He Qinghuan.
The door handle was metal, cold to the touch. Just as Gu Wang touched it, someone's hand covered the back of his. "Why are you running?"
For some reason, whenever He Qinghuan thought of Gu Wang running away, he couldn't suppress the violence inside him. He wondered whether he should build a house especially for the person before him and put him in shackles and handcuffs. The thought of Gu Wang only ever being able to stay by his side made him happy.
It was genuine delight.
Even Gu Wang noticed the sudden change in his mood.
If Yue Feng hadn't been calling for Gu Wang outside, Gu Wang had no idea how long he would have remained entangled with He Qinghuan in that room. He had only meant to check on He Qinghuan, only to be pulled inside and not let go.
"Good night." Holding Gu Wang's hand, He Qinghuan guided him into turning the door handle.
The lights outside were a little harsh. Gu Wang walked out and glanced back at He Qinghuan. A vast expanse of darkness lay behind He Qinghuan. He looked at Gu Wang, smiled at him, and closed the door himself.
Gu Wang's heart ached a little.
Yue Feng patted Gu Wang's shoulder and said helplessly, "Don't overthink it. He Qinghuan has lived like this for years. He's used to it."
Gu Wang nodded without speaking.
Gu Wang followed the stairs down to the second floor. Shen Zhao leaned over the railing, looking at the chandelier that hung down from the third floor to the second, and sighed admiringly. "I like this light."
Yue Feng bounded over and told him, "I'll buy it for you. As many as you want."
Shen Zhao looked Yue Feng up and down a few times and huffed. "I don't want your charity."
Yue Feng tugged at his arm. "How is this charity? Between us rich people, it's called a gift..."
"Stop tugging at me." Shen Zhao was utterly sick of Yue Feng.
Watching the two of them, Gu Wang felt like laughing. He said good night and returned to the guest room.
That night, Gu Wang had a dream.
It was set in He Qinghuan's house, too. There was Xiao Liu, the He Family's Xiao Liu. She no longer looked as she did now. She was a few years older, but not a grown girl either-roughly eight, nine, or ten years old.
Then Gu Wang saw the Original Host. He was much thinner than he had been at the beginning, sitting in a wheelchair and basking in the sun in the garden outside. The veins on the backs of his hands were clearly visible. Because he was so thin, his eyes looked even larger, but they had lost their former brightness and looked somewhat dull and lifeless.
Gu Wang was very curious. Hadn't the Original Host died?
Xiao Liu had come in from outside. These illegitimate children had all been driven out the day Gu Wang moved in. He Zhiyan had died in a woman's bed the year He Qinghuan turned twenty-two, though not from sexual exhaustion. A woman who loved him desperately, yet hated him for being so promiscuous, had stabbed him to death with a fruit knife while they were in bed. When the police arrived, she was still sleeping with He Zhiyan's corpse in her arms.
The He Family had long since belonged to He Qinghuan.
But in this villa, there were only him and the Original Host.
Xiao Liu crouched in front of the Original Host and called him Brother Wang. "Brother Wang, don't give in to my brother too much. The more you give in to him, the scarier he gets."
The Original Host hadn't died after the car accident. That was what Gu Wang learned in the dream. Then why had he come here? The Original Host had ended up with He Qinghuan. They should have been very happy, so why was Xiao Liu telling the Original Host not to give in to He Qinghuan?
Gu Wang sat up in bed, his mind full of questions. What was going on?
The garden was currently planted with China roses. Gu Wang remembered that later, He Qinghuan would replace them with the roses the Original Host liked. None of this surprised Gu Wang. The only thing he found unbelievable was that the Original Host hadn't died!
Gu Wang wondered whether he had come here to avoid that disabling car accident. Otherwise, he really couldn't find a reason for his own existence.
The thought of eventually ending up with He Qinghuan made Gu Wang's skin crawl. He always felt that there was something about He Qinghuan that differed from ordinary people.
He Qinghuan came out of his room at six in the morning. Children didn't sleep in, and Xiao Liu was downstairs running all over the house with a cup of milk while her mother chased after her with bread and eggs.
Xiao Liu was still wearing last night's pajamas with pockets.
He Qinghuan pulled her in front of him.
Xiao Liu was innocent and guileless, and a little afraid. "Brother, you're out?"
He Qinghuan nodded and took the candies out of her pocket one by one.
"Brother, are you hungry?"
He Qinghuan was still taking her candy. With his eyes lowered, he said mildly, "Just eat your own breakfast properly."
There were only a dozen or so pieces altogether, but He Qinghuan took every last one. Xiao Liu's lips puckered. She wanted to cry but didn't dare.
After changing, Gu Wang saw this scene from upstairs. He was speechless. How old was He Qinghuan? He was stealing his little sister's candy without leaving her a single piece.
Seeing Xiao Liu turn her pocket inside out, Gu Wang knew He Qinghuan must have taken everything.
Carrying his schoolbag, Gu Wang slipped a few more candies into Xiao Liu's pocket. "Hide them well. Don't let your brother see."
He Qinghuan started walking over again.
Gu Wang gave Xiao Liu a gentle push. "Run."
Xiao Liu didn't understand and thought her brothers were playing a game with her. Covering her pocket, she ran toward her mother on her short little legs, bumped into her mother's legs, and looked up with her eyes curved in a smile.
Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan had shared a room and came downstairs one after the other, with Yue Feng close behind. They had all been injured yesterday. After a night, the marks had only faded slightly, and it was still obvious at a glance that they had been in a fight.
He Qinghuan looked unwell. He had spent the entire night in the little dark room and was injured, too.
As Gu Wang looked him over, He Qinghuan suddenly leaned close with a glass of milk in his hand, leaving only the glass between them.
"Did you sleep well?"
He Qinghuan asked softly.
Gu Wang felt the base of his neck grow hot, and then the heat spread throughout his body. He hesitantly nodded.
He Qinghuan curled his lips and turned the glass in his hand, touching its rim to Gu Wang's lips. Gu Wang was about to explode. Like a cat held by the scruff, he kicked his legs twice, found struggling useless, and resigned himself to his fate.
Gu Wang raised a hand to take it himself, but He Qinghuan caught his wrist and pressed it down.
Gu Wang frowned.
He Qinghuan watched him, his voice a little hoarse. He hadn't slept all night, and there was a touch of weariness and coldness about him, along with a trace of gloom.
"Be good."
Beside them, Yue Feng's hand shook, and he nearly dropped his fork.
Gu Wang held the rim between his lips as He Qinghuan slowly fed him. Gu Wang's eyelashes trembled. He was afraid, and embarrassed, too.
The milk was white, and some clung to the corner of Gu Wang's mouth. He Qinghuan watched him for a while, then took a tissue from the dining table and wiped it clean.
As the tissue slid away from the corner of his mouth, Gu Wang felt someone gently pinch his chin.
Yue Feng glanced at them from time to time with a complicated expression. How could things possibly turn out well if that bastard He Qinghuan kept this up?
Shen Zhao didn't know that much. Even if He Qinghuan was a little frightening, it wasn't directed at him. Seeing He Qinghuan take such good care of Gu Wang actually made him quite happy, to the point that he swayed from side to side as he ate.
They didn't know He Qinghuan as well as Yue Feng did.
Song Zhiyan felt that no matter what Wangwang did, he would still end up with He Qinghuan. Even if he didn't like him now, he would sooner or later. Actually, he wanted to learn He Qinghuan's flirting techniques, too.
The group drew particular attention as they got out of He Qinghuan's car with their bruised and swollen faces. Only Shen Zhao's face was unmarked. The others all sported some bruising to varying degrees.
Shen Zhao silently moved a little farther away from them.
Yue Feng put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him back. "You think we're embarrassing? If you hadn't been drunk yesterday, you'd look just like us."
Beside them, Song Zhiyan said darkly, "I suspect he was faking it."
Shen Zhao immediately exploded. "How could I have been faking? I really was unconscious and weak all over..."
He exaggerated wildly, and his words were lewd and graphic, too. Song Zhiyan covered his ears and told him to get lost, while he climbed onto Song Zhiyan's back and shouted, "Yanyan, give me a kiss."
During morning self-study, Gu Wang, He Qinghuan, and Song Zhiyan were summoned to Li Shuya's office.
Li Shuya looked at the three of them for a while, sighed, and said, "Did you fight at school or outside?"
Song Zhiyan lowered his head. "Outside."
"A group fight?"
"We got ganged up on."
Gu Wang couldn't help it. He was the first to laugh aloud.
Li Shuya glanced at him. "Wangwang, go stand in the classroom corridor for a while."
Gu Wang: "..."
Their class's Gu Wang had been behaving well lately. He rarely slept in class anymore, and sometimes he could even answer the teachers' questions. He had even won the Outstanding Progress Award. Yet overnight, their Gu Wang had gone right back to square one and recruited their class monitor along the way.
At first, only Gu Wang stood in the corridor. Wen Ting stuck her head out of the window. "Wang, what happened? What happened to you guys?"
Gu Wang touched his face. "We got beaten up."
Wen Ting was horrified. "The class monitor got beaten up, too?"
He Qinghuan getting beaten up was simply unimaginable.
Gu Wang smiled without speaking. He Qinghuan wouldn't have been hurt in the first place if not for him. He had helped intercept and block the blows. No matter how capable he was, he couldn't cover everything, so taking a few hits was normal.
Gu Wang couldn't describe how he felt, but he was certain that the emotions that surfaced were his own.
A little sour, a little sweet.
Song Zhiyan and He Qinghuan returned from the office. Song Zhiyan took Gu Wang's hand, looking at him, then at He Qinghuan. "Wangwang, He, since I confessed and earned leniency, I don't have to stand out here. Sigh, I didn't want this either."
Li Shuya was right behind him. She said mildly, "Then stand with them."
Song Zhiyan: "..."
Gu Wang laughed unkindly, then wondered how Song Zhiyan had gotten familiar enough with He Qinghuan to start calling him "He."
Song Zhiyan stood to Gu Wang's left, and He Qinghuan to his right. Lowering his voice, Song Zhiyan said in what he thought was a whisper, "Actually, after really getting to know him, I've realized He's pretty decent. Loyal, too. He took all the blame just now. For a moment, I almost fell in love with him."
He Qinghuan glanced at Song Zhiyan without speaking. He had only wanted to clear Gu Wang of involvement.
Gu Wang held a hand to his mouth as he laughed, and only then did He Qinghuan notice that the knuckles where his fingers met the back of his hand were covered in abrasions. He hadn't noticed them last night. The injuries were on his right hand.
Gu Wang was still "whispering" with Song Zhiyan when the person beside him caught his hand. Startled, Gu Wang didn't dare say anything to stop him. He gave Song Zhiyan distracted responses while all his attention was actually on the hand He Qinghuan held.
He Qinghuan had brought ointment, originally intended for Gu Wang anyway, to be applied three times a day.
The cooling ointment was spread over the back of Gu Wang's hand. Song Zhiyan patted Gu Wang's shoulder and clutched his stomach. "Wangwang, I'm off for my daily dump."
Gu Wang: "..."
Now only Gu Wang and He Qinghuan remained in the corridor. Gu Wang looked at He Qinghuan and said quietly, "It doesn't even hurt."
He Qinghuan's movements paused. He raised his eyes to Gu Wang, reflecting Gu Wang's somewhat helpless expression. His fingers brushed gently over the back of Gu Wang's hand as he said slowly, "It hurts me."
Author's note: Xiao Liu: Brother, could you act like a decent human being?
Chapter 46
When Song Zhiyan returned from the restroom, he was still some distance away, but he could see what the two of them were doing. Not wanting to be a third wheel, he had a momentary lapse of judgment and slipped into the classroom through the back door.
Li Shuya happened to finish writing on the board and turned around, spotting Song Zhiyan at the back door.
Song Zhiyan: "..."
Li Shuya waved a hand. "Stand outside for the next period, too."
Fine, he'd stand.
Song Zhiyan leaned against the wall by the back door, looking aggrieved. Turning his head, he saw Meng Ou approaching from the restrooms, clutching her stomach, her face pale. When she reached the back door, her whole body swayed. Song Zhiyan's heart lurched, and he reached out to steady her, asking what was wrong.
Meng Ou said flatly, "Period cramps."
Song Zhiyan blinked. "Which period is cramping?"
Meng Ou: "..." She shook off Song Zhiyan's hand and entered the classroom.
Utterly baffled, Song Zhiyan decided to consult Gu Wang. He walked in a crouch, only standing once he reached Gu Wang.
Gu Wang and He Qinghuan were no longer in their earlier position. They kept a little distance between them and weren't speaking. Seeing Song Zhiyan sneak over, Gu Wang asked casually, "Why are you here?"
"..." Song Zhiyan froze, then said, "You make it sound like I shouldn't have come."
Gu Wang: "