Chapter 29

[So how exactly was he supposed to get back to the apartment?]

[How about leaving first thing tomorrow morning, before Gu Lin got up?]

[Hopefully Gu Lin would overlook him like before. Please, please.]

Gu Lin, who was eating, heard every bit of his little scheme. Su Yu's inner thoughts were so abundant every day that it was hard for him not to notice them. He lifted his eyes and glanced at Su Yu, only to see the Omega eating with his head lowered, looking conflicted and troubled as though he had encountered some earth-shattering problem.

[It would be best if he could avoid paying the penalty for breach of contract.]

A penalty for breach of contract?

Gu Lin knew nothing about Su Yu's work. He only knew that Su Yu played games every day, so the word "penalty" left the Alpha somewhat puzzled.

He had no idea what kind of breach-of-contract penalty an unemployed Omega staying at home would need to pay.

Su Yu was lost in thought and did not notice Gu Lin looking at him. Yun Shang, as an observer, saw both of their reactions clearly, but as always, he remained silent.

There was no conversation at the dining table. It was unusually quiet.

After the meal, Yun Shang fiddled with something in the living room. He just kept drawing circles on a sheet of scratch paper. Su Yu could not understand what he was doing, and after twisting a Rubik's Cube for a few minutes, he got bored and picked up his phone again.

Gu Lin had a habit of taking afternoon naps, so he was not in the living room at the moment. Su Yu asked Yun Shang whether he wanted to go out that evening. Yun Shang stared at a few words in his memo for a long time before saying one word slowly, "Yes."

Su Yu's eyes widened slightly. He actually spoke. At last, he understood why everyone in the Yun family had stared at him in shock last time. His expression was probably no different from theirs back then, because Yun Shang had not said a single word to anyone since entering the house.

He envied Yun Shang for being able to speak. Although he was not mute, he could not say a single word now, which was no different from being mute.

Luckily, he could talk to the comments during his streams. Otherwise, he would have developed aphasia long ago.

[Su Yu: Since you can talk, you should talk more. I'm so jealous that you can speak.]

Yun Shang seemed not to understand what he meant. His brows furrowed as he slowly said two words, "Jeal... ous?"

Su Yu told him with utmost sincerity: I really envy you for being able to speak. From now on, don't stay silent if you don't have to.

Yun Shang said, "No, can't..."

Couldn't?

Couldn't what?

Did he disagree with him?

"...talk."

Su Yu suddenly understood. So that was what he meant. Was the reason he did not speak because he thought he could not speak?

His ability to express himself really was lacking, and his speech was somewhat clumsy. When Su Yu had been little, he had talked nonstop; ordinary children his age could not compare to him.

...Maybe because he used to talk too much, he had now become "mute."

Su Yu slowly typed into his memo: It's okay, I can teach...

Halfway through typing, Su Yu deleted the rest. He could not speak in front of Yun Shang, so he could not teach him.

[Su Yu: It's okay. You'll get it with more practice. Just answer whatever people ask you. Who cares whether they understand? If you really can't do it, just say "mm" or "oh."]

Putting what he had just learned into practice, Yun Shang gave an "mm." Seeing that he responded, Su Yu nodded in satisfaction.

The news that Su Yu was taking Yun Shang out to have fun quickly reached Gu Lin's ears. Before leaving, the Alpha glanced at Su Yu and casually mentioned, "I heard you're taking Shang Shang out?"

Su Yu appeared quiet on the surface and even nodded to go along with him, but inwardly, he grumbled about where Gu Lin had heard that from.

Sometimes, Gu Lin felt it was better not to see through Su Yu's thoughts too clearly, because this Omega really had a knack for irritating people.

Forget it.

It had nothing to do with him. They could go wherever they wanted.

Gu Lin did not say anything further and soon left his sight. Although his expression had not looked very good before he left, he always looked like that, so Su Yu did not think much of it.

Actually, Su Yu had not figured out where to go at all. He simply wanted to leave the house, and Yun Shang would not have any objections anyway.

Yun Shang did homework in the living room for a while. At a little past four in the afternoon, Su Yu planned to head out. The aunt hurried after him and asked, "Madam, aren't you going to have dinner at home before leaving? Sir should be back soon."

Su Yu thought that it was precisely because Gu Lin would be back soon that he wanted to take Yun Shang away. He did not want to eat dinner at home. Of course, if Gu Lin was not coming back, he would be more than happy to eat at home.

The Omega shook his head and told the aunt: I'm taking Yun Shang out to eat.

"Oh, all right."

Young people probably liked to shop and eat outside. If they had dinner first, they might not have much appetite afterward.

It looked like Sir would be eating dinner alone tonight.

Su Yu chose to take Yun Shang to a large mall in the city center. There were restaurants, an arcade, movie theaters, and all kinds of tea shops there. Yun Shang could do whatever he wanted.

It was just that Su Yu found communication between the two of them far too troublesome. Yun Shang could not understand sign language, and Su Yu could not speak, so every time he communicated with Yun Shang, he had to use his phone. Before they had walked around for long, Su Yu was already hungry, so he found a steak restaurant and sat down.

For some reason, Young Aunt's information network was just as efficient. He had barely been seated at the restaurant when he received a message from her asking whether he had taken Yun Shang out to have fun.

[Su Yu: Yes, we're at the mall in the city center.]

[Young Aunt: That's really rare. The last time I took Shang Shang out was last year.]

Partly because she was busy with work, and partly because Yun Shang was rarely willing to be persuaded to go out.

[Young Aunt: Is Xiao Lin there?]

[Su Yu: He isn't.]

[Young Aunt: That makes sense. If he were there, you two would only feel restrained. I hope you have fun.]

[Su Yu: Mm-hm, I'll make sure he has a good time.]

Young Aunt was very happy. She quickly agreed and even transferred him some money, but Su Yu did not accept it. After all, he had a little money of his own, and taking Yun Shang out would not cost much anyway.

[Young Aunt: Xiao Hui, don't be so polite. If you see anything you like at the mall, buy it. Keep this as spending money.]

[Young Aunt: Oh, right. If it isn't enough, Shang Shang has money on him too. Just use his card. I'll tell him in a bit. We're family, so don't be polite.]

Su Yu hurriedly declined: No, no, no, I'll pay.

[Young Aunt: How could I let you do that? Just accept it. It's a small token of our affection.]

The two of them went back and forth for a while. In the end, Young Aunt said she had something to take care of and that they would chat later, then stopped replying.

It had to be said that Gu Lin's mother's side of the family had especially harmonious relationships, unlike his uncles, who only cared about the shares in his hands. Their relationship was utterly terrible.