Anderson quietly took a sip of red wine.

The boy across from him had clear eyes, and the way he smiled while sipping the wine was beautiful, but Anderson knew that the other person was not thinking about him at all.

Through the song, the person he was thinking of was someone else.

Anderson smiled helplessly.

It was indeed difficult. Even though they were so happy together, his heart was still firmly occupied by someone else.

He was a bit curious, curious about what kind of person that was, curious about the bond between them, and also curious if his presence could change anything.

Did such love really exist in the world?

He was a person driven by feelings. He believed that the most important thing in love was the feeling itself, and he also believed that physical contact could touch the other person more deeply.

He didn’t understand what An Le Yan and that person had gone through, how it was possible for An Le Yan to still have such strong feelings for them after all this time.

When the song finished, An Le Yan blinked and finally came back to his senses.

“Such a beautiful song,” he murmured, “Thank you for putting so much thought into arranging all of this.”

An Le Yan knew that the merchandise related to these characters was hard to find, but Anderson had managed to gather everything in just one day. That kind of effort was truly moving.

“You know,” Anderson stood up and led An Le Yan out of the small shop, “All my romantic cells are used up at this point. If you make me keep pretending, I’ll slip up.”

He laughed heartily, pointing across the street to a bustling food stall. “The wine’s finished, should we try that food stall?”

An Le Yan laughed as well. “Let’s go, I’d love to.”

The cameraman who had been following them stood frozen for a moment, and when Anderson went to order, he stepped forward to ask, “Aren’t you going to the music restaurant? Didn’t you go to a lot of trouble to make the reservation? You’re not going?”

“It’s fine,” Anderson shook his head, “This place is good.”

In the midst of such noise, I will capture your heart and make you smile for me, rather than thinking about someone else through me.

Back at the villa, the others had already returned early.

Mu Wei took Bai Jingchen to the beach and taught him surfing, making it look pretty decent. They also had a seafood feast, which was pretty standard.

Fu Shicang and Nie Changxing went to a flower exhibition.

The two of them didn’t interact much, but they were covered with various scarves from a group of retired elderly women. They also acted as volunteer photographers for several parents holding children, and after less than an hour, they fled the scene.

Both of them were too lazy to find another place, so they simply returned to the villa. One read a book, the other looked at a script, and they spent most of the afternoon separately on the living room sofa, managing to fulfill the idea of a “date.”

It wasn’t until Yin Xin returned to the villa.

Usually, Yin Xin didn’t stand out much in the villa. The group didn’t forget about him during collective activities, but they rarely spoke to him on a daily basis.

But today, as soon as he returned, the eyes of the villa’s guests turned toward him.

“Have you eaten?” Mu Wei asked, “Jingchen and I packed some seafood to bring back, and we’re about to set it up.”

Nie Changxing noticed the drawing bag in his hands. “You painted today? Did you paint Le Yan?”

Yin Xin nodded. “I went to the studio this afternoon and had Le Yan model for me.”

“Well, you got what you wanted,” Bai Jingchen said with a smile. “I’ve been hearing you talk about wanting to paint him since day one, and today you finally got your wish. Can we see it?”

Hearing Bai Jingchen’s words, the other guests also became curious. Yin Xin hesitated a bit. “It’s not finished yet, I think I still need to refine it…”

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Mao suddenly pushed the door open. “Everyone’s here, keep eating, I’m looking for Yin Xin.”

He said this and pulled Yin Xin aside, speaking in a low voice.

The painting was left on the coffee table in the living room. Mu Wei couldn’t help but sneak over to the table, trying to take a quick look.

“Mm… okay, but I need to choose,” Yin Xin’s serious voice came from the side. “Le Yan looks good from every angle, but sometimes I’m a bit slow to react, so the photo might be blurry.”

Upon hearing “Le Yan” and “photo,” Mu Wei froze for a moment. “Photo? Yin Xin, you have pictures of Le Yan?”

“Yes,” Yin Xin turned back. “I asked him on the first day, and he said I could take pictures. You all have them too; I got your consent at that time.”

The other guests suddenly remembered that this had indeed happened, but they had only vaguely recalled it and hadn’t thought much of it.

When the conversation about the photos was revealed, Zhang Mao stopped hiding the truth. “It’s like this. We’re planning to make a photo wall for the guests, to use later on, so I asked Yin Xin for some material. He’s already developed part of it. If you all have time, we can go through it after dinner.”

Upon hearing this, Mu Wei lost interest in the paintings and didn’t even feel like eating slowly anymore.

He hurriedly stuffed his stomach, and several of them quickly rushed to do the dishes. Then they surrounded Yin Xin at the coffee table.

It was rare to have such a moment of attention, and Yin Xin, feeling a bit uncomfortable, took out a large stack of photos from his bag.

“So many!” Bai Jingchen exclaimed, “How did you find time to take so many?”

Yin Xin smiled but didn’t answer.

It didn’t matter, because soon everyone fell silent, each of them taking a stack of photos and carefully examining them.

Fu Shicang quickly tossed his few photos aside and slowly swapped them with others, looking at the photos of An Le Yan.

Smiling, spaced out, seriously cutting vegetables, blurred in the steam, chatting with the guests… each photo was incredibly vivid, making his empty heart finally find something to hold on to.

In those brief four days, they had shared so many happy moments.

In the solo photos, there was suddenly a group photo. Fu Shicang furrowed his brow, turned the photo over, and pressed it under a pile of discarded ones.

But after a few seconds, he flipped the photo back over.

The photo was probably taken last night. The night was falling, and only a few low garden lights illuminated the path in the backyard. An Le Yan and Anderson stood facing each other. An Le Yan might have something on his face, and Anderson’s fingers were lightly resting on his temple.

The garden light illuminated the side of the young man’s face, and he squinted slightly, the corner of his eye tracing a beautiful curve in the light.

Wait, had An Le Yan’s eyes always looked like this?

He was stunned for a moment, then picked up the stack of photos he had just looked through again.

When collecting materials, Yin Xin was very meticulous. Each photo had a timestamp in the lower-right corner, precise to the minute. He flipped through the photos in chronological order, carefully looking at each one, but the more he looked, the more uneasy he became.

Those eyes—every day, there were small changes, slowly transitioning from the cute, obedient eyes of a puppy to the seductive, sharp eyes of a peach blossom!

If the corners of the eyes tilted up just a little more…

Fu Shicang couldn’t stay still. He was eager to find An Leyan and take a good look at him.

“Buzz—” The phone on the table vibrated. It was Wang Xiaoyu.

“Are you available to talk?” Wang Xiaoyu’s voice was low. “Fang Yu has returned, but both of them are injured. We’re not sure if we can question them today. You should come as soon as possible.”

Fu Shicang’s heart tightened, and he instantly realized that Wang Xiaoyu was talking about the matter Assistant Fang had been investigating.

He glanced at the photos on the table and took a deep breath.

It’s okay, the reality show has just started, there will be plenty of time to observe and probe.

Right now, the important thing is the task at hand.

Suppressing the anxiety in his heart, he quickly stood up, went next door to ask Zhang Mao for leave, and drove to the hospital.

The hospital was still bustling with people in the evening, and the emergency department where Wang Xiaoyu was stationed was chaotic. Fu Shicang immediately spotted Assistant Fang, who was sitting on a hallway bench, an IV drip in his forehead.

“Sorry, Brother Fu,” Fang Yu struggled to sit up. “There was heavy rain in Wei County, and I didn’t expect him to wake up halfway and grab my steering wheel…”

Fu Shicang reached out to stop him. “It’s fine, as long as you’re okay. There’s no need to apologize, I’m the one who made you take the risk.”

Fang Yu’s eyes reddened. “You saved our lives… Never mind, I know you don’t like to hear this. When I brought Lai Da in, he could still talk. It just suddenly got worse. Doctor Wang said he had to be sent to the operating room, so…”

“It’s okay,” Fu Shicang said, gently reassuring his assistant. “He’s in the hospital now, he won’t run away. I’ll arrange for someone else to keep watch. Your job now is to rest and recover. There will be many more opportunities to help in the future.”

After calming his subordinate, Fu Shicang urgently rearranged people from other places, handled all the procedures, and once Lai Da’s condition stabilized, he immediately arranged for him to be transferred to another hospital. The plans had been disrupted by this incident, and everything needed to be re-scheduled…

Fortunately, Lai Da’s surgery went smoothly, and by early morning, he was out of danger.

Exhausted, Fu Shicang returned to the villa. The other guests were having breakfast.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the villa’s dining room, he saw the figure still busy—while others had already sat at the table, he was still cleaning up, then was dragged to the table, then ran back to refill porridge and bring out more dishes.

Leaning against the car door, Fu Shicang slowly felt his exhausted heart settle.

Today was another workday. After breakfast, the guests came to the living room as usual, and of course, An Leyan had received the most “heartfelt” texts the other day.

“I know,” he helplessly stood up. “You all sent me texts that day, just waiting for this moment. I’m the chosen worker.”

The guests all laughed heartily, and even Fu Shicang joined in, while An Leyan couldn’t help but make a face at him.

At that moment, An Leyan had shed his previous cautiousness, and his playful side came to the forefront. He became lively, with a captivating charm in every movement.

The boy’s gaze swept across the guests, and Fu Shicang couldn’t help but lean forward, sitting up straight.

He suddenly craved for An Leyan to choose him.

Having seen the crowds coming and going in the hospital, and not wanting to deal with the gaze of others, he just wanted to stay in the crowded food cart, make a cup of coffee, make a sandwich, and watch that person’s smile.

Only his smile could make Fu Shicang feel a unique sense of calm amidst all the tension and complexity.

An Leyan’s gaze met his for a brief moment, then turned, reaching out to turn over Mu Wei’s name tag.

He smiled back and said, “Mu Ge, we’re working together today. Please take care of me.”

At that moment, Fu Shicang wasn’t sure what his feelings were. It was as if something had fallen from midair, stirring up dust everywhere, but those light, floating particles clogged his senses, making everything that followed feel vague.

Until An Leyan happily sat in the passenger seat of Mu Wei’s car, and the food cart gradually disappeared from his sight, Fu Shicang finally realized—he had not been chosen.

No, An Leyan must have seen his eager gaze earlier, but unlike before, he didn’t place him at the forefront of all his answers.

He had rejected him.

It was really… a new feeling.

He gave a self-deprecating smile and went back to his bedroom to wash up and get some sleep.

When he woke up, it was almost noon, and the villa was quiet. Fu Shicang habitually went to the kitchen.

The kitchen was cold and empty, far from the lively atmosphere he had seen in the morning.

Looking out at the courtyard, he suddenly remembered that photo—behind An Leyan and Anderson, there seemed to be a pavilion?

A strange feeling rose in his heart. Even though it was no longer the time in the photo, he couldn’t possibly interrupt the mood in that picture. But he still felt that he should go and take a look at that pavilion.

Fu Shicang leisurely walked down the path to the backyard, strolled to the pavilion, and glanced inside.

It was just a small pavilion with a few lights, a few cushions—nothing romantic.

He looked away, but then saw not far off, Yin Xin was setting up his easel, sketching.

He was painting a large tree in front of him, tall and vivid.

But in the painting, there was a young man standing under the tree.

In an instant, Fu Shicang felt as if struck by lightning, rooted to the spot.

He didn’t know how much time passed before he heard his own weak voice: “Yin Xin, who are you painting?”

“Leyan,” Yin Xin turned around with a puzzled look, “You can’t tell?”

“But the eyes of Xiaoyan…”

“Oh, you mean this?” Yin Xin shrugged. “The first time I saw him, I noticed his eye shape was very beautiful, but he always refused to show his true face…”

The images of the photos he had organized last night flashed through his mind, finally stopping at the painting in front of him.

The eyes, like beautiful peach blossom petals, slightly tilted up, just like the eyes in his dreams.

Fu Shicang was about to go crazy.