Strawberry Pop Pop Pop chapter 45

February, nearing the winter break…….

When Su Li finally received the “He Yunchu autograph” from Han Yang, he realized that Han Yang had truly become a star.

“Is this… is this real?” Su Li held the autograph, his eyes sparkling. “Why didn’t you give it to me earlier if you had it for so long?”

“It’s more meaningful to give it on your birthday. I even had it framed for you. How does it look?” Gu Nuan said proudly. “You should thank my brother properly next time.”

“This is your gift to me, why should I thank him?” Su Li felt delighted, patted Gu Nuan on the shoulder, and handed him a cup of milk tea. He daydreamed for a moment and said, “So, can I meet He Yunchu next time?”

“…”

“Why that expression? I’m just kidding!” Su Li sat across from Gu Nuan, sipped his milk tea through the straw, and sighed, “Having someone with connections in the entertainment industry is amazing. He Yunchu rarely signs autographs for people; this is truly priceless. He’s so aloof, really!”

“Oh, so now you admit that my brother is impressive?”

“Before, I was blind!” Su Li held the autograph, feeling very happy, and whatever Gu Nuan said went. He carefully placed the framed autograph in his backpack and picked up his phone to send a message to someone.

Gu Nuan glanced at him. “Messaging your online crush?”

“He has a name!”

“Is it his online username?”

Su Li was speechless. He pointed to the note on his phone. “See, it says ‘Liang Xie’!”

Gu Nuan asked in confusion, “I remember when you first started school, you were eager to get social media accounts from the Alpha seniors. How did you end up in an online relationship with him so quickly? Did your love come out of nowhere?”

Su Li cleared his throat and pretended to be knowledgeable as he said to Gu Nuan, “You don’t understand this, do you? It’s all about playing hard to get.” He touched his thumb to his pinky finger. “It’s to make him, um… a little jealous.”

In this regard, Gu Nuan and Su Li were clearly different.

Su Li showed Gu Nuan a photo he had taken of a game figurine earlier in the day.

“Do you think it’s just an online relationship between us? He’s also in City C, and we’re not even in a long-distance relationship. This morning, I received a birthday gift from him, a figurine I had wanted for a long time but couldn’t afford.”

“Well, have you met him yet?”

Su Li hesitated, “He’s busy. We’ll meet when he has some free time.”

Hearing this, Gu Nuan was genuinely worried that Su Li might be deceived. He hurriedly asked, “How old is he? Is he an Alpha, Beta, or Omega? Do you have a photo of him?”

But Su Li had none of that. The only thing he had was the three years he had spent with Liang Xie in the game.

During these three years, Liang Xie, a prominent figure on the in-game leaderboard, had taught Su Li everything about the game, from being a newbie to becoming an experienced player. Furthermore, Liang Xie had an incredibly good temper; he never scolded Su Li for being clumsy or having mediocre skills. When they played together, Liang Xie often used voice chat for teaching purposes, and his voice was very pleasant. He claimed to be an Alpha.

Su Li’s heart had been captured since the moment he heard Liang Xie’s voice three years ago.

So when Liang Xie accepted his confession a few months ago, Su Li was so excited that he almost wanted to tear the roof off his house.

Thanks to his mother, Su Ling, who immediately came with a feather duster to stop him: “We still have ten years left on the mortgage for this house! Are you trying to rebel, you little troublemaker?”

Thinking of this, Su Li scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed and shy.

He changed the subject discreetly. “Enough about me. What about you? Have you pursued Han Yang?”

Gu Nuan was in a dilemma. “He’s so busy that he doesn’t even have time to reply to my messages.”

Su Li listened and sympathized with him, then started to give some random advice. “Actually, I’ve only recently figured out a bit about love. You see, Liang Xie and I have been flirting for two or three years, and we only got together now because I confessed late.”

Gu Nuan perked up his ears.

Su Li continued, “You should find an opportunity to confess soon.”

“Can you tell me what kind of opportunity would be suitable for confessing?” Gu Nuan took out a small notebook and began taking notes, addressing Su Li as “Teacher Su.”

“It depends on you,” Su Li said with an air of authority. He took a sip of his milk tea and continued to make things up logically. “Besides, he has already signed with a company, so he’s starting to interact with people in that industry, right? You should know that there are many handsome men and beautiful women over there. When an Alpha goes there, isn’t it like a mouse falling into a rice jar? Of course, I’m not saying your brother is a mouse. Please put away your expression, thank you.”

Gu Nuan didn’t change his expression but did put away the notebook. He sighed and hung his head low.

He couldn’t even meet the person, so how could he find an opportunity…

But in the monotonous days of recent times, there was some good news after all. After an entire semester, the senior student who had been pursuing him had finally given up.

But in the end, in matters of the heart, Gu Nuan was still a bit foolish.

It was the coldest month of winter now. He held a bag of shrimp dumplings in an insulated bag and stood alone in front of Han Yang’s rented room, sneezing.

Han Yang, who had promised to be home by ten o’clock, was again not able to arrive on time.

Gu Nuan was sensitive to the cold, so he shrank his neck and hung the insulated bag on the doorknob, placing his hands in his pockets.

Since the last time he met Xu Minghao at the hospital, it had been two months. Gu Nuan’s life had quickly returned to its previous calm state, everything was the same as before.

The only difference was that Han Yang now actively contacted Gu Nuan whenever he had time, instead of Gu Nuan reaching out to him unilaterally.

Han Yang’s behavior was as if he was afraid that Gu Nuan would encounter danger, he was always very concerned.

Gu Nuan was both happy and sad about this. In reality, he wished that Han Yang would contact him for some other reason, like missing him.

Thinking this, he let out a sigh and murmured to himself, “I have such absurd thoughts.”

Gu Nuan looked at the time; it was half-past ten. He had arrived at half-past nine, and without realizing it, he had been waiting for an hour. Seeing that the dormitory’s curfew time was approaching, Gu Nuan had to leave. He sent a message to Han Yang and hurriedly walked to the elevator.

As the elevator doors opened, Han Yang, who was out of breath, unexpectedly appeared in front of him.

“There was a scene where the lead actor wasn’t feeling well, and we shot for a long time. I stayed for the reshoot, and I didn’t have my phone with me. I only realized my phone was dead after we finished. Did you wait for a long time? Are you cold? Why aren’t you wearing a scarf?” Han Yang rarely spoke so much in one breath.

He spoke while taking off his own scarf and anxiously wrapped it around Gu Nuan’s neck.

A faint scent of mint.

Gu Nuan lowered his head to smell it and felt satisfied, “No, I just got here not too long ago. Brother, have you been tired lately? I hung the bag of shrimp dumplings on the doorknob for you, remember to eat them. Rest well tomorrow, we’ll meet at the hospital the day after tomorrow.”

Actually, Gu Nuan wanted to say that if you’re tired, you don’t have to accompany me to the hospital the day after tomorrow. After all, dad will accompany me.

But Gu Nuan couldn’t say it; he missed Han Yang too much. It was only on the day of their visit to the hospital that he could indulge in a little cuddling in Han Yang’s arms.

………….

Gu Nuan’s little scheme in his heart was sometimes too “selfish.” He scratched his nose awkwardly and felt warmth in his neck. From the moment he saw Han Yang, his heart was no longer cold.

He smiled, “I’ll head back to the dormitory first, or else it’ll be time for the curfew restrictions.”

However, Han Yang blocked the elevator door and didn’t move.

Gu Nuan looked up, “…..”

“How long did you wait for me?”

“Really not long.”

“Tell the truth.” Han Yang held Gu Nuan’s hand, his voice heavy with concern, “Your hands are so cold.”

When Han Yang put the scarf around Gu Nuan’s neck, he accidentally brushed against Gu Nuan’s cheek, making it ice-cold. Gu Nuan insisted that he had just arrived to reassure him, but Gu Nuan was always punctual.

“I’m not afraid of the cold.” Gu Nuan shook Han Yang’s hand playfully, like a child.

Han Yang immediately said, “Don’t wait for me at the door in the future.”

Gu Nuan was taken aback; he didn’t expect to be rejected like this. He moved his lips and couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness, slowly withdrawing his hand.

To say that he wasn’t upset would be a lie. They hadn’t seen each other for two months, and he missed Han Yang terribly. After finally waiting for Han Yang to have a two-day break, he had waited at the door like a fool for an hour, only to receive such a response from Han Yang.

But what could Gu Nuan do? It was his own choice to come and wait.

Han Yang was always exhausted from filming, yet he still took the time to accompany him to the hospital and occasionally endure his impatient waiting. All in all, Gu Nuan felt that it was his own fault.

He thought of what Su Li had said during the day and couldn’t help but worry that Han Yang might fall for someone else and not be able to get out of it because they weren’t officially in a relationship yet. So Gu Nuan felt uneasy.

He bit his lip, tugged at Han Yang’s clothes, and tried to negotiate, “Brother, how about I come during the day from now on? I’ll just bring some food, drop it off, and leave without disturbing your rest.”

He asked, “Is that okay?”

Han Yang didn’t answer; instead, he lowered his head to search for something in his bag.

A lump formed in Gu Nuan’s throat, and he buried his face in the thick scarf. He mustered the courage to say, “Xia-ge said that leaving food outside the door isn’t safe, so I waited for you to……”

Before he could finish his sentence, Han Yang took out a key he had prepared in advance and handed it to Gu Nuan.

“Next time, get in and wait inside.”