Although Lei Xin called out to Xia Zichen, his eyes remained fixed on Gu Xu.
Xia Zichen frowned and said coldly, “I thought I made myself very clear last time.”
“You’re still young. There are many things you don’t understand.” Lei Xin looked at Xia Zichen. “Even if you don’t want to come back to the Lei family, you can’t deny that I’m your biological father.”
Xia Zichen’s brows drew together even tighter, but before he could speak, Lei Xin turned his attention back to Gu Xu.
“You’re Gu Xu, right?” Lei Xin piled a smile onto his face. “I’m Zichen’s father. We met before at a banquet, but I never had the chance to introduce myself.”
At banquets hosted by other families, Gu Xu and Gu Yan usually only greeted the host, exchanged a few words with several business partners, and then left. The whole process rarely lasted more than half an hour. Even if people wanted to strike up a conversation, they seldom had the chance unless the host personally made introductions.
So even though the Lei family had already familiarized themselves with all the deputy managers under the Gu Corporation, they had never managed to speak to the young masters of the Gu family.
Gu Xu glanced at the expressionless Xia Zichen before nodding lightly to Lei Xin. “What does Mr. Lei want with Zichen?” His distant tone clearly showed that he stood unconditionally on Xia Zichen’s side.
“You know me?” Lei Xin’s smile deepened when Gu Xu addressed him by surname.
“Yes.” In truth, it could hardly be called acquaintance. Gu Xu had only seen the name once in an investigation report on the Lei family submitted by Gu Yan’s secretary.
“Zichen has always blamed me for not taking care of him when he was little, and he’s still angry with me. Back then, I had my difficulties. Otherwise, I never would have abandoned him.” Lei Xin sighed, looking rather helpless. “Now I want Zichen to return to the Lei family. He’ll have a better life in the future—certainly better than staying with Xia Yuze.”
Gu Xu remained silent.
Xia Zichen truly did not want to waste time with Lei Xin. The idea of Lei Xin wanting to bring him back to the Lei family only struck him as hypocrisy. He tugged on Gu Xu’s hand, intending to leave, but Gu Xu held him back, naturally wrapping an arm around Xia Zichen’s back and drawing him a little closer.
Most of the students had already left at this hour, so no one noticed their intimate gesture. But Lei Xin saw everything, and the greed in his eyes could not be concealed.
“Xia Yuze hid Zichen from me all these years, so I couldn’t find him. Around October, I accidentally overheard Lan Ying angrily mentioning Zichen’s name during a phone call. It seemed to be related to some game, so I looked into it and actually found him.” Lei Xin stepped closer, carefully sizing up Gu Xu. “I didn’t expect Zichen to be so close to you. In the future, we’ll be one family. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. Perhaps our two families could sit down together sometime.”
Lei Lanying?
As for the young lady of the Lei family, Xia Zichen had never wanted any contact with her. Yet in the end, it was through her that Lei Xin found him. If that woman had not meddled, perhaps Lei Xin would never have remembered he had such an illegitimate son.
Thinking of the game, Xia Zichen recalled the rumors and slander directed at him online some time ago. At the time, he had only suspected Lei Lanying. Now he was certain. The timeline fit perfectly.
The name “Zichen” had been given by Xia Yuze. Back then, when he had first been brought to the home shared by Xia Yuze and Lei Xin, he had no name and no household registration. Xia Yuze had thought for two days before giving him that name. Since his registration could not be attached to Lei Xin’s, he had been given the surname Xia and was supposed to be added to Xia Yuze’s household registration. But before that could happen, Lei Xin abandoned them.
Thinking about it now, Xia Zichen almost found it amusing that Lei Xin still remembered his name. Yet this only proved even more clearly that Lei Xin had never looked for him over all these years. Otherwise, knowing his name, he could not possibly have failed to find him for more than a decade. Yet after hearing Lei Lanying mention the name, he had tracked him down in less than two months.
It seemed likely that Lei Lanying had mentioned Gu Xu during that phone call as well. Otherwise, Lei Xin would never have paid attention based on Xia Zichen’s name alone.
“Zichen never mentioned you to me before. I’ve always regarded Uncle Xia as his father.” Gu Xu spoke calmly. “Zichen is an adult now. Whether he returns to the Lei family is entirely his own decision.”
“What do you mean by that?” Lei Xin’s smile froze.
“I mean exactly what I said.” Gu Xu adjusted the scarf that the wind had loosened around Xia Zichen’s neck and said evenly, “My family has always considered Uncle Xia to be Zichen’s father. Your sudden appearance now would make it difficult for me to explain things to them. Of course, if you only wish to acknowledge Zichen, I have no objection. But as for meeting my parents, I’m afraid they don’t have the time.”
Gu Xu’s meaning was perfectly clear, and Lei Xin naturally understood it.
“Zichen carries the blood of the Lei family. Naturally, he belongs to the Lei family. The Lei family is also well established in N City. If our two families could form an alliance through this, it would be a—”
“Mr. Lei.” Gu Xu interrupted him. “I like Zichen simply because of who he is, not because of who stands behind him. Zichen likes me only because of who I am as well. You need not think too much about anything else. Zichen dislikes trouble, and I hope you won’t disturb him.”
The final six words were spoken with unmistakable firmness.
Lei Xin opened his mouth, clearly unwilling to give up. But before he could speak, Gu Xu continued.
“If there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving.”
Since Xia Zichen had no intention of acknowledging Lei Xin and held no affection for him, Gu Xu naturally had no reason to show him courtesy.
Xia Zichen took Gu Xu’s hand and turned to Lei Xin.
“I’m not worthy of being the Lei family’s son, nor do I wish to be. Goodbye.”
With that, he turned and left without looking back, pulling Gu Xu away quickly. The relaxed mood they had enjoyed while walking together had vanished completely.
Sitting in a private room at the hot pot restaurant, the waiter brought over all the dishes they had ordered before leaving them alone.
The entire way there, Xia Zichen had remained silent. Gu Xu did not ask questions. He knew Xia Zichen had something to say; he simply had not yet found the words.
Pouring a cup of hot tea and setting it beside him, Gu Xu said softly, “Have some tea and warm yourself up.”
Xia Zichen took a sip. The warmth flowed into his stomach, spreading through his body, and even his hands warmed around the teacup.
“You already knew, didn’t you?” he asked quietly.
“Knew what?”
“That my dad isn’t my biological father.”
“I suspected it, but I never investigated.” Gu Xu answered honestly. “When I first saw your information, it was filed together with Uncle Xia’s. Judging by his age, he shouldn’t have had a son as old as you. But since the information didn’t explain anything, I didn’t pay it any attention.”
If the matter had truly been important, it would not have been absent from the report Gu Yan obtained. Since it was not included, either it was insignificant, or Gu Yan had already known about it. Either way, judging by Gu Yan’s attitude toward Xia Zichen, no one considered it important, so Gu Xu never looked into it further.
Xia Zichen sighed, his mood sinking further.
After hesitating for a moment, he began:
“My dad was an orphan and started school early. He met Lei Xin in college. Lei Xin pursued him for half a year, and when my dad was a sophomore and Lei Xin a senior, they officially got together.”
“To a certain extent, my dad is actually a rather conservative person. Back then, homosexuality wasn’t nearly as accepted as it is now. My dad is naturally gay, and Lei Xin is bisexual. My dad didn’t know that at the time. He only felt that finding someone like himself, who treated him well, was rare.”
“Lei Xin had put in a lot of effort while pursuing him, so my dad agreed. But what he didn’t know was that during the entire period Lei Xin was chasing him—and even after they got together—Lei Xin was still fooling around outside. Before that, his private life had been even more chaotic.”
“He was the second young master of the Lei family. He never lacked money and had every opportunity to indulge himself. But he never brought my dad out with him. In other words, my dad was the hidden one, while all the people Lei Xin played around with outside were women.”
“My dad remained completely in the dark until I was sent to their home…”