Chapter 50: Paternity Test
He Ming’an stood where he was, watching Gu Yang and Song Yinxing leave.
Gu Qingxu, who had been sitting in the car the whole time, finally couldn’t hold back and sneered, “They’re already gone and you’re still standing there. What, addicted to playing nanny?”
He Ming’an turned his head and glanced at him. A faint smile appeared on his face.
“A-Yang and I grew up together. I treat him like my own brother. It’s normal if you can’t understand that.”
Gu Qingxu, who actually shared blood with Gu Yang, let out a cold laugh.
Sure enough, he had disliked He Ming’an from the very first time they met.
Back then he had only just entered the Gu family and was unfamiliar with everything.
Whenever he was taken out to appear in public, Gu Yuhui never gave him special care. He simply let him fend for himself.
People speculated about him, whispered about him.
As a child who had been brought back halfway through life, he was treated with rejection and cautious observation.
Gu Yang, meanwhile, had always disliked such occasions.
Even when forced to attend, he would only shrink into some quiet corner without saying a word.
So during that period, Gu Qingxu would always stay by Gu Yang’s side.
It was peaceful that way.
Besides, he had no interest in sticking his warm face against someone else’s cold shoulder.
Until one day.
He remembered it very clearly.
That was the day he first met He Ming’an.
“A-Yang, who is that person beside you?”
The person leaning absentmindedly by the window lifted his chin and pointed toward Gu Yuhui standing not far away.
The boy around the same age as him turned his head to look over, letting out an “Oh,” but his face showed no expression.
At that time, Gu Qingxu had been nervous.
He had already begun preparing how he would introduce himself when the other person introduced himself.
But the boy simply looked away and said with a smile,
“A-Yang, I’ll take you to see something.”
Then he grabbed Gu Yang and pulled him away, without saying a single word to Gu Qingxu the entire time.
What an unpleasant first impression.
Gu Qingxu could still remember every detail of that moment.
Of course, his own performance at the time hadn’t exactly been impressive either.
After gradually adjusting to his identity, he never felt that awkward again.
Gu Yang still frequently skipped banquets.
Even when he did appear, he remained a silent background figure.
Meanwhile, Gu Qingxu slowly became the center of attention in conversations.
He Ming’an had an excellent reputation in their circle.
People their age thought he was warm-hearted and worth befriending, while the elders praised him for being humble, polite, and reliable.
Whenever Gu Qingxu heard those comments, he would scoff.
He certainly didn’t hold a grudge simply because He Ming’an had ignored him back then.
He just thought it was laughable.
What a good performance.
“Senior He has time to acknowledge some brother who isn’t even remotely related,” Gu Qingxu said with a smile, no longer bothering to pretend politeness. “Why not go take care of your real brother at home instead?”
He Ming’an’s expression didn’t change.
But Gu Qingxu could feel the atmosphere around him turn cold instantly.
The smile on Gu Qingxu’s lips deepened as he continued to provoke him.
“It’s been so many years and no one even knows what he looks like. People outside are saying Senior He might just be too narrow-minded.”
“If there’s a chance next time, why not bring him out for us to meet?”
After saying that, he gestured for Uncle Huang to drive.
As the car window slowly rolled up, he even waved at He Ming’an with a pleasant smile.
—
Song Yinxing rode his somewhat old-looking bicycle and carried Gu Yang to the apartment building where he lived.
It was a very old open residential complex.
After locking the bike, he led Gu Yang upstairs.
At the door, he fumbled with the key.
Gu Yang stood quietly beside him, waiting.
The tip of his nose was slightly red from the cold, making his pale skin look even paler, almost fragile.
Seeing that, guilt suddenly rose in Song Yinxing’s heart.
He quickly opened the door, ushered Gu Yang inside, and went to turn on the air conditioner.
The unit was old as well.
Since they had moved in, it had never been used for heating.
Although it could still be turned on, not even a hint of warm air came out.
After pressing the remote several times with no success, Song Yinxing awkwardly put it down.
Gu Yang didn’t notice.
His attention was focused on the surroundings.
The apartment wasn’t large.
The moment you entered, there was a dining area connected to the kitchen, with two bedrooms further inside. You could almost see the entire place at a glance.
“My home is a bit small,” Song Yinxing said quietly.
He had gone through so many things that he thought he could handle situations calmly.
Yet after just a few glances from Gu Yang, he suddenly felt nervous.
“It’s not that bad,” Gu Yang said.
He wasn’t just saying it casually.
Before coming here, he had secretly imagined Song Yinxing’s home might be extremely shabby.
Bare cement floors without tiles.
A flickering light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Walls cracked and leaking water, patched with old newspapers.
That sort of thing.
After all, that was how such places were usually portrayed on television.
Given the tone of this novel, he had expected something even worse.
But after entering, it actually looked fairly normal.
Song Yinxing had rushed home earlier to tidy up.
In fact, it hadn’t been necessary.
He usually kept things fairly clean.
He had only folded the blanket his younger brother had turned into a mess and taken the trash downstairs.
They had come here under the excuse of studying.
But Song Yinxing noticed Gu Yang hadn’t even brought a single book.
Clearly he had no intention of studying.
He was probably just bored on a whim.
When Song Yinxing had gone to the Gu house before, it was similar.
Most of the time he was solving problems while Gu Yang lounged around beside him doing nothing.
It was merely a formality.
A way for him to collect a salary.
Song Yinxing knew Gu Yang meant well, but he still couldn’t accept it calmly.
So he tried to decline politely.
Yet that only complicated things further.
Seeing that Gu Yang didn’t show any disgust toward the apartment, Song Yinxing secretly relaxed.
Then he saw Gu Yang remove his scarf and unbutton his coat.
Underneath he wore a thin half-turtleneck cashmere sweater.
Although the apartment wasn’t large, it was extremely cold due to its orientation.
Song Yinxing instinctively wanted to stop him.
But Gu Yang simply said, “I don’t like wearing coats indoors. It’s annoying.”
Thinking of the constant floor heating in the Gu household, Song Yinxing hurried into his brother’s room and carried out a small electric heater.
He pulled over a chair for Gu Yang and placed the heater nearby so he could warm himself.
Gu Yang looked like he had never seen such a thing before.
He stretched out his hand curiously.
Song Yinxing quickly slapped it away.
“It gets very hot nearby. You’ll burn yourself.”
“Oh,” Gu Yang responded.
Although he still looked curious, he obediently withdrew his hand.
The steady warmth gradually spread through his body.
Gu Yang narrowed his eyes and leaned lazily against the chair.
The warmth added a faint blush to his pale face.
Outside, the sky had already turned dark.
Shadows moved across his features, tracing the delicate lines of his striking face.
Song Yinxing looked at him and momentarily forgot what he had intended to say.
Gu Yang suddenly started a new topic.
He pointed toward the bundles of cardboard stacked near the door.
“What are those for?”
“I… collect them sometimes,” Song Yinxing said honestly, though his cool face showed a hint of embarrassment. “I sell them for a bit of money later.”
Gu Yang made another “Oh.”
Just then, a loudspeaker from outside echoed through the neighborhood.
“Recycling old appliances! Old refrigerators, old TVs! Buying cardboard boxes!”
Gu Yang pointed toward the sound.
“No,” Song Yinxing refused immediately.
“The door-to-door collectors only pay forty cents per pound. If I take them myself, I can get sixty cents.”
Only after finishing his sentence did he realize what he had just said.
Song Yinxing: “……”
For the first time in his life, he experienced speaking faster than thinking.
The warmth from the heater seemed to spread over him as well.
Even his ears felt slightly hot.
Gu Yang looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
He tried to process the importance of that tiny difference after the decimal point.
But this clearly entered his blind spot.
When he bought things, he usually ignored numbers smaller than the thousands.
After a long silence, Song Yinxing finally forced out a dry sentence.
“Are you hungry?”
Gu Yang never cared much about whether he ate dinner.
But he hesitated and nodded anyway.
Song Yinxing hurried to open the refrigerator.
It was nearly empty.
Inside were only half a bag of vegetables and three eggs left over from groceries he had bought the previous Sunday.
From Monday to Friday he usually ate at the school cafeteria.
So he hadn’t bought anything else.
Silently closing the refrigerator, he told Gu Yang to sit and relax for a while.
Then he quickly put on his shoes, slammed the door shut, and ran to the nearest market to buy groceries.
While choosing vegetables, he suddenly realized he had forgotten to ask what Gu Yang wanted to eat.
The only memory he had related to that was Uncle Huang saying kindly that the young master didn’t like eating anything.
Song Yinxing took a deep breath, paid quickly, and hurried back.
Leaving Gu Yang alone at home made him uneasy.
When he returned and opened the door, he had just started changing his shoes when he heard Gu Yang softly say, “Ah.”
Holding the grocery bags in one hand and still wearing one shoe, he hurried over.
“What happened?”
Gu Yang had been looking at his own hand.
After a moment, he turned the back of his hand toward Song Yinxing.
There was a very obvious red mark.
Because Gu Yang’s skin was so pale, the mark looked especially striking.
Song Yinxing paused.
He guessed Gu Yang must have gotten curious and touched the heater.
“I told you not to touch it randomly,” he said helplessly.
“I was just curious,” Gu Yang replied lightly, with a faint smile in his voice. “It’s nothing serious.”
He withdrew his hand and examined it again as if it might reveal something interesting.
Warm orange light from the heater illuminated his profile.
The brightness hid the contradictory emotions in his eyes—indulgence mixed with boredom.
Yet Song Yinxing had clearly glimpsed them for a moment.
Everything had been fine earlier.
Song Yinxing didn’t know why, but hearing Gu Yang dismiss the burn so casually made him feel uncomfortable.
He took Gu Yang to the sink and cooled the burn with water.
After confirming it wasn’t serious, he began preparing dinner.
Gu Yang hovered nearby watching.
Song Yinxing had assumed Gu Yang had never set foot in a kitchen before.
But the level of curiosity he displayed was almost excessive.
The sudden enthusiasm caught him off guard, making him feel as though he were performing some strange exhibition.
“Do you need help cutting things?” Gu Yang asked, picking up a knife.
Song Yinxing remembered the astonishing apple-peeling technique Gu Yang had once demonstrated.
He politely declined and told him to go sit elsewhere.
Gu Yang’s interest came quickly and disappeared just as quickly.
Soon he lost enthusiasm and returned to his chair beside the heater.
Song Yinxing was used to working.
He quickly finished cooking.
He prepared braised beef, stir-fried shrimp, blanched greens, and a pot of soup.
The dishes were neatly arranged on the table.
Song Yinxing looked at Gu Yang.
Gu Yang didn’t say whether he liked them.
But he tasted every dish, eating slowly and elegantly.
After dinner, Song Yinxing began clearing the table.
Gu Yang tried to help collect the plates.
But seeing the greasy dish, he pinched it delicately with his fingertips.
Clatter.
Song Yinxing had just rolled up his sleeves when he turned around.
A shattered plate lay on the floor.
Gu Yang looked back at him innocently.
Song Yinxing: “……”
“Just leave it there. I’ll clean it.”
After washing the dishes, wiping the counter, and sweeping up the broken plate, it was already getting late.
Gu Yang sat for a while longer before standing up to leave.
Song Yinxing planned to escort him home.
Gu Yang said there was no need—Uncle Huang had already come to pick him up.
Even so, Song Yinxing insisted on walking him downstairs.
He lived on the third floor.
Out of the three hallway lights, two were broken.
He turned on his phone flashlight.
Gu Yang walked ahead while the beam illuminated his slender back.
Song Yinxing still couldn’t understand why Gu Yang had wanted to come here.
This place was small and old.
There was nothing interesting to see.
He simply assumed Gu Yang acted on whims.
But he had visited Gu Yang’s home.
And now Gu Yang had visited his.
Did that mean their relationship had grown a little closer?
Something in Song Yinxing’s heart softened.
Gu Yang was too special to him.
Mysterious.
Surrounded by layers of fog.
He had too many questions, too much curiosity—and a foolish desire to save him.
Just as he was about to speak, a rough male voice interrupted.
“You ungrateful brat. Living comfortably here while your old man suffers out in the cold.”
Song Yinxing’s entire body turned cold.
The warmth in his heart vanished instantly.
He looked toward the man stepping out from the darkness.
His biological father.
Song Yinxing remembered clearly.
In his previous life, even during his most difficult moments—even at his mother’s funeral—this man had never appeared.
So how did he know about this place?
Who told him?
Before Song Yinxing could move to block Gu Yang behind him, the man’s eyes lit up.
Like someone who had found treasure.
“Well, well. Looks like you’ve made progress. Even befriended a rich young master.”
“So you’re doing pretty well at that aristocratic school,” the man laughed before turning to Gu Yang. “Little classmate, are you good friends with our Yinxing?”
Song Yinxing’s fists clenched uncontrollably.
If this man dragged Gu Yang into this situation, he would never forgive him.
Gu Yang looked at him coldly.
A thin, indifferent smile appeared on his face.
“I’m here to collect a debt.”
The man’s smile froze.
Song Yinxing was also startled.
“He owes me money,” Gu Yang continued calmly. “I came to collect it.”
He tilted his chin toward Song Yinxing.
“You’re his father? Then can you repay it for him?”
Song Yinxing had never seen Gu Yang like this.
With just a few sentences, the previously arrogant man instantly fell silent like a frightened turtle.
At that moment, the car that had come to pick up Gu Yang also drove in.
A low-key black vehicle stopped nearby.
The driver’s window lowered slowly.
A respectful voice asked, “Young master, have you finished your business?”
The timing was perfect.
The man’s face darkened even further.
When Gu Yang’s gaze landed on him again, he hurriedly waved his hands.
“No money! I don’t have any money! Don’t come looking for me!”
After saying that, he quickly left.
Uncle Huang smiled gently without asking what had happened.
He stepped out and opened the car door for Gu Yang.
Gu Yang waved to Song Yinxing and got in.
Song Yinxing said goodbye with complicated feelings.
Just moments ago he had almost dragged Gu Yang into trouble.
But Gu Yang had handled it so easily.
It made him question his earlier thoughts.
Did Gu Yang really need saving?
On the drive home, Gu Yang closed his eyes to rest.
Uncle Huang smiled kindly while glancing at the rearview mirror.
“Did you have fun today?”
“It was alright,” Gu Yang replied casually.
Though the answer sounded indifferent, Uncle Huang’s smile became even warmer.
After so many years, it was rare for the young master to visit someone else’s home.
Even such a small thing made him deeply pleased.
When they returned, Gu Yang headed toward his room.
But he happened to run into Gu Qingxu sitting in the living room.
For once, Gu Qingxu didn’t mock him like usual.
No sarcastic remarks about coming home late.
He held a document in his hand, his expression strangely complicated.
When their eyes met, he awkwardly pulled the document slightly behind him.
Inside was a paternity test report.
Gu Yang and Gu Yuhui.
The result showed—
They were not father and son.
