Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Gu Yubai’s day was extraordinarily eventful.

In the morning, he was the top-scoring student in this year's *gaokao*, lauded by education officials and teachers. By afternoon, he transformed into the dutiful son, renting a car to transport his vegetative foster father to a high-end care facility in another city. And by evening, he became the unlucky soul forgotten at a service area after his rental car stopped for gas and a break.

When Gu Yubai emerged from the restroom, the rental car was gone, leaving the parking spot empty.

He immediately called the driver, who, upon answering, realized Gu Yubai hadn’t gotten back in the car. The driver offered *hongbao* as compensation rather than turning back, explaining that the car was already on another highway with no U-turns, and a detour would be far too long.

The sky had long since darkened, and traffic on the highway gradually thinned. The ride-hailing request Gu Yubai posted on a service platform remained unanswered.

Even though Gu Yubai was an old soul in a young body, he was still just an eighteen-year-old high school graduate. The glory and connections from his past life were utterly useless now. After scrolling through his contacts and social media for a while, he realized his circle consisted mostly of classmates and online friends—hardly anyone he could turn to for help.

At eighteen, people were still quite naive, and their friendships weren't yet tainted by self-interest.

After seeing yet another classmate grinning in a selfie with their tanned face, and realizing no one in his class even had a driver’s license, Gu Yubai sighed in resignation.

There was one person in his phone who stood out: Yu Li, whose number he had added a couple of days ago due to their temporary cohabitation.

Based on their interactions so far, Gu Yubai had labeled him a workaholic.

Late at night, he was either working overtime or on his way to do so.

While others worked nine-to-five, his schedule was more like 3 AM to midday the next day.

If not for Gu Yubai taking time off these past few days, he wouldn’t have even seen this man.

Their schedules never aligned.

Though it was dark now, it wasn’t yet late at night. From Gu Yubai’s limited understanding of Yu Li, the man was probably still working overtime!

Gu Yubai thought that if Yu Li was too busy to help, he might as well call the police.

Luckily, Yu Li was free—and willing to come pick him up.

The moment he sent his location, his phone battery died and the device shut down.

----

This was the second time Gu Yubai had seen the workaholic Yu Li not dressed in a shirt and suit.

The first time was in a towel, his skin... very pale.

Gu Yubai couldn't help but cough lightly, his gaze fixed on the young man emerging from a black SUV.

Unlike his usual composed and serious office attire, Yu Li was now casually dressed in a white T-shirt, light brown trousers, and white sneakers. His hair was messier than usual, as if he hadn’t bothered styling it before leaving.

At this moment, Yu Li looked at least five or six years younger than usual. Though he couldn't compare to Gu Yubai’s eighteen-year-old youthful bloom, he still exuded a charming, youthful maturity.

Age-wise, Yu Li was like a perfectly ripe peach at the peak of his prime, yet he carried himself with a deceptive air of youthful inexperience—like a sweet, tender peach that was still slightly unripe but ready to be savored.

Gu Yubai was startled by his own metaphor.

The way he was looking at Yu Li felt off—there was an unconscious appreciation and an ambiguous gaze in his eyes. That wasn’t good.

After a couple of seconds of serious thought, Gu Yubai concluded that his first impression of Yu Li—nearly naked—must have left too deep an impact.

Normally, when he saw the all-business, work-obsessed President Yu, he wouldn’t think much of it. But whenever Yu Li deviated from that image, especially with his messy, "just-rolled-out-of-bed" hair, Gu Yubai’s mind involuntarily flashed back to their first encounter.

Gu Yubai subconsciously stood up from where he had been sitting under the AC unit outside the convenience store, his eyes following the handsome young man intently.

Yu Li glanced around and quickly locked onto the most illuminated spot in the dim service area—the small convenience store. His gaze settled on the teenager standing at the entrance, and his lips quirked upward as he instinctively waved.

The mature, steady young executive suddenly seemed more animated.

In Gu Yubai’s eyes, Yu Li now carried a youthful energy that made him feel at ease.

He walked toward Gu Yubai with steady steps, his expression fond and patient, completely unthreatening.

For that moment, everything else faded away. Gu Yubai’s vision was filled only with the increasingly closer figure of the handsome young man.

Just as Yu Li reached him, Gu Yubai suddenly asked, puzzled:

"President Yu, just how old are you?"

The question caught Yu Li off guard. He blinked, his face briefly showing a rare, genuine bewilderment.

"Why do you ask?" he countered reflexively before quickly regaining his usual composure.

Gu Yubai smirked. "Just curious."

He chuckled, his eyes sweeping over Yu Li.

Teasingly, he added, "You seem different tonight—younger, more... approachable. Less like unapproachable luxury. You must have been really popular a few years ago."

Yu Li was speechless.

He looked at Gu Yubai seriously and said slowly, "Is it possible that I am, in fact, a man in his prime? And you... well, you’re still a barely legal kid."

A kid?

If they were really comparing, this reincarnated old-timer might actually be older than Yu Li!

A shadow suddenly fell over him, and the next second, a broad, strong hand patted Gu Yubai lightly on the head. Seemingly pleased with the texture of his hair, Yu Li instinctively gave it an extra tousle.

Gu Yubai’s neatly styled hair was instantly disheveled.

His eyes widened in shock.

What gives? Were they that close? Close enough for physical contact?

The accusation in Gu Yubai’s eyes was too obvious.

Yu Li coughed and quickly withdrew his hand.

He smiled, his tone light but probing.

"Aren’t we friends? You’re letting me stay at your place, and I drove all the way here to pick you up. A little friendly contact between friends is normal, right?"

It was indeed normal between friends.

The only thing was—Gu Yubai never expected the one initiating it would be the stern, all-work-no-play President Yu he had in mind.

This man had not only become more approachable but also a bit more... playful.

Gu Yubai secretly shot him a look and edged back.

Well, since Yu Li had come to pick him up, he’d give him a pass.

Gu Yubai lowered his head to adjust his bangs, then looked up and continued asking.

"Don’t dodge the question. You still haven’t answered my question. How old are you exactly this year?"

Yu Li chuckled, "Since you're so curious, why don’t you take a wild guess?"

Gu Yubai gave a small nod, narrowing his eyes as he pondered while following Yu Li into the night.

When they reached the SUV, Gu Yubai suddenly spoke up, "You’re not already in your thirties, are you?"

Successful people often age well—some in their forties or fifties can still look like they’re in their thirties.

As for Yu Li... now that he wasn’t wearing a suit, just a white T-shirt and sneakers, he looked about twenty-three. He probably wasn’t that old.

"Twenty-seven."

Yu Li laughed again in the darkness.

Then he answered seriously, "I’m only twenty-seven this year, right at the prime of my life. And stop giving me that strange look—I’m not old!"

Yu Li hit the key fob, and the vehicle beeped. He opened the driver’s door and got in.

Gu Yubai rubbed his nose awkwardly and walked around to the passenger side.

Gu Yubai: "Twenty-seven? That’s not too old, just eight years older than me."

Twenty-four seems too young, thirty is too old.

In Gu Yubai’s eyes, a man should be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight—like a perfectly ripe peach, soft to the touch, bursting with sweetness and juice.

Ready to be devoured.

Yu Li: "Right. So stop calling me ‘President Yu.’ From now on, call me Brother Yu."

Gu Yubai: "Sure. Then you can call me Yubai. If you want to call me ‘Big Brother’ like Gu Yihong does, I wouldn’t complain!"

A playful smirk appeared on his face.

Once a big brother, always a big brother!

"Heh, seatbelt on. We’re heading home," Yu Li reminded him.

Gu Yubai fastened his seatbelt, and Yu Li put on a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, focusing on the road ahead.

Soon, they left the rest stop and smoothly embarked on their journey home.

Gu Yubai glanced at the GPS for a while before starting to think about his schedule for the next month.

"I should get a driver's license."

Gu Yubai suddenly noticed that Yu Li had exceptionally sharp features. Wearing wire-rimmed glasses and his eyes fixed on the road, his profile was so handsome it was hard to look away.

At first, Gu Yubai snuck glances out of the corner of his eye, but gradually, he started staring openly.

The car was unlit, pitch black.

Yu Li’s expression as he focused on the road gradually turned conflicted. His eyes flickered, his ears grew warm, but in the end, he didn’t say anything, helplessly ignoring the intense gaze beside him.

-------

*Bzzt.*

The silence was abruptly broken by a sudden phone ringtone. Gu Yubai jolted out of his thoughts and instinctively glanced around before settling his eyes on Yu Li.

The other man held the steering wheel with one hand, his gaze still fixed ahead, while the other pressed the phone to his ear.

He seemed to hear something unpleasant, his brows furrowing slightly as he instinctively glanced at Gu Yubai. After a couple of noncommittal sounds, he hung up.

Gu Yubai had a sixth sense that something related to him had happened.

After a quick consideration, he pulled out his phone.

Amid the faint hum of the car engine, Yu Li’s calm voice broke the quiet.

"Check the hot searches. My assistant just called to say your younger brother, Gu Yihong, has reconciled with the Su family. The Su family has officially announced the details of the Recognition Banquet online—it’s tomorrow night. They even mentioned arranging a livestream with influencers to quell public speculation."

"Though it’s a bit odd. The Su family’s PR is one-sided. My assistant said your brother hasn’t made any public statements himself."

Gu Yubai had already opened the hot searches. The top post was indeed about the Su family’s true and false young masters.

A flood of hired trolls swarmed the discussion, defending the Su family and reassuring netizens.

"The Recognition Banquet is happening, so the True Young Master must have reconciled with the Su family. No cause for concern about him anymore."

"Congratulations to the True Young Master for returning to his family fortune! After such a spectacle, it seems the Su family values him even more now. That’s good—we don’t have to worry about him anymore. Like I said, what parent would stay angry at their child, especially their real one?"

"Exactly, it was all just a misunderstanding. The Su family clearly loves the True Young Master. Hope they can live happily together as a family."

...

Gu Yubai scrolled through the hot searches briefly before directly searching for Gu Yihong’s social media account.

Upon checking, he found that the account Gu Yihong had used to speak out before was completely gone.

The Su family had blocked all of Gu Yihong’s means to speak out online.