Chapter 9: The Sisters

Since reuniting with Gu Chuanzhou, Yu Xi had been seeing him frequently.

The things they did together were quite ordinary, much like regular friends—going out to eat, drink, and wander around, or staying at home to read and watch television when they didn’t feel like going out.

Originally, Yu Xi had worried that he wouldn’t be able to adapt to the entertainment style of the wealthy. He lacked the means to frequent high-end establishments, nor could he afford the lifestyle. If Gu Chuanzhou were to foot the bill every time, Yu Xi would feel immense pressure. Fortunately, after that first trip to the shopping mall, Gu Chuanzhou had taken him to places that didn’t demand high spending, and they visited many beautiful public parks and free scenic spots.

Gradually, Yu Xi began to feel a sense of belonging in this bustling city. He was no longer the stranger he was at the start, feeling inexplicably lost while watching the heavy traffic and towering skyscrapers.

At the same time, Yu Xi had become much more composed and relaxed around Gu Chuanzhou. He no longer grew stiff with tension at every small gesture of physical closeness.

Now, he could sit unceremoniously on the carpet in the Gu family’s living room, tinkering with the various carving tools spread across the coffee table.

Every time he felt thirsty, a glass of juice with a straw would be handed to him for a sip.

Yu Xi truly admired Gu Chuanzhou. How could someone process work emails while simultaneously paying such close attention to his state and fulfilling his needs?

Previously, he worried that his presence would interfere with Gu Chuanzhou’s official business, but Gu Chuanzhou wouldn’t let him leave, saying, “Having you here makes my work feel lighter.”

Yu Xi didn’t quite understand how he was helping, but having heard that, he chose to stay obediently, doing his own thing quietly while Gu Chuanzhou was busy.

The wood carving in his hand was ninety percent complete. It only needed some fine-tuning and detailing before it would be finished.

Wood carving was a small hobby of Yu Xi’s. Back when he and his parents briefly lived in a certain small town, he discovered that an elderly neighbor had this craft. Lacking other entertainment at the time, he would spend all day peering through the neighbor’s window, curiously eyeing the wood carvings on the cabinets and the tools lining the walls.

The old man was kind-hearted. Instead of driving him away, he gave him little wooden figurines.

By watching so much, Yu Xi unconsciously memorized the old man’s techniques. He would go home and secretly carve scrap wood he found with a small knife. But he was clumsy; not only did he get splinters, but he also cut himself with the blade.

Tears fell from the pain. He had a small cry by himself, but he didn’t dare let his mother know for fear of worrying her. Instead, he knocked on the neighbor’s door to ask for help.

As the old man sighed and treated his wound, he sternly told him that the most important part of wood carving was safety—one must wear cut-resistant gloves and never use a knife carelessly.

After that, the neighbor began teaching him wood carving techniques from time to time.

Yu Xi was very happy during that period. He was no longer alone in a dim little room, waiting from dawn till dusk for his working mother to return, with nothing to do but read and do homework.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last. Those terrifying people caught up to them, and his family was forced to find a new hiding place. Before he left, the neighbor gave him a set of beginner’s carving tools.

Thanks to that gift, Yu Xi had maintained this interest for years. However, due to the heavy workload of his senior year, he hadn’t carved in a long time. He was a bit out of practice, which was why this piece was taking so much time.

Once it was nearly done, he placed the finished product on the table, comparing it repeatedly to the sketches. He had chosen a relatively simple design with a low difficulty level, and the result was quite faithful to the original.

“Finished?”

A wave of warmth pressed against his back as Gu Chuanzhou leaned in. The man’s breath made Yu Xi’s ears itch slightly.

Yu Xi rubbed them twice but didn’t pull away. He showed the carving to Gu Chuanzhou. “Look.”

Gu Chuanzhou took it, turning the carving over to examine it. Over the past few days, he had watched the object take shape in Yu Xi’s hands, and he had been looking forward to its completion.

It was a Gunpla model slightly larger than a palm. Unlike other models, the exterior of a Gundam consists of straight-lined geometric modules. To create the look of interlocking parts, the grooves had to be carved quite deep, requiring significant effort.

Gu Chuanzhou didn’t know much about Gundam, but he offered sincere praise: “It’s very handsome.” In his eyes, whatever Yu Xi carved was the best.

Yu Xi smiled. “That’s good.”

“Xi Xi’s craft is excellent. How did you get so good at this?”

Hearing Gu Chuanzhou’s sincere tone, Yu Xi’s ears turned red. “I’m not that good… my technique isn’t quite there yet. It’s just a small gift with a bit of heart behind it.” “I hope Pei Wang will be happy when he receives it.”

Before Yu Xi finished that last sentence, the expression on Gu Chuanzhou’s face was soft. After hearing it, his smile instantly froze in eyes that turned dark in a flash. “A gift for… Pei Wang?”

Yu Xi didn’t notice the change in Gu Chuanzhou’s expression as he cleared the wood shavings from the table. “Yeah. He seems to really like Gundam. I want to give this to him as a birthday present. After all, Auntie Pei’s absence on his birthday was related to my family.”

Gu Chuanzhou: “…”

A chill followed the man’s silence, spreading from behind. Like an alert rabbit, Yu Xi straightened his spine and turned his head.

“What’s wrong?” Gu Chuanzhou looked at him with a gentle expression.

“Nothing…” Yu Xi dismissed it as his imagination and continued tidying the wood shavings.

Before he could finish, Gu Chuanzhou gently caught his hand, pulling it over to wipe it with a wet wipe. The wood dust on his hand was cleaned away bit by bit; even his nails and the crevices between his fingers were meticulously cared for. The movements were soft and slow, wiping all the way to his soft palm.

It seemed like nothing more than friends taking care of each other, but strangely, Yu Xi felt uneasy.

The coolness left by the wet wipe on his skin evaporated quickly, replaced by a layer of burning heat. His entire palm felt itchy from the rubbing.

Every time Gu Chuanzhou cleaned something for him, he did it far too thoroughly. It would be much faster and more convenient for Yu Xi to just use water in the bathroom. But if he brought it up, the other man would look dejected and say, “I suppose I’m overstepping.”

With him sounding so pitiful, how could Yu Xi have the heart to refuse?

He could only purse his lips and indulge him, obediently letting Gu Chuanzhou wipe his hands.

Gu Chuanzhou lowered his head and said, “You still love giving gifts to others. When you were little, you gave someone a grass-woven grasshopper. Everyone else fought over it, so you made them one by one for everyone. You worked for two days and nights until your hands were cut and bleeding from the grass.”

Yu Xi was slightly stunned, and the memory quickly returned. The “someone” was Zhang Xingkuo; he was the first person to receive a grass grasshopper.

“I feel happy when people like my things. It’s nice for everyone to be happy together.” Yu Xi thought back to his friends’ ecstatic faces when they received his gifts, and his eyes filled with nostalgia. He failed to notice that the smile in Gu Chuanzhou’s eyes had lost its warmth.

Just then, the doorbell rang through the quiet villa.

Both of them paused. Over the years, as Gu Chuanzhou’s control over the Gu family’s power grew, his father and grandfather had gradually stepped back. The family dynamics had undergone subtle changes, and they now lived separately. The older generation had moved back to the ancestral estate. Because of his busy work, Gu Chuanzhou usually lived in a newer property closer to the company, so this villa was usually vacant.

Most people knew Gu Chuanzhou no longer lived here, and members of the Gu family didn’t need to ring the doorbell. The person at the door was likely from the Pei family.

“It’s probably Auntie Wan looking for me for something.” Yu Xi stood up first to open the door.

The garden gate outside was open, so the visitor had come straight to the entrance. The doorbell sounded somewhat hurried, so Yu Xi moved a bit faster.

The name “Auntie Wan” was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t say it once he saw who was there.

“Huh?” A short-haired girl wearing a baseball cap flicked the brim of her hat. The moment she saw Yu Xi, her cat-like eyes lit up with excitement. She quickly nudged the long-haired girl standing behind her.

The long-haired girl, who was a head shorter, had her head down, her gaze glued to an e-reader. She wouldn’t even lift her eyes. Thinking she was being rushed, she started walking into the house and only looked up when she was pulled back. She revealed a face shielded by long hair that was strikingly similar to the short-haired girl. After her eyes met Yu Xi’s, she let out an equally puzzled, “Huh?”

Both of them locked their eyes on Yu Xi, narrowing their identical cat-eyes as they leaned in to inspect him.

The next second, a tall figure pushed past and blocked them.

Gu Chuanzhou looked down at them, his eyes seemingly covered in a layer of ice, filled with displeasure. “What are you doing here?”

The short-haired girl spoke first. “We heard someone was living in this house and didn’t believe it! We happened to be passing by today to take a look, and we didn’t expect you to actually be here. Gu Chuanzhou, this isn’t very fair of you—moving back and not even giving us a heads-up.”

Gu Chuanzhou had already quietly shielded Yu Xi completely. He issued a cold eviction notice: “It’s not convenient today. Come back another time.”

The short-haired girl let out a “Yo!” “Not welcome, are we?”

Standing behind him, Yu Xi’s view was blocked by Gu Chuanzhou’s broad back. He couldn’t see Gu Chuanzhou’s face, but he could hear his cold, deep voice, which surprised him.

During the days they had spent together, Gu Chuanzhou was always gentle when speaking to him. He had never been like this… Was he unhappy? But these two girls…

Yu Xi hesitated for a while, clutching his hands. He carefully and stealthily peeked his head out a little to check the two girls’ appearances.

To his surprise, the short-haired girl at the front spotted him instantly. She immediately broke into a brilliant smile. Ignoring Gu Chuanzhou’s frigid gaze, she claimed it was too hot and she needed to come inside for a drink of water, squeezing her way into the house through the gap.

The long-haired girl followed closely behind, slipping in nimbly without forgetting a polite, “Excuse us for the intrusion.”

The two acted as if they were in their own home, familiar with the Gu family villa as they sat down on the sofa.

Yu Xi stared blankly for a while before turning to the man beside him. “Chuanzhou-ge?”

The moment he spoke, the darkness in Gu Chuanzhou’s eyes vanished as if it had never existed. He turned and said softly, “It’s fine, Xi Xi. They’ll leave soon. Why don’t you go upstairs and wait for a bit?”

“But…”

While the two were conversing in low voices, the two girls in the living room were also whispering.

“Sis, did you see Gu Chuanzhou’s expression just now? It’s been so long since I’ve seen it. Hiss, it chilled me to the bone… a normal person would have run away long ago. Good thing I’m thick-skinned and stubborn.” The short-haired girl rubbed the goosebumps on her arms while glancing at the two figures still talking at the entrance, lowering her voice even further. “Don’t you think that boy looks familiar? When the door opened, I nearly jumped. He’s so pretty and his expression is so cute—he looks exactly like our baby Xiao Xi. Am I overthinking it? Hey, why are you still reading those horror novels? Listen to me!” The short-haired girl was getting anxious.

The long-haired girl remained calm and composed, her fingers flying across her phone screen. “I’m not reading; I’m sending a message.”

“So urgent? Who are you messaging?”

The long-haired girl didn’t answer. After hitting send, she put her phone away and patted her sister’s arm, saying unhurriedly, “Relax. The person is here. He can’t escape.”