Chapter 37

After much persuasion, Gu Wang managed to stop Grandma Gu, but she insisted on seeing him to the elevator. He supported her the whole way, listening to her chatter beside his ear, and felt utterly at ease.

Whether from the Original Host's perspective or his own, Gu Wang didn't want anything to happen to his family.

"Wangwang, you've gotten a little thin lately. Stop staying up late studying."

"Okay."

"If you really like that He Family boy, we'll think of something. We'll think of something..."

Gu Wang fell silent for a long time. Whether to make Grandma Gu happy or for some other reason, he nodded lightly.

"There's just one question. Will you marry into his family, or will he marry into ours?"

Gu Wang: "..."

Grandma Gu was still in critical condition. Seeing her come out like this gave the nurse on duty at the nurses' station a fright, and she quickly sent the two interns sorting through medical orders beside her over to support her.

Grandma Gu clung to the elevator, still cursing Gu Dazhi as a wretched nuisance. Gu Wang waved to her, and she waved back. Only after the elevator doors had closed completely did Grandma Gu boast to the two young women supporting her, "My grandson. Isn't he so devoted? So handsome?"

Whether it was family or someone you liked, you couldn't help showing them off to others, just as Grandma Gu did with Gu Wang, and Gu Wang did with He Qinghuan.

The two interns agreed with complete sincerity. "Very devoted, very handsome. Let's take you back to your room."

It was already eleven at night, but the city was still ablaze with lights, with streams of cars and pedestrians passing through. Streetlights dotted both sides of the road, and all sorts of stalls lined the sidewalks. The bustle of everyday life was stronger than during the day.

Gu Wang wore a long, pale blue trench coat and gray sweatpants. One look told you he'd rushed out of the house. He looked out of place among the fashionably dressed passersby, exceptionally clean and fresh.

A busker was singing in the square. He wore hip-hop clothes and had multicolored dreadlocks, but the song he sang was a slow folk ballad. The young man sat on a tall stool, his voice low and soulful.

Gu Wang stopped to listen because he knew the song well. It was the first piece he'd learned to play all the way through.

"Seeing Off the Gentleman"

Gu Wang was a little surprised. This folk song came from his original world, and he didn't remember the author mentioning it in the novel. The young man had his own distinctive singing style and had changed much of the melody, but Gu Wang recognized it immediately from the lyrics.

"Perhaps it's a coincidence,

when you look at me,

I'm looking at you too,

but you glance at me once,

while I look at you so many, many times.

My dear gentleman,

look at me once more,

and you might love me a little."

The young man tilted his head, singing with earnest concentration. Gu Wang hadn't brought cash, and he couldn't see a QR code on the ground. He stood and listened to the whole song, then, when the young man looked up, mouthed, "That was beautiful."

Gu Wang's expression was sincere, and the young man smiled happily. Perhaps artists were all like this: praise for their work made them happier than money.

Gu Wang stood by the road to hail a taxi, the honking mingling with the noise from the square behind him.

More images suddenly flooded Gu Wang's mind.

From the surroundings, it seemed to be at school, in the auditorium. The Original Host carried a guitar and jumped straight onto the stage from below. The perspective shifted to the Original Host's.

Sitting in the front row was He Qinghuan.

The boy was dressed head to toe in designer brands, flashy and arrogant. He ought to have been street dancing or rapping, but he pulled over a chair and sang a folk love song.

He already had an innocent-looking face, and when he quieted down, he was especially captivating.

"Look at me once more,

and you might love me a little.

Every single day,

I think of you a thousand times.

My dear gentleman,

you should look at me once,

and you're sure to love me a little."

The Original Host hadn't finished singing when He Qinghuan stood up and left. The boy tossed aside his guitar and jumped down from the stage. This was the first time Gu Wang had seen the two interact.

He heard their conversation.

The Original Host reached out to catch He Qinghuan. Once He Qinghuan stopped and looked at him, the Original Host gave him a slightly ingratiating smile. "I wrote it. Was 'Seeing Off the Gentleman' good? I wrote it for you."

He Qinghuan paused, then curled his lips, but his words were a little hurtful. "It's average."

The Original Host was a little embarrassed. He let out an "Ah," then said, "Actually, I think it's average too. I'll work on it some more, then sing it for you at the next National Day gala!"

He Qinghuan opened his mouth and said one word. The scene lost its sound, then vanished. Gu Wang stood frozen for a long while before spotting an empty taxi approaching and raising his hand to hail it.

The taxi slowed and pulled to a gentle stop in front of him. Gu Wang opened the rear door and got in.

He had barely climbed in and closed the door when someone gathered him into a full embrace. There was that same crisp mint scent, and a soft sweater brushed Gu Wang's face.

Gu Wang froze.

He Qinghuan's fingers climbed Gu Wang's spine, vertebra by vertebra, finally stopping at the nape of his neck and pressing gently. Gu Wang sighed, sounding a little helpless.

"Why are you out alone so late? It's not safe."

Author's note: Grandma Gu: Will you marry into his family, or will he marry into ours?

He Qinghuan: Either works for me.

-What could be less safe than running into that He Dog?

Chapter 42

On the surface, nothing about He Qinghuan seemed unusual. He gently closed and locked the classroom door, and even exchanged a couple of jokes with Yue Feng.

He went out around ten. Yue Feng saw everything clearly from the second floor of his own house. The night was especially dark, and the clump of dahlias outside was stunningly vivid in its many colors. He Qinghuan stood by the road, watching Yue Feng scramble out of his house.

Yue Feng stopped in front of He Qinghuan, composed his expression, and asked cautiously, "He Qinghuan, where are you going?"

He Qinghuan didn't hide it. "To see Wangwang."

Every hair on Yue Feng's back stood on end. There was no way He Qinghuan was simply going to see him. Yue Feng didn't know what else had happened between the two out of his sight. He pretended not to understand. "It's so late. We have school tomorrow."

He Qinghuan glanced at him and went out to hail a taxi.

Yue Feng shouted after him, "He Qinghuan, what about your family's car?"

He Qinghuan didn't answer. Even his retreating figure carried a gloom that sent chills through people.

Yue Feng returned home and went through endless roundabout channels to get Gu Wang's number. He wanted to warn him, but felt that would be disloyal to his friend. Yet not telling him felt like harming He Qinghuan too. After hesitating for a long time, he sent Gu Wang a message.

[A dark and windy night for murder.]

He sent it using an unused SIM card at home. That way, he wouldn't expose himself, and he could put Gu Wang on his guard.

What Yue Feng didn't know was that, after being unused for so long, the number had somehow become flagged as a scam and telemarketing number. When Gu Wang received the message, his phone app warned him that it was a telemarketing number.

Gu Wang deleted the message outright.

Just after he deleted it, a taxi stopped outside his house. He Qinghuan got out, and the driver switched off the engine and lights. Both the car and the man melted into the darkness.

He Qinghuan had planned to call Gu Wang, coax him downstairs, and take him straight away, but Gu Wang came out on his own. He didn't look in He Qinghuan's direction. That spot was too dark and concealed.

While Gu Wang stood by the road listening to the song, He Qinghuan sat in the car a short distance away, watching quietly.

Gu Wang had sung this song last time too. Because He Qinghuan had called it average, he'd said he would revise it. When He Qinghuan agreed, the boy was overjoyed.

The next day, Gu Wang said he'd made a friend and would work on it with him, then surprise He Qinghuan on National Day.

Based on Gu Wang's description last time, if He Qinghuan wasn't mistaken, the young man singing now should be the friend Gu Wang had met.

He Qinghuan leaned back languidly in the rear seat. The boy not far away looked so clean and fresh that he could make a person's heart melt. He was completely different from the passersby around him.

He Qinghuan was a little curious. Weren't they friends? Why did Wangwang seem not to know this person?

After listening to the song and telling the singer it was beautiful, Gu Wang stood by the road to hail a taxi. The driver switched on the vacant sign and drove straight toward him.

When He Qinghuan held him in his arms, the boy was unbelievably clean and soft.

He Qinghuan paused, then gave the driver Gu Wang's home address.

Gu Wang froze. He felt He Qinghuan's fingers stop at the nape of his neck, as though pinning down prey. In fact, his heart had nearly leaped into his throat a moment earlier.

He didn't know what He Qinghuan had originally intended to do. Gu Wang pushed him away, his expression a little cold. "He Qinghuan, I..."

He Qinghuan gave a low laugh, interrupting Gu Wang. "Wangwang, I'm taking you home. Don't say anything."

I hadn't meant to take you home. I'd come to take you away.

My home has its own flower garden and landscaped grounds. There are lots of beautiful koi in the artificial lake behind the villa. I remember you saying you liked roses. I'll fill the entire garden with roses.

So you probably won't get bored.

But seeing Gu Wang standing by the road had changed He Qinghuan's mind again.

He did think Gu Wang was beautiful, but He Qinghuan had always taken possession of beautiful things without hesitation. Even if someone else merely touched them, He Qinghuan would no longer want them. Not only would he discard them, he would smash the tainted things to pieces.

Someone else had kissed Gu Wang. He Qinghuan didn't want to hurt him; he wanted all the more to make him belong completely to him.

Even though his dark thoughts had briefly gained the upper hand, and he had dug out the shackles from the basement, startling everyone in the living room and making Xiao Liu cry outright, those things in the basement had never been used. No one knew whom they had been prepared for.

He still couldn't bear to do it.

With Gu Wang in his arms, those thoughts slowly faded from He Qinghuan's mind. It was better for Gu Wang to keep living in the sunlight, doing what he wanted.

Gu Wang leaned against the window without a word. He felt as though he had been completely confined. He didn't want to get involved with He Qinghuan, much less fall for him or have him fall for him.

When He Qinghuan had gently pressed along his spine one vertebra at a time, Gu Wang's entire body had burned, yet at the same time, he'd felt a little horrified.

What sort of person appeared in the taxi you hailed in the middle of the night?

For the first time, Gu Wang, who could handle anything with ease, felt lost and helpless.

With no romantic experience, he only ever had the same few stock lines for rejecting people. But they didn't work on He Qinghuan, who refused to listen to reason.

Just as the old Gu Wang had liked He Qinghuan with no regard for reason.

Only he was allowed to like him; anyone who approached was his enemy. In front of those people, Gu Wang was so arrogant he seemed like the little tyrant of the earth, but the moment he faced He Qinghuan, his claws automatically retracted.

Both of them were unreasonable.

Their affection was so overbearing and suffocating.

He Qinghuan said nothing until Gu Wang was getting out of the car, when he caught his wrist. Gu Wang was outside the car. He couldn't see He Qinghuan's face, and He Qinghuan couldn't see his.

"Wangwang, be with me. The He Family will be yours. I'll be yours."

"I'll get into the same university as you."

"Whatever you want, I'll give it to you."

For high school students, getting into the same university seemed to have become the best way to prove their love and sincerity.

Those with good grades lowered their sights for those with poor grades, while those with poor grades gritted their teeth and worked their way up for those with good grades.

Even He Qinghuan was no exception.

Gu Wang pulled free of He Qinghuan's hand. "No need."

He walked toward his house. As he pushed open the front door, Gu Dazhi hurried out with a coat draped over his shoulders, still saying, "Where did you go this late? Your grandma called me. If you wanted to see her, I could've taken you. Going out alone like that-are you trying to worry your mother and me to death?"

Gu Wang looked up and saw Du Liping sitting on the sofa, leafing through a magazine. Usually, she would have been getting her beauty sleep at this hour. Seeing Gu Wang return, she looked him up and down a few times and yawned. "I'm going to bed. Good night, Wangwang."

Gu Dazhi poured Gu Wang a glass of water and nudged him upstairs. "Go to bed. You have school tomorrow. Run around like that again, and I'll break your legs!"

The lights in the villa went out one by one, until only one room on the second floor remained lit.

He Qinghuan's phone rang. It was He Zhiyan.