Admiring Strength, Do You Understand?

The topic had shifted a little too quickly. He Li'an took a moment to react before answering sluggishly, "Mm."

Yu An asked, "They all have ulterior motives toward you?"

He Li'an considered his wording. "Most of them."

Yu An sighed when he heard that. "Looks like there are still more bad people in this world."

He Li'an laughed at his earnest expression.

Focused on chatting with him, Yu An got a little distracted. He stepped down too hard and pulled at his injury. His leg went weak from the pain, and he pitched forward.

He Li'an reacted quickly and reached out to support him.

"Careful!"

He Li'an's hands held Yu An at either side of the waist. They were warm and strong, holding him steady.

Yu An tossed away his crutch with a clatter and lifted his face from in front of He Li'an's chest. "Help me walk. You're more reliable than a crutch."

For some reason, He Li'an's gaze flickered away, though his voice remained calm and composed. "Mm."

After walking for a while, Yu An began to feel lazy and leaned most of his weight against He Li'an.

But He Li'an thought he was tired and continued to support him steadily. "We'll go inside after one more lap."

"Mm."

Yu An turned to look at He Li'an.

There was no sign of strain on his face.

His stamina was really good.

Yu An was a little envious, but also puzzled. Had He Li'an really not noticed that he was pretending to be tired?

He leaned against He Li'an even more shamelessly. "Senior, don't you suspect that I'm deliberately getting close to you?"

Almost without thinking, He Li'an replied, "You're not that kind of person."

Yu An pressed his lips together and answered honestly, "I am."

He Li'an stopped walking and slowly looked at Yu An.

Yu An neither dodged nor avoided his gaze, letting him examine him. Under the lights, his round, bright eyes looked even more innocent and guileless.

After they looked at each other for a long while, He Li'an suddenly made a very strange request. "Can I touch your head?"

Yu An did not understand what patting his head had to do with the topic they had been discussing.

But He Li'an's eyes seemed full of longing.

Yu An reluctantly decided to indulge him. He nodded lightly, then lowered his head.

He Li'an carefully touched his head, not even mussing up his hair.

"Done."

His tone sounded deeply satisfied.

Yu An lifted his head and saw the smile at the corner of He Li'an's lips. He suddenly understood. "You don't believe what I said."

"It's not that I don't believe you." The smile by He Li'an's lips deepened as he looked at him.

"..."

That expression of humoring a child clearly meant he did not believe him.

That night, Yu An had a little trouble sleeping in an unfamiliar bed.

A change in environment naturally made people feel anxious and unsettled. It was an instinctive reaction no one could resist.

Unable to sleep, Yu An left the bedside lamp on and stared at the ceiling with his eyes open, reviewing everything that had happened that day.

He had no family or friends. It made no difference where he lived.

What mattered were his living conditions.

He needed a home of his own, and enough money to last him a lifetime.

His name and personal information had been verified through He Li'an, which meant his guess had been accurate. He should be able to obtain a house and money through the same method.

And He Li'an was a very kind person, one who trusted others easily.

As long as he stayed by He Li'an's side and gradually made He Li'an believe that he had money and a house, everything he wanted could come true.

What was so difficult about life?

It was pretty simple, wasn't it?

Yu An had always kept healthy hours. Even though he had suffered from insomnia during the first half of the night, he still woke up on time at dawn.

His skin was fair, so whenever he did not sleep well, the dark circles beneath his eyes were especially obvious.

When he came downstairs, even Zhu Wen, who was quite hostile toward him, could not help asking, "Young Master Yu An, did you not sleep well last night?"

"Mm." Yu An looked at Zhu Wen expressionlessly. "Are you thrilled to death?"

It took Zhu Wen a moment to understand what Yu An meant. He gave a proper smile. "I am a professional butler. I do not bring my personal emotions into my work."

Yu An said, "Meaning that even if you're thrilled to death inside, you won't show it on your face."

Zhu Wen kept smiling.

Yu An said, "You're so pretentious."

Zhu Wen's smile completely collapsed.

Yu An was pleased.

He Li'an happened to be coming down from behind them. Yu An turned and flashed him a brilliant smile. "Morning, Senior."

"Morning." He Li'an's smile paused when he saw the dark circles under Yu An's eyes. "Not used to the bed?"

Yu An nodded and explained seriously, "People naturally feel uneasy in unfamiliar environments."

He Li'an curled his lips. "So that's how it is, little panda."

His usual tone was already gentle. Now, with that teasing lilt and obvious amusement in his voice, it was even more vivid and charming.

Yu An muttered, "They're not that dark..."

He had seen photos of pandas. The areas around their eyes were pitch-black.

"Mm." Thinking that Yu An cared about it, He Li'an comforted him in all seriousness, "A warm compress will make them better later."

"Fine."

During breakfast, Zhu Wen came in from outside carrying a phone and respectfully handed it to He Li'an.

"Young Master, someone from the school brought over the phone you were looking for."

Yu An only glanced up once before freezing in shock.

That phone case with the hand-drawn faceless muscular man!

It was exactly the same as the phone he had used before!

He Li'an looked over with a complicated expression. The shock in his eyes was no less than Yu An's.

"Is this your phone?" he asked Yu An.

Yu An nodded blankly.

That small gesture made the atmosphere in the dining room turn subtle.

Zhu Wen's gaze toward him changed in an instant as well.

Yu An instinctively felt that they might have misunderstood something.

He tried to explain. "I admire strength. Do you understand?"

When he was little, his plan had been to grow into a strong adult.

But his plans had not kept up with the changes.

The air fell silent for three seconds.

He Li'an nodded solemnly. "I understand."

Zhu Wen looked at He Li'an in shock. He could not believe that his young master was capable of lying through his teeth.

As a professional butler, he absolutely could not hold his young master back.

Imitating He Li'an's expression, he said against his conscience, "I understand."

Yu An felt that something was off.

But what exactly was it?

After breakfast, He Li'an went to school.

Once Yu An got the phone, he inspected it inside and out.

The phone case was right.

The apps on the phone were right too.

This was the phone he had used before being transported into the novel!

Had the phone crossed over with him? Or could things that already existed not be made up at will?

"Young Master Yu An."

Zhu Wen's voice suddenly rang out. Yu An flinched, nearly dropping his phone.

He frowned and looked over. Zhu Wen walked toward him carrying a tablet and a stack of materials.

"These are the course materials and videos that Young Master had someone retrieve from the school."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you need to study properly at home too."

Zhu Wen spread out the materials for him and opened the videos. He said earnestly, "Young Master Yu An, a partner worthy of our young master must be an outstanding student with excellent character and grades."

Yu An: "?"