You Can Call Me Baby Too

He Li'an lifted his eyes and fixed his gaze on Yu An.

Yu An was three years younger than him. He did things slowly, and when he looked at people, his eyes were clear and bright—entirely the gaze of a child. Simple, yet impossible to fully see through.

He Li'an straightened Yu An's head, his tone returning to its usual gentleness. "Did you stop me just now because you hadn't finished speaking?"

"You didn't look very well." Yu An didn't understand what had happened to He Li'an just now, but his instincts told him he couldn't let He Li'an leave like that.

He Li'an's gaze softened. "You're not afraid of me?"

"A little." Yu An sensed the concern in his voice and added, "But not as afraid as you think."

People's fear came from the unknown.

He had been a little afraid of He Li'an just now because he didn't understand why He Li'an had suddenly become so fierce.

So he had kept He Li'an there because he wanted to understand why.

After thinking back, Yu An asked, "Was it because of Song Yuechi?"

Downstairs, He Li'an had already been openly hostile toward Song Yuechi.

But those two normally disliked each other anyway, so Yu An hadn't paid much attention to it. It wasn't until they entered the room and things grew more serious that he had Song Yuechi leave first, while He Li'an suddenly became very fierce.

He Li'an was silent for a moment. "You two... what do you usually do at school besides eat and study?"

Though he hadn't answered Yu An's question directly, his words confirmed Yu An's guess.

Without thinking, Yu An answered, "Chat, play."

He Li'an cleared his throat. "Oh. Play what?"

"Drink beverages, watch ball games, and..."

"You drink beverages together too?"

He Li'an couldn't help interrupting him.

Yu An hadn't used to drink beverages.

"Mm." Yu An shared his recent insights about diet with him. "I've read studies saying that drinking small amounts of beverages is fine. Besides, being alive itself involves wear and tear. After bodily functions briefly reach their peak, they continue to decline year by year. Compared with a strict diet, mental and psychological pleasure is actually more beneficial to human health..."

He Li'an didn't interrupt him, but Yu An stopped on his own.

Because he realized he had drifted off topic without noticing.

After spending so much time with Song Yuechi, he had picked up that habit too.

Seeing him stop in surprise, He Li'an couldn't help laughing. "It's good that you can think that way."

Although he felt a little disappointed that he hadn't been the one to bring about this change in Yu An, he was still happy for him.

"Mm." Yu An stared at him and didn't continue speaking.

But He Li'an immediately understood what Yu An meant: he wanted an answer to his first question—was it because of Song Yuechi?

Perhaps Yu An looked too candid, or perhaps his earlier loss of control had made him feel embarrassed. He Li'an turned his eyes away slightly, avoiding Yu An's gaze before slowly speaking.

"Why did you let him call you..."

He Li'an's voice was low, and the last two words were so soft they were nearly inaudible. Yu An had to confirm, "Baby?"

"Mm." Though he knew it wasn't directed at him, He Li'an's heart still tightened.

Yu An said, "Because he's my best friend."

That form of address was very popular online.

Especially among girls—they called their closest friends besties.

There didn't seem to be an equivalent term between boys.

Yu An's natural, straightforward attitude made He Li'an feel that his earlier thoughts had been dirty. He stayed silent, not daring to tell Yu An about those sordid thoughts.

But he had forgotten that Yu An was very perceptive.

At this point in the conversation, even without an explanation, Yu An could roughly guess what was going on.

Though he didn't understand why He Li'an was so angry over Song Yuechi calling him baby, he still comforted He Li'an thoughtfully. "You can call me baby too."

After all, He Li'an was the person he wanted to marry.

To him, He Li'an was also someone very important.

He Li'an raised his eyes slightly and stared at him for a moment. The corners of his lips flattened, then lifted faintly, as if suppressing a smile. "Am I your best friend too?"

From Yu An's attitude, he really did only see Song Yuechi as a friend. They wouldn't have any further kind of relationship, which also meant Yu An had no intention of falling for someone else.

In other words, Yu An still... liked him.

Yu An blinked innocently, his clear, clean voice slow as he said, "It's not like only best friends can call me that."

Boyfriends could too.

If He Li'an could agree to marriage outright, then legal partners could too.

He Li'an had originally been teasing him on purpose, but he hadn't expected this kid to be as uninhibited as ever.

Instead, it left him at a loss for how to respond.

After they looked at each other for a while, He Li'an stiffly changed the subject. "Give me your phone."

"Oh." Yu An handed over his phone in disappointment.

He Li'an still wasn't taking the bait.

He was really hard to reel in.

He Li'an took the phone. "You're just giving it to me like that?"

"Mm." Yu An tilted his head in confusion.

He Li'an was somewhat helpless. "Your phone is something so private, yet you won't even ask what I'm going to do?"

Yu An cooperatively asked, "What are you going to do?"

He Li'an laughed. He lowered his head and fiddled with the phone for a while before quickly returning it to Yu An.

"I set up an emergency contact for you. It's my number. If something urgent happens, you can contact me quickly anytime."

Yu An looked at it and nodded at him. "Okay."

"I'll head back now." As He Li'an got up to leave, he reminded Yu An once more to lock the doors and windows.

Yu An thought He Li'an was being a little naggy today.

But he knew He Li'an was worried about him, so he didn't say it to his face.

After seeing He Li'an off, he received a message from Song Yuechi.

[Song Yuechi]: I'm home.

[Yu An]: Mm.

[Song Yuechi]: Replying so fast? Did that guy leave?

He was so scared he didn't even dare mention his name.

[Yu An]: Mm.

The next second, Song Yuechi called him on video.

From the other end of the phone, he carefully looked Yu An over from top to bottom. "He Li'an didn't bully you, did he?"

"No." Yu An decided to explain. "He Li'an wouldn't bully anyone. He just misunderstood our relationship."

"What misunderstanding?"

Yu An was stumped. He understood that He Li'an had been angry because Song Yuechi called him baby, but he wasn't sure what exactly the misunderstanding was.

So, he briefly recounted his earlier conversation with He Li'an to Song Yuechi.

After listening, Song Yuechi got so excited that his eyes went wide as saucers. "He's jealous! He's jealous!"

Yu An didn't understand. "What is there to be jealous of?"

Song Yuechi said with absolute certainty, "He definitely likes you! When you like someone, you get possessive. He thinks we're too close, and he's worried I matter more to you than he does, so he's jealous! His mind is twisted! He wants to kill me!"