Schemes

In the end, Zhou Lexing let Zhou Li go.

Zhou Li was not disappointed with the result. After all, Zhou Lexing had relented, and he could make a deal with He Huaizhi. Even if Zhou Lexing didn't go now, he was determined to get the kickback!

Zhou Li: "I'll set a time with Brother He later, and you two can have a good talk. If it weren't for my quick thinking, you wouldn't have had this opportunity, you know what I mean?"

The group completely ignored him, and naturally didn't even notice his index finger and thumb, which were rubbing together so hard they looked like they were about to burst into flames.

Zhou Li snorted, his mood unaffected.

He had already experienced this stinginess before; Zhou Lexing hadn't let him touch the money for the road repairs.

You should know that the asphalt road at the entrance of the village was only a short section, but it allowed Zhou Li to live a carefree life for a long time and even get married.

If only the road repair costs, which involve taking a detour around the mountains, could also be passed through his channels...

Zhou Li felt resentment rising again, but then he thought, if the big business deal between He Huaizhi and Zhou Lexing goes through, wouldn't the kickbacks be just around the corner?

Thinking about it this way, Zhou Li finally felt relieved.

Zhou Lexing didn't care what Zhou Li thought. He winked at Zhou Lixing and said, "Brother, I'm still keeping that tea in the gaiwan."

Zhou Lixing shook his head: "You brat."

He naturally knew that Zhou Lexing wanted to get rid of him so that he could talk to Gu Jiansheng, but in the end he didn't say anything more and turned back into the house.

Zhou Lexing: "Jian Sheng, do you like He Huaizhi?"

That's too blunt.

Gu Jiansheng was stunned for a moment before slowly shaking his head: "Why would you think that?"

Zhou Lexing: "I saw you two on a date under the tree in the mountain pass."

Gu Jiansheng: "..."

Just a second ago, he had considered the seemingly ambiguous things Zhou Lexing had said unintentionally, such as "seaweed rice balls" and "candlelight dinner," and he had thought that Zhou Lexing might be like him, a being different from many others in this world, but he never expected to hear these words.

He and He Huaizhi had a date under the tree in the mountain pass.

Gu Jiansheng's expression was strange, and after a long while, he softly replied, "Ah, I see..."

That was yet another attempt by him to kill He Huaizhi, in the most direct way, but the hilt of the dagger broke off, and the blade didn't even have a chance to see the sunlight.

"How could you..." have appeared near the entrance to the mountain at that time?

Zhou Lexing managed to keep his composure and didn't give himself away: "Just passing by."

You can't exactly say he was stalking them.

"...Actually, we just happened to be passing by and bumped into each other," Gu Jiansheng paused, "Do you believe me?"

An eerie silence fell at the doorway, then Zhou Lexing nodded: "I believe you."

Another suffocating silence fell at the doorway.

Zhou Lexing: "It's a good thing you don't like him; he's not a good person."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jiansheng's heart raced. He then carefully observed Zhou Lexing's expression and, after confirming that Zhou Lexing's words came from the heart, Gu Jiansheng could hardly contain his joy and smiled, saying, "I know."

Zhou Lexing found Gu Jiansheng's reaction a bit strange, but seeing him smile, he couldn't help but smile too: "You know that's fine. I don't mean to interfere with your love life, but dating a scumbag is going to be tough. I don't know what he's up to this time, but if he asks you out again, don't agree."

"A real man makes a clean break when necessary."

The thick clouds overhead, whipped by the fast and fierce cold wind, finally shifted their heavy bodies, revealing the sunlight behind them.

Gu Jiansheng smiled brightly, the sunlight adding to his already captivating good looks: "Yes, I will, and so will you..."

He Huaizhi's irresistible charm, as expected, failed to sway the pure-hearted Zhou Lexing.

Zhou Lexing looked away: "You don't need to worry about me. Your brother is a straight man, I would never be fooled by a man."

The cold wind continued to howl and sweep by, once again gathering the leaden-gray clouds together and blocking out the sunlight behind them; even the wind seemed much colder than before.

Gu Jiansheng's smile vanished.

Zhou Lexing sensed something was wrong. He suppressed his wildly beating heart, which had been stunned by Gu Jiansheng's radiant smile, and looked over. He saw that Gu Jiansheng's face was pale, as if he had suffered a great blow.

He was startled, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly realized what he had said wrong. After a moment's thought, he tried to smooth things over: "Of course, I'm very open-minded. There's nothing wrong with men dating men. Um, actually, men and men, women and women, men and women are all the same. What I mean is, although I know you're gay, I don't discriminate against homosexuals. Whether you date a man or a woman, the most important thing is to find someone who truly loves you and takes good care of you. Don't worry about what others think..."

Holy crap!

What exactly did he say wrong?

Why does Jian Sheng's complexion look worse and worse?!

Zhou Lexing finally couldn't help but ask, "Jian Sheng, are you alright? I was just saying that casually, don't take it to heart. The most important thing is not to overthink it. Of course, I'm not saying that overthinking is bad. Anyway, I love you very much and treat you like my own brother, you know?"

Gu Jiansheng looked at him, his lips pressed tightly together. It seemed that Zhou Lexing's words had no effect at all, or if they had, they had only had the opposite effect.

Zhou Lexing was confused.

Fortunately, Gu Jiansheng calmed himself down in a short time and finally spoke: "I know."

These three words were slowly uttered from Gu Jiansheng's mouth, one word at a time, as if he were grinding them between his teeth before spitting them out, which made Zhou Lexing's scalp tingle for no reason.

Zhou Lexing: "Jian Sheng, you..."

Gu Jiansheng interrupted him: "Do you know why I went back to Zhoujia Village?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lexing seemed to realize something and slowly straightened up.

According to the original plot, after leaving Zhoujia Village, the two protagonists changed the stage for their melodramatic entanglements and never returned to Zhoujia Village. Therefore, for the past three years, Zhou Lexing did not actually have any hope that Gu Jiansheng would return to the village. That is why when Gu Jiansheng suddenly returned and appeared in front of him, he was so unable to control his emotions. Only after a night did he truly confirm this fact.

Now, Gu Jiansheng's attitude and questions made Zhou Lexing realize that perhaps Gu Jiansheng was finally willing to talk to him about his feelings.

But he never expected that these would be his true feelings.

Gu Jiansheng: "I want to see you again."

.

Zhou Tian walked out of He Huaizhi's house in a daze and bumped into Zhou Li, who was returning from outside.

Zhou Li glanced at Zhou Tian and, seeing his dejected appearance, assumed he had failed to accept He Huaizhi's request. He then became somewhat smug.

"Kid, you're still too green! You should learn more from your uncle!"

After Zhou Li finished speaking, he walked into He Huaizhi's room.

Zhou Tian was confused and had no interest in figuring out Zhou Li's words; he was preoccupied with thinking about He Huaizhi's intentions.

Zhou Tian was deeply in love with He Huaizhi. Although He Huaizhi had been away from Zhoujia Village for several years, his handsome appearance remained unchanged, and his temperament had become even more unpredictable, which only made Zhou Tian more attracted to him.

Although He Huaizhi brought a group of men who looked like troublemakers to Zhoujia Village, and anyone with eyes could see that he had ill intentions, Zhou Tian was willing to believe that these people were simply there to protect the safety of He Huaizhi, a rare and precious figure in the world.

But what did He Huaizhi mean by asking him to lead Zhou Shusheng to the town's guesthouse?

Could it be that He Huaizhi has taken a liking to Zhou Shusheng?

Although Zhou Shusheng is mentally challenged, it must be admitted that the Zhou Yuanxiang family members are all above average in appearance. Compared to Zhou Tian, ​​Zhou Shusheng perfectly fits the descriptions of cute, likable, and handsome, as evidenced by the fact that most people in the village like him.

Zhou Tian was self-aware. He thought that He Huaizhi had initially paid attention to him because there were no people with similar sexual orientations around He Huaizhi to choose from. However, now He Huaizhi was surrounded by talented young men who were wholeheartedly devoted to him, and He Huaizhi's good looks with his phoenix eyes alone had already outshone Zhou Tian.

But why is Zhou Shusheng being dragged into this again?

He Huaizhi and Zhou Shusheng had no grudge against each other, yet He Huaizhi was asked to lead Zhou Shusheng to the town. Going to the town was one thing, but he was also asked to take Zhou Shusheng to the guesthouse. Could it be that He Huaizhi...

In an instant, Zhou Tian imagined all sorts of indescribable intentions, and felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. However, facing He Huaizhi's cold face and the several burly men behind him, Zhou Tian did not dare to ask about the story behind it.

He Huaizhi had no intention of explaining the purpose of this to this nobody. After telling him the time to do the business, he hurried out of Zhou Tian's place.

...Is he going to give up?

It's rare for He Huaizhi to entrust him with something. If he can even mess up such a small matter, would He Huaizhi still treat him differently?

Moreover, all of this was merely his own speculation; perhaps He Huaizhi had a much bigger plan in mind...

Although Zhou Tian comforted himself in this way, he knew in his heart that Zhoujia Village, a remote little place, and Zhou Shusheng, a harmless fool, could not possibly bring He Huaizhi any extra benefit.

Lost in these wild speculations, Zhou Tian was in a daze and had no interest in what Zhou Li was up to.

When He Huaizhi saw Zhou Li return, he frowned, impatient to waste time dealing with this guy.

With her almond-shaped eyes, she could read people's expressions and immediately tried to stop the door.

Zhou Li quickly called out, "Brother He! If you want to get in touch with Zhou Lexing, you've come to the right place! I've already made my connections with Zhou Lexing!"

"Bang!"

The door closed with a click, then quickly opened from the inside again.

Danfeng's eyes showed displeasure, and she stepped aside to make way for him.

Zhou Li immediately beamed with joy, knowing that he had made the right bet.

He Huai looked him up and down, noticing his completely different reaction from when he left, and a bad feeling crept into his mind: "What did you go to do just now?"

Zhou Li chuckled: "As expected, Brother He truly lives up to his reputation as a successful businessman! His eyes are sharper than others, and his mind is as keen as ever..."

He Huaizhi said with a gloomy face, "Get to the point."

Seeing his expression, Zhou Li didn't dare to be presumptuous: "Brother He, you just asked me about Zhou Lexing, and I was thinking, you two are both big business owners in the city, you might have some business dealings. I figured I'm good at making connections! Now that you're staying here, if anything comes up, I'll definitely do my best to handle it properly for you, Brother He, don't you think?"

"So, I went to talk to Zhou Lexing about this beforehand. You don't know, Zhou Lexing still has to call me uncle when he sees me! With me involved, this matter was settled smoothly! Brother He, if you have any business to discuss with him, just tell me, and I can call Zhou Lexing over for you right away. I guarantee he won't dare to disagree with you!"

He Huaizhi stared intently at Zhou Li, his eyes deep and unfathomable, lost in thought.