Five Unread

The car stopped in the underground parking lot of Emerald Lake Bay.

Gu Hanzhou’s assistant pushed the suitcases into the elevator, respectfully pressed the button for the top floor, and then stepped out.

The elevator doors closed, leaving only two people in the enclosed space.

Lin Xingmian stared at the changing floor numbers, his heart beating very fast.

“You…” he spoke, his voice a bit hoarse.

“What exactly do you want to do?”

Gu Hanzhou leaned against the elevator wall and turned his head to look at him upon hearing the words.

The lights in the elevator cast interlocking shadows on his face, making his eyes look exceptionally deep.

Instead of answering, he asked back, “What do you think I want to do?”

Lin Xingmian pursed his lips.

He did not dare to guess.

From their meeting yesterday until now, every single thing this man did was beyond his understanding.

He thought the other person would hate him, humiliate him, and look forward to kicking him out of the house—all of which he deserved.

But Gu Hanzhou just took him out of the Lin family home and brought him to his own place.

“I do not know,” Lin Xingmian answered honestly.

“But I do not think you have a reason to be good to me.”

Gu Hanzhou’s brow twitched slightly, as if he had heard something interesting.

“Who said I am going to be good to you?”

As his voice fell, the elevator arrived.

There was only one apartment on the top floor, and Gu Hanzhou used his fingerprint to open the door, stepping aside to let him in.

This was a large flat, and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the night view of the entire city.

The living room was very big and decorated in a minimalist style, with black, white, and gray colors that looked just as cold as its owner.

“The master bedroom is yours,” Gu Hanzhou pointed to the room at the end of the hallway, his tone like he was giving a work assignment.

“There are clothes to change into in the wardrobe, your size, and the bathroom water heater is already on.”

Lin Xingmian stood on the spot, looking a bit dazed.

This person arranged everything.

When did he arrange it?

Before coming to the Lin family home?

Or even earlier?

“What about you?” he asked.

Gu Hanzhou unbuttoned his cuffs without raising his head.

“I will sleep in the study.”

“…The study?”

“What?” Gu Hanzhou raised his eyes to look at him, the corner of his mouth hooking up into a slight arc.

“Disappointed?”

Lin Xingmian’s ears burned instantly.

“I am not—”

“Go take a shower,” Gu Hanzhou retracted his gaze, his tone returning to that unquestionable coldness.

“You have the scent of the Lin family on you, and I do not like it.”

After saying that, he turned and walked toward the study, his leather shoes making a steady sound on the wooden floor.

After walking two steps, he stopped again without turning around.

“Take a look at the phone by the bed.”

“What?”

“Your phone,” Gu Hanzhou turned his head, his profile lines cold and hard.

“It vibrated no less than ten times from the time we got into the car until now, which is noisy.”

Lin Xingmian froze for a moment and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

The moment the screen lit up, his pupils shrank slightly.

Eighteen unread messages.

They came from four different names, starting from two hours ago, with a dense timeline.

Lu Shiyan: [Xingxing, I heard you are moving out, so I am coming to pick you up.] — 17:32

Lu Shiyan: [Where are you?] — 17:45

Lu Shiyan: [Do not ignore the messages.] — 17:48

Ji Beichen: [Do not move, I am already on the road.] — 17:33

Ji Beichen: [Can you guess what car I am driving? It is a limited edition, specially to pick you up.] — 17:40

Ji Beichen: [Where is the person???] — 17:55

Shen Moting: [I booked a hotel suite for you, send me the address.] — 17:35

Shen Moting: [Lin Xingmian, you better not let me find out which wild man’s house you are staying at.] — 18:10

Fu Xici: [I am broadcasting live right now, dare to ignore my messages and see what happens.] — 17:38

Fu Xici: [The fans are all asking why you have not come yet, and the bullet comments are all spamming your name.] — 17:50

Fu Xici: [Fine, Lin Xingmian, you are ruthless.] — 18:05

There were also two missed calls, both from Lu Shiyan.

Lin Xingmian looked at this succession of messages, his fingertips turning slightly cold.

They knew.

The news of the Lin family traveled faster than the wind, as these childhood friend rivals received the word right after he was kicked out of the house.

Someone wanted to pick him up, someone booked a hotel for him, and someone commanded him to report his address.

Every single person used an almost paranoid way to express the same meaning: do not disappear, reply to my messages.

“Finished reading?”

Gu Hanzhou returned at some unknown point, leaning against the hallway wall with a glass of water in his hand.

The cuffs of his white shirt were rolled up to his forearms, revealing well-defined wrist bones and nice lines.

Lin Xingmian turned off the phone screen reflexively, feeling guilty like a wife caught cheating.

“…Didn’t you go to the study?”

“Water,” Gu Hanzhou raised the glass, his tone faint.

“And to see what you are nervous about by the way.”

He walked over and stopped at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, which was just right to see Lin Xingmian’s expression clearly.

“Lu Shiyan, Ji Beichen, Shen Moting, Fu Xici,” he read out the four names one by one, his tone showing no ups and downs, yet it made Lin Xingmian’s back feel numb.

“They have quite a lot of people.”

“They are my friends—”

“Friends?” Gu Hanzhou raised his brows slightly.

“What kind of friends would rush to pick you up the very first moment you are kicked out of your house?”

Lin Xingmian was at a loss for words.

“And what kind of friends would call you late at night and send dozens of messages to ask which hotel you are staying at?”

Gu Hanzhou took half a step forward, and the distance between the two of them shortened abruptly.

He carried a faint cedar scent that was cold and overbearing, matching the decoration style of this apartment perfectly.

“There is one more,” Gu Hanzhou looked down at him, his voice pitched very low.

“A text message sent from an unknown number: ‘Finally found you, wait for me.’—who is this one again?”

Lin Xingmian raised his head abruptly.

How did he know about that text message?

“You looked at my phone?”

Gu Hanzhou did not deny it, nor did he admit it.

He just looked at Lin Xingmian quietly for a few seconds, then turned toward the study, throwing back a sentence.

“They will see you tomorrow, but right now—”

He pushed open the study door and turned his profile back.

The light in the hallway cut a sharp line between light and dark on his face, his eyes hidden in the shadow, looking terrifyingly bright.

“You are my guest, do not reply to other men’s messages in my house.”

The study door closed.

Lin Xingmian stood on the spot, his heart beating like a drum.

The phone vibrated again.

He lowered his head to look—it was a new message from Ji Beichen: [I have arrived, it is Emerald Lake Bay, right? Do not think I do not know.]

Immediately after, a second message popped up, coming from Fu Xici: [Come to my live stream room tomorrow, if you do not come, I will tell everyone about your secret crush on me.]

Then it was Shen Moting: [Did that guy named Gu touch you?]

Lu Shiyan’s last message was sent ten seconds ago: [Xingxing, I am downstairs at Emerald Lake Bay, the security will not let me in, you come down, or I am coming up.]

Lin Xingmian held his phone, his finger lingering on the screen.

The cursor in the chatbox flashed continuously, and he did not know whom to reply to, nor what he could even say.

Behind him was the cold and hard back view of Gu Hanzhou closing the study door, and in front of him were the frantic questionings of four men.

There was also a mysterious person in the dark.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The phone vibrated again.

This time it was a photo sent by Lu Shiyan—it was taken right at the main entrance of Emerald Lake Bay, and a corner of the photo showed his hand gripping the steering wheel, knuckles distinct, wearing a very thin silver ring.

[I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes.]

Lin Xingmian’s heart skipped a heavy beat.

He stood on the spot holding his phone, outside the window were the city lights, and behind him was the spacious, cold, and quiet unfamiliar apartment.

For nineteen years, he thought he owned everything, but in the end, he only had a phone left in his hand that was about to be overwhelmed by messages.

And five unread messages that he did not dare to reply to.

—Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.