Chapter 13 – 013

“Why are you back so late?”

As soon as Gu Xian stepped through the door, he was startled by Xie Yunjing’s warm greeting.

“You’re not… crazy, are you?”

Seeing Xie Yunjing quickly approaching him, Gu Xian instinctively reached out to push him away. However, the moment he noticed the direction Xie Yunjing deliberately revealed to him, he immediately froze both his movement and his words.

He put on a fake smile, responding as if he were truly treating his own husband, “Something came up at the company, so I spent a bit of time dealing with it.”

In reality, he had accidentally fallen asleep in the afternoon and even overslept.

Xie Yunjing blocked the gaze coming from behind him and started helping Gu Xian take off his coat.

Gu Xian grabbed his tie abruptly and gritted his teeth in a low voice, “Why didn’t you tell me in advance that your grandfather was here?”

“I didn’t know much earlier than you,” Xie Yunjing said, snatching back his tie and straightening it again.

“What’s your grandfather here for?” Gu Xian grabbed Xie Yunjing’s wrist, making it look like he was helping him adjust his collar.

“Most likely to—”

Thump!

A sudden, heavy thud echoed from the living room floor.

“What sneaky business are you up to, standing at the door for so long!”

Gu Xian quickly pushed Xie Yunjing to turn around while following closely behind. He poked his head out and waved, “Hello, Grandpa Xie, long time no see.”

Old Master Xie averted his gaze, clearly unwilling to engage with them. But since the two remained standing at the door without coming in, he finally snapped impatiently, “Are you waiting for me to invite you in?”

For once, Gu Xian sat properly with perfect posture. Xie Yunjing couldn’t help but glance at him mockingly, only to immediately receive a hard stomp on his foot.

“Grandpa Xie, is there something you needed?”

With the coffee table blocking the view, Old Master Xie interpreted Gu Xian’s foot-stomping as the two men playing footsie and engaging in small, intimate gestures right in front of him.

His expression darkened with irritation, and he coughed twice before scolding, “Two grown men! Acting all delicate and sappy, what kind of behavior is that?”

Gu Xian gave Xie Yunjing a bewildered look, silently asking: What is your grandfather talking about?

Xie Yunjing, whose foot was throbbing with pain but couldn’t make too much of a scene to avoid it, gritted his teeth and shot Gu Xian a glare: How would I know?!

This silent exchange of glances only fueled Old Master Xie’s anger further. He slammed his cane heavily on the coffee table. “Do you think I’m dead? Look at me! You live together, and you still haven’t seen enough of each other?”

Gu Xian and Xie Yunjing obediently turned their attention to him, only for Old Master Xie to settle into a more comfortable position and continue his tirade.

Old Master Xie banged on the coffee table loudly as he scolded, “Just look at yourselves! Neither of you looks like a proper man, nor a proper woman. Both of you are turning yourselves into freaks! And this house—look at it! Does it look anything like a proper home? Two grown men, and you think you can live a good life like this?!”

Gu Xian didn’t want Xie Yunjing to bear all the scolding, nor did he want to become the target of Old Master Xie’s wrath. So, he jabbed Xie Yunjing’s side forcefully, signaling him to deal with his discriminatory grandfather.

Xie Yunjing’s instinct to retaliate kicked in before his brain could catch up. His hand moved faster than his thoughts, grabbing Gu Xian’s hand and pinning it behind their backs.

Only then did he notice his grandfather’s face turning an even deeper shade of rage because of this action.

“Do you have to keep touching each other’s hands for so long? Aren’t you disgusted?!” Old Master Xie roared.

“Grandpa,” Xie Yunjing sighed inwardly, though his gaze remained firm and unyielding. “I just like being with Gu Xian.”

Gu Xian instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but he couldn’t break free from Xie Yunjing’s grip.

Old Master Xie’s lips trembled, his fury evident. He looked as though he was too enraged to speak or simply had no retort. In the end, he didn’t hurl any harsher words, but neither did he let the matter drop.

Bang!

Old Master Xie’s cane slammed heavily onto the coffee table, creating a terrifying dent in the solid wooden surface. Then, he abruptly stood up, glaring fiercely at Gu Xian and Xie Yunjing, who were still “holding hands.” Without saying another word, he stormed out in silence.

The deafening sound of the cane hitting the table left Gu Xian momentarily dazed. He muttered, “To be this homophobic, yet he still forced you to marry me, was he trying to torture you or himself?”

After voicing his thoughts, he suddenly remembered that his hand was still being held down by Xie Yunjing. He immediately yanked it free, then shook it vigorously, as if he had touched something dirty.

“You can actually say something like ‘I just like being with you’? That’s downright shameless,” Gu Xian said, shuddering in disgust.

Xie Yunjing let out a cold snort. “And whose fault is that?”

“I was saving you from becoming a ‘marriage scammer scumbag,’ okay?” Gu Xian replied shamelessly. “You should be thanking me!”

*

Wei Wenxian set off early in the morning with a group of artists to attend auditions, leaving the company unusually quiet.

Gu Xian held a snack he’d taken from the break room in one hand and scrolled through various chat groups on his phone with the other. If he were walking down the street, he’d probably run straight into a lamppost. Using his shoulder, he nudged open the slightly ajar office door.

“Damn!”

Gu Xian nearly dropped his snack on the floor. He frowned as he noticed the unexpected visitor in his office. “What are you doing here again?”

It was Ke Silin, the same person he had chased away last time, actually came back again. Despite his firm stance, was this little brat seriously thinking about pulling some shady ‘unspoken rules’ again?

Ke Silin looked dazed and out of sorts. “Why won’t you terminate my contract…”

Gu Xian had only said it offhandedly last time. For one, terminating a contract wasn’t as simple as saying the words, especially since he wasn’t even the one managing things. And two, Ke Silin’s previous clumsy attempts at seduction were laughably bad, other than bruising his leg, absolutely nothing had come of it.

This kid couldn’t possibly think that just because he hadn’t actually terminated the contract, Gu Xian was interested in him, could he?

Gu Xian sneered sarcastically, “What’s the matter? Are you disappointed that I didn’t terminate the contract? You’ve got to be kidding—oh, shit!”

Before he could set down the tray, the snacks clattered to the ground with a loud crash. Gu Xian, ignoring the pain in his back from the fall, forcefully shoved Ke Silin off him, who had suddenly tackled him to the ground.

“What the hell are you trying to do?!” he shouted angrily.

However, before Gu Xian could get up, Ke Silin pounced on him again, pinning him firmly to the ground.

“Why won’t you terminate my contract?!”

Gu Xian’s temper flared. “I let you off the hook, and now you’re taking advantage of it, huh? If you want to terminate the contract, take the breach penalty fee and go find Wei—wait, what the hell, why are you crying?!”

Gu Xian stared at Ke Silin in shock. Who was bullying whom here? He, the so-called eldest young master of the Gu family, was being pinned to the ground by someone, and now he wasn’t even allowed to get angry?!

Ke Silin acted as though he hadn’t heard a word, repeatedly muttering the same question, his emotions becoming increasingly agitated.

“Why won’t you terminate my contract?! Why won’t you terminate my contract!!” By now, he was outright shouting, his eyes filled with the despair of someone whose hopes had been thoroughly crushed.

Suddenly, he fell silent, and the despair in his eyes morphed into a resolute determination that sent a chill down Gu Xian’s spine.

“It’s because I haven’t done enough… I haven’t done enough!” Ke Silin muttered to himself. Then, as if possessed, he began frantically tearing at both his and Gu Xian’s clothes!

Pinned firmly to the ground and having his clothes ripped apart, it was painfully obvious what was about to happen next, any adult would understand.

For the first time, Gu Xian regretted his lack of physical fitness. He couldn’t even match the strength of this younger guy pinning him down!

“F**k! Stop! Are you out of your mind?!” he shouted, struggling desperately. All he could think was that this was absolutely insane, he’d never seen anything like it!

Someone already being subjected to an ‘unspoken rule’ actually turned around and tried to enforce one themselves! Is there no justice left in this world?!

“Shameless!!!”

A furious shout accompanied by the heavy thud of a cane striking the floor echoed through the room. Gu Xian turned toward the door in terror. He had deliberately left it ajar to avoid any misunderstandings, but who could have predicted that Ke Silin would recklessly pounce on him and start tearing at his clothes without a care!

Although Gu Xian had been hoping someone would hear the commotion and come to rescue him, could someone please explain why it had to be Xie Yunjing and his grandfather?!

Gu Xian’s brief moment of distraction allowed Ke Silin to tear open most of his desperately defended shirt. The look on Old Master Xie’s face visibly darkened further.

As for Xie Yunjing, the amusement in his eyes was unmistakable. Seeing this, Gu Xian immediately exploded with rage: “Xie Yunjing, are you seriously just standing there watching?!”

Ke Silin, that crazy kid, was truly out of his mind, he didn’t even stop when caught in the act.

Xie Yunjing effortlessly pulled Ke Silin off Gu Xian, who had been struggling to push him away. Then, he helped Gu Xian up and looked him over from head to toe.

“If you dare laugh, you’re dead!” Gu Xian lowered his voice in a threatening tone.

“Heh.” Xie Yunjing, taking advantage of the fact that his back was to Grandpa Xie and Uncle Kang, let the corners of his lips curl up into a smirk.

“You!” Gu Xian fumed.

Just as Gu Xian was about to lose his temper, Xie Yunjing immediately reverted to a neutral expression, appearing gentle and considerate as he began tidying up Gu Xian’s disheveled clothes.

“Damn!” Gu Xian suddenly yelped, drawing the attention of Old Master Xie and Uncle Kang. He quickly forced out an awkward laugh. “Looks like I might’ve gotten a bruise, haha.”

As a staunch homophobe, Old Master Xie had no interest in finding out where the bruise was or why Gu Xian had cried out so suddenly. He immediately averted his gaze, pretending not to care in the slightest.

But Uncle Kang shot Gu Xian with a knowing look so meaningful it made his teeth ache.

As if that weren’t enough, the bastard Xie Yunjing had just pinched the soft flesh on his stomach and was now whispering in his ear, “Look at you, you’re not even as good as Uncle Kang. And Uncle Kang is almost seventy.”

Since Xie Yunjing had to “take care” of his nominal husband, the task of keeping an eye on Ke Silin naturally had to be handed off to someone else.

Gu Xian glared at him fiercely. “Screw || you!”

While buttoning up Gu Xian’s shirt, Xie Yunjing smirked and mocked, “From what just happened, it looks like you’re the one getting || screwed.”

Gu Xian typically hated fastening the top two buttons of his shirt unless absolutely necessary. So when Xie Yunjing went all the way and even buttoned the very top one, Gu Xian immediately put on an exaggerated look of suffocation and complained, “I suspect you’re trying to strangle me, and I have proof!”

Before Gu Xian could swat his hand away, Xie Yunjing’s fingers, whether intentionally or unintentionally, brushed lightly against Gu Xian’s Adam’s apple. That small protrusion instinctively bobbed up and down in response.

Xie Yunjing smiled at Gu Xian and said, “You’re absolutely right.”

Author’s Note:

Why does the air smell so sour? Oh, it turns out someone’s jealous.