Around 6 p.m., as the sun set, a large expanse of fiery red sunset clouds hung on the horizon, painting the sky in beautiful colors, like a richly colored oil painting.

The summer evening was still sultry, with only a slight breeze occasionally blowing.

Gu Fei got out of the car and walked on the street for a while. Across the street was a bustling square where pedestrians were strolling, children were chasing and playing, and some vendors were setting up stalls, selling mostly small toys and trinkets.

Gu Fei stood still, his deep, ocean-like gaze piercing through the crowd and locking onto a person dressed in a bulky bear costume. The bear was holding a stack of flyers and handing them out to passersby.

Suddenly, several mischievous little boys came running over, chasing and playing around the teddy bear. Eventually, they turned their attention to the teddy bear, pushing and shoving it.

After working for most of the day, Lin Qingyan was exhausted and hot. Just before he was about to leave work, he was bullied by a group of naughty kids. Don't be fooled by their small size; they were surprisingly strong. He was pushed backward.

Lin Qingyan said helplessly, "Kids, stop pushing. Your brother has to work."

"Hahaha, the big, silly bear has spoken!"

"Have so much fun..."

When a naughty child gets naughty, he doesn't listen to reason at all. He kept laughing and pushing at the big bear, Lin Qingyan, until the big bear finally stumbled and fell to the ground with a thud.

The kids all pounced on him, their laughter and chatter filling his ears, giving him a headache. Lin Qing had a good temper; if it were anyone else, they would have pushed these troublemakers away forcefully.

"Hey, you guys get down here right now..."

"Don't fall..."

Just as the kids were having a great time playing on the big teddy bear, a tall, well-built man suddenly stood in front of them. His expressionless face looked unapproachable, and he was staring at them with a slightly furrowed brow, his gaze cold and unapproachable.

The children froze immediately. One of the more timid children even burst into tears. Then they all ran away in a panic, afraid that if they were too slow, the fierce uncle would catch them.

"Wow...that uncle is so scary!"

"Stop crying, you coward! Run faster!"

"If we catch it, we'll eat it!"

Gu Fei: "..."

Finally, the noise was gone, and Lin Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly took off the hood, and what came into view was a pair of clean leather shoes, and above that, a pair of long legs. A handsome man was standing in front of him.

Hmm... he seems a bit gloomy.

"Mr. Gu..." Gu Fei's expression darkened again as soon as he opened his mouth.

Lin Qingyan immediately changed her words, but forgot what she wanted to say earlier, and in her haste, she blurted out what was on her mind: "Brother Fei, you are amazing. Just standing there, you scared away the brat."

However, Gu Fei's expression did not improve.

"No, that's not what I meant..."

"What I mean is..."

Lin Qingyan is about to stutter again.

"Get up first." Gu Fei's brows were still slightly furrowed. He bent down and extended his hand to the boy. The boy took his hand and stood up. He looked at the man's face with some trepidation. It seemed like he was angry.

"Why didn't you fight back when those kids bullied you?"

Gu Fei looked at the person in front of him. Despite the sweltering heat, the boy was wearing a heavy mascot costume. His face was flushed red, his short hair was damp and stuck to his forehead, and large beads of sweat streamed down his cheeks. Even his clear, dark eyes were wet.

At this moment, her eyes curved slightly, showing no sign of anger or resentment at being bullied. "They're just kids, I won't hold it against them."

Seeing the boy's smiling face, Gu Fei's expression softened. He opened the bottle of mineral water he was holding and handed it to Lin Qingyan.

Wearing such thick clothes to hand out flyers in this sweltering heat, Gu Fei found it hard to imagine how Lin Qingyan managed to persevere. Perhaps, for many days that Gu Fei was unaware of, this was how the young man lived every day.

Lin Qingyan looked at her hands with some difficulty. The five fingers of the mascot costume were not separate, so she couldn't hold the water bottle with one hand.

Just as he was about to put down the flyer and hold it with both hands, the bottle of water was handed to his lips. "Open your mouth," the man whispered, and he instinctively opened his mouth.

Gu Fei fed him several sips, "Want some more?"

Lin Qingyan said softly that it was alright, only belatedly realizing that the man had actually fed him water. Luckily, his face was already flushed from the heat, otherwise his blush would have been noticeable.

Gu Fei screwed the bottle cap back on, then took out a clean handkerchief and silently wiped the sweat from the boy's face. "When will this work be over?"

Lin Qingyan was stunned, his body stiffened slightly, and he didn't even know what Gu Fei had just said. All he could feel was the man's cold aura and the occasional touch of warm fingertips on his cheek.

Gu Fei repeated what he had just said, his gaze falling on the boy's reddened ear tips, which looked very easy to pinch.

"It can be finished now." Lin Qingyan awkwardly turned his face away, saying that it was no trouble for him, he could wipe it himself.

Gu Fei said, "Don't move."

Lin Qingyan dared not move, but his heart was beating faster than usual. He couldn't help but secretly look up at the face so close to his, but fearing he would be discovered, he lowered his eyes as if he were doing something wrong.

My hands were so nervous I didn't know what to do with them.

Little did he know that Gu Fei had seen all his little actions. A smile flashed in the man's eyes, and his movements became slower and gentler. Whether it was intentional or not, he spent almost two minutes wiping his sweat.

Finally, Lin Qingyan's face turned as red as the sunset.

Lin Qingyan's part-time job was near the square. He went back to return the mascot costume and successfully received his wages for the day, two hundred yuan.

This was more than twice his entire fortune. Looking at the two bright red banknotes in his hand, Lin Qingyan felt an urge to burst into tears.

He was thinking about how to make money in the morning when the restaurant where he had previously worked part-time called him and asked if he wanted to continue handing out flyers.

Since he had nothing better to do, he agreed.

Lin Qingyan carefully put the two hundred yuan into his pocket. The young male boss saw that the child was well-behaved, good-looking and polite, so he gave him a cup of iced milk tea.

"It's so hot outside, thank you for your hard work, Xiao Yan."

"Thank you, boss. I'll be going now. Goodbye."

"Okay, be careful on the road."

Gu Fei stood at the entrance of the restaurant, taking in everything inside. His thin lips pursed slightly as he watched the young man emerge from inside, holding a milk tea in a cheerful mood.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Let's go."

"Um."

The two walked side by side down the street. Lin Qingyan looked down and took sips of her milk tea every now and then. Suddenly, she heard a man's flat voice in her ear: "Is it good?"

"Um?"

Gu Fei asked, "Is the milk tea good?"

Lin Qingyan nodded. "It tastes good."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Fei's expressionless face tightened even more.

Lin Qingyan:?