[BBGCD] Chapter 13

 In this chaotic world, being able to live a stable life was the greatest luxury of all.

Just as Su Jiao was making this wish in his heart, Gu Lingye's phone rang.

Gu Lingye took out his phone and glanced at the screen. The caller was his father—the same man who had told him yesterday never to come home again.

Gu Lingye furrowed his sword-like eyebrows, his expression turning impatient.

He looked up at Su Jiao, who was watching him, pursed his lips, and said, "It's my father. He usually has a bit of..."

"Don't you want to answer his call?" Su Jiao asked gently.

After Gu Lingye slowly nodded, Su Jiao reached out his hand. "Give it to me. I'll answer for you."

Gu Lingye had originally worried that Su Jiao might think he was being disrespectful to his elders. Hearing this, his thoughts immediately went blank, and he handed over his phone in a daze.

The word Father displayed on the screen was particularly eye-catching. Su Jiao frowned slightly, then quickly relaxed his expression. He didn't want Gu Lingye to notice how much he disliked his father.

"Would you like me to be gentle or... gentle?"

Su Jiao looked up at Gu Lingye. The man's eyes lit up at his words, and he almost blurted something out.

For some reason, however, he swallowed the words and said, "It's better if you're gentle."

Sensing that the man's hesitation had something to do with him, Su Jiao glanced at the phone in his hand and hesitated.

"Then... should I put it on speaker?"

His voice was tentative and hesitant, but his finger pressed the answer button without the slightest delay.

"You little bastard, I..."

The moment the call connected, a stream of curses poured out from the other end. Su Jiao was startled and instinctively moved the phone away from his ear, even reaching up to rub it.

He addressed Gu Lingye's father, who was still shouting on the other end.

"What? Sorry, I'm not your son."

Gu's father's tirade abruptly stopped. He then demanded, "Who are you? Where's that bastard? Tell him to answer the phone!"

Su Jiao twirled a strand of hair around his finger, rolled his eyes, and turned to Gu Lingye with a charming smile.

"Sorry, Uncle. I'm your son's boyfriend. He's under my control right now. If you need anything, you can tell me."

Su Jiao delivered those words without batting an eyelid, then moved the phone away from his ear.

The next moment, an angry stream of curses burst from the phone again. Su Jiao pulled it away and glanced at the man beside him, whose face had turned bright red.

Gu Lingye had a healthy wheat-colored complexion. Under normal circumstances, it was difficult to tell when he was embarrassed or blushing.

But that didn't help him now. His entire body felt hot, and the blush had spread across his wheat-colored skin.

Su Jiao smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. When Gu Lingye finally came to his senses and tentatively looked at him, Su Jiao met his gaze openly and naturally.

Gu Lingye suddenly didn't know what to say.

What Su Jiao had just said over the phone sounded almost like a confession. But now he was acting so casually, as though he'd merely made up an excuse to deal with his father.

That had to be it. They had known each other for less than a day. How could Su Jiao have fallen for him so quickly?

Thinking this way, Gu Lingye failed to realize that his own feelings had already gone far beyond a simple case of love at first sight.

The two seemed to understand each other without saying anything. Neither had yet dared to break through that thin layer of unspoken feelings between them.

At some point, the cursing on the other end finally stopped. Su Jiao paused his appreciation of Gu Lingye's embarrassed expression and glanced at his phone. The call was still connected.

He raised an eyebrow, brought the phone back to his ear, and asked lazily, "Uncle, is there anything else you need?"

"I don't approve of you two being together! My son can't become a disgusting homosexual!"

Gu's father's voice was cold, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Oh?" Su Jiao smiled. "What gave you the impression that you have any say in our relationship?"

He recalled his previous life. That middle-aged man had stood there and declared that he disapproved, too. And then what?

Su Jiao looked down at his slender fingers. They bore none of the calluses that came from years of hardship. When that man had still been alive in his previous life, his hands had been just as beautiful as they were now.

His gentle smile faded slightly. He still remembered that the man hadn't seemed to care about his father at all.

After hearing Gu's father's objections, Gu Lingye in his previous life had taken Su Jiao away without the slightest hesitation.

That family had returned to being a living hell. Su Jiao couldn't find anyone else who was as willing to take care of them as Gu Lingye had been.

Perhaps Gu Lingye hadn't realized back then that his family wasn't worth all his sacrifices. But since they hadn't crossed his bottom line at the time, he had been able to act so decisively when trouble arose.

Gu's father flew into a rage at Su Jiao's response.

"I don't care about anything else! You little brat, tell Gu Lingye to bring his brother back, and then transfer one million yuan to me!"

Su Jiao: ...

"Uncle, you really have some nerve."

After saying that, Su Jiao hung up without hesitation and blocked the number.

On the other end, Gu's father sat bolt upright. Before he could say anything more, he heard the call disconnect.

His eyes nearly bulged with rage. He immediately dialed the number again, only to find that the call wouldn't go through.

"Bastard! Bastard!! BASTARD!!!"

Hearing Gu's father's furious shouting, a beautiful, fashionable woman came out of the kitchen.

"What's wrong with you, Gu? Why are you so angry?"

Liu Yin put down the breakfast she was carrying, walked over to him, and gently tried to soothe him.

Gu's father placed his hand over hers. The anger burning inside him only grew stronger, and his voice was full of resentment.

"That bastard! He's out there being a homosexual! It's fucking disgusting. Sooner or later, he'll get sick! Forget that. I called to tell him to pick up Yanyan, but what the hell is this boyfriend of his? He actually said that bastard is under his control now!"

"I'm his father! No one gets to tell me what I can or can't say to him! He can't control me!"

The angrier Gu's father became, the louder he shouted. Even the neighbors could hear him.

"What kind of age are we living in? If you've got the ability to beat him to death, why don't you try it?!" someone deliberately shouted from outside.

As soon as that voice fell, another person chimed in from the opposite side.

"How could he kill the son who makes money for him? He doesn't do a thing and gets to eat well every day by emotionally blackmailing people. It's just that Ono has a big heart and can't be bothered arguing with that idiot!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Gu's father stood up angrily, ready to argue with the neighbors. But before he could step outside, another voice stopped him.

This time, it was a young man.

"So what if he's gay? Is your brain inherited from your grandmother's old footcloth or something?! Let me make this clear: I'm gay too! If I hear you spouting that nonsense again, you'd better keep your eyes open all night!"

"Why only open one eye? If you're going to keep watch, open both! Hahahaha!"

The young man's interruption left Gu's father too afraid to go outside. He was so furious that his vision suddenly went black, and he collapsed to the floor.

"Lao Gu!!!"

Liu Yin screamed and rushed over to help him.

Hearing her cry, the neighbors realized something had gone wrong. They stopped talking and went back to their own business.

It wasn't unusual for an old man to suffer a medical episode when he became too angry. The real concern was getting dragged into trouble over it.

Their good son, the one willing to support them, had already stopped paying attention to them. Even the rest of the family wanted nothing to do with them. What if he ended up giving all his money to someone else?

Meanwhile, in another building, Su Jiao and Gu Lingye had no idea what had happened after they hung up.

After washing up, one went to prepare food while the other searched through the instant food supplies. They planned to make something that only needed hot water.

The temperature was so low now that even the water used to cook rice had to be heated first. Even so, the cooking time had become considerably longer.

Both of them were getting hungry quickly. While they waited for the water in the pot to boil, they decided to have a little something to eat beforehand.

Su Jiao had bought plenty of instant food. After rummaging through the supplies, he found two packets of red-oil noodles.

Looking at the red dough pictured on the packaging, he couldn't help thinking of the taste of bowl balls. The seasonings for the two dishes were similar, so the taste probably wouldn't be too different.

With that thought, Su Jiao stood up and went into the kitchen to fetch two shallow bowls.

He tore open the packets of red-oil dough and carried the bowls over to the fire pit. He poured boiling water over the noodles to soak them, leaving the seasoning packets beneath the bowls so they could warm up and soften.

Gu Lingye returned after finishing the rice and saw the two bowls beside the fire pit. How could he not understand what Su Jiao was doing?

He opened a bottle of the drink he'd brought over and handed it to Su Jiao. Then he opened another bottle for himself and took a sip, occasionally glancing at Su Jiao.

He still wanted to know what the little prince thought of him. What was he supposed to do?

Gu Lingye felt that the little prince must like him. As long as he took the initiative, having the beauty in his arms shouldn't be a problem.

But reason caught up with him every time and stopped him from acting on impulse.

How long had they even known each other? How could someone fall for him so easily?

Even among people who married after a whirlwind romance, wouldn't someone who confessed after knowing another person for less than twenty-four hours be called a lunatic?

The constant tug-of-war between his heart and his reason left Gu Lingye in a dilemma.

Just then, a familiar stream of curses caught his attention.

"He's out there being a homosexual! It's fucking disgusting..."

The recording playing on the phone sounded awful. Seeing Su Jiao's expression darken, Gu Lingye's heart suddenly tightened.

He wanted to comfort Su Jiao and ease his bad mood, but then he realized he had no standing to do so.

The video continued playing. Before long, Gu's father was left speechless by his idle, meddlesome neighbors.

Su Jiao suddenly smiled and dragged the progress bar back, replaying Gu's father's words again and again.

It felt great.

Not only was he enjoying himself, but he also moved a small stool over and sat beside Gu Lingye. Casually resting one hand on Gu Lingye's thigh, he showed him the video.

Gu Lingye's attention was far more focused on the little prince leaning against his leg than on his own father getting verbally attacked.

He swallowed involuntarily.

He smells so good.