Free Web NovelChapter 202: SEASON TWO: TROUBLE IN PARADISE
When Guiying stepped out of the study, the first person he saw was ShangYan.
He had clearly been waiting nearby, standing a short distance away with one hand in his pocket, his attention fixed on the closed door until it finally opened. The moment their eyes met, ShangYan immediately noticed something was wrong.
Guiying looked at him without saying a word.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, he couldn’t bring himself to look away either. His eyes searched ShangYan’s face as though seeing it properly for the first time, and with every passing second, memories that had once seemed insignificant resurfaced one after another.
The strange sense of familiarity.
The inexplicable comfort he had always felt around him.
The feeling that there was something he couldn’t quite put into words whenever they stood close to each other.
His lips trembled.
No wonder....
No wonder....
He lowered his head before ShangYan could say anything and drew in a slow breath that did nothing to steady him.
ShangYan took a step towards him.
"Guiying..."
Guiying couldn’t answer.
He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, every emotion he had spent the last few minutes forcing down would come pouring out in front of everyone.
Without looking at him again, he walked straight past.
ShangYan instinctively turned to follow, but after only a single step he stopped himself and watched Guiying continue down the corridor until he disappeared around the corner.
By the time Guiying reached the entrance to the hall, Liuxian was already waiting for him.
The moment he saw him approaching, he immediately realised something had changed. Guiying wasn’t walking any differently and his expression looked almost perfectly composed, yet there was something in his eyes that made Liuxian’s heart sink.
He took a step forward.
"Are you—"
"Let’s go home."
Guiying spoke quietly, keeping his head lowered.
Liuxian studied him for another moment.
"Guiying... are you okay?"
Guiying didn’t lift his head.
"I said let’s go home."
His voice remained calm, but there was a firmness to it that discouraged any further questions.
"Don’t make me repeat myself."
Liuxian remained silent for a brief moment before giving a small nod.
"Okay."
He didn’t ask another question.
He simply turned and walked beside Guiying as they made their way through the courtyard.
The celebration around them seemed to continue as though nothing had happened, yet Guiying barely noticed any of it. The conversations, the laughter and the movement of people passed him by without leaving the slightest impression in his mind.
Everything felt strangely distant.
His thoughts kept returning to the folder in his hands and to the words he had just read, repeating themselves over and over until they no longer seemed real.
The man he had believed to be his father wasn’t his father.
The man he had only recently met...
...was.
He had spent his entire life carrying a name and an identity that had never truly belonged to him.
By the time they reached the car, he could already feel tears pressing painfully against the backs of his eyes.
He refused to let them fall.
Liuxian quietly opened the passenger door for him without saying a word.
Guiying got in, closed the door and looked straight ahead.
Only after Liuxian had started the engine and the car had begun to move did a single tear escape despite his efforts to hold it back.
He immediately wiped it away before another could follow.
Neither of them spoke during the drive.
Liuxian glanced at him more than once, each time opening his mouth as though he wanted to ask something before deciding against it. Whatever had happened inside that study clearly wasn’t something Guiying was ready to talk about, and pressing him now would only make matters worse.
The silence inside the car gradually became heavier with every kilometre they travelled.
Guiying sat with his hands clasped tightly together in his lap, staring out of the window without actually seeing anything beyond it.
He wasn’t looking at the passing streets.
He wasn’t looking at the traffic.
He wasn’t looking at the city at all.
His thoughts remained trapped in that study with a folder that had quietly overturned everything he had believed about his own life.
Liuxian kept both hands on the steering wheel and said nothing for the remainder of the journey.
For the first time since they had gotten married, neither of them knew what to say to the other.
The drive home passed in complete silence.
By the time the car came to a stop in front of the house, Guiying had already composed himself as much as he could.
He didn’t wait for Liuxian to come around and open the door for him. The moment the engine was switched off, he got out and headed towards the entrance without saying a single word, his pace noticeably quicker than usual.
Liuxian watched him for a second before quietly following behind.
The servants greeted them as they entered, but Guiying seemed not to hear them. He walked straight through the hall with the folder still clutched in his hand and made for the staircase without looking at anyone.
Just as he reached the first step, Liuxian caught hold of his wrist.
The touch wasn’t forceful, but it was enough to make Guiying stop.
"Guiying."
His voice was gentle.
"If something’s wrong, you can tell me. I’m your husband. I’ll listen."
Guiying kept his back to him.
For a few seconds he didn’t say anything at all. He simply stood there with his head lowered, staring at the floor as though he hadn’t heard a single word.
Then he quietly tried to pull his hand free.
"Let me go."
Liuxian loosened his grip slightly but didn’t release him.
"Guiying..."
"I said let me go."
There was a faint tremble in his voice now.
Liuxian stepped a little closer.
"Don’t do this."
Guiying closed his eyes.
When he spoke again, every word sounded as though it had been dragged out of him with enormous effort.
"Why can’t I?"
He turned around so suddenly that Liuxian instinctively let go of his wrist.
"Tell me... why can’t I?"
His breathing had become uneven, but he still wasn’t shouting.
"My whole existence is just a comedy show for all of you to watch."
The words hung heavily between them.
"I just found out that the man I believed was my father is actually my uncle."
He laughed softly.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of humour in it.
"And the uncle I only recently met turned out to be my actual father."
Liuxian’s expression changed almost imperceptibly.
Guiying noticed it.
He noticed it immediately.
And his own expression slowly froze.
He stared at Liuxian for several seconds before another quiet laugh escaped him.
"Why aren’t you surprised?"
Liuxian didn’t answer.
Guiying nodded to himself mockingly.
"Oh..."
Another laugh.
"You knew."
He looked down for a brief moment before lifting his eyes again.
"I’m not even surprised anymore."
His voice remained frighteningly calm.
"See... this is one of the many things I dislike about you."
Liuxian frowned slightly, rubbing the back of his head.
"It’s not like that."
Guiying looked at him and smiled again.
"When it comes to you, I have to slowly find out everything myself. I have to piece together your life one secret at a time."
He paused briefly.
"But when it’s your turn..."
His smile disappeared.
"...your people dig through every corner of mine."
"It’s not like that."
Liuxian took another step towards him.
"I swear it isn’t."
"Don’t."
Guiying lifted a hand before he could come any closer.
"Don’t fucking say anything to me."
His voice finally broke.
"I don’t want to hear it."
"You knew this and you couldn’t tell me."
His eyes had become completely red.
"None of you thought I deserved to know?"
