Boyfriend Always Thinks I’m a Little Pitiful Chapter 23

Xiang Haibin's workstation was surrounded by people early in the morning.

"Mr. Xiang, I heard from a friend living in Prosperous Lane that Xie Ci kicked his aunt's family out of the house. Is it true?"

"You didn't hear the whole story. That house belongs to Xie Ci's family, and it was lent to his aunt."

"I heard there was a big fight yesterday, and they even moved out three truckloads of stuff."

"They cleared everything out and even put two chain locks on the door. Why so ruthless?"

"What kind of conflict? Suddenly kicking people out, where are they supposed to live? This is going to make enemies."

Xiang Haibin was getting a headache from all the noise and gestured for silence. "Stop asking. Xie Ci didn't do anything wrong in this matter, and his dad was there too. All decisions were made by the adults."

"His dad?"

A teacher from the physics group asked curiously, "What does his dad do? I've never heard about him. I always thought Xie Ci's parents were gone."

Another teacher said, "I forgot who mentioned it before, but his dad doesn't have a proper job, just a loafer. After the divorce, he couldn't take care of the kid, so Xie Ci was fostered with relatives."

As Xiang Haibin organized the lesson plans for the day, he couldn't help but think of the middle-aged man he saw yesterday when they mentioned Xie Qian. He seemed cultured, a bit gloomy, and although his long hair was a bit unkempt, he didn't have the vibe of a loafer. The car that picked him up was a luxury car, so it wasn't like he couldn't afford to raise a child. There might be other reasons.

The phone on the corner of the desk suddenly rang. Seeing it was from the principal's office, Xiang Haibin quickly answered, "Principal?"

On the other end, "Haibin, do you have a moment? Come to my office. I want to know more about Xie Ci's family situation."

Xiang Haibin agreed, "Sure, I'll come over now."

In Class One.

During the break, Gu Yufeng noticed many glances coming his way. He didn't need to guess what they were talking about. He turned his head to look at Xie Ci, who was sitting on his right, flipping through a second-year physics textbook, which he had borrowed from Fang Size. Lately, Xie Ci seemed very interested in physics, reading it whenever he had free time.

"How's your dad doing after you went back last night?" Gu Yufeng casually asked while flipping through an economics book in a foreign language.

Xie Ci replied, "He took his medicine and has stabilized."

After the evening self-study session last night, he called Yang Le. Yang Le said that his dad seemed to have taken a big hit, sitting silently in the reception room, not going to the studio or resting, just staring blankly. It was only after Yang Le brought Xiao Fang over that he managed to get him back to his place.

Gu Yufeng asked, "What are you going to do with the house? Sell it or rent it out?"

Xie Ci said, "I'll leave it for now. This matter isn't over yet."

Ye Yurou and her husband had been scheming for years. How could they just give up? Handling the house now would only cause unnecessary trouble.

A slight vibration came from the drawer. Xie Ci glanced out the window and took out his phone to unlock it. It was a photo from Yang Le. In the photo, Xie Qian was painting in the studio, with Xiao Fang sitting by his feet.

Yang Le: [The teacher opened the curtains a bit today to let Xiao Fang get more sunlight.]

Xie Ci replied: [Please keep an eye on my dad's behavior for me. Contact me if there's any issue.]

Yang Le: [Got it.]

"Are you looking at something inappropriate again? Smiling so slyly," Gu Yufeng teased, resting his chin on his hand and eyeing Xie Ci.

Xie Ci: "..."

Again? Slyly?

Xie Ci looked up and showed his screen to Gu Yufeng. "What's inappropriate about this?"

Gu Yufeng leaned in a bit. "I didn't realize your scruffy old man had such a romantic side. Is that dog his? What breed is it to be so chubby?"

"A stray I picked up," Xie Ci put away his phone. "It was in good shape, but it got fat in less than half a month with my dad."

Gu Yufeng joked, "A precious dog sent by the beloved son, of course, it gets fed to death."

Xie Ci thought about it and found it quite reasonable. He decided to adjust Xiao Fang's diet when he went home this weekend.

Before the class bell rang, the English teacher came in with test papers, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. "Class, the next period will be a pop quiz. Move your desks."

"Ah—"

A chorus of groans filled the classroom. Ever since Xie Ci scored full marks in math, it seemed to trigger something in the teachers. They all started getting eager. They had just taken a biology test yesterday, and now it was English.

After counting the papers, the English teacher looked at Xie Ci in the last row. "I made this test. I don't believe you can score full marks again."

The students in the front row passed the papers back, and one of them asked, "Teacher, did he score full marks in biology yesterday too?"

"Yes," the English teacher said with a sly smile. "Your biology teacher, Mr. Ma, was almost in tears grading the papers, doubting his own question-setting skills. He's part of the question-setting team."

Yang He quickly asked, "How many full marks were there?"

The English teacher replied, "Just Xie Ci. You have biology class this afternoon, so you'll see the scores then."

Yang He: "..."

Class One students: "..."

Old Xie, just go back to being a slacker. We won't make fun of you anymore.

Xie Ci glanced over the test paper and casually said, "You might want to prepare some tissues."

The English teacher paused, understanding the implication, and said sternly, "Don't boast too soon. Let's see after the test!"

Xie Ci glanced at the "foreigner" beside him and added, "Better prepare two packs."

For Gu Yufeng, whose native language was English, this test wasn't about intelligence but patience. Whether he could score full marks depended on his patience to finish it.

The English teacher: "..."

Arrogant little brat. He won't lose!

After lunch, Xie Ci went to train with a few guys from the basketball team, while Gu Yufeng got into the Land Rover parked at the school gate to handle the accumulated work.

Robertson flipped through his notebook, turning to report to Gu Yufeng in the back seat. "I've found out what you asked me to check. Chen Xinhong works at a daily necessities foreign trade company under Kangmao Group. He's been in the industry for nearly twenty years and is now a business manager."

"Kangmao Group?" Gu Yufeng found it familiar and asked, "Is the boss's surname He?"

Robertson quickly searched on the laptop in the front seat. "Yes, the current chairman of the group is He Yaorong."

Gu Yufeng seemed to have thought of something and didn't ask further. Instead, he asked, "Did you find out about Chen Zhanpeng's school?"

Robertson turned to the next page. "The school accepting Chen Zhanpeng is a private high school called Xinde. The tuition is very expensive, considered a noble school. The facilities are reportedly excellent, with double rooms in the dormitory, air conditioning, and private bathrooms. Each floor has cleaning staff who tidy up the beds and clean daily, even doing laundry."

Reading this, Robertson couldn't help but ask Gu Yufeng, "Why didn't you go to such a noble school back then? Squeezed into this shabby school, living with five or six other guys, the dormitory filled with the smell of sweat and stinky socks, and you have to wash your own underwear—"

Before he could finish, he received a warning look from Gu Yufeng and immediately shut up.

Gu Yufeng continued working, thinking that watching his ex-husband wash underwear was much more interesting than going to any noble school.

Friday night, at the Gu Family's business banquet.

Xie Jinyan came along with his father, Xie Cheng.

Xie Cheng found Gu Yong'an, the vice president of the Gu Family, in the crowd and quietly instructed, "Go find your little friends and play, but behave yourself. Don't be reckless."

"I know," Xie Jinyan waved him off. "You go ahead, I'm off."

Xie Cheng, holding a wine glass, exchanged pleasantries with Gu Yong'an, probing each other's attitudes.

Xie Cheng asked quietly, "Mr. Gu, any progress on the West City Technology Park project?"

Gu Yong'an smiled, "It's this year's key project. The board is still discussing it, but the Gu Family has always liked to work with reliable old friends. This time, we'll need your support."

Hearing this, Xie Cheng's smile deepened, clinking glasses with Gu Yong'an. "No, it's Mr. Gu who deserves the support."

As they spoke, they noticed everyone around them looking in one direction.

It was Gu Yongnian, bringing his son who had recently returned from abroad.

Xie Cheng looked at Gu Yufeng from afar. In a simple white shirt and trousers, without any extra accessories, his face was the most dazzling highlight. With his tall figure, he naturally drew attention as he moved through the crowd, indeed excessively outstanding.

"Is that your nephew?"

After asking, Xie Cheng didn't hear a response. Turning his head, he saw Gu Yong'an's smile freeze, his face a bit gloomy.

Rumors of discord between the Gu family uncle and nephew seemed true.

The Gu brothers' joys and sorrows were not shared. Over there, Gu Yongnian was overjoyed, eager to show off his son to everyone since he rarely attended banquets.

Gu Yufeng was led around by his father, like walking a dog, making several rounds. He finally smiled a bit when he saw some business partners approaching to greet them.

After Gu Yongnian introduced these people, Gu Yufeng looked at He Yaorong from Kangmao Group. "Mr. He looks kind and benevolent, much like my grandfather."

He Yaorong was flattered, quickly smiling, "It's my honor!"

Everyone in the circle knew that Gu Yongnian married the daughter of a financial magnate from Country D. His position as the head of the Gu Family was largely supported by his father-in-law.

In comparison, although Gu Yong'an also had a business marriage, his father-in-law's influence was far less.

Gu Yufeng continued, "I've often heard my dad praise Kangmao Group for its excellent corporate culture. We should learn from others' strengths."

Being praised in front of a group of old friends, He Yaorong straightened his back, smiling broadly. "Not at all, Gu Family does it better."

Gu Yufeng feigned confusion, "There's just one thing I don't understand. Why would you employ someone with a history of domestic violence? Is that part of your corporate culture too?"

He Yaorong's smile froze abruptly. "Domestic violence history?"

Gu Yufeng nodded innocently. "A classmate of mine has been long abused by his relatives, and I heard that relative works at Kangmao Group."

He Yaorong's face fell completely.

The atmosphere became a bit tense, and others discreetly changed the topic.

Gu Yongnian watched, suddenly understanding. His son agreed to attend the banquet tonight just to pull this stunt, right? What kind of classmate could make this carefree kid so concerned?

Having achieved his goal, Gu Yufeng patted his backside and slipped away.

Halfway through, he ran into Xie Jinyan.

Xie Jinyan was looking for food. Seeing Gu Yufeng looking over, he politely went to greet him. "Hello, I'm Xie Jinyan."

Gu Yufeng gave Xie Jinyan a meaningful look. "Your surname is Xie too, huh?"

Xie Jinyan was puzzled. "What's wrong with being named Xie?"

Gu Yufeng vaguely said, "Nothing, just thought you look a bit like a friend of mine."

Not intending to make friends, Gu Yufeng casually chatted for a bit and was about to leave when he noticed Gu Churan approaching with a server pushing a cart.

As Gu Yufeng was about to leave, Gu Churan stopped in front of him, raising his voice to address everyone. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending tonight's banquet. As a token of appreciation, I've prepared some limited-edition toys, each priced at one million. They will be on sale for half an hour, and all proceeds will be donated to the Gu's Charity Fund."

After speaking, the server unveiled the white cloth covering the cart.

Everyone was curious about what kind of toy would be worth a million, only to find some crudely made teddy bear dolls, costing no more than five bucks.

Gu Churan stood by the cart with a confident smile, occasionally glancing at Gu Yufeng, clearly implying—what you can do, I can do too, it's no big deal.

The surrounding big shots chatted amiably, but none made a move.

It was clear that Gu Churan was openly challenging Gu Yufeng. Anyone who bought one would be siding with the enemy, openly opposing Gu Yongnian, practically asking for trouble.

Spending a million to be a fool was one thing, but who knew how long they'd be laughed at in the circle.

Seeing the situation, Gu Churan's smile grew increasingly stiff.

Why wasn't anyone buying?!

"Impressive," Gu Yufeng raised an eyebrow, smiling as he set down his drink and turned to leave.

Gu Churan's face burned, unable to step down, and Gu Yufeng's mocking gaze clearly called him a fool for not even being able to copy properly.

In the end, Gu Yong'an had someone remove the cart, angrily taking Gu Churan away from the banquet.

Sunday morning, Xie Ci was bombarded with group messages.

Jiang Chenyu was chatting excitedly in the group. After scrolling up for a while, Xie Ci learned that Chen Xinhong had been fired.

Jiang Chenyu's grandfather was friends with the head of Kangmao Group, and they attended the banquet together on Friday. Upon learning about Chen Xinhong's domestic violence, the Kangmao head was so furious that he fired Chen Xinhong that night.

With no house and no fixed income from his father, the Chen family lost their only source of livelihood.

But it wasn't over yet. The next day, Chen Zhanpeng's transfer to another school fell through.

During the morning self-study break, Fang Size and a few others gathered around Xie Ci's desk.

Fang Size whispered, "My dad is an old classmate of the principal at Xinde Private High School. He said Chen Zhanpeng's background check didn't pass, and the enrollment process was terminated halfway."

Jiang Chenyu: "Serves them right!"

"Good news."

Gu Yufeng flipped through his foreign language book. "A family of unemployed people, how could they afford the expenses of a noble school? Scum should go where scum belongs."

Xie Ci glanced at Gu Yufeng.

Maybe it was because they had known each other for so long, but with just a look or a tone, Xie Ci could tell what Gu Yufeng was thinking or plotting.

Chen Xinhong losing his job and Chen Zhanpeng's failed transfer undoubtedly had Gu Yufeng's fingerprints all over it.

This guy had known how to use power to bully others since he was a kid.

Noticing Xie Ci's gaze, with a faint smile in his eyes, Gu Yufeng looked up from his book. "What are you smiling at?"

Xie Ci withdrew his gaze, nonchalantly continuing his homework. "Nothing."