Moon (2/2)
The tea offering ceremony went surprisingly smoothly.
True to his usual style, Gu Yilan kept a blank face and a cold tone. The Gu family members were all a bit afraid of him and didn’t dare say much, worried they might offend the “living King of Hell.”
Su Zesui timidly followed behind the man, and all he had to do was say the correct “Hello, Uncle/Auntie” according to the file whenever Mr. Gu finished speaking.
Thrown into this kind of social battlefield, Su Zesui couldn’t help but admire Mr. Gu even more.
How could he be so amazing? Surrounded by all kinds of people, yet never nervous or tongue-tied. He never looked back for help—not from him, not from the butler—and always remained calm and confident.
So cool!
After making his rounds and perfunctorily greeting the Gu relatives, Gu Yilan finally approached the table he least wanted to deal with—his parents’.
Just as he arrived, Father Gu returned from the restroom. Seeing the fruit tea in his son’s hand, he sighed and said, “When are you going to get over this no-drinking thing?”
Gu Yilan: …
Su Zesui also saw his father-in-law and gave a small wave. “Hello, Uncle,” he said sweetly.
“Ah, hello.”
Father Gu smiled at him, and once the boy shrank back behind Gu Yilan again, he turned to his son and asked, “Why haven’t you been coming to the office? Your assistant says you’re not even accepting files anymore.”
“That matter has already been resolved,” Gu Yilan replied calmly, eyes still lowered. “I’ll wait for the next urgent task.”
“When I was your age, I was already locking horns with the old foxes eyeing my position in the company. You’re your mother’s and my only child. You’re the heir to a massive family business—I’m not asking you to work yourself to death, but can you at least take it seriously?”
“Things at the research institute have been piling up lately,” Gu Yilan said with a frown. “I don’t have time to deal with the corporation.”
Father Gu’s expression turned displeased at that. “How much money can a research institute possibly make? You spend all your time studying something so abstract and unrealistic—what’s the use? Is it going to save humanity?”
“No, it won’t save humanity,” Gu Yilan said coldly, his sharp teeth pressing into the inside of his cheek. His eyes narrowed, and his voice dropped several degrees. “But it lets me become your father.”
Father Gu: ???
Being talked to like this by his own son—so rude and disrespectful—left Father Gu, who was used to having total authority, visibly irritated. He let out a mocking laugh. “A research institute, huh? You don’t really think you’re something special, do you? Some great scientist or what?”
Gu Yilan’s eyes darkened. He said nothing, but when he noticed Father Gu glancing toward the boy behind him, he immediately jerked his chin at the butler. “Take him to his parents.”
The moment the word “parents” came out of Gu Yilan’s mouth, Father Gu froze.
The last time he had heard his son use those words was back when they had just taken the boy from the old man’s estate, intending to raise him themselves—
Little Gu Yilan had come running out of the villa, beaming with joy as he opened his arms and called out in his childish, still babyish voice, “Mommy, Daddy, I missed you so much!”
While Father Gu stood frowning in thought, Su Zesui tugged gently on Gu Yilan’s sleeve and shook his head slightly, signaling that he didn’t want to go.
Gu Yilan immediately noticed something off with the boy’s emotions. Without hesitation, he said to Father Gu, “You should go. I’ll come find you later.”
For some reason, Father Gu actually agreed for once. With a long sigh, he turned and left.
Once he had gone, Gu Yilan finally turned to face the boy. His voice was noticeably softer than when he had been confronting his parents earlier. “What’s wrong?”
“Brother…” Su Zesui hesitated, choosing his words carefully. Then he looked up at Gu Yilan with clear, sincere eyes. “You’re amazing. You will become a great scientist.”
Gu Yilan paused for a second, then raised an eyebrow slightly and curved his lips into a small smile. “I didn’t take his words to heart. Don’t worry.”
Su Zesui studied him closely, and after making sure he truly wasn’t upset, he finally gave a small nod.
“I’m fine. Your mom and dad have missed you.” Gu Yilan pointed to Father and Mother Su and Su Mingyu, who were not far away, looking over frequently. “Want to go see them?”
The butler understood his boss’s intention and quickly added, “I’ll take you there, little master.”
Su Zesui nodded and left with the butler, but not without turning back every few steps to wave reluctantly at Gu Yilan.
Once the boy was reunited with his family and his attention was completely diverted, Gu Yilan wiped all expression from his face, turned, and walked toward the Gu family’s main table without a word.
It had been a long time since they’d seen each other, and Mother Gu tried to make some small talk.
“If you have something to say, say it quickly. I’m busy,” Gu Yilan cut her off coldly.
Used to her son’s terrible temper, Mother Gu shifted naturally to another topic. “You know, sperm fusion technology abroad has really advanced. Two men can now combine their genetic material to have a biological child together.”
“I didn’t know that,” Gu Yilan replied, not even pretending to care.
“There’s also artificial womb technology now,” she continued. “You implant the fertilized egg and it can develop outside the body to the fetal stage.” Not sure what he was thinking, she decided to just test him directly. “What do you think?”
Gu Yilan answered honestly, “Sounds less reliable than time travel.”
Mother Gu: …
“…We shouldn’t have asked him.”
Father Gu turned to Gu Yilan. “You’re well aware that our family line has always had only one son per generation. This is a fate we can’t escape. In this case, the quality of the next generation becomes especially important.”
Gu Yilan kept his gaze down and said nothing.
“If it really doesn’t work out, you can adopt, or whatever—an adopted child still counts as a descendant in the family line,” Father Gu said. “That Su family boy seems well-behaved. I don’t think he would say no. When the time comes, talk to him about it. If you’re worried it’ll ruin the way he sees you, let us be the bad guys instead.”
Mother Gu chimed in, “No matter what method you use, just give us an excellent, outstanding descendant. If you two don’t want to raise a child yourselves, send them to us—we’ll take care of them. Seriously, where else are you going to find parents like us, so willing to worry about everything for your sake? You ought to be grateful…”
. . . . .
Meanwhile, Su Zesui was surrounded by his family, happily munching on all sorts of delicate desserts.
Even though his parents and older brother often flew around for work, they never forgot to bring him souvenirs and gifts from every place they visited. They filled up an entire cart, forming a little mountain of presents.
Thankfully, the butler was there to help load everything into the trunk of the car!
Reuniting with his family after so long, being wrapped in unconditional love—Su Zesui had a truly wonderful evening.
But after the banquet ended and Mr. Gu finally came to find him, Su Zesui noticed that he didn’t look too happy. He didn’t say a word—just gently patted his head.
Once in the car, with the butler driving, Gu Yilan closed his eyes in the back seat, as if catching up on sleep.
Su Zesui didn’t want to disturb him, so he didn’t share the small gifts he’d received. Instead, he quietly took out a little blanket from the car and gently laid it over the man.
When they got home, Gu Yilan simply told him to rest and went straight to the study upstairs.
Su Zesui stayed in the living room, happily unwrapping gifts. He sorted them into categories: tasty, fun, pretty, and ones he wanted to give to Mr. Gu.
By 11:30 PM, his scheduled bedtime, Gu Yilan still hadn’t returned to the bedroom. Instead, he sent a message telling Su Zesui to go to sleep first.
Assuming Mr. Gu was busy with work, Su Zesui didn’t bother him. He simply sent a “good night” sticker and went to bed obediently.
. . . . .
It was past one in the morning. The world was silent.
Gu Yilan quietly pushed open the door to the master bedroom.
He had already taken several cold showers in the study. Now, moving lightly, he climbed into bed. But he didn’t lie down right away—he leaned against the headboard and silently looked over at Su Zesui, who was fast asleep beside him.
The night’s socializing seemed to have drained the boy of all his energy. He was hugging a large body pillow with both arms and legs, breathing steadily in a deep, peaceful sleep. The corners of his lips occasionally curled up, as if he were having a pleasant dream.
It was a long while before Gu Yilan finally looked away from his face and turned his gaze toward the window.
Through the gap in the curtains, he could see the moon hanging high in the sky. Lonely and cold, it shone silently over the vast darkness—no stars to accompany it, no clouds to soften its light.
A gentle breeze stirred the night air, rustling dry leaves from time to time, as if adding sound to the desolate moonlight—whispering through the silence and brushing against the loneliness of those still awake.
Gu Yilan closed his eyes. His temples throbbed faintly. The violent unrest in his heart surged up again, threatening to consume him.
Almost instinctively, he reached toward the nightstand and opened the top drawer with practiced ease. But this time, his fingers found nothing.
Then, in that tangle of emotions, it hit him—
The night before Su Zesui moved in, he had hidden those things away, just in case the boy started snooping around and got hurt.
Gu Yilan let out a slow breath and withdrew his hand.
His eyes remained shut, but that cold moon stayed suspended in his mind—like a nightmare he couldn’t shake.
The night passed swiftly.
Gu Yilan thought he was calm, in control, simply admiring the distant moon. But all of a sudden, he heard a soft, barely audible “Brother” whispered right next to him.
He snapped out of his thoughts immediately. When he opened his eyes again, he realized that at some point, he had pulled Su Zesui into his arms.
The boy was half-asleep, eyes barely open, murmuring softly as he called out to him. One arm was loosely draped at his side. It was Gu Yilan, in contrast, who had completely lost control—his arms wrapped tightly around the boy’s waist, holding him far too tightly.
“Mm… Brother… what’s wrong?” Su Zesui rubbed his eyes, now awake. Tilting his small face up, he looked at Gu Yilan with confusion and concern.