Chapter 52: Fei Ge, I Feel Uncomfortable
“Gu Fei Ge, you’re here.”
“YanYan, I didn’t expect it to be you! Come in quickly.”
The fates of people are so strange. Lin Qingyan never expected to see An Nanyi here. However, this wasn’t a happy coincidence. Seeing An Nanyi with his hypocritical smile, Lin Qingyan felt physically uncomfortable.
Yet, the man smiled at him kindly and warmly, pulling his wrist and leading him inside. “YanYan, I really didn’t expect to see you here. It’s really great. I haven’t seen you since you dropped out of high school.”
Lin Qingyan perfunctorily smiled at him. “Yeah.”
He subtly removed An Nanyi’s hand and actively stood beside Gu Fei. Gu Fei introduced the three people to him, though introductions weren’t necessary; he knew them already. He greeted them politely.
An Yu was always outgoing. After only meeting Lin Qingyan twice, he started putting his arm around him and calling him brother. He warmly put his arm around the boy’s shoulders, winking and saying, “YanYan, how is it? Are you getting used to living at Gu Ye’s house? Don’t you feel cold?”
Lin Qingyan: “Cold?”
An Yu: “The icy aura that Gu Ye radiates from the inside out.”
As soon as he finished speaking, An Er Shao received an icy glare from Gu Ye and immediately released Lin Qingyan, shrinking behind his older brother. “Brother, protect me!”
“Look at you.”
An Jing disdainfully pushed An Yu away and looked at the boy standing obediently beside Gu Fei with interest. He wanted to see what kind of charm this kid had that made Gu Fei, this iron tree, blossom.
But seeing the boy’s well-behaved yet nervous appearance, he felt a natural sense of closeness and couldn’t help but tease jokingly, “Lin, the tree-climbing athlete, long time no see. Is your leg injury healed?”
Lin Qingyan instantly remembered the audition and the scene in Gu Fei’s office. He felt a little embarrassed and nodded. “It’s healed, thank you for your concern, Teacher An.”
“No need to be so nervous. This isn’t an audition site. You’re the same age as Nanan. If you don’t mind, you can call me ‘Big Brother An.’”
Lin Qingyan obediently called him “Big Brother An,” and An Yu burst out laughing. Even Gu Fei’s eyes flashed with a mischievous smile. An Jing: “…”
Lin Qingyan: “…Is there a problem?”
Gu Fei agreed. “No, call him that from now on.”
An Jing was about to be enraged. Why was Gu Fei “Fei Ge,” An Yu “Yu Ge,” but he, An Jing, was not “Jing Ge” but “Big Brother An”? Did he look that old?
An Nanyi also laughed along, though no one noticed that his smile was forced. An Yu was very enthusiastic towards Lin Qingyan, and An Jing didn’t seem to dislike Lin Qingyan either. Even Gu Fei, who was usually aloof, was very affectionate towards Lin Qingyan.
He, on the other hand, was the one being ignored.
After exchanging greetings, everyone sat down.
Lin Qingyan naturally sat next to Gu Fei. What made him uncomfortable was that An Nanyi sat on his other side, clearly preparing to reminisce with him, and he did.
“YanYan, I heard you’re also participating in ‘Tomorrow Star’s.’ We can practice together later, and maybe even debut together.” An Nanyi smiled warmly at Lin Qingyan.
The meaning was clear. Lin Qingyan’s body stiffened slightly. He remembered that in his previous life, An Nanyi hadn’t participated in this talent show at all; he had debuted as an actor.
It seemed that many things had changed.
An Nanyi, seemingly oblivious to Lin Qingyan’s cold attitude, continued enthusiastically, “YanYan, I remember you couldn’t sing or dance before. When did you learn?”
Speaking of which, he was annoyed. Lin Qingyan couldn’t do those things at all and shouldn’t have passed the audition. He must have climbed Gu Fei’s high branch and used connections!
He didn’t know what tricks Lin Qingyan used, but he had caught Gu Fei’s eye, while he, despite his efforts, always received cold indifference from Gu Fei.
“I really didn’t learn before. I just learned from TV recently.” Lin Qingyan smiled at An Nanyi, his tone as calm and indifferent as Gu Fei’s. “I just casually learned, and it turned out to be quite simple.”
The smile on An Nanyi’s face froze, and he fell silent.
Gu Fei was talking to An Jing and An Yu while also paying attention to Lin Qingyan beside him. Suddenly hearing the boy’s unusual tone, it was as if he had discovered a new continent, and he found it interesting.
At that moment, the waiter brought in several bottles of wine, ordered by An Jing. When coming to a place like this, of course they’d drink. The waiter expertly opened the bottles and poured drinks for everyone.
Gu Fei then instructed the waiter to bring an orange juice.
An Jing exclaimed, “Old Gu, you’re not doing this right. It’s rare that we’re out together, and you give me juice?”
Gu Fei remained composed. Under everyone’s gaze, he placed the orange juice in front of Lin Qingyan, replacing the glass of wine. The action looked extremely natural.
At that moment, they seemed to see a worried old father taking care of his child.
An Jing: “…” Damn it?!
An Yu: “…” This is amazing!
They’d really seen something incredible today.
An Nanyi’s hand holding the wine glass tightened, then he looked at Gu Fei and jokingly said, “Gu Fei Ge, you’re too strict. YanYan is an adult now; he can drink.”
Gu Fei simply said indifferently, “He injured his leg.”
It’s already healed, Lin Qingyan muttered to himself, lowering his head to drink the orange juice Gu Fei had given him. He hadn’t spoken much, trying to minimize his presence.
An Nanyi, however, sat next to Gu Fei at some point, refilling the man’s almost empty glass and handing it to him considerately. “Gu Fei Ge, here you go.”
Gu Fei only coldly responded with an “Mm,” taking the glass but not drinking it; he placed it back on the table. His gaze fell on Lin Qingyan. The boy lowered his eyes, his hands cupping the half-drunk orange juice, but he didn’t drink it anymore; he was motionless, seemingly lost in thought.
Perhaps he wasn’t used to it; the boy was more silent than usual.
On the other side, An Nanyi called out “Gu Fei Ge” again. He propped his chin and looked at the man with cold brows, blinking his eyes curiously. “How did you meet YanYan? Can you tell me?”
Gu Fei said, “It’s a long story.”
And that was the end of the conversation.
An Nanyi didn’t think anything of it; Gu Fei was always taciturn.
He wanted to find something else to talk about, but before he could speak, he saw the aloof man affectionately ruffle Lin Qingyan’s hair. His calm voice had a hint of gentleness: “What’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”
Lin Qingyan smiled. “No, I’m just a little uncomfortable.”
“We’ll go home soon.” After saying this, Gu Fei pushed the fruit plate towards him, using a toothpick to spear a piece of mango and bring it to his lips. “Eat some fruit.”
“Mm, thank you, Fei Ge.”
Watching all this, An Nanyi secretly gritted his teeth. He was simmering with anger, feeling stifled, yet he still smiled. “YanYan, Gu Fei Ge is really good to you.”
Lin Qingyan pretended not to hear and concentrated on eating the fruit.
An Nanyi didn’t actually understand why Lin Qingyan’s attitude towards him was so cold. In high school, he had indeed been a good friend to Lin Qingyan, or rather, Lin Qingyan only had him as a friend.
It was then that Gu Fei unusually asked him a question: “You were high school classmates with YanYan?”
“Yes, it’s a pity YanYan didn’t finish high school.” An Nanyi sighed regretfully, then indignantly said, “If it weren’t for YanYan’s gambling father, YanYan wouldn’t have dropped out!”
An Nanyi continued, “That gambler was really not a good person. He barged into the classroom while class was in session, forcibly dragging YanYan away and preventing him from continuing his studies. He even slapped YanYan several times in front of the teachers and classmates…”
Gu Fei frowned slightly.
Lin Qingyan heard every word, his slender body stiffening slightly. He didn’t know what he felt. He picked up the untouched glass of wine on the table and drank it down. When Gu Fei noticed, the glass was empty.
He placed the glass gently on the table, creating a clear sound. He looked at An Nanyi. A hint of anger appeared in his beautiful peach blossom eyes, but his face still held a smile. “It’s all in the past. There’s nothing to talk about.”
An Nanyi lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry, YanYan. I was just angry at the time, and I didn’t mean to bring this up…”
His pitiful appearance made him seem like he had been wronged.
Lin Qingyan looked away, too lazy to pay him any attention.
He knew what kind of person An Nanyi was.
“YanYan, don’t be angry with me, okay? I’ll drink three glasses as punishment!” An Nanyi looked a little flustered, his face full of grievance and anxiety. After speaking, he poured the wine and sincerely drank three glasses.
Finally, his face turned red, his eyes hazy and watery. He swayed unsteadily, unable to maintain his composure. He leaned against Gu Fei, his head resting on the man’s shoulder.
Gu Fei frowned slightly.
“Mm… I’m sorry.” An Nanyi half-opened his hazy eyes, his cheeks flushed. His voice was soft and somewhat distressed. “My head is a little dizzy. I’ll get up now…”
Lin Qingyan’s head was also dizzy. He leaned against the sofa, watching An Nanyi’s every move as if watching a play, even clapping in his heart. It’s a pity; if the acting were more natural, it would be perfect.
The lines on Gu Fei’s brow deepened. He unceremoniously pushed the head off his shoulder, his tone colder than usual. “An Jing, your brother is drunk. Watch him.”
An Jing was singing karaoke with An Yu at that moment, completely engrossed. Turning around, he saw the three people on the sofa in a strange state; his younger brother, An Nanyi, was even drunk and slumped on the sofa.
“Nanan, why did you drink so much?”
Meanwhile, Lin Qingyan uncomfortably rubbed his temples and gently tugged at Gu Fei’s clothes, his voice soft, lazy, and hoarse. He whispered, “Fei Ge, my head is a little dizzy… I feel uncomfortable.”
Let him teach An Nanyi what natural acting truly is.