CH 5

【05】

However, even scarier things were about to happen.

As soon as the afternoon class ended, Su Li grabbed Lin Yuxing’s hand and swiftly left the classroom, rushing back to the dormitory.

“Lin Yuxing, you’re in big trouble!”

Lin Yuxing, who had just finished a tight afternoon schedule, was confused and completely out of focus. “What’s wrong?”

At that moment, the sky was dimming, and unread messages kept popping up on their phones.

“Wait a moment, Su Li. Let me take an order.” Lin Yuxing instinctively accepted an order.

Su Li snatched Lin Yuxing’s phone and handed him his own. “Forget about the delivery order for now. Do you know that you’re back on the forum? Take a look!”

And this time, the content on the forum was even more explosive, with a clear “Caught red-handed, undeniable evidence.”

On the screen, it was still the familiar page, with those anonymous numerical IDs that nobody knew who they belonged to.

However, this time it wasn’t just one post, but… one, two, three, four, five… ten posts?!

Lin Yuxing’s heart skipped a beat, and the titles that caught his eye were increasingly ridiculous:

“Surprise! Family, turns out the school heartthrob has descended to earth!”

“At noon today, Gu Zhongyi and his little sweetheart.”

“At the North District canteen, fortunately I witnessed this scene…”

“The taste of autumn salmon, both cats and you want to know~ The taste of Gu, the school heartthrob, neither you nor I have the chance~”

“Breaking News: Haha, come in, I have photos!”

…

Behind the title with the photos, there was a small torch icon, indicating that it had quickly climbed to the trending section.

Lin Yuxing, trembling with his hand like an eighty-year-old man, clicked on it and was dumbfounded.

Underneath the flood of comments, his name was everywhere.

One of the comments read: “[Lin Yuxing, you denied it today, but here you are, hand in hand, boldly going to the canteen? I really don’t know why you’re pretending .]”

“Who was I holding hands with?”

Lin Yuxing shouted in frustration, only to see himself in the photo, gnawing on a piece of spare rib without any shame or dignity.

It’s over, he was finished this time. He had shown his face.

Su Li patted his back, adding fuel to the fire. “Are you all idiots? Going to the canteen to eat? Don’t you mind all the gossip?”

Lin Yuxing couldn’t catch his breath and didn’t have the heart to tell Su Li. He didn’t want to eat at an expensive place, so he chose the North District canteen. Who would have known that the usually deserted canteen would be so crowded that day?

“It’s over.” Lin Yuxing collapsed onto the bed and said in despair, “With so many posts, how long will it take me to reply to all the private messages…”

The worst part was that his income for that night had also gone down the drain.

Being burdened by the weight of life and now being burdened by rumors in the school, Lin Yuxing felt bitter beyond words.

He sighed, “Apart from gossip, does no one have any other interests or hobbies?”

Su Li shrugged, “No.”

Fortunately, among the misfortune, Lin Yuxing still had a good roommate and best friend in Su Li.

The two of them sat cross-legged on the bed, each holding a phone, sending private messages to the people who posted, politely requesting them to delete the posts. But as the posts became more popular and attracted more viewers, their identities were being doubted.

Lin Yuxing was so annoyed that he was about to show them his student ID.

Su Li rubbed his grumbling stomach and struggled to swallow the tasteless toast. “By the way, when you were talking to Gu Zhongyi today, did you feel like…”

“What?” Lin Yuxing took a big bite of his toast.

“Like the freezer’s freezing compartment.”

“?”

Su Li recalled, “Since I was little, I’ve always thought he was like a block of ice. Yesterday, when I saw the posts, I thought global warming had even melted him.”

Speaking of which, Su Li and Gu Zhongyi could be considered “distant relatives” and had met a few times in the past.

However, they were extremely distant that by the time they reached their generation, it would take another three generations for their families to have any distant relationship.

But since Su Li’s grandfather’s generation, their family wasn’t cut out for business, to the extent that Su Li’s family now was just an ordinary household.

Although due to the fact that Su Li’s parents were people who could put their pride aside for the sake of making a living, they took the initiative to establish a close connection with the Gu family, which led to their current limited interaction and stable position in the Gu Group, avoiding any risk of unemployment.

Strictly speaking, the Su family didn’t establish a connection with the “Gu family” where Gu Zhongyi belonged, but rather with Gu Zhongyi’s uncle’s family.

This thin connection made Su Li and Gu Zhongyi complete strangers. To exaggerate, Su Li knew Gu Zhongyi, but Gu Zhongyi had never remembered someone like Su Li,.

Su Li remembered vividly that when he was a child, he had tried to greet Gu Zhongyi a few times, but he had completely ignored him.

On the other hand, Gu Zhongyi’s Omega cousin, Gu Nuan, had a great relationship with Su Li, and they had been in contact for many years.

Lin Yuxing naively believed that this was just a misunderstanding of Gu Zhongyi by others. “He doesn’t seem like a block of ice at all. He smiled several times at me during lunch and even served me some food. He’s a good person.”

Apart from seeming a bit distant, as if there was a layer of glass separating him and preventing people from reaching his true self.

Su Li almost choked on his toast.

“Are you charmed by him?” Su Li firmly believed that Lin Yuxing had some ulterior motive, “Even if he’s handsome, you should have boundaries, right?”

“No it’s not like that,” Lin Yuxing couldn’t explain it clearly, “Anyway, let’s go to the cafeteria to eat. I’m starving.”

“You’re now a famous person at school, and you dare go out and ‘show your face’?” Su Li teased him.

“There are so many people at school, not all of them are glued to the internet. We’ll be fine.”

They couldn’t give up going to the cafeteria just because of that small matter.

Before leaving, Lin Yuxing deliberately wore a duckbill cap to be low-key. However, as he walked on the road, no one even spared him a glance. Even in the cafeteria, it was the same. It was past mealtime, and there were very few people. No one payed attention to him.

Having lost a significant portion of his income that day, Lin Yuxing ordered only one meal, along with a free bowl of seaweed egg drop soup. He hadn’t sent money home that month and couldn’t afford to spend recklessly.

Seeing Lin Yuxing enjoying the soup, Su Li couldn’t resist his cravings and scooped himself a bowl. However, as soon as he took a sip, he was startled. Truly, it was a free soup, with no taste at all.

Su Li couldn’t fathom how Lin Yuxing managed to eat it.

He picked up some crispy meat for Lin Yuxing and said matter-of-factly, “Don’t refuse, remember we agreed to split everything equally. I just ate two pieces of your toast!”

Gratefully, Lin Yuxing said, “What do you want for breakfast tomorrow? I’ll get it for you.”

“Forget it, I won’t get up if I don’t have an early class tomorrow.”

“Then the day after tomorrow!”

“Alright!”

Afterward, Su Li and Lin Yuxing’s conversation shifted back to Gu Zhongyi as they walked around.

Seeing that there were hardly any people around, Su Li casually said, “I used to think Gu Zhongyi was not only a bit cold, but also pitiful.”

Lin Yuxing looked up.

With a mouthful of rice, Su Li vaguely said, “My mom mentioned it before. Gu Zhongyi’s biological mother was a maid in the Gu family. Due to their difference in social status, she was driven away shortly after giving birth to him. Although his stepmother didn’t have any children of her own, she didn’t care about him at all.”

Lin Yuxing asked, “What about his father?”

Su Li picked up a piece of crispy meat, pondered for a moment, and exaggerated, “His father is terrifying! I heard before that when Gu Zhongyi was in elementary school and wanted to find his biological mother, his father nearly broke his leg and locked him up at home for a long time.”

Su Li couldn’t believe that even in this day and age, there were still such heartless feudal families. “Since then, Gu Zhongyi became even colder, and no one wanted to play with him.”

In the past, Gu Zhongyi could still talk to people, but as time went on, he became more and more silent. His only remaining companion was his childhood friend, Yang Qing.

From what Su Li knew, Yang Qing could tolerate Gu Zhongyi’s moody nature because both of Yang Qing’s parents worked under Gu Zhongyi’s father.

After finishing his meal and setting down his chopsticks, he cautioned, “Yuxing, please don’t repeat what I told you to anyone.”

“Okay.”

Lost in thought, Lin Yuxing recalled Gu Zhongyi’s gentle words and actions during the day and couldn’t connect him with the Gu Zhongyi described by Su Li.

It was as if they were two different people.

Late at night, in a corner of the city, amidst the bustling night scene, through a large French window, a simple and elegant apartment came into view.

Under the cool lighting, there was a cheap milk tea on the coffee table, contrasting with the surrounding decor.

It was 11 o’clock, and the sound of water in the bathroom ceased. Gu Zhongyi walked out bare-chested.

The sparsely decorated apartment was heated adequately, and Gu Zhongyi changed into his pajamas and picked up the tablet on the sofa. His slender fingers swiped across the screen, carefully reading.

His phone buzzed a few times.

Caller ID: Yang Qing.

Gu Zhongyi put the call on speaker.

Yang Qing’s voice came through loudly, “I’ve taken care of those posts you asked me to delete. From now on, there won’t be a single post about Lin Yuxing.”

Gu Zhongyi checked the forum page and indeed found it clean.

“Zhongyi, a few days ago, you asked me to keep an eye on Xu Xiangchi from the Art Department, right?” Yang Qing’s voice was loud, probably still wandering outside. “I just received some news. That brat Xu Xiangchi confessed to Lin Yuxing last week. No wonder you wanted me to watch him… Don’t worry, your junior schoolmate has feelings for you. I’m sure he decisively rejected him.”

When Gu Zhongyi heard Xu Xiangchi’s name, he frowned as if he had heard something unpleasant.

“I know.”

It was precisely because he knew this that Gu Zhongyi was worried.

Therefore, after being rejected by Lin Yuxing today, Gu Zhongyi made a decision.

“Yang Qing, there will be a new user posting related content later. You don’t have to delete it.” Gu Zhongyi said, “And then, help me find a friend from the Art Department and find a way to get the post in front of Xu Xiangchi for him to see.”

“Hey, you don’t have to take Xu Xiangchi seriously! Compared to you, he is far inferior in looks, behavior, and family background. Anyone with eyes would definitely choose you!” Yang Qing privately thought that Gu Zhongyi was worrying too much.

But Gu Zhongyi, for some reason, insisted on doing this.

Yang Qing couldn’t see Gu Zhongyi’s expression and jokingly said, “You’re so nervous, have you been paying attention to Lin Yuxing for a long time?”

Gu Zhongyi casually replied without directly answering Yang Qing, and quickly applied for a new ID on the forum.

His expression was serious as he skillfully typed on the touch screen. After everything was in order, he pondered for a moment, and finally pressed the enter key.

New post: [Blessings.] Post successful.

The first floor attached a photo of Lin Yuxing and himself walking into the cafeteria together, with a simple caption: I think we make a great couple, wishing you happiness.

Gu Zhongyi then asked Yang Qing, “Did you delete the post from yesterday?”

“Oh, yeah, I thought you didn’t like to see it.” Yang Qing kicked a pebble by his feet. “You’re going back to your hometown with General Gu the day after tomorrow. How long will you be gone?”

“About a week.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Yang Qing asked.

“No need.”

Yang Qing scratched the back of his head. “Then  remember to be careful and not clash with General Gu again.”

Knowing that Yang Qing cared about him, Gu Zhongyi replied, “Yang Qing, thanks for everything about the posts. I’ll treat you to a meal another day.”

Receiving Gu Zhongyi’s gratitude, Yang Qing became somewhat excited and suddenly said, “Zhongyi… I feel like you’ve changed a lot since you entered university.”

“Is that so?” Gu Zhongyi responded indifferently, not at all surprised by why Yang Qing would suddenly say such things.

Yang Qing was straightforward and spoke his mind, saying, “There was a time when I wondered if someone else had taken over your body.”

The previous Gu Zhongyi never thanked Yang Qing or showed any willingness to play basketball with him. In general, Gu Zhongyi wouldn’t even offer a smile to Yang Qing, let alone express gratitude.

This made Yang Qing feel that Gu Zhongyi found him annoying since childhood, but for the sake of his parents, he had to stick with Gu Zhongyi as a “friend.”

This was also the intention of Gu Zhongyi’s father.

However, on a certain day after their college entrance exams, following a car accident, the cold and melancholic Gu Zhongyi seemed to undergo a complete transformation.

Now, as a friend, Yang Qing sincerely said, “You’re doing well now, and you’ve even found someone you like. Regarding what happened before, from my standpoint… I don’t have the right to give you advice. But  you should always look forward and keep moving.”

Gu Zhongyi didn’t refute it. He reached out and took the cup of milk tea from the coffee table.

When he saw the label on it that read “sugar-free,” Gu Zhongyi curled up the corners of his mouth and whispered, “Yes, we must move forward.”

After hanging up the phone, Gu Zhongyi leaned back on the sofa for a long time.

Then, for the first time in his life, he drank a cup of cheap milk tea, and surprisingly, it tasted pretty good.