Lin Qingyan followed behind Gu Fei somewhat absentmindedly. His mind was in turmoil, filled with many thoughts, so much so that he bumped into a pillar as he turned a corner, making a dull thud.
"..."
When Gu Fei turned around, he saw Lin Qingyan standing in front of the pillar, raising her hand to cover her forehead, blinking blankly for a moment, and then frowning slightly.
Although he couldn't feel the pain, he still cared about his image.
He heard the laughter of passersby; the laughter was so loud it really bothered his ears.
Gu Fei, however, thought Lin Qingyan was wincing in pain. He quickly walked to the boy's side and asked, "Does it hurt?" As he spoke, he removed the boy's hand from his forehead and immediately saw a clear red mark on his fair skin, which was also slightly swollen.
Gu Fei: "..."
He was both surprised and amused, just like any other passerby watching the spectacle. How could someone walk along and bump into a pillar like that? In the end, he pursed his lips and held back, asking, "Does it hurt?"
"It's alright, let's go."
Lin Qingyan felt incredibly embarrassed, like he was about to die in a scandal. He wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. After he finished speaking, he grabbed the man's wrist and quickly walked forward. He only breathed a sigh of relief after they had gone some distance.
Then, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of him still holding Gu Fei's wrist, and immediately let go as a reflex.
Gu Fei didn't speak, his gaze shifting from his wrist to Lin Qingyan's face, his expression somewhat ambiguous, causing Lin Qingyan to stammer again, "Um, shall we go...go back now?"
Gu Fei hummed in agreement, then naturally took the boy's slender wrist and led him toward the elevator. As the boy stiffened, Gu Fei explained, "To prevent you from bumping into a pillar again."
Lin Qingyan: "..."
He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, but he could detect a hint of laughter in the man's tone, a mocking laugh.
Even though they were still some distance from the elevator, many pedestrians cast admiring and curious glances at the two of them. Lin Qingyan instinctively wanted to lower her head to avoid these gazes.
It was as if a transparent dome was enveloping him; although he wouldn't suffocate, it was stifling, making him feel anxious.
However, a soothing voice reached his ears at that moment: "Don't be afraid." At the same time, his wrist was held even tighter, and the warm palm seemed to be transmitting energy to him through skin-to-skin contact.
Gu Fei said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here. Hold your head high."
Despite the seemingly calm tone, Lin Qingyan felt as if a fire was burning inside him, intensely hot, instantly extinguishing the protective aura surrounding him.
He actually raised his head, straightened his back, and even met the scrutinizing gaze of passersby, without a trace of fear or unease. One passerby even gave him a smile, a purely benevolent smile.
After getting off the elevator and sitting in the passenger seat, Lin Qingyan was still in a state of deep thought and didn't say a word.
Gu Fei glanced at him. The bump on the boy's forehead seemed even more swollen. The bruises on his arm from last night hadn't faded yet, and now he'd bumped into something else. This kid really is...
As the car slowly drove out of the parking lot, Lin Qingyan looked at the city night scene flashing past the car window, the beautiful neon lights reflected in the boy's eyes through the windshield.
He looked at the man beside him who was focused on driving, his clear eyes shining even brighter. It's really nothing, isn't it?
Why be afraid?
He had been given a second chance at life, and he couldn't let it go to waste.
"Gu Fei".
This was the first time Gu Fei had heard the boy call him by his full name, and he looked at him with some surprise. "Hmm?"
Lin Qingyan said, "I won't be afraid anymore."
Gu Fei hummed in response, his sharp facial features softening, making him even more captivating in the night. Lin Qingyan looked at his profile and suddenly wanted to close her eyes and reach out to touch the man's face.
Is it a feeling from a memory of dying in a past life?
I'll have to find a chance to touch it later.
Lin Qingyan was making his own plans when Gu Fei suddenly reached out to him. Lin Qingyan was startled, feeling guilty, and saw a preserved plum candy in his outstretched palm, which he didn't know where it had come from.
Gu Fei asked him if he wanted to eat.
Lin Qingyan composed himself, took the preserved plum candy, said thank you, unwrapped it, and popped the candy into his mouth, the sweet and sour taste spreading in his mouth.
The candy in her mouth moved from left to right, then from right to left. After hesitating for a while, Lin Qingyan finally asked, "Do you really like this kind of preserved plum candy?"
Gu Fei nodded. "Mm."
Although they hadn't known each other for long, Lin Qingyan had a deep understanding of how taciturn this man was. She thought Gu Fei's hum was enough to answer, but to her surprise, he paused for two seconds and added:
“There used to be a kid around who loved to eat this, so I always carried it with me, and it’s become a habit.”
Lin Qingyan was clearly not expecting this answer. He noticed that the man's tone had softened unconsciously as he spoke, so the "child" he was talking about must be someone very important to him.
Lin Qingyan opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
Suddenly I felt a little envious of that child. Thinking that, even the plum candy in my mouth didn't taste sweet anymore.
As Lin Qingyan savored the somewhat unpleasant-tasting plum candy, her memories drifted away with it.
This preserved plum candy is Lin Qingyan's only memory of "sweetness" from his childhood. His family was always poor, with no delicious snacks, no fun toys, and not even pocket money.
No child is immune to cravings. He was particularly envious when he saw other classmates eating snacks, but he didn't dare ask his parents for money. When he asked his mother for money to buy stationery or notebooks, she would give it to him reluctantly and would nag him for a long time with a dark face.
So after school, he would go to the street to pick up aluminum cans and the like, which he could take to the recycling station to sell. He was content with earning a dollar or two of pocket money.
But he couldn't afford expensive snacks; candy was the cheapest option, costing two pieces for a dime. His favorite was this sweet and sour plum candy, and he would buy it every time he earned money from selling recyclables, secretly hiding it to eat.
Lin Qingyan's childhood wish was to eat candy every day.
Even after he grew up, dropped out of school to work, and even debuted in the entertainment industry and lived in a big house, he still couldn't forget the "sweet" taste from his childhood, and always carried this kind of preserved plum candy with him.
In a childhood filled with so much bitterness, reprimands, and tears, this little bit of sweetness was incredibly precious to him at that time.
No one understood, and no one would give him candy.
No, Gu Fei knows how.
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