Strawberry Pop Pop Pop chapter 51
Gu Nuan couldn’t sleep for half the night, and he fell into a drowsy sleep only close to dawn. When Ji Mu, who had come to wake him up at half-past eight, saw him, he looked utterly exhausted.
“You stayed up late despite having to go to the hospital today?” Ji Mu’s face darkened, and he called him by his full name. “Gu Nuan, what’s going on with you?”
Gu Nuan, upon hearing his full name being, quickly got out of bed, still sporting dark circles under his eyes, and lied, “Dad, you must be mistaken. I didn’t stay up late.”
Ji Mu: “…”
Ji Mu: “Go look at yourself in the mirror before speaking.”
Gu Yuanchen, who had come over, intervened, “Let’s go to the hospital first, and when we return, let the child get some rest.” After that, he called out sternly, “Gu Nuan, no more staying up late next time.”
This was the second time Gu Nuan had been called by his full name by his parents, and it made him completely awake. He quickly brushed his teeth, washed his face, and changed his clothes, obediently getting into the car.
Perhaps because he hadn’t slept well the previous night, Gu Nuan almost couldn’t bear the pain of the injection today. He cried and felt that he had been crying a lot these past few days. He planned to drink plenty of water when he got home to compensate.
Gu Nuan was in so much pain that he trembled, sometimes leaning on Ji Mu and then on Gu Yuanchen. Fortunately, Ji Mu and Gu Yuanchen were both there, and even though their soothing pheromones weren’t as effective as the ones from Han Yang, it was better than nothing.
At this point, Gu Nuan was already starting to miss Han Yang’s soothing pheromones.
His eyes were moist, and his face was still pale.
Ji Mu felt extremely sorry for him and comforted him by patting his back, “What happened today? Why is your reaction even more severe than before?”
“I’m fine,” Gu Nuan replied.
The nurse, who was recording information, spoke up, “Did your brother not come with you today? His soothing pheromones are effective for you. Next time, you should call him to come along; it’ll make it easier for you.”
Gu Nuan didn’t say a word, feeling truly miserable inside.
Ji Mu wiped away his tears and couldn’t help but say, “It seems like we should have Han Yang come along next time. You two seem to have good compatibility, and his soothing pheromones are more effective than mine and your father’s.”
Gu Nuan quickly declined, “No need.”
Ji Mu wasn’t naive, though. “Xiao Nuan, what’s going on between you and Han Yang?”
Gu Nuan wouldn’t tell the truth, so he wiped away his tears and said, “My brother is too busy. I went to see him yesterday and found out he’s not getting enough sleep. He has dark circles under his eyes. It’s just an injection; I’ve had them before without my brother being there. The pain only lasts for a while.”
That was the truth.
But suddenly, Gu Nuan took a deep breath.
Ji Mu thought he was in extreme pain and quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
Gu Nuan, with teardrops in his eyes, felt faint from the discomfort in his glands. He accidentally blurted out what he was really thinking, “The days without my brother are too hard; I’m afraid to even think about them.”
Ji Mu and Gu Yuanchen: “…”
Ten minutes later, Ji Mu and Gu Yuanchen walked out into the hallway outside the rest area.
Ji Mu took a cautious look inside and said to Gu Yuanchen with concern, “I think Xiao Nuan likes Han Yang.” He was afraid Gu Yuanchen didn’t understand, so he explained in a hushed voice, “In an Alpha-like way.”
Gu Yuanchen furrowed his brows.
Ji Mu lowered his voice further, “Like the way I feel about you.”
“I know.”
Ji Mu asked, “did you already know about this?”
Gu Yuanchen cleared his throat lightly, feeling relieved inside.
Ji Mu rarely felt so worried, saying, “But I asked Han Yang last time, and he didn’t seem to have that intention. He didn’t say no, but he didn’t give a definite answer either.”
“You actually asked Han Yang?” Gu Yuanchen paused for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“He gave me a vague answer, and I’m not sure what he really meant,” Ji Mu explained. “But looking at Xiao Nuan like this, if Han Yang really doesn’t have that intention, we can’t let him get any deeper into this. Otherwise…”
Otherwise, if Han Yang started a romantic relationship with someone else one day, Gu Nuan wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Ji Mu, caring deeply for his child, didn’t want Gu Nuan to shed any more tears.
Gu Yuanchen, as someone in the know, had promised Han Yang not to tell Ji Mu about his feelings. So Gu Yuanchen pretended not to know. Faced with his worried partner, Gu Yuanchen was itching to reveal everything but managed to restrain himself.
Gu Yuanchen placed a hand on Ji Mu’s shoulder, gently squeezing it to comfort him, and said, “Don’t worry; Han Yang definitely knows. Besides, the kids are all grown up now, and there are some things we should interfere in less.”
“That makes sense,” Ji Mu understood. “I’m just worried…”
He wanted to say more, but Gu Nuan had already come out on his own.
With red-rimmed eyes and freshly cried out, he noticed the two of them standing intimately in the corridor. He couldn’t help but express his surprise, “Dad, Father, are you going to display affection even at the hospital?”
“…”
“In public places, please be a bit more discreet.”
Gu Nuan, as someone who had just experienced a breakup, earnestly advised his parents to be mindful of the surroundings.
Chinese New Year was approaching quickly.
Han Yang unexpectedly received a role in a TV series as the third male lead, a reserved black-clad swordsman, in a historical drama starring He Yunchu. Originally, the role had been assigned to a minor actor, but due to a scandalous tabloid report, he had to be replaced. However, the replacement hadn’t been decided yet. Seeing that the production was about to start, He Yunchu strongly recommended Han Yang to the director, landing Han Yang this opportunity.
As a result, Han Yang couldn’t return home for the New Year and couldn’t even make it back for New Year’s Eve. After all, his role this time had a substantial amount of screen time and was the most significant role he had played all year, so he took it very seriously.
…
Poor Gu Nuan couldn’t see Han Yang all this time, and he was suffering from lovesickness.
Due to the failure of his confession, he hadn’t dared to message Han Yang recently, feeling very frustrated. Another person who was lovesick along with him was Su Li, whose boyfriend had gone abroad for the New Year, leaving no time for video calls.
The two of them met with sighs and spent New Year’s Day eating hot pot together, both feeling a sense of loss. In some ways, they were kindred spirits.
However, Su Li, who had successfully left the single life behind, revived his interest on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year when his boyfriend returned from overseas. He completely forgot about going out to see a movie with Gu Nuan and expressed his desire to rekindle their love.
Su Li: “[Liang Xie returned to the country last night, and I want to play games with him! You can go out on your own; I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll treat you to hot pot next time!]”
Gu Nuan: “[You’re letting your feelings for someone else overshadow our friendship.you’ll have to treat me to hot pot three times!]”
Su Li: “[Sure, sure! Enough about that! I’m going to voice chat and play games with him now!]”
Feeling bored, Gu Nuan put his phone aside and started thinking about Han Yang, becoming even more dejected. He went downstairs to get some fruit, but before he could descend the stairs, he saw Gu Yuanchen feeding strawberries to Ji Mu, who was reading documents.
Gu Nuan purposely cleared his throat and walked closer. He saw Gu Yuanchen pick up another strawberry and continue to offer it to Ji Mu while asking Gu Nuan, “The strawberries today are very sweet; do you want me to make you some juice?”
Feeling downcast and thinking the whole world was showing affection except for him, Gu Nuan got up with a furrowed brow and went back upstairs, saying, “No need, I’m going to take a nap.”
Gu Yuanchen, worried, put down his fork and asked, “Why does this child seem even less energetic today?”
Ji Mu, holding the documents in his hand, sighed softly, “Han Yang didn’t come back for the New Year, and I think he’s starting to suffer from lovesickness. I don’t know how to advise him on this matter, and we have to pretend not to know about it… Let him be for now.”
…
Just as Gu Nuan was about to take a nap in his room, he received a message from Xia Fei.
Xia Fei: “[Little one, do you want to visit your brother?]”
Gu Nuan: “!!”
He then corrected Xia Fei, “[Xia-ge, I’m already 19, not a little one.]”
Xia Fei: “Alright, alright. Haha, I found out yesterday when Lao Liang returned to the country. It turns out my friend is directing this drama. I’m going to visit the set the day after tomorrow. If you want to come, I can take you along.”
Gu Nuan happened to have nothing to do at home, so he replied, “[I’ll go! Thank you, Xia-ge! Xia-ge, you’re really amazing!]”
Xia Fei loved it when people flattered him, so he was delighted. At the same time, he gave Gu Nuan a heads-up, “[When you go, you might not be able to talk to Han Yang; these two days are his busy shooting schedule.]”
Gu Nuan had no objections; he was worried that Han Yang wouldn’t like him visiting the set.
He didn’t need to talk; he just wanted to sneak a peek.
His lovesickness needed to be treated urgently.