Boyfriend Always Thinks I’m a Little Pitiful Chapter 60

With his current status, teaching a lesson to the Vice President of the Xie family is indeed challenging, but with Xie Hongguang's help, it's a piece of cake. The old man is eager to acknowledge him as his grandson, and as long as he throws out the bait of "not wanting to acknowledge the family," the old man will surely take the bait.

On the phone, Xie Hongguang repeatedly emphasized that he had already reprimanded Xie Cheng for his inappropriate words and actions, hoping that Xie Ci wouldn't take such trivial matters to heart.

Xie Hongguang said, "Your dad and your uncle have always been at odds, arguing whenever they meet. You don't need to take his words too seriously—"

"Old Master Xie," Xie Ci interrupted him, "Instead of telling me and my dad not to mind, you should advise him not to provoke us. This time, with the Gu family father and son and outsiders present, we were already very polite to him. If it happens again, it might not be the same."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Xie Hongguang softened his tone, "How about this, let's have a meal this weekend, and I'll ask him to apologize to you?"

"No need," Xie Ci straightforwardly refused, "If he truly feels he's wrong, then please don't let him appear in front of my dad again."

Having said this much, Xie Hongguang, unable to persuade him, felt somewhat frustrated.

Before Xie Ci hung up, Xie Hongguang suddenly called out to him, hesitantly probing, "About that piece of land in the old town... did you give Lei Qiliang any advice?"

Xie Ci's tone was emotionless, "What can a high school student like me do? Aren't you overestimating me?"

"I didn't believe it at first, but now that you've said it, I'm sure it was you," Xie Hongguang sighed deeply, "Xiao Ci, with your talent, why don't you help the family? I really need you!"

"If Lei Qiliang managed to secure the project, it must be because he was more sincere than you guys," Xie Ci didn't deny his involvement, giving a vague response, "You should reflect on losing the project instead of making things difficult for a 'child' like me."

On Monday, after evening self-study, Xie Ci returned to the dormitory and received a message from Lei Qiliang, saying that the land in the old town had been finalized. Xie Cheng lost the project and was furious, scolding the project team harshly.

Lei Qiliang: [Should the payment be sent to the previous account?]

Xie Ci: [Yes, in USD.]

Seeing the message, Lei Qiliang thought, "Dealing with a money god is both exhilarating and painful."

As the final exams approached, the entire class was lifeless, with rest time extremely compressed. Almost every day, apart from eating and sleeping, they were hunched over their desks writing papers and analyzing mistakes. Even Gu Yufeng, who had no exam pressure, was overwhelmed with various trivial tasks as the year-end approached.

During a break, Xie Ci and Fang Size were called to the office by Xiang Haibin to discuss the competition finals and returned with a stack of competition materials.

Leaving the office, Fang Size walked beside Xie Ci, looking exhausted, and suddenly asked in a low voice, "Will life always be this hard?"

Xie Ci glanced at him, recalling the image of Fang Size sitting alone by the river, overwhelmed by academics, many years ago. The impact must have been significant, as he still remembered some details.

Sometimes, the pressure is self-imposed. Whether talented or not, everyone wants to reach for things that are just out of reach. In his past life, he was the same, too fixated on a goal and ended up losing himself.

In school, losing oneself at most results in declining grades, but life will only get harder in the future.

Before entering the classroom, Xie Ci patted him, "After the college entrance exam, you'll be free, or you can secure an early admission spot in this competition."

Fang Size took a deep breath, mustering his energy, "Then let's go for it."

At the adjacent seat, Gu Yufeng was already asleep on the desk.

Xie Ci closed the window and noticed Gu Yufeng's collar was open, so he reached out to adjust it, accidentally brushing against his face and waking him up.

Gu Yufeng frowned at him, "Don't mess around in the classroom."

Daring to lecture him back?

Xie Ci withdrew his hand and spread out the competition materials, "Fix your collar yourself, don't catch a cold while sleeping."

Gu Yufeng remained motionless, "Were you peeking at me again?"

"What haven't I seen of you? Do I still need to peek?" Xie Ci picked up a draft paper, solving problems as he spoke.

Gu Yufeng: "What you saw was old, now it's fresh."

"..."

Xie Ci couldn't help but turn to look at him, "Stop messing around, go back to sleep."

Gu Yufeng was amused by his reaction and laughed.

"I'm so weakened now that I can only use my mouth, and you won't even let me talk?"

Xie Ci slowly replied, "If you have so much free time, why not organize the itinerary?"

Gu Yufeng: "..."

Last week, he casually dealt with it, thinking he could pass the task to Xie Ci, but this old fox would rather do things he didn't want to than take the bait.

On Wednesday evening, after sending off the physics teacher who came by and the biology teacher who only spoke for ten minutes, by the time they finished their papers and returned to the dormitory, the lights were already out.

"I'm too tired to even wash my face," Jiang Chenyu yawned, collapsing onto the bed.

By the light of the corridor, Zhang Ruochuan grabbed his change of clothes and, passing by, pulled him up, "Hurry up, the sooner you wash, the sooner you can sleep."

Jiang Chenyu: "My head is dizzy, and I'm so hungry."

Zhang Ruochuan: "You have so many issues."

Zhang Zhijie chimed in, "I have some cookies my mom made, want some?"

Jiang Chenyu and Zhang Ruochuan both looked over.

"You're practically our dorm's food supply, Xiao Zhang," Jiang Chenyu followed him.

Zhang Zhijie asked Xie Ci, who was following them into the dormitory, "Do you want some?"

"I'm not hungry."

Xie Ci sat down to change his shoes, rubbing his slightly aching temples, his voice hoarse with fatigue.

Gu Yufeng, who had taken a call on the way, was the last to enter the dormitory. Noticing Xie Ci's pale face in the corridor light, he discreetly closed the door a bit and walked to the bed to grab clothes from the upper bunk.

Xie Ci instinctively moved aside, bending down to change his shoes. Just as he straightened up, the person standing in front of him suddenly bent down, grabbed his chin, and kissed him, even slipping his tongue in.

His muddled mind instantly cleared, and Xie Ci raised his hand to press Gu Yufeng's shoulder, intending to push him away. But seeing the clothes hanging from the upper bunk perfectly blocking others' view, and with the dorm lights off, it was hard to be noticed.

In a split second, the pushing motion turned into pulling him closer.

But before Xie Ci could return the kiss, Gu Yufeng pulled away.

Being so close, Xie Ci saw the triumphant smile in Gu Yufeng's eyes, recalling the provocative or teasing "wait for it" he said on Saturday night.

Gu Yufeng straightened up, holding onto the upper bunk's railing, and cheekily stroked Xie Ci's chin, grinning, "Just giving you a charge, don't look like you've been violated."

Xie Ci looked up at him, lowering his voice, "Charging me halfway and stopping?"

"I'm fully charged."

Under Xie Ci's dissatisfied gaze, Gu Yufeng smugly walked away with his clothes.

With a queue for the shower, Xie Ci didn't join the rush. By the time he finished showering and returned, everyone was asleep. The only light in the room came from the faint glow of Gu Yufeng's laptop on his bed, with him already asleep, slumped against the headboard.

Xie Ci helped him lie down, put away the laptop, and inadvertently saw the stock trend of Rongyu Group on the screen, his nerves tightening, and his expression darkening.

Lying down, his mind was filled with memories from his past life, unable to sleep.

Rongyu Group was a crucial part of the Desen Consortium's technology sector. In his past life, after launching the autonomous driving module for motor vehicles, it swept the international market, quickly capturing market share.

In the year he and Gu Yufeng had an accident, Rongyu was already a dominant force in the field.

After he and Gu Yufeng got married, they broke through the encirclement led by the Desen Consortium, preparing to forcibly acquire Rongyu Group, which was a significant step in their counterattack against Desen.

But just as they were about to succeed, Desen, in desperation, kidnapped Gu Yufeng.

Under normal circumstances, he believed Gu Yufeng wouldn't be so careless, but during that time, they were going through a divorce, giving Desen the opportunity to strike.

The blood on the cement floor of the abandoned factory, the chaotic traces of fighting in the warehouse, the severely deformed metal door handle... fragments of memory flashed quickly before his eyes, finally stopping at the image of Gu Yufeng's bloodied face in the speeding car, and those eyes, calm and terrifying despite the dire situation.

Xie Ci covered his eyes with his hand, unconsciously clenching his jaw.

Not long after, there was movement from the upper bunk, with a foot dangling out.

Xie Ci snapped back to reality, staring for a moment before calming down.

Being underage indeed has many limitations, but it's not like he can't do anything.

Before submitting his itinerary, Gu Yufeng returned to Country D.

With Christmas approaching, Caitlin threatened to come and get him if he didn't return.

Christmas fell on a Saturday, with Christmas Eve on Friday night.

The phone screen on the desk kept flashing with exploding group messages, while the computer displayed social news from Country M, and another window showed a community forum in English.

After showering, Xie Ci dried his hair and casually scrolled through his phone, seeing everyone talking about Christmas. Jiang Chenyu and Wang Wei had teamed up to attend an event at a church, posting many photos in the group.

Xie Ci didn't celebrate Western holidays, and with only him and his dad at home, there was no festive atmosphere, making the group chat seem overly lively in contrast.

For the five years he was with Gu Yufeng, they always spent Christmas together.

After various parties, they'd return home, open a bottle of wine, and enjoy a moment of tranquility together, a ritual unique to them.

Thinking of this, Xie Ci switched to his chat window with Gu Yufeng, typed a message, hesitated before sending, and decided to call instead.

At this time, it should be afternoon on Gu Yufeng's side.

The ringtone went on for a while, and just as Xie Ci was about to hang up, Gu Yufeng's voice came through.

"Honey? I'm still busy, I probably can't accompany you tonight."

Xie Ci: "..."

Gu Yufeng, speaking fluent English, crossed the ballroom with his phone, politely declining the advances of men and women, stepping out onto the terrace, loosening his tie, looking a bit impatient, "So annoying."

"Did your mom drag you to a social event?" Xie Ci asked, though his tone was certain.

"What else could she be doing?" Gu Yufeng replied irritably.

"I think I heard quite a few people greeting you."

Gu Yufeng casually pulled a chair to sit, "What, are you jealous?"

"I remember you used to enjoy these parties."

Sitting at his desk, reading the news, Xie Ci casually remarked, "With so many handsome guys and pretty girls around you, how could you be annoyed?"

Gu Yufeng: "Are you mocking me?"

Xie Ci, with a straight face, "Just curious."

"Can they be as good-looking as you?"

Gu Yufeng propped his chin, speaking slowly, "A whole group of them can't compare to even one of your toes."

Xie Ci: "..."

You really have a thing for toes.

Continuing to probe, Xie Ci asked, "If they're all inferior to me, why did you always leave me to play with them before?"

Gu Yufeng awkwardly scratched his head.

Who can keep up with acting every day? Everyone needs a break, right? Besides, work was genuinely busy.

"Bringing up old grievances?" Of course, Gu Yufeng wouldn't tell the truth, "How many people did you play with before? Did I ever hold it against you?"

Calmly, Xie Ci replied, "Besides you, I never played with anyone else."

Gu Yufeng paused slightly, chuckling, "President Xie, today isn't April Fool's Day."

Xie Ci: "..."

A few young men and women followed him to the terrace. Glancing at them, Gu Yufeng told Xie Ci, "Let's talk later."

After hanging up, Xie Ci put down his phone and continued reading the news, thinking that sometimes being too good at acting isn't good either; wearing a mask for too long makes it hard to take off.

On Sunday, Xie Ci met with Lei Qiliang at Dahua Temple.

"The labor fee has been transferred," Lei Qiliang signaled his secretary to show the transfer receipt to Xie Ci.

Sipping tea, Xie Ci casually said, "No need, don't I trust you?"

Lei Qiliang placed a stack of documents in front of Xie Ci, smiling, "This time, I also need your help to pick."

"Small matters, not very interesting," Xie Ci didn't touch them, setting down the teacup and casually twirling it in his hand.

Lei Qiliang's eyes flashed with interest, leaning forward to ask, "What do you mean?"

Looking up, Xie Ci spoke in his usual tone, "I wonder if President Lei is interested in long-term investments?"

"What kind of investment?" Lei Qiliang pursued.

"Autonomous driving technology," Xie Ci replied.

Pondering, Lei Qiliang asked, "You mean for motor vehicles? Isn't that too advanced?"

"The Rongyu Group in Country D is already developing it. If we can closely follow, we might get a piece of the pie."

Turning the conversation, Xie Ci added, "However, the initial research period is long, and the investment cost is relatively high. You can think it over carefully after returning, whether to collaborate with me."

Hearing the implication in his words, it seemed this time wasn't just about receiving a labor fee.

Thinking this, he asked directly.

"I want to invest with technology, you provide the money and manpower."

Looking at him, Xie Ci calmly stated, "We'll each take half."

Lei Qiliang cursed under his breath.

What a big appetite! Does he think I'm a fool?