Lin Ping was still thinking about Gu Ansheng’s departing figure. Half her soul seemed to have been carried away by him, leaving her staring blankly ahead.
In truth, she had already taken a liking to Gu Ansheng long ago.
Ever since the day she accidentally glimpsed his photograph at Qiao Rongrong’s place—Qiao Rongrong being Gu Ansheng’s sister-in-law—something had stirred in her heart, like a small stone dropped into still water, sending ripples spreading outward.
Later, when Qiao Rongrong praised her younger brother-in-law to the skies—saying his character was upright and his way of handling things steady and thoughtful—Lin Ping’s interest deepened even more.
From then on, she had repeatedly hinted around the subject, hoping Qiao Rongrong would eventually agree to introduce them.
After all, a man with good looks, a good family background, and good character would be in demand anywhere. Since everyone else would be scrambling for someone like him, how could she afford to be careless?
So when Qiao Rongrong unexpectedly asked her this time whether she would like to meet her younger brother-in-law, did that even need asking?
For this blind date, Lin Ping had even specially gone to the department store to buy a new outfit. Even if she couldn’t win him over in one go, she still wanted to leave a strong impression on him.
When it came to her appearance, Lin Ping was quite confident.
Not to mention anything else—the unmarried male teachers at her school tried to flatter her every few days. She simply hadn’t been interested in any of them.
Actually, she had thought about lowering her standards. After all, there was no such thing as a perfect man in this world. She could just find someone suitable at school, someone who loved her, and live together peacefully.
But then— she had met Gu Ansheng.
The whole point of settling was that you hadn’t yet met someone who truly stirred your heart.
Before, she hadn’t known someone like Gu Ansheng even existed in this world.
Now that she did, how could she possibly settle?
What rotten luck!
At first, today’s meeting had gone quite well. Although Gu Ansheng hadn’t talked much, at least he had sat there the whole time without showing any impatience.
Then suddenly that woman had walked in.
And of all things, she looked like some kind of fairy descended from heaven, completely outshining her!
Not only did Gu Ansheng refuse to let that woman leave, he even told her to go wait in his room. Fine—let her wait there if she must. But did his eyes have to stay glued to her the entire time?
When he brought her water, he even mixed cold water into the hot to adjust the temperature…
And that woman herself—she had no sense of modesty at all!
In the end she actually lay down on Gu Ansheng’s bed?!
A woman like that—before today, Lin Ping had never even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it.
This whole trip had been a complete waste!
Meanwhile, Zhu Queqi finally woke up after sleeping who knew how long.
She stretched lazily on the bed, twisting slightly as she extended her limbs, then slowly sat up.
Her hair had come loose, and the red ribbon that had tied it earlier had disappeared somewhere.
She rubbed her head to clear the drowsiness and was just about to get off the bed when she turned her head— and saw Gu Ansheng sitting in the chair by the desk, staring at her intently with dark, steady eyes.
Zhu Queqi froze in place.
Once she realized what was happening, she quickly jumped out of bed and slipped on her shoes. Looking at Gu Ansheng, she spoke in a soft, aggrieved tone, like a newly married wife who had been wronged.
“I fell asleep? You should’ve woken me up.”
Then she suddenly remembered something. Turning around, she bent down to smooth out the wrinkled bedsheet carefully before straightening her own rumpled clothes.
“Well… it’s getting late. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head home now. Goodbye!”
It was just too embarrassing. Zhu Queqi wanted nothing more than to escape this room.
But Gu Ansheng didn’t let her leave.
“Tell me,” he said, repeating the earlier question, “what did you come here for today?”
Zhu Queqi’s mouth moved faster than her brain.
“Oh, nothing really. I just happened to be nearby, so I stopped in to take a look.”
The moment the words came out, she realized how ridiculous they sounded and wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear.
Their homes were on opposite sides of the city—one south, one north. How “nearby” could she possibly have been to just walk over?
Gu Ansheng gave a cold laugh.
His eyes seemed to see straight through her as he asked bluntly,
“What exactly is the relationship between us now?”
Zhu Queqi stood there like a student being punished by a teacher. Her fingers twisted the corner of her clothes as she lowered her head and spoke in a barely audible voice.
“We’ve known each other for so long… and we went through hardships together… can’t I just come see you?”
By the end of the sentence, her voice had faded away completely.
After hearing this, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Gu Ansheng’s lips—one tinged with mockery.
“I, Gu Ansheng, never get entangled with female comrades without reason. Since we have no relationship, you shouldn’t come here again in the future.”
With that, he stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and gestured politely toward the outside.
“Please.”
“Gu Ansheng!”
Seeing this, Zhu Queqi panicked. She hurried over and grabbed his hand, pressing it down.
At this moment, she didn’t care about pride anymore.
With wide, beautiful eyes and a pitiful expression, she pleaded with him.
“Ansheng, I’m sorry. I know I was wrong. Please forgive me. After I said those things to you that day, I actually regretted it right away.”
Her eyes immediately reddened, and tears shimmered within them.
Before Gu Ansheng could react, she gently shook his arm and pouted, her voice trembling with a sob.
“It’s because you treat me too well that I started feeling insecure. When I realized that, I suddenly became afraid. The more I like you, the more scared I become. I’m afraid that one day you’ll suddenly stop liking me… and then what would I do?”
Zhu Queqi deliberately chose the kind of words she knew Gu Ansheng liked to hear.
After guessing she had said enough, she released his arm and instead wrapped both arms tightly around him, pressing her face against his chest.
In a soft, almost melting voice, she continued,
“The day you came to see me with those things… when I saw you, I was actually so happy. Really! At that moment, I felt like I was the happiest person in the whole world…”
“But when I thought about how someday you might leave me, my heart hurt so much. So I told myself: better short pain than long pain. And in a moment of stubbornness, without thinking clearly, I broke up with you…”
“Ansheng… can you give me another chance?”
“Can you forgive me?”