“Investigate?” Gu Yanxing smiled faintly. “What? Do you want your Brother Jiang Feng to beat you to a pulp?”

“Surely not?”

Gu Yanyun shook his head, not believing that the gentle-looking Brother Jiang Feng would actually lay a hand on him—at most, he’d just scold him after finding out.

Gu Yanxing still wore a light, indifferent smile. “Silly kid, don’t judge people by their appearance alone. As for Jiang Feng…” He paused briefly before continuing, “How should I put this… In my eyes, he’s nowhere near as sincere as Qiancheng… Truly sincere. So don’t think too highly of him, and certainly don’t go picking fights with him lightly.”

“Brother?”

“Forget it—just pretend I didn’t say anything at all.”

It suddenly dawned on Gu Yanxing that he really shouldn’t be commenting like this in front of his younger brother about someone his brother cared deeply about, nor should he be speaking so ill of his own friend.

Even though he often had this feeling: Jiang Feng seemed to get along so well with them—so well they could practically share the same pair of pants—but beneath that warm, amiable exterior lay layer upon layer of mystery he just couldn’t penetrate.

Especially when it came to Fu Qiancheng: Jiang Feng appeared to treat Qiancheng as the best brother in the world, but was that really the case?

Gu Yanxing didn’t think so.

Still, that didn’t stop him from regarding Jiang Feng as a friend.

The world is vast, yet the heart is small.

Time stretches on, but life is fleeting.

In the endless cycle of morning and evening, years slip by in an instant—how many people, on this inevitably lonely journey called life, end up walking alone in the end? And how many are fortunate enough to meet a true, kindred spirit along the way?

So after Gu Yanyun once again called out in confusion, “Brother…” Gu Yanxing softened his expression and ruffled his younger brother’s hair. “Alright, stop overthinking it. I’m not going to secretly investigate your Brother Jiang Feng, nor am I going to listen to your Brother Qiancheng and have him secretly investigate your Sister Ming Yue.”

“Why is that?”

Gu Yanyun asked, puzzled.

Gu Yanxing smiled and replied, “It’s simple: in my eyes, not only is your Brother Qiancheng my good friend, but your Brother Jiang Feng and Sister Ming Yue are friends of mine as well. Friends should help each other—not stab each other in the back. Understand?”

“I think I kind of do,” Gu Yanyun nodded, but then quickly thought of Fu Qiancheng and couldn’t help asking, “But Brother, if you don’t help Qiancheng find out what’s going on with Sister Ming Yue, how will Qiancheng explain himself to her?”

“Qiancheng doesn’t need my explanation—he needs to answer to himself,” Gu Yanxing blurted out, only to immediately recall that these weren’t his own words at all; many years ago, a man who was like a god in his eyes had said them himself.

Back then, he hadn’t understood—it was just that he’d always sided with his good friend Fu Qiancheng, fiercely defending him and angrily demanding to know why that man insisted on interfering in Qiancheng’s love life.

Far from getting angry, the man had spoken to him very gently, sharing a wealth of wisdom that, at his age, he’d never even dreamed of.

Over the years, step by step, those lessons seemed to play out in both his life and Fu Qiancheng’s. It was only then that he realized just how profound—and how utterly sensible—those words had been!

Unfortunately, that man was no longer in this world…

“Brother, what’s wrong? Why do you look… a little… melancholy?” Gu Yanyun noticed the change in his older brother’s mood behind the wheel and couldn’t help wondering.

Gu Yanxing shook his head, gazed straight ahead, and said softly, “Oh, nothing—just happened to remember an old acquaintance.”

When Ming Yue returned home exhausted, only Housekeeper Zhao Jie was there tidying up the house.

Upon seeing Ming Yue, Zhao Jie immediately stopped what she was doing, stood tall, and gave Ming Yue a proper bow. “Miss, you’re back.”

Of course, she kept a respectful distance from Ming Yue—just like everyone else in the Ming family. Probably afraid that Ming Yue might get upset one day and give her a cup-shaped horn as punishment.

Ming Yue wasn’t surprised at all, but she did find it rather odd that this housekeeper called her “Miss.” Her drooping head suddenly lifted, and she looked at the polite middle-aged woman. “You’re calling me ‘Miss’?”

“Yes.”

Zhao Jie wore a faint smile, aloof yet impeccably polite.

End of Chapter 20: The Further You Go, the Further You Roll