Bai Chen still had no idea someone was looking for him. He was standing by a corner, happily listening to the opera, so engrossed that he had forgotten all about leaving.
The piece was called "The Peach Blossom Fan," and told a story set between the late Ming dynasty and the early Republican era.
The female-role and male-role performers sang back and forth onstage.
The accompanying music was perfectly timed. Whenever the story reached an emotional moment, even if you hadn't felt like crying, the music brought those feelings out. Music really could influence your emotions.
Before he knew it, Bai Chen checked the time and realized he ought to head back to campus, or he would be late.
He hurried to the rear courtyard, said goodbye to Grandma Wu, and left, promising to visit her again when he had time.
Before he left, Grandma Wu pressed several boxes of the teahouse's exclusive pastries into his hands.
Carrying two gift boxes, he walked out of the teahouse and took a taxi back to campus.
Once on campus, Bai Chen ate dinner in the cafeteria before returning to his dorm. He was in a good mood today and even had an extra helping of rice.
The old saying was right: when you were in a good mood, both eating and sleeping felt better.
Since it was the weekend, many students had gone home or gone out to have fun, leaving the whole building quiet.
Once again, he raced up to the seventh floor. Apart from their room, the entire floor was dark-perfect for filming a horror movie.
It would have been just right for a scene where someone walked down a gloomy corridor with a female ghost chasing them.
Bai Chen was only a few steps from his dorm and was about to turn the doorknob when he caught sight of something rather provocative through the window. Flustered, he immediately backed away.
He tiptoed over to the stairwell.
Bai Chen walked lightly and barely made a sound, so the people inside probably hadn't noticed him. He stayed outside for a moment to collect himself.
Holy shit. What are those two doing in the dorm? Aren't they moving way too fast? he muttered to himself.
Inside, Gu Cheng had Gu Yun pinned against the wall, one hand covering his mouth while the other held him trapped in his arms.
Bai Chen hadn't seen Gu Cheng covering Gu Yun's mouth and had assumed they were both willing.
Gu Yun had struggled for ages, but he couldn't escape Gu Cheng's embrace. His exquisitely beautiful almond-shaped eyes glared fiercely at Gu Cheng.
Gu Cheng wasn't angry. Instead, he watched with great interest as Gu Yun struggled and failed to break free.
Smiling, he leaned down to Gu Yun's ear and said, "Gu Yun, don't be ungrateful. It's an honor that I'm letting you be with me, understand? But now you've upset me." With that, he stuffed a wad of cloth into Gu Yun's mouth.
Then he used his other hand to bind Gu Yun's wrists with a tie.
He slipped a hand around Gu Yun's waist and carried him to the bed.
Gu Cheng gave a wicked smile. "Then I'll just have to teach you a little lesson first. It might hurt a bit." He chuckled softly. "But... even if it hurts, you're going to take it."
He bit out that last word.
Gu Yun desperately tried to kick him, only to have his legs pinned down by Gu Cheng's. He couldn't move at all.
He murmured in despair, "Why...? Why was I born with this face? I want to ruin it so badly."
"I want to ruin it..."
Gu Cheng abruptly leaned down, preparing to kiss Gu Yun.
Gu Yun's face was deathly pale, drained of every trace of color. He closed his eyes in despair.
But the next moment, the door suddenly swung open with even more noise than Gu Cheng usually made when he came in, as though whoever was outside feared they wouldn't hear.
Gu Yun's eyes flew open. He looked toward the doorway and saw Bai Chen wearing earphones, apparently talking to someone on the phone.
Every so often, he said, "Oh-yes, yes, sir. Gu Yun's in the dorm. I'll go get him for you."
After hanging up, he raised his eyes slightly. By then, Gu Cheng had already released Gu Yun.
With a twisted smile, Gu Cheng said to Bai Chen, who stood in the doorway, "Why are you back now?" His expression made it look as though he wanted to tear Bai Chen apart on the spot.
Bai Chen gave a clueless little smile and looked innocently at Gu Cheng. "Cheng, I live here... If I don't come back, I'll have to sleep on the ground outside."
Once Bai Chen put it that way, there was nothing Gu Cheng could do to him. Besides, Bai Chen's smile looked so genuinely stupid that talking to him felt like talking to an idiot.
Seeing that Gu Cheng was at a loss for words, Bai Chen immediately bent forward and said meekly, "Sorry, Cheng. I don't know what I did wrong. Just tell me, and I'll fix it right away."
Gu Cheng was seething, but with Bai Chen acting like such a pushover, he didn't know what to do with him.
Bai Chen glanced at Gu Yun on the bed and said casually, "Gu Yun, someone's looking for you. I'll take you to him."
Gu Yun seemed not to have recovered yet, but he seemed to have heard him. He nodded blankly and followed Bai Chen out.
Neither spoke along the way. When they reached the pavilion, Gu Yun suddenly caught Bai Chen's arm and said, "Thank you."
"It's nothing. No big deal." Bai Chen gazed expressionlessly at the distant lights.
Bai Chen's voice was quiet and gentle, making a conversation with him feel soothing, as though it cleansed your entire being.
In truth, Bai Chen had initially intended to leave and find some random hotel to stay in, giving them space.
But just as he was about to go, he reconsidered. Would those two really get together so quickly? They had still been arguing a few days ago.
No normal person would do that with someone they had only known for a few days, would they? Even for a Mary Sue story, this was a little too fast. So he went back to take another look.
Watching from outside while the two of them might be doing that was still deeply embarrassing for Bai Chen, and his face and ears immediately turned red.
He wouldn't have known if he hadn't looked, but what he saw shocked him. Gu Cheng had actually stuffed something into Gu Yun's mouth and tied his hands. Nothing about it looked consensual.
If they weren't both willing, then what Gu Cheng was doing counted as rape.
Whatever might happen to Gu Cheng, the sight of Gu Yun's utter despair made it impossible for Bai Chen to harden his heart and leave him there.
But he couldn't charge inside and fight the Gu Family's precious heir, either. That might put the original owner's family at risk, which would be truly despicable.
So he had used that method to rescue Gu Yun. It wasn't particularly cool, but a dashing hero-saves-the-beauty scene simply wouldn't work for him.
He needed a way to resolve things without a fight. Why would Bai Chen care whether it looked cool? As long as it worked and kept the losses to a minimum, that was enough.
So he could only swallow his pride to protect both the family and Gu Yun. Thinking about it now, Bai Chen felt that surrendering when you couldn't win a fight was a pretty good approach.
No injuries, no expenses, no trouble. At worst, people would think you were a bit of a coward.
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