Chapter 40: Doesn’t It Sound Romantic…
Since it was their first meeting, Uncle Huang was afraid the kid might be nervous, so he went downstairs to pick him up early in the morning. He even drove his own private car—the more low-key one.
On the way, he called the young master in advance.
Gu Yang was still lying in bed, his voice thick with sleep. He casually said he knew, and told him to just let the person come upstairs once they arrived.
But Uncle Huang felt that wasn’t appropriate. On the first day of tutoring, he gently persuaded him that it would be better to get up and come downstairs to greet him.
There was some rustling from the other end, probably him turning over while wrapped in his blanket. After a long while, a muffled “mm” came through.
Uncle Huang had worked for the Gu family for over twenty years. He had witnessed too many things and had watched Gu Yang grow up. Though he was the employer’s son, there was still genuine affection there.
He also knew this child valued feelings deeply, which was why he was willing to listen to an old man’s nagging.
After picking up Song Yinxing, he drove back.
“It’s okay, you don’t need to be too nervous. Today only your employer and his younger brother—one year younger than him—are at home.”
Uncle Huang had already looked into the other party’s background while preparing for the job. After parking in the underground garage, he added a reassuring note, “Once you meet him, just go straight to his room.”
Song Yinxing nodded lightly.
It was precisely because he had experienced so much malice and darkness that he could better appreciate the value of this kindness.
He could tell the residence was extremely expensive. The people who lived here were either rich or powerful.
And wealthy people had rarely left him with good impressions.
They walked up from the basement to the first floor. As soon as they reached it, Song Yinxing’s gaze collided with someone.
Gu Qingxu?
Why was he here?
A chill rose from Song Yinxing’s heart, making his hands and feet grow cold.
Gu Qingxu, dressed in homewear, had just come out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee. Seeing this unexpected guest, he paused. “You are…?”
Uncle Huang quickly explained, “Second Young Master, this is the tutor personally hired by the Eldest Young Master.”
“A tutor? For what?”
For what else? Uncle Huang was puzzled. “Of course for studying.”
At that moment, footsteps sounded from upstairs.
Through the dark gray metal railing, a figure could be vaguely seen.
As if realizing something, Song Yinxing’s heartbeat quickened. He looked up directly.
Gu Yang slowly walked down. Since he was indoors, he only wore a beige knitted cardigan. His pants were loose and comfortable, and he had slippers on his bare feet, giving him a soft look.
“You’re here.” He yawned sleepily, seemingly unaware of the tense atmosphere between the two. He greeted Song Yinxing naturally. “Come to my room first.”
“What are you bringing him to your room for?” Gu Qingxu asked coldly.
Gu Yang’s voice was lazy and weak. “What’s it to you?”
After being brushed off so lightly, Gu Qingxu’s expression worsened.
Uncle Huang hurried to smooth things over. “Of course to tutor. This classmate Song is here as a tutor.”
He knew the Second Young Master had quite a temper. Even if there wouldn’t be much interaction, Song Yinxing would be coming and going often in the future. Offending him would bring no benefits.
Song Yinxing had already regained his composure. He followed Gu Yang upstairs, barely resisting the urge to look again at Gu Qingxu.
He didn’t like Gu Qingxu.
This person was Nie Ying’s friend. Anyone who could be so close to Nie Ying must be the same at heart.
Only compared to Nie Ying, Gu Qingxu’s cruelty was more restrained.
He had never directly done anything to him. He would only happen to be nearby when Nie Ying targeted him—neither condemning nor encouraging, just smiling as he watched.
That person had a strong sense of hierarchy, liked to divide people into classes. Song Yinxing could feel the hidden disdain beneath the smile every time Gu Qingxu looked at him.
Even though things were completely different now—he hadn’t endured Nie Ying’s suffocating oppression yet, nor had he crossed paths with Gu Qingxu before—
But even at this first meeting, the other’s face clearly said: What right does someone like you have to appear here?
Back in the room, Gu Yang flopped onto the bed.
He kicked off his slippers and grabbed a pillow to hug.
“Sit wherever. Sofa or chair is fine. Just don’t sit on my bed.”
Song Yinxing had many, many questions for Gu Yang. But the first thing he asked was, “Why… go through such a big detour to find me?”
“Didn’t you say you’d tutor me?” Gu Yang half-closed his eyes. “And earn some extra money on the side. Isn’t that good?”
“I wanted to tutor you to thank you for helping me before. So I don’t need money. I know I don’t have anything else to give you,” Song Yinxing said calmly, shaking his head.
“Just take it. It’s not coming from my account anyway. Someone will reimburse it,” Gu Yang said lazily. “Just treat it as helping me spend a bit more.”
The next wave of refusal Song Yinxing had prepared got stuck in his throat. He tried to digest those words in confusion. “But you didn’t have to set the price this high. It’s your family’s money…”
“It’s fine. I deserve it anyway. Just treat it as compensation for emotional damages.” Gu Yang waved his hand impatiently. “Alright, topic over. Don’t want to hear it.”
Song Yinxing was speechless. He could only temporarily set it aside. “Then get up from the bed. Let’s start tutoring.”
“No need. Go read your book. You can use my desk.” Gu Yang still had half a leg hanging off the bed. “I’m going to sleep. And don’t wake me up for anything.”
Watching Gu Yang seemingly about to fall asleep on the spot, Song Yinxing said, “You’re going to sleep so early in the morning? Didn’t you just wake up?”
Gu Yang ignored him, closing his eyes to refuse further communication.
Song Yinxing was now almost certain: the whole reason Gu Yang went around in circles to bring him here was to give him money.
But why was he willing to do so much for him?
From the first time they met—when he didn’t hesitate to offend Nie Ying to help him out—to dealing with Ding Ziyu who kept causing trouble, even offering to visit his mother in the hospital, though that had been a bit sudden.
No one is that good to someone else for no reason.
Song Yinxing had never understood.
This was the only variable across the two different trajectories of his two lifetimes.
He had suspected whether Gu Yang had also been reborn.
But even if Gu Yang had been reborn, there was no reason for him to help him.
After all, in the previous life, they had no interaction at all. The only person connected to both sides was Gu Qingxu—and he certainly wouldn’t have mentioned him in front of Gu Yang.
Song Yinxing forced himself to suppress the train of thought that had once again led into a dead end.
“Gu Yang, you don’t have to do this much for me.” From their previous interactions, he could tell Gu Yang had quite a temper, so he spoke in a coaxing tone. “Get up first. I’ll briefly go over the key points, then we’ll do a timed paper.”
At those words, unpleasant memories surfaced for Gu Yang. He covered his face with a pillow. “No need. Shut up.”
Even though Gu Yang snapped at him, Song Yinxing’s expression didn’t change.
He could distinguish real malice from this.
The point wasn’t why Gu Yang was doing this—but how much he had already done.
Song Yinxing tried his best not to pursue the reason anymore.
This was someone who had always shown him kindness.
He closed his eyes.
It was far too precious.
“There’s not much time this morning. Let’s start with math.” Song Yinxing spread out his organized notes. “Hurry up, or it’ll be noon.”
“I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m really sleepy,” Gu Yang remained sprawled on the bed, sounding slightly on the verge of collapse.
“I know. A lot of people say that when they first open a book,” Song Yinxing replied calmly, unmoved.
Seeing Gu Yang refusing to respond at all, Song Yinxing sighed softly and stood up, intending to pull him up from the bed. “Don’t act like a child—”
He had barely taken two steps when something tripped him solidly. His center of gravity shifted, and he fell forward onto the bed with a loud thud.
He barely managed to brace himself with his hands and turned back awkwardly to see what had happened.
A long-haired Ragdoll cat with glossy fur was half-crouched on the carpet. It looked startled too, staring at this human who had inexplicably kicked it with wide innocent eyes.
“Didn’t I say I don’t like people sitting on my bed?” a faint voice came from behind.
Only then did Song Yinxing realize his supporting hand was just a few centimeters from Gu Yang’s head.
Gu Yang looked at him expressionlessly.
It was the first time Song Yinxing had met those gray eyes at such close range. He could even see the slight tremble of his eyelashes when he blinked.
Before either of them could speak, rapid knocking at the door broke the stalemate.
“Eldest Young Master, is Pudding in your room?” Xiao Huang had turned around and realized she couldn’t find the cat. All the doors and windows downstairs were locked, so she guessed it must have sneaked upstairs again.
Without getting a response, she anxiously pushed the door open.
She stared in shock at the two people on the bed.
Before she could process what she was seeing, Pudding meowed, clearly unwilling to stay any longer, and darted out.
The cat had been found. Xiao Huang stumbled over her apology for intruding, then retreated with a thoroughly scrambled expression, solemnly closing the door behind her.
Song Yinxing hadn’t even managed to say anything. By the time he struggled to stand up, she was already gone.
Gu Yang, still lying on the bed, couldn’t help laughing. Song Yinxing couldn’t see his expression hidden behind the pillow, but he could tell how amused he was.
Song Yinxing: “…”
But because of that, Gu Yang’s previously lethargic mood had lifted a bit. He held out a hand toward Song Yinxing, letting him pull him up.
He told Song Yinxing to continue using his desk and dragged a stool to sit beside him.
Song Yinxing tried hard not to think about the earlier incident and opened his textbook.
“So many notes. No wonder you’re first place,” Gu Yang said. He tended to get sleepy when he looked at too many words—something innate he couldn’t change—so he couldn’t really absorb the content and could only comment on the quantity.
“My family’s conditions aren’t good. Since I was young, I’ve worked hard at studying because everyone said it was the only way to change my fate,” Song Yinxing said calmly.
But reality had proven that everything he did seemed futile—just laughable, overconfident struggling in some people’s eyes.
“My dad only knows how to gamble outside and lost all the family’s money. My mom was the only one earning, but later she fell ill too. So I became the one supporting this family. That’s why I came to Guanli to study.”
“But even so, that man still won’t let us go. Whenever he runs out of money, he asks us for it, completely ignoring whether my mom lives or dies.”
“My mom still tells me how good he used to be to her. But what’s the point of being good back then? In the end, his true nature still shows. Time reveals a person’s heart.”
Only after saying this did he snap back to himself and apologize.
Too many things had happened these days. His mind was chaotic, and he had let negative emotions spill out.
He knew he shouldn’t have said so much to Gu Yang.
If Gu Yang was helping him out of sympathy, then saying all this would only pull him in deeper.
Someone like Nie Ying—whoever got entangled with her could never come out unscathed.
And besides… Gu Yang was already barely able to protect himself.
Back then, the news of his suicide had only passed numbingly by his ears. But now it stirred delayed shock waves.
Gu Yang’s expression showed no surprise or emotion. He seemed very calm—because he already knew all of it.
Resting his chin on one hand, he looked at Song Yinxing.
He did know too much about Song Yinxing, which wasn’t exactly fair. And since he was in a decent mood now, he decided to share something of his own.
“My parents had a very good relationship too. It was love at first sight. They got married soon after. It’s just that my father’s luck wasn’t great—he died pretty early.”
“But in the end, my mother chose to die for love.”
At this point, Gu Yang smiled at Song Yinxing.
“So? Doesn’t it sound romantic?”
