At the revolving restaurant high above the city, Song Shiyi idly poked at the dessert on his plate.
They were seated beside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, where the dazzling night view of Suqing’s central district stretched beneath them like a sea of light. Yet the dizzying height made it impossible for Song Shiyi to enjoy his food.
Gu Shuli, on the other hand, was much calmer than he had expected. He didn’t show any sign of impatience throughout the meal. Only after it was over did he slowly put down his fork, dab his lips with a napkin and smile faintly at Song Shiyi.
“I don’t know why my sister-in-law wanted to invite me out tonight.”
That single address made Song Shiyi put down his fork altogether. He lifted his gaze to meet Gu Shuli’s.
Gu Shuli’s looks and temperament gave him an advantage here. His features were refined yet still held the trace of a college student’s youthful softness, which made him seem honest and sincere, someone easy to trust.
Song Shiyi stood up abruptly, clearly intending to leave.
“Wait, wait a second!” Gu Shuli sprang from his seat, hastily catching Song Shiyi by the wrist. “What’s wrong? Did I say something I shouldn’t?”
Song Shiyi smiled but his smile carried a chill that made the air drop a few degrees. “It’s nothing. You just called me sister-in-law and suddenly I started missing your brother. I think I’ll go find him.”
“Don’t, don’t! My fault, alright? I’ll take it back.” Gu Shuli panicked. He didn’t dare let the meat that had already reached his lips fly away now. So he softened his tone immediately, coaxing the other man carefully.
Song Shiyi had never really planned to walk out anyway. Hearing that, he smoothly took his seat again.
Gu Shuli was clever but only in a small, narrow way. All his wits went into petty scheming and power play; he didn’t have the kind of strategic mind needed for anything larger. That was why, later on, he had been so easily defeated by Gu Ye and driven overseas.
Working with someone like him wasn’t impossible but the boundaries had to be tightly controlled. He needed to be trained slowly or else one day his stupidity might sell them both out.
“You wanted to discuss that piece of land, didn’t you?” Song Shiyi said directly, his tone calm. “Qin Huai gave it to me.”
He didn’t bother with suspense or games.
The agreement with Qin Huai might have been torn up as a performance for Gu Ye but that didn’t matter. Paper was only a formality; what truly mattered was that Qin Huai had already handed the decision into his hands.
The moment those words fell, Gu Shuli’s eyes lit up instantly. He understood the hidden meaning almost immediately.
Song Shiyi had already fallen out with Gu Ye. For him to come here today was as clear a signal as any.
“You want to sell that land to me?” Gu Shuli asked, his voice trembling slightly from excitement.
That development project was crucial for the Gu family’s next expansion. Although Gu Rukang had claimed the brothers would compete fairly, everyone knew the real opportunity had already been given to Gu Ye. If Gu Ye succeeded, his position and reputation in the company would become unshakable.
It was a stroke of luck sent straight from heaven.
Song Shiyi quietly watched the poorly concealed joy spreading across Gu Shuli’s face, then said mildly, “I’m giving you a chance.”
“I’ll keep dragging things out with Gu Ye until Gu Rukang himself takes notice of what’s happening,” he explained. “But in the end, that land will still go to Gu Ye. It will just pass through you first. That way, you’ll still get a share of the profits.”
Gu Shuli frowned. “Why make it so complicated? Why not just give it to me directly?”
There was a world of difference between taking part and taking charge. The latter could overturn the balance between him and Gu Ye completely.
Song Shiyi’s smile deepened faintly. “If I gave it to you, could you even handle it?”
His voice was soft, almost teasing but his words were sharp as a blade. His black eyes held Gu Shuli’s gaze. “Do you have the ability? The resources? What do you have that can compete with Gu Ye?”
The question was both mocking and disarmingly gentle, making Gu Shuli’s heart thud once before he realized he wasn’t offended but strangely flustered.
“I thought maybe… you still hadn’t gotten over my brother.” The words slipped out before Gu Shuli could stop them. Then, realizing what he had said, he bit his tongue immediately.
Song Shiyi gave him a cool look but didn’t respond. That was good enough; at least the man knew when to shut up.
He had said what he came to say and now there was no reason to linger. He rose to leave.
Gu Shuli hurried after him, insisting on walking him to his car.
The parking area outside was dimly lit, the outlines of the cars barely visible. Gu Shuli opened the back door for him. Just as Song Shiyi was about to get in, the younger man murmured, “I still can’t accept it.”
Song Shiyi paused.
“Gu Ye has everything. He’s the rightful heir in everyone’s eyes. And me? I’m just a bastard son who can’t show his face. You know what his temper is like.”
Gu Shuli gave a small, bitter laugh and for a moment there was something almost pitiful in his expression. “He’s always humiliated me in every possible way and no one ever stood up for me. In that enormous Gu family, I’m completely alone. My father, my brother, even the servants, they all look down on me. So I swore I’d prove myself one day, make them all eat their words.”
Song Shiyi lifted his head and stared at him blankly.
Gu Shuli leaned a little closer. With that innocent face, the air between them turned faintly intimate. “You understand, don’t you? We’re the same kind of people.”
Understand, my ass, Song Shiyi thought coldly.
Gu Shuli’s words were carefully chosen; he was trying to draw sympathy through shared pain, selling his own misery like a bargaining chip.
It was a good performance of self-pity.
But Song Shiyi had no spare compassion for anyone else. If he had time to feel sorry for someone, he would rather spend it pitying himself.
Across the entire story, the original him had been the one who suffered the most.
“If you still can’t let go of Gu Ye,” Gu Shuli added softly, “you could try being with me instead. I look a little like him, don’t I?”
That was the last straw.
For a moment, Song Shiyi saw black spots before his eyes, as if thunder had struck right through his skull.
These brothers really were cut from the same genetic cloth. One sought substitutes to fulfill his fantasies; the other offered himself as one.
Did they both think the whole world was obsessed with their little stand-in games?
Too tired to even argue, Song Shiyi waved down a passing taxi and got in without a backward glance.
“Song Shiyi.”
Gu Shuli’s voice stopped him just as he was closing the door. “If you’re not hung up on Gu Ye, then why? You clearly hold such a powerful card, yet you’re only letting me participate instead of destroying him. Don’t you think that’s a waste?”
Song Shiyi curved his lips slightly. His smiles always looked gentle but they never reached his eyes. “That piece of land burns to the touch,” he said softly. “Of course I’m giving it to Gu Ye.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Song Shiyi said with deliberate lightness, “that land will bring bloodshed.”
“Bloodshed?” Gu Shuli couldn’t help laughing. Their father was a firm believer in feng shui and had even consulted a master who declared it a prosperous site. “Who told you that?”
Song Shiyi tapped his own temple and answered lazily, “I dreamed it.”
“What?” Gu Shuli stared. From their first meeting, he had sensed a streak of madness in Song Shiyi but now he was certain of it, the man was completely self-absorbed, a lunatic through and through.
With that, Song Shiyi shut the door and the taxi drove off into the night.
He didn’t return to the Song family residence. Instead, he told the driver to stop near a quiet row of rental apartments.
He walked to a line of storage lockers and found the one registered under his name. Taking out a brown envelope from inside, he left without hesitation.
When he reached his apartment, the window had been left open. The night wind slipped in, billowing the white gauze curtains like waves of mist.
He turned on the light. The small room was empty and silent.
Across from him, another window still glowed with light. Its curtains were tightly drawn, concealing everything inside.
No rush. There was time.
Song Shiyi laid the envelope on the table, slit it open and poured out a stack of photographs.
They were the work of a private investigator he had hired, shots of Qi Xuan, mostly with women in nightclubs. The information was still shallow, nothing valuable yet.
Without a change in expression, Song Shiyi picked one photo and pinned it to a whiteboard. Beside it, he wrote Gu Ye’s name in large red letters and drew a bold cross over it.
At the same time, chaos erupted back at the Song family home.
The sound of furious cleaning echoed through the living room as Song Gucheng’s face turned an ugly shade of blue. He slammed the desk, panting heavily. “Where is Song Shiyi?!”
He had just learned what that unfilial son had done, fabricating a scandal between his own father and another man!
Outrageous. Unthinkable.
Lin Nian stood trembling beside him, though the corners of her lips almost curled upward. She could hardly contain her delight. The worse Song Shiyi looked in Song Gucheng’s eyes, the better for her.
The doorbell rang again and again. A servant hurried to open it, only for Song Gucheng to snap irritably, “Send them away! I’m not seeing anyone!”
“What were you thinking, letting people in without asking?”
“But, sir…” the servant stammered, glancing nervously toward the entrance, “the visitor is the eldest young master of the Gu family.”
Before he could finish, Gu Ye had already stepped inside, his face as dark as the storm gathering over the house.
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Cresvynia
[Translator]
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ChaptersChapter 1 · He’s in the BookChapter 2 · You Like playing Stand-in, Right?Chapter 3 · This Kind of person is just asking for troubleChapter 4 · Is it so Bloody?Chapter 5 · Let’s Rot togetherChapter 7 · Illegitimate SonChapter 8 · Unfaithful husbandChapter 9 · MemoriesChapter 10 · Silence before stormChapter 11 · Hunt beginsChapter 12 · Nightmare I rememberChapter 13 · Why do they ride on their own heads?Chapter 14 · I forgive myselfChapter 15 · Can you take me in tonight since I’m homeless?Chapter 16 · Mr. Qin, do you like me?Chapter 17 · If you like it, you can have itChapter 18 · Gu Ye, it’s obvious that you also pursue these thingsChapter 19 · If you still can’t let go of Gu Ye, why not give it a try with me?Chapter 20 · He actually made him bow down to that bastard.Chapter 21 · Ruining someone’s future is simply unforgivableChapter 22 · God can’t possibly favor someone like youChapter 23 · UrnChapter 24 · May they die a horrible deathChapter 25 · If you’re broke, stop showing off.Chapter 26 · Kneel before me, begging for mercy.Chapter 27 · The plan succeededChapter 28 Part 1 · This time, the victim is Gu Ye Part 1Chapter 28 Part 2 · This time, the victim is Gu YeChapter 29 · This time, I’ll make full use of youChapter 30 · Educating about the existence of lawsChapter 31 · So who is he now?Chapter 32 · I want to destroy this fake spacetime.Chapter 33 · So, I was himChapter 34 · They’re all crazy, just let me have my wayChapter 35 · I will punish them in the right way.Chapter 36 · I’m already a lunaticChapter 37 · Can you stay by Qin Huai’s side for my sake?Chapter 38 · I’ll grant your requestChapter 39 · Not a pitiful littleChapter 40 · They Both should dieChapter 41 · I want to destroy the empire that Song Gucheng builtChapter 42 · Do you hate me too?Chapter 43 · No one should feel goodChapter 44 · He’ll definitely be the winner in the end!Chapter 45 · Acting is really tiringChapter 46 · I wanted that bastard to disappearChapter 47 · Ready made scapegoatChapter 48 · He’s willing to save themChapter 49 · I’ve come to catch up with youChapter 50 · You stole someone else’s placeChapter 51 · Shiyi, why won’t you save me…Chapter 52 · To make a good life is more importantChapter 53 · Even if you really cheated on me, it doesn’t matterChapter 54 · Finally, I can say goodbye to you completelyChapter 55 · Angel sent by heaven to save himChapter 56 · CEO Gu is a very affectionate personChapter 57 · If you love him, go to jail for himChapter 58 · His most beloved son wanted to kill himChapter 59 · Take good care of our dear fatherChapter 60 · Take back everything that truly belongs to meChapter 61 · He knew that Gu Ye would not let him downChapter 62 · The Song family’s shares must absolutely not be transferred to Song ShiyiChapter 63 · I am no one’s thingChapter 64 · He always knew what kind of person Song Qingwen was.Chapter 65 · FinalChapter 66 · Extra