Gu Baoyan Seizes the Opportunity: Wow. Part 1

The car drove through the gates of the Gu family home. The roadside lamps, just replaced last month, shone brightly. A small patch of the garden had been renovated; they had hired a master from Japan to create a dry landscape garden. Regarding this, Gu Zhuoyan had sarcastically commented that once winter arrived, the north became as bleak as the time before the economic reforms—far more withered than any "dry" landscape garden.

He got out of the car in front of the building and whistled. A German Shepherd came out to greet him, wagging its tail.

Bond was now a bona fide old dog, his steps slow. Gu Zhuoyan crouched down to play with him, checking his teeth and ears one after another, then lifted a front paw to look at its claws. "Yo, I'll trim your nails for you in a bit."

A light set of footsteps sounded, and Xue Manzi appeared. "You're back?"

Gu Zhuoyan looked up. "I'm back."

"You're back and you're already dawdling with the dog. Don't you know your mother is waiting for you?" Xue Manzi's expression changed quickly. "It's freezing out here. Get inside this instant."

Gu Zhuoyan obediently went inside. It was instantly warm. He unbuttoned his coat as he walked, and by the time he reached the living room, he had taken off his overcoat and suit jacket, flinging them onto the head of Gu Baoyan, who was watching TV on the sofa.

Are you looking for trouble! Gu Baoyan stood up angrily.

Gu Zhuoyan leisurely sat down and said with great disdain, "You're in university, why are you running home every day? Do your roommates even know what you look like?"

Gu Baoyan was no longer the naive little girl she once was. She had grown up to be tall and graceful, but the bad habits from being pampered had also shot up like weeds. Case in point, since starting university this September, she complained that the dorm was too crowded and the cafeteria food was terrible, so she ran back home almost every day.

"None of your business," Gu Baoyan huffed, turning to link her arm with Xue Manzi's.

Gu Zhuoyan glanced at their formation. Once women formed a clique, their power would spiral upwards. There was nothing to be done. Gu Shibo had gone to Hong Kong for business, leaving the house with the female influence ascendant.

He rolled up his sleeves to trim Bond's nails, attempting to seize the initiative. He asked first, "I heard you went to Chairman Wen's daughter's engagement party?"

Xue Manzi hummed in affirmation. "It was originally supposed to be at the end of the year, but Chairman Wen fell ill in the autumn and hasn't been in good spirits. Now that he's recovered, he wanted to hold it earlier to liven things up."

People of their status practically kept a dozen nutritionists on retainer to take care of them, because they were too busy to dare get sick. Now that he had been ill, the group's business must have been delayed. Gu Zhuoyan guessed, could it be that Wanyue wanted to discuss some business cooperation with GSG?

Unexpectedly, Xue Manzi denied it, saying it was a private matter.

What kind of private matter could it be? Gu Zhuoyan was a little impatient. "It's ten o'clock, stop keeping me in suspense."

Xue Manzi began her story. Before the engagement party, Chairman Wen and his wife had invited her to their home for a short visit. They said their daughter's marriage was settled, and their son, who was a few years younger, had just graduated from university this summer. He then went on a trip around the world and had recently returned and was looking for a job.

"Oh." Gu Zhuoyan tried to grasp the main point. "With such a large family business, they can't possibly be asking you to find him a job, right?"

Gu Baoyan interjected, "Not a job, a partner."

Gu Zhuoyan picked up the other dog paw, not paying much attention. "What partner?"

Xue Manzi smiled. "That child's name is Wen Lin. His grades are good, and I've seen a photo, he's quite handsome. It's just that he's fresh out of school and still a bit naive. Chairman Wen says he has a simple personality, probably because his family has protected him well."

Finished with the trimming, Gu Zhuoyan patted the dog hair off his legs. "...So?"

"So I think simple is definitely better than scheming," Xue Manzi said. "Dating is actually like signing a contract. Character, education, family background, looks—every detail must be taken seriously and looked at clearly. Otherwise, if you suffer losses and have to terminate the partnership later, what a waste of time."

Gu Zhuoyan had no intention of analyzing whether Xue Manzi's theory was correct. He only heard the words "dating." He held up a hand to stop her, saying with surprise and suspicion, "This girl has only been in university for a few months, she probably doesn't even know all the boys in her class yet, and the family is already setting her up?"

Gu Baoyan said lightly, "Dear brother, it's an introduction for you."

Gu Zhuoyan thought he was drunk and had misheard. He looked to Xue Manzi for confirmation. Xue Manzi looked back at him with a benevolent expression and nodded to confirm. "Son, Mom arranged it for you."

This was too absurd. Gu Zhuoyan said, "I'm gay, have you forgotten?"

Xue Manzi smiled elegantly and said that Chairman Wen and his wife had invited her privately specifically to tell her that Wen Lin was also gay. After finding out, the two of them had tossed and turned at night, but they slowly came to accept it. They also considered that same-sex relationships weren't protected by law and couldn't be publicized, so they were afraid Wen Lin would be deceived or bullied out in the world.

The couple thought it over and over, and thought of Gu Zhuoyan, who was also gay. And since their families were of equal social standing, they wanted to let Gu Zhuoyan and Wen Lin meet. Even if they weren't fated to be together, it would be nice for them to know each other as older and younger brothers. After all, the future belonged to the young people.

"Fuck," Gu Zhuoyan's feelings were complicated. Had he just been picked out?

Xue Manzi said, "You can only blame yourself for this. You came out publicly back then. So many children of the elite at that school, and more than half of my and your father's social circle, know about your glorious deeds."

It had been ten years. For the first time, Gu Zhuoyan felt a pang of regret. He was quiet for a moment. "Mom, you didn't agree, did you?"

"I did agree," Xue Manzi said. "Just meet him."

Gu Zhuoyan stood up. "Meet him? Are you arranging a blind date?" He put his hands on his hips and paced half a circle, utterly speechless. "Two guys on a blind date, don't you think that's sick?"

"Why is it sick? Can't two guys go on a blind date? Are you discriminating against homosexuals?" Xue Manzi played the moral high ground card. "You were young back then, and your father and I hoped you would focus on your studies, but we never interfered with you after that. Now you're twenty-seven, twenty-eight. Isn't it good to find a reliable, suitable person to be with, to have someone care for you?"

Gu Zhuoyan really wanted to ask, how would you know if he's reliable or suitable?

As if she knew what he was thinking, Xue Manzi said, "You're my own flesh and blood, would I not look out for you? The Wen family has taken a liking to you, but I also need to see if their son is worthy of you, and whether he'll be to your liking."

Gu Zhuoyan retorted, "You know again, do you? Is he worthy? Will I like him?"

"Our family and the Wen family are social equals, so that makes him worthy, right?" Xue Manzi took a breath, as if she hadn't originally wanted to explain. "Wen Lin has been painting since elementary school, he studied design, and he's gentle and simple. Don't you like that? Isn't that precisely your type?"

Gu Baoyan chimed in at the perfect moment: "Wow."

"Wow my ass." Gu Zhuoyan was choked up, a hint of anger born from embarrassment flaring up. Over the years, he had dated two or three people, and without exception, they were all of this type. Although all those relationships fizzled out, he couldn't refute her at that moment.

"I'm tired." Gu Zhuoyan snatched his clothes and started to leave.

Xue Manzi didn't stop him, but continued speaking, as if to herself, "Zhuoyan, I assume your orientation isn't going to change, right?"

His footsteps paused for a beat. Gu Zhuoyan clutched his clothes so tightly they creased beyond smoothing. Bond followed beside him, looking old. On the sofa, Gu Baoyan watched him with a young girl's prideful air.

"Loving the wrong person has caused enough suffering all these years. Don't let him make you suffer for a lifetime," Xue Manzi said. "Why waste your own life on someone who isn't worth it?"

The seasons had come and gone for too, too long.

After a long moment, Gu Zhuoyan answered, "Fine, I agree."

The wind howled for another night. A large-scale cold front hit the northern region. The morning was so cold the sun didn't even come out, and the sky was overcast.

Zhuang Fanxin, on the other hand, didn't linger in bed. The moment his eyes opened, he got up, opened his phone, and listed the day's to-do items in his memos. As he finished the list, he picked up the hotel's landline and instructed the front desk to send up breakfast and call a car for him.

He washed up and changed. A quarter of an hour later, Zhuang Fanxin was dressed neatly and sitting in the outer room drinking coffee. He wore a soft, warm cashmere sweater and overcoat in a light color and minimalist style. He wore two conspicuous rings on his fingers for accent, and the watch on his wrist was also quite eye-catching.

His medium-length hair was combed neatly, a glossy dark brown that complemented his sparkling dark eyes. His eyelashes fluttered as he occasionally glanced at his laptop screen, finishing an email before pressing send.

Zhuang Fanxin had just won an award at a fashion design competition in London and had left in a hurry. For now, he could only thank people for their congratulations via email. But being of a precious and noble temperament, he only selected his university professor's letter to reply to; the rest were glanced at and tossed into the trash.