Guidebook (2/2)
Gu Yilan turned and headed toward the boy’s room.
He held onto the door handle and had just opened the door when a soft, slender body suddenly fell into his arms. At the same time, a faint, delicate fragrance spread to his nose.
Su Zesui hurriedly steadied the man’s arm, straightened his posture, and his cheeks started to flush again.
“How much did you overhear?” Gu Yilan raised an eyebrow and asked him.
“Nothing,” Su Zesui counted on his fingers. The soundproofing in the house was excellent; even pressed against the door, he couldn’t make out a single word clearly.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he looked the man over with concern from head to toe: “Brother, did he hit you?”
Gu Yilan smirked, “No. He can’t beat me.”
Su Mingyu, who had just returned with a broom, heard exactly that sentence.
He gripped the broom tightly, teeth grinding with a crunching sound. “Gu… Yilan!”
Before he could finish, his own little brother spread his arms wide, standing in front of Gu Yilan with a tense face, as if facing a serious enemy.
That bastard Gu Yilan stood motionless behind the boy, comfortably protected, even leisurely raising an eyebrow at him.
Su Mingyu felt a dull ache in his chest from anger.
Pretending not to see these two damn lovebirds, he went to sweep up the broken teapot pieces scattered on the floor.
“Brother, my hand hurts.”
While concentrating on cleaning up the shards, Su Mingyu suddenly heard this and instinctively straightened up and turned his head.
He opened his mouth, about to lecture his brother again, but saw his little brother’s other “brother” checking his injury and fussing over him with care: “I’ll put medicine on it when we get home.”
Su Mingyu: ……
“No medicine,” Su Mingyu said with a resigned face. “Even if it hurts, just bear with it. If this happens again, I’ll beat your little hand to a pulp.”
Su Zesui didn’t understand, but Gu Yilan knew this was actually Su Mingyu’s warning—warning that their relationship could only go this far and no further.
“Discipline should be moderate too,” Gu Yilan frowned slightly, a trace of dissatisfaction in his voice. “It’s not the end of the world—no need to get angry, and definitely no need to hit anyone.”
Su Zesui nodded emphatically and quietly repeated the man’s words to his big brother: “No need.”
The two in front of him stood together like partners in crime—so close it was as if they shared one pair of pants.
To Su Mingyu, Gu Yilan looked like a sly old fox who immediately turned his back after benefiting from a business deal. Seeing his ungrateful little brother made his hands itch with rage.
Su Mingyu couldn’t help but curse under his breath despite being in front of his little brother. Pointing at the door, he barked, “Both of you get out of here right now.”
Though he said it like that, he couldn’t really ignore his own little brother. He had to swallow the bitter pill himself.
That night, Su Mingyu organized some documents and sent over a care guidebook for his little brother.
It included dietary habits—no cilantro, no ginger, loves sweets, likes to eat favorite dishes last, needs to drink more milk; daily habits—kicks off the blanket, throws tantrums, cries easily, and so on.
There were also some taboos—like it’s best not to let Su Zesui apply his own medicine, don’t take him to the hospital, don’t mention the scar on his arm, etc. All covered.
Following this guidebook, even the most delicate child could be raised soft and pampered.
Of course, since things weren’t fully settled yet, the follow-up hospital visit was postponed for now.
Seeing how lively his little brother looked, it didn’t seem like he hadn’t fully recovered.
The reply came quickly—
[11th Dimension: Mm. Got it.]
Still uneasy about his troublesome little brother, Su Mingyu kept typing on his phone.
[S: Did you write the guarantee letter? Send it to me once it’s done, then make a few copies and paste them on your walls.]
[11th Dimension: …]
[11th Dimension: I’m very busy. You write it and send it to me. I’ll sign it.]
Su Mingyu was once again left speechless by Gu Yilan’s constant tactics of turning the tables and taking control.
But as someone who had gone to university with him—and who was also the heir of a prominent family—Su Mingyu knew Gu Yilan well enough. He was thoughtful and calculating, not the type to act recklessly.
Bringing up the guarantee letter again was just his way of giving a second warning.
[S: Suisui loves junk food—chips, ice cream, that sort of stuff. Don’t buy too much for him.]
[11th Dimension: Mm.]
[S: He kicks the blanket off in his sleep. If you have time, check on him at night.]
[11th Dimension: Okay.]
[S: He’s stubborn and likes to throw little tantrums. But since he’s calling you “brother” now, try to be patient with him. If he really gets out of hand, it’s okay to give him a couple smacks.]
[11th Dimension: He’s very well-behaved.]
Reading that, Su Mingyu finally felt a bit more at ease.
[11th Dimension: Also, I’m not prone to violence.]
Su Mingyu: ???
Even though Gu Yilan could be infuriating to talk to, at least he was reliable. Su Mingyu asked him a few more things that hadn’t been clearly covered in the “care guidebook.”
He patiently explained all the little details about his little brother, treating it like pre-job training for a dependable, gold-medal-winning (and completely unpaid) babysitter.
After tonight’s chaos, things seemed to be back on track—orderly and steady.
But his brother probably wouldn’t be coming home for a while. For the foreseeable future, when he rushed back late at night, the obedient little figure that used to run to the door to greet him would no longer be there.
It’s just that his little brother had gained another older brother—nothing too dramatic. Su Mingyu patted his chest and tried to comfort himself with that thought.
Just then, his phone buzzed.
Su Mingyu picked it up, wondering who had messaged him on WeChat now—
[(o^^o): Brother, what does “dry firewood and raging flames” mean?]
Su Mingyu’s phone dropped to the floor with a loud clack.
. . . . .
Meanwhile, Su Zesui lay on his bed, hugging his favorite plush handcuff toy, kicking his fair little legs in the air while searching Ahoo for answers.
His brother had told him that marriage meant holding hands.
Oh, and also kissing.
And when the time came, Mr. Gu would bite him, and they would sleep in the same bed, happily together.
But!
When they got back today, Mr. Gu hadn’t even held his hand.
Even when applying medicine in the room, he only used a spray and didn’t touch him at all.
His palm didn’t really hurt anymore, but he still felt disappointed—because Mr. Gu was too restrained. He avoided even the slightest physical contact.
No.
Something must’ve gone wrong.
Su Zesui had never had friends before, and he didn’t dare get close to strangers. He had only read in novels that when two people liked each other, they would eventually get married. After that, the story would end.
He lived in a world where positive emotions didn’t exist. The feelings in novels—love, longing, heartbreak, emotional attachment—and the physical expressions of them like holding hands, kissing, snuggling, nibbling… all felt distant and surreal to him.
No one had ever taught him those things. He could only memorize them stiffly. But after crossing worlds, most of those memorized facts had faded away.
Now, his understanding of intimacy was nearly zero.
But he remembered once, in high school, he had seen two boys secretly making out at the stairwell landing—kissing while groping each other.
He guessed… that must be what being close meant.
Still confused, he turned to Ahoo.
Ahoo showed him that after marriage came “dry firewood and raging flames.”
Then Baidu explained that phrase meant “dry wood makes fire burn even more fiercely.”
Finally, his brother replied—
[Big Brother: You little brat! What the hell are you looking up again?! Wasn’t that beating just now enough for you?!]
Su Zesui’s palms were still red and swollen. He didn’t dare make his brother mad again, so he hurriedly shook his head.
[(o^^o): No no. I didn’t look at anything.]
[Big Brother: I’m warning you—don’t mess around. If you go too far out of curiosity, It’ll strip you bare without mercy and make you hurt so bad you’ll regret it.]
Su Zesui didn’t understand, so he asked sincerely:
[(o^^o): Why does it hurt? Has big brother ever been in a fiery passion moment?]
On the other end, Su Mingyu was practically about to cough up blood from anger.
He had dedicated his youth to the family business, had been single since birth, and had never even dated anyone—how would he know anything about “fiery passion”?
[Big Brother: Anyway, I won’t allow it. If you dare to have a ‘fiery passion’ moment with Gu Yilan, believe it or not, I’ll catch a flight with a knife and show up at your bedside to give each of you one stab.]
Reading his brother’s message, Su Zesui thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
——So… “fiery passion” only happens with Mr. Gu? And they have to be on the same bed, helping each other… take off all their clothes?
——And then what? After taking everything off, do they hold hands, kiss, or tell stories or something? But why would it hurt? He really couldn’t figure it out. Hm.
——…When exactly is Mr. Gu going to “fiery passion” him?
Thinking this far, Su Zesui slapped his little head—he suddenly remembered: he and Mr. Gu weren’t married yet! They hadn’t even gotten their marriage certificate!
It all made sense now.
No wonder Mr. Gu wouldn’t hold his hand—it was because they hadn’t registered their marriage yet. That must also be why he hadn’t moved into Mr. Gu’s room yet. How could he have forgotten?
Su Zesui opened his phone calendar and counted with his fingers—
Yup. Only two days left.