Chapter 71: What’s Different?

Chapter 71: What's Different?

Gu Hansheng had the manager bring out several signature dishes and ordered a bottle of wine.

The manager was utterly baffled. Why would someone as high-and-mighty as Gu Hansheng be entertaining a thug?

Anyone would find it impossible to understand Gu Hansheng's actions, yet not only did he entertain the man, he treated him with considerable courtesy.

"I've checked—Zhao Yu really is on leave these days." Gu Hansheng gestured for the waiter to fill Zhao Lianfeng's glass, then added casually, "Taste the signature dishes at Yatai, and then we'll talk about how to get Zhao Yu into my bed."

Gu Hansheng looked up at him, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, though a cold glint flickered in his eyes.

Zhao Lianfeng downed his drink in one gulp, waved the waiter off, and poured himself another glass, saying slowly, "Easy. Just get him over here, beat him up, and tie him up for you. Or I could have my younger son slip him something—knock him out cold, same result. But this kid's stubborn as hell, so you'll want to be careful in bed."

Gu Hansheng said, "Oh? Was he always like this?"

"This kid never did what he was told since he was little. Ran wild outside all day, hung around with shady types, got into fights at school, and had teachers showing up at the door all the time."

Zhao Lianfeng curled his lip and added contemptuously, "He was a handful as a kid—dared to talk back when I disciplined him. I stuffed him in a suitcase and locked him in for a whole night, and in the end, he was crying and begging for mercy. Don't worry, Mr. Gu—he's not all that brave. Break whatever bone needs breaking, and he'll end up on his knees begging."

Gu Hansheng's expression stiffened. "Stuffed him in a suitcase?"

Zhao Lianfeng laughed loudly. "That's right! He was begging within half an hour, crying his lungs out! After that he was much more obedient—didn't fight back, didn't talk back. So I'm telling you, if he won't behave, just beat him until he does!"

Gu Hansheng's fingers whitened around his glass, his anger reaching its peak, but he just curled his lips into a cold, empty smile. "If you deliver him to my bed, is this a one-off, or will you sell him to others afterward?"

"That depends on what you're thinking." Zhao Lianfeng said with a knowing look, "If you're interested, you could buy him outright."

Buy him outright?

Gu Hansheng sneered inwardly. He could see right through this man's greed. If he proposed "buying him out" now—having Zhao Lianfeng never come near Zhao Yu again—it would be like announcing to the world: I like him, so get to him and you get to me.

Not only would it fail to free Zhao Yu from Zhao Lianfeng, it would open up a new money-making scheme for the man, leading to endless harassment in the future.

Gu Hansheng didn't take the bait. He plied the man until he was good and drunk, then said to him, "I'm already planning to make my move on Zhao Yu, but I'll still pay you what I owe you. Stay quiet for a while—don't keep stirring up trouble at Yatai and making trouble for me."

Zhao Lianfeng smiled. "You really don't need help? I've got a lot of experience with this sort of thing."

"No need. I like to do things myself."

"Haha... fine. Since Mr. Gu says so, I'll cooperate."

Gu Hansheng watched him down another glass, then called the manager to get him a cab. Several waiters helped him out and got him on his way.

The manager kept watching until Zhao Lianfeng got into the car and made sure he was really gone before letting out a sigh of relief. She turned to check in with Gu Hansheng, but just as she reached the private room door, she heard a loud crash!

The manager pushed open the door and saw a wine glass shattered against the wall, while Gu Hansheng's expression was dark as a thundercloud.

"Mr... Mr. Gu?" The manager was taken aback by the look on his face.

To outsiders like her, Gu Hansheng was actually quite gracious—generous with his money, polite to the staff, and never one to blow up like this.

"Did he leave?" Gu Hansheng asked.

"We got him into a car and sent him on his way."

"Put the damages on my tab."

Hearing this, the manager noticed that the chair Zhao Lianfeng had been sitting in was also knocked over.

If Zhao Lianfeng hadn't been Zhao Yu's biological father, Gu Hansheng would have already laid hands on him.

A greedy, despicable man, bragging about abusing Zhao Yu like it was some kind of trophy.

Having lived in that kind of hell before, Zhao Yu had somehow managed to endure it without ever saying a word about it. Gu Hansheng's mind flashed to that stubborn look in his eyes—his refusal to back down and his defiance all made sense now. Crawling out of hell step by step, he'd built up his own kind of strength.

If Zhao Lianfeng wanted to control Zhao Yu through violence, he'd only end up destroying them both.

Gu Hansheng then thought of his own dark desires—taking Zhao Yu by force, locking him away, treating him like something he could own and control.

How was that any different from what Zhao Lianfeng was doing?

Suddenly, Gu Hansheng felt as if his throat were being constricted, a weight like a boulder pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

...

At noon, Zhao Yu changed into his full disguise, making sure he looked almost identical to Chen Xitong, and practiced in front of the mirror several times.

Chen Xitong watched in amazement as Zhao Yu wore his clothes and, with the wig on, looked like a completely different person. Once he changed his expression, he looked just like he did as a kid.

Chen Xitong had been following Zhao Yu around all morning—when Zhao Yu cooked, he followed into the kitchen; when Zhao Yu hung clothes, he followed to the balcony.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Zhao Yu asked.

"Nope, not a thing." Chen Xitong said.

Zhao Yu glanced at him and suddenly said, "Show me the face you make when you're upset."

"Huh?"

"What face do you make when Zhao Lianfeng bullies you? I want to copy it."

Chen Xitong pulled a face. "Well, I don't know either—I wasn't looking in a mirror at the time."

When he finished, he saw the corner of Zhao Yu's mouth twitch and realized he was being teased.

His brother smiled at him—just for a moment, but it made him feel relieved. He couldn't help but ask, "Brother, about what happened before... can you forgive me?"

Zhao Yu adjusted the wig, looked at his nervous expression, and nodded.

After spending these past few days together, Chen Xitong had been on his best behavior. When they were young, Chen Xitong had been extremely dependent on him, and because their relationship had once been so close, he was willing to give him a chance to change.

"Brother! I knew it!" Chen Xitong lunged at Zhao Yu and wrapped his arms around him.

Zhao Yu caught him, nearly knocking over the full-length mirror, and his cold expression slowly softened.

Once everything was ready, Zhao Yu went downstairs to call a cab. Just as he reached the bottom of the building, he bumped right into Zhuang Shubai.

"Dr. Zhuang?"

Zhuang Shubai didn't recognize him at first, until he got closer and realized that the person in the white T-shirt and jeans, looking totally innocent, was Zhao Yu.

"What are you..." Zhuang Shubai stared at his sleek short hair, surprised. "Why do you look like this?"

"Oh, I... wanted to change my look today." Zhao Yu fingered the wig awkwardly. "Were you looking for me?"

Zhuang Shubai said, "Didn't we plan to catch a movie?"

Zhao Yu suddenly remembered—they had indeed planned to see a movie on Wednesday, but Zhao Lianfeng's sudden appearance had him so worked up that he'd completely forgotten.

"Oh, yes, I remember, but I suddenly have something urgent today..."

"Brother!" Before he could finish, Chen Xitong chased after him out of the building and said, "You forgot your bank card!"

Chen Xitong handed the bank card to Zhao Yu, then glanced at Zhuang Shubai: "Is this your friend? Are you going together? That's perfect."

Zhuang Shubai looked at the twin brothers in surprise and asked, "Where are you going?"

"It's nothing, Dr. Zhuang, I can't go to the movies with you today. I'm really sorry. Next time, I'll treat you," Zhao Yu said. "I should get going now."

"Wait!" Chen Xitong said. "Take your friend with you. Going alone is too dangerous."

This time, Zhuang Shubai grabbed Zhao Yu by the wrist, his expression turning serious: "Dangerous? What are you going to do?"

Zhao Yu said, "Nothing. Chen Xitong, shut up and go inside!"

Chen Xitong, after being yelled at, kept quiet for two seconds before he couldn't help blurting out, "He's going to fight someone."

"Chen Xitong!"

Chen Xitong took two steps back, pretending to be innocent, and said, "Dr. Zhuang, right? Please, you have to go with him. Otherwise, he'll really get into a fight. The other person is a murderer."

He lied without batting an eye, his expression so earnest that Zhuang Shubai couldn't help but believe him. After saying that, he backed away repeatedly and ran back into the apartment building, leaving Zhao Yu no chance to blow up.

Zhuang Shubai's expression turned grim as he pressed, "Is what he said true?"

Whether it was true or not, given Zhuang Shubai's personality, as long as he knew there was danger involved, he would never just stand by and do nothing. Zhao Yu silently cursed Chen Xitong for dragging an innocent person into this, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "It's a long story. Let's talk in the car."

On the way, Zhao Yu briefly explained the situation and then said, "Dr. Zhuang, today I'm meeting him as my brother, so don't come in with me. I'll come out after I've said what I need to say."

Zhuang Shubai frowned slightly. Although Zhao Yu hadn't said much about Zhao Lianfeng, he could more or less figure out that Zhao Lianfeng was a very troublesome person and was a real threat to Zhao Yu. Otherwise, Zhao Yu wouldn't have dared to meet him under a different identity.

"Your brother said he's a murderer."

"Don't listen to his nonsense. Zhao Lianfeng is at worst a robber; he wouldn't dare kill anyone." Zhao Yu pointed ahead: "Pull over there."

The car pulled over to the side of the road. Zhao Yu checked the time—there were still twenty minutes until the agreed three o'clock. He took a deep breath and adjusted his wig again in the rearview mirror.

Even though he was disguised as Chen Xitong, meeting Zhao Lianfeng still put him under a lot of pressure. Since Zhao Lianfeng had been locked up, he had never once visited him in prison, treating the man as if he were already dead to him and never planning to see him again.

The words he wanted to say to Zhao Lianfeng had been rehearsed in his mind many times, along with how to mimic Chen Xitong's reactions, whether to fight back if hit, and how much he could endure...

He hadn't felt it when leaving the house, but now that he was about to see Zhao Lianfeng, the pressure was greater than he had imagined.

Memories of the past flashed through his mind one by one. Just the thought of having to see that beast of a father made the old wounds that never left scars start to ache.

Suddenly, a hand grasped his. As their palms touched, Zhuang Shubai's warmth transferred to him, bringing a little warmth to his cold skin.

"Don't be afraid. I'll go in with you."

"But..."

"I'll just stand at a distance and step in if there's danger."

Zhao Yu hadn't wanted him to get involved, but now, hearing his reassuring tone and meeting those calm, lake-like eyes, his tense emotions gradually settled.

Zhuang Shubai seemed to have a calming presence. Just hearing his steady voice made it feel like no problem was too big to handle.

Zhao Yu nodded, feeling the warmth of their clasped hands.