One Word Changed, Characters in Chaos

Gu Yan’s expression was tense.

He was thinking.

He had to say something.

If things continued this way, Ye Xiao would only see him as Uncle Gu, as an elder.

He clearly didn’t want to stop there.

But if he suddenly laid everything out on the table,

what if he frightened Ye Xiao, and from then on, couldn’t even be considered an elder, what then?

Gu Yan’s mind raced, but his face revealed nothing.

Ye Xiao looked at him bewilderedly and asked, “Uncle Gu?”

Gu Yan’s expression was stiff, and he even felt his palms beginning to sweat.

Never before, not during the most difficult negotiations or with the toughest clients, had he ever felt so trapped between two choices.

Gu Yan clenched his teeth, and suddenly, as if having made up his mind, he steeled his heart.

Ye Xiao started to get nervous too.

Uncle Gu looked as if he was about to go into battle.

Was the Gu Family facing a crisis?

On the verge of bankruptcy?

Surely not.

Everything had been going smoothly recently.

Gu Yan said with a serious face, “Xiaoxiao, when you call me, can you, change how you address me?”

Ye Xiao: “???”

Is that it?

Is that it?

Judging by Gu Yan’s expression, if he told her the world was about to end, she would have found it perfectly reasonable.

Ye Xiao’s lips twitched: “Is there a problem?”

Gu Yan said very seriously, “You call Ye Bolin ‘Big Brother,’ and you call me ‘Uncle.’ It makes me seem too senior; I don’t want to take advantage of Berlin.”

Ye Xiao: “…”

[Who would have known? Uncle Gu actually cares so much about seniority!

“I’m worried Berlin might feel uncomfortable,” Gu Yan said.

Ye Xiao paused, and then understood.

[How touching. I’ll pay my respects to this sweet friendship first.]

She patted Gu Yan on the shoulder, “I’ve got it! How should I address you in the future?”

Gu Yan didn’t think Xiaoxiao understood!

But!

He also didn’t dare say more.

Take it slow, at least change the name first.

Gu Yan tentatively suggested, “How about you also call me ‘Brother’?”

The thought of Ye Xiao calling him ‘Brother’ in a tender voice suddenly made waves in Gu Yan’s heart.

However, Ye Xiao shuddered.

[Help! Please no! Bingtong likes calling people ‘Brother’ left and right; if I do that, I’ll feel sick.]

Gu Yan immediately said, “That’s not good, let’s not. How about instead…”

Gu Yan paused for a moment, softly saying, “Can you just call me by my name? Listen, Gu Yan, Gu Yan, it doesn’t sound bad, does it?”

Ye Xiao hesitated, looking at Gu Yan.

For some reason.

She could see a hint of anxiety on Gu Yan’s face.

Ye Xiao blinked and smiled, “Okay. Gu Yan.”

Just a normal way of calling someone’s name.

In Gu Yan’s eyes, there flashed an uncontrolled soft glow.

He didn’t actually think his name was anything special.

But.

Hearing Ye Xiao say it, somehow made the name Gu Yan sound unexpectedly poetic.

“Let’s call each other this from now on,” Gu Yan said softly.

“Okay,” Ye Xiao readily agreed.

She felt that Gu Yan was a bit strange tonight.

To be safe, it was probably best not to contradict him.

“Let’s go home,” Gu Yan released Ye Xiao’s arm, “I’ll watch from here.”

Gu Yan watched as Ye Xiao went home.

Before she entered, she waved in his direction from the door.

Once the door of the Ye Family closed.

Gu Yan couldn’t help but knock on his own head.

As a result,

the only gain tonight was a change of address.

The distance to let Ye Xiao know his heart, there were still ninety-nine difficulties to overcome.

Not to mention, winning the beauty’s embrace.

Gu Yan deeply doubted whether he could achieve his goal in his lifetime.

He could only comfort himself.

Slow and steady is better than being directly out of the game.

After all, he had plenty of patience.

Night.

Ye Xiao went to bed after washing up, as usual, then started scrolling through handsome guys.

This was her way of relieving stress.

But this time,

she had browsed through just a few when suddenly she remembered the image of Gu Cheng standing on the basketball court, biting his lip, yet not conceding.

After a while,

the image of his eyes becoming incredibly soft tonight appeared in her mind.

Ye Xiao was immediately horrified.

She couldn’t help but slap herself.

God.

What was wrong with her?

While scrolling through handsome guys, she was actually thinking about Gu Cheng, was she betraying those handsome guys!

Concentration, concentration is needed!

Luckily, the slap worked well, and Ye Xiao rediscovered the joy of scrolling through handsome guys.

After a while, Ye Xiao habitually opened a book to check the plot.

Huh. There was new plot development for Ye Bingtong. Ye Xiao became curious and started reading. She really wanted to know if this male and female protagonist were also going to be together on the spot.

Ye Bingtong was dragged all the way home by the sullen Pei Yue.

As soon as she entered the house,

Pei Yue flung her onto the bed and then turned to lock the door.

Ye Bingtong, somewhat fearful, watched Pei Yue slowly approach her and couldn’t help crying out in plea, “Pei Yue, what are you doing! You saw everything tonight, so you should know that Gu Cheng and I just met and nothing else happened.”

Pei Yue narrowed his eyes, “Really?”

The next moment, he imitated Ye Bingtong’s tone and said, “Brother Gu, it’s me! Bingtong!”

Ye Bingtong’s pupils shrank sharply.

Pei Yue continued, “Brother Gu! I was wrong, really terribly wrong. I thought I’d found true love, but…”

Ye Bingtong was about to go insane, and she couldn’t help screaming, “Enough, enough!”

Pei Yue stopped emotionlessly.

Ye Bingtong looked at him, “You heard the phone call.”

Pei Yue revealed a strange smile, “Otherwise, how would I know that being with me, you actually endured such great grievances?”

Ye Bingtong bit her lip, “Things are not what you think.”

“Ye Bingtong.” Pei Yue stepped forward, gripping Ye Bingtong’s chin, “I am not the idiot Gu Cheng who can be deceived by you for so many years. I’m very clear that you are not the goody-goody girl you appear to be. From the start of our chats, you showed your true colors, a rebellious, evil-hearted lotus that craves novelty, completely different from the image you present. I know, I’ve always known.”

“But that doesn’t matter. The evil-hearted lotus skilled in disguise is what I like. If you had been the goody-goody girl from the start to finish, I probably would have found it dull.”

Ye Bingtong’s expression stiffened slightly.

Her and Pei Yue’s relationship began with just casual chats. She didn’t know who Pei Yue was and treated him like a stranger, pouring out the malice hidden deep in her heart without reservation.

Later,

she learned that the person she had been in contact with was Pei Yue.

She didn’t feel apprehensive.

Because,

Pei Yue himself was no good person either.

He smoked, fought, bullied classmates, and switched girlfriends one after the other.

But Ye Bingtong didn’t mind.

She knew,

Pei Yue had a soul similar to hers and represented a world she had never seen before.

So,

they hit it off, drew closer and closer to each other.

Even now, she felt

that Pei Yue was more suitable for her than Gu Cheng.

Poverty was what defeated them.

Ye Bingtong looked up at Pei Yue, “So, what do you want to do now? Drive me away?”

Yet on Pei Yue’s face appeared a strange expression.