Their eyes met.
For a moment, the atmosphere was intensely awkward and tense.
Gu Wang silently stuffed his phone back into his desk and watched Zhou Hu walk toward them.
With his hands behind his back, Zhou Hu looked at the pile of snacks on the table and nodded. "Eating well, I see. Full yet?"
Song Zhiyan said, "No."
Zhou Hu ignored him. "If you're full, come help move things. It'll be quick, just a few minutes."
Song Zhiyan said, "..."
He singled out three people: Shen Zhao, Song Zhiyan, and Yue Feng.
Shen Zhao's attachment to Gu Wang showed in every aspect of his life. Even for something like this, he wanted to bring Gu Wang along. "Sir, can Wangwang come with us? And He Qinghuan too."
Dragging He Qinghuan along was entirely a matter of wanting company in death.
Gu Wang said, "..."
Zhou Hu's small eyes swept over Gu Wang's face. He remembered Gu Wang: very obedient, very good, and he had even taken first place in today's three-thousand-meter race. He paused, then roared, "Quit making trouble! Can't he rest after running today? And He Qinghuan? I didn't see you complaining when He Qinghuan came first!"
With that, Zhou Hu picked up a dead branch from the ground. By the time he straightened up, the three of them had already run off. He chased after them. "I'm going to knock some discipline into you little brats today!"
That left only Gu Wang, He Qinghuan, and Wen Ting, who was doing her homework, in the tent.
Wen Ting clicked her tongue twice, put her earphones back in, and hummed as she worked.
Gu Wang propped up his chin and took occasional bites of his bread. The afternoon sun shone on his face, and he narrowed his eyes, looking languid.
Good-looking people glowed.
The Caterpillar Bread had a cream filling. The soft, sweet cream could easily get on someone's face or the corners of their mouth if they weren't careful while eating.
With Gu Wang distracted, getting some on himself was only a matter of time.
But it didn't get on his face or the corners of his mouth. It got at the outer corner of his eye.
He had been waving the bread around in his hand as if playing with it. The cream was light, and he hadn't felt a thing when it brushed against him.
When Gu Wang looked up, he saw He Qinghuan leaning toward him. He drew back, and He Qinghuan raised a hand to cradle the back of his head.
The movement seemed casual, but Gu Wang could barely move.
Gu Wang's throat tightened. This gesture was exactly the same as the one He Qinghuan had used on the original owner of his body in that dream.
His lashes trembled slightly. As he looked at He Qinghuan, there was confusion in his eyes, along with tension and panic.
Fortunately, there was no fear or disgust.
He Qinghuan didn't want to see Gu Wang afraid of him.
Disgust was even more unacceptable.
He lifted his hand and touched the outer corner of Gu Wang's eye. His cool fingertip made Gu Wang's lashes jerk in an involuntary response. As he withdrew his hand, his fingertip brushed past Gu Wang's ear as if by accident, sending a shiver through him.
Seeing the cream on his fingertip, Gu Wang was too embarrassed to meet He Qinghuan's eyes directly. He reached up and wiped the spot again himself. "Why didn't you tell me?"
He Qinghuan rubbed the cream between his fingers until it melted. The texture felt remarkably like the delicate, soft skin at the corner of Gu Wang's eye. Looking at Gu Wang with his lashes slightly lowered, he said softly, "I wanted to help you."
Author's note: He Dog: Light the fire, set up the pot, and slowly simmer Wangwang.
Chapter 52
When Shen Zhao and the others returned and saw Gu Wang lying over the table again, they were shocked. "Wangwang fell asleep again?"
He Qinghuan's expression was mild, showing nothing unusual. "Yes."
"That's quite a talent, my Wang." Song Zhiyan reached out to wake Gu Wang. "We're going back to the classroom. Didn't you want to study and do homework?"
Only after they called him several times did Gu Wang lift his head. Without blushing or missing a beat, he said, "I was exhausted. I accidentally fell asleep again."
In reality, he simply hadn't known how to respond to what He Qinghuan had said, so he had buried his head on the table and pretended he hadn't heard and knew nothing.
He Qinghuan naturally knew why, but he didn't expose Gu Wang.
Yue Feng came out of the school building's restroom, wiping the water off his hands as he said, "I'll head off, then. I won't interrupt your studying."
Nobody responded.
Seeing that the bread Gu Wang had given He Qinghuan earlier was back on the table, Shen Zhao picked it up and opened it, looking blissful. "The school's Spicy Pork Floss is as delicious as ever."
Yue Feng's face darkened. He grabbed Shen Zhao by the neck. "I said I'm leaving."
Secure in being favored, Shen Zhao said, "Oh."
Song Zhiyan and Shen Zhao walked ahead, carrying the snacks, while Gu Wang and He Qinghuan followed a little behind. School was letting out. Aside from the third-years, who mostly chose to stay and study, about half the first- and second-years went home. Their studies weren't that demanding yet.
The stairs were bustling with students going up and down. Boys slung their arms around one another's shoulders, shoving and horsing around, while girls linked arms and laughed.
Only the square glass window set high in the wall let in the afternoon sunset, illuminating part of the stairwell.
It was inexplicably peaceful.
Several girls came down toward them, walking slowly and whispering among themselves. One girl's face was red, her gaze flickering toward He Qinghuan from time to time.
Gu Wang immediately understood and looked toward He Qinghuan too.
As though she had finally gathered enough courage, the girl descended the last few steps between herself and He Qinghuan and stopped him.
Gu Wang cleared his throat. Unsure whether to leave or stay, he moved a little to the side and tried to make himself less noticeable.
He also had to ignore that slight discomfort in his heart.
"He Qinghuan, I'm Jiang Yuan from Class One, Year Three." She paused slightly, her gaze drifting toward Gu Wang beside him. It was a fleeting glance, quickly withdrawn and returned to He Qinghuan's face. "I know you're pursuing Gu Wang right now, but I-I wanted to say, if-if things don't work out, could you consider me?"
Gu Wang said, "..."
She's volunteering to be the backup! Impressive!
The corner of He Qinghuan's mouth tugged upward. He was just about to speak when Jiang Yuan interrupted him.
"You don't have to answer right now. I can wait until you've thought it over. My grades are very good. Getting into A University won't be a problem. I can-I can wait a year for you at A University." Jiang Yuan's eyes were full of hope. Her family was well-off, and she was outstanding herself, known both as her class's beauty and as a talented girl. At least in her own mind, she was a worthy match for He Qinghuan.
He Qinghuan smiled faintly, giving no indication of pleasure or anger. He said calmly, "Why do you think I'd be rejected?"
Gu Wang said, "..."
Jiang Yuan froze. That wasn't her point.
Her point was clearly that she hoped He Qinghuan would give her a chance and consider her first once he no longer liked Gu Wang.
Yet He Qinghuan's focus was actually on why Gu Wang would reject him?
Gu Wang was now the most embarrassed person there.
The two of them were discussing whether he would reject He Qinghuan right in front of him. He could hardly step forward and agree with He Qinghuan.
Exactly. Why do you think I'd reject He Qinghuan?
Jiang Yuan stood stunned, unsure how to answer He Qinghuan's question. It had only been a hypothetical scenario. In fact, before she came to confess, her friends had strongly opposed it, urging her to stop before it was too late. He Qinghuan and Gu Wang getting together was already a done deal. Confessing would only be asking for misery.
She hadn't believed them. How could He Qinghuan like... someone like Gu Wang?
Right, Gu Wang didn't seem to have any particularly impressive skills yet. Apart from that brief moment of brilliance at the National Day gala, grades were what really mattered.
Gu Wang rubbed his nose, deciding not to stay any longer. He walked around Jiang Yuan's friends and slowly headed upstairs.
He Qinghuan glanced at Gu Wang's retreating back, then looked at Jiang Yuan and said softly, "I decline your suggestion. Sorry."
There was nothing apologetic about his "sorry." He sounded as though he were saying, "Oh, got it. Get lost."
Jiang Yuan could certainly hear the coldness in his voice. Her face turned deathly pale. Once He Qinghuan left, the girls behind her immediately came forward to comfort her.
"Oh, we told you not to confess."
"Does He Qinghuan look like he's going to give up? Being his backup would be miserable."
"Wouldn't collecting all twelve zodiac signs be better? Why pin all your hopes on one guy? Sure, compared with He Qinghuan, the others might all be crooked trees, but there are still some worth picking."
"Ugh, men. They're all the same. They all fucking like pretty people."
Jiang Yuan gritted her teeth. "Are you saying I'm ugly?"
The blunt girl said, "Of course not! Every time I post your photo on my feed, it gets ninety-nine likes!"
Jiang Yuan huffed.
The blunt girl said, "I'm saying you're still a little lacking compared with Gu Wang."
Jiang Yuan said, "..."
Two seconds later, the girls were all tangled up in a scuffle in the stairwell.
"Don't fight! We're all sisters here. Don't fight!"
"Yuanyuan, why are you arguing with that dog? You know she ships He Qinghuan and Gu Wang on the forum every day."
"Exactly! Confessing to He Qinghuan today was wrecking my ship, and I put up with it. See how much I love you?"
"..." Jiang Yuan took a deep breath. "Mo Tingting, I'm going to kill you!"
Evening study sessions during the sports meet were entirely voluntary, with no teachers present. Shen Zhao carried his schoolbag and homework straight into Gu Wang's classroom and set up camp. He commandeered the seat in front of Gu Wang. Fortunately, its owner was a hopeless student who never studied at all and had climbed over the wall and left before today's events had even finished.
He had already filled in his class and name on the test paper by the time Gu Wang appeared in the classroom.
"What took you so long?" This test paper was a little difficult. Without Gu Wang guiding him, he couldn't do it. Filling in his class and name was all he could manage.
Gu Wang pulled out his chair and sat down. "Which question can't you do?" He skipped Shen Zhao's question and went straight to the point, ignoring the way Shen Zhao's face immediately fell.
"Pretty much all of them."
Gu Wang said, "..."
He hooked a pen toward himself and explained the questions to Shen Zhao. He had worked as a tutor in college and knew how to teach in ways that made things easier to understand, remember, and apply. Though Shen Zhao didn't like studying, with Gu Wang guiding him, he could learn.
Shen Zhao never wondered why Gu Wang knew how to solve every question, because Gu Wang kept up appearances so well. A post on his feed at three in the morning-ask him, and he was studying or doing homework. His Wangwang had always been smart, and now he worked this hard too. Put the two together, and it was an unbeatable combination.
Even inventing a Wangwang rocket and landing on the moon wouldn't be surprising.
Before he had finished explaining two questions, He Qinghuan returned. Gu Wang glanced at him, then looked away and continued explaining the problem to Shen Zhao.
He Qinghuan took a workbook out of his bag and sat in the empty seat beside Gu Wang. Without joining the conversation, he actually started working on the problems.
He hadn't exactly lied to Yue Feng. Li Shuya had left the exercises on his desk yesterday. They were competition problems and fairly difficult. He Qinghuan didn't need to do basic exercises now.
The atmosphere between Gu Wang and He Qinghuan was a little subtle, but Shen Zhao couldn't sense it. Gu Wang had explained the approach to the problems, and he was enthusiastically working through them.
He completely failed to notice the strange atmosphere between Gu Wang and He Qinghuan.
Gu Wang absentmindedly spun his pen, propping up his chin as he looked out the window. Right now, he felt the embarrassment of having his thoughts exposed and laid out in the open.
If things don't work out...
Gu Wang looked away and lowered his eyes to the math paper on his desk. Could that hypothetical scenario actually hold true?
He was lost in thought, and He Qinghuan wasn't concentrating on his work either, solving the problems entirely through habit and intuition.
After Shen Zhao finished the multiple-choice questions, he looked up to find his Wangwang actually spacing out. A glance at his paper showed that he hadn't done a single question!
"Wangwang, what are you thinking about?"
Gu Wang came back to himself and said without thinking, "I can't solve them."
Shen Zhao poked Gu Wang's arm with his pen. "Ask your class monitor. He'll definitely know."
Gu Wang glanced at He Qinghuan, who was writing formulas on his scratch paper. "It's fine. I'll do them myself."
He had only said it offhand. It wasn't as though he really couldn't solve them.
Just as Gu Wang finished speaking, He Qinghuan finished writing out the formula for the last problem. He set down his pen, pulled the test paper out from under Gu Wang's arm, and asked softly, "Which question can't you do?"
His tone was completely different from the one he used with other people. Not even Yue Feng received this treatment.
Gu Wang didn't notice.
He pointed at a random question. "This one."
It was a geometry problem that required an auxiliary line.
"Do you have a ruler?" He Qinghuan asked.
"Yes." Gu Wang reached for Shen Zhao's ruler