Side Story 5: An Yan X Hu Bing
Three years ago, on a certain day, it was pouring rain.
Hu Bing stood at An Yan's door, her clothes still damp, and hesitantly rang the doorbell.
Footsteps slowly approached from inside, and Hu Bing nervously considered how to explain herself later.
But, since we're already here, we might as well be brave.
That's right, he had really put up with Hu Yi, this nagging king, for a long time. Today, he was so noisy that his ears were ringing, and he had no private space at all.
This suffocated him; he wasn't a child anymore.
So, taking advantage of this argument with his brother, he hopes to move out and find a place to stay first.
" Hu Xiaobing? Why is she still soaking wet?" The moment An Yan saw him like this, she pulled his icy arm in without thinking. "Judging by this state, did you run away from home?"
Hu Bing's tense heart immediately relaxed, her lips trembling from the cold, "Senior, I'm cold."
An Yan smiled and sighed, "Okay, I'll take you for a hot bath now."
"Wait, let me change my shoes."
"Okay, let's change it."
After Hu Bing changed her shoes, An Yan continued to lead her upstairs.
This is An Yan's home, a duplex, a super luxury mansion in Capital. The interior decoration is understated yet elegant, with a warm color scheme, just like An Yan's warm personality.
Upon arriving at his room, An Yan casually said, "The bathroom is up ahead. There's no time to fill the bathtub, so you go take a shower first, and I'll get you some clothes in a bit."
"Okay, thank you, senior." Hu Bing looked at An Yan and went inside without asking any questions.
An Yan went to the dressing room to find clothes for her little cutie and also dialed her assistant's number.
Assistant: "Young Master, please speak."
An Yan: "Could you ask around and find out what happened at the Hu Family tonight?"
A few minutes later
An Yan received a message: The two young masters of the Hu Family had a fight tonight because Hu Yi was taking up too much of the younger young master's time.
After reading it, he chuckled softly and then dialed Uncle Hu's number again.
" Uncle Hu, Xiao Bing is with me."
Uncle Hu: "Oh? You're there? I'll send someone to pick you up. I'm sorry to bother you, Xiao Yan."
An Yan's fingertips traced a row of shirts, pausing on a comfortable fabric as she answered the phone, "Uncle, no need. Xiao Bing is unhappy. Let him stay with me for a few more days. Don't put too much pressure on him."
Uncle Hu on the other end sighed as he listened to Young Master An's words. If the An Family tried to take her away, the Hu Family really couldn't compete. He hoped that Xiao Bing was only angry for a few days and would come back soon.
But his worried tone didn't lessen. " Xiao Bing has a good personality, so you don't need to spoil him too much at your home."
Oh, and also, Xiao Bing needs a glass of milk before bed and again when she wakes up in the morning. I'll have to trouble you with that, Xiao Yan."
An Yan had already taken off the clothes and found him some underwear. She continued, "Okay, Uncle, no trouble at all. Don't worry about anything else. But you should have someone send some of his clothes over tomorrow, along with his school supplies and ice skates."
"Huh?" Uncle Hu hadn't quite grasped the situation. This wasn't just a few days' stay; it sounded more like moving! However, An Family wasn't the type to readily offer help, and he couldn't understand An Yan's meaning. But what she said didn't seem wrong; they needed the supplies. "Okay, Uncle will have someone deliver it tomorrow. Send me the address on your phone."
An Yan: "Okay, Uncle, get some rest."
Uncle Hu: "Yes, you should all get some rest too."
After taking a hot shower, Hu Bing felt much better, though it seemed like she had been showering for a little too long.
"You can wear my clothes for now. The underwear is new, but it's a bit big, so be careful. It's on the rack. You can put it on yourself when you come out. I'll go downstairs and get you some ginger tea."
An Yan gave instructions in a natural and casual tone, covering every detail, and then left with her footsteps.
Hu Bing emerged from the mist, picked up a towel from the rack, wiped herself down, and then slowly put on oversized clothes, taking it easy... She really had to take it easy. Luckily, she had a pair of black athletic knee-length shorts with an elastic waistband, which, paired with a long shirt, looked loose yet perfectly natural...
Hu Bing secretly admired himself; as expected of him, he looked handsome in anything.
He wasn't very familiar with the layout of An Yan's house, but the hairdryer should be in one of those places, that's for sure.
After successfully finding the hairdryer, the hot air felt soothing on his head that he completely forgot about his anxious older brother at home.
On the other hand, An Yan wasn't really good at taking care of people either, but... if it was Hu Bing, he wouldn't mind taking care of him the way he took care of himself.
The little dumpling has grown up so much now; she's no longer the little adult who followed him around pretending to be mature. "Senior, I'm all better now," she said.
An Yan looked at Hu Bing wearing his clothes, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips. "Come on, have some soup, and then tell me tonight's story."
Hu Bing: "... In the end, there's no escaping it."
An Yan hummed in agreement, "Come here."
Hu Bing walked over in her slippers. It seemed the room had the air conditioning on; it was much warmer than when she first came in.
He picked up a cup of warm, brown ginger tea, and if nothing unexpected happened, "Senior, you even added brown sugar!"
An Yan touched his nose. "Hmm... I was afraid it would taste too bad, so I added it. I really didn't mean anything by it."
Looking at Hu Bing's lovely almond-shaped eyes, her firm and straight little nose, and her full lips pressed against the cup.
An Yan cursed herself inwardly for being so improper; she didn't even want to wash the cup anymore. Maybe she should just keep it as a keepsake...
Hu Bing thought about it and agreed. He shouldn't worry about such details; it was something to ward off the cold. He drank it slowly and finished it, and his stomach did indeed feel warm.
"Senior, now that you've finished drinking, if I'm not mistaken, you must have called my dad and you must know what happened..."
An Yan raised an eyebrow and asked him, amused, "So how long do you plan to stay at my place? Either one day, or a long time. You choose."
His gaze was fixed on the shirt he was Hu Bing, which was tucked into his pants. It made his waist look very slim; a figure skating prodigy like him must have excellent flexibility.
Hu Bing didn't expect An Yan to say that, "Wait, senior, don't you feel disturbed? For a long time? That means I'll be affecting you for a long time."
An Yan didn't find the decision strange at all. He also wanted a younger brother, and the idea of snatching a younger brother from Brother Hu Yi sounded like a great one.
Besides, the little dumpling is so cute, and he's an only child. Living together should be very interesting, right?
He has lived on his own since he was very young, and is very independent and capable of taking care of himself. Although he is only two or three years older than Hu Bing, his life skills are quite good.
Poor Hu Yi idea that her younger brother would be taken away today. If she had known, she would have hated herself for arguing with her brother today.
An Yan proactively mentioned, "I'm an only child, and I've been living alone for a long time. I'd like to find a roommate who can just talk to me occasionally."
Hu Bing was surprised by this answer. Then she thought of her brother, who annoyed her to the point of collapse every day. He was completely different from Hu Yi's well-behaved appearance. He was long-winded and would never change no matter what she said.
If he could live with his senior, his parents probably wouldn't stop him. The Hu Family and the An Family are old friends, and his parents trust Senior An Yan's character. They often praise An Yan at home.
Most importantly, being able to have peace and quiet for a long time is simply a huge temptation!
And he won't ignore his brother; he'll just visit him at the company whenever he has time. That's right, that's it.
"You're always the center of attention, how could you possibly lack people to chat with? Ah, that's true, you always live alone, it's inevitable that you'd be lonely! Okay, I agree!"
An Yan nodded in satisfaction, and the two of them very hastily reached an agreement to become roommates.
A month has passed, Hu Bing is not only busy with her studies, but also has to attend training sessions, leaving early and returning late.
An Yan never expected that she wouldn't even have the chance to take care of Hu Bing.
One day, Hu Bing twisted her ankle, finally allowing her to rest and skip school and training for a few days.
An Yan, the senior student, was even happier than Hu Bing, the person involved.
"Does it hurt?" When An Yan opened the door, he saw Hu Bing standing on one leg in the doorway, smiling brightly, her hand on the door frame, showing no sign of sadness.
"There haven't been any matches lately, have there?" An Yan asked.
Hu Bing nodded. "There's no competition. If there were, I'd probably be crying my eyes out right now, and you'd have to row back to school."
An Yan sighed softly, suppressing her inner excitement. "You rascal, come on, let me help you back. I should have ordered a wheelchair today."
Hu Bing exclaimed in shock, "How could I not have thought of that!"
An Yan turned around and squatted down. He had carried Hu Bing on his back countless times, but he never thought he would have the chance to do so now that he was all grown up.
One year later,
Hu Bing felt that his feelings for Senior An Yan were becoming less and less pure. One day, he mustered up his courage and decided to talk to An Yan about it.
Unexpectedly, An Yan was found surrounded by a group of girls, his head down, his expression completely hidden...
Oh well, maybe all the school heartthrobs get this kind of treatment.
Hu Bing left quietly, planning to talk about it again in a few days.
To everyone's surprise, a few days later, a group of people were still surrounding An Yan. Hu Bing felt a tightness in her chest, a sense of suffocation, and an indescribable depression and sadness.
Perhaps Senior An Yan is straight, otherwise why doesn't he tell everyone around him to get out of the way? Why doesn't he pay attention to maintaining proper distance?
Hu Bing quietly left again. He had just begun to have feelings for his senior, but he quietly suppressed them, deciding to focus on his studies and not think about things too much in the future.
An Yan had recently sensed that her little dumpling seemed to have become more perceptive, but suddenly, it seemed like she had changed again.
He even said he was waiting for the little dumpling to confess her feelings to him...
As a result, people spent every day training and studying!
Then, two years passed, but it didn't matter. He was Bingbing's biggest fan, Bingbing he watched every single one of her matches. He was much more reliable than her older brother, Hu Yi, at least he didn't have to work now.
But accidents always happen suddenly.
Hu Bing went to participate in a dating reality show!!
An Yan learned the truth: the place was already full!
He could only pretend to be calm and tell Hu Bing that he didn't have time, not that there weren't any spots available.
He watched Hu Bing's video every day in the live stream, and when he discovered that Hu Bing had fallen for Chi Yining, he felt like the sky had fallen...
But things could take a turn for the better. An Yan humbly prayed to heaven, " President Yan, you must do your best and don't let Bingbing have a chance!"
As it turns out, President Yan is indeed impeccable; no matter where Chi Yining is, he can keep him completely under control.
An Yan was relieved.
But An Yan never expected that he would have a role to play. Coincidentally, he had drunk some alcohol at home that day, and his voice was a little hoarse.
Hu Bing called, and he turned off his computer, leisurely listening to Hu Bing say that he was a pig. It was so cute! When he learned that he was Hu Bing's number one pinned comment, he inexplicably felt a surge of pride.
After hanging up with Hu Bing, he called Hu Yi to show off his power.
Hu Yi furious and cursed from the other end of the line, "I really don't want to go to this lousy class anymore!!"
An Yan was happy and felt comfortable.
After a while, he received a call from the production team, "Add more people!!"
Okay, he outwardly resisted being dragged there by his parents, and then a series of "accidents" occurred, making Hu Bing successfully forget that there was still Chi Yining to pursue.
An Yan, having gone this far, resorted to his trump card, asking Hu Bing to help him with his washing and bathing.
Fortunately, he was thick-skinned, and most people couldn't detect his inner turmoil. In reality, he was extremely nervous, and afraid that Hu Bing would be frightened if she saw it... after all, it was his...
That might be a bit of an exaggeration.
Even with Hu Bing's attention, An Yan still had one question he couldn't understand: why wouldn't his little dumpling express her feelings for him, even though she clearly liked him?
But if he reveals it first, won't it scare his little one away? What if the little one doesn't mean it that way, and he misunderstands?
However, this period of inner turmoil did not last long. He felt that he was still blessed by heaven, and he received help and had Chi Yining point out the problem between the two of them.
It turns out Hu Yi was behind it all again... Fortunately, it's not too late, there's still hope for him. If Hu Bing really got together with Chi Yining, he would have nowhere to turn to cry.
One year after the end of the dating reality show
An Yan, returning to normal life, encountered new problems.
There are many people pursuing Hu Bing, and no matter how he tries to drive them away, it never ends. After all, Hu Bing is the little prince of figure skating!
The two stood at the entrance of the Foreign Languages University, having just persuaded a group of people to leave.
Seeing this, Hu Bing chuckled and suggested, "Why don't we just get married? That should greatly reduce the number of people trying to steal your partner." Actually, he was a little envious of others, especially since Chen Shiyu and his wife had been showing off their affection every day lately. To be honest, their marriage certificate was quite nice, and he wanted one too.
Yes, it should just be for show.
Hu Bing was unaware that An Yan had wanted to do this for a long time, but Hu Bing was still a month away from the legal age!
An Yan had a lot of unspoken suffering. He felt heartbroken seeing the group of people from the variety show constantly bringing him up.
Now that Hu Bing has spoken up, An Yan feels like the clouds have parted and the moon has finally appeared.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he looked at him intently. "How about next month, on your 20th birthday?"
Hu Bing slapped her forehead. "Oh right! How could I forget my age!"
She turned around and laughed happily, "Hehe, senior, will you carry me home?"
An Yan affectionately patted his head. He had come to pick up Hu Bing from school; it wasn't far to walk home, so he hadn't driven.
He really enjoys carrying the little dumpling on his back.
The little dumpling also loves to stick close to him.
Hu Bing no longer needs An Yan to squat down; he jumps up on his own now, shouting, "Go! Let's go home!"
An Yan's lips curled into a smile. He steadied the person with both hands and murmured softly, "Go home."
One month later
In the bedroom, a comfortable and light fragrance filled the air, and a pair of red notebooks sat on the bedside table.
An Yan has completed her Nth ice-breaking operation.
" Little Hailstone, go take a bath before you go to sleep?"
"I'm so tired..."
An Yan pinched his cheek, then gently picked him up. "Being spoiled won't work."