He began packing his things.
[What's going on with Gu Wang? Does he really not like He Qinghuan anymore?]
[That can't be right. Didn't he slip a box of imported chocolates into He Qinghuan's desk a while ago?]
[Playing hard to get?]
[Doesn't look like it. The way Gu Wang looked at He Qinghuan, there really wasn't a trace of affection. Every time my baby gets mad at me, I can still feel his deep love for me through his fathomless eyes!]
[As gross as Aya is, she's right. You can tell whether someone likes a person from their eyes. You can't fake that. Even if you could, do you think Gu Wang has the acting skills?]
[Gu Wang really is a jerk. Just stopped liking him, just like that.]
[Good thing He Qinghuan doesn't like him.]
[+1]
The chat log came from one of the class's small group chats.
Jinyang High School had no boarding students; everyone commuted. The rain showed no sign of stopping. It had come so suddenly that even the weather forecast hadn't detected it. It was a complete and utter surprise.
"Ah, how am I supposed to get home? Will my mom come pick me up?"
"I called my dad too. He said there's a traffic jam around here. Too many cars coming in."
"Oh my God, when will we get home? I still have so much homework left. I'm going to cry."
Only the seniors were at school now, but there were still quite a few of them. Some chose to wait in their classrooms, while others ran straight to the school gates. There was a shelter there, but it couldn't hold too many people.
Others waited at the entrance to the classroom building.
Gu Wang was among those waiting in the classroom. So was He Qinghuan.
Shen Zhao and Song Zhiyan were neighbors, so Shen Zhao's dad could pick Song Zhiyan up along the way. That wouldn't work for Gu Wang, though. He lived in the exact opposite direction from them.
Shen Zhao looked disappointed as he left. "Wangwang, we actually want to be your neighbors too!"
Song Zhiyan added, "But we really can't afford the villas where you live!"
Prices ran into the hundreds of millions. That was no joke. Calling every inch of land worth its weight in gold was no exaggeration.
The Gu family were the nouveau riche of the nouveau riche, with more money than they knew what to do with. But money alone was no use. They were still Nancheng's famous nouveau riche, which was why they wanted Gu Wang's generation to work hard, transform the family's standing, and propel them into the ranks of true elite families.
Gu Wang watched the two of them leave, roughhousing all the way. Many others gradually left the classroom too. When he looked up, he saw He Qinghuan, looking aloof and solitary beneath the classroom's incandescent lights.
Gu Wang thought of He Qinghuan's family. If the Gu family were nouveau riche, then the He family were true old money. Money was nothing more than a number to them now. They valued other things more.
That was why He Qinghuan had shouldered his family's mission since childhood: he had to keep the He family prosperous forever. But he hadn't become the head of the family until after graduating from university. The He family was a murky mire, full of illegitimate sons and daughters. While they couldn't actually steal what belonged to He Qinghuan, they certainly caused him no shortage of aggravation.
He Qinghuan's life wasn't as good as they imagined. The more he had, the more he lost.
For instance, he had studied music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and social etiquette since childhood. He couldn't neglect a single thing an aristocrat was expected to learn. Not only did he have to learn it, he had to be the best.
Gu Wang felt that He Qinghuan was rather pitiful too.
Before he could withdraw that pity, his gaze suddenly met He Qinghuan's. He Qinghuan's normally cool features abruptly turned dark and sharp.
Gu Wang had never seen that expression on He Qinghuan before. Flustered, he looked away, pretending he hadn't seen anything.
He lowered his head to look at the test paper on his desk, which he had long since finished reading, and didn't dare glance around again. Only when the gaze that sent chills down his back disappeared did Gu Wang finally breathe a full sigh of relief.
He didn't want to truly offend He Qinghuan. Whether they could get along was secondary. Mainly, he didn't think he could form any connection with someone like He Qinghuan anyway.
He was far too far out of reach.
Outside, the rain poured down, and Gu Wang's phone rang.
Gu Dazhi's gruff voice came through. "Wangwang, Dad's downstairs at your classroom building. Where are you?"
Warmth filled Gu Wang's heart. "I'll be right down."
As he spoke, he began packing his bag, putting the little incident with He Qinghuan out of his mind.
"I came straight from the restaurant and got you some sweet-and-sour lotus root, your favorite. It's still hot. Your mom's made meatball soup at home too. Hurry down!" Gu Dazhi was busy with business and rarely got to see his son. Even with Gu Wang setting his phone aside to pack, he could keep talking all by himself.
"Your grandma got into a fight this afternoon while square dancing. With her own old friends, too. They called you a hopeless case and a wastrel. Your grandma thinks so too, but only she's allowed to think it. The rest of us can't say a word against you. Her temper gets worse with age. She really gave them a beating."
"..."
The Gu family had a particularly good atmosphere, the sort where everyone shared good fortune and weathered hardship together. That was something only the Gu Wang in the book had possessed. The original Gu Wang had been an orphan. He would use anyone around him he could, and no one could become his true friend.
But now, Gu Wang had people he wanted to protect. They were all living, breathing people by his side, and they all treated him sincerely.
He finished packing and was just about to leave when He Qinghuan came over.
He was lean, yet he exerted a pressure that made people afraid to lift their heads. Raised from childhood to be the head of the family, He Qinghuan had the air of someone in power in his very bones.
He Qinghuan held an umbrella out to Gu Wang. "Take it."
Gu Wang had thought He Qinghuan was coming to make trouble over what had happened earlier. He hadn't expected an umbrella. Puzzled, his instinct was to refuse.
Perhaps seeing what Gu Wang was about to say, He Qinghuan narrowed his eyes slightly. Gu Wang's heart jolted, and he quickly took the umbrella from his hand. "I'll return it tomorrow."
The boy took the umbrella and ran off, as though some terrifying monster were behind him.
Author's note: He Qinghuan: Am I that scary?
Chapter 12
Seeing Gu Wang approach, Gu Dazhi opened the car door well in advance. Gu Wang folded the umbrella and got in, and Gu Dazhi thrust a paper bag at him. "Freshly made honey-glazed hawthorn. Have some for now. Your mom's made dinner at home too."
Holding the warm hawthorn, Gu Wang lowered his head and ate two before he heard Gu Dazhi speak. "You haven't been getting into fights lately?"
"..." Gu Wang was speechless. Gu Dazhi actually sounded rather disappointed. After spitting out a hawthorn pit, he announced solemnly, "Dad, listen carefully. I'm going to get into A University."
A University?
Gu Dazhi thought he had misheard, but he didn't want to discourage his son, so he could only take a roundabout approach. "Wangwang, I think you should set a smaller goal first. For instance, how about we start by getting into any undergraduate program?"
A University was the top institution in the country, with admission requirements even higher than Tsinghua and Peking University in Gu Wang's own world. Out of a total of 750 points, A University's cutoff was 700. Even the top scorers in certain regions couldn't achieve that score. Gu Wang had been startled when he looked up the cutoff too. It practically eliminated ninety-nine percent of people outright.
That was why Gu Dazhi reacted that way. Gu Wang wanted to score 700; half that, 350, might be worth a shot.
Gu Wang didn't plan to continue this topic with Gu Dazhi. His disbelief was normal. After all, the body's original owner had been an abysmal student who couldn't even score 200.
Perhaps sensing Gu Wang's mood, Gu Dazhi freed a hand to ruffle his hair. "If you really want to try, Dad will hire you the best tutors!"
His cheeks bulging, Gu Wang said, "No need. I can do it myself."
Gu Dazhi was delighted. Nothing else mattered; those few things Gu Wang had said today alone filled him with relief. He didn't care whether his son could actually do it or was just spouting nonsense to make him happy. Hearing a couple of decent words from him was enough.
To be honest, Gu Dazhi felt rather guilty toward Gu Wang. Compensation from property demolition had sent the whole family soaring overnight, and as the business grew bigger and bigger, where was the time to look after Gu Wang? Almost everyone in Gu Wang's generation had been left to their own devices. The elders simply couldn't spare the time. By the time they realized it, Gu Wang was already a lost cause.
The sky shone, washed clean, as the weather cleared after the downpour. Even the leaves of the camphor trees at school gleamed.
Gu Wang arrived very early and put the umbrella on He Qinghuan's desk before he came to school. He had just sat down when Song Zhiyan ran in with a bun in his mouth, while Shen Zhao flashed past in the corridor.
"You're here so early?"
"Rushing homework. We played games at Zhaozi's place until three last night. Zhaozi's so damn bad. If I ever play ranked with him again, I'm a dog!" Song Zhiyan wolfed down the bun in a few bites and grabbed Gu Wang's bag before he could put it into his desk. "Quick, lend me your homework to copy."
Gu Wang kindly warned him, "I just put down random answers."
He wasn't lying. Although he knew how to do every question, he had to control the ratio of right answers to wrong ones, building up quietly before stunning everyone in the end.
Song Zhiyan had already started copying. "I know you put down random answers. I can't be bothered making mine up. We're about the same level anyway, and we make up pretty much the same stuff every time. Yours is perfect for copying."
As Song Zhiyan finished copying the last question, the Chinese class representative came to collect their homework. He handed both papers to her. "Little Ou, you're gorgeous today!"
Gu Wang: "..."
Meng Ou had dyed her hair pale pink. Beneath her oversized school uniform, she wore only a white cropped tank top, with the jacket zipped just to her chest. Judging solely by her stylish, polished appearance, no one would have guessed she was a top-ten student in their year, or the principal's daughter. Otherwise, that hair color alone would have earned her disciplinary action.
Meng Ou smiled and went to collect the other students' homework without lingering.
Song Zhiyan slumped over his desk, watching Meng Ou's retreating figure, and murmured, "She's so pretty."
Gu Wang nodded perfunctorily. Meng Ou was pretty, but that had nothing to do with them, especially Song Zhiyan. Later on, Song Zhiyan practically became Meng Ou's devoted lapdog. In his words, "Keep licking long enough, and you'll have everything you want."
Gu Wang didn't know whether anyone else had gotten anything out of it, but Song Zhiyan certainly hadn't. Although Meng Ou looked a little wild, the type who liked having fun, she actually knew exactly what she wanted. At the end of the book, she became a professor at a key university and married a promising young department head at a research institute.
Clearly, nobody liked a loser like Song Zhiyan.
Gu Wang considered that an objective fact. Wasn't he a loser in other people's eyes too?
So he poked Song Zhiyan's shoulder. "You dog, do you want to win Meng Ou over?"
Song Zhiyan's eyes lit up. "You have a way?!"
Gu Wang said, "All pursuits are inferior to studying. Haven't you noticed Meng Ou likes good students?"
Song Zhiyan instinctively looked toward Meng Ou. She was standing beside He Qinghuan's desk, laughing behind her hand, her attitude completely different from how she treated him and Wangwang.
Song Zhiyan pondered for a while. Just as Gu Wang thought he would refuse, he slammed his fist onto the desk with earth-shaking force. "I'm in! You're already studying hard for He Qinghuan, so I'll work hard for her too!"
Song Zhiyan had practically shouted it. The entire class turned to look at them, He Qinghuan included.
Gu Wang: "..."
Entirely unsurprised, Gu Wang saw a thoughtful, meaningful look in He Qinghuan's eyes, with even a faint hint of mockery.
The distance he had finally managed to put between himself and He Qinghuan had been undone.
Before noon, their entire year knew that Gu Wang, the dissolute rich kid and academic disgrace, was going to study hard to pursue their unattainable He Qinghuan.
Author's note: Come on, let's see what a useless teammate looks like. Yes, that's right, exactly like Song Zhiyan.
The text specifies top scorers from certain regions. The difficulty of the papers and the scoring systems vary by region, so they can't all be lumped together. Just adding that note here.
Chapter 13
Fortunately, Jiang Chi didn't come running over to cause a scene. He merely shot Gu Wang a few vicious glares as he passed his classroom.
The culprit, Song Zhiyan, said, "Jiang Chi's seriously messed up. You already said you don't like He Qinghuan, and he's still acting like this..."
Gu Wang: "..." I did say that, but didn't you just drag me right back?
They had Li Shuya's class that morning. First, she announced that their seats would be rearranged according to their results after the monthly exam at the end of the month. Then, after a moment's thought, she said, "National Day comes right after the monthly exam. Every year, our school-