After suffering on the plane for twenty plus hours, Gu Hai finally arrived in San Francisco, California. The person that came to pick him up at the airport was Gu Yang's personal chauffeur. He was extremely respectful as he took the luggage from Gu Hai's hand, said a few words of politeness and showed him to where the car was parked.

As the car travelled along the road on the way to their destination, Gu Hai impatiently looked at the chauffeur and asked, "Where's my brother?"

"There were too many things that he needed to attend to, so he couldn't make it."

"How are things looking here?"

The chauffeur's face was sketched with anxiety as the color slightly drained from his face, "It's hard to say."

Casting his gaze toward the unfamiliar scenery outside, Gu Hai did not ask anything else, but instead, he let his mind wander elsewhere……Wander to arms he would rather stay in.

The car drove continuously for a long while without making any stops until it reached Gu Yang's residential. The person who came to open the door was a young and well-kept housekeeper, who upon his arrival, took the luggage in before diligently leading Gu Hai to Gu Yang's office.

The moment Gu Hai pushed the door open and entered, Gu Yang was leaning back against the sofa with his eyes closed. With just one look, the thin and pallid appearance that smeared his face was all too evident of his current well-being.

Hearing the click after the door closed, Gu Yang cracked the slit of his eyes just enough to catch sight of Gu Hai. Only then did he willingly widen his eyes just a bit more and waved his hand, hinting for Gu Hai to sit down beside him.

After Gu Hai settled himself down, the first sentence that he heard crawl out of Gu Yang's mouth was, "The matters at hand are more or less dealt with."

As those words travelled into his ears and registered throughout his brain, Gu Hai could only slowly raise a questioning brow and stare at him in amazement. The silence once encasing the room was now disintegrated as Gu Hai pelted Gu Yang with an earth shattering roar. A roar that could have made anyone gone death, "Then why did you make me come here?!"

Not shaken by this uproar, Gu Yang finally became completely sober as he s.h.i.+fted his head to the side as to have a better look at Gu Hai. He stared at him with a calm and questionable glint in his eyes as though he was expected this kind of reaction.  

It's been a year already and this kid seemed to have gotten taller again. The edge and corner of his face are even more distinct, even his eyes are sharper and even more piercing than ever. He looks a little more like a man now.

"There are too many things to do here, I need someone to help me take care of it all."

"Don't you have an a.s.sistant? You do realize that I'm completely clueless about your work so what would I be able to help you with? Aren't you just wasting my time? If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have come!"

In that split second, Gu Yang's hand flew out and pressed hard on Gu Hai's neck, pus.h.i.+ng him slightly back into the sofa. With narrowed eyes, his cold and desolate gaze ran over his face.

"What do you have to do there? Attend cla.s.s? Work on your a.s.signments? The matter I have at hand involves human lives. With just one slip up, one carelessness, you won't be able to see me anymore. Look, even though there are many people under me but when it comes to urgent and important matters like this, I don't even dare to use any of them. I’d rather let a family member handle it and even if they mess it up, it'll still be better than being sold out and betrayed by someone else."

Listening to those last couple of words, Gu Hai held his anger back. He composed himself, wearing a stern and resolute face before looking at Gu Yang again and asked, "Does my second uncle know about this?"

"I don't have the nerve to let him know. My old man's temper is extremely explosive. If I can keep it under control myself, then I'll try my best first to not alarm or disturb him."

"What do you plan on doing next?"

"This matter isn't considered such a huge deal, but then again it's not a small either."

The muscle on Gu Hai's face tightened, "Embezzlement isn't considered a huge matter? Do you think this is China!"

Gu Yang pressed down on Gu Hai's arm, hinting at him to take note of his voice and even more so, his behaviors. It was possible that there were surveillance cameras hidden here without either of them knowing, therefore, the best thing to do was to be cautious.

"Actually, it doesn't necessary mean that it's embezzlement. To say it more frankly, it's more like someone is messing with me. I didn't even take a single penny, what kind of proof could they possibly find to use against me to take me down. I intend to return home to China first, and lie low until the fuss dies down. While there, I'll find someone to temporarily deal with things here. Honestly, that won't do let me think it through again."

Just hearing those particular words, Gu Hai immediately asked, "You want to return home? For how long?"

Gu Yang remained silent for a long while, before faintly replying, "I'm not sure. In any case, it might not be a short period of time."

   "If you stay for about a year, how could my second uncle not know huh?"

"It's fine, if we can resolve everything as soon as possible, I'll just take it as I'm going on vacation. But, if I need to be there for a while, I'll lie to them and say the branch company took over a project that needs to be completed in the country."

"Don't forget, you're still attending school. You're only an employed student."

Gu Yang let out a long sigh, "Actually, it's a lot easier to deal with the school situation here. The harder part is the branch company over there, it's such headache already."

Gu Hai fiddled with the cell phone in his hand, asking, "Then what do you want me to help you with by making me to come here?"

Giving him another quick glance, Gu Yang turned and blatantly point at the scattered doc.u.ments on the office desk; the meaning behind his expression was clear, almost too obvious honestly.

"I have to complete all the formalities before I can return home. The branch company over there also has a pile of matters that needs to be dealt with. I have to complete them all as scheduled since the business contracts had already been signed. If the contract were to be violated, the penalty alone is sufficient enough to burden you for an entire lifetime. Right now, there's a lot of pressure riding on that pile of doc.u.ments and during this susceptible period, I don't dare to rashly look for strangers for help."

Gu Hai could only nod his head.

The problem he was currently most concerned about, was how much time was all of this going to take. Truth be told, his own worries were painstakingly teasing his brain numb.

"Of course the sooner the better," he finally managed to mutter out almost incoherently to himself.

Gu Yang grudgingly curled his lips, "You're anxious……? I'm even more anxious than you are. Staying just a minute longer, is just another minute of danger I'm in. But some matters cannot be avoided and must be neatly handled. Just the slightest carelessness, the trouble will become even worse so we must quickly let settle everything."

"That's enough, there's no need to be so chatty. Just tell me specifically what you want me to do."

Actually, Gu Hai was feeling even more anxious than Gu Yang.

Looking at the obvious anxiety that breached almost too beautifully on the contour of Gu Hai's face, Gu Yang immediately reached his hand out and s.n.a.t.c.hed his cell phone away. Then as if time had slowed down, he pulled the SIM card out and snapped it in half right in front of Gu Hai.

Gu Hai never expected that Gu Yang would act out in such a roguish manner. He didn't even have a chance to guard against this atrocity yet. So, by the time he responded, the cellphone's SIM card was already destroyed.

"f.u.c.k! What the f.u.c.k are you doing?!!" Gu Hai instantly burst into a fit of rage.

Coldness stiffened Gu Yang's mannerism as he casually look at Gu Hai, "I want to prohibit every and all forms of communication as best I can. Your cell phone's anti-tapping system is too weak. For now, we only have this specialty made cell phone to use. Besides making only necessary calls, don't even think about touching it for anything else. For the sake of your brother's absolute safety, just sacrifice it for the time being."

Full of grievances and resentment, Gu Hai tightly gripped Gu Yang's s.h.i.+rt collar before his teeth gritted roughly against each other in anger. Then with narrowed eyes, he glared at him.

"I can't sacrifice that!!!!!!!"

"No one dies without their cell phone."

With indifference written on his face, Gu Yang let his cold gaze swept over Gu Hai's angry face, "There's no benefit whatsoever for you or me if we have our cell phones with us. With your phone on you all the time, it will only bring down your work efficiency and delay our progress in finis.h.i.+ng on time. Don't you want to leave here as soon as possible? If you want to, isolate yourself from everything and everyone on the outside world and properly work for me!"

Gu Hai's red eyes were like two heated nails, forged in a smoldering fire pit then drenched in a frozen lake, one by one they pierced through Gu Yang's chest and puncture his beating heart.

"But, of course you can leave now. I won't stop you."

The moment Gu Hai approached the desk and picked up those doc.u.ments, he felt devastation and longing simultaneously wrung at the bottom of his heart.

My adorable, pitiful, and lovely wife ah, your husband won't be able to return for the time being, obediently wait for me at home. Don't let anyone else kidnap you by all means.

For the next two days, Bai Luo Yin stayed holed up at their small nest alone, somewhat anxious as he waited for Gu Hai's phone call to come through. Since he knew there was about a difference of nearly five hours between here and there, he was afraid that Gu Hai's call would come late at night and disturb the neighbors' resting time. So as to avoid this trouble, Bai Luo Yin never returned to his father's home.

During these two nights, he slept horribly; the peace of mind that he once held onto every night was ripped away from him and in its place were the tosses and turns that caused him to lose valuable sleep time. The first thing he did early in the morning was to look at his cellphone, but to his dismay, there were still no replies.

Unbeknownst to him, Gu Hai's cell phone had long been disconnected.

As Bai Luo Yin swiped his messages up and down, refres.h.i.+ng it over and over again, hoping that a message would arrive, he browsed through his contact list. Unexpectedly, he saw Gu Yang's number.

When did I save his number?

Bai Luo Yin was rather puzzled at this predicament, so he pressed down the call b.u.t.ton for a try and to his surprise, the call went through.

At first, Bai Luo Yin wanted to hang up immediately since it was already really late at night in San Francisco, and also because he was afraid to disturb someone's resting time.

But as a result, Gu Yang answered the call pretty quickly. Hearing his voice, it sounded rather energetic.

Bai Luo Yin didn't even have a chance to speak yet when Gu Yang started to speak first in a rather frank, monotonous manner, "Gu Hai is here with me. Everything is fine. There's no need to worry."

Silent took over Bai Luo Yin's senses for a long while before he finally managed some words and ask, "What's wrong with his cell phone? I can't get through."

"I disconnected his cellphone. There are some things happening here and it's really inconvenience to talk with others.."

Hearing those words, Bai Luo Yin immediately understood the underlying meaning behind it.

"I won't take the initiative to call again. If any things happen just tell me so that I can also mentally prepare for it well."

"What could possibly happen?" The tone of Gu Yang's voice suddenly softened a bit, "Should I call him over to take this call? He just fell asleep a moment ago."

Bai Luo Yin's brows slightly knitted together while the corner of his lips curled, "Since you've said it like that, can I still say 'you should'?" With that said, he quickly hung up and carelessly gathered some of his belongings.

Going back home!

I can't stay here anymore!!

These days were the first time during the past year that Bai Luo Yin felt he had the most freedom. He not only started to arrive late to cla.s.ses again and but his habit of sleeping during cla.s.s also crawled back as well. Since there was no longer anyone sitting behind, he didn't need to painstakingly restrict each and every one of his movements or words anymore……

The biggest advantage of all was that he could casually strike up a conversation with anyone he pleased, chat with anyone and look at anyone. In this way, he didn't need to be on guard with someone's drilling eyes.

Even though these days were boring and tedious, Bai Luo Yin could still find some use in them to fill his own emptiness. Only then was he able to make do with this bad situation and endure each pa.s.sing day.

   One day, after cla.s.ses were dismissed, Bai Luo Yin patted You Qi's shoulder, "Let's go together."

   You Qi was flabbergasted for a moment, but nevertheless, he immediately agreed with excitement, "Okay."

   Once the two made it to the school main gate, Bai Luo Yin's footsteps halted, while You Qi's continued moving.

   "Don't you need to wait for Yang Meng?" asked Bai Luo Yin.

   You Qi grudgingly stuck his lips out, "You're still resenting the fact that our 'popularity' isn't booming enough?"

   Bai Luo Yin snickered, "Last time I ran into you at the main gate, weren't you and Yang Meng together huh?"

   "That was just by accident."

   Just as You Qi said that, Yang Meng shouted and his voice rang through the air.

"Yin Zi!"

Turning his head slightly to the side to look at You Qi, Bai Luo Yin couldn't help but to smile, "An accident indeed."

Having nothing to say, You Qi remained silent. Altogether he had only encountered Yang Meng twice by accident, to his surprise, Bai Luo Yin somehow still managed to see it both times.

Yang Meng, you really know how to pick the right moment to appear!!

The three walked together on their way back home. They chatted about various topics, a bit of this and that.

Normally Bai Luo Yin wasn't talkative or liked to talk much, but since he felt really empty lately, the words flowed out more smoothly. He would say several sentences here and there, and the more he chatted the more willing he was to speak.

As they were walking through a street lined with restaurants, Bai Luo Yin took the initiative to speak first, "Let's not eat at home today, we can find a place to eat, it'll be my treat."

Yang Meng and You Qi exchanged a mischievous smile.

Since Bai Luo Yin insist, who are we to not take advantage of this?

The three entered a restaurant, ordered several dishes and opened an ample amount of beer bottles. As they ate and drank, time decided to fly by. In the blink of an eye, it was already past 9pm.

You Qi looked at his watch.

It's time to leave.

Bai Luo Yin was facing an empty beer bottle, his eyes staring blankly at it for a long while. Who knew what he was thinking as he let his gaze remained attentively on it.

Yang Meng, on the other hand, had already fallen asleep, leaning on the table.

You Qi patted Yang Meng's back, but he didn't respond at all.

Finally coming out of his stupor, Bai Luo Yin said, "How about we get a taxi to take him home?"

"Won't his dad beat him up if he sees him like this huh?" You Qi looked a bit worried.

With a firm and resolute appearance, Bai Luo Yin tells You Qi, "Don't worry, his dad really wants to see him like this. He'll definitely be proud of him. We can send him home."

Listening to Bai Luo Yin's suggestion, You Qi went to flag down a taxi and helped Yang Meng in. Then he also sat down before calling out to Bai Luo Yin, "Get on."

Bai Luo Yin merely shook his head, "I want to walk back."

"Why do you want to walk when there's a taxi here already?" You Qi was puzzled by this seemingly odd action, "Aren't yours and Yang Meng's home separated by just an alley?"

Not paying attention to the words that sc.r.a.ped out of You Qi's mouth, Bai Luo Yin faced the east side and started to walk off alone.

Watching Bai Luo Yin walking off, You Qi hesitated for a moment before he took out some money and hand it over to the driver. Then he tells the driver the exact address and that he must take Yang Meng home.

Afterwards, he got out of the taxi, look in Bai Luo Yin's direction and chased after him.  

Bai Luo Yin's footing was somewhat unstable as he swayed a bit here and there. Among the three of them, he had drunk the most.

Once You Qi arrived at his side, Bai Luo Yin immediately stretched his arm out and swung it over You Qi's shoulder. In just one swoop, half his weight practically pressed down heavily on You Qi, making it harder for You Qi, but easier for himself to walk instead.

A type of relaxation built up on You Qi's handsome face. This kind of underlying gentleness seemed quite natural and he himself felt rather generous. It was in this manner that he helped support Bai Luo Yin while they walk forward together.

As their legs moved, taking them one step closer to their determined destination, Bai Luo Yin spoke first, "How far is the place you’re renting from here?"

"Not far, it's pretty close to your home so we can just walk back together."

A hiccup drew out of Bai Luo Yin's mouth before he shook his head and giddily said, "Let's go, go check out your place."

"You don't have to return home? It's already past 9pm."

A lifeless expression colored Bai Luo Yin's sullen and inscrutable countenance for a moment. As if swirling into another daze, he shook his head again.

"There's no need to return home, it's annoying!"

Are you Addicted?

Original Novel by Chai Ji Dan 

We, the translators and editors, DO NOT own any of this novel’s content.