Chapter 43: Snow Angels on the Slope
Gu Tang wanted to help young master Gu drive out the cold and work up some warmth, so he hugged him tightly, like a little octopus with suction cups.
It was rather impressive that he could even fall asleep in that position.
After lying there for a while, Gu Qinian noticed that Gu Tang had gone still. Hearing the even rhythm of his breathing, he knew the boy had fallen deeply asleep.
The moment he lowered his head a little, his cheek brushed against a fluffy little head.
There was also a faint warm dampness at his neck.
It was Gu Tang’s lips.
The boy had fallen asleep, yet his mouth was still moving as he muttered in his sleep, and those soft, moist lips just happened to rub against the skin at the hollow of his neck.
The moment he realized that, the prominence of Gu Qinian’s throat shifted slightly.
A secret feeling rose in his heart, one of intense delight and excitement, like a spring bud pushing through the earth, impossible to stop from growing, yet impossible to speak aloud. For now, he could only hide that tender bud away with the utmost care.
The two of them were pressed so close together that he could hear Gu Tang mumbling something about “kiss or not.”
Gu Qinian pressed his lips together and carefully tilted his neck.
Gu Tang’s lips slid from the side of his neck down to his collarbone, resting there softly, as if they had found something delicious. The boy even smacked them lightly a few times.
It made a soft little sound, like a tiny fish nibbling food.
“…”
Gu Qinian’s breathing deepened a little. The hand hidden beneath the blanket hesitated again and again before gently coming to rest against the back of the boy in his arms.
His fingertips lingered over the shoulder blade.
That new bud hidden in the bottom of his heart went on growing wildly, as though it was about to burst through the small space trapping it.
The arm around the boy tightened more and more.
When Gu Qinian happened to lift his eyes, he found Xie Qian on the bed across from them staring at the two of them with eyes as wide as bronze bells. The bluish light from his phone cast over Xie Qian’s face, making him look eerie as a ghost.
Xie Qian had only been curious and wanted to see just how close these two could possibly keep pressing together. Since the room was dark, he had leaned forward to get a better look.
He kept feeling like Gu Qinian was about to transform into some snow spirit and drain Gu Tang dry…
Who would have thought he would get caught spying?
Xie Qian gave a stiff grin. “Hehe.”
Gu Qinian: “…”
Without a word, he pulled the blanket up and hid both himself and Gu Tang underneath it.
Leaving Xie Qian all alone outside.
Xie Qian: “?”
In a room of three people, why was he the only one who felt so extra?
Wuwu, suddenly he kind of missed Zhu Xu.
At least sharing dog food with another person felt less lonely!
When Gu Tang woke up, he sleepily cracked his eyes open into a slit.
Outside the window, it was bright, and everything was blanketed in white.
One look told him it was a perfect clear day after snow!
He clung to the warmth of the blanket, but rationally he knew that yesterday’s delay on the road meant today’s filming schedule would be very heavy, so he had to get up.
He rubbed his face to wake himself up a little.
Only after forcing his eyes fully open did Gu Tang realize that the person beside him was still breathing evenly and showed no sign of waking up.
How rare!
Young master Gu had actually woken up later than he had!
With great interest, Gu Tang pushed himself up, wanting to take a look at sleeping young master Gu. But as soon as he moved, a thread of cold air slipped into the blanket.
The arm around his waist instantly tightened.
Gu Tang was dragged back under the covers, and not only that, young master Gu, cold-sensitive as ever, burrowed into his chest a little.
A person who looked so tall and unapproachable when standing, with that icy aura around him, was now rubbing against him like a little animal.
Gu Tang felt his heart melt. Hugging the other boy’s head, he tucked the blanket back in properly.
He could lie there for just five more minutes…
But in those five minutes, Gu Tang could not afford to do nothing, or he would end up sleeping even deeper than young master Gu in no time.
So first, he reached out and touched young master Gu’s face.
Tsk, so handsome.
Then he brushed his fingertips over young master Gu’s eyelashes.
Tsk, so long.
Then he even pressed on young master Gu’s lips.
Tsk, so red…
Only the face getting red was his own.
Gu Tang looked a little bewildered.
Lately, why did his face always get hot whenever he was facing young master Gu?
Could it be that he had caught a chill too?
The person beside him had already been awakened long ago by all this squirming and wriggling, but Gu Qinian was a light sleeper and simply stayed still, wanting to see what Gu Tang was planning to do.
Who would have thought it would amount to feeling his whole face all over?
Gu Tang finished touching him and then started touching his own face.
Gu Qinian: “…”
What was this now?
Still obsessing over whether the two of them looked alike or not?
Gu Qinian did not understand why Gu Tang was so fixated on being the older brother.
But from his own point of view, he wanted to be close to Gu Tang, yet he did not like the idea of “brothers” between them, and for a while he could not tell whose obsession was actually stronger.
In any case, they could not be brothers.
Gu Qinian thought that to himself in silence.
After rubbing his own face like a sea otter, Gu Tang looked up and met young master Gu’s dark eyes.
Probably because he had only just woken up, those black pupils were covered in a misty haze, making them less sharp and adding a kind of blurred beauty.
Waking up to a beauty first thing in the morning really put him in a good mood.
Gu Tang’s eyes curved into crescents. “Good morning, Niannian.”
“Morning.”
After getting up and washing, they went downstairs to the hotel restaurant for a buffet breakfast.
Through the glass walls, they could see that the snow outside had stopped. A thick layer had accumulated on the ground, making the ski resort atmosphere even stronger.
The three girls had gotten up earlier and had already finished breakfast. Qiao Lili and Xu Wei had gone outside to play in the snow, while Ye Xiao sat quietly by the window, wearing earphones and practicing English listening while watching them play.
Gu Tang was bright as a little sun. The moment he saw Ye Xiao, he greeted her, “Good morning, Senior!”
His smile was extremely infectious.
Ye Xiao had been about to smile back when she suddenly saw the “evil dragon” behind Gu Tang casting an unfriendly look at her.
Her smile instantly turned stiff and cautious.
Gu Tang did not even need to turn around to know that young master Gu had once again put on his fierce expression.
Back in middle school, he had been afraid that young master Gu would fall in love too early and affect the progress of the plot.
But now things were different.
The system had said it already. The key plot point of the male lead being in a car accident and falling into the water had passed, and from now on the male lead’s career line and emotional line would start unfolding together.
Neither could be missing.
Gu Tang was beginning to worry that if young master Gu kept scaring people away with how fierce he looked, what if he scared off the true heroine too?
He pulled young master Gu down into a seat and put on the airs of an older brother educating a child. “Niannian, why are you always so fierce to her?”
Gu Qinian showed no remorse at all. “I’m not.”
Oh, not admitting it, was he?
Fine, then they could change the question.
Gu Tang crossed his arms. “Then why are you unhappy?”
Young master Gu had clearly been in a good mood while coming downstairs, yet the moment he saw Ye Xiao, his face darkened. Surely he could not lie outright and claim he was not unhappy?
Meeting the boy’s clear eyes, Gu Qinian paused for a moment, then muttered, “You said good morning to her.”
Gu Tang: “?”
What kind of ridiculous reason was that to get angry?
Wait!
Could this be the legendary “jealousy plot”?!
Gu Tang suddenly reacted and immediately urged the system, which had just started its shift, to check the plot conditions.
[Reporting, Host! That blurry plot point in the sea of plot about “the male lead being jealous of something something” has floated up again!]
So that was it!
It looked like there was a very high chance that Senior Ye Xiao was the heroine!
Who would have thought young master Gu liked older girl-younger boy romance, hehe…
Gu Tang’s eyes brightened, and he looked at Ye Xiao with the warm, benevolent gaze of someone looking at a future younger sibling-in-law. Then he said to young master Gu, “Don’t worry, I won’t say good morning to her next time.”
I’ll leave all that to you!
Seeing Gu Tang keep staring at that second-year girl, Gu Qinian only felt more irritated.
He wanted to drag him back to the room.
Lock him away.
“Have you looked enough yet?”
Young master Gu finally could not take it anymore and asked aloud.
Gu Tang hurriedly pulled his gaze back. “Not looking anymore, not looking anymore.”
As he said it, he nudged young master Gu with his elbow. “Hehehe, you’re still so young. Why are you so jealous?”
Gu Qinian had no idea what he was talking about, and his brows knotted tightly.
At that moment, Qiao Lili and Xu Wei came back from playing in the snow. Tired out, they ran into the restaurant to rest, and the moment they saw Gu Tang, they waved enthusiastically to him.
Gu Tang politely greeted them, “Morning, you two!”
Gu Qinian’s face darkened instantly.
The system was startled.
[Host, something’s wrong!]
Gu Tang was confused. “What now?”
[The sea of plot has turned even darker. That plot point floated up again! The words… I can read them clearly now! It says: “Make the male lead jealous and equally dislike everyone” plot point!]
Gu Tang scratched his head. “But shouldn’t a plot like this be completed by the heroine? Why has it floated over to me?”
[I don’t know either!]
[Should I go ask Senior…?]
“Forget it!”
Before the system could dash off, Gu Tang stopped it first. “Don’t bother your senior. Let’s figure it out ourselves.”
The system’s senior was a dangerous figure.
Gu Tang felt it was better to provoke that person as little as possible.
If he looked at it from another angle, maybe it made sense that this plot point fell on him, the cannon-fodder fake young master.
According to the plot’s requirements, he was supposed to keep dancing back and forth on the male lead’s landmines until the male lead finally crushed him with one decisive blow.
And what could be closer to a landmine than making the male lead jealous?
Still, it was very strange.
It would make sense if young master Gu got jealous when he greeted Ye Xiao.
But why would he get even more jealous when Gu Tang greeted Qiao Lili and Xu Wei too?
Surely he didn’t have feelings for every girl in existence?
Thinking of that playboy Qiu Kaiyi, alarm bells instantly went off in Gu Tang’s heart.
But no matter how he looked at it, young master Gu did not resemble a frivolous scumbag…
Before Gu Tang could sort through his thoughts, he heard Gu Qinian, holding back anger, say furiously, “Are you really that free that you have to say good morning to every single person?”
Gu Tang’s face was blank. “???”
Gu Qinian got up sharply and moved to sit directly across from Gu Tang.
His tall frame completely blocked Gu Tang’s line of sight, and also stopped other people from looking at him.
A faint suspicion began to dawn on Gu Tang that he had misunderstood something.
Could it be…
that young master Gu’s jealousy was not aimed at Senior Ye Xiao, nor at Qiao Lili and Xu Wei at all?
And then, as fate would have it, Xie Qian came trotting over at just that moment, plopped himself into the empty chair at their table, and said, “You two heartless bastards. You came down to eat without waking me?”
Gu Tang scratched his head. “We did wake you. You wouldn’t get up.”
Xie Qian: “…”
To verify what he had just started to suspect, Gu Tang suddenly raised his hand and waved to Xie Qian as he said, “Good morning.”
“Morning, morning, morning.”
Xie Qian answered lazily, already busy studying what to eat for breakfast.
[Congratulations, Host! You completed the emotional plot point “Make the male lead jealous and equally dislike everyone,” reward: +50 life points and 5 plot coins!]
The harder the task, the richer the reward.
But right now Gu Tang had no time to count how many plot coins had dropped into his little wallet.
He found the whole thing both funny and absurd.
So young master Gu was not jealous in the romantic sense at all—he simply disliked having any other people around them?
Back when he was little, Gu Qinian had not cried or smiled, had not liked talking, and had shown almost no response to the people and things around him, which was why he had once been suspected of being autistic.
At the time, the doctor had said that even if young master Gu did not actually have autism, he was still an extremely insecure little child. He would carve out a safe space for himself, and only the people he personally accepted were allowed into his world. Everyone else counted as outsiders.
Gu Tang sighed softly. So he had misunderstood.
Today, it was simply that young master Gu’s old, exclusionary habit had flared up again. It was not that there had been any progress in the emotional line.
As for whether Senior Ye Xiao was the heroine or not, that still needed to be investigated.
For now, the important thing was to coax young master Gu first.
Otherwise little Gu Qinian would keep sulking and refuse to eat breakfast properly.
“Niannian.”
Gu Tang moved over and sat close beside him. “You don’t like it when I say good morning to other people?”
Gu Qinian gave him a look that clearly said, So you finally realize what you did wrong.
Gu Tang: “…”
So that really was it…
“But I said good morning to you the moment I woke up, didn’t I?”
Gu Tang smiled shyly, laying his pale slender hand on young master Gu’s arm. “You were the first person I said good morning to.”
At that, the tightly pressed line of Gu Qinian’s lips finally loosened a little. “Mm, because we sleep together.”
“Exactly. We have the kind of relationship where we share a blanket.”
Gu Tang waggled a finger with an exaggerated expression, proving that his relationship with young master Gu was special. “We’re not like other people!”
Hearing that, the corners of Gu Qinian’s lips finally lifted. “Mm.”
“So can we eat breakfast now? I’m starving.”
Gu Tang smoothly changed the subject.
Young master Gu’s mood improved slightly, and he nodded gently.
Gu Tang immediately grabbed a plate and went charging into the buffet area. Before long, he came back carrying two heaping plates—one for himself, one for young master Gu. He even picked up a soup dumpling and fed it directly into his mouth. “Niannian, this one’s good. Eat it.”
After swallowing the dumpling, Gu Qinian asked, “Did you only get food for me?”
That question sounded suspiciously like: Does every little sister get this treatment, or am I the only one?
Gu Tang’s chopsticks trembled in his hand. He hurriedly withdrew his earlier kind intention of helping Xie Qian grab food too, and devoted himself entirely to serving young master Gu. “I got food for you, only for you!”
Was there really anyone else who needed to be coaxed just to eat properly?
Thanks to Gu Tang’s efforts, young master Gu’s mood visibly brightened.
Ye Xiao, who had witnessed the entire scene from the side, was nearly scandalized.
She had never imagined that the cold, aloof student council president actually needed someone to coax him before he would eat…
As his roommate, Xie Qian had long grown used to this kind of thing. He simply went off and piled up his own huge plate of food, burying himself in it.
Who the hell ate dog food when there was actual food to eat?
With nothing better to do, Qiao Lili and Xu Wei started secretly shipping CP instead.
They had both read the old forum threads before. Now the two of them huddled together like little marmots in winter, and every time they saw Gu Tang and the student council president leaning close with their heads together, they silently screamed inside.
One was noble and refined, the other soft and adorable.
And they doted on each other! They even fed each other!
Too easy to ship—ahhhhh!
Breakfast continued in a peaceful atmosphere.
Their side was almost done eating when the large and imposing Qiu Kaiyi finally arrived late.
There was still a huge bruise-black lump on his forehead from where he had hit it the day before, and there were heavy dark circles under his eyes too. He looked completely drained.
As soon as he walked over, he kicked an innocent chair and cursed crudely.
Ye Xiao jumped in fright and shifted a little closer to Gu Tang.
But because Gu Qinian was there, she still didn’t dare move too close.
Without caring in the slightest about his own safety, Xie Qian mocked him, “Senior, your complexion looks terrible. Did you have a nightmare? Dream about a snow spirit or something?”
Qiu Kaiyi shot him a vicious glare, his fist already clenched tight.
But there were girls around, and Gu Qinian was watching too, so he couldn’t actually hit anyone.
In the time it took him to hesitate, Xie Qian had already vanished.
When the real shooting began, the photographer took one look at Qiu Kaiyi’s condition and frowned. “This won’t shoot well…”
The dark circles and bruise on his forehead could be covered with makeup, but this was a campus magazine. Freshness and neatness were the most important thing. Heavy makeup simply didn’t fit, especially on someone like Qiu Kaiyi, a tall, rough-featured boy. The heavier the makeup, the more greasy and artificial he would look.
And with the youthful, high-school-boy energy radiating from Gu Tang beside him, Qiu Kaiyi looked even more out of place against the campus theme.
The photographer rubbed his temples and asked, “Where’s your teacher?”
Qiao Lili and Xu Wei exchanged a look and honestly answered, “The teacher didn’t come, but the student council president did.”
This school really did have some nerve.
Such a big shoot, and they had handed it over to the student council president.
Wasn’t he just a kid too…?
But there was no other option, so the photographer could only say, “Then please ask your student council president to come over. I need to discuss something.”
But when he finally saw the student council president, the photographer was stunned as if struck by lightning. Holding his camera, he circled around Gu Qinian not once but three full times.
“His looks are too eye-catching, and his proportions are right too!”
“Why isn’t the student council president himself in this shoot?”
“Why, why?”
While the photographer was practically vibrating with excitement, the system wasn’t idle either.
[Let me tell the host some good news! Male lead career branch 1—activated!]
The male lead finally had work to do!
Very soon he would have no time left to cling to its host!
But of course, the students chosen for the shoot had been personally selected by the new principal, so they couldn’t simply be swapped out on a whim.
At the photographer’s insistence, Gu Qinian made a call to the dean.
The communication went far more smoothly than expected.
The new principal had chosen students directly from the sports meet participants. Since Gu Qinian hadn’t signed up for an event, he’d simply never been chosen.
But once the principal heard that the replacement for Qiu Kaiyi would be the student council president—the same person who had officiated the 3000-meter race and won MVP in the basketball exhibition match—the principal raised both hands and both feet in approval.
No matter how dissatisfied Qiu Kaiyi was, it made no difference. His place in the shoot was directly taken over by Gu Qinian.
At this, Gu Tang looked as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
Based on his understanding of Gu Qinian, no matter which career branch the male lead opened, it definitely wouldn’t have anything to do with taking pretty pictures.
And sure enough, a few minutes later—
the photographer said with difficulty, “Student, smile a little.”
Gu Qinian: “…”
The photographer tried again. “Student, smile again.”
Young master Gu got annoyed and frowned.
Gu Tang immediately spoke up for him. “I can testify—he is smiling.”
Back in middle school, when young master Gu had tried out for the arts class, his face had been so stunning that even though he had no talent at all, the arts teachers had still wanted to keep him. They’d told him to just smile.
As long as he could look natural in front of a camera, then with that face alone, he could probably survive in the entertainment industry no matter what.
But unfortunately, whenever young master Gu faced the dark eye of a camera, his face became like frozen ice.
Even colder than usual, with not a trace of expression.
In the end, the arts teacher had no choice but to painfully let him go.
Now the pressure had shifted to the photographer.
The photographer, to his credit, was a true professional. After a long silence, he took a deep breath and helplessly said to Gu Qinian, “Forget it, student, please don’t smile anymore. It’s kind of terrifying…”
Gu Qinian: “…”
The system let out a depressed electronic voice.
[Male lead career branch 1—closed.]
“Pfft—”
Gu Tang burst out laughing.
Hearing the boy’s bright, cheerful laughter, Gu Qinian turned his head to look at him. “That funny?”
The cold tone and look were enough to make even the photographer jolt.
But Gu Tang didn’t notice at all. He beamed brightly at him. “Yes, it’s funny, because Niannian is too cute.”
He had known it all along.
Young master Gu could only follow the plot and walk the road toward becoming Boss Gu. Those fancy, glittery entertainment-industry side paths simply didn’t suit him at all.
The sunlight after the snow was especially bright, tinting the boy’s curved eyelashes with a faint gold, making him look warm and soft.
Looking at Gu Tang, Gu Qinian found the corners of his lips lifting on their own.
Click—
The photographer instantly pressed the shutter and captured the moment.
Now he finally understood.
This student council president wasn’t incapable of smiling. He simply could only smile naturally—and beautifully—in front of that adorable little boy.
Now that the photographer had found the key to unlocking young master Gu’s smile, the rest of the shoot became much easier.
Besides the originally planned shots, many spontaneous moments were also added.
The photographer let the students go outside and play in the snow however they pleased.
Natural was truth.
He only needed to crouch nearby and randomly capture the right moments.
Qiao Lili and Xu Wei hadn’t had enough of playing with the snow that morning, so now they dragged Ye Xiao along to build a snowman.
Gu Qinian had no real interest in such childish activities. He simply stood quietly at the side, his gaze following Gu Tang’s every movement.
As if sensing it, Gu Tang suddenly looked up.
Their eyes collided across the distance.
Gu Tang gave him a sly little smile. Gu Qinian knew he was about to do something mischievous, but he neither moved nor fled. He just stood there and waited.
A moment later, Gu Tang came running over and tossed up the fresh snow he had gathered in his hands like a heavenly shower of petals.
Snowflakes scattered and fell.
The white bits of snow landed on young master Gu’s shoulders, hair, and even his brows and lips.
“Wow! Niannian is so beautiful!”
Gu Tang praised him with complete blunt honesty. “Even prettier than Snow White!”
Even though young master Gu hated the cold, his cold pale skin and crimson lips suited a snowy day perfectly.
Since his previous life, Gu Qinian had hated being praised as pretty, and he hated even more being compared to girls.
Back when he was in the orphanage, one couple had once wanted to adopt him because they thought he was beautiful. At the time, he had deliberately acted violently ill-tempered and scared them away, which got him locked in solitary confinement for a full week.
But hearing those words from Gu Tang, he felt no dislike at all.
On the contrary, there was even a trace of delight.
Gu Tang was a face-lover. If he liked his appearance, then his standards would rise.
And then it would be harder for someone else to trick him away.
While Gu Tang was still admiring young master Gu’s beauty, a snowball suddenly struck him from behind.
When he turned around—he saw Xie Qian holding another snowball. “Gu Tang, you didn’t treat me like this just now! What’s with the flower-shower snow? Let’s do a snowball fight! Come on! Fight me!”
And with that, he threw the second snowball too.
“You’re not allowed to hit Niannian!”
Gu Tang was fiercely protective. He immediately turned and stood in front of young master Gu to block him.
Then suddenly he felt a tightness at his waist.
His vision spun.
By the time he came back to himself, young master Gu was holding him, and the two of them had already fallen to the ground together.
This was the beginner slope of the ski resort, so there was a slight incline. The two of them even rolled a few times through the snow.
But the ground was covered in thick, fluffy snow, so it was soft and they didn’t get hurt at all.
Gu Tang grabbed Gu Qinian’s hand. “Niannian, let’s make snow angels!”
What was that?
Gu Qinian had no idea, so he turned to look at him.
He saw Gu Tang stretch out his arms and legs, lying in the snow in a big “starfish” shape, then casually wave his limbs a few times.
Gu Qinian didn’t understand, but he didn’t ask either. He simply copied Gu Tang’s movements exactly.
When Gu Tang got up, he stood up too.
“Look!”
Gu Tang pulled him around to turn back. “Doesn’t it look like angels?”
There on the snow were two human-shaped impressions. The places where their arms had moved had turned into the shape of wings. At first glance, they really did look like two angels who had come to earth to play.
Holding hands, with their wings touching wings, as if they would never be separated.
Gu Tang smiled cheerfully, then suddenly felt a chill at his lower back.
Young master Gu’s hand had slipped beneath the hem of his shirt and moved all the way up to his shoulder blade.
Gu Tang shrank a little, ticklish. “What are you doing?”
But Gu Qinian’s expression was unusually serious. “I’m checking to see if wings will grow.”
***
Author’s Note:
Tang Tang: Let’s make snow angels!
Gu Niannian: You’re not allowed to fly away.
