Your boyfriend is great. He's mine now. - Chapter 4

This rather careless excuse left Xiao Yu feeling disgruntled. He couldn’t fathom what conflict he could possibly have with Gu Linyuan.

However, the Gu family wielded immense power. Even if Gu Linyuan was an illegitimate son, his reputation had been rising rapidly in recent years, and no one dared to disrespect him. Xiao Yu held back his frustration.

“Young Master Gu is joking. What brings you here, Young Master Gu?”

Gu Linyuan said nothing.

Xiao Yu decided not to make a fool of himself. “You’re busy, so I’ll be going. Let’s get together another time.”

Shen Xubai’s mind was in total chaos. Xiao Yu knew all too well how to hurt him.

He didn’t understand how a person could change so drastically. It had only taken three years to turn someone who was once passionate toward him into someone with such a twisted face.

What did I do wrong?

It was clearly Xiao Yu who cheated, and Xiao Yu who broke their promises. He simply didn’t like dirty things.

A warm palm, carrying an air of refusal to be denied, softened his every finger, pried them apart, and finally let them return to their natural curl.

“Gu Linyuan, why are you here?”

Wasn’t this person in City B?

He only then realized his hand was still being held by Gu Linyuan. He froze slightly, and a second before he was about to pull away, Gu Linyuan let him go.

Instead, Gu Linyuan reached into the refrigerator with practiced ease, pulled out a bottle of mineral water, and handed it to Shen Xubai with the air of a host.

Shen Xubai was baffled by this behavior but subconsciously accepted it and murmured a thank you.

A low chuckle spilled from Gu Linyuan’s throat as he twisted off his own cap and took a gulp. As he swallowed, his sharp Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

Gu Linyuan’s casual, “make-yourself-at-home” attitude left Shen Xubai at a loss for words. He glanced at him once, retracted his gaze, and twisted off his own cap to drink.

“Senior, have you eaten?”

“Huh?”

The topic jumped too quickly. Before Shen Xubai could answer, he heard him say, “I haven’t eaten yet. Shall we grab a meal together?”

Truthfully, Shen Xubai had a headache and didn’t really want to go out. But he had already met Gu Linyuan twice; refusing again would be unreasonable and impolite.

The car smelled of a pleasant sandalwood the same scent on Gu Linyuan. He played some instrumental music; the gentle, unhurried piano sounds flowed like water, relaxed and soothing. Shen Xubai’s spirit began to relax as well.

An hour ago, Xiao Yu had cheated sleeping with another man in his bed.

It’s too dirty.

That’s why we broke up.

He was quite satisfied with this apartment and had rented it for a long time; he wasn’t quite ready to move. Shen Xubai opened his phone, selected an identical mattress from a nearby store, and after a moment’s thought, added a sofa as well.

The app indicated it wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.

That’s a bit inconvenient.

“What do you want to eat?” Gu Linyuan’s voice sounded.

Shen Xubai realized belatedly that he might have been impolite, so he put his phone away and replied, “Anything is fine.”

“Then let’s have hot pot.”

Shen Xubai was a bit surprised. He had assumed that a young master of a prestigious family like Gu Linyuan would prefer high-end, elegant, and atmospheric Western restaurants.

“You don’t like it?”

Shen Xubai shook his head. “I like it.”

But he hadn’t expected Gu Linyuan to order beer. It was surprisingly down-to-earth.

Gu Linyuan washed the glasses several times, wiped away the excess water droplets, and poured two beers. “To your rebirth.”

Shen Xubai gave a bitter laugh. “So, you saw it.”

“Sorry, I just happened to be passing by and accidentally overheard a bit.”

Although Gu Linyuan said sorry, his dark, heavy eyes were filled with blatant excitement and eagerness.

“It’s fine.”

Shen Xubai didn’t catch his expression. He kept his eyes half-lowered, staring at the glass. Although not many people knew about his relationship with Xiao Yu, it wasn’t a secret, and Gu Linyuan was among those who knew.

“Does Senior like him a lot? You seem a bit sad.”

It sounded like concern, yet it carried a hint of annoyance.

Shen Xubai frowned slightly as he looked at him. Seeing the man’s candid and puzzled expression, he thought to himself: I must be overthinking it.

“No matter what, we dated for three years. Saying I’m not sad would be a lie.”

“Is that so…”

Gu Linyuan’s voice was soft and distant.

“Senior is better off not being sad.”

The domineering tone, laced with a hint of a threat, made Shen Xubai feel a bit perplexed.

Before he could fathom the meaning behind those words, he heard Gu Linyuan say: “Fortunate.”

Fortunate?

Fortunate for what?

Shen Xubai thought he had misheard. “Excuse me, what did you just say?”

Gu Linyuan leaned forward a few inches, staring straight at the puzzled and slightly wary Shen Xubai, and said, word for word: “I SAID, IT’S A GOOD THING YOU BROKE UP, SENIOR.”

Cutting through the Gordian knot with a swift blow; Senior is even more decisive than I imagined.

It seems the plan is working.

Shen Xubai’s face turned completely cold, his eyelashes looking like they were covered in a thin layer of frost as he stared calmly at Gu Linyuan.

Their gazes collided in the air.

After a long while, Gu Linyuan seemed to admit defeat. He shrugged and said bluntly, “He is extremely dirty; he isn’t worthy of you, Senior.”

“How do you know that?”

Shen Xubai’s vigilance flared up, and he immediately thought of that text message. But he felt that couldn’t be right Gu Linyuan shouldn’t be the type of person to do something like that.