After posting to Weibo, Gu Qingchi began looking into what had happened these past couple of days. All fans had apps that helped them keep up with their idols, and they could see their idol’s activity online. As a result, Gu Qingchi’s fans soon started receiving notifications of his little archaeology expedition. He liked several posts from a long time ago.
He basically never read a post for free. If he read a post and agreed with what it said, he would earnestly give it a like. However, Gu Qingchi could never have imagined how many people were lovingly watching this “archeology expedition” of his.
Soon, posts began popping up on related forums.
[Chi Chi finally has internet access?]
[Hahaha, he liked a lot of related posts. He’s so cute. I bet he doesn’t know that other people can see his likes.]
[It turns out that he really doesn’t know anything. He probably didn’t know anything when he was being attacked by the whole internet either. I feel kind of relieved to know that.]
[It’s a pretty good habit. I hope he can maintain it. It’s better to use less social media and eat more food. Leave the battlefield to us!]
[However, this habit makes it so that he only posts twice a year on average, and one of those posts is made by his company on his behalf.]
[He liked a bunch of posts in defense of Xie Luyu. It seems that they really do have an okay relationship.]
[The first thing he did was read a tutorial on how to post on Weibo. Then, he made a post right away. Someone must have notified him about the situation. He didn’t actually gain internet access. Has anyone started a fundraiser to install some broadband for this kid?]
Gu Qingchi, who was looking at his phone in the car, didn’t know anything about this.
The car soon pulled up at their house. Gu Qingchi was focused entirely on his phone. Gu Xie got out of the car and opened the door for him, but he still hadn’t noticed.
Gu Xie leaned in and lightly tapped him.
“We’re home.”
Gu Qingchi finally came back to his senses and hummed in response. He’d gotten out of the car and walked over to the trunk when he suddenly realized what the other had just said. Home. He felt an inexplicable wave of happiness wash over him, and the corners of his mouth began turning up.
He picked up his luggage and subconsciously started to hum. His body swayed gently with the rhythm. He looked like any other young man of his age. He was like those lush young trees between spring and summer, the kind that made people feel alive just by looking at them.
Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu were waiting at home, having already been notified by Gu Xie. As soon as Gu Qingchi and Gu Xie walked through the door, Mrs. Gu called on Mr. Gu to start putting food on the table. Soon, the table was filled with all manner of delicious food.
“Have some congee to pad your stomach first. It’s been cooking for a while now. It’ll be good for your stomach.”
Gu Qingchi obediently buried his head in a bowl of congee. It was warm, the temperature just right, and it settled comfortably in his stomach. His eyes curved into a smile. He looked like the cat when it ate something it liked.
Mrs. Gu cheered up just by watching him. She felt a lot more at ease. She had worried the entire time that he was away. She worried that he wasn’t used to eating the food over there, worried that he didn’t have a thick blanket to cover him at night, worried that he’d be unhappy working there, worried that someone might dislike him, worried that someone might bully him.
Sometimes, she came off as a little too worried. Gu Qingchi hadn’t grown up by her side, and, by the time he returned to her, he was already an adult. However, it didn’t seem to register with her that he was already an adult. He was still a child in her mind, and she couldn’t help but get nervous over everything he did.
⁂
Xie Luyu was lying in bed, bruises still painting the corner of his mouth. His mind was a mess. He couldn’t stop the deluge of images flooding his brain. Ultimately, his mind fixed itself on the image of Gu Qingchi lying in a pool of blood.
His heart trembled, and he sighed inwardly.
If the boat that had been drifting at sea for so long could finally find a safe harbor, then the anchor that had carried the boat through countless storms could also cut itself off, even if it meant sinking to the bottom of the sea, never to see the light of day again.
He tilted his head.
There was a poster of Gu Qingchi on the wall. The scene was that of a grand castle. There were birds flying across the sky in the distance and a wide staircase in front of the castle. Gu Qingchi was wearing a ceremonial robe. He had one hand upon his chest and was just about to step up the stairs. It appeared that the camera was positioned at the top of the stairs. Gu Qingchi’s eyes were hidden from view. His beautiful jawline, his sweeping hair, and his tightly pursed lips were all that could be seen.
Xie Luyu chuckled ever so softly. His hands slightly clenched, and he held the figure from the poster in his hands. His usually arrogant appearance looked very gentle at this moment.
I love you. I love you enough to sink to the bottom of the sea, never to see the light of day again.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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The cell phone next to him pinged. This was the notification sound that Xie Luyu had specifically set up for Gu Qingchi. The notification would always sound like this if it was something related to Gu Qingchi.
Xie Luyu immediately got up and saw his phone screen light up with a series of notifications.
[Gu Qingchi has posted.]
[Gu Qingchi’s post has trended.]
Xie Luyu stared at the notifications for a while. In the end, he turned over and sat up. He turned on the phone and opened up the software application.
As he was reading through the notifications, he thought to himself, “Giving up on him is one thing, but stanning him is another thing entirely. Chi Chi rarely posted to Weibo.”
He clicked on the post and froze.
[ …
Our relationship is also very good. @XieLuyu.]
Xie Luyu stared at it for a long time, his resolve slowly breaking apart. How could he possibly stay away from him? How could he possibly break things off? How could he possibly let it go?
In the end, he thought, “Fuck letting go. Fuck the bottom of the sea. This anchor is still worth a lot of money. Can’t you just take it back?”
If he had a tail, it would be wagging like crazy right now.
He was instantly full of energy again, and his mood brightened. He didn’t even feel upset about what Mrs. Gu had said anymore. He’d thought it through. Mothers always hate the people who take away their children, and this was especially the case with text messages as miserable as those.
In the end, his thoughts ended up diverging for some reason. It was normal for mother-in-laws to dislike their son-in-laws and daughter-in-laws. In this situation, the most important thing was the other person’s attitude.
Suddenly, he put a stop to his overactive imagination and started to struggle with a problem.
Xiao Gu tagged him. Should he respond? Wouldn’t it seem rather cold if he didn’t respond?
If he did respond, what should he say in order to convey his original intentions while still seeming calm and aloof?
Xie Luyu struggled all night, but he still didn’t manage to send anything in the end. All he got for his efforts was a pair of dark circles under his eyes and a rat’s nest atop his head.
⁂
Gu Qingchi had spent all of yesterday traveling. Once he finished dinner, he scrolled through social media for a bit and ended up falling asleep.
He continued to deal with his affairs when he woke up in the morning. He repackaged all the gifts that he brought back from abroad and went downstairs with an arm full of gifts. He’d bought very many gifts. Some of them couldn’t be given face to face, so he’d already mailed those gifts out. Even his friends from abroad had a share. Gu Qingchi had basically counted everyone that he’d ever met when buying the gifts.
Gu Xie, who happened to be in the living room, gave him a hand.
Gu Qingchi picked out one of the presents and handed it to Gu Xie. He picked out another one and handed it to Mr. Gu, who was reading a newspaper. Neither of them were the talkative type, but they relaxed their brows and nodded.
“Where’s Mom? Is she in the garden?”
“Mn, she is.”
Gu Xie put a coat on Gu Qingchi as he spoke. He then patted him on the back.
Gu Qingchi then excitedly ran off with the gift and went looking for Mrs. Gu.
It was drizzling today. Gu Qingchi was more than happy to walk in a little drizzle like this. He deliberately took a path that was unsheltered from the rain.
Mrs. Gu took shelter from the rain under a small pavilion. She had a few pruned roses and a pair of scissors on the table.
Upon seeing Gu Qingchi, she let out a sound of surprise and got up to meet him.
Gu Qingchi’s bangs were a little wet. Once he saw Mrs. Gu, he smiled and presented the beautiful and delicate box to her like a treasure.
“It’s a gift.”
Mrs. Gu touched his slightly damp hair and wiped the water away with the handkerchief that she always carried with her.
“You could’ve waited for me to get back before giving it to me. Look at you. You’re all wet.”
“I just wanted to get it to you as soon as possible.”
Gu Qingchi lowered his head so she could touch his hair more easily.
The two of them then sat down together.
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet. I’ll eat soon. I’m going to head out once I’m done eating.”
“Okay, Gu Xie can drive you.”
“No need. I’m going to see someone.”
Mrs. Gu had yet to ask when Gu Qingchi took the initiative to speak.
“Mom must’ve seen it too. It’s Xie Luyu. He ran into a bit of a situation. I should go see him.”
Gu Qingchi felt that she wouldn’t care about the affairs of the entertainment industry, so he spoke very honestly.
He already read through everything that went down yesterday. It was actually the first time that he was seeing the ups and downs in the entertainment industry.
He felt that the situation was serious. Xie Luyu might not be okay. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case.
No one would feel good about being cursed at. Xie Luyu had helped Gu Qingchi a lot.
He felt that it was his responsibility to see him.
Mrs. Gu was currently trimming rose thorns. She stopped when she heard this and clenched her hand around the scissors. She was anxious. She didn’t want Gu Qingchi to get involved with the past again.
“I can ask people at the company to help him. Our family has an entertainment company.”
Gu Qingchi sensitively picked up on Mrs. Gu’s uneasiness. He held Mrs. Gu’s hand. His voice became more gentle.
“It’s not the same, Mom. I’m a little worried about him. It’s just like how you’re worried about me. I have to see him with my own two eyes.”
Mrs. Gu slowly relaxed her hands. She let out a long sigh and finally confessed.
“Good boy, I saw those text messages. Mom’s very worried. Mom thinks that you should stay away from him and grow up properly.”
She rambled on, seeming somewhat on edge.
Gu Qingchi took her hand and placed it against his cheek. He closed his eyes and rubbed against her hand, a gentle expression on his face.
“Mom, I know, but I’ve already grown up.”
“I’m still your child.”
Mrs. Gu thought about it for a while and visibly started to relax. In the end, she spoke softly.
“You’re right. You’ve grown up. You know what you’re doing now.”
She seemed to finally be admitting something. She was a lot more forthcoming after that.
“Mom understands. Mom was wrong. Chi Chi’s a big kid now. However, you have to promise to protect yourself. No one is allowed to hurt you for any reason, even if it’s for love. If you are sad, Mom will be sad.”
She could do everything she could for her child, but she was powerless when it came to her child’s emotional affairs.
However, just as Xie Luyu’s opinion of Mr. and Mrs. Gu changed according to Gu Qingchi’s attitude, Mrs. Gu also changed her opinion of Xie Luyu according to Gu Qingchi’s attitude.
Mrs. Gu relaxed after Gu Qingchi solemnly agreed. She started chatting with Gu Qingchi, trying to seem nonchalant.
“You seem to like him a lot. Is he good to you?”
Mrs. Gu had promised not to interfere anymore. However, she was still worried, so she started subtly inquiring for information. She didn’t want to see her precious child suffer due to others. She would actually go crazy.
Gu Qingchi couldn’t help but wear a faint smile.
“He’s very patient. It’s almost as if he can’t get angry.”
Gu Qingchi couldn’t have done what he did. He had exhausted all his strength just to keep living, so his temper had been much worse then than it was now.
“He’s also very good at telling jokes. Sometimes, I need to laugh or smile for work, so I just think about the jokes he told me.”
Mrs. Gu didn’t seem to like Xie Luyu, so Gu Qingchi kept saying nice things about him.
“He’s also very good at decorating and tidying up the house. He can clean up a messy room just like that. He’s also very good at cooking. He can even make cat food. My cat likes the cat food he makes very much.”
Mrs. Gu listened carefully. Her brows gradually started to furrow as she listened.
In order to reassure Mrs. Gu, Gu Qingchi talked about a lot of things and came to the realization that he’d once spent so much time with Xie Luyu.
Gu Qingchi was always relaxed when he was with Xie Luyu. His memories of their time together were also very poignant. Now that he thought back on it, he had a lot of things to say.
Gu Qingchi meant to reassure Mrs. Gu. However, it seemed that Gu Qingchi liked Xie Luyu a lot. Mrs. Gu felt a little uneasy.
“His eggplant dishes are just as delicious as yours.”
Gu Qingchi inadvertently finished with this sentence.
Mrs. Gu’s uneasiness suddenly disappeared, and her brows relaxed. She spoke softly.
“So it’s like that.”
Someone who can make Chi Chi’s favorite eggplant dish can’t be that bad.
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
His mom is so cute ^^
XL went from 0 to 100 in a second.
For so many reasons, why is it eggplants?😂 my thoughts are on the gutter
Thanks for the chapter ❤
Yeah, same. Why is that the criteria?
You shouldn’t have said that 😭.
When I read this, I felt the same as your profile pic lmao
Thank you for the update!
My console just quit on me after nine years, and we’re not sure if we can salvage it (and they don’t manufacture it or the parts anymore 😭) and this really cheered me up. Thank you for the constant updates and I hope these two have a happy ending! Fighting, Xie Luyu and Chi Chi!!!
The eggplant comment killed me. I have tears of joy in my heart
PFFT- I almost coughed from fluster when I saw the word “eggplant”… Then I gave it a second thought and almost died laughing in shame and amusement when I saw how Mrs. Gu has such a high opinion on that eggplant dish OMFG HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I love this.
When the food is the standard of judgement of character…😅
I give it a pass. But there could be good cooks with evil character (mrs. Gu take care)
The eggplant is today’s hero
All hail the eggplant? xDDD
Thx for the ch ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ŐωŐ人)
Aw Mrs. Gu! 😭
Author-nim has done it again. Best last lines ever
nothing can changed mrs gu’s impression for XYL except for eggplants. 😭😂
I fking hate eggplants…
Kkkkkkk of someone can make his favorite dishes! So cute!
But really, food is oftentimes the language of love in East Asian culture. Be it a homemade lunch from your spouse, the cut up fruit your mom put on your desk, the high-quality ingredients uncles and aunts gave from their hometown, grandma’s homemade dishes she’d bring you whenever you visit, etc. Lmao mom would probably scold you for being fat while putting ten more dumplings into your bowl. Probably bc in this culture, they nearly don’t say any words of love at all, so the affection and care had to be shown in other ways.