Bo Xiyun looked up at the smooth side of the young man's neck, genuinely stunned for a while.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice their current posture.
It wasn't until Bo Xiyun's arms, which he had used to prop himself up, became too tired to hold, and his elbows suddenly felt sore, that he nearly lost balance and almost fell.
Before he could hit the ground, the young man was securely caught in someone's arms.
Yi Zhongshen embraced him.
Due to their movements, Bo Xiyun's skin was now even closer to the side of the other person's neck. It was only at this moment that he snapped back to reality and asked.
"Is this... recovered?"
Bo Xiyun distinctly remembered that last night, the other person had visible marks on the side of his neck, with the vascular patterns quite noticeable.
At the time, the senior had mentioned that they would disappear in a couple of days.
So why did they vanish so quickly this morning...?
Moreover, when they were on the high-speed train yesterday, Bo Xiyun had asked Gu Sheng.
Gu Sheng had informed him that Yi Zhongshen's stress marks were not just on his neck but also quite noticeable on his chest.
Yet now, Yi Zhongshen was wearing pajamas—because the closet in the bedroom was filled with clothes prepared by Bo Xiyun's family, and the sizes were quite comprehensive. So, even though the senior had come unexpectedly in the middle of the night, he still managed to find and wear pajamas.
He was even wearing the same design as Bo Xiyun's.
Bo Xiyun was currently lying against the young man's chest and noticed that under the senior's neckline, there was smooth and firm skin.
Similarly, there were no traces of stress marks.
Hearing his question, Yi Zhongshen lowered his gaze and glanced at his own neck. From his angle, he couldn't see his own condition very well, but he wasn't surprised by Bo Xiyun's words.
The young man replied in a calm tone, "I'm feeling better after resting."
Bo Xiyun was rendered speechless.
Although he instinctively wanted to avoid talking about what happened last night, he couldn't just forget about it.
...Resting well, was he referring to that kind of "rest"?
As the sun rose outside, the light inside the room became brighter. Bo Xiyun also noticed that aside from the normal veins and blood vessels on the senior's neck, there were faint traces that hadn't faded yet.
The color of those marks had become very light.
This unexpectedly discovered method of treatment left the young man with mixed emotions.
The events of last night had initially left a slight shadow on Bo Xiyun. Yet now he realized...
...this kind of thing was so effective for the senior.
(Tn: LOL)
Feeling conflicted, Bo Xiyun discreetly pulled away from the embrace, quietly detaching himself—
—It was a bit impolite to wake up and still be on top of someone else like this.
Once he had moved away, he left enough space for the senior.
Outside, there was a faint commotion in the courtyard. On the first day of the year, most family members tended to wake up early. Since it was getting brighter outside, Yi Zhongshen was preparing to leave.
Naturally, he would follow the same path as last night, climbing out of the window.
If he were to exit through the front door, he might run into the elders of the Gu family.
Fortunately, the Gu and Yi families were neighbors, so Yi Zhongshen could easily climb over from their neighboring house.
Otherwise, if he tried to enter from outside the perimeter wall, the security patrols and 24-hour surveillance would surely notice him. It wouldn't be easy to get in that way.
Earlier, Yi Zhongshen had taken some ice cubes from the small refrigerator in the living room. He carefully wrapped the ice cubes in a towel and handed them to Bo Xiyun, while he applied the cold compress to his own lips.
The young man's lips were still slightly swollen.
...It seemed like they were even more inviting for a kiss.
It was due to this vicious cycle that he had cried from being kissed last night, starting with wet eyes and ending up sobbing.
If it were to happen again, Yi Zhongshen couldn't be certain he would be able to control himself better.
After all, this had caused trouble for the young man.
Yi Zhongshen was about to apologize when he saw Bo Xiyun look up at him.
Bo Xiyun suddenly smiled, and his round almond-shaped eyes curved gently upward.
His voice sounded cheerful.
"Happy Chinese New Year."
Before Yi Zhongshen could reply, as if he had finally prepared himself, Bo Xiyun suddenly stood on his toes and kissed Yi Zhongshen's jaw.
His incredibly soft lips lightly brushed against the firm jawbone, accompanied by a faint coolness.
Bo Xiyun continued to speak to himself.
"Ice doesn't hurt anymore."
Bo Xiyun had no idea that this statement almost made him get teased even more painfully.
Outside in the courtyard, there were already noticeable sounds of people. Yi Zhongshen left the bedroom through the balcony window.
After sending Yi Zhongshen off, Bo Xiyun tidied up and got ready to start the day.
When Bo Xiyun stepped out of his room, he found that there were indeed people up and about in the house. His uncle from the Gu family was busy cooking the dumplings they had prepared yesterday. It was a tradition for the family to have dumplings for breakfast during the Lunar New Year.
The dumplings were already boiling in the pot, and Ms. Song was carrying a plate of freshly cooked dumplings to the dining room next door. Seeing Bo Xiyun enter, she greeted him and urged him to come and eat.
Breakfast was simple, and in fact, Bo Xiyun's second uncle had already left for the military camp early in the morning.
(Tn: Gu Sheng's father)
In the kitchen and dining room, there were only Bo Xiyun, his uncle and aunt.
Bo Xiyun didn't eat much, so he chose a small bowl to eat. He preferred sweet flavors, and conveniently, the small bowl contained a few delicately folded dumplings with sweet fillings.
After eating one of the sweet dumplings, Bo Xiyun picked out the remaining ones and ate them one by one.
As Bo Xiyun slowly ate the remaining regular meat-filled dumplings, his uncle, who had been busy in the kitchen, brought a steaming bowl of dumplings to the table.
A new batch of dumplings was ready.
Bo Xiyun quickly put down his chopsticks and went to the kitchen to help bring the bowls of dumplings to the table.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Gu, who had been peeling garlic earlier, arrived a bit later, having had a conversation with her husband.
When Bo Xiyun returned with the dumplings, he saw his uncle using his chopsticks to pick something out from several plates of untouched dumplings.
What he was picking out were the delicately folded sweet dumplings. He then carefully transferred those small sweet dumplings into Bo Xiyun's small bowl.
Seeing this, Bo Xiyun was taken aback, and he heard his uncle saying, "There aren't many sweet dumplings, and some of them burst while cooking. If you like them, there's extra dough that's risen, so I can make some more for you later."
"No, no," Bo Xiyun quickly replied, "I won't be able to finish them all. The bowl is enough."
He repeated himself twice more, and finally his uncle didn't insist on making more dumplings.
The sweet dumplings that were already cooked ended up in Bo Xiyun's bowl.
His uncle returned to the kitchen, and Bo Xiyun looked at the bowl in front of him, filled again, and couldn't help but recall a short video he had seen a couple of days ago, showing how to make "water dumplings."
He couldn't hold back his laughter, which caught the attention of Mrs. Gu. She asked curiously, "What's going on?"
(Tn: The Mrs. Gu here is BXY's first aunt, not Gu Sheng's mother.)
Bo Xiyun happened to have his phone with him, so he found that video and showed it to Mrs. Gu.
The video showed a guest holding a half-empty bowl of water dumplings. As he declined the host and hostess's attempt to add more dumplings to his bowl, he instinctively moved the bowl to the right to avoid the male host's offer. However, he ended up moving the bowl to the left, where the female host was standing, and she added a big spoonful of dumplings.
When he realized what the female host was doing and quickly moved the bowl back, the male host on the right also added a spoonful. As a result, the guest's bowl ended up being filled with both spoonfuls of dumplings, and what was once a half-empty bowl became completely full.
Mrs. Gu couldn't help but laugh and watched the video twice. Eventually, she couldn't resist showing it to her husband in the kitchen.
From the kitchen, soon came Mr. Gu's laughter and his exclamation, "Learned it! Let's do it next time."
Even Bo Xiyun didn't expect that the video he accidentally found would have such a positive effect.
Finally, Mrs. Gu also shared the video in the family group.
[[Video Link]]
[Little Treasure found [Sun Emoji]]
Even Grandpa Gu gave a thumbs-up emoji in response, making one can't help but feel that even though they were just trivial matters related to Bo Xiyun, they were being responded to so warmly by his family.
When Bo Xiyun had eaten about half of his meal, Gu Sheng also arrived. After they finished eating, they carried the bowls of dumplings and soup to Grandpa Gu and his wife.
Both of them were in the main living room in the front yard. They woke up early and were in good spirits. When Bo Xiyun and Gu Sheng put down their chopsticks, they were summoned by them.
"Come here."
Grandma handed them each a red envelope.
Grandpa Gu smiled and said, "New Year's money."
When the kids took the red envelopes, Grandpa Gu smiled at Bo Xiyun and said, "This outfit looks great, new clothes bring a good spirit."
Grandma scolded him, saying, "It's because our good kids look good in everything they wear."
Then she asked, "Is this outfit new?"
Bo Xiyun nodded.
Actually, there were so many clothes in the closet that were new to him. On New Year's Eve, on the way back from the supermarket, Ms. Song still bought him a new outfit.
The adults all thought that on the first day of the New Year, the kids should wear new clothes.
Bo Xiyun had rarely paid much attention to holidays before, but it was only now that he realized something. Whether it was the New Year's money or the new clothes, it seemed that the most important thing about the holiday was not the sense of ceremony, but rather the realization that there was always someone he cared about.
The dumplings that were brought over were adjusted by Grandpa Gu, and his wife still couldn't eat outside food much. Bo Xiyun only realized when he was helping her mix the nutritional supplement that she was carefully looking at something inside. It was his own certificate of commendation.
(Tn: Certificate of Commendation is given to those individuals as a form of recognition for their exceptional efforts and accomplishments. In this case BXY's studies.)
After Bo Xiyun was brought to City B, Li, who had originally been staying at a hotel, was also sent there by the Gu family's men. The items were miscellaneous, and they were all packed up by the housekeeper.
(Tn: I am slightly confused here but from what I can understand Li is probably a surname of a person who was sent by Gu's family and through his help Gu family collected all the personal items of BXY)
He hadn't expected that his certificate of commendation had been taken by Mrs. Gu, who was looking at it carefully one by one.
(Tn: Mrs. Gu here is grandma Gu)
And Grandpa Gu put on his glasses, which he usually didn't wear, and he wasn't watching the morning news as usual. Instead, he was looking at Bo Xiyun's competition booklet, carefully examining his handwriting for problem-solving.
In his younger years, Grandpa Gu had also been an outstanding student in the Hydraulic Engineering Department at T University.
Before long, the other adults who were having breakfast also arrived. At this point, guests were starting to come to the house to pay New Year's greetings.
The news of the Gu family finding their young grandson had already spread in City B, but all the hustle and bustle from the outside world didn't disturb Bo Xiyun himself in the slightest.
Over the past few days, he had spent the most time with Gu Sheng and Yi Zhongshen, and there weren't many other people around him. The Gu family didn't hold a grand banquet like the Bai family did when they found Bai Xiu.
The adults gradually got to know Bo Xiyun's personality and realized that he didn't enjoy such gatherings. They let the child stay at home and slowly adapt, not putting any unnecessary pressure on him.
As the guests began to arrive to pay their New Year's greetings, Bo Xiyun didn't stay in the living room to meet all the strangers. Instead, he went to the side hall, where he could still hear the commotion from the main hall.
Before long, Bo Xiyun heard Mrs. Guo's voice. She was calmly showing off the certificate of commendation outside, listening contentedly to the praise and compliments from the guests.
When the guests arrived, they enthusiastically reenacted the scenario again and again. Later, Bo Xiyun realized that there was a more accurate term for this behavior: showing off. Mrs. Guo acted like a child, unable to contain her joy.
In fact, people had seen all kinds of awards. They had exceptional sons and daughters, and even the grandchildren like Gu Zheng and Gu Sheng had received numerous awards.
People were happy. They looked through the certificates repeatedly, not just to admire the glittering honors, but to measure and touch the traces of the child's growth.
After the guests who came to pay New Year's greetings had left, Gu Sheng came to the side hall and led the child back to the main hall. Second young master Gu couldn't avoid the New Year's greetings either.
Gu Sheng had just been bombarded with questions by various relatives and friends, and his forced smile had become a bit stiff. He could only be grateful that he was still young. He joked, "I think in another two years at most, someone will directly ask me when I'm getting married."
Listening to Gu Sheng speak and comparing it with the voices of various guests he had heard earlier, Bo Xiyun suddenly realized something. When he had first heard Gu Sheng's voice from the car stereo in Yi Zhongshen's car, he had vaguely felt a fondness for that voice.
Now, he realized abruptly that it was because Gu Sheng's way of speaking made him feel familiar. Whenever Gu Sheng spoke, there was a hint of the B City accent in his tone, albeit not too pronounced.
Today, as he listened to the guests paying New Year's greetings, Bo Xiyun noticed the clear contrast between the accents of the locals from B City and those who were not.
Could it be...
Bo Xiyun thought.
It's likely that memories of his mother from his childhood were still present in his mind. Gu Qingyun grew up in B City, so she naturally carried a trace of the B City accent.
Meanwhile, after venting his complaints, Gu Sheng quickly recovered his spirits and started planning where to take his little brother during the holiday. As an older brother, Gu Sheng couldn't help but have a sense of pride now that he finally had his precious younger brother. Who wouldn't want to take such a well-behaved child out and hear praise for him?
Gu Sheng asked his little brother, "Would you like to go visit P University? It's not far from here, after all."
Bo Xiyun had no objections, saying, "Sure."
He also thought about T University being nearby.
"Would you like to visit T University as well?" he asked.
Upon hearing this, Gu Sheng's heartache was poked once again.
Oh well, his precious younger brother.
How did he end up at T University?
The others in the family had also learned about Bo Xiyun being admitted to T University on a scholarship, and they had praised him a lot before.
"Our smart little guy is so amazing!"
Gu Sheng could only console himself, "It's right next door anyway, and Xiyun, you're studying in the same school as Grandfather and Aunt..."
He hesitated when he mentioned his aunt, Gu Qingyun.
After all, she had left so many years ago.
Gu Sheng quickly changed the topic, intentionally avoiding further discussion. When he was speaking earlier, both grandma Gu and Grandpa Gu were nearby, so they naturally caught the gist of the conversation.
Bo Xiyun also noticed this and paid attention to grandma Gu's reaction.
Afraid that old memories might upset her and affect her heart rate, grandma Gu didn't seem to exhibit any feelings of loss, nor did she show sensitivity to her daughter being mentioned.
Grandfather was the same way. He sighed softly and said to Bo Xiyun, mentioning his daughter.
"She's been through a lot."
Bringing up his daughter voluntarily.
"There might be things that we need to slowly tell you about in the future."
Grandfather lightly patted the young man's back and whispered,
"Son, please believe me."
"She truly loves you."
Bo Xiyun nodded silently in response.
The whole family had lunch together, and in the afternoon, Yi Zhongshen also arrived.
He came to offer New Year's greetings, and the adults greeted him with smiles. They noticed that the injuries he had on his bandaged areas had healed, and everyone was relieved.
Coincidentally, at that moment, Gu Zheng, who was away in another city, called in and joined the conversation with the elders.
Looking at his completely recovered friend, Gu Sheng couldn't help but think of his older brother's efforts and couldn't resist saying something.
"This is still thanks to the doctor my older brother found. That's why Zhongshen recovered so quickly."
On the other end of the phone, Gu Zheng's indifferent voice seemed to pause for a moment.
"...Recovered?"
"Yeah, the marks are gone."
Gu Sheng didn't realize the significance of his words as he continued,
"Previously, it was my younger brother who helped him ease the discomfort. I didn't expect the medication this time to work so well."
This time, Gu Zheng paused for an even longer time before he asked in a calm voice,
"This time, did Xiao Yun accompany him too?"
____________________________________________________
Tn: I was lazy before here is the Gu family's names
Grandpa: Gu Tiansheng Grandma: Liang Aiyu
First Uncle & aunt: Gu Jingfeng& Gu Linping
Second aunt& uncle: Song Daiyu& Gu Jianping
BXY's parents: Gu Qingyun & Bo Quiqiu
First uncle is a politician and second uncle is in army.
<3