UCS Chapter 114.1

And so the rose before him still belonged to him.

Gui Yan thought this, and felt something like a flame rekindling in his chest. He transformed again from the middle-aged man who had lived two lifetimes back into the high-spirited racing driver he had once been.

If he had feelings for him…

Gui Yan thought: he knew A-Yue’s nature better than anyone. As long as someone was good to A-Yue, A-Yue would offer all of his sincerity in return.

If he had feelings for him, then if he said he wanted A-Yue to donate a kidney and an eye to Mingyue, A-Yue would certainly agree.

Unlike the past life.

A-Yue was the young master of the Gao family now. His standing was more elevated, but with the Gao family’s technology being what it was, he would only be losing one eye and one kidney. Surely that would not cause any significant problems?

Had he not heard that the Gao family had already developed a prosthetic eye with exceptional compatibility with the human body? Reportedly it functioned no differently from a real eye in use. It was still under development at present, but if the person losing the eye was A-Yue, he would certainly have access to it at the earliest possible opportunity. So losing one cornea was not really such a significant issue for him.

Besides, he was the Gao family’s young master. He did not need to do any heavy labour in his daily life. He was not like Mingyue, who had a passion for extreme sports. Donating a kidney would have no impact on his everyday life. He would certainly agree.

Why had he not agreed yet?

Gui Yan concluded it was surely because the two of them were not yet close enough, and also because A-Yue did not yet think of himself as belonging to him.

At this thought, a flicker of pleasure rose in Gui Yan’s chest, only to be immediately suppressed by a disgust he could not name. He thought again of A-Yue’s attempted murder of Mingyue in their past life.

The gentle, kind-hearted Bai Mingyue, who had not minded A-Yue’s existence at all, who had remained so gentle even when A-Yue was caught in the act of attempting to kill him, had actually pleaded softly on A-Yue’s behalf, begging him not to throw A-Yue out in the pouring rain.

Mingyue was suffering precisely because he was too kind-hearted. That was why A-Yue had been able to take advantage of him.

He had misjudged A-Yue from the start. A-Yue had performed the role of innocent and pitiable so convincingly that he had felt pity, never imagining that A-Yue was nothing but a venomous snake with its forked tongue flicking.

He had always been skilled at deception.

Thinking this, Gui Yan could not help but frown deeply, and looked at Gao Gusheng before him with contempt.

His feelings were far more complex than even he himself had noticed, and he had not perceived that buried within that contempt was a trace of something else, a self-satisfaction he himself had not recognised.

He did all of this for me.

Whether it was the attempt on Mingyue’s life or the deception, all of it had been for him.

From beginning to end, he had never once hurt him.

If he had taken him in earlier and kept him close, perhaps he could have straightened out his character.

Thinking this, Gui Yan scrutinised the Gao Gusheng before him with a critical eye.

And yet the Gao Gusheng before him was strikingly beautiful. His spirit was full and brimming, confident and vivid, carrying all the brightness and warmth that belonged to someone his age, raised with every indulgence, and yet possessed of a resilience that had not been lost.

The Gao family had raised him exceptionally well. If A-Yue in his past life had been a piece of uncut jade, then Gao Gusheng in this life was a piece already carved to perfection.

Before his eyes flashed again the image of A-Yue in the downpour, those eyes full of anguish and desperation, pleading with him.

Gui Yan felt a sudden pang in his chest. He drew his gaze back with a deflated feeling, genuinely unable to bring himself to say that A-Yue would have been better off staying by his side.

Gao Gusheng was growing somewhat irritated by all of Gui Yan’s drawn-out silence, the words-on-the-tip-of-his-tongue-yet-swallowed-back routine.

The way Gui Yan across from him kept looking at him made him extremely uncomfortable. He had the persistent feeling that Gui Yan was thinking something unpleasant, and felt a strong urge to ball up his fist and land it squarely in Gui Yan’s face.

Gao Gusheng silently recited a calming mantra twice, then tilted his chin up and said, “If Mr. Gui has nothing else to say, I will be on my way.”

“Wait!”

After all…

Gui Yan steeled himself, swallowed his pride, and raised his head. “Fine. You win. If you are willing to donate a kidney and a cornea to Bai Mingyue, I will agree to be with you.”

“…Sorry?”

Gao Gusheng was momentarily stunned, and genuinely doubted his own ears.

He leaned forward. “Say that again?”

Was this something a person actually said? Not only did he want him to donate an eye and a kidney, he was saying it in a tone of bestowing a great favour, condescending to agree to be with him.

This was absolutely repaying kindness with ingratitude.

A crunching sound came through his earpiece. Clearly his dad had lost the battle with his temper and was biting through lollipop sticks one after another.

Gui Yan seemed entirely unaware. He patiently repeated himself. “If you are willing to donate a cornea and a kidney to Bai Mingyue, I will agree to be with you.”

Gao Gusheng was so furious he almost laughed. He had not expected this shameless creature to actually have the nerve to say it a second time.

Gao Gusheng leaned back, crossed his arms, and looked at him with an expression that was almost a smile but not quite. Suppressing his anger, he said, “Mr. Gui, I have no idea where you got the confidence to say that, or which particular wire came loose that made you think I would ever be interested in you.”

“You—”

“Be quiet.”

Gao Gusheng cut him off without ceremony. He tilted his chin up with a touch of arrogance, finally showing a trace of the haughtiness that only someone raised as a thoroughly indulged young master could carry.

“Do not tell me we were together in a past life. The only way I would have had any interest in you is if I had been blind.”

Gui Yan choked.

What Gao Gusheng had said was, in a certain sense… not inaccurate.

Because A-Yue’s eye in their past life had indeed gone blind. And it had gone blind because of him.

At this thought, something clicked in Gui Yan’s mind. He said, “You are right, actually. We were indeed together in your past life.”

“But in that past life, you wronged me.”

Gao Shi, expression blank, unwrapped a lollipop and placed it in his mouth, waiting to hear what nonsense this creature would come out with next.

“In that past life, you were alone in the world, without a home, physically disabled. It was I who brought you home and had you carefully treated, which is the only reason you survived. I gave you a place to live, ensured you wanted for nothing, had you educated in multiple languages, and guided you to make something of yourself. And yet you betrayed me.”

“You fell in love with me.”

Gui Yan’s voice was compelling, carrying a faint roughness that was entirely at odds with his flashy appearance, drawing the listener in against their will.

“You fell in love with me. But at the time I already had someone I loved, and so you harboured murderous intent toward the person I loved.”

“You killed him.”

“In that past life, my beloved was a Taoist priest. With his own heart’s blood, he cursed you to know no peace for all eternity.”

“In this life I found my beloved earlier. But he is ill. No compatible kidney or cornea has been found.”

“I know your kidney and cornea are a match for him. If you are willing to donate them, my beloved will lift the curse placed on you.”

Gao Gusheng raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So I should be thanking you, by that logic.”

His utterly unbothered manner made Gui Yan frown deeply. He said in a low voice, “I am doing you a kindness. You…”

“Thank you, but no. I do not go in for superstition. Keep that story for someone else. Goodbye.”

Gui Yan called after him in desperation. “The curse is about to take effect. If you refuse, your family will be dragged down with you. You are very close to your father, are you not?”

Gao Gusheng’s frame went rigid. He turned around slowly, fury surging up inside him, a smile appearing on his face.

He said, “Alright. I believe you. Come with me.”

Gui Yan’s impression of Gao Gusheng was still rooted in the past life. He believed that A-Yue, who had loved him deeply, would not harm him.

Gao Gusheng led him further and further off the main path, into a narrow alley. Gui Yan assumed Gao Gusheng was about to pour his heart out to him. He arranged himself into an expression even more arrogant than Gao Gusheng’s had been earlier, and before he could even open his mouth, he saw a fist filling his entire field of vision.

“You dare curse me? Take this, you idiot!”

“Go to hell!”

“Do you think I am stupid? Even if everything about the past life is true, why would you be kind enough to take me in for no reason? How did you know I would be a compatible match? And after I killed someone, you just had no revenge at all?”

“You can’t even get your own made-up story straight!”

Gui Yan’s image of Gao Gusheng was still fixed on the A-Yue of his past life, frail and delicate as a porcelain doll. He had not expected that Gao Gusheng, who was physically no different from that past life figure, would open with a left hook straight to his face.

Gui Yan, who regularly did extreme sports, was in exceptional physical condition. And yet before Gao Gusheng he had absolutely no ability to defend himself. He was beaten until he was dizzy, seeing stars, one step away from tumbling down the staircase into hell.

This entirely one-sided battle continued until he heard Gao Gusheng dust off his hands, the sound coming from somewhere above him.

He forced his eyes open and saw Gao Gusheng standing against the light, his expression full of cold contempt and indifference.

“Don’t let me see you again. Every time I do, I’ll hit you.”

The young man’s expression was glacial, and yet his face was so breathtaking he looked like a bewitching demon stepped out of a story, stealing the soul of anyone who looked at him.

Gui Yan’s heart suddenly began pounding violently, just like that year when he had caught a fleeting glimpse of Bai Mingyue smiling in the sunlight.

***

Seeing Gao Gusheng get up, Gao Shi also quietly rose to his feet. He rolled his wrists, his expression cold and set, seething with anger.

The instant he stood, he suddenly noticed someone who should not have been there.

Bai Mingyue.

The information that had just reached him indicated that Bai Mingyue had undergone a kidney transplant surgery and his body was extremely weak. By any measure, the most appropriate place for him right now was a hospital bed.

And yet Bai Mingyue was dressed in clothes entirely unlike his usual style, a muted grey-black that blended perfectly into the background. He was sitting behind an enormous potted plant.

His chosen position was remarkably precise. Only from the angle of looking down after standing up could Gao Shi see him at all.

Having discovered that his fiancé had invited another man out, agreed to be with him, on the condition that the other man donate him a kidney and cornea, was he supposed to feel hurt? Angry? Moved?

Yet none of those emotions showed on his face.

His expression was distant and detached, as though entirely indifferent to everything happening around him. Only his eyes moved, following the retreating figures of the two as they walked away.

Gao Shi watched his blank, composed expression and could not shake the feeling that something about him was unfamiliar, somehow out of place.

He was different from the person two months ago, the one Gao Shi had investigated, who had been struggling desperately abroad.