So Easy to Fool

After leaving Yu Yaochen's little western-style house, Gu Yuechen perked up again and greeted everyone he met at the pet hospital.

Seeing this, Xu Rui assumed something good had happened to him and could not help running over to ask.

"Nothing. I'm just in a good mood."

Xu Rui did not believe him. Ever since Pei Huanyi had left the pet hospital, Gu Yuechen had seemed to lose his soul. He made frequent mistakes at work, and his smiles looked worse than crying.

The coworkers had privately been wondering whether something had happened at home, but only Xu Rui knew it was related to Pei Huanyi.

Whatever the reason, as long as he could see Gu Yuechen pull himself together again, Xu Rui could finally rest easy.

He had been worried about Gu Yuechen before and had wanted to take him out to clear his mind.

A few days ago, he had seen Gu Yuechen looking up information about a musical on the computer. Thinking Gu Yuechen liked musicals, he had asked a friend to buy two tickets.

Xu Rui touched the tickets in his pocket, then looked into Gu Yuechen's beautiful eyes and gathered his courage. "I switched shifts with Xiao Le. I'm off this Sunday instead. Want to go see a musical together?"

"A musical?" Gu Yuechen looked over in confusion.

Xu Rui immediately took out the tickets and handed both of them to Gu Yuechen.

"Yeah, there happens to be a show this Sunday. Let's go together." Xu Rui rubbed his nose, looking a little embarrassed. "A few days ago, when I came over to put away some files, I accidentally saw you using the computer to look into this musical."

Gu Yuechen lowered his head to look at the tickets in his hands. He did not remember ever looking into a musical.

Maybe he had seen something on Yu Yaochen's WeChat Moments and wanted to search for it online.

Afraid Gu Yuechen would feel burdened, Xu Rui hurriedly added, "Don't worry about the ticket cost. My friend had two extra tickets, but he didn't have time to go, so he gave them to me. I couldn't find anyone suitable to go with either, so..."

"Can you sell them to me?"

Gu Yuechen thought that since they were from a friend, and the performance date was so close, Xu Rui would probably sell them to him cheaply.

If he wanted to see Pei Huanyi often, he had to build a good relationship with Yu Yaochen.

He could tell that Yu Yaochen still held strong suspicions toward him. He had to break down the barrier Yu Yaochen had raised against him.

Of course, if the tickets were too expensive, he would give up on the idea.

There were many ways to get close to Yu Yaochen. He did not necessarily have to spend money.

"How much are the two tickets?" Gu Yuechen looked at Xu Rui seriously, waiting for his answer.

Xu Rui went blank for two seconds, then waved his hand. "Just take them. You don't need to pay. I can't understand musicals anyway."

Gu Yuechen let out a breath of relief and smiled. "I'll treat you to milk tea this afternoon."

Xu Rui smiled but neither agreed nor refused.

A customer carrying a Pomeranian came in, and Xu Rui led the customer into the examination room.

After being busy for a while, Gu Yuechen waited until most of the customers had left before taking out his phone and snapping a picture of the tickets.

He then sent it to Yu Yaochen on WeChat.

Gu Yuechen: [Want to go see a musical this weekend?]

Yu Yaochen replied quickly this time, seeming quite happy.

Yu Yaochen: [You like musicals too?]

Feeling guilty, Gu Yuechen sent a sticker of a little cat nodding.

Yu Yaochen agreed to the invitation and suggested they head out early. He would treat Gu Yuechen to lunch, and they could go see the musical after eating.

Gu Yuechen stared at the tickets and revealed a cold smile.

So easy to fool.

That weekend, Gu Yuechen still refused Yu Yaochen's offer to drive over and pick him up. They arranged to meet at the shopping mall closest to the theater.

Yu Yaochen wore a light blue shirt that made his skin look even paler. His nose bridge was high, and his brows and eyes carried an innate air of aloof nobility.

But he was smiling at the moment, softening the unapproachable distance he usually gave off.

When Gu Yuechen had first met Yu Yaochen, he too had been deceived by the other man's looks and thought he was some young master who kept everyone at arm's length.

Only after spending more time with him did he realize that Yu Yaochen had an especially soft personality, completely at odds with his cold, sharp features.

"Actually, you could have let me pick you up," Yu Yaochen said with a smile. "It's hard to get a taxi on weekends, isn't it?"

Out of vanity, Gu Yuechen had always lied to Yu Yaochen and said he had taken a taxi.

He avoided Yu Yaochen's gaze and said quietly, "I didn't want to trouble you."

Yu Yaochen fell silent for a moment before changing the subject. "Do you like Thai food? I just found a Thai restaurant. There are quite a lot of people lined up outside, so it should be good."

"Won't there be too many people? The musical starts in a little over two hours."

Yu Yaochen pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and waved it in front of Gu Yuechen.

"I got a queue number early. There are only two tables ahead of us."

Gu Yuechen did not praise Yu Yaochen for being clever. Instead, he privately grumbled that Yu Yaochen had already made up his mind, so why had he bothered asking?

"Then let's go. We shouldn't miss our number."

Gu Yuechen did not show his displeasure on his face. He stepped forward and took Yu Yaochen's arm.

Yu Yaochen froze for a moment and lowered his head to look at the hand gripping his arm. He pressed his lips together but said nothing.

There really were a lot of people at this Thai restaurant, and the food was quite good. Knowing Yu Yaochen would be treating him, Gu Yuechen had deliberately skipped dinner the night before to save the cost of a meal.

He could not help eating two bowls of rice. When he looked up and saw that Yu Yaochen had long since put down his chopsticks and was elegantly sipping his drink, his ears instantly burned red.

He put down his chopsticks as well and took out a tissue to wipe his mouth.

Seeing this, Yu Yaochen asked, "Are you full?"

"Yeah, I'm full."

"Okay, I'll go pay."

Gu Yuechen watched Yu Yaochen rise from his chair and stop one of the servers. The two exchanged a few words, and Yu Yaochen soon returned.

There was a hint of helplessness in his smile. "They said you can pay by scanning the code at the table. I've been abroad too long, so I'm used to paying cash."

When they had ordered, they had used Gu Yuechen's phone.

He had deliberately not told Yu Yaochen that the QR code on the table could be used to pay directly. He just wanted to watch Yu Yaochen make a pointless trip like an idiot.

"You walked off too fast. I couldn't stop you," Gu Yuechen answered hypocritically.

Yu Yaochen did not suspect Gu Yuechen at all. He lowered his head and chuckled, picked up his phone, scanned the code on the table, and paid the bill.

The mall was less than eight hundred meters from the theater. Driving there would have been too troublesome, since they would also have needed to go down to the mall's underground parking garage, so they chose to walk over as an after-meal stroll.

"I didn't expect you to watch musicals too."

Gu Yuechen secretly rolled his eyes. Did Yu Yaochen think he lacked refinement and was unworthy of seeing this kind of performance?

"I watch them sometimes," Gu Yuechen lied.

"Same here. When I have no inspiration and really don't want to paint, I go see musicals." Yu Yaochen sounded as if he were sighing. "Most of the time, I go alone."

Gu Yuechen raised his head. "Doesn't Doctor Pei go with you?"

Yu Yaochen shook his head with a smile. "He has more important things to do."

Gu Yuechen did not ask what those things were. This was not the first time Yu Yaochen had piqued his curiosity only to give him no answer. Even if he asked, Yu Yaochen might not tell him.

"Why not ask Xie Wangchi? He'd definitely be willing to go with you."

"Him?" Yu Yaochen seemed to drift into memory and sighed. "Xiao Chi is just a child who never grew up. How could he patiently watch things like this? Every time we meet, his phone keeps buzzing nonstop."

Gu Yuechen snorted with laughter.

I really want to record what Yu Yaochen just said and let Xie Wangchi hear it. It'd piss him off!

Hearing Gu Yuechen's laughter, Yu Yaochen lowered his eyes and looked at him, his expression impossible to read.

Gu Yuechen reined in his smile. He did not like Yu Yaochen staring at him like that, and frowned. "What is it?"

"You look pretty when you smile."