NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1074
Chapter 1074: Extra: Twins
On the Director’s private plane back to Jijing Island, Elder Bai and Huo Zhi exchanged a glance with each other before shifting their gazes to the seat at the corner.
There, Gu Hui quietly sat alone, his black outfit making his skin look ghastly pale. He didn’t move his mask nor his cap, and the brim of which hid most of his eyes. His head was turned to the side as if he were looking out of the plane window.
Although he was of the same age as his twin brother, the auras they exuded were completely different. Gu Si was usually arrogant, wild, unconventional, and strong-minded, but when he got angry, there would be a smile on his face the majority of the time. He would be smiling even when he was feeling murderous.
Gu Hui, however, was different. He had an air of gloominess and cold, repressive hostility around him. The murderous aura he exuded was even thicker than that of Base 102’s secret guards and mercenaries. The way he seemed as if he would hurt someone at any moment made him stick out like a sore thumb and look unapproachable.
When Gu Hui said that he wanted to go back to Jijing Island instead of following Gu Mang, Elder Bai thought that she would come and talk to him about the boy. But she didn’t. She didn’t tell them to watch out or be wary of him. In spite of that, Huo Zhi and Elder Bai instinctively raised their guards against him.
The boy was brought up by Xu Ying, after all. Since childhood, he had been indoctrinated that he was abandoned by the Gu family, that nobody remembered him, and that he wouldn’t even have a tomb when he died. It was like he didn’t even have the right to live. Having grown up in such an environment, it was only natural that he would become very extreme. His antisocial personality could easily get him into trouble.
According to Gu Si, who had sparred with Gu Hui before, the latter had some sick skills and wasn’t inferior to him in terms of combat skills. It hadn’t been easy for him to seize the chance to make Gu Hui pass out. In his haste, he didn’t pay attention to his force when he injected the needle, and that was what caused the needle to break. If it wasn’t because it had been some time since he started learning medicine from his sister and that he had become well-versed with the weaknesses of the human body, there was no telling who would’ve emerged as the victor of the fight.
Huo Zhi had conducted a psychological assessment on Gu Hui, and the results didn’t come out well. Based on the results, the latter was very dangerous.
Because of all those reasons, Elder Bai—even without Gu Mang’s instruction—thus inwardly treated Gu Hui as an outsider and raised his guard against him.
There were actually two reasons why Gu Hui had chosen to go back to Jijing Island, with the first being that he was truly afraid of Gu Mang and didn’t dare to go back to the capital with her. He wasn’t stupid. He could tell that she had a large role to play in Xu Ying’s captivity by The Gray Building.
Even if Xu Ying managed to escape the death sentence, he could forget about leaving The Gray Building’s supermax prison alive. Despite having planned for so long and even colluding with Country D’s President’s House, Xu Ying, who thought his plan was thorough and flawless, was ultimately uprooted by Gu Mang and Lu Chengzhou. It happened so effortlessly that one could just imagine how terrifying their influence was.
Gu Hui felt that he didn’t have the ability to stand against Gu Mang—for now at least.
The second reason was that Gu Si was very friendly toward him, and he could sense that the former was being sincere. Although he hated Gu Si’s friendliness, it still beat having to stay by Gu Mang’s side and being constantly worried about getting punished. That was why he would rather go back to Jijing Island. At the very least, his twin brother had some patience for him, which their sister apparently didn’t have.
Gu Hui slowly got lost in his thoughts as he pondered what he was going to do after returning to Jijing Island when a can of Wangzai milk suddenly appeared in front of him, much to his surprise and confusion.
“Here.” Gu Si lifted his hand—an indication for Gu Hui to take the milk.
Gu Hui’s gaze landed on the hand which was holding onto the red can. There was a tiny red mole on that thumb in the exact same position as his. We’re really like a mirror reflection of each other. However, our lives are completely different. He’s far luckier than me. In order to save him, the Bai family didn’t hesitate to sacrifice so many of their people, even at the expense of their status. It was because of that that they fell from grace and became the weakest among the four major families.
The thought that so many people were willing to risk their lives for his twin, yet nobody cared to save him made Gu Hui’s eyes dim in gloominess. He ignored Gu Si and directed his gaze back to the window to look at the endless clouds.
Tch, it’s only been a few days since he learned about my existence, yet he’s treating me like his real brother. He’s being ridiculous. Even Elder Bai and Huo Zhi are wary of me. I know he can’t tell. He’s so smart that he knew that I was going to pass myself off as him at the President’s House. He even went along with the plan and deliberately fought with me. His acting was so real that even Xu Ying was fooled.
Given his IQ level, there’s no way that he can’t tell that I’m only going back to Jijing Island because I didn’t have a choice. I don’t have any good feelings about that place. I even hate it. That’s the place where I was abandoned like trash and treated as if I had never existed.
Seeing that Gu Hui refused to take the milk from him, Gu Si hooked a finger around the ring and pulled it back to open the can. He then placed the can on the table in front of Gu Hui, squeezed into the seat next to him, and put an arm around his shoulders. “I’ve told Sis that I’d be your big brother from today onwards. Call me ‘Big Brother’, and I’ll protect you from now on.”
Gu Hui looked sideways with a deadpan expression in his cold, arrogant, and deep eyes. That fleeting glance, however, was filled with disdain and contempt. Gu Si could practically see the word ‘idiot’ in his eyes.
As Gu Si had always been the one mocking others and had never been despised before. He frowned and narrowed his eyes. “What’s with that look?”
“If you have nowhere to place your arm, I don’t mind helping you to chop it off.” Gu Hui’s frigid voice rang out from behind his black mask, and hostility could be seen on his slightly youthful face.
Gu Si glanced at the arm around his twin’s shoulders but didn’t shift it in the end. Instead, he looked at Gu Hui seriously and told him off, “You can’t talk to me in this manner. I’m your elder brother! Don’t you know that an elder brother’s responsibilities are as heavy as a father’s? You’re being disrespectful here!”
Gu Hui pursed his lips before speaking through clenched teeth, “Don’t make me punch you.”
“Don’t make me poke you.” Gu Si lifted his chin in reference to how the other had lost the fight back at the President’s House because of a needle.
Huo Zhi and Elder Bai couldn’t help but be surprised when they saw how Gu Hui had gone silent. Although the latter was glaring at his twin, he had held back his anger.
Gu Hui had been keeping a very low profile the past few days. He didn’t talk, and he always ate alone. He refused to make contact with anyone, and he remained stoic throughout.
Even so, they knew that they couldn’t treat Gu Hui as an ordinary kid or let their guard drop around him since his prowess was on par with Gu Si. They just thought that it was rare to see him revealing his emotions.
“Just you wait,” spat Gu Hui after a long time. After that, he brushed off Gu Si’s arm and turned to face the window again.
“Wait for what?” Gu Si teased and then rested his elbow on the table to prop his face up. His body was tilted to face Gu Hui. “Wait until you’ve mastered acupuncture?”
Gu Hui gloomily said, “My last name isn’t Gu if I don’t get back at you for this.”
“Gu, huh?” Hints of amusement twinkled in Gu Si’s eyes. “So you admit that your last name is Gu and that I’m your elder brother?”
Gu Hui pursed his lips, his voice sounding slightly awkward as he said, “That was a mistake. I mean, my last name isn’t Xu if I don’t get back at you for this.”
Gu Si raised his eyebrows at that. “But your last name isn’t Xu in the first place.”
Being the taciturn person that he was, Gu Hui couldn’t out-talk Gu Si at all, so he chose to ignore him instead.
Things became silent for a while, and everyone on the plane moved around quietly.
Gu Si pushed the can of Wangzai milk toward Gu Hui. “Don’t get mad. Here, drink some milk to cool yourself down.”
When Gu Hui didn’t respond to him, he smiled and spoke like an adult. “Well, if you want to learn acupuncture, I can always teach you.”
“Get lost.”
“Tch, why are you so foul-tempered? You were so obedient in front of Sis, yet you’re always acting so arrogantly when it comes to me. Isn’t it because I treat you well?” Gu Si sighed as he reached for the neatly folded white napkin on the table and shook it open.
Having his inner thoughts exposed, Gu Hui’s eyes quivered a little as he pursed his lips and instinctively turned his head to say something in his defense. However, he noticed that Gu Si seemed to be looking for something on the table.
It seemed that Gu Si couldn’t find what he was looking for because he got up, walked toward the table in front, and said to Tang Yi, “Tangtang, lend me your pen for a bit.”
“Okay,” responded Tang Yi sweetly before taking a pen out of her little black backpack and passing it to him.
Gu Si took the pen, went back to sit next to Gu Hui again, and then started drawing something on that white napkin.
Gu Hui furrowed his eyebrows slightly as his gaze unconsciously landed on the tip of the pen in Gu Si’s hand.
With a few simple and smooth lines, Gu Si managed to sketch out the outline of the human body on the white napkin in a clear, simple, and beautiful manner. He then moved on to add facial features, muscle lines, meridians, and veins.
From how fast he worked and how smooth his lines flowed, it seemed that he had drawn the human body countless times. The meridian system chart was the very medical drawing he had learned from his sister.
Gu Si drew out the diagram in one shot and then pushed the white napkin in between them. With his left hand propping his face and a leg crossed atop a knee, he lazily said, “Listen up, I’ll only say this one. The human body has twelve primary meridians and eight extraordinary meridians running through the various acupoints in the body. There are 365 acupoints in the twelve primary meridians. Including the ones in the eight extraordinary meridians, there’s a total of 720 acupoints in all; 52 single acupoints, 309 dual acupoints, 50 extraordinary acupoints. I’ll tell you the key points first…”
As he marked out the positions on the human body diagram, he didn’t look at Gu Hui nor pay attention to whether the latter was listening to him or not. He just continued explaining. “Of the 720 acupoints, 108 are vital points, of which 36 are lethal points. The lethal points are differentiated into numbing, dizzy, light, and heavy, with each having four points.”
Gu Hui looked at the point that Gu Si was talking about and had pointed out on the diagram, as well as its specific position on the human body.
Gu Si had drawn out the 108 vital points clearly and even explained the acupuncture technique and the things to take note of in a simple, clear, and logical manner. It was clear how familiar he was about acupuncture.
Even Huo Zhi and Elder Bai were impressed by Gu Si’s knowledge despite having only studied traditional Chinese medicine for a year.
Gu Hui looked at the human body diagram on the white napkin. Upon hearing the different types of lethal points, he asked, “Dizziness?”
It was only then that Gu Si looked up and smiled at him. “I finally got your interest?”
Gu Hui ignored him. How annoying.
Gu Si didn’t tease him further and just continued explaining, “Yes. Have you heard about acupuncture anaesthesia?”
Gu Hui hadn’t heard of it before since he hadn’t been exposed to traditional Chinese medicine.
Gu Si thus explained to him the position and function of the lethal points. At the end of his explanation, he asked, “Did you get all that?”
For once, Gu Hui nodded and answered, “Yes.”
“Not bad. You can remember what I said so quickly.” Gu Si seemed to be very proud of that. He pointed to a random acupoint. “What’s this point?”
“Yamen,” answered Gu Hui.
Gu Si raised his eyebrows. “I have my own medical lab now, and Sis previously gave me a super realistic human anatomy model that will ring if the needle is poked wrongly. This lab will now be yours as well. Once we go back to Jijing Island, you can use that model to practice acupuncture.”
“Do you always carry a few silver needles with you?”
Gu Si took out a needle from his belt’s hidden pocket and held it in between his index and middle fingers. The needle was extremely fine, and it glistened under the light. It was a tool that doctors used to save lives with, but for some reason, it looked like some unorthodox tool in Gu Si’s hand.
“As a traditional Chinese practitioner, one naturally has to carry a few needles with them.” Gu Si lifted his chin slightly.
“Can I take a look at it?” The hostile aura around Gu Hui faded a bit as he seemed very curious about this.
Gu Si generously handed the needle to him. “What’s mine is yours as well. Take it.”
Gu Hui took the needle from him, his eyes gleaming as he stared at it. “Where did you poke me the other day?”
“Here.” Gu Si pointed it out on the diagram and then looked at Gu Hui, finding it pointless to just teach him the theory. “Here, I’ll show you where the point exactly is on the back of your neck.”
Gu Hui, who appeared eager to learn, didn’t oppose it. He even removed his cap and lowered his head to expose the back of his neck.
Gu Si was actually just testing Gu Hui when he said that he would point it out on his neck, but when he saw that his twin trusted him enough to expose his weak spot, he excitedly grabbed his hand and pressed it on the acupoint. “This is it.”
Gu Hui touched that spot, which was the sunken area at the hairline on the back of his neck.
“Injecting the needle at different depths produces different results,” said Gu Si while retracting his hand.
“Got it.” Gu Hui then raised his hand toward Gu Si’s nape, who very cooperatively lowered his head as well. He placed a finger on that acupoint and asked, “Is this right?”
“Yes!” said Gu Si proudly. “You’re pretty smart. As expected of my…”
Before he could complete his sentence, he felt a prick on his nape. He immediately lost consciousness and slumped onto the table.
“Young Master!”
“Gu Si!”
The color drained from Huo Zhi and Elder Bai’s faces as they jumped to their feet and rushed over. Tang Yi had also hopped off from her seat and nervously ran over toward them. “Brother Gu Si.”
With his eyebrows tightly knitted, Huo Zhi put a hand on the Gu Si’s nape before taking his pulse.
“He’s just unconscious from a little prick. It’s not like he’ll die.” Gu Hui looked at them coldly with a sneer, put his cap back on, and then turned to look outside the window again.
After making sure that Gu Si had only fainted, Huo Zhi looked at Gu Hui and said coldly, “No next time, or don’t blame me for turning nasty.”
Tang Yi pursed her lips. “Why do you want to hurt Brother Gu Si when he treats you so well? I don’t like you.”
“I don’t need you to like me.” Gu Hui looked up with cold and indifferent eyes. Nobody likes me in the first place. I was forgotten by my blood family, and Xu Ying only raised me because he wanted to make use of me.
Tang Yi shot an angry glare at him and clenched her fist as if she wanted to punch him, although she didn’t do it in the end.
Huo Zhi’s eyes darkened as he stared at Gu Hui, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he carried Gu Si, brought him to the lounge, and placed him on the bed. He then took out his phone, wanting to tell Gu Mang about this, but he changed his mind in the end in consideration that Gu Mang was currently pregnant.
When he left the lounge, he looked in Gu Hui’s direction. The latter was still sitting at the corner and looking out of the window.
…
By the time Gu Si woke up, three hours had passed, and he stormed out of the lounge angrily.
Tang Yi worriedly ran over to him. “Are you okay, Brother Gu Si?”
“Yes.” Gu Si patted her head in assurance and then stormed over to Gu Hui, huffing, “Was that all an act?”
“Duh.” Gu Hui turned his head and stood up as he removed his cap. Deep hostility could be seen on the face that was identical to Gu Si’s. “I’m up for a fight anytime.”
“You!” For the first time, Gu Si was at a loss for words. He clenched his jaws and glared at Gu Hui for a few seconds before finally closing his eyes and taking a deep breath while pushing his hands down. He said to himself, “That’s your younger brother. We’re related by blood. Don’t get mad. Not to mention that I’ll feel bad if he gets hurt while we’re fighting. It’s not worthwhile. We’re even now.”
Gu Hui was rendered speechless. He was also somewhat taken aback by Gu Si’s reaction, for he had expected the latter to pick a fight with him, given his foul temper. So it came as a surprise that he would react this way. He’ll feel bad if I get hurt?
The fingers gripping his cap unconsciously tightened.
After persuading himself for a while more, Gu Si flashed a big smile at Gu Hui and gave him a thumbs-up. “You did well! You did it really well! As expected of my younger brother! I only demonstrated it once, yet you mastered it already! That’s impressive! What other acupoints do you want to try? Should I let you poke me a few more times?”
Instead of scolding or picking a fight with Gu Hui, Gu Si praised him instead. The corners of Huo Zhi and Elder Bai’s mouths twitched in amusement. Other than Gu Mang, there hadn’t been anyone else who could make Gu Si willingly suffer a disadvantage…
He’s a real idiot, was what Gu Hui thought to himself as he looked at Gu Si’s proud and affirmative expression. He said coldly, “If you’re not going to start a fight with me, then don’t bother me again.”
He then put on his mask and cap again and sat back down in his original position. After staring at the clouds for some time, an image of Gu Si praising him with a thumb up appeared in his mind. A few seconds later, an indiscernible hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.