The situation was a little complicated.
Less than a few dozen metres from the banquet hall full of high society, a shameless man and woman were having an affair. Worse, both could just about be counted among Gu Yang's elders.
Gu Yang poked his head out for another look. The two were kissing passionately. Zhou Qinqin's dress strap had come loose, and Shen Shan looked utterly lost in desire.
He silently drew his head back.
Who wanted to watch two middle-aged people making out?
Gu Yang grumbled inwardly in disgust, only to find himself staring straight into a pair of dark, almond-shaped eyes.
They were so close he could feel the other's breath brush against him.
There happened to be a recessed space in the corridor, probably intended for a built-in water dispenser or something similar. Now two long-limbed teenage boys were crammed inside, so tightly packed their faces were almost touching.
How ridiculous.
Why was he hiding? Gu Yang wondered idly.
What did it matter if they were seen? He wasn't the one who ought to be embarrassed.
Having cheerfully reached that conclusion, Gu Yang released Song Yinxing and moved to step outside. But he had barely put one foot forward when someone caught him by the back of his collar and dragged him in again.
Their positions were instantly reversed. He found himself pinned against the tiled wall with a hand clamped firmly over his mouth, unable to move until the sounds of high heels and leather shoes gradually faded away.
Once the restraint was lifted, Gu Yang was finally able to leave. There was no one left in the empty corridor. He turned around.
"Why did we have to hide?" He leaned closer, the corners of his mouth curling upwards, an indescribably suggestive note entering his voice. "Were you feeling shy?"
"No," Song Yinxing replied stiffly. "They're important guests here. I didn't want them complaining about me and getting my wages withheld."
Despite what he said, the tips of his ears had turned scarlet.
"Wages?" Only then did Gu Yang notice Song Yinxing's waiter's uniform. "You work here? Why? Isn't the scholarship from Observance enough?"
"It's enough." Song Yinxing raised his eyes to meet his. "I'm saving money. I'll pay back the ten thousand yuan you spent on me."
"You're actually still thinking about that?" Gu Yang laughed with renewed interest. "Didn't I tell you I don't need that money?"
No wonder this boy was the protagonist. He studied all day, worked part-time at night to repay his debts, and could even manage to have trouble at school one afternoon and seamlessly turn up for a shift that very evening.
"…" Song Yinxing was silent for a moment before stubbornly repeating, "I'll pay you back."
Gu Yang promptly lost interest again and changed the subject. "What were you thinking when you saw those two just now?"
"Were you thinking what a handsome couple they make, a match made in hell? That they're a little too sickeningly affectionate, making out so desperately out in public?"
"But what if I told you both of them have children in high school, and the man already has a legal spouse? What they're doing is adultery. What would you think then?"
Song Yinxing paused, but nothing changed on his face. "Nothing in particular."
Denied the reaction he had expected, Gu Yang looked almost incredulous. He leaned towards Song Yinxing, studying him up and down.
"What if I also told you that the man's legal spouse is this woman's younger sister? And his wife was a mistress who took the first wife's place, which makes this woman mistress number four. And the fourth mistress's child even—"
"Nothing!" Song Yinxing's composure wavered for an instant, but he resolutely pushed Gu Yang aside and said with considerable restraint, "I have to go and change shifts. They'll dock my pay if I'm late. Goodbye!"
"Huh?" Gu Yang stared after him, his face a picture of bafflement. He simply couldn't understand how anyone in the world could dislike hearing gossip.
How boring did a person have to be? Whoever dated him in the future would have to be cursed with eight lifetimes of bad luck.
—Ying Jiayi had been watching the door so intently she could almost have worn a hole through it by the time Gu Yang finally returned.
She had just asked her mother and confirmed that the young master of the Lu family really had collapsed, his complexion turning alarming, only minutes after arriving at the hotel.
Nobody yet knew exactly what had happened, and it clearly wasn't something to publicise. They had hurried him to the hospital. Madam Ying was still wondering how her daughter had found out.
The hospital was a private facility owned by Ye Chen's family. He had made some inquiries and learned that the doctor had diagnosed severe shock caused by an allergic reaction. They were still testing to identify the allergen.
But it was probably more or less certain now.
Gu Yang really did know. Everything he'd said was true.
The students exchanged glances, unspoken currents running between them. But everyone wisely stayed quiet, waiting for Ying Jiayi, the only person currently facing the consequences, to speak.
"Gu Yang." Ying Jiayi carefully considered her words. It had been a long time since she'd had to think so hard before opening her mouth. "…What do you think of Yu Zhou?"
"What do I think?" Gu Yang asked in return. "What do you think of him?"
Ying Jiayi choked. What else could she think? She'd already sentenced that bastard Yu Zhou to death in her mind.
Gu Yang saw her reaction and recalled Yu Bai's earlier claim that she was madly in love with him.
"I don't think much of him. You two aren't suited to each other."
"In what way aren't we suited?" Ying Jiayi asked.
"You don't want a live-in son-in-law," Gu Yang replied frankly.
"You can't say that. Look, my dad married into my mum's family, and aren't they perfectly happy?" Ying Jiayi suppressed her nausea and patiently guided the conversation.
Who would have thought that, until today, the thing she'd hated hearing most was someone insulting her father for marrying into her mother's family?
Disgust appeared on Gu Yang's face again, without the slightest attempt to hide it. This time it was directed so blatantly at Ying Jiayi that she could feel it.
If they hadn't known different things—if she hadn't heard his thoughts and learned the story behind them—this conversation would have been almost impossible to continue.
"It's terrifying what happens when someone loses their mind over love."
"Ying Jiayi was originally planning to study abroad after graduation. She'd already received offers from the universities she'd applied to. Yu Zhou was afraid something might change if he waited, so he arranged to meet her, drugged her, and took photographs to blackmail her."
"Around the same time, Ying Xueying was diagnosed with cancer and was preparing for surgery. Ying Jiayi didn't want her mother to worry, so she told only Liu Chaoyin."
"Unfortunately, even when she found the courage to ask for help, she couldn't escape. Liu Chaoyin instead took the opportunity to send Yu Zhou abroad with her, and paid all her living expenses directly to him, making it easier for Yu Zhou to control her under the pretence of looking after her."
"Ying Jiayi was alone overseas. Liu Chaoyin had already been gradually buying up scattered shares for some time. And while Ying Xueying was in hospital, he took such attentive care of her, running back and forth between the company and hospital, that he finally won over Old Master Ying, who'd always been prejudiced against him. The old man transferred his own shares to Liu Chaoyin to make it easier for him to manage the group."
"Jiayi—" Yu Bai cried out.
Ying Jiayi was crying. Tears of stunned disbelief streamed down her cheeks, smearing the eyeliner at the corners of her eyes.
Gu Yang's thoughts fell silent as well. For once he looked utterly bewildered, staring helplessly at the girl in front of him.
"It's nothing. I'm feeling a little unwell. You all carry on; I'll have my driver take me home to rest." Ying Jiayi stiffly pushed away Yu Bai's attempt to support her and hurried to leave.
The class monitor touched her shoulder and said quietly, "Come to me if you need any help."
Ying Jiayi managed a nod. The sheer absurdity of what she'd heard was making it difficult to breathe.
She had to do something immediately. First, she needed to take her mother to hospital for a check-up. Then there was the matter of the scattered shares being purchased.
After leaving the hall, she stood in the cold wind for several minutes to calm herself. Then she made a call. "Grandpa, I know this is sudden, but there's something I'd like to ask you to investigate…"
"What's wrong?"
The class monitor looked at Gu Yang and asked gently, "Still thinking about what happened to Jiayi?"
Gu Yang said nothing. Heavy lashes veiled his vacant gaze as he leaned one-handed against the balcony railing, the deep night casting shadows across his face.
Down below, Ying Jiayi, who had been standing there for who knew how long, finally got into her family's car and left early. Its headlights gradually vanished from sight.
"Why did she cry?" he murmured, as though asking a question and talking to himself at the same time.
The class monitor wanted to say something, but in the end merely spread his hands helplessly.
There was nothing he could do. This was a secret shared by Class Eleven, a secret that Gu Yang alone must never learn.
It was a little underhanded, but for now they had no other choice.
Gu Yang didn't like tears. Rather, he was afraid of them.
Once, a woman had crouched on the ground and buried her head against his neck. Warm liquid soaked into his clothes, its heat so vivid it was almost frightening.
Those tears, which never reached the ground, had shattered instead, setting off an earthquake in his world that seemed to last forever.
He couldn't bear the weight of tears.
Without its guest of honour, the banquet ended sooner than such occasions usually did.
When most of the guests had left, a man approaching fifty came over, carrying an overcoat. He stood respectfully beside the floor-to-ceiling window.
"Uncle Huang." The class monitor nodded in greeting.
This was the Gu family's private driver, whom he had met several times.
"Young Master He." The kindly, gentle-looking driver turned to Gu Yang. "Eldest Young Master, it's time to go home. The night's getting cold. President Gu asked me to put this coat around your shoulders."
As though coaxing a child, he guided Gu Yang's arms into the coat and led him downstairs to the waiting car.
There was already a man in the front passenger seat. When the door opened, the dim yellow overhead light briefly fell upon his impeccably tailored suit.
The car pulled away slowly.
"I didn't expect you to come," the man said, smiling gently. "When your Uncle Nie pointed you out, I thought he must have mistaken someone else for you. You've never liked crowds."
"I had nothing better to do. Staying in that mansion is boring, anyway." Gu Yang propped his chin on his hand and admired the nonexistent scenery outside. "Is that a problem?"
"Of course not. I wish you'd get out more. You're only eighteen; why act as though all the life has gone out of you?" The man took a small gift box from his coat and handed it over. "I was going to give you this when we got home. I bought it at auction while I was away on business. Take it and enjoy it."
Gu Yang leaned forward to take it. As he reached out, the red gemstone on his wrist caught the passing streetlights and flashed beautifully.
"I haven't seen that before. Who gave it to you?" The Gu family's fortune had been built on jewellery, and the group's most profitable subsidiaries were still in that industry. Gu Yuhui needed only one glance to recognise the bracelet's value.
"He Ming'an." Gu Yang opened the box. Resting on dark-red satin was an iris-shaped brooch, vintage in design and understated in style.
"That He boy again. He's certainly thoughtful towards you. Quite generous for someone who's still at school."
Gu Yuhui smiled. "You've been in the same class since primary school. No one else can compare with the bond you built growing up together. Ming'an is sure to inherit Myriad Harmony someday. Your younger brother has never managed to get along with him, so the connection between our two families will depend on you."
"When someone treats you well, you shouldn't be stingy in return. I'll transfer some more money into your account."
Gu Yang gave a barely audible hum of acknowledgment, then closed his eyes and said nothing more. It was his customary way of signalling that the conversation was over.
He curled a little farther down against the seat. The soft folds of his overcoat gathered around him, hiding his chin.
The car fell completely silent, apart from the low hum of the engine.
Perhaps he'd stayed up too late the night before. Once his eyes were closed, Gu Yang really did doze off, his head gradually tipping to one side, until Uncle Huang gently woke him. "We're here, Eldest Young Master."
Gu Yang climbed out with his eyes half-shut, pulling his coat closer around himself.
Then he seemed to remember something and turned back. "Uncle Huang, how much do you earn in a month?"
After giving him a rough figure, Uncle Huang asked kindly, "Has something happened, Eldest Young Master?"
"How long would a student need to earn ten thousand yuan, do you think?"
"Students can only work part-time. Those jobs generally pay by the hour, and the rates aren't very high. Around a dozen yuan an hour." Unable to read anything from Gu Yang's expression, Uncle Huang ventured, "Is this about a friend of yours, Young Master?"
"Not really," Gu Yang replied lazily.
—Cleaning up and putting everything away after a banquet took a great deal of time, too.
Without a word, Song Yinxing carried the last two bulging rubbish bags outside to dispose of them.
"You've worked so hard, Little Song," said the middle-aged kitchen helper with a broad smile. "You weren't even supposed to do that. You're just too conscientious, and you've saved the rest of us so much trouble."
Song Yinxing shook his head. "Not at all, Aunt Chen. I should be thanking you for recommending me for this job. This little bit of work is nothing."
"Oh, don't say that. Your mother and I go back years, and these are all dirty, exhausting jobs. It's a shame to make a bright student like you do them." Aunt Chen then asked with concern, "How has your mother been lately? Is she doing all right?"
"She's been better recently. She can eat properly again." He let the subject end there. After refusing a few times, Song Yinxing finally accepted the leftover banquet pastries she had kindly packed for him.
The night was bitterly cold. He unlocked a shared bicycle and hurried home, ate the packed pastries as a late-night snack while reading, and studied for several more hours before finally going to bed.
After turning out the light, however, Song Yinxing did not fall asleep immediately as he usually did. More than ten minutes passed after he closed his eyes before he slowly opened them again in the pitch-dark room.
That fourth mistress's child.
What else had that child done?
