Substitute Game

Halfway through the banquet, everyone's eyes fell on Yu Yaochen and Pei Huanyi, urging them to dance together.

The banquet planner was quick-witted. Seeing the atmosphere build, he immediately instructed the staff to play some music.

As the music slowly began, the two men smiled helplessly and walked to the center of the hall.

They were about the same height, and dancing together gave off a sense of evenly matched opponents.

Everyone was offering them their blessings, except Gu Yuechen, whose gaze was dark and gloomy, as if he wanted to carve Yu Yaochen into a thousand pieces with his eyes.

He had lost the mood to stay for the second half of the banquet. Besides, Gu Yuechen was worried that if he stayed too late, there would be no buses left to take him home.

Gu Yuechen went to the buffet area, intending to fill his stomach and get his gift money's worth before leaving.

At some point, Yu Yaochen appeared beside him and gently said, "These spot prawns are pretty good. You can try some."

The moment Gu Yuechen heard Yu Yaochen's voice, he lost his appetite and only wanted to go home.

He set down his plate, took a napkin from a servant's tray, wiped his mouth, and turned to leave.

Yu Yaochen froze for a moment before immediately following him.

"Yuechen." Yu Yaochen caught Gu Yuechen's arm. "What's wrong?"

Had he neglected Gu Yuechen at the banquet and upset him?

Yu Yaochen had already done his best to turn down the guests who came to chat with him, but there were simply too many of them, one after another, leaving him no way to get away immediately.

"I'm going home."

Gu Yuechen's voice was cold. He lowered his eyes, unwilling to look at Yu Yaochen's face.

He was afraid he would not be able to hide his hatred.

Yu Yaochen parted his lips, but before he could make a sound, Pei Huanyi came over and looked at the two of them with confusion.

"Why are you standing by the door?"

Yu Yaochen tucked away his unease, turned to Pei Huanyi, and smiled appropriately.

"It's nothing. Yuechen is leaving, and I was about to drive him—"

Gu Yuechen suddenly cut him off. "Dr. Pei, could you give me a ride? It's hard to get a taxi here."

Yu Yaochen's upturned lips abruptly stiffened.

Gu Yuechen was rejecting him.

Pei Huanyi looked at Gu Yuechen, then at Yu Yaochen, seeming hesitant.

"Huanyi, take him home," Yu Yaochen said. "He's a guest I invited. It's so late, and I'm worried about him taking a taxi alone."

Once Yu Yaochen said that, Pei Huanyi had no reason to refuse.

"Sure." Pei Huanyi gave Gu Yuechen a faint smile. "Come on. My car is parked outside."

The delight in Gu Yuechen's eyes could not be hidden. "Thank you, Dr. Pei."

Even after they left, Yu Yaochen remained where he was, quietly gazing at the entrance. His expression was faint, impossible to read.

Xie Wangchi stood some distance away, smoking. When one cigarette burned down to the end, he stubbed it out.

He walked behind Yu Yaochen, his voice carrying a trace of contempt.

"Chenchen, you should stay away from him. Gu Yuechen is a two-faced piece of trash. He doesn't deserve you—"

Yu Yaochen suddenly turned around. His eyes were so cold they seemed covered in frost, startling Xie Wangchi so badly that he did not know how to continue.

"Xie Wangchi, your behavior today has disappointed me deeply. I used to think you were just immature. Now I realize your roots have been rotten for a long time. You're beyond saving. Maybe I never should have made you my friend."

After leaving those words behind, Yu Yaochen walked around him and left.

Xie Wangchi stood blankly, both legs frozen in place.

After knowing Yu Yaochen for so many years, it was the first time he had heard such harsh words from him.

After the birthday banquet, Gu Yuechen never went to the studio to see Yu Yaochen again.

Yu Yaochen sent him messages every day, apologizing for his discourtesy that day, but Gu Yuechen did not reply to a single one.

Gradually, Yu Yaochen seemed to understand what he meant and stopped messaging him.

Gu Yuechen was deliberately giving Yu Yaochen the cold shoulder.

He had had enough of Yu Yaochen's mixed signals. Whenever they got even a little closer, Yu Yaochen would retreat and maintain a distance he could never cross.

In this game, he was the hunter. He should not let Yu Yaochen lead him around by the nose.

Of course, he had not been idle either.

He had spent quite a bit of money on Yu Yaochen recently, so Gu Yuechen could only take a part-time job at a trendy dessert shop after work.

If he wanted to seduce Yu Yaochen, there would be no shortage of dinners and dates in the future. He needed to find a way to save up some money.

His main duty was handling the shop's delivery orders.

One evening, Gu Yuechen received an order to be delivered to a hotel.

Following the address on the order, Gu Yuechen entered the hotel and searched for the room number.

The elevator doors opened, and he saw two men at the end of the hallway doing something intimate.

Gu Yuechen had intended to look away and pretend he had seen nothing.

But his steps suddenly stopped, and he sharply looked back again.

It was actually Xie Wangchi.

Xie Wangchi was enjoying the young man's service, his eyes half-closed as though he had not noticed him.

The other young man stopped moving and looked over in confusion. Seeing someone standing in the hallway, he blushed and patted Xie Wangchi's leg.

Xie Wangchi slapped his face in annoyance. "So what if someone's here? You're such a nobody. Are you really afraid the media will write about you?"

Gu Yuechen was still standing there.

What shocked him was not running into Xie Wangchi at the hotel, but the young man's face.

His features looked a great deal like Yu Yaochen's, except there was a hint of seductiveness at the corners of his eyes that made him seem somewhat cheap.

Perhaps because Gu Yuechen had stared for too long, Xie Wangchi looked over with a cold expression.

Their gazes met without warning.

"Fuck!" Xie Wangchi cursed and abruptly shoved the young man away.

The young man fell to the floor, staring at Xie Wangchi in bewilderment.

"President Xie, do you want to do it here?"

"Do my ass. Get the hell out."

The young man realized that Xie Wangchi was angry. Not daring to linger, he immediately scrambled up and headed toward the elevator.

Gu Yuechen wanted to leave too, but after taking two steps back, he belatedly realized that he was not the one who should feel ashamed.

So he turned around, went to one of the rooms, and knocked on the door.

"Hello, your cake delivery has arrived."

After the person inside opened the door and took the cake, Gu Yuechen returned to the elevator and pressed the button for the lower floors.

The entire time, he treated Xie Wangchi as if he were air, as though they did not know each other.

In the end, Xie Wangchi was the one who could not hold back. In a low voice, he said, "Just try mentioning this in front of Chenchen."

Gu Yuechen finally deigned to look at Xie Wangchi. "I'm not that bored. I'm afraid saying it would dirty my mouth."

Xie Wangchi's brows drew tightly together. His lips were pressed into a hard line, his jaw taut, and his eyes filled with viciousness.

Just then, the elevator doors opened. Gu Yuechen stepped inside, turned around, and looked at Xie Wangchi with a half-smile.

"I think you're cowardly and disgusting. Fine, you don't dare confess, but then you found someone who looks so much like Yu Yaochen and played this kind of substitute game."

"Did that guy enjoy playing with you?" Gu Yuechen smiled. Unable to resist getting revenge for being humiliated at the last banquet, his words became increasingly venomous. "He must have enjoyed it, right? Only a fake can satisfy your fantasies about Yu Yaochen, isn't that right, you disgusting coward?"

Just as Xie Wangchi's anger was about to erupt, Gu Yuechen quickly pressed the close-door button, preventing a violent incident.

After leaving the hotel, Gu Yuechen laughed out loud.

That felt damn good.