CH 42

Gu Qingchi approached Xie Luyu and hugged him gently. He was like a cat that had approached its owner for a hug.

But Xie Luyu didn’t move. He frowned and asked aloud. 

“Are you drunk?”

Gu Qingchi kept hugging him. At this moment, he had his chin resting on Xie Luyu’s shoulder. His eyes widened a little, but he still didn’t move.

Xie Luyu paused. Then, he rubbed Gu Qingchi’s head, causing hair to stick up a little bit.

It was as if he was comforting an introverted kitty. 

Gu Qingchi soon let go, his head lowered. He looked a little silly, blanking on the spot.

However, this time, Xie Luyu actually pressed his head down, burying his head within the crook of his neck.

He stood there, tall and gentle. He gave off a reassuring feeling. The clothes on his body were thick and warm.

“You can cry if you want.”

Gu Qingchi didn’t move or make a sound. After a while, Xie Luyu felt droplets of something warm landing upon his skin.

It was really sudden.

Suddenly, it was as if this person who had been smiling and laughing a second ago had abruptly burst into tears.

There hadn’t been anything wrong with Gu Qingchi’s expression. 

However, Xie Luyu had always been able to figure out what Gu Qingchi was feeling. His sensitivity to every minute change in Gu Qingchi’s emotions was almost terrifying.

But even so.

Xie Luyu didn’t ask. He didn’t say anything.

He knew that anything he said right now would be superfluous. 

Xie Luyu just softly rubbed Gu Qingchi’s head and gently patted his back.

The cat had originally been yelling in dissatisfaction, but it now became quiet. It seemed to have sensed that something was wrong, so it sat by the door and restlessly stared at the two of them.

This was the first time in all these years that Gu Qingchi had cried. It was the first time after that endless period of loneliness.

Even if it was silent and suppressed. 

He himself was surprised and didn’t understand why the tears kept pouring out.

But it was still a form of release.

Gu Qingchi hadn’t been like this at the beginning. He used to make a lot of plans for himself, set a lot of goals. He used to encourage himself at the beginning.

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Sometimes, he couldn’t help but think that living was also meaningless. 

However, he kept avoiding that thought.

He wanted to live. No, it would be better to say that he yearned to live.

So, as he suppressed these dangerous thoughts, he kept forcing himself to live each day like a normal person. He needed to work every day. He needed to eat every day.

However, he seemed to have disguised himself a little too well. So much so that no one noticed anything different about him. 

Unbeknownst to everyone, he was trapped in the quagmire. He couldn’t even move his hands and feet. He needed someone to pull him up.

In all these years, this was the first time that he attempted to reach out for someone.

It could almost be considered a malicious attempt. He had approached him with the intention of going down together.

However, it was this attempt that gave him an unexpected reward. 

He’d been walking alone for so long now. This was the first time someone had hugged him and told him you can cry now.

Gu Qingchi blinked. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

As expected, it’s warm.

It was warm enough to draw a response from him on the very first attempt. 

After who knows how long, Gu Qingchi slowly withdrew from Xie Luyu’s embrace.

He had just cried, but there wasn’t much of a trace. It was only his eyes that were a little red.

The cat also started slowly moving away from the door. It had only just taken a couple of steps when a gust of wind brushed past and the door behind it slammed shut.

Xie Luyu and Gu Qingchi turned around at the same time. 

The cat was so frightened that its hair stood on end. It looked at Gu Qingchi and then looked back at the door.

In the end, it couldn’t help but pitifully shrink down next to Gu Qingchi’s feet.

Xie Luyu was the first to react.

“Do you have the key on you?” 

Gu Qingchi looked up at Xie Luyu and said nothing.

Xie Luyu understood.

“Do you have an extra under your rug?”

“My agent has it.” 

“That makes things easier. Ye Li should still be at the company. I’ll go pick it up for you.”

Xie Luyu happened to have his car key on him. He pulled it out of his pocket.

“Wait just a bit. Let me go change my shoes.”

Just as Xie Luyu was about to go inside, Gu Qingchi stopped him. 

He spoke slowly.

“I’m a little cold.”

After a while, he spoke again.

“I don’t want to move.” 

Gu Qingchi tentatively stepped forward and rested his head on Xie Luyu’s shoulder. Then, he closed his eyes and suddenly seemed to relax.

He spoke very softly.

“I’m a little sleepy.”

Gu Qingchi was really tired. He felt truly awful. 

All this time, he had tried his best to live a responsible life, to not bother others.

But he was really tired.

This time, he really wanted to be a little willful for once, and Xie Luyu gave him a lot of comfort. Xie Luyu always had a way to solve his problems.

It also seemed like it wouldn’t be a big deal if he were a little willful. 

Xie Luyu stopped moving and tried to discuss it with Gu Qingchi.

“It would be fine if my apartment was organized, but nothing’s done yet—”

Xie Luyu stopped.

Just now, Gu Qingchi had also placed his hand on his shoulder. He could feel how cold he was even through his clothes. 

In the end, Gu Qingchi spent the night on the sofa in Xie Luyu’s living room.

Xie Luyu slept on the floor of the living room.

Xie Luyu’s apartment really wasn’t ready. There wasn’t even a bed. Fortunately, there were several blankets and quilts.

“The information I found is complete. There are even screenshots from his class group chat. The only thing we’re missing is direct evidence. Nowadays, this kind of personal information is well-protected.” 

He placed the information in front of the entertainment reporter.

“I really can’t find anything else. It’s not like it’s that easy to blackmail a celebrity.”

The entertainment reporter, who was sitting at the desk, frowned as well. He thought about it for a minute. Then, he spoke.

“I’ll try contacting Gu Qingchi’s side first. If we can draw them out, we’ll do it. If we can’t, we can start from someplace else. Either way, there’s definitely a way we can do this.” 

He flipped through his address book and made a call.

“Hello? Is this Mr. Ye? I’m a reporter from Xinze.”

Ye Li let out a laugh.

“If you want an interview, you’ll have to contact my assistant.” 

“No, no, no, I wouldn’t bother you with that kind of trivial matter. I’m contacting you about something else this time.”

The entertainment reporter laughed as well.

“You know how it is. I’ll just tell it to you straight. It seems that the artist under you has some experience. He’s pretty young, yet he’s already been divorced once.”

“If you intend to spread rumors that are detrimental to our artist, then we will sue according to the law.” 

“Do you mean you don’t plan to—hey!”

The entertainment reporter threw his phone onto the table.

“That old fox. I can’t fool him.”

“Then what should we do?” 

“We can either leak it to the press or we can try getting more information from someone else.”

“Who do you want to try? You couldn’t even get through to his agent.”

“Who else can I try? Contact his sugar daddy, his lover. There’s no way a man would be able to put up with something like this.”