4388 The Other Side 357
Aware of his downcast mood, Gong Jie was not convinced. “If there’s really nothing going on, why do you look so glum?”
The boy muttered quietly, “In what way do I look glum?”
“You wear this scowl on your face and you ask me in what way you look glum?”
“…” The boy fell silent.
Gong Jie put his hands behind him and shut his eyes, taking in the slightly damp sea air. Youyou was reluctant to answer, and he, on the other hand, was in no hurry to pursue the matter.
In the dead silence, the boy spoke hoarsely. “I… killed me…”
Gong Jie was stunned, clearly not understanding what he meant by that. “What do you mean?” Amused, the man asked, “You killed you? How did you kill you? Besides, aren’t you perfectly fine now? I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Clearly exhausted, the boy buried his face in the crook of his arm. Before he knew it, he was crying. Gong Jie did not notice that he was crying, however. Youyou’s face was hidden and he was weeping silently.
When Gong Jie saw that he was no longer willing to speak, he fell silent as well, and simply accompanied him.
“That’s my nephew for you. As a kid, when I was in a bad mood, I used to like sitting on the beach to enjoy the sea breeze. Then I’d figure everything out.”
The boy looked up but said nothing.
The night wore on.
When Youyou finally stood up and turned around, he saw that Gong Jie had fallen asleep.
“…”
Was this his real uncle?!
Alice had probably sent the man here to console him. But instead of having done that, he had actually fallen asleep.
Youyou lowered his gaze as he stomped on the man’s stomach.
“Ooooh…”
Gong Jie sat up with a start and howled in pain. “What are you trying to do?”
“What exactly are you here for?”
The man looked dazed and confused for a moment before answering honestly. “Alice sent me to see how you were doing.”
“And?”
“… You fell asleep!”
Gong Jie shrugged off the boy’s snort. “You’ll have to give me a chance to care about you, won’t you? How am I supposed to console you when you’re just squatting here, not moving, not making a sound?”
The boy was stunned for a long time. Seeing the aggrieved expression on his uncle’s face, he suddenly felt that his uncle was extremely cute. He burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha!”
The boy couldn’t contain his laughter, and Gong Jie froze, dumbfounded.
“Dumbstruck?”
“Ahahahaha!”
“What are you laughing at!” The man rose in a huff and grabbed Youyou by the collar. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Hahaha! Uncle, you’re so cute!” The boy laughed until tears came to his eyes.
Gong Jie stared at him, suddenly no longer angry. He was silent for a moment, his heart aching. “If you feel bad, just cry.”
The boy laughed and slowly stopped. He seemed amused as he said, “How am I upset? I’m not upset. I just find your aggrieved expression really funny.”
“Just cry if you have to. Why do you have to shed tears by pretending to laugh?”
At his uncle’s words, the boy’s expression froze. His eyes widened as tears welled up in the corners but simply wouldn’t fall, neither would they recede.
