Chapter 38: The President’s Favorite Person
As vice president of the student council, the daily task of checking the dorms had fallen onto Song Chen’s shoulders.
He checked room by room all the way up from downstairs. When he reached the top floor, he found Xie Qian and Zhu Xu standing outside their dorm room, both red in the face.
“Why are you standing out here?”
Song Chen walked over in concern. “Did you forget your key?”
“Not exactly…”
Xie Qian and Zhu Xu were both confused themselves and didn’t really know how to explain.
They had come out in a hurry just now, so they hadn’t seen clearly. They had only vaguely caught sight of Gu Qinian doing something outrageous while holding onto Gu Tang, and the two of them had no idea what the pair were fooling around with.
In the past, they definitely would have shouted that they wanted to join in.
But today the atmosphere was a little strange…
It just felt like they couldn’t join!
Song Chen listened to their messy explanation and frowned. “What kind of thing can two people do that four people can’t?”
As he spoke, he took hold of the metal doorknob and gave it a light twist.
Xie Qian and Zhu Xu wanted to stop him, but they were already too late.
The moment Song Chen pushed the door open, he saw one of Gu Tang’s long pale legs resting over Gu Qinian’s shoulder.
“…”
Vice President Song steadied himself and forced a calm expression. “Isn’t this totally normal? It’s just brothers helping each other relax their muscles…”
Before he could finish, Gu Qinian’s gaze pinned him like an icy blade.
“Out.”
“Got it!”
Song Chen immediately turned around, closed the door, and even locked it.
Then the three of them squatted outside in a neat row together.
The reason was unclear.
But whatever was happening inside, the atmosphere definitely wasn’t one they could join!
Gu Tang strongly suspected that young master Gu was taking the chance to get revenge.
Over the past ten-plus years, he had randomly occupied young master Gu’s bed, nibbled his little face, and bitten his little ears… sure enough, when you messed with people, sooner or later you had to pay it back.
Now young master Gu was taller than him and stronger than him.
Gu Tang got kneaded and pressed on the bed like a lump of dough for a full half hour before the other finally let him go.
“Brother—”
Gu Qinian had only said a single word before Gu Tang lunged over and covered his mouth.
“Don’t say it anymore, don’t say it anymore!”
The tears brought on by physical reflex still hadn’t completely faded from Gu Tang’s eyes, leaving his amber-colored pupils watery.
He had practically developed a conditioned response now. The moment he heard the word “brother,” his whole body started feeling weak and sore.
“You’re not allowed to call me brother anymore!”
Gu Tang sounded utterly aggrieved.
Gu Qinian’s lips were pressed against the soft warmth of the boy’s palm. In a very good mood, he curled his lips into a smile and nodded: alright.
After that round of massage from young master Gu, the soreness in Gu Tang’s body really had eased a lot, but for some reason he still felt like he had suffered a huge loss, so he stayed in a bad mood.
He turned toward the wall and curled himself up into a little ball.
Seeing him like that, Gu Qinian suddenly remembered something from their childhood.
Generally speaking, Gu Tang had always been a very good-tempered little child. He didn’t hold grudges and rarely got angry. Most of the time he was cheerful and carefree, with a mindset that was unbelievably good.
He even liked pulling little pranks now and then.
Usually, it was Gu Tang who annoyed him. There were very few chances for him to make Gu Tang upset.
But there was one time he remembered very clearly.
It had been back in kindergarten. Gu Tang had again tried every possible way to get him to call him brother.
The little milk-dumpling came pattering over to him and said very seriously, “Niannian, let’s compete at lunch. Whoever eats more gets to be the older brother.”
Did Gu Tang really think he wouldn’t understand his little scheme?
At home, whenever the two of them ate together, Gu Tang usually ate more. The little milk-dumpling had thought he was guaranteed to win.
Gu Qinian had originally wanted to answer with “boring,” but for some reason, when he saw those bright round eyes sparkling with anticipation, he actually nodded.
And yet, who could have expected it?
That day’s lunch was green peppers, the food Gu Tang hated most.
The whole meal, the little milk-dumpling wore a painful expression like he was suffering. His tears were practically about to spill out.
But he still kept forcing down spoonful after spoonful.
All just to hear him call him “brother.”
It was just like this 3,000-meter long-distance race. Even though it was exhausting, and he barely had any chance of winning, Gu Tang still went all out just to make him say “brother.”
Gu Qinian himself didn’t understand why Gu Tang was so obsessed with being the older brother.
Later, after Gu Tang finally finished the rice mixed with green peppers, he turned around triumphantly. “I finished! Niannian, hurry up and call me brother!”
Gu Qinian didn’t answer. He only showed him his bowl.
It was empty.
The two of them had eaten the exact same amount. Neither of them got to call the other brother.
Gu Tang immediately hugged his own little bowl and ran to the teacher to ask for more rice, but the teacher regretfully told him there wasn’t any rice left. If he was still hungry, there were little snacks.
But they were competing over rice. Snacks didn’t count.
At the time, Gu Tang’s little mouth turned downward, and he looked like someone who had been wronged by the whole world.
How had his mood improved afterward?
Gu Qinian thought back and remembered that it seemed to be because Jiang Yiyi and Jiang Yiwen came to play with Gu Tang that afternoon. The little milk-dumpling, who never held grudges, quickly forgot all about the unpleasantness.
So young master Gu got up and let the three people squatting outside the door back in.
Then he gave the smartest one, Song Chen, a look.
The student council president’s sharp eyes flicked toward the small withdrawn back lying on the bed.
Vice President Song instantly understood.
Song Chen: “…”
The president was really shameless.
He bullied the boy himself, then when he couldn’t coax him back, he actually made them do it!
But this was why the vice president was clever. Song Chen cursed inwardly, but his face didn’t show a thing. In one sentence, he diverted Gu Tang’s attention.
Song Chen said, “Gu Tang got third place in the 3,000 meters. Since everyone’s here for once, should we celebrate?”
Gu Tang loved lively situations. The moment he heard that, he immediately turned around, his eyes sparkling. “How are we celebrating?”
Gu Qinian raised a brow and glanced at Song Chen.
Song Chen understood. The president was praising him.
He gave him a stiff little smile in return.
Gu Qinian said nothing and withdrew his gaze.
He hadn’t picked the wrong person.
Song Chen really was smart.
But for some reason, seeing someone else successfully coax Gu Tang back into a good mood didn’t make Gu Qinian feel all that pleased.
“Let’s eat hot pot!”
Zhu Xu raised a hand with a suggestion. “I want hot pot!”
Xie Qian shoved his hand back down. “You’re not the one who ran 3,000 meters. Let Gu Tang decide.”
Under everyone’s gaze, Gu Tang said shyly, “I want hot pot too.”
Hot pot was something everyone could eat together. How lively was that? In his previous life, he’d never even had anyone to eat hot pot with.
“See! This is what real understanding looks like!”
Zhu Xu started to throw an arm around Gu Tang, but after Gu Qinian shot him a glare, he had no choice but to awkwardly pull it back.
Song Chen, who had been searching for well-reviewed restaurants, looked troubled. “There aren’t any hot pot places near the school. If we go eat in the city center, we probably won’t make it back before the dorm curfew.”
The dorm doors closed at ten every night. After that, no one was allowed in or out.
“Then how are we supposed to go out and eat hot pot…”
Zhu Xu slumped into the back of a chair in disappointment.
Gu Tang had always been very easygoing. If there was food, he would eat it. If there wasn’t, he wouldn’t make a fuss. Celebrating with something else was fine too.
It was just a little disappointing not to be able to eat hot pot together.
Gu Qinian lowered his head and looked at the obedient, gentle side profile of the boy beside him. “Do you really want it?”
Gu Tang answered honestly, “A little.”
“Then we’ll make it ourselves.”
Young master Gu’s tone was indifferent, as if he were saying something completely ordinary. “There’s a supermarket outside the school gate. We can just buy ingredients and bring them back.”
Jiang City No. 1 didn’t actually forbid students from cooking for themselves. Eating hot pot in the dorm technically wasn’t against the rules.
This was, in fact, a loophole in the school regulations. Because very few middle school students actually knew how to cook, the teachers who made the rules had never really considered this possibility.
Gu Qinian had discovered that loophole long ago, but he never suggested fixing it, because he had already anticipated a day like this.
Given how greedy little foodie Gu Tang could be, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t suddenly want to eat something that needed to be cooked in the dorm one day.
He had to leave a back door open for his little greedy cat.
“We can buy ingredients, sure, but who’s going to cook?”
Zhu Xu raised his hand again to ask.
Even though hot pot was simple, the ingredients still needed preparing. Did any of them really look like people who could cook?
“No problem.”
Gu Tang’s eyes curved into crescents as he hugged young master Gu’s arm in one swift motion. “Niannian can cook.”
The other three all froze. “Huh?”
The heir of the Gu family could cook?
Stop joking.
Xie Qian said directly, “If Gu Qinian can tell sugar from salt, I’ll call him Dad.”
Gu Tang looked at him sympathetically.
Xie Qian: “…What?”
Gu Tang: “You may end up with an extra dad today.”
Half an hour later.
Xie Qian stared in shock at the sight of Gu Qinian slicing potato and meat with swift, clean movements. He swallowed and slowly called out, “Dad—”
Gu Qinian frowned without even looking at him. “I don’t have a son that stupid and unhygienic.”
Gu Tang shrugged at Xie Qian in regret. “You’ve been abandoned.”
Xie Qian: “…”
“He called me dirty again!!!”
Xie Qian loudly protested once he finally processed it, but no one paid him any attention.
Everyone was too stunned by young master Gu’s knife skills.
Slicing potatoes and meat was one thing, but he could even cut squid into flower patterns?!
At a glance, it was obvious this was someone who cooked often at home.
Zhu Xu said in admiration, “That’s seriously professional!”
Which raised one very important question.
The dignified heir of the Gu family, with enormous wealth and a whole team of cooks at home just for preparing meals—who exactly had made young master Gu personally step into the kitchen?
The few of them didn’t need to discuss it. Their eyes moved in perfect unison toward Gu Tang.
Gu Tang touched his nose in embarrassment. “I really do bear responsibility for this…”
Young master Gu’s cooking skills had absolutely been forced out by his own greed.
In his previous life, the bland hospital food had been the thing he ate most. When he lay bored in a hospital bed, he loved watching eating livestreams. Watching the streamers eat all kinds of street food made him crave it like crazy.
After transmigrating, he finally got to eat properly. But the Gu family mansion sat hidden on a mountain inside a private residential area, so leaving wasn’t convenient, and ordering takeout wasn’t possible.
The cooks only knew how to make refined, healthy meals. They weren’t good at street snacks.
Madam Su Mei also paid special attention to the children’s nutrition and never allowed the two boys to run out and eat suspicious foods from outside.
So whenever Gu Tang got cravings, all he could do was keep watching food videos and satisfy his hunger with imagination, muttering all the while, “That looks so good, and that too, sob sob sob…”
Young master Gu would say things like, “They’re all junk food. What’s so good about them?”
But then he immediately went and ordered books online like 100 Chinese Snacks, Healthy Snack Nutrition, Win Their Stomach, Win Their Heart… and a whole pile of similar cookbooks.
Some of those cookbook titles were ridiculous, but the content inside was actually pretty good.
Take Win Their Stomach for example. Most of the snacks in it suited Gu Tang’s tastes very well.
It ended up becoming the most-used cookbook of them all!
Whenever Gu Tang flipped to a page and found something he especially wanted to eat, he’d point it out to young master Gu.
And then the two of them would begin their grand “destroy the kitchen” project.
Gradually, the things young master Gu cooked got better and better. Some more complicated snacks, he could reproduce perfectly just by looking at them once.
“In the end, I was the only one still blowing up the kitchen…”
At this point, Gu Tang sounded full of betrayed indignation. “So I just decided I’d stop cooking and only eat.”
It was like two bad students making a promise to keep failing together, only for the second-to-last-ranked one to suddenly get a perfect score. Of course the one in last place would be upset.
Hearing Gu Tang talk about their shared past, the corners of Gu Qinian’s lips lifted slightly.
He didn’t mind Gu Tang sharing stories about their childhood with others.
It was precisely because of those years together
that he was different from everyone else.
Gu Tang was kind to everyone. But if other people treated Gu Tang well, Gu Tang would always remember it and feel he had to pay them back. Only when it came to his kindness could Gu Tang accept it without any burden, never needing to think about repayment.
Because they were family.
Gu Qinian scooped a shrimp ball from the pot and placed it into Gu Tang’s bowl.
The fresh shrimp ball, coated in red chili oil, looked incredibly tempting. Gu Tang instantly forgot the “grudge” of being kneaded around by young master Gu, puffed his cheeks to blow the shrimp cool, and then gobbled it down in one bite.
“So good!”
His eyes curved into crescents, every bit of his expression glowing with happiness, his lips stained bright red from the spicy food.
Gu Tang very naturally let young master Gu wait on him at the hot pot. Whenever he wanted something, he only had to pout slightly toward it, and Gu Qinian would toss the corresponding ingredient into the pot for him.
The other three on the opposite side had no choice but to fend for themselves.
“I’m jealous! I want someone to cook my hot pot for me too!”
Xie Qian stared longingly at Gu Tang, who was already happily eating, while anxiously waiting for his meat slices to finish cooking.
Zhu Xu smacked his lips and said half-jokingly, half-seriously, “Tangtang, if this goes on, what are you going to do later? Once you go off to university and the two of you split up, there won’t be anyone to cook hot pot for you anymore.”
Hearing that, Gu Tang froze. His cheeks, which were puffing and moving like a little hamster chewing food, stopped too.
He had never thought about that before.
According to the plot, it wouldn’t be until young master Gu had fully risen and reversed his fate that it would be time for him, the cannon fodder, to exit. That had made Gu Tang overlook one point: after graduating high school, he and Gu Qinian would very likely get into different universities.
In just over two years, he and young master Gu were going to separate?!
“Exactly!”
Xie Qian reminded him, “Gu Tang, didn’t you tell me that after you leave the Gu family, you’ll go around the world performing with me… mmph?”
Before he could finish, a meatball was shoved into his mouth.
“Eat your food.”
Song Chen glared at him, then shoved another piece of meat into his mouth too. “I’m cooking your hot pot, I’m feeding you, so just eat!”
Xie Qian didn’t realize at all what kind of trouble he’d just caused. Chewing with his mouth full, he looked ready to cry with gratitude. “Mmph mmph mmph!” Brother Song, you’re so good!
Song Chen: “…”
Today, he really had come here to deal with disasters.
“You said you wouldn’t leave.”
Gu Qinian’s tone sounded calm, but something complicated swirled in the depths of his dark eyes.
To Gu Tang, the other boy’s gaze looked wavering, the corners of his mouth were lowered, and his whole body seemed to radiate wounded energy… like a cat that had just been abandoned.
Ah, this…
Back in junior high, when posts about their identities appeared on the school forum, Gu Tang had suggested making an official statement to explain things clearly. For some reason, young master Gu had taken that to mean he wanted to leave.
At the time, young master Gu had looked exactly like this too, even saying that Gu Tang could inherit the Gu family instead.
If the male lead gave up the true young master’s place, the plot would go badly wrong.
So in order to steady him, Gu Tang had immediately slapped his chest and promised that he absolutely wouldn’t leave.
Who knew Xie Qian would suddenly bring up the old issue today…
Looking at young master Gu’s shadowed expression, Gu Tang felt nervous.
Like he was some kind of heartless scumbag.
“I’m not leaving.”
Gu Tang hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth, shifted closer to young master Gu, rested his chin on his arm, and blinked up at him. “We were just talking about which university to apply to after high school…”
Gu Qinian said nothing, just lowered his eyes and stared at Gu Tang’s.
Those ink-dark pupils looked especially sharp. Being stared at like that made Gu Tang feel guilty, and he started making promises without thinking. “Maybe if I work really hard, I can even get into the same one as you!”
The instant he said it, he regretted it.
He didn’t want to grind that hard!
He only wanted to get into some arts university and spend his days painting and playing piano!
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Young master Gu’s hand came up to rest at the back of his neck, the coolness of his palm making Gu Tang tremble slightly.
“You said it yourself. No taking it back.”
Gu Qinian lightly rubbed that patch of skin at the back of the boy’s neck, and after a moment, said in a tone full of satisfaction, “We’ll split into different academic tracks in second year of high school.”
Gu Tang: “…”
Help…
He felt like he had just dug himself a giant hole!
At this rate, when second-year streaming came, he’d have to leave the happy, carefree arts class and jump into the experimental class to grind alongside young master Gu…
But staying stuck to the male lead really would help with completing the plot too.
Gu Tang said pitifully, “Got it…”
Gu Qinian’s mood improved even more. He let Gu Tang go and happily continued putting food into the pot for him.
Everyone else at the table was eating spicy broth. Only young master Gu wasn’t.
They had specifically bought a yin-yang hot pot. Everyone was fishing for food from the red, fiery spicy side, while the clear broth half was exclusively reserved for young master Gu.
A hot pot without spice was an incomplete life.
“If I go into your class, you have to eat the spicy side with me!”
Out of a desire to share good things together, Gu Tang picked up a meatball from the bright red chili oil, blew on it until it cooled, then placed it in young master Gu’s bowl and coaxed him, “Niannian, try it. Spicy stuff is seriously delicious.”
Young master Gu was in a very good mood right now. Forget spicy hot pot—even if Gu Tang handed him poison, he’d probably still open his mouth.
So Gu Tang very smoothly fed the spicy meatball to him.
In the next second, young master Gu started coughing from the heat.
His pale cheeks instantly turned red, the corners of his eyes flushed a vivid crimson, and even those black eyes misted over with a layer of watery haze from the coughing.
Beautiful, yes—but also painfully pitiful.
As the culprit behind this tragedy, Gu Tang panicked.
He hurriedly fed him water, then cupped his face in both hands and made him open his mouth while peering in from side to side. “Let me see! How bad did it get?”
Gu Qinian shook his head to say he was fine, but obediently opened his mouth for Gu Tang to inspect, the corners of his lips even carrying a smile.
Their heads were very close together.
Gu Tang coaxed him, “Niannian, say ahh—”
Gu Qinian stared at his slightly parted lips and obediently answered, “Ahh—”
The other three people watching vaguely felt that something was off, but none of them could quite explain what.
Right then, a flash of white light flickered across the dorm’s wall mirror.
This time even Song Chen noticed it.
He shot to his feet and looked toward the window.
“Someone’s secretly taking pictures of you.”
Song Chen said it with certainty. “It’s someone from our school.”
Across from them was another dorm building. At this hour the school gates were already closed, so anyone inside the dorm area had to be a student of the school.
Gu Tang was still busy checking Gu Qinian’s mouth and couldn’t deal with anything else at the moment. Young master Gu’s lips had been reddened by the chili and looked pitiful.
Pouting, Gu Tang gently blew on them.
It didn’t really have any practical pain-relieving effect, but Gu Qinian clearly enjoyed it very much, because the corners of his mouth lifted even higher.
Seeing him smile, Gu Tang decided he was probably fine, and only then said slowly, “I’ve noticed it several times already. I still don’t know what the point of being secretly photographed is.”
“No need to care. There are surveillance cameras. They can’t get away.”
Gu Qinian sounded slightly sullen. The secretly photographed person had stolen some of Gu Tang’s attention, and that annoyed him.
After the sports meet ended, final exams were still a long way off, so most students entered a pretty relaxed phase.
Except for Gu Tang.
Propaganda department work was leisurely most of the time, sure. But whenever the school had a big event, they became the busiest people of all.
There was a lot of follow-up material after the sports meet. Even though Xinglin Media had helped with filming and editing, the propaganda department was still responsible for reviewing footage and handling coordination. So every day after class, Gu Tang had to come to the student council to work.
The moment he entered, people greeted him on their own initiative.
Gu Tang waved back kindly to his coworkers and then slipped into his own office.
Yes, he had his own private office in the student council.
Propaganda work demanded high-end equipment, so young master Gu had paid out of his own pocket to get him a high-performance computer. And so that he wouldn’t be disturbed while working, he had even specially assigned him a private office.
On top of that, this office was connected to the president’s office.
Back when Gu Qinian was arranging the offices, some student council members had even joked that maybe the president was planning to hide a beauty in a golden house.
Gu Tang had no idea that he was that “beauty.”
He had happily moved into the office and used all the equipment carefully chosen for him by Gu Qinian without the slightest guilt.
Sitting down in the comfortable office chair, he pressed the power button on the computer and glanced at the clock on the wall.
Young master Gu had basketball team practice tonight, so he wouldn’t come to the student council for at least another two hours.
There hadn’t been any new tasks or achievements lately. The plot seemed to have fallen into a stagnant period. And on top of that, the energy he had spent on the 3,000-meter run had only made things worse for his already poor situation—his life points weren’t keeping up with his spending.
These past few days, he could very clearly feel his body growing tired.
He couldn’t even get into the right mindset for work.
Gu Tang stood up, wanting to move around a little and wake himself up.
The moment he stepped out of the office, he saw two second-year senior girls pointing at his office door and whispering to each other, both wearing strange smiles.
Gu Tang: “?”
That kind of expression only ever appeared on Zhu Xu’s face when he was watching TV dramas and shipping couples.
In other words… auntie smiles?
The two senior girls probably hadn’t expected him to suddenly come out. When their eyes met, they froze for a moment. Then they pressed their lips together and smiled even more happily, though they still politely greeted him.
Gu Tang hesitated, then nodded. “Hello…”
The senior girls floated away in delight, leaving behind a completely bewildered Gu Tang.
But his eyesight was good.
He caught a glimpse of the phone screens in their hands and noticed that they seemed to be browsing the school forum.
Gu Tang frowned.
Could it be that the school forum had once again produced some weird new gossip?
And judging from their faces, it was probably about him.
Gu Tang instantly wasn’t sleepy anymore. He turned right back into the office, opened the school forum on the high-performance computer young master Gu had arranged for him, and didn’t even need to search—a strangely titled thread was already floating on the homepage:
[Question: Does anyone know what the student council president likes?]
Not a single word in that title seemed directly related to him.
But Gu Tang’s sixth sense told him: it definitely wasn’t that simple.
He clicked it with the mouse.
This was probably started by one of young master Gu’s fans.
1L: [Photos of the president for the thread opener. [image1] [image2] [image3]…]
“They’re just there to prop up the post, but there are so many photos it takes forever to scroll…”
Gu Tang muttered a little complaint under his breath while silently saving every photo he personally thought looked good.
Most of the photos were taken from very tricky angles. They were probably random candid shots people had taken whenever they ran into Gu Qinian. But young master Gu somehow managed to survive every bizarre angle and even look more handsome in some of the strangest compositions.
Gu Tang clicked his tongue in admiration.
As expected of the male lead he had watched grow up.
It was only natural that someone like young master Gu would have intensely devoted fans.
Finally, after getting past the photo section, he saw the next actual reply.
2L: [Gu Qinian’s hobby is definitely studying. He’s been first place ever since junior high. As long as the president is around, the rest of you are forever concubines.]
But soon someone objected.
7L: [He has good grades, but that doesn’t mean he loves studying! Has anyone ever seen the president attend evening self-study?]
9L: [Then it must be basketball. He still participates in basketball team training.]
10L: [Nonono. The president never hangs around the court either. As soon as training ends, he goes straight back to the dorm. Not even one extra minute.]
Resting his chin in his hand, Gu Tang nodded along.
Exactly.
Young master Gu was quiet by nature. Since childhood, he had loved staying at home, never going out unless necessary.
At heart, he and Gu Qinian were both homebodies.
Luckily, the Gu family home was large enough, with a swimming pool and gardens and all sorts of activity areas that met every daily need, which only made them even lazier about going out.
At school, naturally, they continued the same habit and mostly hid in the dorm instead of wandering around.
Gu Tang kept scrolling through the thread.
13L: [Then it must be student council work. The president said “serve the students.”]
14L: [Wake up. Look at yourself. Do you think we deserve that?]
Then another twenty-something replies all argued about whether the students “deserved” him or not.
Gu Tang rapidly spun the mouse wheel.
He really felt like this thread wasn’t as simple as it looked.
Then, while scrolling, his finger stopped.
Sure enough—
110L: [Do we even need to ask what the president likes? It’s obviously Gu Tang!]
This one reply alone had a five-digit number of likes!
Gu Tang: “???”
***
Author’s Note:
Tangtang: Is this reasonable?!
