Chapter 40

He said to the police officer, "He's part of my family too. I'm taking him with me now."

Author's note: The overlooked Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan: This must be love!

-Actually, changing for someone else is a very sweet, doting thing in itself. With the Original Host's personality, being with He Dog would have ended badly too. He Dog's possessiveness is off the charts. If he didn't change, the Original Host would have had only one outcome: being locked up. A boy like the Original Host would have withered, and someone as obsessive as He Dog would have destroyed himself. Consider that a spoiler, I guess. It's pretty much all sweetness from here, no angst. The inserted scene was to hurry these two along to the sweet parts. I'm impatient too! I actually didn't think this much when I started writing, so I set a pretty small framework. The whole story will be, at most, somewhere over two hundred thousand words, close to three hundred thousand, plus an extra. Sweethearts in the comments, just enjoy the sweetness. No angst! It's a transmigration-into-a-book story!

Chapter 44

The dark-faced officer frowned, wrestling with it for a while. They had arrested several people, only for one phone call to get three of them taken away. Oh well, weren't there still two left?

He waved a hand. "You can go."

Shen Zhao grabbed Gu Wang and looked at the officer. "Officer, to tell you the truth, I'm part of his family too."

Song Zhiyan turned his head, looking stunned. He had never expected Shen Zhao to be so shameless! It rivaled his own trick of pretending to faint during a fight. Shen Zhao never ran out of outrageous moves.

Before the officer could react, Song Zhiyan chimed in, "Officer, me too. We're all one family!"

The officer said, "..." Do I look that easy to fool?

It wasn't that Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan couldn't get out. It was that they would definitely get beaten when they went home afterward. Their parents weren't as mild-mannered as Gu Dazhi and Du Liping. Not only had they gotten hurt fighting, they had ended up at the police station. There was no escaping a thorough beating.

In the past, they would have let it go. They had been tough-skinned and gotten beaten every day back then. But how long had it been since their last beating, now that they had started following Gu Wang down the "right path"? Their tender skin couldn't withstand that kind of abuse.

He Qinghuan would have to speak up. After all, they had both claimed to belong to his family.

Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan promptly switched sides. "Dad, would you mind having two more sons?"

Gu Wang said, "..."

The officer could tell that this young master of the He Family wasn't softhearted or easy to talk to. He sat in his chair, watching them at his leisure. There was definitely no chance.

But this time, he guessed wrong. He Qinghuan looked at him and said evenly, "I'm taking these two with me too."

The officer said, "!"

Well, yes. If he took these two too, there wouldn't be anyone left.

But since He Qinghuan had said he was taking them, the officer didn't actually stop him. He merely made a token show of being troubled before letting them go.

Shen Zhao crouched by the road with Song Zhiyan, holding his birthday present. Gu Wang came out of the pharmacy with a box of bandages and a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao. Apart from Shen Zhao, all of them had taken a few solid hits, including He Qinghuan.

He Qinghuan needn't have taken those hits. He had been dealing with Du Zhou while his attention was on Gu Wang, so he inevitably couldn't watch everything. A bruise stretched diagonally from the corner of his eye to his cheek, wiping away his usual cool reserve and adding a touch of swaggering youthful recklessness.

Yue Feng wiped away his nosebleed, unwrapped two bandages, and slapped them onto the places that hurt. He howled in pain. Shen Zhao watched him with a frown, utterly disgusted.

Compared with Yue Feng's roughness, He Qinghuan was much more refined.

Boys were mostly like that. Whatever their relationship had been before, once they had fought together, their closeness shot up. Gu Wang was no exception. He hadn't even refused when He Qinghuan asked him to help spray medicine on him.

There was a purple welt on He Qinghuan's back, left by Du Zhou when he had shielded Gu Wang. Du Zhou hadn't actually intended to hit Gu Wang. He had known He Qinghuan would shield him.

That was the kind of person He Qinghuan was. If liking someone was scored out of a hundred, even if he only felt thirty or fifty points' worth, he would still do everything someone at a hundred should do.

Because there were precious few people He Qinghuan could even like three or five points' worth. Thirty or fifty for him was the equivalent of three or five hundred for someone else.

Gu Wang checked the time. "Are we going home? It's already eleven."

Shen Zhao looked at Gu Wang. "Song Zhiyan and I don't dare go back. We'll definitely get beaten. I'd be fine, but Song Zhiyan will definitely rat me out and drag me down with him."

Song Zhiyan said, "I'm not that kind of person."

Gu Wang looked at the two of them. "Then do you want to come to my place?"

Shen Zhao frowned again. "Wangwang, are you sure your dad won't worry if you go home looking like that?"

Gu Wang had been behaving lately, and Gu Dazhi had become increasingly prone to making a fuss. A mosquito bite on Gu Wang's face was enough to send him into a tizzy, worrying that the mosquito carried germs.

He Qinghuan rolled up his sleeves and said evenly, "Come to my place."

Gu Wang blinked and looked at He Qinghuan.

He Qinghuan lowered his eyes. "There are guest rooms at my house. Don't worry."

Shen Zhao, Song Zhiyan, and Yue Feng caught on before Gu Wang did. The three of them coughed and looked away. Yue Feng went to hail a cab, and Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan stood up to follow him. "How can you hail a cab by yourself? We'll do it together."

Only Gu Wang and He Qinghuan remained where they were.

He Qinghuan had put the bandage on Gu Wang's face. He had never tended to anyone before, and his movements had been slow and careful.

If the noisy, boisterous Gu Wang of the past had occasionally struck He Qinghuan as interesting enough to lock up and watch, the Gu Wang of the present taught him restraint and care.

He Qinghuan had never brought anyone home apart from a few childhood friends.

The villa was even larger than Gu Wang's house, but its decor was understated, unlike the lavishness of Gu Wang's home.

Several women were playing mahjong in the living room. Two boys around He Qinghuan's age were playing video games on the sofa, while Xiao Liu and the newly arrived Xiao Qi played with building blocks and dolls nearby.

The moment Shen Zhao came in, he blurted out, "Holy shit, He Qinghuan, your place is lively!"

Xiao Liu sat on the floor, watching her brother's friends curiously. Yue Feng was the only one she remembered. After spotting the bandage on He Qinghuan's face, she clumsily climbed to her feet. She wasn't even as tall as his legs. Keeping her distance, wanting to approach but not daring to, she asked cautiously, "Big brother, what happened to you?"

Xiao Liu never spoke to He Qinghuan first, because she was afraid.

He Qinghuan glanced at Xiao Liu and walked straight around her. "I'll have Auntie take you to the guest rooms."

Gu Wang, however, took an unexpected liking to the little girl. He crouched down and rummaged a handful of candy out of his schoolbag. "Your brother's fine. He chased away the bad guys. He was amazing."

Xiao Liu reached out to take the candy from Gu Wang's palm. Her hands were small, so one wasn't enough, and she grabbed with both. The little tuft of hair on her head bobbed back and forth as she moved.

There was a little pocket on her jacket, and Xiao Liu tucked the candies into it one by one. She wasn't afraid of Gu Wang at all, because he was not only good-looking but also especially gentle.

Better than big brother. Xiao Liu switched sides remarkably fast.

Zhang Bailu raised a hand toward the chandelier, admiring her fresh manicure with a couple of clicks of her tongue. "He Qinghuan can actually make friends?"

After discarding a tile, a gentle-looking woman in a camisole and knitted shawl looked at the boy crouching and talking to Xiao Liu, a little surprised. "That child is so pure. How did He Qinghuan meet him?"

By rights, such a simple, kindhearted boy shouldn't have appeared around He Qinghuan. Someone unscrupulous and driven by self-interest, like Du Zhou, was far more likely.

"A classmate, probably. He's still wearing his uniform. Can't you see?"

"I mean, how did He Qinghuan make a friend like that?"

Zhang Bailu shot her a sidelong glance. "You're sticking your nose pretty far in, policing what friends He Qinghuan makes. Are you his mother?"

Xiao Liu held Gu Wang's hand and whispered, "My brother's a little scary. If he treats you badly, run away."

Gu Wang couldn't help laughing. What was this little girl saying?

"Don't give in to my brother. The more you give in, the scarier he gets."

"Oh, my brother..."

Gu Wang froze. How could a little girl just a few years old say things like that? Even Gu Wang himself hadn't understood what Xiao Liu meant.

What did she mean, the more you gave in to him, the scarier he got?

While He Qinghuan was in the kitchen getting water for them, He Zhiyan came downstairs in a bathrobe. Gu Wang was the only one in the living room. The oppressive presence of someone in authority was no joke. His gaze swept indifferently across Gu Wang's face before turning to He Qinghuan, who was coming out of the kitchen. He smiled and said, "Qinghuan, you know the rules."

He Qinghuan nodded. "I know."

He Qinghuan had brought milk for Gu Wang. He handed it to him and said softly, "Go upstairs and get some sleep."

The milk was warm.

He Qinghuan went upstairs. Yue Feng came scrambling down, wearing his jacket, his hair still wet. He paused when he saw Gu Wang. "You haven't gone to bed yet?"

Gu Wang pointed to Xiao Liu. "Playing with her."

Xiao Liu echoed foolishly, "Playing with me."

Yue Feng laughed and crouched down too, tugging Xiao Liu's little tuft of hair. "Aren't you going to kindergarten tomorrow? Is that your new friend?"

Xiao Liu corrected him. "My new little sister."

Gu Wang and Yue Feng said, "..."

Yue Feng sighed. "I didn't see this new little sister a few days ago. Uncle He really is impressive."

Gu Wang nodded, then asked with feigned casualness, "He Qinghuan isn't going to bed this late?"

Yue Feng waved a hand and took a candy from Xiao Liu's pocket. "He won't be sleeping tonight. He's been shut in the dark room."

"..." Gu Wang patted Xiao Liu's head as she looked ready to cry, a little puzzled. "Shut in the dark room?"

"Mm." Yue Feng unwrapped the candy, tossed it into his mouth, and sprawled back on the sofa. The two boys beside him shifted away awkwardly. Yue Feng gave a soft scoff before saying, "It's a rule in He Qinghuan's family. He Qinghuan getting into fights outside isn't really a big deal, but first, he got caught, and second, he couldn't get himself out. I don't really know how to explain it. You just need to know it's a punishment."

Gu Wang had learned something new. What kind of bizarre rule was that?

If he ended up at the police station, Gu Dazhi would worry himself sick, yet He Qinghuan's father had focused on He Qinghuan's failure to resolve the matter properly himself.

Gu Wang remembered how, when He Zhiyan had come downstairs and seen the injuries on He Qinghuan's face, his expression hadn't changed at all. He hadn't looked the slightest bit moved.

What a cold-blooded family.

Gu Wang felt a little upset. He Qinghuan had gone up to the third floor earlier, entered the room at the very end, and never come back out.

He looked at Yue Feng. "How long is he locked up for?"

Yue Feng said, "All night."

"Is there a bed inside, or anything else..."

Yue Feng stood up and patted Gu Wang's head. "He wishes. There isn't even a chair. It's empty, with no windows and no lights. Why else would it be called a dark room?"

Gu Wang's body moved before his brain did. He stood up. "I'll go up and take a look."

There was no telling how many times He Qinghuan had been locked up as a child. When he was little, he hadn't wanted to be shoved inside, and the door had needed locking. Later, as he grew older, when He Qinghuan did something wrong, he would voluntarily shut himself in for a night, or two or three.

The room was so well soundproofed that he couldn't hear anything outside, nor could he see a single ray of light.

So when someone knocked and gently pushed the door open, He Qinghuan looked at the light spilling in and the boy's cautious expression, and his whole world came crashing down.

Gu Wang hadn't expected the room to be so dark. He couldn't see where He Qinghuan was at all. He called his name, but no one answered.

He couldn't be dead, could he? Gu Wang's thoughts went wildly astray.

With no response, Gu Wang prepared to close the door and leave. He had only come to take a look. Curiosity was part of it, and he himself was unwilling to admit the other reason.

He was a little worried.

Before he could close the door, a cool hand caught his wrist and dragged him inside. The door slammed shut with a bang. Gu Wang was turned around and pinned against the wall, his face forced against it, while the person behind him gripped his wrist tightly.

"Wangwang, aren't you afraid?"

Author's note: Milk Wang: Scared.

Chapter 45

Gu Wang swung a hand back at He Qinghuan. Anticipating it, He Qinghuan pressed down on his waist and twisted his unruly hand behind his back, his voice cool. "That's the second time."

Last time, Gu Wang had succeeded.

"Did Yue Feng tell you?" He Qinghuan released him and stepped back a little.

Gu Wang knew he was very close, but he couldn't see anything in the pitch-black room. He didn't know exactly how close He Qinghuan was. Keeping his hands behind his back, Gu Wang slowly felt along the wall for the door handle.

"Mm," he answered perfunctorily.