CH 78

From the cold drink shop to the North Wing dormitory building, it didn’t take much time to drive there.

Along the way, Lin Yuxing got used to calling Gu Nuan’s father “Uncle,” but he remained motionless the whole time, not even daring to breathe.

It wasn’t until he got off the car that he was finally able to catch his breath.

After hitching a ride, he arrived a bit early, so he first gave one of the cakes to Su Li. Then, he carried the remaining cake and shaved ice to the entrance.

This back and forth took just the right amount of time.

Not far away, “Liao Yan” came running all the way.

“Yuxing!”

His voice was loud, drawing the attention of those around them. He didn’t care at all and ran a few steps to stand in front of Lin Yuxing, his radiant smile shining brightly like the scorching sun.

Lin Yuxing looked up and seemed a bit confused.

In a moment of trance, Lin Yuxing saw “Liao Yan’s” face as his brother’s face. Even though Lin Yuxing and his brother Lin Yuheng looked identical, he could imagine his brother’s expressions and movements, which coincided perfectly with the person in front of him.

He thought, if all his guesses were true, if this person in front of him was really his brother…

That would be great.

He hoped his brother was still alive, even though it seemed like an extremely greedy wish.

Lin Yuxing made up his mind to find out the truth and pushed the things he was carrying into the other person’s hands.

“Is this for me?” Lin Yuheng’s voice was filled with excitement. He glanced at the packaging, which was a five-inch cake. He then handed over the bags of fried chicken he was carrying, “You can eat this together with Su Li.”

Lin Yuheng went out of his way to go to the South Gate and queue up to buy it, not wanting Lin Yuxing to wait too long. He almost ran all the way, causing his back to be covered in sweat.

Probably afraid that his sweat would make Lin Yuxing uncomfortable, Lin Yuheng deliberately took a half-step back.

Lin Yuxing couldn’t possibly not notice the other’s cautiousness, so he quietly took out a tissue from his pocket and said softly, “Wipe your sweat.” He whispered, “There were many people at the South Gate, did you wait in line for a long time?”

Receiving Lin Yuxing’s concern, Lin Yuheng couldn’t help but scratch the back of his head. Happy but not daring to be too obvious, he put on a somewhat awkward smile and said, “Not too long. If you like it, I can go buy some more later.”

“It’s scorching hot outside.”

“It’s okay, I’m not afraid of the heat.”

As he spoke, a drop of sweat fell from his forehead.

Lin Yuheng & Lin Yuxing: “……”

For a moment, both of them fell silent, standing quietly by the dormitory building.

The orange milk ice cream slowly melted in its packaging, sticky like a long-forgotten yet remembered summer, bubbling in the lake.

Lin Yuheng had been looking forward to this moment for a long time. When he bought the lottery ticket, his whole body was filled with overwhelming joy. He looked forward to Gu Zhongyi revealing the truth to Lin Yuxing and hoped to reunite with him as his brother.

He also worried, like a child, that he wouldn’t get to eat the shaved ice his little brother had bought. So he said gently, “You should go inside, it’s too sunny outside.”

He turned to leave but was stopped as Lin Yuxing grabbed the corner of his clothes from behind.

Gently, just like when they were kids. It was a bit of childishness mixed with the restraint of an adult.

Lin Yuxing asked with genuine sincerity, “Liao Yan, why are you so good to me?”

“Cause we are friends, it’s only natural to be good to each other.”

“Then why did you choose to be friends with me?”

Lin Yuheng’s heart tightened, and he asked, “Why are you asking this? Did I do something wrong?”

Lin Yuxing shook his head, hesitating in his gaze, “you treat me differently. The way you treat me and others is not quite the same.”

To others, those words would be considered ambiguous. But Lin Yuxing dared to say them out loud because he was pursuing an unrealistic wish.

He looked deeply at “Liao Yan.”

However, the Lin Yuheng in front of him remembered Gu Zhongyi’s words and didn’t want to mess things up. He thought Lin Yuxing had misunderstood him and hurriedly said, “I don’t mean to give you the wrong idea. I’ve always liked girls, don’t you know?”

Lin Yuheng was lying, fearing that their relationship would become complicated at a crucial moment.

But under these circumstances, the more Lin Yuxing looked at “Liao Yan,” the more he felt he resembled Lin Yuheng, even his anxious gestures were the same.

Because of this, Lin Yuxing regretted his ignorance. Why didn’t he notice it earlier?

He couldn’t listen to his explanation. He just wanted to ask, “Liao Yan, can you…”

Lin Yuxing’s voice suddenly stopped, his eyes slightly teary, unable to tell if it was due to the sun or his emotions. In his eyes, there were glimmers of stars, filled with boundless hope yet afraid it was just an illusory dream.

He looked at the person in front of him, who looked completely different from Lin Yuheng, but he couldn’t help but feel his heartstrings being pulled. He gathered courage and said, “Can you call me like you did in the warehouse, like my brother, just one more time? please.”

In an instant.

The atmosphere made Lin Yuheng’s heart race as well. Faced with Lin Yuxing’s request, he moved his Adam’s apple up and down, unable to say a word for a long time.

Vaguely, he smelled the scent of orange essence mixed with milk, sweet and overwhelming.

The shaved ice had completely melted.

Lin Yuheng stood still, asking slowly, “Why?”

Lin Yuxing thickened his face and gave what seemed like a reasonable but awkward reason to evade the question. He stammered, “Because… no one has called me that in a long time.”

“But that time,” Lin Yuheng was puzzled, “didn’t you say you don’t like it when others call you that?”

Lin Yuxing took a deep breath and suddenly decided to speak out, “I like it now.”

Another silence followed.

This time, the silence was longer than before, so long that Lin Yuxing’s chaotic mind began to argue with itself.

How could Liao Yan be his brother?

If Liao Yan was his brother, why would he hesitate to fulfill his simple request?

What was he doing?

In the silence, Lin Yuxing’s guesses and thoughts jumped back and forth.

Gradually, he felt extreme anger and shame for his unreasonable request.

But before he could escape, the person in front of him suddenly reached out and, as he wished, gently rubbed his head. The warmth of the large palm overlapped with the memories of his childhood, once again just one or two pats, accompanied by a voice that was no longer as childish as it used to be, “Silly Star.”

In an instant, something broke into Lin Yuxing’s heart, opening an old door.

Whether it was the stolen summer time or the red bean porridge he had become tired of, or the long afternoons after their separation, the warmth in Liao Yan’s palm calmed all his restlessness inside.

Lin Yuxing was taken aback.

Exactly the same.

Lin Yuxing blinked his eyes, lowered his head, and tears welled up. He didn’t dare to look up, staring blankly at the ground, the ice cube in his throat rapidly melting.

He trembled.

Lin Yuheng noticed something different about Lin Yuxing but didn’t dare to guess. He withdrew his hand, suppressed his worries, and intentionally smiled lightly, “The shaved ice is going to melt, I really should go now.”

Lin Yuxing suddenly grabbed his clothes again, this time not lightly. He tightly grasped the fabric, panic-stricken, and looked at Lin Yuheng with wide eyes.

“Don’t go!”

Just like in their childhood, he clung to his brother’s clothes, hesitant to let go, fearing that his brother would run away to a place he couldn’t find him.

He was always afraid of his brother leaving him again.

Because he was a much less intelligent child than his older brother, everyone said so. But he didn’t mind because he understood that as long as he remained clumsy and clueless, his brother wouldn’t abandon him.

In his clumsiness, half of it was to keep his brother from leaving him.

However, things didn’t go as he wished, and they still separated.

A layer of glistening mist gradually covered Lin Yuxing’s eyes.

Tears fell, one drop, two drops, wetting the ground in the summer. Now, even the breeze that came by was warm. Lin Yuxing’s citrus scent turned bitter and acrid, and bean-sized teardrops rolled down his cheeks.

Seeing this, Lin Yuheng panicked.

“Yuxing, why are you crying? What’s wrong?!”

After a moment, Lin Yuheng felt it wasn’t appropriate.

Even on a hot afternoon, there were still students coming in and out of the dormitory. If the two of them stood there, it might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

Lin Yuheng was usually indifferent to people gossiping about him, but he didn’t want to cause any trouble for Lin Yuxing. Just when he was at a loss, Lin Yuxing stumbled and accidentally or intentionally bumped into Lin Yuheng.

“Brother.”

In that second, Lin Yuheng’s heart seemed to stop beating, and the world became quiet in his ears. He could only hear Lin Yuxing calling him “brother.”

The next second, the cicadas’ sound broke the silence.

His face changed suddenly, and he stared at Lin Yuxing, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Lin Yuheng’s lips moved but couldn’t find the words.

Lin Yuxing clutched his clothes tightly and asked hoarsely, “You’re my brother, right?”

This muffled sound, choked with sobs, pressed the pause button on the whole summer.

After a moment, under the puzzled gazes of students passing by, Lin Yuheng was the first to react. He didn’t care about anything else; he grabbed Lin Yuxing’s hand and silently led him away from the dormitory building.

On the way, Lin Yuxing hurriedly walked, following closely behind Lin Yuheng. He rubbed his eyes with one hand, but his vision was still filled with tears. Then, he loosened his grip, and the bag of fried chicken he was holding fell to the ground.

Lin Yuheng picked it up and held it in his hand.

In the blink of an eye, they entered a small alley. This was the shadow between two buildings, much cooler than under the sun, and no other students passed by.

On Friday afternoon, many people had no classes and wouldn’t come to that side of the school.

Lin Yuheng didn’t care about anything else. He reached out to wipe Lin Yuxing’s tears. One hand was not enough, so he put down everything he was carrying.

He held Lin Yuxing’s face with both hands and wiped away the tears with his fingertips. “Don’t cry.”

Lin Yuxing sniffled, looking up at him and stubbornly demanding an answer.

“Answer me…”

“It’s me,” Lin Yuheng said, full of heartache. “I’m not Liao Yan. I am Lin Yuheng. I’m sorry for keeping it from you, I didn’t know how to explain. I thought you wouldn’t believe me…”

Before he finished speaking, Lin Yuxing hugged him tightly.

Without any hesitation or doubt.

Tears stained Lin Yuheng’s clothes, but they couldn’t both cry together, could they? Someone had to take the responsibility to stop the tears.

So, to make his brother stop crying, Lin Yuheng forced a smile. He suppressed the urge to embrace Lin Yuxing.

“Little star,” Lin Yuheng said, “You’ve been comforted by me again.”

Lin Yuxing’s eyelashes were still wet with tears, sparkling and beautiful.

Looking at the grown-up Lin Yuxing, time flew by, and Lin Yuheng felt a myriad of emotions. With the intention of not crossing the line as Liao Yan’s body, he suppressed the desire to hug Lin Yuxing.

But Lin Yuxing took the initiative to hold his hand. After crying enough, following Lin Yuxing’s personality, he would start to ask more questions.

“Brother, how did you become like this?”

Lin Yuheng’s lips lightly touched, countless words and explanations were rehearsed in his mind, but now that the scene was real, he didn’t know where to start.

“…”

“Brother?”

Lin Yuheng could only ask back, “What about you? How did you figure it out?” His hands were bigger now than when he was an Omega, and he could easily hold Lin Yuxing’s hand, “And how did you become sure?”

The sun had set slightly.

The two brothers calmed down and found a corner in a coffee shop with few people to sit down and talk slowly.

Lin Yuxing recounted everything that happened since the day he met Qu Ling to Lin Yuheng in great detail. When he mentioned the conversation he overheard while half asleep, Lin Yuheng couldn’t help but wipe his face.

“Gu Zhongyi’s apartment soundproofing is terrible.”

“Brother, is now the time to complain about the soundproof?”

At his current age, Lin Yuxing rarely showed childishness in front of anyone other than Gu Zhongyi. He pouted at Lin Yuheng, revealing a rare look of an aggrieved and pitiful child.

It seemed as if he had returned to his childhood, being willful, playful, and even a bit complaining.

“You didn’t tell me anything, and I didn’t dare ask Senior, fearing that he would worry that I’ve gone crazy. I had to find answers myself… Fortunately, Gu Nuan was very helpful, and he helped me a lot. That’s how I found out about your compatibility with Xu Xiangchi.” Lin Yuxing’s voice softened, “Your compatibility… is very high.”

Lin Yuheng didn’t hide it and said straightforwardly, “I have a 90% compatibility with him.”

Lin Yuxing lowered his head sadly. He couldn’t imagine how much suffering his brother had endured being with such a scum.

Seeing this, Lin Yuheng changed the subject, “So, do you believe in this nonsense about rebirth?”

While he and Gu Zhongyi were trying to gather evidence, Lin Yuxing accidentally stumbled into the truth they wanted to confess, and even found it on his own.

Lin Yuxing’s nose turned slightly red, and he softly countered, “Why not believe in something so good that brought you back to me?”

“Brother, I want to know about you. Before and now, I want to know everything.”

But Lin Yuheng’s story was long and unpleasant to hear.

Lin Yuheng said with a sad tone, “you won’t be happy listening to it. Do you still want to hear?”

Lin Yuxing continued to hold Lin Yuheng’s hand, not willing to let go. “Mm.”

……………….

At the same time…

On a highway bridge, the traffic was congested.

Gu Yuanchen frowned and looked at his watch. On the passenger seat beside him, Gu Nuan was focused on sending messages to Han Yang.

Gu Yuanchen didn’t need to guess what his son was doing. He asked, “Is Han Yang coming back for dinner tonight?”

“He said he would.”

Han Yang, as an adopted son of the Gu family, was highly trusted by Gu Yuanchen. Originally, after his graduation, Gu Yuanchen planned to arrange for him to join the company and, in the future, inherit the family business together with Gu Nuan. However, he unexpectedly plunged into the entertainment industry.

Now, Gu Yuanchen had to train Gu Nuan as soon as possible. “When you have free time, go to the company to learn more. After you take over the company, there will surely be many people who won’t accept you. You need to be mentally prepared.”

Gu Nuan’s ears felt numb from listening.

He knew the attitudes of those old fogies in the company. They looked down on him just because he was an Omega.

Gu Yuanchen patted Gu Nuan’s head. “Upset?”

“No,” Gu Nuan grumbled, “It’s a waste of time to be angry at those old fogies.”

Gu Yuanchen chuckled and encouraged him, “Omegas are no lesser than Alphas. Just do your best in everything.”

The car in front started moving, and Gu Yuanchen lightly stepped on the gas pedal. Suddenly, he asked, “You’ve been getting close to Zhongyi recently?”

“Yes, little by little.”

“What do you think of him?”

When asked about this, Gu Nuan became spirited. He counted the changes in Gu Zhongyi since he started dating, listing them in great detail, sincerely saying, “Zhongyi ge is quite nice. I feel he’s different from Uncle.”

Gu Yuanchen’s expression didn’t change much, but his fingertips lightly tapped the edge of the steering wheel.

Recently, Gu Zhuang’s actions at the company were concerning, and Gu Yuanchen was somewhat worried. He also feared that Gu Zhongyi was deliberately getting close to Gu Nuan.

Unexpectedly, Gu Nuan could read his father’s thoughts, “Father, you can rest assured. Other than matters related to Yuxing, Zhongyi ge doesn’t contact me at all. Besides, it seems he has no plans to join the company after graduation.”

“What?”

“I heard from Yuxing that he might be preparing to start his own business.” Gu Nuan quietly told Gu Yuanchen, “Don’t you know he broke off relations with Uncle?”

Gu Yuanchen’s brow furrowed.

Gu Nuan chattered on, “Uncle is so snobbish; he would never accept Yuxing. I wasn’t sure before, but I remembered the last time, Zhongyi ge did indeed stay with Yuxing and didn’t come home for New Year’s Eve. You also know, Uncle is stubborn and values these holiday customs that are just for show to outsiders.”

If this were in the past, Gu Nuan would never believe that Gu Zhongyi would go against his father’s orders.

But now, he witnessed it with his own eyes, and they even celebrated the New Year with fireworks together.

“Yuxing knows this too, I think he must have worried secretly. Anyway, I think Uncle is a selfish person–“

Gu Yuanchen interrupted Gu Nuan’s rudeness, “Xiao Nuan.”

Gu Nuan was aggrieved for a moment and mumbled, “Uncle always used to physically abuse Zhongyi ge at the slightest dissatisfaction, and he forbids us from intervening. You also know that.”

Gu Yuanchen’s expression became serious.

“…”

After hearing these words, a bold idea arose in Gu Yuanchen’s mind.

Gu Yuanchen worried about many things, but he also wanted to have an able assistant from the Gu family by Gu Nuan’s side.

As Han Yang, the adopted son, didn’t have this intention, he had to look for another candidate.

Among the younger generation, in terms of ability and character, Gu Zhongyi was an excellent choice.

Unfortunately, Gu Zhongyi was Gu Zhuang’s son. Even if he switched sides now, Gu Yuanchen wouldn’t trust him easily.

Taking this opportunity, Gu Yuanchen wanted to secretly observe for a while. If he could win Gu Zhongyi over, it would be beneficial to them.

After all, the relationship between Gu Zhuang and Gu Zhongyi was not good, and the father-son bond was weak.

He had thought that Gu Zhongyi’s feelings towards Gu Zhuang were mostly subconscious fear and compliance. But now, it seems that Gu Zhongyi has changed.

With this thought, Gu Yuanchen began to make some plans.

Considering his cautious nature, he didn’t want to make decisions too quickly. Besides, their children were still young, and he wasn’t at the age of retirement yet, so there was no rush.

He planned to observe a little longer.