He lured her deep into his trap, using both overt and covert methods to seduce her.

Han Zhou's expression looked somewhat unnatural. He remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? What exactly is going on with you?"

Gu Chile was clearly confused by Han Zhou's words. He blinked and looked bewildered.

"I...I'm fine?"

Han Zhou took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm his inner turmoil, and then continued in a slightly lower voice, "Those things you said about liking me at Zhou Yan's house..."

At this point, Han Zhou suddenly paused and stared straight at Gu Chi Le.

Gu Chile felt a little uneasy under his gaze. Her hands unconsciously tightened around the figurine, and her eyes began to dart away, avoiding his eyes. She stammered, "Wh...what? Didn't you already reject me?"

Looking at Gu Chile's nervous expression, Gu Zhou felt a pang of guilt. He sighed and said softly, "Chile, we've been good brothers for so many years, and I've always treated you like a younger brother, so..."

Hearing this, Gu Chile felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if she had been pricked by a needle.

Gu Chile now knew what it felt like to be subjected to slow slicing.

I knew I was going to die, but the process was very painful.

He tried to open his mouth to say something, but found that his throat felt like it was blocked by something, and he couldn't utter a single word.

He could only sit stiffly in the passenger seat.

Gu Zhou let out a heavy sigh and continued, "So, we can still be brothers like before, right? You'll still be my younger brother."

Gu Chile slowly raised her head, her gaze meeting Gu Zhou's.

He saw the expectation in Gu Zhou's eyes, and finally, he nodded slightly and said softly, "Okay."

Hearing Gu Chile's answer, Gu Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

He reached out and ruffled Gu Chile's hair, saying gently, "Good girl, go ahead."

Gu Chile remained silent. He slowly reached out his hand, opened the car door without hesitation, and got out of the car.

He didn't turn around, or even pause for a moment, but he knew very well that Han Zhou was staring at him without any attempt to hide it, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate his body.

Gu Chile strode towards the unit door, his steps hurried, as if he wanted to escape Han Zhou's sight as soon as possible.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he finally stepped into the elevator and the doors slowly closed.

He clutched his chest tightly with his hands, gasping for breath.

"Good brother?"

He muttered to himself, his voice revealing a hint of bitterness and helplessness.

He simply couldn't take this friendship for granted like Han Zhou did.

Gu Chile originally planned to gradually distance herself from Han Zhou after today, allowing their relationship to cool down.

He firmly believed that time heals all wounds, and that he would eventually forget Han Zhou as time went by.

When he returned home, his mother immediately noticed that something was wrong with him and asked with a worried look, "Honey, what's wrong? Why do you look so unhappy?"

Gu Chile shook her head and said softly, "It's nothing, Mom, I'm fine."

However, his swollen eyes betrayed his true emotions.

Seeing this, Gu's mother became even more anxious: "Then why are your eyes so red? Did someone bully you? Where is Han Zhou? Didn't he stand up for you?"

Gu Chile was getting annoyed by his mother's barrage of questions, and he couldn't help but raise his voice: "Mom, stop asking, no one really bullied me."

After saying that, he walked towards the bedroom without looking back, leaving his mother standing there, watching his back with a worried expression.

She cut up a fruit platter and brought it to the bedroom, where she saw Gu Chile lying on the bed, completely covered by the blanket.

Gu's mother placed the fruit plate on the bedside table and reached out to pull Gu Chile's blanket: "Xiaole, have some fruit. Mom will buy you your favorite pineapple."

Gu Chile's muffled voice came from under the covers: "No, Mom, please go out. I want to be alone for a while."

When Gu's mother heard what he said, she didn't know what else to say. She just told him to eat it quickly so it wouldn't spoil, and then she left the bedroom.

The bedroom fell silent for a moment.

Gu Chile felt incredibly agitated.

He took out his phone, opened the photo album, and looked at the more than a thousand photos of him and Gu Zhou.

He originally thought Gu Zhou liked him, but he never expected that he was just being delusional.

Gu Chile flipped through the pages one by one, and when she saw the delete icon, she clicked it as if possessed.

The next second, a prompt appeared on the screen asking if you wanted to delete the photo.

Gu Chile wanted to order, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

He couldn't bear to delete it; once deleted, it would be gone.

He couldn't bear to lose even the last vestige of hope.

In the afternoon, the setting sun shone through the window into Gu Chile's room, creating dappled light and shadow.

He was sound asleep when a soft knock came at the door.

Gu Chile was awakened by the sudden noise and was a little annoyed. She muttered, "Who is it? Don't disturb my sleep."

The next second, a familiar male voice came: "You slept all afternoon?"

Upon hearing this voice, Gu Chile's body stiffened abruptly. He quickly sat up in bed, staring wide-eyed at the man in front of him, who was now looking at him with a half-smile.

"You... why are you here?"

Gu Chile's voice was slightly stuttering.

The man's lips curled into a faint smile: "I called you after get off work but your phone was off, so I came to find you."

Gu Chile then remembered that her phone was dead and explained, "Oh, my phone is dead."

As he spoke, he groggily propped himself up, preparing to get out of bed.

Gu Chile's hair was naturally curly, but because she was sleeping, it was a bit frizzy and looked fluffy, like a cute little animal.

Standing by the bed, Gu Zhou looked at him like this and suddenly found it a little funny, while at the same time a feeling of indescribable tenderness welled up in her heart.

He couldn't help but reach out and gently ruffle Gu Chile's fluffy hair, his eyes filled with undisguised doting affection: "Come on, let's go eat."

Gu Chile was instantly sobered up by Gu Zhou's rubbing. He awkwardly dodged Gu Zhou's hand and said, "No, I won't go. I'll eat at home."

However, Han Zhou didn't seem to take his words seriously: "I've come to pick you up, hurry up and get up."

Gu Chile's brows furrowed tightly, his heart filled with contradictions and struggles.

He really didn't want to go out. Besides, Han Zhou had just rejected him, and he genuinely didn't know how to get along with Han Zhou anymore.

To be friends or brothers, we definitely can't do it the same way as before.

Gu Chile couldn't bear to become strangers.

"I really don't want to go out. I find brushing my teeth, washing my face, and changing clothes too much trouble, so I won't go. You go by yourself."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Han Zhou suddenly reached out and lifted him out of bed.