HOYSE CHAPTER 113

Chapter 113 — Extra 4: Letting Go & The Variety Show

Gu Xi slapped Rong Jing’s wandering hand away. Lately Rong Jing had picked up this terrible little habit.

The two of them did not realize they had already become the focus of every gaze around them. Zhou Xiang, who had been silent this whole time, kept his eyes glued to the stream of people coming through the arrivals gate. As chief secretary of Xie Group’s General Office, he often stood in for Xie Ling when the latter could not make it. 

To stay efficient, he operated in an almost clinical calm most of the time. Even Rong Jing did not notice the tension tucked inside his eyes.

Not far away, a refined, doll-like young man came pulling his suitcase. When Zhou Xiang learned that Gu Xi had become his young master’s boyfriend, he knew this day would arrive.

Rong Jing greeted his brother-in-law smoothly. The youth was very good-looking, the sort who might be mistaken for an omega at first glance.

Gu Yue was exceedingly polite. With his harmless looks and gentle bearing, the entire pick-up felt calm with a little domestic warmth in Rong Jing’s eyes. Only, there were moments when Gu Yue’s gaze carried a flicker of appraisal and doubt. Rong Jing assumed it was simply family nerves on first inspection.

Gu Yue discovered that Rong Jing was taller than in photos and videos. His brother was not short, yet beside this man he looked small and soft.

Gu Xi stepped forward and hugged his brother. After so long apart, all the surging emotion settled into a few simple questions and answers. They had never been clingy with each other, so this was their natural mode.

Gu Xi introduced Rong Jing and Zhou Xiang. Only then did Gu Yue really look at Zhou Xiang. He felt a prick of familiarity, as if they had met somewhere, but for the moment he could not place it.

Zhou Xiang took the suitcase. “Welcome home,” he said quietly.

He had expected Gu Yue would not remember him. Back then Gu Yue had eyes only for someone else. Why would he recall the man standing in a corner?

That evening, once Xie Ling finished work at speed, he took them to the Xie family’s mall to welcome Gu Yue home with a meal.

During dinner, Gu Xi drifted off more than once and sometimes stared straight at Gu Yue’s face.

After the meal, Xie Ling sent them back to Rong Jing’s villa in Yushui Bay. When they were about to part, Gu Yue pulled Rong Jing aside. He asked him to keep a closer eye on his brother that night.

Rong Jing slept lightly. He woke with a jolt and found his arms empty.

He searched the bedroom and found no one.

Downstairs, in the dark, Gu Xi sat curled on the sofa. His eyes were blank, as if his soul had drifted off. Rong Jing crossed the room and drew him into his arms.

When his body finally warmed, Gu Xi whispered, “I remembered… Gu Ying is dead. She has been dead for a very long time.”

Rong Jing’s heart sank. So Gu Yue’s warning had been on the mark. He thought of that night he had brought Gu Xi back from the riverbank, the emptiness in him then.

Gu Yue’s return had tugged at the thing Gu Xi’s subconscious was desperate to forget. After Gu Feng left, the pain that had been pressed down for years had started to crack. Gu Yue’s return was the last straw.

Gu Xi lifted his face and tears fell without warning. “It was my fault…”

“If I had not run away back then… If I had not run, I would have bumped into Little Ying and she would not have been taken by that animal…” He had lived inside guilt for years. He was certain that if he had not fled, his sister would not have been assaulted and would not have died in that car crash. “I should have been the one. She died for me.”

The self-reproach was so heavy that he had kept pretending she was still alive. When Guan Hongyi discovered this, he teamed up with Gu Yue to create a deliberate illusion that a rich family had spirited the girl away. Gu Xi believed it, which was why he kept appearing at banquets “looking for his sister.”

“…That waiter you met back then was me,” Rong Jing said softly.

He wiped the tears as they streamed. “I know. I have known for a long time.” He touched Gu Xi’s hair. “It is all right. I am here.”

Gu Xi clutched at him. “I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry…”

I am sorry I have made you all worry for so many years because of me. I am sorry I thought Gu Yue did not want to talk to me when in fact he was avoiding triggering me. I am sorry I dressed up and barged into banquets to search, and you had to play along. I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused…

Rong Jing guided the back of his head to his shoulder. The fabric there dampened quickly.

In the dim living room, moonlight spilled through the glass wall and lacquered them in a soft haze. At the bend of the stairs, Gu Yue stood for a while, then withdrew.

Both Guan Hongyi and Gu Yue knew Gu Xi’s problem, and yet for years neither could save him from it.

For Gu Xi, the pain was unbearable. If he remembered, it would be ripping open a scar with his own hands. He was already flayed raw. How could he endure that?

The fiction of being alive had kept him breathing.

He had rarely returned home.

Because he was afraid. The moment his brother saw him, he would think of Gu Ying. That was one of the reasons.

He had already lost his sister. He could not…

If not for Guan saying Gu Xi was doing much better, and because Gu Xi had a powerful boyfriend now, perhaps Gu Yue would not have rushed back at all.

He took one last look at the two figures holding each other in the living room and turned away in silence.

His brother had finally found someone who could coax him to lift that scab and not bleed to death from the pain.

The next day, they went to Gu Ying’s grave. It was the first time in all these years that Gu Xi had truly stood before his sister’s resting place.

He looked at the bright, optimistic girl in the photograph, set the lilies he bought before the stone, and pressed his fingertips to the image. “I am sorry it took me so long to come.”

A breeze moved through. The lily petals quivered. The smile in the photo stayed sweet, as if she were teasing her brother.

Gu Xi finally began to face the thing he had refused to face.

Everyone else left them space. From a distance, Gu Yue watched Rong Jing at Gu Xi’s side. He exhaled and the worry that had ridden him on the plane home finally dissolved.

When he turned back, he found Zhou Xiang studying him with a complicated expression.

“I might be rude,” Gu Yue said, hesitant. “Have we met somewhere?”

Zhou Xiang gave him two keywords. “Homework. Doorway.”

A spark went off in Gu Yue’s mind. He finally remembered why this man’s face had nagged at him. “Ah, you are Zhou You’s cousin!”

Gu Yue had skipped grades since primary school. He stayed three years in one high school only because of a person.

He had watched from afar and liked in secret. The boy had a temper, a sort of rough-edged handsomeness, and a righteousness that could not stand a bully. At the time Gu Yue wanted to ease his brother’s burden, so he skipped grades in a row. Shorter and younger than his classmates, pretty enough to be picked on, he marked the perfect target for upperclassmen. Only Zhou You would step in when things got ugly. That was when Gu Yue remembered him.

He kept his feelings hidden, at least until they were grouped together to help each other study. That brought them a little closer.

That was when he met Zhou You’s older cousin, Zhou Xiang. Zhou Xiang was already at university, a generation above. They crossed paths only a few times, so after so many years and because Gu Yue had deliberately buried the past, he did not recognize him at first.

Later, Gu Yue unexpectedly differentiated into a beta and became a target for chasing and ridicule. To cut off a string of pursuers, Zhou You took him home to do homework after school.

That day Zhou You had student council work and would be late. He told Gu Yue to go on ahead.

Gu Yue let himself in with familiarity, went straight to Zhou You’s room, and started his assignments. It was quiet until Zhou You’s mother knocked and entered and broke the calm.

She said many things. A few lines never left Gu Yue’s memory:

“When Zhou You was little, a master did his fortune. He will marry an omega from a good family.”

“Betas are fine, but their fertility is low, their future uncertain. Zhou You is a beta himself, and marrying the same sex will be even harder down the line.”

“I heard you differentiated into a beta? Goodness, why would something so unfortunate happen to you?”

“You are an orphan? Oh, you have an older brother. It must be difficult. I hear he is working and studying to support you. Our family is not nobility, but we are a professional family. Why don’t I sponsor you to study further? I hope you'll always be good friends with You’er.”

The look in her eyes had been lofty, like she was staring at a clinging nuisance.

Gu Yue realized she must have read him. He had not hidden his heart as well as he thought.

It was a warning. He did not belong with the Zhous. Even if he were an omega, he still would not be worthy.

He turned down her offer. He never told anyone that he had already been accepted to a certain Massachusetts school, and had only stayed because he could not bear to leave.

He left the Zhou home without telling Zhou You. At the door, he ran into Zhou Xiang, who was lodging there. Zhou Xiang swung off his bike and asked why his face looked so bad.

Gu Yue could not say it. He left stiff as a board.

Zhou Xiang caught up. “If you are upset, want to go for a ride?”

Back then Gu Yue was young, just freshly stung by those words. All that bile boiled up. “Do you want to watch me make a fool of myself too? Get lost. Do not ever appear in front of me again.”

He did not look back to see Zhou Xiang’s reaction. He ran straight out. When he got home, Gu Xi saw his face and was reminded of Gu Ying. That was when Gu Yue decided to leave the country. He thought he might never come back.

Now, looking at Zhou Xiang’s features, sharper than his student days, Gu Yue remembered the words he had screamed. Embarrassment flooded him.

“I was young and stupid. I am truly sorry.” Thinking back, he realized he had used Zhou Xiang as a vent for his emotions.

“It was not your fault,” Zhou Xiang said mildly. “I never held onto it.”

At that moment Gu Xi came down the steps. “Ah Yue, let us head home. Hm? You two know each other?”

Gu Xi’s eyes were still a little red, but his spirit looked much better. Perhaps letting go of the pain that had sat in him for years had left him brighter than before.

Gu Yue flushed. Zhou Xiang was steady as ever. “He and Zhou You were classmates. We met a few times. We were catching up. Is that all right?” He was, after all, here today in Xie Ling’s stead and drove his own car.

Gu Xi glanced at his brother. Gu Yue, surprised but willing, nodded.

As Gu Yue climbed into Zhou Xiang’s car, Gu Xi muttered to Rong Jing, “Small world. Of course they know each other. And to think the two of them had zero interaction last night. The acting… he is my brother all right.”

Rong Jing looked at his beloved, who could not help bragging and dragging himself into it too, and patted his increasingly unguarded lover to usher him along.

Inside the car, things were not as harmonious as Gu Xi imagined.

“How is he doing lately?” Gu Yue asked.

“Very well,” Zhou Xiang said. “He is the young master’s assistant for now. Recently the young master decided to have him manage a few subsidiaries as vice general manager. He has been busy with handovers.” It was a gift from the young master to celebrate Zhou You and Guan Hongyi’s engagement.

Gu Yue understood. A hurried farewell. The people were the same, but the world had changed.

After a long pause, he could not kill his curiosity. “Does he have someone now?”

Zhou Xiang fell silent. A straight answer would sound cruel, but Gu Yue needed the truth.

Just as Gu Yue assumed there would be none, Zhou Xiang answered, “Yes.”

A tiny lance slipped under Gu Yue’s ribs.

He had prepared for this when he left. Yet when the words arrived, something still shifted inside him.

“After you went abroad, he found out what his mother had said to you. He had a huge fight with her and moved out. Later he chose to study overseas. He had not planned to go at first. It was a last-minute change. The campus was not far from yours, but he never sought you out. He felt guilty. After that, he resisted relationships. He avoided ties with omegas…”

Zhou Xiang’s voice had a gentle grain to it. The way he spoke made it sound like a story.

In the beginning, Guan Hongyi had not had it easy. Zhou You would not let omegas touch him. Guan pursued him for years. On the surface Zhou You did not budge, but in truth he was enjoying it. Their temperaments complemented one another. Slowly, he crawled out of the past.

Gu Yue heard what lay between the lines. That old crush might not have been entirely one-sided.

But what was missed is missed. Time does not turn back. He would not involve himself in someone else’s relationship now.

More than a year ago, Gu Xi had called him drunk. Gu Yue panicked and asked how he could be drinking.

Maybe Gu Xi’s mind was already gone then.

“If I do not drink, my head is full of him. Shh. When he is back I will stop. Do not tell him.”

“He is gone… truly gone. Will he ever come back?”

“He does not want me anymore. It must be because I am not good enough. If he comes back, I will give him twice, three times, a thousand times the love. Will he stay if I do?”

“He has been gone for 172 days. Why is he still not back?”

Gu Xi kept repeating the word “come back.” Gu Yue tried to comfort him. “Forget him, all right? There are other alphas in the world.”

“You do not understand. I cannot forget. Once you are with him, you will know. A person like that is someone you cannot forget for the rest of your life.”

“Ah Yue, every day is so long. It feels endless.”

“Cherish the person in front of you. You never know when he will be gone.”

…

Gu Xi had not sobbed loudly. He sounded like a fine needle, pricking straight into the heart.

Gu Yue’s nose stung. He finally understood how his brother had felt back then.

He turned to the window and watched the scenery slide by.

After parking, Zhou Xiang glanced at his phone. A relative had sent him a new blind date.

He looked at the man in the passenger seat, the man he had thought would never return. For the first time, he did not want to keep living by the book. He wanted to try, even if the odds were thin.

He declined the blind date and asked, nerves tight, “There is a private kitchen nearby that is very good. Would you… like to try it?”

---

Cupid’s Arrow is a live dating reality show. Its randomness and improvised mishaps keep the audience in a constant state of delight and anticipation.

They release the live time on the official platform first. Most viewers choose whether to watch based on their schedules. Afterward the team edits the footage, adds subtitles, and posts the replay for those who missed the stream.

For surprise guests, the show often tells one side and hides it from the other. That is their special treatment. Previously, a model couple had an episode where the wife dropped in on her husband’s apartment and found him with his lover, clothes in disarray. The stream cut off mid-broadcast. It hit the hot search immediately. The “Nice Guy” who cheated was scolded into retirement, while the show’s popularity climbed. By the time Rong Jing and Gu Xi appeared, they were on season six.

The preview dropped only the night before. Viewers poured in:

“Which couple is it this time? Surely it is Surprise’s turn!”

“Do they not have a slot? Even as guest mentors, six episodes have aired already. Seriously, give me Surprise!”

“If it is them this time, I will finally get them in the same frame. I have waited eight hundred years for this moment!”

“No couple has ever made me so desperate to watch PDA.”

“Exactly. If they do not feed us, we will force them to.”

“This year’s netizens are the most feral yet. They do not passively eat dog food anymore. They hold a knife to Surprise and make them hand it over.”

“I used to think having them stand together was a visual feast and I did not even know who to envy. Then I noticed their temperaments. One cold, one warm. Put together and you get warm-leaning-cold. Maybe the reason we never see interactions is because they are both too chill?”

“Do not jinx it!”

“I hate to say it, but that feels true. Especially Gu Xi. He is frosty to alphas. I cannot picture him in love. What if he is like that with Rong Rong too?”

“Daily panic in the CP camp. Ever since they went public, we have been terrified they will announce a breakup.”

“Ugh, sister, hand in paw. I feel the same!”

“You people are spoiled. Before they were official, you screamed yourself hoarse over photoshops. After they announced, they do not show PDA for a while and you are ready to declare doom. Think about how we survived before and cherish your blessings.”

“Stop being a downer. We do not even know it is them yet!”

“Pull up a stool. Eyes on the prize!”

“I have a feeling. Tomorrow is Surprise.”

“See you there. Do not be late.”

“I am too excited to sleep.”

“Four melatonin, down the hatch. I want to be in top form for my Surprise.”

With Gu Xi’s consent, the production had installed micro-cameras in the living room. Here is the sly part. They tell both guests what to watch out for in general, but only one knows the actual recording date.

That morning, Rong Jing opened his eyes. After a five-minute blank stare, his mind clicked on.

At some point, the person in his arms had slipped a hand up under his T-shirt and was resting it on a sensitive spot. Thankfully it was the upper half today. When mornings went too well, things could get a little thunderous. It was not entirely fair to blame him.

Since visiting Gu Ying’s grave, Gu Xi had been sleeping much better. Sometimes he made it through the night. Rong Jing stayed quietly thankful he had asked Gu Yue to come back.

He kissed Gu Xi’s forehead, gently moved the offending hand, washed up, and ambled out.

When there was no urgent business, Rong Jing was slow and unhurried, like someone who had entered retirement early.

The first beam of sunlight slanted into the room. Outside the glass wall, the gardener had just misted the lawn. Clear droplets trembled on leaves and made the whole picture feel newly awake.

Into a brown-and-beige living room walked a tall, handsome alpha. He scratched his back, stooped to pick up a crumpled tissue from the floor, and had no idea that every move was being watched by hundreds of thousands.

He took out the trash, gave the room a quick tidy, washed his hands, and grabbed two eggs from the fridge. Then he took out a heart-shaped mold.

Gu Xi had tossed that mold into the cart at the supermarket yesterday.

Soon the open kitchen sparked with the staccato of eggs hitting the pan. The aroma of breakfast filled the apartment at once.

“Aaaaa it is Jing Jing! Long time no see. Finally we get him on a variety show! Is it just me or did he get even more handsome?”

“It really is Surprise this time. Thank goodness I camped out early.”

“Early birds, worms, you know the drill. Look at that body. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, those long legs. Slurp. Xi Xi is so lucky, waking up to that face.”

“I did not know Rong Jing scratches his back. It breaks the cool image a bit, but why does it make him even cuter?”

“I swear he has no clue the cameras are on. His eyes have not flicked once. Hahaha!”

“The production is wicked. They told Xi Bao, right? Evil. I love it.”

“Is no one else noticing how early he gets up? And that he is doing housework!”

“Not just housework. He is making breakfast!”

“This. This is the highlight. An alpha who automatically shares chores. I am fainting!”

“The way he moves says he does this all the time. Ahhhhhh, why would there be such an alpha? I'm going crazy!”

In this world, most alphas did not do household chores. Many still assumed it was an omega’s job. Society’s views were shifting, but those who truly thought of their partner first were rare.

Plenty of omegas who had tuned in for candy found themselves hit squarely in the heart by that simple act. The chat exploded.

Gu Xi came down the stairs with a yawn. He rubbed his eyes. “I thought we agreed to take turns. It is my day.”

Rong Jing slid the plump heart-shaped eggs onto a plate. “I will remember that next time.”

“You are breaking the rules,” Gu Xi said, deadpan. “A bet is a bet. I am cooking for the next week.”

Hm?

He glanced around as if looking for something.

The chat:

“Hahahaha. Has our Xi Xi noticed?”

“He remembered! Over here! Look over here!”

“Their conversation is so cool and calm. I am scared the prophecy upthread is true. Rong Jing is cool, Gu Xi is cold, put them together and it is the polar regions. Magic couple. Zero sugar.”

“What do you mean zero? Jing Jing cannot see us, but Xi Xi can. Look how soft his eyes get when he looks at him.”

“This is literally me and my husband. It is just couple daily life. How is that cold?”

“Exactly. Why are you all so jumpy? It just started. The sugar is coming. Impatient people do not get candy.”

“And the feeling of us knowing and Rong Jing not knowing is delicious.”

To Rong Jing, this was an ordinary morning. To the viewers, it was anything but.

While flipping bacon, he glanced at Gu Xi, then paused. His brow drew together.

He turned off the gas. Before Gu Xi could react, Rong Jing scooped him up and set him on the sofa.

The sudden move shocked Gu Xi and sent the chat into hysterics. Oh my god god god god, what are we seeing?!

Rong Jing picked up a pair of slippers and slid them onto Gu Xi’s feet. “How many times do I have to say it? No bare feet. You never listen.”

He flicked Gu Xi’s forehead and went back to the kitchen.

Gu Xi’s heart thudded hard.

Should I tell you the show is live right now?

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