Chapter 42: Snow Girl and the Shared Bed
The rescue team was highly efficient and quickly hauled the nanny van out of the frozen river.
Fortunately, there had only been one driver inside. Since help came in time, he wasn’t seriously hurt and was sent to the nearest hospital.
That was thanks in no small part to young master Gu.
Everyone’s attention had been fixed on the spot where the vehicle had gone into the water, completely unaware that the driver had already struggled up from the other side. He had managed to reach the bank, but with his strength spent, he couldn’t pull himself out of the water.
Young master Gu had grabbed him and hauled him up in one pull.
All in all, there were no casualties.
Only young master Gu ended up with wet clothes and pants.
“Niannian, wanting to save someone is good, but you still have to know your limits…”
Gu Tang dragged him into the car and gave him a very serious lecture.
Gu Qinian kept his thin lips tightly pressed together the whole time, saying nothing.
He didn’t even give a single “mm.”
Someone who was so afraid of the cold and hated water so much had jumped into an icy river in the middle of winter without hesitation. What kind of fearless spirit was that?
Gu Tang knew he should praise young master Gu.
But when the words reached his lips, he couldn’t say a single one.
His heart hurt for him.
He was terrified young master Gu would get addicted to saving people and one day jump into another river again.
His Gu Qinian already had a face that was naturally pale, and now from the cold he looked deathly white. His hands were freezing too…
Gu Tang grabbed his hand and rubbed it hard.
Looking into the boy’s clear, clean eyes, Gu Qinian really wanted to tell him that he wasn’t that good-hearted.
At the time, he had thought Gu Tang had fallen into the water. His mind had stopped working in an instant, and his body had moved entirely on instinct before he plunged into the river.
When he saw that Gu Tang was standing safely on the bank without a scratch on him, all he could think about was how to explain the reason he had jumped into the river.
Then, conveniently, the driver drifted over.
So he had only rescued him as a side matter…
In a way, the driver had saved him too.
Gu Qinian felt all those twists and turns would be too complicated to explain. The more he explained, the darker it would sound.
So he simply kept his lips pressed together and said nothing.
Since he said nothing, Gu Tang did all the talking.
As he rambled on and on, Gu Tang suddenly grew puzzled. “Eh? Wait, that’s not right… Niannian, why are you here?”
Damn it…
This had originally supposed to be a surprise.
Gu Qinian had even planned the whole scene.
When they arrived at the ski resort, the moment he stepped out of the equipment van, Gu Tang would definitely first freeze in surprise for a second, his amber eyes widening into perfect little circles, and then they’d curve into two lovely crescent moons as he ran over to him.
Then he’d hug his arm and ask softly, with a bright smile, how he had ended up here.
Now the whole thing was ruined!
What Gu Tang had seen instead was a miserable, drenched version of him.
The more Gu Qinian thought about it, the more irritated he became.
He turned his head aside, pressing his lips into a thin line.
Gu Tang looked at that sharp, elegant jawline and those hesitant lips, then suddenly understood. “You… came here because you followed me, didn’t you?”
Young master Gu bit his lip, and his Adam’s apple moved slightly.
Gu Tang: “!”
That meant yes!
Of course. He should have realized it last night.
The Gu family’s tsundere streak was hereditary, and young master Gu had outdone all his ancestors in that department. Most of the time he either said nothing, or if he did speak, his words had to be read in reverse.
If young master Gu said he didn’t miss him, that meant he did.
If he said he wasn’t coming to see him off, that meant he had followed him all the way here!
No wonder when he texted and called, young master Gu had only answered with little “mm” sounds—he’d been afraid of giving away his location.
Gu Tang’s heart felt sweet. He smiled shyly. “So you jumped into the river because you thought I had fallen in?”
Gu Qinian: “……”
Could they please stop talking about the jumping-into-the-river part?!
Gu Tang felt zero embarrassment. He grinned foolishly and said, “Hehe, Niannian treats me so well… mmph!”
Before he could finish, cold fingers pinched his mouth shut.
Gu Qinian closed his eyes and said slowly, word by word, “No more talking.”
With his mouth squashed flat between the fingers, Gu Tang nodded like a little duck.
Then he reached out to undo young master Gu’s waistband.
Gu Qinian was startled. “What are you doing?!”
Gu Tang: “Mmph mmph mmph!”
Only then did Gu Qinian let go of his mouth and return his freedom of speech.
“Speak.”
Gu Tang’s slender fingers were still hooked in the waistband of young master Gu’s pants. “If you keep wearing wet pants, you’re going to catch cold. Luckily there are spare clothes. We need to change you quickly, or your butt’s going to freeze!”
“……”
Young master Gu imagined his butt frozen solid and found himself speechless for a moment.
Knock knock—
Just then, someone tapped lightly on the car window from outside.
A moment ago, because Gu Tang wanted to help young master Gu change clothes, he had made everyone else get out and wait for a bit.
It was cold outside, and at first Qiu Kaiyi had been reluctant to get out. Then Xie Qian mocked him with, “Senior, do you really want to watch a guy change his pants? That’s kind of weird…”
Only then had Qiu Kaiyi climbed out angrily.
Afraid the others might get impatient and storm back in, Gu Tang shouted toward the outside, “Just a moment, we’ll be done soon!”
But the one knocking on the glass was actually Ye Xiao.
The window was one-way glass, so she couldn’t see inside, but she still deliberately turned her gaze away and only told Gu Tang that she had brought a blanket. It was hanging above the seat, and he could use it if he needed it.
“Thank you, Senior!”
Gu Tang was very grateful.
Young master Gu was soaked, and changing pants directly like that would be uncomfortable. Wiping him down a little with the blanket first would make things much better.
Hearing Gu Tang chatting back and forth with a girl, Gu Qinian frowned. “You know her well?”
Gu Tang searched for the blanket as he spoke. “No, we just met.”
Gu Qinian’s brows drew together even tighter. “She just met you and she’s already lending you a blanket?”
“She’s lending it for you out of kindness.”
Gu Tang finally found the blanket and shook it open. “We’ll wash it clean and return it to Senior Ye later. Or we can just buy her a new one.”
For no reason at all, Gu Qinian felt a wave of irritation. He glared at the innocent blanket and said in a tone cold enough to frost over, “Don’t need it.”
Gu Tang ignored him completely and wrapped him up tightly in the warm soft blanket.
“Stop being difficult. Hurry up and take off your pants!”
“Your clothes are wet too, so change everything!”
At times like this, he had to take on the air of an older brother.
And sure enough.
The moment he got firm, young master Gu really did behave much better.
Wrapped all over in the blanket, Gu Qinian shifted awkwardly. “I’ll change myself. You go out.”
Gu Tang laughed without a care. “Who are we to each other?”
His relationship with young master Gu went all the way back to when they had basically been little toddlers together. What part of the other boy’s body hadn’t he already seen?
Besides, he loved drawing young master Gu. He knew perfectly well how every muscle on Gu Qinian’s body was shaped.
What need was there for him to go out?
Seeing Gu Tang stand there without moving an inch, Gu Qinian let out a breath. “Then move aside.”
With that, he pulled the blanket open and began taking off his top.
The body caught between youth and adulthood was unbelievably beautiful. His skin was white as snow, his muscle lines smooth and resilient. When he twisted his waist, the lines along his lower abdomen disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants, carrying a kind of mysterious beauty…
Usually when Gu Tang drew him, he only observed from a distance. Very rarely did he stare this closely at young master Gu in person.
Inside the narrow car, with the other boy suddenly stripping like this—
the visual impact was way too strong…
Gulp.
Gu Tang instinctively swallowed.
In the silent car interior, the sound seemed especially loud.
Gu Qinian lifted his eyes and looked at him once, then kept going lower.
Whether intentionally or not, the long fingers moving at his waistband slowed down.
Gu Tang stared blankly, his mind completely empty.
His outer pants opened, and the moment Gu Tang caught the outline beneath, he snapped back to his senses and hurriedly jerked his eyes away.
“I think I should get out after all…”
For some reason, his cheeks were burning.
Even he didn’t understand what was wrong with him.
Logically speaking, this shouldn’t be happening…
Whatever young master Gu had, he had too. It was just that the other’s was more… more…
Gu Tang couldn’t even find the words. He just hadn’t expected his Gu Qinian to have developed so healthily these past few years!
Maybe it was some little animal instinct for self-preservation.
In a fluster, he tried to slip past and get out of the car, but Gu Qinian was quicker and blocked him first.
Gu Tang nearly ran face-first into the still-unbuttoned chest beneath the dress shirt.
“Too late.”
Young master Gu’s voice was dark and hoarse.
Gu Tang: “?”
Gu Qinian looked at him with those deep black eyes. “Opening the door will let the cold in.”
Ah, right. Young master Gu hated the cold…
Putting the other boy’s body first above all else, Gu Tang could only keep his blushing face turned away, neck tucked in, and sit there quietly.
Even his ears had gone hot.
Staring at those red ears that had practically turned translucent, Gu Qinian suddenly let out a very soft laugh.
And somehow, hearing that laugh made Gu Tang shiver all over again.
By the time the two of them got out of the car, Gu Tang’s face was still hot.
He patted his own cheeks.
So weird.
Why was it his face turning red just because young master Gu took off his clothes?
After a lot of thought, Gu Tang concluded it was all the weather’s fault.
It was freezing outside but warm inside the car. The temperature kept changing too fast, and his body just couldn’t keep up.
That had to be it!
Ye Xiao was waiting by the car door. When she saw Gu Tang come out with red cheeks and a strange expression, she wanted to step forward and ask if he was okay.
But before she could take more than one step, an icy stare froze her in place.
The student council president’s pitch-black eyes were full of obvious wariness, fixed tightly on her like a beast guarding its prey. If she dared step closer, that beast seemed as if it would tear her apart.
Ye Xiao: “……”
Gu Tang looked up and noticed Ye Xiao standing there in a daze, staring in their direction.
Following her line of sight, he turned around too.
Only to find young master Gu staring back at her.
A high-value young man and young woman locking eyes from a distance was the kind of scene that naturally made people overthink.
Hiss…
This atmosphere…
Only now did Gu Tang remember what the system had said earlier—that after a key turning-point plot, the male lead’s career line and romance line would both begin opening up.
The original novel barely described Future Big Boss Gu’s love life at all.
And that was exactly the problem.
The lack of description left limitless room for imagination.
Gu Tang had died before reaching the end, so he had no idea who Gu Qinian eventually ended up with.
Since that was the case, could it be Ye Xiao?
After all, young master Gu had grown this big without ever staring at any girl for so long.
On the other side, Ye Xiao was getting stared at so hard by Gu Qinian that her scalp was going numb.
She didn’t even know why the student council president seemed to have such strong hostility toward her.
As if she had stolen something precious from him…
“Um…”
Ye Xiao couldn’t take it anymore and was the first to look away.
She was still worried about Gu Tang, but with that “evil dragon” guarding him, she didn’t dare step closer. She could only say from several steps away, “We should all get back in the car soon. It’s too cold outside.”
Gu Tang finally snapped back to himself. “Right, right, everyone hurry back in!”
But the moment he said that, his wrist tightened.
Young master Gu grabbed hold of him and said in a low voice, “Ride in the equipment van with me.”
Gu Tang glanced at the strong, sturdy Qiu Kaiyi and, afraid Ye Xiao might get harassed, shook his head. “No, I have to sit with Senior Ye.”
The second he said that, Gu Qinian’s cold gaze swept back toward Ye Xiao.
If before it had only been wariness, now those deep dark eyes were brimming with hostility, so intense it seemed ready to lash out at any moment.
Ye Xiao took a step back in fright.
She didn’t dare get into the car at all.
Gu Tang failed to notice any of these details. He tugged on young master Gu’s sleeve.
And then something happened that completely astonished Ye Xiao.
The tall, cold student council president’s features softened in an instant. He leaned down slightly and lowered his head, bringing his ear close to the boy’s mouth. Gu Tang whispered a few quick words she couldn’t hear, and the student council president—who had just been murdering people with his eyes—actually curled his lips upward.
The “evil dragon” folded in its wings, as if soothed by magic.
Of course, Gu Tang didn’t have magic.
He had only explained why he needed to sit beside Ye Xiao—namely, to keep an eye on Qiu Kaiyi.
Gu Qinian gave a faint laugh. “That’s easy to solve.”
Straightening up, he turned to Qiu Kaiyi, who was about to get back in the car, and said, “Sorry, Senior. Please ride in the equipment van.”
Qiu Kaiyi froze. “Why?”
Gu Qinian didn’t explain. He only turned his head and looked at him.
A first-year against a third-year sports student. Yet in terms of height, young master Gu wasn’t at any disadvantage at all—if anything, he stood about half an inch taller. And as the heir to the Gu family and someone who had served as student council president for four years, the pressure of a born superior completely pinned Qiu Kaiyi down.
They hadn’t even locked eyes for three seconds before Qiu Kaiyi caved. “…Got it.”
Then he obediently climbed into the equipment van.
Turning back, Gu Qinian smiled faintly at Gu Tang. “Let’s get in too.”
Gu Tang: “???”
“Why did Qiu Kaiyi get so obedient all of a sudden?”
Young master Gu hadn’t even said anything yet!
Beside them, Ye Xiao—who had just endured the student council president’s killing gaze—could only silently think: Who would dare not listen…
Because of Gu Qinian’s appearance, the seating arrangement in the nanny van changed.
Xie Qian got booted over to sit with Ye Xiao.
Gu Tang had no choice but to apologize to her. “Sorry, Senior. Niannian’s a little clingy…”
Ye Xiao gave a dry little laugh.
She wasn’t exactly ignorant of campus gossip.
She’d vaguely heard about the “brother” rumors and later the “couple” rumors about Gu Tang and Gu Qinian on the school forum.
Now that she was seeing this in person, it was no wonder those rumors had appeared at all.
Using the excuse of checking a mirror, Ye Xiao secretly looked into her little compact and glanced toward the back row.
Gu Qinian had his head resting on Gu Tang’s shoulder.
The two of them were stuck together like they’d been glued on.
Gu Tang didn’t think there was anything strange about it.
He and young master Gu slept in the same bed at home. What was the big deal about leaning on each other?
Still, the sudden weight on his shoulder made him a little worried. He raised a hand and touched young master Gu’s forehead, then asked quietly, “You’re not catching cold and getting sick, are you?”
“No.”
Young master Gu’s voice sounded slightly muffled. “I’m sleepy. Let me rest a bit.”
Gu Tang blankly went, “Oh,” and obediently became his pillow.
Where Gu Tang couldn’t see, Gu Qinian took a deep breath.
The boy’s body carried a clear, sweet scent that instantly soothed him, and the tension that had been strung tight inside him finally relaxed.
The car accident from his last life had not happened.
He was fine, and Gu Tang was fine too.
And from now on, they’d continue to be fine too… right?
At last, the vehicle set off again.
Three hours later, they reached the filming location at the ski resort.
Unfortunately, because they had lost so much time on the road, they arrived late. The makeup fitting and camera tests originally planned for that day had to be postponed until tomorrow.
“The bad news is that tomorrow’s filming schedule is going to be pretty tight. The good news is that today, we are free!”
The excitement on Xie Qian’s face was obvious.
After all, no matter how much he tried to act cool, he was still only a teenage boy with limited composure.
No matter how much swagger he wanted to maintain, in the face of absolute excitement, that fake cool façade had to get out of the way.
Gu Tang patted him and told him to calm down a little. “Relax, relax. You’ve competed in so many national and international events already. What’s so special about coming to a ski resort?”
“But when I usually compete, I’m alone!”
Xie Qian’s eyes sparkled with little stars of joy. “This time I’m with friends!”
Ordinary things became especially happy when you did them with friends.
Gu Tang suddenly understood why Xie Qian had abandoned his huge house and come squeeze into their dorm.
He was just like him.
He liked group living and loved lively company!
Since there was no filming anymore, everyone naturally headed back to their rooms.
The original room arrangement had been three girls in one room, three boys in one room, and the dean in a separate room.
But the dean hadn’t come, and instead it was the student council president.
The student council president also insisted on staying in the same room as Gu Tang.
So the boys’ side ended up changing into two double rooms.
Xie Qian immediately objected.
He absolutely did not want to share a room with scumbag Qiu Kaiyi. So after putting away his luggage, he went straight to knock on the room door of Gu Tang and Gu Qinian.
Good friends were supposed to hang out together!
After a long while, the door finally opened a crack.
Xie Qian raised a hand in greeting. “Hi.”
Inside the crack, Gu Qinian lowered his head and looked at him darkly. “Get lost.”
Xie Qian: “???”
“Who is it? Is that Xie Qian?”
Gu Tang’s clear voice came from inside.
Xie Qian glanced sideways at the unfriendly Gu Qinian and called in, “Yep! It’s me!”
Then he ducked his head and slipped in through young master Gu’s side.
Inside the room, Gu Tang was sitting on the bed. He looked as if he had just finished showering, his hair still wet.
Only then did Xie Qian notice the towel in Gu Qinian’s hand.
Sure enough, after closing the door behind him, Gu Qinian walked over, sat behind Gu Tang, draped the towel over his head, and began drying his hair for him.
Although they normally lived in the same dorm, Gu Tang always blow-dried his hair in the bathroom and came out dry, so Xie Qian had never seen the two of them doing this. It looked very intimate.
“Doesn’t this place have hairdryers?”
Xie Qian asked blankly.
“It does.”
Gu Tang yawned hugely. He was probably getting sleepy, because a mist had gathered in his eyes. “But Niannian has a germ thing. He says hotel stuff isn’t hygienic, so he won’t let me use it.”
Only then did Xie Qian notice that the sheets and quilt covers on Gu Tang’s bed had all been replaced with bedding they brought themselves.
That immediately made him stand up and look down at the bed under his own butt.
It still had the hotel’s standard white sheets and bedding.
“You only changed one bed?”
Xie Qian blinked. “You two are planning to sleep together?”
Gu Tang nodded. “It’s warmer.”
Although it was a double room, the bed wasn’t exactly small. It wouldn’t be spacious for two people, but there was definitely enough room.
Xie Qian’s eyes lit up at once, and he bounced once on the mattress. “That’s perfect! Then I’ll sleep in this bed!”
Gu Tang: “Okay.”
Gu Qinian: “Get lost.”
Xie Qian: “???”
How could two people so close give such completely opposite answers?
Xie Qian felt there was really something psychologically wrong with young master Gu. After all, he, the little piano prince, was adored by all who met him and flowers bloomed when he walked by. If someone didn’t like him, then that person was clearly the one with the problem.
Usually there was at least Zhu Xu in the dorm too, so Xie Qian felt he wasn’t actually taking up that much space.
He automatically ignored young master Gu’s “get lost” and happily dragged his luggage over anyway.
Only after lying down did he suddenly realize something and mutter, “That means scumbag Qiu Kaiyi gets a whole room to himself!”
Young master Gu had gone to shower. Gu Tang lay curled under the blanket and poked his fluffy head out. “Then go back?”
“No!”
Xie Qian grinned wickedly. “I told that scumbag a snow woman story to scare him. All he ever does is toy with girls’ feelings. I’m acting on behalf of heaven, punishing evil and upholding justice…”
Gu Tang grew sleepier and sleepier as he listened. He found Xie Qian’s endless chattering especially hypnotic.
“Do you know about snow women?”
Xie Qian asked him.
Gu Tang gave a vague “mm.”
Xie Qian kept talking. “Snow women have skin as white as snow, incredible figures, and they’re super beautiful!”
Gu Tang, half asleep, mumbled, “Isn’t that just Niannian?”
Xie Qian choked.
Ah, okay, actually…
Gu Qinian really did fit all the visual traits of a snow woman.
“But the gender’s wrong! And the species is wrong too!”
Xie Qian forcefully dragged the topic back on track and continued, “Snow women are actually monsters. They lure people over and kiss them, and after they do, they freeze them and suck out their souls!”
[Waaah!!!]
Gu Tang was just about to fall asleep when the system’s scream woke him up inside his head.
Gu Tang asked in surprise, “Why haven’t you clocked out yet?”
[I fell asleep while slacking off…]
[Snow women are so scary, sob sob sob…]
The second it woke up, the poor system had to hear one of the host’s roommates telling a horrifying ghost story!
The system was terrified of this sort of supernatural nonsense and started crying from Xie Qian’s story.
Gu Tang could only secretly comfort it. “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Those things are fake.”
It took a lot of effort before he finally managed to calm the cowardly little system down a bit.
And then, of course, that was exactly when young master Gu walked out of the bathroom after his shower.
His body was long and elegant, his skin white as snow, his lips vivid red, and his slightly damp black hair lay across his forehead, making that already beautiful face look almost eerily enchanting, like some cold, inhuman, bloodless fairy.
He met every single characteristic of a snow woman!
The system was scared half to death.
Before Gu Qinian could even reach the bed, the system scrambled offline like it was rolling away for its life.
It had never clocked out so enthusiastically in its existence.
Gu Tang clicked his tongue. “Such a coward…”
He silently mocked the system in his mind, and the very next second, young master Gu climbed into bed and the cold from his body made Gu Tang shiver.
Young master Gu naturally had cold hands and cold feet.
In summer, hugging him felt very comfortable.
In winter, that wasn’t exactly the case.
But Gu Tang didn’t mind being used as a heater.
He even proactively snuggled himself deeper into the other’s arms.
After all, young master Gu had jumped into an icy river today. It was inevitable that he’d gotten chilled, and after taking a hot bath, it was best to warm him thoroughly again so he’d be less likely to get sick.
Their skin pressed against each other.
Gu Tang immediately felt as if his own warmth were being sucked away.
He quickly tucked the blanket tighter around them and wrapped them up properly, then asked in a low voice, “Are you still cold?”
Gu Qinian lowered his eyes and met a pair of bright, round eyes.
Under the lamplight, the boy’s face looked even softer. His cheeks were pink from being under the blankets, and he looked especially obedient, especially adorable.
The concern in his eyes was completely genuine, and it was precisely that sincere little expression that reached directly into people’s hearts.
Gu Qinian felt his heart tighten.
Seeing him still not answer, Gu Tang started worrying. “You’re not actually getting sick, are you?”
He wriggled under the blanket.
In the very next second, Gu Qinian’s pupils contracted.
“What are you doing?”
Young master Gu’s voice had gone hoarse.
“Why is your voice hoarse too?” Gu Tang became even more anxious. He shoved his own well-warmed leg farther between the other boy’s legs and wrapped one arm around his waist.
Gu Qinian’s whole body went rigid, completely unable to move.
His nose was full of the boy’s clear, sweet scent mixed with a faint shower-gel fragrance, and it made his heart pound wildly.
The more Gu Tang looked, the more convinced he became that young master Gu really was sick.
His face was red, his voice was hoarse, and his heart was beating insanely fast.
“Bundle up properly, bundle up properly.”
He muttered under his breath as he hugged the other tightly, almost wanting to give all his own body heat away. “Be good, Niannian. Tonight we’re going to sweat it out…”
Tomorrow he’d definitely be better.
Xie Qian played on his phone for a while, then turned and saw the two people in the bed beside him pressed together like some giant sesame pancake.
He couldn’t see exactly what was going on under their blankets, but he definitely felt they were way too close. Then he heard Gu Tang’s quiet little words and laughed. “Gu Tang, if Gu Qinian were really a snow woman, he’d drain you dry like this.”
Gu Tang ignored him, his back turned, his face buried in young master Gu’s neck. In a muffled voice he muttered, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Niannian wasn’t like a snow woman at all.
Snow women grabbed people and kissed them, and Niannian would never do something like grabbing him and kissing him.
Thinking that very vaguely, he fell asleep with complete peace of mind.
***
Author’s Note:
Tangtang: He’s very safe. He would never grab someone and kiss them!
Gu Niannian: Not necessarily.
