It Was Part of the Plan

Early the next morning, Yu An dragged his suitcase out of his room and saw He Li'an.

He walked over and asked, "Leaving now?"

His tone was so cold.

Yu An tested the waters. "I want to have breakfast before I go."

If he moved over first and ate afterward, he would miss the best time for breakfast.

He Li'an seemed to choke on his words. Silently taking his suitcase, he headed for the elevator.

He walked so fast that Yu An had to jog a couple of steps to keep up.

Even in the elevator, He Li'an gave Yu An no expression and did not say a word.

Yu An secretly glanced at him.

Why was this guy angry so early in the morning?

Yu An did not see Zhu Wen while eating breakfast. Only when he went out afterward did he find Zhu Wen directing the servants as they stuffed things into the trunk—mostly food, along with the persimmons that had been dried a few days ago.

When Zhu Wen saw him approach, he smiled and said, "Young Master Yu An, I packed some food for you."

Yu An looked at the already stuffed trunk. "Some?"

Zhu Wen said, "Yes."

Yu An said, "..."

He turned to He Li'an with a pleading look, but He Li'an pretended not to see it and turned to look at the sky.

Yu An had no choice but to look away and say to Zhu Wen, "I can't finish all this."

"Take your time eating it." Zhu Wen glanced toward He Li'an as well, then asked quietly, "Young Master Yu An, if you move out, what will happen to our young master?"

Yu An did not quite understand. "Hm?"

Zhu Wen asked, "You're not pursuing him anymore?"

"I am." Yu An explained to Zhu Wen, "Moving is part of the plan too."

Zhu Wen did not quite understand either, but seeing how confident Yu An looked, he could only pretend that he did. "That's good, then."

Yu An's new home and the He family residence were at opposite ends of the city, making for a rather long drive. This time, Zhu Wen did not come along. Yu An rode alone with He Li'an in one car, while the luggage and miscellaneous food were in another.

Yu An memorized vocabulary words the entire way.

Only when they were almost downstairs from his new home did he finally take a break.

He Li'an asked about his final exams. "How is your preparation going?"

Yu An answered confidently, "Very well."

He Li'an chuckled. "Then let me congratulate you in advance."

Yu An looked at him in confusion, and He Li'an explained, "There are many scholarships for first place."

Yu An's eyes lit up. "How much is many?"

Instead of answering, He Li'an asked, "How much do you think counts as a lot?"

The essence of this world was extravagance, so Yu An made a bold guess. "More than five hundred thousand?"

He Li'an hummed. "Yes."

"There really is that much?" Yu An's eyes practically shone.

First place!

He had to get first place!

Yu An did not have much luggage, and with the driver's help, it was all brought up in one trip.

After carrying the luggage upstairs, the driver went back down to wait, leaving only Yu An and He Li'an in the apartment.

He Li'an wanted to help Yu An unpack, but Yu An had his own ideas when it came to arranging a room. Everything had to go exactly where he designated, and he would not let He Li'an touch this or that.

He Li'an could only stand to one side and watch Yu An bustle back and forth like a diligent little bee.

When Yu An passed in front of him for the third time, he stopped. "He Li'an."

"Mm." Thinking Yu An was finally about to ask for help, He Li'an unconsciously straightened up.

Instead, Yu An merely pointed at the sofa. "Could you sit over there? You're kind of in the way standing here."

"...I can."

There was a hint of gritted teeth in his voice.

Yu An heard it, but for the moment, he had no time to deal with him.

The sofa was a two-seater, spacious enough for one person, but He Li'an was not used to sitting on it. It always felt cramped, and he kept shifting positions. Only by focusing his gaze on Yu An did he barely manage to distract himself.

Yu An did everything slowly and carefully. It might have had something to do with his obsessive-compulsive tendencies. It was not severe, but anything he handled had to be arranged perfectly.

Yu An could easily become absorbed in what he was doing, and before he knew it, he had forgotten all about He Li'an.

It was only when he felt hungry that he realized He Li'an had gone into the kitchen.

The kitchen was open-plan and a little small. He Li'an stood there chopping vegetables, his tall frame boxed in behind the L-shaped counter, looking completely out of place.

Yu An liked small homes. Living alone in one made him feel safe.

But he thought He Li'an was better suited to a large house.

If He Li'an had to live in a house this small, Yu An would feel as though he were being wronged.

The feeling was strange, but that was simply what Yu An thought.

Yu An asked, "Are you cooking?"

"Mm." He Li'an glanced over. "Zhu Wen brought a lot of ingredients—vegetables and meat. I can make something simple."

Yu An walked over curiously. "Why can you cook?"

"Why couldn't I?" He Li'an asked in return.

Yu An said, "You're the eldest young master."

He just did not interact with people often. It was not as though he lacked common sense.

He Li'an's home had many servants, as well as such a considerate butler as Zhu Wen. There was no need for him to cook for himself at all.

He Li'an gave a half-smile. "Cooking is a survival skill. Even junior students can do it, so naturally the eldest young master can learn too."

He called him junior again!

Yu An's face immediately fell. "Don't call me junior."

"Why can't I call you junior?"

"I don't like it."

"Sorry, junior."

"..."

He did it on purpose!

Yu An glared at him, his eyes round and his cheeks puffed up with anger, as though he wanted to pounce on him and bite him.

But he quickly twisted away and stomped angrily into the bathroom.

He Li'an looked at the bathroom door that had been slammed shut and withdrew his gaze in disappointment.

The kid still lacked a little initiative.

He Li'an made a simple, quick, healthy meal—the kind Yu An usually loved most.

The furniture in the small apartment was all scaled down as well. Sitting at the dining table, the two of them could touch each other just by stretching out their arms.

Yu An was fine. He was slimmer, so he did not feel cramped sitting at the table. He Li'an, seated across from him with his limbs drawn in, looked terribly constrained.

Yet He Li'an did not seem uncomfortable at all. Yu An observed him for quite a while and found that he had not even furrowed his brow once.

"Does it not suit your taste?" He Li'an noticed that Yu An was eating somewhat unwillingly.

Yu An gave a confused "Huh?" before shaking his head. "No, it's better than what I make."

He Li'an was better at using seasonings than he was, and it tasted quite good.

It was just that after eating meals from other restaurants with Song Yuechi recently, he felt that this food was lacking something by comparison.

He Li'an raised an eyebrow slightly. "Your expression doesn't look like that's what you mean."

"No..." Yu An lowered his head somewhat guiltily.

After all, He Li'an had made this meal himself. If he honestly said it was not as tasty as food from restaurants, that would be far too impolite.

But he was making it so obvious that it was no different from telling the truth.

He Li'an immediately thought of the reason. "Have you been eating with that Huang... your good friend lately?"