E-Scum Gong Chapter 57 (Part 1)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 57 (1/2)
"Speak up. What exactly happened?" Gu Qi tried to remain calm, making an effort not to look at Gu Jinzhi's face, afraid that he would be forced to sacrifice his younger brother for justice.
"Where's Xu Zhou?" Gu Jinzhi, his hair a tangled mess of dried foam, was visibly agitated but dared not touch his own head.
In hindsight, it was clear that the real culprit had vanished.
"Don’t try to change the subject. Why did you take him to a hotel room?" Gu Qi's voice was raised slightly.
"Didn't Ah Xu already explain?" Gu Jinzhi frowned, deciding to put on a hat to hide his disheveled appearance.
The ridiculous excuse only made Gu Qi angrier.
"I'm serious, ge. You have no idea, several trainees in our company have lice. I was really scared." Fortunately, nothing serious had happened.
Gu Jinzhi pulled out his chat history with his assistant to show Gu Qi, swearing that it was exactly as he had said. His earnest expression left Gu Qi at a loss for words.
"Alright, I don’t need to see any more..." Gu Qi was momentarily speechless.
Did this change his opinion of his younger brother? Not at all. He found the whole situation more absurd than ever. What kind of grown man goes out with his partner to a hotel room to pick lice? It was unheard of.
"Jinzhi... You’re twenty-four. Relationships aren’t a game..." Gu Qi spoke earnestly. He shouldn't be unable to solve such a small matter. Only a naive young boy would do everything Gu Jinzhi asked, even going out to pick lice during his military training.
"So Ah Xu really does care for me, while others, like you, just dismiss what matters to me," Gu Jinzhi said, his tone more serious now as he lowered his gaze.
For him, a stylish appearance was incredibly important, something they simply didn’t understand.
"Do you genuinely care for him?" Gu Qi asked sarcastically.
From what he had just witnessed, Gu Qi was willing to believe that the student truly cared for his younger brother. Combined with what happened a few days ago, Gu Qi was even more reluctant to see his younger brother mess around and potentially hurt someone.
He couldn’t believe that Gu Jinzhi was truly in love with the student. His younger brother might be older in age but not in mind. Gu Qi doubted that Gu Jinzhi understood what real mutual affection was. It seemed to him that Gu Jinzhi was merely attracted to someone who catered to his every whim and fit his ideal image.
Gu Qi felt his younger brother needed a more mature partner who could teach him what love truly was.
"Ge, I’m twenty-four... I’m not a fool. I understand my own feelings. I’m serious about this." Gu Jinzhi could hear the skepticism in his older brother’s voice. He was tired of justifying himself.
He wasn’t with Ah Xu out of novelty. He genuinely felt happy every day they were together. To put it bluntly, he couldn’t imagine being without Ah Xu. Gu Jinzhi frowned, picking at his nails.
Gu Qi believed that the more he opposed the relationship, the more his younger brother would feel that his relationship with that student was unbreakable. So, he decided to take a roundabout approach and asked, "Then tell me how you two met."
"Through online..." Gu Jinzhi mumbled, feeling a bit guilty.
Gu Qi was once again certain that his younger brother hadn't thought things through and was still too naive.
"I don’t agree. From now on, you’ll focus on your work, and I’ll pick you up and drop you off every day."
He didn’t want Gu Jinzhi to cause trouble for someone else, and his personal desires as an older brother were also at play. More than seeing his younger brother hurt someone, Gu Qi was concerned about others taking advantage of him.
He thought the student was of good character now, but people could change. Gu Qi saw himself as a pragmatic businessman who had witnessed many initially virtuous men compromise their principles for success. For someone with nothing to lose, love was easily discarded, especially when they had a chance to rise above.
Looking at his younger brother, still sulking and picking at his nails, Gu Qi felt overwhelmed by the many issues he had to manage.
"No use..." Gu Jinzhi muttered, still annoyed. He was a grown adult now. Didn’t he know he could just sneak out to meet someone? With the internet being so advanced, unless his older brother could cut off his connection, he wasn’t worried.
"What did you say?" Gu Qi shot him a glare.
Gu Jinzhi quickly changed the subject, "Hurry up, ge! The foam’s already dried. If you came a bit later, Ah Xu would have finished cleaning up for me!"
Gu Qi sneered and suddenly stepped on the gas, startling Gu Jinzhi.
That night, after Gu Jinzhi thought his older brother had gone to sleep, he quietly packed his bag and sneaked downstairs. Since he couldn't win against his older brother, he might as well just slip away!
Suddenly, the lights turned on, and there was Gu Qi, standing in the dark, looking at him.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
Gu Jinzhi sighed deeply, turned around and went upstairs. Behind him, he heard Gu Qi say, "Don’t even think about sneaking away. I’ve been sleeping downstairs these days. I’ll know if you open the door."
Gu Jinzhi nearly rolled his eyes in exasperation.
By the time it was 3 am, Gu Jinzhi realized that a direct exit wasn’t going to work. He tied the bed sheets together and climbed out the window. Fortunately, his years of roughhousing had toughened him up, so he landed without a scratch.
"I’m done playing with you!" Gu Jinzhi triumphantly picked up his backpack and headed out. But as he reached the gate, a line of bodyguards blocked his path, and the alarm blared throughout the villa.
Gu Jinzhi was stunned. His older brother was serious this time.
He was forced to endure a few days of monotonous work. Of course, his older brother couldn't completely stop him from going online, but simply chatting with his boyfriend couldn't express his longing. They couldn't even kiss...
Despite claiming that everything was fine and that Zhizhi would gain his older brother’s trust, Lin Xu understood well enough that Gu Qi’s disapproval was rooted in genuine concern.
It was only natural for Gu Qi, as a family member, to be concerned about his younger brother's partner. Objectively, they weren’t well-matched, and Gu Qi had every reason to be worried.
Unless he had some noteworthy qualities that made him deserving of trust.
Lin Xu could only spend a limited amount of time cheering Gu Jinzhi up, reassuring him that everything was fine. The rest of his substantial free time was spent immersed in the lab.
Lin Xu was the only freshman accepted into a doctoral advisor’s team, earning the dean’s admiration through numerous discussions. It was hard to believe that he was merely an enthusiastic freshman in bioengineering. At times, he was even more knowledgeable and reliable than many of the doctoral students he supervised. He was well-versed in the format and content of academic journals, as well as experimental procedures. He could even come up with novel questions that would make everyone's eyes light up.
It made people think he might have studied under academic giants beforehand. This was why the dean made an exception and allowed him to study ahead with senior students. In short, he was very satisfied with this promising talent.
Every night before sleep, Lin Xu would lie in bed with his eyes closed, thinking not only about his experiments but also about Gu Jinzhi’s face — so distant yet so close.
He was never one to compete, but when it came to Gu Jinzhi, he could only chase after him like he did with his beloved academics, regardless of the outcome.
Students in his year had heard about the academic god. While their more serious classmates were still just previewing their textbooks, this person had already gone straight into the lab and even become a protege of the dean. They had never seen him take a break.
Students from Q University were revered as academic gods. But it could only be said that there were always greater people out there. Before university, they were all top students, but they had never expected to suffer such a dimensionality reduction strike.
However, no one expected that even Lin Xu, who was revered like a deity among his high school teachers and Q University peers, would also face disputes and criticism.
Comments from Yan Yang’s toxic fans had somehow been leaked, possibly by a rival fan hidden in the group. This sparked heated discussions and even outrage among the general public. Before this, the public had been unaware of just how ignorant and rabid some of the fanbase’s comments could be.
"Whose fans are these? How dare they compare a top student with their gege? And they’re upset because their idol didn't get enough attention? Forgive me if I’m extreme, but to me, an academic overlord from Q University is far superior to any celebrity."
"What nonsense is this? I’ve never even heard of this boy group, and now their fans are making such a fuss. Do they think everyone wants to enter the entertainment industry?"
"Young girls should focus on their studies first, and stan their idols only after their values are properly developed. The discussions in these fan groups are so toxic!"
The Mheart boy group, which had only been known within a small circle, suddenly found itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, as the general public’s discontent grew.
The heat of the moment exploded, leading to discussions about whether idols should properly guide their fans.
