Chapter 4: The Moment He Noticed

In the glow of the setting sun, the boy was crouching on the ground, his body leaning forward, one hand extended ahead of him.

The warm golden light fell over his dark hair and lashes, as if coating them with a soft halo.

Because he leaned forward, the shirt at his waist was lifted slightly, revealing a slim, pale stretch of skin, like white jade, smooth and faintly luminous.

Opposite him crouched a black cat, its head buried in the boy’s outstretched palm, focused on licking up the cat food.

The cat’s fur was sleek and glossy, making the boy’s hand look even fairer and more delicate, his fingers slender and well-shaped.

With his other hand, the boy would occasionally reach out to stroke the cat’s head, gently rubbing its fur.

As it ate, the black cat let out soft, contented purring sounds from its nose.

Under the sunset, the boy and the cat cast long shadows, forming a quiet little world of their own.

That world was wrapped in light, peaceful and serene, seemingly part of the human world, yet somehow separate from it.

Like a soap bubble shimmering with rainbow colors, it drifted into sight, beautiful, inviting pursuit, yet too fragile to touch.

No one could step into it, nor should anyone disturb them.

From afar, Gu Qiuhang stood watching this scene, momentarily stunned.

Without realizing it, he slowed his steps, approaching quietly, afraid of disturbing the boy and the cat.

He came up behind them soundlessly, yet neither noticed.

As the boy stroked the cat, he spoke to it softly, “Hang in there a bit longer. When I move out of the Gu family next year and find a place, I’ll take you in, okay? Then we’ll have a home of our own.”

There was a hint of excitement in his tone, along with a subtle sense of anticipation.

But Gu Qiuhang felt a jolt in his heart.

Next year? Move out of the Gu family? His own home?

He knew about the agreement regarding turning eighteen.

But he had always thought it was something far off, something insignificant.

Yet today, for the first time, he heard the boy speak so lightly of his plans after leaving.

So he had already begun planning his future… and in that future, there was no place for him.

A dull ache spread through Gu Qiuhang’s chest, tightening around his heart, even carrying a faint sense of betrayal and abandonment.

Standing behind him, he pressed his lips together, his gaze fixed on the top of the boy’s head, where a small, cute swirl of hair sat.

A breeze stirred, making a few soft strands of black hair dance lightly, tempting him to reach out and smooth them back into place.

He stood there, somewhat lost, as something deep inside him quietly collapsed.

It wasn’t that he had never thought the boy would leave.

He had even occasionally imagined that when that day came, he would arrange everything for him.

But now that he was truly hearing it, why did it hurt so much?

He frowned slightly, unable to understand himself.

If he had heard this before today, would he have reacted the same way?

He didn’t know.

He tried to grasp the thoughts in his heart, but they slipped away, too vague and intangible to catch.

What he could not deny, however, was that the boy seemed to have grown up at some unnoticed moment.

Perhaps during the days when he himself hadn’t been paying attention.

The light that the boy unknowingly radiated had illuminated his eyes, making him unwilling to look away, unwilling to let him leave.

Gu Qiuhang stepped forward, casting his shadow over both the boy and the cat.

They both looked up at the same time, fixing their gazes on him.

The boy’s eyes were beautifully shaped, their corners slightly upturned; when widened, they resembled a cat’s eyes even more.

If the mood weren’t so strange, Gu Qiuhang might have laughed.

Because, for a moment, he felt as though he was being stared at by two cats, one black, one white.

The boy’s eyes were dark and bright, filled with mild surprise.

The black cat, however, arched its back defensively, letting out a low, threatening meow.

Its glossy fur bristled, as if ready to attack at any moment.

The boy quickly lowered his head and soothed it with gentle fingers. “Xiao Hei, don’t be scared. He’s my young master—he’s a good person. Don’t be afraid.”

‘A good person?’

Gu Qiuhang didn’t know how to feel about that. He only gave a perfunctory tug at the corner of his lips.

The boy continued calming the cat, waiting patiently until it finished eating from his palm. Then he smiled and rubbed its head. “Go on.”

The cat let out a small “meow,” turned around, and waddled off into the nearby bushes, its chubby body swaying, disappearing in an instant.

Gu Qiuhang couldn’t help thinking, how does a stray cat get so fat?

Once the cat was gone, He Ting stood up, clapping his hands lightly, and looked at Gu Qiuhang with a smile.

“Young master.” He greeted him cheerfully.

Then, naturally, he reached out to take Gu Qiuhang’s bag.

But Gu Qiuhang caught his pale fingers instead. “I’ll carry it myself.”

He Ting didn’t insist. He quickly withdrew his hand and nodded.

He was about to leave when he noticed Gu Qiuhang still standing there, unmoving.

“Young master?” He looked at him, puzzled.

“Your hair is messy,” Gu Qiuhang said calmly.

As he spoke, he reached out and placed his hand on He Ting’s head.

He Ting stood obediently, feeling a slight tingling sensation as Gu Qiuhang’s long fingers slipped into his hair, gently combing through it.

A faint blush rose on his face, and he stepped back. “I… I’ll fix it at home.”

Gu Qiuhang raised an eyebrow, his expression still cold and composed, which made He Ting feel like he had overthought things.

That realization brought a hint of embarrassment and guilt.

The boy’s hair was soft and warm, almost alive, sliding through his fingers with a pleasant sensation.

Gu Qiuhang stepped forward again, burying his hand once more in He Ting’s hair.

Stubbornly, he tried to smooth down those unruly strands stirred by the wind.

He Ting pressed his lips together and asked in his mind, “System, is my hair really messy?”

System: “At first it wasn’t… but now…”

He Ting: “I kind of want to cry…”

Still, he could only stand there obediently. With the way Gu Qiuhang looked, so focused and serious, no one would think anything strange.

If someone did, it would only mean their own thoughts weren’t pure.

Finally, when he was done, He Ting followed behind him, and the two walked back to the Gu residence along the small path.

The journey was quiet and calm, filled only with birdsong and the scent of flowers.

Once again, He Ting convinced himself he had overthought everything.

His young master, with that iceberg-like personality, how could he possibly be touched by worldly emotions?

‘Yes, that must be it.’ He Ting nodded firmly to himself.

****

As they passed by the west wing, faint noises of argument drifted out.

It was Tong Yuemei’s voice, she seemed drunk again, mixed with that of Old Wang the driver, creating a chaotic din.

He Ting pressed his lips together, while Gu Qiuhang remained expressionless, as if he heard nothing.

Uncle Gu was in the garden, trimming branches. Several peach branches heavy with buds had been cut and lay piled on the ground.

He Ting’s eyes lit up. “Young master, you go ahead,” he said.

He jogged over, greeted Uncle Gu, borrowed some scissors, and crouched beside the branches, carefully selecting them.

Gu Qiuhang went upstairs first, but once inside his room, he walked straight to the window and looked down quietly.

He Ting worked with great care, trimming the chosen branches neatly.

Soon, a tidy bundle of peach branches lay beside him.

He returned the scissors, helped steady the ladder while Uncle Gu trimmed higher branches, and then carried the peach blossoms upstairs with a bright smile.

That smile was genuine, sunny and radiant.

Gu Qiuhang couldn’t help but pause.

It felt as though only today had the boy truly come alive.

That vitality, that genuine joy, it was so direct and dazzling, impossible to miss.

Unlike before, when everything about him had been blurred and indistinct.

While Gu Qiuhang was still lost in thought, there was a soft knock at the door.

“Come in,” he called, his voice lighter than he realized.

The door opened, and the boy entered, holding a white porcelain vase filled with the peach branches he had just picked.

He placed it on the windowsill and said with a smile, “These branches can still bloom. It’d be a waste to throw them away, so I arranged a few. If you don’t like them, I’ll take them out.”

Gu Qiuhang looked at the clusters of bright red buds, one upon another, lively and full, almost as if he could already smell their fragrance when they bloomed.

They were simple, ordinary things.

But at that moment, he found them beautiful, filled with the warmth of everyday life.

“They’re beautiful. Leave them,” he said with a smile.

It was rare for Gu Qiuhang to smile at him like that, and He Ting felt genuinely happy. He nodded, placed the vase carefully, and left.

As He Ting opened the door, Gu Qiuhang almost called out to him, wanted to ask where he had gone at noon, who he had been with.

But it felt too abrupt.

In the end, he simply pressed his lips together and said nothing.

****

Gu Qiuhang liked painting, especially after his mother passed away and Tong Yuemei entered the household with Gu Donghang.

Though he seemed quiet and mature beyond his years, he would pour his thoughts onto the canvas.

Paintings never spoke, yet they expressed everything.

It was his unique way of communicating and releasing emotions.

He had once thought that if his father hadn’t fallen ill, perhaps he would have become a painter.

But that was only a distant dream, one he never voiced, never allowed himself to dwell on.

Now, standing before a blank canvas, brush in hand, he began to paint slowly.

Gradually, shapes emerged.

Within a shimmering soap-bubble-like world, the boy and the cat gazed at each other gently.

In a long alley, the setting sun stretched faint shadows, while trees and flowers became mere backdrops to them.

Gu Qiuhang looked at the painting, a faint smile on his lips.

After a moment, he picked up his brush again and, unexpectedly, added a pair of cat ears to the boy’s head.

Then, at the slight lift of his hips from leaning forward, he added a tail, raised, as if swaying.

Looking at it, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Suddenly, vague images flashed through his mind, things teenage boys often watched together.

A seductive body, a fluffy tail attached behind, smiling alluringly…

His heart began to pound.

Naturally, he found himself thinking, one day, he should buy one with a tail and have him wear it.

The sudden thought startled him. A numbness spread through half his body, his face burning hot.

He rubbed his face with his palm, then buried it in his hands, not lifting his head for a long time.

Unaware that something within him had already begun to change.

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