NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Renzi carefully observed Gu Xiaoshan. Gu Xiaoshan’s expression was too complicated, and for him, it was too difficult to understand. He could only make a guess, “By the way, are you mad at me?”
Renzi always looked extremely innocent, making people feel mad, but also made them unable to be mad.
He was not angry, but in his heart a mess of emotions were twisting about.
With a helpless voice, Gu Xiaoshan answered, “No, I’m not. I’m not mad at you.”
“It seems to me that Brother Xiaoshan doesn’t look very happy?” Renzi thought about it and asked, “Have I disturbed your work?”
Renzi was very used to blaming himself, and Gu Xiaoshan was also very used to consoling him, telling him that the fault did not lie with him. “No, my work is very boring, it’s good that you’re here.”
Renzi then perked up again, with his chin in his hands, he looked at the dark sky outside the window. “This mountain should be quite boring. I think your Gu empire should build some more impressive facilities, like casinos or something.”
“We’re thinking about it, but we won’t be able to get a casino licence so easily…” Gu Xiaoshan then paused. “Why are we talking about work? Let’s talk about something more interesting instead.”
Renzi still wanted to talk about work, as normally when he asked Gu Xiaoshan about work matters, Gu Xiaoshan never seemed to like explaining it to him. Now was a rare chance that Gu Xiaoshan would be a little willing to discuss such proper matters with him, so Renzi did not want to return to their usual familiar random topics. Hence, Renzi continued, “Is it? It seems to me that you like your work. You haven’t gone on a break for a long time already, right? Your workload seems to be even heavier than my brother. My brother has at least two off days a week.”
“That’s different. After our Gu empire became listed, there are many things to deal with, and there are also some overseas expansion plans. On such matters, the Yu empire is more stable.”
“Hmph, that’s what my dad also said when I was young. Now that my brother has taken over, isn’t he still equally busy, and still also have plans for expansion.” Renzi did not buy it. “But President Shu seems very free, he can even have a holiday in Country C!”
“How is he on holiday? He should have work to do here too.” Gu Xiaoshan said assuredly.
Renzi glared at him. “How would you know that? I came here with him, I don’t know, but you know?”
Gu Xiaoshan laughed, “It’s true that I know. Because he’s here to negotiate with me about the casino. They’re able to get the casino licence. The guns in the hunting zone here are also provided by them.”
Renzi was taken aback. “What sort of business is President Shu doing exactly?”
Gu Xiaoshan smiled, “Why are you asking about this?”
Because President Shu is my love rival!
— Renzi just recalled this matter.
That’s right, Shu Jingyi is his love rival right?
Why doI always end up so friendly with my love rivals?
However… however this was not too bad, by knowing his enemies, then he would be able to fight against them without being defeated!
“I just want to understand a bit more.” Renzi was straightforward, and used what his brother taught him, “I’ve been friends with you for over 20 years, am I not allowed to even ask a little?”
Gu Xiaoshan laughed in spite of himself. “You’re allowed, you’re allowed. But have you ever thought, we’ve been friends for over 20 years, and what does that have to do with Shu Jingyi?”
Renzi then mentioned his hang-up. “Because he’s your blind date! You see, you’ve just met not long ago on a blind date, and now came to Country C together, even came together to this godforsaken place, you’ve arranged it beforehand, right?”
“We did arrange it. Didn’t I say it was for the casino? Also, I’ve just taken over this place, and need to discuss some issues about the supply of guns for the hunting area.”
This matter was also giving Gu Xiaoshan a headache. To discuss a business partnership with a person like Shu Jingyi was quite tiring. He felt that on some level, both he and Shu Jingyi were the same type of people, and always want to gain an advantage in the partnership. Still, Shu Jingyi was well-established in Country C, this time, he would most likely be the one who would be taken advantage of.
Gu Xiaoshan again started craving for a smoke, but smoking was prohibited indoors. He gritted his molars, and watched Renzi carefully cutting at his steak, thinking, just let him take a little advantage then, as long as he doesn’t take this one away.
Gu Xiaoshan then said, “You’re really curious about Shu Jingyi’s matters?”
“I’m curious!” Renzi’s somewhat drowsy eyes widened. “Don’t tell me he’s some international crime boss?”
Gu Xiaoshan snickered, “If that’s the case, would my father still arrange such a match for me?”
“Oh, that’s true.” After all, he was his biological son. It was not possible for him to introduce a criminal to Gu Xiaoshan.
Gu Xiaoshan explained, “The older generation in his family did get involved with some shady business, but that’s only in Country C. Now, they’re very proper and clean businessmen. That being the case, it’s still quite complicated. It’s better that you stay away from him.”
Renzi did not really get it, “You mean, he’s still a little dangerous?”
“Yes, that’s what I mean.” Gu Xiaoshan nodded, reiterating, “Stay away from him.”
Renzi instead said, “If he’s really that dangerous, then why did your father arrange for you a blind date with him?”
“Didn’t we end up not working out?” Gu Xiaoshan finally clarified his relationship with President Shu. “Now, we’re just ordinary business partners.”
Renzi still did not understand, “But then shouldn’t you avoid doing business with him? Isn’t he dirty?”
Gu Xiaoshan ate his last bite of rare steak, elegantly dabbing at his mouth with a napkin. “Is there even any money that’s clean?”
Renzi did not really understand, but his attitude towards such things was the same as his attitude towards maths: Since he did not want to understand it, he won’t think about it anymore. After running around for the entire day, after the meal, he was sleepy. Gu Xiaoshan walked with him to the lift, and warned him, “It’s not safe here, don’t go out at night.”
Renzi was startled. “Isn’t this a high-end hotel?”
Gu Xiaoshan was amused, “This is a hotel up in a mountain, and this is a mountain that you may come across a bear when you go outside.”
Renzi finally understood. He looked at the shadowy forest outside the window, and felt a sense of trepidation. “Will there be any ghosts?”
“Who knows?” Gu Xiaoshan hid his smile from Renzi. “Don’t run out by yourself, ok?”
Renzi nodded, thinking that even if he was beaten to death, he would not go out.
Gu Xiaoshan again reminded him, “If others call you out, don’t go too.”
“In the middle of the night and in a forested mountain, who would ask me to go out?”
“No matter what, just don’t go out. If not you may be carried off by a wolf.” Gu Xiaoshan warned jokingly.
Renzi felt that this sentence was a little strange, but when he looked up to see Gu Xiaoshan’s face, and saw the light within his eyes, his heart pounded, and felt like his entire body had been submerged in hot water. Renzi was a little dizzy, and said, “I think the last time when we went to Rose Mountain to play, you said this as well.”
“Oh, is it?” Gu Xiaoshan could not remember it.
But this also seemed like something he would tell Renzi. Although he could not remember himself saying this sentence, but could remember that there was one time when they went on a summer camp, which was a camping event in the mountain organised by the school. He was older than Renzi, and was Renzi’s senior in school, and logically, they would not be camping together. However, Renzi insisted on joining him, and even fell down in the mountains during the night. Gu Xiaoshan had lectured him very angrily, and even scolded him, telling him that not only were there pits in the mountain, there were also pits in his brain.
Renzi scooted into Gu Xiaoshan’s tent, hiding from Gu Xiaoshan’s teacher who was making his rounds. Gu Xiaoshan was scolding him, asking him to leave, but when the teacher came over, he still used his sleeping bag to cover Renzi. At that time, Renzi had yet to go through puberty, and he looked very slender and fair. In the sleeping bag, he was fine if he did not make any noise, but he felt uncomfortable, and twisted around, even sticking a leg out. Seeing the movement, the teacher naturally thought that Gu Xiaoshan was hiding a girl, thinking that middle school students were now very terrib
“Are you hiding a girl?”
Gu Xiaoshan disdainfully objected. “I hate girls the most.”
The teacher was unimpressed, thinking, who would hate girls?
A friend from the next tent joked, “I bet five dollars that it’s Yu Yunren from the elementary school!”
The teacher pulled the sleeping back away, and discovered that it was really Yu Yunren. Although he was a little angry, but he was a little relieved, thinking, as long as it’s not a girl. He knew that boys were playful, and so rebuked Yu Yunren, saying that he was going to send him back to the elementary school’s campsite. Renzi refused flatly, and Gu Xiaoshan even said, “It’s already so late. If we ask him to go back, what if something happens to him?”
The teacher was also pretty vexed. Naturally, he could not ask the little young master of the Yu family to go back by himself, but he himself also did not want to send him back in the middle of the night. Finally, the teacher called the person in charge of Yu Yunren’s camp, and told him the situation.
Just like that, Renzi squeezed with Gu Xiaoshan in a tent to sleep.
On his way there, Renzi had injured his knee. It was still painful, so he whined to Gu Xiaoshan, “Brother Xiaoshan, my knee hurts.”
Gu Xiaoshan at that time was still a straightforward boy, so he said, “After falling down, of course it’ll hurt.”
Renzi at that time was a little young master who was a hundred times more delicate than how he was now. He cried, “Blow on it, blow on it for me!”
Gu Xiaoshan said fiercely, “Blow your ass, go to sleep!”
Renzi fell quiet. Most of the time, Renzi was quite obedient. He shut his mouth with a stubborn look on his face. Looking at him, Gu Xiaoshan instead felt that he could not bear to see him like that. He then quietly asked, “It really hurts?”
Renzi quietly answered, “It’s not so painful anymore. Brother Xiaoshan, let’s sleep.”
Gu Xiaoshan pulled away Renzi’s little blanket, and rolled up his little pants. On the pale knee, he saw a large bruise, and there were a few patches of broken skin. Gu Xiaoshan asked, “Have you washed the wound?”
“I’ve washed it already.” Renzi answered, then asked tentatively. “Can you help me blow at it?”
“But your wound is really very ugly.” After saying that, Gu Xiaoshan still blew a couple of times at his knee with a disdainful look. Gu Xiaoshan’s breath brushed past the heated wound, and felt very cool. Renzi smiled in satisfaction, “Yeap, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Facing Renzi, Gu Xiaoshan lay on his side, pulling Renzi’s injured leg over his own thigh. “Does it feel more comfortable like this?”
“Yes, it does!” Renzi was a little curious, he did feel better with his injured leg elevated. “But it doesn’t feel comfortable for Brother Xiaoshan right?”
“Yes. So, can you sleep quietly now?”
Renzi could only obediently shut his eyes and go to sleep, and the night passed peacefully.