Chapter 21: VIP — Becoming Like Her
The most recent post had been published a few days ago. Song Yinxing remembered—it was the day Ding Ziyu had picked a fight with him.
The caption read: All things will eventually die.
The accompanying image was a withered flower.
The post before that was text-only, from a month earlier:
This world is full of illusions.
Further down was another image post. The subject was a ragdoll cat.
Gu Yang seemed to be celebrating the cat’s birthday. The cat wore a tiny crown, and a small pet cake sat in front of it.
Caption: Happy birthday. The time you can stay with me has decreased by another year.
Song Yinxing: “…”
Gu Yang’s Moments were set to show only the past six months. He didn’t post often, so Song Yinxing quickly reached the end.
Almost all of them had a similar tone—heavy with melancholy. Even something as warm as celebrating a pet’s birthday was written with tragic sentiment.
Their social circles had no overlap whatsoever. Yet when Song Yinxing confirmed they didn’t even share a single mutual friend—and he couldn’t see how others interacted with Gu Yang under those posts—he felt an indescribable emotion.
They were never supposed to intersect at all.
Like two lines that cross once—after that single point, they only drift farther and farther apart.
It was only because Gu Yang had shown him a moment of kindness that day, offering a hand, that what little self-respect he had left hadn’t been crushed further.
Once he repaid the money, there would be no reason for them to meet again.
Maybe it was really Gu Yang’s overwhelmingly gloomy posts that created some contagious effect. The more Song Yinxing thought about it, the more emo he became, resting his hand against the wall in silent gloom.
When leaving the school gates, Gu Yang replied to a message. He Ming’an happened to glimpse the chat window—at the top was a recent conversation.
The nickname was “Xing.” There was a pending transfer that hadn’t been accepted.
He Ming’an understood. “Did Little Song come to repay the money from last time?”
Gu Yang hummed in response.
“He’s quite thoughtful. I only approved his financial aid two days ago, and he even went to confirm with the finance office that it wasn’t issued by mistake. Didn’t expect him to repay you today. He must really need money.”
Gu Yang didn’t respond. Whether Song Yinxing repaid him or not made no difference to him.
Seeing his indifference, He Ming’an couldn’t help but smile. “You really do whatever you feel like.”
It had always been like this. His interest came quickly and faded just as fast. It seemed Song Yinxing’s appeal to him wasn’t that strong after all.
The car had been waiting outside for a while.
Just as Gu Yang approached, the window rolled down first. Gu Qingxu sat inside, smiling faintly.
He Ming’an noticed. “Want to take my car instead? I’ll have the driver drop you home first.”
“It’s fine,” Gu Yang said listlessly. “It’s not like I’ve never sat next to him before. Just treat it like there’s a dog tied beside me.”
He opened the door and got in.
Gu Qingxu had clearly been waiting long enough to remove his coat.
“Why so late? Don’t you finish at the same time?”
Gu Yang leaned against the car door, resting his head and staring out the window. Gu Qingxu’s voice filtered automatically into meaningless noise in his mind.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not blaming you,” Gu Qingxu said smoothly. “Father is coming home for dinner tonight. He rarely comes back. I don’t want him waiting for us juniors.”
“Yes, we shouldn’t let an elderly man guard an empty house alone,” Gu Yang replied absentmindedly.
Gu Qingxu’s smile twitched, but he maintained composure. “I could have gone home first, but since he has something important to announce tonight—and you’re still part of this family—I waited.”
“What big news? Is he starting a sunset romance?”
“Gu Yang!” Gu Qingxu snapped. “Can’t you be serious for once? No matter what, you’re still a member of the Gu family! Don’t you feel ashamed?”
Gu Yang continued staring out the window, not even turning his head.
Gu Qingxu took a deep breath and rubbed his brow.
Why argue with someone like him?
Someone like that would never inherit the Gu family anyway.
When they got home, Gu Yuhui was already there. He had been reading the newspaper on the sofa. Seeing them return, he smiled and put it down.
“You’re back? A full day of school must’ve been tiring.”
“Why are you dressed so lightly? Didn’t I say yesterday the temperature would drop sharply? What are the servants doing, letting you go out like that?”
Gu Yang had only worn his autumn school uniform with a trench coat. The cold wind had arrived; others were already wearing light down jackets.
“It’s fine. Not that cold. Thick clothes get in the way,” Gu Yang said, handing his coat to a servant. His hands were freezing, knuckles faintly red.
Gu Yuhui touched his hand and immediately frowned, signaling someone to turn on the heating.
Behind them, Gu Qingxu watched coldly as his father fussed over someone else, as though he didn’t exist.
“Let’s eat first,” Gu Yuhui said, pulling Gu Yang to the table. “Qingxu, come as well.”
Gu Qingxu relaxed his clenched hand and walked over with a smile.
Only the three of them sat at the table. Gu Yang was quiet by nature, and once eating, even less inclined to speak.
Gu Qingxu, however, was smooth and articulate, recounting small school anecdotes, leaving subtle pauses for Gu Yuhui to respond.
The atmosphere seemed harmonious.
Midway through the meal, Gu Yuhui brought up the major matter: the group had an important upcoming project. He wanted the two of them to treat it as practice—each submit a proposal and compete. Whoever’s plan was better would lead it.
Gu Qingxu’s gaze flickered. He subtly glanced at Gu Yang, who showed no reaction, then smiled and agreed he would do his best.
“And A’Yang—you two are brothers. Compete fairly. No tricks.”
That line made something stir in Gu Qingxu’s heart.
He had always believed his father didn’t consider Gu Yang as a successor. After all, only he had previously been asked to learn the business and get involved in company affairs.
Yet now, at such a crucial moment, Gu Yang was being given a chance to compete.
The latter half of dinner remained pleasant. Gu Qingxu’s composure didn’t waver.
After the meal, Gu Yuhui asked Gu Yang to come to his study alone.
Gu Qingxu watched him meaningfully, his gaze following Gu Yang’s retreating figure until it disappeared at the second-floor corner.
He didn’t look away for a long time.
In the study, documents lay scattered across the desk.
Though nearing fifty, Gu Yuhui maintained himself well—fit build, few wrinkles, the occasional silver hair quickly dealt with.
He represented the public image of the Gu Corporation. A leader in decline was unacceptable.
Gu Yang’s expression remained blank, his eyes resting on the silver-framed glasses perched on Gu Yuhui’s nose, adding to his gravitas.
Gu Yang had tried them on once. They were reading glasses.
Gu Yuhui was pleased—Gu Yang was actually paying attention today.
“No need to be nervous. I just want to ask about the Shen family matter. It caused quite a stir, and it involved you. It was done by your classmate. I want to know your thoughts.”
Gu Yang studied his father’s expression, trying to interpret it—and failed.
So he said faintly, “Winter’s coming. The Shen family should go bankrupt.”
Gu Yuhui chuckled, neither approving nor disapproving. “And how do you plan to do that?”
Gu Yang looked at him directly, exposing the subtext. “Wouldn’t you already know what I’m planning?”
He had used Gu family resources to collect evidence. There was no way Gu Yuhui didn’t know.
Gu Yuhui smiled again. “I know. But the results seem lacking.”
“Then please take over and handle it for me.”
Gu Yang yawned lazily. His sleep quality was poor; he was always tired at this hour.
“Such a small difficulty. Shouldn’t you handle it yourself?” Gu Yuhui asked deliberately.
Gu Yang waved it off casually as he turned to leave. “No thanks. You’ll do a better job than me anyway. Work hard.”
Gu Yuhui smiled faintly, clearly pleased by that.
After Gu Yang left, alone in the study, Gu Yuhui sighed softly to himself.
“He really is starting to look more and more like her.”
