joke

The room fell silent briefly, and the atmosphere gradually became heavy and oppressive.

Zhou Li looked at this person, then at that person, unsure of what he had said wrong. Finally, he belatedly realized his mistake and became uneasy. Just as he was about to say something to make amends, He Huaizhi suddenly laughed.

"You went to Zhou Lexing and told him you wanted to discuss a business deal with him?"

He repeated it word by word.

Zhou Li felt uneasy, but seeing He Huaizhi smile, he also smiled broadly, feeling that he had made the right bet: "Yes! Zhou Lexing said he wanted to come and see you, but I stopped him. I saw that Boss He had come all this way and hadn't had a chance to rest properly, so I told Zhou Lexing to wait until Boss He was in the mood to see him, and then I would inform him!"

He Huaizhi chuckled a few more times, and Zhou Li quickly followed suit with a silly grin, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end uncontrollably, making him feel uncomfortable all over, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

He Huaizhi seems even more eccentric than before, having been out of sight for several years.

"You did a great job." He Huaizhi finally finished laughing and said slowly, "Then you will be the one to introduce me to someone."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Li calmed down and smiled broadly, saying, "It's my duty! It's my duty! It's what I should do."

After Zhou Li left, Danfengyan said angrily, "Brother He, this guy doesn't follow orders. We don't want him to mess things up. Should we...?"

As Danfengyan spoke, everyone else in the room turned to look at He Huaizhi, like sharp blades waiting for his command to be drawn.

He Huaizhi shook his head slightly: "No need, every mistake has its advantage. It's not too late to deal with him after things are settled. Right now, I need him to lower Zhou Lexing's guard, so that he can treat me as someone who really came to discuss business."

Because of Gu Jiansheng's existence, Zhou Lexing was always wary of him, which prevented Gu Jiansheng from recruiting Zhou Lexing. However, there are two sides to every story, and the relationship between Zhou Lexing and Gu Jiansheng was a loophole that Gu Jiansheng could exploit.

Over the years, He Huaizhi had never taken the time to carefully observe this exquisite puppet who had always stayed by his side and given everything for him.

Gu Jiansheng had given his life for him more than once, choosing to die because he could not win his love, which led He Huaizhi to never assess the danger Gu Jiansheng posed to him in his entire life.

But now that He Huaizhi has regained his near-death memories, he sees Gu Jiansheng as more than just dangerous. Gu Jiansheng may also have memories of his past life, just like He Huaizhi. This explains why, after only meeting a few times in this life, Gu Jiansheng went so far as to try to kill him and take him down with him.

It is estimated that Gu Jiansheng could not obtain his complete love and favor in several lifetimes, so his mentality became twisted and he wanted to die with him.

Keeping such a person around is like having an invisible bomb, someone who could stab you in the back at any time. Therefore, He Huaizhi never intended to spare Gu Jiansheng's life this time. However, Gu Jiansheng's similar rebirth experience made He Huaizhi think about it a bit more, and Zhou Lexing was his backup plan.

He Huaizhi couldn't wait to see the two people who had once risked their lives for him, only to beg for a moment of his pity, turn against each other again because of him.

.

I want to see you again.

Is this considered a confession?

Is this a confession of love?

Haha, I didn't say anything about love or romance, so how can it be considered a confession?

Well, it definitely wasn't a confession of love; it was just something I said in the heat of the moment, expressing my emotions.

Although most people in this era are introverted, and Gu Jiansheng is even more so, there is no rule that introverted people cannot express their emotions.

"..."

Zhou Lexing was at a loss for how to respond to Gu Jiansheng's words. It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved, but given Gu Jiansheng's reckless attitude, he felt he needed to be careful with his reply.

Considering that his previous words seemed to have inadvertently hit Gu Jiansheng's sore spot, Zhou Lexing hesitated for a moment before carefully replying, "I miss you too."

If it weren't for his longing and worry, Zhou Lexing wouldn't have needed to go to such lengths to search for people all over the country.

However, as soon as he said that, Zhou Lexing felt that something was off, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Good brothers often express their longing for each other... right?

Looking at Zhou Lexing, Gu Jiansheng could more or less guess what Zhou Lexing was thinking.

He thought for a moment, not in a hurry to force Zhou Lexing to face his feelings at this time, and slowly nodded: "That's good."

The two then returned to the house, carrying with them this strange atmosphere.

Zhou Lixing looked at this and then at that, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, which made Zhou Lexing shift his body uncomfortably.

That's weird.

His brother's expression was as if he knew something incriminating and was ready to throw it out at someone to make them suffer.

Given that Zhou Lixing's gaze kept drifting towards him, Zhou Lexing felt the white hairs on the back of his head stand on end.

"Brother, are your eyes alright?" Zhou Lexing finally couldn't help but ask, "Why do you keep glancing at me sideways?"

Zhou Lixing chuckled twice: "How do you know I'm looking at you if you're not looking at me?"

Gu Jiansheng watched as Zhou Shusheng finished peeling the sunflower seeds and began distributing them one by one. He picked up one big, black seed and stood there like he was observing some grand ceremony, his expression serious and silent. Soon, Zhou Shusheng started feeding him.

"This belongs to my brother!"

Half of the melon seeds, still glistening with saliva, were placed in front of Gu Jiansheng, and the other half were placed in front of Zhou Lexing.

Gu Jiansheng said earnestly, "Thank you." He seemed completely oblivious to the occasional glances Zhou Lixing cast his way.

Zhou Lexing hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't come up with a good retort, so he could only lower his head and silently drink his tea.

But Gu Jiansheng's words would keep popping into my mind from time to time.

I want to see you again.

“Your smile is disgusting.” Zhou Lixing poked him without any politeness.

Zhou Lexing: "..." If you find this disgusting, why are you still looking at me?

The awkward and strange atmosphere in the room only dissipated when Zhou Yuanxiang returned from her best friend's place.

"Jian Sheng, enjoy my cooking tonight!" Zhou Yuanxiang seemed to be in a good mood, and went straight to the kitchen to get busy as soon as she got back. Zhou Lixing followed behind to help her. "And try that box of cured meat you brought back!"

Gu Jiansheng did not refuse, but generously accepted and thanked him.

He also brought New Year's gifts this time, but they were all dried goods such as cured meat and dried shrimp that were of decent quality.

Zhou Lexing had already been stripped of his right to move around in the kitchen by his own efforts, so he sat on the threshold with Gu Jiansheng, watching Zhou Shusheng play catch with the big black dog at the door.

“I’m going back tomorrow,” Gu Jiansheng suddenly said.

Zhou Lexing was taken aback when he heard this: "Go back to where?"

As soon as he asked the question, he knew he had said something foolish.

Sure enough, he heard Gu Jiansheng continue, "Gu family."

Gu Jiansheng's return to Zhoujia Village this time was a spur-of-the-moment decision. He had already made all the moves he needed to make, and now it was up to fate to decide what to do for He Huaizhi. However, he did not expect that He Huaizhi would not be quiet during the New Year period and would actually come with him one after the other.

Logically speaking, where one takes the final step shouldn't have a significant impact, but Gu Jiansheng still didn't want his three-year attempt to protect Zhou Lexing and sever Zhou Lexing's connection with He Huaizhi to be in vain.

"Do you want to come with me?" Gu Jiansheng asked with a smile. "Haven't you always wanted to know what the Gu family looks like?"

Every month, Gu Jiansheng was able to learn about Zhou Lexing's recent situation through the photos and letters sent to him. Therefore, Gu Jiansheng clearly understood Zhou Lexing's curiosity about the Gu family, and he was even more aware that the source of this curiosity came from Zhou Lexing himself. So, Gu Jiansheng never doubted Zhou Lexing's feelings for him.

Even if Zhou Lexing is not aware of this now, Gu Jiansheng believes that as time goes by, Zhou Lexing will gradually see the emotions he has invested in him.

Looking at Gu Jiansheng's eyes, which were slightly curved with a smile, Zhou Lexing momentarily imagined the fox's innocent and charming appearance.

This question came too suddenly.

Yesterday, Zhou Lexing was still trying to suppress his curiosity and worry about Gu Jiansheng over the past three years, not wanting to unintentionally hurt Gu Jiansheng's sensitive and delicate feelings by pursuing the matter too much. Then, Gu Jiansheng turned around and openly offered to open his home to him. This…

“…Okay.” This opportunity is just too tempting.

The secret about the Gu family has gradually become an obsession during these three years of searching. It's like someone who has been thirsty in the desert for three days finally seeing the shadow of an oasis. Even if it's just a mirage, they still have to go and find out.

The hunter who throws out the bait already knows the answer from the moment he sets the trap, but he still can't help but feel delighted when he sees the expected answer appear before his eyes.

"That's great!" Gu Jiansheng rarely showed a hearty and cheerful smile, and his feet unconsciously stomped twice because of his owner's joy. "Should we tell Aunt Zhou now?"

Gu Jiansheng seemed to have thought of something, and his smile slowly faded: "You rarely come home, and now you want to come with me? Won't Aunt Zhou be unhappy?"

Zhou Lexing looked at him with interest. It was rare for Gu Jiansheng to show such emotion. He hoped that this joy could stay in Gu Jiansheng's heart for a while longer, so he answered very frankly: "Later, I will leave the factory affairs to Zhou Bo and the others to manage, and come to my house for a couple more days. My mother will get annoyed with me."

Zhou Lexing was self-aware.

When he's at home, he can pretend to be well-behaved for the first couple of days, but later on, he'll probably become a real troublemaker.

Now he's free from the pressures of life, and Gu Jiansheng has come back. With Zhou Shusheng, his innocent little shadow, and a bunch of followers from Lijia Village, he'll climb trees to catch bird eggs, go down to the river to catch fish, and go to the mountains to pick wild fruits. He'll probably be like a wild man every day, only coming home around mealtimes. Even if Zhou's mother has a good temper, she probably can't handle her son who's so good at making a living.

Hearing this, Gu Jiansheng felt a small weight lifted from his heart and couldn't help but smile again. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he stared at Zhou Lexing, and he took another step, wanting to get closer and closer to Zhou Lexing.

Zhou Lexing could sense his heartfelt joy and couldn't help but smile along.

This is what Zhou Lixing saw when he came out to call people for dinner.

Two young men, one handsome and the other beautiful, sat close together on the threshold, looking at each other and grinning foolishly.

Zhou Lixing couldn't help but laugh at first, and was about to make a joke when he suddenly realized something. His smile gradually faded, and his brows furrowed.

Just kidding.

If the joke becomes a reality, then it won't be funny.

Zhou Yuanxiang didn't hear him calling for help, so she peeked out and saw Zhou Lixing standing there dumbfounded in the yard. She called out, "What are you looking at?! Hurry up and tell someone to set the table and get ready to eat! The food won't keep well in this cold weather, it'll get cold soon!"

Zhou Lixing took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his mind, responded, and then called out to the two people looking over from the doorway, "Lexing! Come and set the table."

Hopefully it's just a joke.