Chapter 73: Midnight Dance
The Yu residence was located in Jiang City’s top-tier villa district along the riverbank. At night, it was brightly lit, so beautiful it looked like a crystal palace.
Gu Tang’s eighteenth birthday banquet would be held here.
Even though Father Yu had not yet awakened, Yin Ruan still wanted to throw a grand birthday celebration for the youngest son she had finally found again.
But if they made too much of a fuss, the media would definitely come swarming in. To keep Gu Tang from being harassed during such a crucial time in senior year, Yin Ruan and Yu Xiao finally decided, at Gu Tang’s own request, to hold only a family banquet.
Even so, quite a few of the Yu family’s business partners still came on the day of the banquet, and Gu Tang’s hands nearly went numb from receiving gifts.
Some of the presents were so large he could not even carry them with his own hands.
There were no fewer than five cars among the gifts alone.
Looking at the streamlined luxury cars parked in the yard, Gu Tang thought of the sports car Movie Queen Li had once given him, still sitting unused at the Gu residence. Letting them all sit there without being driven felt too wasteful.
It seemed necessary to hurry up and get a driver’s license during the summer after the college entrance exam, so he could drive Young Master Gu around for fun.
[Host, all you ever think about is the male lead. It’s your birthday—where is he?]
The system seized every chance to sow discord.
Recently, the male lead and the host had become even closer, and that made it worried.
It always felt as if its host was getting farther and farther from the ultimate goal of being “crushed to death” by the male lead…
“He said he’d come.”
Gu Tang was completely unaware of the system’s painstaking efforts. Standing in front of the mirror, he turned left and right, admiring himself. “System, do I look good?”
[Baby Tang, you are the most dazzling kid in the whole room!]
The system never spared any words when praising its host.
Gu Tang immediately lit up with joy. “Yiyi designed it for me.”
The little formal outfit he was wearing had been personally designed and handmade by Jiang Yiyi, then specially mailed back from overseas. The diamond-studded little bow tie around his neck had been a gift from Jiang Yiwen.
At first, Gu Tang had felt it was too expensive and had not dared accept it.
But Jiang Yiyi had proudly told him, “Just accept it! Don’t underestimate my brother—he’s very good at making money now. Besides, giving gifts is exactly the sort of thing a deeply devoted second male lead should do.”
Although Gu Tang did not understand what “deeply devoted second male lead” meant, he did understand that Jiang Yiwen was very impressive now.
Back then, Papa Gu had sent Father Jiang abroad to open up overseas business, but unexpectedly, Jiang Yiwen had become even more capable than his father. The father and son were like two great generals expanding the Gu family’s territory.
A lot of the Gu family’s business in Country S had the Jiang father and son behind it.
Gu Tang was happy for Jiang Yiwen. He straightened his little bow tie properly, adjusted his clothes, and took a photo to send to Jiang Yiyi.
Gu Tang: [I put on the outfit and the bow tie. I really like them! Thank you both!]
Yiyi: [As expected of you! As expected of my brother’s and my taste! Gorgeous!!!]
Looking at the emoji Jiang Yiyi had sent—heart eyes and drooling—Gu Tang felt a little embarrassed. He put his phone away and walked out of the room.
To him, the Yu residence was an unfamiliar mansion.
Although everything looked luxurious and magnificent, compared to the Gu residence, the Yu residence lacked a sense of home.
That could not really be helped.
The Yu family’s old house had been destroyed by fire. This mansion had only been bought in a hurry as temporary housing. Usually, Yu Xiao stayed mostly at the company, Yu Yang was either on set or at his own place, and Yin Ruan had to care for Yu Zhongyuan at the hospital, leaving the house effectively unoccupied.
Well, it could not exactly be said that no one lived there.
He had heard there was also a young little cousin of his who had always lived at the Yu residence, but the house was so huge that since coming back, he had not yet met him.
“Hello.”
Suddenly, a milky little voice came from below.
Gu Tang stopped and looked down. Somehow, a little boy had appeared out of nowhere. He was not even as tall as Gu Tang’s knee—at most four or five years old—standing there with his round little face tilted up at him.
“I want to go to the bathroom. Can you take me there?”
The little boy spoke very politely, though he kept a bit of distance from him.
Gu Tang curved his eyes and beckoned. “Come here. I’ll take you.”
The moment he saw that Gu Tang did not reject him, the little boy immediately broke into a smile and scampered over, catching hold of Gu Tang’s hand.
Gu Tang thought the child’s smiling face looked a bit familiar.
After thinking for a second, he realized the child looked somewhat like him.
More precisely, he looked a little like Gu Tang when he had been younger—round little cheeks that obviously looked very pinchable.
Gu Tang: “…”
He suddenly understood why everyone had pinched him wherever he went when he was little…
The little boy already liked Gu Tang a lot, and as he held his hand, he gently swung it back and forth. “Let’s go to the downstairs bathroom.”
That way, he could go straight to his cousin’s birthday banquet afterward.
The little boy had clearly planned it all out.
But he did not dare go downstairs alone, and the nanny was nowhere to be found. Luckily, he had met this big brother.
This big brother was so handsome…
Looking up at Gu Tang’s face, the little boy smiled like a bobbing little sunflower.
Noticing his gaze, Gu Tang assumed the little one was too tired to walk, so he simply bent down and picked him up.
“So, so high!”
Sitting in Gu Tang’s arms, the little boy sounded excited.
Unable to resist, Gu Tang pinched his little cheek. “Hold tight—big brother is taking you flying!”
“Flying!!!”
One big and one small happily headed downstairs, when suddenly a voice came from behind them.
“Yu Xi, why are you bothering your little brother?”
Gu Tang turned around and discovered it was Yu Rong. He froze for a second.
He remembered Yu Xiao saying Yu Rong had been sent away on a business trip.
As if guessing what he was thinking, Yu Rong narrowed the only part of his face not covered by his mask—his eyes—and smiled. “How could I not come back for my little brother’s birthday?”
Then he started walking toward them.
For some reason, Gu Tang noticed that the little boy in his arms hiccupped in fright the moment he saw Yu Rong.
Patting his back, Gu Tang greeted Yu Rong politely but distantly. “You’ve worked hard, cousin.”
“Not at all. It’s all for the family.”
Yu Rong reached out as if to take the little boy from him. “You’re the birthday star today. How can we let you carry a child?”
The little boy clung tightly to Gu Tang’s neck. He did not say a word, but his little face clearly screamed: No, no, no…
Seeing this, Gu Tang took a step back and avoided Yu Rong’s hand. “It’s fine. He’s quite well-behaved.”
Yu Rong did not seem to mind and just smiled. “I haven’t wished you a happy birthday yet, little brother. By the way, did you like the gift your brother prepared for you?”
Gu Tang replied, “Sorry, there were too many gifts. I haven’t finished opening them yet.”
“It’s only right that there are many gifts. You drifted outside the family for over ten years. In principle, your brother should make up for every birthday gift you missed, but I was away on business for so long recently that I didn’t have time. In the future, your brother will make them up to you one by one.”
Yu Rong really was very good at giving himself a graceful out. His words sounded both warm and appropriate.
But Gu Tang simply did not like him.
When he had first met Yu Yang, he had felt that Yu Yang wore a fake smile, yet he had still felt a natural fondness for him.
Yu Rong was different.
No matter how friendly the other person acted, Gu Tang rejected him from the bottom of his heart.
Yu Rong kept talking to himself and then sighed. “There may be many gifts, but for little brother to have finally come home and still not be able to make his identity public—that’s really a grievance. Even Yu Xi doesn’t recognize you…”
As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Gu Tang, his eyes full of sympathy.
Yu Rong truly spared no effort in trying to drive a wedge between them.
Last time he had twisted things to? Yu Yang in front of Yu Xiao, and now he wanted to suggest that the Yu family had only publicly acknowledged Gu Tang on the surface, while actually having no intention of making his identity known.
Gu Tang: “…”
If he had not personally been the one to ask Yu Xiao to keep the birthday banquet low-key, to avoid the media following him back to school and affecting his life and exams, he might really have believed Yu Rong’s nonsense.
He did not want to waste time here on Yu Rong.
He was dressed so nicely, and he was in a hurry to show Young Master Gu!
Just as Gu Tang was trying to think of an excuse to run away, the little boy in his arms suddenly piped up in his babyish voice, “That’s right! Xi Xi doesn’t know big brother yet, and big brother doesn’t know Xi Xi either!”
“Because we haven’t introduced ourselves!”
Gu Tang was instantly amused. “You’re right. If we’re family, then once we introduce ourselves, we’ll become familiar.”
One big and one little chatted back and forth so naturally that there was no room for anyone else to join in.
Standing there, Yu Rong was momentarily speechless.
Actually, Gu Tang had already vaguely guessed the little boy’s identity.
His name was Yu Xi, so he must be that little cousin who lived at the Yu residence.
Yu Xi’s mother had been Yu Zhongyuan’s youngest sister—making her Gu Tang’s little aunt. But sadly, she and her husband had died in a car accident years ago, leaving only Yu Xi behind.
As the head of the Yu family, Yu Xiao had brought Yu Xi home to raise. But because he was so busy with work, Yu Xi was usually looked after by a nanny, living in this empty Yu residence.
That reminded Gu Tang of Young Master Gu when he had been little.
He too had been raised by a nanny and had almost been stolen away.
Gu Tang patted Yu Xi’s little head and secretly thought maybe he should discuss it with Yu Xiao and suggest taking Yu Xi to the Gu residence.
Recently, Grandma Mei had been holding old photos of Gu Tang and Young Master Gu as children, constantly muttering about when they might bring another little child home so she could enjoy her grandchildren.
Now that Gu Lin and Yu Yang were together, Grandma Mei’s dream of holding a grandson had already been shattered.
Since the Yu family had stolen away Second Master Gu, then… compensating Grandma Mei with a little grandson did not seem too unreasonable, right?
It would also be good for Yu Xi’s growth.
The more Gu Tang thought about it, the more he liked the idea.
Yet right then, Yu Rong again stretched out a hand, trying to take the little boy from his arms. “Yu Xi, your little brother is busy. Let me take you to the bathroom.”
Yu Xi burrowed deeper into Gu Tang’s arms and whispered, “I want little brother to come with me…”
Gu Tang smiled. “I’m not busy. I’ll take him.”
He had been worrying about how to find an excuse to get rid of Yu Rong anyway.
So saying that, he hugged the chubby little Yu Xi tighter and walked off while teasing him, “Off we go! Otherwise Xi Xi might wet his pants in a bit!”
Yu Xi stiffened his little face. “Xi Xi will not wet his pants!”
After taking Yu Xi to the bathroom next to the first-floor banquet hall, Yu Xi insisted he could pee by himself and told Gu Tang it was enough for him to wait outside.
While waiting, Gu Tang looked around.
Like the Gu residence, the Yu residence also had a fireplace in the reception area. The difference was that Grandma Mei had boldly hung the whole family portrait on the wall, while the Yu residence only displayed a few small photos on the mantel.
The photos were all of the Yu family, and Gu Tang curiously went closer to look.
The largest was a family portrait.
In the photo, he saw Yu Xiao and Yu Yang as half-grown teenagers, Yu Zhongyuan looking vigorous and sharp-eyed, and Yin Ruan, gentle and beautiful, wearing a sweet smile on her face.
“This is…”
Gu Tang stared in surprise at the little baby in Yin Ruan’s arms.
The child’s soft, rosy little face was smiling just as sweetly as Yin Ruan.
[That’s you when you were little, Host!]
[So cute!!!]
The system could not help exclaiming, then shuddered after the fact—
[When you were first born, your body actually wasn’t weak. It was the smoke in the fire that harmed you. Human babies can’t handle that much smoke. Back then you were unconscious for such a long time that I was terrified I’d have to find a new host…]
In his mind, Gu Tang patted the little system. “It’s thanks to you guarding me all the way.”
[Hehe, no need to be polite, Host.]
The little system usually fought hard for attention, but after being so sincerely thanked by Gu Tang, it instead became shy.
It wriggled around inside his consciousness.
Gu Tang went through the photos one by one until his gaze stopped on a boy of thirteen or fourteen.
[Wait!]
The system suddenly let out a sharp electronic cry.
Gu Tang’s ears rang from the abrupt sound. After recovering a little, he asked, “What is it?”
[This person…]
After double-checking over and over, the system said word by word—
[Host, I recognize him! This is the person who carried you out of the fire!]
Gu Tang: “!!!”
“Big brother…”
Yu Xi came wobbling back out, tugging at his little waistband. Seeing Gu Tang standing there in a daze by the fireplace, he tilted his head. “Why are you staring at Rong-ge’s photo?”
Gu Tang shuddered. Holding Yu Xi up, he pointed at the photo and asked, “This is Yu Rong? Are you sure?”
Yu Xi snuggled into his arms. “Yes. Xiao-ge said this is what Rong-ge used to look like.”
[No wonder I couldn’t recognize him!]
[Yu Rong was disfigured in the fire, so facial recognition can’t identify him!]
Hearing both Yu Xi’s words and the system’s at the same time, Gu Tang froze on the spot.
If Yu Rong was the one who had carried him away from the fire, then why had he not handed him back to Yin Ruan and Yu Xiao?
What role had Yu Rong actually played in the fire at the Yu residence all those years ago?
Looking at the teenage Yu Rong in the photo, Gu Tang’s whole body began trembling.
Fragments of truth were slowly beginning to surface…
Probably noticing that he was shaking, Yu Xi hugged him. Since the little boy’s arms were too short to reach around his back, he could only pat his shoulder with all his might. “Is big brother scared of Rong-ge too? Don’t be scared, don’t be scared! Xi Xi is here!”
“…Too?”
Hearing that, Gu Tang looked at him. “Xi Xi is afraid of Yu Rong?”
“Mm-hmm. Rong-ge is really fierce…”
A trace of fear flashed in Yu Xi’s big eyes.
But very quickly, he shook his head again. “But Xi Xi has grown up now! Xi Xi isn’t scared anymore!”
“Xi Xi can protect big brother!”
Deeply moved, Gu Tang hugged Yu Xi tighter and asked, “You said Yu Rong is fierce. How fierce?”
As though remembering something terrifying, Yu Xi covered his head with his tiny hands. “Rong-ge said if I was naughty, or if I said bad things about him, he would burn off my hair…”
At exactly seven in the evening, the birthday banquet officially began.
Guests arrived one after another, and the Yu residence instantly became lively.
Gu Tang told Yu Xi that their conversation today was a little secret that nobody was allowed to know. As long as Yu Xi kept the secret, next time Gu Tang would take him out to play.
Yu Xi nodded so hard his head looked like it might fall off.
Gu Tang held it steady with both hands, rubbed his little cousin’s cheeks, and then handed him over to Yin Ruan.
As for Yu Rong, Gu Tang had his own thoughts.
First, there was not enough evidence. So many years had passed since the fire at the Yu residence, and both witnesses and the chain of evidence were gone, making it difficult to prove any connection to Yu Rong.
Second, he could not explain the existence of the system. He had no way to tell others why he knew Yu Rong had been the one to carry him away.
Third, the fact that Yu Rong had also been disfigured in the fire gave him a lot of sympathy points. Being jealous and extreme in personality alone was not enough to prove anything.
Most importantly, Yu Rong had only been in his teens back then—still a minor. Even if the evidence pointed directly at him, the extent to which he could be held responsible would still be limited.
Under the current circumstances, alerting the enemy would only benefit the real culprit.
[Host, what are you going to do?]
After thinking for a moment, Gu Tang gave only one word: “Wait.”
Young Master Gu had told him before that there were some people who were simply born rotten. If you left them alone, sooner or later they would commit terrible crimes on their own.
All one had to do was keep watching them, guard against them, and catch them at the moment they acted.
That way, they would have no chance to wash themselves clean.
At that moment, the classmates he had invited arrived.
Gu Tang rubbed his face to make himself look as normal as possible and went to greet his little friends.
“Tangtang! Your house is so pretty! There’s so much delicious food!”
Zhu Xu was the most practical of them all. After stuffing his gift into Gu Tang’s hands, he immediately sprinted toward the food area.
Little Glasses, Duan Zhengyu, shyly said, “Tangtang, you got so many presents. I… I only brought you a fountain pen.”
He was worried his gift was too humble to compare.
But Gu Tang was his very best friend, so no matter what, he had to come to his birthday banquet.
“Thank you, Zhengyu!”
Gu Tang accepted the carefully wrapped gift with both hands and held it to his chest. “When fans ask me for autographs in the future, I’ll use the pen you gave me!”
Duan Zhengyu’s eyes behind his glasses lit up. “Really? You like my gift?”
Gu Tang nodded hard. “I like it very much.”
In the middle of the banquet hall stood a grand piano.
Xie Qian was responsible for the piano performance tonight. Standing by the piano, he nodded at Gu Tang and said, “The first piece is dedicated to today’s birthday star, my very best friend, Gu Tang! Happy birthday!”
“Tsk tsk tsk, so finally dog mouths can produce ivory.”
Song Chen, arms crossed, made his usual jab while handing Gu Tang both his and Xie Qian’s gifts at once. “Happy birthday.”
“Thank you all!”
Gu Tang was so happy.
In his previous life, only a few days after his eighteenth birthday, he had died.
He had never imagined that in this life he would live healthily and happily to eighteen, with so many little friends by his side, no longer alone.
Most importantly—he still had Young Master Gu!
Gu Tang looked around. The entire Gu family had already arrived long ago, and just now he had even seen Yu Xi making Grandma Mei laugh so hard she was practically cackling.
Everyone who should have come was here, except for Young Master Gu.
“Where did he go?”
The banquet hall was bustling with lively noise, exactly the kind of atmosphere Gu Tang loved most.
But because Young Master Gu was missing, after cutting the cake, Gu Tang slipped away from the crowd when no one was paying attention.
A girl among the guests had wanted to ask him to dance, but in the blink of an eye, once the dance music started, the sweet and delicate boy had vanished.
Gu Tang walked into the Yu residence’s garden courtyard.
Far from the crowd, it was much quieter there. Only faint traces of music could still be heard.
He took out his phone and sent Young Master Gu a message.
[Where are you?]
One second after sending it, no reply. Two seconds, still nothing.
At the third second,
a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind.
He did not even need to turn around. Just from the broad embrace and the familiar scent, Gu Tang’s eyes curved into crescents.
“Niannian!”
“Mm.”
As always, the other person answered with only one sparing syllable.
Gu Tang asked, “Where did you go?”
Why did he look like he had rushed in from far away?
“To get your gift.”
Gu Qinian rested his chin on top of his head. His voice came from above. Still hugging him from behind, he held one of Gu Tang’s hands.
Then, with fingers as elegant as jade, he fastened a pair of glittering gemstone cufflinks onto him.
All these years, Gu Tang had neglected proper things in favor of shiny objects, and under Grandma Mei’s influence he had developed eyes sharp enough to spot treasures. As long as it was a top luxury fashion brand or famous jewelry house, he knew them all by heart.
The instant he saw the gemstones set into the cufflinks, Gu Tang’s eyes widened.
If he had not mistaken them, these gemstones were from the same source as the one on Yu Xiao’s cane, all sold at the same auction for exorbitant prices.
At the time, he had even felt sorry that the gemstones had been sold by two different owners, thinking it such a pity the family of gems had to be separated.
But one had ended up with Yu Xiao, and the other two had somehow landed in Young Master Gu’s hands.
After all the twists and turns, the whole family had reunited in his home!
“I didn’t realize setting the stones would take so long. I only just got them.”
Young Master Gu’s chin rubbed lightly against the top of his head as he said softly, “Sorry. I came back late.”
Gu Tang’s face warmed. “Not late. I saved some cake for you.”
“Good.”
Gu Qinian secretly kissed the top of his head.
Although he loved these glittering gemstones, Gu Tang had always been someone who enjoyed admiring beautiful things more than possessing them. Back then, he had even thought Yu Xiao was a fool for spending so much on that stone. So what did that make Young Master Gu, who had bought two?
A double fool…
“This gem is really beautiful, but it’s too expensive.”
Holding the cufflink, Gu Tang said quietly.
“Too expensive? Then all the better.”
Gu Qinian turned him around until they were face to face. Looking straight into his eyes, he said seriously, “Only something precious enough can be worthy of you. It is the gems’ honor to be worn by you.”
Eighteen-year-old Gu Tang was so beautiful that Gu Qinian found it almost unbelievable.
If he could, he really wanted to hide him away.
But there were many people in this world who loved Gu Tang, and Gu Tang loved those people back. No matter how strong his possessiveness was, for the sake of the smile on the face before him, he was willing to endure.
As long as Gu Tang was like this today—surrounded by the love of countless people, yet still remembering to come looking for him.
It was enough for him to be the most important one in Gu Tang’s heart.
Gu Tang felt a little embarrassed under that gaze.
It was hard to imagine that someone as cool and distant as Young Master Gu could show such a passionate look.
Originally, Gu Tang had wanted to act just like when they were children, all dressed up beautifully, run up to him, and arrogantly ask, “Niannian, am I handsome or not?”
But now, being stared at like this, Gu Tang could not get a single word out.
No one was around.
The way the two of them stood looking at each other even made the atmosphere start to feel ambiguous.
Just then, a dance tune drifted out from the banquet hall.
Hearing it too, Gu Qinian let his long eyes soften and asked gently, “Do you want to dance?”
Gu Tang was surprised. “Niannian knows how to dance too?”
“I learned in Country S. Want me to lead you?”
As he said it, Young Master Gu made a standard invitation-to-dance gesture and extended a hand to him like a gentleman.
Gu Tang had always been drawn to anything new and was curious about everything, though never for very long.
Young Master Gu was like a giant treasure trove, always yielding new and interesting discoveries.
He himself definitely could not dance—but precisely because he could not, that made it fun!
So he put his hand into Young Master Gu’s palm.
In the next second, he was led up, and the other boy’s free hand circled his waist.
As the other guided him, Gu Tang felt his steps become light, almost floating like an immortal.
“Niannian, you dance so well!”
He could not help blurting it out in admiration.
Then, remembering that he had never seen him dance before and that he had said he learned in Country S…
Gu Tang suddenly frowned as if recalling something. “Didn’t you say you never went to dances in Country S, and never went to places like that?”
Even he himself did not realize there was a hint of lemony jealousy in his voice.
Gu Qinian loved seeing Gu Tang look sour like this, but he could not bear to keep him worried, so he quickly explained, “I didn’t go. I specifically found a teacher to learn, because I thought you’d like it.”
“I really do like it.”
Gu Tang immediately beamed again.
Young Master Gu was someone who got up early every day to practice martial arts, and yet he had actually gone to learn dancing because of him.
No matter how he thought about it, it felt wildly incongruous!
But it also touched him deeply.
Unfortunately, he had never had the chance to learn dancing in his previous life, and he had not made any effort to study it in this life either. So he danced terribly and kept accidentally stepping on Young Master Gu’s shoes.
After doing it too many times, Gu Tang started to feel embarrassed and carefully held his feet back.
Sensing his awkwardness, Gu Qinian stopped moving. “Wait a second.”
He helped Gu Tang sit down on a bench in the courtyard, then sank down onto one knee in front of him.
Startled, Gu Tang asked, “What are you doing?”
Young Master Gu held his ankle and removed the pair of exquisite little leather shoes from his feet.
Then Gu Qinian kicked off his own shoes too, pulled Gu Tang up, and told him, “Step on.”
There was a noticeable size difference between them.
Gu Tang’s feet were much smaller than Young Master Gu’s, so standing on the other boy’s feet was surprisingly stable.
But Gu Tang could not bear to step down like that, and he also felt embarrassed. In a small voice, he said, “…I’ll lose my balance.”
“You won’t.”
The arm around his waist tightened, and Young Master Gu lowered his eyes to look at him. “I’m holding you. You won’t fall.”
Standing on Young Master Gu’s feet, Gu Tang was led into dancing once more.
When the song ended,
Gu Tang was breathing a little harder, and at the same time he felt immense admiration for Young Master Gu’s stamina.
Dancing was tiring enough already, but to carry another person’s weight too and still move so easily without even blushing or panting—that kind of endurance…
Who wouldn’t envy it?
Gu Qinian bent down to pick up his shoes. Gu Tang said he could do it himself, but the other boy would not let him, so he could only sit there obediently, cheeks pink, watching the dignified Young Master of the Gu family crouch down on the ground to help put on his shoes.
Just then, the clock inside the banquet hall began to chime.
It was past midnight.
Still holding his ankle in one hand, Gu Qinian lifted his gaze to him, curved his lips, and said, “Gu Tang, happy adulthood.”
***
Author’s Note:
Tangtang: Everyone else says “happy birthday,” but only you say “happy adulthood”!
Gu Niannian: What about it?
Tangtang: Even the readers can hear your mental calculator clacking through the screen! Hmph!
