At this moment, Gu Yulan’s thoughts were complicated.
The youth’s unreserved affection even made him feel a flicker of cowardice. He did not know how to handle such a sincere emotion. On one hand, the youth was still young and had not yet established a proper outlook on love; Gu Yulan could not bring himself to be a scoundrel. On the other hand, his own feelings were a total mess.
He did not understand how a heart could be divided into two, holding two different people at once. At least, his heart was not large enough for that. If he did, how would he be any different from his father?
Because of this, he could not offer any response.
Gu Yulan opened his mouth, but the words died in his throat. When he met the youth’s clear eyes, he found himself unable to even speak a refusal.
Xie Yizhou felt his fingertips touch a damp spot on Gu Yulan’s face. He brought his hand to his nose and caught a faint, salty scent. He had indeed been crying.
Gu Yulan bit his lip and asked in a raspy voice, “Are you alright?”
The youth was pale, with dried blood still clinging to his lips, looking exceptionally weak. Xie Yizhou nodded. He took Gu Yulan’s hand and traced a message lightly onto his palm.
“I want to go home. It is nearby.”
Gu Yulan was slightly surprised. “Do you know the way?”
Xie Yizhou nodded.
“Then let us go.”
Gu Yulan did not plan to stay. This area was remote and desolate, and there was no telling what other dangers might lurk. They needed to find a populated area quickly to contact others.
“I will carry you. You point the way.”
He crouched down in front of the youth. Although they had encountered a lot of danger today, he was lucky that, aside from the wound on his arm, he was not injured elsewhere.
Xie Yizhou looked at the broad back before him, thought about it, and finally leaned in. He truly had no strength left. The moment he lay against Gu Yulan’s back, he let out a comfortable sigh. He carefully avoided his injured arm and wrapped his hands around the other’s neck, pressing his cheek against the warm back. The faint scent of mint made his eyelids grow increasingly heavy.
As Gu Yulan heard that satisfied hum, his cheeks flushed. The moment that cool face pressed against his back and the soft strands of hair brushed against his neck, a tingle of numbness swept through him. His muscles stiffened, and a wave of heat climbed from his chest to his neck. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
Fearing the youth might fall asleep again, he turned his head and said, “You cannot sleep. Do not forget you have to guide me. You can sleep once we get home.”
Xie Yizhou had just closed his eyes when he was startled awake. He opened them blearily, his gaze filled with a trace of confusion. He let out a yawn and pointed forward. He was exhausted, leaning his head against Gu Yulan’s shoulder.
Gu Yulan felt the weight on his shoulder. He glanced at the youth’s obedient yet pitiful posture and quickly looked away. Now was not the time to sleep. He was afraid the youth might fall into another coma.
Gu Yulan licked his dry lips and said, “Let us talk for a bit. I am afraid you will fall asleep.”
Xie Yizhou forced his eyes open, though he had zero interest in chatting.
Gu Yulan hesitated for a moment but finally seemed to make up his mind. He said, “Do you want to know why I fell for Su Jianyang?”
He did not intend to leave the youth with any fantasies, nor did he want to remain indecisive. For someone at the youth’s age, impulsively falling for a man was not a good thing, especially since Gu Yulan did not consider himself a “good person.”
Xie Yizhou suddenly heard this and perked up. He seemed to have a bit of interest now. Even 0377 pricked up its ears.
The book “Substitute White Moonlight” mainly revolved around the leads. Although Gu Yulan, as an important supporting character, had a lot of screen time, many specific details were never described. The original text did not go into detail about the history between Gu Yulan and Su Jianyang, only offering fragments through Su Jianyang’s memories.
Gu Yulan noticed the silence and curiously turned his head, only to meet the youth’s wide, alert eyes. Seeing the boy’s enthusiastic expression, his lips twitched. He wondered if he was doing the right thing.
As it turned out, the essence of humanity was gossip.
Dissecting his own emotional history felt a bit shameful, so Gu Yulan cleared his throat.
“The day I met Su Jianyang happened to be the anniversary of my mother’s death. That day, after visiting her grave, I got into an accident on the way back. Su Jianyang was the one who pulled me from the car. In that moment of unconsciousness, I thought I saw my mother.”
He paused. “It was the first time I had seen her since she passed away.”
He continued, “At first, I just wanted to repay the favor, and he did need help. As I helped him more and more, I saw many similarities between him and my mother. Even in difficult circumstances, he chose to live facing the sun.”
“So, I began to see him as my redemption.”
After saying this, the heavy stone in Gu Yulan’s heart did not drop; instead, it felt even heavier. Would the youth be sad? He must be very disappointed after hearing this. Gu Yulan mentally listed his many flaws: bad personality, hot temper, prone to outbursts. Most people were scared to death of him. He had no idea what the youth liked about him.
Gu Yulan let out a self-deprecating laugh. After the heavy rain, the moonlight fell, illuminating the muddy ground. Feeling the weight on his back, he felt his steps becoming steadier.
Inside Xie Yizhou’s mind, 0377 was chattering incessantly. Xie Yizhou found it noisy, but knowing the system would go into hibernation in a few hours, he endured it.
【Tsk, tsk. What a standard dog-blood novel opening. It is a pity that long-term companionship cannot beat a one-night stand with an older man. Men really are lower-body creatures!】
【The overbearing, devoted rich-second-generation supporting lead still loses to the gentle, wealthy old mogul! A complete defeat!】
Xie Yizhou felt a spark of curiosity. “What kind of species is a lower-body creature?”
Seeing Xie Yizhou’s purely curious gaze, 0377 shut its mouth to avoid corrupting a minor and quickly laughed it off.
【Hahaha, nothing. I was just kidding around. Do not take it seriously.】
Xie Yizhou narrowed his eyes, a hint of suspicion in his gaze. “Really?”
0377 nodded vigorously. 【Truer than pearls. Let me analyze this for you. Have you thought about why he told you all this tonight?】
“Why?”
【I reckon this kid is still hung up on it. The power of a white moonlight is terrifying! In the original text, if Gu Yulan could have given up so easily, he would not have caused so much trouble and ended up so miserable.】
0377 continued, 【Think about it. If it were not for Su Jianyang’s phone call, would any of this have happened tonight? To put it bluntly, a dog cannot stop eating filth. You cannot just listen to what a man says; you have to watch what he does!】
Though Xie Yizhou did not fully understand, he felt it made strange sense and nodded. 0377 puffed out its non-existent chest with pride. At least in the field of emotional analysis, it was very useful! Mostly because it had read many books and was experienced.
About an hour later, under Xie Yizhou’s guidance, Gu Yulan found the old house in the suburbs. When Gu Yulan saw the house, he was stunned. As a rich second-generation who had grown up in luxury, he had never seen such a dilapidated house. Had the youth been living in a place like this? He knew the boy had suffered, but seeing it in person made his heart ache.
Meanwhile, a black car drove through the remote and quiet suburban highway. Su Jianyang woke up groggily from his coma. He looked at the broad back of the man in the front seat and rubbed his eyes, feeling as if this were an illusion.
“You are awake?” The man’s voice was low, sexy, and full of magnetism.
“Mr. Zhou? Why is it you?” Su Jianyang was slightly surprised, finally feeling a sense of reality.
Zhou Yichen’s lips curled into a gentle smile as he teased, “Is it that surprising? Who were you expecting?”
Su Jianyang’s cheeks flushed. “No, it is not that.”
He wanted to ask how he had escaped from those people.
As if reading his mind, Zhou Yichen said, “I received a call from those people earlier telling me to bring money. That was how I knew you were in trouble.”
“I am sorry I am late and let you suffer so much.”
Su Jianyang was moved by the man’s gentle, affectionate gaze. Hearing those words, he felt the previous suffering was nothing. He bit his lip, his eyes suddenly turning red. “I am the one who dragged you into this. I was already enough of a burden to you.”
“Mr. Zhou, how much ransom did you give those bad people? I will pay you back.”
Zhou Yichen smiled faintly. “Money is a small matter. Your safety is what is most important.”
Su Jianyang lowered his eyes. It seemed he did have weight in Mr. Zhou’s heart. Just as he was moved, the car suddenly braked hard, causing him to hit his head.
“Are you alright?”
Su Jianyang rubbed his forehead. “I am fine. Did something happen?”
“Yes, there seems to have been an accident ahead. Stay in the car. I will go down and check the situation.”
Zhou Yichen saw the accident scene and immediately got out. Su Jianyang looked at the messy bloodstains on the ground and the luxury car that was almost unrecognizable. He feared the people inside were in grave danger.
When Zhou Yichen approached and saw the empty driver’s seat, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he frowned. There was no one in the driver’s seat, so where had they gone?
Soon, his attention was drawn to the broken bridge. Below was the surging river. If a person or a car fell in, not a trace would remain.