Gu Qichi had half a mind to eat him alive.

He really hated it when people disturbed him while he was sleeping.

Not to mention—
The great beauty was sleepy-eyed, trying his best to search for the time on the digital clock resting on the nightstand.

It was only a little past eight in the morning…
The earliest he normally woke up every day was eleven-thirty…

But Bo Yu’s expression was extremely serious. His brows were lowered, his narrow phoenix eyes reflecting a deep and distant light, and his thin lips were pressed tightly together, looking completely closed off to any argument.

Under this kind of gaze, Gu Qichi felt exceptionally helpless and dragged himself out of bed with a headache.

His hair was still sticking up, a messy clump resembling a bird’s nest. Fortunately, his hair was of good quality—smooth and glossy, reflecting a dazzling luster under the morning light. With a few casual combs of his fingers, it returned to its original flawless state.

He squinted, his face showing unconcealable sleepiness. His thick, long eyelashes drooped down, trembling slightly, outlining a faint halo in the light.

His skin was as white as snow and extremely delicate; not even a single pore could be found. His collarbones curved, outlining thin and exquisite lines, and his butterfly shoulder blades trembled lightly beneath the thin fabric, pushing out a shallow, distinct arc.

Looking at his entire person, he exuded a sense of slender fragility.

Although they had only lived together for two nights, Bo Yu had already perfectly figured out Gu Qichi’s temperament regarding these matters.

Knowing he was too lazy to move, Bo Yu consciously brought out the white suit he had long chosen for their marriage certificate photo and personally dressed Gu Qichi.

This suit was an haute couture piece released by LV just a few days ago. Bo Yu had seen the ready-to-wear style and preemptively secured it.

Taking advantage of their return the day before yesterday, Bo Yu had dragged Gu Qichi to get styled and conveniently had the designer make slight modifications based on his measurements. The details had been heavily refined, making it fit even better.

White really suited Gu Qichi. That cold, aloof aura was easily brought out, slowly diffusing like bright moonlight gently enveloping the earth, casting an ethereal veil over it.

However, his face and his aura were extremely mismatched.

His features were intensely beautiful, as vibrant as an overturned palette of ink spreading gorgeous colors across snow-white drawing paper, making him exceptionally eye-catching.

The contours of his brows and eyes were very deep, his nose bridge high and straight, possessing a somewhat sharp beauty. Yet his peach-blossom eyes slanted upwards, his thick eyelashes drooped, and his under-eye bags were full; just a casual sweep of his gaze…

…would inexplicably give one the illusion of him being affectionate and languid.
As if he were deeply in love with the person in front of him.

Bo Yu picked up the water glass from the nightstand, turned around, and handed it to him.

The water in the glass was warm. It slid down his throat, moistening vocal cords that had been dry all night.

A sparkling layer of moisture coated his lips. Gu Qichi stuck out his tongue and licked it, narrowing his eyes slightly, barely pulling his mind back to reality.

He lazily lifted his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over Bo Yu, who was carefully styling himself on the side.

President Bo attached immense importance to their little red marriage books. He wore a deep black suit of the exact same style as the one on Gu Qichi.

He dubbed it—a couple’s outfit.

The suit fabric was crisp, perfectly wrapping around Bo Yu’s broad shoulders and back. The hem of his shirt was tucked into his waistband, outlining a strong and powerful waistline, with his eight-pack abs faintly visible underneath.

Bo Yu worked out year-round. His muscle lines were smooth but not exaggerated; he belonged to the type popularized online as “looking thin when dressed, but muscular when undressed.”

His shoulder width was just right, able to perfectly gather Gu Qichi into his embrace, providing a strong sense of security.
He didn’t have those exaggerated “double-door refrigerator” proportions found in Korean manhwas.

His shirt was meticulously buttoned all the way to the top. Noble and aloof, the collar sat right below his Adam’s apple. The red mole on his Adam’s apple was faintly visible, made even more vivid against the snow-white shirt.

Gu Qichi retracted his gaze in satisfaction, the corners of his lips unconsciously curving up a bit.

Choosing Bo Yu back then was indeed the right decision; after all, everyone wants to wake up in the morning and see a good-looking face.
Not to mention, this face perfectly hit all of his specific aesthetic preferences.

Fortunately, the bite marks and hickeys on both of their necks had faded; otherwise, Gu Qichi really wouldn’t have the face to accompany Bo Yu to take their marriage certificate photo.

---

After a simple breakfast to fill their stomachs, Gu Qichi was led downstairs by Bo Yu.

The temperature in the underground parking lot was still chilly, giving a feeling of being completely disconnected from the summer heat.

That G-Wagon was still parked there; Bo Yu hadn’t yet had the time to find someone to send it in for a wash.

Gu Qichi’s gaze lightly swept over it. His tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth as the scenes from last night resurfaced in his mind.

Bo Yu’s scalding breath had heavily struck against his ear. His whole body had broken out in a hot sweat, the crook of his neck entirely damp. The sweat at Bo Yu’s temples had dripped down his cold, sharp contours.

A round drop had landed right on Gu Qichi’s slightly protruding wrist bone, splashing an indistinct droplet of water.
The contrast between red and white was exceptionally stark, blooming into a flush of crimson.

The sound of the car starting pulled Gu Qichi’s thoughts back. Gu Qichi reservedly withdrew his gaze, a very pale layer of pink covering his snow-white face.

He turned his head to watch Bo Yu drive.

President Bo hadn’t called Bai Heng over today, determined to do everything personally.

The great beauty’s gaze fell onto Bo Yu’s hands again.

His hands were half a knuckle larger than his own, the joints distinct, pale and long, with thin calluses on the palms.

For some reason, even though they were clearly just a pair of hands, Gu Qichi forcibly perceived a sense of cold restraint from them.

Bo Yu might have somewhat bordered on “coldness”, but “restraint” was completely out of the question.

Gu Qichi let his thoughts wander aimlessly.

They happened to hit a red light. Vehicles came and went in an endless stream, like a surging river.

Bo Yu’s hands rested lazily on the steering wheel. The boundary between the black wheel and his white skin was very obvious, further accentuating the alluring beauty of his hands.

It seemed Gu Qichi’s gaze was too burning, clinging tightly to Bo Yu without letting go. President Bo lifted his eyelids, his gaze languid. Only after seeing the remaining waiting time displayed on the red light did he feel at ease enough to turn his head and see what exactly Gu Qichi was staring at.

He crashed right into his intense line of sight, those emotions entirely unhidden.

Gu Qichi curved his eyes, his lines simple and clean: “Bo Yu, you look really good.”

Towards beautiful people or things, he would express his praise without any scruples.

Bo Yu raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
Then the corners of his lips hooked into a warm smile. “You too.”

When he smiled, the sharp and cold contours of his features were softened, unexpectedly giving off an elegant and refined vibe.

Taking advantage of the red light and Gu Qichi’s good mood, Bo Yu pursed his lips, thought it over again and again, and finally made up his mind to speak:

“Gu Qichi, when you were with Zhou Yuan before… you didn’t have a good life, did you?”

Not expecting him to suddenly ask this, the smile at the corners of Gu Qichi’s lips receded, his eyes filled with undisguised confusion.

Gu Qichi opened his mouth and asked him: “Who is Zhou Yuan?”

The surrounding cars started moving again. Bo Yu glanced at the red light that was about to turn green. He pursed his lips, somewhat worried that he had stepped on Gu Qichi’s landmine.

But Gu Qichi was merely confused; he didn’t reveal any expressions of pain or disgust.

Bo Yu restarted the car. Making sure he hadn’t misread Gu Qichi’s expression, he probed tentatively:

“Zhou Yuan… is Gu Yuning’s biological father…”
“That night, you were drunk, and you told me Zhou Yuan would hit you…”

The smile on Gu Qichi’s face vanished completely. His amber pupils rapidly contracted, losing their clear, transparent, and moist luster.

Zhou Yuan…
Gu Yuning…
That forty-something square meter shack, the foul, sickening stench of alcohol…
The endless beatings, the vicious verbal abuse…
Being intentionally kicked into the water, the boundless marsh flooding his nasal cavity, ears, and finally over the top of his head…

A momentary blindness appeared before Gu Qichi’s eyes. A vast white halo completely obscured his vision, forming a sharp, stinging pain in his mind.

Suicide…

The memories from that drunken night were suddenly dredged up. Gu Qichi’s fingertips curled inward from the sharp, stinging pain, his body trembling uncontrollably.

His voice trembled slightly, his pupils entirely empty and exceptionally dazed: “Bo Yu… what did I say that night?”

“How… how did I bring up this person named Zhou Yuan?”

His voice was very light; if one didn’t listen carefully, it couldn’t be heard clearly at all. In the enclosed space of the car cabin, it was silent and hazy.

Bo Yu sensed something was wrong. Just as he was about to shut his mouth, under the weight of Gu Qichi’s gaze, he bit the bullet and briefly described Gu Qichi’s condition that night.

Gu Qichi didn’t vocalize an answer for a long time. He merely stared blankly at one spot with empty eyes, spacing out quietly.

Zhou Yuan…
Were those the past memories of the original “Gu Qichi”?

He lowered his eyes, staring at his own palm. The lines on it spread out; the lifeline was very long, extending all the way down to his wrist, connecting with the blue veins.
Only, there was a very subtle gap in the middle.
If one didn’t look carefully, it couldn’t be noticed at all.

He had transmigrated into this body when Gu Qichi returned to the Gu family at age sixteen. He knew the subsequent years of “Gu Qichi’s” behaviors and experiences like the back of his hand, but his memories of the past before that were a complete blank, only vaguely recalling a few blurred outlines.

He had also wondered about the reason but remained puzzled after a hundred attempts at understanding. He could only assume that the original author of the book hadn’t clearly mapped out Gu Qichi’s life trajectory over his first sixteen years.

After all, “Gu Qichi” was nothing more than a cannon fodder foil meant to highlight Gu Yuning’s successful life.
There was nothing worth the author wasting effort on.

This was the first time Gu Qichi had caught a glimpse of something outside of the original book—
The painfully unbearable memories from “Gu Qichi.”

Although it was only fragmented pieces, it further solidified Gu Qichi’s thoughts.
This time, he definitely could escape the shackles of this world. He would no longer bear the bleak past of “Gu Qichi,” and just live his own life.

His emotions gradually calmed down. Gu Qichi took a deep breath, clenched his fists tightly, and then released them.

The car drove all the way until Bo Yu finally found a suitable moment to pull over.

He leaned over, wrapping his hands around Gu Qichi’s.
The skin beneath his palms was slightly cool; the originally light pink fingertips were somewhat pale.

Bo Yu unbuckled his seatbelt, pulled him into his embrace, and gently patted his back over and over again, like coaxing a baby. His tone was gentle and deeply affectionate.

“Gu Qichi, don’t be afraid. It’s all in the past now.”
“With me by your side, whether it’s Zhou Yuan or the Gu family, don’t even think they can take a single step closer to you.”

In just that short moment, a patch of his shirt was dampened. Gu Qichi lifted his head. His gaze was purely clean, devoid of any impurities, leaving only a swirling water vapor.

“Bo Yu, did you investigate me before?”

His eyelashes were wet with moisture, and the rims of his eyes were slightly red, as he just looked at Bo Yu like this.

Bo Yu nodded helplessly.
Under those circumstances back then, wanting to understand Gu Qichi as quickly as possible, he had definitely conducted an exhaustive and detailed investigation into everything about him.

“I want you to help me investigate everything before I was sixteen, can you?”

Gu Qichi spoke very softly, his eyelashes trembling slightly. His five fingers, wrapped in Bo Yu’s palms, unconsciously exerted force and clenched tightly, his nails digging into his palms, stirring up a faint pain.

Bo Yu caressed the thin skin around his eyes, then used his thumb to rub his pale, pearl-like round earlobe, and gave a very soft “Mn.”

He didn’t press for the reason why Gu Qichi wanted to do this.
He had said before that no matter what Gu Qichi wanted to do, he could just let go and do it. He would be behind him, always accompanying him, supporting him.

He would never let him stand alone, lonely and bewildered, on that muddy, dark path.

Bo Yu: “I’ll investigate for you. Everything you want to know, I will help you uncover it piece by piece.”

Gu Qichi pursed his lips. When the moisture around his eyes entirely dissipated, a subtle smile curled at the corners of his lips.

“Thank you, Bo Yu.”
“Let’s go get our certificate.”

At the end of their line of sight, the Civil Affairs Bureau emanated a soft glow under the light.
Their car was parked right next to it.

Just one step away.