Chapter 5 - I’ve got this Tyrant’s back (5)
Chapter 5 I’ve for this Tyrant’s back (5)
Gu Yuan was slightly startled, and cast his eyes down in thought. He hadn’t been expecting Lu Deng’s response.
The young man raised his head slightly, confessing his mistake sincerely. But his eyes were still faintly downcast, his thick eyelashes flickered. His hand holding the ice cream tightened slightly, showing some sincere distress.
It was exactly the same as when he’d been so unwilling to do his homework back then.
For a moment, he couldn’t figure out how to respond to such a sudden statement. But the gloomy feeling that was stuck in his chest began to stir until it scattered all over. Gu Yuan was inwardly too surprised to utter a word. He simply went with the flow and asked, half in jest, “Why did you skip school?”
The eyes of the young man in front of him flickered and the corners of his lips pursed. It seemed he found it difficult to say.
Gu Yuan was inexplicably nervous, still waiting for his answer.
The next moment, the flexible and warm body slammed against his bosom and suddenly hugged him.
This hug seemed different from usual. The body in his arms was very relaxed but the arms wrapped around him tightly. He held nothing back of his strength. His shoulders, neck and upper back were all exposed to him, completely defenseless.
It was all too easy to hug him back. It was also all too easy to restrain or even kill him.
Gu Yuan’s eyes darkened and he slowly raised his arm.
A sharp and clear sound suddenly chimed, and the elevator doors opened.
Sunlight poured in through the restaurant’s French windows. It radiated from behind him, jumping lightly on the soft hair of the boy in his arms and settling in his chest, causing his heart to stir.
The sharpness in his eyes softened and lay concealed. Gu Yuan wrapped his arms and enclosed the young man against his chest. He gave the young man’s back a couple of pats to console him.
Lu Deng sincerely apologized the only way he knew how. Lu Deng raised his head from between his arms, and found that the target person’s expression had eased as expected. Eyes bright, he held up the ice cream in his hand.
“No, I don’t want any. You eat it.”
Gently holding the boy in his arms, Gu Yuan let him free from the encirclement of his arms and led him out of the elevator by the hand. He pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, “I’ll take you home, okay?”
His secretary had investigated all the information related to Lu Zhiguang’s ident.i.ty and found nothing out of the ordinary. When he took the boy back to his home yesterday, he was blocked out of the house. If this young man really had any secrets, it was probably hidden behind that door.
He was caught red-handed skipping school. Now, it seems like the only remedy was to go home and do homework.
Lu Deng took a small lick of his ice cream and nodded obediently. He took the initiative to lead Gu Yuan out of the art gallery and walked all the way back home.
The art gallery was located on an empty flat field in the outskirts of the city. His place wasn’t far from here. He originally got here by walking according to the system’s navigation. After ten minutes of turning here then there, the slums appeared before them.
The scene in front of him suddenly turned from prosperous to dilapidated. Gu Yuan’s expression changed slightly. His steps couldn’t help but pause.
The art gallery was located in Guar-controlled territory and it had been beautifully restored. If he hadn’t walked this way, he never would have realized that the two places were so close.
If the young man really hadn’t approached him due to some ulterior motive and he was simply skipping school, it was possible that he ended up in the art gallery by coincidence. Maybe Gu Yuan was just thinking too much.
Noticing that the person beside him had slowed his steps, Lu Deng stopped and looked up at the tall and imposing man beside him. He was just in time to see a faint light flash in his eyes.
Holding his hand tightly, Gu Yuan pressed down on the ‘sorry’ that almost escaped his lips. He ruffled the boy’s hair and asked, “Do you still want to eat grilled fish?”
When he was being dragged into the elevator, the boy had been throwing out names of various dishes, but Gu Yuan was too confused at the time and wasn’t listening attentively. In the end, he only remembered the last few dishes he’d mentioned.
It was almost noon. If they went to eat grilled fish now, he could probably get out of having to study in the afternoon. Lu Deng’s eyes slightly brightened. The corners of his lips curled up slightly and he raised his eyes expectantly. “Can we?”
Gu Yuan had no idea about the little scheme the youth was hatching in his heart. Seeing those clear raven-black pupils light up, a smiling expression appeared in Gu Yuan eyes. He continued to rub his head. “I’m inviting you out to eat. Treat it as my thank you for today. ”
Fired up with new motivation, Lu Deng nodded and led Gu Yuan into his dilapidated garret. He stepped on the creaky stairs, headed for the door and opened it.
…
Seeing a room filled to overflowing with exercise books, President Gu stopped in his tracks and stood there in awe.
He’d known intellectually that students nowadays were under a great deal of pressure, but it was only now that he’d gotten a concrete appreciation of that fact. The workbooks were piled up into tottering stacks that almost reached the ceiling. To move about in the room, you’d need to move about sideways. It was difficult to even turn around. He was worried that any too big movements might bring the stacks crashing down and send them drowning in a sea of knowledge.
No wonder Lu Zhiguang hadn’t wanted to let him in.
If one more person enters, the pile of exercise booklets might just collapse.
The teenager’s silhouette looked particularly weak and helpless against this backdrop of homework. He opened the door and went in sideways, stepping on the chair to reach the top booklet.
Seeing this Gu Yuan was alarmed and quickly walked over and took the young man into his arms. Steadying the crumbling mountain of books, he asked, “Are these all issued by your school?”
They were actually all mock exam exercises carefully prepared by his family’s elders to help him pa.s.s the system’s civil service a.s.sessment exams. Originally, he would be exempted from taking the exam so long as he is able to successfully complete the mission, turns out he’d just changed venues for doing his homework.
The system automatically disguised the booklets and its contents to appear like books from this world. Lu Deng nodded. He hesitated for a moment and finally summoned his courage. “I already know everything the school teaches and I can do all these exercises…”
Gu Yuan pondered for a moment, sat at the table with the boy in his arms and turned over the pages of the workbook.
After Galileo was invaded, its education system also took a great hit. Students in slums like this could only attend the most common of the galaxy’s online schools, where they taught only the most basic knowledge. Although the exercise materials were free, their quality and level of difficulty were also limited. The level of difficulty as well as the fees for the standardized exam were both quite high.
According to the information sent by his secretary, Lu Zhiguang was also half-coaxed and half-deceived to walk down this path in order to collect enough money. If he’d been bought by someone with ulterior motives, he may have encountered some unspeakably ghastly experiences.
The young man was held on his lap and looked at him quietly, his eyes pure and clear.
“Don’t do these exercises anymore. You don’t need to go to school again either.”
Meeting his gaze, Gu Yuan closed the workbook, nodded calmly and said, “Before the exam, move in to my place and live with me. Would you like that?”
…
This must be what heaven looks like.
Lu Deng blinked, and for the first time, his eyes flashed with immeasurable brightness. He wrapped his arms around the target’s neck. With a bright smile on his face, he threw himself against the crook of the other’s neck and rubbed lightly.
He was caught by surprise by the cool and soft sensation against his neck. Gu Yuan breathed lightly. Looking at the young man who, for the first time, seemed genuinely elated, his eyes were filled with warm light and he swept the person into his arms.
Gu Yuan has never been afraid of being isolated and cut off from help but he has to admit that the feel of real warmth could be addictive.
Once you’d seen the sun, you wouldn’t be so willing to let go.
*
The two left the slums but did not return to the art gallery.
The secretary had been notified to have the car waiting outside the slum area. Gu Yuan led Lu Deng to the car. He entered the name of a restaurant and turned on the autopilot. The levitating car quickly drove towards the city center.
“The restaurant in the art gallery is just so-so. Yuejin’s grilled fish tastes good. Try it first to see if it suits your taste.”
The young man besides him seemed yet to recover from his absolute joy. His eyes were still curved into bright crescents. He turned to him to and said sincerely, “Thank you—”
“It’s okay, if you really want to thank me then help me out a bit more.”
Gu Yuan smiled and shook his head. He held the young man’s hand. It was slightly cool from holding the ice cream. He gently pressed it against his palm, holding it with a light grip.
If the teenager was really smart enough to guess his plight based on just a few word and could also cleverly cooperate with him to help him out of that predicament, having him stay by his side might be of great help.
His gaze fell on the schoolbag that Lu Deng was holding and those vague thoughts quickly dissipated before they could firmly take shape. Gu Yuan held his hand and directed his gaze back out the window.
This was not the time to consider these things.
In two months, after the standardized test, Planet Galileo will probably be ablaze with the flames of war.
He will see to it that this person gets out of here properly. When he finishes what he needs to do, when that battle that decides their victory or defeat is settled, if there’s still a chance, they’ll have time in the future.
*
The levitating car stopped outside the Yuejin Restaurant. Gu Yuan led Lu Deng out of the car. They were about to enter when his footsteps suddenly stopped.
Many of Galileo’s businessmen had gathering in the lobby of the restaurant. They talked loudly. It seemed that a new boycott was being organized.
Gu Yuan’s expression went dark. He led the young man beside him by the hand, wanting to avoid them. However, he was already recognized by some people in the restaurant. They walked quickly over and forced him to stop and talk.
“Isn’t this President Gu? Come, come. We were just talking about you…”
Catching sight of him, the middle-aged man in the lead immediately put on a smile and tried to strike a conversation. The majority of their group though had stayed seated on the sofas, occasionally throwing glances their way or showing cold indifference.
After Galileo was invaded, the s.p.a.ces where Galileo’s businesses could operate became limited and under the pressure of oppressive policies, many businesses have already fallen into decline. In the eyes of many people, Gu Yuan gave up resisting and cooperated with the Guars. Although he saved the Gu Clan, there was no honor in what he’d done.
Gu Yuan knew how these people looked at him and he didn’t expect their relationship to ease. He just shook hands with the president of the Chamber of Commerce who’d approached him. His tone was completely flat and level. “We were just pa.s.sing by. We wouldn’t want to bother.”
“President Gu—stay, we only wish to ask one thing.”
Seeing that he didn’t mean to stop and chat, the president of the Chamber of Commerce raised his hand to stop him. His smile faded and his eyes fell on him. He finally went straight to the point. “Did President Gu accept that order for 200 million worth of Radium ore?” ”
Gu Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly and stopped.
From the very beginning, the order was unavoidable. The Guars didn’t send an invitation for negotiations to the Gu Group alone. The proprietors of all the mines on Galileo were sent that invitation.
The Chamber of Commerce’s plan was to call on the mining companies to collectively boycott the transaction. But the prospect to make huge profits was already there. Before Gu Yuan decided to take the order, he had already found out that several mining companies had been swayed by temptation and were ready to secretly accept small transactions. .
Small transactions like these were unlikely to draw a lot of attention and naturally, there was no way to smoothly dam a river. If he didn’t set about to intercept these orders, the Guars might have been able to collect the 200 million worth by relying on these small piecemeal transactions.
A while ago, a mishap had occurred within the Gu Group. Another ore used for making sculptures had almost been mixed in with the radium ore. The difference in the samples produced were completely undetectable. However, its defense against a certain frequency of laser was extremely poor. It would turn into a pile of trash within seconds.
Although it had only been an accident, it also unexpectedly provided him with new inspiration. So no matter how harsh the words of those around him, he needed get this order.
There was no need to tell anyone about these things. Gu Yuan’s expression turned cold. He raised his hand and slowly adjusted his collar. “I don’t see how my business has anything to do with you.”
“Nothing to do with us?! Don’t you know what Radium ore means!”
There have been rumors of the Gu Group accepting the order for a long time. And now, seeing that he didn’t mean to deny it, the young man behind the president finally couldn’t hold back his anger and sent a fist flying at Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan’s eyes were cold and his figure remained motionless. His eyebrow raised slightly as he looked at the chairman, faint disdain evident in his eyes.
Right now, he was an honored guest of the Guars. The president didn’t dare attack him in public. He stopped the young man behind him and yelled, “Lu Qing!”
“You are sending Planet Galileo to its death! Once they’re ready, once they overturn everything, how long do you think your Gu Group would last?!”
The young man had been held back but his eyes were still red. He gritted his teeth and yelled at Gu Yuan. “Traitor, human trash! This is your home plant! Why don’t you just go and die—”
Yuejin Restaurant was a local Galilean establishment. Even if they say a few things that shouldn’t be said in public, it wouldn’t make it out of the doors of the restaurant.
Moreover, the Chamber of Commerce’s resistant stance has already long been established. The Guars were in the middle planning a full-scale invasion. Before the situation is settled, they won’t spare much of any effort to respond to verbal resistance like these.
Gu Yuan calmly turned around, letting him continue to yell and screech behind him. He led the young man by the hand into the elevator.
Lu Deng raised his head and looked at those seemingly bottomless dark pupils.
The target’s breathing and heart rate haven’t changed in any way and his figure appeared as steady as before. Only the hand that held his had gone cold, without the slightest bit of warmth. It was so cold it was as if it could penetrate into his bones.
When the elevator reached their reserved private room, Gu Yuan led the young man through the door in silence. It was a moment before he spoke softly, “Zhiguang, there’s something—”
Before he could finish his words, the boy’s body suddenly fell against his. The boy hugged him gently and slowly patted him on his back.
His sleek, raven-black pupils were still as clear as before, revealing pure and undisguised trust and comfort. It seemed that that episode just now hadn’t caused even the slightest doubt in him.
There was even a certain moment when Gu Yuan thought that maybe no matter what he did, the teenager in front of him would trust him unconditionally.
An extremely intense emotion suddenly surged in his chest, but it was strongly suppressed by reason.
Gu Yuan lowered his gaze, and the slight dampness in his eyes was swiftly suppressed and they returned to their usual appearance. He smiled and shook his head. “Okay, let’s not talk about that anymore.”
Lu Deng straightened up a little. Still holding his hand, his eyes revealed gentleness and concern. Gu Yuan, though, just rubbed his hair with a smile and had him on sit the sofa while waiting for their food. Gu Yuan opened the screen of his computer and shared it with Lu Deng.
“Let’s not concern ourselves with them anymore. I had my secretary pick out some new exercise books, all of which have the same level of difficulty as the standardized exams. Come and have a look at which ones you’d like.”
The author has something to say: Lu Deng: Σ( Q △ Q|||)︴
#just now#
#I’ve lost all trust Q^Q#