Gu Yan had just attended a dinner party, so he was pretty drunk. Yet he just so happened to bump into Zhao Qian.
Who was she? Oh, only the woman who ran off with someone else when she saw his company failing.
Afterwards, he’d learnt that she had been seeing other men while they were still dating.
Zhao Qian wore splendid clothes, exquisite makeup, and a designer handbag in her hand, appearing quite the impressive sight. Her arm was linked with a man’s, as she shot him a distasteful glance.
“Gu Yan, just look at yourself now.” Zhao Qian’s mocking voice was like a thorn that stabbed into his heart.Gu Yan forced himself to remain standing upright. “Zhao Qian, I believe that I was pretty decent to you. We’ve already broken up, so why are you being so aggressive?”
‘Just what were the many years of our relationship to her?’
“Decent? Gu Yan, why don’t you tell me how often you actually accompanied me? Whenever we went out shopping, you’d always be making calls on your phone. Whenever I wanted to have a meal with you, I’d always have to book you a week in advance!”
Whenever they went shopping, wasn’t he just there to pay for her?
Whenever she asked him out for meal, wasn’t it just to ask him for money?
Gu Yan suddenly felt cold inside. His lips moved, but he didn’t say anything. A man had to act like one.
“Nothing to say, eh?” Zhao Qian spoke aloofly. “No woman would want to be with a man like you! And who would take a liking to you now that your shitty company is going to fail?”“Gu Yan?”
Someone called out from behind Gu Yan, before he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders. They even patted his shoulder and spoke with familiarity, “Why’re you here? Almost thought I was seeing things just now!”
“CEO Yu.” The man who Zhao Qian was hugging changed his attitude and cautiously reached out her hand. Yu Xingyun gave him a perfunctory handshake, his attitude a bit cold. “CEO Sun.”
“CEO Gu is your friend?” The man carefully probed.
Yu Xingyun didn’t reply, merely patting Gu Yan’s shoulder. “How about I give you a lift?”
“Thank you.”
“Why so polite? We’re bros!” Yu Xingyun got someone else to help him support Gu Yan while he walked to his car.
CEO Sun chased after him. “Er, CEO Yu, about the matter from last time—”
“Another time, perhaps.”
Zhao Qian only reacted once the car left. “CEO Sun, who was that man?”
“HK’s Yu Xingyun. He only recently came back. What’s his relationship with Gu Yan?” He looked at Zhao Qian, who shook her head. She’d never seen that man before.
......
The stress of work had taken Gu Yan’s mind away from his recently-ended relationship. But after this meeting with Zhao Qian, it was the first time he felt so upset. He made Yu Xingyun accompany him to drink for a long time.
Gu Yan’s relationship with Yu Xingyun was closer than his relationship with Sheng Xia’s parents. Back then, when he’d been completely inexperienced, they had introduced him to Yu Xingyun. He then went overseas to learn from the latter for a bit.
They met again after so many years, but everything had long changed.
With Yu Xingyun’s help, Gu Yan’s company soon improved and slowly got on the right track.
In the following year, he was very busy, and so rarely saw Yu Xingyun.
Everything changed on the day of Shi Sheng’s 18th birthday. Both Gu Yan and Yu Xingyun had drunk too much, probably from being too happy.
He sent Yu Xingyun to back to his home, but the two somehow ended up sleeping together. After that, things were awkward between them, so they didn’t meet for a long time.
Gu Yan had never thought of being together with a man. But ever since that night, he couldn’t help but think of Yu Xingyun.
These past few years, Yu Xingyun had helped him out a lot. It wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that Yu Xingyun took good care of him.
In the end, it was Yu Xingyun who asked to meet. The two sat across from each other in a coffeeshop, the atmosphere very awkward.
“Gu Yan...” Yu Xingyun sighed. “It’s already happened. I won’t say anything else but... I have feelings for you. Can we give it a shot?”
Yu Xingyun had spent many years overseas, so he was much more open to it than Gu Yan.
Ever since Yu Jiu’s mother died, he hadn’t gotten another woman because he felt no attraction to them.
But after that time with Gu Yan, he slowly found that he’d fallen for the man.
Gu Yan’s hands were placed on the table, his lips pursed as he remained silent.
“Take your time to consider. There’s no rush to answer me.”
The meeting ended quickly, and Gu Yan returned home to think about it. After pondering long and hard, he felt like this wasn’t right, so he called Yu Xingyun to reject him.
Yu Xingyun was pretty forthright and didn’t raise this matter anymore. The two tacitly suppressed the topic.
......
Gu Yan accepted an invitation to attend a charity auction, but meeting Zhao Qian here had been out of his expectations.
These past few years, he hadn’t heard anything about her, so suddenly seeing her now felt a bit unreal. She had changed men. Her new one was over 50 and was one of the bigshots in the real estate business. Rumour had it that she was his mistress.
Gu Yan had long put Zhao Qian down after so many years.
So when Zhao Qian came looking for him to talk, he didn’t think too much on it, as he upheld the standard of a proper gentleman by exchanging a few pleasantries with her.
“I was young and foolish back then. Don’t take it to heart, CEO Gu. Here, this toast is my apology to you.” Zhao Qian seemed much more becoming and sincere than she was before.
Gu Yan accepted it without thought, but hadn’t expected drugged and brought to a hotel.
It was a lightbulb moment when he vaguely recalled that old man Zhao Qian had been accompanying was the CEO of the company that recently fought him for a plot of land.
He grabbed her wrist. “Zhao Qian, you truly disgust me.”
She smiled indifferently and pushed him onto the bed. “Gu Yan, it’s not like we haven’t fucked before—what’re you so scared of?”
Gu Yan tried to suppress the raging lust, but Zhao Qian remembered his sensitive spots and teased him with familiarity. Just as he was about to lose control of himself, the door was kicked open. He heard Zhao Qian screaming and the sound of something being dragged, before the door was slammed shut once more and he was left with only the sound of his own coarse breathing.
“Gu Yan.” Someone patted his face. But right now, he had only one thought on his mind, and that was to vent his desire.
He grabbed the hand that patted his face and flipped over to press the person under him. That person didn’t resist and Gu Yan soon progressed to the last step. But when he didn’t find an entrance, he felt irritable.
......
When he woke up the next day and found someone sleeping beside him, the memories all came flooding back. Once he saw who it was, he was stunned.
Yu Xingyun was awake the whole time. Seeing Gu Yan staring at him, he supported himself up to look at him. “Gu Yan, this time you’re the one that fucked me. Aren’t you going to take responsibility?”
Gu Yan tossed aside the blanket and found the bedsheets stained with blood...
“I...” ‘Just what did I do last night?!’
Gu Yan rarely smoked. But now, he finished off several cigarettes in succession, yet was unable to suppress the beating of his heart that seemed as if it was about to leap right out of his chest.
Was he mad, sleeping with his bro so many times?
“Gu Yan, can you give me a chance?”
Gu Yan turned to look at him.
His eyes were filled with sincerity. The light seemed to cause his wheat-coloured skin to glow with radiance, some splotches of blue-black still present from last night’s affair.
Gu Yan thought he could hear his long-silent heart start to thump again. He thought to himself, ‘Might as well give it a go. We’ve already screwed anyway...’
