Chapter 65: Hegemony (Part 2)

  When she woke up again, Gu Huanli felt that someone's smile under the lamp was really dazzling. She struggled to sit up and said slowly, "Zero Auntie doesn't sleep, what are you doing in my room in the middle of the night? Playing hide-and-seek with Nanxing?" Her tone was soft, but it was clear that her words were laced with thorns.

  Zero didn't get angry at all, instead he slapped the table and burst out laughing, "Although the food in Shansen City is really hard to swallow, I think you usually eat quite well, how did you end up fainting from hunger on the stairs? Could it be that the feng shui here is too good, directly turning Miss Gu into a rice bucket?"

  She gave her a few dark glances, and then her smile became even sweeter. "Little kids are naturally hungry at 11 pm and will be starving by 12 am. Only grown-ups like Auntie would starve themselves for the sake of looking good, dieting, losing weight, getting thinner... their eyes would be seeing stars from hunger, drooling at delicious food but saying they've already eaten at home, and then after occasionally eating something good, they'd go back home feeling guilty, vomiting in the toilet..."

  She was called a fool, and instantly lost the interest in teasing her. She gritted her teeth and muttered, "You're always bringing up the past. Forget it, forget it, at least you're awake now. I'll go call Ye."

  As soon as she spoke, she regretted it, whether or not something happened, by saying so herself, nothing became something.

  However, Gu Huanli didn't take it to heart at all and lightly replied, "I just have low blood sugar, no need to make such a big fuss. Besides, in the middle of the night, Auntie, aren't you afraid that tomorrow's dark circles can't be covered up no matter how much concealer is used?"

  "You——" Zero felt a mouthful of old blood surging up her throat, she trembled and stood up, stumbling to the door. At the threshold, she turned around and said in a low, mournful tone, "Little girl, don't always think about speaking for me, one day you'll be old too."

  "It doesn't matter." Gu Huanli gazed at her quietly and said softly, "One day, we will all grow old. I've long understood this kind of thing, hasn't Aunt thought it through?"

  "Ahhh——" Ling yelled as he ran out, seeing Nan Xing holding a freshly cooked vegetable porridge walking behind Ye. He snatched the tray from Nan Xing's hand and forcibly handed it to Ye, then grabbed Nan Xing's collar and continued yelling as they escaped together.

  Watching them two leave in a cloud of dust, he was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but burst out laughing. "No memory and a weak heart, no wonder you're always getting trampled by that little wild cat, making yourself suffer." After saying this, he pushed open the door.

  Gu Huanli was about to cover herself with the quilt and continue sleeping, although she was both hungry and tired. However, thinking of the delicious food in Shan Jian City, she still didn't want to torture her poor stomach. Although there's a saying that "hunger makes even bran taste sweet", it's not worth risking stomach perforation by eating those potentially deadly dishes. Hearing the intentionally heavy footsteps, she could only expose half of her head and sneak a peek.

  The moonlight is faint, quietly shining on the face of the night. She and he, can be considered to have just made up, actually they didn't even quarrel, it's just that they looked at each other with disapproval. But after all, he should be considered her master, and she was just playing a small trick for a bet.

  Although she had also thought of letting Cassidy secretly take her out, such opportunism would not benefit her. Whether it was knowledge or strength, it was all hers, and only when she truly grasped it in her hands would she feel that she was a slightly useful person.

  Danger always exists, and although this acquisition was carried out in secret, there is no wall in the world that can keep secrets forever. Gu Huanli dared not say a word "it's okay, those people were after me", because on the days she left the old house of the Gu family, the news she received was always that her brother was safe and sound. Even Cassidy rarely mentioned anything about her brother to her, mostly talking about Auntie or Mrs. Shen instead.

  She guessed that they were hiding something from her, and Gu Huan often told herself that this kind of thing was nothing to be understood. If she fell into danger, she would also smile and tell benevolent lies to the people she loved.

  Gu Huanli thought so, but she couldn't show any signs of affection to Ye. Yes, she had her own desires, and at the same time, she had to pretend to have none in front of him. All she wanted to show him was a little girl who adored her older brother, which was exactly what she was, so it didn't count as acting.

  Moreover, he provided her with food and clothing, and all aspects of her life were taken care of without any neglect. Even if the food was unpalatable to the point of death, yet everyone in the city of Full Goodness ate such meals, including those at night; thus, this "guest" had nothing more to say except offer kind advice. At times, she even wished that she could be thrown into a state of hardship, for it is only through suffering and hardship that one can truly temper oneself.

  "What are you thinking about?" Night put the tray on her lap and sat down on the sofa beside the bed.

  Looking at the green, jelly-like vegetable porridge, Gu Huanli's mouth twitched, wanting to smile, but her forehead couldn't help but bulge with two blue veins. This thing wouldn't be some kind of poison, would it? Maybe drinking it would directly send her to meet God or Buddha. Luckily, her stomach was empty; otherwise, just smelling this smell made her feel like vomiting. "Thinking about learning martial arts in such a sporadic manner, will I end up with only mediocre skills like a three-legged cat?"

  "Nanxing will stay by your side to continue guiding you, and also serve as your bodyguard." Ye looked at her troubled expression, pulled out an exquisite silver-plated enamel-painted golden sugar box from his pocket, "Hmph, little wild cat, if you're not afraid of getting cavities, eat whatever you want."

  "I knew you had ulterior motives." Gu Huanli said, but still took the candy box from his hand and opened it to find her favorite white chocolate inside. She looked at Ye in surprise and said, "I thought you'd forgotten about this too."

  "A person without credibility cannot stand." Ye's tone was as calm as water, but the double-headed cane in his lap was clenched into a fist, making a cracking sound. "It's just that this candy box is hard to find, so it took until today to give it to you."

  "Really?" Gu Huanli picked up a white chocolate, unwrapped the wrapper and put it in her mouth, the melting sensation made her happily close her eyes, "If this is the little reward you gave me, I would be very happy."

  She silently gazed at Gu Huan Lian, her sweet smile unfolding like fireworks slowly bursting into bloom. Her bright eyes revealed a childlike surprise, as if discovering Christmas presents. Her joy was so simple yet so genuine. After a long while, he said slowly, "Consider it a reward then, a reward for your bravery in daring to climb on top of the car."

  "Really?" Gu Huanli thought to herself, lying on the car roof was not fun at all, it was freezing her to death. But on her face, she had a smile, looking extremely happy, "What about the white chocolate you owed me those days? You can't just forget about it, right? You clearly said that every day, you would give me sweet white chocolate. If you can't do it, then don't say 'a person without credibility is not reliable'".

  Looking at her expression of "you owe me, deal with it yourself", his chest was churning with rage, he really wanted to burst out laughing, but his hands were searching for his own face, as if bursting into laughter would be a betrayal of the scars on his cheeks, a betrayal of the vows he made back then. These days, he had too many moments when he wanted to laugh, this kind of emotion wasn't wrong, but on him, it was extremely dangerous.

  Gu Huanli looked at him, still lost in thought, and didn't even notice her putting the tray on the sideboard. She couldn't help but sigh silently, lean forward, and grab Ye's shirt collar. "Uncle, don't make such a tragic face like the end of the world is coming in someone else's bedroom, I thought I had a terminal illness or something."

  He gently pushed her hand away and said softly, "It's nothing."

  "Nothing to see here" Gu Huanli was dissatisfied, pouting her mouth. She jumped off the bed and sat directly on Ye's lap, eye to eye, nose to nose. "You think I'm nearsighted, so I couldn't see your expression, huh? Now it's close enough, and I can see clearly too. What else do you plan to deceive people with?"

  "Aren't the scars on my face scary?" Ye Tong opened a shirt button, lazily smiling at Gu Huanlin, "Or should I say, I should show you more scars, like..."

  His voice suddenly disappeared in the air, Gu Huanli pressed her forehead against his, frowning in confusion, "No fever, how did he start talking nonsense all of a sudden?"

  The annoying breath blew gently on her face, Ye Bie Kai's face turned away, "Don't think that just because you're my client, I don't dare to teach you a lesson. And tomorrow, I'll have Ling take you to the eye hospital to get glasses."

  "This time, Gu Huanli finally got angry, 'Teach me? Hey, you're being too unreasonable. Not only do you not know what's good for you, but you also want me to go get glasses?"

  "Don't know what's good for you?" Ye Leng sneered, wrapping his arms around her waist, his smile and voice equally chilling. "Little wild cat, who doesn't know what's good for them? I'll give you one last chance..."

  "Really troublesome," Gu Huanli frowned, reaching out to lightly flick his forehead. "My eyes aren't microscopes, but a scar that big? If you say I didn't see it, then I'd be lying with my eyes open."

  Ye Jiangchi stood there, his expression somewhat blurry. He didn't speak until after a while, his voice unusually stern and full of warning, "Gu Huanli, you'd better not do this."

  "So you tell me what's wrong" Gu Huanli glared at him, unwilling to back down.

  At night, he had an expression of not knowing what to say to you, and turned his face away again.

  Late at night, he didn't sleep and ran to her bedroom to stare at each other. Finally, she took pity on him, but he still didn't appreciate it, causing Gu Huanli to suddenly go crazy. She grabbed his collar, forcefully pulling back his head. "If you're not feeling well, go see a doctor; if you're tired, go sleep; if you're hungry, go eat. The world's matters are originally very simple, so why make them so complicated?"

  Ye Qing woke up from his shock and raised the corner of his mouth, without hesitation, he stretched out his hand and pinched Gu Huan's cheek, he had wanted to do this for a long time, indeed... it felt pretty good.

  "Hey, hey……" Gu Huanli released him and shook off his hand. Jokingly, she said "Your face is made of flesh too, you know. And it's the original one, not a fake. Are you trying to pinch it away or something? Geez... Now, either you tell me what happened, or I'll go to the surveillance room and do a live broadcast, letting everyone in Shansheng City know about your evil deeds of bullying a kid."

  "Am I bullying you? You're just a little wild cat who confuses right and wrong, black and white." Ye said while adjusting Gu Huan's position on his lap. "It seems like I need to punish you, otherwise, who knows what you'll think of me in the future?"

  Gu Huanli directly fell onto Ye's leg, a bad premonition suddenly emerged from the bottom of her heart. "You... what do you want to do? Put me down."

  "As soon as the words fell, the big hand of the night had already landed on Gu Huanli's little butt, again and again."

  "It hurts, don't stop!" As he moved, she let out cries of pain, her whole body struggling. It was painful and humiliating, and her tears finally fell. She was already over 20 years old, but being spanked like this was something that made her want to die of shame. And besides, she was now just a little kid again... Waaahhh, the adult world is really hateful!

  Although Ming Zhi knew Gu Huan Li was crying, Ye still hardened his heart and asked, "Are you going to behave?"

  To avoid physical pain, Gu Huanli gritted her teeth and said, "Can't I just ignore it?"

  Ye nearly lost his composure at her words, only to realize that she was a tough cookie who wouldn't back down. This caught him off guard. Suppressing his smile, Ye's tone turned cold and hard as he asked again, "Will you continue to recklessly put yourself in danger?"

  "I'd rather die than learn!" she retorted in anger. The next second, she was picked up and sat facing him by him.

  "So tell me, why did you have to go watch your brother's basketball game?" Ye Qian gently wiped away the tears on her cheek and asked softly.

  "For my brother and me, this might be our first and last time. We had forgotten our identities and responsibilities, and in our youth, we had shed sweat together with our teammates to compete for the highest honor." Gu Huan Lian let out a faint sigh, "Moreover, at the beginning of next year, I will be leaving, and there are still many memories that have not been left behind..."

  Ye's fingers stiffened at night, and Gu Huanli hadn't had time to struggle before he was tightly hugged around the waist, and her body was flipped over and firmly fixed on his thighs. With a "slap", the entire room could clearly hear the sound of palms and buttocks colliding.

  "Tell the truth or not" He slapped Gu Huan's buttocks again, but she didn't dare to cry out in pain. She could only stare at him with her big, watery eyes, looking pitiful and helpless.

  "It won't stop if you don't tell the truth." The voice at night was a bit cold.

  "Ugh... I really want to see Brother conquer the entire school, and even the whole country." Gu Huan Lian saw that his hand was about to come down again, and finally couldn't help but say out her secret. "And by the way, if something small happens accidentally, then there's no need to go abroad to study."

  "What surprise? What danger?"

  "Not yet...haven't thought it through..." Gu Huanli lowered her head and sighed. If something unexpected happened in front of her brother, he would definitely blame himself, and the consequences that followed might be more than she could bear. She wanted to do it, but didn't have the courage. She wanted to refuse her brother's arrangement, but she was unwilling to betray her oath.

  Such contradictions really made her heart feel both sour and astringent.

  "Don't even think about it." Ye's expression turned slightly annoyed, his brow furrowed as he said coldly, "If you dare to do it, I'll throw you into Siberia and let you fend for yourself."

  Gu Huan Lirong looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled very lightly and said in a low voice, "Yes, I originally just thought about it, but if you want to do it, I don't have the slightest courage."