Chapter 57

Gu Yan straightened his back and kept his eyes firm on Tong Tong’s figure with a cold face.

Tong Tong went into the cake shop, bought a cake, and hurried back over with her short little legs, nothing strange at all happened throughout the entire process!

Gu Yan let out a sigh of relief, but then he frowned his brows again. It seems that what happened yesterday was related to something wrong with him. That place did not have any effect on any other demons, it only affected him!

He tapped his finger on the table and revealed a look of thought.

Soon after, Tong Tong came over with a cake in her hand, and passed it to Gu Yan like an offering.

“It’s yours.”Gu Yan said.

“……”She doesn’t like to eat cakes at all, okay! She liked to eat humans! Her lord clearly knew it, how bad of him!

But she did not dare to leave it. And so, the sat down obediently and ate her cake.

As she ate, she peeped over at Gu Yan. It was not known to her how cute she appeared right now.

When the two returned after going a big circle around the place, it was already time for dinner.

Just then, Gu Yan’s phone rang.

Seeing it, a smile was instantly lit up on his face. It seems that Qin Yao’s efficiency was still pretty high, he did not put on that act for nothing.

“Hello?”Gu Yan picked up the call.

“It’s me.”Qin Yao’s steady voice came from the receiver,”I have news on that person you’re looking for.”

“Alright, I’m coming over now. Where are you?”Gu Yan asked.

Qin Yao quickly gave him an address, then he told him:”No need to rush, I’ll wait for you.”

Gu Yan hung up and turned to Xu Ming:”I’m going out tonight, you should go out to eat with Tong Tong.”

Xu Ming nodded.

Just then, Xiao Hu had also arrived. He asked:”Mr. Gu, where would you like to go? Let me send you.”

Gu Yan nodded. This was not something he had to hide anyway.

Xiao Hu was overjoyed that Gu Yan allowed him to drive him, and he went cheerfully over to call the driver. When Gu Yan got lost yesterday, he was shocked silly and nearly reported it to Director Fu. It would be better for him to keep a tight watch on him today!

With the capital-savvy Xiao Hu around, getting around really saved Gu Yan some effort. He gave the address to Xiao Hu, and he quickly sent him over.

The address led them to a very quiet clubhouse with a quiet and elegant atmosphere. There were strict requirements to enter the building, and those who did not have a membership card were not allowed entry. Qin Yao had already asked someone to wait for him by the door early on, and he respectfully invited Gu Yan in.

When Gu Yan went in, Qin Yao had just put down the Celadon teacup in his hand.

A smile curled up his cool face,”You’re here.”

Gu Yan nodded:”Where is he?”

“Are you hungry? Do you want to eat first?”Qin Yao asked with a gentle tone.

Gu Yan looked at Qin Yao profoundly. He liked it more when people can get straight to the point, he had no interest in socializing with humans. But if it was Qin Yao……It was not completely unthinkable for him to waste a little time, just to see who would be the first to lose.

“Sure.”Gu Yan smiled. His black eyes glowed with clear vitality like a jewel and his expression showed his grace,”To be fair, I should be the one treating you to a meal. Really, thank you for helping me yesterday. But you so happen to be the first to invite me today, so how about I pay for the meal later?”

Qin Yao agreed with a smile on his face.

He did not understand why he so wanted to get along with Gu Yan, and even requested for them to have a meal together……But it was not like any of them could not afford a simple meal, so he would not be bothered about such a trivial matter.

“The master here is a descendant of the imperial chef of the Chen dynasty, and he has several specials that are pretty good, you can give it a try.”Qin Yao directly ordered a few dishes. He seems to be very familiar here, must be a frequent visitor.

He was clearly used to taking the lead, and did not have the habit of taking care of other people. Even so, he still knew to pass the menu to Gu Yan after he was done, and even asked him politely:”Take a look, anything else catch your fancy?”

Gu Yan did not even look at it, he just smiled:”I’ll just leave it to you.”

Qin Yao did not push him to order. So, the waiter at the left took the menu and left.

Gu Yan’s line of sight landed on Qin Yao’s handsome face. He had basically already figured Qin Yao out; a human cultivator like him was as cold as cold can be, and was simply hard to deal with. But once he wavered, then everything was different……Even if he really was up high on an altar, he still had to pull him down! What’s more……he was still a single person after all, wasn’t he?

And he was even someone with a weakness.

Gu Yan’s lips pursed slightly and he peered over to Qin Yao at the corner of his sharp phoenix eyes. He had a pleasant and stylish look, as well as a voice that spoke with sincere emotions and esteem,”Now, getting back to where we were, I have to say your friend has quite the extraordinary network, for him to be able to find Zhu Huan Wei in the big capital. I have to admit I did not have high hopes to begin with.”

“This is nothing much.”Qin Yao put on a faint smile.

He did not have any habits of acting like a big-shot, he truly did feel like this was nothing. He had no idea at all that saying something simple would’ve had a better effect than deliberately acting big.

Gu Yan stared at Qin Yao and suddenly said:”I never would have thought that you still have quite the connections within the capital. Then, if I ever get into any trouble in the future, can I ask for your help?”He curved up the corners of his mouth and spoke to him as natural as one would their old friend.

Qin Yao was stunned for a moment, then he smiled,”Sure.”

In the past, many had tried to put on an act to kiss up to him just to get some a little bit of something out of him. He could not stand it, but when Gu Yan requested this of him so straightforwardly today……He ended up feeling happy instead.

Because he had originally wanted to help him to begin with.

The distance gap between being willing or not was just that big.

After a short chat, their food was served.

True enough, this is truly a display of the skill of the descendant of an imperial chef. They were such simple dishes, but they had such a different and elegant feeling, even the smell was exquisite.

Even though Gu Yan felt that there was nothing as attractive on his plate than the flesh and blood of humans, it still did not prevent him from putting up a look of enjoyment.

Actually, Qin Yao truly was a fine jade worth polishing. He had never once cared about hiding what he cared about, and would always bluntly express his dislike for things that disgusted him, not at all trying to conceal the fact. For example……Towards the hatred of demons, as well as his interest of him.

At the end of the meal, Qin Yao did not try to drag things out either. He directly ordered someone to bring Zhu Huan Wei over.

Zhu Huan Wei looked haggard and his hair was unkempt, his eyes when looking at Qin Yao even showed a deep sense of fear. Qin Yao’s gaze did not even pause on Zhu Huan Wei’s body. In his eyes, he was also nothing more than an ant. To some extent, he and Gu Yan were actually more similar.

Qin Yao gave Gu Yan a warm smile,”If there’s anything you’d like to ask, go right ahead, he won’t dare to hide anything.”

“Yes yes yes, Young Master Gu, you can ask anything you want, anything at all!”Zhu Huan Wei put on a humbling look, losing all his arrogance from the past. Perhaps he had already been scared and threatened before being brought here.

Gu Yan was very satisfied with Zhu Huan Wei’s obedience. It was no good for him to show his force in front of Qin Yao, so it would be best if these things were done for him by others.

“What happened to you? Why are you calling me Young Master Gu?”Gu Yan pretended to be surprised because the original host had never disclosed his identity to Zhu Huan Wei, not did he know that everything had been done to him behind his back by Zhu Huan Wei.

Zhu Huan Wei’s face was grey and he reluctantly smiled,”This……is where I’ll have to be honest with you.”He paused before slowly raising his eyes to steal a peep at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao looked at him with a blank expression, his eyes indifferent.

Zhu Huan Wei did not think he would get a lucky break anymore. He had not expected that Gu Yan would actually have such a strong backer. Just Fu Zhe Chuan alone was fine, after all he was just a businessman no matter how rich he was, but Qin Yao……That was a very terrifying existence. What else was he still hesitating for? He could only hope to be able to make up for things right now.

He peered carefully to Gu Yan and said:”Actually, I’ve known your identity this whole time, Sun Jie was also sent by me.”

Gu Yan suddenly stood up and looked at him with anger, speaking through gritted teeth:”You were the one behind Sun Jie?!”

Zhu Huan Wei shrunk his head back, but thinking that his head would be chopped anyway as soon as he stuck out his neck again, he spat it all out in one breath:”Not only was Sun Jie sent by me, signing you to the company was also planned from the very start. The one behind it is your second brother, Gu Yan Xin. He gave me a large sum of money and told me to watch over your every move in Haiyun City. He also told me to get rid of you if I ever find the opportunity, and make sure I don’t raise any suspicions doing it. So everything that happened to you was not accidental.”

Gu Yan stepped back in shock and his face paled,”My second brother?”

Zhu Huan Wei’s look showed that he was certain,”That’s right, the one I’ve been in contact with has always been in. As for whether your big brother Gu Yan De had anything to do with it or not, I don’t know.”

“How could that be possible! My second brother has always loved me, and he treats me so well.”Gu Yan’s called out with a hoarse voice, his face full of disbelief.

“Nothing is impossible, you are only……Um, an illegitimate child.”When Zhu Huan Wei said that word, he had spoken it quite cautiously, lest he angered Gu Yan. But Gu Yan did not seem to have noticed what he said, he was immersed in grief and disbelief. Then, he continued on:”Despite all that, old Mr. Gu still cares about you the most, and based on what Gu Yan Xin knew, old Mr. Gu has prepared to transfer the shares of the Gu Group’s chain stores to you on his seventieth birthday banquet. Facing such a thing, it was normal that Gu Yan Xin would not be able to sit down and ignore it. As long as you died, then old Mr. Gu would only be able to leave the shares to the two of them.”

He sighed in his heart. They all called the third young master of the Gu family an idiot, and as is said, it was true. Only he would believe that his two brothers were really treating him well.

If not for how lucky he was in life, he would’ve already died a hundred times over.

Zhu Huan Wei spoke so clearly that even Gu Yan felt that the original host should understand now, no matter how much of an idiot he was.

His face was ashen like death, as if there was anything else worth living for anymore after being abandoned by his beloved brothers. But in his heart, a thought quickly popped up in his mind. The Gu Group’s chain stores really were a pretty big and alluring piece of cake. He had never paid attention to the Gu family’s matters before this and had no idea at all that Dad Gu would do that either, so he had never planned for this. Now that he carefully sifted the thought through his mind, he had an idea. He never would have expected that something he would still need to spend effort looking for would actually fall by itself onto his plate. If he did not grab hold of it, then he really would not be a demon.

Chain stores with sufficient channels for circulation and a good reserve of wealth? He’ll get them for sure!

Gu Yan looked at Zhu Huan Wei with dead, sullen eyes, and spoke with a wooden voice:”Do you have proof?”He seemed as if he still was not willing to believe him.

“I do, for the sake of protecting myself, I’ve always been secretly recording the conversations between me and Gu Yan Xin, I can give them all to you!”Said Zhu Huan Wei shamelessly.

Gu Yan’s lips trembled, it was as if there was no way he could continue lying to himself anymore, and he was silent for a moment.

A trace of pity flashed past Qin Yao’s eyes. He shot the person to the side a glance, and Zhu Huan Wei was brought away, leaving only Gu Yan and him in the room. After some hesitation, he went over to him and started softly:”Don’t be too upset about it……”

These words of comfort were pale and powerless, but besides these, he really did not know what else he could say.

If possible, he would rather Gu Yan be ignorant to the cruel truth for the rest of his life, but sometimes, hiding it would only hurt him even more in the end.

Gu Yan slowly turned his head to him, and his dark eyes were like a pool of stagnant water. All the arrogance generally present within his eyes were all gone. He muttered:”I don’t believe it……”

It was not that he could not believe it, rather, he was unwilling to believe it.

Under his stubborn persistence in lying to himself. It was as if his hard outer shell had been broken apart, and his weak body was now cruelly exposed to the world. It made one want to hold him, caring for him like their greatest treasure……

Qin Yao breathed a sigh, the pain in his heart was spreading……

He slowly raised his hand, and paused for a moment……But finally, he firmly and slowly pulled Gu Yan lightly into his arms. He held his thin but firm arms with his palm, feeling the soft trembling of the person in his arms.

“Don’t be sad, you……still have me.”