuyang exclaimed in surprise.
“You left without a word. Do you usually handle things this way?” After the call connected, An Wuyu scolded him, “Really, if you weren’t feeling well, you should have spoken up. We would have taken you to see a doctor. What’s the point of sneaking off by yourself?”
Their father mentioned that their younger brother didn’t want to disrupt their meal, wanted to be independent, and so on. An Wuyu was fuming; it was clear that he just didn’t know how to handle situations. Where did this so-called independence come from?
You could put it nicely as having low emotional intelligence, but the harsher truth was that he had a personality flaw!
