Is It Fun to Toy with Me?

Yu Yaochen's face showed little expression as his gaze shifted back and forth between Gu Yuechen and Grandma.

Gu Yuechen's expression turned ugly, the color slowly draining from his lips.

He had just lost control and forgotten that Yu Yaochen could get out of the car at any moment.

He must have heard everything.

His résumé was fake, his family background was fake, even where he lived was fake.

Only the filthy, stinking version of him standing beside the trash can was real.

Gu Yuechen could not stay any longer. He stretched out a trembling hand, wanting to grab Grandma's arm and take her away from here.

But his hand would not obey him. He grasped at empty air, unable to catch Grandma's hand no matter what.

Yu Yaochen finally reacted and strode toward Gu Yuechen.

Seeing him approach, Gu Yuechen instinctively backed away, but there was nowhere left to retreat. The trash can was behind him.

Yu Yaochen stopped in front of Gu Yuechen, his eyes filled with an emotion Gu Yuechen could not understand.

Gu Yuechen parted his pale lips, but not a sound came out.

He was probably despising him inside.

He looked successful and radiant on the surface, but in truth, he was utterly miserable.

Yu Yaochen said nothing either. He stuffed the bouquet of pink roses from his arms into Gu Yuechen's hands, then walked around him and crouched down to pick up the bottles on the ground.

Gu Yuechen could not quite process it. He held the bouquet blankly, then mechanically turned his head.

He saw Yu Yaochen's pampered hands picking up bottles that had just been pulled from the trash can, then placing them one by one into the canvas bag hanging from Grandma's arm.

Gu Yuechen's breath caught as he stared at Yu Yaochen's every move in disbelief.

Was he crazy?

He clearly had such severe germophobia. How could he pick up bottles that dirty?

"Thank you, young man." Grandma smiled at him gratefully. "I'll pick up the rest. Don't dirty your hands."

"It's fine. I can just wash them."

Yu Yaochen's tone was as gentle as ever, without the slightest trace of disgust or mockery.

He picked up all the bottles on the ground and put every one of them into Grandma's canvas bag.

"Are there any more inside?" Yu Yaochen pointed at the trash can and asked, "Do you need my help?"

Grandma quickly waved her hands. "No, I've checked already."

"The weather is getting colder and colder. You should not stay outside for too long. If you get sick from the cold, you'll feel awful."

Grandma carefully glanced at Gu Yuechen's profile. Knowing she had done something wrong, she hurriedly agreed.

"All right, I won't." Grandma looked at Gu Yuechen and coaxed him as she had when he was little. "Chenchen, don't be upset anymore. Grandma won't make you worry again."

The word "Chenchen" jolted Gu Yuechen awake as if from a dream.

He gritted his teeth and said, "My name isn't Chenchen."

"Chenchen" belonged to Yu Yaochen. He did not deserve it.

Seeing that he was still angry, Grandma did not know how to comfort him. Her hands helplessly clutched the worn canvas bag.

Yu Yaochen came before Gu Yuechen again and said softly, "It's too cold. Don't stand outside. Let me drive you home."

Gu Yuechen's expression abruptly changed. He looked up sharply into Yu Yaochen's spotless, clear eyes, and the sense of humiliation became even more intense.

"You knew all along!" Gu Yuechen was nearly hysterical. "Is it fun to toy with me?"

Yu Yaochen frowned, his tone hurried. "That's not what I meant. I was just waiting for you to tell me."

"Waiting for me to tell you?" Gu Yuechen laughed. "How was I supposed to tell you?"

"Yuechen, calm down first..."

Gu Yuechen cut him off. "Was it especially interesting, watching me put on an act every day?"

As Gu Yuechen grew more and more agitated, panic crept onto Yu Yaochen's handsome face.

But Gu Yuechen became even more worked up. "Yes, everything on my résumé is fake. I can't understand English, and I never went to school. My family doesn't live here. We live at the end of the alley behind this apartment building, in a rundown place that costs a few hundred a month."

He threw the roses onto the ground, then grabbed Grandma's arm.

"I'm a lying fraud. Everything is fake. Tell Doctor Pei to fire me."

After saying that, he left with Grandma.

As he walked away, he failed to notice the ground and stepped on the rose petals twice.

Everything was over.

He knew Yu Yaochen would never look for him again.

If he could not break them up, then he had no reason to remain at the pet hospital.

Gu Yuechen turned off his phone and slept at home for an entire day.

Once he had slept enough, he stopped running away and turned on his phone, ready to receive a dismissal notice.

But when he opened WeChat, there was no message from his supervisor.

Instead, he saw messages from Xu Rui and Yu Yaochen.

He did not want to look at Yu Yaochen's, so he opened his chat with Xu Rui.

[Are you feeling better? Do you want me to come check on you?]

Gu Yuechen froze, unable to understand what Xu Rui meant.

After thinking for a moment, he typed out a message and sent it over.

Gu Yuechen: [What's wrong with me?]

Xu Rui: [Huh? Didn't you catch a cold and get a fever?]

Gu Yuechen: [Who said that?]

Xu Rui: [Your supervisor.]

After seeing that message, Gu Yuechen was even more confused.

Thinking of something, he quickly opened Yu Yaochen's messages and finally understood what had happened.

Yu Yaochen had taken it upon himself to request sick leave from Gu Yuechen's supervisor as his friend, telling him to take time to sort out his feelings and return to the pet hospital whenever he was ready to work again.

Gu Yuechen stared at Yu Yaochen's final message, biting his lips until they nearly bled.

[Sorry. I handled it the wrong way and hurt you. Can you meet me? I miss you so much.]

Why had he not exposed him?

He knew perfectly well that Gu Yuechen was a fraud, yet he still protected him and even lied to the pet hospital for him.

What was he doing?

Was he pitying him?

Gu Yuechen gripped his phone tightly, then deleted all of his chat history with Yu Yaochen.

He rested at home for three days, but in the end, money won out, and he returned to work at the pet hospital.

Since Yu Yaochen was not going to expose him, there was no need for him to make things difficult for himself over money.

When Xu Rui saw him, he immediately came over to check on him.

"How are you?" Xu Rui asked worriedly. "You disappeared halfway through our chat that day. I was afraid of disturbing your rest, so I didn't keep messaging you."

"I had a fever," Gu Yuechen said. "I was dizzy at the time, so I didn't keep looking at my phone."

"Are you feeling better now?"

Xu Rui reached out to touch his forehead, but Gu Yuechen immediately pressed down on his arm.

"I'm fine. My fever's gone."

"That's good." Xu Rui breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew his hand.

Gu Yuechen gave a faint smile and returned to his workstation.

Just then, a message popped up on his phone.

Yu Yaochen: [Don't ignore me.]