Chapter 19

Not even human.

Gu Lin was eating breakfast when those three words suddenly reached him, and he couldn't help glancing toward the omega. It was the first time he had seen him so distracted while eating. His knife and fork kept stabbing at his slice of bread, as though it were his mortal enemy.

Don't let me catch you slipping, or I'll smash that precious motorcycle of yours.

Gu Lin ate his breakfast at a leisurely pace while enjoying the rather expressive look on his face.

Whenever Su Yu remembered Su Wang's infuriating tone in his dream, he couldn't help tightening his grip on his knife and fork. The sudden scrape of cutlery against his plate snapped him out of his thoughts, and he realized he had stabbed the bread on his plate into two halves.

Sitting across from him, Gu Lin remarked, "So much anger first thing in the morning. Anyone who didn't know better would think that bread was your mortal enemy."

Su Yu said nothing and ate quietly, wondering how Gu Lin knew he was angry.

If he could, he really would have liked that bread to be Su Wang. He would have stabbed it a few more times.

"Get ready after breakfast. We're going to Grandmother's."

Although the banquet wasn't until evening, Gu Lin had to go over early to help.

Su Yu nodded.

He and Gu Lin arrived at Grandmother's house a little after ten that morning. Since it was her eightieth birthday, the celebration was a grand affair. Compared with the Gu family, the atmosphere at Gu Lin's grandmother's home was especially harmonious.

But the wedding had been so rushed that Su Yu hadn't gotten to know all the guests, much less remembered the people from Gu Lin's grandmother's family. Only Grandmother had left much of an impression on him.

"Xiao Hui is here."

Though the old lady was advanced in years, she looked full of energy. Even her hair was dyed black, and she didn't look eighty at all. The kindly smile on her face made Su Yu feel particularly close to her from the moment he saw her.

Su Yu pressed his lips together in a smile.

Taking Su Yu's hand, the old lady said happily, "You're finally here! I've been waiting so long. I wanted to visit you myself, but Xiao Lin kept telling me not to come and disturb the two of you."

Su Yu: "..."

Who knew Gu Lin was so good at making things up? He actually had the nerve to say that.

Gu Lin shot the omega a sidelong glance.

"Xiao Lin, don't you bully Xiao Hui."

In front of his elder, the cold, aloof man's expression finally softened considerably. He replied, "I haven't bullied him."

The old lady beamed, then took Gu Lin's hand too and pulled them both down to sit. She brought their hands together.

Su Yu's hand was cool, while Gu Lin's was surprisingly warm. Their hands had barely touched before Su Yu withdrew his without a sound.

Gu Lin: ?

*?*

My hand actually pulled back on its own.

Looks like this body doesn't like touching Gu Lin. That's great.

Gu Lin: "..."

Before long, Gu Lin left Grandmother's house to help at the hotel hosting the birthday banquet. Su Yu and Grandmother were sitting on the sofa, along with a boy who looked about high-school age. But the boy didn't speak. He kept his head lowered over his phone, wearing Bluetooth earbuds.

He hadn't said a single word since Su Yu and Gu Lin arrived, so Su Yu hadn't even noticed him at first.

Seeing him looking at the boy, Grandmother introduced him. "His name is Yun Shang. He's your Young Uncle's son."

Su Yu nodded.

"Shang Shang, stop playing on your phone. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

But Yun Shang only glanced up at them before quickly lowering his head again, absorbed in his own world.

Grandmother shook her head and explained, "Don't take it personally. Shang Shang has been autistic since he was little. He doesn't really like interacting with people. He doesn't even respond to us."

Su Yu indicated that he understood.

The old lady showed him around the house. At lunchtime, Gu Lin and his uncles came back, saying the preparations at the hotel were all finished. Before they sat down to eat, Grandmother introduced each member of the Yun family to him, but by the time lunch was over, Su Yu still had no idea how to address them when he ran into them.

But he soon made peace with that.

If he couldn't remember, so be it. He was mute anyway, so he didn't need to address anyone.

After lunch, several of the elders sat on the sofa chatting. Although Su Yu sat beside Gu Lin, their conversation didn't interest him, and his mind had wandered who knew where.

Seeing Yun Shang still sitting in the same spot playing on his phone, he quietly leaned over to peek at what he was playing.

He and Yun Shang were kindred spirits!

Su Yu glanced at Gu Lin and found that the man wasn't paying him any attention, so he slowly shifted seats. What he didn't know was that Gu Lin had already noticed his little movements and simply hadn't interfered.

Yun Shang seemed to notice his gaze, but ignored him.

Now that he was sitting in the gaming area and no one was paying attention, Su Yu took out his phone to play too. Neither of them spoke; they simply played their games in silence. Before long, Yun Shang looked up at him. His gaze paused briefly on Su Yu's phone screen, and then he began watching him play.

Su Yu concentrated harder on gaming than he did on studying, so he didn't notice Yun Shang watching at all.

Gu Lin's Young Aunt, however, was surprised to see Yun Shang taking an interest in Su Yu. She nudged her husband beside her, signaling for him to look.

Yun Shang usually ignored everyone, preferring to remain immersed in his own world. He didn't like talking or communicating with others. Even she, his mother, didn't know what he needed.

"You're really good."

The sudden compliment filled Su Yu with satisfaction, and an "Of course" almost slipped out. But when he saw that Yun Shang was the one who had praised him, he instantly went mute.

All right.

He was mute.

He had discovered that, apart from the Su family, Lu Heyun was currently the only person he could speak to normally.

Being unable to speak didn't stop him from communicating with Yun Shang, though.

He switched his screen to the notes app and typed: You're not bad either, but your level's a little low. Want to add each other as friends and play together in a bit?

He couldn't get a word in at a boring family gathering like this, and the adults' affairs didn't interest him at all. Surely he couldn't just sit there like a log the whole time. At family gatherings, you were supposed to sit with the kids, even if he was already an adult himself.

Yun Shang said nothing and nodded.

The two soon added each other as friends in the game. Taking Yun Shang along was far less trouble than taking Su Wang, because Yun Shang followed him wherever he went and did exactly as he was told.

[Su Yu: Do you have WeChat? Want to exchange contact details? When I get home, I can play with you whenever I have time.]

Yun Shang shook his head.

Did high-school students these days not even have WeChat?

Su Yu tentatively typed a few more words: What about QQ?

Yun Shang shook his head again.

How did this kid usually communicate with people? He didn't have a single social media account.

Oh, right, right. Grandmother had said he didn't like interacting with people. Understandable. Understandable.

"I'll... get it."

Get it?

Su Yu was wondering where he intended to get it when Yun Shang stood up. His gaze followed the boy, but when he turned back, he found the whole family staring at him.

*??!*

Su Yu was utterly horrified.

They saw us gaming. They don't think I'm being a bad influence on the kid, do they?

Gu Lin coughed twice, and his uncles and aunts immediately looked away. Su Yu heard Gu Lin explain calmly, "Shang Shang rarely speaks. They're surprised."

Su Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. That was good, then.