Doctor Gu’s Orange Cat Boyfriend - Chapter 34

【This is not scientific!】

 

【This is even more absurd than the novels I write!】

 

【In my stories, when the domineering CEO falls for me, he still has to endure ninety-nine trials and tribulations!】

 

【There must be something else going on here!】

 

At this thought, Lin Mucí’s gossip-loving spirit flared up.

 

He looked at Gu Chaoyu, blinked, and decided to get to the bottom of this.

 

“Um… that…” He cleared his throat, trying to sound as natural as possible. “Boyfriend?”

 

He tentatively called him that again.

 

“Hmm?” Gu Chaoyu responded immediately, his voice brimming with amusement.

 

【He seems to like that title!】

 

Lin Mucí chuckled inwardly, his courage growing.

 

“Boyfriend, are you hiding something else from me?”

 

The moment the words left his mouth, he distinctly felt Gu Chaoyu’s body stiffen.

 

【Huh? Something’s up!】

 

Lin Mucí’s gossip radar started beeping.

 

Gu Chaoyu was genuinely stunned.

 

His heart skipped a beat.

 

【What’s going on?】

 

【Could it be… could the little fool have discovered my secret mind-reading ability?】

 

【No way! I’ve always hidden it so well!】

 

【How could he know? Did I slip up somewhere?】

 

【Was it when he called me a cheater earlier? Or when I called him a little dummy?】

 

Gu Chaoyu’s mind raced, countless possibilities flashing through his head in an instant.

 

Seeing Gu Chaoyu silent, Lin Mucí assumed he didn’t want to talk and grew impatient.

 

“Come on, spill the truth!” he demanded in an interrogative tone, though it still sounded soft and lacked any real authority. “Just because we knew each other as kids and I gave you a doll, you fell for me?”

 

“This plot is fast-forwarding way too much! You must be hiding some other crucial plot points!”

 

Hearing this, Gu Chaoyu’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, instantly dropped back into his chest.

 

【Phew… That scared the hell out of me.】

 

【So that’s what it was.】

 

【I thought Mucí had discovered my mind-reading ability! Guess I overthought it.】

 

【But then again, with my cheat code hidden this deep, the little fool probably wouldn’t catch on so easily!】

 

Gu Chaoyu secretly exhaled in relief, looking at Lin Mucí before him, whose face screamed “Hurry up and tell me, I’m dying of curiosity.” He felt both exasperated and amused.

 

He decided it was time to tell this little fool the truth about his years of unrequited love.

 

“Of course, it’s not just that,” Gu Chaoyu pulled him into his embrace, clasping his hand tightly again. “Do you remember when I transferred schools?”

 

Lin Mucí tilted his head, straining to search his limited memory bank.

 

“Hmm… let me think…”

 

“Was it… second grade?” he said uncertainly. “Yeah, why did you suddenly transfer then? I remember you didn’t even properly say goodbye to me.”

 

Mentioning this, a hint of hurt crept into Lin Mucí’s voice.

 

His best friend had vanished without warning, leaving him heartbroken for a long time.

 

Gu Chaoyu’s heart melted at the hint of that small grievance in his voice.

 

He sighed softly,

 

“At the end of first grade, my mom passed away from liver cancer.”

 

“As soon as the semester ended, my dad took me away from this city of sorrow and moved us to the capital.”

 

Lin Mucí froze.

 

He never imagined the answer would be this.

 

[So… that’s how it was?]

 

His memory snapped back to that distant summer.

 

He remembered.

 

During the second half of first grade, that quiet little boy who always sat beside him did indeed skip class frequently.

 

The teacher said it was because of family matters.

 

When he did come to school, he was always gloomy, his little face set in a tight frown, as if everyone owed him money.

 

The other kids in the class were too afraid to play with him.

 

Only he, relying on his thick skin, would crowd around him every day, chattering nonstop.

 

“So that’s why…” Lin Mucí murmured, “I wondered why you were always absent back then, and why you always wore that stern look at school… That’s why I made you that little overalls doll holding the sun, hoping it would cheer you up!”

 

He finally pieced all the clues together.

 

Gu Chaoyu watched his expression of sudden realization, his gaze growing even softer.

 

“Do you remember the day after the final exams?”

 

“It was pouring rain that day.”

 

Lin Mucí paused.

 

Rainy day…

 

A hazy image flashed through his mind.

 

Gu Chaoyu’s voice, tinged with nostalgia, continued to echo in his ear.

 

“You wore a little yellow duck raincoat and found me crying in the corner.”

 

“You walked over, crouched beside me, and asked why I was crying.”

 

“I said I no longer had a mother, that from now on I’d be a motherless child…”

 

Gu Chaoyu repeated each word clearly, those very words that had changed his life.

 

“Your words, ‘If you miss your mother, touch your belly button—that place will always connect you to her,’ brought immense comfort to my despair.”

 

A barrier seemed to lift in Lin Mucí’s mind.

 

He remembered!

 

He remembered everything!

 

That afternoon, pouring rain. He wore his mother’s new little yellow duck raincoat, splashing through puddles, searching everywhere for that unhappy little brother.

 

Finally, in a corner behind the classroom building, he found him—curled up in a ball, sobbing until his whole body shook.

 

Imitating how Grandma had comforted Mom before she left, I told him in my baby voice about that secret of the belly button.

 

“I found hope in life again,” Gu Chaoyu’s voice pulled him back from his memories. “As I grew older, I gradually understood that death isn’t the end—forgetting is.”

 

“As long as I remember my mother, she’s always by my side, always connected to me, never severed!”

 

After speaking, Gu Chaoyu pulled Lin Mucí tightly into his embrace.

 

As if he wanted to mold him into his very flesh and blood.

 

“So, Mucí,” his chin resting on Lin Mucí’s hair, his voice trembling slightly, “to me, you’re more than just a childhood friend.”

 

“You are my light.”

 

“The one who pulled me out of the abyss.”

 

“Now you understand why I’ve thought of you for twenty years, boyfriend!!”

 

“So that’s how it was! I thought you fell for me at first sight!” Lin Mucí teased, pulling Gu Chaoyu back from his distant memories.

 

“Alright, alright, Little Yu, it’s all in the past now. As long as you’re willing, I’ll be by your side every single day from now on!” Lin Mucí said, gently patting Gu Chaoyu’s tense back.

 

“You said it—no backing out!” Gu Chaoyu declared earnestly.

 

“I won’t back out—I swear on my life!” Lin Mucí promised with a grin.

 

Gu Chaoyu: [??? Is this little rascal exploiting a glitch?]

 

[Can I even trust his words?]

 

【Whatever. Either way, neither Lin Little Cat nor Lin Little Ci is getting away!!】

 

“Fine, I believe you!”

 

“Boyfriend, you must be tired now. Why don’t you take a shower first and get some rest?”

 

“Gu Chaoyu, you go first. I’ll shower later.”

 

………………

 

A while later, both had finished showering. Lin Mucí emerged wearing the hotel bathrobe, standing at the bathroom door. His gaze fell on the room’s single large bed, and his toes began to curl uncomfortably.