M
As Su Zesui ran up the grand spiral staircase, he didn’t dare look back. All he wanted was to make it to the corner and hide.
His pale, slender legs moved quickly, the smooth white skin tensing slightly under the morning light, tracing out a delicate arc—beautiful and fragile.
“Uuuh.” Su Zesui whimpered.
“Don’t… don’t cry, little master.” The butler panted, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu but unsure how to comfort him.
He’d heard Gu Yilan’s cold threat too—saying he’d monitor the boy 24/7. Anyone would be horrified by that kind of control. It was no wonder Su Zesui had such an extreme reaction.
With a quick bound, Su Zesui reached the turn of the staircase and dropped into a crouch with a soft “plop.”
Gripping the cold metal railing, his small body trembled as he carefully poked out a fuzzy little head—like a scared kitten—trying to spy on the scene below.
The butler didn’t understand his behavior but crouched beside him anyway, quietly observing.
Su Zesui’s face was ghostly pale, wide eyes staring intensely, lips pressed into a nervous line. A faint bite mark was visible on his lower lip, making the corners of his eyes look even redder—like someone who had been thoroughly bullied.
The butler’s heart ached at the sight. Taking advantage of the fact that Gu Yilan wasn’t watching, he gently “betrayed” his boss: “Don’t be too upset, little master… Maybe Young Master Gu was just bluffing? If you really do marry him, maybe he—”
He trailed off.
Because, honestly, bluffing just wasn’t Gu Yilan’s style. His personality was too sharp, too domineering. The man never said things he didn’t mean, never played around. That wasn’t someone who joked for fun.
It should’ve been an awkward, half-hearted attempt at comfort—yet Su Zesui, who had been staring intently downstairs, suddenly turned to him with sparkling eyes, like he’d just heard a critical keyword.
The butler’s heart jolted. Guilt and dread flashed through him—he’d just lied to a child.
But then Su Zesui lowered his gaze, stared at the butler’s shoes for a few seconds, and softly said with rare seriousness: “I want to get married.”
The butler froze. “Huh?”
If he wasn’t mistaken, this was the first time the boy had voluntarily spoken a complete sentence to him.
“I want to get married.”
Su Zesui repeated it again, staring at the shoes with unwavering conviction. His tone wasn’t forced, and it certainly wasn’t a joke.
The butler blinked behind his reading glasses, stunned. For a brief moment, images flashed through his mind:
—The boy staring at the cold golden cage and chains, not with fear, but with… delight?
—The way he stood on flat ground and still managed to bruise his knees that badly.
—His willingness to hand over his phone for inspection.
—His shy, panicked reaction to the word “punishment,” followed by running away…
Piece by piece, the confusing puzzle finally snapped together in the butler’s head. His eyes flew wide open.
Could it be… Little Master Su is an M?!
And this whole “running away” thing—was just a bit of playful resistance?
If he was truly scared, wouldn’t he have run straight into his room and locked the door? Why hide here… and spy?
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The butler looked at the boy in shock.
And in the blink of an eye, he saw Su Zesui’s cheeks flush with a faint blush.
Butler: !!
His messy black hair, tousled from his frantic run, stuck up in babyish tufts, the soft strands wobbling as his head peeked around the corner.
Never judge a book by its cover.
The butler clutched his chest. He had learned something world-shaking today—and he was going to have to mentally process all of it.
The corner of the staircase wasn’t far from the living room, and the two men downstairs hadn’t made any effort to lower their voices. Su Zesui could see and hear everything clearly.
Gu Yilan reclined on the sofa, his tall nose bridge and sharp jawline perfectly lit. His posture was relaxed, but his presence—heavy and intimidating—settled over the room like a storm cloud. He said nothing, but the oppressive air around him never lessened.
The man standing before him was tall, well-dressed in a suit, but compared to Gu Yilan’s aura, he seemed utterly deflated.
“Brother, can’t you trust me just this once…” the man said, gritting his teeth.
Gu Yilan, sleep-deprived and lethargic, had been listening with half-lidded eyes. But the moment he heard that word—brother—his brow creased in disgust.
He lifted his gaze slightly toward the spiral staircase—and immediately spotted the edge of a familiar, delicate face peeking out from the corner.
His eyes swept lazily upward.
Like a startled bunny, Su Zesui ducked his head back in instantly.
Gu Yilan knew Su Zesui had deeply misunderstood him.
From the moment he made a move at Speedsters Club, to the random story he made up about “helping an old lady cross the street,” and then the added effect of the suspension bridge phenomenon—one thing after another had reinforced the boy’s impression.
Today, he was going to correct that misconception.
He didn’t bother correcting the man in the suit’s way of addressing him. Instead, he leaned forward slightly and pushed a thick stack of documents across the table, speaking casually, “Wanna take a look?”
As he bent down, the muscles in Gu Yilan’s neck and back tensed into sharp, defined lines—like a lazy wolf suddenly dropping into a hunting stance. The man in the suit flinched instinctively.
Realizing his reaction was rude, he forced a fawning smile and took the documents.
But after flipping through just a few pages, his face immediately turned pale.
Financial reports and audit records. Digital tracking and anti-tracking logs. Internal complaints. Independent audits… Every single document laid out his crimes in painstaking detail.
On the stairs above, the butler squatted beside the boy, whispering an explanation: “That Gu family member—he doctored the financial reports to cover up mistakes he made in the company’s operations. Young Master Gu stayed up all night digging through this.”
“All night?” Su Zesui parted his soft lips slightly and, in his heart, quietly labeled the man in the suit as a bad guy.
Downstairs, the “bad guy” had gone so pale even his lips had lost color.
But at this point, there was no hiding. He could only try to steady himself and play the emotion card: “I’m sorry, brother. I really thought I could fix the poor decisions I made. I didn’t expect you to find out so fast… Thank you for taking the time.”
Trying to use familial ties to downplay the crisis—classic move.
Gu Yilan simply rubbed the pad of his index finger, saying nothing.
The man in the suit bit his lip, as if determined to go all in. When he spoke again, his voice carried a hint of regretful sobbing: “Brother, ever since we were little, my parents always favored my younger brother. No matter how hard I tried, it never mattered. I worked my way through Columbia’s finance program just to get into the family company’s management… but they all think I only made it because of you.”
“These past six months, I finally started getting promoted, and that’s when they began to take me seriously. But if they find out I made a major mistake and caused the company to lose so much money, then… then…” His eyes grew panicked.
Gu Yilan was getting tired of listening.
He had long heard this distant cousin loved spinning emotional sob stories. If not for a certain eavesdropping boy upstairs, he wouldn’t even have agreed to see the guy.
“You really care about this job?” Gu Yilan cut him off.
Sensing hope, the suited man nodded eagerly, looking at him with remorseful, pleading eyes.
“I love finance. Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming the company’s CFO. I worked hard for so many years and only just recently got there.”
Gu Yilan asked calmly, “What about being CFO?”
The man’s eyes lit up—he thought Gu Yilan had been moved by his tragic childhood tale.
He couldn’t read the unfathomable black eyes in front of him, and though he was skeptical, hope surged anyway.
He thought to himself: So what if the young board chairman was scary in the rumors? Looks like a few words from me were enough to win him over. I’ve always had the talent—just needed a bit of luck.
But out loud, he replied modestly, “The current CFO is an experienced senior. I admire him a lot, truly… I envy him too.”
Gu Yilan raised his hand slightly to cut off the flattery. Then, lifting his dark eyes, he curved his lips into a cold smile: “Good. Then you don’t need to envy him anymore—because you’re both fired.”
The man stiffened, a chill running down his spine at Gu Yilan’s smile. When the words sank in, his face twisted with shock and despair.
“You like finance? Like accounting?” Gu Yilan echoed mockingly. “Fine. I’ll make sure your name goes on the financial regulatory blacklist.”
Given the amount he was suspected of embezzling, that meant he would never work in the financial industry again.
“Anything else you want to add?” Gu Yilan asked casually.
“What?!! Brother, you’re joking, right? Come on, I’m part of the Gu family too! We’re blood relatives! We used to eat together at the old family house when we were kids, remember? I—”
He lost control and rambled on in a panic—until he met Gu Yilan’s ice-cold, emotionless stare and suddenly shut up.
“The company’s legal department will pursue criminal charges. If there’s nothing else, get out,” Gu Yilan said coldly.
His tone was calm, but his gaze was frosted over, sharp enough to slice.
The man’s face went completely ashen. Realizing his last words had crossed a line—and terrified that begging again might land him in jail—he didn’t dare say another word. He grabbed his briefcase and fled like a beaten dog.
Click.
The door closed softly, echoing the hopeless defeat of a man whose last chance had just slammed shut behind him.
Gu Yilan pressed the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, his sharp teeth grinding softly against the flesh inside. His eyelids closed slightly.
Ruthless and heartless, wielding his power to easily crush others’ dreams.
That was the common impression he left on people around him. And that was exactly how he wanted the boy to see him.
Not far away, around the corner of the staircase, Su Zesui quietly revealed a pair of eyes watching the suited man leave. He finally exhaled a long breath and clenched his pale white fists—
The bad guy was driven away! Yay!
He was secretly happy, but just then, Gu Yilan, who had closed his eyes to rest for less than two minutes, reopened his tired-looking eyes, stood up, and seemed to head toward the front door.
Morning light shone on the man’s tall, straight figure, casting a long shadow on the ground, evoking the image of a lone wolf wandering by itself.
Su Zesui: !
He didn’t dare call out loudly to stop him, so he took out his phone and started typing.
Gu Yilan reached the door and just as his hand was about to grasp the handle, his phone vibrated once—
[(o^^o): Where are you going?]
Gu Yilan lifted his eyes and looked up along the spiral staircase in the hall, seeing the boy who had been hiding with only half his head visible now standing upright, holding onto the escalator railing anxiously watching him.
Not wanting to cause any more misunderstandings, Gu Yilan pushed the door open without looking back and left, sending one last message—
[Gu Yilan: The lab.]
The butler on the stairs didn’t know they were exchanging messages. Seeing his boss had left, he said to the little master, “Little master, if you need anything in the future, just send me a WeChat message.”
He said this eagerly, but the boy in front of him kept staring at his phone without replying. After a moment of thought, he typed a few more words.
The butler wasn’t annoyed at being ignored. Thinking the boy’s hesitant game had failed, he was about to lament to a friend about his troubles.
Just then, his own phone in his pocket rang twice. He took it out, lifted his foot, and was about to head downstairs to start the morning’s first tasks.
But then he looked carefully—
[(o^^o): I’ve accepted your friend request. Now we can start chatting.]
[(o^^o): Want to drink water.]
The butler froze, turning to look at the boy behind him. The boy showed no reaction, keeping a serious face as he focused on typing.
The butler was stunned.
—Seriously? Right here, and they’re communicating online?
But well… since the little master liked this method, he’d be patient and wait to see what other instructions might come from the earnest face.
Two full minutes passed before the phone buzzed again—
[(o^^o): Thank you [bunny bowing.jpg]]
Butler: ??
Wait… So all that time was just spent carefully choosing emoji?
The butler was puzzled, but when he met Su Zesui’s red-rimmed, teary eyes—like a little white bunny—he lost his temper.
That was dehydration from crying!
“Alright, little master, wait here for a moment.” Not wanting to delay, the butler clumsily hurried to the dining room to pour a glass of water, then gasped as he ran back to hand it to Su Zesui.
Su Zesui sipped the water slowly, tapping his phone with one hand.
Then, the butler’s phone buzzed again—
[(o^^o): Thank you. Why didn’t you get up according to the schedule?]
Since he rarely spoke, Su Zesui’s typed messages were blunt and straightforward, lacking subtlety. Only when sending his one and only treasured little white bunny emoji did his true nature peek through.
After sending the message, Su Zesui finally looked up at the butler, his eyes shining with hope, unable to hide it.
—Hoping 7:00 AM was actually the latest allowed wake-up time, so he wouldn’t be breaking the schedule.
[AAA Butler: I have to assign tasks to the other servants, so Young Master Gu allowed me to get up twenty minutes earlier.]
After sending that, the butler looked at Su Zesui.
Two people typing face to face felt strangely awkward.
[(o^^o): Oh]
The boy’s typing was slow, about one character per minute, but the butler sensed his disappointment.
Su Zesui looked down again and typed more.
After exchanging a couple more messages, seeing the butler’s earnest replies, he prepared to ask the question he most wanted answered—
[(o^^o): Why does Mr. Gu handle company affairs while studying for his PhD? Isn’t he tired?]
It was a casual question, like asking “Have you eaten?” on the street. But the butler was so startled it was like someone had stepped hard on his foot.
He didn’t even have time to type—he blurted out, “Don’t ask that, little master.”
This villa hadn’t seen a “guest” in years. The servants here operated like NPCs—working and resting on a strict schedule, never saying a word they weren’t supposed to.
The butler had almost forgotten what Gu Yilan’s bottom line was, along with the feeling of that heart-pounding fear.
His first thought was—thank goodness Young Master Gu had just said he wouldn’t check Su Zesui’s phone. Otherwise, they’d all be in deep trouble.
Usually calm and dependable, the butler now looked at the boy with a solemn, complicated expression. “Little Master, please don’t ask that kind of question again. And never, ever bring this up in front of Young Master Gu. You absolutely must remember that.”
Su Zesui didn’t really understand, but he obediently replied.
[(o^^o): Okay]
[(o^^o): So… how many beds are there in Mr. Gu’s room?]
No buildup. Straight to the shock content in the very first message.
The butler froze for a second and awkwardly wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.
He’d heard what Gu Yilan said downstairs too—that after the wedding, the boy would have to move into the master bedroom and be monitored 24/7. A very thinly veiled threat.
He knew the answer to the question, but even the most objective, factual answer would sound completely inappropriate in this context.
“Uh… I think just one,” the butler said vaguely, then quickly tried to change the subject. “Little Master, how about we set those questions aside for now? Is there anything else I can do for you? I’d gladly go through fire and water if you asked.”
Like… going downstairs to fetch something, for example.
Su Zesui thought for a moment, then typed another message.
[(o^^o): Can you ask Mr. Gu to stop hiding his social media posts from me?]
The butler felt like he needed to pinch his philtrum and inhale deeply just to stay upright.
…Couldn’t we go back to the simpler days of “here’s a glass of water, let me explain the rules”?
But suddenly, a spark of inspiration struck him. “Little Master, I can’t control Young Master Gu’s decisions. But I might have a way to make him change his mind…”
He bowed respectfully, ready to make a grand Western-style gesture and point politely toward the guest bedroom.
But just as he bent at the waist and was about to extend his arm, the boy bolted away like a shot and slammed the bedroom door shut with a loud bang.
The butler froze mid-motion: ???
He was stunned. Glancing around in confusion—nothing seemed out of place.
Several bodyguards were still stationed firmly at the main entrance. The shady guy in the suit hadn’t come back. No intruders. No alien invasion. Just a few honest, sleepy-eyed servants getting ready for the day after breakfast.
The butler stood there, dumbfounded for a few seconds, then finally straightened up and rushed after him.
In the guest bedroom—
By the time the butler entered, Su Zesui had already locked a bracelet tightly around his wrist, curled up in a small ball on the bed, his face tense as he glared at some invisible point in the air. He looked upset—his expression was puffed-up with frustration, but the corners of his eyes were red like they were about to bleed.
The butler paused, not wanting to interrupt the boy’s daze. Instead, he walked quietly to a wooden cabinet and swung it open.
Inside were all the little items he’d bought with Gu Yilan at a certain store too embarrassing to mention. It had taken ages of gentle persuasion just to convince the shopkeeper not to use those twisted things to scare people off.
But now, he only regretted not figuring out the truth sooner…
“Little Master, take a look at this.”
The butler lowered his eyes with a subtle smile, stepped aside, and revealed what lay behind him.
Inside the cabinet was a collection of restraints, blindfolds, collars, leashes, earplugs, and even puppy ears, puppy paws… and an unspeakable puppy tail. It was almost too shameful to look at.
As expected, the so-called little master turned his head, saw it, and his pupils shrank in horror: “!”