Chapter 66: The Secret in the Chocolate
Since Gu Tang and Gu Qinian insisted on returning to the dorm, Yu Xiao could only offer to drive them back.
Gu Tang politely refused.
He was worried Yu Xiao and Gu Lin would start arguing again over “who gets to drive them,” so he simply called a taxi with Young Master Gu and headed back to school.
Once the car had driven far away, Yu Yang suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, “…What time is high school dorm curfew now?”
“Can they even still get in at this hour?”
Yu Xiao and Gu Lin had both graduated years ago and had long since forgotten campus life. Once reminded, they looked at each other and saw the same confusion in one another’s eyes.
Yu Yang frowned. “If they can’t get into the dorm, where will they go?”
Only then did Yu Xiao realize it too, and he turned to glare at Gu Lin. “That’s right. Where did your nephew take my little brother?!”
“Big Brother, why are you yelling at Linlin?”
Yu Yang pulled Gu Lin into his arms, moving him out of his brother’s line of fire.
But Gu Lin was actually even more worried than Yu Xiao.
The thoughts his nephew had about their good little cub were practically written all over his face. What if he really did something out of line?!
Inside the taxi, Gu Qinian received a call from Gu Lin, who was desperately trying to chase him down. He only replied with two words—“Stop bothering me”—and then switched off his phone.
Anyway, the only reason he kept his phone on was to make it easier to contact Gu Tang. Now that Gu Tang was sitting right beside him, it was perfectly fine to turn it off.
If the family truly had something urgent, they would call Gu Tang’s phone.
As for people like Gu Lin, Young Master Gu treated them all as spam calls and saw no need to bother.
After putting his phone away, he gave the driver a hotel address. “Take us here.”
It was the best hotel near Jiang City No. 1 High.
The moment the driver heard the hotel name, his gossip instincts kicked in, and he glanced into the rearview mirror, curious to see whether the handsome guy in the backseat was traveling with a pretty girl.
Instead, he discovered a sweet-looking, adorable little boy beside him.
Two guys checking into a hotel?
And choosing one that expensive too…
The driver did not understand, and his interest in gossip died immediately. He slammed down on the gas and sped off with them.
Gu Tang tugged on Young Master Gu’s sleeve. “Why are we going to a hotel? Aren’t we going back to the dorm?”
Gu Qinian lifted his chin and motioned for him to look at the electronic clock inside the car. “The dorm gates are closed.”
Gu Tang took one look. It was 10:40.
No matter how fast the car went, it would still take at least half an hour to get back to school. By then, the dorm would definitely be locked.
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier…”
Gu Tang muttered casually.
Gu Qinian glanced at him. “And if I had, what then? Were you planning to go back to the Gu family’s house, or the Yu family’s?”
Gu Tang: “…”
True enough.
Whichever house he returned to tonight, he probably would not sleep well.
If the dorm was no longer an option, then a hotel really was better.
In his previous life, Gu Tang had spent his time in hospitals and never had a chance to go anywhere. Even in this life, he had only stayed in hotels a handful of times, and those had all been arranged by either his family or the school. He had no idea how to book a room himself.
Thankfully, Young Master Gu handled this kind of thing with ease. He had probably gotten good at it while abroad.
Watching Young Master Gu speak fluently with the receptionist, Gu Tang suddenly felt that the other boy seemed very grown up.
Unlike himself, who only knew how to stand there and stare blankly.
Because this whole situation had happened so suddenly, they had not brought a change of clothes. They could only buy disposable ones from a nearby convenience store, and Young Master Gu ended up carrying a big bag full of them.
Gu Tang looked down at his own empty hands and hesitated over whether he ought to help carry something.
“You don’t need to worry about any of this.”
Noticing the little hand reaching toward him, Gu Qinian grabbed a few candies from the counter and stuffed them into Gu Tang’s palm. “Be good. Go stand over there and eat candy.”
Gu Tang: “…”
Young Master Gu was treating him like a little kid.
He unwrapped one of the candies in annoyance and popped it into his mouth.
Mm, strawberry milk flavor.
His favorite.
Gu Tang instantly forgot how to spell the word “annoyed.” He narrowed his eyes happily while sucking on the candy, one cheek puffed out adorably.
Seeing the boy look so sweet and soft like that, Gu Qinian could not stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.
The iceberg actually smiled, and that led to a misunderstanding.
The young receptionist blushed and held out her phone. “Um… would it be alright to exchange contact information?”
“Not convenient.”
Young Master Gu’s smile vanished instantly. He took his ID card from his pocket and handed it over.
That was his way of urging her to process the check-in.
The receptionist looked down and saw the age on the ID: seventeen. Such a tall, handsome guy—and he was still a minor!
Luckily, he was already over seventeen.
If he had been under sixteen, he would not even have been allowed to check in alone. He would have needed a parent with him.
The receptionist dropped any idea of flirting and hurriedly processed the room. Still, she could not help sneaking another look at the other boy.
That one really was much cuter.
She had simply been fooled by the mature appearance of the first one!
Wait a second…
Why did the cute one look so familiar?
Gu Qinian lifted his eyes and immediately noticed that the receptionist was staring at Gu Tang.
And not just glancing once, but studying him carefully from top to bottom.
“Done yet?”
Young Master Gu urged her, then reached over and pulled up Gu Tang’s hoodie, covering his head, and tugged him behind himself so thoroughly that he blocked him from view.
The receptionist quickly withdrew her gaze. “Um, sorry… there’s only a king room left.”
“That’s fine.”
Gu Qinian took the key card and walked away with Gu Tang tucked at his side.
Only after the two of them disappeared down the hall did the receptionist suddenly widen her eyes. “Wait… was that Little Ninth just now?!”
“Ahhhhhhh—”
“My Tangtang baby!!!”
A coworker beside her asked, “Is he a celebrity? Why not ask for a picture when they check out tomorrow?”
The receptionist shook her head frantically. “It’s shameful to chase private lives! As a fan-mom, I only want to cherish my baby!”
Her coworker: “…”
Wake up.
Your baby has already learned how to go to a hotel with someone.
And you were the one who gave them a king room!!!
The disposable underwear and shirts from the convenience store were all made of soft cotton, comfortable enough, but very simple in style—plain white.
The material was decently thick too, so it was not see-through.
After showering, Gu Tang came out wearing a white T-shirt and white underwear, toweling his hair as he walked.
The first thing he saw was Young Master Gu bent over, making the bed.
He had changed the sheets, duvet cover, and pillowcases into disposable ones, smoothing everything out flat and pulling the corners perfectly neat.
For someone with a cleanliness obsession, staying in a hotel or a dorm was equally torturous.
If not for keeping him company, someone as pampered and fastidious as Young Master Gu would never have had to suffer like this.
Thinking back, Gu Tang realized that from childhood onward, no matter what he wanted to do, Young Master Gu might complain that it was boring, but he always stayed by his side. Back in middle school, he had even wanted to apply to the arts track with him.
Young Master Gu, who always acted tough but was soft-hearted underneath, was really adorable!
The thought made Gu Tang itch inside, and he could not resist teasing him.
Leaning against the wall, watching Young Master Gu’s busy back, he deliberately said, “Whose little wife is this? So virtuous.”
Gu Qinian paused mid-motion and turned back to look at him.
Fresh out of the shower, the boy’s cheeks were rosy, the tips of his damp hair still dripping water, and a little patch of moisture had spread across the chest of his white T-shirt.
The loose shirt only fell to mid-thigh. Below it stretched two pale, slender legs, with the joints faintly pink.
So beautiful it was hard to look away.
If not for the fact that the boy’s eyes were still so bright and innocent, Gu Qinian would have thought he was trying to seduce him.
Gu Tang blinked and showed all his little white teeth in a grin. “Hehe, Nian-Nian is a capable little wife.”
Gu Qinian: “…”
He had to work very hard to clear all the completely unbroadcastable thoughts from his mind.
And work even harder not to interpret Gu Tang’s words the wrong way.
His Adam’s apple bobbed once before he asked, “No one wants him. Do you?”
“Who says our Nian-Nian has no one who wants him?”
Gu Tang came closer, looking utterly serious. “There’ll be lots of people fighting over you in the future.”
His Young Master Gu was the male lead. Forget the male lead halo—even just with that face, it was impossible that no one would like him.
Besides, the system had said already that the male lead’s romance line had begun.
Maybe some of those destined connections had already started to unfold without anyone noticing…
Gu Tang poked Young Master Gu in the waist with one finger. “Wasn’t that big sister at the front desk just asking for your contact info? I heard it!”
At once, Gu Qinian’s eyes darkened. He caught Gu Tang’s hand. “Don’t poke around however you want.”
If one listened closely, even his voice sounded slightly hoarse.
Gu Tang pulled his hand back and rubbed his fingers as he nodded. “Mm, I won’t poke anymore.”
Who even knew what Young Master Gu was made of? His waist was as hard as a steel plate…
After rubbing his fingers, Gu Tang compared it to his own waist and pinched himself.
So soft…
There was no comparison at all.
Gu Qinian looked down at him. “You’re happy that someone flirted with me?”
Gu Tang stopped pinching his waist and lifted his little face proudly. “Of course I am.”
His little Gu Qinian was all grown up, and people were already showing interest. How could he not be happy?
In the very next second, a towel was thrown over his head.
His vision went dark instantly.
Gu Tang plopped down onto the bed.
“Dry your hair properly.”
Young Master Gu tossed down those cool words and walked away. By the time Gu Tang tugged the towel off, all he could see was the other boy’s annoyed back disappearing into the bathroom.
“? What’s he mad about now?”
Gu Tang scratched his head, draped the towel over himself, and started scrubbing away.
Once his hair was almost dry, he was already so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open.
What an exhausting day.
Luckily, Young Master Gu had already made the bed.
He flopped down onto it, found a comfortable position, and closed his eyes.
Not long after, in that hazy state between waking and sleep, he felt the other side of the bed sink a little. Young Master Gu must have finished showering and come back.
The other boy still carried a little trace of dampness and lay down beside him.
But unlike usual, the cold-sensitive Young Master Gu did not snuggle up against him. The king bed in the hotel was very spacious, and he lay very far away from him.
Gu Tang did not open his eyes, but based on the distance of the breathing beside him, he felt that even if he stretched out an arm, he probably would not be able to reach him.
Instinctively, he wanted to roll closer.
But half-asleep minds were the least obedient.
He had already been trying so hard to stop thinking about it, but all of a sudden that face of Young Master Gu appeared at extremely close range in his mind again, and it even seemed as if his lips still carried the cold touch of that metal mask.
Gu Tang pressed his lips together and hesitated.
He really was too tired. The fact that he had managed to stay awake until Young Master Gu came out of the shower was already the limit. While hesitating for just that little moment, his head tipped to one side, and he fell asleep.
Gu Qinian lay there with his back to him for a long time.
Only after making sure the boy behind him was fully asleep did he slowly turn over, extend his arm, and pull him into his embrace.
It was pure habit, trained over many years.
Even though Gu Tang was already sleeping like the dead, the moment he was gathered into the other boy’s arms, he nuzzled around very naturally and settled into a comfortable position there before continuing to sleep.
Their bodies fit together with perfect ease, as if they had been born to slot together exactly this way.
His nose was filled with the fresh scent of the boy, mixed with the faint fragrance of body wash. It smelled wonderful.
Gu Qinian lowered his head and kissed the top of Gu Tang’s hair.
He had originally thought that just a little taste would ease the desire in him.
But in fact, it only made it worse.
That kiss through the mask had been like scratching through a boot—it had only dug out the deeper desires hidden inside him.
The feel of the boy’s smooth skin beneath his fingers at the back of his neck, the secret kisses pressed to his hair, even just the brush of his lips against Gu Tang’s earlobe and cheek, all of it made Gu Qinian feel excited.
And yet along with that excitement came a hollow ache inside.
Would Gu Tang ever understand his feelings?
And after understanding them, would he accept them?
“Mmn…”
Probably because he had been hugging him too tightly, Gu Tang let out a small unconscious murmur.
It was so soft and so light.
Gu Qinian’s pupils contracted. He let go of him and almost scrambled out of bed in a sorry state, heading for the bathroom to take a cold shower.
Gu Tang knew absolutely nothing about this.
Unlike Young Master Gu with all his complicated thoughts, he slept wonderfully.
He was even having an extremely pleasant dream.
He dreamed that he was floating in water. All around him was like some heavenly fairyland. White mist drifted across the surface of the water, the temperature was perfectly comfortable, and water lilies floated up and down around him.
Gu Tang lay on top of a lotus leaf, using his finger to draw on its round surface.
Wherever his fingertip passed, lines appeared.
In no time, he had drawn Young Master Gu.
It was Young Master Gu as the River God—dragon horns on his forehead, dragon scales at the corners of his eyes, and half his face covered by a mask… very beautiful.
But while he was drawing, he suddenly felt something odd about the water.
The water wrapping around his body seemed to tighten all at once. It did not feel suffocating. It felt as though someone were hugging him from behind.
Gu Tang turned to look, and saw a human shape slowly rising from the water.
The transparent figure wore a mask.
Exactly the same as the one he had just drawn.
Faced with this mysterious thing, Gu Tang felt no fear at all. Perhaps because it was a dream, his whole body felt soft and lazy. If it wanted to hold him, then it could hold him.
It felt comfortable, and he could not be bothered to move.
But the water-formed figure was not very well-behaved. It coiled around him more and more tightly, moving over his body.
Tilting his head, Gu Tang looked at it. He wanted to ask, “Who are you?” but no sound came out.
The figure leaned closer and blocked his mouth.
A cold sensation touched his lips.
Gu Tang tried hard to open his eyes wider, wanting to see the other’s face clearly.
The human shape gradually sharpened until the features became clear—and in the end, it was Young Master Gu’s face…
Gu Tang slowly opened his eyes.
He had only just woken up, and his mind was still a little muddled.
His normally bright, crystal-clear eyes were hazy with moisture.
He stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, planning to roll over and keep sleeping. But after sensing something strange, his eyes flew wide open and his awareness instantly snapped back.
Without even noticing that the person beside him was gone, Gu Tang jumped down from the bed in a panic, grabbed a small item from the spare clothes they had bought, and hurried toward the bathroom.
At that exact same moment, the bathroom door opened.
Unable to stop himself in time, Gu Tang crashed straight into a chest as hard as a steel plate.
He let out a little “oof” and pitched backward.
Luckily, Young Master Gu reacted fast and caught him.
Gu Qinian was dripping wet and radiating a chill.
When Gu Tang came back to himself, he asked blankly, “Why are you taking a cold shower?”
“No, wait… didn’t you already shower?”
He was completely confused.
Could it be that Young Master Gu climbing into bed earlier had all been his imagination?
Gu Qinian did not answer either question. Instead, he asked back, “Why are you up?”
Gu Tang froze.
Then he flushed bright red. “I-I need to rinse off too!”
He shoved Young Master Gu aside, darted into the bathroom himself, and shut and locked the door behind him, leaving the other boy outside.
Gu Qinian: “…”
He looked at the closed bathroom door.
Then the sound of running water came from inside.
Young Master Gu raised a brow and slowly swept his gaze around the room.
In the end, his eyes landed on the opened pack of disposable underwear, and a deep light flickered in them.
Gu Tang stood there in a daze, staring at the little white piece of cloth he had just thrown into the trash can.
He knew this was normal, yet it was the very first time in both his lives that he had experienced it.
In his previous life, he had lived to eighteen, but because his body had been so weak, all his development had been delayed. Until the day he died, he had never…
[But this is so good now! It means Host’s body is healthy and developing normally!]
Gu Tang jumped, startled by the system. “Why are you still here?”
[I already told you, I’ll always stay with Host…]
The system sounded a little hurt, its electronic voice full of grievance.
Gu Tang nearly broke down. “I… that… you know too?”
[Of course! I’m the little guardian of Host’s body!]
The system puffed up proudly at once.
“!” Gu Tang blushed so hard his whole face turned red.
Did that mean every reaction he had, the system knew all about it?!
[Host, don’t be embarrassed. This is all perfectly normal for humans. If you don’t want bodily monitoring on this level, it can be turned off. Though I know Host definitely wouldn’t bear to turn me off…]
Before the system could even finish, Gu Tang had already shut off the body-monitoring function.
[…]
Gu Tang tried to comfort it. “I’m doing this to lighten your workload. From now on, you only need to monitor my life points. You should take naps more often.”
[You think I’d believe that?!]
Having its permissions revoked made the system unhappy, and it curled itself into a sulky ball.
Gu Tang coaxed it. “Don’t you like resting? Isn’t less work a good thing?”
The system muttered under its breath.
Yes, it liked holidays.
But it liked sticking close to its host even more, and the host just did not understand it.
This was all that annoying male lead’s fault for taking up the host’s heart!
The system’s daily routine: insult the male lead whenever possible!
After placating the system, Gu Tang went right back to being red-faced.
He could not understand it.
Being healthy was one thing, but why had he dreamed about Young Master Gu?!!
Gu Tang felt that, to Gu Qinian, he was now incredibly dangerous—basically like a ticking time bomb.
This was probably the tragic fate of a cannon-fodder fake young master.
No matter how much he did not want to, he still somehow kept doing things that amounted to dancing wildly right on the male lead’s danger zone.
If Young Master Gu ever found out that he had dreamed about him, and even had that kind of reaction, then…
what the original book had described as being “pressed to death” would be getting off lightly.
Young Master Gu was such a neat freak that he might genuinely want to kill him.
Gu Tang: No no no no no…
Because he was so nervous, he began dreaming about Young Master Gu even more frequently.
Not those dreamy, hazy kinds of dreams.
But nightmares.
In them, Young Master Gu chased him and tried to kill him over and over. Every time he woke up, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his body felt as if it had been run over by a truck. He would be so exhausted he could barely move.
His life points also kept going down.
Under normal circumstances, doing a few missions would raise them again. But Gu Tang was so guilty that he kept avoiding Young Master Gu. Where was he supposed to find another male lead to do missions with?
Gu Qinian also noticed that something was wrong with Gu Tang.
In class, Gu Tang started using books to block the space between them. Even though they were deskmates, he somehow managed to create a full-on boundary line between Chu and Han.
If Gu Qinian’s arm or leg crossed that invisible border even a little, Gu Tang would shrink away to the side, as if he were some flood beast.
Back in the dorm, it got even worse.
Gu Tang sealed off the “secret tunnel” between their bed curtains.
He taped it shut so tightly with clear tape that not even a crack remained.
Then every day he started running back and forth between the school and the hospital, and would not let Gu Qinian come with him.
Standing by the window, watching the familiar figure in the distance hurry toward the school gate with a small backpack on, Gu Qinian felt his heart sink.
Perhaps Gu Tang was not simply slow to understand.
Perhaps he genuinely did not like him.
At the hospital, the moment Yin Ruan saw Gu Tang arrive, her face lit up with joy. “Tangtang, I have good news for you!”
“Your father is showing signs of improvement!”
Tears of excitement welled in her eyes. “Tangtang, you really are your father’s lucky star. As soon as you came back, he… he might actually have a chance of waking up.”
Gu Tang was delighted too.
He had originally worried that sharing life points would not work, but now that he heard his father’s condition had improved, he split half of his remaining life points and shared them with him again.
At that exact moment, he felt his father’s hand tighten suddenly.
Gu Tang jerked in surprise. “Dad?”
His father still kept his eyes closed and said nothing, but everyone present clearly saw a single tear slide from the corner of Yu Zhongyuan’s eye.
Even the doctor could not believe it.
A man who had lain there for more than ten years, whose body had already begun to fail, who was clearly nearing the end—yet now seemed to be reviving like dead wood in spring.
It was practically a miracle of medicine!
In the midst of her joy, Yin Ruan also noticed how poor Gu Tang looked, and she touched his cheek in concern. “Have you been running to the hospital too often lately? Are you too tired? Why have you gotten thinner?”
The first time she met him, her little son’s cheeks had still been soft and round. But now his face had grown slimmer, his chin sharper, and his eyes looked even bigger.
There were even faint dark shadows under them, like someone who had not slept well in a long time.
Gu Tang only told her that schoolwork was stressful and that she should not worry.
But in reality, he was sharing life points with his father while also exhausting himself trying to avoid Young Master Gu. His energy was running critically low.
[This can’t go on!]
[Host, your life points are already below the warning line!]
The speed at which his life points had been dropping lately scared even the system. It watched him nervously every single day, terrified that if it let its guard down for even a second, its sweet, adorable host would simply die on the spot.
Gu Tang asked it, “Is there any way to refill the bar?”
[Isn’t that easy? You’re the best at it!]
[Do missions!]
The system dived into the ocean of plotlines and selected one with especially generous rewards—
[Host, let’s do the key plot mission “Sabotage the Male Lead’s Social Life”! Reward: 100 life points and 10 plot coins!]
[And the best part is, it also comes with a Double Reward Card!]
A double reward meant life points multiplied by two. He could keep 100 for himself and share 100 with his father.
Gu Tang’s eyes lit up. “That one!”
But sabotaging Young Master Gu’s social life was a bit difficult.
The main problem was—
Young Master Gu did not actually have a social life at all!
Gu Qinian’s main activity zones at school were basically limited to the classroom, the student council, and the basketball team. But he had no intention of making friends. Usually, other people approached him, and most of the time Young Master Gu just found them annoying.
If one had to identify Young Master Gu’s biggest “social connection,” it would be Gu Tang himself.
Gu Tang: So should I destroy myself?
That seemed a little impossible…
He mulled it over and over, dragging his feet until February arrived.
At some point, Valentine’s Day culture had started spreading wildly through campus. Around this time every year, people would boldly stuff love letters and chocolates at the object of their affection.
If the student council caught them, it was pretty much game over.
But if they were not caught…maybe it would actually work!
When Gu Tang saw that Young Master Gu’s desk drawer was practically overflowing with pink envelopes, an idea instantly came to him.
The system thought of the same thing and began urgently urging him on.
[Host, quick quick quick! Sabotage the male lead’s social life!]
Gu Tang nodded.
If he killed off the beginnings of the male lead’s social network, that counted as sabotaging it too.
But this was his first time doing something like this, and he was nervous.
He took a deep breath and gave himself a noble-sounding excuse.
This was all for Young Master Gu’s own good. The male lead would not lack romance later, but right now they were almost in the final year of high school, and obsessing over love would do nothing good for studying.
Using that thought to hypnotize himself, Gu Tang sneaked over to Young Master Gu’s desk, swept all the love letters out of the drawer, and prepared to dump them into the student council report box.
Then he noticed that in the back of the drawer, there was also a box of chocolates.
The chocolates were too large to fit into the report box…
Maybe he should execute them on the spot?
Gu Qinian had noticed that Gu Tang skipped even morning exercises and came back to the classroom early. Thinking he might be feeling unwell, he followed to check on him.
The moment he entered the classroom, he saw Gu Tang sitting in his seat, clutching a whole stack of pink envelopes in his arms, cheeks stuffed full, and several chocolate wrappers spread out in front of him.
Gu Qinian: “…What are you doing?”
Gu Tang, busy chewing furiously: “!!!”
