The difference between Gu Yufeng from his past life and the boy in front of him was just too great. Which one of them was the real him? Could it be that he wasn’t the only one pretending in his past life? Or was it that after being reborn, when they first met, Gu Yufeng received a cold shoulder from him, and out of spite, he deliberately did things to make him angry as revenge?

As Xie Ci pondered these questions, Gu Yufeng became even more certain of what kind of person Xie Ci was. When they first met, he felt that the young Xie Ci was completely different from the person he was familiar with. Although he always wore a cold expression that seemed to say “don’t come near me,” there was a unique innocence and purity typical of his age that made him look easy to bully. It made Gu Yufeng unable to resist the urge to tease him, and seeing this kid get all riled up and angry made it seem like being blown up and reborn wasn’t so bad after all.

But when he actually saw Xie Ci being bullied, it made him want to protect him. Yet, it hadn’t been long, and this kid was already showing his true colors!

The more Gu Yufeng thought about it, the angrier he got. Although he was the one who had stirred things up and provoked a minor, wasn’t Xie Ci at fault too? How could he be so easily hooked? What kind of self-control was that?

Xie Ci had taken leave from Xiang Haibin to stay in the dormitory and watch over Gu Yufeng, and he heard the person on the bed start to mumble in his sleep. He quietly leaned in to listen, but the words were unclear and he couldn’t understand, sounding like he was cursing someone, and it was quite vulgar.

Once Gu Yufeng’s body had recovered, he immediately sought out Xie Ci for a talk.

“I’m the rogue, and you’re the promising youth. You’re walking my path, so where do you want me to go?”

During their morning run, Xie Ci listened to Gu Yufeng rambling beside him and replied casually, “So?”

Gu Yufeng looked serious. “You need to correct your attitude. Don’t waste your thoughts on anything other than studying. Your most important task right now is to get into college.”

Zhang Ruochuan ran past them and chimed in with a laugh, “Old Gu, are you channeling your inner teacher today?”

Jiang Chenyu, running ahead, turned back in disbelief and looked at Gu Yufeng. “What kind of audacity do you have to lecture Old Xie? Typical of someone who only allows the officials to set fire but not the commoners to light a lamp.”

Gu Yufeng naturally retorted, “Is that not allowed?”

Jiang Chenyu was momentarily speechless, unable to come up with a rebuttal.

Fang Sizhe, deep in thought, remarked, “I feel like Old Gu and Old Xie’s positions have swapped.”

Zhang Ruochuan leaned in curiously and asked, “Do you know what happened?”

Fang Sizhe replied, “No idea.”

Zhang Ruochuan: “…”

After their run, seeing that Xie Ci hadn’t said a word, Gu Yufeng blocked his path. “Respond—”

Xie Ci deliberately raised his hand to brush aside the stray hair on Gu Yufeng’s forehead. “It got on my eyelashes.”

This overstepping action made all of Gu Yufeng’s efforts that morning go to waste.

With Gu Yufeng wearing a cold expression, Xie Ci turned around and left as if nothing had happened, putting on a stance of “say whatever you want, I won’t listen anyway.”

Gu Yufeng chased after him, softening his tone. “Is it not enough that I was wrong? I apologize for all my previous inappropriate words and actions.”

Xie Ci casually tossed out, “Too late.”

Gu Yufeng: “…”

So, he was impervious to both soft and hard approaches, huh?

During the break, Zhang Ruochuan handed out the English test papers and saw Gu Yufeng leaving through the back door with his phone. He hurriedly leaned over to Xie Ci and asked, “Old Xie, has Old Gu been in a bad mood these days? Why does he look so gloomy?”

Xie Ci glanced at Gu Yufeng, who was on the phone, and said slowly, “I wanted to tease him, but it backfired. Now I’m rushing to make amends, only to find I’ve fallen into a pit I can’t get out of. He’s probably suffering from a guilty conscience, though it’s not much of a conscience, so how can he be happy?”

Zhang Ruochuan was left confused. “Can you say something I can understand?”

Xie Ci withdrew his gaze. “Maybe I’ve been too busy lately and have some emotions.”

Zhang Ruochuan: “I see!”

At noon, when they went to the cafeteria for lunch, Xie Ci vaguely felt some unusual gazes on him.

Usually, he would be looked at by many people while walking, but today felt different.

Gu Yufeng also noticed, frowning as he scanned the entire cafeteria hall, seeing many people hurriedly avoiding eye contact.

“What’s going on?”

After they got their meals and found a place to sit, Jiang Chenyu hurriedly approached with a plate, looking a bit off. “Old Xie, I heard that a local media outlet reported on you today, and it’s already spreading around the school.”

A few days ago, after winning an award, Xie Ci knew there would be media coverage, but it wasn’t just about him. However, from Jiang Chenyu’s words, it was clear it was something else entirely.

“What did they report?”

Jiang Chenyu looked around like a thief, pulled out his phone, and opened a news link that someone had shared, handing it to Xie Ci.

“These media outlets have no morals, just to grab attention!”

Gu Yufeng leaned in and immediately saw the bold headline at the top—”This Year’s Math Competition First Prize Winner Xie Ci is Actually a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing!”

He snatched the phone away and quickly scrolled down.

This was published by a media outlet called Vanguard.

The article first laid out Xie Ci’s past achievements, but the rest of it was filled with accusations against him, using vague phrases like “according to informed sources,” “through reliable channels,” and “people close to Xie Ci accuse him,” directly pointing to Xie Ci as cold-hearted, having constant conflicts with his foster family, being ungrateful, and having questionable character.

Before he could finish reading, two new messages popped up at the top of the window.

Mouse: [Another news piece! A middle-aged woman was interviewed, claiming to be the captain’s aunt. [Video]]

Gu Yufeng clicked on the video, and after hearing just a few sentences, his expression turned completely cold.

The woman in the video had red, swollen eyes, curled up in a chair looking helpless, crying and choking up while answering the reporter’s questions.

“We didn’t take good care of him, and we know we were wrong… Our house was taken from us, and our family of three is homeless. My husband was taken away, and the child dropped out of a key high school. What am I supposed to do… I don’t ask for his forgiveness, I just hope he can let us go for the sake of the years we raised him… I can’t even see him, and I have no choice but to seek your help…”

There were already many comments under the video, all sympathizing with her plight, mixed with some unfriendly remarks about Xie Ci.

“She’s already suing, and she still dares to come out?”

Gu Yufeng opened the comment section and quickly typed out a long response, sending it before tossing the phone to Jiang Chenyu and dialing Lin Ying.

“Secretary Lin, I need your help with something…”

Jiang Chenyu took the phone and glanced at it, cursing under his breath, and casually liked that comment.

[Why was your husband taken away? Why did your child drop out? I’m only interested in that part. Why not elaborate? Afraid? Just because you say ‘wrong’ doesn’t erase the facts of the crime. What do we need the law for?]

Jiang Chenyu forwarded it to the group: [Brothers, quickly help me like this! Get this comment to the top!]

The alumni group had already started chatting about it.

[Who is this? So good at acting.]

[That’s Chen Zhanpeng’s mom. He owes me twenty bucks and hasn’t paid me back!]

[I know her. She caused a scene at the school gate not long ago. Quite scary, not at all as pitiful as she looks in the video.]

[How did Xie Ci end up with such relatives? This is bad for everyone.]

[Clearly, she doesn’t care about her reputation anymore and wants to go all out against Xie Ci.]

Seeing that Xie Ci hadn’t said a word, Fang Sizhe thought for a moment and quietly asked, “What kind of assistance do you need? My parents should have connections with the media.”

Fang Sizhe was one of the first in the group to understand Xie Ci’s family situation and was aware of Ye Yuru’s motives.

This matter had escalated, and the damage to Xie Ci’s reputation would be greater than that of Ye Yuru’s family. They were clearly trying to use moral coercion to force Xie Ci to compromise and sign a mediation agreement to downplay the situation.

As the person involved, Xie Ci was the calmest one at the table.

From the moment he kicked Ye Yuru’s family out of the prosperous life and started the lawsuit process, he had somewhat anticipated that things might go awry.

He knew Ye Yuru too well; if he didn’t deliberately fail his exams to avoid trouble after entering high school, she would find ways to influence his grades until she achieved her goal.

This person not only had feudal thoughts but also had a lower moral bottom line than ordinary people.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gu Yufeng looking over with concern, and Xie Ci silently finished his meal, dropping a “I’m leaving first” before picking up his plate and walking away.

The table of people exchanged worried glances.

Jiang Chenyu was about to follow when Fang Sizhe held him back. “Why are you stopping me?”

Fang Sizhe nodded toward the door. “Someone’s going.”

Jiang Chenyu looked and saw that Gu Yufeng had already taken off after him, not even bothering to collect his plate.

“Old Gu is a good tablemate!”

Fang Sizhe: “…”

You really are clueless.

Gu Yufeng followed Xie Ci out of the cafeteria and saw him looking downcast. He comforted him, “I’ll help you handle this. If you’re worried about what people at school might say, you can take a couple of days off to rest at home.”

Despite his attempts to comfort him, Xie Ci still showed no reaction. Gu Yufeng stepped in front of him. “Don’t let these scumbags lead you around by the nose. They dare to do this because they know it will disturb you.”

“Thanks for your comfort, but I’m fine,” Xie Ci replied, brushing past him.

Gu Yufeng turned and grabbed him. “Xie Ci! You’re not that fragile.”

“Then what kind of person should I be?” Xie Ci countered.

“Even in adversity, you can still find the path that benefits you the most and won’t be easily crushed.”

Gu Yufeng looked at him. “Rumors are indeed annoying, but so what? Those people even gossip about the dead, let alone the living. As long as you handle things well, they can slander you today and praise you tomorrow. Don’t let a few unkind words sway you.”

In his past life, when they announced their marriage, it caused quite a stir in the country.

At that time, Xie Ci was already a well-known young entrepreneur on the wealth list, suddenly marrying a man, which stirred up a storm.

Even though Gu Yufeng was abroad, he still heard plenty of things from people in the circle, and there were even anti-gay organizations that went to Xie Ci’s company to unfurl banners.

Gu Yufeng was once worried that such a big commotion would deter Xie Ci, as the acceptance of homosexuality in the country wasn’t that high, and making too much noise would inevitably attract government attention.

Going against the government was fatal for a business.

But Xie Ci withstood the pressure and completed the marriage registration on the agreed date, silencing all parties with his achievements.

“I understand the reasoning, but emotionally—”

Xie Ci paused and looked back at Gu Yufeng. “If you kiss me, maybe I’ll feel a bit better.”

Gu Yufeng was ready to continue comforting him, but this caught him off guard. After realizing what he said, he shot him a cold look. “Are you messing with me? Is this fun?”

“I’m serious,” Xie Ci said earnestly.

Gu Yufeng was so angry he almost laughed. “Do you really think I can’t do anything about you?”

Xie Ci replied leisurely, “You really can’t.”

Gu Yufeng: “…”

How did this kid manage to get the upper hand over him?

On the way back, Xie Ci was deep in thought.

Looking at it this way, Gu Yufeng still cared about him, so why was he dumped?

In the afternoon, when they arrived at the classroom, Fang Sizhe and the others gathered around Xie Ci’s seat, wanting to come up with a solution.

“Let her be. What else can we do besides shouting?” Xie Ci said nonchalantly as he worked on his problems, not taking it to heart at all.

Zhang Ruochuan was anxious. “If you let her talk nonsense, your reputation will be ruined.”

Xie Ci replied, “I’m not a public figure, and I don’t look for a partner. What do I need a good reputation for?”

Zhang Ruochuan thought for a moment. “…That makes sense.”

This line of “not looking for a partner” actually made Gu Yufeng a bit happy, and after realizing it, he turned his head to pretend he didn’t care.

Jiang Chenyu said, “But we can’t just let it go. That’s not right!”

Xie Ci replied, “She won’t be able to jump around for long.”

Gu Yufeng finally chimed in, “Where are we in the lawsuit process?”

Xie Ci replied, “Almost there.”

This matter had stirred up quite a fuss, and Xiang Haibin was worried that the rumors at school would affect Xie Ci. However, he didn’t expect that when the teachers returned to class, they reported that Ye Yuru’s public statements had received unanimous negative reviews from the students.

Relatives commenting on their own family and spreading rumors outside made all the students empathize deeply.

The phone on the desk rang, and Xiang Haibin saw it was a call from the principal’s office. He immediately picked it up. “Principal?”

On the other end, the principal’s voice was filled with anger.

“Old Xiang, what the hell is going on with that family?! Is it easy for us to cultivate a good student? Xie Ci just won the first prize in the competition, and now this family is causing trouble. Is his mother against Xie Ci or against us?!”

Xiang Haibin opened his mouth, wanting to calm the cursing principal down, but he was also very angry.

“Xie Ci’s family should be handling it.”

The principal replied, “This has already come to my face, and I can’t swallow this anger!”

Before the afternoon class was over, another official media outlet published an article condemning Vanguard Media for lacking moral integrity in their pursuit of attention, and attached a lawyer’s letter, suing Vanguard Media for defamation, with the plaintiff being Xie Ci’s father, Xie Qian.

Soon, the Public Security Bureau of Lanhai City issued a notice that Ye Yuru was suspected of fraud and had been formally arrested after thorough investigation and evidence collection.

It wasn’t until after class that Xie Ci heard about this from others, feeling somewhat surprised.

His dad, who usually moved like a slow turtle, had acted so quickly this time.

Ye Yuru had just gone to the media to cry about her plight, and now she was arrested, causing a wave of public opinion online. No one expected the reversal to happen so fast.

In the evening, the leaders of the first high school publicly voiced their support through the media, with several authoritative teachers backing him up, completely changing the tide.

The next afternoon, Gu Yufeng received the investigation results sent by Lin Ying.

Lin Ying: [The hype behind Vanguard Media is being manipulated by the Xie family. However, before it could escalate, Ye Yuru was arrested, and it can only end like this.]

Gu Yufeng rubbed the corner of his phone, deep in thought.

The Xie family couldn’t possibly target an unrelated high school student for no reason, unless this student had a connection to the Xie family, and it might be a very close one.

But what benefit would it bring them to tarnish Xie Ci’s reputation?

Gu Yufeng thought again about how Mingjian Gallery had suppressed Xie Qian and edited the information to reply.

[Please continue to investigate Mingjian and get back to me as soon as possible.]

Lin Ying: [Understood.]

Not long after Gu Yufeng received the message, Xie Ci got a message from Lei Qiliang.

Lei Qiliang: [I heard you were framed this time, and the Xie family is behind it. Did you offend them?]

Xie Ci stared at the message for a moment, the image of Xie Cheng and his dad fighting in the restaurant flashing through his mind, and his expression darkened.

He had thought that his dad had cut ties with the family because he was dating his mom, and at most, they would just not interact.

From the way Xie Cheng had taken the initiative to talk to him that day, it seemed the Xie family wanted to mend their relationship with his dad, but his dad couldn’t let go of the past and refused.

But now it seemed he might have been terribly wrong.

He had projected his relationship with his dad onto the relationship between his dad and the family, thinking his dad was just avoiding them, never considering that the Xie family might maliciously persecute his dad.

No wonder Xie Cheng couldn’t say much that day, and his dad lost control of his emotions.

Lei Qiliang: [I have some things I want you to see. Can we meet sometime?]

Xie Ci thought for a moment and replied: [How about Sunday morning this week?]

He could ignore whatever grievances his dad had with the Xie family, but if they were targeting him, he couldn’t just let it go.

On Saturday morning, Gu Yufeng was woken up by group messages. He reached out to grope around and finally found his phone under his notebook.

Most of the chat in the group was about the news online over the past few days.

He skimmed through it and then opened his social media, confirming there were no new negative news about Xie Ci before getting up slowly.

When he went downstairs, he saw Gu Yongnian sitting in the dining room drinking tea.

Gu Yufeng glanced at the art magazine in his hand, which was a preview of auction items, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Soon, a servant brought breakfast over.

Gu Yongnian noticed his gaze and happily flipped it around to show him. “Finally, there’s a work by Jian Yan up for auction. It’s starting on Monday night, and I want to go myself this time.”

Gu Yufeng snorted dismissively. “You have to beg me to go; I’m too lazy to bother. It sounds boring.”

Gu Yongnian tentatively asked, “How’s your desk mate doing these days?”

Gu Yufeng looked at him strangely. “Why are you so concerned about him?”

“That day, he seemed so poised and cultured. I didn’t expect his background to be so pitiful, and now it’s even made it online. What kind of situation is this?”

Gu Yongnian sighed, rubbing his hands together and saying tactfully, “If he’s feeling down, could you ask him for me? Maybe he could take a day off on Monday night and come with me to the auction?”

“…”

Gu Yufeng was so amused by this old man that he couldn’t help but laugh. “You just want him to accompany you to see the paintings, right? What, do you like him that much?”

Caught red-handed, Gu Yongnian awkwardly cleared his throat. “After all, he’s your desk mate. We should care more about family.”

Gu Yufeng: “…”

What a family.

The sound of high heels echoed from the entrance, and Gu Yufeng looked to see it was indeed Lin Ying.

Lin Ying greeted him and glanced at Gu Yongnian, her expression somewhat subtle.

“I just found out something.”

Gu Yongnian, enjoying the preview of Jian Yan’s painting, casually asked, “What is it?”

Lin Ying looked at Gu Yufeng and hesitated before speaking. “The boy who delivered the painting to you that day had previously had contact with Lei Qiliang.”

Both father and son were taken aback.

“Had contact with Lei Qiliang?” Gu Yufeng exclaimed in surprise, looking up. “Are you sure?”

Lin Ying nodded. “The Jian Yan painting in Lei Qiliang’s possession was obtained from him, and the one he gave to Mr. Gu is from the same series. The implications of this might be…”

Gu Yongnian frowned in confusion, feeling that something was off.

Before he could figure it out, he noticed his son’s expression was not right and quickly asked, “Xiao Feng, are you feeling unwell?”

Gu Yufeng was momentarily stunned, gripping his coffee cup so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his mind racing with chaotic thoughts.

How could Xie Ci have had contact with Lei Qiliang in advance?

These two people were completely unrelated!

Unless—