Chapter 2

Brow, he looked into Gu Wang's eyes and said very earnestly, "Wangwang, my mom always said you were smart when we were kids, but I never believed her. I never imagined you'd be this good when you got serious."

So gaming counted as getting serious. Gu Wang didn't quite understand the world of academic failures. Shen Zhao was already acting like this over a game. If Gu Wang later came first in their grade and crushed He Qinghuan, wouldn't Shen Zhao put him on an altar and worship him?

Gu Wang gave the matter of studying some thought. He still couldn't suddenly shoot to the top. High school coursework was easy for him, but for the Original Host, who had been a poor student since childhood, no amount of intelligence could explain such rapid improvement in such a short time. It would arouse too much suspicion. He would have to take it gradually.

"Wangwang, Yan Gouzi said in the group chat, 'Congratulations on escaping He Qinghuan's web of love.' Is that true?" The three of them had a small group chat called The Rich Guys You Can't Have. After some analysis, Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan had concluded that Gu Wang was so hopelessly infatuated with He Qinghuan because He Qinghuan must have deliberately spun a web of love for him. Now that Gu Wang had come to his senses, of course that meant he had escaped. This was wonderful news worth celebrating everywhere!

Gu Wang nodded. "Yeah."

Shen Zhao was so relieved he nearly cried. "Wangwang, you've finally come to your senses. Seriously, look at all the money you spent on He Qinghuan. Do you know how many hot pot meals that could've bought us?"

Gu Wang said, "..."

Shen Zhao had wanted to hug Gu Wang and keep gushing for a while, but someone suddenly blocked the light in front of them. Gu Wang and Shen Zhao looked up in unison at the person standing before them.

He Qinghuan's gaze was cool, but his lips curved in a mocking smile. His voice wasn't the cold sort-it was even somewhat gentle, his intonation even-but it gave off a powerful sense of distance that made people afraid to defy him.

"The teacher wants you inside."

Gu Wang met He Qinghuan's eyes for a moment, said, "Oh," then lowered his head and bumped Shen Zhao's shoulder. "Another round or not?"

Shen Zhao snapped out of his daze at He Qinghuan's breathtaking good looks and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes!"

He Qinghuan hadn't left yet. While the game was starting, Gu Wang narrowed his eyes at him and smiled. "Sorry for the trouble, class monitor, but please tell the teacher I've recognized my mistake and feel I need to reflect deeply on it. Once I've reflected enough, I'll come in."

He Qinghuan looked at Gu Wang, who was sitting on the floor playing a game while claiming to be reflecting deeply, and gave a derisive smile. He turned and entered the classroom, as though even one more word with Gu Wang would be a nuisance.

Chapter 3

When He Qinghuan entered the classroom, their homeroom teacher Zhou didn't see Gu Wang following him and asked gently, "Where's Gu Wang?"

"He said he still needs to reflect." He Qinghuan relayed Gu Wang's words directly to their homeroom teacher, then returned straight to his seat. When he reached into his desk compartment for his workbook, his fingers touched something hard.

He Qinghuan pulled the object out of the desk along with his workbook.

The premium chocolate packaging was dark brown, with cursive English lettering across it. Someone had unnecessarily tied a pale purple bow around it, with a slip of paper tucked into the bow.

Wow, another day of liking you! -Your loving Wangwang.

Wangwang?

Heh.

He Qinghuan thought of what he had just seen in the corridor. The two boys had been incredibly close. Shen Zhao had practically been leaning against Gu Wang, and Gu Wang hadn't shown any reluctance. Everyone knew they were close.

But just what kind of closeness was it?

He thought of that forum thread about Gu Wang. The replies had listed everyone Gu Wang had flirted with since childhood. There were more named people than could be counted on both hands, boys and girls alike. The original poster had concluded: Gu Wang was a fickle playboy who wasn't picky and went for men and women alike.

Yet he had pursued He Qinghuan for an entire semester, already the longest stretch recorded in that thread.

He Qinghuan lowered his eyes to the chocolates on his desk. His fingers were fair and slender, without even calluses on his knuckles despite years of holding a pen. He effortlessly tore the pale pink card into several pieces and dropped them into the wastebasket by his feet.

His expression was so calm that even his deskmate couldn't tell whether he was pleased or displeased. He was probably displeased, though. Almost everything Gu Wang gave He Qinghuan ended up being given to someone else.

This time probably wouldn't be any...

Thud.

He Qinghuan tossed the box of imported chocolates worth several thousand into the wastebasket without batting an eye. The noise was rather loud, and everyone nearby looked over. Unmoved, He Qinghuan hooked a pen toward himself and began working on problems without any change in expression.

Yang Le swallowed. For some reason, he felt a chill down his back.

Song Zhiyan, who was slumped over playing on his phone, saw the entire scene. He frowned, then let out a relieved breath, feeling somewhat fortunate. He hoped Gu Wang had meant it this time when he said he was giving up.

Up against someone like He Qinghuan, even ten Gu Wangs couldn't outplay him.

Gu Wang enjoyed a thoroughly satisfying gaming session outside. Shen Zhao reluctantly said goodbye and returned to his own classroom, looking back with every step. Gu Wang also returned to his seat after class ended.

Gu Wang picked up the test papers on the floor. Before he could make out the questions, several more were tossed in front of him. "Go ahead and copy them. Daddy won't charge you."

Gu Wang said, "..."

He tossed the papers back. "I'll do them myself."

"Oh." Propping up his chin, Song Zhiyan swiped a few times on his phone and held it in front of Gu Wang. "Which one do you want in on? I'll add you."

Gu Wang saw the lively group chats, with names like "Answers in Hand, Q University in the Bag" and "The Temptation of Answers." Utterly speechless, he pushed Song Zhiyan's phone back and said helplessly, "I want to do them myself."

Still holding up his phone, Song Zhiyan gaped in disbelief. It took him a long while to close his mouth. "Were you struck by lightning?"

"What goddamn lightning bolt did this to my son?" Song Zhiyan hugged Gu Wang and began wailing with fake tears.

Gu Wang pushed him away and put on the look of someone who had suffered a devastating blow and attained enlightenment. "I've figured it out. The reason He Qinghuan looks down on me is that I'm not good enough. I'm not worthy of him."

Song Zhiyan was confused. "Wangwang, didn't you just..."

"I'm not doing this for He Qinghuan," Gu Wang said helplessly. "But it is because of him. If I keep being this useless and letting myself go, then even if I meet someone I like in the future, I still won't be able to win them over. Do you understand?"

Song Zhiyan stammered, "Wangwang, you... I'm really not used to you suddenly getting this sentimental."

Gu Wang put on a bitter smile.

He had a sweet, youthful face, with soft hair falling over his forehead. With his moist, almond-shaped eyes lowered like that, he looked terribly hurt.

Song Zhiyan instinctively softened his voice. "But we're not short of money."

Gu Wang said, "..."

Oh, he had forgotten. Song Zhiyan was also a third-generation beneficiary of demolition compensation, as was Shen Zhao. Although their families didn't have the Gu family's business sense, they weren't doing badly either.

Even if the three of them remained this useless, their family fortunes were more than enough for them to squander until they died.

Gu Wang frowned. That would leave the Original Host no different from a useless fool, still completely powerless against the male lead and He Qinghuan. Even without He Qinghuan, the Original Host's course in life had changed because of him. Who knew what other people might appear or what new developments might unfold? None of it could be predicted. He had to be prepared.

Gu Wang never fought an unprepared battle.

He looked at Song Zhiyan with an expression Song Zhiyan had never seen, and spoke in a tone he had never heard. "Song Zhiyan, do you want to be useless your whole life?"

As though bewitched by those beautiful eyes, Song Zhiyan instinctively shook his head, falling into Gu Wang's trap.

Gu Wang suddenly broke into a grin. "Good. You agreed to that yourself."

Song Zhiyan and Shen Zhao hadn't ended well in the book either. If the Original Host hadn't died, those two probably would have become another of his lingering regrets. Because they had always stood by Gu Wang, the male lead had punished them by association. Their families weren't as wealthy as the Gu family, and bringing them down had been child's play. In the book, Song Zhiyan and Shen Zhao had ended up as a parcel courier and a food delivery driver respectively.

Gu Wang didn't mind giving everyone who stood by the Original Host a helping hand. That ought to improve his chances of getting back, right?

His smile was so beautiful it could almost leave someone dazed. Returning from the teachers' office, He Qinghuan glanced in Gu Wang's direction.

The boy's skin was an unusually milky white. At a glance, he was clearly a pampered young master, yet he had such an innocent-looking face. The sunset outside the window draped him in a layer of light. He Qinghuan withdrew his gaze and thought that it was no wonder countless people had fallen for Gu Wang's flirting. He had the looks for it.

Author's note: Someone is going to end up utterly bewitched sooner or later.

Chapter 4

Seeing how confident and enthusiastic Gu Wang was, Song Zhiyan felt they still needed to face reality first. "Wangwang, but we don't know how." He grabbed an English test paper and waved it. "Take English, for example. I rely on spinning my pen for the listening section. Four choices, A, B, C, D, and four directions. Whichever direction it points, that's the answer I pick. Daddy really does want to help, but it's beyond me."

He beat his chest and stamped his feet, exaggerated and fake.

Gu Wang said, "..."

He had always loved having fun, ever since childhood, so even studying had been like playing to him. None of the people he hung around with had been particularly bad at school either. This was Gu Wang's first time entering the world of academic failures.

"No rush. Take it slowly." Gu Wang imitated his former homeroom teacher's tone. Those few words were utterly feeble and unconvincing.

Once Song Zhiyan finished his performance and his sob story, he went back to playing on his phone. He didn't believe Gu Wang would study properly at all. They had grown up together, and Song Zhiyan knew Gu Wang all too well-he was another person whose enthusiasm never lasted more than three minutes.

When it came to studying, it probably wouldn't last even one minute.

The afternoon sun was scorching. After filling in a few correct answers, Gu Wang deliberately got all the others wrong. He even had to count on his fingers to keep his score and accuracy at the level of a poor student.

When he finished, he lay down on his desk to sleep. Song Zhiyan glanced at him a few times, pulled over his test paper, and compared it against the correct answers in his answer-sharing groups. Sure enough, eight out of ten were wrong. And he wanted to study? Song Zhiyan tossed the paper onto Gu Wang's head. He had known Gu Wang was just talking nonsense again. If Gu Wang could actually study seriously, he would get up on the assembly platform and have a boulder smashed on his chest in front of the entire school.

Gu Wang hadn't slept long before the clamor beside his ear woke him. He raised his head, rubbed his eyes, and discovered Shen Zhao standing beside his desk, hands on his hips, cursing with spit flying everywhere.

"Jiang Chi, you're so shameless. He Qinghuan never said he liked our Wangwang, but he never said he liked you either. What the hell are you running your mouth for?"

"Even if He Qinghuan liked someone, he wouldn't want you. Look how dark you are. What about you can compare to our Wangwang? With our Wangwang's face, if he went into show business, all those young starlets and heartthrobs would be out of work. Sexy but not effeminate, understand?"

Gu Wang said, "..." Never mind the first part, but was that last bit, "sexy but not effeminate," really meant as a compliment?

Gu Wang tugged at Shen Zhao. Shen Zhao elbowed him. "Don't pull me. I'm going to roast this bastard Jiang Chi to death today. What, does He Qinghuan belong to you? No one else can like someone you like? Aren't you something? Pah!"

Jiang Chi's expression had visibly darkened.

In all honesty, Jiang Chi really was handsome. As the protagonist, his looks rivaled He Qinghuan's; they were simply different types. He Qinghuan was cool and aloof, while Jiang Chi was the sunny sort.

They were still students now, so any conflict amounted to trading insults at most, or, failing that, grappling in a fight. Once they reached university, Jiang Chi would stop holding back. Every move would be vicious and lethal.

Gu Wang's original intention was to keep the Original Host and the people around him from having anything more to do with the male lead or the male lead's unattainable love. Setting aside getting on good terms with them, at least they couldn't afford to offend them.

Jiang Chi stepped forward and looked down at Gu Wang. "Aren't you going to control your dog?"

Gu Wang frowned. He hadn't expected Jiang Chi to speak so offensively.

Shen Zhao shoved Jiang Chi and erupted first, pointing at his nose. "Who the fuck are you calling a dog?"

Jiang Chi didn't take Gu Wang or his friends seriously at all. He simply loathed the way Gu Wang stuck to He Qinghuan like glue. He smiled, utterly disdainful. "You."

"Jiang Chi, you're fucking asking for it!" Shen Zhao was beside himself with anger, but before he could act, Song Zhiyan suddenly rose from his chair behind him. He sat on the inside, but didn't even ask Gu Wang to move aside. Planting one hand on the desk and pushing off through his ankles, he vaulted straight out. The movement was exceptionally fluid.