Just as Gu Yu was about to take Yan Zhao to eat, the teacher surnamed Ning said, “Since your wife is here too, why not come to my place for a meal? Your teacher’s wife just arrived from our hometown and has been wanting to meet your wife. We’ll prepare some home-cooked dishes and have a lively gathering.”
Gu Yu didn’t hesitate.
He nodded, his tone steady. “Alright, teacher.”
As if he was already accustomed to such invitations.
Going to the teacher’s house for a meal?
Yan Zhao instinctively glanced at Gu Yu, feeling a bit flustered.
In such a place and with such an identity, she felt uneasy even in the cafeteria, let alone stepping into a teacher’s home.
Gu Yu turned his head slightly, his voice lowered. “It’s fine.”
Just two words, yet they carried a force that made one unconsciously relax.
Gu Yu added, “Teacher, I’ll bring her over later. I’d like to take her shopping first.”
Teacher Ning nodded without asking further, smiling as he agreed. “Sure, no rush. Make your own arrangements.”
After the teacher left, Yan Zhao hadn’t fully relaxed when hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the other end of the corridor.
The next second, a figure rushed over and stopped in front of Gu Yu.
“Gu Yu—” The girl’s tone was furious. “Are you deliberately avoiding me?”
Yan Zhao froze, instinctively looking up.
It was Liu Manqing.
Completely different from the cheerful, smiling girl she had seen in the morning.
Now, Liu Manqing’s face was tense, her eyes sharp, and her chest heaved noticeably, clearly holding back a storm of anger.
The students who had been about to leave the corridor slowed their steps.
Some pretended to tidy their backpacks.
Others simply sat back down in their seats.
Yet their gazes drifted subtly in this direction.
Gu Yu showed no change in expression at her questioning. “No.”
Two words, crisp and clear.
Liu Manqing was momentarily choked by his cold attitude.
Her gaze swept past Gu Yu and abruptly landed on Yan Zhao.
In that instant, a surge of emotions swirled in her eyes—
Scrutiny, displeasure, and undisguised hostility, almost overflowing.
“Didn’t you tell me she was your sister?”
Liu Manqing’s voice suddenly rose, sharp and agitated. “Then what’s going on now?”
She stared fixedly at Gu Yu, her tone carrying obvious pressure.
“Gu Yu, you have to give me an explanation right now!”
Standing beside him, Yan Zhao felt utterly uncomfortable being questioned so publicly.
Embarrassment and guilt surged within her, making her fingertips turn cold and her breathing cautious.
Gu Yu took a step sideways and directly took Yan Zhao’s hand.
The moment their palms touched, Yan Zhao stiffened. She tried to pull away, but Gu Yu’s grip was firm, not letting go.
Gu Yu looked up at Liu Manqing, his tone cold and direct.
“She is my wife.”
After these words, his tone shifted, carrying clear detachment.
“And besides, are we that close?”
“What right do you have to question me?”
At that moment, Liu Manqing’s gaze was fixed on their clasped hands, her pupils slightly dilated, her face filled with shock.
She knew all too well how particular Gu Yu was about personal space.
On ordinary days, he would instinctively avoid even the slightest accidental touch of his clothes, let alone holding hands, his disdain barely concealed.
But now—
He was holding someone else’s hand.
And doing so so naturally.
When the words “my wife” fully sank in, Liu Manqing’s expression instantly changed.
“Impossible…”
Her voice trembled as she looked up at him, disbelief written all over her face. “How could you do this to me?”
“You clearly said you would help me!”
Upon hearing this, Gu Yu’s expression didn’t even flicker.
He even let out a soft “ah,” his tone lazy yet utterly cold.
“That’s because your grades were too terrible.”
He spoke bluntly and casually, “The teacher asked me several times, so I just helped you as a favor.”
His words were sharp and decisive.
All the deliberately created ambiguity and expectations were shattered in that moment.
The hallway was unnervingly quiet.
Liu Manqing stood rooted to the spot, her face gradually paling as if she had finally realized that what she had been clinging to was nothing but a self-delusion.
And Gu Yu no longer looked at her.
He glanced down at Yan Zhao, the earlier chill seeming to have receded as his tone noticeably softened.
“Let’s go.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Liu Manqing seemed to be completely ignited by them.
She took a sudden step forward, raising her hand to strike—a swift, fierce motion fueled by uncontrollable emotion.
Yan Zhao instinctively moved to step in front.
But Gu Yu shielded her first.
He sidestepped, his arm blocking her path, then tilted slightly to effortlessly evade the blow.
His movements were clean and precise, as if he had anticipated this all along.
Liu Manqing’s hand swung through empty air, losing her balance as she stumbled forward before steadying herself awkwardly.
Only then did Gu Yu look at her, his gaze icy. “If you keep making a scene, I can still make sure you don’t graduate.”
Yan Zhao hadn’t expected the girl to resort to violence either. Frowning, she said, “I didn’t think a city girl would do something so shameful.”
The words weren’t harsh, yet they struck like a sharp slap, burning with humiliation.
Gu Yu visibly paused.
He turned to look at Yan Zhao, as if surprised she had spoken up, and even more so by her directness.
In the next moment, the corner of his lips lifted slightly.
It wasn’t a smile for Liu Manqing.
It was a faint, fleeting curve, carrying a hint of indulgence and agreement.
“City folks and country folks,” he said flatly, “aren’t really that different.”
With that, he no longer paid attention to the person behind him.
“Let’s go.”
As the words fell, he took Yan Zhao’s hand and walked away without looking back.
A stifling silence lingered in the hallway. Several gazes followed their retreating figures, but no one dared to speak up.
Yan Zhao let him lead her forward, their pace quick, yet her heartbeat gradually steadied in an oddly calm rhythm.
Truthfully, she hadn’t been able to hold back from saying what she did.
If this girl had truly been someone Gu Yu cared about, she would never have spoken out of turn or stepped forward to say such things.
As soon as their figures disappeared around the corner of the hallway, Liu Manqing could no longer hold herself together.
She stood there, her eyes reddening as tears fell almost instantly.
It wasn’t a quiet sob but an uncontrollable outburst after being pushed to her limit, her shoulders trembling.
Yet no one stepped forward to comfort her.
Some girls whispered among themselves, their tones barely concealing a sense of vindication.
At school, Gu Yu had always been the “crush” in many people’s eyes—aloof, perhaps, but never ambiguous or leading anyone on.
Yet Liu Manqing, relying on her looks and family background, had constantly hovered around him, acting as if “he would be hers sooner or later,” which had long rubbed many the wrong way.
Now seeing her being so bluntly rejected in public, many girls had only one thought in their minds—
Serves her right.
As for the boys, there were even more clicks of disapproval.
Liu Manqing was good-looking and the factory director’s daughter, so quite a few boys had pursued her. But when she rejected them, she was always ruthless, her words harsher than anyone else’s.
Now the tables had turned.
She had been rejected too.
And rejected so thoroughly, so embarrassingly.
Some shook their heads, others chuckled softly, also feeling a sense of vindication.
…
After leaving the teaching building, Gu Yu directly took Yan Zhao away from the school to the department store.
It was noon, and the place was crowded.
The moment he appeared, eyes naturally gravitated toward him.
It wasn’t an ostentatious kind of presence, but standing there, he made people unable to resist taking a second look.
Yan Zhao had long realized this trip was to buy things for her, and she felt a bit flustered. She leaned closer to him and whispered, “There’s really no need to buy anything. I brought plenty.”
Gu Yu acted as if he hadn’t heard.
Soap, towels, toothbrushes, enamel basins—he placed them one by one on the counter, his movements decisive.
Yan Zhao stood beside him, unsure where to put her hands.
Just as she was about to say something else, she saw him casually pick out two more dresses.
One was plain in color, the other simple in style, yet both were clearly much nicer than what she was wearing.
Seeing him pay so readily, the salesperson couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times.
Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment before falling on Yan Zhao, who stood beside him holding the items, her face flushed red. A smile immediately appeared.
“You two are such a sweet couple.”
Her tone carried a hint of teasing, mixed with envy.
Mostly because the boy was too good-looking, while the girl beside him seemed a bit rustic.
Yan Zhao was even more stunned by this remark, her ears practically burning. She instinctively wanted to explain but didn’t know what to say, so she could only lower her head and pretend to organize the items in her arms.
Gu Yu, however, seemed not to have heard the comment. His expression remained natural as he collected the change and steadied the items in her arms that were about to fall.
“Let’s go.”
By the time they left the department store, her hands were full of things, her arms almost too heavy to lift.
All the way back to the dormitory, the two of them walked with bags large and small, drawing many sidelong glances.
At the door, however, they found someone already waiting.
Two boys stood by the corridor, as if they had been waiting on purpose.
Seeing Gu Yu, they immediately straightened up.
Gu Yu stopped and handed the key to Yan Zhao, his tone casual. “Go inside first.”
Yan Zhao was taken aback for a moment but nodded instinctively.
The moment she pushed the door open, she heard Gu Yu say something to the two behind her.
As the door closed, the sound was cut off.
Standing inside the room, she looked down at the items in her arms and then at the two dresses.
Her heartbeat slowly grew erratic.
What should she do?
He had spent quite a bit of money.
Yan Zhao immediately began arranging the purchased items one by one.
She placed the enamel basin in the corner, folded the towels and hung them up, and neatly arranged the soap and toothbrush on the table.
Finally, her gaze fell on the bed.
The two dresses were folded neatly, their colors clean, and the fabric clearly better than any clothes she had ever worn before.
In two lifetimes combined, she had never worn anything this nice.
Yan Zhao stood there, staring for a long time.
She had never seen such beautiful dresses before either.
Nor had she ever imagined that one day, someone would buy them for her without even asking.
She suddenly realized something.
Gu Yu was genuinely being good to her.
So good that for a moment, she could hardly believe it.
……
Meanwhile, Gu Yu was pulled to the end of the corridor by the two boys.
One of them, clearly suppressing his anger, spoke urgently as soon as they stopped: “Gu Yu, the Liu family has already made it clear—they’re going to kick you out.”
Gu Yu halted his steps, but his expression remained unchanged.
The other boy couldn’t help adding: “You’re the core of this project. If you leave, the team will fall apart.”
He was genuinely worried.
This plan had been in the works for so long, and they had finally made it this far. Almost all the critical steps rested on Gu Yu.
Yet Gu Yu merely glanced up and looked at them.
“It’s fine.”
His tone was indifferent.
The two were taken aback by his reaction, growing even more anxious.
“How can it be fine? You have to tell us what’s really going on.”
“The Liu family suddenly turning on you can’t be for no reason.”
One of them hesitated for a moment before asking: “That girl earlier… who is she?” He paused, lowering his voice. “Did something happen between you and Liu Manqing?”
Hearing this, Gu Yu’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
“She’s my wife.”
As these words fell, both of them froze.
The corridor fell silent for two seconds.
“You’re married… for real?”
One of the boys spoke, his throat tight. “Wasn’t it just an arranged marriage from childhood?”
Gu Yu: “It’s legal. We have a marriage certificate.”
His tone was steady, as if stating something completely ordinary.
The two exchanged a glance, their expressions suddenly clearing.
Of course, they knew how much Liu Manqing liked Gu Yu.
At school, her feelings were practically on display, but Gu Yu had never acknowledged them, and no one took it seriously.
But now things were different.
Gu Yu’s wife had actually come to Beijing.
The Liu family would definitely not let Gu Yu off easily.
One of the boys ran a hand through his hair, his tone filled with frustration: “Then… what about this project?”
The other sighed as well: “To just give up like this… it’s really hard to accept. We’ve worked so hard for this.”
Gu Yu stopped walking and turned to look at them.
His expression remained calm.
“Who said anything about giving up?”
The two were taken aback.
Gu Yu spoke unhurriedly: “Recently, I’ve had a new idea. If it works out, the conditions will actually be more flexible than they are now.”
He paused, then added: “When the time comes, you can join me and work on it together.”
As his words settled, the two, who had been anxious just moments before, lit up almost simultaneously.
“Really?”
“You’ve already thought it through?”
Gu Yu nodded, his tone indifferent but firm: “I’m about seventy percent confident.”
The two exchanged another glance, their spirits lifting from the depths.
They knew Gu Yu too well.
He rarely spoke lightly, and once he said something, he meant it.
“Alright.”
One of them nodded firmly. “We’ll wait for you.”
The other smiled, lowering his voice: “As long as you’re here, what does the Liu family matter?”
Gu Yu didn’t say anything more.
He simply turned and headed toward the dormitory. “Mm, I’m heading back now. She gets scared easily when she’s alone.”
The two remained standing where they were, unmoving for a long while.
They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.
One of them couldn’t help but blurt out: “…No way?”
The other reacted even more dramatically, his mouth hanging open, unable to close it for a long time.
“Is this still Gu Yu?”
“The Gu Yu I know?”
As if unable to imagine it, he muttered softly, “What kind of background does that arranged marriage partner have?”
The other person was momentarily speechless, shrugged, and replied, “You’re asking me? How would I know.”
The two fell silent for a few seconds.
Then, almost simultaneously, they began to recall what that girl actually looked like.