HOYSE CHAPTER 112

Chapter 112 — Extra 3: Where It All Began

Ever since they went public, the invitations poured in from variety shows. But after a few calls, nothing ever materialized.

Whenever Rong Jing had a free hour, he spent it chairing meetings across his dozens of companies and shadowing the acting agent to learn the ropes, looping that schedule on repeat. Thanks to Sovereignty’s success, Gu Xi’s workload multiplied. Even after he trimmed commitments, he was still busy enough to vanish for days at a time.

Gu Xi kept a small, stubborn goal in mind. He never forgot Rong Jing’s confession that his investments might all go belly-up. Gu Xi wanted to earn enough that, if it came to it, he could carry Rong Jing through the rest of his life. He set out to work each day fully charged.

Realistically, he was still a long way off.

So even though they had announced, fans quickly discovered that getting a single photo of them together was a high-difficulty challenge. On the rare occasion someone did catch them, it was from a passerby’s angle: the two of them pushing a cart at a supermarket, or their backs as they exited a subway station.

Fans grumbled. They did not want sugar that thin. They agreed that syrupy, showy couples get tiring, but this was the other extreme. No interactions at all? It felt like they were a couple for PR.

Sovereignty’s tragic ending had already turned them into the great Unresolved Regret for a lot of viewers. For a long time after the film left theaters, every fan edit or “same-frame” sighting came with a barrage of knives. Painful did not begin to cover it. They finally got the announcement and a single candy. It melted on the tongue and then nothing followed. How could anyone be satisfied?

Right then, a delicious rumor streaked across the internet.

Word was that “Surprise” might drop in on a dating reality show as guest mentors for one episode. Fans who had been starved for content lit up at once.

“What do I do with myself? I need the teaser now!”

“Why only a guest appearance? Make them regulars. Rong Rong, Xi Xi, look at our desperate faces!”

“Which show is it? Cupid’s Arrow?”

“I checked. That one is about to air. But it is live!”

“Imagine Rong the Big Boss not realizing it is a live broadcast. Hahaha!”

“No script from start to finish. Pure reality. Is this the sugar we mortals deserve? It feels too good to be true.”

“Aaah! Move aside. Clear a path. I am watching it live.”

“This production team is incredible if they landed them. I am going to sing their praises to the sky.”

“What do I do, I want to time-travel to the broadcast date already!”

Gu Xi had not expected Rong Jing to agree to a variety show. He still remembered Rong Jing saying he did not have a quick wit for variety and would not be good at it.

When Gu Xi told Guan Hongyi the news, Guan shot him a look full of envy. “Did a donkey kick your brain? What is there to ‘not get’? Rong Jing is obviously doing it for you.”

“Huh? But I never brought up doing a show.”

“Then let me ask you. Do you want to do one?”

“… Yes.”

Gu Xi flushed. These days there were more and more omegas circling Rong Jing, especially when he showed up at sets, magazine shoots, or gala dinners. Sometimes his car was surrounded. He once overheard someone tell Rong Jing she would happily be the third wheel for a chance to stay by his side. Gu Xi did not worry that Rong Jing would be easily swayed, but flies are flies. A show could at least shoo away some of the bees and butterflies.

“Please. Your man is alpha-of-alphas. You think he needs you to spell it out?” Guan thought of his own taciturn other half and sighed as if he had swallowed a dozen lemons. Gu Xi was clearly thrilled, but he only took a demure sip of tea like a proper little gentleman. Guan had a strong suspicion the brat came here just to make him jealous.

So sour.

While the show side negotiated, Gu Xi’s younger brother Gu Yue finished his work in country M and headed home.

When Gu Xi almost died at the bottom of the river, the names he called in his delirium were his brother’s and sister’s. Rong Jing had asked after Gu Yue right away.

Rong Jing and Gu Xi planned to welcome the younger brother home properly. Gu Yue was Gu Xi’s only family now. As for the “relatives” who had taken in the three siblings when they were young, they were prosecuted under child protection laws. The uncle who had committed sexual assault was sentenced to death after Gu Ying’s body tested positive for semen samples during the autopsy.

The original story had barely mentioned the family, but Rong Jing wanted to know his future brother-in-law. After a “workout”, Gu Xi lay on Rong Jing’s chest catching his breath, his face flushed with afterglow. Rong Jing could not help giving his cheek a pinch. It felt absurdly nice, soft and springy.

Gu Xi shot him a feeble glare. Rong Jing withdrew, sheepish. Somehow, no matter how many times they were intimate, it still felt like first love's heart-flutter

“What does your brother like?” Rong Jing asked.

“Research. Numbers. Competitions. He steamrolls anyone who is not as smart as he is and hates being interrupted by life’s little chores.”

Rong Jing did not fully get it but pretended he did. “What about day-to-day habits? Any taboos, favorites?”

“Not really. He is not materialistic. He eats to fill his stomach and sleeps so he does not drop dead… oh, right. He had a long-time crush back in high school. After he went abroad, he never mentioned it again. I asked a couple of times, but he always dodged the question. From his tone, it did not sound like a happy story. Maybe something happened.”

Gu Yue had soft, tousled brown hair and a gaze that always looked a little innocent. On the plane, an alpha reached for his carry-on to help him stow it, which happened so often he barely blinked anymore and directly said “I am an A.”

Most alphas would pause, then step back politely once he stated his secondary gender. This one did the same. Gu Yue had been an omega after differentiation in his teens, but later became one of those extremely rare cases of gender change. He was now a beta, though he retained some omega traits.

When he reached the aisle, a hand brushed across his backside. His eyes went razor-sharp. In the cramped space, a side kick was the most efficient answer. He sent the man sprawling.

The alpha lunged up, furious. “You—”

Gu Yue lifted his chin toward a nearby teen who happened to be livestreaming with his phone. “Every second of what you just did is on video, including your touch. Want to make a scene? I am game.”

The guy had only tried it because Gu Yue looked like an easy mark. Many omegas swallow indignities for the sake of reputation. That is why he had dared to be so brazen. He had not expected to slam into a wall. Seeing he was in the wrong, he slunk away.

Gu Yue snorted. It is exactly because there are so many alphas like that that his opinion of the gender was so low.

He sat down and, while waiting for takeoff, searched Rong Jing again. He already knew most of it by heart, but nerves drove him to review. His brother, who hated alphas more than he did by a factor of a hundred, had found one. That news had him bolting for the airport.

This alpha excelled at everything.

What hit him hardest was the profile he pulled up. It felt like a bucket of cold water.

From the encyclopedia entry: Rong Jing, honorary director of the Xie Group and second in line for succession. Also the controlling shareholder of dozens of companies. The smash hit Absolute Idol was among the properties he acquired. His lover is Gu Xi. They met on Sovereignty. After going public, they rarely appear together in media. He has large fanbases in entertainment and finance, hailed by fans as “a masterpiece in human form,” with supporters around the globe.

He also serves as chair of the world’s largest charitable foundation, founded nearly a century ago by the late Mr. Xie and passed down to his youngest grandson. This year he launched national initiatives: programs for bereaved parents who lost their only child, reemployment aid for disabled betas, and free legal services for any partner in a domestic violence situation, among others. Given that DV disproportionately affects omegas and betas, you could say he shows no gender bias and actively supports vulnerable groups.

Looking only at that entry, most people would feel he is far removed from ordinary life.

Would someone like that truly be devoted to Gu Xi?

Gu Yue was not being paranoid. Rong Jing simply had too many options. And it was hard not to believe that if he truly wanted something, neither Gu Yue nor Gu Xi could stop him.

If Gu Yue could think of all that, Gu Xi certainly had. Yet Gu Xi still chose him. That must mean he likes him very, very much.

If Rong Jing only wanted to play, Gu Xi could shatter again, the way he did all those years ago.

Carrying all that worry, Gu Yue boarded his flight home.

Elsewhere, Zhou Xiang drove the Xie brothers and Gu Xi to the airport. A sudden emergency pulled Xie Ling away. Gu Xi waved him off. “Go ahead, Ling-ge. We can handle the pickup.”

Xie Ling looked at his considerate little brother-in-law and nodded in approval. “I will meet you later.”

After seeing him to the car, Xie Ling hesitated, opened the glove box, and handed Gu Xi a small, printed booklet of chibi fan art.

Gu Xi blinked. He knew this art style very well. A fan team had once turned it into support merch, and the charm hanging from Rong Jing’s lost bracelet had been that same chibi drawing. Usually support groups have their own favorite artists and picking one will anger the other factions, but this particular artist, “Lingjiu,” had been unanimously approved. Otherwise Gu Xi would not have posted a public thank-you. The catch was Lingjiu rarely posted. Months might pass before a single new sketch, which made each one hard to get.

“You…” Could it be what he thought? Gu Xi stared at Xie Ling. He remembered Rong Jing mentioning that his big brother had loved to draw as a child, though their grandfather would never allow such a “frivolous” hobby.

Xie Ling lowered his eyes. “Sign it.”

“Huh?”

“Is that not possible?”

“O-of course it is.”

So big brother’s alternate account was his own secret, and everyone else was completely clueless. Gu Xi carefully signed his name. Xie Ling glanced at the autograph and the corner of his mouth softened.

Gu Xi had no idea that he had once comforted Xie Ling at a very low point. Back then, for reasons unknown, little Rong Jing suddenly turned on his brother, called him fake and malicious, and claimed every kindness was meant to drive him out of the family.

The accusations stunned Xie Ling. He tried to explain, but little Rong Jing would not hear it and threw away everything big brother had given him.

Xie Ling gathered it all up, then locked the broken, damaged gifts in a cabinet and never opened it again.

After that, the boy hid whenever he saw him. Flesh grows on bones, and after a few tries Xie Ling stopped pushing. One day, on their mother’s death anniversary, he came home from the cemetery to find second brother Xie Jisheng waiting at the house with a table full of food, everything Xie Ling liked.

He had not thought much of it at the time, only felt moved. He thought perhaps that incident years ago, when the Ji family had incited Xie Jisheng to kidnap him, had been a child’s foolishness.

That night he suddenly developed diarrhea and stomach pain. His body, honed by years of medicinal regimen from Grandfather, was far more sensitive than most. At first he chalked it up to coincidence. When it happened the second time, his guard shot up. Anyone raised for leadership develops an instinct for danger, and Xie Jisheng had harmed him once before.

Xie Ling was trained as a family head. The moment he sensed a threat, he investigated. The family doctor’s equipment found nothing, so he went to a public hospital for full tests. Sure enough, there were trace toxins in his system. A small dose would not kill him, but unmonitored long-term exposure could.

He stood before his mother’s portrait until dawn. The next day he walked into Xie Group with even more resolve than usual. He was the heir. No one would topple him.

Those days Grandfather was unwell, Father stayed out all night, and people sometimes looked at him with pity. Xie Ling did not need pity.

One day, he happened to catch a few minutes of television. On that screen, Gu Xi fell off a stage, got back up to finish the performance, then was carried away on a stretcher. Facing the public, Gu Xi refused to show pain. He was professional and relentless, always offering the best side of himself to the audience.

They did not know each other then. That is the perfect distance between fan and idol.

The Gu Xi of today scolds little brother fondly, fake cries, grumbles, and had even once tried to act cute in front of him.

This was good.

Xie Ling smiled faintly and said to the figure outside the window, “Keep it up, Gu Xi.”

It was the blessing of a fan who had admired him for many years.

Gu Xi straightened up as if he had been knighted. He felt the weight of those words. “Yes, Ling-ge!”

Xie Ling nodded, tapped the gas, and drove off.

Rong Jing walked back to find Gu Xi’s eyes sparkling, his hands and feet out of sync with excitement. It had been a while since he had seen him this adorably flustered.

“What happened to you?”

“L-ling-ge might actually be my fan?”

Rong Jing ruffled his hair. “I told you already.”

I thought you were just comforting me. Who knew it was real! Gu Xi spun in a circle, the picture of giddy. The calm, poised version of him that he showed Xie Ling had vanished. “Aaaah, I need a minute!”

That is Xie Ling. Xie Ling! How did I get this lucky?

Rong Jing found it delightful. Gu Xi felt more and more unguarded around him.

“My brother did mention he was your face fan,” Rong Jing said. “Do you remember the hotel the crew had rented? You came to find me and my brother opened the door. You said your faucet was broken. He took the toolbox and went to fix it for you.”

As if he could forget. That day belonged on his personal wall of shame. Tried to seduce and got stopped by the parent instead. He never wanted to relive it.

A beat later, Gu Xi put it together. “Wait. He helped with the faucet because he was a fan?” He knew Gu Xi might have been lying, but still worried it could be real, so he came to check? The big brother might be too kind. It made Gu Xi feel oddly sour.

Rong Jing squeezed his cheek. “What else? You think everyone gets that treatment?”

---

Author's Note:

Xie Ling ahhhhhh, Mama loves you~~~~~~~~

The chibi/Q-version illustration appeared in Chapter 5, it was the catalyst for Surprise's first meeting~~~~

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