Chapter 53: The Empty Seat Beside Him
After the New Year, young master Gu went abroad again.
This time, he was gone for an entire semester. Winter turned to spring, spring slipped into summer, and by the end of it, autumn was already in sight.
Inside Class 2-1’s classroom.
Gu Tang sat by the window, propping up his cheek with one hand, lost in thought.
He had watched the flowers outside bloom and wither with the changing seasons, watched March’s winter jasmine turn into September’s golden osmanthus, and still, young master Gu had not returned.
The sweet fragrance of osmanthus drifted in on the breeze, fresh and soothing.
Gu Tang twitched his nose and thought that later, he would go pick up some fallen petals from under the tree, wash them clean, and tuck them into young master Gu’s desk drawer.
So that when he finally came back, the first thing he would smell would be a drawer full of flowers.
He wanted to preserve the season for him.
The winter jasmine and white magnolias of spring, the morning glories and crape myrtles of summer—Gu Tang had saved all of them for him.
At first, all he had to do was lower his head and he would catch the rich scent of flowers rising from the drawer. But as time passed and young master Gu still did not return, Gu Tang had no choice but to dry the flowers and pack them into little sachets.
He lowered his eyes and looked into the drawer beside him—
A row of palm-sized sachets sat neatly inside.
Gu Tang sighed. “If he still doesn’t come back, there’s going to be another osmanthus sachet.”
In order to become young master Gu’s deskmate, Gu Tang had worked unusually hard during the second half of his first year.
He had consistently ranked between fifth and tenth in the grade. It seemed as though he was not far from second place, but the higher the rank, the tighter the scores became. There was no room to relax.
During the period when young master Gu was away from home, Gu Tang changed completely from his usual lazy self and threw himself into studying like mad.
In the end, he got exactly what he wanted.
In the placement exam, Gu Tang entered the Experimental Class as the school’s second-ranked student.
Young master Gu had taken his exams abroad.
With the school’s approval, he had sat them online in real time. Teachers from different subjects appeared on video, gave him questions directly, and had him answer them on the spot.
It was basically the equivalent of taking an exam while several proctors stood behind him at once, staring over his shoulder.
When Zhu Xu found out young master Gu would be taking his exam like this, he had shrieked in horror, “That’s suffocating!”
And yet, even under that suffocating arrangement,
young master Gu still sat firmly in first place.
Six points ahead of Gu Tang.
Gu Tang had immediately sent him a single message: 6.
He had originally thought he was first. After all, he had only missed full marks by six points.
Who would have thought—
Young master Gu had scored full marks in every single subject.
Even his Chinese and English essays had received perfect scores…
The Experimental Class strictly followed a wolf-pack teaching model. Anyone who could get into this class was excellent, so there was no such thing as a top student helping a struggling one. Seats were assigned strictly by ranking.
First and second place sat together, third and fourth place, and so on.
Not only that, first and second place were given the privilege of choosing their own seats.
Since Gu Qinian was not there, Gu Tang made the choice alone. Without even thinking, he went straight to the last row of the fourth group and sat down.
Little Glasses could not understand it at all and kindly reminded him, “That seat isn’t good. It’s too far from the podium. The students in front might block your view.”
Duan Zhengyu was especially envious that Gu Tang got to choose his own seat.
If it had been him, he would have chosen the very first row in the second or third group!
He was not afraid of chalk dust. He was just short and nearsighted, and he wanted to sit up front where he could see clearly and focus better in class.
Unfortunately, his subjects were badly unbalanced. He got full marks in math, but his English and Chinese were average. Although his overall ranking had improved greatly and he had reached eighth place, he had still lost the right to choose his seat.
“It doesn’t matter. Gu Tang and Gu Qinian are tall. They don’t have your problem.”
Song Chen stood nearby with his arms folded, looking at Little Glasses sympathetically.
Duan Zhengyu: “…”
Why was it that both students who came over from the Arts Class ranked ahead of him?
Gu Tang was one thing, but even Song Chen ranked above him and came in seventh!
Which meant that for the next two years, he would be deskmates with this tall student vice president, and he would never get to sit in the front row. Wuwuwu…
Gu Tang comforted him, “Zhengyu, if you can’t see the notes clearly, you can copy mine.”
Duan Zhengyu’s lenses flashed. “Tangtang, you’re so nice!”
Song Chen was actually a warmhearted person too. When he heard that, he said, “Why go so far away? Wouldn’t it be easier to copy mine?”
The light in Duan Zhengyu’s eyes behind the “little bottle bottoms” of his glasses grew even brighter. “Thank you, thank you both!”
Maybe having a tall deskmate was not bad after all!
He was slow at taking notes. Even if he could see, he might not be able to write everything down in time. Song Chen’s notes were famous for being neat and clear. Being able to learn from them was wonderful!
As for why Gu Tang would choose such a far-back seat, Little Glasses still could not understand. “Tangtang, are you really not changing seats?”
Gu Tang shook his head. “I’m not changing.”
Duan Zhengyu asked, “Why?”
Gu Tang curved his eyes and smiled brilliantly. “Niannian likes this seat.”
The sunlight poured through the window and shone on his face, making his amber-colored eyes look crystal bright.
Gu Tang raised a hand and pointed outside. “The view is good here.”
“…”
Duan Zhengyu’s childhood memories suddenly resurfaced.
Back then!
In first grade, Gu Qinian had used those exact words to lure away his adorable little deskmate!
Gu Qinian had been sitting in the last row of the fourth group, deliberately ignoring his own deskmate, all for the purpose of stealing his. Then he had told Gu Tang that the view by the fourth group’s window was good and tricked Gu Tang into going to the teacher and asking for a seat change!
So underhanded!
Way too bad!
But that bad child had now become the student council president, and he was also the school’s top student.
Little Glasses only dared mutter a couple of complaints in his heart.
At lunch break,
Xie Qian and Zhu Xu came over to find Gu Tang and the others so they could all go to the cafeteria together.
Looking at the empty seat beside Gu Tang, Zhu Xu asked worriedly, “Gu Qinian isn’t just not coming back, is he?”
“That possibility can’t be ruled out.”
Xie Qian said it matter-of-factly. “With the Gu family’s wealth, it doesn’t matter whether Gu Qinian takes the college entrance exam or not. His future status won’t be affected. Besides, his grades are so good—he can study anywhere.”
That mention of the college entrance exam prompted Zhu Xu to elbow Xie Qian. “You brat don’t even need to take the college entrance exam. Why are you still sticking around at school? Looking at you annoys me.”
Not long ago, Xie Qian had taken part in a major piano competition.
He won first chair.
The award carried weight even internationally. Art schools had immediately started reaching out to him with direct admission offers.
Jiang City No. 1 High School had even named and praised Xie Qian at the flag-raising ceremony.
Normally, when students go up to speak on those occasions, they say the usual things like “Thank my parents, thank my teachers, thank my school.”
But unexpectedly, the arrogant little piano prince’s very first sentence under the national flag had been, “I want to thank classmate Gu Tang for not attending the competition because he was busy improving his ranking for the placement exam. That gave me this valuable opportunity!”
The whole school: “???”
Xie Qian might speak too bluntly and often annoyed people, but he never lied.
Outsiders might not be able to tell, but Xie Qian knew perfectly well that Gu Tang’s piano skills were far above his own. He just did not understand why Gu Tang almost never played in public.
Only when he visited the Gu residence could he occasionally get the chance to exchange techniques with him.
The piece he had played to win first chair this time had even been one that Gu Tang had suggested to him.
If he did not thank Gu Tang, then who should he thank?
Even after receiving guaranteed admission, Xie Qian had no intention of leaving school early. He still shamelessly kept hanging around in the dorm.
“What’s the point of not going to school? It’s boring! It’s not like I’m Gu Qinian, getting to live some colorful rich-heir life overseas.”
Xie Qian’s voice was full of envy. “At middle school balls abroad, you can bring a female partner. There must be so many pretty girls!”
Zhu Xu smacked the back of Xie Qian’s head. “All you ever think about is that flashy nonsense!”
Xie Qian had just been hit, so he immediately turned to complain to Gu Tang. “Tangtang, look at him!”
Gu Tang smiled until his eyes curved. “Serves you right. Who told you to keep thinking about pretty girls?”
Once second year started, it felt as though all the students had suddenly grown up.
The air everywhere seemed charged with youthful hormones.
As the little piano prince, Xie Qian had a pretty good face. When he was out in public, he also knew how to act. As long as he did not open his mouth, he was exactly the sort of student-age boy who made people’s hearts flutter. On top of that, he had won a competition, so all at once he started receiving piles of love letters.
“Sooner or later, everyone has to find a wife. What’s there to avoid?”
Xie Qian was unbearably smug. His chin was tilted high in the air, and he did not forget to throw in a jab at Gu Tang. “If you don’t start paying attention to pretty girls early, you’ll end up like Tangtang.”
Gu Tang looked blank. “How am I?”
Xie Qian grinned wickedly. “You’ll end up becoming someone else’s wife—”
Gu Tang: “???”
Duan Zhengyu pushed up his glasses. “Tangtang is a boy. He’s not going to become someone else’s wife.”
Xie Qian shrugged. “There are men who become wives too. Plenty of countries allow it. In S Country, where Gu Qinian went, men can marry men.”
Gu Tang listened, speechless. “What does that have to do with me?”
Beside him, Zhu Xu scratched his head. “You can’t have not been paying attention online recently, right? You didn’t see the trending topics?”
Gu Tang: “?”
“The movie you were in came out during summer vacation. You blew up!”
Zhu Xu opened the trending page and related news for him to see.
Gu Tang knew the movie had been released. Gu Lin had told him the market response was excellent and that Xinglin Media had made a huge profit. He had even said he wanted to open a fan page for him and gather up the viewers whose hearts had been shattered by the Ninth Prince burning to death.
Su Mei had watched the movie too, and she had cried and cried over Xiao Jiu’s death.
Gu Tang had felt bad for Grandma Mei, and by extension bad for all the viewers who had been devastated by the Ninth Prince. Soft-hearted as always, he had agreed to let Gu Lin set up the fan page.
But he did not have time to manage it himself, so he had left the whole thing to Gu Lin. He had only glanced at it once or twice at the start, and he had never had the habit of paying much attention to entertainment news.
Gu Tang had no idea what the fan page had turned into.
To his complete shock…
After watching the movie, the audience had transferred all their love for the Ninth Prince onto him.
At first, the Ninth Prince fan page had been normal. People discussed the plot, and there were also “mom fans” saying they would love little Jiu properly in place of the empress.
Gradually, that love began to mutate…
When Gu Tang opened it now, his vision almost went black—
The entire page was full of people calling him wife.
“Wuwuwu, the baby who played little Jiu is my wife! He was in my bed last night!”
“Nonsense! Little Jiu was clearly in my bed! Don’t you people have wives of your own? Why are you stealing mine?”
“Everyone stop fighting, I’m here to apologize on behalf of my wife. It’s all because his beauty is too much.”
A lot of them were joking around.
But there were also plenty who were just shamelessly spamming wife.
After scrolling through several pages, Gu Tang looked utterly bewildered. “What is going on?!”
In his last life, he had killed time by following entertainment news. The most extreme thing he had seen was people calling celebrities “husband.” He had never seen people calling a boy “wife”… Had these people all gone insane?!
Xie Qian patted his shoulder and informed him that this was just how things were now.
Calling someone “wife” was all the rage. Even artists who were very tough and masculine could not escape it, much less someone like Gu Tang, who looked soft and sweet and tender.
Gu Tang muttered, “…That’s terrifying.”
“Tell me about it.”
Xie Qian clicked his tongue. “Good thing they don’t know your real name and identity. Otherwise they might’ve already chased you all the way to school.”
And as it turned out, Xie Qian’s mouth was cursed.
That very afternoon, Gu Tang’s identity was dug up!
Previously, when Gu Tang and young master Gu had performed a four-hand piano duet at the school’s opening ceremony, a classmate had filmed it and uploaded it online. They had gotten mildly popular for a while, but because they were ordinary people and not celebrities, netizens had simply admired the looks and talent and then moved on.
However, the internet has a long memory.
No one knew which fan had turned into a walking database, but somehow, after looking at the Ninth Prince on the big screen, they suddenly remembered that piano-playing boy.
They dragged out the old “piano youth” video and compared his face to the Ninth Prince’s—
Although Gu Tang had still been in middle school at the time of the piano performance, small and soft-looking, and much more childish, the outline of his features had not changed much. He had only since lost some of that youthfulness, grown taller, and become even more delicate and handsome.
The fans immediately screamed: “That is indeed my wife!!!”
Someone below quickly chimed in.
“So my wife’s name is Gu Tang. Tangtang… hehe, Tangtang is such a sweet name!”
“The fandom name is decided! We’re called Sugar Frost!”
“I’m a tiny white fleck of frost clinging to my wife. All I want every day is to stick close to him. Please don’t blow me away, wife, wuwuwu…”
Before long, pink letters came flooding in for Gu Tang.
Even a simple trip to the cafeteria could result in several confessions.
There were even bold ones who shouted directly, “Wife! Marry me! Love you foreverrr!”
And while doing so, they made an enormous heart with both arms.
“…”
Gu Tang had a little rib in his mouth and did not know how to respond.
All he could do was smile awkwardly.
Then raise his little hand and wave.
Which immediately triggered a chorus of screams.
As if his hand were some sort of scream switch—lift it, and the noise turned on; lower it, and it stopped.
Did the student council do anything about public campus fangirling and open confessions?
Of course it did!
But the boss was not there right now…
Vice President Song Chen was so busy he was on the verge of collapse. “We’re doomed, we’re doomed… We can’t hold the line anymore…”
So in the end, he simply joined the photo-taking side and had Fang Chi carry a camera and photograph Gu Tang’s fans in return.
If they photographed Gu Tang, then his side photographed them!
Gu Tang did not understand. “What’s the point of that?”
Song Chen answered weakly, “We’ll send it to the president.”
“So he can understand the defenses are collapsing and come back quickly to repair the dam…”
Gu Tang wanted young master Gu to return soon too, but he did not want the issue of fans to make him worry.
If it disrupted the male lead’s road to success, that would be terrible.
So he did not agree to let Song Chen send the videos. He only said that he would contact the company himself.
Just as Gu Tang was about to get in touch with Gu Lin, Gu Lin called first.
Gu Lin sounded buoyant and full of springtime joy. Even his speech was coming out faster than usual. “Darling Tang! We’re having a celebration banquet tonight. Can you get out of evening study?”
With the movie becoming such a hit, of course the crew had to hold a celebration banquet.
Afraid Gu Tang might not come, not only Gu Lin but even the director personally contacted him, saying that they had not seen him in ages and missed him terribly, and that the crew could not celebrate without Xiao Jiu. He invited Gu Tang and insisted he come.
Gu Tang agreed.
Later that evening, he even received a message from Yu Yang.
[Yu Yang: Little brother, are you coming?]
When Gu Tang saw the words “little brother,” he froze for a second.
He did not fundamentally dislike Yu Yang, but because he still suspected Yu Yang had bullied Gu Lin in that RV… whether it was that sort of bullying or some other kind, as family he was obviously on his little uncle’s side. Anyone who bullied his little uncle was not okay, so he was not exactly warm toward Yu Yang anymore.
Since filming had ended, they had not really been in touch.
He did not know whether Yu Yang still had not come out of character and was still calling him little brother because of it.
But remembering how Yu Yang had protected him both in and out of the film,
Gu Tang’s heart softened, and he replied:
[Yang-ge, I’m coming.]
[Great. Tonight we’re at the same table. Sit next to me.]
Yu Yang was visibly happy and even sent several flower-scattering stickers in a row.
Gu Tang found himself smiling too.
The celebration banquet was held at the finest five-star hotel in Jiang City.
The hotel belonged to the Gu family, so Gu Tang knew it well.
His and young master Gu’s first birthday banquet had been held there. In the blink of an eye, they had both grown up so much.
Gu Tang attended in a white little suit, with a jeweled bird brooch pinned to his chest. The moment Yu Yang saw him, he praised him, “Who styled you tonight? You look really good.”
Gu Tang smiled sweetly. “Grandma.”
When she heard he was going to the banquet, Grandma Mei had specially had Butler Uncle send clothes to the school for him and also arranged his transportation.
Shen Ningqing and Gu Lin were both there too, but they were seated with the director and not at Gu Tang’s table.
So Gu Tang sat with Yu Yang at the main cast table.
As soon as he sat down, he took out his phone, snapped a picture of himself, and sent it to young master Gu.
This had recently become a habit between them.
Wherever they went, whatever interesting thing they saw, they would send it to each other.
Gu Tang felt it was basically the same as when, as children, he used to bite something tasty in half and give the other half to young master Gu.
—The point was sharing.
After sending the photo, Gu Tang tapped away on the screen with both little paws.
[Does the brooch look nice?]
The other side was apparently not busy right now, because the reply came quickly.
[Niannian: It looks nice.]
Gu Tang smiled happily. “Right? It costs over three million. Grandma picked it for me!”
The reply came instantly.
[Niannian: I meant the person.]
Gu Tang’s face heated up. He immediately bit his lower lip and tapped back fiercely.
[Did you learn how to flirt out there?]
One thing after another!
Young master Gu was already attractive enough when he was all cold and icy. If he also learned how to sweet-talk people, what then?
Seeing a single ? come back from the other side, Gu Tang kept typing.
[I heard from Xie Qian that there are dances abroad, the kind where you bring female partners, and people are also more open there…]
[Niannian, you have to be responsible to girls. Don’t learn all that oily, smooth-talking nonsense…]
[And protect yourself too!]
By the end of it, Gu Tang himself no longer knew exactly how he was trying to warn him.
Originally he had only wanted to say don’t become a scumbag.
But then he thought about young master Gu’s face…and realized that he was not particularly safe either.
For some reason, after he hit send, Gu Tang suddenly imagined young master Gu wearing a crooked smile and giving a contemptuous little laugh.
And in the next second, the other side sent a video request.
Gu Tang: “!”
Normally he was the one sending video requests. The number of times the other side did so was very small.
Holding the buzzing phone, Gu Tang felt inexplicably guilty.
He secretly looked left and right. After confirming that everyone else was busy chatting and no one seemed to be paying attention to him, he cautiously tapped accept.
Young master Gu’s elegant, beautiful face immediately appeared on the screen.
His expression was exactly like Gu Tang had imagined.
That smile was hanging at the corner of his mouth.
A little improper-looking…
After staring at him for a few seconds, Gu Qinian finally spoke, the curve at his lips touched with a trace of frivolity. “Why ask about dances? Worried about who I might be dating?”
Gu Tang instantly darted his eyes all around him like a little squirrel poking its head out of a hole.
“Lower your voice!”
A date and all that…
How could he just say it out loud like that?!
How embarrassing…
It had absolutely nothing to do with him, but his whole face turned bright red anyway.
On the screen, Gu Qinian watched the boy’s face grow redder and redder. He lifted a hand and tenderly rubbed the screen with the tips of his fingers.
He was careful not to let his fingers show up on camera.
Gu Tang would never know what he was doing.
Gu Qinian’s smile faded, and his tone turned serious. “I’ve never been.”
“I’m not interested. Father never goes to those kinds of events, and neither do I.”
Hearing him suddenly become solemn, Gu Tang let out a small “oh.”
That made sense.
Father Gu was Mother Shen’s devoted loyalist. Every day it was wife wife wife, never even sparing another woman a glance. Naturally he would never go wandering into those sorts of social scenes. Besides, given the Gu family’s status, there was no need for him to curry favor with others through entertaining.
So if young master Gu himself had no interest, then it made sense he would stay far away from dances.
But in that case, it also felt a little bit… regrettable.
In a tiny voice, Gu Tang asked, “Then won’t you have regrets? When you think back many years later, won’t you feel like you missed out on your youth?”
In the original book, there had been an interview with future Boss Gu, where someone asked him whether he had any memorable childhood or youthful experiences, or any unforgettable people.
Boss Gu had replied coldly, “I had no childhood and no youth.”
“…”
Gu Tang was beginning to worry.
Every day, young master Gu followed Father Gu around working. He did not socialize, and he did not spend time with peers. How dreary that was…
“That’s right.”
Gu Qinian said solemnly, “I’ve already lost that person for almost half a year.”
“A person? Who?!!”
Gu Tang instantly came alive. His eyes widened round and bright. “Who is Niannian’s youth?”
How could he possibly not know this?!
On the screen, young master Gu smiled.
His smile was not the kind that was particularly obvious. Instead, the corners of his long eyes lifted slightly, and the edges of his red, beautiful lips curved upward.
It was dangerously heart-stirring.
Gu Tang stared blankly, and then heard him say with a faint smile,
“The one who worries about whether I’ll turn bad.”
Gu Tang: “?”
Seeing that he still did not understand, Gu Qinian had no choice but to lift a hand and point at the little fool on the other side of the camera.
Gu Tang pointed at himself too. “Me?”
Young master Gu nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Who else?”
Although Gu Qinian looked calm and composed, he had been carefully watching Gu Tang’s expression the whole time.
He had to find a way to make Gu Tang understand.
What he had just said was already very ambiguous.
Anyone clever should have realized that he was testing the waters, practically half confessing.
But unfortunately, when it came to matters like this, Gu Tang was a complete little fool.
After a brief pause, the boy scratched his cheek and said somewhat awkwardly, “Niannian, you’re so innocent. A childhood companion and the object of your youth aren’t the same concept…”
Gu Qinian: “……”
And now he was being lectured?
Gu Tang was a little pleased, but also a little worried.
Pleased because young master Gu was still very innocent and would not become some kind of scumbag. Worried because he was too innocent.
How could he possibly mistake him for his youth?
Niannian was so silly…
On the other side of the screen, Gu Qinian felt something tighten painfully in his chest.
He lifted his hand and tapped Gu Tang’s smiling little face on the screen.
Gu Qinian: “You’re the silly one.”
My childhood and my youth are the same person.
The banquet officially began.
Gu Tang switched the call from video to audio and tucked the phone into his chest pocket.
“Niannian, I put you in my chest pocket.”
The screen went dark, so he could not see him anymore, but Gu Tang’s soft and sticky voice came through clearly. Because the phone was so close, even his quiet breathing could be heard.
Gu Qinian’s fingers curled slightly.
Gu Tang had put him against his chest…
When would he finally get to move into his heart?
Gu Tang had no idea what was going on in young master Gu’s head. He only thought it was fun talking to each other like this, as if they were pressed close together.
So he deliberately took a small sip of soup and asked in a low voice, “Niannian, can you tell what I’m eating?”
A mind that had been full of romantic fantasies only moments ago: “……”
He really should have known.
Gu Tang was a natural-born destroyer of romance!
Still, Gu Qinian answered, “Stop drinking soup all the time. Eat something real.”
Gu Tang gasped. “You really can tell?”
“Then I’ll eat something else. Guess again!”
Gu Qinian: “……”
He called it childish with his mouth, but his body was much more honest.
He played along with him for a good while.
Gu Tang held his chopsticks, his eyes sparkling as he scanned the dishes on the table, trying to find something harder to guess.
Just then—a voice that made one feel physically uncomfortable rang out, along with a wave of unpleasant alcohol breath. “This is little brother Xiao Jiu, right? Come! Have a drink with uncle!”
So stinky…
Gu Tang wrinkled his nose in disgust.
As the man spoke, he reached out, apparently intending to sling an arm over Gu Tang’s shoulders.
But before his hand could touch even a piece of fabric, another hand shot in from the side and clamped down on his wrist.
At some point, Yu Yang had stood up. His usual fake smile was gone, and his voice was cold as ice. “Little brother? Do you think you’re worthy of calling him that?”
***
Author’s Note:
Yu Yang: What kind of thing thinks it’s worthy of calling him little brother? He’s done for!
The fans: Then what about calling him wife?
Young master Gu: All of you are done for too!
