Chapter 49 - 1#
Chapter 49: Little Dessert
For three consecutive days, there was no news from Gu Chenzhou.
He did not, as He Hailou had predicted, communicate with his family or act swiftly. He did not appear in the circle. Whether it was He Hailou or anyone else, they could only contact a person named Xiao Lin, and then hear the other party say a hundred times on the phone, “I’m sorry, Young Master Gu is not here recently. Who are you? I will definitely tell him when he comes back.” As for where Gu Chenzhou went and what he was doing? I’m sorry, he didn’t know. As for when Gu Chenzhou would appear and return the call? I’m sorry, he didn’t know either.
And then there was no further news.
In fact, Gu Chenzhou had not gone anywhere.
He just wasn’t staying at his own home, his grandfather’s or maternal grandfather’s home, or other places he often stayed, such as the small courtyard at the foot of Tianxiang Mountain—he was staying in the Tianxiang Mountain Villa, where only one birthday party had been held since its completion, living in a room surrounded by mountains, forests, and streams, away from the crowd, repeatedly comparing the clues in his hands, making inferences and assumptions, and preparing for the final collection of evidence.
There were no other particular reasons, just that he hadn’t been so leisurely for a long time.
The more leisurely, the calmer. The calmer, the more he could see.
In stark contrast to Gu Chenzhou’s leisurely life was undoubtedly He Hailou’s almost carnival-like days.
As Gu Chenzhou once said, He Hailou never lacked company.
It was another early morning or dawn. He Hailou got up from the large bed in the hotel, casually picked up a piece of clothing and put it on, walked into the bathroom inlaid with frosted glass, took a long-overdue shower, tore off the bathrobe, and walked to the sofa with it open.
The sofa was black, contrasting sharply with the white bathrobe and red walls.
He Hailou leaned back on the sofa, his neck slightly tilted back, his eyes closed, and his face expressionless—after a whole night of fighting with more than one person, unless one was made of iron, one would show this kind of fatigue—looking much colder than usual.
He leaned on the sofa for a little over an hour. This hour of light sleep did not relieve his fatigue and boredom, but instead made his neck and shoulders ache all over.
He Hailou cursed lowly, his left hand fumbling on the sofa, his fingertips brushing past soft clothes and a hard watch, until he grabbed a hard-shelled, square thing.
The number he had long remembered in his heart didn’t even require him to open his eyes; he could dial it casually.
He Hailou listened to the beeping sound in his ear, feeling his body lazy and unable to muster any strength.
“Hello?” The call was connected, and a man’s voice came from the other end—but it wasn’t Gu Chenzhou’s.
Lin Fang, the person who followed Gu Chenzhou back from abroad to handle miscellaneous matters, would only ever say, “I’m sorry, Young Master Gu is not here.”
Sooner or later, I’ll chop him up and throw him into the Taihai River to feed the fish.
He Hailou’s mood worsened. He said slowly, “Is Young Master Gu Chenzhou there?”
A hand hesitantly pressed on He Hailou’s shoulder. A few seconds later, the owner of the hand lowered his head and touched He Hailou’s ear with his mouth, panicked and clumsy.
No talent at all. He Hailou’s bad mood x2.
At this time, the man’s voice came from the phone again: “…Are you Young Master He?”
Hmm? He Hailou turned his head to look at the phone by his ear. The person touching his other ear shrank back like a rabbit. He ignored him and, after realizing that this phone was not his own, said to Lin Fang who answered the call, “That’s right.”
“Young Master He is really early today,” Lin Fang on the other end of the phone smiled and made some small talk, then went straight to the point, “Young Master Gu just called me back yesterday and said he was back, but I don’t know if he’s up yet. How about I try to transfer the call to Young Master He?”
This answer was completely different from the previous few times! He Hailou was stunned for a moment. He first looked at the time. It was only 6:30 in the morning, which was indeed a bit too early. He said, “Young Master Gu is already back? Then there’s no rush…”
“Young Master Gu has a stable schedule. He should be up at this time, but few people call so early…” Lin Fang deliberately paused, selling his favor, before continuing, “But since it’s Young Master He calling, I have to try for Young Master He. Young Master Gu also specifically asked about Young Master He before.”
Bad mood -1. He Hailou straightened his neck and turned it left and right, a smile on his face. He said politely for a rare occasion, “Thank you.”
Lin Fang was repeatedly modest, pressed a setting button on his phone, and the call was transferred.
He Hailou sat up straight, waiting for the call to be picked up again.
In the few sentences just now, the head that had previously shrunk back seemed to have done some mental construction. A hand tremblingly rested on He Hailou’s shoulder again. This cautiousness was not like making love, but more like the fear and unease of touching a tiger’s butt in a zoo.
He Hailou lifted his eyelids and glanced at the other party, saying nothing.
At this time, the phone was picked up, and Gu Chenzhou’s voice came from the other end: “Young Master He?”
Bad mood -1 again. He Hailou’s voice became cheerful: “Young Master Gu, long time no see.”
“I haven’t been at home these past few days.” Gu Chenzhou’s voice was calm, mixed with a slight relaxation and casualness. He Hailou listened carefully. Besides the other’s voice, there was also the distinct sound of birds chirping and a little bit of gurgling… water?
Where is he now? He Hailou thought, but his words didn’t stop: “Where has Young Master Gu been busy? No one has been able to contact Young Master Gu these past few days…” Of course, He Hailou didn’t want to know at all whether Wei Xiangjin could be contacted.
“Actually, I didn’t go anywhere, I just wanted to rest for two days.” Gu Chenzhou seemed to know what He Hailou was thinking and said it very frankly, “I’m at Tianxiang Mountain Villa now.”
Good mood +1. He Hailou ignored the palm that was touching his chest like a snail and said to Gu Chenzhou, “Is it the place where Young Master Gu’s second brother’s birthday party was held last time? Young Master Gu really knows how to enjoy himself. You didn’t even give us a hint.”
At this time, not knowing whether it was because he was embracing the mentality that long pain is better than short pain, the owner of the hand gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, pressing towards He Hailou’s face. He Hailou turned his neck unhurriedly, and the other’s head hit the sofa directly. Then, with a dull thud, He Hailou, who had stood up nonchalantly, tilted his head slightly—was this a kiss or a headbutt?
“Your business is over.” He Hailou took the phone away, said a word to the other party, and then pressed the phone back to his ear. He didn’t know if the other party heard the commotion here, but the voice on the other end of the phone was no different from before, and the relaxed tone in the words was even more distinct: “Young Master He is really wronging me. Didn’t I tell Young Master He now?”
The meaning of these words is… He Hailou’s heart moved, and his good mood began to stir: “Young Master Gu doesn’t mind me coming over to bother you, right?”
“I couldn’t ask for more.” Gu Chenzhou laughed, “I’ll be staying here for another two or three days. If Young Master He wants to come over, you can stay the night. By the way, you can also bring your monkey. There’s plenty of space here anyway.”
Good mood +MAX!
“Okay, I’ll go over now.” After He Hailou finished speaking, he hung up the phone and happily threw a sentence at the person on the sofa, “The money is all in this room, you can divide it yourselves.” Then he got dressed and turned to leave.
Because the last birthday party held here was at night, most of the people who attended the party, besides being led into the hall by the waiters, did not and could not see the full view of the villa. Therefore, this villa, which was completely built half a year ago, strictly speaking, has never really appeared in everyone’s sight.
When He Hailou drove to the top of Tianxiang Mountain with his monkey, the morning sun was just blowing away the last dewdrop on the tip of the leaf.
He parked the car against the railing erected on the edge of the cliff, grabbed the monkey’s neck from the back seat and pulled it out. Just as he took a few steps towards the main entrance of the villa, he saw Gu Chenzhou, wearing a thin sweater and sweatpants and wooden slippers, walk out of the villa: “Young Master He.”
This was the first time He Hailou had seen Gu Chenzhou dressed so casually. He felt that the other party instantly looked several years younger—like he hadn’t graduated from college yet.
Undoubtedly, someone had gently tickled He Hailou’s heart with a feather. He restrained his gaze from being too eager and naked, coughed lightly and said, “Young Master Gu.” He followed Gu Chenzhou for a few steps and found that the other’s footsteps were very light. The wooden slippers on the stone slabs made no sound at all.
He moved his gaze to the surroundings again—the last time he came, he was not paying attention to Gu Chenzhou, nor did he care about this villa. The reason he came was just a habit in the circle—this was a wooden house that was not particularly exquisite, but blended very well with the surrounding environment.
Trees with straight trunks and lush branches were planted scattered outside the villa, cleverly concealing the outer walls of the villa from all directions, but the distance between the trees was not so small as to affect the owner’s line of sight.
They walked up the wooden steps. After pushing the door, the first thing they saw was a spacious hall that could accommodate nearly a hundred people for a party. The material of this hall was the same as the outside. The walls and floors were all made of wood, and the furniture was mostly bamboo and wood. There was no luxurious scene that He Hailou had seen when he attended the birthday party last time.
Gu Chenzhou led He Hailou away from the living room. In the long wooden corridor, He Hailou looked out the floor-to-ceiling window and saw a stream flowing over the gravel in an area of about ten square meters. By the stream, there were stone tables and stone benches. On the stone table, there was a Go board with black and white pieces scattered on it, forming an unfinished game. A few steps below the stone table, a small stove for boiling water was placed by the stream. Next to it, there was a low stone platform with lotus-leaf-shaped teapots and teacups scattered on it. In one of the teacups placed on the outermost side, there was still a little clear tea liquid.
Was Gu Chenzhou standing here when he was on the phone just now?
He Hailou thought so in his heart, and his gaze moved to the big tree next to the stone table. This was a tall and dense banyan tree, with branches and leaves like an umbrella, and aerial roots like a beard, holding the stone table on the ground firmly in its arms with open hands.
“Usually few people come up here, right?” He Hailou asked.
“Basically none.” Gu Chenzhou said, “Young Master He is the second person I’ve seen in the past few days.”
He Hailou asked, “Who was the first one?”