Chapter 165 Gu Ye (ETL)
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Chapter 165: The Wedding
Following the examinations, a special department composed of masters of the mystic arts was officially established. Gu Ye was appointed as the director, with Xie Cheng serving as the deputy director. This independent unit operates free from the constraints or reassignment orders of other departments; it functions as a covert entity reporting solely to the Imperial Capital’s General Security Bureau. Its members reside in high-end apartments, with all their living expenses—including food, clothing, and transportation—fully covered. High compensation entails high risk and demands a commensurate level of effort.
On the very first day the department was established, superiors sent over a case of top-secret files, delivered directly to Gu Ye’s office.
This office space was only temporary because although the new building was up, the interior fit-out wasn’t finished yet. Hence, their superiors had rented an apartment for the Masters to stay in for 3 months. But before Gu Ye could even get the office set up, the work arrived. Upon opening the file folder and seeing what was inside, Gu Ye and Xie Cheng felt a sudden urge to just toss the whole lot out the window.
“Is it this intense right from day one?”
“It looks like these are all cases with no clear resolution. Either they became cold cases because of insufficient evidence at the time, or they are major, high-profile cases where investigations are ongoing but no evidence has been found.” Gu Ye sighed wearily, “I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.”
“Secretary Wang, please come here!”
Gu Ye summoned the Xiao Wang who had been reassigned to the team.
“Your task is to open all these file folders and sort them into two categories: Group the cases that require immediate investigation into one batch, and put the unsolved cases lacking evidence into another. Then, set up a large notice board on the wall in the first-floor lobby and display the 2 groups of cases on each side. After the cases are up on the board, let everyone form their own teams and choose which cases to take on. Once they finish, you’ll collect the case-closure reports. Bonuses will be issued quarterly, based on the number of cases successfully closed.”
Looking at the massive workload, Xiao Wang asked helplessly, “Director, if I’m doing all this, what are the two of you going to be doing?”
Gu Ye waved the file folder in his hand. “We’re taking on this one.”
“Wait, shouldn’t you guys be staying here…”
Xie Cheng tapped the table and asked seriously, “Do you think we’re the type to just sit around here? If we had to do everything ourselves, what would be the point of having a secretary?”
Xiao Wang looked like he was on the verge of tears. “But I wasn’t in admin before, you know. I’ve always worked in the field!”
“Exactly—because you’ve worked in the field, you understand how this works. We don’t know a thing about it.”
Xiao Wang was left dumbfounded by Gu Ye and Xie Cheng’s twisted logic. Finally, feeling aggrieved, he went to his former superior to ask for more staff: “I need at least 4 secretaries to handle this workload.”
Mu Jingfei soothed Xiao Wang, “Once Xiao Zhang wraps up his current case, he’ll come over to help. Just hang in there for another 2 days—you can do it.”
Looking at the mountain of work, Xiao Wang just wanted to say, ‘No, I can’t.’
The next day, Xiao Wang arrived at the office and saw 2 leave requests sitting on Gu Ye’s desk. Both the department head and the deputy head had taken leave, and for the exact same reason. Xiao Wang was so furious he felt like grabbing a kitchen cleaver and hacking the desk to pieces. “So undisciplined! A total lack of organization and regard for protocol!”
At this moment, Fan Xiao walked in holding a bag of roasted chestnuts and asked, “Where are Brother Gu and Brother Xie?”
Xiao Wang’s expression softened. “Do you need them for something?”
Fan Xiao said, “My mom sent over some roasted chestnuts; I thought we could all share them.”
Hearing that, Xiao Wang took a deep breath. “The Director won’t be able to have any as he has taken marriage leave.”
Just then, someone passing by outside heard this and stopped, asking happily, “Gu Ye is getting married? When?”
Xiao Wang replied helplessly, “In a month.”
Everyone was surprised. “He’s taking leave this early?”
Holding the leave application, Xiao Wang said wearily, “He said he needed to make preparations in advance.”
“What about our Deputy Director, then?”
“The Deputy Director went home to help the Director with the wedding preparations; he’s taken a month off, too.”
Everyone thought it over. “Oh well, I guess we’ll just handle things ourselves.”
Xiao Wang was dumbfounded. “You guys are accepting this so calmly?”
“What else can we do?” Everyone was pretty laid-back about it. “You’ll get used to it; those two are often nowhere to be found.”
Xiao Wang: “…” He had a feeling life was about to get even harder.
…
The reason for taking a leave was an excuse. Gu Ye was indeed slacking off, while Xie Cheng couldn’t bear to be away from his master and wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.
However, it wasn’t that the two of them weren’t working at all. Gu Ye and Xie Cheng would occasionally take on cases—specifically simple, straightforward ones that could be wrapped up in a single day so that Xie Cheng could ensure he was back home in the evenings to look after Elder Tang.
As the wedding date drew near, Gu Ye drove Xie Cheng to the airport to pick up Ge Qiaojun. It is worth noting that Gu Ye also brought his dog along. After picking up Ge Qiaojun, Gu Ye introduced her enthusiastically: “Qiaoqiao, this is my dog. Her name is Qiao Mei-er, or Qiao Niu-er.”
Coming over for the wedding, Ge Qiaojun didn’t know how many days he would be away from home, so he had his cat shipped over. At this moment, he petted the cat and said with a scowl on his face, “Gu Ye, come here. Let Daddy give you a hug.”
“Qiao Niu-er, come and give Daddy a ‘woof’.”
Xie Cheng felt exhausted. “Can’t you two wait until you get home to fight? You just met up! Give it a rest!”
Gu Ye and Ge Qiaojun bickered the entire way. It started with verbal sparring, but eventually it turned physical.
In the driver’s seat, Xie Cheng felt a strong urge to haul Gu Ye and Ge Qiaojun both out of the car. “Do you two have a combined age of 3?”
Both snorted and turned their heads away, refusing to look at each other as if even a single glance would be an eyesore.
Exhausted, Xie Cheng dropped Gu Ye off at home. Gu Ye naturally led Ge Qiaojun inside, and Ge Qiaojun just as naturally followed him to meet his mother. Despite acting like a prickly little hedgehog on the drive over, Ge Qiaojun was perfectly polite when meeting the elder, “Hello, Auntie. Sorry to intrude.”
Gu Ye: “He’s also a good friend of mine; he’ll be staying at our place for the next couple of days.”
Xie Cheng stood at the side with a blank expression, wondering how on earth the two of them had managed to make up.
Mrs. Gu smiled and said, “This is the first time Gu Ye has brought a friend home to stay. I’ll go get the guest room ready for you two.”
Hearing that, Xie Cheng hurriedly interjected, “Auntie, I’m not staying over. It’s just him.”
Mrs. Gu’s expression faltered. Ge Qiaojun was so strikingly handsome that it made her feel a bit uneasy. “Alright then, just one room will do. Gu Yang, take these 2 big brothers on a tour of the house so they can get familiar with the place. Gu Ye, come with me. Let’s go get the guest room ready.”
Gu Ye realized his stepmother wanted to speak with him privately, so he quickly followed her. Once they were out of earshot, Mrs. Gu asked in a low voice, “When did you make friends with him?”
Gu Ye was puzzled. “A long time ago.”
Mrs. Gu asked anxiously, “Does Yu Ze know?”
At this point, Gu Ye understood what Mrs. Gu was getting at and suppressed a smile. “He knows. They’ve met before, so don’t worry.”
A short while later, Gu Ye found Ge Qiaojun and Xie Cheng.
Ge Qiaojun asked, “Is it convenient for me to stay here?” He also noticed that Mrs. Gu wanted to speak to Gu Ye. To be honest, he had come along mainly to see if Gu Ye’s family treated him well, so staying in the house itself wasn’t strictly necessary.
Gu Ye smiled and said, “It’s actually quite alright. We have plenty of rooms in the house. My eldest and second brothers rarely stay home at night, and my younger brother lives at school, so usually, I’m the only one staying here. Yu Ze comes over in the evening, but you’ve met him, so there’s no issue there. As for my mom looking for me earlier, she was just worried I might cheat before the wedding. She’s not the sort to be petty or suspicious.”
“Me, with you?” Ge Qiaojun looked at Gu Ye with disgust, as if gazing at something filthy. There was a look of revulsion in his eyes.
Gu Ye gave Ge Qiaojun an annoyed kick. “There’s no need to look at me with such disdain! You’re living in my house, eating my food, and drinking my drinks. Where do you have the face1 (nerve) to act so disgusted with me?”
Ge Qiaojun pointed to his own face. “I do have the face.”
Gu Ye took a deep breath. “Pei! spits”
Mrs. Gu was watching closely nearby and noticed, to her surprise, that Gu Ye had actually lost the verbal sparring match. Anxious, she called Papa Gu, “Gu Ye isn’t going easy on him, is he? That boy is stunningly handsome—his nose, his eyes, his face—he looks like a work of haute couture. I’ve noticed our son has a thing for good looks; I just hope nothing goes wrong.”
Papa Gu was amused by Mrs. Gu’s comparison. “Don’t overthink it. That’s the one area where it’s impossible. Yu Ze might indulge Gu Ye in everything else, but he wouldn’t stand a chance in that regard.”
Mrs. Gu thought about Yu Ze’s capabilities and immediately calmed down; that was a very convincing point.
Before long, Mrs. Gu happily called out to Gu Ye, “Son, the guest room is ready. Take your friend there to get settled.”
Gu Ye winked at Ge Qiaojun. “See? My mom is so welcoming.”
Ge Qiaojun’s expression softened, and he felt much more at ease.
…
As far as Gu Ye was concerned, a wedding was a simple affair. It will be just 2 or 3 tables in a restaurant/event hall and their 2 families gathering with their closest friends for a meal—and that was it.
That day, Gu Ye was picked up by Yu Ze and taken to the wedding venue. When they reached there, Gu Ye was looking completely bewildered. Yu Ze had booked a sprawling estate for the occasion, inviting guests that included the capital’s elite aristocratic families, titans of the arts and literature, and top-tier celebrities from the entertainment industry. Taking in the scale of the event, Gu Ye looked at Yu Ze with a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Darling, was it really necessary for the wedding to be grand like this?”
Yu Ze countered, “Which part is grand?”
In Yu Ze’s view, it wasn’t grand enough. He had only kept it relatively low-key because neither Gu Ye nor Papa Gu liked too much commotion. He had chosen a quiet, private estate far from the city center for a wedding that wasn’t overly ostentatious. Yet, everyone invited was a person of significant status or influence. Yu Ze wanted to send a clear message with this that Gu Ye and him were going to be together forever until they grew old and died. Gu Ye is the one for him. Anyone who dared to slight Gu Ye was slighting him.
Taking in the scale of the event, Gu Ye whispered, “I suddenly feel the urge to run away from my own wedding.”
Hearing that, Yu Ze grabbed Gu Ye’s wrist and pulled him firmly inside. “Without my permission, not even a mosquito is getting out of here today.”
Gu Ye laughed helplessly. “I was just joking; don’t scare me like that.”
The corners of Yu Ze’s mouth curled up. “I was just teasing you.”
Yu Ze had really picked up some mischievous habits, because he had been terrifying just a moment ago!
The venue on the lawn was already fully set up. A minister stood on one side, while a performance stage was positioned on the other. Yu Ze had invited several top-tier singers to perform a few romantic love songs to set the mood.
Gu Ye also noticed quite a few reporters inside. They were dressed formally and wore name badges, representing both domestic and international news outlets. As soon as the two of them walked in, the reporters immediately snapped photos. However, it wasn’t a frenzied, enthusiastic barrage. Instead, the reporters stood to the side without saying much, took a couple of shots, and then moved on.
Gu Ye asked in a low voice, “How long did you spend preparing for this?”
“It didn’t take too long, but I’ve set aside a whole month to take you on a trip.” At Yu Ze’s words, Gu Ye’s eyes widened in shock. “Really?”
Yu Ze smiled. “That entire month is yours; we’ll go wherever you want to go.”
Gu Ye happily squeezed Yu Ze’s hand. “It’s a miracle. You’ve finally escaped that office! You were so hardworking that I was actually worried you’d go bald by middle age.”
Yu Ze chuckled in anger, “Nonsense.”
Everyone was busy socializing while the children ran about on the lawn. Upon spotting Gu Ye, the twins happily came running over, each wrapping their arms around one of his legs. The boys had grown a bit taller; in another couple of years, they’d likely be tall enough to wrap their arms around his waist.
Gu Ye patted each of their little heads, lavishing them with praise, “Aiya, whose handsome young lads are these? Look at those faces… Pfft! That old saying about nephews taking after their maternal uncles really holds true.”
Yu Ze raised an eyebrow. “How do they look like me?”
Gu Ye said earnestly, “They really do look like you; you just can’t see it yourself.”
But Yu Ze looked slightly skeptical. He certainly hadn’t looked like that as a child. He definitely hadn’t been that chubby.
Yu Ze’s third sister is heavily pregnant now, and her husband accompanies her wherever she goes. As she walked over, she stood with her hands on her hips and told the twins, “No one is allowed to pester Uncle today. Uncle has serious business to attend to.”
Just by looking at his sister-in-law’s belly, Gu Ye already felt exhausted. “Sis, you should rest whenever you can. Let the family look after the kids.”
“I know, don’t worry.”
Just then, Old Master Yu beckoned to both Gu Ye and Yu Ze. Papa Gu and Mrs. Gu were there too, surrounded by a crowd of people; it looked like they were introducing relatives and friends so everyone could get acquainted.
Yu Ze’s third sister urged them, “Go on, hurry up.”
The parents from both sides got together and introduced their relatives and friends. Gu Ye nodded as he listened, though at times he was completely bewildered. He genuinely struggled with facial recognition and often couldn’t keep track of who was who.
Yu Ze whispered a reminder, “I’ve memorized everything; you just need to follow my lead.”
Gu Ye’s eyes lit up. “Babe, you’re so smart.”
“Being smart doesn’t mean I’ll go bald in middle age.”
Gu Ye stifled a laugh—was he really that worried about it?
After greeting all the relatives, friends, and business associates, the time finally arrived for the ceremony to begin. The officiant was ready at the altar, and Gu Ye and Yu Ze had already gone over to wait.
The assembled friends and family looked on from their seats. Among the crowd, there was a distinct group that stood out from the business elites. They were young and dressed casually, looking somewhat out of place compared to the others. These were Gu Ye’s friends from the circle of mystic arts.
However, once their identities were revealed, no one dared to underestimate them. One could offend anyone but a Master. Otherwise, one might not even realize how one met their end—a truth well understood by the wise. This group of young people gathered together with no intention of mingling with the prominent families; they simply enjoyed each other’s company.
Ge Qiaojun was also seated among them. Gu Ye had asked Xie Cheng to look after him. Seeing that the ceremony was about to begin, Ge Qiaojun opened the bag he had kept close at hand and took out 2 memorial tablets.
Xie Cheng saw that and his mouth twitched. “Bro! Calm down! This is a wedding!”
But Ge Qiaojun kept a straight face and said earnestly, “Spying isn’t our style, so let me do a spirit summoning for you two2.”
Xie Cheng’s mouth twitched violently as he watched Ge Qiaojun pull a black umbrella from his bag. It folded down to a remarkably compact size. It was about 6 or 7 folds, suggesting it had been specially purchased and prepared well in advance.
Disregarding the gazes of the onlookers, Ge Qiaojun opened it right there on the spot. The umbrella was quite large, the area underneath it was dark as a black cloud. Ge Qiaojun proceeded to summon the spirits of the 2 elders. It was a method he had learned from Gu Ye. “Gu Ye is getting married now. Usually, I could never get the two of you to come for a visit, but if you have the time now, come take a look. If not, then never mind.”
Noticing something, Gu Ye naturally looked in that direction as well. The sunlight at the moment wasn’t particularly harsh, yet a person holding a black umbrella stood out strikingly amidst the crowd. Gu Ye turned his head to look at the figure who had suddenly appeared beneath the umbrella. Instantly, his pupils contracted, and his lips twitched with emotion. Before he could even speak, his eyes instantly welled up with tears. “M-Master… Auntie3.”
Raw word count: 4189 (whole chapter)
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