Takenoma if Line②

The black sedan slowly drove onto the mountain highway, heading towards the Gu family's old mansion.

Ji Su sat quietly in the backseat, looking out the window at the unfamiliar scenery, and suddenly plopped down next to the window, "This is not my way home."

"This is the way back to my house, and I don't know where your house is." Gu Zhao stares at the back of the round head, "But we met once last summer, do you remember?"

Su Ji blinked his little fan-like eyelashes, searched his head carefully, and looked back, "I remember, I saw you at Grandma's house!"

It's just that the boy was so thin then, that he didn't recognize him right away.

"Right." Gu Zhao withdrew his gaze, "Back then, I could often hear you playing the piano."

Ji Su sat back on the seat, looking a little embarrassed, "Is it hard for me to play the piano?"

"It's not hard to hear." Gu Zhao shook his head, "It's good."

"Thank you." Ji Su curled her eyes, smiling innocently and brightly, "You're the first person who ever complimented me on how well I play the piano."

Gu Zhao repeated earnestly again, "It's very nice."

While the two were talking, the car had already driven into the courtyard villa halfway up the hill.

Gu Zhao asked, "The rain is getting heavier and heavier, can we go to my house first to get out of the rain?"

Ji Su has completely lowered her guard: "Sure."

Gu Zhao held out his hand toward him, "Let's get off."

After getting off the bus, Ji Su looked around curiously and exclaimed, "Your house is really big."

"Yes." Gu Zhao took the cold little hand firmly in his own, and led him toward the main hall, "I have everything in my house."

Elder Gu was talking to his eldest son in the living room, and at the sound of his voice, he looked toward the door, the expression on his face instantly becoming gentle, "Little Five, you're back."

Gu Zhao called out, "Grandpa."

Elder Gu's gaze fell on the little boy he was holding, and he froze, "Which family's child is this?"

Ji Su was a bit uneasy, and instinctively hid behind Gu Zhao.

The driver stepped aside and returned, "The boy was picked up by the young master on the side of the road."

"I didn't pick him up." Gu Zhao immediately corrected, "He's my friend."

Elder Gu was a bit puzzled by the situation and patiently inquired, "Xiao Wu, do you recognize this child?"

"Recognize." Gu Zhao had just said two words when Ji Su, who was hiding behind him, sneezed loudly.

Gu Zhao frowned, "Grandpa, I want to take him to change his clothes first."

Elder Gu responded, "Alright, you can take him up first."

Gu Zhao led Ji Su through the main hall and walked a long way up to the second floor.

As he walked into the bedroom, Ji Su let out another "wow", "Your room is so big."

Gu Zhao asked rhetorically, "Don't you have a big room?"

"The original room was big too, but ......" Ji Su's voice trailed off, "but now that I've got a different room, it's much smaller."

Gu Zhao doesn't understand, "Why did you change it?"

"Because my brother needs a big room." Ji Su reassured herself, "But the room I have now is fine."

Gu Zhao let go of his hand and moved a chair to the closet, from which he rummaged for towels and clothes.

Ji Su stood next to her and tilted her little face up to warn, "You be careful."

"It's fine." Gu Zhao finished fetching his clothes and got out of his chair, "Can you dress yourself?"

"Of course I can!" Ji Su puffed out her little chest, "I've been dressing myself since I was three."

"Then you can wear it yourself." Gu Zhao handed him the clothes, "New clothes, I haven't worn them."

Ji Su walks into the bathroom with her clothes in her arms, removes the half-dry, half-wet clothes from her body, and replaces them with fresh, clean clothes.

A few moments later, Gu Zhao came to the door, "Are you dressed?"

Ji Su stood up, cuffs dropping down to cover tiny hands, "I'm dressed."

Gu Zhao had grown quite a bit in the past year, and with a bone structure that was already bigger than his, the clothes looked a bit ill-fitting on him.

Gu Zhao walks over, "Hands up."

Ji Su dutifully held up one hand so he could roll up his cuffs.

Gu Zhao finished rolling up his cuffs and then knelt down to roll up his pants.

"Thanks." Ji Su thanked her softly, "By the way, I still don't know your name?"

"Gu Zhao." Gu Zhao stood up, grabbed his hand, and wrote two words on his palm.

"Gu, Zhao, I know which two characters it is." Ji Su's brow arched and she held that hand in her backhand, writing her name carefully in one stroke.

Gu Zhao looked down at his palm, "Ji Su?"

"Uh-huh!" Ji Su answered loudly, "Gu Zhao, you're great!"

"Not bad." Gu Zhao returned, picking up a white towel that had been hitched to the side and wiping his hair.

The towel was so big that it covered almost Ji Su's entire face, and when he accidentally touched the red, swollen part of the left side of his face, he whimpered in pain.

Gu Zhao sounded nervous and took off the towel, "What's wrong?"

"No ......" Ji Su fought through the pain, her big eyes watering, "It's nothing."

A child's skin is already delicate, and his face was snow-white like a porcelain doll, and the slap marks on his face looked particularly frightening.

Gu Zhao subconsciously reached out his hand, and when his fingertips were about to touch his cheek, he retracted, "I'll have someone bring the medicine over."

A few minutes later, Ji Su sat down on a small bench and asked his nanny to give him medicine.

He seemed far too well behaved, with his hands on his knees, and when he was in pain he would just purse his lips and try not to make a sound.

Gu Zhao stood by and couldn't help but warn, "Gently."

The nanny's hands shook with nervousness as she hurriedly responded, "Yes, young master."

"It doesn't hurt." Ji Su clenched her fists like a young adult, "Susu is very brave."

Gu Zhao asked, "The wound on your face, how did you get it?"

Ji Su lowered her head and whispered back, "I didn't hold my brother properly when I hugged him and Daddy got mad, but I really didn't mean it."

"Your dad hit you?" Zhao Gu wrinkled his brow, "Is he your real dad?"

Ji Su nods, "Yeah right."

Gu Zhao continued, "Your father is not good to you?"

"He used to be nice to me, but ever since dad and mom got divorced ......" Ji Su cringed, "dad has become so mean and aggressive."

He tries so hard to be a good kid that everyone praises, but his dad still doesn't seem to like him.

In a few short sentences, Gu Zhao made sense of the cause and effect: "So your parents got divorced, your dad remarried, and your stepmom had another baby."

Ji Su nods, "It's a brother."

When his face was well medicated, Gu Zhao asked again, "Are you hungry?"

Ji Su shook her head and tried to say she wasn't hungry, but her stomach growled uncontrollably.

Now the uninjured side's face was red.

But Gu Zhao didn't laugh at him, just held him and walked downstairs.

Ji Su asked softly, "Gu Zhao, where are we going?"

"Go eat in the kitchen." Gu Zhao sidles up, "What month is your birthday?"

Ji Su answered honestly, and Gu Zhao continued, "Then I am older than you, and you must call me brother."

Ji Su used her other hand to compare the size of the two men, realizing that she was indeed a little shorter than him, and obediently called out, "Brother Gu Zhao."

"Uh-huh." Gu Zhao answered, the corners of his lips lifting upward.

When Elder Gu, who was walking head-on, saw this scene, his footsteps paused slightly.

Although almost a year had passed since that incident, the boy had always spoken very little, not only was he not as lively and cheerful as others of his age, but he was rarely even seen with any expression, let alone showing such a heartfelt smile.

At that moment, Gu Zhao also saw the old man, "Grandpa."

"Changed your clothes?" Elder Gu collected his thoughts and said in a gentle tone, "Hungry? The kitchen is ready for dinner."

In the dining room, Elder Gu sat on the main seat, his eyes lovingly watching the two children eat.

Despite being hungry, Ji Su still eats gracefully.

When he was almost done eating, he put down the spoon and grabbed a wet towel that was nearby to wipe his mouth and hands clean.

Elder Gu asked, "Why don't you eat more?"

Ji Su politely returned, "Thank you Grandpa, I'm full."

Elder Gu couldn't stop smiling, "Good boy, so polite."

Ji Su sat down at the table and waited until Gu Zhao also put down his chopsticks before asking, "Can I go home now?"

Only then did Elder Gu remember this one, "Good boy, where does your family live?"

Ji Su returned the name of a place, and the butler whispered a couple of words in Elder Gu s ear.

"Good boy, your family lives a bit far away." Elder Gu pondered slightly, "How about this, you give your parents a call and say you're staying at my house tonight, okay?"

Ji Su hesitated for a moment, thinking of the punishment he might face when he returned tonight, and nodded, "Okay, Grandpa."

Gu Zhao made no comment, but his brows were visibly all relaxed.

Ji Su remembered his father's cell phone number, and after dialing the number and ringing several times, a familiar voice came from the other side: "Who is it?"

Ji Su whispered back, "Dad, it's me."

"Ji Su?" the voice on the other side immediately became grumpy, "You're not allowed to do that now, one slap and you're playing the runaway routine for me, right!"

Ji Su shuddered in fear and subconsciously apologized, "I'm sorry, dad I-"

The sentence was interrupted by another roar.

The voice from the phone receiver was so loud that Elder Gu, who was standing on the side, heard it as well.

Elder Gu's face sank as he signaled Ji Su to give him the phone and cleared his throat, "Ji Su's father, right?"

The cursing from across the room came to a screeching halt, "Who are you?"

"My surname is Gu." Elder Gu has been in a position of power for a long time, and naturally carries an aura of not being angry, "Susu got lost, my grandson brought him back home, and will send him back tomorrow when the rain stops."

In an impatient tone, the opposite party asked, "Where does your family live?"

Elder Gu reported the name of the place, "If you don't feel comfortable, you can come and pick up Susu in person tomorrow."

This time, the opposite party was silent for several seconds, and asked tentatively, "Is, is it the Gu family I know?"

Elder Gu seemed to find this question ridiculous and directly handed the phone to the housekeeper.

"It's okay." Gu Zhao took Ji Su's little hand again, "You can stay at my house tonight without worry."

*

The nanny had packed a guest room with scented, soft sheets for the little guests.

Ji Su got caught in the rain, took a hot bath with the help of a babysitter, and changed into Gu Zhao's pajamas.

To prevent colds, the nanny also made a cup of punch for him to drink.

The punch smelled a little bitter, but Ji Su didn't mind and spat on her tongue after drinking it all in one gulp.

Gu Zhao peeled a milk candy and stuffed it in his mouth.

Ji Su had milk candy in her mouth and her speech was a bit muffled: "Brother Gu Zhao, play ......"

"What did you say?" Gu Zhao moved a little closer to him.

Ji Su used her tongue to tip the milk candy to her cheeks, "I said, Good night brother Gu Zhao."

Gu Zhao stared at his face and couldn't help but reach out one finger and poke the bulging cheek.

Ji Su was poked and laughed so hard that she fell crookedly on the bed.

Gu Zhao's mood also brightened up, "Good night."

After he too left, the room went quiet.

Ji Su was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling with her eyes open, not feeling sleepy at all.

In the end, just a six or seven year old child, at first glance to a completely strange environment, there is no one around, still can not help but be afraid and homesick.

"Boom!" A thunderclap sounded outside the window.

Ji Su's body trembled and she buried her head under the covers as well, her whole body curling up.

Thunder rumbles outside the window, and Gu Zhao lies flat on his back, a little worried.

Just as he hesitated to check on Ji Su, he suddenly heard a very soft knock on the door.

Gu Zhao leapt up and quickly jumped off the bed, ran quickly behind the door and wrenched it open.

Ji Su stood in the doorway, wearing his pajamas and holding a pillow in his arms, his little face was flushed, his dark, soft hair a little disheveled, and he was looking at him pitifully.

Gu Zhao asked without expression, "What's wrong?"

"I ......" Ji Su pursed her lips and gathered her courage to ask in a small voice, "Brother Gu Zhao, can I sleep with you tonight?"