Chapter 48 - 2#
After all this hustle and bustle, He Hailou had somewhat forgotten the time. It wasn’t until the light shining through the window dimmed and the doorbell rang in the living room that he went to open the door with a rag and an apron: “Gu—”
He wanted to call Gu Chenzhou, but standing outside the door was a middle-aged man in his forties.
He Hailou frowned slightly, his expression returning to the usual heavy, careless cynicism. But this expression was too out of place with his image of wearing an apron and holding a rag, causing the middle-aged man standing at the door to be momentarily stunned, his expression slightly strange.
“It’s Secretary Fang!” He Hailou’s tone was light.
“Young Master He,” Secretary Fang was He Nanshan’s first secretary. If He Nanshan had any important and difficult matters, he would usually ask this trusted secretary to handle them—among which all matters concerning He Hailou were included in He Nanshan’s list of important and difficult matters. “Premier He asked me to tell you to go home for dinner tonight…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he found that He Hailou’s gaze had moved from his face to behind him. He followed He Hailou’s line of sight and turned his head, just in time to see Gu Chenzhou walking out of the elevator with a large bag of things.
He Hailou took a step forward and took the bag from Gu Chenzhou’s hand: “You’re back?”
Gu Chenzhou grunted, looked at the middle-aged man standing next to him for a few moments, and quickly recognized him: “Secretary Fang, hello.”
Secretary Fang chuckled: “Young Master Gu, hello.”
Gu Chenzhou nodded, looked at He Hailou standing in front of him with the bag, and then took back the bag that weighed almost ten pounds: “I’m going to the kitchen to cook—do you have anything to do tonight?”
“No, Secretary Fang just happened to be here and came up on the way.” He Hailou said lightly.
Secretary Fang, who was “on the way,” remained expressionless and also smiled: “I just happened to be passing by and remembered that there was something about Young Master He that I needed to inform him of, so I came up.” He paused and then said, “Young Master He, I’ll be leaving now. You’re busy.” He politely nodded to Gu Chenzhou before turning around and walking into the elevator, leaving.
If Gu Chenzhou’s social skills were S+, his political skills were B+, and his various skills required of a high-ranking official’s son were on average A-, then his cooking skills, which were excluded from the required skills of a high-ranking official’s son, were undoubtedly only D+ or C-, barely passing the home-style level.
However, the same dish, cooked by different people at different times, always gives people a different feeling.
At least He Hailou felt very happy. This happiness not only made him stand in the kitchen to help Gu Chenzhou, taste the food, and praise him, but also made him, after the meal was ready and on the table, very interested in walking to the piano in the living room, lifting the lid, sitting down, and playing a piece of “Mariage d’Amour.”
The window was open, and the night wind blew the white light gauze.
The soft light kept the darkness outside, and the steaming hot food and the man sitting at the piano were not so harmonious.
But the light and beautiful notes, the smiling side face, the fingers dancing on the black and white keys.
Gu Chenzhou’s expression went from careless to focused. He put down his crossed leg, sat up straight, and listened quietly.
This atmosphere might really be too beautiful. In just a short moment, He Hailou’s five fingers slipped, the music had ended, the laughter in his ears gradually faded away, and the final sound became a faint sigh.
He Hailou stood up and walked to the dining table. He looked at Gu Chenzhou, but was slightly stunned: the other’s face did not have the usual calm or faint smile, but a thoughtful look. He wanted to speak, but Gu Chenzhou spoke first:
“Why did Young Master He choose this piece?”
Of course, it was because of the name of this piece. He Hailou thought so in his heart, but he was not prepared to really ruin this rare dinner. He just smiled; “When I was very young, I often heard this tune. Later, when I touched the piano, I naturally practiced this first.”
“Was it when you were in Qingxiang County?” Gu Chenzhou asked.
He Hailou only paused for a moment: “Yes.”
Gu Chenzhou smiled faintly: “You played very well.”
Huh? No explosion? He Hailou looked at Gu Chenzhou carefully and realized that this sentence was most likely from the bottom of the other’s heart—the person sitting opposite him still had that thoughtful expression on his face, and his gaze was not looking directly at him, but through him to the piano behind him.
Gu Chenzhou did not hide it too much.
Therefore, He Hailou easily discovered this time that the other party was recalling something, or cherishing the memory of something.
Those pasts he didn’t know, the pasts that didn’t exist for him, the pasts he couldn’t touch…
Maybe it’s a good idea to let the other’s future have only one He Hailou.
He Hailou thought to himself.
But this needs careful planning. The first problem is still the Gu family…
Many times, memories are not too beautiful, but they are precious.
When Gu Chenzhou came out of He Hailou’s room, it was already close to nine o’clock.
He got in the car and rolled down the window, letting the cool night wind slowly pour into the car.
Tonight, He Hailou’s piano music brought back memories from a long time ago. The same music, the same time, he sat at the dining table, the slender figure on the piano bench was blocked by a tall figure, a man replaced a woman, he lowered his head, his legs high off the ground were firmly on the tiles; he raised his head, he could never reach the piano…
It’s been so long.
Gu Chenzhou thought.
Maybe only today, he couldn’t hate He Hailou.
The sound of rushing water filled the small room. He Hailou buried his head in the cold water pouring down from the shower head and stood for a long time before turning off the knob, grabbing a bathrobe, and walking out of the bathroom.
The phone on the coffee table had been vibrating just now, so loud that even he, who was taking a shower in the bathroom, could hear it.
He picked up the phone and pressed the number keys. There were already several missed calls on the screen. He ignored them all and only chose He Nanshan’s to call back: “Premier He…” What was said on the other end of the phone, He Hailou suddenly smiled and said carelessly, “Of course, all the clues have been given to Gu Chenzhou. Whether he investigates or not, I don’t know.”
“You’ve played enough, don’t mess things up anymore.” He Nanshan’s voice came from the other end of the phone: calm and somewhat slow, every word spoken very clearly. He never deliberately raised his voice to emphasize, but now few people could ignore his words.
He Hailou laughed: “What do you mean by playing? Premier, our goals are almost the same—to make the Gu family turn to the Wang faction.”
He Nanshan commented: “Too reckless.”
“There’s only one Gu Chenzhou in this world, can I not go?” He Hailou said carelessly. He looked at the white ceiling above his head and analyzed slowly, “The Gu family has always been neutral and thinking of retreating. Their power is great but not great enough, and not decisive enough, attracting both sides to want to swallow it… He now only has Gu Chenzhou, an excellent and old enough eldest son. He’s a 58-year-old veteran cadre, how many more years can he wait? If you touch Gu Chenzhou, Minister Gu’s heart will be in chaos. He was promoted by the current leader. From a standpoint, it’s not good to go against the Yu faction, but isn’t it good to go against the Wang faction? Minister Gu can still analyze calmly and cautiously up to this point, but when Gu Chenzhou follows the clues and uses the Gu family’s power to find out something… even if he’s made of mud, he has to react a little—after this period of time, he won’t be able to retreat even if he wants to.” He Hailou said slowly, “Coincidentally, isn’t that person not listening to you very much recently?”
There was no sound from the other end of the phone for a long time. After a while, the phone was hung up.
He Hailou listened to the beeping sound in his ear, took the phone away from his ear, threw it on the sofa, stood up and walked to the window.
From the height of the thirtieth floor, all the vehicles and pedestrians on the ground looked as mini as toys.
He rested his hands on the window sill and looked towards Tianrui Garden through the layers of buildings in front of him.
Gu Chenzhou, what will you do this time?