“…”
Looking at the young man who was wearing only a bathrobe, his neckline slightly open to reveal a hint of collarbone, Gu Huaichen became even more certain of one thing: he seemed to… truly be seducing him.
“Gu Huaichen, my clothes got wet. Do you have any extra ones? Lend me a set to wear first.”
When Xie Yan came out, he happened to run into Gu Huaichen, who had just finished his rehabilitation session. There was sweat on his face, and even the hair at his temples was soaked with perspiration.
Assistant Chen from yesterday was also following behind him.
Just like that, without treating himself as an outsider at all, he made his request.
“Why are you here?” Out of sheer astonishment, Assistant Chen blurted out the question.
This fellow had actually dared to splash red wine on President Gu and utter all sorts of nonsensical words. Afterward, Chairman Gu had spoken up on the spot, dissolving the engagement with the true young master of the Xie family.
He had thought that he wouldn’t be seeing anyone from the Xie family within the Gu family’s territory ever again.
He hadn’t expected to meet him again so soon, and it was the main culprit at that.
“Why can’t I be here?” Xie Yan didn’t quite understand his reaction; was it really that strange for him to be here?
“…” This! For a moment, he really couldn’t articulate a reason.
Gu Huaichen glanced at him, his gaze lingering briefly on those straight, well-proportioned lower legs, his dark eyes profound.
“Follow me.”
Hearing this, Xie Yan followed along rather obediently, making Assistant Chen’s eye twitch.
Barely a night had passed, so why had things developed into a state he couldn’t possibly understand!
“Do you need help?” Looking at the man sitting in the wheelchair, Xie Yan’s gaze paused on his legs for an extra second.
“No need.” Gu Huaichen’s voice was very cold as he rotated the wheelchair beside him by himself.
He didn’t understand why… he didn’t want to expose his vulnerable side in front of Xie Yan.
“Fine then.” Regarding this, Xie Yan didn’t force the issue.
“Your pants won’t fit you.” Looking at the clothes inside the wardrobe, Gu Huaichen sized him up and spoke the truth.
He was taller than Xie Yan, and his build was also sturdier than Xie Yan’s.
Even though his legs prevented him from running and exercising every day, causing him to lose some muscle mass, he was still firmer than Xie Yan.
Refusing to give up, Xie Yan took a pair and held them up for comparison: the waist was too big, and the trouser legs were a bit too long.
“I’ll have Assistant Chen prepare new ones for you; they’ll be delivered soon.”
“That works too.”
Seeing that he had no conscious intention of leaving, Gu Huaichen was just about to open his mouth to chase him out when he heard his inquiry.
“By the way, where is your phone charger? My phone ran out of battery and turned off.”
“It’s in the bedside table drawer. Go look for it yourself.”
“Okay.”
Gu Huaichen looked at him in silence like this. For anyone else, he wouldn’t even let them through the door, but Xie Yan…
Tsk, when all was said and done, he was just an ordinary mortal; Xie Yan’s looks inexplicably struck a chord deep within his heart.
What surprised him even more was the composure and ease Xie Yan displayed.
In front of him, Xie Yan hadn’t shown the slightest bit of tension or awkwardness.
Without thinking further, Gu Huaichen pushed his wheelchair into the bathroom by himself.
The rehabilitation training had made him break out in a sweat, and with these few simple sets of movements, he found them much more difficult to perform than before.
Over at the Xie family residence.
“Mom, Xiaoyan didn’t come back at all last night. Could something have happened to him?” The young man with gentleness between his brows held worry in his eyes, appearing truly concerned that something might have happened to Xie Yan.
“What could possibly happen to him? He must know he caused a massive disaster and didn’t dare come back, God knows what wild place he ran off to hide in.” Madame Xie was utterly sick of that fake son. Having raised him for so many years, she ended up raising a scourge.
“Yesterday… I wonder if the family’s company will be affected.”
At the mere mention of this, Madame Xie grew furious. The Chairman of the Gu family had directly and unilaterally dissolved the engagement in front of so many people, which showed he was truly enraged.
And understandably so: Gu Huaichen had been in a car accident, leaving his legs paralyzed and unable to walk properly. Out in the open, nobody dared to say anything, but behind closed doors, people were long since gossiping and waiting to watch a spectacle and make a joke of them.
At a time like this, for Xie Yan to charge forward like that was nothing short of a blatant provocation.
Under normal circumstances, the Gu family wouldn’t have reacted so strongly.
“If the Gu family really wants to place blame, Xie Yan should be the one to bear it himself. What does that have to do with us?” The mere thought that they might offend the Gu family because of a single Xie Yan made Du Fu (Madame Xie) feel utterly anxious and furious inside.
Seeing the woman’s angry expression, Xie Ran’s gaze flickered slightly.
Thinking of Gu Huaichen, a feeling of pity was inevitably stirred within his heart as well.
Still, who told Gu Huaichen to have such bad luck and end up half-paralyzed? He certainly didn’t want to spend his entire life living with a half-paralyzed man.
Especially since the Gu family also had Gu Dongze; one didn’t even need to think to know whose hands the Gu Group would eventually end up in.
“Mom, don’t be angry anymore. Be careful not to damage your health from the rage.” Imagining that Xie Yan was probably squatting miserably on the road right then, Xie Ran gently and softly consoled her.
Du Fu gently pressed a hand to her chest and looked at him with gratification. “You are always the most obedient and sensible, the one who gives me the least worry.”
Little did she know, Xie Yan was currently resting quite comfortably in the Gu family’s main residence; apart from having two dark circles under his eyes, there was nowhere else he looked miserable.
Even his lack of sleep wasn’t due to panic or fear, but rather because he was hopelessly addicted to his phone.
Look at that; the moment it was charged and turned on, he started fiddling with it.
Yesterday, he had clicked into every single icon to take a look and roughly understood their uses.
Knowing that money was the most important thing in this world, he couldn’t wait to check the original owner’s which was now his own, net worth.
As a result, looking at that pathetically small balance, the Demonic Lord fell silent.
Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands. The original owner only had three thousand yuan in his bank card!
What could three thousand yuan even do?
Seeing a host who looked deeply traumatized, Xiao Shi hurried to comfort him:
[Host, actually three thousand yuan is quite a lot. Don’t be fooled by those toxic chicken soup posts on the internet!]
[Is that so? A car, a house, which one of these can I afford right now?]
Because other people were present, Xie Yan chose to communicate with the system inside his mind.
[…] You can’t afford either of them right now.
[Ahem… well, anyway, we don’t need to buy a house right now. As long as we have enough to eat.]
[If I don’t buy a house, where am I going to live? According to the plot, aren’t I about to be kicked out of the Xie family?]
Xie Yan hadn’t forgotten the speechless storybook he had read yesterday; now he had become that very piece of bad luck inside the storybook.
[…] Well, that phrasing is completely accurate.
Ever since the original owner turned sixteen and the true young master was recognized and brought back, the Xie family had never given the original owner another cent.
Even the miscellaneous school fees were only paid by the Xie family because they were afraid of losing face, ensuring he wouldn’t be unable to even afford his tuition.
At first, the original owner could not accept that he wasn’t a child of the Xie family, but the cruel reality forced him to choose resignation; he had even thought about simply returning to his biological relatives.
Yet whenever the original owner brought this up, the true young master would throw a fit, asking him with a tear-streaked face whether his arrival had made him unhappy, which was why he wanted to leave.
Every time, it would end up upsetting the Xie family members. Naturally, they wouldn’t think the true young master was at fault; they only thought the original owner was being overly dramatic.
The Xie family’s living conditions were immeasurably better than his original family’s background. They never believed he genuinely wanted to leave, assuming he was just making an unreasonable fuss to gain attention.
As a result, in the year the original owner turned eighteen, his only biological mother passed away due to illness, and his relatives over there also cursed him, calling him greedy for wealth and luxury.
As for his never-before-seen biological father, he had gone abroad when the original owner was seven and never sent any news since.
People on both sides loathed him, and coupled with the scumbag gong’s continuous brainwashing, the original owner grew sensitive and insecure, becoming increasingly unlikable in disposition.
That playboy facade was merely meant to mask his inner vulnerability.