Chapter 20 Friends [You have added H, now you can start chatting...

Chapter 20 Friend [You've added H, you can start chatting now...]

Gu Ci once had a tiny Nokia phone, a brick-like device, which he used from elementary school to the second year of middle school. Although he cherished it dearly, it couldn't withstand the ravages of time and eventually wore out.

Gu's father had wanted to buy him a new phone and had planned to take him to pick one after his business trip, but unfortunately... there was no chance.

Actually, Gu Ci didn't need a phone that much. He used to use it to call his father, but now he's focused on his studies. Plus, he's always with Huo Wenyuan, and Butler Feng can take care of anything he needs, so the idea of a new phone has been put on hold.

Until this time, when Huo Wenyuan was "grounded" by Mr. Huo.

This was the first time Gu Ci had been apart from Huo Wenyuan since arriving at the Huo family's house.

...Huo Wenyuan must be bored, right?

Although he always acted distant and distant, Gu Ci knew it was all a facade. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stood up for him when he was bullied, hired someone to teach him shot put, or secretly bought him a doll...

Thinking of this, Gu Ci felt even sadder, and a wave of self-blame returned.

If he hadn't asked Huo Wenyuan to accompany him on a gift-buying trip, would he have stayed home from getting sick, or been grounded by Uncle Huo?

It was all his fault.

The more Gu Ci thought about it, the more guilty he felt. And yet, there was no way to communicate with Huo Wenyuan. After a long, focused thought, he decided to buy a phone.

Yes, with a phone, he could chat with him anytime, just to keep him company!

Gu Ci immediately asked Butler Feng for money to buy a phone.

While Butler Feng wouldn't interfere with Gu Ci's spending of his allowance, he still asked with concern, "Why do you suddenly want to buy a phone, Little Ci?"

Gu Ci replied earnestly, "So I can chat with the young master. Uncle Feng, does the young master have a phone?"

Butler Feng was speechless, his eyes filled with affection as he looked at Gu Ci.

Our Gu Ci is truly the most heartwarming little angel in the world!

That afternoon, Gu Ci's phone and SIM card arrived.

Holding his brand new smartphone, Butler Feng helped him save two numbers.

Butler Feng said, "The first one is my number. If you need anything, feel free to contact Uncle Feng."

"The second one is the young master's number. You can contact him at this number."

Gu Ci awkwardly read the user manual for his new phone. Estimating that Huo Wenyuan's last IV drip would be finished, he nervously paced around the room and dialed his number.

Ten seconds later, the call connected.

Huo Wenyuan's tone was calm: "Hello."

A familiar voice came through the receiver. Gu Ci stopped, held his breath, and said excitedly: "Brother Wenyuan? Can you hear me?"

It's said that the signal on Apple phones is not very good. Gu Ci ran to the windowsill, worried that Huo Wenyuan would not be able to hear him.

Hearing Huo Wenyuan's calm response, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he could hear him - otherwise, the phone would be a waste.

He asked Huo Wenyuan: "Brother Wenyuan, are you feeling better?"

Huo Wenyuan replied briefly: "Better."

Gu Ci had always felt that Huo Wenyuan was not in high spirits, but then he thought about it, who would be in high spirits when they were sick?

So he gave a final warning: "Then I won't bother you. You should get more rest and listen to the doctor's advice. If you get bored in the future, you can call me on this number!"

Huo Wenyuan was silent for a few seconds, then whispered: "No need to bother you."

Gu Ci didn't react: "Huh?"

Huo Wenyuan's voice was a little hoarse, and suddenly asked: "Why did you think of buying a phone?"

So that was the question. Gu Ci explained, "This way I can keep in touch with you. Otherwise, you'd get bored even reading if you were alone, wouldn't you?"

Huo Wenyuan listened to the soft words, lowered his eyes, and twitched his fingertips slightly.

He said, "I see."

Gu Ci asked curiously, "What do you know?"

Huo Wenyuan's eyelashes trembled, and he said, "Wait for me."

Gu Ci nodded obediently, "I'll wait until you recover!"

Huo Wenyuan's lips curled up slightly, and he looked at the phone screen. He could even imagine the serious and well-behaved expression on the other side.

Huo Wenyuan felt a strange sense of regret. "I can't accompany you for your physical exam next week. You have to do your best."

Gu Ci reassured him, "Don't worry, Brother Wenyuan. Wait for my good news."

Huo Wenyuan added, "If Quzhi comes looking for you again, tell Shang Zui. Don't let him influence you."

Gu Ci felt a little strange about Huo Wenyuan, but still obediently agreed, "Okay."

Huo Wenyuan said, "If you need anything, talk to Butler Feng. Just tell him what you want or what you want to eat."

Gu Ci agreed, "Okay!"

Why did he feel like a worried Butler Feng?

Gu Ci felt he couldn't bother Huo Wenyuan for too long and checked the time. "Then... good night?"

"..." Huo Wenyuan, "Okay, good night."

After hanging up, he stared at the number on his phone, the warmth in his eyes gradually fading.

The emptiness in his heart seemed to be slowly being filled by something soft.

Huo Wenyuan clicked on the number, saved it, and entered two numbers in the note field. On a beautiful afternoon, the sky clear, the trees rustling in the breeze, Gu Ci completed his junior high school physical education exam. A perfect score was successfully added to his report card. After buying water from a vending machine with Shang Zui, Gu Ci immediately shared the good news with Huo Wenyuan on his phone.

[Brother Wenyuan, I did it! ^^]

A second later, a reply arrived in his text message box.

[Awesome!]

Gu Ci smiled and inquired about Huo Wenyuan's health. Shang Zui, who was chugging water, was surprised to see Gu Ci suddenly reply with his latest phone. "Little Gu Ci, when did you get that phone?"

Gu Ci sent the message and sheepishly explained, "Just now. Brother Wenyuan is in the hospital, and I was worried he'd be bored, so I bought him a phone to chat with him."

Shang Zui raised an eyebrow. "Just to confirm, you're really not his younger brother or anything, right?"

Gu Ci nodded honestly, though he didn't understand why he asked.

Shang Zui breathed a sigh of relief: "It's mainly because you always call him brother, even in the notes, I almost got confused."

"Huo Wenyuan really knows how to take advantage of him, having such a well-behaved and cute brother. How about... you call me brother too?"

"Huo?" Gu Ci was startled. "This... isn't good?"

Shang Zui imitated Huo Wenyuan and pinched Gu Ci's face. Suddenly, he understood why Huo Wenyuan liked to do that.

It felt really good.

"You're kidding." He withdrew his hand and snorted in disapproval. "You're the only one who can stand Huo Wenyuan."

Gu Ci stuck out his tongue and quietly explained, "...Maybe I thought of him as my brother."

Although they weren't related by blood, living under the same roof, it seemed reasonable to say so.

Back in class, Shang Zui eagerly pulled out his phone and saved Gu Ci's number. Learning he didn't have WeChat, he urged him to sign up.

The school clearly prohibited cell phones, but due to the needs of learning and daily life, the teachers knew they couldn't completely ban them. As long as it didn't affect students' grades and the order of the class, they turned a blind eye.

With Shang Zui's guidance, Gu Ci finally got his own WeChat account.

Shang Zui instructed him to approve his friend request, then opened his phone and said, "Doesn't Huo Gou have your WeChat yet? I'll give him yours."

Gu Ci: "Okay!"

Before he could continue, Xie Buruo walked in from the front door, startling them both into throwing their phones into a drawer. Their WeChat adventure came to an end.

Xie Bu Ruo was using the math teacher's set square to tap the podium. In the sunlight, a fine cloud of dust kicked up, drifting down onto his bright head.

He cleared his throat and said, "The physical exam is over. Thank you all for your hard work. Excluding those with special talents and those exempted, twenty-three students in our class scored full marks, and the rest were just a few points short. Not bad."

"But..." Seeing the students' excitement, Xie Bu Ruo changed the subject. "The third mock exam is coming soon. This is your last and most important exam before the high school entrance exam."

"This time, I hope you won't just surpass Class 2, but also maintain your top spot in the city. Do you have confidence?"

The students, successfully pumped up, shouted in unison, "Yes!"

Xie Bu Ruo looked away, satisfied. Then, the man with glasses by the door raised his hand and asked, "Teacher Xie, we talked about letting the academic genius share his experience. Is there still a chance?"

Who this "academic genius" was? It was self-evident.

With this reminder, everyone looked towards the empty seats in the first row by the window, looking at Xie Bu Ruo expectantly.

After three years as classmates, they hadn't interacted much with Huo Wenyuan, but rumors about him never ceased. Furthermore, Huo Wenyuan was truly a legend, and as classmates, they felt a sense of honor. It

was more like—look, you know that handsome, intelligent academic genius? From our class.

Huo Wenyuan had become their pillar and role model.

"..."

Xie Bu Ruo was stumped by the question. It was

a good question. He also wanted to know if Huo Wenyuan could come or not.

This was clearly a punishment! If he escaped, what would become of him?

But then again, his health pales in comparison to the Huo family's young master's.

Xie Bu Ruo pondered for a moment, then said, "I promised you I would share my experience. As for who will share it..."

Facing the students' admiring gazes, he gritted his teeth and said, "If conditions permit, Huo Wenyuan is still my first choice."

The class erupted in applause and cheers.

Xie Bu Ruo: "..." He regretted it so much that he wanted to slap his face.

To put it bluntly, the young master goes to school only for a few days and then takes a few days off. At most, he can get the first place in the exam to show off. If he can't come due to health reasons, it is understandable.

But wouldn't that be a disappointment to the students?

Xie Buruo thought deeply, and his head became even balder.

He can't let the second place in the grade share it, right? It would be so embarrassing for someone from another class.

After class, he secretly called Gu Ci, who had the closest relationship with Huo Wenyuan, into the office.

Gu Ci was explaining a question to Liu Zhihe, and seeing Xie Buruo's serious expression and not saying why he was looking for him, he felt a little guilty.

Could he have been caught using his mobile phone?

He followed Xie Buruo into the office nervously, but heard Xie Buruo say in a kind tone: "Gu Ci, sit down."

Gu Ci sat down nervously.

Xie Bu Ruo was actually a little nervous. To ease the atmosphere, he first praised him: "You got full marks in the physical exam this time, very good."

Gu Ci looked up in surprise. It turned out that they were not talking about the mobile phone...

"Thank you, teacher!"

Xie Bu Ruo asked with concern: "Do you want to stay in this school in high school?"

Gu Ci answered truthfully: "If possible, I would like to continue studying in Xichen."

Xie Bu Ruo said kindly: "I have seen your previous grades. You are still very promising. Do your best in the third model test."

Gu Ci nodded.

Xie Bu Ruo actually liked Gu Ci very much. When he asked questions, he couldn't stop. He was concerned about his life and studies. Inadvertently, they chatted for almost half an hour.

He even forgot his purpose.

It was Gu Ci who reminded him before leaving: "Teacher Xie, is there anything else you want to ask me?"

Xie Bu Ruo slapped his head and remembered.

"Gu Ci, you and Huo Wenyuan live together. The teacher wants to know how he's doing."

"Can you share your experience?"

Gu Ci looked a little embarrassed. After all, Huo Wenyuan had just been in the hospital. So he said frankly, "Teacher Xie, I'm not sure. I might have to ask him."

Xie Bu Ruo pleaded, "Thank you very much. If you really can't, it's okay. We can find someone else."

Gu Ci took on the important task. After school, he returned home and called Huo Wenyuan.

The call went through immediately, as the person on the other end was probably on their phone.

Huo Wenyuan asked, "Is school over?"

"Yeah!" Gu Ci replied, having changed out of his school uniform. "I stayed in class a little longer today."

Huo Wenyuan said, "Oh," and asked calmly, "Did you forget something?" Gu Ci

realized, "Yeah? You know?"

Huo Wenyuan: "Yeah?"

Gu Ci, assuming Huo Wenyuan was talking about sharing his experience, told him what Teacher Xie had said.

Huo Wenyuan: "..."

He asked: "Besides this?"

Gu Ci thought for a long time: "Anything else?"

Huo Wenyuan reminded: "You just registered for WeChat today?"

Gu Ci remembered: "Ah! I almost forgot!"

He clicked on the green software, and sure enough, he saw a small red dot in the contact.

"I'm sorry, Brother Wenyuan, I forgot when Teacher Xie came... I'll pass it right away!"

Huo Wenyuan said: "No hurry, just reminding you."

When the friend addition message appeared, he suddenly asked Gu Ci: "Do you want to hear my experience sharing?"

Gu Ci was editing Huo Wenyuan's notes, and said casually: "Of course I would like to, if possible, who doesn't want to hear the experience of a top student."

Huo Wenyuan was silent for a long time, and said "OK".

He reminded Gu Ci: "Go to bed early."

Gu Ci: "You too! Good night, Brother Wenyuan!"

After hanging up the phone, Gu Ci finished editing the notes and returned to the chat interface with Huo Wenyuan, covering his mouth in surprise.

The screen was full of friend requests from the other party.

12:30 noon

[I am H.]

16:30 pm

[I am H.]

19:30 pm

[I am H.]

...