“Avoiding you? Who said that? I have just been a bit busy these past few days with things to handle.”
Gu Yulan’s gaze flickered; he did not dare to look the boy directly in the eye.
Xie Yizhou did not believe these excuses. He pursed his lips tightly, refusing to back down an inch. Gu Yulan felt a surge of guilt under that steady gaze, and as time ticked by, a hint of annoyance began to grow in his heart.
Was there not a saying about forgiving people when possible? Did this kid not understand that? Besides, could he really let himself be handled by this brat? Who would believe it? It would be a laughingstock.
Gu Yulan’s brows furrowed, and he hardened his heart. “Fine, I was avoiding you.”
What are you going to do about it?
Gu Yulan held his breath, looking up to meet the boy’s clear eyes. He did not believe the other could do anything to him. In that moment, their presence was equally matched, though Gu Yulan’s confidence was slightly lacking. His wide eyes began to ache from the strain, and just as he was about to lose the standoff, the boy blocking him suddenly pulled away.
Having heard the answer with his own ears, Xie Yizhou lowered his eyes. His expression remained unchanged, but a faint sense of disappointment lingered around him. Since he had his answer, there was no need to keep blocking the man. He let go, turned around, and walked away.
He was not particularly angry about Gu Yulan avoiding him, but a certain part of his heart suddenly felt hollow. He did not know what this feeling was; it was as if a stone were pressing against his chest, making his breathing feel heavy. He disliked this sensation and wanted to be alone for a while.
Perhaps it was because, besides being his mission target, Gu Yulan was the first person to show him genuine kindness. He had thought they were already friends.
Gu Yulan stood frozen for a moment. He turned his head and watched the boy’s thin, retreating back, suddenly feeling a surge of panic. His phone vibrated again, and he looked down.
[Next time, you can just tell me directly.]
Gu Yulan’s limbs went stiff. By the time he regained his senses, the boy’s figure had vanished from sight. His brows knit together, making the scar on his brow bone stand out even more. His handsome face looked quite fierce.
Realizing he had said the wrong thing, he felt exceptionally frustrated. He instinctively reached for a cigarette. Forget it; why was he picking a fight with a kid? Now that he had driven the boy away in a fit of anger, he would have to be the one to coax him back.
Gu Yulan took the cigarette out of his mouth and went to stand outside the boy’s door. He thought for a while, organizing the words he wanted to say. Just as he was about to knock, his phone rang unexpectedly. Without looking, he answered the call.
“What is it?”
It had better be important. Gu Yulan’s face was dark, and his expression was displeased. Having his train of thought interrupted made him extra irritable.
On the other end of the line, Su Jianyang was stunned. It was the first time he had heard Gu Yulan use such an impatient tone. Hearing that voice, he felt a bit uncomfortable. Although a young master with a spoiled and ill-tempered personality like Gu Yulan was not exactly gentle, he had always shown more patience toward Su Jianyang than toward others during the years he spent pursuing him.
So, hearing such impatience was quite a surprise. Moreover, the man had been pestering him relentlessly not long ago. This only made him more certain that the thugs causing trouble at his home were sent by Gu Yulan as a deliberate act of revenge.
Since there was silence for a long time, Gu Yulan thought it was a spam call. Just as he was about to hang up and knock on the door, a voice came through.
“It is me. Do not hang up; I have something to ask you.”
Gu Yulan stopped his hand mid-knock. “It is you, Su Jianyang.”
He looked surprised. Why was Su Jianyang calling him at this time? “What do you want?”
Hearing this, Su Jianyang bit his lip. Gu Yulan was clearly asking despite knowing the answer, still pretending to be ignorant even now. “Are you not clear about the things you have done?”
Gu Yulan was blank. What did he do? He pursed his lips. “Speak clearly. What exactly did I do?”
Su Jianyang’s eyes reddened as he fought back tears. “I know I provoked you and offended you. You can take revenge on me alone, but do not target my family.”
What? Gu Yulan’s brows were tightly knit. Listening to Su Jianyang, one would think he had done something heinous. His eyes darkened. He, Gu Yulan, took responsibility for his own actions. If he did something, he would admit it. But if someone wanted to pin false accusations on him, they could forget it.
His voice turned cold. “When did I ever take revenge on your family?”
Seeing that Gu Yulan still would not admit it, Su Jianyang said directly, “The group of people coming to my house to cause trouble lately, did you not find them? My family only runs a small business. I ask Young Master Gu to be merciful.”
Of course, there was another way to appease Gu Yulan. He said with a trembling voice, “As long as you can be merciful and let my family go, I can spend a night with you. Our previous grievances will be wiped clean.”
Gu Yulan’s face was extremely grim. “Whether you believe it or not, I have never done those things.”
Without waiting for Su Jianyang’s reply, he hung up the phone. If he wanted to do such underhanded things, he would have done them long ago; there was no need to wait until now. This was not just an insult to him; it trampled upon the effort he had put in over the past few years.
Click.
Suddenly, the door in front of him opened. Gu Yulan looked over in surprise, not having time to hide the anger on his face. Xie Yizhou opened the door and stood there, his expression calm. If he had not seen Gu Yulan’s fate deviation value suddenly increase, he would not have known someone was at the door.
His gaze was questioning. The two shared a gaze for a few seconds; the atmosphere was a bit subtle. Gu Yulan took a deep breath and said hesitantly, “Did I just disturb you?”
Xie Yizhou shook his head, looking at him quietly.
“I wanted to say,” he began, but just as he was organizing his words, the phone rang again, interrupting him once more. “Wait a second.”
0377 suddenly whispered at an inopportune moment: (He is definitely here to make peace.)
Xie Yizhou ignored the system and simply waited. Feeling the gaze on him, Gu Yulan suddenly felt a bit hot. He hurriedly took out his phone. Upon seeing the caller ID, his brows furrowed. It was Su Jianyang again. Thinking of the earlier accusation, a flash of hesitation appeared in his eyes, and he ultimately declined the call.
“I wanted to say, about earlier,” he started, however, the noisy ringtone rang out again, cutting him off. The air went silent for a moment. Gu Yulan closed his eyes, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. A surge of frustration rose in him as he answered the phone. With his brows tightly knit, he said, “Su Jianyang, I will talk to you about this later.”
“Sorry, Young Master Gu, but he probably will not be able to talk to you anymore.”
A strange male voice suddenly came from the phone. Gu Yulan’s expression changed slightly. Before he could ask, the person on the other end said, “Su Jianyang’s father owes us a lot of gambling debt. Now the son must pay for the father’s debt. If Young Master Gu does not plan to intervene, we think he looks quite delicate and plan to send him to a club to be a male beauty; he could earn us quite a bit of money.”
“Of course, we know Young Master Gu’s relationship with him is special, so we used his phone today to call you. We just wanted to ask if you still care about his affairs.”
From the other end of the phone, Su Jianyang’s crying could be heard from time to time: “Save me, Gu Yulan! I am sorry, I misunderstood you, make them stop. Please, stop hitting me. Do not hit my face; that face is the only thing on him that is worth anything.”
Gu Yulan realized these people meant trouble and would not be as easy to deal with as the “Yellow Hair” thug. He said coldly, “How much does Su Jianyang owe you?”
The person on the other end laughed with delight. “Does Young Master Gu mean you are going to pay for him?”
Gu Yulan did not speak, which was a silent confirmation. However, upon hearing this, 0377 acted like a startled deer, jumping around in panic.
(Oh no! This is a deadly chain of calls! Host, you absolutely cannot let Gu Yulan leave the house! Watching the drama just now almost made me forget this important plot point!)
Xie Yizhou immediately recalled the original plot. Su Jianyang’s father had run up heavy gambling debts he could not repay and eventually mentioned Su Jianyang’s relationship with Gu Yulan. These loan sharks found Gu Yulan through Su Jianyang. In the original text, not only did Gu Yulan sign a predatory agreement to save Su Jianyang, but the two also got into a car accident on the way back.
Ultimately, Zhou Yichen appeared just in time to save the injured Su Jianyang, and the relationship between those two moved a step further. Gu Yulan, however, was seriously injured in the accident and was left with a permanent disability, losing the full use of one leg. This dealt a massive blow to him physically and mentally, causing his personality to become gloomy and dark.
(This event is a major turning point in Gu Yulan’s life, so we must stop it from happening!)
Thinking of Gu Yulan’s recent avoidance of him, Xie Yizhou replied flatly, “He might not listen to me.”
0377 thought of Su Jianyang’s importance to Gu Yulan in the original story, and the flame of excitement in its heart was instantly extinguished. Fine, it had oversimplified things.
“Young Master Gu truly values loyalty. However, things cannot be explained clearly in just a few words over the phone. How about we pick a place to meet and chat?”
“Name it,” Gu Yulan said coldly.
“No time like the present. Let us make it tonight.”
Gu Yulan’s brows knit slightly.
“Just you alone. The location is the abandoned glass factory in the western suburbs. We will see you there at midnight. If Young Master Gu arrives late, you will only be able to see him at a certain nightclub in the west of the city; by then, we will have to ask Young Master Gu to support the business.”
The west side of the city was the most chaotic area, a den of all sorts of people. If he did not save him, Su Jianyang’s life would be completely ruined.
Gu Yulan hung up and checked the time. It was nearly 11:00 PM. It would take almost an hour to get to the western suburbs; he was running out of time. He looked up at the boy who had been silent this whole time.
“I have something urgent to handle; I need to go out for a bit.”
Xie Yizhou listened quietly, showing no reaction. Gu Yulan paused. “But, I cannot take you with me this time.”
Xie Yizhou raised his eyelids.
[If I insisted on following you, would you take me?]
He looked up at Gu Yulan, waiting for a response. Gu Yulan fell silent. He could not let the boy follow him; the risk was too great. “I am going on official business; it is not convenient to take you.”
This answer was within Xie Yizhou’s expectations. Since that was the case, there was nothing more to say.
Gu Yulan looked at the boy who had his head lowered, revealing a patch of smooth neck. His soft hair rested obediently by his ear. Gu Yulan felt his hands itch; he missed that soft texture and wanted to ruffle it. With a slight shift in his heart, he reached out his hand and said in a gentler tone, “Be good. Wait for me to come back.”
Xie Yizhou expressionlessly dodged the reaching hand and slammed the door shut right in Gu Yulan’s face.
Gu Yulan was met with a sudden closed-door treatment. He stared at the shut door for a few seconds. Finally, he silently withdrew his hand hanging in mid-air and rubbed his nose awkwardly.