Your Boyfriend is Great! He's Mine Now - Chapter 26

Shen Xubai unconsciously clenched his fists, his pupils surging with a nameless agony and sorrow. He lowered his long, slender lashes, his voice drifting from far away. “But you are also innocent.”

“Innocent?”

Gu Linyuan’s tone was mocking. “I flow with Gu Chengzhuo’s filthy blood, enjoying the privileged life the Gu family provides. I am not innocent at all.”

Shen Xubai was silent for a long time before offering a unilateral conclusion to the matter. “It is Gu Chengzhuo’s fault.”

“Of course it is his fault!”

Gu Linyuan suddenly flared up, casting aside his mask and showing a face full of hatred. “Everyone else can celebrate Ms. He’s birthday, but he cannot! He has failed my mother; he is not fit to be a husband or a father!”

Shen Xubai looked at him in silence, watching the rims of his eyes slowly turn red.

“Today… is the anniversary of my mother’s death.”

Gu Linyuan lowered his eyelids. “I have seen it. Ms. He’s birthday banquet always has a grand display, with many colorful flowers. The guests all wear smiles; everyone is drinking and making merry, exchanging toasts and joy. But in front of my mother’s tombstone, it is cold and desolate. No one remembers her.”

Shen Xubai was so shocked he couldn’t speak. It was hard to imagine how Gu Linyuan had managed to get through this day every year. Following Chen Yanzhi’s words, had Gu Linyuan had a history of self-harm in the past?

Man is not a creature of wood or stone. On a special day like this, it was impossible for one’s emotions not to fluctuate. Shen Xubai didn’t know how to comfort him. His vocabulary was already limited, and now, it was even more so. Thus, he could only watch Gu Linyuan quietly watch him drink in silence, watch him shed his gentle and overbearing exterior, and watch him covered in grief and the aura of death.

“Mom, they call me a bastard. Why does everyone else have a dad, but I don’t?”  “Xiao Yuan, don’t listen to their nonsense. You have a dad; his surname is Gu.”  “Then why have I never seen him?” “Because he is dead.”

Five-year-old Gu Linyuan didn’t really understand death at the time; he only gathered from his mother’s tears that it must be something very unhappy and that he shouldn’t be able to see his father anymore. His mother’s tears were salty, and her fingers felt cold just like now.

Gu Linyuan looked down at that fair, slender hand pressing against the back of his own, tapping lightly twice, neither too hard nor too soft. And its owner said nothing at all.

Gu Linyuan watched him quietly for a while, and only when the warmth seemed about to slip away did he turn his hand over to lock Shen Xubai’s hand in his, dragging it firmly into his grasp. His fingers were tightly enveloped by a warm palm, and a tingling numbness spread from his wrist and forearm up his entire arm. It was slightly uncomfortable, but bearable.

Shen Xubai wanted to speak up and ask him to loosen his grip, not to pull so tight, but before the words could escape his lips, he felt a weight against his shoulder and neck. Gu Linyuan was leaning against him, his voice muffled. “Older brother.”

The way he said “older brother” was natural and intimate, filled with both dependency and pain. Shen Xubai didn’t dare to speak anymore, nor did he dare to push him away, fearing that the fragile Gu Linyuan might do something reckless.

However, his tolerance had a time limit. After one minute, he couldn’t help but twitch his fingers and move his shoulder. He felt he had made it obvious enough, but Gu Linyuan remained unmoved, saying nothing, simply resting his weight on Shen Xubai’s shoulder.

Three minutes was his limit. Shen Xubai pulled his hand back, pushed him away, and stood up. “I’m going to get some drinks.”

“Is Senior trying to get himself drunk so that I can take advantage of him?”

The lingering tone held a hint of teasing, not a trace of fragility left. If you want to die, just die! Shen Xubai didn’t look back; he grabbed his laptop, phone, and briefcase, and slammed the door behind him. Gu Linyuan’s joyful laughter seemed to echo faintly in his ears.

The resort was built in the suburbs, focusing on an “original ecology” concept. With the gimmick of a natural oxygen bar, the accommodation and food were not as luxurious as those in the city, but they offered a sense of freshness. All the poultry, fish, and meat were raised by people specifically hired for the job, and the vegetables were planted in designated plots all focusing on pesticide-free, green, healthy food. City dwellers were just fond of this sort of thing.

“Yuze, not bad! There’s quite a lot of foot traffic even during the trial operation.”

Qin Yuze was both happy and worried. “I didn’t expect so many people today, either. I’m just worried you all won’t have a good time.”

“It’s fine, it’s lively with people! In a resort this big, if it were just us few dozen people, it would be terrifyingly dark and silent at night.”

When Su Chen mentioned this, he couldn’t help but complain, “When I went out for some air last night, it was pitch black as far as the eye could see. The tickets are so expensive; you could at least install some more lights. Look at how stingy you are.”

Qin Yuze scoffed. “This is what we call ‘atmosphere.’ You don’t know anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me ask you: if a young couple is tired from playing during the day and takes a walk at night, taking advantage of the darkness to share a kiss, won’t their feelings deepen? The pace here is slow, so they can temporarily discard the pressures of work and only look at the romantic scenery before them. Won’t their relationship improve once they go back?”

Su Chen nodded blankly. “Listening to you put it that way, it does make sense.”

“Over time, won’t the reputation and word-of-mouth of this place spread? Plus, it saves me a large sum of money on influencers for promotion.”

Su Chen suddenly realized, looking at him with an expression that said you’re really a cunning bastard. “You’re a profiteer indeed.”

“You flatter me, you flatter me.”

The two men clinked glasses with cunning smiles.

“Hey, what time is Shen-ge arriving?”

“Let me check.” Su Chen flipped through his phone. “He sent a message an hour ago saying he was on the plane.”

“A plane? Where is he coming from?”

“Haicheng.”

Qin Yuze was puzzled. “Didn’t you make plans with him? Did he forget?”

Su Chen was also helpless. “We did make plans. I guess it was a last-minute business trip.”

It was indeed a last-minute business trip, but it was also true that Shen Xubai had forgotten. He only saw the location Su Chen had sent him the previous night when he woke up this morning, so he rushed to say goodbye to Gu Linyuan. Only then did the man reveal that he, too, had received an invitation to the resort and they could travel together. Shen Xubai didn’t believe him for a second.

Gu Linyuan slowly pulled up Qin Yuze’s WeChat, which did indeed show an invitation for him to visit the resort when he had time. And so, the two of them ended up on the same plane.

Gu Linyuan called out to the flight attendant, “Could I please have a glass of warm water?”

“Of course, sir. Please wait a moment.”

Gu Linyuan broke a pill into his palm. “Senior, take your medicine first.”

Shen Xubai opened his eyes, his brow furrowing slightly. “No need. It’s just a small cold; I’ll be fine after a sleep.”

“It recovers too slowly without medicine. You won’t have a good time these next two days.”

Shen Xubai closed his eyes again and turned his head to the side. Gu Linyuan watched him acting like a child trying to avoid something, his heart feeling an itch. “Does Senior want me to feed you personally?”

His eyes snapped open in an instant. Shen Xubai glared at him, took the pill, and swallowed it with the warm water. He hadn’t expected to catch a cold after waking up because he was too tired to dry his hair the night before. His nose was stuffy, and his head felt dizzy. This type of white pill was the most bitter; he usually never took them.

“Senior, open your mouth.”