After spending so much time together, she could also keenly sense the insecurity and timidity hidden in his heart.
As the daughter of the Yun family, she had known from childhood that some people around her wanted to curry favor with her, while others genuinely liked her.
She could tell the difference clearly. Since Gu Nian'an genuinely treated her well and truly considered her a good friend,
then she, Yun Bingxia, would openly share her feelings with him.
"So, Gu Gu, in my eyes-or in lots of people's eyes, really-you've always shone brightly. Don't feel inferior, okay? You're my good friend, after all. You have to be like me, Yun Bingxia, and have the courage to face all your feelings."
Gu Nian'an looked at the feelings in the girl's eyes and the concern in everyone else's. He felt as though his heart had suddenly been dug out of a dark corner and placed beneath the blazing sun.
The boy's eyelashes trembled slightly as he said softly, "Thank you. You're all very, very good friends of mine, too."
Maybe transmigrating into a novel wasn't such a bad thing... he thought.
Coming back to her senses and realizing what she had done, Yun Bingxia hurriedly let go and frantically covered her face, apologizing, "Ah, sorry, Gu Gu! I got carried away and started grabbing you."
"It's okay." A trace of amusement flashed in Gu Nian'an's eyes, and he couldn't help reflecting that this was the wealthy heiress who had received only a passing mention in the book. In the original novel, she had merely been a background character.
But here, she was Yun Bingxia, who loved and hated openly and could bravely express herself.
[Waaaaah, this mama fan of baby An is actually crying. I can't praise their friendship enough!]
[I've been a fan of Gu Nian'an since the talent show, all the way until now. I'm genuinely so touched that someone understands him and sees everything he's put in.]
[Best Actor Mu went through the same emotional journey I did.]
[Baby An's mama fan passing through. Yun Bingxia, right? I'm a fan now.]
[I always thought Yun Bingxia was too loud and carefree to really appeal to me, but this time I suddenly realized that's actually what makes her shine. She loves and hates openly, and if she likes someone, she's brave enough to express it.]
[I used to think Yun Bingxia seemed a little dramatic, but now I suddenly get her. Isn't this how a wealthy heiress should be? If she likes someone, she goes straight for it.]
[I have to say, Yun Bingxia's approach really works on someone with Gu Nian'an's personality.]
[Gu Nian'an's expression makes me want to cry a little. He looks like he's been dazzled by the light, like it's the first time someone has valued him, seriously told him how important he is, and affirmed him.]
Everyone couldn't help smiling along. After taking a moment, they began passing the "flower" again.
This time, Lin Xianyu caught the little ball. He opened the slip of paper, which read, "If you could bring one person back to life, who would you choose?"
Glancing at the words on the slip, he answered casually, "Grandma." His expression unchanged, he tossed the paper back.
Since this concerned a deceased member of his family, no one knew what to say.
Leaning back in his lounge chair, Lin Xianyu didn't want to say anything either. He briefly closed his eyes, then looked at the starry night sky, feeling as though he had returned to his childhood, when his grandmother was still beside him.
After his parents divorced, both started new families and had children, while he was left in his grandmother's care. The old woman had supported him on her pension all the way through high school.
Later, while taking an exam at school, he received news that his grandmother had been hospitalized. By the time he rushed to the hospital, she had already passed away. The last thing she had murmured before dying was still his name.
He took several deep breaths, pain welling in his eyes. If he had been home back then, or had reached the hospital in time, would his grandmother not have...
[I'm not a fan, but my heart aches a little for Lin Xianyu.]
[Xianyu was raised single-handedly by his grandmother. Why did the production team put a question like that in there?]
[As someone who was also raised by my grandmother, I feel this.]
After a stretch of silence, seeing that no one was speaking, Lin Xianyu sat up and waved at them. "Why aren't we continuing? I'm not that fragile."
Only then did everyone resume passing the ball. To the beat of the drum, it landed in Gu Nian'an's hands this time.
"What happy things do you think have happened in your family?" Gu Nian'an opened the slip and slowly read its contents aloud.
Ji Yaozhi and Ji Baiwei exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with helplessness. What was the production team doing?
[Wdf? Asking an orphan about family?]
[What is the production team doing?]
[This is honestly pretty outrageous.]
[This is bordering on dark humor.]
[Production team? Are you okay????]
Gu Nian'an blinked and thought for a moment before speaking anyway. "The director of the orphanage where I grew up, whom we called Mom, was very good to us. Every evening, she'd gather us together and tell us stories. During the holidays, lots of kind people would also come to the orphanage to bring us food and clothes.
"Mom also really liked drawing pictures of us and taking photos. Whenever one of the children had a birthday, she'd take a picture of them to record the children growing up at the orphanage.
"Sometimes Mom would also take us to the amusement park in turns. All the children at the orphanage really liked her, too."
The boy described everything at the orphanage with smiling eyes. Things that couldn't have been more ordinary to most people seemed like tremendous happiness to him.
He seemed not to think his past had been full of suffering, merely smiling as he told everyone about all the things he considered happy.
Ji Baiwei's eyes couldn't help growing damp. She thought that if her child had lived to grow up, they would be about Gu Nian'an's age. That child, who had taken after her in temperament from an early age, would probably have been just as strong.
Ji Yaozhi quietly watched the smile on Gu Nian'an's face, feeling unable to suppress the ache rising in his heart.
Mu Chen watched the boy silently. At the word "orphanage," a ripple stirred in his eyes. He lowered his gaze slightly, his thoughts unknown.
[I'm falling apart, everyone. Things I think are completely normal sound so happy when our boy describes them.]
[Same. I'm watching under the covers in the middle of the night, crying.]
[If he'd said it with a tearful face, I might not have felt much, but he just had to smile while saying it. Fuck, I really can't take it. I'd rather he cried.]
[Talking about his pain with a smile, as though he doesn't care anymore.]
[Who's breaking down in the middle of the night? Me.]
[I'm a person, not a chopping board.]
"Have some water." Mu Chen picked up the teacup beside him and handed it to Gu Nian'an.
Knowing that Mu Chen wanted to comfort him, Gu Nian'an couldn't help chuckling to show that he was fine.
He had inherited all the original owner's memories, including those of the orphanage, so he also knew those memories truly couldn't be called painful for the original owner.
Although the original owner, who had grown up in the orphanage, occasionally missed his parents, he considered everything about the orphanage happy. It was just that...
It was just that later, Mom had passed away, and the original owner had been made to leave the orphanage at eighteen. He had left his second home.
He took a small sip of the hot water in his cup. The rising steam concealed every emotion in the boy's eyes.
Before you continue