Those who went to look at Gu Wang's work were instantly floored. Gu Wang had already written a whole passage. Though his chicken scratch was hard to decipher, there was a lot of it, and he was fast.
Baldy wouldn't let them copy from their phones. Usually, they searched Baidu and cobbled together a passage from here and another from there. Now that they had to rely on themselves, their minds were empty beyond "I was wrong."
Gu Wang wrote his own while quietly dictating Shen Zhao's to him, doing two things at once.
Shen Zhao never even wondered how Gu Wang could manage it. He scribbled away.
After adding another "I really was wrong," Song Zhiyan discovered that Shen Zhao was already halfway done. He was writing, "I saw that brick hurtling toward me..." Seeing that Gu Wang was dictating while Shen Zhao wrote, Song Zhiyan squeezed over. "Wangwang, hewp me."
Gu Wang said, "..." Writing three really wasn't possible.
Half an hour later, Gu Wang, Shen Zhao, and Song Zhiyan were finished. Tattoo Sleeves had written and crossed things out, then written and crossed them out again, until his paper was unfit to be seen. He stared at the three of them in shock and said shakily, in disbelief, "You... you cheated!"
Song Zhiyan leaned sideways against the wall and gave a smug scoff. "Blame yourselves for not having a buddy who's good at writing self-criticisms."
Gu Wang said, "..."
So being able to write self-criticisms was something you could fucking brag about now?
Author's note: Gu Wang: I learned something new today.
Chapter 8
When He Qinghuan arrived at the police station, Gu Wang and the others were having their pictures taken.
Shen Zhao sidled up beside Baldy, watching Song Zhiyan squirm in front of the camera with glee all over his face. Like Shen Zhao, Song Zhiyan wasn't photogenic. He was a perfectly decent-looking, even handsome boy normally, but in front of a camera, especially in still photos, his mouth and eyes went crooked.
Song Zhiyan awkwardly finished having his picture taken and fled. He went over to Baldy's other side too, wanting to see just how ugly Gu Wang would look.
Baldy gave them both a sidelong glance. "Get out of the way."
Shen Zhao bit his finger. "Officer..."
Baldy said, "..." Having a boy with a bruised, swollen face act cute at him was truly painful to watch.
Gu Wang's face was uninjured, fair and clean, his uniform zipped up neatly. He looked every bit the good student.
Shen Zhao eagerly pressed his face close to Baldy's. Once he got a clear look at Gu Wang through the camera, his face fell. "Why? We all had moms who gave birth to us and dads who raised us. Why is Gu Wang so good-looking?"
Song Zhiyan rolled his eyes. "A reminder: Gu Wang was born and raised by his parents. You were born and raised by yours. The two aren't comparable."
Shen Zhao said, "..."
In his youth, Gu Wang's father had been handsome, dashing, and debonair. Girls from every village around had clamored to marry him, even going on hunger strikes over it, which gave some indication of his looks.
And Gu Wang's mother had been the beauty of all those villages. Countless young men from the city had come to her home to ask for her hand, but his mother cared about looks and ultimately chose Gu Wang's father. She had thought his father had nothing but his face, only for their homes to be slated for demolition and compensation-not just the Gu family's, but her own family's too. She was her mother's only daughter, so it would all ultimately be hers. It wasn't a windfall of pies dropping from the sky, but gold bricks.
Gu Wang had been raised in luxury, and with such good genes, he had surpassed the previous generation. He was even more handsome than his father had been when young.
Even Baldy couldn't help clicking his tongue after taking the photo. If Gu Wang hadn't been holding a stick at the time, Baldy would have believed him even if he'd claimed he was at the internet café to study.
Baldy handed the camera to the person beside him. "Print them and put them in the files."
Song Zhiyan shamelessly asked, "Officer, could you give us a copy once they're printed?"
Baldy eyed him sideways. "What for?"
Song Zhiyan said, "As a keepsake."
Baldy said, "..."
He took a deep breath before he could stop himself from smacking the little brat in front of him to death, but still gave him a token kick. "Go wait over there. You're not leaving until someone comes to pick you up!"
Out in the corridor, Tattoo Sleeves looked at the barely two sentences he had written, then at Gu Wang, who was already drinking tea inside the office. His gaze was resentful. "Why do they get to sit with the police like they've done nothing wrong?"
The lackey who carried bricks thought for a moment and ventured, "Maybe... because they're good-looking? Boss, you know how it is. Looks are everything these days. We're a little ugly."
Seeing how Gu Wang's face under the light looked just like a celebrity on a poster, Tattoo Sleeves nodded reflexively. Only belatedly realizing what he had done, he raised his hand and smacked the back of his lackey's head. "How are we any worse-looking than them? We've got the bodies, and we've got the faces!"
The lackey said, "..."
Tattoo Sleeves was as skinny as a bamboo pole, with sunken eyes and heavy dark circles from staying up gaming for long hours. The lackey couldn't even bring himself to flatter him.
He Qinghuan propped his umbrella in a corner, his expression cool and distant. He asked someone for directions before finding the office where Gu Wang and the others were.
As he came along the corridor, the lackey happened to spot him, and his mouth dropped open wide enough to fit an egg. He nudged Tattoo Sleeves and murmured, "Boss, that guy's really good-looking..."
Tattoo Sleeves was impatient. How good-looking could he be? Who could be more handsome than him? There wasn't another in the whole world! He too looked toward the approaching figure, and then felt that good looks were something he didn't possess.
He Qinghuan wore a school uniform. He didn't mind the heat and had on long sleeves. It was summer, and he should have been drenched in sweat and looking a mess, yet there was actually something cold about him.
More precisely, it wasn't coldness, but the air of someone standing far above, looking down on all living beings as ants.
His features were cool and refined, and the contours of his face weren't sharp or particularly aggressive, but that sense of distance was real, as was the chill that made people afraid to look directly at him.
Tattoo Sleeves had already lowered his head when He Qinghuan glanced over. He touched his hair, actually feeling a little embarrassed to look such a mess in front of someone like that!
He Qinghuan knocked and only opened the door after hearing someone inside say, "Come in."
Behind him, Tattoo Sleeves' lackey exclaimed, "Wow, he's so polite!"
Another was a little puzzled. "Isn't that what everyone does?"
"But when he does it, it's just more pleasing to the eye!"
"You know fancy phrases?"
"Just learned it, putting it to use."
"..."
Baldy sat in an upholstered chair, flipping through recently reported cases. A missing pet miniature pig, someone stealing underwear-all these trivial domestic matters were giving him a headache.
He closed the folder and looked at the person walking in. He froze for a moment before remembering to invite him to sit.
After establishing that He Qinghuan was the class monitor of Gu Wang's class, Baldy explained the basic situation, then had him sign several documents.
While the boy had his head lowered to sign, Baldy studied him for a while. Honestly, in all his decades of life, he had never seen such a good-looking boy. There was nothing feminine about him, and every movement revealed his excellent upbringing.
Baldy had handled plenty of cases, large and small, over the years and had a sharp eye. He could read high school students like these without fail, but the one before him, called... He Qinghuan, had calm eyes and a mild gaze. Everything was just right, and he was completely unreadable.
Once the formalities were over, Baldy went to the door of the office's inner room. His tone was entirely different from when he'd spoken to He Qinghuan. He slapped the door and shouted, "Your class monitor's here to pick you up. Get out here!"
Shen Zhao looked confused. "But our class monitor's on leave."
Baldy thought this kid was rather dim. He couldn't help saying, "It's their class monitor. Or do you want to wait until yours comes?"
Shen Zhao hurried after Gu Wang. "No, no, I'm fine with anyone being my class monitor!"
The officer sounded sinister when he spoke. It was pretty creepy.
On the bench outside, the boy kept looking their way. His slightly long fringe made his already unfathomable emotions even harder to discern. But no matter what, the cool distance around him was immediately palpable.
He Qinghuan was very fair. Under the light, his skin was almost translucent, unreal.
Gu Wang inwardly cried, I'm dead, I'm dead. He really didn't want anything more to do with He Qinghuan, but his plans had gone wrong again. Now he had to go back with He Qinghuan, and if people at school saw them, they would start spreading nonsense again.
Only in the past few days had people finally started saying Gu Wang had grown bored and lost interest. After this latest incident, they would only think he was playing hard to get.
Author's note: Gu Wang: Just keep me locked up. Don't worry about whether I live or die.
Chapter 9
Rain poured down.
Shen Zhao huddled beside Gu Wang and muttered, "This rain's way too fucking heavy!"
It had started raining after they entered the police station. At first it was only a drizzle, but it grew heavier and heavier until it was pouring in torrents.
Some pedestrians' umbrellas couldn't withstand such heavy rain at all. The rain battered them this way and that, and the people holding them seemed to be struggling too. Raindrops struck different surfaces with different sounds, but every one of them was loud.
Shen Zhao looked at Song Zhiyan. "Yanyan, how about you go to school and bring us an umbrella?"
Song Zhiyan raised the corners of his eyes. "How am I supposed to get back?"
Shen Zhao said, "Run."
Song Zhiyan said, "..."
While they were fretting, an umbrella was offered to them. It was black with a long handle coated in gold, looking understated yet expensive.
Shen Zhao held the umbrella. "This must cost a lot, right?"
Gu Wang said, "..."
He Qinghuan glanced at Gu Wang and said mildly, "There are only two umbrellas. Who's sharing with me?"
He had thought Gu Wang would eagerly jump at sharing his umbrella, but the boy standing to one side didn't even lift his eyelids, showing no intention of moving.
Shen Zhao had no self-awareness whatsoever and volunteered, "Class monitor, I'll go with-"
Gu Wang caught Shen Zhao. "I'll go with you."
Shen Zhao had no brains and wouldn't even know when he'd offended someone. None of the three of them could afford to offend He Qinghuan, especially since he repaid every slight.
He Qinghuan smiled, and the coolness in his expression instantly dissipated. Shen Zhao was momentarily dazed. No wonder people at school confessed to He Qinghuan like lunatics all day long. He really was far better-looking than most.
Gu Wang went to stand beside him, feeling a little awkward. He really had wanted to keep his distance from He Qinghuan.
Song Zhiyan was taller than Shen Zhao, so he held the umbrella. Shen Zhao shamelessly hugged Song Zhiyan's waist and pulled the umbrella handle toward himself. They had barely taken a few steps before their fight over the umbrella left them both mostly soaked.
Gu Wang and He Qinghuan walked behind them.
The atmosphere between them was strange. Neither spoke, and Gu Wang even kept a certain distance from He Qinghuan, their shoulders not touching at all.
He Qinghuan saw that one of Gu Wang's shoulders was completely soaked. Even so, Gu Wang still refused to come closer to him.
Was he some venomous snake or savage beast? Hadn't Gu Wang been desperately in love with him just a few days ago, insisting it had to be him? No wonder everyone said that when Gu Wang liked someone, he truly liked them, but once he stopped, they were no different from a stranger to him.
He Qinghuan felt that was exactly what he was now.
Gu Wang was a little shorter than him, his hair dyed light chestnut. His eyes were pale too, and his skin fair. He looked like something fragile.
A fine mist of water covered him and his hair. Some strands were wet, making him look especially soft and vulnerable.
He Qinghuan subtly tilted the umbrella a little toward Gu Wang.
Gu Wang was staring into space, his mind miles away, and noticed none of it.
He needed to act a little colder, to let He Qinghuan know he had really given up. He only hoped they would encounter fewer people once they got back to school, preferably not the male lead, or he would never be able to clear his name.
He Qinghuan had picked him up and was holding an umbrella for him. That alone was enough to drive the male lead mad with jealousy. Of course, the male lead wouldn't get angry at He Qinghuan, because He Qinghuan treated him the same way. Even at the end of the book, He Qinghuan remained alone, while the male lead still pined for him. He Qinghuan loved no one.
So the male lead would only take his anger out on Gu Wang. At the thought of Jiang Chi, a trace of hostility appeared in Gu Wang's expression.
He Qinghuan clearly sensed the change in the mood of the person beside him. What had Gu Wang thought of?
Ten minutes was more than enough to walk from the police station to school.