It was Wang Luchen.

Shi Yun was stunned, not understanding why the little girl who had been fine just now had turned out like this.

Director Lin sighed, “I asked the staff to go over and help, but unexpectedly, one of the new employees directly scared the little girl into crying.

Chenchen is on Teacher An’s list of students to visit, and now the public opinion is putting pressure on us. If we rashly cancel this student’s spot, the fans will definitely be unhappy. So, I need to trouble you to go there, Shi Yun.”

After watching the video, Shi Yun responded and quickly left.

He was still his gentle self, but for some reason, Director Lin caught a glimpse of seriousness and anger in his departing figure.

Director Lin was most afraid of this kind of scene. He never expected that despite all his precautions, he still couldn’t prevent it.

Director Zhang told him to rest assured, “Chenchen trusts Shi Yun very much, so there will definitely be no problem. The children Teacher Shi has taught all have excellent psychological states, and I’m not just saying that to flatter you!”

Director Lin breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, “Shi Yun’s ability to motivate people is really great, and it reminds me of my friend’s son.”

Like a kind elder in the family, he began to ramble, “I remember that guy was only a tiny little thing, and as soon as he could stand and walk, he’d run around everywhere. He was everyone’s source of joy.

Huaixu and he were good friends, and he’d often annoy Huaixu, who would wrinkle his little face, disliking that the child was mischievous, spoiled, and loved to cry.”

Speaking of this, he suddenly felt a little sad, “As you get older, you just love to reminisce about the past. I wonder how that kid is doing now.”

Director Zhang assumed that the child had gone to study or work far away, “It’s okay. Won’t the child come back for the New Year at the end of the year? You’ll always see him!”

The two of them chatted like this and entered the room.

Director Zhang continued to familiarize himself with the process, and Director Lin sat in front of the equipment. Picking up his phone, he realized that he had a few unread messages—

[(Ten minutes ago) Lin Qi: Is there any news about Xiao Yu?]

[(Just now) Oldest of Shi Family: No, my mother and father are still continuing the search.]

He typed a reply.

[Lin Qi: It’s almost the sixteenth anniversary of Xiao Yu’s disappearance, right?]

[Lin Qi: I saw someone who looks very similar to Xiao Yu, in name, personality… Everything is very similar.]

[Oldest of Shi Family: Whether it’s intentional or fate, I’ve seen too many people like that. They don’t have that raindrop birthmark on their backs, so they’re not my Xiao Yu. Many people guess that Xiao Yu has already met with misfortune, but I’m his brother, and I can feel that he’s still alive.]

[Oldest of Shi Family: But Huaixu still hasn’t given up. I didn’t think that the person who hated Xiao Yu the most would be so persistent (laughs). I heard that he was tricked by the Wang family, who created a lot of people who looked like Xiao Yu?]

[Lin Qi: Yes, Huaixu made quite a fuss back then (covers face), but don’t say that in front of that kid. You haven’t seen him in a long time. You don’t know what kind of a biased and terrible person he is now.]

[Oldest of Shi Family: (Voice message: Is he filming a variety show with you? At least he hasn’t forgotten his promise with Xiao Yu. I saw the topic trending in China some time ago. He’s being criticized so much but he’s acting like nothing happened. He’s the first one like that. Xiao Yu would probably laugh at him.)]

Lin Qi listened, as if he could see the man smoking a cigarette, standing in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling window, surveying the overseas scenery that was quite different from his hometown, saying this sentence with exhaustion.

[Lin Qi: Just smoke, but don’t ruin your lungs before you even find Xiao Yu.]

[Oldest of Shi Family: (Voice message: Uncle Lin, please hope for the best for me. Don’t let me carry this regret into the coffin.)]

[Oldest of Shi Family: (Voice message: My mother said a long time ago that she wants to go home and see you guys. Once the projects here are stable, we’ll go back before Xiao Yu’s birthday.)]

***

When Shi Yun arrived at Chenchen’s house, the staff had already been chased out of the house by Chenchen’s angry grandfather.

Knowing that they couldn’t complete the task, they squatted in the courtyard, playing on their phones and chatting.

Shi Yun, feeling exhausted, paused at the door to catch his breath and happened to hear some staff members say:

“Teacher An will be at this task location soon, Chenchen…”

“Children forget things quickly. She’ll be fine in a moment, but Grandpa Chen was really angry just now. Should we find someone to go and check on him?”

“Forget that old man, why should we care about him? That little brat is also really fierce. She bit me to death. I just said she was ugly because of her birthmark…”

Shi Yun’s face instantly darkened.

However, he was now very concerned about Chenchen’s condition and disdained to argue with them. He forcefully pushed open the door, glared at them, and walked up the steps.

The people in the courtyard were startled by him.

Some recognized him and thought something bad was about to happen, so they put on smiling faces and went over.

However, before this person could speak, a voice sounded from behind him, “Hey, who are you? Don’t you know that this is an important filming location? Strangers can’t just come in!”

Shi Yun recognized the voice. When he turned around, it was indeed the young man who had said Chenchen was ugly.

The young man was called Wang Huzi, and he was the son of a friend of Team Leader Huo. Usually, relying on his connections, he did whatever he wanted behind Team Leader Huo’s back.

Wang Huzi looked dazed, his cheeks flushed, and his eyes glazed over. Ignoring the other staff members who were trying to explain, he walked unsteadily toward Shi Yun.

Shi Yun wrinkled his nose, almost knocked over by the strong smell of alcohol.

He asked in disbelief, “You drank alcohol during work?!”

Wang Huzi didn’t care and shrugged, “Does it bother you?!”

Shi Yun frowned, thinking that Chenchen and Grandpa Chen hated drunks the most. If he was like this…

Wang Huzi didn’t like his gaze. He slurred his words and cursed with a thick tongue, “What, what are you looking at?!”

As he spoke, he pushed Shi Yun hard, “You want to control everything. Who the hell are you? You even dare to look at me with your nostrils?!”

The drunken man didn’t know his own strength. Shi Yun’s legs were already weak from running over, so he was caught off guard and fell to the ground on his butt.

He supported himself with his elbow, and the exposed skin was quickly scratched by pebbles.

Blood flowed straight down, and he sucked in a breath from the pain!

Wang Huzi squinted his eyes and chuckled a few times. He enjoyed this pleasure and immediately raised his leg with the help of alcohol.

Shi Yun couldn’t dodge in time and could only close his eyes and raise his hands to protect his head.

But one second, two seconds passed, and the expected pain didn’t come. Instead, there was a ‘thud’ sound, followed by Wang Huzi’s continuous wails.

Shi Yun tentatively opened his eyes.

The evening breeze blew through the leaves, and in the swaying of the sunset, he saw a tall figure standing in front of him, with his back to the light.

“An… An Huaixu…”

“It’s over, it’s Teacher An!”

Shi Yun heard people shouting this around him, but no matter what, he couldn’t connect this person with the cold man in his memory.

He fell into an unbelievable daze.

An Huaixu seemed to sense something and turned his head to look.

The broken hair in front of his forehead was blown back by the wind, revealing his smooth forehead, making his eyebrows even sharper. Hidden in the dimness, he was like a wolf full of lethality.

The wolf was half-covered by the dim yellow lights in the courtyard, and a soft color stayed in his eyes, stirring up ripples on the calm lake.

Shi Yun strangely realized that even though it was the same expression as when they first met, he somehow tasted complex and contradictory emotions—

Caution, pain, disgust.

Nostalgia, hope, disappointment.

It was hard to figure out.

Shi Yun always felt that he was looking at someone else through him. He didn’t like An Huaixu’s eyes very much and got up nervously and awkwardly.

Unknown to him, An Huaixu pursed his lips, looked at his wound with cold eyes, and withdrew his gaze.

An Shuqi squirmed out of An Huaixu’s arms, smacked his lips, and left a dark mark on his chest.

An Huaixu disgustedly hung An Shuqi’s pink bunny backpack on his arm, picked up his jacket, and put him on the ground.

“Ugh!”

An Shuqi’s sleeping brain was forced to start, and he clung to An Huaixu in confusion, still wanting to be held.

An Huaixu rubbed his wrist and refused him, “Go back and have your dad take you to lose weight.”

An Shuqi heard that it was a bad comment and immediately puffed his cheeks, put his hands on his hips, stuck out his little stomach, and retorted in a childish voice, “Huaixu is wrong. Mommy said I’m cute and plump!”

An Huaixu: “Your mom is lying to you.”

An Shuqi ignored him, looked around, and caught sight of Shi Yun. He ran over with a surprised expression, “Pretty Bro!”

Shi Yun was afraid that the terrible wound and blood would scare him, so he quickly hid his arm behind his back.

Unfortunately, his movements were too big, and he accidentally pulled on the wound. The intense pain made his movements stiffen and his face turn pale.

An Shuqi noticed and looked worried. Before he could say anything, a familiar black garment came over his head, blocking his vision. He struggled in panic, “Huaixu, help me take zis off!”

An Huaixu quickly and domineeringly grabbed Shi Yun’s arm and answered An Shuqi in his spare time, “Straighten your tongue before you speak.”

Not only An Shuqi, but Shi Yun was also so startled by his fluent movements that he forgot to react.

The heat slowly traveled from his wrist to his cheeks, and he didn’t even feel any pain.

Only the man’s intentional or unintentional stroking stimulated the blood in his whole body.

An Huaixu checked his wound and raised his head casually.

Shi Yun blinked his eyes with his movements, and his long eyelashes trembled, falling and then rising, revealing those pure and clear pupils that allowed people to see through his heart at a glance.

An Huaixu: “…”

This time, the person they found was pretty good at acting.

An Huaixu’s mockery brought Shi Yun back to his senses. He was the first to look away, pursed his lips, and thanked him awkwardly.

An Huaixu noticed that the wrist in his hand showed a weak sign of being pulled back, frowned, and said in a cold voice, “Don’t move.”

His voice was full of oppression, and Shi Yun immediately froze in place.

An Huaixu took a spray from the pink bunny backpack and sprayed it on Shi Yun’s wound a few times.

The smell of bitter medicine drilled into his nose, and the cool water stains merged into the wound, causing Shi Yun to close his eyes.

When he couldn’t see, the other senses became particularly sensitive.

He noticed that An Huaixu swept him all over, revealing a strong suspicion.

Feeling the unknown spray taking effect, the pain on his arm slowly faded away.

He even heard a sentence close to his ear: “We’re even.”

Shi Yun slowly turned his brain and opened his eyes, only to find that An Huaixu was standing eight hundred meters away from him.

Everything was his illusion, but… what were they even for?

A daring staff member stepped forward, helped Shi Yun, and asked caringly, “Are you okay?”

Shi Yun waved his hand and asked about Wang Huzi’s situation.

The staff member covered his face and said speechlessly, “He’s asleep.”

Shi Yun looked confused: “…?”

An Huaixu looked at Shi Yun a few times, gestured to the ground for the staff to pick it up, “Give it to him.”

The staff member looked at the dirty coat thrown on the ground, was silent for a few seconds, understood what he meant, and quickly said, “Use mine!”

He took off his coat and draped it over Shi Yun’s arm, helping him cover the wound.

Shi Yun said, “Thank you.”

An Huaixu casually took An Shuqi, whose head was almost squeezed into his sleeve, wrapped him in his coat, walked straight to the door, and lightly knocked.

Shi Yun put on his clothes and trotted after him.

He knew that An Huaixu hated children and was afraid that something unexpected would happen in a moment, so he wanted to tell him about Chenchen’s condition in advance.