Chapter 12 – 012

Ke Silin finally regained his hearing and intelligence, scrambling off Gu Xian like his pants were on fire.

He gave Gu Xian a strange look, then quickly turned around and ran out.

Gu Xian: “…?”

Why did he feel like this little brat wasn’t upset at all, but actually happy?

Xie Huaihong knocked on the doorframe and walked in with a mischievous expression. “Sister-in-law, your pace is a bit quick, huh?”

“Are you blind? Can’t you see I haven’t done anything?” Gu Xian and Xie Huaihong could be said to know each other, but they were far from close. With Xie Huaihong spewing nonsense, Gu Xian naturally wouldn’t show him any courtesy.

Lacking the experience of sparring verbally with Gu Xian for over a decade, Xie Huaihong clearly didn’t realize that society had become so ruthless that even the eldest young master of the Xie family could be completely disregarded by someone.

His expression darkened briefly, but he quickly smiled again and said, with a tone that was hard to discern as praise or sarcasm, “Just joking. Young Master Gu’s temper truly lives up to its reputation.”

“Heh, that’s because you lack perspective,” Gu Xian sneered mercilessly at Xie Huaihong’s displeased expression. “Just joking.”

Dropping the pretense of politeness, Xie Huaihong scowled and said sternly, “Gu Xian, know your place. Don’t get too arrogant.”

“Arrogant? Can I be more arrogant than you, Young Master Xie, barging in uninvited, entering my office without permission, and lecturing me, the host?” Gu Xian picked up his phone, fully embracing his arrogance. “If you have something to say, say it. If not, get lost.”

“…” Xie Huaihong stared at him darkly for a moment before suddenly putting on a smile. “Gu Xian, I know you didn’t willingly marry Xie Yunjing. Do you want to know why he insisted on marrying you?”

The premise was wrong from the start.

Gu Xian gave Xie Huaihong a bored glance, unimpressed by his air of mystery, and responded with one word: “Oh.”

“…”

Xie Huaihong, relying on the exceptional mental resilience instilled by his upbringing in a prestigious family, continued, “This matter starts with my and Xie Yunjing’s grandmother. The old lady is biased and is determined to make Xie Yunjing the next head of the Xie family. Over the past two years, her health has been deteriorating, and she has become increasingly unreasonable. She came up with the excuse that ‘if Xie Yunjing doesn’t marry before the age of 25, he won’t live long.’ This wasn’t just to pressure Xie Yunjing but also to push the old man into forcing him to marry someone whose birth characters are deemed compatible with his.”

He paused and let out a disdainful scoff. “What ‘compatible birth characters’? It’s just an excuse to pick a family that can give Xie Yunjing the most support in competing for the position of the next family head.”

“Now you know why Xie Yunjing wants to marry you.” Xie Huaihong crossed his legs and rested his folded hands on his knee, his expression exuding arrogance. “The Gu family may not be what it used to be, but its foundation still exists. Moreover, the ties between our families go back generations. The old man still holds onto some sentiment for past friendships.”

“…Gu Xian?”

“Don’t bother me!” Gu Xian’s fingers moved rapidly, clearly focused on playing a game. “I’m busy.”

As the eldest young master of the Xie family, Xie Huaihong was used to being treated with respect, if not outright deference. Yet, instead of getting angry, he casually grabbed the cup of coffee on the desk, downed half of it in one go, and quietly waited for Gu Xian.

Not only did Gu Xian win, but he also got MVP. His mood improved significantly.

Xie Huaihong put on a smile again, as if he didn’t mind being ignored by Gu Xian for over ten minutes. “Finished?”

Gu Xian raised his eyes in surprise. “You’re still here?”

Xie Huaihong’s planned remark—”Did you win?“—got stuck in his throat.

“Did you hear what I said earlier?”

“Yeah, I heard.”

Xie Huaihong finally figured it out, that trying to take a roundabout approach with Gu Xian would only end with him being frustrated to death.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. “Are you really willing to let Xie Yunjing, your arch-enemy, use you like this? To let him treat you as a stepping stone to secure the position of the Xie family head?”

Gu Xian put on a thoughtful expression. “That does sound pretty annoying.”

Finally hearing the answer he wanted, Xie Huaihong felt an immense sense of relief, and the smile on his face became a bit more genuine.

“How about teaming up with me to stop Xie Yunjing?”

Gu Xian asked curiously, “How do we team up? You should know that Xie Yunjing and I are essentially using each other. Neither my dad nor your family’s old man would agree to me divorcing him.”

“Of course, you don’t have to divorce Xie Yunjing.” Xie Huaihong’s true intentions became increasingly evident. “What I mean is, it’s indeed difficult for you to divorce him. But not being able to divorce has its advantages. Now that you’re living with Xie Yunjing, isn’t it the perfect opportunity to find out what he’s up to every day? All you have to do is report his daily activities to me, and I’ll handle the rest.”

“That does sound like an easy job.” Gu Xian placed his phone face-down on his stomach and stroked his chin. “But what’s in it for me?”

Xie Huaihong, as if expecting this, took out a check and slid it across the table to Gu Xian. “Five million. There will be more depending on the value of the information you provide.”

“Wow, generous.” Gu Xian picked up the check and flicked it, the special paper making a crisp sound. “Alright, I’ll take the job.”

“But.”

Just as Xie Huaihong’s face showed a satisfied expression, Gu Xian’s tone shifted.

“Right now, Xie Yunjing and I are married, at least in name. Aren’t you afraid I might tell him about this?”

Xie Huaihong smiled confidently. “Would you?”

Gu Xian smiled as well. “I wouldn’t.”

*

After wrapping up Guangyao’s welcome dinner, Gu Xian took a stroll to a bar with Li Yuqiu before finally returning to the so-called “new home” he shared with Xie Yunjing.

After greeting Uncle Kang, who had been waiting for him, Gu Xian headed straight to the bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. For someone who usually stayed cooped up at home gaming, the amount of physical activity and socializing he’d done today was far beyond his normal routine.

Xie Yunjing stepped out of the bathroom after his shower, and the moment he saw the scene, he frowned. “Gu Xian, at least change your clothes before getting into bed.”

Gu Xian lay face-down on the bed, pretending to be dead. Hearing Xie Yunjing’s footsteps gradually approaching, he suddenly spoke up, “Xie Huaihong came to see me today. He asked me to be his spy and report to him about what you do every day.”

Xie Yunjing’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

“See for yourself.”

To avoid Xie Yunjing suspecting he was messing with him, Gu Xian tossed his phone over. Xie Huaihong’s voice rang out from the speaker.

“This matter starts with my and Xie Yunjing’s grandmother. The old lady is biased...”

The recording quickly finished playing. Xie Yunjing asked, “Why did you tell me?”

“Why does there need to be a reason?” Gu Xian flipped over, propped up his head, and gave him a disdainful smile. “Dealing with you? I can handle it on my own. I don’t need to team up with anyone.”

The top two buttons of Gu Xian’s shirt were undone, and his collar gaped open further, revealing the fair skin of his collarbone. Under the soft light from the bedside lamp, it took on a porcelain-like texture.

Xie Yunjing looked at him for a moment before silently averting his gaze.

“By the way, I have a business proposition for you.” Gu Xian pulled the check Xie Huaihong had given him out of his pants pocket. The once crisp paper had somehow been crumpled into a mess. “You heard it earlier, Xie Huaihong will pay based on the information I provide. How about we work together? I take seventy percent, you take thirty.”

“Why do I only get thirty?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Gu Xian exclaimed. “You think that’s not enough? Let’s be reasonable here. I negotiate with you to sell intel to Xie Huaihong, and you can use that very information to turn the tables on him! I’m helping you take down a major rival for the family inheritance, and you don’t think that’s worth me taking an extra twenty percent? Besides, if I didn’t tell you about this, you’d just end up getting played and hiding under your blanket crying!”

Gu Xian even raised his hands and made a mock threatening gesture for emphasis.

Xie Yunjing frowned, seemingly unimpressed by Gu Xian’s childish antics. “I thought you’d realize that the fact he came to you to be a spy shows that dealing with him isn’t exactly difficult.”

“Just say whether you’re in or not.” Gu Xian flopped back onto the bed, muttering, “It’s easier to handle Xie Huaihong, and there’s money to be made. Even a fool knows what to choose.”

“…” Xie Yunjing pulled the check from his hand and confirmed it was indeed issued by Xie Huaihong. “Transfer 1.5 million to me later.”

And just like that, the deal was done.

Earning millions just by saying a few words—of course, this kind of deal was an absolute win.

Gu Xian happily reached out to take the check back.

But Xie Yunjing bypassed his hand and flicked the check against Gu Xian’s forehead. “Also, just because you’d hide under a blanket and cry doesn’t mean I would.”

“You’re talking nonsense!”

Gu Xian was furious. He snatched the check back and tucked it away. He glared up and down at Xie Yunjing, as if considering how to return the earlier flick to his forehead. But in the end, laziness won out, and he did nothing, flopping back onto the bed instead.

Xie Yunjing suddenly grabbed his arm. “Go take a shower.”

Not to mention the “check-flick revenge” still unsettled, Gu Xian would never obediently listen to him even on a normal day.

“I’m not going!”

Although Xie Yunjing regularly worked out, lifting an adult man with one hand was still impossible, especially when Gu Xian went completely boneless, stubbornly refusing to budge.

Xie Yunjing warned, “Are you going or not?”

Gu Xian pulled a bundle of blankets over himself. “Whoever wants to go can—what the hell!”

Before he could finish, he let out a curse, startled by Xie Yunjing suddenly picking him up.

“Let go of me!”

Although Gu Xian’s struggles were as ineffective as a kitten’s, Xie Yunjing still issued a threat: “Keep squirming, and I’ll drop you right now.”

Falling straight down from over a meter high was definitely not a painless prospect, and Gu Xian knew that Xie Yunjing wasn’t bluffing. He stopped struggling, but he didn’t give up verbally.

“If you don’t let me go, I’ll call Uncle Kang!”

Xie Yunjing remained completely unfazed. “Go ahead and call.”

He even maliciously added, “What do you think Uncle Kang’s reaction will be?”

Gu Xian: “…”

Considering Uncle Kang’s role as the one monitoring the “couple,” if he saw Xie Yunjing carrying him like this, he’d probably just assume they were flirting.

Ugh… damn flirting nonsense!

Fortunately, the distance from the bed to the bathroom wasn’t exactly a trek across mountains and rivers.

Xie Yunjing set him down in front of the bathroom door, gave him a shove inside, and promptly closed the door behind him.

Gu Xian clung to the doorknob in a final act of resistance. “Let me out!”

The doorknob didn’t budge, firmly held in place by Xie Yunjing on the other side.

“Come out only after you’ve cleaned yourself.”

Gu Xian cursed a few more times, but soon, the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom.

Xie Yunjing returned to the bed, picked up Gu Xian’s phone, which was still lying there, and moved to place it on the bedside table.

The darkened screen clearly reflected his face.

“Dealing with you? I can handle it on my own.”

Xie Yunjing suddenly averted his gaze, as if he’d been burned, unwilling to look at his reflection on the phone screen any longer.

Author’s Note:

Xiao Xie: He’s so in love with me.

Xiao Gu: You’re talking nonsense!