Chapter 9: A Hug Perhaps that would be his future joy and reward. …

It was already late afternoon when he met the much-anticipated pottery teacher.

The air was filled with the faint scent of magnolias, leaves rustled, and golden sunlight streamed in through the large, clear floor-to-ceiling windows, dancing onto Gu Ci's hair, cheeks, and shoulders, leaving him radiant in the sunlight.

He wore a blue lace apron, sleeves rolled up high, and listened attentively to the pottery teacher's instructions.

The pottery teacher asked with a smile, "Do you have anything you'd like to make? Cups, plates, or small bowls?"

Huo Wenyuan responded with a nonchalant, "Whatever."

Gu Ci thought for a moment and asked, "Teacher, can I make a basin?"

Huo Wenyuan calmly glanced at Gu Ci's sincere face, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

The pottery teacher hadn't anticipated such a practical choice: "Basin?!"

A bathtub? A wash basin? What kind of basin? Why would such a delicate student want to make a basin?

Gu Ci hadn't expected the pottery teacher to be so surprised, and he sheepishly explained, "Teacher, I want to make a flower pot."

The pottery teacher breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, a flower pot, then.

Let's do it, then.

Following the pottery teacher's hands-on instruction, Gu Ci's slender fingers moved carefully and deftly, meticulously shaping the pot, as if performing the most delicate surgery.

As for Huo Wenyuan, sitting in the opposite direction, he remained silent, his eyes lowered. He stared at Gu Ci's hand for a moment, then, seeing he didn't notice, he shifted his gaze to his face, fixated on the small mole that had faded slightly in the sunlight.

And with a single drop of his hand, a small mole appeared beneath Xiao Yang's large, dark eye.

The pottery teacher, hands behind his back, checked on their progress and said, "Xiao Ci is making... a basin. Is the design on Master's cup... a lamb?"

Gu Ci glanced over, eyes filled with admiration and praise. "It really is a lamb! It's so adorable!"

Despite the praise, Huo Wenyuan remained calm. He glanced at Gu Ci's 40% finished flower pot prototype, his already complex expression becoming even more complex.

"...and yours too," he finally whispered quickly.

Gu Ci stared at the clay mold in his hands in shock. "You even noticed! It's still a clay mold!"

Huo Wenyuan cursed himself for being so quick.

Two hours later, Huo Wenyuan's pottery was finished, and Gu Ci's progress had also reached 40%. At least, it was already a smooth basin.

Huo Wenyuan clearly scoffed at the idea of making a "basin." Seeing Gu Ci's work stalled, he racked his brains to create a pattern for the flowerpot, reworking it several times before finally letting out his sarcastic retort: "Why make a flowerpot? There are so many in the garden, just pick one."

Gu Ci kneaded the clay strips again, replying, "A flowerpot you make yourself will naturally have its uses. You'll see when the time comes."

The pottery teacher praised him, "Yes, young master, Xiao Ci actually has some ingenuity in this flowerpot. The base is a base, the handle is a handle, and there are little flowers to embellish it. This is the first time I've seen such a lovely piece of work."

Huo Wenyuan: "Haha."

Don't make it sound like he's nitpicking.

After a while, Gu Ci's flowerpot was finally finished. Two enormous eyes were affixed to it, staring intently at Huo Wenyuan, their smile brighter than the potter's master.

The two swaddled porcelain embryos were finally sent to the specialized kiln for the next stage of growth.

In the evening, Huo Wenyuan, making a rare exception, stayed downstairs to have dinner with Gu Ci.

Just as Butler Feng had said, his taste was indeed rather discerning—he only liked to eat bare mashed potatoes, thinly sliced beef, and green vegetables, with the sole seasoning being a smattering of soy sauce. Nothing else.

In other words, everything was presented in its most primitive form.

Gu Ci looked down at the colorful udon noodles in his small round bowl, a few appetizing chopped green onions floating on top. The contrast was truly striking.

Huo Wenyuan didn't like to talk while eating, his movements and rhythm were a delight to watch, neither too fast nor too slow. He devoured the bland food with a strange sense of sophistication.

Of course, that was Gu Ci's opinion.

Perhaps it was his gaze that was too intense and intense, but Huo Wenyuan quickly noticed. Without even looking up, he said, "Don't ask. Eat your meal."

Caught in the act, Gu Ci quickly slurped down a few strands of udon, but his dark eyes still flickered upwards.

How did he know he had questions? Was he being asked this question so often?

Huo Wenyuan put down his knife and fork, finally asking, "What do you want to ask?"

Gu Ci, relieved, put down his chopsticks and quickly expressed his confusion: "Huo Wenyuan, was your dinner... delicious?"

Huo Wenyuan's expression remained calm. "I want to try it?"

Gu Ci thought for a second and nodded.

He was truly curious. Could it be... that this cooking method could preserve the food's original flavor?

Huo Wenyuan glanced sideways at the empty seat to his right and said, "Come here."

Gu Ci, holding his udon, trotted around to sit to Huo Wenyuan's right.

He picked up the extra spoon, carefully observing Huo Wenyuan's expression, and pleaded, "Can I..."

Huo Wenyuan said nothing, pushing the small portion of mashed potatoes in front of him.

"Thank you!" Gu Ci's lips curled into a "v", his eyelashes fluttering as he took a small bite of the mashed potatoes with anticipation.

"..."

According to Uncle Feng, several chefs in the kitchen are retired Michelin-starred chefs. Therefore, they can make even the simplest mashed potatoes with unique flavor, with a dense texture that melts in your mouth, and the aftertaste retains the original fragrance and sweetness of the ingredients.

The above is the excuse that Gu Ci racked his brains to come up with. In fact, his first reaction was: Wow, it really has no taste!

Turning his head and staring at Huo Wenyuan's well-defined profile, Gu Ci was hesitant to speak.

Huo Wenyuan said: "If you think it is inappropriate, don't say it."

Gu Ci raised his two index fingers and made a cross in front of his mouth, signaling to shut up.

Huo Wenyuan's appetite was not big. He quickly put down his cutlery and slowly picked up the napkin to wipe his mouth.

"I'll go upstairs first. Come to me if you need anything."

Gu Ci nodded obediently.

Butler Feng, who was not far away, put his hands on his heart and smiled: "That's great, it's been a long time since I saw the young master like this..."

Aunt Susan, the head chef, was of Chinese and Russian descent. She covered her ears in horror and begged: "Old Feng, please! Please don't say that!"

But it was obviously too late. Butler Feng still uttered those four words:

"He's back to normal."

Susan: "?"

Butler Feng narrowed his eyes, folded his arms and said to her: "He hasn't been like a child for a long time, has he?"

Susan responded to her agreement with silence.

Butler Feng said, "The master spent very little time at home. We watched the young master grow up, but we also know that he was not actually happy."

"Whether it was family, health, or family, he has endured too much. You'll see, Xiao Ci's arrival will make a difference."

The beautiful child who took the initiative to help the servants with housework on the first day of his arrival, watering the trees in the garden and weeding the lawn in the backyard, and occasionally helping Susan with her back pain, added a different color to the huge and empty Huo family.

Susan praised, "He is an angel."

As she spoke, they saw Gu Ci stand up to help clear the dishes, and then be stopped by a terrified male servant beside him.

Gu Ci looked apprehensive. After a long, fruitless push and pull, he finally placed his hopes on Butler Feng: "Uncle Feng, is there anything I can help you with?"

Butler Feng gently addressed the child, "Little Ci, just focus on your own affairs."

"But if you'd like, you can come upstairs and chat with the young master."

Gu Ci took his words in stride and ascended the stairs with light steps: "Okay! I'll be upstairs first, Uncle Feng, Aunt Susan, bye!"

Butler Feng and Susan exchanged a smile. Their eyes said,

"See, I'll tell you."

-

At night, Gu Ci, clutching his diary, gently knocked on the bedroom door across from him.

"Huo Wenyuan, it's me, Gu Ci."

Huo Wenyuan pressed his slender fingers beneath the pages and asked, "What can I do for you?"

Gu Ci's soft voice echoed from the other side of the door: "Do you need me?"

Huo Wenyuan inadvertently creased the bottom of the page.

What kind of strange question was that?

He tucked the lizard, which was doing a backflip on the bookshelf, into the glass tank, stood up, opened the door, and stared at Gu Ci through the crack: "What are you doing?"

Gu Ci replied: "I came to see you. Can I chat with you?"

Huo Wenyuan's eyes flicked over the notebook in his arms and opened the door to let him in.

Gu Ci quietly stuck out his tongue and followed Huo Wenyuan.

Huo Wenyuan sat in a chair, legs crossed: "Go ahead, what are you talking about?"

But Gu Ci ignored him, his eyes completely drawn to the lizard in the glass tank: "Wow, I just noticed it's changed color!"

Huo Wenyuan thought to himself, isn't it? I haven't been in for a few days, it would be strange if I noticed the color changed.

Despite this thought, he still said, "This is a green-maned lizard. The environment, temperature, and mood all affect its color."

Gu Ci then noticed the large light box behind the glass tank, and gained new insights: "Does mood also affect color? So is it in a good or bad mood right now?"

Huo Wenyuan casually said, "Maybe it's in a good mood."

Gu Ci was amused. The lizard swung its tail at him and swung around the large branch, no longer showing the fear it had during its initial attack.

He looked away and asked Huo Wenyuan, "Does it have a name?"

Huo Wenyuan: "Lizard."

Gu Ci: "...So simple and unpretentious?"

This was indeed Huo Wenyuan's style, just like his ingredients, raw and additive-free.

Huo Wenyuan asked, "So what do you think it should be called?"

Gu Ci tilted his head, thought for a moment, then rested his face on his hands, leaning on the table. "I think it could be Xiaoxi! It fills me with hope and anticipation!"

Huo Wenyuan's eyes were cold. He turned to the silly lizard, dizzy from swinging, and said, "Did you hear that? Someone's given you a name."

Xiaoxi wagged its tail, which he interpreted as approval.

Gu Ci clapped his hands, "It agrees!"

"But Huo Wenyuan," he asked, questioning the question he'd been wondering for a long time. "Why do you want to keep a lizard?"

Huo Wenyuan replied, "No one else wants it."

Gu Ci's eyes were filled with confusion. "No one... wants it?"

"Yeah," Huo Wenyuan looked out the window. "It's dead."

Xiaoxi was still writhing there, but Gu Ci remained silent.

Huo Wenyuan turned to see him lying there, looking a little sad. Instead, he asked, as if nothing had happened, "How long do you plan to stay like this?"

"Come sit down,"

Gu Ci said glumly, taking the chair next to him.

For some reason, hearing Huo Wenyuan speak so nonchalantly about such a heavy matter didn't sit well with him.

Huo Wenyuan lowered his eyes and said, "He was a fellow patient of mine."

"We met in the hospital when we were nine. Although we barely spoke, we both knew we were on the same path."

Back then, every day was a whirlwind of IV drips, chemotherapy, and medication. He felt like a piece of transparent, fragile porcelain, living in a vacuum of nothingness, vulnerable to shattering.

But he couldn't live like this. Huo Xiao said, "Being surnamed Huo naturally carries a different mission than others. You carry your mother's blood, and she died of this disease. You must live well."

Huo Wenyuan felt exhausted. As the frail boy left, he wondered if he could one day find true peace if he died like this.

That's why Gu Ci's initial reminder to take his medicine had angered him.

How could Gu Ci remind him of something he didn't even care about?

Gu Ci said, "They were friends."

This statement plunged him into a deep conflict. On the one hand, he repelled Gu Ci's approach, but on the other, he was like a sun that never extinguished, drawing him ever closer.

No one could resist a smile more scorching than the sun,

Huo Wenyuan thought self-deprecatingly, only to see Gu Ci carefully place his palm on the back of his. Because of the size difference, although he couldn't completely cover him, he still tried his best to soothe him.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Huo Wenyuan's body stiffened.

The evening breeze outside the window began to sway, blowing up layers of dark green waves. Gu Ci raised his face and looked at Huo Wenyuan, his expression rare for seriousness and determination.

"Huo Wenyuan, I'm here."

"There are still many beautiful things in the world. Never give up hope."

He looked at the sky-blue diary and spoke softly, "My father said that there are many hurdles in life, life and death, separations, ups and downs. These are all very painful. But the reason why humans are not defeated is that after crossing that hurdle, there will also be greater beauty and rewards."

"Take a big step forward, and the rest of your life will be smooth sailing."

Huo Wenyuan was silent for a long time, then asked, "So... have you overcome it?"

Gu Ci was stunned for a moment, his eyes suddenly red, but he still smiled brightly. "Why are you asking me all of a sudden?"

He bit his lip and looked at the diary, not wanting to lie to them.

"Maybe not yet."

"But I'm always trying."

A shadow came from the front, and then he was pulled into an embrace.

Huo Wenyuan leaned over and embraced him.

It was his first time hugging someone, and he was clearly even more awkward than Gu Ci. But he still imitated the others, caressing Gu Ci's thin back with his palms until his fingertips burned and his chest rumbled.

Gu Ci's eyes widened in confusion, his hands frozen in place for a moment before he hugged Huo Wenyuan back.

Long ago, when Huo Wenyuan's mother was still alive, she told him a story: Humans are inherently incomplete, and therefore need to hug each other to complete each other. The person who completes you might be your family, your lover, your friends, or even a stranger. But it doesn't matter; a hug is such a magical act.

His mother told him, "If you ever have such a thought, don't be afraid or hesitant. If you feel the urge, embrace bravely. You'll find that the world is filled with strength and courage again. More importantly, you're not alone; there are people walking with you."

Huo Wenyuan instantly understood the meaning, and his arms tightened around Gu Ci.

At fifteen, Huo Wenyuan finally tasted the power of a hug.

A few years later, he realized that the beauty and rewards ahead were already before his eyes.