[Danger!!! Level 1 Alert!!! Lu Zhenting and Lin Zhaodi’s scheme is set to be executed tonight!!!]
[Target 1: Frame you for stealing public grain! Target 2: Catch you and Gu Yanshen in a compromising situation!! Ruin both of you completely!!!]
The shrill alarm ringing in her mind was like a bucket of ice water, instantly washing away all the sweetness in Su Wanqing’s heart brought by the apple.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the apple, but her smile didn’t waver. Only in her bright, sparkling eyes did a flash of coldness pass quickly.
A perfect “two-birds-with-one-stone” move—poisonous and ruthless enough.
She looked up at Gu Yanshen and deliberately spoke in a slightly coquettish, uneasy tone: “I don’t know why, but I feel kind of uneasy tonight… like something bad is going to happen.”
As she spoke, she casually glanced around the dark surroundings, as if by chance.
The place was quiet except for a few insect chirps, but Su Wanqing knew someone’s eyes were watching them from the shadows.
Gu Yanshen’s deep, bottomless black eyes darkened instantly. He sharply sensed the unease in her words and instinctively stepped closer, shielding her more securely within his shadow.
His voice was low, carrying a reassuring strength: “What is it?”
She lowered her head, a hint of shyness in her gesture, and took a crisp bite of the apple. “Crunch.”
The sweet flavor filled her mouth.
Using the motion and sound of chewing as cover, her lips barely moved as she whispered at a speed only he could perceive: “Lin Zhaodi… is going to frame me… tonight… three quarters past midnight… at the old locust tree behind the mountain… you come alone.”
As soon as the words were out, pleased by the apple’s sweetness, she lifted her head, her expression brightening into its usual girlish charm. She said aloud: “Wow! This apple is so sweet! Thank you!”
Without looking at Gu Yanshen again or giving him a chance to question, she took the apple and turned, her steps light, heading back to the female knowledge youth dorm.
The entire performance flowed seamlessly, leaving no trace of suspicion.
Gu Yanshen, left behind, watched her retreating figure, then swept his gaze over the quiet courtyard. His eyes were as cold as ice.
He slipped his hands into his pockets, appearing relaxed as he turned back toward the dorm—but the eyes hidden in the darkness already blazed with a terrifying chill.
……
Night deepened.
The knowledge youth area was completely silent, only intermittent snores breaking the quiet.
Three quarters past midnight, the moon was shrouded by clouds, and one could not see their own hand.
Su Wanqing silently sat up, and softly said to Li Xiu, sleeping on the outer side: “Xiu’er, my stomach hurts… I’m going to the latrine.”
Li Xiu murmured “Mm” drowsily, turned over, and went back to sleep.
Su Wanqing put on her coat, pushed the door open, and slipped silently into the thick night.
She didn’t go to the latrine. Using the darkness as cover, she crept all the way to the old, solitary locust tree behind the mountain.
Its shadow loomed like a silent giant.
As soon as she stopped, a dark figure separated from the giant shadow.
“I’m here.”
It was Gu Yanshen.
He stood like a silent statue, already waiting for her, exuding the chill of the deep night.
Su Wanqing’s heart settled completely at the sight of him.
No more secrets. She laid out the scheme flashed in her mind by the alert:
“Lu Zhenting and Lin Zhaodi have joined forces. Lin Zhaodi is supposed to steal cornmeal from the knowledge youth warehouse tonight and plant it in my dorm. Lu Zhenting will time it perfectly to ‘catch us in the act,’ pinning the crimes of ‘stealing public grain’ and ‘immoral conduct’ on us, so we’ll never recover.”
With every word, the air around Gu Yanshen grew colder.
He didn’t ask how she knew.
He believed her unconditionally.
By the time she finished, his hand at his side had already curled into a fist, the knuckles cracking.
He looked at her and asked in his low, husky voice: “What do you want to do?”
He handed her all the initiative, promising to be her sharpest weapon.
Su Wanqing’s heart felt enveloped by a warm, protective hand—steady, secure, and unprecedentedly comforting.
“Let’s use their plan against them,” she said, her eyes sparkling with determination. “They want a show? Then we’ll build the stage and let them perform it beautifully.”
Together, they quickly devised a counterplan.
“Step one: you surveil.” Su Wanqing lowered her voice, her instructions precise. “You must see Lin Zhaodi pick the lock, steal the cornmeal, and hide it under my bed. You’ll be the most direct witness.”
Gu Yanshen nodded without hesitation: “Got it.”
“Step two: when I return to the dorm, I’ll secretly carve a special mark in a gap under my bed with a needle tip. Only I will recognize this mark.”
“The key is step three,” Su Wanqing smirked coldly. “After Lin Zhaodi hides the grain and leaves, you sneak into our dorm and move the three bags of cornmeal, marked by me, to a new location.”
“Where?” Gu Yanshen asked.
“She has that old, bleached canvas bundle, right?”
“She treats it like treasure and never lets anyone touch it. Pour the cornmeal into her bundle, then hide it deep in the messiest haystack behind the pigpen.”
Su Wanqing’s eyes glinted with calculation in the dark. “Then tomorrow, when Lu Zhenting comes to ‘catch us red-handed,’ he’ll find nothing.”
“And we can turn the tables, lead everyone to the haystack by the pigpen, and stage a real ‘caught red-handed’ scenario. Let everyone see who’s really crying wolf!”
Gu Yanshen’s eyes flickered with approval at her airtight plan.
He realized that this seemingly delicate knowledge youth was not only clever but unusually meticulous.
Her combination of innocent charm and sharp intelligence made her even more… adorable.
“Alright, let’s do it,” he said succinctly.
The plan set, they spoke no more and quickly separated, each melting into the deeper darkness.
Elsewhere, a sneaky figure crept to the knowledge youth warehouse.
It was Lin Zhaodi.
She pulled out a pre-prepared piece of wire from her pocket, fumbled at the old brass lock for a while.
“Click.” The lock opened.
A triumphant, sinister smile spread across her face. She slipped into the warehouse, and soon emerged carrying three heavy bags of cornmeal, disappearing into the night toward the female knowledge youth dorm.
Not far behind her, a tall shadow separated from the corner darkness, ghostlike, silently following.