Chapter 43 The Rival's Story: Fool

Wen Shu turned her head, a slight smile playing on her lips, and replied, "What's wrong with the scarf? My scarf is quite warm, after all, it's hand-knitted."

Gu Qingjia frowned as he looked at the scarf. It looked so familiar. He had a vague guess in his mind, a guess so astonishing that he himself could hardly believe it. He took a few steps forward and saw it more clearly. "You knitted this yourself?"

The tone was accusatory, but Wen Shu wasn't angry. Her tone softened further as she said, "No, it was a gift from someone else."

Gu Qingjia had seen Xie Changyu knitting a scarf in the dormitory before. He had asked him about it then, and Xie Changyu replied that he was just practicing on his own, and that this color of scarf was a popular style online, so it was normal for it to be exactly the same.

He tried to convince himself of this, and besides, how could Wen Shu possibly know Xie Changyu? And Xie Changyu wouldn't be interested in this person. What was he thinking?

Finally, he shook his head and said softly, "It's nothing, I misread it, you can go now."

Upon hearing this, Wen Shu raised an eyebrow with some regret, thinking to himself that he hadn't been discovered.

He pulled the scarf around his neck tighter, feeling even warmer. This scarf was made by Xie Changyu, but it wasn't a gift for him. He had taken it with him yesterday when he dragged Xie Changyu away. He had come here specifically to show it off, but he hadn't expected that Gu Qingjia, that idiot, didn't know about the scarf.

He overestimated Gu Qingjia.

Although it was Shun's scarf, Wen Shu felt no guilt whatsoever for taking what didn't belong to him. Instead, he wore it and wandered around without a care in the world.

He nodded and said gently, "Okay, I'll go first and wait for you to come out."

Gu Qingjia felt inexplicably irritated. He glanced at the face in front of him, then turned away impatiently. "Let's go, let's go."

With a smile on her lips, Wen Shu stepped out.

As he reached the door, he paused slightly and said casually to the bodyguard on guard, "Keep an eye on your young master, or he might jump out the window."

After saying that, he left.

After finally tidying up the bedroom, Gu Qingjia's frustration and depression made him increasingly unable to stay any longer. He walked to the door, which had been closed again, and knocked a few times. The door opened halfway.

The bodyguard asked, "What's wrong, young master?"

Gu Qingjia took a deep breath, his brows furrowed, and said in a harsh tone, "Call my mother over. I have something to say to her."

"I'm sorry, Madam said you should stay locked up for a few days, and then she will release you."

Gu Qingjia clicked her tongue in disapproval. "I can't even say a few words to my mom?"

"Your wife instructed you not to disturb her with your affairs."

"Fine, fine, fine." Gu Qingjia laughed angrily. He kicked the door hard, a hint of violence flashing in his eyes. The door shook violently, but the bodyguard outside remained completely unfazed that he would suddenly run out.

After all, Gu Qingjia did the same thing when she was first locked up yesterday, and was successfully pinned to the ground by several bodyguards and forced back into the house in a sorry state.

Having experienced what happened yesterday, Gu Qingjia was certain he wouldn't make the same foolish mistake again. He took a deep breath, and the door was immediately closed. He stared intently at it, but to no avail. Finally, the opening he had just made was locked tightly shut.

Gu Qingjia closed her eyes, lost in thought.

...

When Wen Shu finished reminding her and came out, he ran into Gu Qingjia's mother in the living room. He smiled and greeted her, "Aunt Gu."

Madam Gu was a very beautiful, elegant and poised lady. Although she was fifty years old, she still maintained a graceful and dignified demeanor. Gu Qingjia looked very much like his mother, with identical eyes and nose.

Madam Gu sat there, still holding a teacup in her hand, sipping her tea, and replied to the younger man with a smile, "Did you finish reading so quickly? Why didn't you chat with that boy a little longer?"

Wen Shu lowered her eyes, her wisps of hair partially obscuring her brows and eyes, her expression indifferent. "He's too resistant, there's nothing I can do."

Madam Gu shook her head and took a sip of hot tea. "Speaking of which, it's all thanks to you for telling me in time, otherwise this brat's reputation in this circle would have been ruined."

She was referring to Wen Shu calling the Gu family yesterday to tell them that Gu Qingjia had gotten into a fight with another man outside their hotel, where many business associates and acquaintances lived. If someone saw this and spread the word, Gu Qingjia's already poor reputation would be ruined.

This is why the Gu family was able to capture the person so quickly.

“I can’t let him get away with this time; he needs to be taught a lesson.”

As Madam Gu spoke, she glanced at Wen Shu standing there. He was tall, handsome, humble, and polite. It was surprising that such a person was the son of the Jiang family. She sighed with emotion.

Wen Shu could naturally sense the meaning behind the lady's expression, but he pretended not to see it and said in a gentle tone, "Gu Qingjia and I are good friends. I couldn't control the situation at the time, and I told you about it because I had no choice but to do it for his own good. I hope that your discipline this time will make him think about it carefully."

Madam Gu nodded in agreement, "You two have always had a good relationship. I hope he can think things through this time. It's not that I'm worried he likes men, but at least he should be more rational and not do things like fighting in public. He doesn't care about the Gu family's reputation at all."

“Auntie is right,” Wen Shu casually remarked. “I’m just worried that his personality might lead him to jump out of the window. It wouldn’t be good if he broke his leg from such a height.”

Having said all that, Madam Gu naturally remembered this matter as well. She said, "Don't worry, I'll have someone go and check on him later. He won't have that chance."

Wen Shu smiled and said, "Then I'm relieved."

"Aunt Gu, I'll be going now. I have some things to take care of at school."

"Okay, be careful in this weather."

"Um."

As Wen Shu walked out of the Gu residence, she glanced back at the house with a smile in her eyes. This time, Gu Qingjia should be able to stay put for a few days.

Seeing Gu Qingjia's eager expression just now, Wen Shu, who had known him for several years, could hardly have missed his thoughts.

I figured it out.

Let's just wait here.

idiot.

...

When Xie Changyu woke up, he was completely bewildered. He turned off the alarm clock, struggled to sit up, and successfully stopped the sound. He then stared blankly ahead.

He set the alarm before going to bed, setting it to remind him two hours later. After all, it's still daytime, and if he sleeps too much, he won't be able to fall asleep at night. He can't have his sleep schedule reversed.

He blinked in annoyance, his fair face bearing a noticeable red mark from sleeping. The room was quite warm, and his ears remained red after his nap, his eyes also a little moist.

The moment you wake up after not getting enough sleep is vulnerable.

well.

Xie Changyu glanced at the two people below him—no, one person, and another who was already sitting on the bed. He turned around and looked at the person opposite his bed.

Jiang Yue was sitting on the bed looking at the computer, his expression serious, but it was unclear what he was doing.

Perhaps noticing his gaze, Jiang Yue looked up almost the instant he looked over, and the two made eye contact.

For some reason, Xie Changyu felt his heart suddenly tremble. He immediately avoided the intensely oppressive gaze and wiped away his drool.

No way, that's scary.

Why is Jiang Yue looking at him like that? Hasn't he already explained everything? Hasn't this person already believed him? Why is he still so cold-faced? Sigh, I wonder if Wen Shu has explained anything.

But to his surprise, Jiang Yue actually asked him, "What's wrong?"

Xie Changyu paused for a moment, then replied, "Just taking a look, nothing."

This guy used to never even ask questions, what's wrong with him now?

He had rested enough, so he simply got out of bed. But to his surprise, Jiang Yue got out of bed a minute later as well.

Xie Changyu was dumbfounded. No way, why is Jiang Yue acting so strangely? Or is he overthinking things?

Feeling increasingly frustrated, he went into the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, he tilted his head slightly, pulled his collar down a bit, and examined himself closely. He thought the hickeys seemed to have faded a little. After looking at himself, he pulled his clothes back up.

He closed the door and went to the toilet.

After coming out, he started changing his shoes and then put on his coat, ready to leave, but Qi Yan stopped him, "Are you going to eat?"

Xie Changyu nodded.

"Why didn't you call me? I would have gone with you." Qi Yan said with a smile, "Were you still groggy from just waking up?"

Xie Changyu shook his head and refused, shrugging his shoulders. "I want to go by myself."

Qi Yan looked up at him, but didn't say anything. In the end, he didn't ask why, but lowered his eyes and said, "Okay."

Xie Changyu breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to open the door, he noticed Jiang Yue getting dressed out of the corner of his eye. He instinctively thought that Jiang Yue was going to follow him out, and immediately exclaimed, "Why are you getting dressed?"

Jiang Yue stood there tall, his brows slightly furrowed as if puzzled by his overreaction. "It's a bit cold down there."

That's the downside of air conditioning; it can only blow in one direction. When he was sleeping, it was set to blow upwards, so the heat was always on top, and it was very cold down below. That's why Jiang Yue had no problem getting dressed.

Jiang Yue's composure made Xie Changyu seem a bit overreacting. He felt embarrassed, realizing he had overthought things and had mistakenly thought Jiang Yue was imitating him.

He looked somewhat annoyed, thinking to himself how embarrassing he was.

"Feel sorry."

After saying that, he opened the door and slipped away.

Then, when he came out, he realized he had forgotten to change his shoes. He stood at the entrance of the dormitory building, wrapped up tightly on top and wearing a pair of fur slippers on the bottom.

The wind was howling outside, and the snow was quite deep.

Xie Changyu was extremely conflicted. He didn't really want to go back to his dorm, but he couldn't go out in his slippers. It was so annoying; how could he have forgotten to change his shoes?

He stood at the door, looking very depressed, staring at the snow outside, lost in thought. Finally, he sighed, thinking that no matter how much he was conflicted, eating was the most important thing. He should hurry back to his dorm and change his shoes.

Just as he turned around to go up, he saw Qi Yan coming down as well.

Perhaps not noticing his presence at first glance, Xie Changyu was the first to see the figure. He saw that Qi Yan had a stern face and seemed to be in a bad mood, his eyes only on the scenery at his feet. Even as the two got closer, they didn't notice his presence.

Xie Changyu wondered, had Qi Yan and Jiang Yue had a fight?

He thought this to himself, but still didn't reach out to say hello. After all, the other person was in a bad mood, so he should hurry up and change his shoes.

The sound of slippers walking was quite obvious. Qi Yan looked up when he heard it, and his stern face softened instantly when he saw who it was. "Why didn't you go to the cafeteria?"

Before Xie Changyu could answer, Qi Yan noticed the mismatch between his shoes and his clothes and asked with concern, "Did you forget to change your shoes? Are you going up?"

"Hmm." Xie Changyu felt a little awkward for some reason. After all, he had just refused to have dinner with the other party. Although he simply wanted to go by himself and had no other intentions, it seemed that Qi Yan's bad mood was because of him.

Qi Yan sighed and said, "You go up first. Send me what you want to eat and I'll bring it to you. Running up and down is too tiring."

Xie Changyu's eyes lit up. "You're going?"

Qi Yan nodded helplessly and chuckled, "Okay, you go upstairs. Don't get cold, it's too cold now, don't catch a cold."

Xie Changyu was overjoyed. Of course he was happy that someone would bring him food. His eyes crinkled with delight. "Great! Thank you so much!"

-----------------------

Author's Note: Qi Yan, who is gradually becoming more like a mother figure... is currently the man that Changyu trusts the most.