Chapter 59: Clear Emotions

Chapter 59: Clear Feelings

In the auditorium of the music conservatory, Chen Xitong was practicing a new piece with a friend. This piano composition was Chen Xitong's original work—only half-finished before the car accident, he had gradually completed the score over this period.

The teacher stood below the stage, eyes closed, listening to the piece, his hand unconsciously tapping out a rhythm in the air.

In the corner of the first row, Gu Hansheng lounged in his chair, listening intently to him play the piano. This was the first time since Chen Xitong had woken up that Gu Hansheng had listened to him play an entire piece.

When the piece ended, the students who had been listening broke into applause, and Gu Hansheng joined in.

These young students all kept glancing at Gu Hansheng—a few of them recognized him.

After the scandal with the actress Angel, news about Gu Hansheng had been cropping up in entertainment headlines from time to time. Entertainment media kept digging into his identity, even digging up the financial magazine covers he had appeared on.

Young, handsome, wealthy—all the attention-grabbing qualities packed into one person. Wherever he went, he naturally became the center of attention.

Chen Xitong walked down from the stage and approached Gu Hansheng under the envious eyes of his classmates.

Many students at the conservatory came from wealthy families, but none were in the same league as the Gu family's wealth. Normally, they wouldn't have had a chance to meet someone like him even if they wanted to—yet here he was, coming specifically for Chen Xitong. No one knew what their relationship was or how they'd gotten connected.

Chen Xitong loved being the center of attention. He said to Gu Hansheng, "Mr. Gu, did you like my piece?"

"It was beautiful. Very much your style—you could take it straight to a concert hall." Gu Hansheng was generous with his praise, then stood up and said, "I'll wait for you outside. Come out when you're finished."

He'd come only to hear Chen Xitong play. Once Chen Xitong finished, he didn't stay to listen to the others. Those classmates who had hoped to win his favor with their piano skills were disappointed, making them even more envious of Chen Xitong's good fortune.

Chen Xitong felt secretly smug. He turned to say goodbye to his teacher, then immediately hurried out after Gu Hansheng.

A Maybach S680 was parked on the ginkgo-lined path outside the conservatory. Gu Hansheng watched Chen Xitong jog over, sunlight spilling over him, his cheerfulness as bright as the clear day itself.

The people around Gu Hansheng were all upbeat and outgoing—Lin Su was, and Song Wenhao, though a bit foolish, was too. Being around such people put him at ease, which was the root reason he'd always been drawn to Chen Xitong.

Chen Xitong asked with a smile, "Did you want to say something, Mr. Gu?"

Gu Hansheng reached over and smoothed the wrinkle on his shirt, his eyes deep and his tone even: "I won't be coming by anymore."

Chen Xitong was taken aback. "You mean to the school? Oh, I'm only here today, anyway. I'm on a leave of absence and won't be back for regular classes until the second semester."

"Not just the school," Gu Hansheng said. "Xitong, just focus on your studies. If you ever need help with anything, you can still reach out to me."

Chen Xitong looked at him, stunned. "Mr. Gu, you're not going to come looking for me anymore, right?"

Gu Hansheng nodded slightly, his expression perfectly calm. Then he opened the car door, got in, and the car slowly disappeared down the ginkgo-lined path.

Saying goodbye to Chen Xitong was far less emotional than he'd imagined. He'd once thought he was so in love with Chen Xitong, but Zhao Yu had been right—his so-called feelings were nothing much after all. Even letting go didn't hurt one bit.

If he still didn't get his own heart by now, he'd be pathetically slow.

Gu Hansheng leaned back in the backseat, closed his eyes, and tugged at his collar.

A cold from getting soaked was just a minor illness—medicine would fix it. But that suffocating feeling hadn't gone away, weighing on his heart day after day.

He'd sorted out his relationship with Chen Xitong, but would this dose of medicine work? Who knew?

Chen Xitong was still in a daze, not understanding why Gu Hansheng had been listening to him play just a moment ago and was now saying such things.

Gu Hansheng had been pursuing him for a month. At first, Chen Xitong had been flattered, then he'd gotten all conflicted. Growing up, it had always been girls who liked him—this was the first time a guy had come after him, and he wasn't used to it.

He didn't know why Gu Hansheng liked him, but what was so bad about being liked? Especially by a man who brought him so many perks.

He'd figured Gu Hansheng's pursuit might just be a whim, that he would stop once the novelty wore off. And he hadn't caught feelings anyway. To be honest, he felt nothing for Gu Hansheng. The man seemed gentle but was actually domineering, his mind so deep that Chen Xitong could never read him.

Unfortunately, Chen Xitong also had a particular trait when it came to making friends: he preferred simple, warm, outgoing people. Such people were easy to use, easy to provoke, and would always jump in to defend him at the drop of a hat, never seeing the darkness inside him.

Gu Hansheng was too dangerous. He had to be extra careful to hide his true self.

Just being on guard all the time was exhausting enough—Chen Xitong had no energy left for a relationship.

That said, Gu Hansheng had up and left just like that. Chen Xitong quickly put two and two together and realized he was probably doing it for Zhao Yu. The thought made him feel sick, like he'd swallowed something nasty.

He could give something up, but he couldn't stand having it taken away from him.

Chen Xitong stood under the ginkgo tree, his face cold, pulling out his phone to stare at the string of numbers the detective had sent him.

He didn't want to hear Zhao Lianfeng's voice, not at all. Father-son bond? Bullshit. Zhao Lianfeng had never held back when he hit them. If Chen Li hadn't divorced him early on, Chen Xitong doubted he'd even have had the money to study piano.

After steeling himself, he dialed the number.

...

Zhao Yu was squatting in the corner and sneezed three times in a row. He still didn't know who'd set him up over the lobster thing, so he treated everyone in the kitchen as a potential suspect. Better safe than sorry.

Several days had passed, and Fatty still hadn't had a second chance. He was huddled up talking privately with a bald guy. This bald guy was also one of Che Shijie's lackeys, cut from the same cloth as Fatty.

The bald guy said, "There hasn't been a good chance lately. How are we supposed to report to Chef Che?"

Fatty said, "Didn't I tell you to swap the sugar on his counter for salt? Do it when he's not there."

"I did! But now he checks the seasonings the second he walks in—he caught it right away. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

This kind of petty sabotage wasn't the bald guy's first rodeo. He'd also poured dark soy sauce into the light soy sauce bottle and ruined the seasonings with minced garlic—caught every single time.

Zhao Yu was meticulous to the point of being paranoid. He checked the seasoning containers three times a day and tasted and inspected everything before use. He hadn't made a single mistake since, and he never once complained about the hassle.

The two men sat there with long faces for a while, until it suddenly clicked for Fatty, and he lowered his voice: "Hey? He found out and didn't even rat him out?"

After being sabotaged so many times, Zhao Yu had never once said a word. That alone was weird as hell.

The bald guy's eyes lit up too. He exchanged a look with Fatty and let out a sly chuckle: "After that lobster thing last time, Chef Cao was already pissed at him. It's not like he has anyone to complain to even if he wanted to. Who'd have his back?"

Fatty grinned too. "Exactly. Chef Cao won't back him, Chef Che wants to screw him over—both head chefs feel that way, and Zhao Yu's a pushover anyway. Why are we still pussyfooting around? Let's just go for it."

In their eyes, Zhao Yu had become a fish on the cutting board—someone they could push around however they pleased.

Zhao Yu was hunched over, carving a lotus flower out of a carrot, holding his breath as he carved with precision. He finally shaved the last petal to perfection, sweat beading on his forehead.

Over this period, to master carrot carving, he'd become a familiar face to the carrot vendors at the market. He'd ruined forty or fifty carrots, and calluses had formed on his fingertips.

Cao Xu was a perfectionist—if Zhao Yu showed even the slightest flaw, he wouldn't let him near the dish. The reason he was allowed to carve today was that he'd passed the assessment yesterday, marking the first time he could actually participate in making this dish.

Cao Xu shouted, "Are you done yet?! Hurry it up!"

"Coming, Chef!" Zhao Yu picked up the carved flower and set it on a porcelain plate.

After Cao Xu finished plating, Zhao Yu quickly carried the plate to the pass window.

He rounded a corner of the table when Fatty, who'd been crouching on the floor looking for something, suddenly sprang up from his blind spot.

Caught off guard, Zhao Yu nearly sent the plate flying. He raised his elbow to protect it, and the tip of his elbow slammed hard into Fatty's chest!

"Ugh... *cough, cough*..." Fatty stumbled back a couple of steps, clutching his chest and coughing.

Zhao Yu stepped past him, dropped the plate off at the pass window, then strolled back, taking his sweet time.

Fatty looked up and caught Zhao Yu mouthing silently—*Oh, it's you.*

A smirk flickered across Zhao Yu's lips as he glanced at Fatty, then brushed past him without a word.

Fatty spat on the ground, muttering under his breath: *Who's he trying to kid? So what if it was me? What's he gonna do about it?*

The failed hit left Fatty feeling rattled. He didn't dare mess with Zhao Yu again that afternoon. By the end of the day, with Zhao Yu still in one piece, he relaxed and started plotting his next move.

At quitting time, Fatty packed up, waved goodbye to Baldy, and headed out.

He'd just stepped out of the kitchen and reached the wall by the parking lot when a sudden force slammed him into it. Startled, he twisted his bulky frame, but his arm was wrenched behind his back, hitting a pressure point dead-on. Numbness shot from his arm up to his shoulder, and his body shook like he'd been electrocuted.

"Who the hell are you?! What do you want?!" Fatty yelped. "I've got no money! No money!"

The person behind him reached around and pinched his nose, forcing him to gasp through his mouth, too breathless to yell again.

"Fatso, you're the one who squeezed lemon juice on my lobster sashimi, aren't you?"

Zhao Yu's voice suddenly cut in, and Fatty jumped, stammering, "N-no... it wasn't me... I swear..."

Zhao Yu pinched his nose again, then clamped his palm over his mouth.

"Mmph mmph mmph..." Fatty's face turned red from struggling to breathe.

After half a minute, Zhao Yu let go and asked again, "Tell me, do you have any accomplices?"

"No, really, it wasn't me! You've got it wrong!"

Zhao Yu covered his mouth and nose again. His flabby body went limp, only his legs kicking wildly.

"You really think I wouldn't dare touch you?" Zhao Yu sneered. "Know why I didn't rat you out? Watching someone else punish you isn't half as fun as doing it myself. Che Shijie can protect you in the kitchen, but can he protect you out here?"

The moment Zhao Yu released him, Fatty confessed immediately: "It was me! I did it! I'm sorry! I won't dare again!"

"Any accomplices?"

"Yes, yes, yes—Baldy! He's the one who messed with your seasoning jars!"

Only then did Zhao Yu let Fatty go, watching him tremble with snot and tears. He patted his pudgy cheek and gave a cold, insincere smile. "I'll let you off today. But if anything of mine goes wrong again, no matter who did it, I'm blaming you. Got it?"

Fatty nodded frantically.

Zhao Yu wrinkled his nose in disgust, wiped his hands on his shirt hem, and let him go.

Once Fatty had scurried off, Zhao Yu headed the other way. Just as he turned the corner, he suddenly saw Zhuang Shubai standing at the bend, looking like he'd been there for a while.