Chapter 63: The Mermaid and the Mark
Gu Tang was startled by the shocking number.
When he turned back and saw that it was the lady he had met that morning, he immediately reminded her, “Sorry, did you call the bid wrong? For each raise, you can only add at most one hundred yuan!”
In fact, he suspected that if Papa Gu and Big Brother Yu had not been held back earlier, the price of the item would probably have already flown into absurd territory.
Who would have thought that after those two were suppressed, another one would suddenly appear out of nowhere!
“Oh, I see…”
It seemed this lady was quite easy to talk to, because she lowered her bidding paddle.
Gu Tang had just let out a breath of relief when he heard her say, “Then stack the number of raises until it reaches five million.”
Gu Tang: “?!!!”
Yin Ruan smiled at him. “Supporting you and contributing to charity.”
When it came time to hand over the auction item, Gu Tang still felt uneasy inside.
Even though the money was being donated to Tang Tang Orphanage, he and this lady had never met before. Exchanging one painting for five million yuan from her made him feel as though he were taking advantage of her.
“You can actually change your mind.”
Gu Tang handed the painting over, hesitantly scratching his head. “This is just a charity auction organized by our school, not some formal auction house. Your amount is too large. If you need to withdraw it, that’s also allowed…”
The lady thought for a moment, then said, “Actually, I do have one request.”
Gu Tang nodded, showing he understood.
No one’s money was blown in by the wind. It was normal to feel buyer’s remorse after impulsively placing an order.
The purpose of a charity auction was to do good, not to take advantage of people.
If the other party had ordered impulsively and now wanted a refund, that was no problem. If she truly liked the painting, he could even just give it to her as a gift.
Thinking this, he then saw the lady hand the painting back to him and say, “Could you sign it for me?”
Gu Tang froze. “That’s it?”
The lady nodded seriously, her eyes shining as she looked at him, as though she were truly looking forward to it.
Gu Tang waved his hands repeatedly. “That’s not appropriate. I’m not some celebrity…”
Besides, even if he were a celebrity, what kind of signature could possibly be worth five million?
“No.”
The lady looked into his eyes and said with absolute seriousness, “To me… this painting is priceless.”
Gu Tang: “?”
“Mother—”
Just as Gu Tang was standing there in a daze, Yu Xiao strode over from the side.
That one word interrupted the conversation between the two. Then, very naturally, he wrapped an arm around Gu Tang’s shoulder. “Mother, let me introduce you. This student here is Gu Tang.”
This lady was actually Big Brother Yu’s mother?!
Gu Tang was a little surprised.
Because Yu Xiao did not look anything like this lady, while Yu Xiao and Yu Yang looked very much alike.
It seemed the two brothers had inherited their father’s looks.
Since she was an elder, Gu Tang politely greeted her, “Hello, Auntie.”
The moment Yin Ruan heard that, her face suddenly turned a little pale. “Actually, I am—”
“Mother!”
Yu Xiao raised his voice slightly, cutting off his mother’s words. Only then did he say gently, “Tangtang still has to perform in a little while.”
It sounded as though he were reminding her of something.
“I know.”
Yin Ruan’s lips trembled slightly as she nodded, then looked at Gu Tang again. “Just go on stage without worry. The rest… we can talk about after it’s over.”
“…”
Looking at the two of them, Gu Tang felt a strange sensation rising in his heart.
Come to think of it, Big Brother Yu still had not told him the result of the genetic test. Could it be that…
Just as he was about to ask, someone grabbed his wrist.
“The performance is about to start. Aren’t you leaving yet?”
Young Master Gu had come to hurry him along, his eyes dark and deep.
Before going on stage, Gu Tang still had to do his makeup and put on the merman costume. Time was tight, so he could only leave for the moment.
After being dragged away by Young Master Gu for two steps, he turned back to look at that lady again.
She was still standing there, gazing at him eagerly…
“Gu Tang.”
Young Master Gu suddenly called his name.
Gu Tang turned his eyes back and met a pair of black, unfathomably deep pupils.
“Don’t forget. You promised me you wouldn’t leave.” Young Master Gu’s expression was solemn and serious.
But this was not the time to talk. The surroundings were noisy, and other staff involved in the performance were also hurrying them.
So Gu Tang could only nod hurriedly and vaguely. “I know.”
Then he grabbed Young Master Gu’s hand and ran toward backstage.
He did not notice that the moment he turned his head back, Gu Qinian’s expression had become complicated.
An hour later, backstage.
“So pretty!”
After finishing Gu Tang’s makeup, Ye Xiao could not help blurting out her praise.
Usually, Gu Tang wandered around with a baby face, looking like a sunny, adorable little sweet bean. But now that his makeup was done and he had changed into the merman costume, he looked like an exquisitely beautiful doll.
His neck was long and elegant, and his creamy skin looked smooth and delicate.
Especially his eyes—they were amber and sparkling, lively and clear. He did not even need colored contacts!
After getting Gu Tang’s permission, Ye Xiao took a photo of him in full costume and posted it to the fan group.
The quiet group immediately boiled like water at a rolling boil.
[Oh my god! My baby Tang is sooo gorgeous!!!]
[Cute is cute, but promise mommy you’ll pull your collar up a bit! The outside world is dangerous!]
[Waaah, fresh baby! Mommy kiss kiss!]
…
Gu Tang had never expected that some fans would call themselves “mom.” It shocked him just as much as when he had first seen fans call him “wife.”
When he saw what the fans were posting, he bashfully curled the fishtail beneath him.
That was right—he had been fitted with a light blue fishtail.
So for now, he had temporarily lost the ability to move.
He could only sit there obediently.
Just as he was starting to feel a little bored, a group of little radish-head children came bouncing over.
The moment they saw him, they all crowded around him.
“Little Dean Brother is so pretty!”
Gu Tang’s two legs were trapped inside the tail and could not move.
So he could only reach out his arms and pat each child’s round little head in turn. “You’re all very cute too.”
This stage performance of The Merman Immortal Prince was a joint performance by Jiang City No. 1 High School and the children of Tang Tang Orphanage. It was also a thank-you performance for the generous old and new alumni and members of the public who had donated during the charity auction that afternoon.
The children were playing shrimp soldiers and crab generals.
Each little round body was dressed up as some kind of seafood—some had two crab claws on their shoulders, some wore sharp little shrimp hats on their heads, and some even had tiny fishtails attached to their bottoms.
They really were very cute.
The little girl who had asked him for a chicken-leg pillow was among them too. Unlike the other children, her face had been painted black.
If she had not called out to Gu Tang herself, he would not even have recognized her.
Gu Tang hesitated as he touched her little hair, which had been tied into eight tiny pigtails, then looked at her pitch-black little face and asked uncertainly, “Are you playing a little octopus?”
The little girl nodded excitedly. “Mm-hmm!”
“Little Dean Brother, am I pretty?”
As she said that, she pressed some tiny switch on her outfit, and flashing blue lights began to glow all over it.
This was even a glowing little octopus!
Gu Tang clapped for her. “Very pretty!”
The little girl was delighted and flashed as she twirled in circles around Gu Tang.
She had been praised by the prettiest Little Dean Brother!
That meant she had to be pretty too!
Since Gu Tang was the lead, his merman makeup and costume were relatively complicated. After Ye Xiao finished him first, she rushed off to work on the others.
There was still a little while before he had to go on stage.
So while waiting for the rest of the actors to finish getting dressed, Gu Tang played little games with the children from the orphanage.
Suddenly, the children all scattered to both sides with a whoosh.
They automatically made a path.
Even if they had not moved aside, Gu Tang still would have seen him.
His family’s Young Master Gu was just too tall.
Standing in a crowd, he stuck out like a crane among chickens.
At this moment, Young Master Gu had finished his River God makeup and was walking toward him on long legs.
The River God had originally been a dragon god, so Young Master Gu had been given dragon horns on his head. At the long, gorgeous outer corners of his eyes, a few pale blue dragon scales had been painted, matching the same color family as Gu Tang’s fishtail.
He also wore a metal mask covering everything below his eyes.
This was probably what Senior Ye Xiao had meant when she said she had no idea how to make Young Master Gu look ugly, so she might as well cover the lower half of his face with a mask to show that he had been disfigured.
But with that half-hidden, half-revealed effect, his brows, eyes, and tall nose stood out all the more, and there was even a trace of mystery to him. Because of the makeup and the change in eye color, his already overly stunning looks now carried a hint of divinity.
“So handsome…”
The words in Gu Tang’s heart were spoken aloud by a girl beside him.
His mouth hung slightly open as he stared blankly at the person approaching, and for a moment he could not even make a sound.
“What are you spacing out for?”
Young Master Gu walked over and used his long fingers to support Gu Tang’s chin, gently closing his mouth for him.
It was a very natural little gesture, yet it triggered countless squeals from the people around them.
“…”
Gu Tang awkwardly turned his head away.
Luckily, his makeup was heavy enough that no one could see him blushing.
However, there was makeup on his face, but not on his ears.
The moment Gu Qinian lowered his eyes, he took in both of Gu Tang’s little ears, which were red enough to drip blood.
The thin lips hidden beneath his mask curved slightly as he told Gu Tang in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Your ears are very red.”
“!!!”
Gu Tang immediately covered his ears.
His eyes looked just like a startled little rabbit’s.
The children nearby only half-understood the story of The Merman Immortal Prince. They were too young, and some of them could not separate drama from reality. When they saw Gu Tang looking nervous, they thought their Little Dean had been bullied, so they immediately rushed forward.
“Bad River God! Bullying Little Dean Brother!”
The little octopus girl charged at the front, waving her fists at Young Master Gu.
But she was not even as tall as Young Master Gu’s knee.
When she jumped up, her fists could only swing wildly through empty air.
The other children also wanted to save their little dean brother, but perhaps because Young Master Gu’s presence was too intimidating, and because his face was half-covered, the children were all somewhat afraid of him.
Gu Qinian merely glanced down at them indifferently, and the children instantly froze in place as if they were playing Red Light, Green Light.
The moment he looked away, those little radish-head children started inching forward again.
The sight left Gu Tang both amused and helpless.
So he could only tell the children, “Big Brother isn’t a bad person.”
The children were half-convinced, half-skeptical.
They felt that Little Dean Brother might have been threatened by this fierce River God!
So he did not dare ask them for help!
“…”
Gu Tang had to find some way to make the little ones believe him.
Otherwise, once they got on stage later, who knew how these little shrimp soldiers and crab generals might secretly attack his family’s Young Master Gu.
“Lower your head so I can touch your horns.”
Right in front of the children, Gu Tang deliberately ordered Young Master Gu around.
He could not stand up because of the fishtail.
“So childish.”
Young Master Gu muttered something under his breath, but without even a second of hesitation, he lowered his head and brought the horns on his head right to Gu Tang’s hand.
His mouth said no, but his body was very honest.
Gu Tang gently touched the two “dragon horns,” and as he did, he told the little radishes, “See? Big Brother isn’t fierce at all. Big Brother is a good person.”
The children’s eyes all widened into perfect circles. “Little Dean Brother is amazing!”
“Even the River God listens to you!”
On one side were the children’s admiring little voices, and at his ear was Young Master Gu’s low voice.
Gu Qinian said, “Have you touched enough?”
Gu Tang quickly pulled his little hand back and smiled shyly. “Almost.”
He did not know if it was his imagination, but it felt like the corners of Young Master Gu’s eyes had lifted, as if he were smiling.
But with the lower half of his face hidden behind the mask, Gu Tang could not see clearly.
Young Master Gu was too tall, so the children were not interested in the horns on his head. Instead, they were very interested in Gu Tang’s fishtail.
The little octopus girl stretched out her two fair, tender little hands, which looked completely different from her dark-painted face. “Little Dean Brother, can I touch your tail?”
Gu Tang smiled warmly. “You can.”
Gu Qinian’s tone turned icy. “No, she can’t.”
The little girl: “?”
Gu Qinian cleared his throat, and with rare patience, explained, “Big Brother’s tail is very sensitive to pain.”
Gu Tang: “???”
He had never heard that a fake tail could hurt.
Young Master Gu was seriously talking nonsense again!
But the little girl was innocent and simple-minded. She hurriedly drew back her hands and waved them. “Then I won’t touch it!”
Once the children had left, Song Chen, who had been holding it in for a long time, could not help muttering, “The president is really getting more and more excessive…”
Xie Qian clicked his tongue. “What kind of hero tricks little kids?”
Zhu Xu, cross-dressed as a village girl, deliberately pinched his fingers into an orchid pose and put on a high voice. “I didn’t think you were this kind of person. How hateful!”
Gu Qinian: “…”
Gu Tang took one look at Young Master Gu’s expression. Even though he could not see the lower half of his face, he could still tell from his eyes that this was a group he did not want to stay in for even one more second.
“Everyone in position, get ready to go on stage!”
Ye Xiao had been spinning around like a top, and now she turned and shouted at the top of her lungs.
The cold goddess of the past now looked strikingly capable and efficient.
Gu Tang tugged on Young Master Gu’s sleeve. “Niannian, don’t you think Senior Ye Xiao is sometimes a lot like Auntie Shen?”
Hearing that, Gu Qinian raised a brow. “So you feel she’s relatively more approachable?”
Gu Tang nodded honestly. “Yeah. Don’t you think so?”
Of course not.
Even when facing his own biological mother, Gu Qinian still felt a strong sense of distance.
But now that he knew Gu Tang was merely projecting Shen Ningqing onto Ye Xiao, one huge stone in his heart immediately fell away.
Silently, he crossed Ye Xiao’s name off the blacklist in his mind.
The reason he had always felt a sense of danger was because Gu Tang was good to everyone.
Gu Tang was not like him.
If Gu Qinian felt no interest in anyone other than Gu Tang, then Gu Tang evenly liked every person around him.
And what he wanted was simply not to be treated equally.
As long as Gu Tang liked him just a tiny bit more than he liked other people, that would be enough.
It was nearly time to go on stage.
Since Gu Tang could not stand up while wearing the fishtail, Xie Qian immediately rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll help you up!”
Fang Chi was not performing, but since he had also worked as Gu Tang’s assistant before, he thought more carefully and directly pushed over a little flat cart with a chair set on top. “Tangtang! I’ve got a ride! I’ll push you!”
Song Chen looked at the two of them with a gaze that said he had seen through everything and slowly shook his head. “Unnecessary.”
Sure enough, the very next second, Gu Tang was scooped up by Gu Qinian.
“We don’t need those.”
Gu Qinian carried Gu Tang very easily.
This little bit of weight was like a feather to him.
But when he realized that holding him upright would make the fishtail drag on the ground, Gu Qinian simply slipped one arm under Gu Tang’s knees and the other around his shoulders and back, carrying him horizontally in his arms.
The sudden sensation of losing balance startled Gu Tang, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around the other boy’s neck.
A wave of exclamations immediately broke out all around them.
Some were surprised, some were enjoying the drama, and some, even in the middle of all the chaos, still managed to get a mouthful of CP sugar.
Only Gu Tang, after coming back to his senses and realizing he would not fall, cheerfully wagged his tail. “Niannian is so strong.”
Song Chen covered his face. “…”
It looked like their president still had a very long road ahead of him…
Smack—
The gorgeous stage lights came down.
The moment the two absurdly good-looking leads appeared, a sea of flashes lit up below the stage.
Gu Quan was one of the people holding a flashing camera. The head of the Gu family was so busy watching the performance and taking photos at the same time that he became flustered and clumsy.
Yu Xiao beside him was busy filming, so he was not in much better shape.
The two presidents of major corporate groups had no time to care about dignity right now. Each was busy taking their own photos while coveting the other’s footage.
As expected of businessmen, they understood the meaning of “mutually beneficial cooperation” and quickly reached an agreement—one would be responsible for photographs, and the other for video.
They would exchange afterward.
The rivals who had fought over the charity auction item in the afternoon had, in the blink of an eye, become the best partners.
Yin Ruan could not spare any attention for whatever deal her eldest son was making with the Gu family. Her eyes were locked the entire time on the boy with the fishtail on stage, afraid of missing even a single second of Gu Tang’s performance.
But the more she watched, the more something felt wrong.
Wasn’t the one playing the River God standing too close to Gu Tang?
Whenever the little merman had to change stage scenery, it became difficult because of the tail. He could not walk over by himself, so it was always the River God who went over and carried him.
When other actors tried to help, that River God would not allow it!
The boy playing the River God was tall, and every time he picked Gu Tang up, he blocked him completely from view, as if he were deliberately hiding him.
It made it hard for her to see clearly…
The Gu family and the Yu family were seated in the same row as Jiang City No. 1 High School’s teachers.
Yin Ruan could hear one of the teachers beside her crying out in all kinds of dramatic ways after seeing the River God’s performance.
“So this brat Gu Qinian can actually act!”
The art-class teacher sounded deeply betrayed.
The dean of students leaned back in his chair, full of composed wisdom. “That also depends on who he’s acting with. Isn’t it because he’s together with Gu Tang, so he behaves more naturally? And he’s wearing a mask too, so you can’t even tell whether he has any expression or not.”
“So I’m saying, never give up on any possibility.”
“Look, now Gu Tang even followed him into the advanced class.”
Every word the dean of students said stabbed straight into the art teacher’s lungs.
The art teacher: “…”
In the end, he was the one who had lost everything!
On stage, the story had reached its climax.
A bolt of lightning split downward.
The River God clutched the merman’s slender wrist. “Are you willing to come with me? From this day forward, you will live with me beneath the river forever and never come ashore again.”
The merman was forced to tilt his head back and meet his gaze.
Another lightning strike flashed down, illuminating the merman’s face.
Everyone thought he was being forced—but at that moment, there was a smile on his face.
As if he had been waiting all along for the River God to ask him this, the little merman nodded firmly. “I’m willing.”
“Ahhhh! I’m shipping them!”
“Help, I’ve heard this story no less than a hundred times since childhood, and I never realized it could be this shippable!”
“I officially announce that tonight the Niantang CP fandom has risen from the ashes on the spot!”
Below the stage, people were frantically taking photos and videos while also buzzing with discussion.
Back then, a CP thread about Gu Tang and Gu Qinian had once appeared on the school forum. Although the thread was later deleted, that was because the photos in it had involved secretly taking photographs.
Now things were different.
Now they could film them openly and honestly!
The performance ended, and the lights suddenly went dark.
When they came on again,
the audience widened their eyes. “Huh? Where are the River God and the merman?”
All they saw was the final image—the merman leaning against the River God’s ear, singing softly and lulling him to sleep.
The two of them rested head against head, looking like peaceful years and everlasting time.
Yet the moment the lights went out, the River God—who was supposed to be asleep—had impatiently sat up and carried the little merman away.
And after that, he never brought him back.
When the full cast came out for curtain call, the two leads were nowhere to be found…
Gu Tang had been hidden by Gu Qinian in the backstage dressing room.
As Young Master Gu carried him over, he muttered all the way, “Hide him, hide him…”
Only after both of them were squeezed into the narrow rectangular space did Young Master Gu finally quiet down, staring at him without blinking.
Gu Tang poked him in the chest. “We haven’t gone out for curtain call yet.”
Gu Qinian’s face did not change at all. “I forgot.”
Too many people below the stage had been looking at Gu Tang. There were so many gazes that it exceeded what he could bear. He felt unbearably irritated and only wanted to hide him somewhere no one could see.
If he were really the River God, he would think of every possible way to hide the merman like this too.
Especially since the Yu family was also sitting below.
That mother and son pair from the Yu family had not said it openly, but they were obviously here to snatch Gu Tang away.
The experience before his rebirth had taught him that if you wanted something, you had to fight desperately for it. If you did not struggle and did not seize it, then in the end you would have nothing.
As he thought of this, the darkness in Gu Qinian’s eyes deepened as he looked at Gu Tang.
Unfortunately, Gu Tang was completely unaware of it.
Young Master Gu was wearing colored contacts, so his eye color had changed. Even if those eyes reflected a riot of dangerous darkness, Gu Tang would not have been able to tell.
He had not noticed the dangerous aura coming from the other at all.
Gu Tang actually thought it was fine not to go out for curtain call. This fishtail was too heavy, and wearing it was uncomfortable. He wanted to take it off as soon as possible.
So he swished the tail.
“Niannian, help me take it off.”
Gu Qinian: “…”
When the other boy did not move, Gu Tang swished it again. “Hurry up.”
This fishtail was made of semi-silicone and fit close to the body. It could not be removed by one person alone.
The blue tail kept swaying before his eyes.
It merged with the scene he had seen in his dreams.
Gu Qinian’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. His hand came down over that swaying, shimmering blue tail, and in a low voice he said, “I once dreamed that you turned into a fish, with a pearl-colored tail. Under the sunlight, it was very beautiful.”
Gu Tang felt a little happy and asked, “What about Niannian?”
“Mm?”
Gu Qinian lifted his eyes, his long eyes fixed on Gu Tang.
Seeing that he did not understand, Gu Tang asked, “What about your tail? What color was it?”
In Gu Tang’s mind, he and Young Master Gu were the same.
If he was a fish, then Young Master Gu had to be one too.
“Black.”
Most of Gu Qinian’s face was covered by the mask, so his expression could not be seen. Only his dark voice could be heard as he said, “I’m a cat.”
Gu Tang: “?”
Young Master Gu’s gaze darkened. “Every day I only want to eat you.”
Gu Tang: “???”
Wasn’t that a horror story?!
Since it was Young Master Gu’s dream, Gu Tang was not afraid. He only thought the dream was a little bizarre.
So he curiously asked, “Did you eat me?”
Gu Qinian shook his head. “You were too small. I need to raise you a little bigger.”
“But it’ll still take a very, very long time to raise you…”
“I’m hungry…”
As he watched the other boy lean closer and closer, Gu Tang’s body also unconsciously leaned back, until the back of his head touched the dressing-room wall.
“Can I have just one little taste?”
Gu Qinian stared at him without blinking. There was a trace of expectation in his voice, and just a little bit of coaxing. “Just one little taste.”
The distance between them was so close that his vision could no longer focus.
Gu Tang seemed to lose the ability to refuse.
When the other person spoke to him in that kind of tone, it felt as though there was no second answer except nodding.
So, as if possessed, Gu Tang nodded.
At once, the other boy’s eyes lit up.
Gu Tang’s heart started pounding under that gaze, and in a small, nervous voice he asked, “How are you going to…” taste?
He could not see the expression on the lower half of Young Master Gu’s face, but he knew he himself was biting his lips.
It was an unconscious habit.
But after noticing that little movement, the other boy reached out and rubbed his lips apart with his fingers. “Don’t bite.”
Then a cool touch landed on his lips.
Gu Tang’s pupils contracted.
In that moment, his brain completely crashed.
Young Master Gu’s magnified face was right in front of him.
Gu Tang’s eyes were wide and round as he stared in disbelief at the person before him. Yet at the same time, his mind drifted strangely to the thought that he could count Young Master Gu’s eyelashes right now.
Because they were too close.
Between his lips and Young Master Gu’s, there was only a thin layer of mask.
***
Author’s Note:
Gu Niannian: My wife’s about to be stolen away, so I’ll stamp my mark on him first…
