Yu Yan had said he would pay any amount in compensation, yet his gaze remained fixed on Gu Xichao.
Gu Xichao looked at him in confusion. He had not seen his little wolf cub in two years, yet Yu Yan’s personality had completely changed. He was even harder to deal with than before.
Was I too good to him back then, or did I simply misjudge him from the start?
Gu Xichao was still reeling from the shock. Yu Yan stared at him as though he were an exquisite exhibit in a museum—something to be admired from a distance, because getting too close might cause the cracks running through him to cut into one’s skin.
Being deceived once was enough.
There would not be a second time.
“You said I could name any amount as compensation?” Yu Yan asked.
It seemed what he wanted to repay was not merely the offense he had caused Gu Xichao today, but also the debt he owed from what had happened two years ago.
The moment their eyes met, Gu Xichao understood what lay hidden beneath Yu Yan’s forceful words.
But Gu Xichao wanted nothing from him.
He wanted neither Yu Yan’s money nor Yu Yan himself. All he wanted was to get away from him as quickly as possible.
“There’s no need. Let’s end this matter here.”
Gu Xichao shook his head and reached for the pen the officer had handed him, preparing to sign the settlement agreement.
Agent A had spent years navigating the entertainment industry. What kind of person had she not encountered before?
The ones she feared most were those who stubbornly refused to accept anything. She had seen plenty of people sign settlement agreements without taking a cent, only to walk out the door and expose everything online.
How could she not be on guard?
“How can you take nothing? You should accept at least a little, Mr. Nolan. We feel terrible about what happened. If you refuse the compensation now, what if you change your mind after you leave?”
Every word she said implied that the money was meant to buy his silence.
Yu Yan raised an eyebrow, signaling that he agreed with her.
Gu Xichao thought for a moment. In the end, he decided to humiliate the bastard at least once.
“In that case… one yuan. One yuan in compensation will be enough.”
“One yuan?!”
Everyone in the police station froze, thinking he must be joking.
Yu Yan was one of the country’s biggest stars. Was he not even worth a single yuan?
A vein throbbed on Yu Yan’s forehead.
“One. Yuan?”
Now he was absolutely certain that the man before him was Gu Xichao.
What a ruthless humiliation!
LAnd he had humiliated Yu Yan in front of so many people!
Was he, Yu Yan, only worth one yuan?
First, Gu Xichao pretended not to know him. Now he was treating him like a joke?
“What did you say? Are you messing with me?” Yu Yan asked.
Gu Xichao calmly shook his head.
“Fine… Very well…”
Yu Yan was so angry that he laughed.
“Who even carries coins these days? Are you deliberately trying to provoke me?”
“Then forget it.”
Gu Xichao shrugged, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
“It’s nothing serious anyway. Let’s just call it a misunderstanding. After all, some things aren’t worth even a single cent.”
Gu Xichao had never intended to remain tangled up with Yu Yan.
He would only be staying in the country for three days. Three days from now, he would leave and once again disappear from this troublesome world that Yu Yan lived in.
By then, nothing that happened here would have anything to do with him anymore.
Gu Xichao had only called the police because Yu Yan had been impossible to deal with at the time, and he wanted to teach the young man a lesson.
Now that Yu Yan was so furious he did not know what to do with himself, Gu Xichao felt that it was enough.
Yu Yan was a major celebrity, after all. If word of this incident got out, it would reflect badly on him.
Gu Xichao had never been the kind of person who enjoyed cornering others. If someone could be spared, then spare them. There was no need to take things too far.
He had understood that principle long ago.
But perhaps Yu Yan still had not, which was why he continued to cling to him.
When Gu Xichao first met Yu Yan four years ago, that little wolf had known nothing.
His gaze had always been open and direct, never hiding a single thought.
Gu Xichao had personally taught him how to conduct himself, how to conceal his emotions, and how to smile calmly in front of those old foxes without letting anything show on his face.
He had assumed that after all these years, Yu Yan would have matured at least a little.
To his surprise, the young man was still as stubborn and unwilling to back down as ever. He even insisted on opposing Gu Xichao at every turn, hardly any different from before.
Still, Yu Yan had managed to deceive him for two entire years, so his acting skills… had certainly improved.
In any case, Gu Xichao had already let go of everything related to Yu Yan two years ago.
Just moments earlier, Shen Jizhou had told him that although Yu Yan was still young, he always appeared mature and composed in front of others.
But in Gu Xichao’s eyes, Yu Yan was still inexperienced—still nothing more than a brat who had barely grown up.
Gu Xichao gave a faint smile, revealing none of his personal feelings.
Yu Yan, however, could not bring himself to smile.
Although he controlled his expression well, the flames burning in his eyes were impossible to hide.
Very well. A few seconds ago, I was still worth one yuan. Now I’m not even worth that much?
I’m not worth a single cent?
In the end, under the watchful eyes of the police, one man in a good mood and the other choking on rage signed the settlement agreement.
“There you are, Nolan. Come on, get in the car. I’ll take you back to the hotel.”
Shen Jizhou thoughtfully removed his suit jacket and draped it over Gu Xichao’s shoulders.
Then he slipped an arm around Gu Xichao, half-embracing him as he guided him into the long limousine.
The black car slowly disappeared into the night. Its taillights flashed twice at the end of the street before vanishing completely.
Yu Yan watched the entire scene helplessly but did nothing.
Inside his mind, a string had been pulled to its breaking point.
He wanted to rush over and punch Shen Jizhou, drag Gu Xichao out from beneath that suit jacket, shove him into his own car, and lock the doors.
But he could not do that.
Shen Jizhou was a man of status and reputation. Yu Yan was also under contract as a brand ambassador for one of his company’s brands, and the agreement would not expire for another year.
No matter how furious he was, he could not lay a hand on Shen Jizhou in public.
This matter would have to be handled carefully.
“Yu Yan.”
Agent A walked up from behind him. Seeing his clenched fist and tightly set jaw, she sighed.
“I really don’t think he’s Gu Xichao. I personally helped you arrange President Gu’s funeral back then. Your signature is on the death certificate, and everything was clearly written there. Have you forgotten?”
When he did not respond, Agent A sighed again.
“Honestly, you must miss President Gu too much… Even after two years, you still haven’t moved on…”
Yu Yan turned and gave her a cold glance.
His gaze seemed to be burning through something—icy and razor-sharp at the same time.
“You’re overthinking it.”
He paused before lowering his voice to a whisper.
“…I just hate him.”
The rest of the sentence remained lodged in his throat, heard by no one but himself.
“All right, let’s say I was wrong, okay? Stop putting all your energy into this. You still have two live promotional events tomorrow. I’ll have someone drive you back now. Are you going to the hotel, or…?”
“Yes, I know.”
Yu Yan put on his baseball cap. After thinking for a moment, he said:
“Take me back to the old villa.”
By the time he arrived home, the entire villa was submerged in darkness.
He switched on the hallway light, and its dim glow stretched deep into the living room.
The villa was vast and empty, with no one inside but him.
Even his footsteps echoed through the house.
He walked over, casually tossed his coat onto the sofa, and let himself fall back against the soft cushions.
This sofa was identical to the one Gu Xichao had once used.
The original model had been discontinued, so Yu Yan had personally contacted the manufacturer in Switzerland and commissioned an exact replica.
“I like this sofa because when I sink into it, it feels as though someone is holding me.”
Those were words Gu Xichao had once said.
That insignificant memory suddenly surfaced in Yu Yan’s mind.
He did not understand what was wrong with him.
Why did he keep thinking about that man?
Perhaps it was only because he had met someone today who looked exactly like Gu Xichao, causing all those memories to come flooding back.
Yes. That had to be it.
But if that man was not Gu Xichao, why did Yu Yan feel so uncomfortable whenever he acted intimately with another man?
An overwhelming instinct told him that Nolan was the same man who had lived by his side for two years.
Who else in this world could possibly understand you better than I do?
Other than me, there could never be anyone else.
What had happened tonight was too great a shock for Yu Yan.
He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.
“Investigate two people for me.”
Yu Yan stared out the window, his face completely expressionless.
“Shen Jizhou of the Shen Group. And a foreigner named Nolan Koo.”
“I want to know what kind of relationship they have, how close they are, and when they first met…”
“The more detailed, the better.”
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