“…Your mom?”
“My mom flew to Paris to find my uncle; they fought, and then he locked her up… Ah, no time to explain, just come with me!”
Chi Lanyi jolted. He shook off Gao Yuanzhou’s grabbing hand and coldly straightened his crumpled sleeve cuff.
“I’m not going.” He said softly, “It has nothing to do with me.”
He sat back in his seat, wanting to bury himself in the pile of fabrics. Gao Yuanzhou, however, sat down unceremoniously on the fabric beside him: “It does have to do with you! Right now, you’re the only one who can persuade my uncle!”
A “Ding” sounded in his heart, like the crisp sound of a lighter being flicked. Chi Lanyi gripped the scissors, desperately trying to empty his mind, yet heard himself whispering: “Why only me?”
Why am I the only one who can persuade Gao Rong?
“Damn, you’ve got to be kidding me with this playing dumb!” Gao Yuanzhou exclaimed angrily, “Wasn’t it you who made my uncle beat up Zou Jun? Wasn’t it you who made my uncle drag me to school and force me to publicly admit I was the other man? Wasn’t it you who made my uncle, a guy who spends all his time on capital deals, suddenly go and invest in a luxury group? This afternoon, he was even supposed to come to your school and attend that damn info session!”
Every sentence hit Chi Lanyi like a bullet. Gao Yuanzhou rambled on incessantly: “I really can’t deal with this. You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You just don’t want to go, right? You’re still mad at me, deliberately trying to get back at me…”
A classmate pushed the door open and entered. Gao Yuanzhou simply threw himself onto the floor: “Fine, I’ll kneel for you, okay? Please, just calm down and come out with me, will you?”
“Chi Lanyi?”
Sacha looked at the scene before him, bewildered. The arrival of the classmate finally made it impossible for Chi Lanyi to remain silent.
He tossed the base fabric onto the table, his ears reddened, and rushed out the door. Gao Yuanzhou still followed him: “Chi Lanyi, Designer Chi, Great Genius Chi, I’m begging you, begging you, please, don’t be mad at me anymore, please…”
Chi Lanyi wanted to shake him off, but what greeted him was a recruitment poster.
It was the incubator project recruitment poster posted on the school bulletin board two months ago—the very one Gao Rong had gotten Chi Lanyi into.
Chi Lanyi looked at it, momentarily silent.
Gao Yuanzhou started tugging at Chi Lanyi’s hand again. This time, Chi Lanyi didn’t pull away.
After a long moment, Chi Lanyi said softly: “He… where is he?”
…
Gao Xi’s hysterical screams echoed throughout the villa.
Knowing Gao Xi would fly over from the US to cause trouble, Gao Rong had moved out of the hotel in advance and had his secretary rent this villa.
Thus, all the ruckus remained unexposed to the public eye, confined within this villa. Gao Rong sat on the sofa on the first floor, flipping through documents, calm in his thorough preparation.
Gao Xi was over a decade older than Gao Rong. But due to Gao Rong’s rebirth, she, now in her forties, seemed increasingly like a little girl prone to unreasonable tantrums compared to her mature and composed younger brother.
Gao Rong knew his way of dealing with family members might be problematic. He hadn’t allowed Gao Xi, repeatedly hurt emotionally and divorced, to mature. Instead, he had made Gao Xi further abandon her own wits because of the family safety net.
But he didn’t care. Because Gao Xi’s destructive power was always within his control.
Just like now, the sound of a vase shattering echoed from upstairs. Beside Gao Rong, his secretary jolted, throwing a questioning glance at her boss.
Gao Rong merely said flatly: “Let her keep smashing. Gao Xi is so afraid of dying, she wouldn’t dare self-harm.”
He deeply understood his family members’ natures.
And even if she did self-harm, he could get someone to deliver her to the hospital at the fastest speed, and during the treatment process, let Gao Xi suffer a bit more for her reckless behavior.
The secretary thus asked no more. After a while, she said: “Boss, Gao Yuanzhou sneaked out two hours ago and still hasn’t returned.”
Gao Rong stared at the silver lighter in his hand.
The lighter’s surface was like a mirror, reflecting his cold, yet slightly and eerily expectant eyes.
“It’s fine.” He said flatly, “I know where he’ll go.”
He also knew that the opening he had deliberately left for Gao Yuanzhou after hearing Gao Yuanzhou wanted to escape would lead Gao Yuanzhou to bring Chi Lanyi to his side.
Sure enough, the surveillance alert showed the sound of Gao Yuanzhou’s car appearing within the monitored area. Getting out of the car, besides Gao Yuanzhou, was another person.
Chi Lanyi.
After a few days apart, Chi Lanyi’s condition seemed even worse. Chi Lanyi was still neat and tidy, yet dark circles from poor sleep hung under his eyes.
Chi Lanyi’s state was also one of fatigue—fatigued, but extremely sensitive, extremely neurotic, like a startled bird circling outside a cage.
On the camera feed, Gao Yuanzhou urgently said a few words to Chi Lanyi. Chi Lanyi looked extremely passive, extremely unwilling. His mannerisms were restrained, chin tucked in, as if in the next second, he would flee back to the car and leave this place.
Yet ultimately, he was pulled by Gao Yuanzhou through the back door and into this villa.
Gao Rong withdrew his gaze. But his wrist tightened slightly as he handed the documents to his secretary: “I’ll go upstairs and talk to Gao Xi.”
“Okay.”
“In a moment, when Gao Yuanzhou brings someone in, don’t stop him.” Gao Rong added calmly, “Tell him I’m on the second floor. If he wants to come up, let him come up.”
And then said: “The person he brought—same applies. Let that person go wherever he wants.”
On the surveillance camera, he had witnessed it with his own eyes.
As Chi Lanyi continuously approached him, there was that intense nervousness and unfulfilled escape, along with the uncontrollable, subtle physical reactions from Chi Lanyi.
Upon seeing this house, Chi Lanyi had thought of him.
—And, once again, could only walk towards him.
Gao Rong silently watched Chi Lanyi’s figure on the camera feed.
Amidst this seemingly endless chaos of Gao Xi and Gao Yuanzhou, which he had allowed to unfold, he actually felt, because of this, a little bit pleased.
After all, he had finally lured Chi Lanyi to his side once again.
…
Everywhere in the unfamiliar villa was filled with Gao Rong’s aura.
Dark natural stone and deep-toned wooden flooring formed the entire space: high-end, private, and extremely cold. All the furniture had sharp lines with strong angularity, almost devoid of soft elements.
Just like Gao Rong’s eyes.
The moment he stepped into this villa, Chi Lanyi felt as if he had stepped into the lair of a black panther.
“Secretary Liu! Sister Liu!” Spotting the secretary from afar, Gao Yuanzhou shouted, “Did you see where my uncle went?”
The secretary bowed politely: “Mr. Gao went upstairs earlier to talk with your mother.”
“Good, I’ll go upstairs and find him.” Gao Yuanzhou said, tugging at Chi Lanyi’s arm, “Coming, Chi?”
Chi Lanyi didn’t move. He felt Secretary Liu’s eyes sweep over him—a look that was polite, restrained, yet carrying a hint of curiosity.
Standing within Gao Rong’s villa, between the walls that pressed in on him from all sides, Chi Lanyi suddenly felt that coming here was a mistake, a walk into a trap.
At the same time, a heavy thud of something falling came from upstairs.
“Mom!”
Gao Yuanzhou panicked. Half pulling, half pushing, he forced Chi Lanyi to go up with him. He said: “Damn it, my mom must have smashed something again.”
“Why… couldn’t it be Gao Rong who smashed it.”
Chi Lanyi heard himself say, his voice drifting.
“My uncle never loses his temper. He’s very calm even when he’s angry—but way scarier than people who throw tantrums.” Gao Yuanzhou said, “I’ve never seen him be hysterical.”
Gao Rong had never once been hysterical.
Unbidden, Chi Lanyi’s feet moved upwards, following Gao Yuanzhou.
At the end of the corridor, a door was open. From inside came a woman’s screams: “Gao Rong, you devil, you ruined me, ruined Zhouzhou, I hate you…”
In stark contrast was another, calm voice: “So, what do you plan to do next?”
The woman’s voice choked. She bellowed: “How would I know? You tell me what I should do?!”
“I’ve found a lawyer for you. Go back now and divorce that man. Do you still remember the prenuptial property agreement I prepared for you a few years ago? He can’t take a single cent of what’s yours.” Gao Rong said flatly, “As for his illegitimate child, you can rest assured—that illegitimate child won’t get a dime of your money either.”
Upon hearing the words “illegitimate child,” the woman broke down. She lowered her head and sobbed. Gao Rong said nothing.
He waited for her patiently.
Upon hearing “illegitimate child,” Gao Yuanzhou also wore an expression as if he’d been struck by lightning. Chi Lanyi stood beside him. Witnessing this elite family drama, what he felt was not the spine-chilling horror of cold hands and feet.
But another drifting, dreamlike sensation.
So, some people could face chaos with such coldness, such control.
—Even when that person was his own closest family member.
Soon, Chi Lanyi heard the woman laugh dryly. The sound seemed like a bitter laugh, or a wail forced from deep within her throat: “Gao Rong, you think I’ll be grateful to you… You knew he was cheating long ago, knew he had an illegitimate child, didn’t you? You’ve been preparing for my divorce for ages and didn’t tell me a thing. You kept me in the dark, making me look like a fool.”
“I don’t need your gratitude.” Gao Rong said indifferently, “Being with him was your choice. You repeatedly said that being with him made you feel very calm and happy.”
“Then why did you choose this exact moment to tell me this? Gao Rong, you don’t want anyone to live well at all. You’re just getting revenge on me! You’re retaliating against me because I let Zhouzhou cause you trouble, you’re retaliating against me because you want to mess with that little boy!” Gao Xi screamed again, “You’re so desperate to play with him you’ve gone crazy, scheming even against your own sister! You cold-blooded, heartless scum!”
Upon hearing the words “that little boy,” Chi Lanyi’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
Gao Xi was still wailing, cursing Gao Rong. Gao Rong merely rubbed his temple and looked coldly towards the door.
“Your son is here.” He said to Gao Xi, “Let him talk to you. Then, I’ll have the secretary call your therapist over.”
He strode out of the room, then glanced at Gao Yuanzhou: “Get in.”
Gao Yuanzhou was still in the lingering shock. He walked in, dazed and confused.
Thus, only Gao Rong and Chi Lanyi were left in the corridor. Gao Rong adjusted his collar and lowered his cold, stern eyes.
Gao Rong knew that Chi Lanyi had heard everything Gao Xi had just said.
“You came?” He said to Chi Lanyi, his voice deep.
Chi Lanyi was pale as a sheet, motionless—like the stress-induced freezing response a small animal has under extreme fright. Gao Rong gazed at him, not pushing him to answer, not saying a word, just waiting for Chi Lanyi to slowly digest this wave of shock and fear.
Gao Rong had deliberately let Chi Lanyi overhear his conversation with Gao Xi.
Every approach and retreat of Chi Lanyi was within his calculations.
