Mu Cheng turned to look at Gu Yunzhe.
The collar of his white shirt fluttered lightly in the breeze, and the loose strands of hair on his forehead had fallen out of place from running. Beads of sweat clung to the bridge of his sharp nose.
He looked slightly disheveled, but because of his panic, his expression had become taut and strained.
It was a sense of fragility.
An upright, heroic man like Gu Yunzhe actually looked fragile because of fear.
For the first time, Mu Cheng could vividly understand women who wanted to comfort broken, fragile men.
For example, herself.
After all, a Gu Yunzhe who looked like this was genuinely attractive.
But it was precisely because he was too attractive that he had drawn Bai Lin and Zhang Qingqing’s hostility toward her.
The thought instantly sobered her up.
Biting her lip, Mu Cheng forced herself to stop admiring the beautiful broken man before her.
In a hoarse voice, she asked, “Brother Gu… if I die, will all the problems finally disappear?”
Seeing Mu Cheng sway dangerously near the rooftop edge, Gu Yunzhe seemed bound by invisible ropes, his movements becoming unusually slow and gentle.
His voice caught in his throat. Even his breathing became feather-light, terrified that the next second Mu Cheng might disappear over the edge.
“Mu Cheng, come here. There’s no problem in this world that can’t be solved.”
Gu Yunzhe slowly approached her and extended his hand.
“Did you already forget what I told you yesterday? Your name is Mu Cheng. You’ll register your household under that name. The name ‘Mu Cheng’ will appear in my family’s household registry.”
Hearing this, Mu Cheng glanced at the people who had followed upstairs, especially Zhang Qingqing, whose face had already turned pale.
Zhang Qingqing was terrified by the scene before her. She had never expected Mu Cheng to actually try jumping off the building.
Mu Cheng asked weakly, “Brother Gu… you won’t look down on me, right? I really didn’t ask Qi Heng to come find me. I’m not shameless.”
Qi Heng was also frightened badly.
He had never imagined Mu Cheng was such a fierce and resolute girl. She was completely different from the person Zhang Qingqing had described.
She was proud, pure, and fiercely protective of her dignity.
He shouted anxiously, “Comrade Xiao Mu, please come down! You’re a good girl. I never meant to offend you. I was deceived by Zhang Qingqing too!”
Turning toward the crowd of onlookers, Qi Heng realized that whether they were guesthouse employees or guests staying there, everyone now understood the truth.
Both Mu Cheng and Qi Heng had been framed and falsely accused by Zhang Qingqing.
One after another, they all began persuading Mu Cheng to come down and stop doing something foolish.
The effect had been achieved.
Mu Cheng tilted her head slightly and glanced at Zhang Qingqing, whose face was ashen as she collapsed weakly onto the ground, tightly clutching the strap of her army-green schoolbag.
Seeing that Mu Cheng still showed no intention of stepping down, Gu Yunzhe became increasingly frantic inside, yet outwardly he remained calm and composed.
Carefully, he stepped closer again and spoke softly.
“Look, everyone believes you now. The things you’re worried about will never happen.”
Mu Cheng looked at the concerned man standing beneath the night sky.
Within his deep eyes hid panic and restraint belonging to a grown man. His low magnetic voice carried a pleading tone that was irresistibly moving.
It was enough to intoxicate anyone listening.
She stared at him absentmindedly, unable to pull her gaze away for a long while.
The moment Gu Yunzhe noticed Mu Cheng spacing out while staring at him, he reacted instantly.
Quickly stepping forward, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the edge of the rooftop.
Losing her balance, Mu Cheng fell directly into Gu Yunzhe’s arms. His firm chest slammed against her face.
Her cheeks hurt from the impact, but at the same time, the powerful beat of his heart echoed clearly in her ears, while the faint scent of soap from his body wrapped around her.
Mu Cheng had not felt much standing steadily on the rooftop earlier.
But now she suddenly felt dizzy.
She realized Gu Yunzhe was not rough or coarse at all.
He smelled clean and pleasant, carrying both masculine wildness and strength.
It was incredibly sexy.
Unfortunately, she did not remain in that broad, secure embrace for long before Gu Yunzhe abruptly pushed her away.
Then came his furious roar.
“Mu Cheng, are you an idiot?! Just because of something like this, you wanted to jump off a building? Is your life really that worthless?”
His sharp, stern features were filled with anger as he tightly gripped her wrist.
“Do you know the most precious things a person has are life and freedom? If you ever treat yourself this cheaply again, I’ll—”
He suddenly realized he did not even know what he would do.
At this moment, even he found himself unreasonable.
Why was he this panicked? This angry?
Mu Cheng knew she had overplayed things a little.
The best way to wrap this up now was to faint and leave the remaining mess for Gu Yunzhe to handle.
Thinking this, her eyes rolled back dramatically, and she collapsed unconscious into Gu Yunzhe’s arms once more.
One sentence echoed proudly through her mind—
This young lady is too delicate to take care of herself. When it’s time to faint, you faint. Palace drama logic never lies!
Seeing Mu Cheng faint from fright, Gu Yunzhe became both furious and anxious. Carrying her in his arms, he rushed downstairs toward her room while shouting, “Zhang Qingguo! Go get the infirmary doctor immediately!”
The surrounding people sighed endlessly.
A perfectly good girl had nearly been driven to suicide trying to prove her innocence because of Zhang Qingqing.
What a sin.
They also tried persuading Zhang Qingqing kindly.
“Qingqing, you really went too far this time. Sigh… you’ve even dragged your father down with you. If word spreads, how can he still keep working at the guesthouse?”
Qi Heng glared at Zhang Qingqing fiercely.
“Zhang Qingqing, I’m not letting this go. I’m reporting everything to your school.”
Fearing Zhang Qingqing might continue making a scene, several guesthouse workers directly dragged her downstairs.
Inside the room, Mu Cheng was examined by the infirmary doctor.
Putting away his stethoscope, he said, “Nothing serious. She was simply frightened. A good night’s rest and she’ll be fine.”
Gu Yunzhe finally let out a long breath.
Looking around the room, he said, “Everyone can leave now. I’ll stay here with her tonight.”
The guesthouse staff brought in a military folding bed for Gu Yunzhe and neatly spread bedding over it, while Gu Yunzhe went off to deal with Zhang Qingqing’s situation.
Once the room became quiet, Mu Cheng slowly opened her eyes.
Clicking her tongue, she muttered, “Trying to play ghost stories with me? Who here isn’t an experienced old fox?”
Mu Cheng was convinced Bai Lin had a hand in today’s chaos.
Otherwise, why would Bai Lin just happen to fall sick with a fever at such a convenient moment?
With Zhang Qingqing making this scene, hospitalized Bai Lin not only successfully cleared herself of suspicion, but also used Mu Cheng’s own methods to cut off Zhang Qingqing’s chance of going to the capital.
Muttering to herself, Mu Cheng sighed, “Killing two birds with one stone. Bai Lin really is a master strategist.”
Staring at the ceiling, she added, “Gu Yunzhe’s eyesight really isn’t great. How did he even fall for Bai Lin? Was he cursed? Possessed?”
The sound of the door opening suddenly reached her ears.
Mu Cheng immediately shut her eyes again.
Gu Yunzhe walked into the room and stopped beside the bed.
At that moment, another question occurred to Mu Cheng—
How had Gu Yunzhe known Qi Heng was here with her? And how had he arrived in time to save her so quickly?
Frowning slightly, Gu Yunzhe stared at the Provincial Evening News lying beside Mu Cheng’s pillow. The date printed on it was today’s.
Biting his lip lightly, he said casually, “Mu Cheng, hand me the newspaper by your pillow. I only saw the headline earlier. Did that steel factory in the capital complete its technological reform?”
Still preoccupied with wondering how Gu Yunzhe had rushed over to save her, Mu Cheng did not think much about it.
Opening her eyes naturally, she pulled out the second page of the newspaper and handed it to him.
Gu Yunzhe’s expression froze.
He reached out and accepted it.
Holding the paper, he skimmed over it briefly before speaking in a mocking tone.
“Let’s see what’s written here…”
Mu Cheng’s mind instantly went blank.
Why had she woken up?!
And why had she handed him the newspaper?!
Then Gu Yunzhe’s clear voice sounded from behind the paper.
“So it says Ode to the Goose.
‘Goose, goose, goose,
Bending its neck to sing toward the sky.
White feathers floating upon green water,
Red feet stirring crystal waves.’”
Mu Cheng shut her eyes in despair.
Forcing herself to speak, she asked softly, “Brother Gu… how did you know that’s the only poem I can recite?”