The Two People He Hated Most

As Gu Yuechen walked into the center of the banquet, his inferiority complex reached its peak.

Visiting Yu Yaochen's little Western-style house before had already shocked him enough, but after entering this villa, he realized just how small his world was. A house could actually be this enormous—lavish and magnificent.

He lowered his head and glanced at his shoes, which had cost only a few dozen yuan, and suddenly felt the urge to run away.

"I'm apologizing to you on Xiao Chi's behalf." Yu Yaochen suddenly spoke. His tone was as gentle as ever, his clear, mellow voice pleasant to the ear. "That's just how he is. His family spoiled him, so he often says whatever he wants."

Gu Yuechen raised his eyes and glanced at him. Weren't you spoiled by your family too?

Just because he painted, he could have such a huge house as his studio.

The two of them were cut from the same cloth. No wonder Xie Wangchi had fallen for him.

Gu Yuechen did not reveal the malice in his heart. He put on an awkward expression and said, "You heard that?"

"Mm." Yu Yaochen pressed his lips together. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made the decision not to give you the invitation. You're an important guest to me, and I wanted to pick you up myself. I didn't expect things to turn into such a misunderstanding."

Gu Yuechen sneered inwardly.

Why did he sound so wronged? As if refusing to forgive him would make Gu Yuechen the unreasonable one.

"You brought me a gift?" Yu Yaochen's gaze shifted to the item in Gu Yuechen's hands, and he could not help curling his lips. "What is it?"

Gu Yuechen squeezed the wrapping paper around the gift. He had wrapped it himself. Luckily, he had worked at a mall before, so wrapping gifts was not difficult for him.

"It's not anything expensive." Afraid Yu Yaochen would laugh at him, Gu Yuechen gave him a warning in advance.

"Money is just a number. What I value more is the thought behind it."

Gu Yuechen could not help despising him inwardly again. Only a young master who knew nothing of life's hardships could say something like not caring about money.

He handed the gift over. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you." Yu Yaochen accepted it.

Xie Wangchi, who had just been left outside in the cold, came in as well and held out the gift he had prepared for Yu Yaochen.

"Chenchen, happy birthday. This is what I prepared for you."

Yu Yaochen glanced at it without reaching out to take it, his smile faint.

"Sorry, I can't carry so many things. Give it to the servant, and he'll put it in my room."

Usually, servants accepted Yu Yaochen's gifts for him. There were so many people attending his birthday banquet that his two hands simply could not hold them all.

Of course, Xie Wangchi understood that, but when he saw Yu Yaochen accept Gu Yuechen's gift, he felt dissatisfied. He insisted on making Yu Yaochen accept his as well.

"This is very valuable. What if it gets lost?" In front of Yu Yaochen, Xie Wangchi could not help restraining his temper and could not bear to make his tone too harsh. "Chenchen, just take it. Open it and see if you like it."

When his tone softened, it even carried a hint of coquettishness.

Gu Yuechen stared coldly, cursing damn bootlicker over and over in his heart.

Yu Yaochen revealed a helpless smile and reached out to accept his gift box.

"Open it and take a look."

"I'll open it when I get back to my room." Yu Yaochen said, "I'm still holding Yuechen's gift, so I don't have a free hand to open it."

"This piece of junk?" Xie Wangchi shot Gu Yuechen's gift a contemptuous glance and reached out to take it. "I'll hold it for you."

Before Xie Wangchi could do so, Gu Yuechen snatched back the gift he had prepared.

He was afraid Xie Wangchi would open it without permission in front of everyone and then mock how cheap it was.

"I'll hold it," Gu Yuechen said.

Yu Yaochen froze for a moment, then shot Xie Wangchi an unhappy look.

Xie Wangchi rubbed his nose, his temper uncharacteristically docile.

Yu Yaochen had no choice but to unwrap the gift. It was something like a ring box.

He looked at Xie Wangchi in surprise. "Xiao Chi, this is?"

Xie Wangchi realized Yu Yaochen had misunderstood. A trace of panic appeared in his arrogant, unruly features.

"It's not a ring. It's something else. Open it and see."

Yu Yaochen opened the ring box. Inside lay a pair of expensive Canary Diamond Cufflinks.

"This is too valuable." Yu Yaochen frowned slightly. "It must have cost a lot."

"Not that much. It's your birthday, so of course I had to give you something nice." As Xie Wangchi said this, he did not forget to glance at Gu Yuechen. "Just accept it. If I take the gift back home, my parents will definitely lecture me."

Yu Yaochen closed the ring box, his smile polite and appropriately distant. "Thank you. I like it very much."

Seeing Yu Yaochen close it after only one glance, looking nothing like he truly liked it, Xie Wangchi could not help feeling disappointed.

Then he looked at Gu Yuechen, wanting to vent his displeasure on him.

"What gift did you bring?" Xie Wangchi smiled with a cynical air. "Chenchen, open his too and take a look."

Upon hearing that, Gu Yuechen gripped his gift more tightly.

The gift he had prepared was a set of oil paints that cost over two hundred yuan, which he had picked out at the mall the previous night.

He had thought that since Yu Yaochen loved painting so much, giving him something related to it would suit his tastes and would not seem too shabby.

But after seeing Xie Wangchi's gift with his own eyes, he realized that in a place reeking of money, catering to someone's tastes was simply the worst excuse.

Giving it away would only make him a laughingstock.

Gu Yuechen did not want to make a fool of himself. Pei Huanyi could appear at any moment, and he did not want to be embarrassed in front of him.

Yu Yaochen looked at Gu Yuechen's face and said, "Let's not open it. We still have to toast the guests later, and it'll be inconvenient to carry it around."

He smiled at Gu Yuechen, his voice somewhat gentle.

"Yuechen, I'll give it to the servant first and open it when I return to my room. Is that okay?"

Gu Yuechen pressed his lips together. After hesitating for a while, he handed the gift back to Yu Yaochen.

Yu Yaochen thanked him again.

The scene Xie Wangchi had expected did not happen. A deep furrow formed between his brows when he spotted a waiter passing by Gu Yuechen, carrying a tray with several glasses of champagne on it.

So he quietly stuck out his foot. The waiter tripped, and the champagne glasses slid off the tray. Wine splashed all over Gu Yuechen's clothes, while the glasses hit the floor with a loud crash.

The guests closest to them all looked over and saw Gu Yuechen in his sorry state.

Gu Yuechen's eyes reddened, and his tightly clenched fists trembled without stopping.

Xie Wangchi had moved quickly, but Gu Yuechen had still noticed.

He knew Xie Wangchi was targeting him like this solely to win Yu Yaochen's attention.

He hated those two people to death. Of course, the one he hated most was still Yu Yaochen.

Every time he ran into Yu Yaochen, he had terrible luck.

"Yuechen, are you okay?" Yu Yaochen asked nervously. "Did you get hit by any glass shards?"

The waiter was frantic. He crouched down to pick up the broken glass while apologizing.

"It's just a little wet. Have a servant bring a hairdryer and dry it off," Xie Wangchi said cheerfully.

Yu Yaochen ignored Xie Wangchi. Bending slightly toward Gu Yuechen, he said, "Come to my room. I'll give you a clean change of clothes."

"Okay." Gu Yuechen could not stand everyone's strange looks any longer. He only wanted to escape.

The triumphant smile on Xie Wangchi's face froze, and he immediately blocked their path.

"Chenchen, how can you casually bring a stranger into your room?"

"Move. He's my friend."

Yu Yaochen was angry. His gaze turned icy, and an invisible chill seemed to surround him.

Xie Wangchi instinctively stepped aside.

After the two left, Xie Wangchi noticed that the cufflinks he had given Yu Yaochen had been casually tossed onto the table like trash, while Gu Yuechen's gift had been taken away.

Xie Wangchi picked up the cufflinks and cursed under his breath.