Chapter 17: Fractures Beneath the Surface

Gu Donghang seized the moment and said,

“Brother, you always protect him, but he didn’t even tell you about this, did he? I told you long ago, he’s just an ungrateful wolf. Once he leaves the Gu family, what does he have to do with us anymore? I’m your real younger brother!”

Having finally said it, he felt a weight lift from his chest.

But Gu Qiuhang acted as if he hadn’t heard him at all and said calmly,

“What else? What’s going on between you and his brother?”

“It’s nothing, really,” Gu Donghang said with a careless grin, eyes full of disdain. “His brother… how should I put it? A pretty vain kid. Always trying to hang around me. What I said before was just to scare Tang Xi, nothing serious.”

Gu Qiuhang nodded lightly.

“Go on, then. Don’t cause trouble. Remember, no one will always follow behind you to clean up your mess.”

Gu Donghang responded, but the moment he turned around, his expression changed. He muttered under his breath,

“Tch, even without you, I still have Mom.”

Gu Qiuhang sat there quietly for a while, then opened the liquor cabinet and poured himself a drink.

The room was dark; he drank slowly under the moonlight.

In the darkness, his phone rang. The flashing screen cast flickering light across his face, a face that held both the purity of youth and the firmness of a young man, with sharp, defined features that made him strikingly attractive.

Only his lowered lashes hinted at a trace of sadness.

The ringtone persisted until he finally picked up.

“Hello?”

Whatever was said on the other end made his lips curl slightly, his gaze turning cold.

“No need to interfere. Let them enjoy themselves for a few more days.”

After finishing more than half the bottle, he leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, slightly intoxicated.

The haze made the vague, unspoken thoughts in his mind become clearer.

A sliver of light seeped through the door. He stood and opened it.

He Ting’s room door was half open, light spilling out.

Narrowing his eyes, Gu Qiuhang walked over silently and leaned against the shadow outside, lazily lifting his gaze.

Inside, the boy sat at his desk, chin propped in his hand, brows furrowed in frustration.

Homework lay spread out before him, untouched.

For a moment, Gu Qiuhang felt as if he had gone back in time, back when He Ting would come into his room almost every night to do homework.

There were always problems he couldn’t solve, clinging to him for help, half afraid, half trying to please, yet stubbornly brave.

When had he stopped coming?

Gu Qiuhang’s lips curved faintly, tinged with self-mockery.

****

He Ting and Meng Ling sat across from each other in a dessert shop near the school gate.

Meng Ling bit down on his straw, then said softly after a while,

“They were the ones who invited me to hang out.”

He Ting pressed his lips together.

“I don’t care whether you approached them or they approached you. Either way, you can’t have anything to do with them anymore.”

Meng Ling lowered his eyes.

“But… why?”

Why?

He Ting found it hard to explain. He couldn’t exactly tell him how badly Meng Ling had suffered in the original timeline.

After a moment of silence, he said gently,

“Just listen to me. I’m your brother. I won’t harm you.”

Meng Ling smiled faintly.

“Brother, you have Su Bei and Gu Qiuhang. How could you understand my situation?”

He Ting paused, confused.

“What situation? We’re all students. As long as we study well, isn’t that enough? Does anything else really matter?”

“Of course it matters,” Meng Ling said, eyes bright, his voice rising.

“These are connections for the future. And if things develop further, they could directly change someone’s fate, just like you and Su Bei.”

He Ting let out a disbelieving laugh.

“So that’s how you see it.”

Looking at Meng Ling, he suddenly didn’t know what to say.

He had always known Meng Ling was a bit vain, but hearing it stated so bluntly still made it hard to accept.

Meng Ling smiled as well.

“I know you look down on me. But people strive upward, what’s wrong with that? You don’t understand the hardships of people at the bottom, and I don’t blame you. I’m not asking you to help me. Just don’t stand in my way.”

He Ting almost laughed in anger. In Meng Ling’s eyes, he had become an obstacle?

Still, he tried to explain his own perspective, even knowing it was useless.

Perhaps this would be the last time he spoke to him so sincerely.

His voice was slightly strained.

“I don’t think moving upward means relying on others. Everyone starts differently, and the only true measure of improvement is yourself. As long as you’re a little better than yesterday, you can go higher than others. Becoming stronger step by step, that’s what real strength is.”

Meng Ling sneered.

“That’s why I say you don’t understand the struggles of people at the bottom. To me, your ‘inspirational talk’ just sounds ridiculous.”

He Ting found it a little ridiculous himself. He sighed softly. There was no way for them to communicate.

They fell into silence, the atmosphere heavy. Meng Ling kept chewing on his straw until it nearly broke.

He Ting stood up.

“Meng Ling, those people around Gu Donghang are dangerous. If you insist on staying with them, then learn to protect yourself.”

That was all he could do. He couldn’t watch over him all the time, this was Meng Ling’s own choice.

Meng Ling gave a noncommittal smile.

He Ting looked at him.

“Then… I’ll go now.”

“Brother,” Meng Ling called out again.

He Ting paused and looked back.

Meng Ling smiled meaningfully.

“You’re not jealous of me, are you? I heard from Gu Donghang that you really like Gu Qiuhang, but Gu Qiuhang doesn’t like you.”

He Ting narrowed his eyes. And in that moment, he felt something unexpected…

Relief.

All along, he had lived with a faint sense of resentment, resentment toward his parents for abandoning him on that cold, snowy night, leaving him to fend for himself, resentment for making him grow up dependent on others.

But looking at Meng Ling now, he suddenly felt… lucky.

If he had grown up beside those people, what would he have become?

Would he have turned into another Meng Ling?

He looked at him, a trace of sympathy in his gaze, and lightly tapped the table.

“Remember what I said today. Every word.”

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