Young Master Gu, Please Be Gentle

A man was sitting on the driver’s seat in the van. He was wearing a black V-neck T-shirt and wearing a baseball cap on his head.

Since his hat was pushed downwards, his face could not be clearly discerned. Only his chin could be distinctly seen.

He placed his hands on the steering wheel. They were very calloused from the many years of hard labor. His hard muscles and muscular physique could be seen beneath his thin T-shirt, and he was filled with masculinity, which made one desire to savor him.

At this moment, a school bus came to a stop. The discipline master of X University had arrived to pick the youths up.

The discipline master stood in front of the school bus and waved at the man in the car.

The man raised his deep brown eyes and glanced at the discipline master, then turned his head towards the car window to look at the innocent youths. He said in a low voice, “Just go.”

Just go.

It was a very simple phrase.

The youths’ eyes reddened. “Uncle, we will study hard and not disappoint you.”

The youths ran away before they burst into tears.

After the man looked at the youths’ retreating backs, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the compartment in his car. Taking out a cigarette stick, it dangled on his thin lips.

At this moment, a girl suddenly ran over. She mustered her courage and swiftly kissed the man’s handsome face. “Uncle, after I’ve graduated, I’ll marry you and become your wife.”

With that, the girl blushed and ran away.

The discipline master kindly received the youths’ luggages and smiled dotingly. “Your Uncle sends University students here every year. I’ve seen a few girls saying they will marry him after they graduate. Looks like your Uncle is undeniably charming.”

The youths flashed bright smiles. “Uncle is the principal and father of us youths from the rural area. He gives us light and hope, and is the most noble and outstanding person in our hearts.”

The discipline master nodded his head vehemently. “Is your Uncle’s leg better now?”

Upon hearing this question, the youths revealed sad expressions. “Uncle’s leg was amputated three years ago and he’s now relying on a prosthetic leg to walk. But Uncle’s condition is unique. Whenever he wears the prosthetic leg, because he’s allergic to it, it only causes pain for him. They said it will take a long time for him to recover.”

The discipline master looked out of the window and sighed as he patted the youths’ heads. Every year, there would be many youths who signed up for the medical course. He knew that these youths wanted to save the man.

He would get better. The good people in the world would be safe and sound their whole lives.

The school bus went away, and the man took off his baseball cap, revealing a handsome and chiseled face. It was Lu Yan.

It had been three years and Lu Yan had not changed much. Only his handsome features had become colder and more reserved. His wispy fringe covered his brown eyes. He squinted his eyes and lit the cigarette on his lips, while the smoke swirled around his handsome face. He had been through the vicissitudes of life and ravages of time, and he possessed forbearance and a universal love for others, and these qualities made him even more charming.

Enveloped by the silence, he smoked in the cheap van. His brown eyes, which were shrouded by the smoke, swept the neon lights in the city outside the window. This was the Capital.

He was no longer Lu Yan. Lu Yan had died three years ago.

And so, he could not use his true identity anymore.

But who was he now?

He did not know anymore.

Perhaps he was just a wild spirit floating about in this city.

But when he thought about these innocent youths, he curved his lips, took another puff and his facial features softened.

When girls kissed him, he did not pay much attention to it. They were just kids, and they did not know any better.

Lowering his handsome face, shrewd eyes glanced at what would have been his right leg. There was nothing there, as it had been amputated.

There was a prosthetic leg placed in the passenger’s seat and it was to be used when necessary.

He reclined the driver’s seat and lay down for a short respite.

Taking in a puff of his cigarette, he whipped out his cell phone. This cell phone was already a very old model. He browsed to a photograph.

It was the only photograph he had.

On the photograph, it was of… An’an. Three years ago, he had come out from the prison. She was sleeping soundly on the large bed, and her luscious, long lashes drooped. She looked like an angel who had fallen from heaven.

As his calloused fingers caressed her delicate face, he could hear her soft voice –

Lu Yan, I miss you so much.

Lu Yan, I want you to kiss, hug and praise me.

Lu Yan, I miss you so much I feel like crying.

An’an.

His An’an.

He was already forty years old this year. An’an was his sole regret in life.

The ring was still lying quietly in his pants pocket. Like that, he and she had missed their opportunity.

These three years, he had brought these youths from the rural area to the Capital many times, but he did not look for her.

Because there was no use in looking for her anymore.

But that did not stop him from thinking about her, did not stop him missing her every single day.

Every single day.

In this life, she was his biggest regret, but she was also his biggest hope in life.

Lu Yan closed his eyes gently. He wanted to take a break.

Just as when Lu Yan closed his eyes, the door of the convenience store was pushed open and a pretty figure walked out.

An’an emerged and she was holding a plastic bag in her hand. The bag contained a box of condoms of the largest size.

The plastic bag was transparent and the box of condoms could be seen from the outside, but An’an’s face was devoid of expression. She merely continued walking, holding the plastic bag.

She did not have a man, but she liked to buy condoms.

It was a sickness she was well aware of.

She needed treatment for her sickness, but she was already seriously ill and could not be treated, and thus she gave up on it.

She walked a couple of steps and arrived beside the van. As the car windows were black, she could not see the interior of the van.

She suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She stood at the driver’s seat door quietly and looked up at the sky. Life passed so slowly. When would the end come?

She was already tired and sick of such a life.

That person was already dead, and he had taken away all her love and hatred with him. She had spent all her energy and effort to love him, but in the end, all she was left with was a myriad of unseen bruises.

She would never be able to recover her whole life.

He had stolen her heart and left her wandering about in this world.

Every morning when she opened her eyes, a sentence would reverberate around her ears – that she was still living in a world without him.

Without him, everything was meaningless.

Lowering her head, An’an looked at her own shadow, which had been elongated by the moonlight.

The van was beside her shadow. She suddenly had an illusion, as if she was leaning against this van. She gradually glanced sideways at this van and looked towards the driver’s seat.