Chapter 82: Slipping Into University Life
Gu Tang hurriedly stuffed Young Master Gu into the wardrobe.
After making sure even the corner of his clothes was hidden properly, he ruffled his own hair and tugged his pajama collar loose before going to open the door for Yu Xiao.
“Big Brother, is there something else?”
Standing in the doorway, Gu Tang covered his mouth and let out a huge yawn.
He wanted to make it clear that he was so sleepy he could fall asleep on the spot.
Yu Xiao could only say, “Nothing especially important. I was just a little worried that, having just come home, you might not be used to sleeping here.”
As he spoke, Gu Tang still showed no intention of inviting him inside.
He stood firmly in the doorway, blocking the entrance. “I’m fine, actually. I’m very used to it, and I’ve always slept well. I can fall asleep anywhere. Big Brother, stop worrying and go get some rest too. I want to sleep now.”
“Is that so…”
Being taller than Gu Tang, Yu Xiao looked past his younger brother’s shoulder and noticed a few rose petals scattered on the floor inside the room.
Those pink roses were only planted in the courtyard on the first floor.
“Alright, then go to sleep.”
Yu Xiao smiled.
Gu Tang failed to notice anything unusual in his expression and obediently nodded. “Mm-hmm, good night, Big Brother!”
Even his tone was full of relief.
Once his little brother’s door closed, Yu Xiao pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, and a glint flashed across the lenses.
Having finally sent his big brother away again, Gu Tang let out a breath and hurried to check on Young Master Gu.
He pulled open the wardrobe door.
There was Young Master Gu, so large and tall, crouched inside with his long legs folded up, hugging Gu Tang’s little bear to his chest, lifting his eyes to look at him from below.
His whole face was practically screaming aggrieved.
“…”
Gu Tang gave a light cough and soothed him, “It was unavoidable just now. The bathroom would have been too easy to discover, so that’s why I had you hide in the wardrobe.”
As he spoke, he reached out to pull Young Master Gu up.
Gu Tang said, “Alright now, come out.”
With one long stride, Gu Qinian stepped out of the wardrobe, then asked unhappily, “Why is it allowed to come with you?”
Gu Tang blinked blankly, only then realizing that “it” meant the little bear still in his arms.
Seriously?
He was jealous of the bear too?
When Young Master Gu had gone to Country S, he had even taken the little bear with him and done strange things while using the bear as a substitute for Gu Tang, and Gu Tang had not even argued about it!
Too lazy to explain anything to an unreasonable Young Master Gu, Gu Tang simply took the bear out of his arms, stuffed himself into his embrace instead, and let him hold that.
Sure enough, after that little maneuver, Young Master Gu’s mood immediately improved. His eyes brightened with a smile, and the corners of his mouth lifted high.
His Young Master Gu was actually pretty easy to coax.
Gu Tang smiled too, reaching up to pinch his thin earlobe. “Nian-Nian is so childish.”
No wonder people said being in love lowered your IQ.
Even someone as smart and formidable as Young Master Gu had turned into a childish little ghost.
Just now, to create the effect of being sleepy, Gu Tang had loosened the collar of his pajamas. From Gu Qinian’s angle, one glance downward let him see the beautiful shape of the boy’s collarbone.
His gaze darkened, and he leaned in.
Before he could touch that patch of creamy white skin, there came another knock at the door.
Gu Tang’s whole body went stiff, and Gu Qinian stopped instantly too.
Young Master Gu frowned. So annoying!
The knocking threw Gu Tang into such panic that he resorted to desperate measures. He shoved Young Master Gu down onto the bed, yanked the blanket up over him, and then climbed under it too.
Through the door, he called out, “Wh-what is it?”
The door opened, and in walked Yu Xiao again.
Seeing Gu Tang sitting in bed under the blanket, Yu Xiao knowingly asked, “Tangtang’s already gone to bed? I just remembered I forgot to bring you the sleep-aid scented candle.”
“Can I leave it by your bedside?”
Gu Tang gave a stiff little smile. “Sure, thank you, Big Brother.”
What he was actually thinking was: Please go, please go, please hurry up and go, Big Brother.
He was worried Young Master Gu would suffocate under the blanket, and also afraid that if he moved even a little, Yu Xiao would notice something suspicious.
How exactly was he supposed to explain Young Master Gu’s presence in his room?
He definitely could not say that he had climbed in through the window.
Gu Tang did not want his big brother or the rest of his family to form any bad impressions of Young Master Gu.
But Yu Xiao showed no sign of leaving. After setting the candle down by the bed, he asked, “Can Big Brother sit here for a while?”
Gu Tang reluctantly nodded. “…You can.”
The bed was big enough that even if he said no, Yu Xiao could still sit. Still, Gu Tang instinctively shifted farther inward.
He also tugged the blanket up a bit more to hide Gu Qinian more thoroughly.
Young Master Gu was being very obedient too.
Hidden under the blanket, he did not move at all, like some oversized stuffed bear.
Yu Xiao sat at the edge of his younger brother’s bed. Noticing the way Gu Tang kept adjusting the blanket, he suddenly asked, “Isn’t this comforter too thick for summer? Should I call one of the maids to come change it for you?”
“No!”
Gu Tang refused immediately, shaking his head like a little rattle drum. “It’s not thick at all, not thick at all. When the air-conditioning is turned up, it feels really nice to sleep under a blanket.”
Yu Xiao did not argue. He only smiled. “Alright.”
Gu Tang started anxiously picking at his fingers. “Does Big Brother still need something?”
Yu Xiao’s gaze swept calmly over the blanket through the lenses of his glasses. “No. You go to sleep.”
As he said that, he stood up.
“Big Brother!”
Gu Tang widened his eyes and said very solemnly, “I’m really, really going to sleep now, okay?”
His desire to get rid of his big brother was practically written all over his face.
Yu Xiao laughed, reached out, and patted his younger brother’s fluffy head. “Mm. Good night.”
This was the third time tonight Gu Tang had told his big brother good night.
The moment he heard the bedroom door close, Gu Tang still did not feel reassured. He got up, locked the door, and only then turned back.
The instant he reached the bedside, a hand shot out from under the blanket.
It grabbed him and dragged him down onto the bed.
Gu Qinian clutched him tightly, burrowing his head into Gu Tang’s neck and nuzzling around pitifully.
Like a large dog sulking and demanding attention.
Gu Tang could only stroke his hair and comfort him. “Don’t be angry.”
Ever since Gu Tang was set to return to the Yu family, Young Master Gu had been in a gloomy mood. He had only been briefly soothed by Gu Tang’s gift, then, after watching him leave, had followed after him and sneaked into the Yu residence.
Unable to get in through the front gate, he had climbed through a window and gotten scraped all over by the roses.
After suffering through all that, all he had wanted was a bit of warmth and intimacy, only to keep getting interrupted by Big Brother.
The more Gu Tang thought about it, the more…pitiful and funny it seemed.
Unable to help himself, Gu Tang let out a tiny laugh.
Gu Qinian immediately lifted his eyes and looked at him in displeasure.
Without thinking, Gu Tang pushed Young Master Gu’s head right back into the crook of his neck and pretended nothing had happened, continuing to pet him. “There, there. Nian-Nian be good. Don’t make trouble.”
Gu Qinian: “……”
Gu Tang was coaxing him so carelessly.
And yet somehow, his mood miraculously improved.
He rubbed himself against the fine skin of the boy’s neck, inhaling the sweet scent coming from him, listening to those soft and gentle words of comfort. It was almost impossible not to feel better.
Gu Qinian opened his mouth and caught Gu Tang’s beautifully shaped collarbone between his teeth, rubbing lightly at the skin with his canines as he asked in a muffled voice, “Big Brother won’t come back again, right?”
The tingling itch of being nibbled made Gu Tang’s face turn red, and he answered softly, “…That’s my big brother.”
“Your big brother is my big brother.”
Gu Qinian said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, then clarified deliberately so there was no room for misunderstanding. “After we get married, he’ll be my eldest brother-in-law.”
“What are you saying…”
Gu Tang’s face flushed deep red, and he gave the person clinging to him a token little shove.
He was only shy, but Gu Qinian, sensitive and tense, immediately lifted his head.
“We’re getting married, right?”
Gu Qinian’s brows knit tightly as he stared into the boy’s eyes. “Relationships that aren’t for the purpose of marriage are just hooliganism.”
Gu Tang: “……”
Seeing him hesitate, Young Master Gu got even more nervous. “Gu Tang, you’re not planning to avoid responsibility, are you?”
That was not it at all.
He just had not thought that far ahead.
Who starts talking about marriage the moment they begin dating?
Gu Tang wanted to grab Young Master Gu by the shoulders and shake him to see what exactly was inside his head.
But the other person looked so serious that Gu Tang could not just brush it off. So he ended up staring at the ceiling and grabbing the first excuse he could find. “Same-sex marriage doesn’t even exist…”
“Who told you it doesn’t?”
Young Master Gu sounded as if he had specifically researched the matter. He immediately listed off a whole series of countries. “These places all allow it. There are even already discussions underway domestically. Maybe by the time we graduate from university, the relevant law will have passed.”
“At that point, we can get married anywhere we want.”
The important part was: getting married.
Gu Tang was getting dizzy from the way he talked.
Before, he had worried that the original author had never designed a love line for Young Master Gu, and he had even pitied him for maybe ending up unable to find a wife in the future.
Who would have thought that after all the twists and turns—the “wife” would turn out to be himself…
Gu Tang did not dare think that far ahead. The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he became. So he gave Young Master Gu a light push. “You should go back now.”
“You really can bear to part with me.”
Gu Qinian sounded unhappy.
But after all, this was the Yu residence. No matter what, the two of them could not be as free and open here as they were at the Gu residence.
At the Gu house, everyone had watched them grow up together. Even if they hugged and slept in the same bed, no one would think much of it.
But if the same thing happened here and the Yu family saw it, then from then on, they would probably never let him get within ten meters of Gu Tang again.
Though he could also just abduct Gu Tang directly, that would make his future father- and mother-in-law sad, not to mention that his future eldest and second brothers-in-law certainly would not let him off easily.
Young Master Gu mentally sorted through the family relationships, then held Gu Tang a little tighter and answered softly, “Mm,” to show that he knew.
But he still did not leave right away.
He would cling to even one more moment if he could.
Gu Qinian said, “I’ll leave after you fall asleep.”
Gu Tang had not expected Young Master Gu to become such a clingy little spirit.
A little speechless, he said, “I can’t fall asleep if you’re here.”
Gu Qinian lowered his head to kiss him. “You used to say that when I was beside you, you slept better.”
A kiss was a kiss, but he even made an exaggerated little mwah sound with it.
Gu Tang’s face turned red. “Before and now are different!”
“How are they different?”
Young Master Gu lowered his lashes and looked at him with deep black eyes.
“……”
Gu Tang choked, and his face turned even redder.
In the end, all he could do was let the other boy keep kissing him.
Inwardly, he thought: Back then, that was two “brothers” sleeping together. Now it feels more like an affair…
With his eyes shut, letting himself be kissed, he kept giving instructions in a low, fussy stream of words. “When you go back later, don’t climb out the window again. It’s dangerous. If you go west from my room, there’s a fire escape in the hallway that goes downstairs and leads straight to the back gate of the yard.”
“Okay.”
Gu Qinian gave a quiet response.
Gu Tang continued, “And don’t ever do something dangerous like climbing through windows again. When you get back, remember to change the bandage on your arm too.”
Gu Qinian replied, “I know.”
“Anything else you want to say?”
Gu Tang: “Zzzz……”
Hearing the even rhythm of the boy’s breathing, Gu Qinian froze for a second. When he looked up, he saw Gu Tang sleeping like a little pig.
Gu Qinian: “……”
What happened to I can’t fall asleep if you’re here?!
Gu Tang’s lips were slightly parted in sleep, with that plump little lip bead pouting adorably.
Gu Qinian bent his head and sucked lightly on that little round pearl of a lip.
He did not do anything more.
He was afraid of waking the boy, so he got up very carefully, tucked the blanket around him, and then slipped out of the room as silently as he had come.
Following the route Gu Tang had described, Gu Qinian smoothly found the fire escape in the Yu residence.
Places like that were usually deserted.
He headed downstairs, crossed the Yu family’s courtyard, and as he approached the back gate, he saw a black figure standing there from far away.
As though he had been specifically waiting for him.
Gu Qinian narrowed his long eyes.
There was no point trying to avoid him. He walked straight over. “Good evening, Big Brother.”
“Evening? It’s the middle of the night already!”
Yu Xiao turned around with a cold snort. “You’ve got some nerve, haven’t you? Did you really think the security at my house was so poor that you could come and go as you pleased?”
Gu Qinian shrugged nonchalantly.
The reason he had come here was to see Gu Tang.
He had seen him, and he had kissed him too.
His goal had been achieved. Being caught now left him with no great regrets.
“You look pretty pleased with yourself, don’t you?”
Yu Xiao crossed his arms. “The young master of the Gu family breaks into private property. Come on, let’s make a trip to the police station.”
Gu Qinian curved his lips. “Big Brother really knows how to joke.”
Yu Xiao’s expression remained cold. “Who’s joking with you?”
“I ought to let you sit in there for a few decades. Then you won’t come near my little brother again for a single day.”
Gu Qinian lifted one brow. “You want Gu Tang to become a widow?”
That one sentence made Yu Xiao’s anger shoot through the roof. He raised the gemstone-topped cane in his hand. “Don’t think I wouldn’t hit you.”
“Then why did Big Brother let me in at all?”
Gu Qinian did not dodge. Instead, he said quietly, “The Yu residence may prefer to keep the number of domestic staff low, but because of what happened before, the security system here must be top-of-the-line. The moment I came in, I should have been detected.”
“Since Big Brother knew I was in Gu Tang’s room, why didn’t you intercept me?”
“You think I didn’t want to?”
Yu Xiao huffed. “I just didn’t want Tangtang to feel awkward.”
That was why he had deliberately entered the room again and again, trying to drive the brat from the Gu family out.
Who knew that in the end, it had been his own little brother who wanted him gone!
Yu Xiao had no choice but to wait at the back gate to catch the intruder. And with every additional minute he waited, the irritation grew worse, because he kept worrying his little brother was inside getting taken advantage of.
Gu Qinian nodded, showing his understanding. “Big Brother is really kind.”
“……”
Yu Xiao paused for a second before suddenly remembering something and snapping back, “Who’s your big brother?!”
Gu Qinian did not say anything more. He only answered with a soft “Oh.”
It takes only seven days to form a habit.
Silently, Gu Qinian thought that if he kept calling him “Big Brother” a while longer, Yu Xiao would soon stop reacting so strongly to the title.
He had studied every member of the Yu family separately.
Yu Yang had his eyes fixed on Gu Lin. When it came to him and Gu Tang, that one would only turn a blind eye. No need to fear him.
Future mother-in-law Yin Ruan had a soft, gentle nature. She had not shown any great reaction even regarding Yu Yang and Gu Lin, so she likely would not obstruct Gu Tang being with him either.
That only left Yu Xiao and future father-in-law Yu Zhongyuan.
Those two were the hardest to deal with.
As long as he could win over even one of them, one huge obstacle on the road between him and Gu Tang would disappear.
So Gu Qinian tested the waters directly. “Big Brother, do you really want Gu Tang to be forced into some political marriage with a person he doesn’t love in the future?”
Yu Xiao choked.
The little brother they had only just found again—of course Yu Xiao could not bear that.
But what their father might think was another matter entirely.
As the current head of the Yu family, Yu Xiao could suppress the issue for now. But if their father decided to maneuver around him in secret, it would be impossible to guard against completely…
Gu Qinian added, “What Gu Tang and I have is sincere. It doesn’t matter if the Yu family disapproves, but do you really want to see him elope with me?”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
Yu Xiao blurted out.
But he knew it.
The brat from the Gu family absolutely would dare.
And he also had the ability to hide his little brother somewhere no one could ever find.
“Since you let Tangtang fall asleep tonight, I won’t hold this against you.”
Yu Xiao gave himself a way down. “But don’t get happy too soon. Father will never approve of my little brother being with you.”
“Oh.”
Gu Qinian answered indifferently.
Yu Xiao frowned. “What kind of attitude is that?”
“I mean, thank you for the reminder, Big Brother.”
Gu Qinian gave a soft sigh. “Actually, if my father knew, he probably wouldn’t approve either. He might want to kill me even more than Uncle Yu does, considering how much he dotes on Gu Tang.”
Yu Xiao was startled. “Then you…”
“There’s only one option. Strip him of the right to object.”
Gu Qinian said it lightly. “Push him into retirement early, send him traveling around the world with my mother, and by the time he knows, everything will already be settled.”
Yu Xiao’s eyes practically bulged out of his head.
How could there be such an unfilial son?!
He was actually planning to kick his own father off the throne!
“Then what about you, Big Brother?” Gu Qinian asked.
Yu Xiao: “?”
Good lord!
Now he was even trying to persuade him to kick his father out too!
Gu Qinian did not give him the chance to refuse. He merely said, “If you can’t do it, then I will.”
Yu Xiao: “???”
The black sports car shot away in the night, leaving behind only the two red streaks of its tail lights.
Yu Xiao slowly came back to himself.
That brat really was arrogant.
Not content with becoming head of the Gu family, he was even eyeing the Yu family too.
And yet, he had to admit that it was a method.
Those who spent their lives in the business world lived by the law of the jungle. The strong are the ones who get to speak. If you don’t want to hear someone else’s voice, if you don’t want to be controlled, then you must become stronger than them.
If Gu Qinian really did have the ability to dominate both families on his own, then their father truly would have no way to stop him…
Yu Xiao began to worry, but at the same time, he found some comfort in the fact that his precious little brother was about to start university.
By then, they would be far apart, and university life would be busy and colorful.
How long could a long-distance relationship really last?
Maybe his little brother would forget that brat from the Gu family completely.
Unfortunately, Yu Xiao did not get to feel at ease for more than two days.
Then he received a dreadful piece of news—both Gu Tang and Gu Qinian had been admitted to Hua University.
When his subordinate brought the news, President Yu felt as though the sky had cracked open.
“Please don’t get too upset, President. University life is very busy. The young master of the Gu family still has to handle work as well, so he won’t have that much time to stay with him. Besides, Hua University has very strict dormitory management, so it won’t allow him to fool around.”
The subordinate pinched his employer’s philtrum while trying to console him.
It took Yu Xiao a while to regain enough breath to say, “Investigate it.”
“See if anyone by the name of Gu Qinian has been buying or renting property near Hua University recently!”
His subordinate worked efficiently. One hour later, he came running back with the results.
Once Yu Xiao learned that Gu Qinian had no recent property activity at all, he felt slightly reassured and instructed his subordinate, “Strengthen the security at home. Fill the yard with roses. The thorns should be as hard as possible.”
Yet every precaution turned out to be unnecessary.
In the last few days before school started, Gu Qinian never came sneaking to the Yu residence again.
It was only that Gu Tang kept hiding in his room talking on the phone, and when he came out, his face would be flushed red.
Yu Xiao was displeased, but after thinking it over, he decided phone calls were still better than that brat from the Gu family sneaking into his little brother’s room to steal kisses.
These last few days, Gu Tang felt like he was living every day like a year, wishing desperately for school to begin sooner.
When Young Master Gu had gone to Country S before, they had been apart for long periods too, but none of it had felt as unbearable as these recent days.
Now he could finally understand why Young Master Gu always displayed such intense possessiveness and aggression.
Back then, unlike clueless Gu Tang, Young Master Gu had already understood his own feelings when he was in Country S.
Now that they had been separated for just a few days, Gu Tang already couldn’t bear it.
So how much harder must it have been for Young Master Gu back then?
At last, the day school started arrived. Gu Tang packed his things and cheerfully prepared to head out by himself—only to be blocked by Yu Xiao.
Yu Xiao took the luggage from his hand. “Big Brother is taking you.”
Gu Tang: “……”
He could not escape the reach of Big Brother’s hand.
The only thing he could do was quickly dart into the bathroom and send Young Master Gu a message.
[Nian-Nian, change of plans. We split up and move separately.]
Less than a second later, the other side replied.
[Nian-Nian: Understood.]
Yu Xiao watched his little brother obediently climb into the car, then deliberately tested him. “Didn’t Gu Qinian ask to go with you?”
Gu Tang looked utterly innocent. “Nian-Nian is busy with matters related to taking over the Gu family. He has to delay school for a couple of days, so we couldn’t go together.”
Yu Xiao nodded.
That matched the information he had already received.
Gu Qinian had indeed been busy as a dog lately. He had reached a crucial point in inheriting the Gu family business and truly could not arrive at school on time.
With that, Yu Xiao felt even more reassured.
Not only did he personally drive Gu Tang to Hua University, he escorted him all the way to the dorm building as well.
If the dorm supervisor had allowed family members upstairs, he probably would have followed Gu Tang all the way in, helped make the bed, and perhaps even given the roommates a little talking-to so they would know to support his little brother.
But seeing how strict Hua University’s dormitory system was, Yu Xiao felt much more at ease.
Before leaving, he even took a special lap around campus.
The Fine Arts building and the Finance building at Hua University were very close together, but the two departments’ dormitories were far apart, and their schedules for specialized courses were completely different.
In other words, at school, Gu Qinian would have almost no chance of running into his little brother.
The less they saw each other, the better!
Yu Xiao suspected that his little brother had only developed these feelings because he had been around the Gu boy day and night for all those years.
After some time apart, maybe that feeling would fade…
Yu Xiao relaxed his guard and drove away.
Meanwhile, inside the dorm room—one of the roommates noticed how cute Gu Tang looked and asked kindly, “Classmate, why aren’t you unpacking? Do you need help?”
Gu Tang waved his hand. “Thank you, but I’m not living here.”
Roommate: “?”
If you’re not living here, then why keep the bed space?
Naturally, Gu Tang was only doing it so his family would not suspect anything.
He had reserved himself a bed in the dorm while also applying for off-campus housing with the dorm management.
After watching Gu Tang leave with his luggage,
his roommate sighed regretfully: cute roommate minus one.
At that moment, another boy assigned to the same dorm came in dragging his suitcase. He said hello, then immediately blurted, “Did you see that black supercar downstairs? It’s insanely cool!”
The roommate leaned out the window and glanced down, instantly blinded by wealth.
It really was cool. The kind of cool he would never afford in several lifetimes.
“It drove out from the Finance side! Do you think it belongs to an upperclassman, or someone from our year?” the boy asked.
The roommate thought, How would I know?
Then the boy leaned in, eager for gossip. “I heard there used to be rumors that Finance guys keep Fine Arts boys. Is that true?”
The roommate rolled his eyes. “How could that be? That would be moral decay and the collapse of human nature. Our glorious Hua University would never allow something like that…”
He had not even finished speaking when that cute non-resident roommate hopped straight into the luxury car downstairs.
***
Author’s Note:
Roommate: What is the world coming to?! People’s hearts aren’t what they used to be!
