“You see, let me draw you a diagram. The passenger bus travels 80 kilometers per hour, while the freight truck travels 60 kilometers per hour, totaling 140 kilometers…”

From Chinese to mathematics, Gu Wenxi helped Yan Yan with several questions in a row, speaking until his mouth was dry and his tongue was parched, yet he still felt energetic. Although the little girl learned a bit slowly, she was very cooperative and immediately raised any questions she didn’t understand.

The afternoon weather was warm, and the front door on the ground floor was wide open.

The wind chimes swayed intermittently, making intermittent sounds.

“Uncle, I understand!” After solving the last problem, she happily put the pen into her pencil case, murmuring to herself, “This time Du Xinyu won’t laugh at me anymore.”

Gu Wenxi listened curiously. “Who is Du Xinyu?”

Yan Yan replied immediately, “He’s a little devil.”

“Why is he so annoying?” 

Although the little girl complained, her flushed face didn’t seem genuinely annoyed. Gu Wenxi teased her intentionally.

“He always says I don’t know anything!” Yan Yan pouted, “He even asked me to worship him as my master!”

“Is that so… Maybe he just wants to help you.” Gu Wenxi smiled. He had been at that age himself, and the thoughts of young boys and girls seemed amusing to him, although he didn’t fully understand.

“And last time, when Uncle Yunyan was teaching us, he always interrupted!”

“Hahaha…” Gu Wenxi’s gloomy mood from the lunch gradually dissipated, “Hey, between me and your Uncle Yunyan, who explains things more clearly?”

Yan Yan hesitated, resting her chin on her hand. “I think you’re both good.”

“You don’t want to offend anyone.”

As Yan Yan finished packing her school bag, she unconsciously glanced backward. Under the open door, Du Yunyan stood motionless, staring at them intently.

“Uncle Yunyan!” She immediately jumped up from her chair in excitement. “When did you come back?”

“Just a moment ago.” Du Yunyan walked lightly to her side, glanced at Gu Wenxi without any obvious emotional fluctuations, as if there had never been any unpleasantness.

Gu Wenxi felt somewhat uncomfortable and calculated that he would talk to Du Yunyan after Yan Yan left.

“Uncle Yunyan, this uncle helped me with a lot of problems!” Yan Yan said joyfully, unaware of what had transpired between the two.

“Do you still have any problems?” Du Yunyan asked.

“Not anymore!” Yan Yan finished, shouldered her school bag.

“Oh right,” Du Yunyan stopped her, “I made some candied wild fruits. Do you want to try some?”

The girl licked her lips and immediately changed her mind. “Sure!”

In no time, Du Yunyan walked out of the kitchen with a glass jar in his arms, filled with the “dew red fruits” that Gu Wenxi had tasted once before, except now they were cut and preserved in a can. After being cooked in sugar syrup and left in the refrigerator for two days, the outer wall of the jar felt cold to the touch.

Du Yunyan also took a few small white porcelain plates and forks and handed them to Yan Yan.

“Wow, this is so delicious!” Yan Yan tasted a small piece without hesitation and blinked at Gu Wenxi. “Uncle, aren’t you going to eat?”

“Oh, I’m… I’m fine.” Gu Wenxi couldn’t figure out Du Yunyan’s intentions and didn’t touch anything on the table.

Du Yunyan glanced at the untouched tray on the counter and said to him, “Eat your lunch first, then have some fruit.”

That can of pickled fruits was mostly shared between Yan Yan and Gu Wenxi, with Du Yunyan only tasting two pieces. The pickling time wasn’t quite enough; if left a few more days, it might have been more flavorful, but most of the sourness had already dissipated, quite different from the taste the day before.

Du Yunyan casually folded two small square trash cans from the scratch paper Yan Yan had thrown on the table. Gu Wenxi remembered seeing him eating pomegranate with this kind of small box by his side that day.

“Uncle Yunyan, is there any more?” Yan Yan peered into the empty jar.

“You can’t eat too much at once,” Du Yunyan patiently said, “Let the rest sit for a while; it will taste better.”

“Oh.”

“Wash your hands and go home early.”

The girl happily went to the bathroom, and Gu Wenxi looked at Du Yunyan’s profile, wanting to speak several times but couldn’t find the words. Yan Yan came back again, shouldered her school bag, “Uncle Yunyan, Uncle, goodbye!”

“Goodbye.” They both spoke at the same time, only glancing at each other, then turned their gaze to the little girl who was about to leave.

It wasn’t until Yan Yan got on her bicycle, not even half a minute later, completely disappeared, that Gu Wenxi made up his mind to stop Du Yunyan. “Du—Boss Du, I was too harsh at lunch.”

“Not too harsh,” Du Yunyan turned around, sitting down on a chair, “As a young master, you’re indeed not someone I can boss around.”

Gu Wenxi pursed his lips, his brow furrowed into a knot. “You misunderstood. I originally wanted to help you, but things always went wrong… I didn’t mean I couldn’t do it.”

“I’m willing to help, but you have to show me some progress, right?”

Du Yunyan remained silent, looking at him with confusion. “Can you… can you make progress?”

“Why not!” Gu Wenxi sat opposite him, leaning slightly forward. “You don’t know how much I’ve learned. There’s nothing I can’t learn.”

Du Yunyan gave a soft “hmph.” “You… Why do you have to rely on me for this? To experience life?”

“Sort of, but not entirely—” Gu Wenxi suddenly remembered that he was planning to bid farewell to him in the afternoon. “Actually, I almost left just now.”

“Then why didn’t you leave?” Du Yunyan’s expression remained unchanged.

“Do you really want me to leave?” Gu Wenxi slightly pursed his lips, then exaggeratedly smiled. “But I ate the meal you made and didn’t feel like leaving anymore.”

“Looks like I shouldn’t have bothered with you?”

“I think I shouldn’t leave you with such a bad impression and just walk away. I’m not that stupid. It’s all unexpected, you know?” Gu Wenxi continued, “And admit it, you also want me to stay, right?”

“Why would I want you to stay?” Du Yunyan almost laughed. “To entertain me?”

“To keep you company!” Gu Wenxi brazenly said, “Without me around, you don’t even have anyone to vent your frustrations to. Look at these past two days, you’ve had a lot more facial expressions. I’ve brought you a lot of fun, right?” His hand gestured in front of Du Yunyan’s face. “Even if you’re still angry, you still think about cooking for me. Boss, you have such a soft heart; you’re too easy to manipulate.”

Gu Wenxi’s smile grew brighter. “I promise I’m not taking advantage of you.”

After his rambling monologue, Du Yunyan stood up slowly. Gu Wenxi tilted his head, contemplating how likely it was that he’d be kicked out.

“If you have conflicts with your family,” Du Yunyan changed the subject, “it’s best to resolve them sooner rather than later.”

Gu Wenxi was surprised. “How did you know I have conflicts with my family?”

“I guessed,” Du Yunyan frowned, “You look like a little young master who ran away from home.”

“I’m a big young master,” Gu Wenxi corrected, “And how can you call it running away? I clearly left openly.”

“Avoidance isn’t a long-term solution.” Du Yunyan dropped another sentence before turning and leaving.

Gu Wenxi stood there, stunned. Was he trying to console him?