Chapter 34: Pink “Dislike” and a Sickbed Visit
On the computer screen, the posts on the school forum were still climbing nonstop.
In just the short time the two of them had been talking, who knew how many more people had bumped the thread.
Looking into Gu Tang’s eyes, Gu Qinian said seriously, “Since the family treats you well, and you like this home too, then stay here without worry.”
“But these posts…”
If they did not clear things up, the posts spreading rumors about the Gu family heir would continue to exist.
Gu Tang was worried that because of him, the Gu family would end up in trouble.
“Posts? What posts?”
“I can’t see any posts.”
Gu Qinian let out a short scoff. His long fingers tapped the keyboard, logged into a red account, and then he pressed just one key—
In an instant, the dense mass of posts was wiped clean.
“!!!”
Gu Tang’s round eyes widened.
He leaned closer to look.
There really was not a single one left!
“Administrator account. One-click delete function.”
Young master Gu curved his lips in satisfaction. “Pretty useful.”
Gu Tang was dumbfounded.
No way!
Just silencing everyone directly?
That was so simple and brutal!!!
“What else was I supposed to do?”
Gu Qinian crossed his arms and scoffed lightly. “Is publicly discussing another family’s private business some kind of friendly behavior? They were rude first. Deleting the posts is completely justified. Did you expect me to give them some gentle explanation too?”
Not only was there no need to explain, he had even used the administrator account to delete the posts openly.
It made the message to everyone discussing and spreading the matter crystal clear—
Deleting the posts was just a warning. If they kept going, it would not end so simply.
On the small scale, the student council had the authority to regulate speech on the forum, and directly deleting rule-breaking content was perfectly proper. On the larger scale, publicly posting rumors that the Gu family heir was an illegitimate child was enough to get them a legal letter from the Gu family.
Did they really think that hiding behind an anonymous forum and spreading gossip and rumors meant no one could do anything about them?
In the administrator backend, it was perfectly clear who had posted those messages, what grade and class they were in, and exactly what their names were.
The original people who had started spreading it, and those whose words had been especially nasty, had all already been written down in young master Gu’s little notebook, waiting for him to settle accounts after autumn.
Gu Qinian had already been in a bad mood these past two days. Just thinking about Gu Tang wanting to leave the Gu family made him irritated, and he had already been wanting to find someone to take it out on.
Then this bunch had come along and added fuel to the fire by posting slanderous rumors.
Perfect timing for him to reorganize the rules of the school forum.
“Listen carefully. We don’t need to explain our family’s matters to everyone. Besides…”
The moment Gu Qinian stood up, Gu Tang was immediately covered by his shadow.
[That brat—when did he grow so tall?!]
The system was startled by the sudden pressure and could not help grumbling.
Gu Tang had once worried that young master Gu’s growth spurt had come too early, and that maybe he would run out of momentum and stop growing. But now he was more worried that if he kept growing at this speed, he might punch through the ceiling.
Young master Gu stood right in front of him, very close.
Gu Tang had no choice but to tilt up his face and continue the topic from just now. “Besides what?”
Gu Qinian looked at the innocent boy in front of him and smiled slightly. “Besides, it would be fine if you were the heir. If you inherit the Gu family in the future, then you won’t keep thinking about leaving.”
Gu Tang froze. “How could that work?”
“Why couldn’t it?”
Gu Qinian’s eyes darkened. “So you really have been thinking about leaving?”
[Host! I-I-I’m feeling a little scared. Maybe we should raise the dislike value another day. Y-you should run first?]
[As long as the green hills remain, there’ll be firewood later!]
The system was trembling so hard it could barely hold onto the dislike-value progress bar.
Distracted by the interruption, Gu Tang did not react right away and asked blankly, “Leave… go where?”
“Nowhere.”
Young master Gu bent down and hugged him.
Gu Qinian rested his chin in the crook of his neck and wrapped his arms tightly around him. Gu Tang was not strong, and when he struggled a little, he could not break free at all. His whole body was trapped.
“Niannian…”
“Mm?”
Gu Tang swallowed and said with difficulty, “You’re squeezing me a little.”
Gu Qinian: “……”
The arms around him loosened a little, and only then could Gu Tang finally breathe properly again.
That hug had been way too tight!
It felt like young master Gu was trying to squash him flat!
He could tell that the other boy’s mood was bad, and… that he seemed strangely insecure.
After thinking it over, Gu Tang vaguely guessed what had made young master Gu unhappy. It was probably that day when he said he wanted to buy a little house and live a small life, but he had not included Gu Qinian in it, so young master Gu had gotten upset.
Then, on top of that, he had seen those awful posts. It would have been strange if he had stayed calm.
Gu Tang raised a hand and patted young master Gu’s back. “Don’t worry. I’m not leaving.”
The mission still was not finished. Where could he even go?
And by the time all the missions were finally done, maybe even if he did not want to leave, young master Gu would be the one driving him away.
So anyway… he would just let things happen naturally.
Gu Qinian was still young right now. It was normal for teenage boys to be clingy.
Wasn’t he himself also still unable to give up sleeping with his plush teddy bear?
As his thoughts wandered off, Gu Tang quietly thought that when the day came that he really did have to leave, he would definitely take that teddy bear with him. That bear looked so much like young master Gu that if he could not see him anymore in the future, he could at least think of him when looking at it.
Of course, in order to keep young master Gu’s mood from getting even worse, he only thought those things silently and did not say them out loud.
Patting the other boy’s back as he soothed him, Gu Tang said, “We’ll always be brothers.”
“……”
Gu Qinian said nothing. After a long while, he moved his head and rubbed against Gu Tang affectionately, like a child.
The loose hair at young master Gu’s temples and his ear brushed against Gu Tang’s neck, making it ticklish.
Gu Tang had always been ticklish, so he could not help shrinking back a little.
Perhaps sensing that he was uncomfortable, the other boy kindly let him go. Young master Gu lowered his crow-feather-like lashes and stared at him without blinking with those pitch-black eyes.
Was that… it now?
He was not angry anymore? His mood had recovered too?
After being rubbed against for half the night, Gu Tang waved a little hand at him. “Then go to sleep. Good night.”
The posts had all been deleted, and he had already made things clear to young master Gu.
It was time to go upstairs and sleep.
Yet before he could turn away, Gu Tang felt his clothes tighten.
Looking down—
The corner of his shirt was being held by a pale, long-fingered hand with clear knuckles.
Young master Gu still said nothing. He just silently held onto him. Gu Tang tugged at his clothes, but the other showed no intention of letting go.
“?”
Drawing on years of experience, Gu Tang probed, “Do you want me to sleep here?”
Young master Gu still did not say anything. He only clenched his hand a little tighter, and for some reason, his ears turned slightly red too.
Gu Tang found it rather novel.
In the past, young master Gu had hated sleeping together with him the most.
How had he suddenly changed like this?
Gu Tang licked his lips and continued testing, “Then should I go get my pillow and teddy bear?”
“Mm.”
At last, young master Gu gave a quiet reply and let go of his shirt, as if granting permission.
Gu Tang: “???”
He knew he was tsundere, but he had not known he was this tsundere.
If you wanted to sleep together, couldn’t you just say so?!
He himself always said things directly and openly.
Still…
Although the boy in front of him had a tall and straight figure, right now he stood there with lowered brows and eyes, and his beautiful black eyes seemed to hold a trace of pleading as he looked at him.
Hiss—
Gu Tang did not know whether anyone else could withstand a look like that, but he definitely could not.
It was like one of those cold, proud black cats that one day suddenly walked up to you and asked to be petted and held. Not directly, of course, but by pretending to casually pass by and brushing your leg over and over with its soft fluffy tail.
Gu Tang could not resist. He lifted his hand, stood on tiptoe, and patted the other boy’s cat-like head.
The hair beneath his fingers was slightly cool, soft, smooth, and silky. It felt wonderful.
After petting one side, Gu Tang was about to withdraw his hand when young master Gu silently shifted a little and placed the other side of his head under his hand too, the side that had not been petted yet.
Gu Tang: “!”
Oh heavens, the awkward little brother was so cute!
Gu Tang used both hands this time and rubbed young master Gu’s whole head thoroughly, making sure both sides got equal treatment.
Once he had fully satisfied himself by petting Gu Cat, Gu Tang cheerfully went upstairs to get his pillow and teddy bear. At that moment, the system’s voice rang out in his head.
[…That changes color too?!]
The system suddenly howled without context.
Gu Tang asked, “What?”
[The dislike-value progress bar! How did it turn pink too?!]
The plot sea changing color had already been strange enough. Now even the dislike-value progress bar was changing too. It was outrageous!
Gu Tang thought the system was making too much fuss over nothing. “That’s not weird. Niannian has liked pink since he was little.”
Back in kindergarten, he had even picked the pink bed for nap time.
[No, I still think something is very, very wrong!]
[Host, think about it. With the atmosphere you and the male lead just had, do you think he actually dislikes you? Even if you complete every plot point, what if at the very last moment he doesn’t press you down—what then?]
Gu Tang paused. “That’s true. What do we do then?”
All along, his plan had been to complete as many plot tasks as possible without hurting young master Gu.
So far, he had already completed quite a lot.
But young master Gu showed absolutely no signs of disliking him!
[…Host, what are you smiling about?]
Gu Tang quickly covered his mouth, but he still could not stop the corners of it from rising.
[Host! Don’t tell me you’re secretly delighted because the male lead is so clingy toward you?!]
The system’s voice sounded full of betrayed indignation.
“No… pfft!”
Gu Tang really could not hold it in.
Sorry, but he was still savoring the memory of that Gu Cat who had lowered his head and let him pet it.
[…]
Why was it that in this two-person project, only the system seemed to be the one working hard now?!
The system was unhappy.
Gu Tang hurriedly soothed it. “Alright, alright. Then let’s think of a way to raise the dislike value.”
[It’s a bit troublesome…]
The progress bar turning pink was already absurd enough, and now even the words “dislike value” printed on it had gone fuzzy. The system had no idea what to do about it.
It decided to go ask its senior again.
This was not the first time Gu Tang had heard the system say it went to a senior whenever there was a problem, so he grew curious. “Doesn’t your senior get annoyed?”
[No. Senior is a very gentle system.]
“That’s nice.”
Gu Tang was honestly happy that the system had such a good senior and asked with concern, “What kind of system is your senior?”
[A yandere-crazy-villain system.]
Gu Tang: “……”
Wait a second!
Maybe it would actually be better not to bother Senior after all!
But before he could say it aloud, the system had already run off without a trace.
Gu Tang sucked in a sharp breath right where he stood.
His little cannon-fodder system—was in danger!
By the time Gu Tang came downstairs carrying his little pillow and plush teddy bear, young master Gu was already lying in bed and had even left space for him on one side.
Gu Qinian had always slept neatly since childhood.
Flat on his back, perfectly straight, never tossing around all night.
Unlike Gu Tang, who liked to roll around.
Gu Tang touched his nose somewhat sheepishly, climbed into bed holding the teddy bear, and placed it between their two pillows.
Plop—
The teddy bear was thrown aside by young master Gu.
Gu Tang: “?”
What had the poor bear ever done to him?
Gu Tang picked the bear back up and carefully placed it again in the little dip between their two pillows.
Plop—it got thrown aside again.
“It blocks my view.”
Gu Qinian glared at the teddy bear in disgust.
Feeling bad for the bear, Gu Tang pouted and muttered, “We’re going to close our eyes and sleep anyway. What view is it blocking? Who exactly are you trying to look at in the middle of the night?”
With the teddy between them, it would separate them and block the sight of each other.
Who wanted to look at a plush bear when they had finally managed to sleep together?
Gu Qinian was irritated, but he still refused to say anything directly, keeping his face stiff and silent.
Gu Tang felt that young master Gu was being a little unreasonable tonight. The one who wanted him to come downstairs and sleep there had been him, and now the one disliking his teddy bear was also him.
Forget it. Cats were always like this, changing moment to moment.
Since you’re cute, I’ll let it slide.
With a generous heart, Gu Tang lay down and reached out to pull the teddy bear back into his arms to hold.
But in the next second—
Young master Gu lifted one leg and directly kicked the teddy bear off the bed.
Gu Tang: “?!!”
Ahhh!
Now he was really angry!!!
There was a limit to what one could tolerate!
“So you kicked my teddy bear? You kicked my teddy bear, huh?!”
Gu Tang shot upright and ground his teeth as he glared at young master Gu. Seeing that the other boy still looked indifferent, he let out a howl and pounced on top of him. “Then you can be the teddy bear!”
He had grown up over the years and didn’t casually bite people anymore, so young master Gu had forgotten how dangerous he was!
Gu Tang pinned Gu Qinian beneath him, held his head, tilted to one side, and then—chomp—bit his ear.
“Now you know how powerful I am, right?!”
With his mouth still latched onto the other’s ear, his words came out slurred.
Gu Tang even huffed as he threatened him.
The instant the other boy pounced on top of him, Gu Qinian’s whole body trembled.
The skin of the ear was very sensitive, and now a damp heat pressed against it. Every word Gu Tang spoke sent a current of electricity straight into his ear canal.
His pupils contracted violently.
Almost in a panic, Gu Qinian reached out and shoved the other away.
Gu Tang sat on the bed, blankly watching the hurried retreating back of young master Gu as he rushed into the bathroom.
He had not even put on slippers.
“That urgent…”
Gu Tang scratched his head and thought that next time, he really needed to remind young master Gu that holding in pee was bad.
He climbed down from the bed, picked up the teddy bear lying on the floor, and dusted off imaginary dirt. The floor was covered with soft carpeting, and the house staff cleaned often, so it was actually very clean and the bear was perfectly fine to go back onto the bed.
After lying there hugging the teddy bear for a while, Gu Tang gradually started feeling that something was off.
So long?
He could still faintly hear the sound of water running from the bathroom.
A little worried, he padded over in his slippers and knocked on the bathroom door a few times. “Niannian, did you pee your pants?”
“……”
There was a short silence from inside, and then a stiff reply in two words: “No.”
If not, then why was he bathing?
Gu Tang could not make sense of young master Gu’s behavior, so he went back to bed and prepared to sleep.
Just as he was drifting into a half-dreaming state, he vaguely felt the blanket lift and a cold body slide in beside him.
Although the other person deliberately kept some distance, the chill still made Gu Tang shiver a little.
The other party seemed to notice. He tucked Gu Tang in tightly with the blanket, then went and got another quilt for himself.
The cold autumn night made sleep feel good.
Wrapped in a soft quilt, Gu Tang felt very comfortable and soon drifted off again.
He slept through the whole night without dreams.
“Achoo————”
The next morning began with one sneeze from young master Gu.
Gu Qinian had caught a cold.
He had a fever, headache, sore throat, and a blocked nose.
It looked pretty serious.
The Gu family doctor came specially to examine young master Gu at home, and after checking him over, gave the conclusion: “Caught a chill. Wind-cold.”
Gu Tang touched young master Gu’s forehead.
Burning hot.
“What were you doing taking a cold shower in the middle of the night for no reason?”
“Shut up.”
Gu Qinian’s lips were pale, but his cheeks were flushed with the sickly red of fever. After saying those two hoarse words, he started coughing.
Seeing him in this beautiful-but-sick state made Gu Tang feel sorry for him too. He rubbed his hands warm and then patted his chest gently to ease his breathing. “There, there, don’t get upset. Next time we won’t take cold showers anymore, okay…”
“A cold shower for what?”
Su Mei looked at her bedridden eldest grandson and was completely baffled. “This house has hot water available twenty-four hours a day.”
Gu Tang privately suspected that young master Gu had wet his pants, but boys at this age cared terribly about pride, so he pressed his lips together and chose not to say anything. He even gave the other a look that said, See? I’m loyal, right?
Gu Qinian: “……”
Gu Qinian closed his eyes. He himself could not explain clearly why he had needed a cold shower, so he could only answer dryly, “Nothing. I just felt hot.”
That wasn’t exactly a lie.
The moment Gu Tang had bitten his ear last night, he had felt as if a fire were about to burst out inside his body.
If he hadn’t taken a cold shower, he wouldn’t have been able to suppress that strange heat at all.
As for the reason, he himself didn’t understand it.
He had never had that kind of feeling before his rebirth either.
Hearing that, Su Mei became even more worried. “But the weather isn’t even hot anymore. Could there be some other problem with your body?”
“It’s fine, don’t worry.”
The doctor was still standing right there, and with a knowing expression he said, “He’s at that age. Feeling overheated now and then is normal. The child is growing up.”
Su Mei suddenly understood. “So that’s what it is!”
Gu Tang tilted his head foolishly. “That’s weird. Then why don’t I feel hot?”
That single question made both Su Mei and the doctor laugh.
Gu Tang and Gu Qinian both remained confused.
The two of them exchanged a glance and saw the same blank bewilderment in each other’s eyes.
No matter what the reason for the cold shower had been, the reality was that young master Gu now had a feverish cold.
To avoid spreading germs, Su Mei separated the two boys.
Gu Tang lay in his own room and sent messages downstairs to young master Gu.
[Niannian, are you still hot?]
Gu Qinian had finally managed to get his fever down a little. The moment he saw the message, he immediately replied with a string of ellipses.
Gu Tang had long since grown used to the other’s reticence, and it was the same even in text. He continued asking on his own.
[Niannian, what did you eat tonight?]
[Porridge.]
The other side sent back one word—with punctuation.
That meant his physical condition had already improved quite a bit!
Gu Tang smiled as he typed again.
[Are you hungry now?]
[A little.]
In truth, Gu Qinian was not hungry at all. The fever had made him lose his appetite, and being able to drink a bowl of porridge at night had already been pretty good.
He just inexplicably wanted to draw a little more of Gu Tang’s attention.
But after sending that message, the other side fell silent.
As if the question had only been a perfunctory “Have you eaten?”
“Little heartless thing.”
Curled up in his blanket, his nose so blocked that his voice sounded nasal, Gu Qinian muttered it softly.
Still, he also knew that it was better if Gu Tang stayed away from him.
Otherwise the two of them might both end up sick…
Knock knock————
A faint light knocking sounded at the door.
A light flickered in Gu Qinian’s black eyes. “Come in.”
The next second, the bedroom door cracked open, and a fluffy little head poked in through the gap.
“I brought you food!”
Gu Tang whispered dramatically, as if speaking some secret code for underground operatives.
He did not want to be sneaky about it, but Grandma Mei was terrified that he would catch the cold too, so she had been watching him closely and firmly refused to let him go near young master Gu’s room.
He had only made it over because he waited until grandma had fallen asleep and then slipped out secretly.
Gu Qinian felt torn too.
On the one hand, he really wanted to see Gu Tang. Once people got sick, they became much more fragile than usual, and their desires also became harder to control. If he wanted to see him, then he wanted to see him. He did not have the energy to hide that.
But on the other hand, he was afraid of getting Gu Tang sick too.
“Go out.” Gu Qinian covered his nose and mouth and tried to chase him away.
Gu Tang pouted and lifted the food in his hands. “I worked so hard to sneak this out of the kitchen, and the first thing you do when I come in is drive me away…”
Gu Qinian’s voice was hoarse. “What if I infect you?”
“Then we can lie around together.”
Gu Tang grinned and came in anyway, pushing the door closed with his foot. “Isn’t that your dream?”
Gu Qinian couldn’t keep up the cold front anymore and laughed. “I was just talking nonsense.”
That day when he heard Gu Tang say he wanted to leave the Gu family, his chest had felt stifled, so he had only answered randomly.
He had not expected Gu Tang to remember it this whole time.
Young master Gu’s features were gorgeous enough under normal circumstances. Usually, his icy beauty alone was enough to dazzle. But now, when he smiled while ill, it was like a red lotus blooming on a snow mountain studded with icicles.
Gu Tang was almost instantly struck by that smile.
He stared, dazed, for quite a while.
When he had been reading the novel, he had thought all the descriptions of how handsome the future Boss Gu was had been exaggerated.
But after seeing the real person, he realized that words actually made it seem too pale.
“Niannian, you should smile more often.”
Gu Tang said it sincerely. “When you smile, it makes people want to dig out their hearts and hand them to you.”
Gu Qinian lifted a brow. “What about you?”
“My heart’s always been with you!”
Carrying the food over and plopping down by the bedside, Gu Tang said in a coaxing tone, “What kind of older brother wouldn’t love his younger brother?”
At those words, Gu Qinian’s smile vanished.
Gu Tang froze. “Smile, smile—why’d you stop smiling?”
“Tired. Can’t smile.”
Young master Gu closed his eyes, feeling irritated.
He had no idea when it started, but every time Gu Tang talked about older brother and younger brother, it annoyed him.
He always felt that once he accepted that relationship, he and Gu Tang would never become any closer than they already were.
But they were already inseparable, already slept in the same bed—how much closer could they even become?
Gu Qinian didn’t understand it himself, and not understanding only made him more frustrated.
“Don’t move, let me feel whether you’re still hot.”
A soft palm pressed against his forehead.
That strange fire from last night immediately showed signs of rising again.
Gu Qinian turned his face aside. “There’s an ear thermometer.”
“Oh.”
Reminded by him, Gu Tang turned and found the thermometer on the bedside table. He checked him with it. “36.7. The fever’s gone! Nice, nice. Niannian works out a lot, so your body really is strong!”
As he spoke, Gu Tang cheerfully squeezed the other boy’s arm again. “Very sturdy.”
“……”
The boy before him still wore that obedient, harmless little face, his eyes curved into crescents, smiling sweetly.
Gu Qinian’s Adam’s apple shifted, and he turned his head away.
Letting the other continue squeezing him.
A moment later, Gu Tang cried out, “Niannian, why are your ears red again? Are you getting a fever again?!”
Gu Qinian: “……”
At that very moment, the system came rushing back in a cloud of metaphorical dust.
This was a disaster. Even Senior had never encountered such a difficult problem before.
Still, Senior had told it that no matter what color the dislike-value progress bar turned, as long as the number could rise, it usually wouldn’t affect the plot.
The real problem would be if the number refused to go up!
The system had been worrying over exactly that. With the way the host and the male lead were getting along, how could the dislike value ever possibly rise?!
Just look at them—while it had been gone, the two of them had been laughing and playing around again.
The system felt helpless.
The system sighed.
With no real hope, it pulled out the progress bar to check—
Huh?!
It had gone up!
The pink dislike value had actually increased!!!
