Chapter 26
After a friendly discussion, the two made time to return to City A that day. Since that was where it began, it should also be where it ended.
Gu Tang hadn’t returned often in the past four years, but the small villa was still kept clean and tidy.
“Beep.”
“Cleaning complete.”
While he wasn’t living there, he had moved many of his secret belongings. Even so, Gu Tang still didn’t allow outsiders into his room, only remotely controlling the robot vacuum cleaner through smart devices for regular cleaning.
Gu Tang entered his room in the morning. He pushed open the door, and the gray, metal-cased robot vacuum had already returned to its original position.
The robot vacuum had automatic water refill and self-cleaning functions.
He had set it to clean automatically before boarding the plane, and now the floor tiles in the room were spotless, refreshing to step on even barefoot.
Gu Tang opened the blinds, letting fresh air circulate.
The room was equipped with remote surveillance, and this floor also had a fresh air system installed, keeping the air fresh even when the doors and windows were closed for a long time.
The new house where Gu Tang stored his belongings was the same, so even when he was abroad, he didn’t have to worry about unreliable people stealing important items from his home.
Although those things weren’t valuable, people’s hearts were unpredictable. If he encountered someone untrustworthy, they might damage those seemingly worthless items, which were Gu Tang’s treasures.
Gu Tang checked the surveillance footage, confirming there were no signs of outsiders entering, then carried the thick quilt downstairs to the laundry room.
The Jiang family’s servants greeted him warmly and politely: “Xiao Tang, you’re back? Did you graduate? Will you be staying here often from now on?”
Gu Tang politely gave a vague response, not directly answering the question.
The cleanliness of the floor could be handled by the robot vacuum, and the air circulation could be taken care of by the fresh air system.
However, he still had to wipe the dust off the table himself. The quilt folded on the bed was still the winter one.
Gu Tang put the thick quilt in the laundry room. During his school years, he would take out the thick quilt before the end of summer vacation and hand it over to the laundry staff.
When he returned from winter vacation, the quilt would be fluffy and soft, emitting the unique scent of sunshine.
The servants used shared washing machines. There was a dedicated laundry room for dry cleaning and machine washing various clothes.
Gu Tang had a separate washing machine in the laundry room, usually locked. He also brought down the blanket he usually slept with, waiting for the washing machine to finish its work.
After spinning dry, he would put it outside to bask in the afternoon sun, and the blanket he had slept with for four or five years would become fluffy and soft again.
It was summer now, and Gu Tang’s room was furnished with a finely woven, handmade straw mat.
With the advancement of times, people in the city used various ice silk mats, but he still loved the straw mats from his childhood memories, which emitted a faint grassy scent.
He didn’t use bamboo mats or mahjong mats because those tended to snag hair, and even skin, which weren’t pleasant memories.
Gu Tang was sentimental, but he cherished all the good memories of the past. The bad things were left behind, some perhaps embellished by memory, and he would decisively discard them when reminiscing.
Today wasn’t a special day. It was still several months away from Gu Tang’s 22nd birthday, but he wouldn’t be here by then.
The young man’s slender fingers brushed over the furnishings in the room. The important and precious things that held his childhood memories had been moved away. The things left here weren’t worth cherishing, even if Ms. Wen Xinyi burned them all, it wouldn’t matter.
Gu Tang went to the dining room on the first floor for afternoon tea. Four years had passed, and the chef had aged considerably.
His hair was dark and shiny, without a single gray hair, the color too uniform, clearly freshly dyed.
The chef was enthusiastic: “Gu Tang, why are you only having a small bowl of wontons? Will that be enough? You eat much less than before.”
Gu Tang shook his head: “No, thank you. I just got off the plane and don’t have much of an appetite.”
He did eat much less than four years ago. After all, back then, he was in his growth spurt, growing taller quickly, consuming a lot of energy, and naturally had a good appetite.
But after four years of eating food in City B, coupled with the spicy sauce from his hometown, he wasn’t used to the food in City A anymore.
Gu Tang thought, humans were truly fickle creatures, even someone as sentimental as him was no exception.
However, the small wontons made by Chef Li were still delicious, refreshing and not greasy, with a savory and delicious soup.
The advantage of living in the Jiang family was that he never had to worry about unhealthy food or what to eat. There was always a lot of food prepared every day, and he could eat whatever he wanted.
“Brother Gu Tang, you’re back.”
Jiang Cheng, carrying a cello, entered. Children grew up the fastest. Jiang Cheng was ten years younger than Gu Tang. In four years, Gu Tang was about to graduate from university, and Jiang Cheng had gone from elementary school to his third year of junior high.
Children his age should be in their first year of junior high, but due to good nutrition, Jiang Cheng was already very tall, a full 1.7 meters. Coupled with his excellent grades and Ms. Wen’s desire for her son to succeed, Jiang Cheng had skipped two grades and was the youngest student in his class.
“A slow start means falling behind. We’ve already helped you win at the starting line. Now you have to run faster yourself to surpass others in the relay race.”
Jiang Cheng had clearly inherited his father’s intelligence. His academic performance was excellent, and he was very mature, with good manners. He didn’t look like a 12-year-old, but more like a well-behaved high school student, no different from some naive seventeen or eighteen-year-olds.
“Young Master Cheng is here.”
Compared to Gu Tang, the lively and cheerful Jiang Cheng, who was also Jiang He’s biological child, was clearly more popular. A group of people surrounded him, greeting him warmly and enthusiastically serving him.
Jiang Cheng said politely: “No need to trouble yourselves.”
He glanced at what Gu Tang was eating: “I want the same thing as Brother Gu Tang, a small bowl of wontons, please.”
Jiang Cheng observed Gu Tang’s expression, but he couldn’t discern anything from the latter’s unchanging face.
After eating wontons for a while, Jiang Cheng finally couldn’t help but ask: “Where’s Brother Huaisheng? Where is he?”
Compared to the baggage his mother brought into the family, Jiang Cheng, inherently snobbish, clearly valued Jiang Huaisheng more. The latter was nominally the heir of the Jiang family, the undisputed core of the family.
“Are you looking for Young Master Huaisheng? He’s back, but he went to the old mansion.”
The old mansion had high standards and generally didn’t allow outsiders in. Even servants like them couldn’t stay in the old mansion for long and had to leave as soon as they finished their work.
And in the old mansion, everyone had their designated areas. For example, if the work schedule listed Maid A, she was responsible for Area A, and Maid B for Area B.
Leaving their designated work area without permission would result in dismissal. The division of responsibilities was very clear, and there was no room for shirking responsibility.
Jiang Cheng, still young, felt a little embarrassed when the servant said this. Of course, he knew Jiang Huaisheng had gone to the old mansion. Compared to the child his wife had with her ex-husband, Jiang He naturally trusted his own biological son more. He hoped Jiang Cheng could quickly replace Gu Tang.
The young master had grown up and didn’t need anyone to serve him. There were servants for the dirty and tiring work. Jiang He’s intention wasn’t for Jiang Cheng to be a subservient lackey for the young master, at his beck and call, but a trusted right-hand man.
Now that Jiang Huaisheng had graduated, he would undoubtedly enter the company, and his attitude towards Jiang He wasn’t very good.
Sensing his stepson’s disobedience, Jiang He naturally had to make other arrangements.
Jiang Cheng asked: “Brother Gu Tang, can you take me to the old mansion to see Brother Huaisheng?”
Having Gu Tang take the lead meant that even if they were reprimanded, it would be Gu Tang’s fault.
The seemingly gentle and harmless Jiang Cheng seemed to have inherited his parents’ cunning and deceit. He was a natural schemer, hypocritical, selfish, and good at shirking responsibility.
Unfortunately, Gu Tang was cold-hearted. Facing his “younger brother” who looked at him with bright eyes, he finished the last wonton: “No.”
Gu Tang didn’t even lower his voice: “Don’t use that disgusting tone with me. Your father is Jiang He, don’t call me brother, I might throw up.”
“Brother, how can you say that?” Jiang Cheng clearly didn’t expect Gu Tang to be so blunt, but he was secretly delighted and put on a wronged expression, “We’re brothers!”
Gu Tang said: “When your mother abandoned me for you, it was destined that I wouldn’t like you, especially since your father is Jiang He.”
“It’s really shameless for someone who benefited from the situation to say such things. If you really consider me your brother, stay away from me.”
Jiang Cheng didn’t seem to have done anything wrong, but as the one who stole all his mother’s attention, Gu Tang had reason to dislike him.
If he truly liked him as an older brother, Jiang Cheng shouldn’t be trying so hard to make his presence felt.
And after just a few sentences, he changed the subject to Jiang Huaisheng. Did he really think he was a fool? Willing to be his stepping stone?
Jiang Cheng was Wen Xinyi’s child, but Gu Tang didn’t even care about Wen Xinyi anymore, so how could he care about the child she had with his hated stepfather?
Some young servants cast disapproving glances, but they were pulled back by the older servants, signaling them not to speak.
After all, this was a family matter, what business was it of an outsider’s?
In the Jiang family, things didn’t have to be perfect, but one had to know not to do or say anything unnecessary.
Clearly, the uncultivated Jiang Cheng couldn’t stand this awkwardness. He waited for a while, but not for long, before leaving hurriedly.
Jiang Huaisheng came in the evening.
Just like four years ago, for some reason, Jiang Huaisheng was wearing the same clothes as four years ago when he entered the small villa. He swiped his card and went up to the seventh floor, which belonged to Gu Tang.
