Lin Meng nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. "I understand. Before I came, my friend told me that if someone doesn't blush when you kiss him, he doesn't like you. There's no hope, no matter how hard you try."
She covered her face and ran off. Several people in the classroom started laughing. "Gu Wang, that's the prettiest girl in Senior One Class Two. She's famous around school."
"Wow, Wangwang, you're so heartless, so cold, so cruel!"
Gu Wang joked around with them for a moment, then saw He Qinghuan come over and stop beside the windowsill.
Gu Wang tilted his head up to look at him.
He Qinghuan looked at his desk. "Doing homework?"
Gu Wang nodded.
In fact, the strange way these two interacted now had long since attracted their classmates' attention and speculation. They simply said nothing, quietly watching the show and analyzing it in private afterward, though so far they hadn't figured out a damn thing.
He Qinghuan reached around the back of Gu Wang's head and rested his hand against his right cheek, turning him to face him. It was practically an embrace.
Gu Wang felt his face start to burn.
The girl's words surfaced in his mind: if someone doesn't blush when you kiss him, he doesn't like you. There's no hope, no matter how hard you try.
Gu Wang wanted to pull back. He thought He Qinghuan was going to...
But he didn't.
He Qinghuan merely raised his other hand and pressed it against the spot the girl had touched. He had probably just washed his hands; they were very cold, and their touch against Gu Wang's face made him shiver.
He wiped slowly, gradually applying more pressure as his gaze darkened.
A viciousness slowly seeped out with it, coiling around Gu Wang.
Yet his movements looked so gentle. He didn't care at all that they were in a classroom. He only had eyes for Gu Wang.
Once he had finished wiping and was satisfied, he cupped Gu Wang's face, tilted it up slightly, and said softly,
"Wangwang, I have no right to control you. You're free. But lately, I keep forgetting that."
I always feel as though you should belong to me.
Author's note: Actually, yes.
Chapter 40
The sounds of a group laughing and horsing around came from the end of the corridor. Gu Wang lowered his eyes and raised his hands to pry He Qinghuan's hands away from his face.
"You're overthinking it," Gu Wang said flatly, opening his workbook.
As Gu Wang finished saying this, his fingertips twitched. Nerve pain traveled up his arm, leaving half his body aching with a tingling numbness.
He Qinghuan stood in the corridor, watching Gu Wang with an inscrutable expression that weighed on him until he felt a little suffocated.
But only a little.
If he were the Original Host now, with the Original Host's feelings, he would surely have wept with joy. He would surely have been so happy that he immediately flung himself into He Qinghuan's arms.
But he wasn't. He wasn't, yet Gu Wang felt terribly sad. He could tell that the sadness had to be his own.
Shen Zhao came down the corridor with Song Zhiyan, carrying a racket. He leaned over the windowsill beside Gu Wang and asked, "Wangwang, it's my birthday tomorrow. Quick, ask me what I want!"
Gu Wang put down his pen and played along. "What do you want?"
Shen Zhao covered his mouth in delighted surprise. "Ah! Really? You're getting me a present? Oh, you shouldn't!"
"..." Gu Wang laughed. "Then I won't?"
"No, wait! What I want is for you to play the guitar for me." Shen Zhao shyly told him what birthday present he wanted.
Gu Wang paused, then agreed. "Sure."
The Original Host loved having fun and could play a couple of songs on both electric and acoustic guitar. He wasn't especially good, but with some practice, he would be decent. Gu Wang could play too. He had been in the music club at university, and after hearing an older female student play "Seeing Off the Gentleman," he had fallen hopelessly in love with the instrument. Later, he had even taught at a music shop.
Shen Zhao jumped up happily. "Then I'll book a table. You opened a Qing Bar in the City Center. Tomorrow's its opening day, and everything's half price."
Of the three of them, Shen Zhao was the most strapped for cash. It wasn't that his family didn't give him enough pocket money; he simply spent too much. Food, drinks, entertainment-at the beginning of the month, he ordered things without batting an eye. How could it be put? If an online shopping site came out with a pesticide-flavored drink, he would buy it just to try it.
Because he was always buying useless things, his family strictly controlled his allowance. So whenever the end of the month came-or, more accurately, the middle of each month-he started eating at Gu Wang's and Song Zhiyan's homes.
He had barely mentioned booking a table when Song Zhiyan exploded beside him. "I'm begging you, spend less. I don't have much left either."
Gu Wang laughed aloud. So Song Zhiyan was footing the bill for Shen Zhao's birthday treat.
Shen Zhao said, "I can't hear you."
"But I haven't decided who to invite yet. I get along pretty well with everyone in class. I definitely have to invite my deskmate, and our class monitor, League Branch Secretary, and study representative. They usually let me get away with quite a lot. But Yue Feng said he wanted to come too, and I barely know him." Shen Zhao scrolled through his phone, muttering away, completely unconcerned that Song Zhiyan's face beside him was as black as the bottom of a pot.
Gu Wang was a little surprised. "Yue Feng said he wanted to come himself?"
"Yeah." Shen Zhao seemed about to say something, then hesitated before speaking slowly. "I wasn't going to agree, but he said he'd get me a big cake, so I..."
Gu Wang exchanged a glance with Song Zhiyan, a vague suspicion forming in his mind. Yet he also thought it impossible. Yue Feng wasn't mentioned much in the book, but whenever he appeared, the author almost always described him this way:
If He Qinghuan was the one who gave the execution order, Yue Feng was the executioner. If He Qinghuan wanted to kill someone, Yue Feng would absolutely be the one handing him the knife.
Someone like that was nowhere near as approachable as he appeared.
Song Zhiyan looked at Gu Wang and Shen Zhao with some concern. How had both of them caught the attention of people like that? Even more troubling was the fact that he seemed to be the only one who wasn't being pursued.
Outside, the wind picked up. The withered yellow leaves swaying on the branches were blown to the ground, where a thin golden wave swirled up.
The late-afternoon sunset was pink, bathing the entire classroom building in an ambiguous twilight.
It shone through the glass windows and spilled into every corner of the classroom, enveloping everyone.
Gu Wang had been practicing his handwriting for over half an hour. Writing calmed the mind. Ever since He Qinghuan had whispered those words in his ear, he had felt stifled and unable to settle down.
Gu Wang pressed hard, tearing through the tracing paper over his copybook with his fountain pen. As he turned the page, a cup of milk tea was set before him.
Yue Feng leaned beside him with a grin. "From He Qinghuan."
Gu Wang withdrew his gaze. "I don't drink milk tea."
Yue Feng glanced to the side, hesitated, then looked back at Gu Wang. "Gu Wang, He Qinghuan didn't know any better before. Forgive him once, just this once. Our He Qinghuan treats people really well."
As long as you behave, he definitely won't lock you up, Yue Feng silently thought.
Gu Wang said nothing.
He couldn't be bothered. No one knew how much the Original Host had suffered. They all thought he had merely spent over six months pursuing He Qinghuan without success. They didn't know that the Original Host had already died once because of He Qinghuan.
Yue Feng sighed and began making a genuinely heartfelt appeal for sympathy. "Actually, our He Qinghuan had a really rough childhood. You see him living in luxury, with everything handed to him, the heir everyone fawns over."
Yue Feng saw He Qinghuan standing in the corridor with an indifferent expression, and his heart gave a jolt. He lowered his voice and grew more serious. "He Qinghuan doesn't know how to like someone, and he's never liked anyone before. His mother had complications giving birth to him. Choosing to save the baby instead of the mother is illegal, but his mother herself was shouting that she'd kill herself if they saved her. And his father isn't a good person either. As far as he's concerned, He Qinghuan only needs to become a qualified heir."
"He Qinghuan was kidnapped when he was five. Later, a whole bunch of illegitimate children appeared in the family. He might be a little ruthless, but if he weren't, he wouldn't have survived this long. He's used to it. He's never treated anyone well, and no one's ever liked him without an ulterior motive. If you're angry, you can even hit him. Just don't be like this. He knows he was wrong."
Gu Wang's pen remained motionless against the paper for a long time. Thinking he hadn't been listening, Yue Feng sighed several more times and prepared to leave. Before he did, he saw a few drops of water fall onto the transparent tracing paper in front of Gu Wang, spreading damp patches.
Yue Feng froze for a moment, even more confused.
What was going on with these two?
The weight in Gu Wang's chest left him unable to breathe. He couldn't tell whether it was sadness or something else. He had always been such an easygoing person. Without He Qinghuan, he could have given the Original Host a good life and made Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan into completely different people from their counterparts in the book.
But as He Qinghuan drew closer, Gu Wang could feel himself changing too. His emotions were increasingly easily swayed by He Qinghuan. With no experience in love, Gu Wang felt nothing but confusion and panic.
Was the original plot unavoidable, or was I not resolute enough?
His head was lowered, and he didn't even notice when the person beside the windowsill changed.
He Qinghuan came to Gu Wang's side and looked down at him for a while before bending over and lifting his face toward him, wiping the tears beneath his eyes with a tissue.
"Don't cry."
Even if you cry, it's no use. You can't get away.
In the end, the milk tea was thrown away. Gu Wang threw it away right in front of He Qinghuan. Since the trash can was at the back of the classroom and Gu Wang sat in the first row, people looked his way as he carried the milk tea down the aisle.
With a thud, the milk tea landed in the bin. Gu Wang's expression was indifferent, showing no trace of his earlier tears. He still believed those feelings belonged to the Original Host. If he couldn't make sense of something, he might as well dismiss it outright.
[Have you figured it out yet? What's going on with those two now?]
[Isn't it obvious enough? He Qinghuan is pursuing Gu Wang.]
[!!!!!!!!!!]
[I need evidence!]
[What evidence do you need? Don't you have eyes? Didn't you see? He Qinghuan was wiping his tears just now. Wow, so swoony, so swoony, such a thrill. He clearly wanted to swallow him whole, but his movements were still so gentle. Being with a boy like that must be sexually blissful.]
[The person above me is probably being horny.]
[Come on, place your bets. Bet on whether He Qinghuan can win Gu Wang over!]
[Of course he can! Gu Wang used to be so desperately in love with He Qinghuan. At most, he's just sulking a little now. Besides, from what I can see, He Qinghuan is playing at a higher level than Gu Wang.]
[I'm betting he can too.]
[I'm betting yes, but I think it'll be hard. You don't understand. Who can a wounded heart love anymore? Also, what was he doing all this time?]
[Actually, I think it'd be pretty good if they didn't get together. Then we could each have one.]
[Sister, you're one of my own. I've been thinking that for ages. Them getting together would just be a waste of resources.]
[+1]
[...]
Near the end of evening self-study, Li Shuya came in with several forms and handed them to the Physical Education Representative before stepping up to the lectern and saying leisurely, "The Autumn Sports Meet will be held next week. If our class gets the highest total score in the school, we'll watch a movie that evening, and I'll buy everyone milk tea."
The moment Li Shuya finished speaking, a group of students started whooping enthusiastically. The movie didn't matter. The main thing was that classes would be suspended schoolwide for the three days of the sports meet, and if they had no events, they could even sneak off campus to have fun.
After Li Shuya left, the Physical Education Representative carried his signup sheets around, grabbing people to register.
Events like sprints and the long jump were generally in high demand. They were the popular events. For long-distance races like the one thousand, three thousand, and five thousand meters, a few class officers had to fill the slots every time. They ran themselves half to death and still couldn't place.
The Physical Education Representative stood at the lectern, shouting himself hoarse.
"No team spirit! So disappointing! I'm so disappointed in all of you!"
"It's only a few thousand meters. A piece of cake!"
"Think of the movie! Think of the milk tea! Isn't that enough to fire you up and unleash your fury?"
While the Physical Education Representative delivered his impassioned appeal at the lectern, the people below were discussing whether to play video games that morning or that afternoon. His face went from red to purple, then from purple to black. Finally, his mouth drooped, and he knocked his head against the lectern. "I'm begging you. Please sign up."
Gu Wang raised his eyes toward the lectern.
He met the Physical Education Representative's gaze.
The Physical Education Representative: "!!!!!"
Gu Wang: "..."
"Great! I knew it. Wangwang is a good kid with a spirit of dedication and sacrifice. The three thousand meters is yours!" The Physical Education Representative wasn't too unreasonable. He didn't make Gu Wang run the five thousand.
Each class had to send two people for the five thousand. The Physical Education Representative planned to sign himself up for one slot, and the remaining