With Sheng Xia pleading with him like that, refusing her really did seem inappropriate.
And judging by the look in her eyes, it almost felt as though she might beat him up if he said no.
Gu Ziyan found the thought rather absurd.
The frail little girl who had fainted when they first met in their first year of high school had grown up.
Because Sheng Xia was naturally introverted, she had always worn her hair long, reaching her waist, along with thick bangs that covered much of her face. Very few people in their class had ever actually seen her full appearance.
The round little face before him, paired with those large eyes, was the very definition of a baby face. It gave Gu Ziyan an inexplicable urge to pinch her cheeks.
Shaking off the strange thought that had suddenly surfaced, he noticed what seemed to be a trace of impatience in Sheng Xia’s eyes. He quickly nodded toward Su Mei and reassured her.
“Sheng Xia is right, Aunt Mei. Just focus on getting treatment and don’t worry about anything else. Sheng Xia can move in here. I’ll keep an eye on her, and we can study together while helping each other out. You really don’t need to worry.”
The moment Gu Ziyan agreed, the burden weighing on Sheng Xia’s heart finally lifted. She immediately gave him a grateful, if somewhat forced, smile.
Seeing this, Su Mei felt deeply comforted.
Her daughter was simply too considerate. She truly couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
Ziyan was a good child, and she felt reassured leaving Sheng Xia with him. The two of them normally didn’t interact much anyway, so she wasn’t worried about them doing anything inappropriate.
As for their studies, she had never been concerned.
From their first year of high school all the way through senior year, Sheng Xia and Gu Ziyan had consistently alternated between first and second place in the entire grade.
As for the college entrance examination, she had never put any pressure on Sheng Xia. As long as her daughter performed normally, that would be enough.
Thinking of this, Su Mei no longer felt quite so resistant to leaving.
“Ziyan, since you’ve said so much already, it would be wrong for me to keep refusing. Tomorrow I’ll bring Sheng Xia over with me. During this period, I’ll be entrusting her to you.”
Turning toward the grandfather and grandson, she added,
“Old Master, thank you for everything. I’ve caused you trouble.”
As Gu Qing watched Gu Ziyan with a pleased smile on his face, Su Mei expressed her heartfelt gratitude to both of them.
After everyone finalized the departure time and discussed future arrangements for keeping in touch, Sheng Xia and Su Mei finished the household chores, prepared dinner, and then returned home together.
Having successfully persuaded Su Mei and resolved one major concern, Sheng Xia was in an unusually good mood.
After all, bringing Su Mei along during everything that was coming would have been far less convenient.
The smile never left her face on the way home.
Seeing her daughter so happy, Su Mei couldn’t help but be affected by her smile. For a moment, even the pain from her illness seemed to disappear.
Once they got home, Su Mei pulled Sheng Xia aside and lectured her for quite some time before finally beginning to pack for the trip and the move.
Unused to being so close to her mother, Sheng Xia nearly lost control and fled.
Fortunately, she managed to endure it.
After all, she couldn’t allow the original host’s personality to fall apart, at least not yet.
Since the length of her stay away was uncertain, Su Mei kept enough money for a year’s worth of living expenses and handed everything else to Sheng Xia in one bank card, instructing her to eat well, live well, and never mistreat herself.
Accepting the bank card, Sheng Xia was already considering how to spend the money. She nodded absentmindedly in response.
That night, Su Mei stubbornly stayed in Sheng Xia’s bed and refused to leave.
Left with no choice, Sheng Xia slept beside her.
Curled up in Su Mei’s embrace and listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing, Sheng Xia remained awake the entire night.
Ever since she could remember, she had been living in the Shaolin Temple learning martial arts. She had never shared such intimacy with her own mother.
So this was what a mother’s embrace felt like.
It was so warm…
The next day, both Sheng Xia and Gu Ziyan arranged leave from school in advance. After the two families met up, they helped Sheng Xia settle into the guest room before heading together to Kangcheng Airport.
After seeing Su Mei and Gu Qing off at the airport, Sheng Xia returned to the Gu residence with Gu Ziyan.
The two sat in the living room, and Sheng Xia felt somewhat awkward.
Gu Ziyan had cooperated with her so readily. Shouldn’t she at least thank him?
“Um, Class Monitor, thank you for yesterday. Don’t worry, while I’m staying here, we’ll keep out of each other’s way. I absolutely won’t disturb you.”
Sheng Xia looked at him seriously as she spoke.
Seeing her earnest expression, Gu Ziyan suddenly felt the urge to tease her.
“Since you’ve taken the initiative to thank me and even moved in, then how about…”
“Marrying me to repay the favor?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly spun around and reached out with his long arm.
Startled, Sheng Xia instinctively leaned backward and launched a grappling move.
She had expected to catch the seemingly slender Gu Ziyan with ease.
To her surprise, despite looking lean, he was far stronger than he appeared. His body shifted effortlessly, his arm exerted force, and in the next instant he had trapped Sheng Xia against the sofa instead.
Gu Ziyan’s breathtakingly handsome face was suddenly right before her eyes.
She could even see the tiny fine hairs on his face and the small black mole beneath his left eyebrow.
Without blinking, Gu Ziyan stared at the shock written across Sheng Xia’s face. The corners of his lips curved upward slightly, clearly reflecting his good mood.
“Sheng Xia, when did you learn a grappling technique like that? The form isn’t bad, but unfortunately your strength is far too weak.”
Sheng Xia felt utterly frustrated.
It was all because this body was too weak and unreliable.
Otherwise, with her actual skills, there was no way she would have been caught so easily.
When she got the chance, she was definitely going to have a proper match with Gu Ziyan and see who was truly stronger.
“I learned a few moves online. They’re specifically for dealing with perverts.”
Seeing her unconvinced expression, Gu Ziyan could no longer hold back.
He reached out and pinched her fair, smooth cheek before bursting into laughter.
“Pfft! Hahaha! Sheng Xia, your expression is just too funny. Don’t worry, even if you trained for another ten years, you still wouldn’t be my opponent!”
With that, he pulled her to her feet.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Sheng Xia exchanged several more moves with him.
This time, Gu Ziyan forced her all the way into a corner.
For the first time in her life, Sheng Xia experienced the legendary wall pin.
Looking at Gu Ziyan standing so close, she felt the distance between them was far too small.
Her face instantly burned red.
Pushing him away, she stammered,
“Um, I… I’m going back to my room first…”
Then she fled at top speed.
Only Gu Ziyan remained behind, laughing uncontrollably.
Back in the guest room, Sheng Xia patted her burning cheeks and silently cursed herself for being useless.
She was already a twenty-six-year-old single woman.
Even if she had never personally experienced romance, she had certainly seen enough of it.
How could she have run away?
When someone flirted with her, shouldn’t she have flirted right back?
Maybe she could even have used a honey trap and taken him down.
The more she thought about it, the more regretful she became.
She had actually missed such a rare opportunity!
Rolling around on the bed in frustration, Sheng Xia found herself thinking about the event mentioned in the novel, the mysterious disappearance of Gu Ziyan.
A strange look appeared in her eyes.