Chapter 21 Hook: Let's be friends.
“We all come from wealthy families and have no right to look down on other people’s lives,” Liang Yizhi said earnestly. “Besides, she said she doesn’t have any special skills, and the current economic climate is not good; finding a job isn’t easy. Can you please stop making assumptions about others based on your own limited understanding?”
"I'm not speculating, I'm just analyzing," Gu Yinyan replied, trying to remain calm.
"So, what are your analysis results?"
"The conclusion is that she's not worth it for you to do that."
"Not worth it?" Liang Yizhi scoffed, unmoved. "Then who do you think is worth it?"
She looked at Gu Yinyan's cold profile, which seemed like a mask that separated him from outsiders and himself, concealing his true nature.
She couldn't read it.
Liang Yizhi, unusually cold-faced, said, "To put it bluntly, you said she's not worth it, and you asked me if I had confirmed her father's situation. Actually, you just think that someone like Lin You doesn't deserve to be our friend, right?"
She uttered these two weighty sentences with a light touch.
Gu Yinyan's expression became even more unpleasant, his thin lips pressed into a straight line.
He smoothly turned the steering wheel and quickly parked the car in the emergency lane.
On the highway, cars sped past on either side.
The car came to a stop, and his hands were still on the steering wheel.
Gu Yinyan asked, "In your eyes, am I like this?"
Liang Yizhi turned her head away, refusing to communicate with him.
He remained calm and composed for a full five minutes before setting off again.
They drove all the way to the entrance of Liang Yizhi's residential compound, and the two remained silent.
The car was deathly silent.
When they arrived at her building, Liang Yizhi tried to get out of the car, but found that the door was still locked.
“I want to go down,” she said.
"Liang Yizhi, let's have a good talk."
“There’s nothing to discuss.” She said calmly. “I’ve made my decision and transferred the money to her. That’s it.”
“…Alright, that’s settled then.” Gu Yinyan let out a heavy sigh from his nose and continued, “I’m not trying to stop you from doing anything else, but I still have to say this: don’t be too quick to trust others.”
Liang Yizhi simply retorted, "Then why should I believe you?"
He looked at her indifferent profile, and the anger he had been suppressing all the way finally burst forth: "Liang Yizhi, haven't you suffered enough?"
As if afraid she wouldn't understand, he explained the situation to her in its deepest detail.
"Take back your excessive kindness. Don't treat every stranger you meet on the street as one of your own. Do you think they all just want to be your friend? Those gestures of goodwill are only because of your family, your status, and the resources you possess."
Gu Yinyan: "Liang Yizhi, not everyone in the world is as naive as you. Don't be foolish, okay?"
His words came at Liang Yizhi like a barrage of bullets, growing increasingly harsh with each word, making her nose sting with tears.
"...Gu Yinyan, do you always have to be so blunt?"
She wasn't unaware of the principles he was talking about.
Liang Yizhi knew that her family background and the material conditions she possessed had brought her many benefits. Because of this, everyone around her seemed kind and lovely, and no problem was truly insurmountable.
She understands the cause and effect relationship, so from childhood to adulthood, no matter how much kindness she receives, she will repay it in kind. She rarely worries about whether the kindness is genuine or not. As long as she has given, she will not regret it.
This has always been her guiding principle, and Liang Yizhi doesn't think it's wrong.
She didn't understand why Gu Yinyan still wouldn't let go of his pride and remained so self-righteous.
"You said everyone only approaches me because of what I have."
Liang Yizhi looked into his eyes and quietly asked him a question.
"And what about you?"
What do you want from me?
It was late at night, and the dim light from the streetlights shone in through the glass.
The maple leaves in front of me were scattered all over the ground, their dry edges curled up, one on top of another, piled up on the inner side of the road.
The neighborhood was completely silent, and inside the car, it was so quiet that you could almost hear only their breathing.
Gu Yinyan remained silent.
yes.
What did he want from her?
After a moment, he lowered his head, his bangs falling down to cover his sharp eyes.
He had a lot to say, but he didn't know where to begin.
He wanted to tell her that he wasn't targeting her, but rather that he had seen many people like that since he was a child. He wanted to say that he was different from others, but he couldn't provide any evidence to prove it.
After a long silence, the conversation reached a complete stalemate. Gu Yinyan, no longer wanting to make a fool of himself, raised his hand and unlocked the car door.
With a bang, Liang Yizhi didn't hesitate for long. She opened the door, got out of the car, took her luggage, and went upstairs without even saying goodbye.
Gu Yinyan leaned back in the driver's seat.
Thin eyelids slightly obscured the upper part of her pupils, her gaze lost its light, and her eyes resembled endless whirlpools.
Gu Yinyan went home.
He went into the basement first.
Sitting in front of the leather sofa, his long legs crossed, he silently gazed at the deep blue world before him.
The aquarium is equipped with lighting that shines down from the top.
Ripples spread across the water, casting shimmering light and shadow across the corals of varying colors.
The colorful fish swam freely in the space he had given them.
After looking for a while, Gu Yinyan still couldn't shake off his unease. He went back inside, changed his clothes, and went to the swimming pool in the backyard of the villa.
He maintains a regular exercise routine, and his body shows clear signs of fitness training. He has broad shoulders that narrow towards his waist and abdomen, with clearly defined abdominal muscles and a deep groove extending downwards from his hips.
The poolside lights shone on the surrounding stone walls as he plunged into the water, moving his body smoothly.
Gu Yinyan opened his eyes underwater.
The pool wasn't deep, the underwater light was dim, and there was nothing there. My ears were plugged, and all the surrounding noise subsided into silence once I was submerged in the water.
He felt as if he had entered the underwater world he had created in the basement.
The underwater world is silent and tranquil, free from excessive entanglements and conflicts.
This place was enough to quell his unsavory thoughts and restless desires.
The peace here is intoxicating, so intoxicating that it makes you want to die in this tranquil, ideal world.
Liang Yizhi said he didn't understand, and that he was arrogant and self-righteous.
But she didn't know that this was the reality he had known since childhood.
Gu Yinyan is not the heir born with a silver spoon in his mouth as rumored.
Even before he could speak, simply because he was born into the right family, he possessed wealth that most people could only dream of in several lifetimes. Gu Yinyan was pampered by his family and was their only son; it seemed as if the whole world revolved around him.
So his strict parents thought that this wouldn't work.
A life of being the center of attention will only blind a person, making them see only what others want them to see and hear.
As the future sovereign who will hold all the family property in his hands, this environment will only make him unable to distinguish right from wrong, and he will be trapped in the Truman Show.
To eliminate this potential crisis, the Gu family decided to change the child's environment.
He was sent by his parents to live with a large, ordinary family with many members and complicated relationships.
At first, the family that fostered him didn't know his family background and only regarded Gu Yinyan as a troublesome burden. Every time they looked at him, their eyes revealed disgust.
Because he was a child, they made no attempt to hide their true feelings and openly mocked him for being an unwanted child.
But when his parents came to visit him, those people's attitudes changed again.
Only when they saw the couple's car, their jewelry, and their driver did they finally put on their obsequious masks and begin to curry favor with him.
At first, Gu Yinyan only felt annoyed.
He lived in an environment where it was difficult to discern true intentions. But after silently observing their behavior for a while, he discovered that this society was actually quite interesting.
He was grateful for his experience in the first part of the story, which allowed him to see their true colors. He also quickly grasped a crucial point.
It's not terrible to be mistaken for having ulterior motives when you're being sincere; what's terrible is when your pretense is mistaken for sincerity.
In the end, the deceived party suffered a complete defeat.
He didn't want Liang Yizhi to suffer such an injury.
Gu Yinyan closed his eyes and held his breath, sinking into the water.
As time passed, he used all his senses to feel the oxygen being swallowed up little by little, and his heartbeat gradually quickened.
After a brief feeling of suffocation, what follows is a pleasure that is a counteracting of the survival instinct and the physiological reaction of being on the verge of extreme.
His chest and lungs were being squeezed violently, and his eardrums were filled with a deafening roar. In the last second before his oxygen ran out, he straightened up and burst out of the water.
-
For the first two days after arguing with Gu Yinyan, Liang Yizhi was in a bad mood.
She called He Man and asked her to go out with her to clear her head.
While choosing a location, she remembered the bar she had visited before. The ambiance was beautiful, the drinks were unique, and the atmosphere was comfortable, so she decided to meet there.
At 8 p.m., He Man drove Liang Yizhi to HOOK.
HOOK is the name of this bar.
The terrace had just opened, and the glass doors were wide open. Many seats had been reserved in advance, and guests who had just been indoors were now raising their glasses, chatting and laughing as they rushed toward the terrace.
Liang Yizhi pulled He Man along and finally managed to squeeze to the front and grab the last seat.
He Man took off her suit jacket and sat down.
Seeing that she was only wearing a tube top underneath, Liang Yizhi exclaimed in surprise, "It's very windy here, don't catch a cold."
“We’re already sitting on the terrace, what’s there to be afraid of? This is where it’s cool.” He Man wasn’t afraid of the autumn wind at all; to her, it was just a tickle.
She asked Liang Yizhi, "Why did you decide to go out for drinks today? That's rare. Who made you angry?"
"Not really, I just had a few arguments with Gu Yinyan and I'm a bit upset."
"Gu Yinyan again?" He Man chuckled. "What's up?"
Liang Yizhi explained the whole story to He Man.
He Man listened attentively to her finish speaking, chin in hand, before saying, "Yizhi, I'm not saying this to take Gu Yinyan's side. Both of you have the right intentions, but Gu Yinyan's reminder is not without reason."
“I understand.” Liang Yizhi sighed. “So later, I asked her to give me a written receipt, and I also made a note on the transfer instructions.”
Although she was a bit reckless, she still kept a watchful eye on herself.
She lowered her head quietly: "But what he said made me a little sad."
Some harsh words may seem insignificant to outsiders, but if they come from the mouth of someone very close to you, the damage will be multiplied, and any unfounded emotions will be amplified infinitely.
Liang Yizhi felt a surge of inexplicable grievance.
He Man comforted her: "Oh dear, don't you know Gu Yinyan? He's always been all bark and no bite, all talk and no action."
"Haven't you noticed yet? He loves to say the opposite of what he means. Every time we give him a gift, he clearly loves it and treasures it at home, but he always says it's because he hates the guilt of losing things; he clearly always wants to play with us, but he still insists that he's afraid we'll die out there."
He Man chuckled lightly: "Don't let these little things affect your mood. Let's both calm down for a couple of days, and maybe things will be fine."
He Man patted Liang Yizhi's head, and Liang nodded twice in response.
Regardless, she felt a little better after saying what had been bottled up inside.
After sitting for a while, the table was still empty. He Man spread out the wine list on the table and asked, "Want some drinks to soothe my throat first? Can you recommend something good?"
Liang Yizhi replied, "First, see if there's anything you particularly want to drink. If not, I'll just order it for you."
He Man traced a circle on the wine list with her finger. The names of the drinks were abstract, and each string of words was intriguing. She looked at it for a long time but couldn't make up her mind, so she decided to hand this important task over to Liang Yizhi.
Liang Yizhi took the order and went to the bar.
She stood at the bar, looking down at the drink menu in her hand, and said to the staff inside:
"Hello, I'd like a 'Soaked Moon', a 'Burning Starfield'... um... and one more..."
"The alcohol content of 'Hoshino Burning' is quite high. Are you two ladies sure you want to order this?"
A clear voice rang out above her head, both unfamiliar and familiar.
On the dark marble bar counter in my field of vision, a pair of white and thin hands appeared, with blue veins bulging, slowly climbing up the forearms.
Liang Yizhi followed the hands with her gaze and looked up.
Her curly black hair was styled beautifully today. She was captivated by his irresistibly charming, swamp-like smile, and for a moment, her mind went blank.
Don't you remember me?
"...Of course I remember." Liang Yizhi summoned her inner voice, rapidly flipping through the name list in her mind to recall, and blurted out:
"Are you... He Xinnian?"
"Great!" He clapped his hands exaggeratedly twice, exclaiming incredulously, "Even though my name is He Xintu."
...
Liang Yizhi smiled awkwardly: "I'm sorry."
It was probably because the year was drawing to a close that her subconscious was already thinking about the upcoming New Year.
He Xintu simply smiled as he looked at her.
He didn't mind that she remembered his name wrong, after all, it had been a long time since they last met.
Seeing him standing behind the bar, still wearing his work uniform, Liang Yizhi took the initiative to ask, "Do you work here?"
“No.” He Xintu reached out and pressed the wine list she was holding onto the table, tapping it with his index finger. “I’m the owner here.”
"Really?" Liang Yizhi was very surprised. "What a coincidence. I come here often and I especially like the drinks and atmosphere of this place."
He Xintu smiled and said, "Then I am honored."
Liang Yizhi recalled their last hasty and chaotic meeting, during which she hadn't had a chance to get to know him properly.
She said, "You left too quickly last time. We had just finished dealing with the situation when we couldn't find you, and we didn't even have a chance to say goodbye."
He Xintu explained gently, "I received a phone call that day, and something came up, so I left first."
"It's not too late today." He took his phone out of his pocket. "Want to exchange contact information?"
"OK."
Liang Yizhi also took out her phone, and just as she was about to scan the other party's QR code, He Xintu moved the screen away.
Liang Yizhi looked up in confusion and saw He Xintu leaning closer to her with his head slightly lowered.
"Before that, I need to confirm, are you two the only ones here today?"
"Yes."
"Where are those two boys from last time?" He Xintu asked, his gaze sweeping across her face.
Her face was small and short, with round eyes, a pointed nose, and skin so smooth that you couldn't see any pores.
He Xintu asked in a low voice, "Was that guy who came later that day your boyfriend?"
Recalling the image of Gu Yinyan standing at the door, Liang Yizhi honestly said, "No, we're just friends."
Having received the answer he wanted, He Xintu breathed a sigh of relief, and his expression relaxed: "That's great."
Liang Yizhi asked, "What?"
"That's great." He Xintu's voice was like an ice cube floating above the wine, hitting the glass, crisp and melodious.
"I almost thought we couldn't be friends anymore."
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