Chapter 085 – This Miserable Stepfather – “A predestined love” (08/08)
Gu Shiyu watched Gu Jing, who seemed completely dazed, and didn’t press further, giving him time to process.
It was then that Xie Chenyang made his entrance.
He carried a tray with three cups of ginger tea and placed them down one by one. “Have some tea first. Warm your stomach.”
Gu Jing mechanically picked up a cup and took a sip.
Xie Chenyang: “…Isn’t it too hot?”
Gu Jing set it down. “Pretty hot.”
Gu Shiyu wondered if he had dealt him too heavy a blow.
Perhaps he should’ve revealed things bit by bit over time? Rather than laying everything out all at once?
“Father-in-law,” Xie Chenyang said earnestly, “you don’t need to be so devastated. Look, though Mother-in-law remarried, she raised Gu Shiyu while teaching him your shared hobby. Now Shiyu loves this subject too, carrying on your passion. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Gu Jing’s lips trembled slightly.
Xie Chenyang continued, “Besides, your wife passed away naturally. That scumbag, though… he met a miserable end. That might make you feel a little better…”
Gu Jing’s mind felt like a tangled mess. After a long pause, he managed to choke out, “What did you call me? What did you call Mianmian?”
“You’re my father-in-law and she’s my mother-in-law,” Xie Chenyang said, taking Gu Shiyu’s hand with a gentle smile. “Shiyu and I are getting married.”
Gu Jing absorbed the flood of information, feeling as if his head might explode.
In a daze, he picked up the ginger tea and drank it down, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “Marriage… That’s… good.”
Xie Chenyang and Gu Shiyu silently finished their own cups of tea.
“Father-in-law, it’s still pouring outside. You’re not in any condition to drive. Shiyu and I need to discuss something in our room. Why don’t you stay here for a bit?”
Xie Chenyang took Gu Shiyu’s hand and led him inside.
After they left, Gu Jing pulled his wallet from his pocket and opened it. As he stared at Song Mian’s photo inside, his eyes reddened slightly. “Why couldn’t you just wait a little longer? It wasn’t your fault. It’s mine.”
That night, he had asked about Song Mian’s feelings and confessed his own, but she had thrown such a fuss that he’d decided to formally declare his love the next morning…
Little did he know that when he woke up, she would be gone.
“I should have told you right away that I’d already broken off the engagement.” Gu Jing lowered his head, covering his face with both hands.
But in that situation, she seemed to have heard nothing. Even when he was expressing his feelings, she was completely absorbed in clinging to him and provoking him. He feared that even if he had said it, she wouldn’t have taken it to heart.
Bedroom.
Xie Chenyang lay sprawled on the bed, weakly asking, “Did I say something wrong just now?”
Gu Shiyu comforted him. “No.”
You Huang: “It wasn’t just wrong—it was simply heartbreaking.”
Xie Chenyang said sincerely, “Your father’s been through a lot too. All these years alone, he must never have forgotten your mother. Now that he knows the truth, his heart must be utterly shattered.”
They were meant for each other, destined to be together. Yet because of a misunderstanding, they were cruelly torn apart—and that parting was forever.
Gu Shiyu collapsed beside him, murmuring a low, “Mm.”
“But at least he has you, his son, and me, his son-in-law. Maybe that brings him some comfort?”
Gu Shiyu hugged him with a smile. “Don’t worry about that. He’ll adjust.” Perhaps Gu Jing initially avoided marriage because of his feelings for Song Mian, but after all these years, those emotions had surely faded. His lifelong bachelorhood might simply be because he hadn’t met the right person.
Xie Chenyang turned to wrap his arms around Gu Shiyu’s waist, meeting his gaze. “That’s not guaranteed. If you ran away, forget decades—even if centuries passed, I wouldn’t forget you.”
Gu Shiyu’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “You couldn’t live that long.”
Xie Chenyang curved his lips. “How long I live is beside the point. But if you really ran away, I’d find ways to bring you back.”
Gu Shiyu gazed at him and murmured softly, “I won’t run.”
How could he run?
Xie Chenyang declared confidently, “With someone as wonderful as me, you certainly wouldn’t run.”
While the two were sweet and affectionate in the bedroom, Gu Jing sat in the living room, covering his face and silently crying for quite some time. He stroked the photograph, placed the wallet back, and wiped the corners of his eyes.
He leaned back, covering his eyes with one arm and mentally pieced together their life over the years based on what Gu Shiyu had said.
At some point, Gu Shiyu had fallen asleep. Xie Chenyang slipped quietly out of bed, tucked the blanket around him, and walked to the window to draw the curtains, then returned to the living room.
Gu Jing had clearly composed himself. Aside from the faint redness lingering in his eyes, he had regained his gentle, refined demeanor.
Xie Chenyang sat across from him and chose his words carefully. “The deceased are gone forever. It’s best to…”
“I know,” Gu Jing replied with a faint smile. “Truthfully, after all these years, I don’t hold onto many expectations anymore. Having such an outstanding son now, I consider myself fortunate.”
“Exactly,” Xie Chenyang agreed. “It’s best you think that way. Shiyu truly is exceptional.”
“Could you tell me about Shiyu?”
When Gu Shiyu awoke, night had fallen, and the rain had stopped. Xie Chenyang was not beside him. He rose, switched on the light, and went to the living room.
It was empty, but faint sounds drifted from the kitchen.
Gu Shiyu entered the kitchen. “Brother Yang, Professor…”
Gu Jing was stirring the wok. He looked up and gave Gu Shiyu a warm smile. “Awake? Dinner will be ready soon.”
Gu Shiyu: “…Okay.” He’d thought Gu Jing had left.
Xie Chenyang had been assisting in the kitchen, but upon seeing Gu Shiyu arrive, he stepped out with him.
Gu Jing: “…” Good son-in-law!
Gu Shiyu: “Cut it out. I just woke up. I’m going to shower.”
“Let me help you.”
“Get lost.”
Xie Chenyang watched Gu Shiyu return to his room with a melancholic expression: [Is this the swagger you get when you have family backing you up?]
You Huang: “Where’s the swagger?”
[Just kidding.]
Gu Jing didn’t stay long; he left after dinner.
Over the weekend, Gu Jing brought them back to the Gu family home, where they met Gu Shiyu’s grandparents and his uncle and aunt.
The entire family took a liking to Gu Shiyu, and their warmth extended to Xie Chenyang as well.
When Song Zhui found out, she was stunned for a long time. “I thought you looked like my dad the first time I met you, but I never imagined you’d be his biological son.”
Gu Shiyu: “Me neither.”
He hadn’t expected Song Zhui to be Gu Jing’s goddaughter, living in the same building as them.
What a small world.
Song Zhui smiled graciously. “I’m an only child and always wanted an older brother. Now my wish has come true. Brother~”
Gu Shiyu nodded gently. “Mhm.”
During Gu Shiyu’s enrollment period, Xie Chenyang’s novel “The Handsome CEO’s Spoiled Wife” was signed by the website, and the editor immediately arranged a promotion for it.
Editor: “Excellent, keep it up. Readers these days love this kind of thing.”
Xie Chenyang: “What do you mean?”
Editor: “The clash between the scheming male lead gradually ensnaring the aloof CEO.”
Xie Chenyang: “No problem.”
The editor was spot on—readers adored the protagonist’s subtle schemes.
When the film rights were sold, Xie Chenyang and Gu Shiyu were set to become famous. “I can afford to support you!”
He still remembered Gu Jing’s disapproving gaze when he learned he had no job, just writing online novels.
“Of course, you’ve been supporting me these past years,” Gu Shiyu chimed in perfectly. “Brother Yang, you’re amazing.”
“I’ve got tons of stories in my head. I’ll write them one by one and keep you plump and healthy.”
“Fine, I’ll be waiting.”
Xie Chenyang delivered exactly as promised.
He wrote numerous novels nonstop. The dominant and submissive characters in his stories always shared similar traits to him and his lover, though their experiences and narratives varied across each world.
In every universe, they seemed destined to be together, quickly becoming a couple.
With Xie Chenyang’s light touch, each world became delightfully sweet and captivating, sending readers into raptures. He wrote nine novels before pausing, dubbed by fans as the “Nine Lifetimes” series—a name they clung to like glue.
Gu Shiyu didn’t follow his biological father’s path of staying on at the university. Instead, he joined the Academy of Sciences and became a leading researcher.
Once, when Gu Shiyu came home, he spotted the ninth novel. Overcome with embarrassment, he pinned Xie Chenyang to the bed and gave him a good thrashing.
“Ran out of ideas? Why did you write us into this? Even using our real names…”
Xie Chenyang clung tightly to him, utterly unapologetic. “Exactly! I’m done writing. After this one, I’m hanging up my pen.”
Gu Shiyu froze, then hugged him back. His cool voice softened. “Then I’ll support you from now on.”
“Mm-hmm, counting on you, big shot. Before you start supporting me, how about feeding me first?”
“…You pervert… Mmm.”
The last syllable was swallowed whole.
—– —- —
As Xie Chenyang and Gu Shiyu prepared to leave, his ninth novel, “The Top’s Dedication to Supporting the Family”, had been rebranded as “Mutual Support” and adapted into a wildly popular TV series.
Gu Shiyu’s students came to visit him:
“Teacher, there’s this super popular drama right now. The two leads have the same names as you and your wife…”
“Get well soon so you can watch it with your wife.”
“Yeah…”
Gu Shiyu’s lips slightly twitched up. “He wrote it.”
The students, unaware of this, were stunned.
Xie Chenyang laughed heartily. “Alright, alright, everyone go now. Don’t disturb your teacher here.”
The students reluctantly left. Next, Song Zhui arrived with her husband and children.
Once all the visitors had left, Xie Chenyang finally took Gu Shiyu’s hand. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here with you.”
“I’m not afraid,” Gu Shiyu murmured. “Before you came into my life, my mother and I relied on each other and got by just fine. But after you appeared… my life felt so much more real.”
Whenever he recalled the past, it felt like viewing flowers through a haze, somehow unreal.
“Perhaps it’s just like in your novels. We are… destined to be together.”
Xie Chenyang pressed his forehead against his. “Then I’ll find you again in the next life. Wait for me.”
Gu Shiyu smiled gently as his eyes slowly closed.
Xie Chenyang remained in that embrace, his own eyes closing: [Dad, it’s time for us to go.]
Edit: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
