SG 29

The nonstop screaming emptied the air from his lungs. The unbearable collapse needed an outlet. When the burst of emotion finally drained out, Yan Anqing felt the pain in his throat. It felt as if his voice had torn his throat apart.

After high school, he had rarely lost control of his emotions. But when he saw the murky tank and the red starfish being lifted out, his mind ignited like a powder keg.

“How do you clean this tank?” Chu Baiyan asked after settling the starfish.

“With the water changer.” Yan Anqing bent down and took the water changer from the cabinet under the tank.

When he was crying earlier, the heavy nasal tone had covered his voice, so Chu Baiyan hadn’t noticed. Now that Yan Anqing had calmed down, his voice was hoarse like sandpaper scraping against glass.

“Drink some water first.” Chu Baiyan picked up a bottle of purified water from the floor behind the counter, twisted it open, and handed it to him.

Yan Anqing took it blankly and gulped down a few mouthfuls. He drank too fast and choked. The water he couldn’t swallow overflowed from the corner of his mouth and slid down his neck into his collar.

“Drink slowly.” Chu Baiyan pulled a few tissues from the table and wiped the water from his chin. Yan Anqing’s eyes and the tip of his nose were still red. His eyelashes trembled, showing he was still shaken.

He couldn’t imagine how Yan Anqing would have faced the sudden situation if he hadn’t arrived in time. He was obviously the victim, but he was ridiculed and slandered. Such a clean and pure person, squatting on the ground and screaming, how helpless and collapsed he must have felt.

Looking at his tear-stained face, Chu Baiyan felt a dull ache in his chest. His whole body felt twisted with pain.

He couldn’t stop himself from pulling Yan Anqing into his arms. He patted his back and whispered in his ear, “It’s over now.”

They used the water changer to drain the polluted water from the tank. Then they dismantled the filter, the chiller, and the other attachments. The decorative ceramics inside were covered with biscuit crumbs, so they cleaned them one by one.

They divided the work. Yan Anqing washed the ornaments, and Chu Baiyan carried the tank into the bathroom to rinse it. After more than an hour of cleaning, the tank was clear again, and everything inside was put back in place.

Chu Baiyan wiped the sweat off his forehead. “I’ll go upstairs and cook noodles.” It was already past seven. Stir-frying would take too long, so he would make something simple.

When Yan Anqing saw him about to leave, he immediately grabbed his hand. “Don’t go.”

He didn’t want to stay in the shop alone. He didn’t want to face customers again. But he didn’t explain. He just held Chu Baiyan’s hand tightly.

Chu Baiyan squeezed his hand. “We’ll go together. The shop’s closed for the night.”

Yan Anqing had never closed the shop early before. When he heard the word “closed,” he hesitated. His mind struggled to process something that didn’t fit his routine.

“You’re the owner. When you feel upset, you can close the shop and rest. Every job has breaks. You can give yourself one too. When the door’s closed, you can do whatever you want.” Chu Baiyan held his hand and guided him toward the stairs.

When business had been slow, managing the shop alone wasn’t a problem. But as the tourist season grew and more people found the shop online, the crowd became overwhelming.

Chu Baiyan wanted him to understand that taking care of himself mattered more. Nothing was worth sacrificing his peace for.

In the kitchen, Yan Anqing still hadn’t let go. Chu Baiyan washed tomatoes with one hand. When it came time to chop them, one hand wasn’t enough, so he lifted the hem of his T-shirt and told him to hold it instead.

Only by staying close, without losing sight of him even for a moment, could Yan Anqing feel safe.

He made two bowls of tomato-and-egg noodles. When they sat down to eat, Yan Anqing seemed back to normal. Except that one of his hands stayed on the table, holding Chu Baiyan’s. With the other, he lifted noodles to his mouth.

Grandma had raised him well. He was tidy and polite. She had taught him many life skills so he could live independently. She and Grandfather had already done all they could for him.

But she couldn’t teach him how to handle sudden situations or how to adapt when plans changed.

It was like writing a simple program at the start, but as time went on, the old system no longer worked. It needed an upgrade. Yet no one had told him how to upgrade or what to do.

After dinner, Yan Anqing, unsure of what to do next, sat on the sofa beside Chu Baiyan, feeling lost and anxious.

“Everyone needs rest. You can’t work nonstop. When you rest, do something you enjoy, something that makes you happy.”

Running the shop was his daily task. Breaking the schedule made him anxious. Chu Baiyan explained why rest mattered. Grandma had only wanted him to have something to do. She never expected Starfish Pottery to become this successful.

“I want to be together with you.” Yan Anqing understood what he meant. What he wanted to do right now was be with him.

Even though he knew Yan Anqing meant it literally, Chu Baiyan’s heart still trembled.

“Do you know what ‘be together’ means?” Chu Baiyan lifted their joined hands and waved them gently before him.

“I know.” Yan Anqing nodded. “We’re together right now.”

Chu Baiyan couldn’t help laughing. What he meant and what Yan Anqing understood were completely different.

But his certain tone melted something inside him. It felt like soft candy placed in his mouth, dissolving sweetly before he could even taste it fully.

“I rest on Mondays. Otherwise, I get tired from swimming every day. You can try setting one day a week for yourself too. Or maybe hire someone part-time to help in the afternoons.”

“For simple sales, no education’s needed. A student on break could do it.” He made his suggestion.

“Tell your grandmother about it tomorrow and ask what she thinks.”

“Mm.” Yan Anqing nodded. “Grandma said I only need to make six thousand a month.” At first, she had said three thousand, but later it increased to six.

“Do you make that much now?” Chu Baiyan asked. He could tell her goal was something realistic and clear.

When speaking to Yan Anqing, ambiguity didn’t work. Everything had to be specific and measurable for him to understand.

“Yes. More than that. Almost ten thousand this month.” Yan Anqing kept a daily record on his phone with detailed totals.

“You’ve already reached her goal, so you can rest even more. Like today, when you met rude customers and felt upset, you can close early, take a shower, and watch SpongeBob in bed.”

Seeing him nod, Chu Baiyan added, “They were wrong today. You weren’t. You did really well. You were angry, but you didn’t yell at them or hurt anyone.”