Outside the gates of University A, a red supercar parked by the curb, drawing significant attention. An argument seemed to have broken out, and a crowd was beginning to gather.
Xie Yizhou caught sight of Gu Yulan among the people. He raised an eyebrow and walked straight toward them. He had arrived just in time.
Before he could push through the crowd, a clear, resonant voice rang out.
“Gu Yulan, what exactly do you want from me?”
Xie Yizhou leaned in and saw a college student in a white shirt being blocked by Gu Yulan. Was that boy Su Jianyang?
Beneath his raven black hair, the boy had clear eyes and delicate features. Dressed in a pristine white shirt, he looked clean and radiated a warmth like morning sunlight that made people like him at first sight.
This was exactly how the original novel described Su Jianyang, and it was the same in reality. Because of this sunshine like quality, the male lead and several supporting characters in the story fell hopelessly in love with him.
Xie Yizhou recalled the night he first met Gu Yulan, when everyone remarked on how much he resembled Su Jianyang. Setting aside a few facial similarities, was he truly like Su Jianyang? Knowing his own true nature, he could not help but feel curious.
Standing in the crowd, he silently watched the two men in their standoff.
“Do you really not know why I am looking for you?” Gu Yulan looked up, his eyes dark and heavy like a deep, mysterious pool.
Meeting Gu Yulan’s oppressive gaze, Su Jianyang felt even more guilty. That fierce look, reminiscent of a hungry wolf, made him feel afraid, and he quickly averted his eyes.
Su Jianyang closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Resisting his body’s instinctive fear, he said with a pale face, “I saw the trending searches recently. Congratulations on your relationship. You two are a good match.”
Thanks to the starlet’s fans, he had known about this for a while. He assumed Gu Yulan had finally let go of his obsession.
Gu Yulan’s face remained cold. “Is that all? I thought you would have something else to say.”
Not even a hint of jealousy?
He watched the pale young man and stepped closer, letting out a short laugh. “Aren’t you in a relationship? Why are you alone? Where is your boyfriend?”
Gu Yulan narrowed his eyes, his gaze scrutinizing. Even the scar on his brow bone seemed particularly prominent.
Seeing Gu Yulan pressing closer with an aggressive aura, Su Jianyang felt as if his feet were rooted to the spot, frozen in fear. He had seen Gu Yulan fight before; he was brutal, bloodthirsty, and moody. He was a beast in human skin. Anyone who offended him met a terrible end. Being loved by such a person would make anyone afraid.
“You”
Gu Yulan saw the flicker of dread in Su Jianyang’s eyes and stopped abruptly, his lips thinning into a tight line. After all this time, Su Jianyang still was not used to him. Even when the boy tried to hide it, that unmistakable fear remained in his eyes.
Am I really that terrifying?
Gu Yulan’s eyes darkened.
Su Jianyang breathed a sigh of relief when Gu Yulan stopped. Only a few steps remained between them.
Su Jianyang forced a bitter smile. “Thank you for taking care of me before, but feelings cannot be forced. Love is love, no”
“Why didn’t you say so before?”
The question caught Su Jianyang off guard. His eyes widened as he met those long, deep eyes. His breath hitched, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Why didn’t he say so before?
How could he tell Gu Yulan that he had only used him as a shield? He had never liked him. He had simply used Gu Yulan as a tool, a tool to deal with the group of rich second generation bullies at school. If Gu Yulan knew the truth, he would never let him go. After all, Gu Yulan was far more terrifying than those bullies.
The scene had the surrounding onlookers extremely tense.
Xie Yizhou continued to watch the drama unfold with an indifferent expression, though the system’s voice was so loud in his head that he wanted to cover his ears.
[Ooh, how exciting! He hit the nail on the head! He is lying to you, you idiot!]
Facing the aggressive questioning, Su Jianyang suppressed his fear and managed a sorrowful smile. “Gu Yulan, do you still not understand?”
His eyes grew red as he spoke. “I know my place and my status. I do not dream of things that do not belong to me. You are the sole heir to the Gu Group, and I am just the child of a poor street vendor. We have never been from the same world, and there will be no future for us. I do not want to gamble my future on a hollow, fleeting relationship.”
As he finished, his eyes welled up as if he would burst into tears at any moment.
Gu Yulan looked stunned, seemingly not expecting such an answer.
0377: [Wow, this guy is good! Gu Yulan is being played perfectly. With those red eyes, who could resist? As expected of a high level “white lotus” tactic. Though, Host, I think you are not bad either.]
Xie Yizhou lifted his eyelids and cast a cool glance toward the system. 0377 suddenly felt a chill and immediately shut its mouth, quickly closing the book it was flipping through.
Gu Yulan’s brow furrowed. “If that is all you are worried about, you do not have to worry. I will handle” I will handle it.
Before he could finish, a shadow flashed before his eyes.
Before Su Jianyang could react, someone suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back a few steps.
Gu Yulan’s gaze darkened as he met a pair of sharp eyes. A handsome man in a suit now stood in front of him. The man had an elegant, gentle aura and said with a smile, “Excuse me, what are you trying to do to my boyfriend?”
[Oh! The male lead of the original story, Zhou Yichen, has appeared! Haha, a field of shura! They are going to fight!]
“A fight?” Xie Yizhou raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. The system had only mentioned a conflict between Gu Yulan and Su Jianyang during this meeting.
[In the original plot, there is a scene, let me check.]
Xie Yizhou did not count on the unreliable 0377. He snatched the floating book from the air and flipped through it quickly himself.
When rivals meet, sparks fly. Coupled with Gu Yulan’s arrogance, he responded to Zhou Yichen’s verbal provocation by throwing a punch. The two fought, and they were evenly matched. However, Gu Yulan’s bloodthirsty appearance only made Su Jianyang more afraid, convinced that he was an absolute madman. This gave the injured Zhou Yichen a better chance to get closer to Su Jianyang.
Xie Yizhou finished reading the section and closed the book.
[Tsk, tsk. That is too pitiful. He gets into a fight, gets hurt, and in the end, gains nothing but the sight of the person he loves being intimate with his rival. No one could stand that.]
“…”
[Don’t you have anything to say?]
Xie Yizhou: “No.”
0377: Well, now I feel like I am talking too much.
“Boyfriend?” Gu Yulan narrowed his eyes. “I have never heard of that.” He looked at Su Jianyang, who was hiding behind the man.
Su Jianyang turned his head away, avoiding Gu Yulan’s gaze.
“Yes, boyfriend,” Zhou Yichen laughed, though there was no mirth in his eyes. “Are you the one who has been harassing my boyfriend?”
Gu Yulan’s gaze fell on their joined hands, his eyes darkening further.
“I was afraid some mad dog would harass him, so I plan to pick him up from school from now on.”
Hearing this, Su Jianyang’s heart leaped into his throat. He pulled at Zhou Yichen’s sleeve, and even the onlookers held their breath. The tension between the two had reached a breaking point. One spark, and it would explode.
“The sound of your barking is quite something. After all that talk, don’t you just want to taste my fist?”
Then I will fulfill your wish.
Gu Yulan sneered, his sharp eyes filled with coldness. He suddenly clenched his fist and swung.
The moment Gu Yulan threw the punch, Zhou Yichen’s eyes narrowed. He seemed to have been on guard, a faint cold smile touching his lips. As he prepared to dodge, he also made his move.
Su Jianyang gasped at the sight of them starting to fight and immediately squeezed his eyes shut. The onlookers also cried out in shock.
At that moment, Xie Yizhou’s eyes flashed, and he stepped out from the crowd.
Things did not go as everyone expected. A slender figure inserted himself directly between the two men.
The moment Gu Yulan’s fist was caught, his eyes widened in shock. He looked at Xie Yizhou, who was blocking him, with utter disbelief. Zhou Yichen was equally surprised; he stared at the youth who had suddenly rushed out to shield Gu Yulan.
It happened so fast that there was almost no time to react. Even if Zhou Yichen wanted to pull back his strength, it was impossible. The onlookers held their breath as they watched the fist head toward the youth.
That is going to hurt.
Gu Yulan watched as Xie Yizhou stood perfectly still, facing the incoming punch without even blinking. Panicking, Gu Yulan tried to stop it, but it was too late. His hand was held firmly. Where did this frail body get such strange strength?
For a moment, everything seemed to pause. Only the stray hairs on Xie Yizhou’s forehead fluttered in the wind from the punch. The fist stopped right in front of Xie Yizhou’s eyes, only a centimeter from his brow.
Everyone exhaled in relief. They thought the youth was incredibly brave, or foolish, to rush into such a dangerous situation with such a thin frame.
Gu Yulan felt his own heartbeat, loud and heavy.
“Are you here to laugh at me, or have you gone mad?” Gu Yulan was so angry his eyes were red. He tried to pull his hand away, but he could not.
Xie Yizhou’s eyes flickered, and he sensibly let go.
The moment the restraint on his wrist vanished, Gu Yulan’s expression darkened. He immediately seized the initiative, grabbing the youth’s hand and using his own body to shield him, creating distance between them and the other side.
“What happened?” Su Jianyang opened his eyes slowly when he heard no further commotion. He was surprised to see that they had not fought. Seeing Gu Yulan’s fury, he felt afraid, but more than that, he was worried. What had just happened?
Regardless, he did not want to see them fight over him again and decided to take the opportunity to leave. “Let’s go. I do not want to stay here.”
Zhou Yichen snapped out of it. He slowly withdrew his gaze and gave Su Jianyang a reassuring smile. “Alright, let’s go.”
He took Su Jianyang to the car. After the engine started, he took one last narrow eyed look at the gates of University A.
With the main characters gone, the crowd gradually dispersed. Only two people, one tall and one short, remained in an awkward standoff.
“Do you not value your life?”
Xie Yizhou stood there with his eyes lowered, quietly accepting the scolding. However, his mind was filled with 0377’s voice.
[Holy cow! That was amazing! Host, you are so fierce! You actually jumped right in!]
Xie Yizhou quietly squeezed the hearing aid at his ear, pretending he heard nothing.
Gu Yulan was absolutely livid today! He looked at the youth standing there with his head bowed, and his teeth itched with frustration.
“Do you think I will be grateful because you stood in front of me?” Gu Yulan felt a lingering fear thinking back to that moment. “If you had been beaten into the hospital, wouldn’t you be spending my money?”
He cursed several times in his anger until he noticed the youth remained unusually quiet, his head still bowed. He stopped, feeling surprised.
His gaze fell on the youth and noticed that his ear was empty. There was nothing there.
He took several sharp breaths.
Fine! Just fine!
Gu Yulan’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the youth’s calm, fair profile. He involuntarily clenched his fists. Nicely done. You knew you were going to be scolded, so you took off your hearing aid in advance.