Chapter 16
“Such sweet words, then why don’t you go and have the surgery with me right now?”
Jiang Huaisheng, sprawled on the bed like a salted fish, said this, then unsurprisingly heard Gu Tang’s negative reply: “No.”
The contract stipulated four years, and once established, neither he nor Jiang Huaisheng could easily break it unless there were special circumstances, such as Jiang Huaisheng becoming critically ill and requiring immediate surgery. Otherwise, Gu Tang wouldn’t agree.
“You’re really sick!” Young Master Jiang gritted his teeth, feeling his mouth still a bit sore. He pursed his lips tightly to prevent drooling, almost squeezing the words out through his teeth.
Gu Tang said frankly: “Yes, I’m not only sick, I also take medicine.”
He said casually: “Taking too much medicine might make my blood unhealthy, so I’m doing this for both of our sakes.”
Young Master Jiang glared at him: “You’re becoming more and more hypocritical.”
Gu Tang smiled: “Learning from Young Master. After all, I’m an adult now, I can’t be as naive and insensible as I was when I was a child.”
Nothing in this world remained unchanged, not even the old house he wanted to preserve. It couldn’t completely stay in the past. Time had left its marks on the outer walls and furniture.
Unless he possessed the power to stop time, the past was destined to be irretrievable.
Gu Tang got dressed and carried the young master, whose fingers couldn’t even move, to clean up the aftermath: “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you.”
After all, they were both flesh and blood, ordinary mortals. He knew his limits and couldn’t overdo it.
After the pain caused by the intense mental stress subsided, rationality seemed to return to Gu Tang.
He even remembered to clean Jiang Huaisheng first, then place him on the clean sofa, put the soiled sheets into the washing machine, and finally take a shower while the washing machine was running.
The warm water flowed over his young and energetic body, and the restless emotions, along with his calmed heart, returned to peace.
After this satisfaction, Gu Tang didn’t initiate any further interaction with Jiang Huaisheng beyond the bed.
And the latter, the next day, stubbornly sat in his wheelchair and went to live in the newly purchased villa next door.
Yes, Young Master Jiang once again sat in his custom-made wheelchair. After all, that round with Gu Tang felt like he had climbed Mount Tai, not by cable car, but on his own two feet.
Even with a massage, his legs felt useless the next day, his whole body so sore that he couldn’t move. Having learned his lesson, he definitely wouldn’t actively provoke this monster Gu Tang for a long time.
Gu Tang stayed in the town for a week, and Jiang Huaisheng also rested for a week, then the two took a private jet to City B.
City A also had top universities, but the two most prestigious ones were still in City B.
Jiang Huaisheng didn’t lack experience or skills in financial management. After all, he had been taught by his grandfather since he was young. He majored in philosophy, to be precise, Marxist philosophy.
There were many outstanding alumni who had majored in philosophy at Peking University. Jiang Huaisheng chose this major not because he intended to enter politics, but purely for networking.
This was very much in line with the Jiang family’s style. Although the Jiang family were businessmen, their ancestors were Confucian merchants, standard respectable people. If he wanted more in-depth management experience, he could go abroad for postgraduate studies.
Gu Tang was also in the philosophy department, but his major was different from Young Master Jiang’s. He chose the recently popular psychology.
To study this major more deeply, he would definitely need to go abroad for further studies, which was why the contract was for four years.
The Jiang family had the ability to get him and the young master into the same dormitory, but they couldn’t tie him down for life.
When Gu Tang was applying for universities, he had considered other popular majors. He had also fantasized about dominating the financial market and slapping his stepfather Jiang He in the face hard.
But that was just a momentary impulse. He rationally analyzed his weaknesses and strengths.
He didn’t have any keen financial talent. Although he was good at math, compared to a true financial genius like Jiang Huaisheng, Gu Tang felt there was no need to embarrass himself.
Moreover, Gu Tang had been Jiang Huaisheng’s shadow for too long, and he didn’t want to be overshadowed by him in his future career.
As for his outstanding athletic talent, generally, people with good academic performance wouldn’t choose to become athletes. It wasn’t that being an athlete was bad, but the training was too hard, and the injuries sustained during training and the aftereffects after retirement would have an impact.
And for Gu Tang, who had lost his father at a young age, his dream wasn’t to be an athlete, and he didn’t want to leave his mother to others.
If he left for training, Ms. Wen Xinyi would definitely not revolve around him, and would only feel even more justified in giving him even less attention.
Back to the topic, Gu Tang and Jiang Huaisheng arrived in City B early and moved into a Siheyuan near Peking University.
The architecture here was different from that in City A. The Siheyuan, like the Jiang family’s old mansion, was also antique, but from the outside, it looked more simple and dignified.
The entire courtyard occupied a large area, or rather, it was more appropriate to describe it as a private garden. The original islands, pavilions, and lakes were preserved, but the interior was renovated with modern amenities to ensure comfort.
The house had been cleaned in advance. The chef, nutritionist, family doctor, housekeeper, driver, and bodyguards all moved in. In addition, there were dedicated gardeners and a professional cleaning team.
Even in a different city, it didn’t stop Jiang Huaisheng from being a young master.
Gu Tang moved into the Siheyuan with Jiang Huaisheng without much emotional fluctuation. After all, he had known for a long time that the Jiang family was very wealthy.
His biological mother, his stepfather, and everyone around him constantly reminded him of this fact. After ten years, anyone would get used to it.
Jiang Huaisheng was just moving from one expensive mansion to another, nothing to be surprised about.
There was still a month before school started, and Gu Tang seized the opportunity to earn money.
After the phone-turning-off incident, Wen Xinyi called again two days later.
Faced with her eldest son’s “rebellion,” not only did she not scold him, but she patiently and gently spoke about her own hardships, and then transferred a sum of money to Gu Tang’s card.
“Mom knows you’ve grown up and have your own ideas, and you might want to distance yourself from Mom. But I haven’t made you suffer in these past few years, right? You have everything other children have, including your younger brother’s education. You went to such a good school, a school your younger brother didn’t even attend, right…” This sounded like she was trying to fool a fool.
Gu Tang was able to attend that school because his father had sacrificed himself for Jiang Huaisheng’s parents. He received this treatment as compensation and to accompany the young master in his studies.
The tuition fees for those cram schools and the teachers’ fees were all paid by the Jiang family. What did it have to do with Ms. Wen?
Gu Tang responded perfunctorily, his face expressionless.
Ms. Wen continued: “Mom loves you. I’ve transferred your tuition and living expenses to you. You’re still young, so I’ll transfer your living expenses to you monthly, lest you spend it all without restraint. Your Uncle Jiang and I discussed it, and since City B is expensive, we’ll give you 8,000 yuan a month.”
She lowered her voice as if afraid of being overheard: “Mom will privately give you another 2,000.”
“Oh, I know, thank you, Mom.”
Gu Tang looked at his face in the mirror and felt hypocritical saying thank you.
He didn’t feel embarrassed about receiving living expenses from Ms. Wen. It was only after a few years that he learned from Jiang Huaisheng that when his father passed away, in addition to material support, the Gu family had also received a large sum of money as compensation.
After all, Gu Tang’s father was very capable. Ten years ago, when prices weren’t so high, as an excellent housekeeper, Gu Tang’s father earned an annual salary of 100,000 yuan. That would be equivalent to a million-yuan annual salary today.
He died before he was thirty, so the Jiang family paid a lump sum compensation equivalent to 30 years of Gu Tang’s father’s salary at the time, a full three million yuan and an apartment in City A.
But Gu Tang was only eight years old. Everything the Jiang family compensated the Gu family for, all the money, was in Ms. Wen’s hands. Since Gu Tang was young, Ms. Wen held it on his behalf.
For a long time, Gu Tang felt conflicted, as if using that money was like spending his father’s hard-earned money.
So, he would save any pocket money and living expenses Ms. Wen gave him that he could save, and donate it to nursing homes and orphanages.
Gu Tang hoped that by doing more good deeds, his father could be reincarnated into a good life and have a happy new life.
But clearly, being kind wasn’t enough to get back what his father had left him.
Gu Tang looked at himself in the mirror, his face seemingly covered by a small black clown mask. He chose psychology partly for himself, and partly for a long-planned revenge.
Jiang He seemed powerful, but even rich people weren’t without their troubles.
