Translator: Moonlit
Editor: Aiya-ge
The sound of a glass breaking woke Li ZouXing from his sleep.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Gu WenCheng standing by his bedside, his face wearing a grim expression as he stared into the air.
In fact, after a while, Li ZouXing could easily distinguish between this world’s Gu WenCheng and the one he was familiar with.
But sometimes, like now, there was a brief moment when he mistook the person before him.
“What are you doing standing here?” Li ZouXing relaxed a bit. “Aren’t you resting?”
Gu WenCheng’s gaze shifted to his face, and after a few seconds, he smiled. “I saw you sleeping restlessly, so I came to turn off the bedside lamp for you.”
The room was dimly lit, and his voice sounded gentle.
Li ZouXing hesitated for a moment. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to be so distant with me,” Gu WenCheng said. “We’re teammates, aren’t we?”
Readers who love “The Path Ahead1 TL’s note: I admit. I forgot the OG novel’s title again T-T” are mostly drawn in by the brotherly bond described by the author. They are lifelong teammates, able to trust each other completely, and they can stand up against anything for their brothers.
Compared to the world where Li ZouXing didn’t disrupt, the Dream Team that Li ZouXing experienced seemed more like the one the author depicted.
The Gu WenCheng here didn’t trust anyone. He was cold and lonely, perhaps even relishing in his solitude. For him, teammates were better described as “underlings.”
Not companions, but subordinates following orders.
Li ZouXing remained silent in the darkness.
Gu WenCheng’s breathing became visibly agitated. He unbuttoned his collar, not knowing which words had gotten to him, making him speechless.
His patience grew thin, and finally, in a commanding tone, he said, “Speak, Li ZouXing.”
Li ZouXing replied, “Keep your distance from me, and I’ll keep mine from you.”
Crash!
The light fixture fell heavily to the ground, and a heavy cabinet made a loud thud in the middle of the night, scattering things all over the floor.
Water from the cup splashed, soaking Li ZouXing and Gu WenCheng’s clothes, and even the bed.
Gu WenCheng in the darkness was like a trapped beast, his increasingly heavy breath filled with rage.
Li ZouXing became calmer, saying, “Let’s talk.”
Gu WenCheng remained motionless.
“We’ll maintain our distance,” Li ZouXing continued. “You don’t need to worry about me betraying you. I’ll do everything you ask for.”
‘You don’t have to fall in love with me, and I don’t have to worry about being too soft-hearted for you.’
“After a while, the old Li ZouXing will return.”
When the warm water splashed over his body, it became a bone-chilling cold. In the darkness, Gu WenCheng remained distant for a long time before saying, “That suits me.”
“Let Bai Tong calm your mental outburst,” Li ZouXing lowered his gaze. “The lakes on Wu Kong Xing can help you…”
Enough!
Gu WenCheng interrupted, “Shut up!”
Though the room’s constant warmth felt like spring, there seemed to be an invisible, howling wind that blew people apart, leaving them in disarray.
Gu WenCheng’s voice had become hoarse.
Both he and Li ZouXing noticed this issue.
Gu WenCheng found it amusing.
Why did his voice sound so sad?
But he wasn’t sad at all. In fact, he was ecstatic.
The return of the old Li ZouXing meant the disappearance of this Li ZouXing. Everything would return to normal, back under his control.
This made him overjoyed.
In such a triumphant moment, he couldn’t stay here; he had to celebrate.
Celebrate with someone who had no light in their eyes.
Gu WenCheng turned and left.
The sound of the slamming door was heard from outside, waking up the sleeping teammates. Ji Yu rushed outside and asked, “Why was the door slammed?”
Li ZouXing closed his eyes.
Ling Nian stood by the door, looking at him.
The ground was in disarray, and Li ZouXing sat on the edge of the bed. Manifesters like him had enhanced senses, even in a lightless room; they could see the glass shards stained with blood on the floor.
Someone had stepped on the glass shards.
Someone was injured.
…
In a brightly lit room, Bai Tong, Nana, and Sophia gathered around Gu WenCheng.
Gu WenCheng lay sprawled on the sofa, reeking of alcohol, with a vacant look on his face as he stared at the ceiling.
His condition worried the three women. The table was laden with delicious dishes, but he hadn’t touched them. He was consuming bottle after bottle of alcohol with reckless abandon.
“What happened, WenCheng?” Bai Tong inquired.
Gu WenCheng let out a low laugh and pulled Sophia’s head toward him to kiss her. However, midway through the kiss, he stopped and toyed with Sophia’s full, pretty lips. “Do you love me?”
Sophia’s cheeks turned slightly red, but she was bold. “Of course, I love you!”
“Then why,” Gu WenCheng murmured, “Then why are you without light…”
“What?” Sophia inquired.
Her eyes were full of allure, and she had a charm all her own, making her a very attractive woman.
Gu WenCheng released her.
His head leaned back against the sofa, his Adam’s apple exposed, the overhead light glaring. He held a glass of wine in one hand, and the other covered his eyes.
However, there was still light that unceremoniously pierced through his cover, completely disregarding whether he wanted it or not. In his tightly closed eyes, it dispelled a layer of darkness and forced him to remember this kind of brightness.
The women around him helped him remove his clothes and shoes and then exclaimed in surprise. Gu WenCheng only then realized that he had injured his feet.
Glass shards had pierced his soles.
This should have been excruciating, but for a while now, there had been an odd pain in another part of his body. It was so strange that the minor injury in his feet, Gu WenCheng didn’t feel it at all.
…
The Dream Team resumed their mission.
The atmosphere at the celebration that followed was peculiar.
Gu WenCheng summoned all his girlfriends, speaking and laughing affectionately with them at the dinner table, which left his teammates on the other side both embarrassed and puzzled.
Because Gu WenCheng never invited his girlfriends to such occasions.
But his girlfriends seemed extremely happy, cuddling in his arms and sticking close to him.
Occasionally, Li ZouXing would cast a glance in this direction, and Gu WenCheng would respond by laughing heartily and sharing affectionate kisses with the women around him.
At some point, Li ZouXing got up to go to the restroom, and while he was washing his hands, Gu WenCheng suddenly appeared, standing right behind him.
Gu WenCheng wore a cold expression. “Where’s the original Li ZouXing?”
How could that be answered?
Li ZouXing didn’t know. But he knew that he would return, and in this world, there would definitely be someone named Li ZouXing.
“I don’t know,” he said, looking at Gu WenCheng through the mirror with a serious expression. “But he will be back soon, I promise you.”
His gaze on Gu WenCheng now was as if he were looking at an ordinary friend. The light that used to shine through him, revealing someone else, was diminishing and becoming more rational.
Gu WenCheng’s tone was stiff. “I hope so.”
His hand, clenched into a fist, remained in his pocket.
Many, many questions should be asked.
Such as what is going on, who are you really, who is the original Li ZouXing, what’s the deal with the man who looks just like me and his relationship with you.
Many questions.
For these unknown and unexpected presences, even if Gu WenCheng wouldn’t kill Li ZouXing, he should have him detained and interrogated.
But for now, Li ZouXing was standing there, eating, chatting, and laughing. He hadn’t even asked about anything else.
They returned to the dining table together, and Gu WenCheng turned his head to look at the shadows behind them.
Their heights were similar, and the length of their shadows was also alike. The distance between one shadow and the other was just enough for one person to step in.
Subconsciously, he took a step to the left, reducing the distance in the middle. In the next second, the two shadows could merge.
But Li ZouXing smiled at him and quickened his pace, heading toward the teammates.
He, along with his entire shadow, left no trace and swiftly slid past Gu WenCheng’s entire world.
Gu WenCheng stood still.
…
Li ZouXing’s attention to Gu WenCheng was inevitable.
Even though this Gu WenCheng wasn’t his Gu WenCheng, habitually, in the same space, his gaze would always fall on Gu WenCheng.
By the end, Gu WenCheng had gone crazy with drinking.
Actually, Gu WenCheng’s alcohol tolerance was neither exceptionally good nor bad, but he had always known when to stop. Drinking like this, however, scared the people around him.
By the time they were ready to leave, Gu WenCheng had a flushed face and slumped in his chair, clearly intoxicated.
It’s not appropriate to have women carry someone in this state, so Gu WenCheng’s girlfriends instinctively looked at Li ZouXing. However, Li ZouXing smiled and said, “Xi Nan, can you do it?”
“No problem,” Xi Nan replied and ran over to try and lift Gu WenCheng. However, Gu WenCheng managed to open his eyes and forced himself to stand. “No need.”
He staggered ahead on his own, waving off any help.
He was both strong and incredibly lonely.
He didn’t want anyone getting close to him because anyone could potentially hurt him.
What kind of person would someone become if they couldn’t trust anyone in their entire life?
Li ZouXing turned his head away and didn’t look at the person ahead.
“It’s strange,” Ling Nian remarked beside him. “He’s clearly an unlikeable guy, but right now, I can’t help but feel sorry for him.”
Because love for one thing extended to everything, and it extended to this world’s Gu WenCheng as well.
Walter, Gu WenCheng.
The Gu WenCheng who never dated Li ZouXing, it turned out, was like this.
Li ZouXing walked at the back, with everyone else standing between him and Gu WenCheng.
Ling Nian asked him, “Do you feel sorry for him?”
The person in front stumbled for a moment but managed to brace himself against the wall.
Li ZouXing instinctively moved forward but forcefully stopped in his step.Ling Nian’s question made him want to light a cigarette right now.
“Ling Nian,” he said, “if I felt sorry for him, I would hurt three people.”
He could be soft-hearted with anyone.
But not with this Gu WenCheng.
Two Gu WenChengs, fundamentally one person.
Yet Li ZouXing’s compassion for “Gu WenCheng” was solely based on his feelings for one Gu WenCheng.
It’s about shared experiences, the time spent together, and love.
But these feelings aren’t for this Gu WenCheng.
They are for someone else.
His love, compassion, and everything else belongs to the Gu WenCheng with whom he shared love, every moment together.
The women who were constantly concerned about Gu WenCheng wanted to support him. “WenCheng, let us help you, okay?”
Gu WenCheng waved them off.
No one noticed his trembling fingers and the shaking hand braced against the wall.
Why, even when drunk, did his mental abilities convey words to his ear?
That transparent guy would hear this too.
He must be very happy.
He would be so ecstatic that he would be thoroughly intoxicated without even drinking.
Gu WenCheng didn’t need anyone’s compassion.
He didn’t want to know the nature of the relationship between Li ZouXing and the transparent figure by his side.
He had no interest in why that person had the same face as him.
After all, he was Gu WenCheng.
He was Gu WenCheng, the mighty Walter.
But it seemed like the entire world was trying to tell him something.
Subconsciously and rationally, even before any emotions arose in him, before he felt or realized anything, everything was telling him, “Gu WenCheng, you arrived a step too late.”
