Chapter 47: Entanglement

Looking at Zhang Xingkuo, who was practically pressing down on his body, Yu Xi didn’t even dare to blink.

Seeing the other party drawing closer and closer, his gaze falling on an ominous spot, a wave of urgency washed over him. Without a second thought, he reached out and pressed his hand flat against Zhang Xingkuo’s face.

Except he hadn’t controlled his strength well; this press resembled a cat’s paw delivering a gentle slap to an overly enthusiastic human.

To the thick-skinned Zhang Xingkuo, this was practically no different from an itch, but his head just happened to be injured.

The injury wasn’t critical, but it wasn’t fake either.

Pushed like this, his vision blurred for an instant, and he collapsed right next to Yu Xi’s face. Terrified to the point where all color drained from his face, Yu Xi was about to panic when the man quickly propped his frame back up, acting completely unbothered to coax him: “I’m fine. That paw of yours was soft and fluffy; I’d be perfectly fine even if you hit me a hundred more times.”

When putting on an act, he would make it seem as miserable as possible, knowing that the more attention he could seize, the better. But now that it truly hurt and he saw the person he liked blaming himself with a broken heart, Zhang Xingkuo felt rather uncomfortable inside, forcing himself to act tough.

“Are you really alright?” The outer corners of Yu Xi’s eyes were red. He wanted to touch the area where Zhang Xingkuo was bandaged but didn’t dare to. “How about we call the doctor over?”

“I’m really fine.” Zhang Xingkuo caught hold of Yu Xi’s hand just as it was about to press the call bell. “Just rub my temples for me, and that’ll do.”

When Sheng Yunjuan and Sheng Yunshu returned, what they beheld was exactly the sight of Yu Xi sitting on the edge of the bed, helping Zhang Xingkuo rub his temples.

Sheng Yunjuan immediately pulled him off the mattress: “You broke your brain, not your hands! Why should my Xiao Xi wait on you?”

Zhang Xingkuo: “What do you mean wait on? Xiao Xi is being good to me, what’s wrong with that?”

“Rest assured, I spent money to hire a professional caregiver for you, no need to thank me.” Sheng Yunjuan turned her head, switching her tone to speak softly to Yu Xi, “Xiao Xi, don’t pity him just because he got into a car accident. He has plenty of schemes hidden up his sleeve. Come on, I’ll send you back to school. Leaving him here by himself won’t kill him.”

“Sheng Yunjuan, bring him back to me… Hiss!” Zhang Xingkuo accidentally bumped his injury, suffering from the disadvantage of being wounded, and failed to keep the youth behind.

Even after entering the car, Yu Xi remained somewhat uneasy: “But I already promised Auntie and Uncle that I would take good care of Xingxing.”

Sheng Yunjuan waved her hand dismissively: “Oh, what a minor issue. Isn’t my sister staying behind to keep an eye on him? You have no idea, when my sister and I were seeing them off, Uncle Zhang looked so incredibly happy. To be able to see such a massive change in his own scoundrel of a son, they’re too late to thank you, let alone blame you.”

Yu Xi blinked his eyes: “But I didn’t really do anything…”

Sheng Yunjuan smiled, poking the mole on Yu Xi’s cheek: “You, your influence is massive.”

After delivering him to the back gate of the university, Sheng Yunjuan made Yu Xi bundle up in his clothes, displaying a hint of distaste yet using the scarf Gu Chuanzhou had gifted Yu Xi without any other choice, wrapping him up completely airtight before waving goodbye.

It happened to be the exact time the bell rang for the final afternoon lecture at Jingcheng University, and quite a number of students were flooding out of the back gate to forage for food or have fun.

Yu Xi walked against the flow of the crowd toward the interior. The large majority of his face was concealed by the scarf Sheng Yunjuan had tied into a bow shape for him, yet the pair of peach blossom eyes exposed to the outside world were dark, bright, and rippling with light. Anyone who caught his gaze found themselves utterly reluctant to shift their eyes away; while their feet continued moving forward, their necks were practically twisted around by $180^\circ$.

Yu Xi’s footsteps came to a halt beneath his dormitory building.

Beholding the man standing beneath a tree dusted with a thin layer of snow, he felt a sudden urge to flee.

But just as he was about to turn his frame around, those deep eyes locked onto him.

“Xi Xi.”

Sullenly, Yu Xi retracted the leg intended for flight, burying his face even deeper into the folds of his scarf. His shoulders hunched slightly as he stared at Gu Chuanzhou like a timid rabbit.

He no longer did what he used to do—breaking into a joyful, sweet smile upon seeing the other party and rushing forward while calling out “Brother Chuanzhou.” Packed with absolute wariness and tension, as he watched the man dressed in a black overcoat and exuding a cold, silent aura take step after step toward him, the panic of that night surged forth once more. His legs involuntarily turned weak, and a watery sheen began to shimmer in his eyes.

Underneath this kind of gaze, Gu Chuanzhou froze imperceptibly, yet he still came to a halt right at the absolute limit of the distance Yu Xi could tolerate. Using his usual deep and gentle voice, he inquired, “Just came back from the hospital?”

Yu Xi was slightly bewildered.

He had no idea how Gu Chuanzhou knew about it.

“Mm.”

After a long spell, Yu Xi finally produced a low murmur resembling a small animal, his eyes cast downward to avoid locking gazes with Gu Chuanzhou.

Gu Chuanzhou joined him in a lengthy silence: “It’s cold here, let’s change to a different spot to talk, alright?”

Yu Xi shook his head: “If there’s anything, just say it here, that’ll be fine.”

These words sounded as though he was thoroughly impatient to depart. Gu Chuanzhou let out a soft sigh that instantly dissolved into the biting wind. Unobtrusively shielding the youth from the freezing gale, he spoke in a concise manner: “Zhang Xingkuo intentionally crashed into the tire wall of the racetrack.”

Yu Xi’s eyes abruptly went wide, lifting his head in sheer astonishment.

Seeing that the youth was finally willing to look at him, Gu Chuanzhou felt the stifling tightness in his chest ease significantly, though he continued his explanation without letting anything show on his countenance.

Given Zhang Xingkuo’s capabilities, to go that wild on an official racetrack—aside from an error during his debut where he collided with someone and dislocated his shoulder once—he had been entirely flawless ever since, which was more than enough to prove his supreme technique and precise control.

A style that appeared aggressive was, in truth, born from absolute assurance; only someone with sufficient confidence and backing would dare to take such a reckless gamble.

For someone like him to commit a low-level error that even a novice wouldn’t make was mind-boggling no matter how one looked at it.

Furthermore, the injuries sustained were terrifying enough to shock people, yet they didn’t damage his core foundations at all, merely requiring him to rest for half a month.

Gu Chuanzhou didn’t offer excessive explanations regarding the specifics, but Yu Xi wasn’t stupid; he rapidly figured out exactly what was going on.

It was just that he was unwilling to believe it. The intrinsically sincere and passionate Xingxing—he instinctively defended him: “Xing… Xingxing just lacks maturity sometimes, he wouldn’t use his own body to gamble…”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Gu Chuanzhou spoke calmly, using a tone that carried the ultimate matter-of-fact certainty. “Merely by sustaining a minor injury, he could obtain so much of your attention and heartbreak. A highly lucrative trade with zero risks—if it were me, I would have done it even more ruthlessly, even more meticulously, without exposing a single flaw.”

“…” Yu Xi was left entirely speechless.

Did even this have to be compared?

He also hadn’t expected that Gu Chuanzhou would actually tattle like this.

“I understand.” Yu Xi pursed his lips, lowering his head once more as he shifted his frame sideways. “Thank you for telling me. If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first. Goodbye.”

He was exceedingly polite, offering both thanks and farewells, yet it stabbed into the listener’s heart like fine needles.

When had they ever been like this between them?

To have become so estranged and awkward.

Knowing full well that right now wasn’t the proper time and that it required more endurance, Gu Chuanzhou still reached out uncontrollably as Yu Xi turned his frame, catching hold of the youth’s wrist.

Both individuals froze simultaneously.

Yu Xi’s cheeks burned in an instant, and once he snapped back to reality, he immediately wrenched his hand back.

The moment he struggled, Gu Chuanzhou instinctively increased his grip, unwilling to let the softness in his hand slip away.

“Let go of me!” Yu Xi rarely displayed a side of flustered anger. His volume rose slightly, drawing the curious gazes of several passersby. The moment he realized this, he didn’t dare to make any large movements, dropping his voice as he pleaded with Gu Chuanzhou in an anxious yet sorrowful manner, “Quickly release me…”

Little did he know that his pitiful appearance, with a watery sheen rippling in his eyes, sent a wave of heat straight to Gu Chuanzhou’s abdomen, making him even more loath to let go.

Gu Chuanzhou’s Adam’s apple rolled, his voice deep: “Xi Xi, can you please not avoid me?”

Yu Xi’s voice was trembling: “I’m not.”

Gu Chuanzhou exposed his lie: “You are very afraid of me.”

Beads of sweat formed on the tip of Yu Xi’s nose, his cheeks a powdery pink, rendering him all the more alluring. Driven to a corner, he simply admitted it: “Yes! I am afraid of you! Do you not know what kind of things you did? How are you supposed to make me not fear you? Is it my fault that I am afraid of you—”

“It is not your fault.” Gu Chuanzhou caught hold of Yu Xi’s other arm, forcing him to face him. “It is I who cannot control myself from liking you, harboring such filthy thoughts toward you. While pretending to be a gentleman to interact with you on the surface, I committed every shameless and low-down act behind your back. All of this is entirely my own fault; it has nothing to do with you.”

Stunned by Gu Chuanzhou’s speech, Yu Xi’s anger dissipated instantly: “You… you don’t need to insult yourself like that either… Correcting your mistakes once you know them makes you a good person, it’s still not too late for you. As long as you change for the better, we can still be like we were before…”

“I cannot change it back.” Gu Chuanzhou spoke in a husky voice, layers of obsessed desire churning within the eyes locked onto Yu Xi. “And we can never return to the past. I admit my wrongs, but I do not regret them.”

Yu Xi instantly felt a wave of dizziness, clearly perceiving the absolute irreversibility of all this.

He harbored a sort of flustered resentment from being betrayed, tears welling up as a hint of hatred laced his words: “You let me discover it on purpose!”

“Yes.” Gu Chuanzhou actually hooked up a faint smile, reaching out a hand to brush away the wet trace at the corner of Yu Xi’s eye. “I do not want the status of ‘friend,’ nor do I want to continue enduring and putting on a disguise.”

“Xi Xi… it doesn’t matter if you cannot accept it right now, I can give you time, but do not avoid me anymore.”

Gu Chuanzhou wrapped his arms around Yu Xi along with the youth’s arms, the force so immense that Yu Xi even found it difficult to breathe.

He instantly recalled the day of their reunion; Gu Chuanzhou had also hugged him exactly like this.

So… as early as that time…

Yu Xi heard Gu Chuanzhou’s voice echoing beside his ear, the scalding breath causing him to shudder uncontrollably.

“My restraint is far worse than I imagined. If you continue to avoid me, I might do something very out of line.”

Yu Xi’s tears spilled down in an instant, unable to distinguish whether it was grievance or fear, speaking with a crying hiccup: “You’re threatening me.”

“It is a plea,” Gu Chuanzhou corrected. “I do not want you to hate me.”

Yu Xi wanted to say that he was already starting to hate him, but opening his mouth, he simply couldn’t bring himself to utter it. He still found himself entirely unable to say such words against his own heart.

…

Yu Xi returned to the dormitory completely out of sorts, and his roommates rapidly detected that something was amiss.

Faced with their concern, Yu Xi simply couldn’t say a single word, merely offering a forced smile as he shook his head.

Xiao Yang stared at him for a long spell before yanking him out into the corridor.

“Spill, what happened?”

“I…” Yu Xi found it incredibly difficult to speak of.

Yet Xiao Yang saw through it at a single glance: “It’s those friends of yours, isn’t it?”

Yu Xi pursed his lips, staring at Xiao Yang with red eyes, offering a silent admission.

“Is this matter really that difficult? If you don’t want to, just speak up boldly. If they don’t listen, just slap their faces, sever relations with them, and never interact with each other again until death.” Xiao Yang leaned against the wall. “If they try to use power and influence to press you down, just tell them that I, Xiao Yang, am not someone to be trifled with either.”

“Thank you.” Yu Xi was deeply grateful. “They haven’t done that.”

Xiao Yang verified with him once more: “They didn’t bully you?”

Yu Xi shook his head.

Xiao Yang nodded his chin: “Then alright, I won’t meddle too much in the rest. Anyway, if there comes a day when they stop acting like human beings, just come find me, hear me?”

“Okay.” Yu Xi revealed a trace of a smile.

Beholding the smile pressed out from his lips, Xiao Yang suddenly let out a dissatisfied tsk, reaching up to knead Yu Xi’s face like a piece of dough: “With a look like yours, even if you dangle all of them along for a lifetime without ever giving a response, there wouldn’t be any issue whatsoever. A casual smile from you is enough to make their heads spin; who could ever steel their heart to force you?”

“Ah…?” Yu Xi was completely dazed.

So… things could actually be handled this way?

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