Are You Addicted?

After enduring some beatings, Gu Hai was exceptionally punctilious as he opened the corner of his swollen mouth to eat breakfast. Directly in front of him sat Gu Wei Ting, with his calm and unwavering eyes staring, practically drilling a hole into his face.

"You"re not planning on staring at me like this for the rest of my life, right?"

Gu Wei Ting coldly replied, "A lifetime won"t be possible. I won"t be able to live until the day you die. But, as long as I"m still alive, don"t even think that there"s any hope for you to regain your freedom back."

Gu Hai stopped chewing and he stared at Gu Wei Ting with a dark and sinister gaze.

"Don"t force me to abandon my own family."[1]

Those words did not seem to draw out any distressful emotion out of Gu Wei Ting. He simply stood up and tidied his clothes before he faced the mirror and insouciantly said, "If you can really kill me, I"d be proud of you."

"Crazy old man…." Gu Hai mumbled to himself.

Gu Wei Ting"s hand halted around his collar before he shot Gu Hai a glance from the corner of his eye, "What did you just say?"

"I said……I"ll work hard!" said Gu Hai, waving his fist mischievously.

Then, he glowered madly in his own head.

Gu Wei Ting finished straightening out his clothes, put his shoes on, and said a few more word to Gu Hai before leaving, "I"m going away on a business trip for a week."

Gu Hai"s eyes brightened up.

Noticing the obvious change in the other person, Gu Wei Ting urgently added a few more words, "I"ll send someone over to watch you."

The brilliant light in Gu Hai"s eyes were mingled with a bit of anger and resentment, he retorted intrepidly, "Don"t I have to go to school at least? I can"t give up my studies because of this, right?"

"You don"t have to worry about that. I"ve already requested a good teacher for you two. With a renowned teacher, who has a 100% positive feedback rate, giving you lessons face to face, it"s a guarantee that you"ll be able to study well."

The corner of Gu Hai"s bruised lips that had turned purple drew back, "Are you being tricked by an educational facility somewhere?"

"If he can trick me, then he can also trick you back into the right path."

A contemptuous expression settled on Gu Hai"s face.

Before taking his leave, Gu Wei Ting added a few more words, "I don"t have much patience. I"ll only give you one week. After a week, I"ll come back to check your progress. If you"re still defiant and refuse to come to your senses, then we"ll have to think of some other methods to rid you of those thoughts."

After speaking, his strong and vigorous footsteps gradually disappeared.

Gu Hai quickly stood, grabbed the ointment that he had hidden for the entire night, and went straight to the door as fast as he can.

"Young Master Gu, this way please!"

Two special forces soldiers, each carrying a rifle, made a respectful gesture for Gu Hai to see him off.

"Thanks." Gu Hai maintained a calm demeanor, showing no signs of emotion.

Just as he was about to go out, two shadows suddenly flashed by with great speed, grabbed Gu Hai"s arms, and forced him in another direction. Naturally, Gu Hai cannot tolerate this kind of coercion. He immediately threw his hand out and fought back. A tenacious brawl broke out between the three.

Those two special forces soldier weren"t to be reckoned with. If they were personally handpicked by Gu Wei Ting, they must be the cream of the crop; elites amongst the others and more than enough to handle Gu Hai.

Before Gu Wei Ting left, he had also instructed them, not to care who he was. If he does not comply with his commands, then there is no need to hesitate in using force to bring him down. Nonetheless, the two were smart enough to know that they would not be able to bear the responsibility for causing him any injuries. Therefore, they can only attempt to subdue him. Although this process was more strenuous, however, it was safer and less risky.

The two were afraid of offending Gu Hai and incurring harm upon themselves. Therefore, the moment they handcuffed him, they made sure to give him a praise, “You"re worthy of being the General"s son! You"re really a giant among men!"[2]

f.u.c.k, where did he find these two stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.ds……Gu Hai cursed to himself.

In the end, the two special force soldiers escorted Gu Hai to a room. Bai Luo Yin was also there. The moment their eyes met, a sense of surprise also appeared. Gu Hai couldn"t help but to turn around and yell back, "Why didn"t you guys tell me earlier that you"re bringing me to see him?"

One of the soldier held his head high and staunchly replied, "You didn"t ask!"

"Fine, just go now."

With synchronized steps, the two walked out.

"Wait a minute, unlock the handcuffs first."

Seeing Gu Hai taken here with such force like a criminal, an insufferable pain rushed into Bai Luo Yin"s heart. Then he saw the injuries that danced on his body as well as the especially deep and big wound that sat next to his lifeless eyes.

He was really beaten after all.

The anxiety that consumed his mind and caused him to tremble with fear for the entire night, had indeed happened.

"You didn"t sleep well, right?" Gu Hai looked at Bai Luo Yin with his bruised face.

Bai Luo Yin moved his lips, yet even after a long while, nothing came out.

"Oh, that"s right." Gu Hai took the ointment out of his pocket and gave it to Bai Luo Yin, "I wanted to give this to you last night but my dad found and almost confiscated it."

Bai Luo Yin reached his hand out to take the ointment, lowered his head for a look, then asked: "Why are you giving me this ointment?"

"Wasn"t your hand hurt by the whip?"

Bai Luo Yin stared blankly before confusion rose on his brows. He had long forgotten about it already, yet Gu Hai unexpectedly remembered it.

"Look at you, getting all bruised up like that, and you"re still giving me the ointment?"

"Honesty, these aren’t  anything unusual. I don’t feel anything at all, they’re actually more like mosquito bites." After saying that, he pulled Bai Luo Yin"s hand and look at it with an angry expression, "f.u.c.k, it"s all bruised up!"

Once those words flew out, Bai Luo Yin felt that Gu Hai"s tone was like a knife, stabbing deeply into his stomach.

"Before you left, didn"t you promise me you"ll maintain a proper att.i.tude and not get into any confrontation with you dad?"

"My att.i.tude was pretty proper," Gu Hai had on an expression full of grievance, "I told him I wanted to have a nice talk with him. He also agreed. At that time, I talked to him in a polite manner. But, he was too unreasonable. After talking for some time, he started to hit me."

Bai Luo Yin narrowed his eyes slightly and asked tentatively, "Did you ask him about my condition?"

With difficulty, the corners of Gu Hai"s mouth pulled back into a bright smile "You"re the only one that understands me."

Bai Luo Yin went silent, unable to say anything.

"Oh, that"s right. I was about to ask you, which room did Sun Jingwei placed you in? How"s the condition?"

"……"

"Did you sleep last night? Was the bed wide enough? Was the quilt warm enough?"

"Did Sun Jingwei say anything odd or tried to lecture you? Do he tell you what he was going to do with you?"

Gu Hai said so many things all at the same time. Bai Luo Yin did not respond to any of the questions. He just sat there with a gloomy face and refused to give Gu Hai a glance. From the start, Gu Hai was already riddled with anxiety. Since he had put so much effort into speaking, if he did not hear any response, one can only imagine the mood he was in.

"Why aren"t you talking?" Gu Hai patted Bai Luo Yin"s head with a bad mood.

Bai Luo Yin"s fierce gaze swept towards Gu Hai"s face, "Don"t bother me!"

Last night, Gu Wei Ting said a lot of harsh words to him, yet Gu Hai didn"t take it to his heart. But, just this one sentence from Bai Luo Yin, he fell into a world of pain.

"It wasn"t easy for the two of us to see each other yet you"re giving me this att.i.tude. Aren"t you being too cruel?"

Bai Luo Yin silently replied in his heart.

No one is as cruel as you. Just look at what’s been done already! It"s really f.u.c.king……you’ve done exactly everything that I was afraid of![2]

Even when the teacher arrived, Gu Hai was still unable to speak a single word with Bai Luo Yin.

This teacher is also an officer in the army, who has a graduate degree. He had experiences in tutoring some soldiers before, all of which were done voluntarily. This was the first time he was asked to teach in such a methodical manner. Nevertheless, he was still in front of the General"s son, so it was inevitable that he felt a bit nervous.

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Zhang Hua, male, 26 years old and a graduate from Beihang University."[4] 

Two frozen and expressionless face stared at him.

"Well, I"m very happy to teach you here. My knowledge may be limited, but if something is unclear, you can tell me anytime."

*Cough cough* "……there is no need for you to call me Mr. Zhang. Just call me Xiao Zhang will do. Everyone calls me that."

"Okay then, let"s just start the lesson."

While the teacher was busy talking to himself in the front, the two were each lost in their own thoughts. It was all too obvious that not a single word entered their brains since neither was actually listening.

Gu Hai doesn"t understand, why did Bai Luo Yin suddenly became angry?

Does he not like it that I brought him here with me? Does he feel wronged? Does he regret it now? Does he want to go out? Or did I say something that angered him……

Bai Luo Yin couldn"t help but to cast Gu Hai a glance from the corner of his eye. He found him with a seemingly worried frown on his face, thinking of something that he could hardly guess. With just one look at him, Bai Luo Yin could not bear to look again. He felt that Gu Hai was unusually pitiful, just like a small kid who collected sc.r.a.ps, the more he looked, the more agonizing he felt at the pain that gripped his heart.

At a little before noon, lunch was arranged in their respective rooms. Someone especially delivered the foods to them.

During the afternoon, they continued to attend their lessons. Once it was over, Gu Hai finally saw where Bai Luo Yin was staying the moment they were each escorted to their own room.

After much quarreling about nothing for half a day, it turns out, he was staying at Sun Jingwei"s room, just one path away from Gu Hai.

Although it was only one path away, Gu Hai was not allowed to pa.s.s through. He had no other choice but to look over there with impatience and anxiety sinking into his bones.

After he ate dinner, someone knocked on the door.

Gu Hai walked over to open the door and saw an unfamiliar face, wearing a white coat and gla.s.ses. The typical image of a doctor.

"Did you go to the wrong room?"

"Are you not Comrade Gu Hai?"

It goes without saying, this must be another one of Gu Wei Ting"s stupid idea to attack him.

"I"m a comrade[5], but I"m not Gu Hai."

The doctor smiled politely, "Then, you must be him. I specialized in treating that "kind of sickness".[6] My name is w.a.n.g Xiao Man. I"m a psychiatrist."

Just as Gu Hai was about to close the door, the female doctor suddenly went inside. She must have received training since her movements were as fast as lightning.

"……Do you usually just go inside your patient"s room like this?" Gu Hai"s face darkened.

A rather professional smile appeared on the doctor"s face, "Let"s get to the main subject."

"Sit down." Gu Hai raised his chin.

The doctor was somewhat overwhelmed by this unexpected kindness.

"You came at just the right time. There"s something troubling my mind, see if you can help me get rid of it."

"There"s no harm in saying what you"re thinking."

Gu Hai furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "Tell me, why is he ignoring me?"

"Excuse me, but who’s this "he" that you"re referring to?"

"Aren"t you a psychiatrist? You should be able to tell everything that"s on my mind. Is it necessary for me to say it openly?"

The doctor was somewhat embarra.s.sed, "Then, I"ll try to a.n.a.lyze it for a moment."

Gu Hai nodded his head.

"I think the reason he"s ignoring you is probably because you don"t listen to him."

"I don"t listen to him?" Bewilderment crawled on Gu Hai"s face, "How did I not listen to him?"

"Just think about it. In his lifetime of experience, a large part of it is taking orders or giving orders. Each person"s method of processing a problem and the environment he lives in has a huge connection. His train of thought is always linear and precise. It"s neither rational nor emotional. There is no room for hesitation. Each time he"s met with a problem, he must respond immediately. But you, as his son, live in a completely different environment……."

"You"re the one that is his son!" Gu Hai suddenly became furious, "Your entire family are all his sons!"

The female doctor turned pale and lost her composure, before she spoke in a timid voice, "How can you say something like that?"

"The person you"re talking about and the one I"m thinking of are completely different people!"

"I……"

"A psychiatrist? Don’t interrupt me. Lousy, good for nothing." Gu Hai waved his hand with a dark face, "Get lost quickly, don"t wait for me to chase you out!"

The female doctor, "……"

Translator"s Note:

[1] 大义灭亲: to place righteousness above loyalty to one’s family. [Gu Hai would choose Bai Luo Yin over his own family.]

[2] 人中之龙 – a giant among men – a threat not to be messed with

[3] You’ve done exactly everything that I was afraid of – 怕什么来什么 => 越怕什么 就来什么 [the more you"re afraid of something, the more it will come.]

[4] Beihang University, formerly known as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics – BUAA [北京航空航天大学] the abbreviation BUAA retained even after the English name was changed in 2002. It is a member of China’s Project 211 and Project 985 group of key state universities, with a heavy focus on high level technological and scientific research.

[5] 同志 tóngzhì – means "comrade" but is a slang/euphemism for "gay/h.o.m.os.e.xual"". There Gu Hai is emphasizing the gay part when he"s speaking so basically saying, "I"m gay, but I"m not Gu Hai—"

[6]…in that kind of sickness – She"s saying, "I specialize in treating comrade"s sickness" or in other word, "—in treating gay patient." She using an indirect way to say it like Gu Hai is.

Are you Addicted?