A young girl called out to the two of them. When they turned around, she smiled and asked Yu Chun, "What's your name?"
Seeing her suddenly ask Yu Chun's name, Nian Suian became alert and stepped forward to shield Yu Chun behind her.
"May I help you?" she asked.
"Well, I work for an entertainment company, and I noticed how beautiful this young lady is. I wanted to ask if she'd be interested in acting."
Hearing this, Nian Suian relaxed a bit. After all, Yu Chun was indeed exceptionally beautiful, so encountering talent scouts wasn't particularly surprising.
However, Nian Suian couldn't make this decision for Yu Chun, so she said, "That's up to her to decide."
Yu Chun shook her head and told the woman, "I'm sorry, but I just want to focus on my studies. I'm not interested in acting."
"Don't be so quick to refuse! Acting won't necessarily interfere with your studies, and you could even do commercials if you don't want to act. Here, let me give you my business card. You can contact me if you change your mind."
Yu Chun took the card, and Nian Suian glanced at it too - Guangying Entertainment, Qi Yunxi.
Nian Suian was familiar with Guangying Entertainment; it was a well-known entertainment company that she often saw in entertainment news.
However, since Yu Chun had already expressed her desire to focus on studying rather than acting, it didn't matter which company the woman represented. Nian Suian nodded politely to the woman and led Yu Chun out of the store to continue their original plan of buying shoes.
The incident seemed like a mere interlude, and neither Nian Suian nor Yu Chun gave it much thought.
What they didn't know was that while Qi Yunxi did work for Guangying Entertainment, she wasn't actually a talent scout.
After they left, Qi Yunxi immediately left the mall, returned to her car, and made a phone call home.
"Hello, Grandmother, there's something I need to tell you. Today at the mall, I saw a young girl who looks exactly like Aunt... around fifteen or sixteen years old... Don't get excited, I'll try to look into it."
Qi Yunxi had accidentally spotted Nian Suian and Yu Chun, and when she saw Yu Chun, she was absolutely stunned. The girl looked identical to her aunt who had gone missing and was only found after many years.
...
"It's getting late, let's go get lunch," Gu Junxing said to Qi Anlu after they had spent the morning go-karting.
When it was time to leave, Qi Anlu seemed reluctant.
Seeing this, Gu Junxing reassured him, "We can come back another time."
"Another time..." Qi Anlu wondered if there would be another chance to play with Uncle Gu.
"When we have time, I'll bring you back here."
For lunch, they found a restaurant inside the amusement park.
"There are still many attractions here. What would you like to try this afternoon?"
"You'll stay with me this afternoon too?"
"Yes, I can stay all day."
After lunch, Qi Anlu wanted to try the drop tower, and Gu Junxing accompanied him, but—
"Uncle won't ride the roller coaster with you, I'm afraid of heights."
Hearing this, Qi Anlu looked at him in surprise. In his mind, Uncle Gu had always been tall and imposing; he never imagined he would be afraid of heights.
As the drop tower slowly rose to its peak, Qi Anlu shouted loudly when it dropped.
The sensation of falling from such a height made Qi Anlu feel like he was living again, and some of the pent-up feelings in his heart dissipated with his scream into the sky.
"Uncle Gu, the drop tower was so fun and exciting!" Qi Anlu exclaimed, his face beaming with joy.
"Daddy, Daddy, I want ice cream!"
"Ice cream is too cold, it's not summer yet."
"Please, Daddy, just one small bite."
"Alright then, be good and wait here with Mommy while Daddy goes to buy it."
They turned toward the voices and saw a little boy hugging his father's arm, begging for ice cream while his mother watched with a smile.
Gu Junxing turned to Qi Anlu, "Would you like some ice cream?"
"No, no," Qi Anlu shook his head embarrassedly. He had just found the previous scene heartwarming.
"Wait here for a moment, I'll go buy something."
Qi Anlu stood there stunned, watching Gu Junxing leave.
A few minutes later, Gu Junxing returned with ice cream.
For the rest of the afternoon, Qi Anlu tried several more attractions.
Even when they encountered attractions with long queues, Gu Junxing waited in line with Qi Anlu.
They played until dusk when Gu Junxing finally drove Qi Anlu home.
Before getting out of the car, Qi Anlu said seriously, "Uncle Gu, thank you so much for today, and please thank Zhijing too. Please tell him this was the best birthday surprise I've ever received."
It wasn't until today that he felt the void from his childhood had finally been filled.
The things he had written about in his essays weren't all made up anymore; though it came late, everything had finally become real.
"No need to thank me. I wish you happiness every day."
Not just happy birthday, but happiness every day.
...
As soon as Gu Junxing got home, Gu Zhijing came to greet him, serving tea and offering to massage his shoulders, acting extremely servile.
"Dad, where did you guys go today?"
Nian Suian, who had arrived home slightly earlier than Gu Junxing, was resting on the sofa when she heard Gu Zhijing's question and looked over at him.
"The amusement park."
"The amusement park? Did you ever take me there when I was little?"
"Heh..." Gu Junxing let out a cold laugh when he heard Gu Zhijing's question.
"What... what's wrong?"
"When you were just starting elementary school, I took you to the amusement park. You insisted on riding the roller coaster, and when I told you you weren't tall enough, you threw yourself on the ground crying and rolling around, saying I wasn't your real father. Passersby who saw this thought I was kidnapping you and almost called the police."
After that incident, Gu Junxing never took Gu Zhijing to an amusement park again.
"Hahahahaha!" Nian Suian couldn't help but burst out laughing. Gu Zhijing had really been quite a troublesome child; fortunately, she hadn't known him back then.
"Really? You must be remembering wrong," Gu Zhijing's mind had automatically blocked out the memory of him rolling on the ground.
Aliali: 67490172c4f3f33ac480fb60Gu Junxing still remembered being surrounded by passersby and park staff, thinking at the time that he should just abandon this troublesome child.
After the family of three finished dinner, they were supposed to return to their respective rooms.
However, Gu Junxing tried to follow Nian Suian to her room.
"What are you doing? Go back to your own room."
"It's been a week, Suian..."
"You managed to wait for over ten years, so a week shouldn't be too hard, right?"
Bang—
The door closed.
After spending the whole day out, she was exhausted and just wanted to sleep peacefully. If she let Gu Junxing in, she probably wouldn't get any sleep at all.
After being rejected once again, Gu Junxing returned to his room and began to wonder... perhaps his technique wasn't good enough?