Do Your Friend's Last Name He?

Yu An quietly took half a step back, his expression unchanged. "Yeah. If I don't ask clearly, I'll misunderstand and think you came here specifically because you wanted to see me."

He Li'an was certain now. It hadn't been his imagination.

Yu An had indeed mocked him.

"You..." He Li'an started to speak, but stopped after a single syllable.

Because the kid who had mocked him had already turned and run off.

"Yu An? Yu An..."

Yu An didn't answer. He only looked back at him with a triumphant expression.

Fine.

He Li'an didn't chase after him. He merely quickened his pace.

After all, Yu An would be waiting for him in the car.

By the time he got there, Yu An had already recited several technical terms.

The driver stepped forward to open the door for He Li'an. Acting as though nothing had happened, Yu An quietly recited vocabulary while sneaking glances at He Li'an.

He wanted to see whether He Li'an was angry.

He Li'an was taking off his coat and didn't look at him. "Are there words written on my face?"

Yu An's eyes widened slightly before he turned his head away and denied it. "I wasn't looking at you."

He Li'an gave a soft snort. "Do you take me for that blond male classmate of yours?"

How could he still not remember Song Yuechi's name?

Yu An was already too lazy to correct him. "Don't interrupt me while I'm memorizing words."

He Li'an laughed. This kid was getting bolder and bolder—after mocking him, he even had the nerve to turn the tables on him.

He could tell Yu An wasn't seriously trying to memorize vocabulary either, so without a word, he handed him a tablet.

Yu An looked over, and only then did He Li'an say, "Pick one."

Pictures of houses filled the screen, with detailed descriptions underneath covering the location, transportation, neighborhood environment, and more.

Yu An swiped through the images. There were roughly ten or so properties.

Two of them suited him fairly well.

One was a large unit that looked far from cheap. The other was a small duplex apartment in a good location, with no flaws other than its size.

He Li'an asked, "Which one do you like?"

Yu An showed him the large house. "Do you think I can afford to live in a place like this right now?"

"Mm." He Li'an spoke blandly. "It belongs to a friend of mine. The price is negotiable."

Yu An looked at him quietly.

He Li'an was puzzled. "What?"

"Is your friend's last name He?"

"..."

He Li'an realized that Yu An seemed to enjoy exposing him.

He had many properties under his name. He had merely carefully selected one and slipped it in, yet Yu An had seen through it so easily.

He felt a little annoyed, but even more pleased by Yu An's vigilance. "No one lives there. It's empty anyway."

It was safe enough and comfortable enough.

He would worry less with Yu An living there.

Yu An lowered his eyes and swiped through the screen, speaking slowly. "Senior, there's no need for you to treat me this well."

At first glance, it sounded like a calm statement of fact, but he had called him "Senior" beforehand.

When they hadn't known each other that well, Yu An had called him "Senior" purely out of politeness, as though he wanted to maintain a good relationship.

The last time Yu An had called him Senior was a few days ago. At the time, Yu An had not been polite or obedient—he had been up to something.

They had actually discussed similar topics before. No matter how He Li'an answered, Yu An could always find a reason to refute him.

For a moment, He Li'an actually didn't know what to do with Yu An.

He remained silent for a long time, but Yu An didn't press him as he usually did. Instead, he pointed at the small apartment and said, "I want this one."

He Li'an let out an almost imperceptible sigh. "All right. I'll take you to see it tomorrow."

Yu An handed the tablet back to him. "Can we go see it tonight? I want to move in tomorrow."

"In such a hurry?"

"Mm."

The sooner he settled the moving arrangements, the sooner he could focus on preparing for his final exams.

In the end, He Li'an agreed to Yu An's request to view the apartment that night.

They went home for dinner first. When Zhu Wen heard they were going to view an apartment, he asked to come along as well. After dinner, the three of them set out together, with Zhu Wen driving and Yu An and He Li'an sitting in the back.

On the way, Song Yuechi messaged Yu An with a question.

Yu An explained it to him for quite a while, then casually opened his Moments and discovered that Song Yuechi had posted three updates that evening. He liked each of them in turn.

As he put away his phone, he sensed the person beside him looking at him. He turned his head and found He Li'an gazing out the window.

Maybe it had been his imagination.

The apartment was in a bustling area, not far from the school. The commute took no more than half an hour, and the room was clean and tidy. Yu An was very satisfied.

But the other two were clearly not.

He Li'an had been frowning from the moment he entered. Zhu Wen's pickiness was written all over his face. "It's too small. It's hard even to turn around."

This professional housekeeper rarely spoke so sharply.

Yu An remained unmoved. "I think it's great."

The apartment was on a high floor. He pushed open the window and looked at the dazzling night view outside, already beginning to imagine what life would be like after moving in.

Behind him, Zhu Wen frantically signaled to He Li'an with his eyes.

But He Li'an remained silent.

Zhu Wen lowered his voice. "Young master, say something."

After a moment, He Li'an finally spoke for the first time since entering. "As long as you're satisfied."

Zhu Wen: "..."

That was worse than saying nothing!

"I'll move in tomorrow." Yu An turned back to look at them, still smiling.

Zhu Wen reluctantly tugged at the corners of his mouth.

He Li'an was expressionless.

When they returned to the He family that night, Yu An began packing his things.

He had very little: a few everyday outfits, some unused phone-case materials, drawing paper he used regularly, and a few books. Together, they didn't take up much space, but they still needed to be packed up before moving to his new home.

But Yu An didn't have a suitcase.

He remembered the large basket Zhu Wen had had a servant use to pack persimmons a few days ago.

One basket would be enough to hold all these things. He dragged one out from the storage room, and when he returned to his room, he saw Zhu Wen and He Li'an standing at his door, both staring at him.

Zhu Wen asked, "Young Master Yu An, what are you doing?"

Yu An said, "Packing."

Without saying a word, He Li'an pushed out the suitcase behind him.

"You prepared one for me?" Yu An asked in surprise. "How much was it?"

He Li'an didn't look too pleased. "The money left over from buying your materials before."

Yu An touched the suitcase. "That's not..." enough.

As if he had guessed what Yu An was about to say, He Li'an immediately changed the subject. "Are you done packing?"

"Mm." Yu An pushed open the door and led them inside, showing them the luggage he had neatly folded and arranged.

Zhu Wen laughed. "I came prepared to help, but I didn't expect Young Master Yu An to have finished everything himself."

Yu An liked that kind of praise. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. "Mm."

He Li'an gave the luggage he had packed a bland glance. "Go to sleep early. I'm leaving first."

Yu An said, "Oh."

After they left, Yu An put his things into the suitcase.

In the end, the painting he had made a few days ago was still sitting on the desk.

He Li'an.

He would leave this for him as a gift.