Gu Yue Gives In

Morning light filtered through the gap in the curtains, slicing patches of brightness across the floor.

The kitchen crackled with the sound of frying oil, carrying the charred fragrance of bacon and the fresh scent of eggs into the bedroom.

Wearing an apron, Gu Yue efficiently plated breakfast: perfectly fried sunny-side-up eggs, crisp-edged bacon, steaming toast, and a cup of hand-brewed coffee. She checked the time. Eight thirty.

"Tang Wulin, get up and eat."

Her voice was not loud, yet it carried enough force to precisely wake the person wrapped up in the blankets, sprawled across most of the bed like a starfish.

A rustling sound came from the bedroom, followed by an extremely unwilling "Mmm..." that seemed squeezed out from the depths of his nose.

After a while, Tang Wulin shuffled into the bathroom in slippers, his black hair a total mess as if it had been hit by a tornado. The man in the mirror had faint dark circles beneath his eyes, and his whole body radiated the low-pressure mood of someone whose entire world owed him five hundred bucks.

After washing up, he slowly made his way to the dining table.

Gu Yue was already seated, elegantly sipping her coffee. When she saw him, she merely raised her eyes and glanced at him before returning her focus to breakfast. Her appetite was clearly excellent; she even took an extra slice of bacon compared to usual.

Tang Wulin pulled out a chair and sat down, fork in hand, but he had no desire to move. He poked at the sunny-side-up egg on his plate, watching the runny yolk spill out, yet he could not summon even the slightest appetite.

"Why aren't you eating?" Gu Yue asked casually, though her gaze remained on her own plate.

"I'm full." Tang Wulin replied stiffly. He really did set down his fork, folded his arms across his chest, and leaned back in his chair, his gaze sticking to Gu Yue like a shadow.

Gu Yue found it both amusing and helpless under his stare. She slowly finished the last bite of toast, wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin, then rose to clear the dishes.

Tang Wulin immediately stood as well. Like a robot following its programming, he trailed after her step by step and helped carry the dishes into the kitchen. Yet his lips remained tightly pressed together the entire time, and he did not say a word. Only those deep eyes stayed fixed on Gu Yue's back, filled with the unmistakable large-dog emotions of I'm upset, I'm angry, and hurry up and coax me.

Once the dishes were done.

Gu Yue shook the water droplets from her hands and turned around, only to find Tang Wulin blocking the kitchen doorway, still wearing that resentful expression.

"You're in the way," Gu Yue said.

Tang Wulin did not move. He merely looked at her with those damp, deeply wronged eyes. After a long moment, he muttered, "...You did it on purpose."

Gu Yue raised a brow. "What did I do on purpose?"

"You deliberately played games with someone else yesterday, deliberately refused to sleep with me, and deliberately ignored me this morning." The more Tang Wulin spoke, the more justified he felt. He lifted his chin slightly. Though he lacked momentum, his stubborn streak had flared up.

Gu Yue felt a vein twitch at her forehead. She took a deep breath and decided to follow through with the policy she had set last night: she could not let him keep staring at her like this.

She walked toward the sofa in the living room. Tang Wulin followed right after her, still maintaining his ghostlike surveillance mode.

Gu Yue sat down and patted the spot beside her. Tang Wulin hesitated before sitting down as well, his body stiff as a rock.

"Hey." Gu Yue turned sideways and poked his arm with one finger.

Tang Wulin ignored her. His gaze drifted elsewhere, refusing to look at her.

Gu Yue narrowed her eyes and decided to first try the "beauty seduction" approach. She leaned slightly closer to Tang Wulin. A faint, deliberate softness colored her usually cool eyes, her long lashes fluttered gently, and her breath was fragrant as she lowered her voice into a coaxing tone.

"Don't be angry anymore... I was wrong last night. I shouldn't have played games with other guys. Look, how about I make it up to you?"

As she spoke, she even reached out and lightly hooked her little finger around Tang Wulin's.

Normally, Tang Wulin would probably have surrendered instantly, pulled her into his arms, and nuzzled against her without restraint.

But today, this large dog had clearly entered full-blown vinegar-jar mode. Feeling Gu Yue draw close, his body stiffened almost imperceptibly. Then... he forcibly turned his head away, even letting out a very soft, disdainful snort.

Gu Yue: "..."

She withdrew her hand, her fingertips hovering awkwardly in the air for a moment. For the first time, her "beauty" had failed.

Expressionless, Gu Yue pulled out her phone and opened an app called "Large Dog Taming AI Assistant," which she had downloaded on a whim last night. She quickly browsed the recommended "Strategies for Handling a Jealous Partner's Cold War."

Plan One: [Act Cute and Affectionate]—Attempted, failed.

Plan Two: [Show Appropriate Vulnerability]—Currently under evaluation.

Plan Three: [Redirect Attention]—Recommend using food/games/intimate contact to interrupt the other party's emotional cycle.

Gu Yue looked at the three suggestions, then at the still-sulking man beside her, and silently closed her phone.

"Tang Wulin." She called him by his full name.

Tang Wulin finally deigned to shift his gaze back a little, peeking at her from the corner of his eye with wariness.

"Are you jealous?" Gu Yue asked directly.

"I'm not." Tang Wulin denied it immediately, speaking astonishingly fast, while the tips of his ears visibly reddened.

"Then why have you been staring at me?"

"...Because I want to." Tang Wulin sounded perfectly justified, though he was clearly lacking confidence.

Gu Yue fell silent. She discovered that ordinary tactics truly did not work well on a vinegar jar convinced that she was "ignoring him" and determined to torment her with silence and stares.

The atmosphere in the house remained bizarre for the entire morning that followed.

When Gu Yue read in the study, Tang Wulin moved a chair to the study doorway. He did not come inside; he simply sat there quietly, his gaze passing through the doorframe and locking firmly onto Gu Yue.

When Gu Yue went to the balcony to water the plants, Tang Wulin followed to the balcony door, leaned against the frame with his arms folded, and watched her intently.

When Gu Yue went to pour herself water, Tang Wulin followed right behind the kettle, step for step.

He did nothing. He did not even play with his phone anymore. He just stared at Gu Yue with focus, persistence, and resentment, as though her face held some priceless treasure—or... some earth-shattering secret.

At first, Gu Yue managed to keep up a calm appearance, but the speed at which she turned pages grew faster and faster. Eventually, she felt as if the skin on her back was about to be burned through by his stare.

The feeling was too strange. It was as if she had suddenly become transparent, or... as she herself had joked, as though she were not wearing any clothes.

That feeling of being watched from every angle, without a single blind spot, with such obsessive intensity made Gu Yue uncomfortable all over. She even developed an absurd illusion: if this continued, she might really have nightmares tonight because of the psychological pressure.

She put down her book and rubbed her brow.

For more than twenty years, Gu Yue had been used to controlling everything, to being calm and rational, to being the one who made the rules. She had never imagined that one day, before a younger boy who usually seemed rather foolish, she would feel so stumped—and even... be forced to lower her head.

She stood, walked into the living room, and stopped in front of Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin looked up at her, his eyes still carrying wariness and that lingering grievance.

Gu Yue took a deep breath and waged an intense mental battle with herself. Then she lowered her eyes, her voice softer than usual, carrying a trace of barely noticeable helplessness and compromise.

"Fine... I was wrong."

Tang Wulin's eyes instantly brightened, but he quickly forced the reaction down and pretended to be cold. "What were you wrong about?"

"I shouldn't have played games with someone else for no reason yesterday. I shouldn't have refused to sleep with you, and I shouldn't have ignored you this morning." Gu Yue recited her apology without expression, but every word was articulated with absolute clarity.

The tightly drawn corner of Tang Wulin's mouth finally could not help curving upward slightly. Yet he immediately pressed his lips together again, striving to maintain a stern expression. Only those sparkling eyes thoroughly betrayed him.

Like a large dog that had finally waited for its owner to pat its head, he let out a vague sound through his nose, carrying a hint of smug satisfaction.

"Hmph."

Seeing him clearly happy yet still putting on an act, Gu Yue was both annoyed and amused. She reached out and roughly ruffled Tang Wulin's head, turning his already messy hair into even more of a bird's nest.

"Satisfied?" she asked.

Tang Wulin finally stopped suppressing himself. He grabbed Gu Yue's wrist, gave it a hard tug, and pulled her into his arms. He buried his face in the hollow of her neck, greedily breathing in her cool, clean scent. His voice was muffled, yet filled with unmistakable delight.

"I'll reluctantly forgive you."

Gu Yue let him hold her, feeling the powerful heartbeat in his broad chest and the low-pressure mood that had finally dissipated.

It seemed that when dealing with this overwhelmingly jealous large dog, sometimes the most effective method really was... simply giving in.

This was indeed an exceptionally rare "defeat" in her life.