Being Cute Won't Solve the Problem

The driver was still yesterday's driver, and the car was parked in the same place. Yu An spotted it as soon as he left the school gates.

As Yu An got into the car, he casually asked, "Did He Li'an go back first?"

The driver opened the door for him and gave a slight nod as he replied, "Young Master had matters to attend to."

"Oh." So it wasn't because He Li'an disliked him and deliberately didn't want to go home with him.

When they arrived at the He family residence, Zhu Wen saw him enter alone yet showed no surprise. "Young Master Yu An."

He must have known that He Li'an had gone off to handle something else.

Yu An sat in the wheelchair Zhu Wen pushed over as usual. "Did you buy the things for me?"

Based on what Song Yuechi had told him, He Li'an was an extremely powerful and influential man. His reputation would not be easily ruined, so there was plenty of potential in the phone case business.

As Zhu Wen pushed Yu An's wheelchair, he calmly made up an excuse. "My apologies, Young Master Yu An. I couldn't spare the time to go out today, so I entrusted the task you gave me to Young Master."

Yu An turned to look at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Of course, it was because Young Master had rushed to take the job, and he couldn't exactly say that outright.

"If Young Master is willing to help, won't that give the two of you more opportunities to interact? It's good for building your relationship." Zhu Wen lowered his eyes guiltily.

After serving as the young master's butler for over a decade, this was the first time he had ever felt like he was walking on thin ice.

"Oh." Yu An thought that made sense.

But he quickly felt that the explanation sounded rather forced.

After all, he and He Li'an interacted quite often already.

He Li'an hurried back before dinner.

Yu An was in his room practicing how to draw muscular hunks—the same muscular hunk on the phone case, whose body looked exactly like He Li'an's.

He had an excellent ability to focus and was somewhat of a perfectionist. After drawing quite a few discarded drafts, he became completely absorbed once he got into the groove. He didn't hear the knocking, nor did he realize someone had pushed open the door and entered.

At last, he finished the one he was most satisfied with. He enlarged that widely circulated half-body pool photo of He Li'an and compared them inch by inch.

He had only checked a few details and confirmed they were identical when, just as he was feeling pleased with himself, he suddenly heard faint breathing behind him.

Yu An turned around instinctively and only then saw someone standing behind him.

His gaze traveled upward until it met the expressionless face of the man in the photo.

He Li'an was not wearing his school uniform, but a crisp business suit. His hair had been simply styled, exposing his smooth forehead, and he looked more mature and noble than usual.

With his arms folded, he stared heavily at Yu An with dark eyes, his emotions impossible to read.

"Why didn't you knock?" Yu An thought that was rude, but He Li'an's expression had intimidated him somewhat, leaving his accusation without much force.

His voice was naturally a little clear and crisp, carrying the clean youthfulness of a teenager. With his confidence lacking, it sounded somewhat soft.

He Li'an lowered his folded arms, his gaze sweeping over the enlarged photo on Yu An's phone. "I did. You didn't hear me."

Zhu Wen had said with certainty that Yu An was in his room. He had knocked for quite a while without getting an answer. Thinking of Yu An's frail-looking body, he had worried something might have happened to him in the room, which was why he had pushed the door open.

Who would have thought that this kid was once again... looking at that kind of photo of him!

Yu An noticed his gaze too, and belatedly felt a trace of embarrassment. He quietly pressed his phone's lock button, his voice dropping. "Why didn't you knock a few more times...?"

"You're blaming me?" He Li'an looked down at Yu An.

That faintly smiling gaze made Yu An's heart suddenly skip into a rapid beat.

He shook his head very lightly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the discarded drafts scattered across the desk. Without daring to look at He Li'an's expression, he hurriedly gathered them all in front of himself and covered them up in a futile attempt to hide them, only then daring to look at He Li'an's face with a sliver of hope.

He Li'an gave a cold laugh. "You think I can pretend I didn't see them just because you did that?"

Yu An shook his head.

He Li'an held out his hand. "Hand them over."

Yu An did not move.

He Li'an was very patient. "The things you want are still with me."

Right. He Li'an had bought the materials he needed to make phone cases.

Yu An obediently handed over those discarded drafts.

He Li'an took them and examined them carefully one by one. The room was so quiet a pin could have been heard dropping, and Yu An could even hear He Li'an's breathing occasionally grow heavier.

After a while, He Li'an spoke. "These are all unwanted?"

"Mm." Yu An explained, "They're all going to be thrown away."

He Li'an's voice suddenly rose. "Thrown away?"

Yu An guessed He Li'an might be unhappy because the drawings depicted himself, so he stood and pointed at the pictures as he explained, "The depth of this muscle doesn't match the photo. The waistline on this one is a little too wide, and this one..."

He Li'an had taken some art-related hobby classes when he was young, but he had never learned drawing. He could not see any difference at all in the places Yu An pointed out.

Yu An spoke with a calmness beyond his years, his crisp voice pleasant to hear. As He Li'an listened, his attention gradually drifted away from the drawings.

When Yu An finished speaking and looked up, he realized He Li'an was watching him.

He paused, then asked, "Were you listening to me?"

"Mm." A flicker of awkwardness flashed through He Li'an's eyes. He raised the stack of drawings in his hand. "Are you planning to keep using my photos to make phone cases?"

Yu An nodded honestly. "Mm."

He Li'an gave a derisive laugh and lowered his head close to Yu An's face. "Did you get my permission?"

Yu An could feel the warmth of his breath as he spoke.

They were too close, beyond a safe social distance. Yu An quietly leaned back, wanting to get farther away from him, but He Li'an grabbed his shoulder. "You're infringing on my portrait rights."

He was strong. Yu An only tried struggling once before wisely giving up resistance. "I didn't draw your face."

His eyes were too clear and innocent. Whenever he lifted his gaze to look at someone, he naturally seemed blameless.

The hand on Yu An's shoulder loosened slightly. "Even without the face, it's still me, right?"

That leading question sounded like a trap.

But driven by an instinctive trust in He Li'an, Yu An still answered, "Right."

"Then without my authorization, can you still make phone cases?"

"No."

When Yu An saw He Li'an's lips curl into a smile, he realized what had happened and shoved him away in annoyance.

He really had been setting a trap for him!

Yu An pressed his lips together and glared at He Li'an.

He Li'an was tall and solidly built. He quickly steadied himself after that shove, then lifted his eyes to glance at Yu An. He pressed his lips together slightly before saying, "Being cute won't solve the problem."

Yu An:?

"I'm glaring at you!"

He Li'an turned a blind eye to his anger.

Yu An was so angry. He had never been this angry before.

As though he had heard nothing, He Li'an magnanimously said, "Let's sign an authorization profit-sharing contract. Then you can keep making your phone cases."

Yu An could no longer spare any attention for being angry. "What kind of profit-sharing?"