Chapter 18 - Strawberry Flavored Scholar Gong (18): Given the nickname of ‘Little Fool’, isn’t it cute?
Translator: KunLin
Editors: Amaris, Grump
At the same time.
The links in Class Three’s WeChat friend circle were also replaced with these new scandals. The nude photographs as well as the screenshots of the diary had turned into corrupt files that were unable to be opened. It didn’t matter if they had been stored in the phone or computer, they were immediately locked onto by a virus. Your device would either black out or it would start playing scenes from horror movies on the screen…
By the ninth minute, rushed footsteps sounded outside the door.
Shi Yu hurriedly walked in. Before he came to a stop, Gou Liang had already buried himself into his arms.
Shi Yu was knocked back by two steps but his anxious heart had finally settled down a little.
Shi Yu hugged Gou Liang, gently patted his back and said: “Don’t be afraid, it’s alright now.”
Gou Liang didn’t say anything, he simply hugged Shi Yu tightly. His eyes were like broken faucets, tears were flowing down ceaselessly. The scalding droplets soon soaked through Shi Yu’s thin shirt, drenching his bare skin. They seemed to permeate his flesh and blood, causing his originally restless and anxious expression to morph into a forbearing one that was expressionless but full of killing intent.
He slowly closed his eyes and silently vowed in his heart: This matter is not over. He will definitely make that person pay the price!
Ye Chao stood up. He furrowed his brows and asked: “This student, you are…?”
Seeing that Shi Yu was busy comforting Gou Liang, the Headmaster quickly said: “Mr. Ye, this is Student Shi. He is Student Qi Cheng’s deskmate. Like your family’s child, he also received a full mark on the monthly exam.” After saying this, he lowered his voice and clued the other in to which family the surname of ‘Shi’ in Shi Yu represented.
The expression in Ye Chao’s eyes immediately became more profound.
When Gou Liang finally calmed down and came out from Shi Yu’s embrace, Director Zhang happily hung up the call from the police and said that all the reporters and parents who had been looking for trouble had already been dispersed.
Shi Yu wiped away the tears on Gou Liang’s face and said in a low voice: “I’ll take you home first, alright?”
Gou Liang opened his mouth as if he wanted to agree but he suddenly thought of something. He turned his head around and looked at Ye Chao, pursed his lips and hesitated for a moment before saying in a hoarse voice: “Uncle Ye, can I speak to you privately for a moment?”
Ye Chao naturally agreed.
The office was left with only the two of them, the door was closed and the room was utterly silent.
Ye Chao said: “Xiao Cheng, are you alright—”
“Uncle Ye.” Gou Liang raised his head and interrupted Ye Chao’s ongoing sentence, “I know who is responsible for this matter. You… do you know?”
Ye Chao was momentarily stunned but he immediately recovered his composure and calmly said: “Who is it? Don’t be afraid, Xiao Cheng. Say it and Uncle will definitely bring justice to you! No matter who it is, their actions are really malicious! You’re still so young, how can they use such an underhanded method to ruin your prospects, to ruin your life?”
“Does Uncle Ye also think that they are very despicable?”
Gou Liang’s red and swollen eyes were once again wetted by his tears.
He endured it again and again and again, but right now he had been pushed to the very edge of a bottomless abyss. Even if he was afraid and sad, this time he wasn’t willing to remain silent any longer.
“Actually, I’ve always wanted to be like how Mom said, I wanted to be good brothers with brother and to have a good relationship with him. But… he doesn’t like me. No matter how hard I try, he is never happy with me. Uncle Ye, can you tell me, why does he hate me so much? Why does he hate me to the point of wanting to destroy me?
At this moment, Gou Liang was like a child, full of grievances that he no longer wanted to hide.
Ye Chao’s words became stuck in his throat. As if he was unable to believe what Gou Liang had just said, Ye Chao stared at him with widened eyes as he digested this unexpected situation.
In the end, he said in a disheartened tone: “Xiao Cheng, do you really think… it’s him?”
In reality, Ye Chao already had a clear answer in his heart. Even if Ye Hui wasn’t the one to personally spread the scandal, he definitely had something to do with the distribution of the photos.
Gou Liang laughed bitterly.
“I don’t have any evidence, I also have no intention to investigate to prove that it’s him.” Gou Liang said, “But I don’t think that there’s a second person in this world who would do something like this to me other than him. Uncle Ye, I can’t understand why he is always so against me. However&#k2026; that is no longer important now.”
“Uncle, I’ve tried my best. Really.”
Gou Liang paused for a moment, then tightened his fists as if he had come to a decision. He said: “From today onward, I will no longer consider him my brother.”
“He is going to inherit the Ye Family in the future so from today on, I can no longer return home… to the Ye House. Uncle, thank you for raising me all these years. If possible, I hope that every month I can still meet with my mom and little brother once. If, if it’s not convenient… When I turn 18, I will make sure to send them living expenses. The expenses from all these years, I will also make sure to return them—”
“That’s enough!”
Hearing that Gou Liang would go as far as breaking off relations with the Ye Family, Ye Chao hurriedly interrupted his sentence. When he saw Gou Liang timidly staring at him with wide eyes, he realized that his tone had been a bit too forceful.
Hence, he quickly put on a more gentle expression. He walked in front of Gou Liang and said: “This child, what nonsense are you speaking.”
“Ye Hui is Ye Hui, the Ye family is the Ye family, and I am myself. Your mom and little brother are your family, no one has the right to stop you from seeing them.” He tried to sound as sincere as possible as he said: “Xiao Cheng, what you said today, I will definitely investigate it. In these few years, you’ve suffered. Uncle was too busy with work and had neglected you too much. I didn’t know that Ye Hui actually did these foolish things… Trust Uncle, I will definitely give you an explanation.”
“Xiao Cheng, you’ve been at my side since you were small, I treat you the same way I treat Ye Hui, you are both my children. I know that you are more capable and more sensible than Ye Hui, so Uncle hopes that you won’t be unable to face your mother and little brother just because of those wrongdoings he committed, they—”
“Uncle, I know.” Gou Liang shook his head. He smiled weakly before repeating what he had just said: “I know. The things you’ve done for me, I always remember them in my heart, I would never forget them.”
Ye Chao’s expression eased up a lot. He said: “Uncle will give you an explanation as soon as possible. Right, I also heard from your Headmaster just now that you scored full marks on the exam. Xiao Cheng did very well, Uncle is proud of you.”
Gou Liang revealed a smile, but it was fleeting. He guiltily lowered his head and said: “I… I’ve caused trouble for Uncle.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Ye Chao said slowly: “You are the victim in this matter, it’s those who are harboring impure motives who need to be punished—”
As he said this, he suddenly remembered that among the people he was scolding, his own son was included. He stopped mid-sentence, and tiredly kneaded his forehead: “Thankfully this matter was taken care of in a timely fashion, otherwise the consequences would be much more serious. Speaking of this, Xiao Cheng, is this thanks to the help of that student from before? Uncle must make sure to thank him properly.”
Gou Liang nodded his head. Thinking of Shi Yu, his expression finally relaxed a bit.
When Ye Chao noticed this, a thought formed in his heart. He pretended to casually ask: “Xiao Cheng, you and him… it doesn’t seem that you’re just simply classmates?”
Gou Liang’s face flushed red but turned pale the next second. He mumbled: “He, he’s my…I’m sorry, Uncle, i-it seems that I can’t change in this lifetime.”
He lowered his head in shame, missing the light that flashed through Ye Chao’s eyes.
Ye Chao smiled, patted his shoulder and said: “What is there to apologize about? Did you forget what Doctor Li said to you last time? Liking boys isn’t your fault and Uncle is neither close-minded nor old-fashioned. For your mother and I, your happiness is the most important. I think that child is not bad, when there’s time, bring him home to meet your mother.”
Gou Liang lifted his head in astonishment, he only managed to recover after half a day. His face was blushing red, he pressed down the smile that was forming at the corner of his mouth and emotionally nodded his head twice.
Ye Chao saw this and was even more satisfied. As he was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something and said: “Xiao Cheng, Uncle is very satisfied with your studies. If you have time, come to the company for a tour. I was thinking, if you have no other plans this winter break, you can come to the company for an internship. Uncle has high expectations for your future; don’t cut off your own road because of some bumps that will eventually pass. Set your sight on the long-term future. Uncle hopes that when you’ve grown up and Uncle is old and can’t do as much, you can help Uncle out to take care of the company.”
Gou Liang was very surprised, there was a flash of excitement and ambition being repressed in his eyes as he repeatedly nodded his head.
The melon-seed-eating System had a heart full of ridicule: Its cute Master and Ye Chao, it really doesn’t know which one is faker than the other.
Suddenly, in the sea of consciousness, flowers began to blossom everywhere!
【System: …Master??】
Fireworks were setting off inside Gou Liang’s mind, he was so excited he almost couldn’t speak. He once again showed the system a transaction record ↓↓
Soul No.1343854 has given you 5 million spirit coins free of charge on X year X month X day X hour X minute X second of the space-time calendar.
System: …I knew it was going to be something like this.
【Gou Liang: This child is so easily satisfied, I want a dozen more hosts like him！≧ε ≦ 】
During the time when the target’s favorability value and mission progress rate were both stagnant, Gou Liang had not been idle.
Last week, because he ‘missed’ his little brother, he made some sweets and waited outside of Ye Yao’s school during dismissal time so he could talk to Ye Yao for a while to ‘ease his pangs of longing’.
Since he was there, he naturally had to ‘accidentally’ discover and save Ye Yao who was being menaced by a mean crowd. He also reported the matter of Ye Yao being threatened to Ye Chao—this wasn’t the first time that this little brat had been threatened, and it wasn’t hard to guess the mastermind behind these incidents. This was also one of the reasons why Ye Chao had unhesitatingly chosen to support Gou Liang rather than his own son with regards to today’s incident.
He was already thoroughly disappointed with Ye Hui.
Ever since Gou Liang displayed his astounding fighting prowess—along with the allure of his homemade sweets—the present day Ye Yao was the very definition of ‘second brother’s blind fan’.
Moreover, at a certain time when he was visiting Ye Hui in the hospital, Gou Liang left a psychological hint on him.
During this period of time, whenever Ye Hui fell asleep, he would dream of himself being beaten and bullied—they were what he had once done to the original host. Gou Liang wanted Ye Hui to fully experience the pain that the original host had suffered, both physically and mentally. His legs had yet to heal and he was still in pain. Ye Hui had been pampered and spoiled since young, naturally he wouldn’t be able to withstand this type of double torture, his recent state of mind was already on the verge of collapse.
Ye Chao didn’t need Gou Liang to say it directly, as long as he mentioned the matter of Ye Yao being threatened, he would be able to link it to Ye Hui on his own. It would make Ye Chao even more disappointed in Ye Hui, causing Ye Hui’s worth to decrease even lower in his eyes.
Not to mention that during this period of time, Ye Chao had given Cheng Li some ideology reformation. As a result, the latter had finally begun to attach some value to the son whom she had ignored for more than ten years. Afterall, even her most precious Ye Yao also had a complete change of attitude towards Gou Liang and would often talk about how good his second brother was, how awesome his second brother was, how much his second brother loved him and how his second brother had protected him. When Gou Liang borrowed Ye Yao’s hands to send some diet sweets and delicate bonsais to Cheng Li, she became more and more satisfied with this son of hers.
On the contrary, the relationship between her and Ye Hui had become increasingly estranged.
Ye Hui was driven mad by pain and Cheng Li would often become his target of anger. During his tantrums, he even utilized a variety of weapons—he would use things like pillows, glasses of water, and pill bottles to hit Cheng Li and vent his anger. He resented Cheng Li for bringing Gou Liang into this house.
Once, Cheng Li had been unable to dodge in time when a glass was thrown directly at her face, nearly disfiguring her, causing Cheng Li to completely lose her patience with Ye Hui. Not to mention when she learned from Ye Yao that the person who hired the people to threaten him wasn’t anyone else but Ye Hui, her hatred for him deepened even more. Since she had to maintain her image of being a good wife and a loving mother, Cheng Li still reluctantly stayed by Ye Hui’s side and took care of him. But when Ye Chao wasn’t by her side, she would either ignore Ye Hui or talk to him with a poisonous tongue…
The unfulfilled expectations of the original host slowly became a reality under Gou Liang’s skillful manipulation.
Maybe it was because the original host was too young or maybe it was due to his pessimistic nature but he was already satisfied after Gou Liang took care of things to this degree.
The beginning where he had face-slapped the PE students and Wu Yong was an added bonus, Gou Liang had already received 8 million coins in total from the original host—according to his estimation, if the host’s negative soul force were all to be converted into spirit coins, the total amount should be around 10 million coins or so.
Which meant that the original’s soul force was about 80% purified.
As for the remaining 20%, that would depend on Zhan Yongzhe.
Shi Yu finally fulfilled his vision of carrying Gou Liang home on his bicycle.
But at this moment, he wasn’t happy at all.
Gou Liang leaned against his back. In his sea of consciousness, he was gleefully counting the number displayed in his bank account, counting it once before counting it again backward. Confirming that the long string of zeros wasn’t an illusion, Gou Liang smiled happily.
Shi Yu felt him trembling against his shoulder. He turned his head but was unable to see Gou Liang’s expression. Concern welled up inside him.
Afraid that Gou Liang would be uncomfortable from holding back his tears, Shi Yu began to pedal even harder in order to get home sooner. Gou Liang felt that they were speeding up and hurriedly hugged Shi Yu tighter.
When they returned to the rented apartment, before Shi Yu could organize his words to comfort him, Gou Liang rubbed his eyes that were puffy and painful from his realistic crying and said in a nasal voice: “Shi Yu… I’m so tired…”
Shi Yu carried him into the bedroom, placed a kiss on his forehead and said: “Sleep, ba, I will stay here and keep you company.”
It was unknown whether Gou Liang heard what Shi Yu said. He groggily nodded his head and fell asleep before long.
When he woke up, as expected, Shi Yu was still there.
The swollenness had already receded. It could be seen that Shi Yu had helped him apply a compress against it. He rubbed his eyes and smiled. Leaning in, he gave Shi Yu a kiss. However, he backed away at once like his tongue had been scalded: It seemed that this person’s mood wasn’t so good right now, the taste of negative soul force was so thick that he could taste it even with just a peck on the lips.
Shi Yu pursed his lips and asked in a gentle voice: “Are you feeling better now?”
Gou Liang nodded his head. He rubbed his stomach and said absent-mindedly: “Hungry.”
A trace of a smile finally appeared on Shi Yu’s face. He told Gou Liang that he had already asked Li LinLing and the others to bring his treasures home from school. They were all heated up now and were ready for him to eat.
Gou Liang shamelessly sprawled himself against his back. Shi Yu good-naturedly carried him out. After some warm soup had entered his belly, Gou Liang felt that he had completely recovered.
Seeing that Shi Yu had set down his chopsticks after only two bites of food, Gou Liang moved his chair closer to him. He pinched Shi Yu’s face and said jokingly: “If you made a dish right now, do you know what it would be called?”
Shi Yu hugged him onto his lap, he dragged the dishes that were placed further away closer while Gou Liang merrily answered his own question: “It would be called bitter gourd.”
As he said this, he even exaggeratedly made a face like he had eaten something bitter.
Shi Yu didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. He rubbed Gou Liang’s head and said: “Not sad anymore?”
“You look down on me too much.” He had completely forgotten who the weak little white lotus from just a couple of hours before was, his appearance was like having conquered the world because he had delicious food. “Okay, la, it’s more important to fill up your stomach. Oh right, you still haven’t told me how today’s matter was resolved, ne.”
Shi Yu fed him a supple and tender piece of tenderloin before saying: “I asked a few friends for help.”
The friends that he spoke of were all world-class hackers that belonged to the cream of the crop. Some of them were He Jin’s friends before her death while others were people he had met during the one year he stayed at home to practice his skills. All of them had made a name for themselves during the international hacking competition. They could be considered friends that had come together after fighting each other. After the competition, they even planned to collaborate together on some projects. Shi Yu thought their ideas were not bad so he provided the funds for them to work as they pleased. As a result, those people were still willing to fulfill his requests.
He briefly mentioned all this before asking Gou Liang another question: “Little Fool, do you want to learn?”
Gou Liang lacked interest towards this offer since he already had the BUG-like System. Relaxing his body, he laid in Shi Yu’s arms, eating while saying: “I think we should keep one feeling of admiration between us. Afterall, it is rare for you to surpass me in an area.”
Shi Yu also seemed to think that this was a good idea, thus he didn’t mention this topic again.
Gou Liang took this chance to question him: “Speak truthfully, why did you give me such a weird nickname? →3→”
Shi Yu smiled, kissed Gou Liang’s dimples and said: “I think it’s very good, it suits you well.”
Gou Liang: “…Then I really beg to differ.”
Although he made fun of Shi Yu’s weirdness, at least it was somewhat charming and he didn’t have an exotic fetish like choking play.
During the following period of time, Shi Yu carefully observed Gou Liang as if he was afraid the smiling eyes right now would suddenly burst with tears like a broken faucet.
Gou Liang, who had already achieved his goals: Sorry to disappoint you, this brother’s acting is just this whimsical and carefree! ╮(╯▽╰)╭
As he was sending Shi Yu off, Gou Liang told him: “Shi Yu, the matter concerning Ye Hui, you don’t have to bother with it. I will deal with it on my own… you just have to let Ye Chao know that you don’t like Ye Hui.”
When Gou Liang said this, his eyes flashed with a sharp and cunning light—it was as if he was imagining the unlucky Ye Hui who would be kneeling at his feet while crying dad.
Shi Yu revealed a sincere smile.
Gou Liang cupped his face. He didn’t know why. He knew that Shi Yu’s soul force wouldn’t taste very good at this moment but he still couldn’t help but kiss him. When he saw the corner of Shi Yu’s mouth curving up even more, he couldn’t help but follow suit, smiling as he revealed a deep set of dimples. Gou Liang said: “See you tomorrow.
Later that night.
【System: Master, the target has arrived at He Lin’s house along with the Shi elders.】
Gou Liang stepped off the treadmill and wiped his sweat as he had the System enlarge the monitoring screen.
【The System did as it was told but couldn’t help but ask curiously: Master, how can you be sure that if you acted pitiful and pretended to be weak, you would be able to gain favorability points?】
【Gou Liang: I’m not sure but you have to know, when a man feels guilty or distressed, it will definitely become a catalyst for the relationship.】
【System: …Although I can’t quite understand it, it sounds about right.】
Seeing that the three people from the Shi Family were about to face off with the He Family, Gou Liang squeezed a cup of juice for himself, not bothering to further discuss this topic with the System.