Although it wasn’t the first time Gu Shaocheng had witnessed Yu Yuan’s strange behavior, he still felt that everything before him… was more like a hallucination caused by the worsening of his mental disorder than those old, trivial matters.
But the stinging pain from the forceful tearing of his scalp, and Yu Yuan’s timid yet persistent chatter, made his head buzz and his ears ring and his vision blur. At the same time, it was also confirming to his rationality that these things really couldn’t be more true.
Gu Shaocheng closed his eyes briefly, and after hearing Yu Yuan stop speaking, he broke down the previous four-character phrases and rearranged them: “Perfect figure, top-notch proportions, golden brain…”
He suddenly felt even more headache-inducing, feeling that if Yu Yuan continued to babble in his ear, the next step might be to disassemble and reassemble all four words, thinking that as long as he spoke vaguely, Yu Yuan wouldn’t be able to understand.
Gu Shaocheng took a deep breath, his voice hoarse and strained: “You… don’t speak yet.”
Yu Yuan was extremely obedient this time. Upon hearing this, he immediately shut his tired little mouth and didn’t even utter a confused “oh”.
Yu Yuan nearly caused Gu Shaocheng to lose his fur. Even with his peculiar thought process, he knew something was wrong. It was as if he had deliberately taken advantage of his illness to kill him? He was clearly acting out of filial piety… Sigh, where could he go to reason with him?
After the surroundings quieted down, Gu Shaocheng confirmed that all sounds had disappeared, including the woman’s screams.
If it weren’t for the throbbing pain in his forehead, like being pricked with needles, and the dull, throbbing pain along the back of his head from his temples—all familiar symptoms—he would have thought this attack was just a hallucination.
The hallucinations and auditory hallucinations that used to linger for a long time were unexpectedly interrupted by Yu Yuan, which was unprecedented. Even after experiencing the same hallucinations many times, he could only stay awake and endure the torment.
Gu Shaocheng lifted his eyelids to look at Yu Yuan, who immediately flinched and lowered his lively and delicate eyebrows and eyes.
The thin, oversized T-shirt barely covered his slender frame, his shoulders slightly hunched inward, as if trying to minimize his presence.
But the next moment, Yu Yuan mustered his courage and tried to defend himself, muttering under his breath, “It was you who wouldn’t let me wear glasses…”
If Gu Shaocheng had made him wear glasses, and if Gu Shaocheng hadn’t suddenly sat up like a zombie, perhaps he would have been able to see the hourglass blending into the wooden floor, and he would have been half responsible at most.
Gu Shaocheng curled one corner of his lips into a forced smile and said, “Is it my fault?”
Yu Yuan couldn’t help but shudder at the man’s sinister voice. He didn’t say anything more, not so much out of fear that he dared not retort, but more like taking the opportunity to acquiesce.
The thought of this possibility sent a sharp, throbbing pain through Gu Shaocheng’s temples. He moved his lips, but held back, trying to avoid hearing anything more infuriating: “You can leave now.”
Yu Yuan, having been granted a pardon, was about to leave, but when he looked up and saw Gu Shaocheng with his hand on his temple, his brows furrowed and his face pale, he still stammered, “Would you like me to pour you a glass of water to take your medicine?”
The pain intensified suddenly. Gu Shaocheng pursed his thin lips, waved his hand without even looking at Yu Yuan, and said, “There’s a nanny.” Then he pressed the call bell.
*
After leaving the study, Yu Yuan found a corner to hide in for a while. Less than a minute later, the nanny came into the study with a tray. After confirming that the nanny had brought water, Yu Yuan left immediately and then turned around and went back to his room.
Gu Shaocheng is in such a bad state, so he has to learn to take care of him. He can’t do more than that, but when Gu Shaocheng has an attack, he can at least pour him a glass of warm water.
Yu Yuan placed his contact lenses on the small glass table by the window and sat down on the small sofa next to them.
Although he felt that a firm stance would likely get his glasses back, considering Gu Shaocheng’s limited time, he figured switching to contact lenses for the time being wouldn’t be a problem.
After unpacking the phone, Yu Yuan opened it and wanted to search for the wearing steps first, but when he slid open the lock screen, he was attracted by a message that had popped up earlier.
He clicked on the entry for the latest developments in the nanny case, and the popular video played automatically. Yu Yuan immediately recognized the video as the one he had seen in Gu Shaocheng’s study not long ago, which was the scene from five years ago when Zhang Ma pushed someone down the stairs.
The video’s resolution wasn’t high, but by the time Yu Yuan saw it, it had already been edited by a marketing account, and the slow-motion version of Zhang Ma’s actions was very clear.
The freeze-frame after the broadcast was restored by AI, and red circles were drawn next to the faces of the two women to mark previous news photos of Zhang Ma and Lin Yi, clearly identifying them.
The original video was posted by Lin Defeng, the husband of the nanny who was paralyzed five years ago. He claimed that he was the “real culprit” who was widely rumored online to have pushed Zhang Ma downstairs.
He stated that he had accidentally discovered the truth of what happened back then, and immediately went to the Gu residence to question Zhang Ma. As a result, Zhang Ma lost her balance due to guilt and fell down the stairs. Unexpectedly, his words were taken out of context and attributed to Gu Shaocheng along with the events of that year.
He felt deeply remorseful for the misunderstanding he had caused Gu Shaocheng over the years, because he had been cooperating with the police investigation and it was only now that he was able to clarify things for him.
The news left the entire room speechless.
Everyone thought that Gu Shaocheng was in big trouble because he couldn’t get the trending topic removed, but no one expected the reversal to come so quickly.
Previously, some people suspected that Gu Shaocheng had found a scapegoat, but no one could take the blame for him except the family members of the victims who once hated him to the bone. Once the real, clear video evidence came out, even the paralysis case from five years ago was overturned.
Amidst a chorus of question marks and exclamation points, it took a long time before someone finally exclaimed incredulously:
[So… I’ve been misunderstanding Gu Shaocheng all these years?]
[Even if this video proves he didn’t push it five years ago, there’s no evidence this time. I remember he even assaulted a reporter.]
[In the previous analysis, Lin Defeng had been cooperating with the police investigation, clearly having just clarified the situation. Could you possibly know more than the police? If Gu Shaocheng really had a problem, would he have accompanied his boyfriend to buy glasses?]
[Wow, if it weren’t for this video, I would never have believed the truth…]
Before long, even the widely circulated story of assaulting a reporter was unearthed by resourceful netizens who dug up the original version from back then.
The original version is actually a reporter’s brief account of his interview with Gu Shaocheng. The reporter disguised himself and waited for Gu Shaocheng at the hospital. When Gu Shaocheng came out of the psychiatric ward, the reporter asked him directly if he planned to get a mental evaluation to evade punishment.
Gu Shaocheng appeared to be acting erratically and was not in a normal state at the time. The reporter described his eyes as “looking like he wanted to kill me,” but he did not actually lay a hand on him. As a result, the news spread and it became that Gu Shaocheng was mentally ill, not only pushing the nanny who had taken care of him since childhood into a paraplegic, but also almost beating the reporter who was interviewing him to death.
These rumors were so deeply ingrained that they were repeatedly mentioned to reinforce the impression whenever there was news related to Gu Shaocheng. Over time, people equated the reporter being beaten with the nanny being paralyzed, believing that both incidents had clear evidence but were settled privately by the Gu family with money.
The netizens, who had been furious all day, suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Moreover, insiders soon appeared on the anonymous forum to reveal the truth.
The original poster claimed that their friend worked at Youhe Medical, a subsidiary of the Gu family, which is the same hospital where Mr. Gu worked. The poster also provided a screenshot of a chat with someone inside Youhe Medical.
It is said that the news has spread throughout Youhe Hospital. Even the old master Gu did not believe Gu Shaocheng. After being so angry that he went to the hospital, he immediately called Gu Shaocheng over and gave him a good scolding. The grandfather and grandson had a very loud argument in the ward.
The original poster stated that they never felt sorry for rich people, but simply wanted to share the story to give everyone more gossip, adding a comment: “[Gu Shaocheng is somewhat pitiful.]”
Yu Yuan didn’t read the comments below, but vaguely recalled that there were indeed some noises coming from the ward at the time. However, his attention was focused on racking his brains to show off his affection, and he didn’t notice these noises.
Yu Yuan sighed softly, feeling that Gu Shaocheng was even more miserable than him, an orphan. At least he had a pair of adoptive parents who loved him very much.
But Gu Shaocheng, born into an extremely wealthy family, seems to have been born at the finish line.
In reality, his biological mother treated him like a monster, his scumbag father goes without saying, and even his closest grandfather didn’t believe him. He had so much money, but he wanted to save it for the male lead to lick his pockets after he died. It seems that he was born to be a pure and innocent victim, a tool for the male lead.
In comparison, although he was also a tool, staying in the villa to live out his days in solitude was exactly what he had always dreamed of. Without Gu Shaocheng’s scapegoat setting, his dream would not have come true.
The thought of having gained such a huge advantage filled Yu Yuan’s filial piety to its fullest extent once again.
*
Gu Shaocheng was helped back to his bedroom by his bodyguard, where he listened to the other party’s report while pressing his temples.
”…The old man has agreed. Also, when Zhang Ma heard that Aunt Lin’s case could result in a ten-year sentence, she started clamoring to see you.” The bodyguard thought that the old woman had initially been considerate of her family, but as soon as she heard that she would spend the rest of her life in prison, she immediately became reckless.
Gu Shaocheng coldly curved his lips. If he didn’t make a scene, she could just spend a few more days in jail. But if he did, who knew what those people might do.
Of course, he also wanted to make a big fuss about everything, and exposing the genius was exactly what he wanted.
Gu Shaocheng was about to reply when the itchy feeling in his throat made him cough lightly. Coupled with his lingering headache, the cough made him dizzy. He frowned deeply, turned to the side, opened the drawer, and was about to take his medicine.
The bodyguard’s eyes showed worry upon seeing this. Even as one of the employer’s confidants, he couldn’t understand why the other party was so disregarding his health.
Just as the bodyguard hesitated to speak up and dissuade them, there was a knock on the glass door not far away, and both of them turned their eyes to it at the same time.
After obtaining Gu Shaocheng’s permission, Yu Yuan pushed open the door and peeked in. Upon seeing the tall and muscular bodyguard, a look of panic immediately crossed his face.
Gu Shaocheng gave the bodyguard a look, signaling him to leave first, as he had some matters to discuss with Yu Yuan that required the couple’s cooperation.
Yu Yuan: “You didn’t reply to my message. The old house sent a lot of tonics to regulate your body. The housekeeper said you never drink Chinese medicine. I asked and found out that foot baths can also be effective…”
Gu Shaocheng lowered his hand from his forehead, raising an eyebrow slightly. What new trick was this?
Seeing that Gu Shaocheng did not immediately refuse, Yu Yuan immediately turned around and picked up the wooden foot bath tub that had been prepared.
The wooden bucket was quite large, reaching up to Gu Shaocheng’s knees, in order to allow the medicinal liquid to soak into his calves as much as possible to warm the meridians and promote blood circulation. Therefore, the warm medicinal soup was also filled to the brim.
Yu Yuan never expected the bucket of medicine to be so heavy. In order to reduce the time he spent with the nanny, he resolutely refused her help. He was so exhausted from carrying it all the way from the elevator to his place that he almost lost his breath.
He knew that Gu Shaocheng definitely didn’t want him to pursue him, but considering that the Gu family had hired successors from traditional Chinese medicine families, and that the prescriptions and herbs were extremely precious, he had gone to such great lengths, so he had to let the other party give it a try.
Even if the herbs are not very effective, soaking them for twenty minutes can relieve fatigue, help with sleep, and promote peripheral circulation. It is truly an essential medicine for an ailing old father.
Before Gu Shaocheng could react, the strong smell of Chinese medicine was already getting closer.
Yu Yuan struggled to hug the large wooden tub and walked over, his face turning red from the effort, and his cheeks, hair, and eyelashes were all splattered with the medicine.
He was exhausted, his hands and feet were weak and his steps were unsteady. The water level was high, and with the slightest movement, a lot of water splashed out. The bitter medicine juice splattered all over his face and soaked his clothes at his chin.
Yu Yuan felt as if he had been transported to a public service advertisement scene, with the advertising slogans automatically playing in his ears: “The little duck swam and swam and swam ashore,” “Mom, soaking your feet is good for your legs,” “Mom, washing your feet…”
Gu Shaocheng smelled the bitter, pungent medicine and suddenly felt short of breath and his temples throbbed. He asked in a hoarse voice, “What are you going to do?” Before he could finish speaking, he coughed violently, his whole body trembling and his head spinning and hurting even more.
Yu Yuan felt dizzy from the weight of the wooden tub, and as soon as he let go, he blurted out the advertising slogan: “Mom washes feet for you.”
In his dizzy state, Gu Shaocheng heard Yu Yuan call him “Mom,” and his expression became dazed again… What was that? He subconsciously reached for the spare medicine in the drawer.