Chapter 8: Cramped and Narrow

Chapter 8: Cramped and Confined

Gu Hansheng buttoned Zhao Yu's shirt, one button at a time, his desire settling back into calm, his gaze sharp with scrutiny. He knew Chen Xitong wouldn't do something like this on his own, but as a businessman, it was easy to figure out the reason from a cost-benefit standpoint.

"Did Chen Li tell you to do this?" His voice was cold.

Zhao Yu's heart jumped into his throat. This wasn't what he'd expected at all. He didn't know what he'd done wrong—the atmosphere had been perfect, and everything should have gone smoothly.

"No, that's not it..."

"No need to explain. You don't have to force yourself to do this kind of thing." Gu Hansheng finished fastening the last button and said slowly, "Your hands were made for playing the piano. Cooking isn't for you—don't do it anymore. I've got things to do tonight, so I'm heading out."

With that, he picked up the carrot, tossed it in the trash, wiped his hands, and walked toward the door.

Zhao Yu was stunned for a moment, then ran after him: "Brother, brother..."

The door closed in front of him, and his heart sank.

Night fell, and traffic streamed endlessly down the streets—peak rush hour. A black Maybach crawled through the traffic. Gu Hansheng's face was cold, his eyes full of disappointment.

He'd actually sensed it earlier—something felt off ever since Chen Li's attitude changed—but he hadn't wanted to think about it. It wasn't until "Chen Xitong" started taking off his clothes that the suspicions he'd buried deep finally surfaced.

Maybe from the day "Chen Xitong" changed, he'd been doing all this for Chen Li's company. In other words, every bit of closeness had been for money.

It wasn't like no one had ever crawled into Gu Hansheng's bed for money, but he'd never been this disappointed before. The one thing he least wanted tainted by money had been full of scheming from the very start. Even though he'd sensed it early on, he'd been stupid enough to fool himself.

The light turned green, and impatient horns blared from the traffic, urging the cars ahead to get moving. As he drove through the intersection, Gu Hansheng cracked the window a sliver, letting in the cold night air.

He was a rational man at heart, not completely swept away by disappointment. He understood that Chen Xitong was a sheltered flower, clueless about such calculated schemes—it had to be Chen Li's doing.

He pulled out his phone and called his secretary: "Find out what's going on with Chen Li's company."

...

Zhao Yu thought for most of the night, and only when his churning emotions finally settled did he figure out where he'd gone wrong—he'd been too impatient.

Chen Li's urgent need for money was one reason, sure, but his own desperation to escape his current situation was also a problem.

With someone like Gu Hansheng, if you approached with ulterior motives, you had to take it even slower—you couldn't rush a single step.

He sat there in a daze until dawn, then called Zhou Lan: "Assistant Zhou, you at work yet? Got time to come over?"

An hour later, Zhou Lan showed up carrying breakfast. Seeing Zhao Yu slumped on the couch still in yesterday's clothes, he was a little worried but said first, "It's this early, so I figured you probably haven't eaten. It's all still warm—eat something first."

"Assistant Zhou, you're not my assistant—you don't have to take care of me," Zhao Yu said. "Maybe today's the last day of our friendship."

"What do you mean?"

"I screwed up. Gu Hansheng left in a bad mood."

"Weren't you two all smiles yesterday afternoon?"

"Yeah, I thought it was in the bag too." Zhao Yu sighed, frustrated. "Anyway, I've screwed it up now. I've got no clue what to do or how to face him again."

"Was he really hard on you?"

"Not exactly... just a bit cold. He doesn't usually talk like that."

Zhou Lan smiled a little and put the warm soy milk in his hand: "Then there's nothing to worry about. If Gu Hansheng were really angry, it wouldn't just be coldness. You've never seen him blow up, have you?"

Zhao Yu asked, curious, "What's he like when he blows up?"

"I've only heard about it. A bar girl slipped something into Gu Hansheng's drink to get pregnant with his kid. When he found out, he made her drink the spiked liquor herself. They say the whole bar went dead quiet—even the music stopped. You know how many people were there? Hundreds, all staring at her. That girl became infamous at every nightlife spot in the city after that, and then she just vanished—no one knows where she went."

Zhao Yu felt a strange unease, rubbing the goosebumps on his arm, and asked, "What did Gu Hansheng do to her?"

"I don't know." Zhou Lan said, "I'm telling you this just to say there's still a chance. Wait a couple days—if nothing happens, it means he's just sulking. Once he cools off, you can go apologize and make up."

"And if... something does happen?" Zhao Yu gulped.

"Then leave. Your deal with Chen Li is done, and you'd have no reason to stay here."

Zhao Yu felt a wave of anxiety. For now, all he could do was hope Gu Hansheng's feelings for Chen Xitong ran deep—there didn't seem to be any other option.

That night, he calculated the time difference and sent a message to Meng Qi.

Zhao Yu: Are you out of school?

Meng Qi: Yeah, I'm at the hospital. Brother, how have you been lately?

Zhao Yu: I'm fine. How's Aunt Guo?

Meng Qi: She's woken up a few times, but she's not fully conscious. Brother, my mom called your name—she's definitely thinking about you. Come back and see her when you have time.

Zhao Yu: Okay.

Zhao Yu looked at the messages on his phone, his fingers rubbing the worn edges of his old phone, unable to sleep all night.

Two agonizing days passed. Zhao Yu stayed cooped up at home, going nowhere. Every night he chatted with Meng Qi for a while, then lay awake until dawn, his days and nights completely flipped. Zhou Lan came by twice a day to bring him meals, saying Chen Li had asked him to.

After two days, nothing happened. Gu Hansheng didn't call, and he didn't send anyone to cause trouble for Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu breathed a sigh of relief and began thinking about his next move, deciding that no matter what, he should go apologize first.

He took a cab to the Tuotu building and said to the receptionist, "Hello, I'm here to see Mr. Gu Hansheng."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but could you let him know? Just say Chen Xitong is here to see him."

"Alright, one moment please."

The receptionist made a quiet phone call, then smiled: "Mr. Gu is in a meeting, but you can go up to the forty-second floor and wait."

Zhao Yu hesitated, but the receptionist had already swiped her card to open the gate: "Go through here—it'll take you straight up."

"Forty-second floor?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"...No."

It wasn't rush hour, so almost no one was coming or going. Zhao Yu slowly stepped into the empty elevator, watching the doors slide shut as the numbers began to climb. As the elevator rose, he felt his ears ringing. The ride to the forty-second floor seemed to stretch on forever. He leaned against the elevator wall, eyes closed in discomfort, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

The main reason he hated big cities was the endless high-rises—everything built so tall that you couldn't get anywhere without taking an elevator.

The elevator was so cramped, so narrow, with a slight vibration as it ascended, as if the walls were closing in on him from all sides, making him dizzy and nauseous.

He endured it silently for a while, when suddenly the elevator jolted and stopped at the fortieth floor.

The elevator doors did not open.

Zhao Yu nervously opened his eyes, the silence so thick he could hear nothing but his own heartbeat.

A few seconds passed, and the elevator remained still. He gripped the handrail tightly, his heartbeat quickening, dizziness washing over him like rolling waves, making it hard to stay on his feet.

The ringing in his ears grew more pronounced. He yanked his jacket open, stumbled over to the door, and pressed the emergency call button.

"Hello, is there a problem?"

The lights suddenly went out. Zhao Yu opened his mouth, but his throat seized up, and no sound would come out. All he could do was pound the elevator door twice before his strength gave out and he slid to the floor.

In the endless darkness, Zhao Yu's consciousness began to drift without him even noticing, conjuring up terrifying hallucinations. He curled into himself, barely able to breathe.

He had no idea how much time had passed when he heard a commotion, accompanied by a harsh screeching sound. A beam of light cut through, blinding him.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

"Lift him up... be careful..."

"Mr. Gu! Don't go over there..."

The light was blinding. Zhao Yu saw Gu Hansheng's face appear before him, and he fell into a warm, broad embrace before losing consciousness.

...

Outside the hospital room, Gu Hansheng stood by the window on the phone, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a slight scratch on his forearm from pulling Zhao Yu out of the elevator.

His voice was ice-cold: "Don't give me that 'it's not inspection day yet' crap. Why didn't you catch the problem last time? The elevator breaking down is on you. I only care about results. I don't have time for your bullshit—Tuotu's legal team will be in touch."

He gave the other guy no chance to settle things quietly or beg for mercy, hung up without another word, and turned to enter the hospital room.

Zhao Yu hadn't woken yet, but his complexion was already much better. The cold IV fluid ran into his veins, leaving his hand ice-cold too.

Gu Hansheng sat down by the bed, holding his cold fingers, his brows knitted into a deep frown. When he'd seen Zhao Yu passed out in that elevator, his face white as a sheet, Gu Hansheng had panicked.

No matter how pissed he was, Gu Hansheng still went soft on him. Even walking out that day had just been to cool himself off, so he wouldn't say something too harsh and screw things up for good. Now, looking at him lying here, Gu Hansheng regretted going radio silent for the past few days. He'd been waiting for an explanation, but even without hearing one, he'd basically already forgiven him.

Zhao Yu slowly opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling in confusion for a moment before hearing Gu Hansheng's voice.

"How do you feel? Any discomfort?"

He looked down at Gu Hansheng. "A bit of a headache. Am I in the hospital? What happened to me?"

He slowly sat up, and Gu Hansheng pulled the pillow up to support him.

"The doctor said you had a seizure from shock. You need to rest and avoid strenuous activity for a while." Gu Hansheng suddenly asked, "Do you have claustrophobia?"

Meeting Gu Hansheng's questioning gaze, Zhao Yu shook his head. What Chen Xitong didn't have, he sure as hell couldn't have either.

After a moment of silence, he timidly looked at Gu Hansheng again, putting on the guilty and frightened expression and tone he had practiced long ago: "Brother, I'm really sorry about last time. I was too anxious about my mom's situation and wanted you to help her, but my feelings for you are real. I just... just didn't know how to express them. I did the wrong thing at the wrong time. Can you forgive me?"