The old man chuckled as he watched the boy staring intently at the bun-shaped object in his hand. "Well, what if, in the future, young master, you also have something you love but cannot have, or...someone?"
"The young gentleman will also think your father's behavior is foolish—"
The old man was always talking nonsense. Before he could finish speaking, something warm was shoved into his hand.
Old man: "......"
“I could never become like my father and do such a stupid thing.”
He wouldn't have anything he couldn't have, because he could do without everything else; all he wanted was his older sister.
Shi Youxi will not let his sister leave him.
Shi Youxi slowly tore open the second hand warmer, then the third, and the fourth. He glanced at the old man's peeling fingertips and said, "I'll give you those. I have too many; I can't use them all."
"......"
Old man: "Haha, then this old man will pray to the gods for the young master."
May all your wishes and desires be fulfilled, young sir.
Shi Youxi stuffed the hand warmer into her sweater and glanced at him casually.
“My sister said that people like you are involved in fraud and child trafficking, so no matter what you say, I won’t go with you.”
Old man: "...I'm a professional."
Shi Youxi: "Oh, all the money will go to my sister in the future, so I don't have any money and I won't spend it here."
The black dots on the stone steps ahead were getting bigger and bigger; it was time for Shi Yan to come down.
Shi Youxi hid the hand warmer and pointed at Shi Yan, saying, "But if you say what you just said to Father, you might get some US dollars."
He believed everything that was said about his mother.
Shi Yan came down quickly, and in no time he was in front of Shi Youxi. Apart from being a little pale, there was nothing else wrong with him.
Shi Youxi propped himself up and stood up. His legs had lost feeling from sitting for so long, and it took him a while to recover.
Shi Yan asked, "Who were you just talking to?"
"I was talking to..." Shi Youxi turned her head, but there was no one beside her. "It's nothing, just someone asking for directions."
Shi Yan's eyes were deep and unfathomable as he looked at the boy in front of him: "Has anyone been asking you about your mother lately?"
Shi Youxi paused in his hammering motion, remembering the cello brooch...
The mother may know Alex, but Alex is definitely not that person. Not only are they completely different in appearance and habits, but that person's every move is under Shi Yan's surveillance.
They're probably just friends.
Shi Youxi: "No, except for the last time my mother came to pick me up, and my classmate saw me."
As expected, Shi Yan didn't ask him any further questions. The two went on another pilgrimage to the temple and then returned to the Shi family home.
Time flies, and Bai Shengsheng's birthday banquet is this weekend.
...
When Shi Youxi went out, Mu Yiran wandered around the villa. These past few days, Shi Youxi had been clinging to her too much, even taking leave from work to study at home, just to stay by Mu Yiran's side.
Mu Yiran felt like her buttocks were about to develop sores, but being sick brought more than just bad things.
Mu Yiran lost a full five pounds, and regaining her beautiful figure overnight is no longer a dream.
"I wonder when that kid will be back."
Mu Yiran took a shower in Shi Youxi's room. Today was a rare sunny day, and she wanted to take a stroll around the artificial lake behind the villa and check the fire prevention system there.
Mu Yiran didn't know why she listened to Shi Youxi and wore all the clothes Shi Youxi had bought for her that were on the sofa.
Thermal underwear, sweater, leather coat, and then a mink coat on top.
Layer upon layer, it's all about layering.
Dressed like a clumsy bear, Mu Yiran shuffled to the door, grasped the doorknob, and pressed it open. She arrived, enveloped in the fresh, free air—
"Click".
The doorknob wasn't pressed down.
"No way..."
Mu Yiran pressed again.
"...."
"Shi Youxi! You brat, why did you lock me in there?!"
Mu Yiran's calls from the window successfully summoned the butler, but that was all.
"Miss Mu, the young master said you should get some rest."
Mu Yiran: "......"
"My fever has subsided, and I'm almost fully recovered..."
Mu Yiran was dressed too warmly, and she straightened her back uncomfortably. "What we're saying is, we really have to... talk like this?"
"Please open the door first."
The butler pushed up the dog door (hole) under the door, and he knelt outside the door, with Mu Yiran separated by a small door frame.
At first glance, it looks like the two are having a video chat.
"Miss Mu, you can still hear this."
"No, you're getting on in years. What's the point of kneeling there? Let's open the door and talk loudly!"
Seeing that the butler was unmoved, Mu Yiran reached out through the dog hole and tried to touch the doorknob.
"Butler, why are you still fooling around with that kid? Patients should go out more often."
The butler seemed persuaded. He hesitated for a moment, then took out his keys from his pocket. "Miss Mu can come out, but someone must accompany her."
He looked Mu Yiran up and down, who was dressed like a bear, and said with dissatisfaction, "You're wearing too little. You need to wear more."
Mu Yiran: "..." Is this what they call "There's a kind of coldness that only elders feel"?
"Okay, okay, I agree to everything. Please open the door."
The butler inserted the key into the lock, turned it three times to the left and three times to the right, before opening the door.
Mu Yiran was afraid he would change his mind and lock the door again, so she pulled the door open and slid out the door with a big body and a small head.
Butler: "..." This illness doesn't look like it's cured at all.
Mu Yiran watched as the butler carefully closed the sliding door of the dog hole, restoring it to its unused state.
"Did we ever have a dog? The young master's?"
Butler: "Yes, it's Lucy."
Mu Yiran couldn't recall where she had heard the name before. "Lucy?"
"Ah, isn't that the name of the young master's dog doll?"
"That doll was made after Lucy died. Lucy was a mongrel that the young master picked up."
Dogs typically live up to 10 years, unless they die of illness or were already an old dog when Shi Youxi found Lucy. But the dog doll Shi Youxi made doesn't look like it.
"Did he...die of illness?"
The butler shook his head, his chest heaving, and he sighed almost imperceptibly. He said without hiding anything, "She was... killed by the madam."
Mu Yiran: "...What?"
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