Chapter 101 The Young Couple [VIP]

Chapter summary: There was no denial, no correction.

The stargazing trip was finally decided on a hilltop in the suburbs of Beijing. We went on Wednesday morning and returned on Friday noon, which took a little over two days in total, making it a small team-building activity.

Fu Xianyin had seen online that the team building activities were not scheduled for weekends, and employees were not required to pay for them themselves; all expenses were covered by the company.

Judging by this standard, Xingfan Technology seems to be a good company.

The project team, including her and Gu Linzhao, consisted of seventeen people, who rented a sixteen-seater minivan.

The van was parked at the company entrance. Cheng Yu and several boys were helping to move the luggage. The trip was only for two days. Fu Xianyin's luggage wasn't heavy. She was just about to put it in the car herself when Lu Heyu took the suitcase for her first.

Fu Xianyin said politely, "Teacher Lu, I can do it myself."

Lu Heyu smiled and said, "It's alright, Teacher Fu, I'll help you carry it. This car isn't big enough, so President Gu asked me to bring another car over."

This means they want her and Lu Heyu's car.

Fu Xianyin wasn't picky about which car she sat in. The only thing that felt a little awkward was that Lu Heyu had specially driven her there. Although there really wasn't enough room in the car, she still felt a bit uncomfortable with such a grand gesture.

Lu Heyu moved the suitcase into the trunk. Fu Xianyin hesitated for a moment whether to sit in the passenger seat, but Lu Heyu had already opened the back door first.

Fu Xianyin thanked her and sat down.

Lu Heyu started the car and looked at Fu Xuanyin in the back seat, saying, "Teacher Fu, let's go to the airport to pick up President Gu first, and then we'll go over there."

Fu Xianyin hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is President Gu going too?"

If I remember correctly, wasn't he on a business trip all week?

Lu Heyu said, "President Gu will also be going."

Fu Xianyin nodded.

She didn't press for more details, such as whether Gu Linzhao had specifically changed his work plan for the team building event, or whether he had cut back on his work and rushed back just to be able to come back today.

She simply took off her thick coat, held it in her arms, and then looked out the window at the receding scenery.

To be honest, Lu Heyu is a really excellent assistant to the president.

Gu Linzhao came out of the airport less than two minutes after it stopped.

The warm air inside the car made Fu Xianyin feel drowsy. She was leaning against the car door, about to fall asleep, when the trunk was opened and a gust of cold wind suddenly rushed in, hitting her exposed neck and making her shiver.

Gu Linzhao got on the bus from the other side.

Just like when I saw him at the airport that day, he was still dressed in casual clothes.

Wearing black pants and a gray hoodie, he looks more like a student than a CEO.

Fu Xianyin glanced at him a few times after he got into the car.

I don't know if it's because he really worked overtime to catch up on work, but there was a faint dark spot under his eyes, and he looked extremely tired.

Fu Xianyin wondered what time he went to sleep last night, wondering if he had slept enough for the required amount of time.

But he probably didn't get enough sleep.

Judging from his level of exhaustion, it was about the same as when she stayed up all night studying during exam week.

Fu Xianyin is the kind of student who often chooses to study all night during exam week. In fact, she also studies at other times, but firstly because she wants to graduate early and has more classes to attend, and secondly because for her, studying all night before an exam is actually the most efficient.

Although it is a method of learning that is somewhat detrimental to one's life.

However... Gu Linzhao probably wouldn't do such a thing.

Even back in high school, it was clear that compared to her reckless gambling addiction, Gu Linzhao was always the steady and methodical type.

Someone like him would probably have a well-planned daily study schedule. Even though he would inevitably be tired during finals week, he probably wouldn't be as exhausted as she was, pulling all-nighters.

What was Gu Linzhao like when he was in college?

Do you also like playing basketball?

I guess a lot of people are watching me every time I play basketball.

Studying is definitely a good thing.

There must be many people who like him.

Fu Xianyin suddenly remembered the time she watched him play basketball with Fu Yeyang and the others at the affiliated high school. The sky was filled with orange-red fiery clouds, so intense that it seemed to set the whole world on fire.

She suddenly couldn't help but wonder if Gu Linzhao had ever encountered such intense clouds after playing basketball during his university years.

Could it be that, upon seeing that vibrant orange-red, one might also suddenly, inappropriately...

I was thinking of her.

The moment this thought crossed Fu Xianyin's mind, she wanted to berate herself for being shameless.

She sighed softly, intending to look out the window to distract herself, but somehow her gaze involuntarily drifted back to Gu Linzhao.

He leaned back in the back seat, his eyes closed, seemingly resting.

Fu Xianyin's gaze lingered on him for a few seconds before turning to look out the window.

Gu Linzhao was actually not asleep.

He had been working non-stop for almost two days and was indeed exhausted. However, even with his eyes closed, he could still feel Fu Xianyin's gaze on him.

The gaze was gentle and soft, falling on him and then moving away. After a while, it slowly rested on him again before moving away once more.

Gu Linzhao couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.

Suddenly, his fingers were brushed against something soft. Gu Linzhao looked down and saw a cashmere cardigan folded into the shape of a pillow on his right.

He looked up and saw Fu Xianyin wearing a thick scarf, hugging her coat, and turning her head to look out the window.

The cardigan, shaped like a small pillow, lay obediently beside his hand.

Gu Linzhao looked at the gray, fluffy thing and couldn't help but laugh.

It takes about two and a half hours to get from Beijing to the mountain.

Because Lu Heyu took a detour to the airport, they arrived a little later.

Fu Xianyin hadn't planned to sleep, but the warm breeze in the car made her feel lazy after a while. When she came to her senses again, the car had already driven up the mountain.

After sleeping in one place for more than two hours, Fu Xianyin thought she would have a sore back and stiff neck, and if her posture was wrong, she might even get a stiff neck.

As she tilted her head, she suddenly realized that her neck seemed to be supported by a fluffy little pillow.

It was the cashmere sweater she folded herself.

Fu Xianyin looked at the cashmere sweater, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She folded the cashmere sweater for Gu Linzhao so that he could rest more comfortably. She didn't even dare to hand the sweater to him directly, but instead folded it into a ball and gently touched his hand.

But now it's back to her.

Fu Xianyin didn't know why the cashmere sweater had come back.

Is it that Gu Linzhao doesn't want to touch her things?

So they'd rather be uncomfortable than use it.

But this little pillow was stuffed next to her neck.

This could only have been stuffed in by Gu Linzhao.

If she doesn't want to touch her things, why would she want to stuff the cashmere sweater around her neck again?

Shouldn't we just put it in her hand or leave this little pillow lying in the middle unattended?

Fu Xianyin couldn't guess the answer.

The air conditioning from the trunk made her feel much more awake. Fu Xianyin put on her clothes, wrapped her scarf around her neck, and got out of the car to get her luggage.

Her suitcase was a small, off-white box that she had just bought a couple of days ago. It actually matched quite well with Gu Linzhao's black suitcase.

Two suitcases were placed at the back of the car. Just as Fu Xianyin was about to push her small suitcase, Gu Linzhao reached out with his long arm and picked it up.

Let's go.

He said.

So she followed her closely.

Fu Xianyin had thought that the team building activity was just about stargazing. Before she arrived, she was thinking that staying on the mountaintop for two days and just waiting for nightfall to watch the stars would be quite boring. But when she arrived, she found out that it was an all-inclusive hotel on the mountaintop, and stargazing was just a side activity. The hotel had almost everything you could want for entertainment and leisure.

When the rooms were assigned, Fu Xianyin and Hu Chengcheng were assigned to the same room.

Fu Xianyin didn't care who she stayed with. She took the room key, went around to Gu Linzhao's side, and took the luggage from him. Then she went to the room with Hu Chengcheng.

Once in the room, the two quickly separated into different beds, and Fu Xianyin opened her suitcase to start unpacking her luggage.

Actually, there wasn't much to pack. I just took out my toiletries and put my pajamas on the bed.

Hu Chengcheng quickly tidied her luggage and asked Fu Xianyin, "There are hot springs on the back mountain, would you like to go soak in them?"

It's too cold. Even though soaking in a hot spring on a cold day is a kind of enjoyment, Fu Xianyin doesn't really want to move around for the time being.

She smiled and said, "You go ahead, I'm not going. The car ride is too tiring, I'll rest for a while."

She changed into her pajamas, lay on the bed, and picked up her phone to chat with Chen Nianke and Cheng Zhaozhao.

Fu Xianyin: [Address.]

Fu Xianyin: [This hotel is pretty good. Let's stay here together when we get back. There seems to be a hot spring in the back mountain; I haven't been yet, but my manager went.]

Cheng Zhaozhao: [Your manager? The one you gave the hell out of the last time?]

Cheng Zhaozhao: [Disdain.jpg]

Cheng Zhaozhao: [She doesn't seem like a good person.]

Cheng Zhaozhao: [No, it's not that she doesn't seem like it, it's that she's not a good person.]

Fu Xianyin couldn't help but laugh as she watched Cheng Zhaozhao indignantly berate Hu Chengcheng.

Fu Xianyin: [It was her, but she hasn't done anything else. Things have been going quite smoothly at work lately.]

Cheng Zhaozhao: [So you're sharing a room with her? How were your rooms assigned?]

Fu Xianyin: [It's probably random assignment, so it doesn't matter who I live with.]

The message had just been sent, and before Fu Xianyin could even log out of WeChat, her phone vibrated, and then a small red dot appeared.

She clicked on it and found it was Gu Linzhao.

Gu Linzhao: [Are you resting?]

The chat page with Gu Linzhao was empty; scrolling up, it still showed the friend request that had been accepted a few weeks ago.

Fu Xianyin: [No, what's wrong, Mr. Gu?]

Gu Linzhao: [We need to borrow the telescope for stargazing in advance.]

Fu Xianyin understood immediately.

Gu Linzhao was worried about something going wrong while stargazing at night, so the telescope he borrowed from the hotel wasn't a very suitable model. That's why he asked her, the professional, to go instead.

Fu Xianyin didn't react much to the fact that "a PhD in astrophysics was reduced to being used to borrow telescopes." She changed out of the coat she had just worn and left the room.

However, after walking only a few steps, he saw Gu Linzhao standing in the corridor.

Fu Xianyin paused for a moment, then stepped forward to greet him: "President Gu."

Gu Linzhao nodded and said, "Let's go."

Fu Xianyin took a couple of steps with him before she realized what was happening.

She asked, "Are we going to borrow the binoculars? Or is it me and Lu Heyu who are going to borrow them?"

It seemed unnecessary for him to go personally to borrow the telescope.

Gu Linzhao paused, then turned around, his tone somewhat ambiguous: "You want to borrow it from Lu Heyu?"

These words were spoken ambiguously, and for no apparent reason, Fu Xianyin felt a pang in her heart.

She frowned and said, "No, I thought Lu Heyu would be the one to do this kind of thing."

“It’s not him,” Gu Linzhao said. “Let’s go.”

Since he had already said that, Fu Xianyin naturally had no reason to say anything else.

The telescope was borrowed from someone in the stargazing area. As soon as Fu Xianyin stepped out of the building, he was hit by a gust of wind.

The cold wind was suffocating her. She instinctively wanted to grab something to hug for warmth, but her fingers made a few empty grabbing motions in the air. Only when her fingertips touched Gu Linzhao's sleeve did she realize how foolish she was doing.

She lowered her arm and put her hands in her pockets to warm them.

But then they suddenly realized that Gu Linzhao had taken an extra step forward.

He blocked most of the cold wind, and Fu Xianyin could barely catch her breath as she walked along the path sheltered by his figure.

At the front desk of the stargazing area, a young woman smiled and said after Gu Linzhao explained his purpose, "Okay, I understand. What kind of telescopes do you two need? A handheld one, or something a little larger?"

Fu Xianyin said, "Can we borrow them all? Five handheld ones and two large ones."

The little girl looked at the two of them, exclaimed "Ah!" and said, "I thought you two were a young couple on a date to see the stars, but I didn't expect you to be a group of people together."

As soon as the words "young couple" were uttered, Fu Xianyin's ears turned red.

She actually wanted to despise herself; at this age, how could her ears still turn red?

Fortunately, the cold winter wind was enough to cover the redness of her ears.

Fu Xianyin coughed lightly and glanced at Gu Linzhao out of the corner of her eye.

He just stood there, seemingly oblivious to the words "young couple," showing no intention of correcting this incorrect way of addressing each other.

This isn't actually the first time they've been mistaken for a couple.

During high school, they were often mistaken for a couple when they went out together.

Before falling in love, Fu Xianyin would either vehemently deny it or harbor those secret feelings, glossing over the matter with other topics whenever possible.

However, looking back now, Gu Linzhao did indeed remain unusually silent when faced with these misunderstandings.

Especially before falling in love.

He almost never, ever denied that the two were not in a romantic relationship.

They were quicker than anyone else to admit they were in a relationship.

It felt like someone had gently tapped my heart.

Fu Xianyin was stunned for a moment.

Suddenly, she glanced at Gu Linzhao again.

He kept his eyes downcast, showing no intention of denying or correcting anything.

Fu Xianyin looked at the front desk and said softly, "We are here for company team building."

She overlooked that incorrect relationship.

There was no denial, no correction.

It was as if they hadn't heard anything.

[Author's Note]

It's going to be a paid subscription tomorrow! It will start from Chapter 19, so those who have already read it, please don't buy it again!

There will be more updates on the day it becomes a paid subscription, so please look forward to it!