But the heavy rain and darkness slowed their pace, and after fifteen minutes, they still had nearly half the distance left.
The sidewalk was uneven and full of puddles. One careless step could land on a loose paving brick, sending muddy water splashing everywhere.
After splashing another trouser leg's worth of muddy water onto He Qinghuan, Gu Wang stammered, "Sorry."
Then came the third time.
"Sorry."
He Qinghuan: "..."
Was he doing this on purpose?
Up ahead, Shen Zhao suddenly swore. "Fuck, you think you can break the law just because it's dark? Who said you could ride on the sidewalk?!"
Beneath the dim yellow streetlights, an electric scooter headed toward Gu Wang and He Qinghuan without the slightest intention of giving way.
It actually wasn't going very fast, since it was raining, but the sidewalk was neither smooth nor wide enough. There was no way it could accommodate two people walking side by side and a scooter, so Gu Wang and He Qinghuan had to move aside.
Before Gu Wang could react, He Qinghuan put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. Gu Wang crashed into He Qinghuan's chest, and while he was trying to work out whether He Qinghuan smelled of mint or lemon, he saw He Qinghuan kick the scooter rider in the waist.
Gu Wang watched the rider topple into the ditch beside them, scooter and all. "..."
It was only a small drainage ditch, so the rider certainly wouldn't be seriously hurt. What frightened Gu Wang was He Qinghuan's ruthlessness.
In that tiny span of time, He Qinghuan had swiftly pulled him out of the way, then kicked someone over. This... wasn't his fucking characterization a little off?!
In the book, He Qinghuan was an aloof, innocent flower. Even his vengefulness depended on the offense, though he certainly repaid every slight from Gu Wang. But now Gu Wang felt He Qinghuan wasn't an innocent flower at all. He was a man-eating plant!
Only when they were nearly at school did Gu Wang recover, belatedly realizing that He Qinghuan still had an arm around his shoulders and had even tilted the umbrella toward him. His heart lurched. He shifted his shoulder a little, then made a show of raising a hand to fix his hair, successfully getting He Qinghuan to let go.
As He Qinghuan released him, Gu Wang breathed a sigh of relief. He silently repeated Stay away from He Qinghuan three times, ignoring how his heart had raced earlier when He Qinghuan had pulled him close in an utterly protective embrace.
Compared with anything else, his life mattered more. Besides, He Qinghuan probably loathed him. Those actions had all been instinctive, in keeping with his characterization, and had nothing to do with whether he was Gu Wang.
They finally made it into the classroom building. With the heavy rain and the late hour, there had been hardly anyone outside. Evening study hall was almost over, and Gu Wang planned to go back to the classroom, pack his things, and leave.
He rolled up his wet sleeves and swept all his damp bangs back, exposing his smooth forehead. Turning to Shen Zhao, he asked, "Going up?"
Shen Zhao said, "What else would we do? I... holy shit, Wangwang, you look so handsome like that!"
His exaggerated reaction caught the attention of He Qinghuan, who was tidying his umbrella. He Qinghuan glanced indifferently at Gu Wang, his gaze lingering on his face for a few seconds before he looked away as though nothing had happened.
Gu Wang pretended not to notice He Qinghuan looking at him and turned to talk to Shen Zhao.
He Qinghuan lowered his eyes to straighten his umbrella, his long lashes concealing his cool gaze.
As annoying as Gu Wang was, He Qinghuan still had to admit that he was his type.
Chapter 10
Gu Wang had no idea that He Qinghuan had looked thoughtful after glancing at him. After drying his face with tissues, he was about to return to the classroom when he saw Jiang Chi standing at the foot of the stairs.
He wore a black-and-white school uniform, almost blending into the darkness behind him.
The author strove for precision when choosing adjectives to describe the book's characters. Jiang Chi was described as cold, and he truly was. He had eyes for no one but He Qinghuan. Though loyal and devoted, he also drew a clear distinction between kindnesses and grudges.
As for the male lead's loathing of Gu Wang, the author had devoted an entire chapter to explaining that it had reached an utterly outrageous degree.
Gu Wang hadn't felt much about it while reading, only suspecting the author of padding the story. Now that he had actually become Gu Wang, he finally understood just how much the male lead despised him. From the male lead's eyes, he could sense that he wanted to skin him alive, hang him upside down from a rooftop, and drain his blood for three days.
So Gu Wang shifted to the side, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and He Qinghuan, and then a little more.
With both hands in his pockets, Jiang Chi approached Gu Wang. "I heard you came back with He Qinghuan?"
Gu Wang: "..."
Don't ask me. Ask He Qinghuan! Isn't he right beside us?
But the latter merely gave them an indifferent glance, then strolled away with his umbrella.
He left?
Could you keep the male lead under control, please?
Watching He Qinghuan's retreating back, Gu Wang recalled that He Qinghuan's attitude toward Jiang Chi in the book had actually been unremarkable. Jiang Chi simply knew his limits and didn't annoy him. In He Qinghuan's eyes, Jiang Chi, the male lead, was at most a classmate-and one from the class next door, at that.
Jiang Chi's love went unrequited, so He Qinghuan remained his unattainable ideal. So much so that the partners Jiang Chi found later all bore some resemblance to He Qinghuan, whether in their eyes, their mouths, or somewhere else.
He found many shadows of He Qinghuan, but He Qinghuan never spared him a second glance.
That was why, to Gu Wang, He Qinghuan was the most frightening one. Jiang Chi was actually quite pitiful. At least He Qinghuan felt something toward Gu Wang beyond what he felt for a classmate-for instance, wishing he would get hit by a car and die the moment he stepped outside.
The more Gu Wang imagined, the more pitiful Jiang Chi seemed, until he couldn't help laughing aloud.
Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan jumped. He was face-to-face with his romantic rival and could still smile that brightly. Had unrequited love driven Wangwang mad?
Jiang Chi hadn't expected Gu Wang to laugh in front of him either. In his memory, every time Gu Wang saw him, he stuck his nose in the air, looking like some arrogant nouveau riche declaring, "Who the hell are you? I'm your superior."
So many people liked He Qinghuan. Why did he hate Gu Wang in particular? Jiang Chi believed it was because Gu Wang was simply too deserving of a beating.
There were almost no times when he wasn't bristling with hostility like this. Jiang Chi frowned. "What are you plotting now? I'm asking you, are you planning to pull something on He Qinghuan again?"
Gu Wang had once even tried to force himself on He Qinghuan, only for He Qinghuan to kick him until his head was bleeding, so Jiang Chi had to stay on guard.
Gu Wang didn't want to get tangled up with Jiang Chi. He meant to walk around him and leave, but Jiang Chi suddenly reached out and caught his wrist. His gaze was icy as he told Gu Wang coldly, "I'm warning you, don't get any ideas about He Qinghuan. He-"
"Yes, yes, yes, he's yours, he's yours." Gu Wang shook off Jiang Chi's hand and said impatiently, "I don't like him anymore. I've had my fun and gotten bored. Do whatever you want."
For that last line, Gu Wang was imitating those rich young heirs. Some of his former companions had been second-generation rich kids, too. Gu Wang didn't put much stock in character when making friends. They were tools using one another; nobody cared about such intangible things. So he had seen plenty of this sort of abandoning the old for the new.
Now, therefore, Gu Wang looked no different from those rich kids. He had captured their essence perfectly, and the moment he finished speaking, all three people beside him froze.
Jiang Chi was stunned that Gu Wang could so casually say, "I don't like He Qinghuan anymore." Who in the world didn't like He Qinghuan?
Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan, meanwhile, thought Gu Wang was being such a fucking scumbag. That expression, that tone-even as his friends, they couldn't stand it!
Gu Wang had always been fickle, abandoning old interests for new ones, yet they had never thought him a scumbag before, not even judging fairly and objectively. Today, however, his scumbag behavior had gotten to them.
Gu Wang had only taken two steps forward with the now-silent Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan when Jiang Chi blocked him again, his expression vicious. "What gives you the right to stop liking He Qinghuan?"
Gu Wang: "..."
Shen Zhao: "..."
Song Zhiyan: "..."
This time, even without Gu Wang saying anything, Shen Zhao couldn't stand it anymore. He pulled Gu Wang aside and went into protective-parent mode. "Are you fucking sick in the head? You complain when Wangwang likes He Qinghuan, and you won't let him stop liking him either. I'm begging you, could you please stop pestering our Wangwang?"
Gu Wang: "..." The first part was fine, but that last sentence could easily give people the wrong idea.
Song Zhiyan noticed it too. He tugged Shen Zhao's sleeve and said, "That came out wrong. You make it sound like Jiang Chi likes our Wangwang and won't leave him alone."
Jiang Chi also belatedly realized how abnormal he had just been acting. To cover his embarrassment, he snorted coldly. "I hope you keep your word. If I catch you pestering He Qinghuan again, don't blame me for getting rough!"
He left, but before he was completely out of earshot, Shen Zhao said to Gu Wang, "Wangwang, Jiang Chi is so shameless. He's nobody to He Qinghuan. What right does he have to decide whether you like him?"
On that point, Gu Wang wholeheartedly agreed.
Actually, while reading the book, he had already felt that the male lead was conceited and arrogant. In a novel, that might make for a devoted character who inspired aching sympathy, but once you actually became part of the situation, you couldn't like someone like Jiang Chi at all. He was so self-important that even his extremely handsome face couldn't make up for it.
The three complained about Jiang Chi all the way to the classroom. Shen Zhao even revealed a shocking piece of gossip: Jiang Chi had really long leg hair. Their two classes had once had swimming lessons together, and he had specifically looked.
Song Zhiyan asked, "Why were you looking at his leg hair?"
Shen Zhao answered with perfect confidence, "Doesn't he say he's really manly? I wanted to see how manly he was!"
Gu Wang said, "...Then are you manly?"
Shen Zhao thought for a moment. "Not very manly, but fairly manly."
Gu Wang and Song Zhiyan couldn't help laughing. Bewildered, Shen Zhao asked, "Wangwang, what are you laughing at? At least I'm fairly manly. You're not manly at all. You don't even have any hair!"
Gu Wang: "..."
Song Zhiyan leaped over and covered Shen Zhao's mouth. "Could you have some fucking shame? Saying someone has no hair in public!"
Shen Zhao pulled Song Zhiyan's hand away. "That's not what I meant! I meant Wangwang doesn't have any leg hair! Leg hair!"
Song Zhiyan said, "Shameless."
Then he looked at Gu Wang. "Wangwang, do you really not have any leg hair?"
Gu Wang: "..." Honestly, he hadn't noticed.
And so, at the classroom's back door, a single step away from entering, the three began checking whether Gu Wang had leg hair.
Gu Wang rolled his soaking trouser leg up to his knee, revealing a stretch of pale, slender calf with smooth, beautiful muscle definition.
"Holy shit, Wangwang, you really don't have leg hair!"
Gu Wang hadn't expected the original owner of this body to be so... delicate either. He said helplessly, "There's a little, okay?"
Shen Zhao looked closely and discovered there was indeed a little, but it was so pale and fine that it might as well not have been there. He looked up at Gu Wang with a hint of disdain. "Wangwang, you're not manly at all."
Gu Wang: "..."
He was just about to tell Shen Zhao that manliness wasn't determined by leg hair when the white light overhead abruptly vanished, leaving them covered in shadow.
With his back to the classroom lights, He Qinghuan rested his gaze on Gu Wang's face before shifting it to his bare calf.
Feeling rather uncomfortable, Gu Wang lowered his trouser leg.
Only Shen Zhao had a sudden lapse of judgment, looking up to ask He Qinghuan, "Class monitor, do you have leg hair?"
Chapter 11
Could you have some shame, Shen Zhao?!
After Shen Zhao uttered that outrageous question, the air froze solid-very solid, like dried concrete.
"You're late." He Qinghuan's expression was indifferent, and he withdrew his gaze from Gu Wang.
Having lowered his trouser leg, Gu Wang stood up, looking a little puzzled. "Isn't class almost over? You're still marking us late?"
He Qinghuan looked at Gu Wang and said leisurely, "Then should I mark you absent?"
Gu Wang: "..."
Perhaps Gu Wang's aggrieved expression pleased He Qinghuan. After leaving them with "There won't be a next time," he turned and entered the classroom. The people nearby all sneaked glances their way, wanting to see how Gu Wang looked after He Qinghuan had humiliated him again.
In the past, whenever this happened, Gu Wang would fly into a rage and pester He Qinghuan endlessly, demanding to know why he didn't like him. There was a show to watch every day.
Today, however, Gu Wang didn't react as they expected. He didn't seem to take He Qinghuan's attitude to heart at all and returned to his seat, laughing and joking with Song Zhiyan.