Chapter 51: The Truth Fell into Huo Wenyuan's arms.

Perhaps it was years of conditioned reflex, but Gu Ci didn't even have time to hesitate. At the sound of Huo Wenyuan's voice, his body sprang faster than his brain, and he opened the bedroom door. He exchanged a look of bewilderment

with Huo Wenyuan at the doorway.

Clearly, by the time Gu Ci realized this, it was too late. As if fearing he'd regret it, Huo Wenyuan decisively and swiftly reached out to press against the doorframe. Then, looking down at Gu Ci, his eyes remarkably calm, yet a hint of anxiety already welled up within him.

Gu Ci's expression clearly betrayed his inner thoughts.

He was avoiding him.

Huo Wenyuan asked bluntly, "Ci Ci, are you afraid of me?"

"How could that be!" Gu Ci immediately denied, still refusing to meet Huo Wenyuan's gaze, attempting to turn back to the bedroom. "How could I be afraid of you..."

Huo Wenyuan reached out and precisely grasped Gu Ci's wrist.

Gu Ci's eyes widened in surprise, and he turned back frantically, meeting Huo Wenyuan's triumphant gaze.

"..." Gu Ci was speechless, unable to help but glare at him. "Brother Wenyuan, you've become too much of a pushover now, haven't you?"

Huo Wenyuan still held onto his wrist, his eyes raised. "Ci Ci is right."

Gu Ci twisted his wrist awkwardly, hinting at someone to let go. Huo Wenyuan was now determined to cling to him, and Gu Ci had no other choice. Fearing the others in the Huo family might see him, he dragged Huo Wenyuan into his room.

With the bedroom door closed, Gu Ci should have breathed a sigh of relief, but the thought of sharing a room with Huo Wenyuan inexplicably filled him with anxiety. Perhaps only a firmer stance would make Huo Wenyuan give up, Gu Ci tried to imitate Huo Wenyuan, making his tone even colder.

But before the icy tone could develop, Huo Wenyuan reached out from behind and pulled him into a tight embrace, his knuckles curling around his waist.

The sensitive spot on Gu Ci's waist was covered, and he felt the weight of Huo Wenyuan. He trembled in fear in his arms, and then dared not move, only moving his lips, lowering his head to look at his hands: "Wenyuan... Brother, you, you let me go, okay?"

Huo Wenyuan had endured for a whole day, and finally held the person he had been thinking about day and night in his arms. Now, he refused to let go, and only rested his chin on Gu Ci's shoulder greedily, inhaling the fragrance of his hair inch by inch.

"Ci Ci, I really miss you."

Gu Ci was trapped in Huo Wenyuan's arms, anxious like an ant on a hot pot. As luck would have it, this "hot pot" held him tighter and tighter, with no sign of letting go.

"Brother Wenyuan..." Gu Ci mentally simulated this several times, unable to keep his face cold, so he whispered, "Would you like to let me go first? We haven't even talked much since we met."

Huo Wenyuan replied, "Are you trying to keep me steady first, and then find a way to distance yourself from me later?"

Gu Ci didn't expect him to see through his inner thoughts, but he still refused to admit it. "How could that be? We're close friends. How could I possibly... leave you?"

"You'd better." Huo Wenyuan pressed his palm against his waist, moving it back and forth. "You've already rejected me once, Cici."

"Of course, you can reject me a second time."

"But," he tilted his chin up and pressed his lips to Gu Ci's ear. "I'll be hurt."

Gu Ci's ears and body went numb, and his voice trembled like a sieve. "Wen, Wenyuan... don't say that... I, I..."

He simply didn't know what to do. A childhood friend who had been away for years, and now, after returning, was still lingering and confessed his feelings to him immediately. Had the years that had passed truly left no trace? He would rather Huo Wenyuan fell in love with someone else.

So what had he done wrong? Why should this difficult problem be left to him? He couldn't bring himself to refuse, nor could he bring himself to agree...

The more Gu Ci thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. The swirling emotions of the past few days mingled, his nose aching, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Huo Wenyuan, sensing his downturn, finally let him go.

"Cici, why are you crying?"

Gu Ci rolled his eyes, the only time Huo Wenyuan had ever seen him do so. Angry and humiliated, he turned over and lay on the bed, silently weeping.

Huo Wenyuan, amused and distressed, went over and gently tugged at Gu Ci's arm, but Gu Ci ignored him, continuing to bury his grief in his pillow.

"I'm sorry, Cici, I was wrong. I shouldn't have pushed you." Huo Wenyuan squatted beside the bed, remembering Gu Ci's hair still wet. "Since you don't want to, I won't bring this up again. Let's just stay like we were before, okay?"

Gu Ci quietly opened his eyes, then closed them again.

Can you believe it?

Huo Wenyuan assured him, "Don't worry, I mean what I say. I'll never push you again. I'll stay by your side as a friend and a brother until you find someone you truly love and spend your life with." Gu Ci

stirred, slowly sitting up, his eyes brimming with red as he stared at Huo Wenyuan.

Huo Wenyuan took out a tissue to wipe his tears, saying, "I'm sorry, I made you sad."

Gu Ci refused to let Huo

Wenyuan wipe his tears, taking the tissue from him. "That's good to know." After wiping his tears and calming down, Gu Ci gradually relaxed his previous discomfort, feeling the reunion with Huo Wenyuan as if everything had returned to the day they'd parted.

"Brother Wenyuan, have you... been okay out there all these years?"

Huo Wenyuan sat across from him on the bay window, legs crossed due to the limited space, arms folded. "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Gu Ci thought of what Shang Zui had told him earlier, and looking at Huo Wenyuan, his heart ached again.

But he still said, "The truth."

There was a difference between hearing it from someone else and hearing it from Huo Wenyuan himself. He really wanted to know how Huo Wenyuan had managed to hold on.

But he also knew that, given Huo Wenyuan's temperament, he would undoubtedly downplay the experience. A man accustomed to pain, he had endured it for so many years, and the scars of the past were probably long forgotten.

Sure enough, Huo Wenyuan said, "I'm doing pretty well."

"Look, I'm back to normal now. I'll be with you wherever you want to go."

Gu Ci was speechless. Staring at a scar on Huo Wenyuan's wrist, he asked bluntly, "Does the treatment... hurt?"

He had only just noticed, when Huo Wenyuan held him in his arms, that his wrist had, at some unknown moment, grown several more scars. Judging by their depth, they must have been there for a while.

Huo Wenyuan put down his hand and looked out the window: "It doesn't hurt."

Gu Ci was surprised to believe it: "Brother Wenyuan, turn around and look at me when you talk. Do you... hurt?"

Huo Wenyuan listened to his words, turned back, looked into Gu Ci's concerned eyes, and his heart moved. He smiled and was about to touch his head.

Gu Ci turned to the side, avoiding his touch.

"You promised me to tell the truth."

Huo Wenyuan raised his hand cunningly, and when Gu Ci was not paying attention, he circled his arm and rubbed Gu Ci's head again.

Gu Ci: "..."

"You're pouting like an animal." Huo Wenyuan teased, but fearing he'd piss Gu Ci off and kick him out, he said, "I'll be honest with you. How about letting me blow-dry your hair?"

Gu Ci looked at him strangely, having never expected such a ridiculous offer.

"...Okay," he humbly compromised.

Huo Wenyuan triumphed, saying, "Actually, I wasn't lying. It really didn't hurt."

Gu Ci's first reaction was that Huo Wenyuan was teasing him, but he heard him say in a deep voice, "Back then, I lived in the hospital ward every day, relying on more than a dozen machines to keep me alive. The curtains were drawn, and I couldn't even tell day from night." "

Although saying this might seem like a breach of promise, Cici, back then, it was you who kept me going."

Huo Wenyuan lay on the hospital bed, the fluctuating beeping of the instruments in his ears. In the dim light, his eyelids felt heavy, his throat dry, and every inch of his skin burned like fire. Yet, in that environment, he surprisingly forgot the fear and pain.

Because when he closed his eyes, he saw Gu Ci. Gu Ci, who always loved to smile, Gu Ci, who said she would always take care of him and be with him, Gu Ci, who obediently let him hold her hand... When he thought of Gu Ci, all the pain seemed insignificant.

Compared to the pain of parting with the one he loved, this little ache was nothing. It was during that time that Huo Wenyuan knew that to be with Gu Ci again, he had to accomplish two things: first, restore his health to normal, and second, gain control of the Huo family. Only by achieving these two things could he return to Gu Ci's side without distractions, free from worries.

Seven years had been a long time, even more than a third of his current life. Whenever he felt the longing for her drive him mad, he would look at Gu Ci's photo and the flower pot she had given him, and remember her.

The hydrangea Gu Ci had planted with his own hands had withered early in his treatment, and later, when he recovered, Xiaoxi had also passed away. Things had changed, and he couldn't expect Gu Ci to wait for him as she had before, but he could guarantee that he would always love her. The

task of taking over the Huo family was more daunting than he had imagined. For a while, he could only think of Gu Ci in his sleep. Every time he visited a new country, he would order a bouquet of flowers and send it to Gu Ci along with a blank postcard he had bought there.

He wondered what Gu Ci thought of these strange objects. Could it be... that she mistook him for some persistent pursuer?

But that was exactly what he was.

During the seven years without Gu Ci, he feared someone might take advantage of his situation, even more so that Gu Ci might have someone else in his life. So he worked furiously, and with astonishing determination, he established himself in the industry in just a few years. After seven years of day and night devotion, he finally overcame all obstacles and stood by Gu Ci's side. But, ironically, Gu Ci himself rejected him.

"Let's not talk about it," Huo Wenyuan said, fearing Gu Ci would resent him again. "Well, I'm honest now. Are you going to just give in?"

He had made up his mind. Since Gu Ci didn't want to, there was no rush. The worst that could happen was that he would stay by Gu Ci's side, as before. What he couldn't have, no one else could.

Gu Ci was still a little sad, but he didn't want to overemphasize the situation, so he kept silent, only nodded.

He was afraid that if he spoke, his emotions would burst forth again.

How could someone be so foolish? Taking on everything alone, did he really think he was superman?

Huo Wenyuan walked into the bathroom to get the hairdryer, and Gu Ci followed him reluctantly. He bit his lip and watched his every move from behind. He pressed his knuckles against the wall, and suddenly an impulse rose in his heart.

"Come here, Cici." Huo Wenyuan plugged in the power cord and waved to Gu Ci at the door with a smile, "Don't catch a cold."

Gu Ci's lips pursed. In that moment, the two villains fighting in his heart decided the winner.

He could no longer control his emotions, took two steps forward, and threw himself into Huo Wenyuan's arms.