Chapter 131 Bullying (Second Update)
On the first day of school, Gu Jiao was actually a little worried about Xiao Liulang and Xiao Jingkong.
Xiao Jingkong is too young. Facing a completely unfamiliar environment and a group of child prodigies whose minds are no less than his, Gu Jiao is unsure what kind of chemical reaction he will have in elementary school.
Xiao Liulang was being targeted, and she was unsure whether the other party would do anything to make things difficult for him at the Imperial Academy.
Unexpectedly, after a day, Xiao Jingkong and Xiao Liulang were fine, but Gu Yan had an accident.
The incident began when Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun enrolled in the school and entered the class.
The two students had similar academic backgrounds and were assigned to the same class.
Qinghe Academy is an academy with excellent teaching staff, so many young masters from prominent families come here to study, including the two young masters of the Ding'an Marquis's mansion, Gu Chengfeng and Gu Chenglin.
However, since the two were older than Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun and had studied more, they were assigned to a different class.
The two classes happened to be facing each other, separated by a small garden.
Gu Chenglin was waiting for his second brother, Gu Chengfeng, in the garden when Gu Yan walked past him carrying a book bag.
Gu Chenglin immediately recognized Gu Yan's face, as if he had seen him somewhere before. Then he heard someone call out to him, "Gu Yan!"
Gu Yan, Gu Yan, isn't that sickly little brother named Gu Yan?
No wonder he looked familiar; he looks like their father!
Gu Chenglin knew that Yao's twins, a boy and a girl, had also come to the capital, but they hadn't returned home and were staying outside. He never expected to run into them so soon!
Strange, didn't the imperial physician say this sickly little thing wouldn't live past fifteen? He's clearly over fifteen, so how come he's still so lively?
Gu Chenglin strode over and blocked Gu Yan's path: "You, your name is Gu Yan?"
Gu Yan was only four years old when she left the capital and had long forgotten what her family members looked like, so she did not recognize Gu Chenglin.
But this did not prevent Gu Yan from noticing Gu Chenglin's ill intentions.
Gu Yan frowned slightly: "Who are you?"
Gu Chenglin rudely poked Gu Yan's shoulder with his finger and said arrogantly, "Kid, I'm asking you a question. You'd better answer honestly. Is your name Gu Yan?"
Gu Yan was not intimidated by his imposing manner and looked at him fearlessly: "So what if it is? So what if it isn't? What's it to you?"
This perfectly composed demeanor greatly displeased Gu Chenglin. Gu Chenglin had originally planned that if he was his sickly younger brother, he would give him a good beating; if not, he would let him go.
But now, Gu Chenglin has changed his mind.
This kid wasn't afraid of him at all, and even glared at him!
Very well, if we don't teach him a lesson, he won't know who he is!
When Gu Xiaoshun returned to the classroom after collecting his and Gu Yan's books from the student affairs office, he found that Gu Yan was gone.
He went to the outhouse to look for Gu Yan, but couldn't find him.
Gu Xiaoshun wanted to ask his classmates, but since they all enrolled on the same day, they didn't know each other.
Gu Xiaoshun scratched his head: "Could it be that she went back first? That's impossible, she said she would wait for me."
Gu Xiaoshun thought of Gu Yan's heart ailment and secretly wondered if Gu Yan had fainted somewhere due to a heart attack.
"Hey, I just saw your brother go towards the back door."
Just as Gu Xiaoshun was getting anxious and frustrated, a poorly dressed scholar cautiously called out to him.
The scholar didn't dare say that Gu Yan had been taken away by the young master from the opposite class, fearing it would cause trouble. He only reminded him, "Go and look for him quickly, but don't tell anyone I told you."
"Hey, thanks a lot, brother!" Gu Xiaoshun didn't think much of it, patted the other person on the shoulder, and strode towards the back gate of the academy.
At this moment, Gu Yan had already been dragged into the woodshed behind the academy by Gu Chenglin and his cronies.
No one usually comes to this woodshed.
Gu Chenglin had Gu Yan tied up, gagged with a cloth, and locked in a dark woodshed.
Gu Yan was thus locked in a dark room by her own brother.
Childhood fears surged into my mind.
When he was four years old, he was also locked in a dark and cramped room. He cried and screamed until he could no longer cry.
That kind of fear and despair is something he can never forget, no matter how many years have passed.
Gu Yan collapsed onto the dirty, cold floor, feeling an invisible hand pressing down on his chest in the darkness, making it hard for him to breathe.
The bodyguard that the old lord had given him was sent to do other things and was no longer by his side.
Otherwise, Gu Changqing would have already guessed his identity through the old Marquis's secret guards last time.
Gu Chenglin and his group had already left, and it was as if no one had ever been here.
Gu Yan let out a desperate "woof".
Unfortunately, no one could hear his voice.
Gu Xiaoshun was anxious and frustrated: "Oh no, where did Gu Yan go? Gu Yan! Gu Yan!"
Gu Yan heard Gu Xiaoshun's cries. He struggled, but he couldn't make Gu Xiaoshun hear him.
Gu Xiaoshun's voice faded into the distance.
Gu Yan was in despair. He struggled on the ground, trying to move to the door, but suddenly his heart began to ache violently!
My heart condition flared up!
He had medicine from his sister, but...
He won't get it.
Gu Jiao sat in the carriage and suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest.
"Please hurry up!" she urged the driver.
"Alright!" The driver pushed the speed to the limit, but the thing Gu Jiao least wanted to see happened.
"The Crown Princess is traveling; everyone please make way—"
The Imperial Guards, holding signs to avoid the area, filled the entire street, instantly blocking the carriage's path!
Gu Yan felt like he was going to die.
He lay on his side on the ground, his hands and feet bound. He struggled until all his strength was gone. He looked fearfully into the darkness and into an unknown direction, choking out, "Sister, it hurts so much."
On the way back to the classroom, one of Gu Chenglin's cronies asked, "Young Master Gu, will that kid get into trouble?"
Gu Chenglin said nonchalantly, "What could possibly happen? Didn't you see him jumping around like a madman? It's just locking him up for a few hours to teach him a lesson! Let's see if he dares to glare at me again next time!"
"That's true!" The group of students smiled and escorted Gu Chenglin back to the classroom.
Gu Yan's breath grew weaker and weaker.
He couldn't even feel the pain anymore.
He knew he couldn't fall asleep, or he might never wake up again.
But he was just too tired.
He can't hold on any longer.
Clang—
Before he lost his last shred of consciousness, the door was kicked open.
A blinding ray of light suddenly shone in.
Gu Yan opened his eyes and saw a tall and imposing man standing before him against the light, like a god.
Gu Changqing tore the ropes binding his hands and feet with his bare hands, bent down, picked him up, and strode towards the outside.
Gu Yan leaned against the other's chest, his mind somewhat hazy. He grabbed the other's clothes as if grasping at the last straw.
He opened his mouth.
Gu Changqing lowered his head: "What did you say?"
Gu Yan said weakly, "The medicine..."
Gu Changqing put Gu Yan down and began looking for medicine on him. After a while, he found a small porcelain bottle, poured out two pills, and fed them into Gu Yan's mouth.
Gu Changqing then took the water bag off the saddle and fed Gu Yan some water.
Gu Yan's face wasn't as pale anymore, and his chest didn't hurt as much, but he was still very weak and didn't even have the strength to speak.
Gu Yan recognized him, raised her hand and grabbed his clothes, using two thin fingers to grasp only a little bit, like a weak and aggrieved cat.
Gu Changqing sighed helplessly, "I'll take you home first."
Gu Changqing happened to be passing by when he heard a faint whimpering sound. At first, he thought it was a cat, but then he sensed something was wrong, so he climbed over the wall and came to the outside of the woodshed.
He was a martial artist with exceptional hearing; no one else could hear Gu Yan's movements.
Gu Yan mounted Gu Changqing's horse again. Last time he still had the strength to keep his distance from him, but this time it was all over. He was like a shellless snail, limply leaning against Gu Changqing's chest.
Gu Yan still felt that his chest was very hard!
But it's also very heartwarming.
Gu Yan suddenly felt a sense of peace and security, a feeling he had never experienced before with anyone other than Gu Jiao.
Gu Yan was too weak, so to prevent him from falling, Gu Changqing held the reins with one hand and wrapped her arm around his waist with the other.
The strength in his arms was different from Jiao Jiao's; it was a masculine strength unique to men.
When Gu Changqing took Gu Yan home, Gu Yan was already asleep. Gu Jiao had just arrived at the door when she bumped into the two of them.
Gu Jiao looked at Gu Yan, her gaze suddenly turning cold.
Gu Yan's breathing had stabilized, but his clothes were dirty and his face was bruised, clearly indicating that something bad had happened.
Gu Changqing said, "I found him in the woodshed of the academy. You can ask him for details when he wakes up."
Gu Jiao took Gu Yan from him and thanked Gu Changqing, saying, "Thank you."
Gu Changqing sat on his horse, expressionless, and said, "You saved me too, so we're even."
Gu Jiao didn't say anything more, and carried the sleeping Gu Yan back into the house.
When the old lady saw her precious Yanbao in this state, she was so angry that her fur stood on end: "Which bastard did this?!"
I never even considered that Gu Yan had fallen on his own.
Gu Yan wouldn't be that careless, and besides, a fall wouldn't leave marks on his wrist.
Gu Jiao took out her stethoscope and listened to Gu Yan's heart rate. Then she found Gu Yan's small medicine bottle and put two emergency heart pills inside, just the right dose for one night.
The fact that the medicine is gone means that his heart condition had just flared up.
Fortunately, I took the medicine in time, otherwise I would be seeing a cold, lifeless corpse right now.
Gu Xiaoshun couldn't find Gu Yan at the academy, so he asked the teacher for leave and ran home to look for him, only to find that Gu Yan was injured.
"How could this happen?" he asked. "I just went to pick up a book!"
Gu Jiao said, "Go back to the academy for class first, and ask Gu Yan for leave."
"Ah...oh." Gu Xiaoshun dared not disobey his sister and went to the academy, turning back every few steps.
Gu Jiao didn't go anywhere; she just sat by the bedside until Gu Yan woke up.
"Who did it?" Gu Jiao asked.
Gu Yan lowered his eyes and clenched his fists.
Gu Jiao was his older sister, and she understood his emotional turmoil: "Someone you know? Someone you're familiar with?"
Gu Yan's eyes dimmed.
More than just acquaintances.
It's practically like they're related to him by blood.
Gu Yan didn't recognize Gu Chenglin at first, but when the other party locked him in the dark room, that familiar sense of fear instantly overwhelmed him.
Gu Chenglin had locked him up like this when he was a child.
He then heard someone outside call him "Young Master Gu the Third," so he could almost be certain that he was Gu Chenglin.
After reprimanding Gu Yan, Gu Chenglin was in a great mood, and even seemed to have more energy and spirit in class.
On the way back to the mansion, Gu Chenglin talked to his second brother, Gu Chengfeng, about Gu Yan.
"What did you say? Yao's son is also in our academy?" Gu Chengfeng was very surprised.
"It should be him," Gu Chenglin said.
Gu Chengfeng frowned and said, "What do you mean by 'should'? It's either yes or no.
Gu Chenglin thought for a moment and said, "Isn't that sickly little fellow supposed to die before he's fifteen? He's already fifteen, even if he doesn't die, he should be dying soon. But Gu Yan doesn't look like he's going to die."
Gu Chengfeng said, "Perhaps it's someone with the same name, then why are you locking him up?"
Gu Chenglin snorted coldly: "Who told him to glare at me?"
"You!" Gu Chengfeng didn't know what to say.
Gu Chenglin chuckled: "Second brother, do you hope he's that sickly little guy, or do you hope he isn't?"
Gu Chengfeng said, "Do you have a choice but to hope for that? If he is, locking him up like this will cause someone to die!"
Gu Chengfeng felt a pang of guilt: "No way..."
Gu Chengfeng glanced at him: "Don't you remember that time you locked him up when he was a kid? He almost died! Father was furious, and my older brother and I got beaten up along with you!"
Gu Chenglin curled his lip: "It's not like you've never beaten him up, Second Brother."
When Gu Yan was still living in the mansion, Gu Chenglin and Gu Chengfeng were the main bullies of him. Although Gu Changqing also disliked Gu Yan, he didn't bully those younger than himself; he usually targeted Yao Shi directly.
(End of this chapter)
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