Chapter 167: Yanyan Confesses About His Past Life
“What I’m about to tell you might be a bit unbelievable, but it’s all true.”
An Qingyan sat on the sofa, taking a sip from the water glass he held in both hands. He squinted slightly at the tall buildings basking in the sunlight outside the floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze distant and profound, as if lost in thought.
Beside him, Gu Fei watched him quietly, waiting for him to continue.
“Gu Fei, let me tell you a story.”
“Just think of it as something that happened in a parallel universe. There, too, was a person named Lin Qingyan, and before the age of nineteen, his life was exactly the same as mine.”
“However, his fate was much more tragic than mine is now.”
“Because he never met a person named Gu Fei, he never knew he had been switched at birth. That year, he was scouted by an agent from an entertainment company and debuted as a minor celebrity.”
Hearing this, the man’s pupils constricted slightly. He looked at the outwardly calm young man beside him with a mixture of confusion and astonishment, but the hands gripping the water glass tightly betrayed his current nervousness.
“Lin Qingyan cherished this opportunity. He worked hard, practicing singing and dancing, studying acting, striving to become better and better. He enjoyed the feeling of shining on stage and gained a group of fans…”
“That period of time was truly happy.”
“But the good times didn’t last…”
An Qingyan gave Gu Fei a faint smile, and regardless of whether he believed him or not, he continued with his story. The unscrupulous company forced him to do things against his principles, and when he escaped from a dinner party, he was saved by a passing Wen Yan…
Later, he was repeatedly framed by An Nanyi, relentlessly insulted by netizens, and met with indifference from his family. Even Wen Yan was unwilling to believe him.
And finally, there was the man who had cared for him meticulously when he was ill.
Of course, he skimmed over all these bad things, omitting the details. He knew Gu Fei would be upset hearing them.
“Later, the twenty-five-year-old Lin Qingyan died in a car accident. When he woke up, he found he had returned to six years ago, back to when he was nineteen. None of the tragedies had happened yet, and he had met the most important person in his life.”
An Qingyan’s eyes reddened, and a crystalline glint of tears shimmered in them. He put down the glass, turned to the man beside him, and took hold of his warm, dry hand. His voice trembled, choked with emotion, as he said, word by word, “That person is you, Gu Fei.”
“The reason I went home with you that night, a complete stranger, wasn’t because I was foolish, but because I recognized you. You were the man who took care of me in my past life, who was so, so good to me.”
“Weren’t you curious before? How could someone like me, who has never received professional training, know how to sing, dance, play the piano, and even act? It’s because I learned all of it in my past life.”
“As for Wen Yan, he’s like me. He was reborn too, which is why…”
Before he could finish, a strong force wrapped around his waist, pulling him into the man’s firm, warm chest.
So close, An Qingyan could even feel Gu Fei’s racing heartbeat and his slightly trembling body.
Gu Fei just held him tightly, silent for a long time, before he called out in a shaky voice, “Yanyan.” His usually calm and cool tone was now laced with a hint of a sob.
An Qingyan looked up in surprise, only to see that the man’s eyes were already moist, an overwhelming sadness about to spill from those handsome eyes.
An Qingyan was taken aback. He raised a hand to gently touch the man’s cheek. “Fei ge, you believe what I’m saying?”
Gu Fei said, “I believe you.”
Although it was just a simple retelling of past experiences, he knew how much unspoken pain and torment lay within. His Yanyan had suffered so much in his past life, all alone and helpless. How much despair must he have felt to give up on treatment?
Those people who hurt Yanyan… he would not let them off easily.
Gu Fei felt as if his heart was being squeezed by a giant hand—an ache so intense it was suffocating, almost making it hard to breathe. All he could do was hold the person in his arms even tighter.
“Yanyan, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner, that I let you suffer so much.”
An Qingyan was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Gu Fei to believe him so quickly. But after the surprise, all that remained was a sense of being moved and a profound gratitude. How lucky he must be to have met Gu Fei.
“How could this be your fault?” The young man’s brow smoothed out, a faint, gentle smile playing on his lips. He stroked the man’s back soothingly and said softly, “Actually, the past is like a dream to me now. It’s been so long that bringing it up doesn’t hurt anymore. My life now is so full of happiness, I don’t have time to think about those unhappy things.”
“Fei ge, the reason I’m telling you this is because I don’t want you to have any more worries. Wen Yan and all that, he’s in the past tense. You… are the present continuous.”
“And you will never be in the past tense.”
Gu Fei finally broke into a smile. “Okay.”
He lowered his head and kissed An Qingyan on the forehead, whispering solemnly and devotedly in the young man’s ear, “I think… the me from my past life must have loved you too.”
“Yanyan, I love you. Whether it’s this life or the last.”
Year after year, day after day, I will love you.
Until death do us part.
An Qingyan almost cried out. Luckily, Lu Yuqi had the foresight to clamp a hand over his mouth with lightning speed, looking at him fiercely. “Keep it down!”
An Qingyan nodded.
Only then did Lu Yuqi let go.
Although the door was closed, the soundproofing in the simple dressing room was not great. The look of surprise had not yet faded from An Qingyan’s face, his eyes filled with excitement. “Are you really going to pursue my big brother?”
He should have guessed it sooner. The atmosphere between those two was completely off. His intuition was right after all, he just didn’t expect Lu Yuqi to have hidden it for so long.
Young Master Lu crossed his arms, still too proud to admit it, muttering under his breath, “It was your brother who told me to pursue him. I have no idea what he’s thinking.”
Seeing the blush that had silently crept up to the tip of his ear, An Qingyan smiled knowingly. Though they hadn’t known each other long, he had a good grasp of An Jing’s character.
His brother was definitely not a casual person; he hadn’t even had many scandals over the years. If he wasn’t interested in Lu Yuqi, he would have just rejected him outright. There was no need to do things this way.
An Qingyan shared his thoughts with Lu Yuqi.
Lu Yuqi didn’t say anything, but the slight upward tilt of his lips said it all. He feigned a couple of coughs and asked reservedly, “Tell me, how did Gu Fei pursue you back then?”
This question stumped An Qingyan.
Had Gu Fei ever pursued him? Had he?
An Qingyan racked his brain and finally came to a conclusion. “Um… he cared for me and took care of me like an elder?”
Lu Yuqi was speechless.
Forget it. He’d be better off searching online. This was not reliable at all.
An Qingyan suddenly thought of something, his eyes lighting up. “Right, I thought of something! My brother doesn’t like washing his own socks. He just throws them all over his room at home. You can wash them for him!”
Lu Yuqi: “…”
Wow, thanks a lot!
Just then, the assistant knocked and came in, saying excitedly, “Yanyan, Yuqi, Master Gu is treating us to afternoon tea! The spread… he basically brought the entire five-star restaurant over! Do you want to go get something to eat?”
“Can’t talk, I’m going!!”
When the two of them went out, they saw that the set was bustling with activity. Everyone was gathered in one spot, where several impressive-looking chefs in uniform were cooking on-site.
An enticing aroma wafted through the entire set.
Foie gras, steak, sushi, and all sorts of desserts filled a long, makeshift table. Everyone excitedly gathered around to eat the luxurious feast, chattering among themselves:
“As expected of Master Gu, so generous!”
“Is Master Gu’s family hiring a nanny? I’ll apply right now!”
“Sob… whoever gets to marry Master Gu in the future will be so happy!”
An Qingyan and Lu Yuqi looked at each other, seeing the question marks in each other’s eyes. What film crew has such a lavish afternoon tea?
An Qingyan gave an awkward smile. He had a pretty good idea why Gu Fei had suddenly done this. It was probably because Wen Yan had treated everyone to afternoon tea yesterday, and he was secretly competing.
Master Gu and his competitive streak…
Master Gu stayed for a few more days, arriving punctually at the set every day for an hour or two. The entire cast and crew were on edge, working with twelve-tenths of their focus.
A question lingered in their minds.
How is Master Gu so free? Shouldn’t he be managing a million things? Making millions every minute?
Only those in the know knew the real reason.
After receiving the Nth call from his assistant urging him to return to the company and take charge, and at the urging of his little darling, Master Gu finally, reluctantly packed his bags to return to Nancheng.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although Master Gu was tall, handsome, and had a great presence, making him very pleasing to the eye, having him sit on set watching them work every day was incredibly stressful!
“You… who are you people!”
In a remote, weed-choked alley, An Nanyi stumbled backward until he was cornered, with nowhere left to run.
With his back against the wall, he watched in panic as several tall men approached him step by step.
The man in the lead smirked. To think that the once glorious young master of a wealthy family would end up in such a state. It was his own doing. “Who we are isn’t important. What’s important is who you’ve offended.”
An Nanyi’s eyes widened instantly. He had already fallen this far, why wouldn’t they let him go? Lin Qingyan… it must have been Lin Qingyan!
“Let me see… with these scrawny arms and legs, should we break your arm first, or should we break your leg?”
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