Chapter 32

It was only after Gu Jing Yuan completed a set of papers and turned his head, did he realize the person beside him was missing.

When he came back to his senses, a can of Coke had already appeared in front of him. It was also courteously opened. 

She, on the other hand, was holding onto a cup of milk tea taking small sips. The sweetness from it caused her eyes to squint into crescent eyes.

He could not help but wonder, ‘is it really that delicious?’

His phone suddenly rang. Gu Jing Yuan immediately hung up the call but it started ringing immediately again. Under the increasing number of eyes directed at him, he grabbed the phone and took long strides out of the area.

“Hey, what is it?” 

Qi Yue curiously asked, “Brother Yuan, what are you doing? Why are you whispering?” 

“I’m at the library.”

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Ck Zwl, “…”

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He spotted his love rival in the library yesterday and decided to go today, as expected of his Brother Yuan.

Shen Chen Chen asked in anticipation, “When is Jing Yuan reaching?”

Upon seeing the group photo Qi Yue posted yesterday, she assumed that Gu Jing Yuan had returned to his old ways. Therefore, she decided to come today in hopes of meeting him.

With much difficulty, Qi Yue replied, “Brother Yuan said that he’s not coming. He wants to study.” 

Everyone who was not privy to the truth had a big question mark looming above their heads.

Even though everyone had heard rumors of Brother Yuan’s 200 placement improvement. It was still hard to imagine how their unbridled Brother yuan looked like when he was seriously studying.

Would he not be tearing up the textbooks?

Shen Chen Chen complained unhappily, “Didn’t Jing Yuan’s grades improve already? Why is he still studying some more?”

“Er… this…” Brother Yuan wasn’t planning to continue, but he’s most likely triggered by his love rival.

But this was not something Qi Yue could say aloud. 

These secrets could only be borne by him alone. His life was so difficult… wuwuwu… 

Since the person she wanted to see would not be turning up, Shen Chen Chen’s mood was rather low, she wanted to take her bag and leave.

Qi Yue grabbed her hand and gave her a hearty beam, “It’d be boring to be home alone. Stay and play with us instead.”

In a daze, Shen Chen Chen was led away by Qi Yue.

The two of them were constantly bickering. It was so rare to see him with such a serious front.

Surprisingly, he was quite dashing like this. 

**

In the library, his phone was finally silent.

Tao Yi Xi checked through his papers and made an objective evaluation, “Your accuracy rate is not too shabby, if you can improve some more, you’ll stand a chance to enter the red list.”

He rested his chin on his palm and casually asked, “Do I stand a chance for Qing Bei?” 

Tao Yi Xi vaguely answered, “If you managed to enter the top 10, your chances will be quite high.” 

“How many positions are qualified to appear on the red list?”

“Only top 100.”

“Then I should be able to reach it soon.” The last round of improvement might have given him a boost of confidence. 

Tao Yi Xi bluntly gave him a dose of reality, “Let’s put it this way, scoring from 0 to 60 points is easy, but 60 to 100 points will be difficult. Ge-ge should aim to pass first.” 

The bare minimum to even stand a chance was the 100th position.

He was very smart. However, if he wanted to surpass others who had put in more than ten years of hard work in just two years, notwithstanding the possibility, just the sheer amount of hard work that he needed to put in was unimaginable.

She observed his highly spirited expression along with his easy-going attitude.

“Actually, if you made it to top 80 on the red list, you should’ve no problem trying for top 100 universities admission.”

“Then why don’t you attempt for top 100 universities?” 

Tao Yi Xi wondered doubtfully, ‘what does that have to do with me?’

Gu Jing Yuan sat up straighter, “Top 10 it is then.”

“You wish to get admitted into Qing Bei?” She never noticed that he had such an ambition before.

He answered her question with one of his own, “You don’t want me to?”

“I do.”

“Which one do you want to go to the most?”

“Tsinghua University.”

He continued asking her, “Then do you want me to go too?”

“En… It would be best if you could. After all, it’s good for people to have a goal to work towards.”

“I just know it.” As though he gained confirmation for his conjecture, Gu Jing Yuan chuckled, “Dont worry, I’ll study hard.” 

Tao Yi Xi was baffled. 

What was she supposed to be worried about again?

There seemed to be a communication barrier between the both of them. 

“Then… Ge-ge keep up the hard work.” 

Fortunately, it would never be wrong to encourage him. Though, she did not know how long he would persevere this time around. 

Gu Jing Yuan was over the moon and was also somewhat smug.  

See? He just knew that she wanted him to go to the same university as her.    

Seeing how much she supported him, he would try his best.

He flipped through the self-practice exercises and was confident that he could attempt a few more questions. 

**

This year, winter came early. 

The city was also much colder than her hometown. This caused Tao Yi Xi to take out her thickest coat to wear much earlier than she expected.

Since that time when Gu Jing Yuan set his goal in the library. There was no longer a need for Tao Yi Xi to constantly monitor him. In fact, he would even take the initiative to pick up a book to study.

Who knew what triggered his motivation? 

In addition, Qi Yue had been giving her weird looks. 

However, she was busy with her preparations for the math competition so she did not put much thought into it.

Although Gu Jing Yuan no longer needed her to worry about him. Things had started to head in another extreme direction.

Gu Jing Yuan started fretting over her matters. 

As the last bell had rung long ago, the corridor that should have been deserted was crowded with many students. This caused the teacher to question if he mistook the time. 

“Who is that student being stared at?” 

“Sir, that’s Gu Jing Yuan.” 

Although the teacher never met him before, the teacher was still extremely familiar with that name. 

“Why is he waiting outside our classroom door? Did one of you provoke him?”

Listening to the teacher’s terrified tone, one could tell how bad Gu Jing Yuan’s reputation was.

Tao Yi Xi slowly raised her hand, “Sir, he’s my brother. I believe that he’s waiting for me to go home together.”

Just like now, as long as she had to attend supplementary classes, he would definitely be waiting for her at the entrance of the class.

As for the rest of the students crowding around, they came by to take a glimpse at the legendary school delinquent/grass. 

After all, Gu Jing Yuan often skipped classes. And on the rare occasion that he attended school, he would be holed up in his class, leaving them little to no opportunity to meet him. 

Tao Yi Xi’s reputation was just as great as his, just in a completely different way.

The teacher sighed emotionally, “Who would’ve thought…”

After getting confirmation from his beloved pupil, the teacher was finally at ease. He instructed, “Then that’s fine. Come, I’ve just distributed another mock test paper. You’ll have half an hour to complete it. Those who finished can leave first.”  

With the exception of Chen Ze and Tao Yi Xi, everyone else spotted a bitter expression.

Chen Ze was the first to put down his pen, closely followed by Tao Yi Xi. 

After more than half a month of strenuous practice, she had finally caught up to his speed.

The two of them handed in their papers, one after another, and simultaneously returned to pack their bags.

They had a good rapport.

Exiting the class, she wanted to give chase to ask Chen Ze a few more questions but Gu Jing Yuan blocked her path and took her bag from her.

He bounced her bag a couple of times.

Tsk… so heavy, no wonder she’s so short.

Tao Yi Xi was not able to react fast enough to recoil. She looked up at him and gave him a perfunctory smile, “Ge-ge, it’s tiring for you to stand here and wait for me. I can go back on my own.” 

“It’s troublesome for the chauffeur to make two trips.”

“That’s DiDi¹One of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies.. It’s also very convenient.”

“With your appearance, are you not afraid?”

“…” His form of concern was rubbing people the wrong way…

Gu Jing Yuan peeped to make sure that Chen Ze had gone far before saying to her, “Let’s go.”

He reduced his speed to allow her to catch up to him. Both their figures, one tall and one short, made their way out of the school together. 

“Ge-ge, why not wait for me in the car next time?” 

He glanced at her, “No.”

If he was not there, she would have walked together with Chen Ze just now.

She clearly liked him but did not keep her distance from other males. If he did not know how obsessed she was with her studies, he would have lost his temper.

Why can’t this stupid competition end sooner?

With the heating inside the car, Tao Yi Xi felt cozier after entering the warm surrounding.

“Ge-ge, please give me my schoolbag.” 

While handing the bag over, Gu Jing Yuan could feel the chill emitting from her fingers.

He subconsciously reached out and held onto her hands, wanting to transmit some warmth to her. He could not help but pinch her delicate skin, it was soft, but was also very cold. 

“Why are your hands so cold?”

“It’s just my constitution. Plus, it’s currently winter.” 

He frowned, “You should wear more then.”

“This is already my thickest coat.”

He was annoying.

She wanted to withdraw her hands, but they were firmly grasped in his, preventing her from moving away.

“Wait a while more.”

Her hands were white and tender. In his palms, they formed into a small ball that could be properly encased in his. 

Her cold little hands were wrapped within and slowly warmed up.

When Tao Yi Xi lifted her gaze to look at him, he diverted his eyes to look back out the window. Although his side profile looked indifferent and nonchalant, the tips of his ears were reddening. 

In this tranquil environment, no one would notice that his hands were firmly holding hers, carefully trying to warm them up with his heat.

It was without a trace of romance or desire, he just simply wanted to give her some warmth.

Was he feeling distressed for her? 

She no longer tried to retract her hands. With her fingertips, she lightly scratched his palm.

Ticklish…

He did not withdraw either. He continued to trap her hands in his, tightly enclosed but not painful, it was with just the right amount of strength.

The once high and mighty being had already fallen into the mortal world.

Recalling the audacious idea she once had, she now had her answer.

It turns out that liking someone could really change a person. 

How peculiar…

**

This was the first time Shen Chen Chen saw Gu Jing Yuan’s message popping up in her notification bar. She was in utter disbelief that she had to pinch herself. 

Painful!

With great enthusiasm, she entered the chat, but her eagerness was doused with cold water.

[Question, what kind of clothes do girls usually like?]

[Are you buying clothes for someone?]

[Yes.]

Shen Chen Chen was about to go crazy!

Who was that vixen?!

She always hung around his friends. Other than his sister, she never noticed any other girls lingering around him. 

This caused her to come to a sudden realization.  

[Are you buying them for Yi Xi?]

[Yes.]

Shen Chen Chen breathed a sigh of relief. After sending him a list of her favorite stores, she happily went to Qi Yue to share this piece of news with him. 

[Jing Yuan is so caring!]

Qi Yue: [?]

[He’s actually helping his sister buy clothes! I’m so envious! Wonder when will it be my turn? Rub hands expectantly.JPG]

[I advise you to give up, really…]

[Scram! Can’t you say anything nice? Humph!]

[Sigh, you don’t understand.]

Before this, it also never occurred to Qi Yue that Brother Yuan, who used to sneer at the presence of girls, would one day take the initiative to buy clothes for a girl.

Based on their years of friendship, and his understanding of Gu Jing Yuan.

There were barely a handful of people that Brother Yuan sincerely cared for. As long as Brother Yuan sincerely liked the person… 

In this life, he would only recognize that one person.

Brother Yuan treated him as a brother. Even if what he did was ludicrous, Brother Yuan would not question it and believe in him wholeheartedly. He would stand up for him no matter what.

And if that person was his lover, Qi Yue believed that Gu Jing Yuan would be completely devoted and have his heart set on her.