There Was No One Named Yu An

Yu An shook his head.

Saying it didn't suit his taste wasn't quite right.

He had learned to cook for himself long ago.

He followed officially published dietary guidelines, precisely measured ingredients, balanced their nutrition, and cooked accordingly.

He only added the simplest seasonings, oil and salt, and used the simplest cooking methods. Once the food was done, the ingredients still looked like themselves. That was the most nutritious and healthy way.

And the safest.

The dishes on the table before him looked rich and delicious.

They also appeared to retain the ingredients' original forms, but they carried the scent of spices Yu An was unfamiliar with.

He felt they were unsafe and couldn't bring himself to eat them.

Yu An had very round eyes, with slightly downturned outer corners and broad eyelid curves that added to his innocent appearance. When he looked at someone in silence, even without any emotional fluctuation, he seemed a little aggrieved.

He Li'an couldn't bear to press him further. "Would it be all right if I had the dishes remade?"

Yu An nodded.

Only then did He Li'an curl his lips slightly and instruct Zhu Wen to summon the chef and have the meal prepared again.

From an angle He Li'an couldn't see, Zhu Wen looked at Yu An with even greater displeasure.

While the chef remade the dishes, Yu An stayed nearby and directed every step. At last, they made food that felt familiar and reassuring to him.

His appetite wasn't large, and he ate only half as much as He Li'an. Once he was full, he put down his chopsticks.

He Li'an frowned at the sight, but didn't urge him to eat more. He merely told Zhu Wen to bring out fruit after the meal.

With the earlier cooking experience in mind, the fruit was freshly cut and had nothing added to it.

Seeing that Yu An no longer found fault with anything, He Li'an said, "The student union has something to deal with this afternoon, so I need to go to the university. If you need anything, you can ask Zhu Wen or call me."

Yu An directly ignored the part about asking Zhu Wen. "I don't have a phone."

Only after saying it did he remember that, given his supposed family background of "three chandeliers in the living room," not having a phone made little sense.

So he added, "Someone knocked it out of my hand at the school gate earlier."

A flash of guilt crossed He Li'an's eyes. "I'll go to the university and help you look for it. For now, use the landline at home."

There had to be a lot of important information on his phone. He had to help Yu An find it.

Yu An paused before replying, "All right."

He Li'an was really far too trusting.

No wonder the protagonist still couldn't forget He Li'an even years after graduation.

What a pity. Good people didn't live long.

Yu An had a habit of taking a walk after meals.

He Li'an had gone to the university, leaving Yu An and Zhu Wen staring at each other.

Zhu Wen wore a smile. "Young Master Yu An, I'll take you out for a walk."

Yu An saw the wariness and hostility beneath his smile. Expressionless, he asked, "Are you going to push me into the artificial lake behind the house and drown me?"

When He Li'an had shown him around earlier, he had seen the artificial lake behind the house.

Its water was a deep, emerald green.

If someone threw him in there, they definitely wouldn't be able to reach the bottom.

Most importantly, he couldn't swim, and Zhu Wen had a problem with him.

Zhu Wen's smile froze on his face. "W-what?"

Yu An said, "You really dislike me, don't you?"

Looking into his clear, certain eyes, Zhu Wen's expression turned slightly cold. "I do, but..."

Yu An didn't want to hear him defend himself. "I don't particularly want to die right now."

Zhu Wen said, "I..."

Yu An said, "So I won't give you that chance."

Zhu Wen said, "..."

After being interrupted twice in a row, Zhu Wen silently recited the butler's code of conduct to himself and maintained his smile.

"Young Master Yu An, I graduated from the world-renowned Royal Butler Academy. My professional ethics would never allow me to do anything that endangered your life. Please believe me."

"Don't ask. I don't."

"..."

The smile on Zhu Wen's face froze once again.

He confirmed that Yu An's way of thinking was completely different from anyone else he had encountered, so he gave up trying to communicate with him.

He stepped aside and made a welcoming gesture, indicating that Yu An could go out on his own.

Yu An guided his wheelchair past Zhu Wen, then stopped again and slowly turned back. "Will you sneak up on me?"

Zhu Wen dipped his head, his expression hidden from view. "I won't, Young Master Yu An. I have professional ethics."

Yu An tilted his head.

It was a habitual movement he made whenever he was thinking.

Unfortunately, from this angle, he couldn't see Zhu Wen's expression and couldn't tell whether he was telling the truth.

Yu An circled around the house a few times and somehow ended up by the artificial lake.

The scenery around the artificial lake was beautiful.

He looked around. Aside from several groups of security guards patrolling in the distance, Zhu Wen was nowhere to be seen.

So he went to the edge of the artificial lake without worry.

Ripples spread across the lake's surface, as though there were fish beneath it.

Yu An carefully parked his wheelchair at the edge of the shore and focused on the fish in the water.

Before long, schools of fish swam over.

At the same time, a reflection that didn't belong to him appeared on the lake's surface.

The smile tugging at his lips stiffened.

The next second, Zhu Wen's cold voice rang out.

"Young Master Yu An, be careful!"

Someone gave the wheelchair a hard shove. Just as half of it hung over empty space, someone yanked it back.

Yu An reacted swiftly, gripping the wheelchair's armrests tightly. When he turned around, he saw Zhu Wen's icy face.

"I checked the records for Saint Birien University. Among the young master's direct junior schoolmates from his first year, there isn't anyone named Yu An. Who exactly are you? What is your purpose in getting close to the young master?"

So he was a butler with brains and methods.

Yu An liked dealing with intelligent people.

Sitting in his precariously balanced wheelchair, not a trace of panic showed in his eyes. "Try checking again. Maybe you'll find me this time."

If his name could appear on the badge, then his guess couldn't possibly be wrong.

As for why Zhu Wen hadn't been able to find his records, perhaps it was because of some time discrepancy.

Maybe his identity needed further verification from He Li'an before it could be found.

Zhu Wen was startled by his calmness. "What do you mean?"

Yu An curved his lips and smiled at him. "There's no time to explain. You should first think about how you'll apologize to He Li'an when he returns."

As soon as he finished speaking, before Zhu Wen could react, Yu An let go. His whole body slid straight into the lake.

With a splash, Yu An's body sank out of sight.

Zhu Wen's expression changed drastically. "Young Master Yu An!"

Under the lake water, Yu An relaxed his body, held his breath, and felt the pressure of water closing in from every direction.

Only when he saw someone jump into the water did he begin to breathe.

Water rushed into his lungs. He couldn't catch his breath, and a powerful sense of suffocation overwhelmed him.

His head began to hurt, and his vision started to blur.

Before losing consciousness, Yu An was still thinking, Drowning feels exactly like the books said it would.

When Yu An woke again, he still found it somewhat difficult to breathe.

An argument came from beyond the half-closed door.

"Young Master, you truly can't keep trusting people so easily. Have you forgotten those people before, the ones who approached you for your wealth and tried to harm you?"

"Besides, Yu An really is very abnormal. I can't even communicate with him..."