Three days later, Saturday.
It was early afternoon. The students were already on break, so the campus was much quieter than usual.
But at the school gate, a figure pushing an electric scooter looked particularly irritated.
After taking just a few steps, he couldn’t help but complain out loud.
“I’m never trusting that guy again!”
The speaker was none other than Gu Qiu, and the “guy” he was referring to was A-Long, who had previously made plans to meet up with him.
Originally, A-Long had agreed to pick him up for lunch.
Who knew he’d sleep until the sun was high in the sky, and the moment he got up and started washing up, he received a call from A-Long saying something had come up at the shop and he’d be a bit late.
Gu Qiu was understanding. Besides, since the two of them were going to visit Grandma Chen anyway, and the school wasn’t far, he planned to meet A-Long there. He never expected his little e-scooter to run low on battery. Fortunately, he made the decision to turn back in time, and it completely died right as he reached the school gate!
After the rain a few days ago, the sun had been blazing lately, and the temperature was climbing steadily.
By the time Gu Qiu pushed his scooter back to the e-bike shelter in front of the apartment building, he was covered in sweat.
“Phew~”
He plugged in the scooter to charge, raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and let out a breath of stale air.
After that, Gu Qiu planned to go home and freshen up briefly before deciding where to go next.
Just then, a white Mercedes pulled up on the nearby path.
After the window rolled down, Qin Zhiyi, sitting in the driver’s seat, waved at Gu Qiu.
“Gu Qiu!”
“Gu Qiu!!”
“Stop yelling, I hear you!”
Gu Qiu walked over quickly, his gaze focused on her.
After staying overnight at his place, Qin Zhiyi hadn’t pulled any new stunts. She was fairly normal most of the time. It was just that whenever he was playing on his phone in the office, he’d look up and always find her staring at him. Twice, it even gave him the illusion that he’d been caught playing on his phone during class by a teacher!
He shook his head lightly and didn’t think too much about it, then asked:
“What is it?”
Qin Zhiyi rested her arm on the car window and said softly:
“Is your scooter out of battery?”
“I can give you a ride!”
Since she only knew that Gu Qiu was going out today but didn’t know the time, Qin Zhiyi had started watching from her window early in the morning. She ended up waiting until noon before she saw him come downstairs, and she followed him without complaint.
Having trailed him the whole way in her car, she naturally witnessed him turning back halfway and the scene of him pushing the scooter just now.
After some thought, rather than risking being discovered while tailing him suspiciously, it was better to use a ready-made excuse to give him a ride.
But the next second, Gu Qiu shook his head.
“I appreciate the thought, but I won’t trouble you!”
With that, he turned to leave.
Seeing this, Qin Zhiyi was quick-witted and grabbed his sleeve.
“You said it yourself it was a kind thought. It wouldn’t be right to refuse me, would it?”
“The place I’m going isn’t far. I really don’t need it!”
Gu Qiu refused again and tried to pull his sleeve back, but she held on tightly, and he couldn’t break free for a moment.
Right at that moment, a van drove up from behind. A middle-aged male teacher who knew Gu Qiu poked his head out.
“Teacher Gu, who are you talking to?”
“Could you get him to move forward a bit and make way for me? I have some things to bring home!”
The path was narrow, not enough for two vehicles to pass side by side.
Gu Qiu hurriedly responded with a smile:
“One moment!”
Then, he looked at Qin Zhiyi with exasperation.
“Stop messing around. Move over.”
Qin Zhiyi curled her lips into a smile.
She certainly wouldn’t pass up such a perfectly delivered assist. She glanced sideways at the passenger seat and signaled:
“Then get in!”
Gu Qiu understood Qin Zhiyi’s stubborn personality and let out a helpless sigh.
“Let go!”
Qin Zhiyi knew this meant he’d agreed and slowly released her grip.
She pressed the door unlock button and blinked at him at the same time.
“A-Qiu, do you need me to open the door for you?”
“No, I can do it myself!”
With that, Gu Qiu quickly walked around to the side, pulled open the door, and got in.
Qin Zhiyi didn’t dawdle and drove forward.
When the Mercedes entered the curve, the middle-aged teacher finally got a clear look at the driver’s face and muttered to himself:
“That looks like the new Teacher Qin, doesn’t it?”
“Young people these days are really open. They hooked up so fast!”
…
In the blink of an eye, Qin Zhiyi drove to the school gate.
She turned to look at Gu Qiu, only to find that he had his head down and was leaning forward, seemingly not wanting to be seen by people outside the car.
She smiled faintly.
“You’re acting like you have a girlfriend and we’re sneaking out for an affair!”
“Are you that afraid of being misunderstood?”
Her words were half joke, half probe.
Gu Qiu raised his eyebrows slightly and shot back:
“My skin just isn’t as thick as yours.”
Even so, he still adjusted his posture.
Qin Zhiyi followed up on his words:
“You can’t catch the person you like if your skin isn’t thick enough!”
“I’m just afraid of giving it your all and ending up with nothing.”
Gu Qiu casually tossed out this famous internet quote.
Qin Zhiyi didn’t agree, her starry eyes gazing at him.
“That’s fine. If you can’t get the result, just enjoy the process!”
She said this softly, as if speaking to herself.
If in this life, Gu Qiu really fell for someone else, or if they ultimately couldn’t be together, she wouldn’t have a single word of complaint. Instead, she would treasure the memory of pursuing Gu Qiu as a precious gem, cherishing and guarding it for the rest of her life.
In the past, she hadn’t believed in ghosts and gods. But now, having been Reincarnated, she actually hoped there really was a next life… a next life where she could meet Gu Qiu again, where Gu Qiu could be with her, and they could be happy together!
Realizing she might be a little too greedy, Qin Zhiyi couldn’t help but laugh.
By contrast, Gu Qiu’s attention was more focused on the road. Seeing her distracted and giggling, he quickly reminded her:
“Hey, hey, hey, big sister, keep your eyes on the road!”
Hearing that, Qin Zhiyi pulled her gaze back.
“Where are you going?”
Actually, she had wanted to ask about his destination from the very beginning when she saw him, but the conversation had gone off track. Fortunately, she had deliberately kept the speed slow, and during their exchange, they had only just reached the intersection in front of the school.
Gu Qiu raised his brows in thought.
In his previous life, Qin Zhiyi had an introverted and aloof personality, but Grandma Chen had taken to her immediately the first time they met.
Now that she was eloquent, she’d probably win the old lady over even more easily.
Grandma Chen was one of his few soft spots. If this woman got ahold of that, hiding anywhere would be useless.
Although, by his current age, he and Qin Zhiyi had known each other for over five years and he had long since told her about his family background, at least it had only stayed at the level of her knowing. She hadn’t had any contact with them.
So, all he had to do now was keep Qin Zhiyi from meeting Grandma Chen!
He then spoke up:
“Yulong Bar!”
Even though Qin Zhiyi also knew about A-Long, A-Long had grown up with him like brothers and would never sell him out!
But he didn’t notice that beside him, a light had appeared in Qin Zhiyi’s eyes as she murmured in her heart:
“That’s right! How could I forget the people he cares about most!”
“As long as I ‘win over’ Grandma Chen and A-Long, I don’t believe you can escape my grasp!”
With her target found, Qin Zhiyi was instantly full of energy. She was about to step on the gas when she suddenly realized something and asked awkwardly:
“Um… where is Yulong Bar?”
“You don’t even know the location, and you insisted on giving me a ride!”
Gu Qiu furrowed his brows, somewhat speechless.
At the same time, he pulled out his phone and opened the map navigation.
Qin Zhiyi smiled knowingly.
“Well, I’ve only been here a few days. After driving around a couple more times, I’ll know my way!”
“Hold on tight, let’s go!”