“You once said you wanted to marry me, and I took it seriously”

Autumn rain falls, carrying a coolness. Gu Su knelt on the bluestone slab in the garden. Rain wet his shirt, chilling him as he stubbornly stared at the light in the living room.

On the second floor, Bo Xingye stood by the window, holding a cup of coffee. He stared solemnly at the figure below, suppressing his anger while the veins on the back of his hand twitched.

Gu Su knelt for a very long time, just as he had stood by the window. The coffee in his hand had long turned cold, yet he showed no intention of letting it go.

Being with him made Gu Su so resistant that he chose to endure this way. Kneeling in the yard from the afternoon to the present, resisting. Was he sure that I would be reluctant to watch him suffer and compromise, spoil him?

While he might be willing to indulge Gu Su in other matters due to his young age, when it came to this particular issue, he would never give in.

When Bo Xingye saw the small figure in the yard collapse, the cup he held in his hand fell from his grasp, uncontrollably dropping to the ground. Without a second thought, he turned and headed towards the door. After going downstairs, facing the heavy rain head-on, he hugged Gu Su in the rain into his arms. There was an imperceptible fear in his magnetic voice that was difficult to detect. “Susu?”

Struggling to open his eyes, Gu Su weakly held onto Bo Xingye’s neck, confirming it was him. With a weak voice, he spoke up.

 “Brother Xingye… I’ll be good. Can we please stop the kneeling punishment?” 

“Alright, alright.”

In such circumstances, no matter what Gu Su said, Bo Xingye would only unconditionally compromise and agree without principles. Principles and persistence were not worth mentioning in front of Gu Su.

Bo Xingye hugged Gu Su and walked into the house, then turned his head and ordered the housekeeper standing aside, “Hurry up, let Dr. Song come over.” Even someone who was usually calm, his voice was trembling as he spoke at this moment.

When Gu Su woke up, he stretched out his hand and rubbed his eyes. His face was pale and his lips were bloodless. He lifted the quilt and got out of bed. His light chestnut hair was slightly messed up, like a Lily flower, its bud ready to bloom adorned with dewdrops.

After suffering from a headache for a long time, Gu Su finally managed to gather his thoughts. He walked to the edge of the bed and pulled open the window curtains, allowing the sunlight to pour onto his face. His other hand rested on the windowsill, and his fingers turned slightly pale from the exerted force.

 Is he… starting over again?

“Gu Su, I advise you to stop thinking about running away. The person you are engaged to will not change. You’d better put away your little thoughts.”

 A deep and resonant voice came from behind him. Gu Su was momentarily startled before instinctively turning around. After seeing Bo Xingye’s familiar figure, his eyes turned red in an instant. Without a second thought, he rushed into his arms and hugged his lean waist.

Bo Xingye had been waiting outside the door, observing the movements inside the room. He walked in after hearing the footsteps, afraid that Gu Su might act recklessly. Just as Bo Xingye began his first sentence, Gu Su rushed into his embrace. His body was so tense and stiff due to nervousness that it seemed unnatural. He even subconsciously held his breath, unable to relax.

“Gu Su, being coquettish won’t work, it’s useless.“

Gu Su, who was originally buried in Bo Xingye’s embrace, lifted his head and stared at him when he heard those words. He tugged at the hem of Bo Xingye’s clothes, shaking it gently. His voice was low, soft, and somewhat hoarse.

 “Xing Gege… You said before that you would marry me…”

Bo Xingye’s breath caught at these words. He had indeed made that promise and had always kept it deep in his heart. 

However… it seemed that Gu Su had forgotten.

“Xing Gege, you made me kneel for such a long time as punishment. Can you… agree to get engaged with me?”

Gu Su stared at Bo Xingye with eager eyes. A faint mist gathered in his clear gaze. His refusal to marry in his previous life was a thorn inserted between them, and after being reborn, Gu Su thought about this matter the most.

 In the previous life, Gu Su stubbornly refused to get engaged to Bo Xingye and knelt outside as a way to express his resistance. However, in this life… Gu Su wanted to turn this matter into a misunderstanding: it wasn’t that he didn’t want to get engaged to Brother Xing, it was just that he mistakenly believed that the person he was engaged to was not him.

Bo Xingye fiercely clutched Gu Su’s wrist, pressing him against the wall. He stared at Gu Su’s pale face and slightly widened eyes due to shock, his low and hoarse voice carrying a sense of danger. “Gu Su, what kind of tricks are you playing again?”

“I… Brother Xing, are you… trying to make me marry your younger brother…?”

“I will be well-behaved and won’t cause you any trouble. Please… don’t make me be with someone else, okay?”

As Gu Su was gripped tightly, the pain made his curled eyelashes tremble, and tears started to roll down his face. His pitiful and aggrieved appearance caused Bo Xingye’s heart to ache sharply.

“When did I ever ask you to be with him?”

Contrary to what one might expect, it’s this heartless person who constantly has that illegitimate child in mind. He would rather kneel outside for an entire afternoon than lower his head. The thought of this made Bo Xingye suppress his softness, gripping Gu Su’s wrist and throwing him onto the bed. With a condescending and indifferent tone, he spoke:

“Don’t play tricks. No matter what you say, this matter will not change.”

Even if Gu Su was thrown onto the soft, large bed, it wouldn’t hurt much. As he listened to Bo Xingye’s threatening voice, tears suddenly flowed uncontrollably. In the previous life, Bo Xingye, who had insisted that there would be no possibility of change, eventually compromised in the end because Gu Su had resorted to desperate measures.

Gu Su’s gaze shifted beyond Bo Xingye, landing on the fruit knife placed on the coffee table. He abruptly stood up and quickly walked over, gripping the fruit knife tightly in his palm. His slender fingers held onto the deep blue handle.

“Bo Xingye, if you don’t agree with me today… I will…”

Bo Xingye stared at the knife in Gu Su’s hand, his pupils suddenly contracting. A crimson tint appeared in his eyes, resembling an enraged wild beast. Seeing him in this state, Gu Su nervously held onto the knife, feeling his hand tremble slightly. In the previous life, he had also resorted to using the threat of self-death, but this time, he brought it up a few days earlier, relying on Bo Xingye’s affection for him. However, in the previous life, he was desperate to escape, while in this life, he wanted to use it as a means to firmly stay by Bo Xingye’s side.

He wouldn’t escape anymore… He would never escape again…

“Gu Su.”

“Bo Xingye, if you… if you don’t agree today, then I…”

Gu Su gritted his teeth, but due to the fear of pain, he didn’t dare to make the cut. In the brief moment of hesitation, Bo Xingye swiftly snatched the knife from his hand.

Crying, making a scene, or even attempting suicide when it comes to someone you don’t like would be considered unreasonable. But when it comes to someone you like, using such methods to force them to marry you can be seen as a form of coaxing.

Bo Xingye stared fixedly into Gu Su’s eyes, maintaining a distance between them. After a while, he carelessly inserted the fruit knife into the apple in the fruit tray.

“Gu Su, what were you just… saying?”

At this critical moment, with no time for regret or remorse, Gu Su stood on tiptoes and put his arms around Bo Xingye’s neck, leaned forward, and kissed the corners of his lips awkwardly. His gentle and tender voice, slightly hoarse from last night’s high fever, trembled.

“I said… Brother Xing, you said before that you would marry me in the future, and I believed you…”

Bo Xingye, who was usually calm and composed even in the face of Mount Tai collapsing, was rare in his momentary daze upon hearing Gu Su’s words. Then, he pushed Gu Su away, worried that his actions might be too forceful and cause Gu Su to fall. He held onto his waist to ensure his stability and then abruptly turned around, fleeing without looking back.