Chapter 29: Everyone is busy
The weekend breeze and the unbridled noise of the youth still lingered in my ears, but the Monday morning light had already mercilessly poured down upon the Shenghua College building. Chu Yan walked into the classroom, his eyes habitually gravitating towards the window seat.
Gu Ye was already sitting there. He had his head lowered, his back straight, concentrating on reviewing the physics chapter he was going to teach today. Sunlight filtered through the clear glass, casting a small, fan-shaped shadow beneath his drooping eyelashes.
Chu Yan's footsteps paused imperceptibly. He pulled out a chair and sat down. Instead of taking out his book as usual, he tilted his head thoughtfully, his eyes lingering on Gu Ye's focused profile for a long time with a subtle hint of inquiry.
Gu Ye was still the same Gu Ye, but something had changed. His wild, unruly nature seemed to have subsided, replaced by a deeper power.
Chu Yan's slender fingers tapped unconsciously on the table. Was it his confession back at camp that he liked boys that had irritated him? Or was it the pure competitive spirit of a teenager, ignited by the fire of final exams? He wasn't sure.
As if sensing the excessive concentration, Gu Ye raised his head from between the pages of the book and looked at Chu Yan in confusion: "What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?" He subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed his cheek.
Chu Yan instantly concealed the inquiry in his eyes, replaced it with his usual, gentle and impeccable smile, and shook his head: "Nothing. It's just that you suddenly become so... hardworking," he considered his words, "It feels a bit like the sun rising from the west." His tone was relaxed and a little teasing.
Gu Ye glanced at him suspiciously, but didn't ask any further questions. He just muttered "underestimating people" and buried his head in the book again.
The bell for recess rang, breaking the classroom's stillness. Gu Ye closed his workbook with a soft click. He turned his head, his gaze landing on Chu Yan. He spoke casually, his voice a bit more composed than usual: "Hey, Chu Yan, final exams are over, and it's summer vacation. What are your plans?"
Chu Yan was lowering his head to reply to the email sent by the cloud intelligent control project team, his slender fingers tapping quickly on the screen of his mobile phone. He didn't even look up when he heard the words, and his tone was calm and indifferent as when he was working: "Huh? Summer vacation... I guess I have to go help out at home." He omitted the fact that "home" was actually the core of the business empire controlled by Chu Yu, and he also omitted that the so-called "help" was to officially join the cloud intelligent control project team and participate in core operations. This was far beyond the "help" that an ordinary high school student could imagine.
"Help?" Gu Ye raised his eyebrows, obviously not satisfied with this vague answer. In his eyes, Chu Yan's background was always shrouded in mystery.
"Yeah." After sending the email, Chu Yan put down his phone, looked up at Gu Ye, and asked, "What about you? How are you going to spend your one-month summer vacation?" The summer vacation in the second year of high school was indeed pitifully short, only one month.
Gu Ye's eyes instantly became incredibly resolute, even radiating a fierce intensity. "Study." He spat out those two words with unwavering conviction and undeniable strength. "First-year high school is like a sieve, with too many holes. This summer vacation is a perfect opportunity to completely plug them." He paused, his gaze fixed on Chu Yan. Deep within his eyes was tension, anticipation, and a desperate will to fight. "Chu Yan, what do you think... how high can I rank in this final exam?"
Chu Yan met his blazing eyes, leaned back slightly on the chair, crossed his hands in front of him, and raised the corners of his lips in a playful yet extremely confident arc: "Top 20%."
This goal was like a bolt from the blue, and it was a full twenty percentage points higher than Gu Ye's current stable ranking of around 40% in the grade.
Gu Ye straightened his back suddenly: "Top 20%? Are you sure?" His voice was filled with excitement of being challenged and a barely perceptible tremor.
"Sure." Chu Yan's smile deepened, like the most cunning hunter throwing out bait, with an irresistible temptation, "How about it? Do you dare to gamble again? If you get into the top 20%..." He deliberately dragged out the tone, "...I'll give you a surprise."
"It's a deal." Gu Ye held out his hand, palm facing upwards, his eyes blazing. "It's a bet."
Chu Yan saw the determination in his eyes and his smile deepened. He raised his hand and his palm collided with Gu Ye's in mid-air with a crisp and powerful impact.
A crisp sound, inconspicuous in the noisy classroom during recess, seemed to seal some kind of silent contract.
"It's a deal."
At the same time, on the other side of the city, in the Gu family’s luxurious yet cold villa.
Gu Xu had just returned from the Gu family's old house to deal with Mr. Gu's inquiries about the company's quarterly financial report. Before he took off the perfect mask of gentleness on his face, he was called into the study by his father, who was waiting in the living room with a shrewd and calculating look on his face.
The heavy mahogany door blocked out the light and sound of the outside world. "I heard you're close to that kid from the Chu family's side branch, Chu Yan?" Gu's father's eyes were as sharp as a hawk, flashing with undisguised mercenary shrewdness and naked greed, as if evaluating a commodity up for sale. "A side branch of the Chu family in City A? It's only a side branch, but you should know what this connection to the Chu family means to our Gu family!" He took a sip of tea. "Chu Yu is in the limelight right now. That cloud-based intelligent control project has so many eyes on it. How's your relationship with him? Can you..." He twisted his thumb and index finger together, making a "bridge" gesture, his intentions clear. "Establish a connection? Or perhaps find out if the Chu family has any interest in cooperating with our Gu family, or even taking it a step further?"
The naked exploitation and calculation, like a greasy hand, suddenly gripped Gu Xu's throat. A surge of nausea washed over him, nearly making it impossible for him to maintain his expression. He lowered his eyelids, adjusting his sleeves to mask the coldness and disgust welling in his eyes. When he looked back up, his face remained that impeccable, gentle, and humble smile, as if his father were merely discussing an ordinary business partnership.
"Father," Gu Yu's voice was steady without a trace of ripples, as if he was stating the weather forecast, "It's true that we met by chance. Young people get along well and have played together a few times. But the Chu family is too powerful and has a deep foundation. It's not something our Gu family can easily cling to. As for cooperation," he said with a slightly heavier tone, with just the right amount of caution, "Chu Yu is a man of extremely high vision and a strong style of doing things. Cloud-based intelligent control focuses on cutting-edge technology, and has little intersection with our Gu family's traditional real estate and trade sectors. If we rashly show goodwill, I'm afraid it will not only be futile, but it will make us appear to have ulterior motives and be counterproductive." He used a little force to easily block Gu's father's greedy and short-sighted intentions, and his words were flawless.
Gu's father was clearly displeased with this smooth deflection. His brows furrowed in a frown, a flicker of anger flashing in his cloudy eyes. He was about to apply more pressure. However, Gu Xu had already bowed slightly, his gesture respectful yet unmistakably distant. "If Father doesn't have any other important instructions, the company still has documents awaiting my approval. I'll excuse myself."
Without waiting for his father's response, Gu Xu turned around and smoothly opened the heavy mahogany door. To him, this magnificent villa had never been a home, but merely a huge, disgusting place of fame and fortune.
Just a few steps out of the study, I ran into Gu's mother in the corridor covered with expensive Persian carpets. She was dressed in jewels and carrying a limited edition handbag, preparing to go out.
"Xiao Xu is back?" Gu's mother wore a proper, mask-like smile on her well-maintained face. Without stopping, her gaze swept over him like a scanner, and she casually said, "You don't look well? No matter how busy you are at work, you should take care of yourself." Her concern was superficial, like a social gesture, and her eyes lacked any real warmth, more like someone inspecting an exhibit to see if it was in good condition. Before she finished her words, she had already brushed past Gu Xu's shoulder, the sharp, rapid clacking of her high heels before she quickly disappeared down the spiral staircase, leaving a hint of expensive perfume in the air.
Gu Xu stood there, the carefully maintained mask of warmth gradually stiffening. Every step into this "home" felt like a long, cold public execution. His father cared only for profit and the greed of exploiting others; his mother cared only for her status in the circle of aristocrats, the endless competition, and herself. He, Gu Xu, was nothing more than a symbol of their ostentation, a tool that could not tolerate any flaws. If he failed to provide sufficient value, or if anything "didn't meet their expectations," he had no doubt he would be discarded and replaced like trash.
He wasn't even as good as Gu Ye's so-called younger brother. At least Gu Ye's mother truly loved him. Gu Xu knew better than anyone that his so-called "family affection" was built on the cold foundation of excellence and conformity to their expectations. If he took even the slightest wrong step, this love, thin as paper, would instantly vanish.
A deep-rooted exhaustion and icy loneliness instantly consumed him. Gu Xu quickly stepped out of this seemingly gilded prison and climbed into his own cold, hard-lined black sedan. He leaned back against the cool leather seat, closed his eyes, and pressed his fingers firmly against his throbbing, swollen, and aching temple.
Suddenly, a desire so strong that it was almost suffocating wrapped around his heart.
He wants to see Chu Yan.
He desperately wanted to see the man who had taken him on a leap under the starry sky and fireworks. Chu Yan's aura of freedom and unfettered freedom was like a powerful painkiller, temporarily numbing the cold and pain brought by this suffocating reality and making him feel alive.
He almost subconsciously took out his cell phone, his fingertips hovering over the name he had already memorized - Chu Yan.
The light from the screen illuminated his slightly pale face and the longing hidden in his eyes.
But in the end, the fingertips did not fall.
He remembered that Chu Yan was about to take his final exam and he couldn't disturb him.
Gu Xu took a sharp breath, the breath icy and stinging. He dropped his phone heavily onto the leather passenger seat, as if discarding a hot potato, with a dull thud. He started the car, and the black sedan shot out of the Gu family's gate like an arrow, but it wasn't heading for any place where he could breathe and relax. With a sudden turn of the steering wheel, the car, with a near-self-destructive determination, sped towards the cold, oppressive steel jungle that was the only thing that could prove his worth and provide that pitiful "sense of security"—the Gu Group headquarters. Only endless work, cold numbers, and intrigue could fill the huge black hole in his heart called "not being loved."
Cloud Intelligent Control Company Headquarters, top floor, president's office.
Beyond the vast, curved floor-to-ceiling windows, the city skyline shone brightly on a midsummer afternoon. Chu Yu sat at his large, cold desk, a newly arrived document spread out before him. His slender fingers gripped a custom-made fountain pen, the tip gliding smoothly across the paper, leaving behind a signature that pierced through the paper with a distinctly personal touch.
This document was a precise strike plan targeting a shaky tech subsidiary of the Gu Group that had been attempting transformation in recent years. While the plan was incredibly well-designed and cost-effective, it was like a poisonous sting, enough to cause Gu's group to fret and struggle for a considerable period in this emerging field, resulting in a significant loss of expected profits. More importantly, it would act like a quagmire, consuming a significant portion of Gu's energy and resources.
Chu Yu put down his pen, his stern expression expressionless, as if he were simply handling an ordinary, everyday matter. He dialed the intercom: "Vice President Zhang, this plan will be prioritized. I want to see results within three days."
"Yes, Mr. Chu!" A respectful response came from the other end of the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Chu Yu cast his gaze out the window at the steel forest steaming under the scorching sun, his eyes cold and indifferent, like those looking down on prey. Gu Yan? A hypocrite, a gentle man with a deep mind, coveting his brother. This little trouble was just to give him something to do, to prevent him from constantly directing those inappropriate, dirty thoughts towards Chu Yan.
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