Chapter 16: Outing. "Wen Yuan...Brother."

Simply calling him "brother" could easily lead to misunderstandings. Gu Ci racked his brains for a moment and decided to call Huo Wenyuan "Brother Wen Yuan.

" Huo Wenyuan had initially been quite disgruntled, but after hearing the soft "Brother Wen Yuan" from Gu Ci's mouth, he secretly let it go.

He felt incredibly happy, and all his resentment vanished.

He had never known how being called "brother" felt like.

To celebrate Liu Zhihe's birthday, Gu Ci followed Huo Wenyuan out of the classroom after evening study, her mind racing.

Remembering how she used to collect Labubu pendants, Gu Ci had an idea: they'd go shopping in the store after school on Friday.

Gu Ci looked up, glanced at Huo Wenyuan's profile, and suggested, "Huo Wenyuan, I'd like to pick out a gift for Liu Zhihe tomorrow after school."

Knowing Huo Wenyuan wouldn't be able to travel easily, and to minimize the risk, he sympathetically added, "I can bring one for you, too!"

It didn't sound like he was planning to invite him along.

Huo Wenyuan ignored it for now, raising an eyebrow and reminding, "What should I call you?"

Gu Ci, remembering, amended his words, "Wenyuan...Brother."

Huo Wenyuan's eyes shifted slightly before he said calmly, "What's so good about the offline store? What do you want? I'll have them bring it to you."

Gu Ci waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no! It's just a gift, no need to go to all that trouble."

Huo Wenyuan observed Gu Ci's visibly flustered expression, his tone revealing a casualness, "It's no bother."

"But..." Gu Ci whispered, "I'd love to go shopping too."

Back at the Gu family, his caring aunt often took him out on weekends for fresh air, walks, shopping, picnics... Now at the Huo family, he hadn't been outside much except for school.

Even though the Huo family was huge, there was no room for everything.

Huo Wenyuan, however, took in Gu Ci's mumbling and fell into deep thought.

He suddenly realized that Gu Ci was different from him. Perhaps before coming to the Huo family, Gu Ci had often gone out with classmates and friends, never having to worry about anything, but he was different.

Every trip was accompanied by a swarm of bodyguards, a constant state of apprehension, fearing any mishap would happen to him at any moment. He had no freedom of movement.

So he leaned in and said to Gu Ci, "Let's go."

Gu Ci's eyes instantly lit up, a smile spilling from them: "Great!"

Throughout the journey, Huo Wenyuan remained normal. He was usually taciturn and expressionless, so even silence was perfectly normal.

As usual, the two of them went upstairs, one after the other, saying goodnight to each other at the door and closing their respective doors.

Coming out of the bathroom, Huo Wenyuan changed into his pajamas and, while drying his hair, dialed the videophone at the door. Butler Feng's smiling face instantly appeared on the screen.

"Young Master, why haven't you rested yet?" Butler Feng, without his glasses, looked at him kindly. "What do you need?"

Huo Wenyuan quickly outlined his plans for the next day.

Butler Feng, sensing something was amiss, quickly put on his glasses.

"You...you're going out tomorrow too?!" He

suddenly felt nervous. "Where are you going?"

Huo Wenyuan, still wiping his hair, said casually, "Pick out gifts for a classmate."

"Oh...oh?" Butler Feng reacted. "Classmate? Gift? Who?"

He hadn't received any invitations from He Chen in the past few days... He knew his young master's social circle well. He'd even celebrated the young master's birthday at the Shang family. Could it be...

Butler Feng's anticipation for Friday vanished. His mind raced, and he suddenly recalled the girl he'd met at the school gate that day.

Yes, yes, yes. He'd even sighed that the young master had finally learned to be a gentleman with a girl.

Tsk tsk!

Huo Wenyuan paid no attention to Butler Feng's musings, unaware that the usually steady Butler's thoughts had drifted into outer space. He named the shop Gu Ci wanted to visit, and without warning, a familiar tingling sensation pierced his palm, like a long needle buried deep in the skin, piercing it and swirling blood and flesh.

Seeing his brow furrow, Butler Feng promptly asked, "Young Master? Are you feeling unwell?"

Huo Wenyuan shook his head, "Nothing."

He dropped his hands behind his back and turned off the videophone.

Huo Wenyuan didn't turn around immediately, but instead remained where he was, resting for a moment until the surging pain subsided. He raised his hand again, only to see a faint red spot. Fortunately, it had stopped there, showing no sign of spreading. It

was bearable.

Huo Wenyuan sat at his desk, his thick eyelashes fluttering slightly as he gazed at the flower pot, grinning wildly.

A faint frown fell on his face. He stared at it for a long moment, lost in thought. After a long pause, he intertwined his thumb and middle finger and gently flicked the smiling face on the flower pot.

"Silly?"

He then dropped his smile and glared sharply at the lizard, ready to crawl over, warning, "Don't touch that."

"If you destroy my flowers, I'll throw you out."

The lizard took a few steps back, trembling under the overwhelming pressure. Looking around, it seemed that it didn't see where the flower its owner was talking about was.

Master Lizard, it obviously didn't do anything!

-After

school, Gu Ci rarely took the initiative to stay after school to study, but packed his schoolbag early.

Shang Zui embarked on the journey of dancing again. Before leaving, he quietly informed Gu Ci and asked him what gift he would give.

Gu Ci carefully glanced at Liu Zhihe at the table in front of him, cupped his hands and whispered to Shang Zui: "I plan to prepare a plush doll of labubu."

"So thoughtful!" Shang Zui once again admired Gu Ci's attentiveness, then stuffed his dance shoes into his bag in distress, scratched his head and said, "I haven't thought about what to give her yet..."

He muttered and pulled out a chair, pretending to complain: "Really, every year I have to put a lot of thought into celebrating her birthday, and if she doesn't like it, she will be scolded. I can't think of anything even if I rack my brains..."

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for Liu Zhihe to hear.

Liu Zhihe's face flushed red, and he turned around with his eyes wide open: "Shang Zui! How dare you talk like that!"

Shang Zui hugged Gu Ci and made a face at her: "That's what I said, so what! It's your honor to invite Ci Ci and me~"

Liu Zhihe stomped his feet in anger and said: "If you continue like this, I won't invite you!"

Shang Zui spread his hands and blinked helplessly at Gu Ci: "Who knows, my sincerity was fed to the dog..."

Just as he was indignant, a tall figure suddenly appeared behind him, making him feel eerie for no reason.

"Ouch!" Shang Zui hurriedly took a step back, kept a distance, and looked carefully. It was someone he didn't even expect.

"Huo! Wen! Yuan!" Shang Zui patted his heart and pretended to be frightened: "You will actually leave your throne one day!"

Huo Wenyuan didn't bother to pay attention. He just looked at Gu Ci and said in a gentle tone that Shang Zui had never heard before: "Are you leaving?"

Gu Ci: "Where are you going?"

Shang Zui: "Where are you all going?"

Huo Wenyuan gave him a cold sidelong glance: "What does it have to do with you?"

Shang Zui stiffened his neck and straightened his back. "This is where Gu Ci and I sit! We're deskmates!"

Humph, that pricked the heart of someone who didn't have a deskmate.

"Really?" Huo Wenyuan didn't get angry, just a faint question. Then he asked, "Do you believe that next month, you won't have a deskmate?"

Shang Zui couldn't help but feel a sense of dread: "?"

"Huo Wenyuan, what are you going to do to my deskmate?"

Huo Wenyuan scoffed, leaving him to guess.

Facing the stunned Gu Ci, he added another tone: "Butler Feng and the others are waiting outside. I'll go with you."

Gu Ci was visibly surprised, standing up and asking, "Are you going too?"

Shang Zui, no longer rushing to practice, his curiosity peaking: "Ahhh, what are you guys going to do?"

Huo Wenyuan pulled Gu Ci away.

Shang Zui: "?"

Looking at the two figures with a considerable height difference, Shang Zui's eyes widened like bells.

"Did I see correctly?" he asked Liu Zhihe. "Huo Wenyuan held Gu Ci's hand?"

Liu Zhihe rubbed his eyes, a moment of self-doubt in his heart: "It seems... yes."

Shang Zui's expression at this moment could be described as beating his chest and stamping his feet: "Where the hell are they going?"

For a would-be paparazzi, if he couldn't dig up firsthand gossip, then all his good qualities and moral integrity would be gone...

Liu Zhihe's eyes wandered for a moment, and she speculated: "Is he choosing a gift for me?"

Gu Ci and Huo Wenyuan were both attending her birthday party tomorrow, and given what Shang Zui and Gu Ci had just said, she suspected that this might be the reason.

Shang Zui: "!"

"So Huo Wenyuan is coming too? And he's choosing a gift for you with Gu Ci?!"

"Is there something wrong with my ears? Liu Zhihe, you're so proud!"

Liu Zhihe smirked at him, but she knew in her heart that she wasn't the one with the prestige.

It was clearly Gu Ci.

The "prestige" Gu Ci sat next to Huo Wenyuan, his face hesitant.

He carefully studied Huo Wenyuan's profile, until the thirteenth sycamore tree passed by. He couldn't help but ask, "Brother Wenyuan, are you really coming with me?"

Hearing two of those words, Butler Feng, who was selecting menus in the passenger seat, choked and coughed sharply.

Had he heard correctly? Gu Ci had just called the young master... "brother"?

Their young master actually considered them all brother? And, seeing the young master's reaction, was it actually acquiescence?

Butler Feng's smile was strained, but he said to Gu Ci, "Don't worry, Xiaoci, everything's taken care of. You'll be with the young master."

Huo Wenyuan turned and patted the back of Gu Ci's hand, "It's okay."

Gu Ci finally felt relieved, pulled his hand away, and imitated Huo Wenyuan's gesture, patting it twice in return, his eyes narrowing.

"Then I'm relieved."

Huo Wenyuan's eyes moved, and he allowed the warm, delicate palm to rest on the back of his hand.

When the heat faded, he gently touched it with his other hand, still feeling a sense of satisfaction.

After getting out of the car and walking to the entrance of the stand-alone theme store, Gu Ci finally understood what Butler Feng meant by "taken care of."

Liu Zhihe had described the theme store as always packed, with lines stretching a kilometer long, but now it was... empty?

Not only that, even the streetside was deserted.

...This was one of the busiest streets in Guicheng.

He looked at Huo Wenyuan in disbelief, but he saw a calm demeanor, as if accustomed to this.

Gu Ci asked, puzzled, "Why are there so few people today?"

Huo Wenyuan lied without blinking, "Maybe it's Friday."

Clearly undeceived, Gu Ci turned to Butler Feng for help, only to find him huddled behind the passenger door, waving lovingly and rhythmically, "Go, kids!"

He wouldn't admit it, but under Gu Ci's pure, clear eyes, he felt a little guilty.

But the most outrageous thing was Young Master Huo, who insisted on bringing in some rare doll to sell to Gu Ci for a few hundred yuan.

...They, the Gu Ci, were rich!

Gu Li had saved quite a bit for his wife!

Butler Feng didn't dare to get angry or say anything. As a magnanimous adult, he followed the two little adults into the popular store, which was still packed a minute before closing.

The store manager came all the way over, fully armed with a mask and gloves, and carefully explained the shop to the two customers.

This single-story theme store was converted from a duplex apartment and has three floors. Each floor displays a different series and theme. As soon as he reached the entrance, Gu Ci saw many of the styles that Liu Zhihe had shown them.

But... weren't they said to be hard to find? How come this store has them all?

Gu Ci carefully picked up a labubu doll that was almost half a person's height and couldn't let go of the two purple bunny ears.

Meeting the look on the side, the store manager understood, clapped his hands, and praised, "Little classmate, you have good taste! This is this year's... new product!"

"On sale, only 199 yuan!"

After hearing the price, Gu Ci gently put it down, a little puzzled.

So... cheap?

The price he had learned about was not like this...

But the store manager completely misunderstood him, thinking that he thought it was expensive, and then quoted another price: "Discount on top of discount, 99 yuan on the spot!"

Gu Ci became even more desperate when he heard it. Biting his lower lip, he tugged at the corner of Huo Wenyuan's clothes worriedly, and looked up at him for help.

Huo Wenyuan asked patiently: "What's wrong?"

While Butler Feng was negotiating with the store manager, Gu Ci stood on tiptoe and whispered in Huo Wenyuan's ear: "Brother Wenyuan, this is so cheap, could it be... not genuine?"

"Should we go to another store?"

Huo Wenyuan: "..."

"Overdoing something is wrong" is very concrete at this moment.