Chapter 1#

Chapter 1: Returning Home#

The eleven-hour long-haul journey finally came to an end.

As soon as Gu Chenzhou got off the plane, he saw an off-road vehicle with a military license plate parked on the tarmac. A young man in his early twenties, wearing high-top military boots, was leaning against the car door with his hands in his pockets, acting as if no one else was around.

Gu Chenzhou subconsciously curled his lips and walked towards him.

The young man by the off-road vehicle saw Gu Chenzhou at the same time. He took a few quick steps forward, hugged Gu Chenzhou tightly, and said, “Welcome back.” Then he took a step back, looked him over for a moment, and looked surprised. “It seems you’ve been doing well out there.”

“How can it compare to the glory of Young Master Wei, who has everyone at his beck and call?” Gu Chenzhou replied lightly.

Wei Xiangjin couldn’t help but laugh. “Didn’t I learn this from Young Master Gu?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt something was wrong. He quickly patted the car and changed the subject. “Come on, get in the car. I’ve reserved a spot at National Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance. Lin San and Zhou Si are both there. We brothers haven’t seen each other properly for three years.”

Gu Chenzhou nodded. After a few words, his expression had returned to calm, losing the intimacy that had unexpectedly revealed itself when he first got off the plane.

The off-road vehicle started and drove all the way out along the airport road, unimpeded.

Gu Chenzhou adjusted his seat and leaned back to relax. The rearview mirror and side mirrors vaguely reflected his appearance: short hair, a young face, pale skin, somewhat thin… He suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze penetrating the mirror surface, and his whole person became sharp.

Wei Xiangjin said from the side, “Did your old man relent and let you come back? He’s usually much gentler than my grandfather, but once he gets serious, no one can persuade him. Back then, your uncle insisted on marrying a woman the old man didn’t approve of, and he had his leg broken and was kicked out directly. It’s been over ten years now and he still isn’t allowed back. In the end, it’s you, the legitimate grandson of the third generation, who has the face to persuade the old man to relent…”

Gu Chenzhou sneered, “It wasn’t the old man who relented; I ran back on my own.”

Wei Xiangjin’s steering wheel almost slipped. He looked at Gu Chenzhou in surprise. “You came back on your own? They don’t know?” He frowned. “Should I go cancel the gathering? We all grew up together; they won’t say anything.”

“It’s fine; this is just right,” Gu Chenzhou said. “Since I’m back, I’m already prepared.”

Hearing Gu Chenzhou say this, Wei Xiangjin relaxed and switched to other topics. “I heard that when you went out, Uncle Gu specially assigned a few people from the army to follow you outside? Just to keep an eye on you. I didn’t expect… What are you wearing on your wrist?” He asked suddenly. From the moment he saw Gu Chenzhou, the bracelet on the other’s hand had attracted his attention. He was just too embarrassed to ask when they first met. Now that they had chatted a few sentences and regained the familiarity of the past, he couldn’t help but ask.

“Just a trinket,” Gu Chenzhou said casually. Then, seeing the slightly puzzled Wei Xiangjin, he explained, “I collected it. It’s an antique, mutton-fat jade.”

“The color is really not bad,” Wei Xiangjin said, looking at the bracelet several times. It was a bracelet made of eighteen milky white beads. The carving on each bead was different, and they were irregular with each other. Overall, it looked simple and rough. But the unique luster of mutton-fat jade made people feel rounded and auspicious, looking very peculiar at first glance.

“Where did you get this thing?” Wei Xiangjin inquired, feeling that whether it was the luster or the color, it was exaggeratedly beautiful. But people like them wouldn’t wear a fake to embarrass themselves. “I’ll buy one tomorrow too and give it to my old lady on her birthday.”

“I searched through the foreign markets and only saw this one. But I have some similar raw materials there. I’ll send them to you later, and you can find someone to polish and carve them yourself,” Gu Chenzhou said, casually turning the milky white bracelet on his left wrist.

“That’s great. How much did you get it for?” Wei Xiangjin asked.

Gu Chenzhou raised his eyebrows. “Talking about this when giving something between brothers? It cheapens it.”

Wei Xiangjin laughed. Just as he was about to speak, the phone in the car rang. After listening for a few sentences, his face turned ugly.

“What’s the matter?” Gu Chenzhou asked.

“Sun Peiming is here again,” Wei Xiangjin said to Gu Chenzhou in the gap of answering the phone. Then he said to the phone in front of Gu Chenzhou, “What kind of thing is he to come here making a fuss? Giving him a little face and he really thinks he’s some big shot? Tell him there’s no place for him at our gathering!”

The person on the other end of the phone hesitated. “It’s just a small matter, no need to be like this, Young Master Wei. I think Young Master Sun is quite sincere.”

Gu Chenzhou in the passenger seat saw Wei Xiangjin’s arm move, about to smash the phone. Before Wei Xiangjin got angry, he mentioned, “Let him come if he wants to.”

Wei Xiangjin paused, suppressed his anger, said a few words to the other party, and threw the phone back to its original place.

The two arrived at National Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance in silence. After Wei Xiangjin stopped the car and handed the keys to the doorman who came up, he let out a long breath and said, “What is this called? That kid is deliberately making you uncomfortable.”

“Just him?” Gu Chenzhou and Wei Xiangjin walked inside side by side. The foreman of National Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance had sharp eyes. As soon as the two entered the door, he piled on a smile and welcomed them from afar:

“Young Master Wei, Young Master Gu, long time no see! The magpie was calling at the window this morning. I figured it out and kept the Yiqing Building. This must be for you two.”

“I’m here with friends today. We booked the Qianhe Pavilion. We’ll go over ourselves.” Wei Xiangjin had just met Gu Chenzhou and was impatient with someone following him. He dismissed the foreman and turned his head to chuckle at Gu Chenzhou:

“Haven’t seen you for three years, Young Master Gu’s prestige hasn’t diminished. Sun Er has been jumping around vigorously these past few years. It’s time to teach him a lesson. Just his family, they are still a notch below.”

Gu Chenzhou curled his lips but didn’t answer.

Qianhe Pavilion was built in the backyard of National Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance. It was a detached building with ancient decor, separated from the main building.

The two passed through the floral-pendant gate and walked onto the small stone bridge. Groups of koi under the stone bridge were swimming back and forth, creating ripples. A few even swam to the bottom of the building, listening blankly to the laughter and conversation coming from the building.

A small pond wound its way from the entrance to the front of Qianhe Pavilion. The eaves gallery of the two-story building was reflected in the sparkling water waves. The people drinking tea by the window on the second floor noticed the two first and pushed open the window lattice to look down. “Yo, Young Master Gu and Young Master Wei are finally here. We’ve been waiting anxiously.”

Wei Xiangjin walked into Qianhe Pavilion. After a glance, he didn’t see anyone tactless, so his expression softened a lot, and there was a smile on his face. “It’s my fault for coming slow. I’ll drink three cups as an apology later.”

What was Wei Xiangjin’s status? He was the only seedling of the third generation of the Wei family. The current old master of the Wei family was an old general who accompanied the founding head of state to conquer the world. He had a say in the political circle, and his influence in the military circle was unimaginable. Even if he was willing to drink these three cups of wine, others wouldn’t dare to accept it casually. Someone immediately laughed and said, “Everyone is here today to welcome Young Master Gu. Young Master Wei and Young Master Gu have a good relationship, but don’t hog all the spotlight. You should give us some opportunities to perform.”

“Don’t I know what Wei San is like?” Gu Chenzhou smiled brightly. “Ignore him; let’s all have a drink together.”

In this place, only one person could grandly call him Wei San, and Young Master Wei would listen with a smile. Several people present exchanged ambiguous glances, and immediately a few people sitting at the end opened bottles and poured wine for everyone.

Gu Chenzhou raised his glass first and said, “Haven’t seen you for three years. I’ll drink first as a respect; you guys do as you please.”

Everyone was polite, and without missing a single one, they all drank the wine in their glasses with Gu Chenzhou.

Gu Chenzhou casually took a bottle of wine from the low table, picked another bottle of Louis XIII, and threw it to Wei Xiangjin.

Wei Xiangjin took the wine and didn’t care about anything else. He simply filled a glass, raised it to Gu Chenzhou, and drank it in one gulp.

The gloom in Gu Chenzhou’s eyes dissipated a lot, and he followed suit, drinking it in one gulp.

After three rounds like this, other people came up to talk to Gu Chenzhou, talking about things in the past three years and asking about Gu Chenzhou’s situation abroad. But no matter what the topic was, Gu Chenzhou seemed indifferent. He would only say a few more words when Wei Xiangjin got close. After a few times, others also understood the hint and went to talk and play with others, leaving space for the two.

Unknowingly, most of the bottle was drunk. Wei Xiangjin put down the wine glass and exhaled, leaning back on the chair. The person next to him saw this and wanted to pour him wine, but he waved his hand to refuse. He took the wine bottle himself, poured a little casually, and added some for Gu Chenzhou. “I haven’t asked you seriously, how have you been these past few years abroad?” He turned the wine glass in his hand, looked at Gu Chenzhou, his expression slightly strange. “But to be honest, if you said you didn’t have a good time, I really wouldn’t believe it…”

Gu Chenzhou smiled upon hearing this.

Wei Xiangjin was almost blinded by such a smile. He shook his head and couldn’t help saying, “You’ve changed too much after going out once. You really came back gilded!”

“Is that so?” Gu Chenzhou didn’t care much.

“Do I still need to gild you?” Wei Xiangjin raised his eyebrows and added, “I can’t take you with me to pick up girls in the future.”

“Don’t worry, whoever you fancy in the future, I’ll help you hook them. Guaranteed success,” Gu Chenzhou laughed.

“Hook them to your own bed or mine?” Wei Xiangjin said grumpily. Then he pondered for a moment and mentioned again, “You were abroad…”

“Had a very good time,” Gu Chenzhou answered the other party simply this time. He paused and added, “Very good.”

“Specifics?” Wei Xiangjin raised an eyebrow.

“Let me think. Got a B.A.Fc. master’s degree, three bachelor’s degrees…” Gu Chenzhou said.

“Yo!”

“Also took down those two special forces soldiers who blocked you several times, tied them to the table to avenge you. Satisfied?”

“Yo!!” Wei Xiangjin was really shocked this time. “Really?”

“Otherwise, how could I come back?” Gu Chenzhou’s tone was light, obviously not very interested in this topic. “Those two were caught off guard. I guess they are feeling very uncomfortable being nannies right now.”

“They were arrogant beyond limits. If it weren’t for watching over you, I would have taught them a lesson long ago.” Speaking of this, Wei Xiangjin explained to Gu Chenzhou in a low voice. The others in the building had already taken out cards and dice and were playing in groups of twos and threes. “At that time, your situation wasn’t very good, and I didn’t dare to cause any trouble…” He suddenly thought of something. “How did you know I went there a few times?” He didn’t mention this when chatting with Gu Chenzhou, and those two special forces soldiers blocking him certainly wouldn’t have said anything.

Just as Gu Chenzhou was about to answer, a voice came from outside the door:

“Is everyone here? It seems I’m late.”

The noise in the private room suddenly quieted down. Wei Xiangjin’s face darkened on the spot, and he slammed his glass heavily on the table.

A trace of displeasure flashed across the face of the young man who walked in with several people, but in the blink of an eye, he revealed a smiling face again: “Long time no see, Young Master Wei San, Young Master Zhang, Young Master Zhou, everyone is here, oh—” He suddenly dragged out his voice. “My apologies, my apologies, even Young Master Gu is here! Blame me; my eyes are bad and I didn’t see clearly just now. When did Young Master Gu come back? Was it fun abroad? It must have been fun, otherwise why haven’t we seen Young Master Gu’s shadow for three years?”

“Does Young Master Sun know why we haven’t seen each other for a long time?” Sitting upright on the carved wooden chair, Wei Xiangjin naturally revealed a solemnity unique to a military family when his face darkened. He said lightly, “Because I don’t like you, and I’m not happy to see you wandering in front of me all day. Is that clear enough? Sun Er.”

This slap in the face was solid. Sun Er, standing by the door, had a gloomy gaze.

The private room was quiet.

A person sitting in the corner covered his hand in his pocket and pressed a few times. A person not far from him took out a vibrating phone, glanced at the screen, and saw a sentence ‘Young Master Wei is determined to stand up for Young Master Gu…’ He then smiled secretly and knowingly at the other party and quietly pressed the keypad a few times:

‘Isn’t that right? The events of three years ago are being answered today.’

“How could I not know you’ve been there?” An unhurried voice broke the somewhat stagnant atmosphere in the private room. Gu Chenzhou seemed not to care about the undercurrents in front of him and continued the previous topic on his own. “Brothers for over ten years, don’t I know what kind of person you are and what kind of things you would do?” He paused, turned his head to reveal a smile to Sun Er, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes:

“Indeed, long time no see, Young Master Sun.”