After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Long, strong arms hung in mid-air, and the light pear soup exuded a sweet aroma. However, the young man being courted did not accept the pear soup with a smile as usual.

He ignored Zheng Hao and the pear soup, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating the dishes in front of him.

Seeing this, Zheng Hao's expression remained unchanged, without a trace of anger or annoyance. He lowered his eyes slightly, placed the pear soup not far in front of the young man, and reminded him, "Pear soup soothes the throat. Uncle Gu, drinking some will make your throat feel a little better."

He seemed incredibly considerate.

However, Gu Lin's hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly as the other person's instructions reminded him of the unbearable scene from the previous night.

His voice was hoarse today, all thanks to the other party, who had the nerve to act as if nothing had happened and put on this act in front of him.

Thinking this, Gu Lin raised his eyes, his sharp gaze shooting at Zheng Hao, and he also uttered a sarcastic remark.

Suddenly, the room fell silent.

happy Zhu wished she could lower her head to the ground, not daring to listen to her husband's words, nor to look at Lord Zheng's expression.

As the person being ridiculed, Zheng Hao remained extremely calm. He slightly turned his head and looked at the servants standing to the side. After receiving his signal, happy Zhu and the others immediately bowed and withdrew.

After the man left, Zheng Hao turned around. Under the young man's suspicious gaze, Zheng Hao spoke, his voice deep: "I lost my composure last night and troubled Uncle Gu for a long time."

Seeing that the young man had no shame in saying these words, Gu Lin, who had been reminding himself to stay calm, held back again and again, but still couldn't help but say: "Shut up."

Today, he reprimanded Zheng Hao more times than in all previous years combined.

However, Zheng Hao's shamelessness exceeded his expectations.

After being reprimanded by the young man, the young man remained calm and continued, "But Uncle Gu, you should not reveal your private matters in front of the servants, as it will have a negative impact."

As Zheng Hao spoke, his dark eyelashes trembled slightly.

In fact, all the servants in the Zheng household had their indentures in his hands. As long as they weren't stupid, they wouldn't cause trouble. Therefore, Zheng Hao wasn't afraid of them gossiping outside.

However, a cold glint flashed in Zheng Hao's eyes. He didn't like it when others knew about his private affairs with Uncle Gu, and he couldn't stand the fact that the other person had become the subject of gossip.

Unable to know what the other person was thinking, Gu Lin was rendered speechless by Zheng Hao's righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor and words.

He felt a surge of anger, furious that the other person could still spout a plausible argument even when they were being unreasonable. They had done things they should and shouldn't have done last night, yet they still put on this upright and unapproachable act in front of him, as if he were the one who had committed evil.

Gu Lin spoke coldly, "Mind your own business."

Without paying any further attention to the young man's reaction, Gu Lin lowered his head slightly and continued eating.

Seeing the young man's reaction, Zheng Hao understood what he meant and also sensed the man's impatience with him.

He quieted down and stopped talking, and like Gu Lin, he started eating with long chopsticks.

Perhaps because he hadn't eaten two meals in a row, Gu Lin felt full after only a few bites.

He put down his chopsticks and then looked up, his gaze falling on the young man sitting upright across from him: "Tell me, when will you let me leave?"

Not wanting to delay any longer, Gu Lin couldn't wait a moment longer and just wanted to leave the courtyard.

However, Zheng Hao did not answer the young man's question immediately. He raised his eyelids slightly and looked at the porcelain bowl with half of the food left in front of Gu Lin and the untouched pear soup next to it.

With a slight twitch of his long eyelashes, Zheng Hao withdrew his gaze from the young man. His brows furrowed slightly; this was not Gu Lin's appetite.

As usual, apart from breakfast, which Gu Lin would eat less of because he had no appetite after waking up, he would eat more than half a bowl of rice for lunch and dinner, or at least a bowl of rice or two fist-sized white steamed buns.

Putting down his chopsticks, Zheng Hao asked, "Is there any dish that Uncle Gu doesn't like? Why is there so little of it?"

Without giving the other party a friendly look, Gu Lin said coldly, "As long as I'm locked up here, even if there are delicacies laid out in front of me, I won't have an appetite."

He was impatient and didn't want to continue arguing with the other party, so he said directly, "I'm leaving by tomorrow at the latest."

He knew Zheng Hao's temperament well; the other party wouldn't confront him directly. His actions last night were already the limit of what the other party could do. However, the other party would likely lock him up here for ten days to half a month. There were many things waiting for him to deal with outside. His business with Master Cui was only halfway through, and Gu Lin couldn't stay here indefinitely.

However, Zheng Hao spoke up, saying calmly, "No."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Lin raised his eyes and shot him a lightning-fast gaze. His slightly swollen peach blossom eyes narrowed, revealing a hint of threat.

His gaze fell on Zheng Hao's right cheek, where the fair skin was no longer marked by the red handprint.

Gu Lin's hand twitched slightly beneath his sleeve, and he realized again that the slap had been too light.

Under the young man's gaze, which seemed to pierce through flesh and bone, Zheng Hao said, "I just told Aunt this morning that Uncle Gu has a fever and needs to rest. If Uncle Gu goes straight back to the mansion tomorrow, given Aunt's meticulous nature, she might suspect something."

He lowered his eyes slightly: "I don't care about Aunt's opinion, but Uncle Gu..."

The anger that had surged within him from the other party's "no" subsided slightly, and Gu Lin remained calm and rational.

What the other party said is true. Sister-in-law Zhao, Brother Yu and others are sensitive and prone to overthinking. Today the other party said in the mansion that he was sick, and tomorrow he will go back perfectly fine. This will definitely arouse the suspicion of Sister-in-law Zhao and others.

Gu Lin frowned slightly as he pondered carefully.

But if he were asked to stay here, he wouldn't want to either.

In the entire capital, apart from Zhenyu Tower, Gu Lin really didn't know where else to go. Xiao Cui and the others also frequently visited the places he frequented, and if they were to bump into each other by chance, things would become even more complicated.

After thinking it through, Gu Lin's mind became calmer, and at the same time, he sorted out his thoughts.

Seeing that the other party had listened to his advice, Zheng Hao understood the principle of alternating between tightening and loosening his grip, and did not push the other party too hard.

Zheng Hao said, "As long as Uncle Gu doesn't leave the capital, everything is up to him. I won't interfere with his life."

After the caravan had gone far away, the alarm about the young man leaving the capital was temporarily lifted. Without the loss of control the previous night, Zheng Hao returned to his usual obedient self. However, these were all appearances. Gu Lin had two legs, and the caravan would return to the capital. As long as the other party's idea of ​​following the caravan for trade was not eliminated, Zheng Hao's vigilance would never be relaxed.

According to the preface, he will not control the other person's life, but all of this is on the premise that the person is by his side.

Unaware of what the other person had thought of in such a short time, Gu Lin fixed his light brown eyes on Zheng Hao and said, "You'd better keep your word."

"Otherwise, you know what kind of person I am."

Although Gu Lin didn't finish his sentence, Zheng Hao, having lived with him for many years, understood the underlying meaning in his words.

If he continues to keep Gu Lin locked up, the other party will not sit idly by and wait for death. At most, it will be half a month. When the other party loses patience, that will be the time to break off relations with him. At that time, the other party will no longer sit and talk to him in a nice tone, but will cut ties with him completely.

Although Gu Lin was placed under house arrest here, Zheng Hao never intended to keep him locked up indefinitely. Or rather, when he was young and naive, he had vaguely entertained this idea.

At that time, I was still young and didn't know how to hide my possessiveness. I didn't like anyone else to see Uncle Gu's joys and sorrows except for myself. I just wanted to keep the young man who was always smiling and had no gloom at home, and let his clear, bright eyes, like glass, look at me. I didn't allow him to look at anyone else.

You want the other person's joys and sorrows to originate from yourself.

However, Zheng Hao lowered his eyes and looked down at the young man opposite him, whose face was pale but whose vitality was still evident.

Gu Lin nourishes himself with sunshine and laughter. If he were to lock someone up in one place and isolate him from the outside world for a long time, the young man would surely wither away like a flower that has lost its water.

This is not the outcome Zheng Hao wanted.

If things really come to that, he and Gu Lin will inevitably suffer a lose-lose situation.

He wanted to be with her, both for the present and for a long, lasting relationship, growing old together.

When Gu Lin got up, it was already quite late. After finishing his dinner, it was almost 9 PM, but the young man opposite him still showed no sign of getting up to leave.

The food on the table had been cleared away. Gu Lin sat at the table for an hour, then looked directly at Zheng Hao and gave him the order to leave: "You should go now."

“It’s getting late at night. If I go back to the manor now, I’m afraid it will disturb Sister Zhao and the others,” Zheng Hao said.

Upon hearing what the other person said, Gu Lin recalled what Bai Rixi Zhu had said: this courtyard only has three rooms, two of which are already occupied. If Zheng Hao wanted to stay, where else could he live?

Gu Lin opened his mouth, ready to continue shooing people away.

Zheng Hao raised his eyes slightly and said to Gu Lin, "During the day, your aunt was worried about Uncle Gu and wanted to come and take care of you, but I turned her away. When she came over after her shift just now, Da Zhuo told me that your aunt wanted to come and see you again."

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin tensed up. How could he possibly face Sister Zhao in his current state?

Seeing the young man pursing his lips and looking slightly nervous, Zheng Hao lowered his eyes to hide his dark pupils and continued, "I think Uncle Gu probably doesn't want to see Auntie, so he used the excuse that colds are easily contagious and asked Auntie to wait patiently at home."

Gu Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

Zheng Hao changed the subject: "However, if I go back to the manor now, I'm afraid it will attract my aunt to the front yard and make her ask about Uncle Gu's situation."

Having not realized it at first, Gu Lin now understood that the other party wanted to stay the night. He said coldly, "There are plenty of inns outside. Lord Zheng can find any one to stay in."

“If you don’t have enough money, I can help you out.” At this point, Gu Lin seemed to realize something and said, “What am I saying? Lord Zheng is hiring guards and buying courtyards. He wouldn’t care about the little money I have.”

Listening to the young man's words, Zheng Hao was not surprised that the other party discovered that he had bought the courtyard.

However, he looked at the young man and said seriously, "This courtyard belongs to Uncle Gu."

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin's slightly mocking face froze.

Zheng Hao took out a property deed from his sleeve and placed it in front of Gu Lin, saying, "When I bought this courtyard, I transferred it to Uncle Gu's name."

Without picking up the property deed, Gu Lin lowered his eyes slightly to examine the contents. Sure enough, his name was filled in after the homeowner's name.

Gu Lin looked up at the young man opposite him. The man's dark eyes were still fixed on him, unwavering, as if what he was giving away was not a courtyard worth thousands of taels of silver, but just an ordinary piece of paper.

For some reason, Gu Lin suddenly felt a sense of exhaustion.

He gazed at Zheng Hao, his lips slightly parted, his tone slightly dejected: "It's not too late, Zheng Hao. You're just starting out in officialdom and have a bright future ahead of you. Don't do something you'll regret for the rest of your life because of a moment of impulse."

Gu Lin admitted his foolishness; even now, he still couldn't bring himself to harden his heart towards Zheng Hao.

If the other party were stubborn and wouldn't listen to anything, perhaps Gu Lin could be ruthless. But from the time they ate until now, Zheng Hao's series of actions showed that he was not beyond redemption.

Gu Lin thought that if the other party took a step back and returned to their original position, he would not hold it against them and would treat everything as the foolishness of a junior.

Gu Lin twitched his hand slightly, ignoring the slight sourness and discomfort that swept through his heart.

"On impulse?"

Looking down at the young man opposite him, Gu Lin did not turn his head. Instead, he met the man's gaze. For some reason, he seemed to see extreme repression in the young man's dark eyes.

Zheng Hao parted his lips slightly, each word laced with coldness: "The same people have feelings for Uncle Gu, but Father Qin's actions weren't impulsive, Fang Jiyue's weren't impulsive, the person who fawned over Uncle Gu wasn't impulsive, and the person who proposed to Uncle Gu wasn't impulsive..."

Peng Zhizhi's actions were not impulsive...

"I was the only one who acted on impulse, and it could only be an impulse, right, Uncle Gu?"

His dark eyes, like those of a snake, stared menacingly at the young man.

However, through that layer of shadow, Gu Lin seemed to see the sorrow deep in the young man's eyes for the injustice he had suffered.

However, this was not anything else; Gu Lin could not back down even a step.

Turning his gaze away from the young man, Gu Lin lowered his eyes slightly and said, "Whether from a rational or emotional perspective, there is no possibility between us."

From a purely rational standpoint, if they were to show even the slightest sign of something amiss, it would be an act of utter recklessness. From an emotional standpoint, they've lived together for years; they're just family, aren't they...?

"Is that so?" Zheng Hao asked.

He lifted his leg and walked towards Gu Lin. Noticing the other's movement, Gu Lin tried to back away warily, but he was still not as fast as the young man.

Zheng Hao stopped two steps in front of the young man, leaned slightly forward, and lowered his head to his ear, his warm breath spraying onto his earlobe.

Gu Lin turned his head to try to dodge, but was stunned into place by the young man's whisper.

"But Uncle Gu, are you really Father's husband, the original Gu Lin?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lin's mind went blank, his body gradually stiffened, and the other person's words kept repeating in his ears.