35

A week later, chatting with BDH-339, Wen Ran learned that Gu Yunchi had gone abroad the day after arriving at the Preparatory School. BDH-339 said he barely brought any luggage this time, just one Backpack, though it was possible he had a house in the city he was traveling to.

But BDH-339 still said it was strange — normally the assistant would sync all of Gu Yunchi's flight and route info to it, but this time there was nothing. A week had passed and it knew nothing.

BDH-339: Do you think the young master has a new robot out there?

Wen Ran: No way, you're irreplaceable. Can you tell me your young master's birthday? Is that private?

BDH-339: Ir...re...place...able...you said I'm...ir...re...place...able...thank you...my little Ran...

After a thirty-line string of crying emojis, Wen Ran saw Gu Yunchi's birthday — months away still.

Plenty of time. Wen Ran pulled out clean draft paper, thought for a moment, and started sketching.

He'd barely roughed out an outline when excitement and anticipation made him too restless to sit still. He opened his Mobile Phone contacts and found the entry saved as “A Good Person.”

Even though no one could possibly be interested in his single-digit contact list, just to be safe, Wen Ran had disguised Gu Yunchi's name with a nickname.

Wen Ran: Hi, this is Wen Ran, here's my number, please save it [handshake]

Wen Ran: Did you arrive? [airplane]

Wen Ran: I'm working on something really big!

Knowing Gu Yunchi had no time for him — and probably wouldn't bother anyway — Wen Ran sent the messages and closed his Mobile Phone, going back to drawing.

The sky was darkening. Aunt Fang called him down for dinner. Remembering Chen Shuhui would be home for dinner too, Wen Ran didn't dare delay — he tucked the drawings into the drawer and went downstairs.

The front door was open. Chen Shuhui stood on the steps giving instructions to the driver. Wen Ran headed to the dining table first. Chen Shuhui's Mobile Phone sat on the table edge, buzzing — Manager Liu calling.

Worried it might be something urgent at the Company, Wen Ran picked up the phone to hand it to Chen Shuhui, but his thumb accidentally swiped the screen and answered the call.

No sound came from the other end. Both sides sat in an eerie silence for two seconds before Wen Ran realized: “Sorry, I answered by accident. Hold on, I'll just pass the phone to—”

“Who told you to touch my phone?”

Chen Shuhui had come back into the living room at some point, standing a few steps away. Wen Ran's voice cut off. He watched her face go dark, almost cold, her gaze piercing through him.

“I saw a call coming in and tried to bring it to you. I answered by accident.” Wen Ran walked over and held out the phone. “Sorry. It won't happen again.”

When he held it out, he realized the other end had already hung up. Chen Shuhui glanced at the screen, took the phone: “What did he say?”

“Nothing. I didn't hear anything.”

“Eat your food.” Chen Shuhui looked at him. “Don't touch my things again.”

She turned and walked out of the living room. Wen Ran stood there for a while, then slowly made his way back to the table.

Chen Shuhui's expression and gaze felt familiar. Wen Ran swallowed a bite of rice and remembered being caught eavesdropping outside the hallway at summer camp — Wei Lingzhou pushing open the door and staring him down.

Dinner was anxious and rushed. Wen Ran pushed a few bites around, put down his chopsticks, and glanced back on the stairs. Chen Shuhui was still on the phone, standing far away at the other end of the Garden.

Back in his room, his Mobile Phone buzzed with a notification from the mechanical model official site — the same one that had made and sold that 186,000-yuan Helicopter Model. Wen Ran couldn't afford it, but shamelessly made an account anyway, so he'd get push notifications for new releases.

This time it was a pre-order for an ocean-going escort vessel — a small grey-white model, fifty centimeters long, priced at 170,000.

Wen Ran no longer cared about the price. He couldn't afford any of it regardless. He just looked at the pictures and specs over and over, then reluctantly closed the page.

At the same time, a notification slid down from the top of his phone.

A Good Person: A week. People die and finish their seventh-day memorial before you ask if I arrived.

It really was a late question. Wen Ran replied immediately: Sorry, only found out today you'd already left the country, so I asked out of politeness [rose]

A Good Person: Not interested.

That was a reply to “I'm working on something really big.” Wen Ran had expected he wouldn't care: No worries [handshake]

Afraid of disturbing him, Wen Ran quickly added: I won't bother you anymore, have fun on your trip [fireworks]

A Good Person didn't reply.

The next day at school, Wen Ran ran into He Wei and Xu Ze in the hallway. He Wei had his arm slung over Xu Ze's shoulder, draped over him like he had no bones, sighing: “Yunchi went abroad to have fun, and now Heyang's started skipping class too — won't even reply to messages. It's been a week. So lonely. What is there left in this world worth sticking around for?”

Before Xu Ze could answer, He Wei giggled: “Yes there is, there's you and little Chi~”

“...” Xu Ze could only nod in consolation.

Wen Ran silently turned left into his own class and sat down. This semester everyone was on the same floor. Every day when Wen Ran passed the back door of Class 2, he could see Lu Heyang sitting in the last row. He wasn't usually one to skip class, but this time he'd been gone a full week — which lined up with Gu Yunchi going abroad.

Did they go traveling together? But it didn't make sense they wouldn't invite He Wei along.

Logic told him not to worry about the Golden Triangle's business, but Wen Ran still felt a vague unease. Distracted, he opened his Backpack and his hand touched a stack of paper — last night's design sketches. The contact pulled him back a little. He took out the drawings.

“What's this?” Tao Susu leaned over curiously, flipped through a few pages. “Did you draw this?”

“Yeah.”

“That's so cool. Why'd you draw this — what is it?”

“Want to make a birthday present for a friend. Still designing it.”

“Looks like some kind of mechanical model, right?” Tao Susu covered her mouth and blinked a few times. “Can you make one for my Kangaroo Model? Like a little mechanical kangaroo. I'll pay a lot.”

“Huh? No, no, you don't have to pay. If you want one I'll make it, but I'm worried about the prototyping and production — it's not mass-produced, so no one might take the job.”

“Leave that to me. I'll find a workshop, you just handle the drawings.” Tao Susu gestured wildly. “About this big, then add gears, really cool, it'd be best if it could move a little... Oh, how about this — come to my place this weekend and meet my little kangaroo?”

Wen Ran thought about it and nodded. “Okay.”

Saturday morning, Tao Susu sent a driver to pick Wen Ran up. The estate bordered a nearly 300,000-square-meter natural lake, and the grounds largely preserved the original ecology, with some thoughtful human design layered on — like a nature park. No wonder Tao Susu was always happy as a sprite, living in a place like this.

Two minutes into meeting the little kangaroo, Wen Ran nearly got punched. Tao Susu rushed in to intervene and scold it, only to get punched in the shoulder herself — she went flying, rolled down the grassy slope, and was caught by two nannies looking worried.

This was deeply embarrassing for Tao Susu, who'd been insisting her kangaroo baby was well-behaved. Furious, she dragged Wen Ran away, went back to the villa to change, and pretended nothing had happened as she invited him for tea.

“So do you still want me to make a model for your kangaroo?” Wen Ran asked.

“Yes.” Tao Susu's face was cold. “But I won't put any real feelings into it anymore. There's only master and pet between us now.”

“Okay.” Afraid he might laugh, Wen Ran took a sip of tea to cover it.

The slightly warm liquid rolled slowly across his tongue, down his throat — rich tea fragrance, a sweet aftertaste on his palate. Wen Ran had barely had tea a handful of times in his life, but even he could tell this was top-quality leaf. He racked his brain for some elegant tea-tasting phrase and came up with nothing, so he just said, plainly: “Really good.”

“My grandpa grew it. He has a tea mountain and opened a tea house up there.” Tao Susu pointed at a small incense burner trailing wisps of white smoke nearby. “This tea-leaf incense is his blend too. Smells calming.”

Wen Ran took a few careful sniffs. A genuinely pleasant scent — fragrance with a faint bitterness underneath.

“Next time we can go to the tea house together. It's a bit boring though — most guests go there to talk business, not really kid-friendly.” As if remembering something, Tao Susu added, “Oh, last winter break, I got dragged there to 'quiet my mind.' In a whole month I only ran into President Gu twice.”

Wen Ran blinked. “President Gu?”

“Gu Chongze, Gu Yunchi's uncle.” Tao Susu burned her hand shaking the lid on the tea bowl, bore the pain with a calm face, and kept going. “I think he seems pretty decent. People always used to say the Air Disaster was connected to him, but it doesn't feel like it. If he really did it, how could Chairman Gu still let him into Boqing Group?”

“I searched that Air Disaster before. Felt like the info had been scrubbed — everything I could find was vague.” Wen Ran said.

“Of course they'd lock down the details. From what I know, basically the private jet's captain owed massive gambling debts, figured he couldn't pay it back, so he took it out on everyone else by making them die with him. Besides Gu Yunchi's parents, there was a co-pilot, a traveling doctor, and three flight attendants. All dead. Anyway, it wasn't an accident.”

It couldn't have been an accident — otherwise the police wouldn't have caught Tang Hua, and Gu Peiwen wouldn't have had someone kill Tang Hua before his execution.

“Wealthy heirs are like that — danger everywhere. I heard that not long after Gu Yunchi's parents died, when he was just over seven, he got seriously ill, and then one of his personal nannies got arrested. Don't know what she did.”

His first thought was Gu Yunchi's strange Pheromone condition — only able to get an omega with over 95% match pregnant, and the sex addiction likely stemming from an unstable Gland and Pheromone system. Could that have been the cause? Someone close to him had poisoned him, making Gu Yunchi gravely ill, and his body had been damaged ever since.

That's why, facing a bodyguard's betrayal, Gu Yunchi had calmly said, “No need. It's not the first time.”

Tao Susu poured Wen Ran some more tea. “I think someone who grew up surrounded by all that scheming and backstabbing — meeting you might actually be a kind of luck. After all, you're so good.”

If anyone else had said that, Wen Ran would have thought they were being sarcastic, but he knew Tao Susu meant it.

And because she meant it, it was even more bitter — because he was a piece in that scheming, a co-conspirator.

Wen Ran managed a smile. “You already knew.”

“Yeah, I knew. But it doesn't matter. To me you're just Wen Ran, my good friend.” Tao Susu sipped her tea and let out a soft breath.

After leaving Tao Susu's place, Wen Ran was heavy-hearted. While drawing, his mind kept drifting. Eventually he just put down his pen and stared at the chat window with “A Good Person” from a week ago, even though there were only a handful of messages.

Knowing what intentions he carried, knowing he'd offended his parents — what was Gu Yunchi feeling as he gradually shifted to his current attitude?

A person who'd grown up among letdowns, betrayal, lies, and harm — after all that careful weighing, finally cautiously offering a little patience and trust. If one day he found out that everything about Wen Ran — from Gland to Pheromone to match rate — was a conspiracy tailored just for him, would Gu Yunchi feel unsurprised, or disappointed, or angry?

Outside the window: drip, drip, drip. Rain.

The phone screen went dark on its own, then lit up again a second later. A new message in the chat.

A Good Person: Where are you.

Wen Ran stared for a moment, then hurriedly replied: At home.

A Good Person: Anyone else there?

Wen Ran: My mom and brother are both out. Auntie the housekeeper is here, probably already asleep.

A Good Person: Got it.

Wen Ran: Is something up?

No reply. Wen Ran waited quietly for five more minutes and confirmed Gu Yunchi had really just been asking casually.

It didn't matter. Even being casually asked a couple questions made Wen Ran happy. He closed his phone and pulled himself together to keep drawing.

Ten-some minutes later, the rain was getting heavier. Wen Ran closed the window a bit. As he pulled his hand back, his phone buzzed — a new message on screen.

A Good Person: Come down.

Wen Ran froze for a full five seconds, then jumped up, flung open the door, and ran downstairs. Outside the front door he remembered it was raining and darted back into the living room to grab an umbrella.

Holding the umbrella, he slipped out the side gate by the black iron fence. Two bright headlights stabbed into his eyes, the rain curtain lit up silver-bright. On the other end of the light, a blurry figure stood under a black umbrella.

Puddles splashing underfoot, Wen Ran ran up to Gu Yunchi. The car's interior light was on, illuminating half the Alpha's body. Wen Ran looked up — half a month without seeing him — and suddenly didn't know what to say. He pressed his lips together, then after a moment asked, “How come you're here?”

Gu Yunchi looked down at him, didn't answer, and pushed the car door open a crack. Wen Ran glanced in — a transparent Model Box sat steady on the back seat, holding that grey-white ocean escort vessel that hadn't officially gone on sale yet on the website. Under the golden light, it had a finely-crafted quality to it.

Before Wen Ran could react, Gu Yunchi folded his umbrella and tossed it under the seat, then lifted the Model Box into the crook of his left arm and shut the car door. Wen Ran's mind was a mess. He instinctively raised the umbrella higher to shield him, looked down at the Model Box, and was about to burst before he finally managed: “Are you coming inside?”

“Can't I?”

“Yes, of course.” Wen Ran stepped a little closer, brushed raindrops off his black T-shirt. “Watch your step.”

From the front gate to the living room was a short walk. Wen Ran felt like it was noisy — whether from the rain or his heartbeat, he couldn't tell. At the door he poked his head in to listen. Aunt Fang wasn't awake. He felt around in the dark and got Gu Yunchi a pair of slippers to change into.

This really did feel like sneaking around for an affair. Wen Ran resigned himself to it, led Gu Yunchi to the staircase, turned on the wall light, and they went up together.

The moment they entered the room, Wen Ran noticed Gu Yunchi's step falter slightly. Once inside and the door closed, Gu Yunchi took in the tiny spare bedroom — a two-second tour — and said, “Like a single cell in a prison.”

Wen Ran didn't hear a word. He'd been staring at Gu Yunchi's face the whole time. “Did you go hiking? You look a little darker. And thinner.”

Gu Yunchi walked over and set the Model Box on the desk, then just went “Mm.”

He noticed the stack of drawings on the table and was about to pick them up when Wen Ran rushed over in two steps, grabbed them, and quickly glanced down — luckily he'd just been sketching the Kangaroo Model, so he relaxed his grip. 'This is my design for Tao Susu's kangaroo. She said she wants to make a small Kangaroo Mechanical Model.'

“Can you actually make it?”

“Yeah.” Wen Ran was already crouching by the desk, staring at the escort vessel model, completely transfixed. “It's so beautiful. Are you giving it to me?”

“What else? Brought it over at night just to let you look at it? I'm that free?”

“Thank you. I haven't had a model of my own in a long time.” Wen Ran stood up, carefully opened the Model Box, and leaned in to look. “I was looking at photos of it a few days ago. I really liked it, but it was expensive.”

“Place is so small. Where are you going to put it.” Gu Yunchi leaned against the desk. “Under the covers?”

“Wardrobe.” Wen Ran turned and smiled at him. “My mom doesn't like me playing with models. She can't see it. I'll hide it in the wardrobe and take it out at night to look at. That's enough.”

There was no self-pity or playing pitiful in that smile — it was genuine. As long as he could have it, could keep his hobby, even having to hide it was fine. He seemed long used to living this way.

Gu Yunchi was about to say something when Wen Ran straightened up, walked around aimlessly a few steps, looking more and more pleased, so happy he almost wanted to run laps around the room.

Of course, this prison-cell-sized room couldn't accommodate any kind of parkour. In the end Wen Ran looked at Gu Yunchi, eyes bright, and asked: “Can I hug you?”