TWSITAOCP Chapter 30.1

*This chapter mentioned gaining and playfully (?) criticizing weight at the end. Please proceed with caution.*

There was no unnecessary conversation on the way to the hospital.

Yu Sui didn’t seem to have changed much—still proud and easily provoked. His current silence seemed to stem from a minor incident during their playful antics before descending the mountain.

After leaving the hospital, Yu Sui’s ankle was wrapped in bandages.

A cotton sock was barely pulled over his foot, and after leaving the hospital, he bought a new pair of slippers. Yu Sui became a striking sight on the streets of Yandu.

He couldn’t accept his new “fashionable” look and insisted on changing back into his original sneakers.

“Either wear these, or you hop on one leg like that,” Yan Xiu said.

Yu Sui’s resistance was futile. Injured as he was, he couldn’t overpower Yan Xiu, nor did he want help. So, he turned and walked away, limping unevenly.

Yan Xiu followed behind him, carrying a paper bag while simultaneously texting his teacher to ask for leave.

In his current state, Yu Sui definitely couldn’t climb back up the mountain with the others.

The teacher understood and asked Yan Xiu if he would return after dropping Yu Sui off. Yan Xiu replied that he wouldn’t.

Mount Cui’e was too far; and such a round trip and climbing back up would mean missing the best light. Even if Yan Xiu rushed back, he could only catch them finishing up and help carry some tools.

The young master up ahead had probably already anticipated this, as he hadn’t mentioned Yan Xiu returning after arriving at hospital.

Just as Yan Xiu finished sending the last message, a shadow suddenly flickered in front of him. Yu Sui had stopped ahead and was looking back at him, his eyes tinged with a faint light: “…Yan Xiu, I don’t want my family to know about this yet.”

Yan Xiu paused for a moment, then held it out under Yu Sui’s nose.

Yu Sui had to squint comically to read the screen, then irritably snatched the phone from him.

It was Yan Xiu’s WeChat interface; he immediately saw his own name.

Yan Xiu’s interface was very clean—he seemed to have a habit of clearing chat boxes after each conversation, leaving only the messages sent today.

At the top was his teacher, followed by him, and then Tang Ying.

Yan Xiu’s hand reached over and tapped the screen, opening the chat with the teacher.

The exchange was brief, no more than ten sentences in total.

“I didn’t add your family,” Yan Xiu added.

Yu Sui: “…”

Yan Xiu retrieved his phone back, put it in his pocket, and asked, “Satisfied?”

Yu Sui’s thoughts had been exposed. He lowered his eyes, pulled the hoodie over his head to cover his wind-tousled hair, and nodded.

His tense shoulders and neck slowly relaxed, and that doubt vanished in an instant.

Then he heard Yan Xiu ask, “Where do you want to go now?”

“Where do I want to go now?” Yu Sui replied absentmindedly.

Yan Xiu said, “If you don’t want your family to know, how are you going to go home?”

Where else could he go?

Yu Sui suddenly realized the most pressing issue. Originally, Yan Xiu had been fine going alone, but he had insisted on tagging along, only to drag Yan Xi down with him.

The middle-aged man who suddenly lost his balance and tumbled down was also taken to the same hospital. They had visited him earlier—the uncle had stayed up all night and hadn’t eaten breakfast, resulting in fatigue and low blood sugar. Luckily, Yu Sui caught him, and he wasn’t injured anywhere.

The situation between them wasn’t exactly a stroke of bad luck, but it lingered awkwardly in the air.

Yu Sui was silent for a few seconds, then opened his mouth, “Sorry for troubling you.”

“…” Yan Xiu didn’t respond to his overly polite apology. Instead, he glanced at the sports bag Yu Sui was carrying and suddenly asked, “What else do you need?”

There was a competition after the New Year, and Yu Sui’s training instructor seemed to be considering having him submit his work for an award. Even Yan Xiu heard a little about it.

In truth, Yu Sui had already completed his work—he finished them right after his final exams. The reason he still came to Cui’e Mountain was because he didn’t want Yan Xiu to misunderstand and think he was avoiding him after discovering Yan Xiu was that “older brother” from a prominent family.

He subconsciously touched his sports bag and casually replied, “Inspiration, I guess.”

What a versatile answer.

Yan Xiu nodded slightly: “Inspiration isn’t exclusive to the mountains.”

Yu Sui looked at him blankly.

The taxi arrived quickly, winding its way through the streets, heading neither to Cui’e Mountain nor Tianluo Bay, but to Fucun village. Near Fucun village were some unfinished buildings that hadn’t been demolished, and a market. They passed by and went up to one of the taller buildings nearby.

Upon reaching the rooftop, they saw clear blue skies and water above, and the entire streetscape of Fucun Village below. The buildings, neither too tall nor too short, drew a hazy line in the urban-rural fusion of Yandu.

Though Yu Sui had been to Fucun Village many times, this was the first time he had seen its full panorama.

Yan Xiu hadn’t brought his easel; like Yu Sui, he had brought a sports bag, but it contained a digital camera and a tablet. He pulled up the interface, displaying a half-finished sketch of Fucun village.

Yu Sui suspected Yan Xiu had brought him along merely as an afterthought while scouting for scenery. And indeed, Yan Xiu sat on one side of the railing, legs bent, holding a stylus as he lowered his head.

Yu Sui met his questioning look, then smiled before shaking his head, indicating that he didn’t need to worry about him. Then he settled into the space beneath Yan Xiu, put on his earphones, and started playing games.

Perhaps because fewer people played during the day, Yu Sui had been having a smooth gameplay, conquering everything in his path. If it weren’t for the occasional gusts of wind swirling into his hood, he might have forgotten where he was entirely.

At that moment, Yan Xiu’s foot moved slightly, seemingly retracting, and Yu Sui glanced up at him.

Then Yan Xiu came down and moved elsewhere, his destination unknown.

Young Master Yu inwardly cursed, “That bastard brought me to such a high place and then abandoned me.”

But Yan Xiu didn’t go far. Yu Sui heard him suddenly ask, “Why don’t you need an older brother?”

“…” Yu Sui opened his scope and fired wildly in one direction, casually asking, “Do you know how many people are in my family?”

Yan Xiu, of course, knew: “Because your family already has ‘fish bait’?”

What bait?

Yu Sui was stunned for a second before bursting into laughter upon realizing what he meant: “You could say that. And there’s Yan Wuyan too—too many people are controlling me. I can’t stand it.”

Yan Xiu gave a slight nod. A moment later, realizing Yu Sui couldn’t see him, he let out a faint “Hmm.”

A long silence followed.

Yu Sui, having won a resounding victory but eventually grew tired, looked up at Yan Xiu and saw Yan Xiu standing across from him, gazing in his direction.

Yu Sui waved at him: “Just focus on your drawing.”

Then he lowered his head and returned to his phone.

He posted a picture of his gloriously injured leg in the dorm group chat with the caption “Honorably Injured,” which caused a row of question marks to pop up in the group. Yang Feiwen came to message him privately.

Gossip Wen: [Did you help an old lady cross the street?]

Fish Can: [Where would you even find an old lady crossing the street in this weather?]

Gossip Wen: [Where are you right now? Weren’t you supposed to go to Cui’e Mountain with Minister?]

Yu Sui didn’t know what to reply.

What was he supposed to say? That he was currently on the rooftop with Minister, enjoying fresh air?

Yang Feiwen would definitely think both he and Yan Xiu had lost their minds.

Yu Sui simply didn’t reply. He put away his phone and glanced at Yan Xiu, only to meet his gaze once again.

This wasn’t the first time. If Yu Sui still didn’t notice something was off, he’d be too oblivious.

This was the first time he’d seen Yan Xiu paint in person. He had no interest or knowledge in this area, but he occasionally heard from Yang Feiwen that Yan Xiu was a prodigy—the kind of student their teacher adored so much they’d want to carry him around like a keychain. A true prodigy.

Otherwise, if Yan Xiu missed a class, the teacher would probably be frantic. But when Yu Sui looked at their chat history, the teacher seemed quite calm, not at all bothered by Yan Xiu’s absence.

But do prodigies glance at people while painting?

Yan Xiu’s gaze was sharp, his emotions restrained. With a casual glance from him, most people would find it uncomfortable.

Even the young master was starting to feel uneasy.

He grew restless, shaking his arms as he stood up, and casually asked, “Not done yet?”

If Yu Sui hadn’t walked over, it would have been fine. But as soon as he did, Yan Xiu turned off the screen and stuffed the stylus into his bag.

This made Yu Sui narrow his eyes, then chuckle in exasperation.

“Were you drawing me?” Yu Sui asked, crossing his arms.

Unexpectedly, Yan Xiu admitted outright, “Yeah, it’s not finished yet.”

This shut Yu Sui up. He grumbled: “If you’re drawing me, can I take a look?”

Yu Sui was currently limping and in pain, so he avoided walking whenever possible. Yan Xiu finished packing and walked over to him, gently tugging at him. His tone almost sounded like he was coaxing him: “I’ll show it to you when it’s finished.”

“…” Yu Sui’s heart skipped a beat, and he looked away: “Oh.”

He knew better than to press further and didn’t bother questioning why Yan Xiu had dragged him to the rooftop for two hours.

When they left the hospital, the doctor repeatedly advised him to rest in bed for a week as much as possible. But Yu Sui didn’t care about himself at this point, lingering outside until it was completely dark.

It was only when the sky had turned pitch black that they finally headed back.

This was Yan Xiu’s third visit to the Yu residence, and his second time stepping inside.

Unlike last time, when it was late and quiet.

Yu Jingyuan had returned just before the New Year, and everyone else had gone home too. Yuan Yu opened the door and was quite pleased to see them—until she noticed Yu Sui wearing one sneaker and one slipper, at which point she was just shocked.

The young master had sprained his ankle then hobbled upstairs under everyone’s concerned gazes, grabbing Yan Xiu along and refusing to let him leave.

During school, it’s common to encounter situations where “my friend is the good kid”—a kid with an excellent reputation in their parents’ eyes, always used as an excuse when going out.

Yu Sui was usually that “friend”, the one his classmates used as an excuse. This was the first time they’d caught a “good kid,” and it felt quite novel.

Because Yan Xiu was there, they didn’t bother to scold him.

Yu Sui went out for a while and returned with a swollen ankle. And to make matters worse, it happened right before the New Year. Although Yan Xiu explained that the incident stemmed from an act of bravery, the superstitious Yu family still considered it unlucky.

The next day, they brought out brazier and mugwort leaves, making everyone in the house go through a ritual to ward off bad luck.

Afterwards, Yu Sui closed his bedroom door and contentedly stayed in bed.

During the cold holiday, most of his classmates stayed home, gaining weight. As the New Year approached, the group chat became livelier with greetings and chatter.

Yang Feiwen seized the opportunity to bring up his haunted house plan again, and this time, surprisingly, more people agreed than before.

Just as Yu Sui felt he looked rounder in the mirror, he immediately removed the bandages and walked briskly.

He posted on his moments, celebrating his ankle’s recovery.

But since Yu Sui had twisted his ankle without many people knowing, most of the comments were completely confused.

Yan Xiu also showed up. He had recently changed his username from “Ri An” to “Ren Mu”¹It is a playful manipulation of Chinese characters, where the characters of ‘日安’ (rì’ān, meaning ‘good day’ or ‘hello’) are visually altered to resemble ‘人木’ (rénmù, meaning ‘person wood’). This is often used as a visual pun or a way to express a change from a greeting to a more abstract or nonsensical state through character transformation..

Ren Mu, with a single decisive comment: [You’ve gained weight]

Yu Sui immediately switched to their private chat and spammed Yan Xiu a row of emojis carrying knives.