Meeting friends

After leaving the airport, the two stood by the roadside and waited.

The biting wind made them shiver uncontrollably. Gu Nian'an kept fiddling with his sleeves, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

The book had never mentioned the male lead having any friends, so he knew nothing about Fu Xiuyuan's friends and could not help feeling a little anxious. Though the early winter night was cold, his palms still grew slightly sweaty.

As though he could tell what Gu Nian'an was thinking, the man beside him gently smoothed the creases in his clothes and reassured him, "Don't be scared. They're all good people, and they won't give you a hard time. Just do whatever makes you happy."

Gu Nian'an nodded slightly.

Soon, a luxury car drove up and stopped smoothly in front of them.

The window rolled down, revealing Li Jiyuan in the front passenger seat. He raised his eyebrows at them and teased, "Fu, hurry up and get in with your partner. Don't freeze out there."

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Li Jiyuan glanced back at the somewhat sleepy young man leaning against Fu Xiuyuan in the back.

He said casually, "Mo Chen and Wan will arrive tomorrow morning. Head to the hotel and rest tonight. I booked you a suite in advance. Get some good rest, and we'll all go out for a meal once everyone's here tomorrow."

Fu Xiuyuan glanced at Gu Nian'an, who was leaning against his shoulder, and nodded in agreement.

After arriving at the hotel and washing up, the two looked at the single quilt on the bed and fell silent.

After a long while, Fu Xiuyuan said in a low voice, "We're only staying for two days. Let's just make do."

Gu Nian'an rubbed his fingers together awkwardly. Although they had shared a bed before, suddenly being in this situation still felt a little embarrassing.

After washing up, the two lay down on the bed. Though the air conditioner was running, the room still felt a little chilly in the early winter weather.

Gu Nian'an unconsciously burrowed farther under the quilt. The thought of meeting the male lead's friends tomorrow suddenly left him unable to sleep.

Suddenly encountering something beyond what he knew inevitably made him a little nervous.

Ever since entering the book, almost everyone and everything he had encountered had fallen within the scope of his knowledge, but now he had suddenly encountered something outside it...

Fu Xiuyuan lowered his eyes slightly.

Noticing the young man's unnatural silence, he thought for a moment before slowly saying, "There'll be two other people tomorrow. They're my business partners. They helped me out before, and they're friends too."

Gu Nian'an looked up at his voice, and the man continued, "You've met Li Jiyuan. He likes to have his fun, but he knows where to draw the line, so you don't need to mind him too much.

"Then there's Wan Xufeng. We more or less grew up together. He's a distant relative on my mother's side. He's a good person, but he's quick to get familiar with people. He might be rather enthusiastic when you meet him tomorrow, so don't be scared.

"Li Mochen is one of our group's business partners. He doesn't talk much, but he has a good temperament.

"When we get there tomorrow, just answer their questions however you like. If you don't want to answer something, don't. I'll be with you. Just enjoy yourself."

Listening to the man explain everything to him, word by word, Gu Nian'an suddenly felt a trace of warmth well up in his heart.

He murmured softly, "Thank you."

Hearing the voice, so faint it almost seemed imagined, Fu Xiuyuan instinctively looked down. The young man had already closed his eyes, his breathing making him seem asleep.

A hint of tenderness flickered in his eyes. He gazed at him for a long time before slowly drifting off to sleep as well.

They enjoyed a night of pleasant dreams.

Early the next morning, the two arrived at Drunken River Moon, a renowned restaurant in Su Lan that was expensive and extremely difficult to book.

It catered exclusively to high society. Its patrons were either there to discuss business or wealthy people visiting for leisure.

A waiter led them to a private room on the second floor. The sound of flowing water from the rockery downstairs drifted up with leisurely zither music, while warm lighting bathed the room, giving it a particularly charming atmosphere.

Seeing them arrive, the three people inside turned their gazes toward them.

Li Jiyuan spoke first. "Oh, you're here. Sit down, sit down. Order now if there's anything else you want to eat."

Just as he was about to greet them, Wan Xufeng noticed the young man following Fu Xiuyuan inside. Fu Xiuyuan had actually brought someone? He could not help raising his eyebrows and asking teasingly, "And this is?"

Fu Xiuyuan looked up and swept a glance over his teasing gaze before saying evenly, "My partner, Gu Nian'an. We've already registered our marriage."

With that, he led the young man to a seat by the hand and slowly sat down.

Wan Xufeng abruptly choked on his water and stared straight at Li Jiyuan, his eyes full of questions.

Li Jiyuan merely shrugged and looked away, giving a mischievous chuckle to signal that it had nothing to do with him.

Li Mochen also looked up and glanced at Gu Nian'an. He opened his mouth, but, not knowing what to say, closed it again.

Wan Xufeng scratched his head and looked at the man with an expression of betrayal. "Heh. So you secretly got married behind everyone's backs?"

He glanced again at the slightly nervous young man sipping water from his cup and suddenly felt his teeth ache.

He grumbled inwardly that this unromantic fellow had actually managed to get married, and his partner looked so well-behaved, too. He had no idea how Fu Xiuyuan had tricked him into it.

Li Jiyuan stepped in to smooth things over, waving a hand at everyone. "Oh, let's order first. We can talk while we eat."

He then handed Gu Nian'an the menu.

"You're Nian'an, right, little brother? Come on, have a look and order whatever you want. Wan's treating today."

Gu Nian'an took the menu, glanced at it, then passed it to the man beside him. Shaking his head, he said softly, "You can choose, sir. Anything is fine with me."

Fu Xiuyuan instinctively took the menu and thought about the dishes the young man had often eaten over the past few days. After thinking for quite a while, he could not help feeling a little helpless. It seemed the young man had never shown any particular preference for a dish, so he simply chose two lightly seasoned dishes.

Soon, the waiter had served all the dishes.

Li Mochen suddenly asked, "How are things going with your main family?"

Everyone knew he meant the Fu Family, and they stopped what they were doing to look at Fu Xiuyuan.

After all, those people from the main family had put him through quite a lot over the past few years, and he had only recently taken control.

At the question, Fu Xiuyuan did not even lift his eyelids. "They can't stir up any more trouble."

He casually picked up a piece of stir-fried meat for the person beside him.

Gu Nian'an froze briefly, then lowered his head and continued eating as though nothing had happened.

Wan Xufeng asked again, "Come on, Fu, tell us. Where did you lure him from?"

He had thought Fu Xiuyuan would spend the rest of his life alone, yet he had ended up getting married before any of them.

Fu Xiuyuan set down his chopsticks, pulled out a tissue, and casually wiped his mouth before saying in a low voice, "Nian'an grew up with financial support from our group."

The three instantly looked at him with shock and uncertainty, as though he were a criminal. Had this guy raised his own partner????

Gu Nian'an choked on his water and hurried to explain on the man's behalf. "I grew up in an orphanage. The orphanage I lived in was funded by his group. I only met him later."

Everyone fell silent. Li Jiyuan was stunned too. He had assumed Fu Xiuyuan might have met him through the entertainment industry, never expecting this.

Li Mochen tightened his grip slightly on his chopsticks, a shadow flickering through his eyes. An orphan...