Chà Chà Novel

 Chapter 10: Unleashing Every Cruel Word

Yu Yan stayed awake all night.

Early the next morning, when he saw that Gu Xichao was still fast asleep, he quietly left the bedroom and went to the study on the second floor.

There was a safe beneath the desk. After Yu Yan entered the passcode, the door clicked open. Inside lay a Share Transfer Agreement bearing his signature. It was dated two years ago—the very day Gu Xichao had been declared dead.

At the time, Yu Yan’s plan had been only one step away from completion. He had not known what right he had to face Gu Xichao again, but he truly had thought about making it up to him and doing everything in his power to compensate him.

That was why Yu Yan had prepared to transfer half of the shares he had fought so hard to obtain to Gu Xichao.

Whether Gu Xichao was willing to accept them or not, Yu Yan had still wanted him to have them.

Unfortunately, Gu Xichao had left far too decisively back then. He had not even called to question Yu Yan. Instead, he had severed every possible path that might have allowed Yu Yan to regret what he had done.

Before Yu Yan could send him the share transfer agreement, Gu Xichao was already gone.

Yu Yan had once believed that he would never have another chance to see Gu Xichao in this lifetime, and that this agreement would follow him all the way to his grave.

But he had never imagined that Gu Xichao was still alive.

Now that Gu Xichao had returned, Yu Yan intended to have an identical share transfer agreement drawn up. Every clause would remain unchanged; only the date would be updated.

Despite staying awake all night to look after Gu Xichao, Yu Yan did not feel tired in the slightest. On the contrary, he was in an exceptionally good mood.

For the first time in his life, he truly understood the overwhelming joy of finding something he had once lost.

Yu Yan called Sister A in advance and canceled everything on his schedule for the day so that he could stay home and prepare breakfast for Gu Xichao.

Four years ago, when he had wanted to win Gu Xichao over, he had specially taken cooking lessons for a while. He knew how to make a little of everything, from Chinese dishes to Western cuisine.

Yu Yan cheerfully busied himself in the kitchen, waiting for Gu Xichao to wake up. The moment he did, Yu Yan would place his favorite seafood breakfast in front of him, just as he had four years ago, when they had first gotten together and happily shared breakfast at the same table.

After that, he would apologize to Gu Xichao with complete sincerity and beg him for forgiveness.

Meanwhile, as Gu Xichao gradually regained consciousness, everything that had happened the night before began replaying in his mind like a film in slow motion…

Gu Xichao lowered his head and looked at the pajamas he was wearing. They were identical in style to the pair he had worn four years ago, though it was obvious at a glance that these were brand-new.

Clearly, someone had changed his clothes for him last night.

Yu Yan’s face surfaced in his mind… followed by the memory of Yu Yan passing an ice cube into his mouth with his own lips…

Gu Xichao immediately felt as though his head were about to split apart.

Even the clothes he had been wearing had been changed. It seemed Yu Yan had already discovered his true identity, which meant there was no longer any need for him to keep pretending.

Two years ago, when Gu Xichao had escaped the sea of flames and miraculously survived, he had sworn to himself that he would never repeat the same mistake again.

Never becoming entangled with Yu Yan again—that was the final boundary he refused to cross.

He could have overlooked the minor scenes Yu Yan had caused at the masquerade ball and the police station.

But what had happened between them last night…

That had clearly crossed the line.

Gu Xichao climbed out of bed barefoot.

The soles of his feet met the icy floor, the chill piercing straight through his skin, but he could not even be bothered to put on a pair of slippers.

Everything about the house—from the large picture frames to the tiny ornaments arranged along the windowsill—was identical to Xilin Manor before it had burned down.

When he reached the living room, his gaze moved from the crystal chandelier to the sofa, then finally settled on the ring of teeth marks near the bottom of the coffee table leg.

A patch of paint had peeled away, revealing the pale wood beneath, as though it had once been chewed by a dog.

Gu Xichao had never expected Yu Yan to restore this place with such painstaking attention to detail. For a moment, he could not help wondering whether he was still dreaming.

But when he lowered his eyes to the carpet beneath his feet, the cold seeping into his soles reminded him that all of this was real.

Because his little puppy was no longer here.

That puppy had abandoned him long ago.

“You’re awake?”

A familiar voice came from the open kitchen to the left of the living room. Gu Xichao did not even need to look to know who it was.

“If you’re awake, come have breakfast. I made all your favorite dishes…”

Yu Yan noticed that something was wrong with his expression, and his voice gradually faded.

Gu Xichao dropped the pretense and looked at him coldly.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“What do you mean, what am I trying to do? Is asking you to have breakfast really such a terrible thing?”

“Yu Yan, I don’t understand you.”

“What are you trying to say? Are you still going to pretend you don’t know me?”

Yu Yan turned around, his sharp gaze seemingly determined to see straight through Gu Xichao.

“How long are you planning to keep pretending? You have a mole in the hollow of your left waist. I saw it last night! When we danced, you were so ticklish you could barely stand it, yet you stubbornly insisted you weren’t! And last night, the moment you returned to that bed, you instinctively lay down on the pillow on the right. Every single one of your habits and physical traits is exactly the same. How can you still stand there and tell me you’re not Gu Xichao?!”

Gu Xichao did not answer. He merely shook his head helplessly.

“Yu Yan, Gu Xichao died two years ago.”

Yu Yan’s voice was unwavering.

“You only faked your death! You lied to me!”

“What difference does it make whether I died or survived? The man standing before you now is no longer Gu Xichao. Besides, you were the one who deceived me first. What exactly are you doing now? Is any of this really necessary?”

Gu Xichao walked toward the dining table and glanced at the plate of seafood pasta laid out on it. He did not sit down, merely continued toward the door.

He wanted to find his phone and shoes.

Inside the document folder on the dining table was the newly signed share transfer agreement Yu Yan had prepared.

Yu Yan slammed the folder onto the kitchen counter. Its metal clip struck the marble with a sharp crack.

He pulled off his apron and tossed it aside, then picked up the folder, rounded the dining table, and blocked Gu Xichao’s path.

“Stop.”

Yu Yan forced down his anger.

“You suffered from the drug all night, and you still haven’t eaten anything this morning. Sit down, have something to eat, and then you can leave. Is that really too much to ask?”

Gu Xichao lowered his eyes and looked at him.

Yu Yan was dressed in casual clothes, his sleeves rolled up to the middle of his forearms. A thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead, and he had not even had time to fix his hair.

He looked nothing like the polished, immaculate superstar who normally appeared onstage.

If this had been two years ago, Gu Xichao would have taken Yu Yan’s behavior as an attempt to act spoiled with him.

His heart would have softened. He would have sat down and finished every dish Yu Yan had prepared.

But now, he only felt exhausted.

“Yu Yan, none of what you’re doing means anything.”

His voice was quiet, yet every word was perfectly clear.

“I only came back with you last night because I had been drugged and wasn’t in my right mind. I’m sober now. I don’t need you to look after me, nor do I want your care. Have you misunderstood something?”

At those words, the anger Yu Yan had suppressed for so long erupted once again.

He had never expected Gu Xichao to deny everything the moment he woke up. Gu Xichao could at least show a stranger some courtesy, yet he refused to spare Yu Yan even the slightest kindness.

Yu Yan had originally intended to show Gu Xichao the share transfer agreement.

But his grip tightened around the folder until it nearly bent out of shape. After hesitating for two seconds, he threw it straight into the trash, his voice rising along with his anger.

“So you do realize you were drugged? If I hadn’t been there last night, some random bastard would’ve already taken advantage of you! Do you really have to act like this? Do you honestly think you’re some priceless treasure?”

“Hmph.”

Gu Xichao glanced at him, completely unmoved.

“So what if it had been some random bastard? Who I sleep with has nothing to do with you. Yu Yan, you may be a famous superstar, but in my eyes, you’re worthless now. You mean absolutely nothing to me.”

Gu Xichao deliberately attacked Yu Yan’s sense of worth.

As an investor, Gu Xichao had always valued an asset above all else. If something held no value, he would not even spare it a glance.

Yu Yan’s expression froze for a moment.

Then his voice immediately rose.

“You were drugged. I brought you back, called a doctor for you, stayed with you all night, and even made breakfast for you this morning… Yet the moment you wake up, you tell me I’m worthless?”

“That’s right.”

Gu Xichao looked directly into his eyes, his gaze as cold and sharp as a blade.

“You could have taken me to the hospital. You could have called a doctor for me. But you shouldn’t have brought me back to your home, and you certainly shouldn’t have stayed beside me all night. You know better than anyone what you did to me two years ago. So what are you trying to accomplish now? Are you trying to make it up to me? Apologize to me? Or did it hurt you to see me drugged and nearly end up in someone else’s bed?”