Chapter 24 Do You Miss Your Mom?

That night, a topic quietly became popular on a certain social platform.

#How to help a friend with social anxiety to pursue his idol#

The blogger "Qinghua" (Su Wanqing's account name) anonymously shared a "fan submission":

"Help! I have a friend (really not me) who has a severe case of social anxiety and a crush on a gorgeous neighbor. The neighbor is incredibly nice to him, giving him all sorts of overt and subtle hints, practically having 'I love you' tattooed on his face. But my friend just won't catch on and is completely timid. I gave him a hot spring voucher for two and asked him to take the initiative, but now he's holding onto it, growing mushrooms at home and says he's too scared to ask out. Hey everyone, what should I do? Waiting online, this is urgent!"

As soon as the post was published, the comment section exploded.

【I am dying of laughter. Isn’t this me? 】

[Sisters, just give them drugs and let them go. It’s a done deal!]

[Uncle police, it was the man upstairs who did it! ]

[Giving him drugs is too crude! You could just pretend you won a lottery, say you don't want to waste it, and then force him to go!]

Or maybe just put on a show! You pretend to have been dumped by a jerk, crying and shouting about going to a hot spring to soothe your sorrows, asking your friends to accompany you. Then you "ran into" your dream guy, and then you slip away with the excuse of a stomachache! Perfect!

Su Wanqing excitedly took screenshots of these "cool moves" and sent them to Lin Muci.

Lin Muci looked at those strange suggestions and the corners of his mouth twitched.

【What the hell is going on here! 】

[Is there any reliable person among these online comedians? ]

[Pretend to win a lottery? Do I have the luck to win a lottery?]

[Still acting? With my acting skills, I'm afraid it will be exposed in a second!]

He weakly sent Su Wanqing a few "speechless" emoticons, then threw his phone aside.

Forget it, let’s just let it go.

The next day, Lin Muci struggled for the whole morning but still couldn't muster up the courage to knock on the door next door.

He decided to take a roundabout approach.

[First, turn into a cat to test the waters! ]

[See how he's feeling today. If he's busy, I won't mention it.]

Having made up his mind, he skillfully transformed into a fat orange cat.

He slipped into Gu Chaoyu's house quietly from the balcony.

However, the Gu family was unusually quiet today.

The living room was empty, the study door was open, and there was no one inside.

Lin Muci walked around the house and finally found that Gu Chaoyu was not at home at all.

He returned to his home feeling somewhat disappointed, changed back into human form, and took out his mobile phone to check out Gu Chaoyu's clinic app.

On Dr. Gu's appointment page at the clinic, there was a prominent notice: [Closed today].

Gu Chaoyu didn't come back the whole day.

Lin Muci sat by the window, glancing towards the next room from time to time, feeling very nervous.

[What's going on? Are you out on a date?]

[No, no, if he has a date, my cousin would definitely be able to figure it out.]

【Is there something urgent at home? 】

【Nothing will happen to him, right?】

All kinds of bad thoughts swirled in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Finally, he couldn't help it and sent a WeChat message to Gu Chaoyu.

[Doctor Gu, are you not at home today? It seems you are not in the clinic either.]

After the message was sent, there was no response for a long time.

Lin Muci paced back and forth in the living room, holding his cell phone.

After a long, long time, so long that he thought the other party would not reply, the phone finally lit up with a "ding".

It’s Gu Chaoyu.

【It's something, don't worry. 】

These six simple words not only failed to reassure Lin Muci, but made him even more anxious.

「This tone... is so cold...」

[Is he angry because of what my cousin said yesterday? ]

[It's over. My cousin must have scared him away.]

Lin Muci hugged the pillow and rolled around on the sofa, extremely anxious.

It was not until late at night, when everything was quiet outside the window, that Lin Muci heard the slight sound of a key opening a door in the corridor.

It's next door!

He immediately jumped up from the sofa, even losing one of his slippers, and rushed to Gu Chaoyu's door barefoot.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then gently knocked on Gu Chaoyu's door.

The door opened quickly.

Gu Chaoyu stood inside the door, his shirt slightly wrinkled.

When he saw Lin Muci, he seemed stunned for a moment, then stepped aside to let him in.

When Lin Muci walked in, he found that there was only a small warm-colored light on at the entrance.

The air was filled with the smell of alcohol.

Gu Chaoyu didn't turn on the light or speak. He walked straight to the sofa and sat down, his whole body sinking into the shadows.

Lin Muci stood there, feeling a little helpless.

【He...he drank alcohol?】

【Did something unhappy happen to you?】

With the dim light from the entrance, he saw Gu Chaoyu take out a photo from his pocket.

It was an old photo with the edges worn and white.

The photo shows a gentle and beautiful woman holding a chubby little boy in her arms. The boy's eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to Gu Chaoyu.

Gu Chaoyu's fingertips gently stroked the woman's face in the photo. Her back, which was usually straight, was slightly hunched at this moment. The eyes that always smiled when she was with Lin Muci were now secretly filled with tears.

Lin Muci was distressed when he saw this.

He remembered the little brother in his childhood who became silent because he lost his mother.

I remembered what I once said to him.

Subconsciously, he walked forward, squatted beside Gu Chaoyu, and asked softly,

"Doctor Gu, do you miss your mother?"

"My mother said that if you miss her, you should touch your belly button because that is where you will always be connected to her."

Gu Chaoyu was shocked.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at Lin Muci who was squatting beside him.

The warm yellow light outlined his soft hair and worried expression, and his clear eyes were filled with heartache.

In childhood, that little figure wearing a little yellow duck raincoat, comforting himself in a baby voice, those childish but extremely warm words, at this moment, slowly overlapped with the worried face of Lin Muci in front of him.

Twenty years of longing and remembrance found a home in this moment.

Gu Chaoyu only felt his eyes getting hot and his throat tightening.

He put down the photo and hugged Lin Muci in his arms.

He buried his head in the crook of Lin Muci's neck, like a child who had finally found a haven, and murmured in a hoarse voice:

"Yeah, I thought about it."

At this warm and tender moment, the atmosphere was just right.

“Meow—!”

A cat's cry filled with jealousy and dissatisfaction was heard.

Orange (No. 2), who had been neglected for the whole day, saw his two owners hugging each other and felt that there was no place for him, so he immediately got angry.

It pounced and landed precisely between the two of them, its furry body trying to squeeze into the gap. Its round head rubbed against Gu Chaoyu's chest, and its tail swept towards Gu Chaoyu's face.

The atmosphere was completely destroyed in an instant.

Lin Muci's face suddenly turned red, feeling ashamed and embarrassed. He suddenly broke free from Gu Chaoyu's arms and stood up in a panic.

"Well...well, you...you should get some rest early!"

After saying that, he fled and rushed back to his home.