Chapter 63: Don’t Team Up with Stupid Teammates
He Ming’an also sensed it keenly.
His thoughts had been drifting, and seeing Gu Yang’s current expression suddenly reminded him of when they first met.
That occasion couldn’t really be called their first meeting, though.
They had already seen each other once before, at an earlier family gathering.
His first impression of him back then was of a somewhat aloof and odd child.
He couldn’t join any conversation and seemed disconnected from others’ emotions.
Out of a sense of sympathy, He Ming’an had actively tried to engage him, teasing in a harmless way about a delicate child being held in someone’s arms.
But that child looked confused, seemingly unable to understand such exchanges, and instead thought those things were what a nanny should do.
Indeed, it was strange.
They had left early midway through. He hadn’t paid much attention at the time, but he overheard a few ladies quietly gossiping around his mother.
“Why did Mr. Gu leave in such a hurry? Did something happen?”
“I was standing close just now and heard… it seems that woman living in the Gu household again…”
They all fell silent at that point.
“The child who was following Mr. Gu today—is that her child?”
“He barely speaks, not like the other children.”
“To have such a mother, how could he possibly turn out normal?”
“Poor child. I heard that woman locks herself in her room every day, and normally the nanny takes care of her,” his mother muttered with a sigh.
The question raised by that odd remark was answered.
He pretended to eat the small cake on the table but was quietly listening to the adults.
After the ladies left, his mother bent down and patted his head, her voice gentle.
“You were listening just now, weren’t you?”
“I know you always like to listen to adults. If you ever meet that child from the Gu family, try to look after him, okay?”
He wasn’t surprised that his mother would say such a thing; she was always soft-hearted and kind, always willing to help even complete strangers—and she had passed that way of dealing with the world onto him.
She said that since he had been born with more than others, he should, if possible, help those who weren’t so lucky.
He nodded and agreed.
Because when someone has 100,000 yuan, they won’t be stingy about giving away a small part to others.
Their second meeting was at the Gu family residence.
He had already heard the unfortunate rumors.
The woman, shrouded in layer upon layer of speculation and rumor, had ingested a large dose of pesticide and, despite being rushed to the hospital, had passed away a week ago.
He hadn’t attended the funeral because He Yihong thought children shouldn’t be present at such occasions.
But what about the Gu family child?
Though the same age as him, they had to endure such experiences. Even the hardest-hearted person would sigh at the sight.
After all, the word “mother” is enough to break anyone’s emotional defenses.
If before the child had just seemed a bit aloof, now their face was full of a twisted, gloomy temperament. Standing alone, they seemed separated from the entire world.
One had to admit that aura was highly captivating, especially for someone like him, who had always lived within predefined boundaries.
He, like a moth to a flame, had approached without hesitation. To his then-confused mind, this was the greatest rebellion he could imagine.
No matter how much good will he tried to show, no matter what kind act he performed, those eyes remained unmoved.
Like raindrops sliding off an umbrella without leaving a trace.
But… maybe that was just fine.
So many years had already passed.
He Ming’an’s expression carried a rare trace of sentimentality.
Opposite him, Gu Yang’s expression was still troubled. He dropped cubes of sugar into his coffee one by one. When he reached the fifth, he finally gathered his words.
“Could the rooftop of the school building have stronger safety measures?”
He Ming’an didn’t expect this would be Gu Yang’s concern.
He suppressed his thoughts, not judging whether it was good or bad, and smiled: “Why bring this up all of a sudden?”
After dropping the sugar cubes, Gu Yang stirred the coffee gently with the spoon, without making a sound: “Maybe because I’m afraid I’ll want to jump again someday.”
His voice was light, almost casual.
The smile on He Ming’an’s face vanished instantly.
He then heard Gu Yang’s inner voice—a subtle, repressed storm beneath the already silent expression, an indescribable pressure.
He tilted his head slightly in a listening gesture.
Unfortunately, Gu Yang was unaware.
Which was normal; who would expect someone else could hear their inner thoughts?
Ordinary thoughts were not audible, only certain specific information could be perceived.
Even so, imagining it was unsettling.
They could both hear it, silently sharing this unspoken secret as they observed Gu Yang from the shadows.
“Besides the previous suicide at our school, there have been gangsters openly harassing our students. A lot has happened recently,” he thought.
“I’ve been considering this too, so I hired more security, strengthened patrolling inside and outside the campus, and installed new surveillance equipment to prevent accidents. That should help somewhat.”
So please, don’t say that again.
He Ming’an looked at Gu Yang: “Anything else you want to tell me?”
“Not for now.” Gu Yang averted his gaze.
Hearing this, He Ming’an secretly breathed a sigh of relief and changed the topic: “A-Yang, your birthday is coming soon, right?”
Gu Yang had forgotten about it.
He didn’t feel particularly attached to birthdays, though Gu Yuhui insisted on organizing one for him every year.
Mentioning his birthday, he recalled Song Yinxing’s birthday from the original story, which was on January 11th.
Just one day later than his own.
That evening, Song Yinxing, sitting at his desk, received an invitation from Gu Yang to attend his birthday party.
He hesitated, then refused.
“Is it because of Gu Qingxu? I’ll have Gu Yuhui assign him elsewhere on a business trip that day.”
Song Yinxing paused.
Though he had personal reasons, and a part of him wanted to attend, Gu Yang would likely invite others too. He wasn’t good at socializing and worried it would be awkward, so he politely declined again.
No response came back. Song Yinxing assumed it was just a whim and slowly put down his phone.
Looking at the marked date on the calendar, he belatedly realized: Gu Yang’s birthday was only a day apart from his.
…
This year’s birthday party was predictably boring as always.
Besides a few classmates, Gu Yuhui had invited many acquaintances.
Gu Yang lazily listened to their small talk. With the heater on, the room was stuffy, and his face flushed slightly.
Feeling bored, he decided to return to his room to rest.
“Other occasions are fine, but at least it’s your birthday,” Yu Bai, attending Gu Yang’s birthday for the first time, was shocked by his selfishness.
Gu Yang casually muttered he couldn’t handle the alcohol (though he had grape juice), leaving Yu Bai speechless: “What, did your grape juice ferment by itself?”
He Ming’an said nothing: “Go rest first. I’ll call you when it’s time to cut the cake.”
Gu Yang nodded and went upstairs.
Standing nearby, Ye Chen was constantly observing. Seeing his chance, he signaled and, while He Ming’an was distracted with socializing, dragged Qi Lecheng upstairs.
Halfway, Qi Lecheng stopped and stared at Ye Chen: “Are you sure about this?”
“What? I already put the drug in. Are you suddenly scared?” Ye Chen asked.
His heart raced, his head felt dizzy, yet his steps floated lightly as if walking on clouds.
Time was critical. Gritting his teeth, he whispered: “I brought the drug, I put it in myself. You just need to take a photo. What’s there to fear?”
“Your drug…” Qi Lecheng avoided eye contact, hesitant.
“No side effects! It’s mild. It acts like drinking too much alcohol.”
Ye Chen didn’t want to waste words. This was his first time doing such a thing; he was extremely nervous.
He had prepared the drug long ago but had been hesitating for days. Just now, Gu Yang asked for grape juice, and when the waiter brought it, he was called away midway, leaving the drink unguarded on the table, with no one around.
He looked at the cup, steeled himself, and tossed in the drug he had brought.
He was tense, fearing something would go wrong, fearing Gu Yang’s state would be noticed, and already regretting acting rashly.
“But…”
Qi Lecheng’s timid attitude irritated him. He couldn’t understand: this person dared to use Gu Yang’s corpse for art, yet now, with a living person in front of him, he still hesitated.
“Qi Lecheng, you don’t think Gu Yang won’t mind if your filthy deeds are exposed later, do you?” Ye Chen was nearly frantic. “He will resent it, and you’ll lose any chance to get close to him, let alone take photos of him.”
“But I’m giving you this chance now. He’s in there, the drug is taking effect, take the photos however you want.”
“That’s not the point…”
“Relax. I don’t want to hurt him. This photo is just to make him take a break from school for a while.”
He tried to drag Qi Lecheng away, but Qi Lecheng only weakly resisted, throwing Ye Chen off.
“What are you two talking about?” Lu Ji’s astonished voice came from behind.
Ye Chen stiffened; the voice hit him like ten tons of explosives in his head, and the drug in his hand dropped to the floor.
Earlier, Lu Ji had been splashed with juice below, and Xu Qingfeng had taken him upstairs to change. They had just left the room when they heard the two conspiring loudly outside.
“What did you do to Gu Yang?” Lu Ji had researched plenty of novels about fake and real young masters online, so seeing words like “drug” and “photo,” the plot instantly formed in his mind.
“How dare you do this in the Gu household? This is insane.”
Lu Ji didn’t know whether to call them daring or foolish, but his main concern was Gu Yang’s safety. He left Xu Qingfeng behind to watch them and rushed upstairs.
Ye Chen’s face turned pale. He was already guilty, and now caught red-handed, his mind went blank as he stared at Xu Qingfeng.
Xu Qingfeng was tense as well; this was his first time seeing such a scene.
When he saw Qi Lecheng going to pick up the bag of drugs, he shouted sharply: “Don’t touch that! It’s evidence!”
His loud voice echoed; Ye Chen’s heart sank.
It was over—now the people below had heard too.
Qi Lecheng didn’t care. He knew he was innocent, but others wouldn’t know; they would assume he was in cahoots with Ye Chen.
And with Ye Chen’s temperament, if things were exposed, he would drag Qi Lecheng down.
Footsteps came from the stairs; Xu Qingfeng’s shouting had drawn attention.
Qi Lecheng became nervous too.
He hadn’t intended to harm Gu Yang, but he feared misunderstanding would make his impression worse.
In the clear plastic bag were five white pills. Qi Lecheng had a sudden idea.
He dumped the pills out and, grabbing Ye Chen, shoved them all into his mouth.
Ye Chen’s eyes widened. He desperately clawed at Qi Lecheng’s hands, trying to spit the pills out.
But Qi Lecheng’s grip was frighteningly strong, steel-like, clamping his mouth and nose. Ye Chen couldn’t struggle free and, through physiological reflex, swallowed all the pills.
Even then, Qi Lecheng wasn’t satisfied. He held Ye Chen for several more minutes until his face turned almost purple before cautiously releasing him to observe.
“Qi Lecheng, are you crazy? Are you trying to murder me?” After finally catching his breath, Ye Chen yelled, his voice cracking.
“I-I’m destroying evidence! Didn’t you say the drug was mild?” Qi Lecheng said timidly.
“I’ll pour ten packets of cold medicine down your throat and see if anything happens to you.”
Ye Chen almost laughed in disbelief, but he couldn’t. He felt nauseous and dizzy.
Where did this illiterate moron come from?
…Why… did I… choose Qi Lecheng as my teammate…
As his consciousness waned, he barely managed to gasp the words: “Ambulance…”
Xu Qingfeng, watching this unfold, finally realized what was happening and pulled out his phone, letting out a sharp alert.
“Hurry, call an ambulance—”
