Gu Yue, Nearly Driven Mad

Late at night, Gu Yue was the only one left in the workshop. The lights stretched her shadow long against the wall covered in design drafts. She rubbed her aching eyes and refocused on the holographic blueprint before her—the left-arm battle armor component for Le Zhengyu. Pale gold metal plates interlocked in an intricate pattern, faint soul power runes flowing along their edges.

Caffeine pulsed through her veins, but her brain felt like a sponge saturated with water, heavy and unable to squeeze out another shred of inspiration. This was already her seventh cup. The electronic clock on the wall read 3:47 a.m., and less than half an hour remained until that bastard Le Zhengyu's customary "progress inspection."

Whenever she thought of Le Zhengyu, Gu Yue felt her back teeth itch. That guy always acted as though everything were only natural, dressed in that flashy white formal suit of his, arriving punctually at four in the morning to knock on the workshop door. The focused yet strangely peculiar expression he wore while inspecting the blueprints.

Every time, Gu Yue had to use all her strength to keep her fists hidden in her sleeves. Star Silver Steel... At the thought of that extortionate compensation payment, all her anger could only turn into a suppressed grunt in her throat and deeper scratches from her pen across the blueprint.

She reached for her coffee cup and found it empty. The trash bin beside her was stuffed with crumpled coffee packets, like withered dark-brown flowers. Sighing, she dug out the last packet of instant coffee from the back of a drawer, poured it directly into her mouth, and chewed it dry. The bitter powder stuck to her throat, bringing a sharp burst of wakefulness.

I can't sleep. If I sleep, I won't be able to hand in the revised blueprints tomorrow morning. That bastard will find another excuse to nitpick and make me pay with Star Silver Steel.

She bent over the workbench again and picked up her soul-tool design pen. Its tip moved over the light screen, adjusting soul power channels fine down to the micron. She had to make the energy circulation more even, make every molecule of metal vibrate in harmony when bearing immense soul power. This was not ordinary armor—it was One-Word Battle Armor, and it could not tolerate the slightest flaw. Though Le Zhengyu's smug face often made dark impulses rise in her, tempting her to design him a "little surprise" that occasionally leaked electricity.

Time passed soundlessly beneath her pen, within the steadily improving blueprint. The darkness beyond the window gradually thinned, revealing a faint bluish gray. When the electronic clock flipped to exactly four, the workshop door was knocked on right on schedule.

"Knock, knock-knock."

The rhythm was steady, the force moderate—just as irritating as ever.

Gu Yue took a deep breath, forcing down the dizziness and irritation brought on by staying up all night. In the calmest voice she could manage, she said, "Come in."

Le Zhengyu pushed the door open, bringing in a trace of cool morning air. He was still wearing that immaculate white formal suit, his blond hair combed flawlessly, with no sign of sleeplessness on his face. His pale gold eyes were as clear as an autumn sky. His gaze first fell on Gu Yue's bloodshot eyes and the pile of empty coffee packets beside her hand. It lingered for half a second before he walked straight to the central workbench.

"Gu Yue." There was a trace of concern in his voice. "Do you really need to push yourself this hard? It's not like I'm forcing you to finish it all in the next few days. You haven't slept in days."

If you weren't so damn picky, would I be like this? Gu Yue thought, but she had no energy to argue. She silently brought up the final three-dimensional design. The complex structure slowly rotated on the light screen, every detail clearly displayed. Simulated streams of soul power flowed smoothly through the preset circuits, gleaming with a stable, efficient pale gold light.

Le Zhengyu leaned closer and examined it with exceptional care. Every now and then, his finger tapped the air, enlarging a section as he inspected the connections between soul-tool patterns, the stress distribution of the metal structure, and the buffer design at the energy nodes. The laboratory was so quiet that only the faint hum of the equipment remained.

This time, he looked for a long while.

So long that Gu Yue nearly believed he was once again preparing some lengthy lecture full of nitpicking. Her heart sank heavily in her chest.

"It'll do," he said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Gu Yue froze, unable to react for a moment. Just like that... it passed? No nitpicking? No making her redraw it for the thirty-eighth time?

Le Zhengyu apparently had no intention of waiting for her response. He walked to the workbench, took out a portable soul-tool storage drive, inserted it into the port, and began downloading the complete design data. Only after finishing did he look at Gu Yue again, his gaze sweeping over the dark circles beneath her eyes and the overflowing coffee packets in the trash bin.

"Now, you'd better go get some sleep. You only get one life. If you die from overwork, the boss will cry himself to death." His voice was concerned, but to Gu Yue's ears, he was still asking to be punched.

With that, he put away the storage drive and turned to leave, the hem of his white formal suit cutting a crisp arc through the air.

The door closed softly, and the workshop fell silent again, leaving Gu Yue alone.

She stood there blankly for a few seconds, then suddenly let her shoulders slump and released a long, long breath. The stale air that had been trapped in her chest, mixed with anxiety, anger, exhaustion, and caffeine, finally seemed to find an outlet.

She staggered over to the small, hard temporary folding bed beside her. Without even taking off her shoes, she collapsed onto it. The instant her head touched the pillow—which was really just a cloth bag stuffed with old clothes—her heavy eyelids seemed drawn shut by magnets and refused to open again.

Before her consciousness completely sank into darkness, she hazily thought, That bastard Le Zhengyu... was that last thing he said supposed to be concern? Or was he just afraid no one would work if I died?

Whatever. Who cared?

Even the end of the world could wait until she woke up.

She slept until evening. It was time for dinner.

Gu Yue sat in a chair in the corner of the cafeteria. The stir-fried greens on the plate before her were nearly free of oil, the pale green vegetables arranged neatly on the tray. She slowly picked up a stalk and put it into her mouth, chewing without tasting anything. The cafeteria lights were somewhat dim, casting a small shadow across her quiet face. She ate attentively, yet seemed to be doing so only to complete the task of eating. There was little emotion in her eyes.

Just then, familiar noise came from the cafeteria entrance. Tang Wulin and Xie Xie walked in one after the other, still arguing about something, their voices drawing closer. Tang Wulin spotted Gu Yue at once, along with the pitiful plate of vegetables before her. His steps halted, and his brows furrowed unconsciously. Following his gaze, Xie Xie curled his lip and muttered, "Vegetables again. Doesn't she get sick of them?"

Tang Wulin ignored Xie Xie and walked straight to Gu Yue's table. Gu Yue looked up at him calmly. Seeing those clear but unruffled eyes, an inexplicable pang of heartache surged within him. He pointed at the vegetables, keeping his voice low. "Gu Yue, is this all you're eating?"

Gu Yue nodded without saying anything.

"The snack street outside the academy opened today," Tang Wulin said, his tone carrying a coaxing note he did not even notice himself. "It's really lively. Want to go take a look? It'll definitely taste better than this."

Gu Yue's fingers tightened slightly around her chopsticks. She should have refused, but when she saw Tang Wulin's bright, expectant eyes, along with Xie Xie's helpless expression behind him that seemed to say, "Here we go again," the words of refusal reached her lips and turned into a faint nod instead. Even she was a little surprised.

Tang Wulin's eyes curved at once, his smile so bright it was almost dazzling. He nearly immediately reached out and grabbed Gu Yue's wrist. Her skin felt slightly cool. "Let's go!" He turned and shouted at Xie Xie, "Xie Xie, keep up!"

Xie Xie rolled his eyes and resignedly followed, grumbling under his breath, "The boss only has eyes for Gu Yue. He's practically forgotten his brother all the way to the heavens."

The three left the academy and turned two street corners before a flood of noisy voices and enticing food aromas rushed toward them. The snack street was brilliantly lit, all kinds of stalls lining both sides. Skewers sizzled on iron grills, while the sweet aroma of sugar-roasted chestnuts, the spicy fragrance of mala tang, and the wheaty scent of jianbing mingled together, stirring up everyone's appetite.

Gu Yue was briefly stunned by the steaming, bustling scene, her steps slowing. But Tang Wulin had already eagerly rushed to a candied hawthorn stall, bought the biggest, reddest skewer, and turned to hold it out to her. "Try this. It's sweet."

Then he pulled her through the crowd to the grilled squid stall and ordered a spicy serving of squid tentacles. Turning around, he went to buy freshly fried, golden, crispy chicken cutlets. When he saw a milk tea stall, he immediately ordered a warm cup with full sugar and pearls, stuffing it into Gu Yue's other empty hand. His own hands quickly filled with assorted paper bags and bamboo skewers as well.

"These takoyaki are really authentic. Take a bite."

"Red bean cakes! They just came out of the oven, so be careful—they're hot."

"Osmanthus cake. It smells great. You'll definitely like it."

Tang Wulin was like the most attentive errand boy, constantly buying food and holding it out for Gu Yue to try. His eyes never left her face, watching for every subtle change in her expression. Whenever her eyes widened slightly, he immediately asked, "Is it good?" Whenever she gave a small nod, his smile grew even brighter.

At first, Gu Yue was somewhat reserved, taking tiny bites. But soon, her taste buds were overwhelmed by all the novel, intense flavors. Everything in her hands had been stuffed there by Tang Wulin without giving her any chance to refuse, so she could only tightly hold the warm milk tea in her left hand and an oily fried skewer in her right, taking a bite from one side and a taste from the other. The crisp sweetness of candied hawthorn, the fresh, spicy chewiness of squid tentacles, the savory tenderness of crispy chicken cutlets, the rich smoothness of milk tea... All those flavors intertwined, bringing her a simple joy that ordinary people experienced, one she had not known for a very, very long time. Her cheeks puffed slightly as she ate, and a little sauce and sugar crumb stuck to the corner of her mouth. Under the warm yellow lights and food-scented steam, her normally cool, expressionless face took on a vivid, almost greedy air.

Xie Xie trailed behind them with only a grilled sausage Tang Wulin had casually shoved into his hand. He watched Tang Wulin circle around Gu Yue, fussing over her, introducing this and urging her to taste that, completely leaving him to one side. The sour jealousy in his heart nearly bubbled over. He bit viciously into the sausage and chewed hard, glaring at the intimate—at least in his eyes—backs of the two people ahead. Irritated, he kicked a small stone with the tip of his shoe and complained in a low voice, "Choosing girls over friends! Forgetting loyalty at the sight of a pretty face! Tang Wulin, you heartless bastard!"

Unfortunately, his complaints were completely drowned out by the noisy crowd and cheerful cries of the vendors. The two ahead, one focused on feeding and the other on tasting, neither turned around to pay him any attention.

Gu Yue finally finished the last takoyaki in her left hand and the last meat skewer in her right, then licked her lips in satisfaction. She had also drunk more than half of her milk tea. Raising her head, she looked at Tang Wulin. Tang Wulin was smiling at her, his eyes bright as though they held every light on the street. He reached out and naturally wiped away an inconspicuous spot of grease from her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"Are you full?" he asked.

Gu Yue looked at him and gave a soft "Mm." At that moment, her stomach was full, her palms were warm, and a place in her heart that had always felt empty seemed to be quietly filled with something by this noisy, flavorful night. She looked exactly like a small beast that had been fed delicious food, temporarily putting away all her thorns and coldness, appearing a little innocent and content. And Tang Wulin was the one patiently feeding her.