Chapter 13: Mutually Defiled
“I, Han Zhao, shouldn’t have listened to rumors and believed that Lin Zhile was Gu Jingxiu’s child bride. I repent. Do not believe rumors, do not spread rumors; starting with me.”
Han Zhao distributed five copies of his handwritten apology letter to everyone, then sat back down on the sofa with a resentful face. “Is this okay now?!”
The card game had long since become impossible to continue from the moment he uttered those shocking words. The group had now moved to the living room.
Ji Mingyuan admired the apology letter while clicking his tongue in amazement. “No, I’m just curious, where did you even hear these things? Little Le-didi is a boy!”
“This is too ridiculous. Eh, but Jingxiu has never had a boyfriend, nor has he had a girlfriend. Could it really be…?” Ji Mingzhi fanned the flames from the side.
Han Zhao said, “…I blindly guessed it myself.”
One of the involved parties, Gu Jingxiu, looked displeased. “My being single is a reason for you guys to spread rumors? Does anyone else know about this?”
Han Zhao hurriedly raised his hand and said, “No, absolutely not.”
Jokes aside, if they really provoked the Gu family, the consequences were something no one could bear. The old man in his family would jump up with his cane to beat him.
Gu Jingxiu forcefully suppressed his annoyance. “You better be. I don’t wish to hear similar remarks anywhere else.”
Han Zhao made a zipping motion over his mouth.
Meaning he wouldn’t speak of it, nor would he give anyone else the chance to.
The two Ji brothers also shook their heads, indicating they wouldn’t speak carelessly.
Gu Jingxiu turned his head to ask the opinion of the other involved party, Lin Zhile. “What do you think of handling it this way?”
Lin Zhile, huddled far away on the other end of the sofa, slowly nodded.
Gu Jingxiu measured the distance between them with his eyes and frowned. “Why are you sitting so far away?”
Lin Zhile curled his lip. “I just arrived at your house and I’m already called a child bride. If we sit together again, won’t it be rumored that we’re passionately in love? The innocence of a fine young man like me can’t withstand being defiled twice!”
Gu Jingxiu: “…”
He took a breath. “So you’re disdaining me? Outside, there are plenty of people wishing they could be in a scandal with me.”
Lin Zhile said, “That’s completely different!”
Gu Jingxiu looked at him for a moment and said quietly, “Actually, it’s not like my innocence hasn’t been defiled by you. On the first night you moved in, who was it that invited me to sleep in the same bed?”
Off to the side, Han Zhao and the Ji brothers instantly pricked up their gossipy little ears.
Lin Zhile suddenly widened his eyes. Why is this guy digging up old scores?!
He retorted, “But you didn’t even get into the bed! And besides, who knew such a massive villa would only have one usable bed.”
Gu Jingxiu coldly pointed out again, “Last night you also made me use the spoon you had used. That’s an absolute fact, right?”
Lin Zhile: “…”
Not only last night, but just now he had also drank from Gu Jingxiu’s cup.
Regret, ah! A single misstep causes eternal sorrow!
Lin Zhile quickly performed a public face-rapidly-dyeing skill. He whispered, “I-I didn’t mean to disdain you either, okay…”
Watching their interaction from the side, Han Zhao narrowed his eyes, realizing in hindsight, “Actually, it was my intel that was wrong. It’s not some child bride at all. You guys are clearly playing out a ‘domineering landlord and pretty tenant’ script!”
Gu Jingxiu and Lin Zhile said in unison: “Get lost.”
After eating this long-delayed lunch, Han Zhao and the Ji brothers packed up and went home. Before leaving, they lingered at the door with Lin Zhile, reluctant to part. “We didn’t even bring a gift for Little Le-didi this time, how embarrassing!”
“Once your competition is over, you must stay a few more days. I’ll really take you skiing.”
“Right, right, right. When the time comes, Jingxiu can also take you to my family’s equestrian club. Play as much as you want~”
Ji Mingzhi even took out his phone as he spoke. “Let’s add each other on WeChat!”
Gu Jingxiu blocked them in the middle with a dark face. “That’s enough from you guys.”
The group finally gave up and reluctantly got into the car and left.
They had all been driven here by Han Zhao. Watching the villa gradually recede in the rearview mirror, Ji Mingyuan stretched, resting his hands behind his head, and cast a glance at the person in the driver’s seat.
“I told you not to believe your cousin’s rumors. Now you’ve seen it with your own eyes, right? You almost made Old Gu turn hostile.”
Ji Mingzhi grabbed the back of the driver’s seat from behind. “Exactly. Next time, I’m not playing this with you anymore. It’s better to let him drop those thoughts early.”
Han Zhao clicked his tongue in irritation. “I didn’t force you guys to come either!”
“However,” Ji Mingyuan added, “this Lin Zhile isn’t as terrible as imagined.”
He smacked his lips. “He’s actually quite cute.”
Han Zhao rolled his eyes speechlessly and stepped on the gas. The car sped off into the distance.
After dealing with those talkative guests, Lin Zhile’s daily fixed routine—his post-meal nap—was put on the schedule.
By the time he woke up, it was already 3:00 PM. He walked downstairs, just in time to hear the doorbell ring.
His Ge was probably in the audiovisual room, and Jin-jie wasn’t around either, likely out grocery shopping or something similar.
Lin Zhile went to open the door himself.
Opening the door, he found a property management staff delivering a package. Lin Zhile asked if the recipient needed to sign it personally. Looking down, he saw the name was actually his own.
Lin Zhile found it strange; he hadn’t bought anything at all.
The staff said, “The phone number and address on here are the ones Gu-xiansheng frequently uses. He probably bought it himself, but wrote your name.”
Lin Zhile let out an “Oh,” accepted the package, and pattered down to the basement to verify.
Unsurprisingly, Gu Jingxiu was indeed in the audiovisual room. He hadn’t finished going through the film from last time yet. Lin Zhile showed him the package.
Gu Jingxiu said, “It was bought for you. You can open it and see if you like it.”
Lin Zhile glanced at him, his beautiful eyes containing suppressed surprise and curiosity.
He sat next to Gu Jingxiu, saying aloud, “It doesn’t seem to be my birthday, and I’ve never heard of a ‘Guest Day’ in this world. Why are you suddenly buying me things?”
Gu Jingxiu avoided his gaze and looked at the paused screen. “I saw it in passing and bought it. It doesn’t need a reason.”
Lin Zhile felt secretly happy in his heart but said reservedly, “Without a reason, how could I have the nerve to accept it?”
Gu Jingxiu paused for a moment and suddenly said, “Because the landlord thinks the tenant who moved in, Lin Zhile, is very cute, and really wanted to give him a gift. This reason should suffice?”
The audiovisual room suddenly fell into silence. Lin Zhile looked at Gu Jingxiu’s face, which was enveloped in the gentle glow of the movie screen. His eyelashes fluttered, and the temperature of his face rapidly rose.
A moment later, he abruptly turned around, a deeply hidden, barely noticeable tremor in his tone. “This… this package is a bit hard to open. I’ll go find some scissors.”
Then, he quickly ran out of the audiovisual room.
In fact, an unfamiliar person couldn’t easily find scissors in such a massive villa. Lin Zhile aimlessly wandered around in a mess and ultimately returned empty-handed.
Upon returning, the package had already been opened bare-handed by Gu Jingxiu. It sat quietly on the table, just waiting for Lin Zhile to open the final layer of packaging himself.
Having found pleasure in helping others, Gu Jingxiu sat aloofly to the side, looking at the screen, with no intention of demanding thanks.
For some reason, Lin Zhile subconsciously and carefully walked over to the table, sat down, and opened the box.
The light and shadows on the screen shifted, and the protagonist recited his lines impassioned, but Gu Jingxiu had no heart to watch. Instead, he observed the person beside him from the corner of his eye.
He saw Lin Zhile first wearing a look of curiosity. As he gradually removed the packaging and saw the contents inside, he froze.
A few seconds later, an exclamation rang out in the audiovisual room: “Wow, it’s actually Yi Ni’s memorial album!”
The hands Lin Zhile used to hold the album were trembling slightly. Relying on a singing voice brimming with intense vitality, Yi Ni had once become the hottest rising star in the music industry, an idol to countless people.
Yet, at her brightest moment, she perished due to illness. In order to mourn her, the entertainment company produced a memorial album containing the unreleased songs she had composed.
Because it wasn’t made to earn money, the album’s price was low, and its quantity was extremely scarce. As a result, its current price was thousands of times higher than the original, and it was highly sought after with no supply.
Lin Zhile was very happy, but he didn’t forget the person who gave him the gift.
Holding the album, he hovered around Gu Jingxiu, chattering continuously, “Thank you Ge, you’re such a good person. How did you know I’m Yi Ni’s fan? Did it cost a lot of money?”
Although his Ge’s tone had been nonchalant, a careful thought revealed that this album definitely wasn’t something you could just buy because you saw it.
Gu Jingxiu couldn’t help but curl the corners of his lips. He waited a moment before saying, “I saw you post content about her on your Moments. It was a guess.”
“It didn’t cost much money. I asked a friend in my circle to buy it.”
Lin Zhile hugged the album, unable to bear parting with it. Just now, he had only glanced at it roughly. Flipping to the back, he abruptly widened his eyes.
“It’s actually a co-signed edition!”
These signatures were left by Yi Ni’s relatives and friends in the music circle, some of whom had already become titans in the current music industry.
Those handwritings of varying sizes formed a circle on the back.
And in the middle of the circle was an indented imprint. Tilting it to the light, one could seemingly clearly see a name.
Gu Jingxiu let out an “Mm.” He watched Lin Zhile’s expression intently, nonchalantly speaking humble words of gift-giving: “This gift should be to your liking, right?”
Lin Zhile said, “Of course! It’s too much to my liking. In order to repay you, I’ve decided…”
Gu Jingxiu: “What?”
Lin Zhile: “…from now on, I can allow you to gently pet my head.”
“Restricted to my Ge alone. No one else is allowed!”
Gu Jingxiu let out a light laugh and reached out to vigorously ruffle his hair right on the spot.
Come dinnertime, Lin Zhile was still very happy. He even used the serving chopsticks to place food in Gu Jingxiu’s bowl.
Jin-jie eyed the two of them suspiciously, not understanding how Xiao Lin-xiansheng had been won over so quickly.
Gu Jingxiu looked into his bowl and discovered that everything Lin Zhile had given him were dishes he loved to eat. He couldn’t resist saying, “During the day, you were afraid of being defiled just by sitting on the same sofa, yet now you’re serving me food. What kind of logic is this?”
Lin Zhile was drinking the sweet and delicious stewed pear. Hearing this question, he said very frankly, “Haven’t we already mutually defiled each other long ago?”
“Besides, what we have is clearly deep brotherly affection. Let’s not let our bond be carelessly alienated by a rumor!”
Gu Jingxiu nodded. “Alright, deep brotherly affection.”
Having finished dinner, Lin Zhile couldn’t wait to go listen to the album, but the property management arrived at the door.
They came to report on the progress regarding the snakes that had appeared in the residential area.
“The snake nest over by the bamboo forest has been found. They are all just some brocade snakes, non-venomous. The one that shed its skin was also caught, and it has now been sent to the forestry bureau to be handled. Do you want the insect repellent in your house cleaned up, or should we leave it for a few more days?”
Gu Jingxiu said, “Clean it up.”
Jin-jie said with some blame, “How can there be snakes here? And wild ones at that. If it hurts a person or if the snake gets hurt, it’s a problem either way.”
The property management supervisor smiled apologetically. “It is our management’s dereliction of duty…”
After they left, Jin-jie asked Lin Zhile if he wanted to move back to the first floor. After all, going up and down to the second floor wasn’t as convenient as the first.
“Oh, no need, let’s just keep it this way for now. I’ll be moving into the production crew’s hotel to stay tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Gu Jingxiu stopped in his tracks, his deep pupils staring fixedly at him. “Moving to a hotel?”
Being stared at like this, Lin Zhile inexplicably found his confidence waning more and more. “Yes, the hotel will be a bit closer… right.”
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