Chapter 49: You Can Give Me the Money If It’s Useless

“So, you’re worried you might accidentally hurt me.”

“That’s right. The possibility actually isn’t low. Recently, I really have been a little quick to anger…”

After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Jiangye sat cross-legged by the entrance, unpacking the large pile of deliveries that had just arrived.

The largest package among them was a mint-colored beanbag sofa. It felt excellent to the touch, able to be kneaded round or flattened at will. Lying on it and relaxing one’s limbs gave the strange illusion of being swallowed by the sofa into an abyss.

Yu Wangxiao was currently seriously experiencing its wonders, personally showing support for Lin Jiangye’s large-scale online shopping. At the same time, he said thoughtfully, “Then we’ll move the appointment earlier. Wednesday afternoon, I’ll take you to meet Old Wang and have a meal together.”

Lin Jiangye placed two round little pots of succulents on the shoe cabinet, carefully arranging their position, and continued unpacking in a muffled voice. “So you’d already considered letting me see a doctor? Great.”

“He’s my doctor. He also knows about Old Madam Gu, so there won’t be obstacles when talking. You don’t need to deliberately hide relevant information. You can be more at ease and more honest.”

“Try to lower my guard as much as possible, and psychological counseling will be more effective, right?” Lin Jiangye paused, somewhat distressed. “But if I talk about my situation… will he really believe it? Think about it. My mom was a fallen moon. Doesn’t that sound pretty mentally ill?”

Yu Wangxiao laughed. “I’ve talked with Old Wang many times. When construction started on the island back then, he already knew what I wanted to do. With me as precedent, his psychological acceptance ability… will only be much higher than you imagine. Don’t worry.”

“I understand. Yu Wangxiao, you are a pervert with an extremely wicked train of thought…” Lin Jiangye also laughed, tossed aside the package, and moved closer, pouncing onto him. “Bad person. You made me become sentimental.”

Yu Wangxiao caught him steadily. The soft beanbag sofa was forced to bear both their weight and suddenly sank even deeper.

Calmly accepting Lin Jiangye’s accusation, Yu Wangxiao rubbed his head and whispered beside his ear, “You can try regular meditation. It’s very useful. Or use repetitive physical labor that doesn’t require thought to let yourself empty your mind for a while.”

“Repetitive physical labor that doesn’t require thought.” Lin Jiangye narrowed his eyes comfortably. “Don’t say something so easily misunderstood.”

“I exercise every morning, empty my mind for forty minutes, and the effect is very good, isn’t it?” Yu Wangxiao smiled without quite smiling. He lightly pinched Lin Jiangye’s wrist and pulled it upward, making his hand happen to press against his chest. “Don’t think crookedly.”

The feel of muscle was wonderful.

In a relaxed state, it was a kind of softness with both resilience and elasticity. Once slightly exerting force, that tight, vivid, healthy feeling had even more flavor.

Like hand-beaten beef balls, needing only clear soup to cook; tasting them plain was already delicious enough.

Lin Jiangye’s breathing grew slightly heavier. Even after Yu Wangxiao quietly loosened the force around his wrist, his hand still lingered in place reluctantly.

“How about this? From now on, I’ll massage you,” Lin Jiangye proposed as if possessed. “After you humans work out, don’t you need to relax your muscles? Let me do it. It’s perfect for training my control ability… I guarantee it can hurt however much you want, or relax you to whatever degree you want. No problem.”

“…Mm.” Yu Wangxiao froze for a moment, then raised the corners of his lips and answered lowly.

“Really? You agreed?”

Yu Wangxiao looked at him, a deep dark light appearing in his eyes, and said slowly, “Mm. Tuantuan, I want to take a shower.”

When a similar sentence was repeated too many times, its effect became extremely obvious, turning into a tacit hint.

“…Ah.” Lin Jiangye suddenly realized something. He was a little thirsty. “Me too. Then let’s shower together.”

“Alright.”

The comfortable beanbag sofa was ruthlessly abandoned, replaced by the misty steam rising in the bathroom.

Lin Jiangye leaned against the cold tiled wall, raised his face, and let the endless hot water fall over his head, blurring his vision and streaming down the sides of his face.

Letting his brain completely turn into large patches of blankness, almost unable to see or think at all… perhaps this also counted as a kind of deliberate meditation.

***

Lin Jiangye was now refreshed and full of energy, with very high efficiency.

Even the two dull afternoon classes seemed to become lively and colorful.

He cleared out some time before dinner and went to find the graduation advisor Yu Wangxiao had mentioned. After a long talk with the teacher in the office, he finally settled his course schedule for the next year, enough to accumulate the credits needed for early graduation.

While moving through the overly spacious A University, Lin Jiangye also casually accepted a few fortune-telling requests, earning a little pocket money. As long as nothing strange happened, the time of daily life always passed quickly, relaxed and wonderful.

He returned to the dorm. Li Liang was gaming as usual, and Jin Long had gone to participate in club activities and would not return tonight.

Gu Jiu’an was also there. The police were still blocking off and investigating the Gu family at the moment. Thinking of the bottomless white bones in the front courtyard… for a short period of time, he probably would not want to go back to the Gu residence.

Staying at school was better.

As expected, the plaster splint on Gu Jiu’an’s left arm had already been scribbled all over by Li Liang and Jin Long themselves. These two brothers were too enthusiastic, leaving behind a large pile of strange, twisted human figures that formed an overly tragic contrast with the cute little cat Lin Jiangye had drawn earlier.

“Jiangye…”

Seeing Lin Jiangye enter, Gu Jiu’an instinctively raised his head and called out. But after the two looked at each other for a moment, he suddenly felt a little awkward and did not know what to say next.

Lin Jiangye did not notice his subtle abnormality at all. He was busy packing things up in a rush, preparing to return to Longjing Bay tonight as well.

There were too many things from his online shopping. Even the packages delivered the next day had not all been unpacked, and halfway through, he had been interrupted by the shower… Also, he seemed to have a tiny bit of separation anxiety now and already really wanted to go back and stick to Yu Wangxiao.

Previously, when Yu Wangxiao had asked him to live at Longjing Bay, he had actually still half-refused, worrying that no one would write his homework for him. Thinking back now, he had really been pretending too much, not knowing how good youth was…

Lin Jiangye shook his head, letting his nearly wandering thoughts return to the main point. He looked at Gu Jiu’an. “How do you feel? How are things with your family?”

“Pretty good. Thank Chairman Yu for me. The night before last, he was willing to visit Gu Yuan and send me back to the Gu family. It’ll be very helpful for stabilizing the situation later.” Gu Jiu’an was not very willing, but honest. Then he continued emphasizing, “And thank you too. On the cruise, you found me and saved me.”

“No need to be so polite. We’re friends, so of course we should help each other. Speaking of which, now that the situation has stabilized, have you still thought about abandoning the family assets and leaping off a cliff?” Lin Jiangye tilted his head and looked at him.

Gu Jiu’an’s pupils contracted. “How do you know…”

“You’re still thinking about it.”

Lin Jiangye’s tone was certain, because he had seen it with his own eyes.

The death scene appearing on Gu Jiu’an still had not changed. It was almost exactly the same as the scene Lin Jiangye saw when he first met him.

Very bizarre.

The plot of Gu Jiu’an obtaining massive Gu family shares and successfully taking power had already been brought forward many years by a series of coincidences, no longer dragging on until he was twenty-eight as in the original book. However, Gu Jiu’an still transferred all the shares under his name to Lin Jiangye in the year he turned twenty-eight, then fell from a cliff and died.

Although Lin Jiangye did not quite understand why this nominal second male lead was so persistent about wanting to commit suicide… since he had already seen these things, he could not just let him die inexplicably.

“I…”

Gu Jiu’an froze, then silently sat back in his chair. After a long while, he spoke quietly. “Because everything has no meaning.”

“I don’t understand.” Lin Jiangye blinked and pulled over his own chair, sitting opposite him.

“Not understanding is also a good thing.” Gu Jiu’an lowered his eyes and smiled. “Jiangye, you’ll have a very good life, a long future, and perhaps you’ve already experienced many wonderful stories I’ll never understand.”

He repeated it again. “So, not understanding is a good thing.”

Lin Jiangye folded his arms, raised his brows, and looked fixedly at him. Then he spoke unhurriedly. “Your grandmother became a living dead, but before she passed away, she still didn’t forget to leave behind a will to ensure that you could obtain her enormous wealth and full inheritance rights.

“Your biological father was like an evil cultivator. He committed every evil, lost all conscience, and was ultimately cruelly killed by someone else’s mistress taking revenge with a knife. Very satisfying.

“And you haven’t even graduated university, but you’ve already taken sole control of the Gu family at a young age. Your liquid assets occupy half of A City’s wealth. You also have the opportunity to witness all kinds of supernatural powers and broaden your horizons… Gu Jiu’an, do you really think your life story isn’t exciting enough?”

Gu Jiu’an was stunned for a long while, but could not help laughing softly again. “In the end, what can remain by my side is only money. But I have no attachments and no one by my side that I care about. What use do I have for so much money?”

“If money is useless, you can give it to me. It’s quite useful to me…” Lin Jiangye blurted it out, then immediately paused, suddenly becoming alert. “Wait. Delete that sentence from your memory. I didn’t say anything just now.”

Thinking of what Gu Jiu’an had done before, this sentence was far too inappropriate. Lin Jiangye deeply reflected on himself. Jokes really could not be made casually.

“Alright.” Gu Jiu’an gently nodded. It was unknown whether he had truly listened. “By the way, I’ve already arranged Grandmother’s funeral procedures. Thank you for taking care of her these past few days. After the seventh day, if she doesn’t show any abnormal condition again, I’ll personally go to the Yu family to pick her up and send her to the funeral home… Is seven in the morning alright?”

“No problem. I’ll tell Yu Wangxiao. Also, how is Ouyang Jia?” Lin Jiangye asked curiously, carrying a subtle feeling toward this woman.

That was right. She had killed someone, hurt Gu Jiu’an, and had contributed to the North City incident in which the Gu family set up Yu Wangxiao. She had even been pushed into the position of main culprit in the case.

But perhaps because he had the ghost infant’s memories before death, even though they had never met, Lin Jiangye could actually understand Ouyang Jia’s actions.

If his own child were cruelly harmed by Gu Yuan using extreme methods, and he had no power, no influence, and was alone, powerless to resist… then he would also be quite willing to help Gu Yuan’s competitor. Even if he had done many wrong things in the identity of a mistress, it would not matter, as long as he could achieve the final goal and find a chance for revenge. He could do anything.

The more he could feel the ghost infant’s intense pain, hatred, and despair, the more Lin Jiangye felt that her behavioral logic was very reasonable. Moreover, she had not wasted her final chance on bail, and her killing had been rather clean and beautiful.

Gu Jiu’an seemed to think similarly, and even smiled. “I hired a top lawyer for her. Regarding the fire case in North City, the lawyer says there isn’t enough evidence to prove she was the mastermind. It’s easy to handle. As for my father’s side… I am Gu Yuan’s only living direct relative.”

After a pause, mockery flashed through Gu Jiu’an’s eyes. “So I’ve already proactively signed a letter of forgiveness, trying to get her a suspended sentence and probation as much as possible. Ouyang Jia is my benefactor. No matter what bad things she has done, this will not change.”

A pleasing conclusion. Next, they could do their best and leave the rest to fate.

Lin Jiangye nodded in satisfaction and stopped asking further. Instead, he suddenly sighed. “See, Gu Jiu’an, your life is very exciting, right? Other people couldn’t even dream of such complicated and bizarre experiences. Cherish this hard-won peaceful life. For the sake of those little children buried in the garden, live properly for a few more years.”

“…That makes sense. Just based on the evil things Gu Yuan did, I should live longer and atone for him more.” Gu Jiu’an sighed. “But right now, I don’t even dare let the news spread easily. It would affect the Gu family’s stable situation. The timing is too unsuitable.”

“Of course it’s not suitable to spread right now. It would alert the enemy. Gu Yuan didn’t commit his crimes alone. Many people helped him. Don’t worry. I’ll get rid of everyone who harmed children.”

Lin Jiangye said this softly. Only after feeling killing intent surge in his heart did it slowly fall back into place.

“Next time there is something suspected of being criminal, please don’t tell me in advance, Jiangye. I’ll feel psychological pressure.” Gu Jiu’an rubbed his forehead, but did not show the slightest opposition.

Having this kind of silent support was actually enough. Of all the people Lin Jiangye knew in this world, Gu Jiu’an already counted as a very normal one. At least he would not inexplicably do impulsive and strange things.

Normal people were too precious. If he could preserve one, he should preserve one. Lin Jiangye was also planning to conduct some small experiments on him about “completely breaking away from character settings,” so he could not let him seek death easily.

So Lin Jiangye cleared his throat. “Alright, let’s not talk about that. Back to the original matter… Gu Jiu’an, from now on, you absolutely cannot give me your money. I don’t want it!”

Gu Jiu’an froze, shocked by his suddenly firm attitude. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Alright.”

Why did that sound a little reluctant? Was that right?

“For my safety, you also can’t casually give me money, understand? If I take your money, Yu Wangxiao will chop me apart.” Lin Jiangye lowered his voice and continued emphasizing, “He really doesn’t like me using other people’s money. When he gets angry, he’s very, very fierce. Super scary.”

“…Alright.”

Gu Jiu’an seemed to finally understand the severity of the matter, but after agreeing, he was silent for a long time and could not help asking one more question. “Jiangye, when I first met you, you and him… actually weren’t really together yet, were you? You were acting, right?”

This question was very sudden, making Lin Jiangye unable to react for a moment. He could only blankly say, “Ah?”

The contract did mention confidentiality, so even now, Lin Jiangye did not plan to tell anyone. But he did not understand how Gu Jiu’an had seen through it, and he was truly a little curious.

Gu Jiu’an smiled bitterly. “Before, you only called him Wangxiao. Now you say his full name every time, very casually. You even secretly say bad things about him.”

“…Ah.”

“An intimate relationship can’t be acted out. I know that better than anyone. Back then, I could see your stiffness and your unnaturalness, so I worried you were being forced, forced by life, left with no choice… Sorry. My attitude toward you back then was very bad, wasn’t it? I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine.” Lin Jiangye was still dazed. He himself had never carefully thought about this question.

Gu Jiu’an looked fixedly at him, a nearly imperceptible sadness appearing in his eyes. “When exactly did everything become different?”

This tone was strange, and also strangely familiar… Lin Jiangye shivered from hearing it. His stiff head suddenly cleared, and his scalp instantly tingled.

He immediately sat up straighter, folded his arms, narrowed his eyes, and warned faintly, “Gu Jiu’an, if you dare suddenly say you like me, I’ll punch you unconscious. These past few days, I really have wanted to hit people. Don’t act recklessly.”

“…”

Five minutes later.

Li Liang, who had finally finished gaming, took off his headphones and stretched comfortably. Taking the chance to turn around, he was suddenly shocked.

“Holy shit! What happened? Oh my god, those giant panda eyes—Gu-ge, who beat you up like this?!”