“What exactly is your relationship with Qin Huai?”
Gu Ye’s eyes twitched sharply, his expression turning almost frightening.
Song Shiyi smiled at him, lifting a hand to casually pat away a bit of nonexistent dust from his shoulder. The disdain in the gesture was impossible to miss.
That single motion completely ignited Gu Ye’s temper. His face darkened at once. Then, quite abruptly, he let out a short laugh and looked at Song Shiyi with a gaze full of contempt, sweeping over him as if he were examining an object rather than a person.
“You let him sleep with you.”
He made it a statement rather than a question. In his mind, there was nothing of value about Song Shiyi other than his face, so the conclusion came easily.
“Truly cheap… ” he said with a cold sneer. “Jiaxin having an older brother like you is downright unfortunate.”
“And you then, Gu Ye?” Song Shiyi did not react at all to the insult. “If I am so cheap, yet you are the one bowing your head to me, begging for something that you claim I traded my body for, does that not make you even cheaper?”
Gu Ye’s expression turned pitch black in an instant.
He had not expected Song Shiyi to admit it so shamelessly. No matter how little he thought of him, everyone recognized that Song Shiyi was his property now. How dare he say such things? How dare he even seem unfazed?
And of all people, it was Qin Huai.
The same Qin Huai who had overshadowed him in every possible way since childhood.
A suffocating sense of humiliation flared inside Gu Ye, more intense than anything he had felt before. He had always been the pride of heaven, a young master raised on wealth and privilege, starting far beyond the finish line that others could not reach in their entire lifetime.
And what was Song Shiyi?
When they first met, Gu Ye had been dining in a restaurant while Song Shiyi was the waiter serving his table. If he had not resembled Song Jiaxin a little, Gu Ye would never have spared him a single glance.
That first impression ensured Gu Ye never placed him on equal footing. Even after learning that he was the young master of the Song family, it only made Gu Ye dislike him more.
Someone who had grown up scraping by in the gutter, someone who climbed out of a sewer by luck and a pretty face, how could he ever be in the same class as them?
But it was precisely this piece of trouble that would not go away.
Gu Rukang had already started pressing him. On top of that, Gu Shuli was fanning the flames. Gu Rukang’s patience with him had visibly worn thin. In his father’s world view, having someone outside was acceptable.
Losing control and letting that person interfere with business was absolutely not acceptable.
Gu Ye actually felt that the past few days had significantly increased his capacity for endurance. His expression remained gloomy, but his tone forced itself into something almost calm.
“Do you really have to talk to me like this?”
“The way I speak depends entirely on how others speak to me.”
“Fine.” Gu Ye drew in a slow breath, feeling as if he was wringing out the very last bit of patience he would ever have in his lifetime. “Let us talk calmly. Let us handle this properly.”
“No.”
Song Shiyi’s eyes curved slightly in a pleasant shape, but the words he spoke were merciless.
“You are joking. You said clearly that you would talk.”
“My subject was a person. I said I would talk to a person.”
Song Shiyi blinked with full innocence.
You are just a garbage heap stacked into the shape of a man, a pile reaching one meter eighty.
Gu Ye understood instantly. He felt pain bloom in his chest, as if pure anger was crushing his heart. In all his years, he had never been slighted as much as he had been by Song Shiyi in these few days.
“Name a price. Besides the amount for the land itself, I can pay you an additional sum.” Gu Ye forced out the words, his patience stretched to a breaking point. “Ask for whatever you want.”
He pulled a check from his pocket and slapped it against Song Shiyi’s body with humiliating force, speaking from above him as if delivering judgment.
“This one has no limit.”
Although Gu Ye had never been particularly gentle toward him, he had never been stingy with money. More than once he had tried to give him money, only to be refused every time.
That thought had barely crossed his mind when, in the next second, he watched Song Shiyi take out a pen, press the check against the wall beside them, and begin writing furiously.
Before Gu Ye could even blink, Song Shiyi had already scribbled a series of nines across the check.
A cold emptiness swept through Gu Ye’s whole chest. Abandoning whatever dignity he cared about, he snatched the check out of Song Shiyi’s hand, fingers trembling as he stared at the astronomical sum written across it. Darkness flashed across his vision.
This was not what he had imagined at all.
He had never expected Song Shiyi to dare write such a number. For a moment he was frozen, unable to advance or retreat.
When had he become this obsessed with money?
Where had the once simple and gentle Song Shiyi gone?
“When will you transfer the money to me?” Song Shiyi asked calmly. There was even a hint of regret in his tone, as if he was disappointed that he had not written even more numbers on that check.
Hearing this, Gu Ye tore the shattered remains of the check without a moment of hesitation.
“Gu Ye…. ” Song Shiyi looked at him with the same disdain he had shown earlier, “show a little shame.”
Gu Ye’s eyes turned completely blood red. He ground his teeth so hard they almost cracked. “You actually dare to humiliate me like this.”
“No. You were the one trying to humiliate me. You attempted to use money to do it.” Song Shiyi pointed this out with infuriating calm. “I was willing to accept that humiliation, but you could not even afford to back it up.”
“If you have no money, do not pretend that you do.”
On that face which looked exactly the same as the first day they met, a face soft and gentle like a little white flower, a quiet, deadly sharpness bloomed.
“What exactly do you think I am?” The overwhelming humiliation made Gu Ye’s voice shake uncontrollably. “Then what were all the memories we had before?”
“Unlucky for me.”
Song Shiyi let out a small laugh.
He truly could not understand how the other man had the nerve to play the emotional card. There had been so many grievances, so many wounds.
All of them caused by someone who had only valued him because he resembled a certain illegitimate son, because he was supposedly repaying that illegitimate son’s act of saving a life.
Gu Ye had always been blind.
Song Shiyi did not bother to speak further. He turned to leave.
He had barely taken a step when Gu Ye grabbed him by the arm.
“Wait.”
Gu Ye pulled out an invitation card. “There is a banquet in two days. You will come with me. You will attend as my companion.”
He had expected Song Shiyi to reject him immediately. Instead, to his surprise, Song Shiyi took the card without hesitation. His fingers were cold like ice, brushing lightly against the side of Gu Ye’s hand.
Song Shiyi rubbed the invitation card between his fingers, his smile carrying an unreadable meaning.
“So it looks like you agreed.” Gu Ye did not understand what he was thinking, but he still felt relieved. “I will pick you up when the time comes.”
He could hardly believe that one day he would lower himself enough to personally fetch Song Shiyi.
“Five million.”
Song Shiyi said this quietly.
Gu Ye froze. “What?”
“Compensation for psychological trauma.” Song Shiyi lifted the corner of his lips and flicked the invitation card in his hand.
The words choked Gu Ye once again. But he had no choice. He forced out a stiff response. “Fine.”
Just as Song Shiyi was about to leave, Gu Ye called him back once more.
There was something complicated in Gu Ye’s expression, a mixture of struggle and unwillingness flooding his eyes. He asked, “Between Qin Huai and me, where exactly am I inferior? Why did you choose him instead of me?”
He had compared himself to Qin Huai to the point of madness.
Men were truly ridiculous.
The things they could not get were always the ones that tormented them.
As if he had no idea what kind of person he really was.
Song Shiyi opened his mouth, fully prepared to release another string of mockery. But just then, a cold and gentle breeze brushed across his cheek. When he spoke, his words shifted in a way even he had not anticipated.
“Perhaps when we first met, you remembered only the way I appeared small and humble at your side. But what Qin Huai remembered was me sitting at the piano.”
Song Shiyi finished speaking and turned to leave again. But after two steps, he stopped and looked back.
“By the way, make sure that the money transfer is clearly marked as voluntary gifting.”
He absolutely did not trust Gu Ye’s character.
Gu Ye had nothing to say.
He watched in silence as Song Shiyi walked away, then exhaled a slow, heavy breath. He turned toward the glass window and tidied his appearance.
In an instant he restored the imposing and arrogant demeanor he usually presented to the world.
Yet the moment he replayed their conversation in his mind, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Still, he only needed to endure a little longer.
At the banquet, he would publicly announce their wedding.
He had countless ways to ensure that Song Shiyi would be unable to speak a single word in front of others.
Once everything was confirmed in front of so many important figures, the land would naturally fall into his hands. And as for Song Shiyi, he would be taken behind closed doors and taught obedience properly.
Thinking of Song Shiyi’s delicate, poisonous charm and those pure yet dangerous eyes, Gu Ye suppressed the triumphant thrill rising in his chest.
Facing the mirror, he revealed a smile full of certainty and possession, the expression of someone who believed victory was already in his grasp.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Coffee is technically a form of emotional support.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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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