The Popular/Charismatic Beta Always Thinks They Are Universally Disliked - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Because It’s Been a Long Time, Because It’s Really Been a Long Time

“What do you mean ‘precisely with this intention?'” Wen Zhijie was the first to slam down his chopsticks. Probably because he had been raised with ample tolerance and indulgence since childhood, he never held much fear of his parents, Father and Mother Wen, and immediately pulled a long face. “You should clean up your own family’s mess before you start thinking about other things.”

Mother Wen’s fingernails this time truly dug into Elder Wen’s leg with full force, contorting his face and bringing suspicious tears to his eyes. She glared at him, wishing she could instantly turn her eldest son into a piece of barbecued pork.

Wen Zhiyi saw his brother’s contorted features and watery eyes and gasped in cold surprise at Ms. Zhao’s ruthlessness, temporarily forgetting Gu Yansheng’s so-called “precisely with this intention.”

After all, the clear maliciousness surrounding the other party wouldn’t lie.

Gu Yansheng’s calm expression didn’t waver much. Neither Wen Zhijie’s questioning slam of the chopsticks nor Father and Mother Wen’s efforts to smooth things over changed the emotion in his eyes. He put down his chopsticks with graceful composure and confessed to the Wen family with a frank demeanor: “…Please don’t worry about my family’s affairs. When my uncle sent me abroad, it wasn’t without preparation. Everything will be back on track in three years at most.”

Only five years had passed between the suspicious death of the pillar of the Gu family, Elder Uncle Gu, in prison, and the heir, Gu Yansheng, returning to the country as the youngest Associate Professor at Capital University.

How much can happen in five years?

Perhaps Wen Zhiyi went from being a high school student to a graduate student, and perhaps Gu Yansheng went from being a first love to an ex-ex.

Perhaps countless people associated with the Gu family were purged, investigated, and judged, from the high-profile simultaneous investigation and rectification to the final confirmation for retrial. An incredibly cruel and inescapable reckoning fell upon countless heads.

A “sudden change” is called that because it is unpredictable, unavoidable, and irreversible.

Wen Zhiyi wasn’t foolish. From the continuous news tracking and informed leaks over the past five years, he had vaguely guessed the truth of the events.

Now that Gu Yansheng could stand in the Capital unscathed, it seemed the ultimate victor of the cruel struggle that had forced him to flee abroad was still the Gu family.

The childhood sweetheart who had once made Wen Zhiyi restless and anxious night and day had once again become the winner, once again standing before him with grace, composure, and elegance.

And once again showing Wen Zhiyi a gentle and lingering smile.

Setting aside the outcome, the dinner was marginally cordial. Father and Mother Wen relentlessly tried to bring the old couple back together, while the three young people, who were fully aware of the old romance, unanimously put on an act, deflecting the topic with minimal effort.

As the figures of Elder Wen, Little Wen, and Gu Yansheng gradually walked away, Ms. Zhao Mingzhu, who stood at the door with an elegant smile, holding her husband’s arm, slowly released her grip. The smile on her face gradually faded.

She maintained the pose of watching the three walk off, gently adjusting the light shawl she wore against the cold air conditioning, and whispered to Father Wen standing beside her:

“…That Gu boy, let it go. I originally thought that after the Gu family’s trouble, he could settle down as a professor, which would be a good match for our Little Yi. But since he plans to follow Gu Jinglin’s old path and get tangled up with the rest of the Gu family, Little Yi absolutely cannot be dragged into it again.”

“…” Father Wen pressed his shoulder, looking somewhat tired. Wen Zhijie and Wen Zhiyi have a ten-year age gap; by now, he was already nearing sixty. “How much trouble can a little contact cause? Back then, Yansheng chose not to listen to Jinglin, cutting ties with us immediately. That counts as a favor, to some extent. Now that the Gu family has a tendency to regain power, letting Little Yi and Yansheng reconnect is also a good thing.”

Zhao Mingzhu silently took a step back, her heart hardening for the umpteenth time toward her marriage, which existed in name only.

Yes, the old romance that the three young people thought they had perfectly concealed had, in fact, been clearly seen by the Wen parents long ago.

To say that nineteen-year-old Gu Yansheng could think so far ahead five years ago, Zhao Mingzhu didn’t believe it. She saw clearly that the Gu boy simply refused to involve Little Yi, and thus refused to seek help from the Wen family no matter what.

But ultimately, how much help could the Wen family offer in a struggle of that magnitude? Gu Jinglin truly overestimated them.

Recalling the silent yet all-encompassing purge five years ago, Zhao Mingzhu shivered deeply and genuinely. Fortunately, with the retrial of the old case, the Gu family people had indeed successfully overturned the original verdict.

The so-called “soft nature” of an omega made Zhao Mingzhu unable to suppress a single thought:

How did Gu Yansheng, who left the country alone, spend those five years?

As many people who didn’t want the old case reopened, who secretly gritted their teeth wanting the Gu family to be permanently defeated, and who wanted to climb to the top by stepping on this giant corporation, there were just as many who wanted this young heir to never appear in the Capital again.

Yet, Gu Yansheng not only returned completely intact but also as the youngest Associate Professor in the history of Capital University’s Law School.

This young Associate Professor was now gently and elegantly inviting Wen Zhiyi to catch up. After returning to Elder Wen’s apartment, it was only 9 PM. The single apartment, rich with green plants, was tranquil, and the temperature felt a few degrees cooler than outside the complex. Residents taking a post-dinner stroll were visible everywhere.

Wen Zhiyi suspected he wouldn’t do anything good but thought about it and realized he hadn’t offended him. Gu Yansheng had no reason to go out of his way to cause trouble for him.

So, Little Wen stubbornly shook his head and refused.

These days, it wasn’t just unsafe for a solitary Alpha or Omega to be out late; it wasn’t safe for a solitary Beta either.

Gu Yansheng offered a gentle reminder with a slight smile: “…I’m a judge on your master’s/doctoral thesis forum next semester.”

Fine, fine, fine.

Wen Zhiyi, whose weakness was exposed, let out a long breath, gritting his teeth, and followed the black-hearted Associate Professor to the shade of the trees downstairs.

“Spit it out,” Little Wen stood a little awkwardly apart, instinctively maintaining a subtle distance from Gu Yansheng.

This distance meant that even a professional in close combat would not be able to control him immediately.

Why did Little Wen develop this habit?

Gu Yansheng looked at Wen Zhiyi. He knew that the marks he had left on the other person had, over the years, evolved into a deep-seated habit, so subtle and pervasive that Wen Zhiyi himself didn’t realize it.

He maintained a friendly smile, and amid the faint fragrance of the hollyhocks, he whispered to Wen Zhiyi: “It’s been a long time, Zhizhi.”

It’s been a long time, really a long time.

Wen Zhiyi looked back at him meaningfully. In this extremely quiet summer night, where an inexplicable emotion seemed to flow, he truly looked at the Gu Yansheng who had disappeared for five years for the first time. Without avoidance, without skipping, he looked closely at Gu Yansheng’s face after all these years.

He scrutinized the other person in the way that the twenty-two-year-old Wen Zhiyi would scrutinize the twenty-four-year-old Gu Yansheng.

However, this was not what Gu Yansheng wanted.

He wanted the way seventeen-year-old Wen Zhiyi would welcome nineteen-year-old Gu Yansheng. He wanted Wen Zhiyi to cheer for his victorious return. He wanted to stand before Wen Zhiyi, composed and elegant, after all the cruel and suppressive struggles, and tell him that he was the winner.

Did Wen Zhiyi know what he wanted?

It didn’t matter whether Wen Zhiyi knew or not.

Because it’s been a long time, because it’s really been a long time.

Little Wen, standing under the magnolia tree, slowly spoke. He no longer simply viewed Gu Yansheng from the perspective of an ex. He understood the Beta’s true nature as well as the other understood him: “…It’s been a long time.”

He pursed his lips and added: “If you have anything else to say, I can listen before I go. After all, we’ve known each other for over ten years.”

Besides being his first love, Gu Yansheng also held the title of a childhood friend for over ten years.

Wen Zhiyi seriously evaluated the weight of this identity in his heart and finally decided he could listen to the other person before leaving.

The anxious pain that had once consumed him day and night was completely gone. He knew that the true farewell was not the flight that took Gu Yansheng away, but the first night he no longer tossed and turned over Gu Yansheng.

Did Gu Yansheng know?

It didn’t matter whether Gu Yansheng knew or not.

Because it’s been a long time, because it’s really been a long time.

Tree shadows, flower fragrance, the faint, fragmented croaking of frogs in the distance.

Wen Zhiyi stood in the perennial summer night of the Capital, offering Gu Yansheng a calm, faint smile.

The sudden, intense burst of pain—like a crashing chord on a piano, like a colossal torrent he was always powerless to resist—battered Gu Yansheng, stripping him of his composure and elegance, making him unable to regain them.

In that instant, he was so confused and pained that it was as if he had never left those five years of separation.

He doubted he had actually survived those five years.

A gentle, cool breeze stirred the tree shadows unevenly. The patchy light and shade fell on Wen Zhiyi’s face. He was so close yet so far, like standing in Gu Yansheng’s nineteen-year-old dream.

Gu Yansheng realized for the umpteenth time that Wen Zhiyi was an indelible coordinate for him.

Delicate, damp, fragmented, and shattered by light and shadow.

In a fleeting moment, Gu Yansheng suddenly grasped a truth he should have realized long ago. He suddenly thought: If he was in so much pain now, and if those five years were so hard for him, then what about Wen Zhiyi five years ago? Was he just as pained, just as hard-pressed?

All, all the meticulous inquiries and dissections of Wen Zhiyi’s love life over the past five years suddenly turned into a complete blank. On what grounds, on what possible grounds, could he force Wen Zhiyi to talk?

Gu Yansheng suddenly dared not think anymore.