Miss Shi pushed open the dormitory door. A dim glow showed through the mosquito nets around all four beds. As expected, her roommates were still awake.
She reached over and flicked the switch. Bright light instantly chased away the gloom.
After sitting down at her desk, she took out her phone. Its screen lit up, revealing unread messages on WeChat.
At the top were messages from Wu Yang:
【Shuyi, are you back at school?】
【If anything’s wrong, you have to tell me. I can help you work it out—don’t bear it alone.】
【It’s already one o’clock. Are you still not back at school?】
His concern was unmistakable in every line.
Miss Shi tapped the screen and quickly replied:
【Senior Brother, I’m back in the dorm. Get some sleep.】
She left Wu Yang’s chat. A red dot glowed beside her contacts: a new friend request.
The verification message was brief and direct, with an unmistakably forceful tone:
“I’m your boyfriend. Add me.”
Shi Shuyi could almost picture Gu Huaiye’s matter-of-fact expression as he sent it.
She raised an eyebrow slightly and tapped “Accept.”
Almost immediately, her chat with Gu Huaiye jumped to the top of her WeChat list.
But soon Wu Yang’s messages pushed it back down:
Wu Yang: 【Shuyi, he didn’t give you a hard time, did he? That man tonight… his presence was intense. He didn’t seem like an ordinary person. How did you meet him?】
Shi Shuyi: 【Senior Brother, I’m sorry about today. I used you as a shield. But there are some things… I don’t want to talk about yet, and I don’t want my parents alarmed. Can you keep this between us?】
Wu Yang: 【I understand. I won’t ask, but you have to let me know you’re safe.】
Warmth stirred faintly in Shi Shuyi’s heart. She replied at once: 【Senior Brother, don’t worry. I’m perfectly safe.】
She saw the “Typing…” indicator at the top. It seemed he was still choosing his words, so she added:
【It’s really late, Senior Brother. You should get some sleep. I’m going to wash up and turn in, too.】
She had already used Wu Yang.
Gu Huaiye was not a merciful man, and Shi Shuyi didn’t want Wu Yang getting dragged into this any further.
On the other end of the phone, Wu Yang stared at the screen, his brow deeply furrowed.
He typed and deleted message after message. In the end, all he sent was one simple line:
【All right. You get some sleep, too.】
Even after it sent, he didn’t put his phone down. His gaze remained fixed on that familiar profile picture, his eyes clouded with unshakable worry.
What kind of relationship did Shuyi have with that man?
That man tonight was clearly rich and powerful, and strikingly handsome, with sharp features. If he pursued Shuyi, would I still have a chance…?
*
Gu Huaiye returned to his villa in the city center. After washing up, he lay back on the wide black bed.
Frowning, he looked at his phone, its cold light illuminating his sharply defined features.
The first chat on his WeChat screen was unmistakably with “Shi Shuyi.”
Aside from the system’s impersonal notification, “You are now friends,” the chat was completely empty. She hadn’t even sent the simplest “I’m home.”
Since taking full control of Gu Corporation and building a business empire of his own, Gu Huaiye’s old brashness and self-assurance at eighteen had gradually returned over the past two years.
But he hadn’t expected that his first serious “relationship” would have to begin with him practically forcing the issue—and that he’d have to be the one to initiate even the most basic interaction.
The corner of his mouth twitched with self-mockery.
Never mind. How long this relationship would last was anyone’s guess.
Just as he was about to toss his phone aside, a new message popped up.
Jiang Cheng: 【Big Brother Gu, you only kept Li Yue around for a day, and now you’ve already gotten rid of her?! I’m telling you, you were the one who suddenly changed your mind and insisted on someone sweet and innocent. I went to all that trouble to find her for you. What, she still wasn’t your type? Want me to find you someone glamorous and fiery like before?】
Gu Huaiye: 【No. I have… a girlfriend.】
Jiang Cheng: 【!!!!】
Jiang Cheng: 【What did you just say?!】
A few seconds later, the phone rang. Jiang Cheng’s name flashed on the screen as the phone vibrated incessantly.
Gu Huaiye answered.
“What’s going on, Big Brother Gu?” Jiang Cheng’s voice nearly burst through the speaker. “What kind of woman could make you agree to call her your girlfriend?!”
Gu Huaiye’s tone was flat. “She’s the one who gave me the title.”
Jiang Cheng fell silent. After two seconds, he let out an astonished cry:
“Holy crap! There’s actually a woman in this world who can turn you down?!”
“No way. I have to meet her! Tomorrow… no, tonight! Bring your sister-in-law to Baisen. Xubai and I have to see for ourselves who the brave woman is who managed to win over our President Gu!”
Jiang Cheng checked the time. It was just past midnight, so the earliest chance was tonight!
He couldn’t wait a second longer.
“I’m busy tonight. I’m having dinner with Fu Shiyan at Pujiang Hui.”
At the mention of “Fu Shiyan,” Jiang Cheng’s tone shifted.
“I heard… your younger sister and Fu Shiyan are together. Is that true?”
Gu Huaiye gave a quiet “Mm.”
“That’s incredible! Our little sister actually won over Fu Shiyan, that iceberg who’s been frozen for a thousand years? I never thought I’d live to hear him call us ‘Big Brother’!”
“Gu Zhixia is my younger sister. What does that have to do with you?” Gu Huaiye said coldly.
“Come on, Big Brother Gu,” Jiang Cheng replied with a grin. “I practically watched Xiaxia grow up. Given how close we are, isn’t your sister as good as my sister? When she gets married one day, I’ll give her a generous dowry!”
Jiang Cheng knew how much Gu Zhixia meant to Gu Huaiye. And the girl really was sweet and endearing, so he had always sincerely treated her like his own little sister.
“She’s still young. Why are we talking about marriage?”
“Haha, Big Brother Gu, don’t tell me you can’t bear to let her go?”
Silence fell abruptly on the other end of the call. Then came the clean, decisive beep of a disconnected line.
Jiang Cheng stared at his phone for a moment, stunned.
Then he opened WeChat and typed quickly:
Jiang Cheng: 【All right, all right, I get it. If I had a sweet little sister like that and someone whisked her away, I’d get jealous too.】
Jiang Cheng: 【Enough about your sister. Let’s talk about you. If tonight doesn’t work, how about tomorrow night? You have to bring your sister-in-law out so we can meet her!】
Gu Huaiye: 【Depends on her schedule.】
He had looked into Shi Shuyi. She worked at Baisen every Monday and Tuesday evening, and her other days were packed too. She was either in the library or in the lab.
On top of keeping up with her studies, she was secretly learning acting. She had to split her time between the two.
Jiang Cheng: 【Look at you, Big Brother Gu. So this is what you’re like when you’re actually dating someone—you’ve learned to respect her schedule and think about her feelings? You’re making progress!】
Gu Huaiye: 【…】
Jiang Cheng: 【Fine, then hurry up and work out a time! Xubai and I have to meet your sister-in-law in person! We are just so, so, so curious!】
Gu Huaiye: 【Got it.】
After ending his conversation with Jiang Cheng, Gu Huaiye opened his chat with Shi Shuyi.
He considered for a moment, then sent her a message:
【Are you asleep?】
Shi Shuyi had just finished washing up and climbed wearily into bed when her phone screen lit up.
【Not yet. What’s up?】
Gu Huaiye replied quickly, as direct as ever:
【Tomorrow at seven. Are you free?】
Shi Shuyi: 【Um… is something going on?】
Gu Huaiye: 【I want to take you to meet a few friends. Since you’re my girlfriend, you’ll inevitably have to come with me to some events.】
It took quite a while for Shi Shuyi to reply. When she did, her message carried a cautious note:
【Could we… keep our relationship a secret for now?】
“Keep it a secret?”
Gu Huaiye stared at those words, a layer of frost abruptly settling in his eyes.
She really did want to avoid him—and this relationship he had forced on her…
He tamped down the irritation roiling inside him.
Gu Huaiye: 【Why?】
Shi Shuyi: 【I can’t let my parents find out. They’d worry… Besides, acting is my dream. I want to work my way into the industry through my own efforts, not rely on the halo of being “President Gu’s girlfriend.”】
Gu Huaiye read her message and dismissed the idea.
This kind of student-like pride was so… naive.
But at her age, it was normal to cling to a few impractical principles.
Besides, she came from a simple family background and had the confidence to say something like that.
Gu Huaiye: 【Don’t worry. As long as I don’t say anything, our relationship won’t make the news. As for your parents, they won’t find out unless you tell them yourself.】
Shi Shuyi: 【Then… all right.】
Shi Shuyi: 【I have experiments on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, and I need to work on my paper. Would Friday evening work?】
Under the strict guidance of her professor father, her schedule was packed every day.
Because she worked on Mondays and Tuesdays, she had to stay up until one or two in the morning on Wednesdays and Thursdays to catch up.
Gu Huaiye: 【All right.】
Gu Huaiye: 【But as my girlfriend, you should at least have a proper way to address me. When you meet my younger sister tomorrow night, are you still planning to call me “President Gu” every time?】
A faint smile spread across Shi Shuyi’s eyes. She deliberately sidestepped the question:
【What’s wrong with “President Gu”? It’s formal and respectable. It suits your status perfectly, and it shows how much respect I have for you.】
Gu Huaiye clearly wasn’t buying it:
【Are you my girlfriend or my subordinate?】
Shi Shuyi offered a tentative, soft reply:
【Then… Big Brother Huaiye? Kitten tilting its head.jpg】
His response was quick and firm:
【Drop the last two characters.】
Shi Shuyi’s eyes glimmered. A mischievous look flickered across them:
【Big Brother.】
Sure enough, those two words seemed to flip a switch.
To Gu Huaiye, “Big Brother” was what Gu Zhixia called him.
Gu Huaiye: 【Are you deliberately going against me?】
Shi Shuyi: 【President Gu, you’re asking too much. My brain has gone on strike. Good night~】
Gu Huaiye sent several messages in a row:
【……】
【Think of a proper way to address me before you go to sleep.】
【If I don’t hear an answer I like tomorrow, I’ll punish you in my own way.】
【Asleep already?】
【Shi Shuyi, answer me.】
【……】
Gu Huaiye stared at the screen for several minutes, but no reply came.
He tossed the phone onto the bedside table, leaned back into his pillow, and rubbed his brow.
He had actually spent half an hour arguing with a woman about what she should call him.
More absurdly, after all that, he hadn’t heard what he wanted. Instead, she had fended him off with a few sweetly delivered barbs, leaving him with nothing but a “Good night” utterly devoid of warmth.
So this was what dating was like?
Wasting time, haggling, and then having the other person affect your mood with ridiculous ease.
An unfamiliar, uncontrollable irritation began to spread through him, mingled with a trace of novelty he himself was unwilling to admit.