ZS | Chapter 5

Outside the window, the sun was blazing, and the young master slept soundly in the hotel, not getting up until afternoon.

He was awake, but not fully awake.

His head felt dizzy, his body felt heavy, as if something had drained the vitality from him.

One forearm reached under the bed and pulled up the pair of underpants from the floor, on which someone had left a footprint.

He immediately flared up.

“Zhuo Hang!” Gu Zheng was in a foul mood from waking up and kept calling for him. “Zhuo Hang, Zhuo Hang, Zhuo Hang……!!!”

There was no movement in the room, Zhuo Hang had run off.

Gu Zheng got out of bed to look for things. Luckily, the important documents were all still there.

The pants and belt were both there, but the T-shirt was gone.

He had long felt that Zhuo Hang had a strong sneaky vibe, like a male ghost hidden in the dark, and he had not expected him to steal clothes too?

The young master felt extremely unbalanced, hugged a pillow and gave it a beating, then went back to sleep for another recovery nap.

Zhuo Hang was thin because he practiced boxing; Gu Zheng was thin because he did not eat properly, often slept until afternoon on days off, and only ate one meal a day, so if he was not thin, there would have been a ghost.

A five-star hotel cost over a thousand yuan a day. Before he was even fully awake, the young master extended his room, and after waking up he swaggered downstairs in a bathrobe and, after trying on Armani at the store, cut the tags right off.

Nearby were all Western restaurants, and Gu Zheng was hungry and only wanted rice, so he turned into a back alley three streets away from the hotel and ordered a bowl of rice with toppings at a small snack shop with peeling paint on its storefront.

The young master could spend several thousand yuan on clothes and also over ten yuan on a bowl of rice with toppings. He based his clothes, food, housing, and transport entirely on his mood, with his main principle being to do whatever he wanted.

After eating, he booked a sleeper back to Yucheng, and while there was still time before departure, he wandered aimlessly along the street and bought his mother a souvenir.

Only after he got on the train did he remember to remove the tag.

It was good he remembered.

The young master’s word was law, how could he freeload?

Gu Zheng removed the tag, but he still could not understand why Zhuo Hang had suddenly changed his mind.

This bid, passed to a direct client for a middleman cut, would only make three hundred to five hundred thousand, and Zhuo Hang had no need to fight over this little money, so it definitely was not for profit.

Could it be because he had been insulted and, furious, wanted to disgust him back and save some face?

No, Zhuo Hang was not that petty.

Over the years, Zhuo Hang had never had an argument with anyone, and he had never even spoken loudly in public. Even when his guaranteed graduate school spot was taken, he had not argued with me. He would not come back in the middle of the night because of a fit of anger and force me to act out an erotic scene.

Then why was it?

Gu Zheng could not figure it out.

To get some idea, he opened Zhuo Hang’s Moments.

Still nothing at all.

Gu Zheng had added Zhuo Hang on WeChat as early as six years ago, and the other man’s avatar was a first-generation green Submariner, which he had never changed.

At university class reunions, Zhuo Hang rarely participated. He had no friends and no Moments, and he did not fit in with the overseas students who loved sharing, spent their days off traveling everywhere, and fully experienced foreign dating culture.

Like a gloomy, damp male ghost, he spent his days with a dead man’s face, and it took him half a day to get out a single word, and even in bed he was expressionless.

He drained me dry and ran off, and after stealing my clothes he did not even send a message.

Scumbag!

“Li Jie, you look radiant after not seeing you for a few days.”

Li Lin took the fish maw and gave Gu Zheng a punch. “You brat, you’re trying to fool me with street-stall junk.”

“Oh, come on, what are you talking about? When you’re out and about, of course you can’t forget your mother. I picked this after carefully choosing for a long time, and I bought it after lining up for a long time!” Gu Zheng lied through his teeth, then went into the living room, picked up a hawthorn roll from the plate, ate as he walked, and shouted, “I’m hungry, is there food or not?”

Li Lin glanced at the cheap packaging of the fish maw, put on a stern face, and said unhappily, “No food. Starve to death.”

Seeing that his mother was unhappy, Gu Zheng slunk into the balcony, and when he saw Old Gu watering the flowers, he asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong with Ms. Li?”

Gu Mingyu said in a low voice, “The A-share market had trapped 400,000 in it these past two days. Your mother now yells whenever she even sees YuanYuan.”

YuanYuan was their family’s dog.

Li Lin, the daughter of Xiangcheng’s richest man, had married Gu Mingyu, a clerk in Yucheng’s Culture and Tourism Bureau, thirty years earlier. Since then, Gu Mingyu had risen all the way up, becoming section chief in just ten years, and was now the director of Yucheng’s Culture and Tourism Bureau. His official career had been smooth sailing all the way, rising step by step. Gu Zheng did not worry about money or status, and was a bona fide young master.

Li Lin’s main job was stock trading, traveling, and shopping, and her side job at home was beating her son and scolding her husband.

In the past few years, her son had grown up and become impossible to beat, and her husband had been promoted and impossible to scold, so the Gu family had only then gotten a second child, YuanYuan, a Teddy dog that was often given haircuts.

“Mm. Where’s Aunt Xu?”

“She went out to buy groceries. If you’re hungry, go to the kitchen and pick out some leftovers to eat.”

Gu Zheng looked at the time, clicked his tongue, and said, “Forget it, I’m not that hungry. Let’s eat lunch together later.”

In autumn, the ginkgo leaves outside the balcony had turned yellow, and red maple leaves were drifting down in the distance, but the Gu family’s less than ten-square-meter balcony was full of life, showing a scene completely different from outside the window.

At the center of the balcony stood king protea, hanging from the ceiling was a baolian lantern plant, and on the left were several stacked pots of hellebores……The flowers were diverse in species and shape, and at a glance they had all been carefully trimmed. This was less a balcony than the Gu family’s private garden.

Gu Mingyu stood with a watering can in front of the red jade beads, and behind the bright red fruit was a double-layer privacy window.

Separated by a window, the scenery outside was desolate, while inside there was another world.

The Gu family’s garden could not be seen by others, Li Lin could not wear brand-name jewelry, and Gu Zheng did not even have a decent car. The Gu family of three only had one property, the flat they were living in now, less than 200 square meters.

A tall tree attracts the wind, wealth should not be shown off, and it is not the thieves stealing that you fear, it is them coveting it.

Over the years, Director Gu had been swimming along in the system, all thanks to the six-character mantra: line up properly, and know how to avoid suspicion.

Gu Mingyu set the watering can aside and asked, “Why didn’t the bid go through?”

“Your people didn’t have enough pull, that’s why.” Gu Zheng bit back, turning black and white upside down.

“If something that was nailed down got snatched away, that only means you……”

“Oh, come on, this really wasn’t my fault.” Gu Zheng cut off his father, spread both hands, and blinked his big eyes looking innocent. “The agency put together a gathering two days before the bid opening, clearly because neither side could afford to offend the other. If I had gone head-to-head with the opponent, I was afraid I would hurt the harmony, and also afraid of embarrassing you. Losing the bid is not a bad thing for us either. Ever since I was little, you’ve taught me to ‘make broad good connections.’ Having one more friend means one more road for the future, right?”

This little punk was dodging the issue, incapable yet still making excuses, how could his old man be fooled by his son.

Gu Mingyu caught the key point and asked, “What kind of friend did you make?”

The truth could not be hidden forever, and Gu Zheng could only confess, “It was the Zhuo family.”

“Zhuo Real Estate?”

“Mm.”

Gu Mingyu frowned. “The Zhuo family was neither a direct client nor a high official. You could see the bid floor, so what was there to let go of?”

Gu Zheng felt guilty and spoke slowly. “Just……making a friend, wasn’t it?”

When he had just returned to the country, Old Gu had arranged more than ten jobs for Gu Zheng, making him frantic and causing him to neglect Shen Yuesheng. On top of running into a vice raid by chance, the whole thing came to light, and Old Gu found it very hard to accept his son had become gay. He forcibly locked Gu Zheng at home for a month.

After the ban was lifted, the boyfriend directly became the ex.

Gu Zheng’s breakup had a lot to do with Old Gu.

Gu Mingyu barked, “What friends are you making, boyfriends?”

Zhuo Hang knew he lacked ability and was very humble toward his father; Gu Zheng had no ability but insisted on being tough, and once his temper rose he even argued with his own father.

“What are you talking about? I don’t make friends with just any man I see.” Gu Zheng sneered. “The social environment has changed. It’s not like ten years ago, when you could make it just by relying on connections. Why don’t you understand that?”

Gu Mingyu had old-fashioned views and was stubborn, and believed that if the Gu family had not won the bid, it meant his son had not served the project lead well.

“Are you teaching me how to do things?”

“How would I dare? I’m just speaking the truth.”

Seeing that his son was still talking tough, Gu Mingyu got fired up too. “Look around at everyone you grew up with, which one isn’t doing better than you? A man should go to work when he reaches the age, get married, and have children. But look at you, loafing around at home all day, and becoming a homosexual……”

“Being gay isn’t a disease, and besides, I’m not even gay!”

“If you’re not gay, what are you doing messing around with men?”

“All the things that don’t show up get shoved onto me. I run around behind you every day. You don’t understand me and still want to complain?”

“Succeeding to the father’s business is what you should do!” Gu Mingyu said, “I already found the next home for this bid. Think of a way and make sure you get the bid back.”

“Ha, I see why you’re in a rush. So the lost bid embarrassed you, huh.” Gu Zheng had done too much work and felt suffocated, and on top of being heartbroken he was holding a fire in him toward Old Gu. He lost control of his emotions for a moment. “From childhood to now, I could only live step by step according to your demands. I’m the trash bin that handles your dirty work. Have you ever respected me, ever treated me like your son?”

“If I didn’t treat you like my son, why would I spend money on you? Which one of your food, clothes, and daily needs wasn’t provided by me? And now you’re teaching me how to do things? You spend all day unlearned and only know how to cause trouble. YuanYuan is even more worry-free than you!”

Gu Zheng was just about to fire back when Li Lin’s shout came from the bedroom, full of force and shaking the balcony flowers three times over.

“What the fuck are you shouting about? It’s broad daylight, are you going to let people sleep or not!”

Although Ms. Li’s words were illogical and uncivilized when shouted like that, the father and son reflexively dropped everything without another word, exactly the same as YuanYuan crouching in the corner.

The foul language in Gu Zheng’s mouth was shoved back into his belly by his mother, and he was so angry his mouth twisted and his eyes went crooked.

Gu Mingyu said in a low voice, “I’ll cut off your credit card tomorrow. Get the bid back, and I’ll restore the privileges.”

「Whoever withdrew this bid was a fuck!」

「My word was never something I took back.」

Face slapped.

His face had been slapped swollen.

Fine. I went back on my word. I was a bastard.

The son could not outstubborn the father, and Gu Zheng had no choice but to contact Zhuo Hang with a hardened head.

To make him happy, before the credit card was cut off, he went out overnight and bought a Green Submariner.

*

At 12:00 on September 15, 2024, Wanda Starbucks.

Gu Zheng wanted the bid back, Zhuo Hang wanted to get rid of the bid, and this had originally been a deal that suited both sides.

But the bad part was, they had slept together.

The atmosphere of this negotiation was just a little off.

Zhuo Hang quietly scrolled his phone, Gu Zheng sipped coffee in small mouthfuls, and each had his own hidden intentions.

Both of them wanted their behavior to look less deliberate, but in this awkward atmosphere, anything they did would seem deliberate.

After two minutes of stalemate, the one giving the gift spoke first. “Um……I heard you liked watches, so I picked up a Rolex.”

Zhuo Hang asked, “How much did you buy it for?”

“150,000.”

“Too expensive.”

“Huh?” Gu Zheng was a little stunned. He had not expected Zhuo Hang to say that. Shouldn’t the normal question have been “Why are you giving me a watch?”

“The base price for the second generation was 80,000, the premium was 40,000 to 50,000, and the market price was 120,000 to 130,000.”

How was I supposed to know so many tricks, and I was in a hurry to get stock on hand, so the middleman was definitely going to charge a high price.

No, getting hung up on two or three thousand didn’t mean anything, that wasn’t the focus of this conversation at all!

“Do you not believe I bought it for 150,000, or do you want me to return the watch and take me to buy a cheaper one?” Gu Zheng could not understand the other man’s thought process.

Zhuo Hang was silent.

Gu Zheng’s thinking was led astray by the other man, and he blurted out, “Even if I was fooling you, this watch didn’t cost 150,000, but with the clothes you stole, it should add up to that, right!”

Zhuo Hang looked somewhat puzzled.

Gu Zheng kept blabbing. “Why did you step on my underwear and steal my clothes? Would it kill you to explain a couple of sentences? Why aren’t you saying anything, did your mouth go bad?”

Zhuo Hang got up to leave.

It was bad, he had pushed the person too far.

Gu Zheng immediately grabbed his hand. “Hey, don’t go! I was wrong, I was wrong, okay! I came this time just to apologize!”

The green Submariner lay quietly on the table.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Zhuo Hang said coldly, “You have one minute. Say what you need to say.”

Gu Zheng steeled himself and said in a low voice, “Well, could you let me have this bid again? The Rolex counts as a gift of apology.”

What apology it was for was self-evident.

Zhuo Hang analyzed it rationally. “This bid would at least take a 500,000 cut. You want to use something worth 150,000 to exchange for 500,000 in profit. Why should I agree?”

Gu Zheng had originally wanted to cater to his preferences and satisfy his emotional value, but he had not expected Zhuo Hang to only recognize money.

Now the credit card had been cut off, and he had no cash to give him. This was bad.

Gu Zheng looked miserable, regretted not cashing out yesterday, and could only shamelessly say, “Well, you first transfer this bid back, and whatever you need in the future, I will do my best to satisfy.”

“Whatever need?”

Seeing that face-reading was working, Gu Zheng added, “Mm, anything within my ability, as long as it’s not illegal.”

The long knuckles tapped on the table, one tap, two taps, three taps, and they made Gu Zheng’s heartbeat quicken.

Outside the window, the flow of people surged. In front of his eyes everything seemed still, the noisy crowd became Zhuo Hang’s backdrop, and the soft sunlight fell into those deep eyes, beautiful beyond words.

He took a sip of coffee and returned his words to him verbatim, “Let me handle it, and this bid goes back to you.”