Gu Yansheng had grown up accustomed to being alone and used to being bullied.
Back when he was in school, a few students would occasionally corner him in the restroom to demand money from him.
However, that money was earned through his own hard work. It was his living allowance and tuition, and no matter what, he refused to give it up. Consequently, he ended up getting into a fight with those classmates. Being thin and frail, he was no match for them, especially since those individuals were tall and sturdy.
The incident eventually drew the attention of a teacher, who had no choice but to step in and manage the situation. Yet the teacher only wanted to gloss things over, turning a blind eye and forcing both sides to apologize to each other so the matter would simply blow over.
However, the parents of those students were not satisfied, stubbornly insisting that it was entirely Gu Yansheng’s fault.
Everyone knew that Gu Yansheng was an orphan with no father, no mother, and no one to cherish him.
Those other kids all had parents to protect them, leaving only Gu Yansheng standing there all alone, watching those classmates being sheltered behind their parents, watching those adults point fingers at him, and finally being forced by the teacher’s cajoling to apologize to the very people who had bullied him.
He knew he was all by himself, with no one to rely on and no one who would step forward to speak up for him. Just because he lacked parents and a home, his classmates looked down on him, and some even took malicious pleasure in bullying him for no reason.
Therefore, he could only endure it in silence.
This person named Lu Feng right in front of him spoke of borrowing money, but his attitude was no different from outright robbery.
Seeing Gu Yansheng freeze up, Lu Feng didn’t feel any urgency. Back in the orphanage, the older kids often bullied Gu Yansheng, and Gu Yansheng never dared to resist them. Whatever they asked for, he would obediently hand over, acting extremely submissive.
Because of this, Lu Feng was certain that Gu Yansheng wouldn’t dare refuse him money.
Judging by his current attire, he must have caught the eye of some wealthy man who was keeping him as a kept toy.
Therefore, he definitely had money and could surely squeeze a few thousand yuan out of him today.
Lu Feng felt that he was having a stroke of good luck today. Once he got the money, he could go off eating, drinking, and having fun right away.
“What? Do you dare refuse?” Seeing that Gu Yansheng still hadn’t made a move, Lu Feng grew impatient. “Hurry up and hand the money over.”
Gu Yansheng said softly, “I don’t have money.”
Lu Feng laughed, his eyes gazing greedily at the laptop Gu Yansheng was holding in his arms. “Gu Yansheng, this computer is worth nearly ten thousand yuan, and that jacket you’re wearing costs tens of thousands. And you’re telling me you have no money? Gu Yansheng, while I’m still talking to you nicely, hand it over yourself. Don’t force me to get physical with you.”
When Gu Yansheng returned home, he happened to run into Xuan Chiyi coming back from work.
Xuan Chiyi frowned. “Why did you go out without wearing a jacket?”
He hurriedly took off his own coat and draped it over Gu Yansheng’s shoulders. Fortunately, it wasn’t very cold today, and Gu Yansheng was wearing a woolen sweater underneath, which provided decent warmth.
Gu Yansheng didn’t dare meet his eyes and kept his head lowered the entire time. Realizing that his tone earlier had been a bit too harsh, Xuan Chiyi quickly added, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice at you. I was just worried that you’d catch a cold.”
Gu Yansheng shook his head without uttering a single word.
He had no idea how to explain things to Xuan Chiyi.
Observing Gu Yansheng’s silence, Xuan Chiyi felt a wave of profound annoyance. He had been too anxious just now, which was why his voice had come out loud, and now he had ended up frightening Gu Yansheng.
The progress he and Gu Yansheng had managed to make with such difficulty today, even receiving an active phone call from him earlier, had now been instantly reset to their previous state just because of that single outburst.
Xuan Chiyi felt utterly discouraged. Why was this little fellow so terrified of him? He began pondering how he should apologize to Gu Yansheng later.
As they stepped inside, trying to break the heavy silence, Xuan Chiyi asked, “What would you like to eat for dinner?”
Gu Yansheng answered listlessly, “Anything is fine.”
The more Xuan Chiyi thought about it, the more wrong it felt. “Sheng-sheng, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Clearly, when they spoke on the phone this afternoon, Gu Yansheng’s mood had sounded quite cheerful. Why was he suddenly so downcast now? Had he done something to upset him?
No matter how he asked, Gu Yansheng refused to talk and kept insisting he was fine.
With no other choice, Xuan Chiyi could only go ahead and start cooking first. He couldn’t let Gu Yansheng and the baby in his belly go hungry.
Sitting on the sofa, Gu Yansheng stared at the closed kitchen door, listening to the sounds of stir-frying and smelling the rich aroma of food drifting out, feeling deeply distressed inside.
He hadn’t told Xuan Chiyi the truth just now. He didn’t know whether Xuan Chiyi would get angry if he found out the truth.
The books always said that domineering CEOs were terrifying when angry, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became.
Yet Xuan Chiyi would find out sooner or later. Would he be even angrier then?
Thus, he had been torn over whether to confess and surrender first. Since Xuan Chiyi liked children so much, perhaps he would forgive him for the sake of the baby.
Gu Yansheng decided to tell Xuan Chiyi everything while they ate dinner.
So he proactively went into the kitchen to help dish out the rice and carry the dishes. Xuan Chiyi originally intended to refuse, but couldn’t bear to, because Gu Yansheng had finally taken the initiative to interact with him.
He could only soften his voice and instruct, “Then take it slow. Be careful not to burn yourself.”
Even as he spoke, his eyes never left Gu Yansheng, terrified that the young man might accidentally slip and fall so that he could rush over to support him at a moment’s notice.
Gu Yansheng secretly observed Xuan Chiyi and noticed that he seemed to be in a great mood, even flashing a smile earlier. He realized that Xuan Chiyi actually looked quite handsome when he smiled, which helped ease Gu Yansheng’s nervous tension a little.
However, man proposes and heaven disposes. Just as they sat down and Gu Yansheng was preparing to come clean, the delivery service from the shopping mall arrived with the items he had bought earlier.
Xuan Chiyi told him to eat first while he went to check on the delivery.
Unable to eat anymore, Gu Yansheng followed him out to take a look.
After putting everything in its place, Xuan Chiyi noticed that Gu Yansheng was still lingering by his side and smiled. “I remember you bought a laptop earlier, right? Why don’t I see it? Did they forget to deliver it? I’ll go call and ask.”
No sooner had those words left his mouth than he saw Gu Yansheng’s eyes instantly turn red.
Xuan Chiyi was instantly panicked. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?” He felt the urge to grab his keys immediately and rush him to the hospital for a checkup.
Ever since they returned home, Gu Yansheng’s emotions had been extremely low and unusual. Could his body be acting up?
Gu Yansheng’s eye rims reddened as tears began to patter down his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t careful.”
Seeing him shed tears threw Xuan Chiyi into a complete panic. He quickly pulled Gu Yansheng into his arms to comfort him. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t cry, don’t cry. Whatever happened, it doesn’t matter. Please don’t cry.”
Yet Gu Yansheng’s tears refused to stop.
After coaxing him for a long time, Xuan Chiyi finally said, “Sheng-sheng, crying like this isn’t good for the baby.”
At the mention that it was bad for the baby in his belly, Gu Yansheng forced himself to stop crying, though he remained choked up with snifles.
That finally managed to coax him into a state where he stopped shedding tears.
However, after crying for so long, Gu Yansheng’s eyes and nose were red, making him look unspeakably pitiful.
Xuan Chiyi seated him on the sofa, went to the bathroom to fetch a warm towel, and came out to wipe Gu Yansheng’s face.
Gu Yansheng’s face was streaked with two tracks of dried tears.
As Xuan Chiyi knelt on one knee in front of him, Gu Yansheng sniffled heavily and said, “I’ll do it myself.” How could he possibly have the cheek to let Xuan Chiyi wipe his face when Xuan Chiyi’s own clothes were stained with a large patch of his mucus and tears?
Xuan Chiyi shook his head and said gently, “Let me.”
Gu Yansheng could only sit there obediently.
After wiping his face three times, Xuan Chiyi finally got Gu Yansheng’s face clean and white, though his eyes and nose remained flushed red, a clear testament to how heartbroken his crying had been just moments ago.
Kneeling before him, Xuan Chiyi looked directly into his eyes and asked softly, “Sheng-sheng, can you tell me what happened? Whatever it is, don’t be afraid. I’m right here.”
Gu Yansheng bit his lip. Xuan Chiyi didn’t rush him, waiting patiently for him to speak.
That firm and gentle gaze from Xuan Chiyi finally steadied him.
Gu Yansheng finally gathered the courage to say, “Mr. Xuan, I’m sorry. My clothes and the computer were snatched away.”