Chapter 14: Coming into the House

Chapter 14: Crossing the Threshold

At night, from the riverside promenade, you could see the skyscrapers and city lights across the river. The city bounced back quickly after the typhoon, buzzing with life and energy again.

Song Wenhao, panting heavily, sat down by a food truck by the river and hollered at the vendor for two orange juices. The folding chair was so low that spreading his legs felt cramped, but standing up was too much effort. He whined to Gu Hansheng, "I came here to hang out with you, not to suffer with you! There are a million better ways to spend a night! Night running? Seriously, how boring are you?!"

Gu Hansheng, dressed in black athletic wear, stretched his arms by the railing, his already killer physique looking even more ridiculously well-proportioned. Two girls in sexy outfits walked over together, and the one with short hair asked, "Hey handsome, can we add you as a friend?"

Facing the girl's expectant expression, Gu Hansheng replied politely, "Sorry, I can't."

Song Wenhao whistled and teased after they left, "Don't you like short-haired girls? Why not take them clubbing? You might as well be an old monk now."

"I'm not that old."

"Pfft!" Song Wenhao sprayed out the orange juice he had just drunk. "Gu Hansheng, you've clearly fried your brain from work."

"Better than a head full of garbage," Gu Hansheng said, sitting down across from him. "How's that thing I asked you to look into coming along?"

Song Wenhao sounded unenthusiastic: "It's not that fast. That account named Meng never posts anything, and all we've got is an IP address. I still have to find a decent PI overseas. So who's that old lady anyway? With just one photo, who knows how long this'll take. Did your tastes change or what... tsk tsk tsk."

Gu Hansheng ignored him, but that only made him push harder: "Hey, so what about that secret lover of yours? Is that why you've sworn off women? I'm dying of curiosity—bring them along, drinks are on me."

"He doesn't drink alcohol."

"Still that delicate little flower?"

Gu Hansheng had once thought of him as a hothouse flower—delicate and sheltered. On the day he gave his pitch, Gu Hansheng had fired off one brutal question after another, hoping to scare him off. Any other outsider would have been too flustered to even speak, but even when he stumbled over his answers, he kept scrambling for a way out, and never once backed down.

That little flower wasn't as fragile as he'd thought—more like one that could push through barren soil and thrive.

Gu Hansheng didn't take the bait. He'd wanted to bring "Chen Xitong" to a friend gathering before, but now he didn't, especially not around a player like Song Wenhao—it would make him look like the same kind of guy.

"Are you still running or not?" Gu Hansheng stood up.

"You're still not done working out?!" Song Wenhao slumped back. "I'm out. Not joining you. Have fun on your run."

...

Gu Hansheng had been busy lately, and Zhao Yu hadn't seen him in days, just the occasional text or phone call. Zhao Yu was seriously bored with nothing to do, and suddenly realized the pajamas he'd bought for Gu Hansheng were still on pre-order. But it was hard to find clothes that fit his height without being too baggy, so he had to nag customer service to rush the order.

After that, he realized it made him look like he was dying for Gu Hansheng to come over, and he didn't know what to feel.

Unlike Gu Hansheng, Chen Li had just gotten through the company's worst crisis and suddenly had time to meddle in Zhao Yu's life. She asked him to dinner, and when he said no, she showed up at his door that same night without so much as a heads-up.

Zhao Yu wasn't in the mood to play nice with her. Seeing her appear, he changed clothes and headed out.

"Xiao Yu!" Chen Li called out. "You won't even talk to me now?"

"You already got your money. What's the point of talking?"

Chen Li grabbed him by the arm. "I went to see Gu Hansheng. He made it clear—he put in ten million and expects to see returns, and he'll keep meddling in my business. That's a good thing."

Zhao Yu yanked his arm away in disgust. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Once the company's doing better, you can stay and build your career here. I'll save a cushy position for you."

"Go sell that bullshit to your employees instead."

"I want you to stay."

"Stay and be your son's stand-in for the rest of my life?"

"Aren't you my son?"

Zhao Yu was caught off guard. How could she say something so shameless?

He felt sick to his stomach.

Chen Li, completely unaware of how wrong that sounded, went on, "Everything's looking up now. If you leave and Gu Hansheng catches on, he'll destroy the company. Xiao Yu, can you really watch our family go bankrupt?"

"Since when are we family?" Zhao Yu let out a cold laugh. "I'm only staying for the money. One month max—if the final payment doesn't come through, you're on your own."

With that, he turned away from her livid face and walked out, slamming the door behind him without a backward glance.

He kicked the railing a few times in anger as he stormed down the stairs, taking them two at a time. It was just an empty threat, but in his mind, if he was going to suffer, she should too.

Once outside the neighborhood, he didn't know where to go. The only place he had here was Chen Xitong's apartment, and he'd already transferred all the money in his account to Meng Qi, leaving just a few hundred for food.

He lingered by the curb for a bit, hands in his pockets, then crossed the street and wandered into the park.

Late spring nights were still chilly, and he'd left without a heavy coat. He sat on a bench, pulling his jacket around himself, watching the people out for a walk slowly drift away.

He didn't know if Chen Li was gone yet, and he didn't want to go home anyway. He was thinking about crashing at Zhou Lan's place when his phone rang—it was Gu Hansheng.

"Are you home?" Gu Hansheng asked.

"I'm out for a walk."

"When will you be back? I'm waiting for you downstairs."

"I'll be right there."

Zhao Yu got up, stretched his legs, and jogged home. He could see Gu Hansheng standing under the streetlight from way off.

Gu Hansheng was on the phone, looking tired, brow furrowed, his tone sharp: "Didn't I tell you this shipment was urgent and to keep an eye on it yourself? How many years have you been at this and you still screw up like this?"

"Mr. Gu, don't worry, I'll definitely sort it out with customs."

"When did you submit the customs paperwork?"

"...Mr. Gu, wasn't there a typhoon recently? I delayed it a bit..."

"Wang Xiaochen, do you still want your job?"

"Mr. Gu, I'm so sorry, I really am..."

"This isn't the first time you've made a stupid mistake like this. If you don't want the job, pack your bags."

Zhao Yu approached without a word, waiting until Gu Hansheng hung up before asking carefully, "Bro, did something happen?"

"Just work stuff." Gu Hansheng put his phone away, letting the irritation fade as he turned to Zhao Yu with a softer look. Seeing his thin jacket, he asked, "You went out for a walk in just that at night? Aren't you cold?"

He reached out and took Zhao Yu's hand—it was freezing.

But Zhao Yu said, "I'm fine, not that cold."

Gu Hansheng figured he must have fought with Chen Li again, wandering outside in thin clothes at night without going home. He took off his jacket, draped it over Zhao Yu's shoulders, and asked, "Want to come to my place?"

Zhao Yu nodded without hesitation. Anywhere was fine, as long as he didn't have to see Chen Li.

Gu Hansheng had been extremely busy these past few days. It often took hours for him to reply to Zhao Yu's messages. He was usually good to his subordinates, and Zhao Yu occasionally overheard him on the phone with them—when he was in a good mood, he'd even crack jokes. It was rare to hear him this irritable, which showed that something serious had gone wrong.

Zhao Yu could see the exhaustion Gu Hansheng couldn't hide, but he didn't know what to say or do. Gu Hansheng always showed up when he needed him, yet Zhao Yu couldn't step into Gu Hansheng's world or help him in any way.

As the car pulled into the villa district, Zhao Yu was stunned by Gu Hansheng's house and the garage full of luxury cars. After getting out, he had to cross the courtyard and pass the pool to reach the entrance. As Gu Hansheng opened the door, he suddenly called out to him, "Come here, register your fingerprint."

Zhao Yu, still dazed, let himself be pulled to the door, registered his fingerprint, and the door clicked open instantly.

"Is it okay for me to register mine?" Zhao Yu followed him inside, looking at the absurdly spacious layout and the expensive decor, unable to wrap his head around how rich Gu Hansheng was.

"It'll make coming and going easier from now on. If you don't feel like going home, you can just live here." Gu Hansheng pushed open a guest bedroom: "How about this room? If you need anything, I'll have someone buy it for you tomorrow."

Zhao Yu looked at the spacious guest room and the large bed inside, still hadn't gotten over the shock, when he heard Gu Hansheng's low voice again: "Or do you want to stay upstairs? Closer to my bedroom—makes everything more convenient."

"Anything?" Zhao Yu didn't get it.

Gu Hansheng was amused by his blank expression and suddenly lowered his head to kiss him.

Zhao Yu immediately understood the hidden meaning behind the words, and his ears couldn't help burning. However, Gu Hansheng didn't intend to do anything more. It was getting late, so he ended the brief kiss and let him go to sleep.

Zhao Yu closed the door, leaned against it, and scratched his head. His face stayed hot for a long time. When he was about to take a shower, he suddenly realized he'd been wearing Gu Hansheng's suit jacket the whole time, so used to his scent that he hadn't even realized it.

In the middle of the night, Zhao Yu got up to use the bathroom and noticed the light on the second floor was still on. He could faintly hear Gu Hansheng's voice, something about work. It was already two in the morning.

Zhao Yu didn't know when Gu Hansheng went to sleep. The bedroom had excellent soundproofing, so he couldn't hear the sounds from upstairs. He tossed and turned, finally drifting off as dawn broke. When he woke up, it was nearly eleven, and Gu Hansheng wasn't home.

A housekeeper was cooking and smiled when she saw him: "You're awake. Mr. Gu told me not to wake you. Breakfast is still warm, and lunch is almost ready."

"What time did Mr. Gu leave?" Zhao Yu asked.

"Around seven, I think. He was already out when I arrived." The housekeeper brought out a bowl of warm millet porridge and added, "Mr. Gu doesn't have a habit of eating breakfast, so he specifically asked me to come and make it for you."

"He often skips breakfast?"

"Not just breakfast—sometimes when he's busy, he goes a whole day without eating. He's young and healthy now, but with all that wear and tear, how can his stomach handle it?" The housekeeper chattered on to herself for a while before heading back into the kitchen to continue cooking.

The aroma of lunch wafted out, and Zhao Yu walked to the kitchen doorway and asked, "Auntie, do you have a thermos container?"