Chapter 52: Midnight Snacks and Hidden Feelings
Afraid that making too much noise would wake Gu Lin, Gu Tang slipped out of the room without even taking a pillow.
First, he went to the kitchen to sneak some snacks, then he went to find young master Gu so they could share them together.
Like a little hamster, Gu Tang stuffed snacks into every part of himself that could hold them. He even tied two bags of chips to the elastic waistband of his pants, while carrying a little cake in his hands as he happily made his way toward young master Gu’s room.
Nights at the Gu residence were quiet and still.
Outside the villa windows, only the outdoor lamps cast a soft glow.
The snow from before had already completely melted, leaving the bare branches in the courtyard stark and clear. But some hardy plants, such as wintersweet, were still blooming through the bitter cold. In the dead of winter, the chill was at its harshest.
In weather like this, it was only natural for young master Gu to be afraid of the cold.
Gu Tang quickened his pace and headed upstairs.
The moment he reached the second floor, he saw a narrow strip of warm light falling across the floor.
Knowing he was coming, young master Gu had deliberately left the door open a crack.
“Niannian!”
Gu Tang poked his little head through the gap in the door.
He had assumed young master Gu was already asleep, but unexpectedly, he was still sitting at his desk.
Hearing his voice, young master Gu turned back and made a quiet gesture. “Come in.”
Gu Tang instinctively ducked down, tiptoed in like some sneaky little thief, then used his foot to shut the door behind him.
He had no idea why he had to be sneaky.
But Gu Tang had always been obedient. If young master Gu told him to be quiet, then he would obediently tiptoe over in tiny stealthy steps and shuffle to his side, placing the little cake in his hand, along with all the snacks and drinks stuffed into his pajama pockets, onto the desk.
Just when Gu Qinian thought he was finished unpacking, Gu Tang lifted his shirt.
Then he untied the two bags of chips from his waistband.
Gu Qinian: “……”
The boy’s slender waist was pale and fine, without even the slightest bit of excess softness.
Gu Qinian had no idea where Gu Tang had managed to put all the food he had eaten over the years.
Realizing that he should not keep staring at Gu Tang’s belly like that, since it would count as taking advantage of him, young master Gu turned his gaze aside and said in a low voice,
“Eating that much in the middle of the night won’t digest well.”
“So what?”
Gu Tang grinned cheerfully. “Since Niannian isn’t sleeping anyway, we can stay up talking by candlelight and eat snacks together!”
When they were little, Gu Tang used to do this kind of thing all the time.
Every now and then, on a whim, he would insist on some “fireside heart-to-heart.”
But usually, it ended with him chatting away while stuffing his mouth with snacks. Once the snacks were gone, Gu Tang would sleep like a little pig.
A late-night heart-to-heart…
That never really existed.
The length of the conversation was directly proportional to the amount of snacks available.
Gu Qinian knew Gu Tang’s habits extremely well and did not call him out on it. He also made no move to take any snacks for himself.
The way he and Gu Tang got along had basically always been this: Gu Tang talked, and he listened.
If he did not eat the snacks, Gu Tang could eat for longer.
Which also meant he could talk for longer.
He liked listening to Gu Tang talk.
Like a little yellow songbird in spring, chirping nonstop, his small bright body hopping here and there. Yet somehow he never became annoying—he only made people want to cup him in their palms and admire him.
And Gu Tang was much cuter than a yellow songbird.
What he felt toward Gu Tang was not as simple as wanting to admire him.
He wanted all of Gu Tang, and in return, he would give all of himself too.
That was why he needed to understand the Gu family business as soon as possible.
He needed to become head of the family the moment he came of age, so that his father could retire and go home.
Once he sat in the family head’s seat, then at least at home, no one would be able to stop him.
Gu Qinian closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them and immersed himself in the complicated affairs of Gu Corporation, handling work far beyond what someone his age should be doing.
“Pssh—”
Gu Tang twisted open a bottle of soda.
The desk was already more than half occupied by all the snacks he had piled there.
Seeing young master Gu bent over the desk on the side, looking cramped, Gu Tang felt a little embarrassed and moved the food into a stack off to one side.
Curiously, he asked, “Niannian, what are you still doing up for?”
As he spoke, he gave a sly little grin. “Hehe… don’t tell me you’re rushing to finish your winter homework?”
Going abroad had felt great in the moment, but now homework hell was upon him!
Who would have thought that the future Boss Gu would one day have to stay up late before school resumed just to catch up on homework?
That was really a rare sight…
Gu Tang’s small wicked urge to gloat had only just started to surface before it was extinguished.
Once the snacks were moved aside, the true contents of the desk came fully into view.
What winter homework was this?
They were clearly important Gu Corporation accounts, along with various documents and letters.
Gu Tang could not understand a single one.
Gu Tang: “That was my mistake. Sorry for disturbing you.”
That was not a world he could step into.
So he hugged his chips, sat behind young master Gu, and happily crunched away.
Seeing Gu Tang consciously avoid even looking at the documents and sit behind him instead, Gu Qinian turned and asked, “I’ll still be busy for a while. If you wait, won’t you get bored?”
Gu Tang shook his head, not even pausing his chewing.
“Crunch crunch.”
“Gulp gulp.”
One bite of chips, one sip of soda.
Pure happiness.
He was not bored at all.
While young master Gu worked, he would snack. They both had bright futures ahead.
Gu Qinian: “……”
He knew Gu Tang was easygoing, but at nearly an adult age, he was still like a child.
Not that there was anything wrong with that.
Deep down, Gu Qinian rather wished Gu Tang would never grow up, would always stay completely defenseless in front of him, always remain this innocent and simple.
But on the other hand, if Gu Tang never grew up, what if he never matured emotionally either?
At this moment, the boy sitting on the bed had already kicked off his fluffy slippers, his pale legs hanging over the edge, swinging back and forth at ease.
His ankles were slender enough that Gu Qinian could wrap one hand around them completely.
His throat suddenly felt dry.
He reached into Gu Tang’s pile of snacks, found his own cup, and was about to take a sip of water.
“Hey, don’t drink cold water!”
Gu Tang jumped down from the bed, put aside his chips and soda, and came over to pour water for him. “Doesn’t Niannian get cold easily? Why are you still drinking something cold? Drinking cold water at night is bad for your stomach.”
Everyone thought Gu Tang was careless and thoughtless, but in truth, he noticed these things.
It just depended on who it was for.
Gu Tang remembered that the original novel had casually mentioned one thing—
that the future Boss Gu had a rather bad stomach and sometimes suffered from stomach pain.
To create a beautiful, strong, tragic male lead, novels often piled painful buffs onto the character.
But Gu Tang did not want young master Gu to suffer.
His young master Gu only needed to be beautiful and strong. Why did he need to be tragic?
The original story had already made Gu Qinian’s childhood miserable enough. He might as well treat that as all the suffering having happened in the previous life. In this life, he wanted young master Gu to be healthy and live a long, full life.
Gu Tang brought over a cup of warm water and thoughtfully draped a little blanket over young master Gu’s shoulders.
Only after doing all that did he return to the edge of the bed and resume eating his snacks.
Gu Tang: “Crunch crunch.”
“……”
Gu Qinian took a deep breath.
After drinking the water, his stomach felt warm.
With the thick blanket over his shoulders, his body felt warm too.
In truth, the heating indoors was more than sufficient. He had not actually been cold at all.
Telling Gu Tang he was cold had simply been an excuse to summon him over.
After all, he could not say plainly, I missed you.
Gu Tang could say things like that, but he could not.
When Gu Tang said he missed him, it was simple and direct, pure and clean, without the slightest impurity.
But his own missing was full of desire, full of a possessiveness he was nearly unable to suppress. Once those dark feelings that could not bear the light found the smallest opening, they would pour out like a collapsing dam.
And then everything would become uncontrollable…
Gu Tang noticed that young master Gu was staring blankly at the cup of water through lowered lashes, unmoving like a statue.
Without ceremony, he lifted his bare foot and nudged at the other boy’s hard lower back.
Acting like a tiny taskmaster, Gu Tang urged him, “What are you doing? Finish your work quickly and come talk to me.”
Otherwise, he was going to finish all the snacks by himself!
Gu Qinian looked up at him, then suddenly said, “I’m still cold.”
Gu Tang: “?”
He looked down at his own thin pajamas, then at the thick blanket he had already wrapped around young master Gu until he resembled a dumpling.
Still cold?
That did not make sense at all!
“You’re not getting sick, are you?!”
Gu Tang immediately became alert, his round eyes going wide.
Even though young master Gu exercised a lot, because his body temperature ran low and he never really took care of himself properly, he got sick more often than Gu Tang did!
In Gu Tang’s eyes, the young master Gu who could knock out grown men with one punch was actually a delicate little white flower.
The “little white flower” looked at him and gave a slight shake of the head, then said quietly, “It’s just cold. How about… you come sit closer?”
Gu Tang: “???”
It sounded strange, but Gu Tang had no reason to doubt him.
So he obediently dragged a chair over, sat right next to young master Gu, and became his little heater.
Yet Gu Qinian still shook his head. “Still cold.”
So Gu Tang moved the chair even closer, until their bodies were almost touching.
Gu Qinian said, “Still cold…”
“……”
Frowning, Gu Tang protested, “My heat can’t conduct through the air! I can’t radiate warmth that far!”
He was only thirty-seven degrees, not some electric heater, and he certainly did not have superpowers.
Wrapping up together under a blanket was one thing, but how was he supposed to transfer heat through open space?
“Then get a little closer.”
Young master Gu had spoken.
The two of them were already sitting shoulder to shoulder. Gu Tang looked at the tiny sliver of space between them and had no idea how he could possibly get any closer.
After thinking for a moment, he simply tilted his head and rested it on the other boy’s shoulder, wrapped an arm around his waist, and swung one leg up across young master Gu’s knee.
His whole body was practically draped across him.
Surely this was close enough?
There was no way they could get any closer!
Strangely, though, after Gu Tang did that, the straight line of young master Gu’s lips actually curved upward.
He seemed very satisfied.
Since that was the case, Gu Tang decided not to move.
Honestly, young master Gu’s build was very well suited for climbing onto.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist—he looked lean, but in truth he was solid and strong.
Hanging off him felt surprisingly comfortable.
Gu Tang swung his foot happily.
The only problem was that leaning all over young master Gu meant he could not keep eating chips. Otherwise crumbs would get all over the other boy’s neck.
For someone with a cleanliness obsession, that would be torture.
Gu Tang could not bear to make young master Gu uncomfortable. Besides, he had already eaten more than half the bag anyway. It was time for a different snack.
His fingers twitched.
“…Which one should I eat?”
Cake, then!
Gu Tang reached for the little cake, held the plate carefully, and ate.
The cake was soft, and the crumbs were much easier to control than crunchy chips. With the plate underneath, nothing would spill everywhere.
While he ate, young master Gu continued working.
Gu Tang was not trying to pry, but he was not blind either. Sitting this close, it was impossible not to see.
“Aren’t these supposed to be confidential? Should I really be seeing this?”
He asked with genuine concern.
From the beginning, young master Gu had made no effort to avoid him at all.
What if he accidentally saw something he should not?
Gu Qinian did not even lift his eyelids. “Would you understand it?”
Gu Tang shook his head. “I can recognize every word, but when they’re put together, I have no idea what they mean.”
Gu Qinian’s smile deepened a little. “Then that’s fine.”
Gu Tang froze. “…Wait, are these really confidential Gu Corporation documents?!”
Then how could he just leave them spread out in front of an outsider like that?!!!
Gu Tang anxiously tried to educate the other boy, who clearly had no sense of caution. “Niannian, you need to be more careful! What if I tricked you? What if I actually could understand this, and after reading it, I turned around and sold Gu family secrets?”
There were countless people in the business world who wanted access to confidential information from Gu Corporation.
Forget the whole ledger—even just photographing a single page could earn an astronomical sum.
Most of the time, you did not even need to understand the contents in order to betray Gu Corporation.
That fake young master in the original novel had ended up crushed by the male lead precisely because he betrayed the Gu family and repaid their kindness with treachery.
Gu Tang thought that fake young master had deserved it.
He himself would never do something like that, but he was afraid that young master Gu might one day, in his carelessness, fall into someone else’s trap.
Gu Tang almost wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him hard until he understood. “Niannian, you need to know how to guard against people!”
Gu Qinian looked at him. “There’s no need to guard against you.”
Thinking of all those utterly outrageous plot missions, Gu Tang felt a little guilty. “I’m the most dangerous one!”
Gu Qinian tilted his head. “Hm?”
Gu Tang pointed at himself. “My origins are unclear!”
At those words, Gu Qinian frowned. “You are not allowed to talk about yourself like that.”
Thinking about all the insane plot tasks hanging over him, Gu Tang grew even more uncertain. “My intentions aren’t pure…”
Young master Gu tipped his head slightly. “Not pure? What exactly do you want to do?”
Since he needed an example no matter what, Gu Tang looked around the room for something to point at.
His gaze circled once and landed on the ceiling. “What if I wanted to take your house? Your company? What if I wanted to take your position as heir to Gu Corporation? What would you do?”
“This is your home.”
Gu Qinian corrected him with emphasis.
Without even blinking, he added, “If you want it, I’ll give it to you. What’s mine is yours.”
“There’s no need for you to take it.”
Gu Tang: “……”
Aaaaah!
His Gu Qinian was far too foolish!
Gu Tang took a deep breath and ground out the words. “What if I were a bad person…”
Before he could finish, young master Gu’s lips parted, and he answered effortlessly, “Then I’d go bad together with you.”
Gu Tang was speechless, and lifted a finger to point accusingly at him. “Niannian, your moral compass is crooked!”
Gu Qinian smiled. “Mm. It only points where you go.”
“You—”
Just as Gu Tang was about to say more, the other suddenly leaned in close.
There was less than a centimeter between their noses.
Young master Gu’s face—beautiful to an almost impossible degree—was right before him. Gu Tang instantly stiffened like a startled little animal, the fine hairs along his spine standing on end. He did not dare move at all.
“Wh-what are you doing…”
He felt strangely uncomfortable and wanted to look away.
But the other boy’s dark eyes held him in place, and he could only stare back as their breaths mingled.
Gu Qinian silently studied him for a few seconds, then spoke slowly. “Then for the sake of my moral compass, you need to be a good person.”
After considerable effort, Gu Tang swallowed the cake in his mouth and made a tiny sound. “Mm.”
In reality, his brain had gone completely blank.
He had no idea what the other had just said.
At that moment, even if young master Gu had asked, Can I sell you off?
Gu Tang probably would have answered foolishly, Mm-hm.
The person before him lowered his gaze slightly, long lashes drooping, as if he were looking at Gu Tang’s lips.
“!!!”
Gu Tang felt so nervous he almost wanted to flee.
Then, at that very moment, the other spoke again. “Is the cake good?”
As soon as he said it, young master Gu straightened up and naturally increased the distance between them again.
“Good…”
Gu Tang murmured.
Just now, his heart had been pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of his chest…
Yet young master Gu acted as though nothing had happened and lightly added, “I want some too.”
Such an everyday sentence helped Gu Tang recover a little.
“If you wanted some, you should’ve said so earlier. I already finished it…”
The plate was completely empty.
Gu Qinian arched a brow. “Is that so? Then what should we do?”
“You eating it all by yourself isn’t very nice, is it?”
Gu Tang lowered his head guiltily, the fluffy crown of his head poking right in front of the other boy. “Should I go downstairs and get you another slice?”
There had only been one strawberry cake.
Just now, he had assumed young master Gu did not like sweets, so he had not even asked and had simply devoured the only strawberry slice himself.
Gu Qinian shook his head. “I don’t want a different one. I only want that piece.”
“Otherwise, how would I know whether you were telling the truth?”
Gu Tang blinked in confusion. “Huh?”
Young master Gu curved his lips. “You said the cake was good. If I don’t taste the piece you ate, how would I know whether what you said was true or false?”
“Oh, right…”
Gu Tang looked adorably confused. “Then what do we do?”
The moment the words left his mouth, the corner of his lips turned cool.
Young master Gu reached out, wiped at the side of his mouth with a finger, and then licked the fingertip.
“It really is good.”
“See? You would never lie to me. So why would I ever not trust you?”
Gu Tang’s face exploded red.
The flush spread from his cheeks all the way to the roots of his ears.
Young master Gu wanting to prove he could trust him was one thing, but did he have to do it in such a… such a…
Gu Tang had no idea how to describe it.
All he could think about was the way Gu Qinian had extended his tongue just now and licked his finger.
Young master Gu was already strikingly beautiful, and his usual aloof, icy temperament made him feel untouchable. But that single action just now had been so gorgeous it bordered on demonic. It had nothing to do with gender—anyone who saw it would have been enthralled.
Holding on to the last shred of rationality left in his brain, Gu Tang asked with difficulty, “Wh-what if… what if one day I did turn bad and tricked you?”
“I’d accept it.”
Gu Qinian answered without hesitation.
Gu Tang: “?”
Seeing the confusion on the boy’s face, Gu Qinian lifted a hand to the edge of his pajama collar and explained slowly, “If you ever trick me, there are only two possibilities.”
“First, you have some kind of unavoidable hardship. In that case, I would definitely forgive you.”
“Second, I must have done something truly unforgivable, and you couldn’t stand it anymore, so you were acting on behalf of justice. Then I’d deserve it.”
Gu Qinian’s lips twisted upward. “No matter which possibility it is, I’d accept it. Do you still have any questions?”
Gu Tang opened his mouth, then stiffly answered, “…No.”
Young master Gu really had grown up.
He was capable of thinking things through that deeply already…
Before he had even realized it, Gu Qinian was already almost a mature adult.
Gu Tang rubbed his face anxiously.
He had only lived to eighteen in his previous life, and because he had spent so long in the hospital and had very little contact with people, his emotional maturity might not even match that of someone who had just come of age—let alone compare to young master Gu.
Oh no!
Was his position as the older brother about to become unstable?!
Feeling uneasy, Gu Tang tugged at young master Gu’s shirt and sought a little reassurance. “Call me ‘brother.’”
Gu Qinian: “……”
It was not as though he could not do it.
If Gu Tang wanted it, he could indulge him.
He leaned close to the boy’s ear and, in a low voice, softly called him that.
Gu Tang felt the other boy’s lips press against his ear. The moment he spoke, the vibration traveled straight into Gu Tang’s eardrum, sending a shiver through his whole body.
He went limp with it.
Fortunately, after saying it once, young master Gu let him go and stood up to head for the bathroom.
Gu Tang sat there like someone who had lost his soul.
Only after a long while did he finally recover his voice and stammer out, trying to change the subject, “W-wait! I need to brush my teeth too!”
Ever since he had once lost a front tooth as a child, he had remembered for life that after eating snacks, he had to brush his teeth before going to sleep.
After all, he would never get another chance to grow new ones!
Gu Tang forced himself not to think about young master Gu’s lips and to think about his own teeth instead.
Yet the moment he stood up while steadying himself on the desk, he discovered both his legs felt like they were stepping on cotton—light, soft, and unsteady.
He had no idea why that single “brother” from young master Gu had had such terrifying power…
Early the next morning,
Gu Qinian went to the gym to vent his frustration by lifting weights.
For the first time, he truly understood his mother’s good intentions in not wanting him and Gu Tang sleeping in the same room.
Otherwise, lying there with the person he liked in his arms, he might one day turn into an uncontrollable beast. If things went badly enough, he might even end up hurting Gu Tang…
Young master Gu irritably pinched the bridge of his nose.
Already in a bad mood, he had barely stepped into the dining room when he ran into Gu Lin.
Gu Lin grabbed him at once. “Did you sneak off with my precious boy last night?”
Gu Qinian flicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek, annoyed. “What’s it to you?”
“What did you do to him?!” Gu Lin exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, raising a shaking finger at his nephew. “You, you, you—how could you do something like that?!”
Gu Qinian slapped aside his little uncle’s accusing finger and sat down in his usual seat at the table. “Like what?”
“I’m still young. I don’t understand.”
“Since little uncle is experienced, why don’t you explain it clearly?”
Gu Lin’s face instantly turned bright red. He huffed and dropped into the seat across from his nephew, pointing with his chopsticks at the shameless child while keeping his voice very low. “Then tell me—why hasn’t my precious boy woken up yet?”
Gu Qinian picked up a steamed bun and ate it slowly. “When have you ever seen him get up at this hour?”
“Well, that’s true…”
Gu Lin relaxed a little.
When he had woken up and discovered he was hugging Gu Tang’s pillow while the person himself was gone, he had panicked on the spot.
But looking at the wretchedly unsatisfied look on his nephew’s face—and the fact he still needed to go burn off steam with exercise—apparently nothing had happened yet.
Good, good…
Otherwise, not only would the precious boy be pitiful, he himself would probably get killed by his sister-in-law!
Gu Qinian, meanwhile, remembered how Gu Lin had tried to sleep with Gu Tang and immediately became irritated again.
The corner of his eye caught a bowl of fish congee on the table.
Young master Gu curled his lips into a rather wicked smile and deliberately raised his voice while the rest of the family was still sitting down.
“Yu Yang—”
“Fish nourishes the stomach!!!”
Gu Lin immediately reacted as though conditioned. He shot to his feet and rushed for the fish congee. “I love fish the most!”
Watching this, Gu Quan looked very pleased. “Not being picky about food is good. If there isn’t enough, I’ll have the kitchen make more.”
Gu Lin looked like he wanted to cry but couldn’t. “Thanks, big brother…”
Today, too, little uncle of the Gu family was working hard to overcome his picky eating habits.
Halfway through breakfast, the late-rising Gu Tang finally appeared.
The Gu family always indulged his sleeping in. If he missed mealtime, the kitchen would leave food for him separately, so whenever he was on holiday, he never had to hurry in the mornings.
“Good morning, Papa Gu! Auntie Shen!”
“Good morning, little uncle!”
Grandma Mei was the same as him and loved sleeping in too, so she still was not up yet.
Gu Tang sat down next to young master Gu and lightly bumped his shoulder. “And good morning to Niannian too.”
Then, still concerned, he added, “How’s your arm? Did it go numb from being used as my pillow all night?”
“Clang—”
Gu Lin knocked over his spoon.
Shen Ningqing lifted her eyes and glanced at him, but said nothing. Instead she turned to the children. “Did you sleep well last night, precious boy?”
Gu Tang nodded honestly. “Sleeping with Niannian always makes me sleep really well.”
“That’s good…”
Shen Ningqing finally relaxed.
If her precious boy had slept peacefully, that meant her son had not done anything outrageous.
The moment breakfast ended, Shen Ningqing shot her biological son a meaningful look: Come with me.
Mother and son walked one after the other into the study.
As soon as they were alone, Gu Qinian spoke first. “I won’t sleep with Gu Tang for the time being. You can rest assured.”
Shen Ningqing snorted. “As if I would believe that.”
Did he think she didn’t know her own son?
Father and son truly shared the same temperament when it came to feelings.
The way Gu Quan had once pursued her relentlessly, without shame or restraint, was probably exactly what her own son was going to repeat with her precious boy.
Mother and son had the same black eyes.
One glance was enough for each of them to understand what the other was really thinking.
Looking into his mother’s eyes, Gu Qinian’s thin lips moved slightly. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt him.”
Shen Ningqing: “……”
Hearing her son say that, her heart softened a little.
But her precious boy was her child too.
She had to protect both of them.
With a sigh, Shen Ningqing said, “You’re both still young. Your minds haven’t fully settled yet. Some of your thoughts may not be mature.”
Gu Qinian did not argue with his mother.
Only after she had finished speaking did he reply, his tone firm. “Not sleeping with Gu Tang is to protect him. After the New Year I still have to go back to S Country, so I’m leaving him with you for now. Please take good care of him for me.”
“Of course I will. There’s no need for you to say that.”
Shen Ningqing thought the statement was absurd. Her precious boy was the family treasure—of course she would take good care of him.
Gu Qinian nodded. “Thank you.”
Then he left the study.
The aura around him was already no less formidable than Gu Quan’s.
Shen Ningqing remained standing where she was, staring after his back, replaying his words in her mind.
The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong.
Shen Ningqing: ? Wait a second!
What did he mean, take care of him for me?
Since when had her precious boy become his?
***
Author’s Note:
Gu Niannian: Please take care of him for me.
Mom: All right.
Mom: ?? Wait, did I just get tricked into that?
