The Gentle Man Next Door is a Rabbit - 46

 

TGMNDIAR - 46

Xu Mu indeed had no classes in the morning.

But he needed to fulfill the required hours for his work-study program.

The library was quiet, with rows of precious ancient books neatly arranged, faintly yellowed with age.

Wearing the temporary librarian badge issued by the library, Xu Mu patrolled several floors, temporarily not finding any issues with the section numbers.

Seeing that it was still early, he randomly found a seat.

There weren't many people passing by on the third floor, and even fewer in the reading area, keeping their distance from each other.

Xu Mu sat quietly in the corner, the blue light screen reflecting in his pupils, casting a shadow.

His back was straight, his expression serious, making it seem like he was immersed in the ocean of knowledge, but in reality—

[Don't spend another moment alone, here are ten tips to quickly get out of singledom!]

[18 tricks that will drive men crazy!]

[Fifty romantic destinations! Take your goddess or god there now!]

...

Various headache-inducing titles filled Xu Mu's vision. Even the posts in the relationship advice section seemed unreliable, exaggerated, and lacking practicality.

He thought for a moment, then typed in the search bar: [Favorite dating spots for architects?]

Several pages of results popped up, and Xu Mu clicked into each one, absorbing knowledge like a sponge.

"... World-renowned architects' manuscript exhibition, ninety percent of the manuscripts will be displayed for the first time, showcasing unparalleled creative ideas, bursting with incomparable wisdom. The exhibition will be held at the following locations, with the first stop this Sunday at..."

Xu Mu muttered to himself, then bookmarked the post.

"Xu~ Mu~" A faint voice drifted into his ear.

Xu Mu's brow twitched, and he turned his head, saying speechlessly, "Lou Haoyu."

Lou Haoyu chuckled, whispering, "It really is you. I thought I was mistaken when I saw you from afar. Tsk tsk."

Lou Haoyu looked Xu Mu up and down, "What's with this new style? Are you going for a cool and handsome look?"

He leaned in to inspect Xu Mu's hair, "You've been working over styling these few strands, haven't you? It shows a deliberate and affected kind of refinement."

Xu Mu twitched his lips, "Oh."

Lou Haoyu propped up his chin, "Tsk tsk, let me guess the reason for your drastic change in style, are you chasing after someone?"

Xu Mu gave him a sidelong glance but didn't respond.

Lou Haoyu continued, mysteriously, "I guess it's not the gentleman from the other day, is it?"

Xu Mu: "..."

"Stop bothering me," Xu Mu said.

Lou Haoyu couldn't contain his amusement, covering his mouth and whispering, "I knew there was something fishy about you always staring at your chat box back then. You still won't admit it..."

Xu Mu couldn't take it anymore and gestured for him to be quiet, reminding him they were in the library.

Lou Haoyu clicked his tongue and finally said in a hushed tone, "Alright, I'll leave you to it."

Xu Mu looked up, quickly said thank you, and went back to focusing on his light brain.

Lou Haoyu: "..." Hiss

He's stubborn and secretive! .

---

At the end of the day at school, Xu Mu headed home as usual. On the way, he encountered a kind of "robbery-style" sales pitch.

It was characterized by a group of people surrounding you, all talking at once about their own products.

In this highly mechanized world, human-driven sales pitches like those on Earth were rare.

Xu Mu zoned out for a moment and found himself half-pushed and half-pulled into a newly opened shop—

A flower shop.

The interior was gorgeously decorated, with floating lights illuminating brightly, and the air filled with a mixture of intoxicating yet fresh fragrances.

Most of the items were potted plants, but there was also an area where customers could manually arrange flowers to make bouquets.

Xu Mu had initially planned to just take a casual look around and then leave. He glanced over the product introductions on the light screens, murmuring absentmindedly, while calculating the time he'd need to leave.

One, two, three, four...

Suddenly, Xu Mu's footsteps halted, and he stared fixedly at a particular potted plant displayed in the showcase.

More precisely, it was a line of text on the light screen in front of it.

...

As soon as Xu Mu stepped out of the elevator, he heard crying and faint sounds of argument.

It was Ye Ye.

Xu Mu's expression tightened, and he quickened his pace.

"Tongfei, don't pull Ye Ye's arm."

"Bai Nian, don't interfere in the matter between Ye Ye and me!"

"How old is Ye Ye? How can you still have the nerve to say that?"

"Huh, I don't want to argue with you, but if you keep interfering, I'll call the police! Qin Ye, let's go, I'll take you home!"

...

Ye Ye's eyes widened, his whole body trembling, tears the size of beans rolling down his cheeks.

"I...I'm not...not going..." Ye Ye cried hoarsely, snot smearing his mouth.

His little hands clutched Bai Nian's leg tightly as he sobbed, "I want Daddy...hic, I don't want you..."

Qin Tongfei was exasperated, "Do you know who brought you into this world?"

She pointed directly at Bai Nian, "And besides, he's not your dad, Qin Ye, you have a biological father!"

"I don't want to!" Ye Ye shouted back stubbornly, "I want Daddy...not you! Go away! Hic, hic, hic..."

Qin Tongfer's carefully curled and permed red hair was in a mess, and she clenched her back teeth tightly.

She tightly grasped her leather purse, her finger bones turning white.

"Ye Ye—" she squeezed out a smile, "Mom will take you away, this time, the three of us will be together as a family, okay?"

Ye Ye cried even harder, clutching onto Bainian and trembling, "Daddy... I won't go... Please don't... Ye Ye won't go..."

Qin Tongfer's expression twisted, "Qin Ye!" She took a big step forward, her fingers long and slender, grabbing Ye Ye's arm.

"Come with me!"

Ye Ye screamed in pain, "Ah! Daddy!... Sob sob sob... Daddy, it hurts..."

Bai Nian's face also looked grim, holding onto Qin Tongfei's wrist, saying each word distinctly, "If you keep making trouble, I'll call Uncle and have him come pick you up in person!"

Qin Tongfei's eyes flashed with fear, and she bit her lip, furious, "Bai Nian! You promised me, you wouldn't—"

Bai Nian cut her off coldly, "Who broke the agreement first?"

Qin Tongfei's chest heaved, her wine-red nails almost breaking.

Bai Nian didn't waste any more words, directly opened his light brain, dialed a number, and put it on speakerphone.

There were a few buzzing sounds, and a kind male voice came from inside.

"Nian?"

Qin Tongfei froze, stepping back a few steps.

"Uncle Qin, how have you been recently?" Bai Nian greeted him warmly.

"The same as usual, eating, drinking, and sleeping well. Oh, did I hear Ye Ye crying?" The old man on the other end sounded clearly happy, laughing heartily.

Bai Nian touched Ye Ye's head and said softly, "Ye Ye?"

Ye Ye wiped his tears and whispered, "Grandpa."

"Hey hey hey, my grandson is so obedient!"

Qin Tongfei bit her nails, not daring to make a sound.

Bai Nian mouthed, "Let go."

Qin Tongfei was unwilling to let go, she stared at the ongoing call, then turned around angrily and left, her high heels clattering.

Xu Mu was worried that his presence would bring unnecessary trouble to his Brother Nian, so he quietly hid in a corner, observing the situation unfold.

He happened to pass by the woman with red hair.

His face showed no expression, pretending to pass by, while his peripheral vision secretly glanced at the woman.

Brother Nian's ex-wife...

Xu Mu's lips tightened, realizing the situation.

She had red hair and red lips, delicately made up, striding arrogantly in high heels, unexpectedly haughty and flamboyant.

He carefully placed the pot of white camellias, which he had bloomed in his arms, back into the storage compartment and walked forward.

"Brother Nian."

Bai Nian was comforting Ye Ye, and upon hearing the voice, he looked up, "Ah Mu?"

Xu Mu squatted down and wiped Ye Ye's tears, "Ye Ye, be good, don't cry."

Ye Ye pouted, sticky and teary-eyed, calling out, "Daddy..." He reached out for a hug.

Xu Mu patted Ye Ye's shoulder lightly, comforting him for a few moments before they entered the room together.

The two of them took turns soothing Ye Ye's emotions. When he finally cried himself to exhaustion, he fell asleep on Bai Nian's shoulder and was taken back to his room.

"Ah Mu, when did you come back?" Bai Nian brought a cup of tea and placed it in front of Xu Mu.

Xu Mu took a sip, the tea slightly bitter, "Just a few minutes before you made that call."

Bai Nian responded with a hum, holding his cup, and remained silent.

Xu Mu couldn't sit still, blinking his eyes rapidly, and asked indirectly, "Did something happen just now? Ye Ye was crying so hard..."

Bai Nian furrowed his brows slightly and said softly, "As you saw, she wanted to take Ye Ye away."

"If she could guarantee to treat Ye Ye well, I wouldn't mind letting her take him, but obviously, she had abandoned him before..." His lips twitched, "I can't trust her."

Xu Mu observed Bai Nian's expression, sensing a wave of emotions in his heart.

Lowering his gaze, Xu Mu said softly, "Hmm, Brother Nian, I understand your feelings."

Bai Nian forced a smile.

Xu Mu tapped his knee lightly with his fingertips, then casually asked, "Ah, Brother Nian, do you mind if I ask, why did you choose to separate from your ex-wife in the first place?" He needed to understand clearly to avoid making the same mistakes.

After a pause, he asked, "Was it because of personality differences?"

No answer came for a long time.

Xu Mu subtly raised his head and noticed that Bai Nian's expression seemed a bit strange.

"Ah Mu." Bai Nian hesitated, calling out, "You may have misunderstood something."

"Of course, it's also my fault for not explaining it at the time. Ye Ye's mother is the daughter my stepfather had with his ex-wife, named Qin Tongfei. Ye Ye carries her surname, Qin Ye. There's no blood relation between me and Tongfei, but legally, there's a family relationship."

"Ye Ye is the child she had with her ex-boyfriend. Initially, my stepfather opposed her relationship with that man, but they eloped. I don't know what happened, but they separated, and she sent Ye Ye to be raised by my stepfather and my mother..."

Bai Nian sighed, "She has a rebellious personality, which has always been a headache for my stepfather. He didn't know how to discipline her. I am like a brother to her, but she has never acknowledged me and refused to call me brother. She also resents me for trying to discipline her. I've... "

A strange laugh suddenly echoed.

Bai Nian stopped speaking, looking uncertainly at Xu Mu, "Ah, Ah Mu?"

Fireworks exploded in Xu Mu's mind, as he struggled to suppress the upward twitch of his mouth, but failed, his lips were awkwardly twitching.

"So that's how it is, Brother Nian, you had a hard time when you were young." He couldn't contain his smile, his eyes gleaming, "So... you've never been married?"

Bai Nian was taken aback for a moment, then sighed helplessly, "No, you misunderstood."

Xu Mu forgot why he had thought that in the first place, but it didn't matter anymore.

He took out the potted plant from the storage compartment and handed it over carefully.

"Is this for me?" Bai Nian asked in surprise.

Xu Mu sat upright, nodding seriously, "I just happened to see it blooming nicely, and the celadon pot underneath looked beautiful, with a classical and elegant feel, so I bought it for you."

Bai Nian lowered his gaze, his fingertips playing with the soft white camellia petals, a smile touching his lips.

"Thank you." He asked, "Why did you suddenly think of giving me camellias?"

Xu Mu's palm sweated, "I just thought it looked nice when it bloomed, and the celadon pot was beautiful too. It had a classical elegance to it, so I bought it."

Bai Nian couldn't hide his delight, "Is there any special meaning behind it?"

Special meaning... Xu Mu's gaze flickered for a moment.

"Well, I didn't pay attention to that."

He thought of the flower language written on the product description card and his heart trembled ever so lightly:

The ideal perfect lover.

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