novel
| ← Ch.59 | Ch.61 → |
Gu Yan was stood lazily beside Bai Ya. You had to admit that no matter how bad a mother was, she could change into a good and caring mother as long as she was willing to repent. Motherly love was something that came by instinct.
If Gu Yan was not willing to speak, then Bai Ya would speak on his behalf; when Gu Yan did something out of place, Bai Ya would make it up to the others for him in his place.
She did not do anything to force Gu Yan at all lest he be unhappy, or felt uncomfortable.
But what did this have anything to do with him? She could do whatever she pleased.
In the blink of an eye, it was now twelve in the afternoon. Gu Zong Han finally appeared in the banquet hall. Though he was seventy this year, he still appeared very healthy and in good spirits with the red glow on his cheeks, he looked younger than his age. Both his eyes were bright and he exuded a great aura.
You could tell just by his appearance he was a man with a strong personality.
Gu Yan curved his lips up as he walked towards Gu Zong Han with his gift in hand.
At the other end, Gu Zong Han had already received many gifts. A lot of people were surrounding him, bustling about, offering all sorts of gifts, some precious, and some classy. Within the pile were both valuable antiques, as well as scrolls and calligraphy tools that hold a deeper meaning. Song Shan's position was the highest amongst the other guests. He was a man of literature and was said to be quite accomplished in the arts, so he presented Gu Zong Han with a scroll of words penned by himself. All the guests watching at the side praised his penmanship, but it was unknown whether they were trying to flatter Song Shan or Gu Zong Han.
The atmosphere within the hall was a merry one.
Until Gu Yan appeared...... Then, the atmosphere started to turn slightly awkward.
Gu Yan was the illegitimate child of the Gu family, and this was an open secret known to everyone in the upper circles of the capital.
You could not say that many knew Gu Yan, but there were still a lot of people who have heard his name and tale. He was well-known for his ridiculous behaviour. He was an illegitimate but did not have the tact of one, so you could say his name was one that rang across this circle.
It was said that this illegitimate child had run away from home some time ago, and became a little star not long after, even getting himself involved with countless scandals. But recently, his reputation had been improving. Even so, this was just a little play in the eyes of these people, none of these were things worthy of being put up on the table at all.
But they could not help Gu Zong Han from favouring him. Gu Zong Han had received such a young child when he was near his fifties, so he pampered him a lot. Even so, he was unable to bring him home when he was young, so he felt even more that he owed him, and showered him with his love. Gu Zong Han had always been a strict person, so this fatherly love he offered Gu Yan was something his two brothers never had the chance to enjoy.
But Gu Zong Han was not a muddle-headed old man. Even though he loved Gu Yan very much, the family industry was still dominated by his two older sons, leaving not even a portion to his immature youngest son. He only gave him money, and never even held any expectations for him to continue the family business. For him to give him the shares of the jewelry stores this time was also because of his old age. He was worried that this little son of his would not be able to support himself after depleting all his wealth with his idle freedom.
The Gu family had many assets, so even though what he wanted to give Gu Yan was not little, it was not too much either. It could hardly be compared with what his two brothers received.
Gu Zong Han did not do this out of love for his son, but because of Gu Yan's character. If he gave him too much, he was afraid he would end up being targeted by others, and left with nothing. But he had no idea that this small amount was already enough to throw the original Gu Yan innocently into the pits of hell.
For the sake of a woman, Gu Yan had gotten himself involved in a fight with a man last year in the capital. Gu Zong Hand scolded him for it, and as a result, this little punk threw everything aside and ran off, this was the first time he was home after a whole year! Gu Zong Han was furious, and it was not known how much he had grumbled and yelled about him this past year, when he saw that young and energetic face that looked the same as his when he was young appearing right in front of him...... His heart went soft again. This little brat was probably the only thing that could make his heart go soft in his entire life.
"So you still remember to come home, you brat?"Gu Zong Han snorted. The older he got, the more he cared about his image.
"Then I might as well leave."Gu Yan responded.
"......"Gu Zong Han glared at him. Is this brat trying to piss him to death?
Everyone at the side was feeling a little awkward. Some with profound skills were even able to joke a little as if Gu Yan was one of the juniors in their families. They found him beneath them, but they could not reveal it on the surface.
"I was just kidding, since I'm here how could I leave without even eating?"Gu Yan grinned, his person appearing very mischievous.
It was not like Gu Zong Han himself had never tried disciplining a shameless bastard like him, but it was useless, all it did was push Gu Yan further and further from him. He was also too lazy to get angry these days, it was already hard for this little brat to come home.
"You brat."Gu Zong Han snorted.
"Come on, don't be mad, I brought you a gift."With a teasing smile, Gu Yan swayed the gift box he held in his hand.
Gu Zong Han had noticed it since early on, and was curious what Gu Yan would give him, though he did not show it on his face. He looked as if he did not care at all, only responding to him plainly:"Oh, bring it over."
Gu Yan opened the box and passed it to him. Within the box was a huge golden buddha, it was simply blinding!
Among the piles of calligraphy gifts and scrolls, this gift truly was quite dazzling. But even more blinding was that he did not even take off the label on that shiny buddha. It was bought from the Gu family's own shop! And the price was in the millions!
Everyone at the side sucked in a breath in surprise. Such an unconventional guy like this was hard to find these days!
Everyone in the capital circle paid attention to style, and when it came to the Gu family, money was just a number. It truly was nothing to spend millions on a birthday, when compared with the rest of the inconspicuous objects, there really weren't many that was worth more than that. But to have such a tasteless gift to this degree, this was unique! The third young master of the Gu family truly was worthy of his name as a reputable idiot!
Just look at it, isn't it shameful to buy something from your own store as a gift? Do you even have any sincerity?!
Even jokes have its limits!
Was this brat really not trying to make a joke?
Gu Yan seemed completely unaware in the changes of the atmosphere around him. He looked at Gu Zong Han cheerfully, "Do you like it, old man? It took me a lot of shopping to finally settle on this, I think this displays my sincerity the best. I hope you live a long life full of good fortune!"
Gu Zong Han felt a shiver run down his spine with the strange taste of his son, but he was unwilling to destroy his enthusiasm, and shame him. So, he hummed in acknowledgement, showing that he was still satisfied with the gift.
"It's good as long as you like it!"But Gu Yan took it as a real compliment to him, responding in great pleasure:"It cost me a few millions, I've even spent all the pay I got just so I could get you something big! And even went to our family store specially to shop, always better to keep the good for our own, am I right~?"
Nobody could bear to look straight at him.
Gu Yan Xin was gritting his teeth so hard they were close to chipping. What sort of idiot is this? Why, why this idiot!!
But Gu Zong Han did not get angry. Instead, he gave Gu Yan a pat on the shoulder, and spoke to him happily:"Good, that's good, my good child, I like it very much!"This made everyone's eyes widen in surprise.
Gu Zong Han was truly happy at heart. Even though his youngest son was a bit slower in the head than most others, it was still hard to find someone with his sincerity. How could he compare to the two older ones? They all had heavy hearts, constantly putting on an act, but for who? How could they be as thoughtful as his youngest son? Now that he was this old, what else could he ask for?
In his heart, he thought to himself; how could he scare this little bastard away again? Didn't he just cause a little bit of a commotion? It's not like there was a lack of youngsters like him in the capital. As long as he did not provoke the several big families in the capital, he could just protect him from everything else.
Gu Yan had on a good boy look as if he had just gotten off easy, and his smile had a few people quite unhappy.
In his heart, he had a good laugh. This was worth turning over his memories all night last night, nailing down this human's every move and word.
Song Yuan saw the scene, and nearly ground her teeth down into snubs with her anger.
In her eyes, Gu Zong Han was just a blind old man. How could trash like Gu Yan make him so happy?! Does he not see how embarrassing Gu Yan was being? Can't he see the looks on everyone else's faces?
Countless scandals could be found amongst the wealthy families, but one like this was nothing short of rare.
Song Yuan's father was no saint himself, and had several sugar babies that she knew of outside the house. But her father would never let the children of those women into the family, nor would he ever allow them to appear in front of her. How could they be like Gu Yan...... Song Yuan was even feeling bad for Gu Yan Xin and his brother. Looking at Gu Yan now, she found him even more despicable than before.
That was her innate disdain for the child of a mistress.
And to some extent, such views were considered normal.
Gu Yan himself was clear, but he would not feel any shame from what he did at all. Watching human beings as they revealed their ugly side was his favourite hobby. You had to know that he was something way more evil and abominable than just an 'illegitimate child'.
He could easily make those lowly humans feel bad for him, because humans were both greedy and stupid.
They would never know how to cherish the things that really warranted it...... They only believe in what they could see before them, even if it was all just an illusion, it was still good enough.
After handing over his gift, Gu Yan went to the side. He had already achieved his goal, and the protagonist of this banquet was not he, the illegitimate child. If something was enough, then it was enough, doing more would be no good.
Song Yuan's line of sight moved with Gu Yan's movements. After a short moment of silence, she went over to him with her wine glass in hand.
"My, I never expected I would see you here. What should I call you? Third Young Master Gu?"Song Yuan approached Gu Yan and laughed.
Gu Yan narrowed his eyes. He had never cared about this clown, she should be thanking him for not coming for her, but she actually dared to provoke him. This really was a human who did not know how the word for 'death' was written.
"Are we that close?"Gu Yan raised a brow and looked at her in contempt.
Song Yuan's anger started to rise in an instant. This lowly bastard! She tried her best to suppress her anger, "That's a funny joke, Young Master Gu, do old friends from our hometowns really need to be close to greet each other?"
Gu Yan turned to leave.
Song Yuan suddenly reached over to grab Gu Yan's sleeve, and raised her voice a little, "Young Master Gu, I was slightly disrespectful to you in the past because I did not know your identity, so I will apologize to you now!"
Her voice was not very quiet, so the people around them were all looking for.
Song Yuan was a beautiful woman, and right now, she was looking at Gu Yan both nervously and pitifully, as if she was afraid that Gu Yan would not forgive her. It was easy for the others to think up some sort of rich playboy scenario: Song Yuan did not know Gu Yan's identity, accidentally offended him, and now Gu Yan was dead set on making things hard for her.
| ← Ch. 59 | Ch. 61 → |