Like (2/2)
The butler watched the boy disappear around the staircase corner, then turned to the boss. “Young Master Gu, the compliment you told me to say actually worked. The little master looked really happy.”
“Mhm,” Gu Yilan lowered his gaze and said calmly, “Say more of them in the future. Especially about how ‘adorable’ he is.”
“Understood.” The butler gave a slight bow, thinking——So I just have to speak my mind from now on.
After a moment, he asked again, “Are you really planning to marry him? I’m just worried… worried that—”
“You’re afraid I’m just messing with him, and I’ll end up hurting him more?” Gu Yilan raised an eyebrow, expressionless, and headed upstairs.
“Er…” The butler quickly followed, feeling a bit guilty for asking such a sensitive question. He was almost unable to lift his head under the pressure of Gu Yilan’s overwhelming presence.
“I won’t,” Gu Yilan said calmly. “As long as he doesn’t ask for a divorce, I won’t force him.”
The butler was stunned. “W-why?”
——Why though? In just a few hours, what had he missed?!
“His social circle is small, so he treasures everyone in it,” Gu Yilan said, expression unchanged. “I don’t really care, so I’ll give him what he wants.”
The butler was even more confused. “Th-then should we tell the Gu family about this decision first?”
“No need. There are still two days left,” Gu Yilan said as he pushed open the study door. “Check the upcoming schedule. I want to meet Su Mingyu.”
A minute later, after checking the tablet, the butler reported, “Young Master Gu, there’s nothing scheduled for the afternoon after tomorrow.”
“Good,” Gu Yilan replied, slapping a stack of documents down on the desk. “Get the driver ready.”
They planned everything efficiently and thoroughly—but in the end, none of it went to plan.
Because a certain little boy decided to act on his own.
Su Zesui knew his brother always wanted him to come home—otherwise, he wouldn’t keep messaging to ask when he was coming back.
He was afraid that if he didn’t go home, his brother would stop him from getting married. And then, if he refused to back down, his brother might go to Mr. Gu and badmouth him, convincing him not to marry him.
No. That absolutely couldn’t happen.
So he had to go—go in person and tell his brother that even if he got married, he’d still come home often!
It was a very urgent mission, and Su Zesui couldn’t wait.
While Gu Yilan and the butler were busy in the study and no one was watching the surveillance system, he quietly slipped out of the villa. Using a ride-hailing app he’d downloaded in advance, he called a cab and headed home.
On the way, he even remembered to message his brother:
[(o^^o): Brother, I’m almost home!]
[Big Brother: That fast? You played dead when I asked earlier, and now you’re back from the dead?]
[Big Brother: Wait there, I’m heading home now.]
To Su Mingyu, his little brother was far more important than any company business. The moment he saw the message, he dropped what he was doing and had the driver take him straight home.
So by the time Su Zesui arrived—squished in the back of a slow-moving cab and fighting the evening rush—Su Mingyu was already waiting for him in the living room.
The moment he heard the fingerprint lock click open, Su Mingyu stood up.
But when the door swung open, what he saw was his little brother with slightly red-rimmed eyes, looking pitiful—like a little white rabbit who had been bullied and tossed around.
Su Mingyu froze for a second. His fists clenched.
That moment of stunned caused him to not even realize that his little brother hadn’t brought back a single suitcase.
“What happened? Did that bastard Gu Yilan—”
Before he could finish, Su Zesui quietly interrupted him. “I want to get married.”
“What?” Su Mingyu’s train of thought completely derailed. He widened his eyes in disbelief, almost questioning his own hearing. “Married?”
Su Zesui recited the explanation he had prepared earlier like he was memorizing a speech. At the end, he even promised that he’d still come home often after getting married. It had everything: a beginning, development, transition, and a hopeful outlook for the future—perfect in structure.
But because he was nervous, he stammered a bit. It was unclear whether that affected the credibility of what he said.
To Su Mingyu, this was absolutely outrageous. His first instinct was that Gu Yilan had threatened his well-behaved, sweet little brother.
But when he met those hopeful eyes, something felt off. Still, he firmly objected: “No way. Not happening. I don’t approve. You’re moving back here the night after tomorrow.”
Su Zesui puffed up his cheeks angrily. “No.”
“No? What do you mean ‘no,’ you little rascal?” Su Mingyu was so annoyed that he almost laughed. It felt like the precious little cabbage he had carefully raised was suddenly stolen by a pig.
He had just wanted Gu Yilan to be a free competition tutor for his little brother——how did things end up like this? What had happened in between?!
“N-no, no, no.” Su Zesui shook his head like a rattle drum, not realizing how serious things had become, and even added fuel to the fire: “No, no.”
Su Mingyu felt a nameless fire rising inside him. He wanted to grab his brother by the ear and teach him a lesson. “Why do you want to marry him? Do you like him?”
Hearing that, Su Zesui paused and didn’t answer.
He had always been slow when it came to understanding emotions. Apart from “fear,” he rarely used any other words to describe his feelings.
He used to think “liking” someone was just the opposite of “disliking” someone—meaning you didn’t dislike them. But now, with his brother bringing it up so bluntly, he realized that maybe “liking” had another meaning too.
He’d often come across it in novels, but since he never really understood it, he hadn’t paid much attention.
——What did it mean again?
Seeing his little brother standing there in a daze, Su Mingyu let out a cold laugh. Still, he softened his voice a little and tried to explain patiently: “You’re just a kid. Don’t mistake impulse for liking. Do you even know what it feels like to like someone? Do you blush when you see him? Does your heart race? Don’t tell me you can’t wait to see that ice-cold face of his every day.”
Su Zesui touched his own cheeks, then placed a hand over his chest.
——So that’s what it was.
It did feel hot around his face whenever Mr. Gu was near, and his heart did beat faster. Not only that—he always wanted to see him. The moment Gu Yilan entered his field of vision, he couldn’t look away.
——So this feeling… was called “liking”?
Suddenly enlightened, Su Zesui blurted out, “I—I like him.”
Hearing this after all the effort he’d put into reasoning with him, Su Mingyu felt like his lungs were about to explode.
Words clearly weren’t working—if anything, his little brother was getting worse. That meant it was time for something more practical.
“Come here. Hands out.” Su Mingyu picked up something long and flat from the shelf and addressed his brother sternly.
Su Zesui, still lost in his thoughts about Mr. Gu, looked up—only to see the ruler in his brother’s hand. His face immediately turned pale, and he instinctively took a step back.
“N-no…” he mumbled, nervously fidgeting with his fingers. But when he saw that his brother wasn’t softening at all, he hesitated for a while, then slowly stepped forward and held out his palms, trying to act obedient in hopes of getting a lighter punishment.
His eyes turned red, and a mist of tears quickly gathered in them.
Seeing that, Su Mingyu couldn’t bear to hit him too hard. He gave him two light swats for formality’s sake, then began again, more seriously: “Do you even know what marriage means?”
Su Zesui puffed up his fair cheeks, gently rubbed his red palms, and shook his head.
“You don’t think it just means holding hands, do you?” Su Mingyu frowned.
His tone was so angry that Su Zesui flinched. Instinctively, he hid his hands behind his back—then slowly began to process what his brother had said.
——…Wait—so marriage does mean you can hold hands?
Noticing his little brother zoning out even while being scolded, Su Mingyu ground his teeth in frustration. He stretched out his hand again. “Show me your hands. Now.”
Su Zesui, afraid of getting hit, shook his head and looked at his brother with teary eyes, lips trembling in protest. The sight was pitiful enough to melt hearts.
But Su Mingyu didn’t waver one bit. “Now. Three… two…”
Su Zesui was afraid of his brother’s countdown. Reluctantly but with no other choice, he slowly stretched out his hand.
His earlier behavior had already left Su Mingyu seething with anger. Grabbing his little brother’s fingers, he used a bit of force and gave him a few harsh smacks with a ruler.
“Mm!” Su Zesui scrunched up his face in pain and tried to pull his hand back, but his brother held his fingers tightly, not letting him move.
“I’m telling you, after you get married, he’ll kiss you, bite you, drag you into bed, and eat you up completely,” Su Mingyu lectured as he struck the boy with each word. “You’re an adult now—use your brain before making decisions. Don’t act on impulse just because you want something.”
In the dull ache, Su Zesui thought—
——So that’s all the stuff people do after getting married… oww, it hurts…
“Brother…” he whimpered, trying to awaken the last bit of mercy in Su Mingyu’s heart. But Su Mingyu was clearly determined to teach him a lesson.
When Su Zesui saw the ruler rise again, he flinched instinctively and squeezed his eyes shut.
Ding dong.
At that moment, the doorbell rang, interrupting the harsh “family education” session.
The ruler slowly came to a halt in mid-air and, in the end, didn’t land on the boy’s already red and swollen palm.
“Go. Stand over there,” Su Mingyu barked, nodding toward the corner of the living room with his chin while still holding the ruler.
Though he didn’t know who would come visiting this late, he still gave his little brother some basic dignity in front of outsiders, making sure the boy wasn’t standing directly in view of the front door.
Only after Su Zesui obediently stood in the corner did Su Mingyu walk over to open the door.
The moment the door opened, he came face-to-face with his most hated enemy—
Gu Yilan.
The man outside glanced at the ruler in Su Mingyu’s hand and frowned. He stepped over the threshold and asked coldly, “Where’s Su Zesui?”
“Did I say you could come in?” Su Mingyu was still furious.
But it was already too late to kick him out. Gu Yilan’s gaze swept across the room and quickly landed on the boy standing in the corner, gently blowing on his red palm.
His brows knitted tighter. Turning back, he gave Su Mingyu a cold, detached look and said flatly, “Don’t hit him. If you want to hit someone, try hitting me.”
“You—!!” Su Mingyu felt like he was about to drop dead from rage right then and there. He gripped the ruler so tightly it looked like it might snap.
He really wanted to beat Gu Yilan to a pulp.
Su Zesui was scared of strangers. The moment he heard the door and footsteps, he shrank back like a quail, head lowered, not daring to move.
But when that familiar voice rang out again, he finally turned around.
The moment he saw Gu Yilan, all his buried grievances bubbled up. He immediately wanted another warm hug, completely ignoring Su Mingyu’s punishment order. He ran forward and hugged Gu Yilan tightly.
Burying his face against the man’s chest, he mumbled, “Brother… I want a hug.”
“Mm.” Gu Yilan responded, calm to a fault. “It’s okay now.”
Off to the side, Su Mingyu was completely stunned.
“Brother?!?” He pointed at Gu Yilan, then at himself, gasping, face expressionless.
“Gu Yilan… I’m going to kill you.”
Hia brother not knowing he directly moved the plot forward by 100%, thank you for giving him detailed descriptions of what liking someone means and what marriage entails 😂😂😂
Gu Yilan was just saying suisui didn’t say he likes him well now thanks to the brother he will 😂♥️♥️