Chapter 23: The Rule Was Quietly Deleted
The current young master Gu was tall and long-legged now, and with one stride he could cover a great distance.
Gu Tang had a hard time keeping up while being half-dragged along by him. His mouth was tightly covered, so he could not even tell him to stop. After looking around and seeing that there was no one nearby, he simply gave a little hop, hooked his legs up, and clung to young master Gu.
Life points were hard-earned. Saving even a little was worth it.
Glancing at his health bar, which was almost empty, Gu Tang very reasonably made himself into a human accessory.
Gu Qinian had been walking just fine when he suddenly felt extra weight on him. He did not even bother to look at what Gu Tang was doing, and simply half-carried, half-hauled him into the equipment room.
Bang—
The iron door shut behind them.
Outside, the sun was blazing, but inside the equipment room it was dim and cool.
Only a little sunlight poured in through the high window in the roof, illuminating tiny dust motes drifting slowly through the beam like the grain in an old film reel.
The two of them were standing very close.
Gu Tang could hear the slightly heavy sound of the other’s breathing, as well as the damp heat coming off him.
Carrying him in here must have been exhausting. Being young master Gu was not easy.
“I’ll fan you a little.”
Gu Tang pressed his fingers together and used his palm as a little fan, fluttering it beside young master Gu’s face like a tiny moth.
“…”
The other boy said nothing and simply caught both of his wrists tightly.
Did he think that would stop him from being a human electric fan?
Hmph. He was underestimating him!
Gu Tang tilted up his face, puckered his lips, and blew toward young master Gu’s face. “Hoo— hoo————”
Nice and cool, right?
“…”
Gu Tang’s breath came with the faintly cool breeze and brushed right over him.
The scent on the boy was no longer the milky sweetness of a small child. Instead, it was a crisp, fresh fragrance, like grass after the rain, with just the slightest hint of sweetness.
It was clean, yet strangely intoxicating.
Young master Gu forced his voice lower to sound stern. “We haven’t made up.”
What he meant was—
I’m still angry.
Yet the moment he said it, he felt a slight weight on his shoulder.
Gu Tang had suddenly leaned forward and rested his fluffy head against his right shoulder.
Gu Qinian froze for a moment. “…What’s wrong?”
“I’m… out… of… charge…”
Gu Tang was not joking.
During these past few days of military training, he had not seen Gu Qinian even once, so he had not been able to trigger a single plot mission. The life points he had accumulated before were nearly used up. If young master Gu had not come to find him today, he would have had to go find him to recharge himself.
The feeling of losing life points was awful.
Right now, his head was spinning and his vision was blurred. The symptoms felt similar to heatstroke or low blood sugar. He had no strength left in his body at all.
After growing up together all these years, Gu Qinian could tell immediately that something was wrong without Gu Tang needing to explain.
Cold sweat had broken out on his forehead, and his face was pale.
He did not look like he was joking around with him the way he usually did.
In his dazed state, Gu Tang vaguely felt himself being carried over and laid on one of the soft mats in the equipment room. Something cool was fed into his mouth—some water—and then a candy was stuffed in too. A cooling summer essential oil was rubbed behind his neck and ears.
Young master Gu’s service was extremely thorough. After doing all that, he even pressed his cool palm against Gu Tang’s forehead.
As if testing his temperature.
[Congratulations, Host! You’ve completed the achievement “Make the Male Lead Worry” and earned 10 life points! Recharging you immediately!]
So he was worried?
Watching Gu Qinian busy himself applying this and that for him, Gu Tang muttered softly, “At least you’ve got a bit of a conscience.”
“The one without a conscience is you.”
Judging by his tone, young master Gu’s anger had not faded yet.
But hearing Gu Tang able to speak, Gu Qinian still let out a quiet breath of relief.
With the newly added life points, Gu Tang’s spirits recovered a little. He looked up at the other boy.
From farther away, it had not been obvious. But now that they were almost face-to-face, he could see two faint bluish shadows under young master Gu’s beautiful eyes.
Dark circles.
They did not hurt his looks at all. If anything, it looked like a very subtle smoky-eye effect.
Gu Tang reached out and touched beneath his eyes. “You haven’t been sleeping well these past few days, have you?”
Young master Gu pressed his lips together and did not answer. His face was dark and gloomy.
There was no need to ask. He was obviously being troubled by insomnia.
Gu Tang frowned slightly. “The dorm conditions aren’t good, so you can’t sleep?”
Jiang City No. 1 High School had excellent dorm facilities. Even the temporary dorms during military training were designed to ensure the students could rest comfortably. Gu Tang himself had slept pretty well these last two days. No matter how pampered young master Gu was, it still should not have been enough to make him unable to sleep.
After a long moment, Gu Qinian finally said three words: “I’m not used to it.”
That, at least, made sense.
No matter how nice the dorm was, it could never compare to the mattress at home…
Gu Tang was just about to pat his shoulder and comfort him when young master Gu, who never wasted words, added three more: “You’re not there.”
At home, they did not sleep together every single day either!
“It’s different.” Gu Qinian frowned.
At home, even if Gu Tang slept upstairs in his own room, there would still be that faint, sweet scent he left behind in the blankets. Just smelling it was enough for him to fall asleep.
There was nothing like that in the school dorm…
Gu Tang was stunned. “If I’m not there, you can’t sleep?”
“…”
Gu Qinian clearly did not want to admit it, but he still nodded slowly.
Gu Tang had never imagined that after all this, the reason the other boy had been sulking was simply because they could not sleep together.
What was the point of growing taller?
Young master Gu was obviously still just a clingy little kid!
That was what he said in his head, but his heart softened. He reached up, took off Gu Qinian’s camouflage cap, and gently rubbed his smooth black hair. “Be good, Niannian. You have to get used to it. The two of us can’t sleep together forever.”
“Why not?”
Well then. Young master Gu was being particularly unreasonable today.
Gu Tang knew he could not explain it properly to him, so he could only ask in return, “We can’t just stay little forever, can we? In the future we’ll both have partners to date…”
When the topic turned to dating, Gu Tang grew a little shy, and his cheeks began to warm slightly.
In his previous life, his health had been too poor. He had never had the chance to get close to anyone, and he died just after turning eighteen. Naturally, he had never had the chance to date either. He did not even know what being in a relationship felt like. The only bits he knew came from novels he had read.
Supposedly, dating was very, very sweet.
Yet the moment he said that, young master Gu’s expression darkened even further.
“You want to date someone too?”
Gu Qinian asked in a rather sinister tone.
For some reason, the way he asked that sent a chill through Gu Tang’s heart. Without thinking, he shook his head.
Young master Gu’s expression eased slightly. “Good. Then I won’t either. It’s fine if you never grow up. Staying small forever is nice too.”
Gu Tang: “???”
No, wait. Was he actually hoping he would never grow taller?!
That was absolutely intolerable!
After hearing Gu Tang say he did not want to date anyone, Gu Qinian thought that meant the two of them could keep sleeping together forever, and his mood instantly improved. He pulled a tube of sunscreen out of his pocket, squeezed some into his hand, and silently started applying it to Gu Tang.
The little brat was not very good at taking care of himself. He could not even rub sunscreen on evenly. If left alone, before long he would be tanned into a little patchy kitten…
Although, even a little patchy kitten would be quite cute.
The corner of young master Gu’s mouth lifted very slightly.
Among teenage boys, the difference between a body that had started developing and one that had not could be huge.
Gu Tang secretly compared them.
Even the hand young master Gu was using to rub sunscreen on him was a whole size larger than his own!
The more he thought about how the other boy was hoping he would never grow up, the angrier he became. While enduring the rubbing, he began plotting quietly—
If he did not teach young master Gu a lesson today, then he would never know who was boss!
Inside Gu Tang’s mind, the system was rubbing its hands together excitedly.
[Host, how are you planning to mess with the male lead this time?]
Gu Tang narrowed his eyes. “Watch me.”
Gu Qinian was focused on applying sunscreen for him.
The skin beneath his hands was warm, soft, springy, and felt especially nice. He even felt a little… reluctant to stop?
Thinking that, he began to feel a little regretful.
When Gu Tang was younger, he had been adorable too. Why had he never thought of pinching and rubbing him back then?
Young master Gu’s thoughts were wandering when Gu Tang leaned his head against his shoulder again, docile and obedient.
“…”
Gu Qinian’s mood turned strangely complicated.
He felt a little happy, maybe. Though he did not know what exactly he was happy about. In any case, instinctively, he did not want to push away that small weight resting against him.
Gu Tang stayed quiet for a while, then began causing trouble.
With a crying tone, he let out a soft whimper. “I’m so sad—”
“?”
The hand rubbing sunscreen behind his neck stopped abruptly.
Gu Tang forcefully pressed down the corners of his mouth, which were threatening to curl up, and whimpered, “You’ve grown taller, but I haven’t. Now no one believes me when I say you’re my little brother. We’re not even real brothers anyway. You never call me big brother. And then you even cursed me not to grow up. Wuwuwu…”
“…”
Gu Qinian frowned. “That’s not what I meant.”
The reason he had never called him big brother was because he was reborn.
If he counted both lifetimes together, he was much older than Gu Tang. Calling him big brother felt strange. And subconsciously, he did not really like thinking of himself and Gu Tang as brothers.
Gu Tang continued sniffing and whimpering while secretly observing young master Gu’s expression. “Not once… you’ve never called me big brother, not even once…”
Gu Qinian suddenly had no idea what to do.
Although in his memories, their first meeting had begun with the little milk dumpling crying loudly—
the truth was that over the years, the number of times Gu Tang had actually cried for real could be counted on one hand.
And as for this kind of soft, sobbing whimpering, it was even rarer…
His slender neck trembled slightly with each little sob, fragile enough to look as though it could snap at any moment. Even his thin body quivered with every sound.
The sight made Gu Qinian’s chest feel tight and blocked. He moved his hand from Gu Tang’s neck to his back and patted him lightly a few times in a very clumsy manner. “…Stop crying.”
Gu Tang sniffled. “Not once…”
“It’s not that I—”
“Not once…”
“Ge.”
Young master Gu forced himself to say it softly, resigned and awkward.
In a tiny voice, extremely careful, Gu Tang asked, “What did you just say? I felt too bad and didn’t hear it clearly…”
Gu Qinian: “…”
Once there was a first humiliation, there could be a second.
Young master Gu leaned close to Gu Tang’s ear and repeated it again before asking, “Satisfied now?”
“Aha!”
The very next second, Gu Tang jumped off the mat. There was not a trace of tears left on his round little baby face. “Niannian, you fell for it!”
He gleefully waved his phone, wagging with delight. “I recorded it! I’m going to set it as my ringtone and listen to it every single day!”
After saying that, he stuck out his tongue, made a face, and ran off in a flash.
Gu Qinian: “…”
[Host, you’re amazing! You completed the plot mission “Let the Male Lead Know the Cruelty of the World”! Reward: 30 life points and 3 plot coins!]
As he ran, Gu Tang listened happily to the system’s notification.
Young master Gu really was his charging bank!
Just seeing him for a short while had raised his health bar by a huge chunk!
At the doorway of the equipment room, Gu Qinian watched the boy’s bouncing figure disappear into the distance and slowly rubbed the sunscreen still left on his fingers.
The milky-white lotion spread out slowly, and the warmth and softness of the other boy’s skin still seemed to linger in his palm.
Suddenly, he found himself wanting to know very badly what Gu Tang would look like when he grew up…
Halfway back, Gu Tang lifted his phone to his ear again and replayed that “ge” several times with great satisfaction.
Young master Gu was going through voice change, and his low, magnetic voice had a tingling, irresistible quality to it.
The more Gu Tang listened, the hotter his cheeks became for no clear reason.
He touched his face blankly.
How strange. It was not even hot…
[Host! A key plot point has arrived!!!]
The system’s sudden howl snapped Gu Tang’s attention away before he had time to think about why he was blushing.
Key plot points were extremely important—basically mandatory missions.
Their rewards were high, but so was the difficulty. They were usually triggered by timing conditions.
As long as the male lead reached the required age, a key plot point would activate automatically. If it could not be completed, then the other plot missions could not continue. And if it remained stuck past the deadline, the consequences would be even worse. Rewards might be deducted, and it could even be judged as tampering with the plot.
The moment he heard “key plot point,” Gu Tang felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy. “What mission?”
[Complete the main plot mission “Conceal the Male Lead’s Brilliance” within two weeks. Reward: 100 life points and 10 plot coins!]
The reward was powerful enough to refill his whole health bar at once.
But the mission difficulty was also absurdly high.
Gu Tang protested, “That’s way too hard!”
Was that even reasonable?
This novel was literally titled The Glory of Qinian. How was he, a little cannon-fodder villain, supposed to conceal the male lead’s brilliance?!
The system could do nothing about it either. All it could do was mutter a few quiet curses at the main brain together with its host.
System: No working system can avoid hating capitalist brains!
Since the rigid task could not be changed, Gu Tang returned nervously to the line for his class. The moment the classmate beside him saw him, he leaned over at once. “Where did that Gu Qinian take you? What did he do to you?”
This enthusiastic classmate was named Zhu Xu, Gu Tang’s classmate and dorm roommate during military training.
He had been intimidated by Gu Qinian’s aura and could only watch helplessly as Gu Tang was “kidnapped” away. It was only after coming back to his senses that Zhu Xu panicked.
He had run everywhere telling teachers and classmates that Gu Tang had been taken away by a scary student council officer. Everyone had looked at him with the kind of pitying eyes reserved for a child with no common sense.
Zhu Xu: “…”
Damn it.
Stop putting a filter on good students, would you?!
He had seen it very clearly. That Gu Qinian, even though he was handsome to an almost inhuman degree, had a deeply inhuman personality too. He radiated danger from head to toe, like he could swallow Gu Tang in one bite.
His little roommate had even been dragged away with his mouth covered!
If Gu Tang had not returned soon, Zhu Xu had been fully prepared to ask the police for help.
Grateful for his concern, Gu Tang shook his head. “He didn’t do anything. We just talked for a bit.”
Really?
After taking a careful look and confirming that his little roommate was indeed intact, with no visible signs of bullying on the exposed skin, Zhu Xu finally let out a breath of relief.
But before he could even finish exhaling, he suddenly spotted an unblended patch of sunscreen on the back of Gu Tang’s pale neck.
And it was shaped like a handprint.
“!!!”
Zhu Xu’s eyes sharpened. He grabbed Gu Tang’s hand and compared the size.
Nope!
That handprint was a full size bigger than his little roommate’s hand!
Gu Tang, suddenly having his hand seized: “?”
Afraid of hurting him, Zhu Xu probed carefully, “Didn’t you say it was just talking? Then why was he putting sunscreen on you?”
His little roommate was soft and adorable and so tiny. Could it be he really had been bullied?!!
Gu Tang thought back for a moment. Probably he had run off too quickly earlier, and young master Gu had not had time to blend it in properly. He reached up and rubbed the sunscreen smooth himself. “He was worried I’d get sunburned, so he just put on a little.”
“What normal person puts sunscreen on someone else?!”
Touching and rubbing all over…
Zhu Xu strongly disapproved.
Gu Tang shrugged it off. “What’s wrong with a younger brother putting sunscreen on his older brother?”
Zhu Xu still felt something was off. “Are you sure he’s your younger brother? He doesn’t really look much like you…”
Their way of interacting did not feel like brothers either.
“It’s true.”
Gu Tang smugly pulled out his phone from his pocket. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll play it for you.”
Now he had proof.
No one could say he was not the older brother anymore.
Not even young master Gu himself!
Very ceremoniously, Gu Tang raised one finger and got ready to press play.
“The student council is here—!”
Suddenly, some kind classmate shouted the warning.
At that cry, the students around them instantly scattered. Some hid their phones, some straightened their uniforms, and some stuffed all their snacks into their mouths at once.
Gu Tang looked completely confused. “What’s going on?”
Zhu Xu wanted to tell him that the student council was here checking for phones, but it was already too late.
A few student council members wearing red armbands came walking over.
The one in front lifted the brim of his cap, and a wave of gasps immediately spread through the crowd.
“Wow, he’s so handsome…”
“So good-looking…”
“Oh no, I’m about to have my first crush!”
Gu Tang sucked in a breath too.
He had seen this person only minutes ago. Who else could it be but young master Gu?
Surrounded by the crowd, young master Gu once again proved one thing—
That key plot point really was impossible.
The male lead’s brilliance simply could not be concealed!
Gu Tang suspected he might very well die on this mission.
Standing out like a crane among chickens, Gu Qinian swept his gaze across the crowd before finally settling on that familiar little face. His lips parted slightly. “The student council is conducting an inspection for phones carried illegally during military training. Any that are found will be temporarily confiscated.”
Gu Tang froze. “?!!”
Phones were not allowed during military training?
He had no idea!
Not that ignorance helped. Young master Gu was clearly targeting him. He had caught him red-handed on the spot.
“You’re abusing your power!”
Gu Tang grabbed both sleeves of young master Gu’s uniform and glared up at him with wide eyes.
Under the sunlight, his amber eyes looked especially clear and bright, round like a little cat’s. Combined with his sweet doll-like face, he was almost unbearably cute.
Gu Qinian kept his hands behind his back. His fingers rubbed together unconsciously as he resisted the urge to reach out and ruffle him. In a low voice, he said, “You cheated first.”
He had pretended to cry and tricked him into calling him “ge.” Of course he was going to come destroy the evidence.
Gu Tang let out a cold laugh. “You still don’t know my phone password, so you can’t delete it.”
“Oh, really?”
Gu Qinian bent down slightly, bringing his lips close to Gu Tang’s ear, and in a voice only the two of them could hear, said very slowly—
“Our birthday.”
Gu Tang: “!!!”
It was over. The recording was doomed!
He and Gu Qinian shared the same birthday. Why had he used that date as his phone password?!
Gu Tang: Wuwuwu, I’m an idiot…
Once the student council left, Zhu Xu craned his neck over. “What were you about to play for me just now?”
Gu Tang drooped. “You can’t hear it anymore…”
His crime tool had been confiscated.
After a full day of military training, he was tired and starving.
That evening, as soon as training ended, Gu Tang and Zhu Xu dashed straight into the cafeteria.
Jiang City No. 1 High School adhered to the principle that no matter how tough things were, the children must not suffer. So the cafeteria standards, like the dorms, were as luxurious as possible. This contrasted sharply with the instructors, who trained them like they wanted to work them to death.
Still, once military training ended, they would have good days ahead.
Holding his tray, Gu Tang piled on three meat dishes and even got himself a slice of cake.
The cafeteria chef’s food might not be as refined as the Gu family chef’s, but it came in generous portions, filled you up well, and tasted decent enough.
Especially the sweet and sour pork ribs, which suited Gu Tang’s appetite perfectly. Sadly, they were so popular that by the time he wanted another serving, they were already gone.
Gu Tang rubbed his stomach in emptiness. “I still feel like I’m not full.”
Watching the other boy’s small frame somehow pack away two huge portions of food, Zhu Xu said, “…Tang Tang, your family must be really rich, huh?”
Gu Tang blinked. “Why do you ask?”
Zhu Xu gestured at his stomach. “Because… an ordinary family couldn’t possibly afford to raise this, right?”
“…”
Gu Tang rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”
So what if he loved eating in this life because he barely got to eat in his last one?
At home, young master Gu had never once complained that he ate too much.
[Now that I think about it, Host, you eat so much, so why aren’t you growing taller or gaining weight?]
The system sounded very worried.
It had heard that human bodies were very fragile. Some illnesses made people unable to gain weight no matter how much they ate.
Gu Tang hurriedly said, “Bah bah bah, system, take back your bad omen! I just had my school-entry physical, and I’m perfectly healthy. The doctor even told me to eat more nutritious food, get more sunlight, and get less angry!”
The system suddenly understood. It knew this kind of human state!
More nutrition, more sunlight, and no getting angry.
The system reached its conclusion—
[Host, you’re pregnant!]
“Pfft—”
Gu Tang sprayed out a mouthful of milk tea.
Once he finally recovered, he beat the system up inside his mind.
After dinner, they returned to the dorm.
The moment they pushed open the door, they saw a boy inside putting away his luggage, not wearing the camouflage uniform.
Their room could fit four people, but so far only three had arrived. One bed had remained empty these past few days.
Clearly, this had to be the fourth roommate.
Gu Tang waved at him in a friendly way. “Hi, I’m Gu Tang.”
Zhu Xu, ever the social one, nodded at the newcomer and thumped his fist against his own chest. “Zhu Xu. From now on, we’re brothers in the same dorm.”
The boy smiled faintly. His attitude was gentle, but he did not introduce himself. He only replied with distant courtesy, “Hello.”
Gu Tang noticed that the boy had very beautiful hands—long fingers, elegant knuckles. Combined with the fact that he was in the arts track, it was easy to guess that he was probably good at piano.
The boy did not seem interested in chatting with them at all. It would be more accurate to say he was not very interested in socializing.
After that brief greeting, he did not even continue unpacking. Instead, he picked up a washbasin and toothbrush and stepped out to wash up.
The moment he left, Zhu Xu lowered his voice and said, “That’s the piano prince, Xie Qian.”
Since kindergarten, Xie Qian had represented Jiang City in many children’s piano competitions. He was a genius youth specifically recruited by Jiang City No. 1 High School. The reason he had arrived late for military training was because he had just finished an important competition.
After hearing that introduction, Gu Tang looked surprised. “How do you know everything?”
Zhu Xu was equally surprised. “You’re not curious about someone as amazing as Xie Qian—you’re curious about why I know all this gossip?”
Gu Tang nodded seriously. “It’s impressive. Like one of those all-knowing information brokers in martial arts novels.”
His little roommate’s eyes were round and sparkling, looking up at him with what seemed like genuine admiration.
It was very hard not to let that go to one’s head!
Zhu Xu smugly flicked his buzz cut. “Exactly. He’s the piano prince, and I’m the gossip king!”
Gu Tang clapped in total cooperation. “Wow!”
Zhu Xu became even more pleased with himself.
At that moment, their other roommate Song Chen came back carrying dinner and joked with a smile, “What gossip king? You’re just a loudspeaker.”
Zhu Xu’s artistic specialty was the trumpet, so some of their classmates jokingly called him “Little Loudspeaker.”
He rather liked the nickname and did not get angry. Turning back to Song Chen, he shot back nonsense of his own. “Then you’re a gong-beater.”
Gu Tang looked puzzled. “What does that mean?”
Song Chen gave him a cool imaginary demonstration. “Boom-cha-boom-cha—drums.”
I see!
Gu Tang nodded in enlightenment.
His classmates were all so interesting.
Campus life was even more fun than he had imagined!
Students in the middle school division of Jiang City No. 1 could also apply to live on campus, so Zhu Xu asked Gu Tang whether he wanted to stay.
Gu Tang hesitated. “…I haven’t discussed it with my family.”
He was good-looking and obedient by nature, and both Zhu Xu and Song Chen liked this soft, sweet little roommate very much. They told him to go home and discuss it properly. If he decided to stay in the dorm, then once military training ended, he would not even need to move his luggage back out.
Gu Tang had never lived in a dorm before, and he was rather tempted by the idea of collective life.
But if he left the male lead, then he would not be able to do any plot missions.
And judging by young master Gu’s attitude today, forget living on campus—he probably wanted to pack up and go home immediately.
Gu Tang: “Sigh…”
After sighing, he felt hungry again.
[I told you already, Host, you’re preg—]
“Shut up!”
This time, Gu Tang struck first and covered the system’s mouth before speaking slowly. “I’m growing.”
Teenagers in puberty got hungry easily in the first place.
Maybe in the future, he would even grow taller than Gu Qinian!
Zhu Xu generously pulled out his hidden snack stash and handed Gu Tang a cup of instant noodles. “Eat carefully. Don’t let the student council catch you.”
Gu Tang muttered under his breath, “Why does the student council control everything anyway…”
Young master Gu had definitely gone bad after joining that place.
He had even stolen his phone!
Zhu Xu prepared a cup of noodles for himself too and began slurping. “Speaking of which, do you think someone like Gu Qinian, who looks like he doesn’t belong to the mortal world, ever gets hungry the way we do?”
Gu Tang answered with absolute certainty, “He does.”
Back at home, because both of them were growing and always got hungry, they often craved food in the middle of the night.
The two of them would hold hands and sneak downstairs in the dark to search for snacks in the kitchen.
For a while, the chefs reported that food kept mysteriously disappearing. Grandma Mei even thought there were mice in the house and set up all kinds of traps in the kitchen. In the end, when the lights came on, what she caught were two “little mice.”
The two little brats had been sitting on the floor, Gu Tang with his mouth smeared black with chocolate, even trying to feed a chocolate cream puff—one he personally thought was very delicious—to young master Gu.
Madam Su had been completely charmed, but she also had to think about their health.
Too many sweets were no good.
So after that, she always instructed the kitchen to leave out some nutritious soup and healthy little snacks every night for them as a late-night meal.
After getting used to that at home, suddenly coming out here and having nothing to eat at night really was miserable.
Tonight, it seemed instant noodles would have to be enough to line his stomach…
Rubbing his hands together, Gu Tang was just about to tear open the noodle cup when a knock sounded at the door.
“I’ll get it.”
Zhu Xu volunteered, walking toward the door with his noodles in hand. “Song Chen is such an idiot, going out without taking a key—holy—!”
The moment he opened the door, the one standing outside was a cold-faced king of hell.
Gu Qinian’s pitch-black eyes stared at him icily.
Zhu Xu: “Slurp.”
“Gulp.”
First he slurped the noodles into his mouth, then swallowed, then slowly moved the cup behind his back while frantically signaling to Gu Tang.
Zhu Xu: Quick, hide it!
Every one of those self-deceiving little movements was obvious to anyone with eyes.
And yet Gu Qinian acted as though he had seen nothing at all. After staring at Zhu Xu for two seconds, issuing his warning through nothing but eye contact, he looked past him to find his actual target. “Gu Tang, come out.”
Zhu Xu: “!!!”
This late at night, in the dark, just the two of them… What was this cold-faced king of hell dragging his little roommate out for?
Was he going to bully him again?!!
No!
With a heroic sense of righteousness, Zhu Xu stepped in front of Gu Tang and offered up his half-eaten cup of noodles with both hands. “I surrender voluntarily! Don’t make things hard for Tang Tang! If you want to bully him, then you’ll have to step over my body first!”
Gu Qinian sliced him with a cold look that said what is wrong with you, then simply stretched out his arm and pulled Gu Tang over.
Bang—
The dorm room door shut right in front of Zhu Xu’s eyes. For the second time that day, his little roommate had been taken away by the king of hell.
Zhu Xu: “Slurp.”
Mom, why are my legs trembling?
Holding his noodles, now nearly cold, Zhu Xu suddenly paused.
Wait… had he seen wrong?
Did that king of hell just now have a pink little floral lunch bag in his hand??
“The butler is really thoughtful. He even remembered that you like pink.”
When Gu Tang opened the lunch bag, he could not help thinking of young master Gu sitting on that pink kindergarten bed years ago. He began laughing to himself.
“…”
Gu Qinian felt it was necessary to clarify something. “I do not like pink.”
Gu Tang waved a hand at him. “Relax. Only the family knows that secret.”
Gu Qinian: “…”
Forget it. Explaining was pointless.
Gu Qinian returned the confiscated phone to Gu Tang. Of course, that humiliating “ge” recording inside had already been deleted.
Gu Qinian said, “The butler came to deliver a late-night snack. He called you, but your phone was with me.”
Gu Tang was not the type to hold grudges. Once there was food, he forgot everything else. He stuffed a fried shrimp into his mouth, making his cheeks puff up so much that he could barely speak.
Taking advantage of the moment young master Gu opened his mouth, he naturally fed him one too.
It was a habit formed over many years.
Whenever Gu Tang ate something delicious, if there were two pieces, he would feed one to him. If there was only one, he would bite it in half first and then feed him the rest.
Chewing the shrimp the little milk dumpling had fed him, Gu Qinian found his mood improving for no clear reason.
Gu Tang kept his head down and ate, one hand feeding himself, the other efficiently feeding young master Gu. Meanwhile, Gu Qinian lifted a hand to swat away the mosquitoes buzzing around them.
Maybe mosquitoes liked soft, tender targets too.
Gu Qinian himself did not attract many, but one careless moment was enough for soft little Gu Tang to end up covered in bites.
The lunch bag had even thoughtfully included sunscreen and mosquito repellent.
Gu Qinian took out the repellent and sprayed some on Gu Tang’s bare ankles.
“So cold…”
Gu Tang sucked in a little breath.
Usually, when the little brat was not being naughty, he was very soft and well-behaved. That tiny intake of breath somehow scraped lightly across young master Gu’s heart.
His wrist shook while spraying the repellent.
Gu Tang grinned. “You missed.”
Gu Qinian: “…”
“Stop talking and eat.”
“Then I’ll keep feeding you.”
The peaceful little meal continued. Once Gu Tang had eaten about enough, and seeing that young master Gu seemed to be in a fairly good mood too, he carefully tested the waters. “School is so far from home. It’s really hard on the butler to come all this way every day.”
Gu Qinian, eating the food Gu Tang was feeding him, did not think much of it. “Mm.”
Gu Tang scooted closer until they were pressed side by side. “From now on, school’s so far away. It’ll be very hard on the butler to drive us every day.”
The summer night breeze carried the other boy’s clean, sweet scent to him.
Young master Gu felt slightly floaty, still not thinking much. “Mm.”
Gu Tang decided the groundwork was probably done and revealed his true intention. “So… should we live on campus?”
Gu Qinian: “Mm…”
“Mm?”
Gu Tang had known it would not be that easy to get young master Gu to agree.
In fact, all these years, young master Gu had never actively made friends. Through Gu Tang, he had only occasionally looked at the outside world through a window.
That would not do.
The Boss Gu in the original novel might have been powerful, but he had never had companions, nor anyone he could truly trust.
Maybe loneliness was the fate of the strong, but Gu Tang did not want Gu Qinian to become like that.
It would have to be done slowly. There was no rushing it.
Gu Tang rubbed his full stomach. At least tonight he would be able to sleep soundly.
Then the two of them each returned to their own dorm room.
The moment he stepped inside, Zhu Xu popped out like a ghost, resting his head on Gu Tang’s shoulder. “You smell like his food. My nose has committed a sin.”
Gu Tang: “…”
Did he have a dog’s nose or what?
Zhu Xu licked his lips. “Confess! What delicious stuff did you eat?”
Gu Tang smiled and took out a small food bag for him. “I saved you some.”
Good brothers were supposed to share.
Zhu Xu nearly burst into tears. “I’m moved!!!”
Gu Tang looked around the room. Song Chen was nowhere to be seen, and only Xie Qian was sitting on his bed looking at sheet music.
He walked over and asked Xie Qian whether he wanted a little late-night snack too.
Xie Qian had handsome features and a gentle demeanor, but there was always a feeling of keeping people a thousand miles away.
It was different from Gu Qinian’s coldness. Gu Qinian was like an icy blade—his rejection was displayed clearly on the surface, though he was actually soft inside. Xie Qian, on the other hand, looked polished and courteous on the outside, but his core was hard and cold.
Xie Qian lifted his eyelids. There was a smile on his face, but no warmth in it. “You’re too kind. You two eat it yourselves.”
“Then it’s all mine! It’s so good, sob sob sob…”
Zhu Xu pounced over without any hesitation and polished off the portion Gu Tang had meant to save for Xie Qian.
As he ate, he said, “Gu Qinian seems pretty decent. He even brought you food. Is he bringing you more tomorrow?”
Gu Tang shook his head. “No.”
He was going to tell the butler not to trouble himself coming from so far away.
Zhu Xu looked a bit disappointed, but once he thought about the fact that his little roommate had not actually been bullied, he still felt fairly happy.
When it was finally time to sleep, Gu Tang’s phone lit up.
He had received a text from young master Gu.
Niannian: [Are you asleep yet?]
Gu Tang narrowed his eyes and typed back: [So you hid a phone too.]
Niannian: [Mm.]
Just “mm”?!
Gu Tang: [Is this really the kind of example a student council officer should be setting? (angry muttering)]
Niannian: [It wasn’t my choice.]
So now he was blaming whoever had selected him for the student council, was he?
Gu Tang knew better than anyone that there was no reasoning with young master Gu.
Then another message came.
Niannian: [Wherever you sleep, I’ll sleep too.]
There was no lead-in and no explanation.
But Gu Tang understood at once.
Young master Gu had given in. He was willing to stay in the dorm now.
Instead, Gu Tang began worrying about him and asked: [Won’t you feel the conditions are too bad?]
Conditions too bad…
Lying on his dorm bed and staring at the white ceiling overhead, Gu Qinian thought of the orphanage from his last life.
Back there, the ceilings had never been this clean. In summer, cobwebs were the least of it. Snakes, bugs, mice—those had all been common.
So he replied: [No.]
After thinking a little, Gu Tang sent another message: [We probably won’t be able to sleep together. School rules say students not in the same class can’t be assigned to the same dorm.]
Reading that message, Gu Qinian reached out to the empty space beside him, and the corners of his mouth turned down.
He was not very happy.
The day’s training had been too exhausting. Gu Tang fell asleep in a daze before the reply came.
Only then did his phone light up again.
A new message appeared.
Niannian: [The rule has been deleted.]
The next day, it rained.
All outdoor military training was suspended, and the entire school gathered indoors to watch a movie.
They were showing an old film with strong educational value, one that Gu Tang had gone to the cinema to see with young master Gu back in elementary school.
He watched the whole thing with great interest. Meanwhile, young master Gu rested his head on one hand and had long since fallen asleep, still holding the popcorn Gu Tang had fed him in his mouth.
Thinking of those old times, Gu Tang’s mind wandered for a moment.
Just then, a classmate came over with a message saying the dean wanted him in the office.
What for?
Gu Tang had always been a good child, the kind teachers praised as a model student. But since his phone had been confiscated just yesterday, he felt a bit nervous.
Could it be that the dean wanted to investigate further?
The moment he stepped into the office, he was surprised to find Zhu Xu and Xie Qian there too.
When the dean saw him arrive, he beckoned kindly. “Come over. I called you here because I want to talk about the dorm arrangements.”
It was very simple.
First, he confirmed whether the three of them intended to live on campus. Second, he informed them that Song Chen lived nearby and would not be staying in the dorm after training. A student from the experimental class would be reassigned to move in after military training, and the dean wanted them to get familiar with him in advance.
As he was speaking, a familiar figure appeared in the doorway.
Gu Qinian stood there tall and straight like a green bamboo stalk.
Gu Tang: “?”
“Wasn’t there a rule saying students from different classes couldn’t mix in dorms?”
The dean smiled kindly. “Ah, that unreasonable rule has already been deleted. It was causing too many empty beds in the dorms, which was a waste of school resources. The money saved in the future can also be used for campus improvements.”
Gu Tang still felt like he was in a dream. This was way too much of a coincidence.
Last night, he had only just discussed this with young master Gu. And today the rule was already gone?
The dean said warmly, “We should especially commend student Gu Qinian. He’s only just taken office in the student council, and yet he immediately identified a flaw in the school regulations and corrected it. Truly outstanding.”
Standing as straight as a pine tree, Gu Qinian declared in a ringing voice, “To serve the students!”
Gu Tang: “???”
***
Author’s Note:
Tang Tang: Keep acting. Go on, keep acting.
