Stay or Leave

He Li'an paused before withdrawing his empty hand.

"Then don't eat it."

"Mm."

Yu An was still hiding behind He Li'an, so he naturally could not see his expression. Zhu Wen, who had followed them over, was forced to lower his head by He Li'an's chilling gaze. "Young Master."

He Li'an's tone was flat. "He said he wasn't eating dried persimmons."

"Yes." After speaking, Zhu Wen raised his head and looked for Yu An, apologizing to him. "I'm sorry, Young Master Yu An."

Yu An was completely blocked by He Li'an's tall, solid frame. Zhu Wen first tilted his head slightly, but when he still could not see Yu An, he had no choice but to lean his upper body over before finally spotting him.

Yu An stuck out half his head, his clear, bright eyes fixed on Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen grew a little embarrassed. "I won't urge you to eat dried persimmons anymore."

Yu An generously stepped out. "Mm."

Zhu Wen shifted his target and looked at He Li'an. "Young Master, I'll prepare some dried persimmons for you to try."

The reason he had not asked was because He Li'an liked dried persimmons.

That was also why Zhu Wen had planted those persimmon trees back then.

He Li'an readily agreed. "All right."

Zhu Wen was delighted, and even his steps were light as he turned away.

He Li'an followed at an unhurried pace. Yu An walked beside him. "I've made a lot of phone cases recently."

There was no obvious emotion on his face, but He Li'an could still see his happiness. "Congratulations."

At that, Yu An's face immediately fell. "Congratulations to you too."

He Li'an slowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

"We signed a contract." Thinking about how He Li'an would take a share of his money made his chest feel stuffy.

He had started feeling that way when he calculated the accounts a few days ago.

Song Yuechi had said that was sadness.

He Li'an glanced at him without changing expression, a teasing note entering his voice. "That really is worth congratulating."

Yu An lowered his head and looked at the ground.

He was so sad.

He did not want to talk to He Li'an.

"Young Master, I've cut some for you." Zhu Wen brought over a plate of sliced dried persimmons as if presenting a treasure.

He Li'an caught sight of the small remaining portion of sliced dried persimmons on the table from the corner of his eye. "I'll eat these."

"Those are what Young Master Yu An left over." Zhu Wen moved to take them away as he spoke.

But He Li'an had already sat down. "It's fine."

Zhu Wen froze for a moment, then left with a complicated expression, carrying away the dried persimmons he had cut himself.

Yu An pulled up the account sheet he had made a few days earlier and pushed his phone in front of He Li'an. "See for yourself."

The spreadsheet was very clear, and the figures were easy to understand at a glance.

He Li'an asked, "You made this yourself?"

Yu An said, "Mm."

He Li'an praised him without restraint. "Not bad."

Yu An was a little happy. He stretched out his legs and swung them twice, then quickly pressed his lips together again. "How much money do I have to give you?"

He Li'an pushed the phone back toward Yu An. "Eighteen yuan."

"Eighteen yuan..." Yu An murmured, picking up his phone to transfer the money to He Li'an.

Then he suddenly reacted. He looked up at He Li'an in disbelief. "How much?"

He Li'an looked at him meaningfully. "Looks like you really didn't read that contract at all."

Yu An had photos of the contract on his phone. Without saying anything, he immediately pulled it up and began reading.

He Li'an did not rush him. He slowly ate the dried persimmons and patiently waited for him to finish reading the contract.

After quite a while, Yu An looked up. "For every phone case I sell, I give you one yuan?"

"Mm." He Li'an had just finished the dried persimmons. He set down his utensils and took the hot towel a servant handed him to wipe his hands.

Yu An did not understand. "Why?"

He had specifically signed such a contract, yet He Li'an only took one yuan. He did not understand.

He Li'an did not intend to explain too much. "Having a contract avoids a lot of trouble."

Students at Saint Belien Academy did not lack money. A hundred thousand yuan was no more than the price of a small toy to them. But Yu An came from an ordinary family. If someone deliberately wanted to make things difficult for him, this matter would become an opening.

With an authorization contract, that opening no longer existed.

Yu An gave a half-understanding "Oh," and his eyes brightened again. "He Li'an, you're really nice."

He felt that He Li'an was still the same He Li'an.

A kind, dependable good person.

"If you know I'm nice, hurry up and transfer the money." He Li'an tapped the tabletop, urging him with feigned impatience.

"Oh."

Yu An obediently lowered his head and transferred the money to him.

Taking advantage of his height, He Li'an curled his lips as he watched Yu An leisurely enter his payment password on the phone screen.

He had no guard up at all.

Was he not afraid someone would steal all his money?

Taking advantage of the weekend, He Li'an brought Yu An to the hospital for a checkup.

"If you don't feel any discomfort when running or jumping, then it's basically fully healed. Just be more careful in the future..." After looking over the scans, the doctor assessed Yu An's recovery.

Yu An explained, "I've been very careful."

The only reason he had been injured was because of He Li'an's crazy fan.

He Li'an thought of that as well and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Understood. Thank you, Doctor."

On the way back, they were both silent.

Yu An was thinking about a very serious question.

Now that he had a little money and his injury had healed, should he stop imposing on He Li'an's family?

When they arrived home, Zhu Wen came to greet them at the door as usual.

His gaze moved between their faces as he asked worriedly, "How is Young Master Yu An's foot recovering?"

Yu An was usually a child with very little expression, so there was not much information to read from his face. But Zhu Wen had been by He Li'an's side for many years, and one look at He Li'an's expression told him that something was on his mind.

Zhu Wen thought Yu An's examination results had not been good.

Yu An immediately replied, "It healed very well."

"Then..."

Zhu Wen wanted to ask more, but He Li'an interrupted him. "Let's go inside."

Yu An could not make up his mind about whether to continue staying at He Li'an's house, so as soon as he returned, he hid in his room and called Song Yuechi.

"Yu..." He Li'an had originally wanted to talk to him, but Yu An went into his room without looking back, so he could only swallow his words.

Zhu Wen saw through his thoughts, encouragement in his voice. "Young Master, aren't you going to knock on the door?"

He Li'an fell silent for a while, as though struggling with himself. "He has his own thoughts. I can't really treat him like a child. Besides, he has money now. Whether he stays or leaves should be his own decision."

Zhu Wen nodded slightly. "That's true. Young Master Yu An is someone with his own mind, but that doesn't stop you from telling him what you think."

"I..." As if suddenly coming to his senses, He Li'an cut himself off and said irritably, "Zhu Wen, what nonsense are you talking about? What could I possibly be thinking?"

Instead of apologizing as usual, Zhu Wen played dumb. "Of course I don't know what you're thinking. I just know I'd be a little reluctant to see Young Master Yu An leave."