A young man was standing just outside the threshold.
At first glance, Gu Qi couldn’t help but be taken aback.
It wasn’t known how old this person was, but that face was so beautiful that it shocked heaven and earth, and moved the gods and ghosts to tears. Even though his current expression was normal, it seemed to bear its own holy light. His clothes were also quite simple. It was a set of ordinary, casual clothes, but even with such clothing, he could still cloak himself in a special type of dazzling aura.
Gu Qi: “…”
Who was this?
He thought that the one coming this time was the person who collected the electrical bill.
After that, the young man opened his mouth. His voice was gentle, soft, and pleasant on the ears. Although that smiling expression was light and indifferent, it still seemed to break the ice — If not, one could also say that it had the same effect as a hundred flowers in full bloom.
“Excuse me, may I ask if you are Uncle Gu Qi?”
At first, Gu Qi’s eyes were dazed, but he quickly paid attention to an important point.
U-uncle Gu?
Indeed, he was thirty-something years old, but wasn’t that still in the prime of a man’s life? This fellow was very young, but he also looked to be in his early twenties. Gu Qi didn’t feel that he had reached the age of an uncle. He would accept being called “older brother”!
However, these thoughts only flitted by in an instant. Gu Qi’s mood swiftly changed, and his complexion became somewhat heavy: “Who are you? What business brings you here?”
He remembered that, apart from the person who collected the bills for this place’s plumbing and electricity, basically no one else would come looking for him. He also didn’t take the initiative to get acquainted with anyone — If he had seen a young man with such good looks and manners, he certainly wouldn’t have forgotten it. As such, he had never met this person before.
At this moment, Gu Qi already had an unsettling guess in mind.
They shouldn’t have been suddenly found by the forces that took away Zhao Ji, right? If it was like this, could it be that this person was sent to arrest them?
…Compared to the group from last time, this person had a better understanding of courtesy.
However —
Gu Qi forced himself to remain calm, but he didn’t intend to let this person inside.
In any case, everyone believed that his son was dead. Thus, so long as he left with this person at this time, his son’s existence wouldn’t be discovered. It was just a pity that his son would have to think of a way to save both his dad and father.
The young man at the doorway saw Gu Qi’s facial expressions change several times. How couldn’t he notice what the other was feeling? He couldn’t help but think about the person he cared about, and his gaze promptly softened.
Immediately following which, he said: “Uncle Gu, why don’t we go inside and talk?”
Gu Qi was startled, and blurted out: “What do you have to say that can’t be discussed out here?”
The young man smiled and said nothing, but such a display was enough to prove that he wasn’t going to listen to Gu Qi.
Gu Qi was shocked and suspicious, but he still wasn’t prepared to invite this person in — He needed to protect his son.
Both of them were staring each other down. Unexpectedly, they were deadlocked at the door.
At this very moment, Gu Qi only felt that time was passing like a crawling tortoise. It was truly too slow. During this exchange, he didn’t know how long they were stuck in this deadlock. As it happened, he didn’t dare let this person inside, but he also didn’t dare to close the door. It wasn’t good to call attention to this&#k2026; Torn with anxiety, there wasn’t any need to mention how fretful he was.
He racked his brains thinking of a way to alert his son in the next room so that Gu Zuo could escape quickly!
…Unfortunately, there was no way.
In the room, Gu Zuo used a thousand-to-one ratio to dilute the Rejuvenation Pills, and made a large jar of Rejuvenation Pill medicinal liquid. The color and luster was a light-yellow, but it glimmered with gem-like qualities.
With Gu Zuo’s constitution, tasting a sample of this thing would have no effect on him. As such, if he wanted to know the specific effects of the medicinal liquid, he needed to let Gu Qi try it.
Hence, Gu Zuo lifted his head, and opened his mouth to call out — Who would’ve thought he would soon discover that his dad wasn’t even in the room?
He stood up, and walked out of the room. He intended to look for Gu Qi’s trail.
However, just as he left the room, he found that Gu Qi was actually standing at the entrance.
The door was opened wide, and there ought to have been someone outside. Yet, Gu Qi wasn’t speaking. From his dad’s tensed figure, he could tell that the person outside had come with ill intentions!
Gu Zuo suddenly recalled the members of that mysterious organization, and his heartstrings stretched taut. At once, he took the lead, and rushed over in a few steps. He prepared to use his psychic power to immediately put that person down. Then, he would come up with a plan!
At worst, they would need to change locations — With the special abilities he currently possessed, hiding his dad wouldn’t be a problem! Perhaps, he could simply follow the vine to get the melon, and find those people!
Having made a decision, he took action. Gu Zuo flashed away, and appeared at the entrance. He suddenly pulled Gu Qi behind himself. The space between his eyebrows swelled with heat, and an intangible ray of psychic power was about to burst forth!
Whoosh!
A silvery light suddenly tore through the air!
However, the instant that this ray of silvery light approached the other party, it was scattered by an even swifter and fiercer qi energy. Both sides collided in a brilliant shower of light, which revealed the true identity of the person at the door.
Gu Zuo: “? ? ?”
Gu Zuo: “! ! !”
The corner of that person’s mouth languidly arched up: “Ah Zuo, it has only been a few days since we’ve seen each other. And this is how you’re going to welcome me?”
Gu Zuo’s emotional state was like a volcanic eruption. It was like he had been struck by lightning bolts, and not an inch of his person had been left unscathed. His mind was completely blank.
Mouth agape and tongue tied, his face was flushed and his ears were reddened with excitement: “B-b-big brother?!”
The person whom he called out to faintly flickered. In a flash, he appeared right in front of Gu Zuo. Soon after, he reached out his hands and pressed down on Gu Zuo’s shoulders. Gongyi Tianheng lowered his head slightly. They were so close that the tips of their noses almost touched… Gu Zuo couldn’t help becoming even more nervous.
Following this, the person’s face tilted to the side. His lips moved next to Gu Zuo’s ear, and he quietly spoke: “Ah Zuo, you cruelly deceived your elder brother.”
Gu Zuo was already as stiff as a zombie.
His forehead was suddenly dampened with tiny beads of sweat, and his heart abruptly surged with the greatest terror. He was afraid.
What was terrifying was that he really did conceal many things from his big brother. If it was considered a deception, that was also a matter of course… However, what he was actually afraid of was that his big brother would never forgive him.
Only Gu Qi, who had been protected by his own son, saw the young man’s strange display. He also heard the peculiar conversation between his son and that young man — After finally sorting out the information within all of this, Gu Qi suddenly understood. It seemed that this young man was his son’s adoptive big brother? Didn’t his son say that this guy had been thrown off? Why did he appear in this place? It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this person appeared out of thin air!
Gu Qi was somewhat conflicted.
If this was his son’s adoptive older brother, calling him “uncle” wasn’t wrong… However, the adoptive brother and his son were now ready to fight with swords drawn and bows bent. This wasn’t the time or place to fight! Based on their physical bodies, if they really fought, his son was certainly going to lose. Moreover, his son was in the wrong. As the father, it wouldn’t be good to interfere…
On the other side of things, Gu Zuo sensed his dear big brother’s breaths softly caressing his ear. Obviously, his heart was filled with feelings for this person, but in such an ambiguous scene, he couldn’t think of anything charming or gentle.
His body lightly shuddered. He realized that what he previously imagined to be the worst possible thing that could happen was actually happening. In actuality, he didn’t plan on hiding anything at all. He intended to confess his feelings, too. It was just that the worst outcome had occurred. Before he had time to confess, he “dumped” his big brother. And now, the entire affair had been made known to his big brother!
— Yes. Gu Zuo didn’t once doubt his big brother’s intelligence. Furthermore, considering that his big brother was capable of finding this place, even if Tianheng didn’t know the full story, he surely guessed eighty to ninety percent of it.
His mind was a complete mess.
The only thing that Gu Zuo could do was to muster up all of his strength, tremblingly reach out a hand, latch onto that person’s arm, and quiveringly say: “Big brother, I…”
He wanted to say that it wasn’t done deliberately. He also wanted to clearly explain himself. But in the end, it transformed into a single sentence: “I…I’m sorry…”
Seeing Gu Zuo’s miserable appearance, Tianheng’s gaze deepened slightly. After that, his voice dropped even lower: “Since Ah Zuo was in the wrong, you’ll go with me now. Okay?”
Gu Zuo was still in a state of confusion. He vaguely nodded his head in an obedient manner: “Okay. Big brother, don’t be mad…”
Tianheng softly said: “Very good.”
After he finished speaking, Tianheng took action in a split second. He hoisted Gu Zuo up, and threw him over his own shoulder. Unexpectedly, Tianheng was going to lug him around like a sack of rice — Compared to the previous treatment of being piggybacked all the time, this was naturally less comfortable.
Hanging upside-down, Gu Zuo rocked back and forth as Tianheng walked away. He suddenly snapped out of it: “Big brother, there’s also my dad —”
Tianheng faintly smiled at Gu Qi: “Uncle Gu, please come along.”
Gu Qi was at a loss for words.
This was a face-to-face meeting, so why was his son being carried away on some guy’s shoulder? There were so many questions in his heart! He felt that there was something wrong with this spectacle before his eyes, but the most crucial point was that he couldn’t allow anyone to take his son away!
Hence, he hurriedly locked the door, and dashed off.
Tianheng wasn’t walking very fast. With Gu Qi chasing after them, it didn’t take long for him to catch up. He exchanged glances with his son, who was being carried, and found that this son of his seemed to be sighing in relief.
Gu Qi: “…”
Today, they really had bumped into a bad influence.
Yet, why did he still feel that something fishy was going on?!
This feeling only deepened when Gu Qi discovered a row of bodyguards outside the neighborhood. After they were stuffed into a car by these bodyguards, driven to a private airport nearby, and directly shuttled onto that private plane, that feeling of wrongness surged.
Didn’t his son say that this guy was from another world? Why was the feeling he gave others right now the same as that of an upper-class individual who was born and raised here? His son wouldn’t recognize the wrong person!
With such disordered thoughts running through his mind, Gu Qi sat next to Gu Zuo. Meanwhile, Gu Zuo had already been set down by Tianheng, and buckled into a spacious seat on the plane.
Gu Zuo distractedly stared at Tianheng, who was sitting on his other side, and felt like this was a dream. There wasn’t any sense of reality at all. Was he really looking at his big brother?
— Wait a minute. They were on an airplane. Where did the plane come from?!
On this side, Gu Zuo couldn’t fully react for a while because he was too emotional, but on that side, Gu Qi was the first to ask: “Son, what’s going on?”
As this voice called out, it cleaved through his muddled mind, and Gu Zuo finally became clear-headed. He glanced at Tianheng, whose face was as deep as the ocean, and shrank his neck. Then, he looked at his dad, whose eyes were filled with curiosity and worry.
He replied: “Dad, this is the one I talked to you about. My big brother, Gongyi Tianheng…”
Gu Qi peered at Tianheng.
He was quite sensitive to people’s moods. When they were preoccupied at their home’s entrance, even though this young man wore a smiling expression, the feeling he gave others was very distant and estranged. But now, while he seemed to be forcefully suppressing some emotions, he felt a lot more sincere and real — No longer did the young man appear completely untouchable.
As a result, Gu Qi trusted in Gu Zuo’s words, and showed a smile to Tianheng. He cheerfully said: “Tianheng, is it? Xiao Zuo gave you a bit of trouble beforehand.”
Tianheng spoke with indifference: “I received more help from Ah Zuo.”
Gu Zuo heard this, and felt a little disheartened.
Every time he met big brother’s eyes, he felt…even worse.
Gu Qi said: “Xiao Zuo told me that the assistance you gave him was much more than that. He said that he hated parting ways from you, so he was especially guilty and remorseful after coming back. Originally, he wanted to find a suitable opportunity to explain things to you. He just didn’t expect that there wouldn’t be enough time before this accident happened. Ah, I’m also to blame for this matter. Xiao Zuo was worried that I would miss him. After all, I was the only one left… Everything going on here is rather complicated, so let’s properly discuss things later on…”
As a good father, when the time was right, not only did he have to avoid holding his son back, he also needed to make up for his son’s mistakes.
T/N: Thanks for the correction, Charysa.
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