The Little Deaf Man Decided to be Spoiled

23

Chapter 23
Two days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, with Aunt Zhao on vacation, Gu Xiuyi decided to take Ji Ruan out for a quick getaway.
A friend owned a private estate in the suburbs. It wasn't far, perfect for a two-day, one-night trip, and they could stay overnight.
The pair packed a few change of clothes casually. Without calling for a chauffeur, Gu Xiuyi drove personally, and Ji Ruan naturally took the passenger seat.
The sensation felt a bit peculiar. The last time Ji Ruan sat beside Gu Xiuyi, he was being rushed to the hospital due to gastroenteritis; the pain was so intense he hardly noticed his surroundings. But now, out on a pleasure trip, with the clear sky and beautiful weather, the silence between them made the air feel excessively still.
"Have you ever thought about getting a driver's license?" Gu Xiuyi broke the silence.
"Driver's license?" Ji Ruan's gaze shifted from the treetops, "Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
Gu Xiuyi remarked casually, "Knowing how to drive means you can visit many places freely, without constraints."
True enough. Ji Ruan pondered; the idea of a road trip, leisurely admiring the scenery along the way, sounded delightful.
"But I've heard it's hard to pass," he said, scratching the tip of his nose, torn between the allure of the open road and the dread of a potential hassle.
This seemed to touch upon an area Gu Xiuyi was unfamiliar with, he frowned, "Is it?"
"It is," Ji Ruan replied earnestly, raising three fingers, "Han Xiaolin took the second stage test three times. And he's an athlete, with top-tier motor skills, and he still didn't pass."
Their entire dorm was a bunch of slackers, only Han Xiaolin had been preparing for his driving test since the summer vacation. Classes had resumed, yet he hadn't passed. Just last week, he failed his third attempt at the second stage, and he cried all afternoon.
The ordeal scared the others in the dorm, including Ji Ruan, making them apprehensive about getting their licenses.
"Really?" Gu Xiuyi leaned his elbow against the window frame, thoughtfully rubbing his lower lip with his index finger, "Perhaps our test was simpler back then. The difficulty might have increased. Nowadays, you have more exams than we did in our time."
Ji Ruan, a young man witnessing the intensifying pressures of society, sighed in response, "Exactly. After the break, I'll have to start prepping for so many tests. Can't believe there are midterm exams even in college."
Most of Gu Xiuyi's friends were his age, usually dealing with experienced seniors in their professional lives. He rarely had prolonged interactions with people more than a decade younger than him, so he hadn't heard someone complain about midterm exams in many years.
Such a minor complaint, out of Gu Xiuyi's familiar territory, became especially endearing.
"Hmm," his voice laced with amusement, "With so many exams, let's skip learning to drive. We have a chauffeur at home; there's no real need for us to drive ourselves."
Given Gu Xiuyi's background, he likely rarely drove himself, having a driver on most occasions. Ji Ruan silently observed him for a moment.
The man leaned back lazily in his seat, loosely gripping the steering wheel. His posture was casual, yet his driving skills were impeccable, rivaling those of Uncle Zhang, a veteran driver of decades.
Could someone who seldom drives maintain such a high standard when they do? Why didn't he seem rusty?
"Why are you staring at me?" Gu Xiuyi, eyes fixed on the road ahead, questioned.
Ji Ruan immediately turned away, "Ah... nothing."
Before they left, Aunt Zhao had packed some mooncakes she made the day before for Ji Ruan. Opening the box, Ji Ruan inquired, "Do you eat mooncakes?"
Glancing sideways, Gu Xiuyi remarked, "Did you make these with Aunt Zhao?"
"Yes," an amusing idea crossed Ji Ruan's mind as he grinned, "How about I randomly pick one for you, and you guess who made it?"
Such a game, a tad trivial and childish, wouldn't typically appeal to Gu Xiuyi.
As the car moved smoothly on the asphalt road leading to the estate, Gu Xiuyi pondered for a moment, "Alright, but..."
He seemed slightly troubled, moving his hand from the window frame to grip the steering wheel firmly, "I can't really eat while driving. Could you help by placing it near my mouth?"
"Oh, right," Ji Ruan realized and apologized, "Sorry, I conveniently forgot you were driving. I'll feed you then."
The corners of Gu Xiuyi's lips twitched upward, a gesture quickly hidden as he pressed his lips together, responding earnestly, "Thank you."
"Eh... what's there to thank..." Ji Ruan's voice trailed off, unintentionally sounding coy.
Holding a mooncake wrapped in a napkin, Ji Ruan carefully brought it to Gu Xiuyi's mouth, ensuring not to distract his driving, emphasizing, "Focus on the road ahead, don't look at me."
"Understood," biting into the mooncake, the sweetness of red bean paste spread across Gu Xiuyi's palate, amplifying his delight, "Such a good boy."
"Huh?"
As Ji Ruan was about to take a piece for himself, he looked up in bewilderment.
Without missing a beat, Gu Xiuyi said, "I meant the mooncake tastes great. You made it, didn't you?"
Ji Ruan looked surprised. "Impressive! How did you guess?"
It was just an ordinary red bean mooncake. Aunt Zhao had prepared both the filling and the skin. Ji Ruan had only helped in wrapping it. The difference in taste should have been indiscernible. If it weren't for the minor imperfection on the edge of the piece given to Gu Xiuyi - a result of a slight mishap during preparation - even Ji Ruan might not have been able to identify the maker.