Chapter 74: The Gift He Wanted Most
Warm flecks of light reflected in Gu Qinian’s dark eyes. His gaze was filled with such longing that it was almost overflowing, impossible to hide.
He looked up at the boy he had kept in his heart for so long. “Gu Tang, happy adulthood.”
“Thank you, Nian-Nian…”
Usually, because of their height difference, Gu Tang was the one who looked up at Young Master Gu far more often. Seeing him from this angle, looking down instead, felt strangely unfamiliar.
After only one glance, Gu Tang’s cheeks inexplicably turned red.
He stayed perfectly still and let the other boy put his shoes on for him.
And yet Young Master Gu deliberately slowed down, his fingers lightly stroking the bare skin of Gu Tang’s ankle for a while before leisurely slipping the little leather shoes onto his feet.
When he finished, Gu Qinian stood up.
Gu Tang very consciously shifted to one side, making room for half the bench.
It was just a habit.
From the time they were little, if they shared one piece of candy, it had to be split evenly between them.
So if they split a bench in half too, that should be fine…
Gu Qinian smiled faintly. After sitting down beside him, he stretched out an arm and wrapped it naturally around him.
In the summer courtyard, their shadows cast on the ground clung together, hard to separate.
At last, Gu Tang found an excuse for why his face was so red.
—It was because it was hot.
At the end of June, in an outdoor space without air-conditioning, how could it not be hot for the two of them to cling together like this? Even if Young Master Gu had a lower body temperature and could practically be used as a giant cool pillow, this was still a little excessive.
But he had just received such an expensive gift. Pushing the other boy away now would feel a little ungrateful.
Let him hug for a little while, then…
Gu Tang found himself a reason for “not struggling and not rejecting it,” then thought about the birthday blessing he had just received and felt that something about it was a little strange.
“Nian-Nian, why does everyone else wish me a happy birthday, but you’re the only one who wished me a happy adulthood?”
Gu Qinian had already prepared an answer. “Because your birthday is the same day as mine.”
Ah, right…
He and Young Master Gu had promised that they would celebrate a hundred birthdays together.
Gu Tang had not forgotten, but being reminded of it like this suddenly made him feel a little like a heartless scumbag. He quickly nodded. “Right right right, we promised to celebrate our birthdays together!”
Didn’t that mean he could celebrate his birthday twice in one year?
The more he thought about it, the happier he became, the corners of his mouth lifting again as his fingers unconsciously rubbed the sparkling gemstone cufflinks.
“What do you want for your coming-of-age gift, Nian-Nian?”
Gu Tang turned around, smiling brightly as he asked.
“…” Gu Qinian said nothing, only looked at him with burning eyes.
Gu Tang: “?”
“Is there really nothing you want?”
He truly had never seen Young Master Gu take a special interest in anything. Most of the time, he always wore that indifferent expression of mild boredom.
Because Young Master Gu was the student council president and often cracked down on puppy love around school, there had even once been discussion on the campus forum about whether he might be frigid.
Gu Tang had immediately replied under an anonymous account to refute that: Impossible! How could the male lead possibly be frigid?!
After a moment of silence, Gu Qinian probed, “There is something I especially want.”
Gu Tang instantly perked up. “What is it? Tell me!”
As long as Young Master Gu said it out loud, even if it was a star in the sky, Gu Tang would pluck it down for him.
But Gu Qinian still said nothing. He only gazed at him without blinking.
As though he wanted to put him right into his eyes.
Gu Tang blinked, then abruptly turned his head away.
In those pitch-dark eyes of Young Master Gu’s, he had seen nothing except himself.
That realization made the atmosphere grow ambiguous again.
Gu Tang scratched lightly at his thigh with his fingers. Just as he was hesitating over what to say, he heard Young Master Gu ask, “Now that you’re an adult, what do you want to do?”
“Mm, let me think…”
In his previous life, he had died only a few days after reaching adulthood, so he had not really done anything at all.
To him, every day from now on was new territory to explore.
Gu Tang had no idea what other people usually wanted to do once they became adults. He pursed his lips and thought seriously.
“You’ve been thinking that long?”
Gu Qinian leaned closer and prompted him, “There are lots of things you can do…”
For example, fall in love.
Before he could say it out loud, the boy’s round eyes lit up and a brilliant smile spread over his face. “I want to learn how to drive and take Nian-Nian out for a drive!”
“……”
Gu Qinian felt conflicted.
First his heart sank halfway down, then when he heard that Gu Tang wanted to learn for the sake of taking him driving, that cold, sunken heart warmed again.
“You’d let me sit in the passenger seat?” Gu Qinian asked deliberately.
The passenger seat was supposed to be reserved for lovers or family.
Sadly, Gu Tang did not catch the implication and generously waved a hand. “You can sit wherever you want. There’ll only be you in the car anyway.”
Gu Qinian’s heart warmed a little more.
Then Gu Tang grinned.
Gu Qinian immediately felt a bad premonition.
Sure enough, Gu Tang said shyly, “No one else would probably dare ride in a car I’m driving.”
Gu Qinian: “……”
Gu Tang looked at him nervously. “You wouldn’t refuse too, would you?”
“No.”
Young Master Gu answered decisively and rubbed the boy’s hair. “At worst, if we die, we die together.”
“Pah pah pah, don’t say unlucky things!”
Gu Tang shook his head and batted his hand away.
Gu Qinian frowned slightly. “Unlucky? I’m still a child?”
“Of course.”
Gu Tang lifted one finger and pointed it at him as he lectured, “If you’re not eighteen yet, then you’re still a child.”
The very childlike six-foot-three Gu Qinian: “……”
Seeing Young Master Gu fall silent, Gu Tang shifted closer and lightly hooked his little finger around the other boy’s. “Nian-Nian, if I told you something that no one else in the world would believe, would you believe me?”
“Yes.”
Gu Qinian lowered his eyes to look at him and answered without the slightest hesitation, firm and absolute.
Because the answer came so quickly, Gu Tang froze for a moment. “You don’t even need to think about it?”
“There’s no need.”
Gu Qinian’s tone was calm, but unwavering.
“……What if what I want to say is something outrageous?”
Gu Tang lowered his head and fiddled with his fingers.
He could hide things from everyone else, but in front of Young Master Gu, it was hard.
Ever since discovering there was something wrong with Yu Rong, he had held it in all night. There was no one around him he could talk to.
He only had Young Master Gu.
The Young Master Gu who had grown up with him in this life.
The only person he trusted without reservation.
Gu Qinian gently took hold of the fingers Gu Tang had been twisting together and said warmly, “As long as you truly believe it, no matter how outrageous it sounds, I’ll believe you. And whatever you want to do, no matter how difficult it is, I’ll support you.”
He pulled him closer and bent down until his lips were near the boy’s ear. “Because I understand you, and because I care about you most.”
Something in Gu Tang’s heart trembled slightly. Biting his lip, he said, “What if I suspect a good person without having any real evidence at all?”
Gu Qinian let out a soft laugh. “If someone has managed to make you suspicious, then what kind of good person could they possibly be?”
Inwardly, he thought that he himself had harbored improper thoughts about Gu Tang for so many years, and the little fool still had not noticed. For someone with nerves that thick to look at another person and sense that something was wrong, then that person definitely could not be anything good.
What he could be sure of was this—his precious little fool had run into trouble.
Gu Qinian lifted a hand and rested it against the smooth skin at the back of the boy’s neck. In a low voice, he asked, “Tell me. What happened?”
The day after the birthday banquet, Gu Tang went to visit his father.
Yu Zhongyuan was as quiet as ever, lying there as though he knew nothing at all about the outside world.
Gu Tang held his hand and said softly, “Dad, I turned eighteen yesterday. My birthday wish was for you to wake up soon, so you have to do your best too.”
As he spoke, he squeezed his father’s hand and shared a portion of his life points with him.
As the life points drained away, Gu Tang’s lips gradually turned pale, but if one looked carefully, Yu Zhongyuan’s lips had gained a little more color.
Even so, there was still no sign that he might wake up.
His eyelids did not even flutter once.
Gu Tang carefully set his father’s hand back in place, tucked the blanket in around him, and walked out of the inner room.
When he came out, Yu Rong, who had been waiting outside in the suite, said to Yin Ruan, “Little brother really is such a filial child. When Uncle wakes up, he’ll definitely feel comforted.”
Yin Ruan looked exhausted and sighed. “It’s our Tangtang who’s been wronged.”
What family made a child come to the hospital the day after his birthday?
“No.”
Gu Tang stepped forward and supported his mother’s unsteady body. “Mom has it harder.”
The moment she heard him call her “Mom,” Yin Ruan became visibly emotional.
Then Gu Tang asked, “Mom, you’re so tired. Do you want to go out and have dinner with me, just to relax a little?”
Since her younger son had taken the initiative to invite her, Yin Ruan naturally wanted to go. But she could not bring herself to leave the husband lying in the hospital bed, so she hesitated. “Your father…”
Gu Tang said nothing. He only looked toward Yu Rong.
Sure enough, Yu Rong immediately volunteered, “I’m here, Auntie. Don’t worry.”
Gu Tang gave Yu Rong a friendly smile and continued encouraging Yin Ruan. “With Cousin here, is there anything for Mom to worry about?”
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Ah Rong.”
Yin Ruan relaxed and smiled. “We’ll bring you something tasty.”
Yu Rong laughed. “Thank you, Auntie. Then I’ll wait for it.”
Gu Tang helped Yin Ruan out of the room. At the moment the hospital room door swung shut, he glanced back over his shoulder.
Inside, the room was quiet.
Yu Zhongyuan lay inside the inner room, while Yu Rong sat on the sofa in the outer suite, reading a financial management book.
The minutes passed one by one. Aside from turning a page every so often, Yu Rong hardly moved at all.
Until the doctor came for rounds.
After checking Yu Zhongyuan’s condition, the attending doctor said happily to Yu Rong, “He’s doing very well today. His heart rate and pulse strength are both strong. If this keeps up, his chances of waking up are excellent.”
At that, Yu Rong looked genuinely pleased. “That’s wonderful. Thank you, Doctor.”
He warmly escorted the doctor to the door and asked a great many questions about Yu Zhongyuan’s future recovery.
Up to that point, nothing seemed wrong.
Not until the doctor left and Yu Rong closed the hospital room door.
And then there came a click—he locked it.
Turning back around, Yu Rong removed the mask he had kept covering his face. His eyes were savage, and the fire-scarred ruin of his features looked especially terrifying in that moment.
With a rough tug at his tie, he strode into the inner room.
Looking down at Yu Zhongyuan lying quietly on the bed, he spoke in a strange tone. “Uncle, the doctor says you’re almost better, so I came to take care of you.”
There were surveillance cameras in the hospital room.
Yu Rong knew that very well.
He deliberately glanced toward the camera in the ceiling corner, then picked a tricky angle and sat with his back to it, so that the camera could not clearly see what he was doing from the front.
No sooner had he sat down than he noticed a little red dot flash on the bedside table.
So there was another one here too.
Yu Xiao really had become more and more cautious.
But unfortunately, no matter how much one guarded against outsiders, it was impossible to guard against the thief already inside the house.
Yu Rong let out a sneer and used the thick financial management book in his hand to block the camera.
Then he turned his gaze toward the unconscious Yu Zhongyuan—
I’m sorry. I’m grateful that you raised me for so many years, Uncle, but you truly cannot be allowed to wake up.
That was what Yu Rong thought to himself as he took a miniature syringe from inside his clothing.
All it took was this tiny little tube.
Just inject a tiny bit every so often.
After a few rounds, not even the gods themselves could save him.
Thinking of that, Yu Rong let out a cold laugh. If Yu Xiao had not suddenly sent him on a business trip some time ago, Yu Zhongyuan should have died long ago.
Humming softly to himself in a good mood, he prepared to add a little something extra into the IV medicine that was keeping Yu Zhongyuan alive.
Bzzzz—
Suddenly he heard a faint buzzing sound.
Yu Rong froze and looked up.
The moment he did, a cold sweat broke out all down his back.
Outside the hospital room window hovered a drone.
And the camera on the drone was pointed straight at him, filming.
As though it had noticed him looking back, the drone tilted slightly in midair and dropped a little slip of paper. The white paper floated there, and on it were written three large crimson words:
—You’re done for.
Before Yu Rong could react, the hospital room door burst open.
Yu Xiao stormed in and knocked him to the floor with one punch. “Ungrateful bastard!”
And the syringe in Yu Rong’s hand was snatched away by Gu Qinian, whose movements were fast enough that Yu Rong had no chance at all to tamper with anything.
“Nian-Nian!”
Gu Tang rushed in right behind them. Only after confirming that Young Master Gu had not been hurt did he let out a breath, lowering his forehead against the other boy’s shoulder. “Thank goodness you’re alright.”
Off to the side, Yu Xiao’s fist throbbed with pain. “……”
That brat from the Gu family had only snatched away a syringe—what could have possibly happened to him?!
His little brother did not even come check whether Big Brother’s hand hurt or not…
Only after Yu Rong had been caught did Gu Tang finally learn that this so-called cousin was actually an illegitimate child.
Back in his younger days, Second Uncle Yu had had many romantic entanglements outside the family, and Yu Rong was the son left behind from one of them. Yu Rong’s mother had once imagined that by giving birth to a son, she would be able to use him to enter the Yu family. But then Second Uncle Yu suddenly died in an accident.
In a single moment, her dream shattered, and she lost her mind, developing delusions.
She told her son that Yu Zhongyuan had killed Second Uncle Yu, all for the sake of fighting over the headship of the family and to keep their mother and son from entering the Yu household.
Yu Rong believed her. Even after being taken back to the Yu family and raised by Yu Zhongyuan, he never let go of his desire for revenge.
He had even fantasized about becoming head of the Yu family himself.
Having been caught in the act, Yu Rong had no choice but to admit that he had tried to harm Yu Zhongyuan.
But he stubbornly refused to admit any connection to the Yu family fire all those years ago. He claimed that this had been the first time he acted, and since he had not succeeded, at worst it only counted as attempted harm. He demanded a lawyer.
Yu Xiao rubbed his temples with a headache. “Tangtang, don’t worry. I won’t let him ever have a chance to come back out.”
Gu Tang trusted his elder brother, so he nodded.
But he could not shake the feeling that there was some flaw hidden inside Yu Rong’s words.
Just then, Young Master Gu, who had been standing at the side, suddenly spoke up. “Arson?”
Gu Qinian lifted his elegant brows slightly, the corners of his narrow eyes stretching back, his gaze deep. “Unless I remember wrong, your Yu family has always publicly claimed it was an accidental fire, and the official ruling also called it an accidental fire. No one ever said it was arson.”
“That’s right!”
Gu Tang instantly grabbed Young Master Gu’s arm. “Nian-Nian is right. Yu Rong just exposed himself without meaning to!”
Of course, spoken words like that were easy to deny afterward.
All Yu Rong had to do was say it was a slip of the tongue.
“But it’s still a very important breakthrough. At the very least, now we know for certain that the events of that year were connected to him.”
Yu Xiao narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “We’ll wear him down bit by bit. Eventually he’ll confess. And we also need to determine whether he had accomplices.”
When the Yu family fire took place all those years ago, Yu Rong had only been fourteen.
Still just half-grown.
Given the sort of person Yu Rong was now, how could he possibly have carried out something so major at that age without leaving any trace?
Yu Xiao suspected he had not acted alone, and that there might even have been someone behind him directing it all.
At that point, the unpleasant topic was temporarily set aside.
Yu Xiao looked toward Gu Tang, his expression softening. “This time, we really have Tangtang to thank for thinking of that plan—lure the snake out of the hole.”
Gu Tang held Young Master Gu’s hand and smiled with curved eyes. “I thought of it together with Nian-Nian.”
Yu Xiao: “……”
The brat from the Gu family had indeed done the Yu family a great favor, and everyone in the Yu household was genuinely grateful.
But could he please let go of his little brother’s hand?!
The veins on Big Brother Yu’s forehead throbbed.
Then he looked at the two little ones here, all clingy and hand-in-hand, and his gaze drifted to the couple over on the sofa, leaning against each other.
At last, he found a little bit of emotional balance.
Yu Xiao let out a breath and said on purpose, “We also have our younger sibling-in-law to thank for providing the drone.”
As expected.
The moment he heard that, Gu Lin’s face changed. He shoved Yu Yang away and jumped up from the sofa like a firecracker exploding. “Who the hell is your younger sibling-in-law?!”
Yu Yang got pushed over and landed on the floor, muttering, “Whichever one jumped up first, I guess.”
Gu Lin lifted his foot to kick him. “Shut up!”
But just as he stretched his leg out, his ankle was caught.
Yu Yang gave a pull, and Gu Lin lost his balance with a smack and fell backward onto the sofa.
One of his feet was still clutched in Yu Yang’s hand.
Without caring that other people were right there in the room, Yu Yang leaned forward and pinned himself over him.
Gu Lin’s face turned red with embarrassment as he cursed, “Dog bastard, get the hell off me…”
Yu Yang smiled. “Linlin, be good. Talk nicely.”
Through clenched teeth, Gu Lin said, “Would you please gracefully remove yourself from on top of me?”
Yu Yang: “No.”
Gu Lin started swearing even more viciously.
“Wow…”
Gu Tang’s eyes widened, and he could not stop himself from making a tiny little gossiping sound.
The very next second, Young Master Gu’s hand covered his eyes.
Gu Tang: “?”
Gu Qinian said, “It’s dirty. Don’t look.”
If Gu Tang was going to learn things in this regard, then he could only study them with him, not from other people.
Poor Gu Tang could only perk up his little ears and listen curiously instead.
All he heard was his little uncle unleashing a whole string of extremely censor-worthy curses, and then, little by little, the sounds faded.
By the time Young Master Gu took his hand away from Gu Tang’s eyes, Gu Lin and Yu Yang were both gone.
“Your little uncle was taken away by your second brother.”
That was what Young Master Gu told him.
Gu Tang worried about Gu Lin. “Will Little Uncle be okay?”
Young Master Gu rubbed the boy’s soft hair. “Don’t worry. Gu Lin’s in good shape. He can take it.”
Gu Tang: “……”
He had just witnessed some truly plastic uncle-nephew affection.
Sure enough, after Yu Rong was thrown into detention, Yu Zhongyuan’s physical state improved day by day.
A man who had originally been expected to live for no more than three months not only survived those three months, but his bodily functions gradually began approaching normal human levels. According to the doctor, Yu Zhongyuan had even reached a state not much different from a normal person sleeping peacefully.
Waking up was only a matter of time now, and not much time at that.
During that period, with Yin Ruan’s permission, Gu Tang brought Yu Xi home to the Gu residence. Su Mei was so delighted that she even stopped going for her skincare spa sessions, instead leading Yu Xi all over the house to familiarize her with the surroundings. She even said she wanted to build a little amusement park for her in the garden.
[Nian-Nian, do you think Grandma is spoiling Xixi too much? You know, this is treatment that neither of us ever got when we were little! ]
When Gu Tang sent Young Master Gu that message, he casually added that line.
Gu Qinian had already gone to Country S, where—according to Gu Lin—he was “busy ascending the throne.”
Young Master Gu’s burning desire to take over the Gu family and shove his father out of the position had long since become obvious to all. Gu Quan only assumed it meant his son had an impressive career drive and felt very gratified. Shen Ningqing and Gu Lin, on the other hand, could only sigh about it.
When Gu Qinian saw the message Gu Tang sent, full of aggrieved little feelings, the corners of his mouth could not help but rise. He typed back:
Gu Tang was lying on the bed when the message notification sounded. He picked up his phone and saw—
[ Nian-Nian: Are you jealous? ]
“How could I be?!”
Gu Tang wanted nothing more than for Yu Xi to have a good life. He only thought that if he and Young Master Gu had had a little amusement park when they were small, they would definitely have had so much fun.
Alright, he admitted it.
What he really wanted was to go to an amusement park with Young Master Gu.
Just then, another message arrived.
[ Nian-Nian: I’ll go to the amusement park with you. ]
Growing up together had this one wonderful advantage: sometimes there were things you did not even need to say. The other person just knew.
That was what true understanding was!
Gu Tang felt sweetness bubbling all through him. He hurriedly typed back:
[ Mm-hmm, I like Nian-Nian best! ]
Only after sending the message and seeing the phone screen go dark did Gu Tang catch sight of his own expression reflected in it.
The smile on his face was so sweet it could have made him sick.
Gu Tang: “!”
Why was he smiling like that just from texting Young Master Gu?!
He hurriedly rubbed at his face, trying his best to control his expression, but the corners of his mouth still insisted on lifting.
[ Host, stop trying to cover it up. It won’t work… ]
[ Ever since you started texting the male lead, you’ve had that exact expression the whole time. ]
Even the system had been worried for ages.
It was afraid the host might cramp his face from smiling too hard.
Gu Tang gave a small cough and sat up on the bed. “Once Nian-Nian comes back, it won’t be long before it’s his eighteenth birthday.”
“What do you think I should give him?”
[……]
The system did not want to answer.
But the host was looking at it with such eager expectation.
So in the end the system grudgingly replied,
[ Go into the Gu family garden, pick a few little flowers at random, and draw him a couple of pictures. He’ll be over the moon. ]
Gu Tang tilted his head. “Really?”
[ If you don’t trust me, then why did you ask me? ]
The system was upset.
It felt exactly like when your best friend asked for gift advice for her boyfriend, you thoughtfully gave her suggestions, and then she acted like she did not believe you anyway. It was infuriating!
The system subconsciously mapped the relationship onto human terms and then suddenly filled its own mind with garbled error code.
Wait!
Why did it think of itself as the host’s bestie and the male lead as the host’s boyfriend?!
Wasn’t that… a little wrong?!!
The system began to suspect something had gone wrong with its own programming, so it shrank inside Gu Tang’s mind and started running self-diagnostics over and over again.
Gu Qinian did not forget his promise to accompany Gu Tang through the final sprint of senior year.
He returned just in time for the senior-year coming-of-age oath ceremony. On the school field, he stood beside Gu Tang, swore the oath together with him, and accompanied him into the next stage of life.
Just like in previous years, they celebrated their birthdays together.
And again, it was Gu Tang who blew out the candles.
The boy closed his eyes, clasped his hands devoutly, made a wish, then puffed out his cheeks and blew out the candles. After that, he turned back with a bright smile.
“Nian-Nian, do you want a cherry?”
Gu Tang picked a cherry off the cake and held it out to feed him.
Gu Qinian opened his mouth and took it.
Only he himself knew that the entire time, his gaze had been fixed on Gu Tang’s lips—redder and more luscious than the cherry itself.
Like a starving wolf…
That night, after washing up, Gu Tang came into his room with his hair still damp, carrying a large box in his arms.
“I prepared a present for you!”
He looked extremely excited.
Gu Qinian pulled him into his arms and took up a towel to dry his wet hair.
“Don’t you want to look at the gift first?”
Gu Tang tilted his face upward, his head resting against the other boy’s chest as he looked at him upside down.
The moment Gu Qinian lowered his head, he came face to face with those cherry-red lips that had tempted him all evening.
That little mouth was still chattering away. “I worked on it for such a long time. I don’t know if you’ll like it or not…”
Gu Qinian wanted to say, Anything you give me, I’ll love.
Although it was true, it would have sounded too perfunctory.
So instead, he took the box with solemn care and opened it carefully, making sure not to damage the little decorative flowers Gu Tang had tied onto it.
Inside the box lay a thick sketchbook. Scattered beside it were many little dried flowers that had clearly been prepared and pressed with care.
They were all the same kinds growing in the courtyard.
Gu Tang watched Young Master Gu’s expression and deliberately asked, as if preserving some suspense, “When I had my birthday, you gave me gemstone cufflinks. But when it’s your birthday, I’m only giving you a sketchbook. Wouldn’t that make you dislike it?”
Instead of answering directly, Gu Qinian opened the book and turned through it page by page.
Every single page contained a drawing of him.
Him in different forms. Him at different ages. Him from childhood until now.
Gu Tang had engraved him so clearly into his mind that even when he was absent, Gu Tang could still draw him from memory.
The thought made the corners of Gu Qinian’s mouth rise high. “No. I like it very much. More than very much.”
Still, Gu Tang did not entirely believe it.
Was Nian-Nian really that easy to satisfy?
The sketchbook had been made with care, but before giving it, Gu Tang had anonymously gone online to ask.
Question: If, on someone’s birthday, I give a person I’ve been with for over ten years a sketchbook and some flowers, will they like it?
The replies below had mostly cursed him out.
One reply in particular had stuck in his mind:
81L: Just this, after being together for over ten years? You’re either a straight idiot or a scumbag. You’d be better off not giving anything at all!
So Gu Tang had prepared another gift as well.
But the sketchbook—he still wanted to give that.
He just liked drawing Young Master Gu.
In fact, what he liked even more was imagining the other boy in his mind, then slowly bringing him to life line by line.
Still, just like that online commenter had said, for a normal person to receive nothing but a sketchbook on an important birthday—how could they not feel disappointed?
Before Gu Tang could say that there was still another gift, he saw Gu Qinian stand up, walk over to a built-in cabinet, open it, and pull out an enormous box.
Gu Tang asked curiously, “What’s that?”
Most of his things were kept in his own room on the third floor. He never rummaged through Young Master Gu’s cabinets and had no idea what he had hidden away inside.
“They’re your drawings.”
Gu Qinian carefully placed the sketchbook into the box.
Gu Tang came over and his eyes widened at once. “When did all these come from?”
Some of the drawings had clumsy, childish lines and were clearly things he had drawn when he was very young. Some were even crumpled, as though they had been thrown away and then later picked up again, smoothed out, and stacked neatly one by one.
It was obvious that Young Master Gu had collected them with great care.
“I like your… drawings.”
Gu Qinian said this softly while arranging the contents of the box with his head lowered.
Gu Tang froze.
Just now, he had almost misheard. For one second he had thought Young Master Gu was saying…
[ A man’s mouth is a liar’s trap! Don’t believe him! ]
[ The male lead says he likes it, but actually the dislike value is skyrocketing! It’s maxed out now!]
[ Oh wow wow wow, the text on the pink progress bar is finally about to appear. Let me take a look… ]
The system sounded incredibly cheerful.
Gu Tang let out a breath.
If the dislike-value progress bar was maxed, that meant his task was basically complete too.
Young Master Gu was only kind enough to say he liked the sketchbook, even though it was clearly against his real feelings. Thank goodness he had prepared something else. There was no way he was going to let Young Master Gu feel wronged on such an important birthday.
Privately, Gu Tang congratulated himself on being so farsighted.
“Nian-Nian, let me tell you…”
Before he could finish, Gu Qinian closed the box of drawings and looked up at him.
“I like your drawings.”
Young Master Gu repeated it again.
Gu Tang nodded numbly.
Yes yes, I know.
I’ll give you the other present in just a moment!
He wanted to go over, pat Young Master Gu on the head, and tell him: Don’t feel wronged anymore, I still have something else for you.
But then Young Master Gu spoke slowly.
“But compared to the sketchbook, there’s something I like even more. Do you know what I want most?”
Gu Tang froze. “…What is it?”
Hopefully not something too expensive for him to afford…
Gu Qinian stood up and walked toward him, one step at a time. In those dark black eyes, only Gu Tang’s reflection existed.
Gu Tang watched as Young Master Gu lowered his eyes. His lips moved.
He said only one word.
The moment Gu Tang understood what that word referred to, his pupils shrank.
At the exact same time, the system in his mind let out a scream.
[ Ahhh— ]
[ Why is it heart-flutter value?! Did something go wrong somewhere?! ]
***
Author’s Note:
System: Now firmly convinced that the main system must be bugged!!!
