Chapter 24

Night was silent; at this moment even the wind seemed to have stopped.

The dim light cast two intertwined shadows on the ground — the taller one swollen and distorted, as though about to swallow the slender one whole.

Gu Zhao's single palm closed around a waist too slim to grasp, and in the instant he drew the person into his arms, his breathing imperceptibly grew heavier.

Half of Ji Su's cheek was pressed against the firm chest; the heat somehow pierced the thin two layers of cloth between them, scalding him until his heart hammered in alarm.

It happened too suddenly — his mind went blank, he almost forgot how to breathe, and naturally had no thought of struggling.

Until two startled cries rang out from behind at the same time —

Zhou Yang: 'Gu-ge?'

Qiao Jin: 'Holy shit!'

Ji Su snapped back to himself, and on reflex shoved hard at the person holding him, stepping back at the same time.

But the two had been pressed too close together a moment ago — his bathrobe sash had caught on Gu Zhao's belt loop, and when they pulled apart it yanked loose.

Ji Su couldn't help a soft cry: 'Ah!'

Gu Zhao moved faster than him — a large hand swiftly gathered the loosened bathrobe and retied the sash with practiced ease.

Even though Qiao Jin hadn't sorted out the situation, he still rushed forward in agitation and demanded: 'Gu Zhao, what are you doing?'

Gu Zhao withdrew his hand, every word costly: 'None of your business.'

Qiao Jin's brows shot up; he planted his body between Ji Su and Gu Zhao, righteous as a judge: 'Whatever concerns Ji Su concerns me — don't you dare think —'

'Xiao Qiao.' Ji Su cut him off in time. 'I'm fine. Just now... Gu Zhao caught me.'

Even though Gu Zhao was also the one who'd scared him, without that large hand he would probably be lying on the ground right now with a cracked skull.

'Ah? Ah-oh-oh...' Qiao Jin was a little embarrassed, laughed dryly twice. 'So that's what happened — I misunderstood School Heartthrob Gu, haha...'

At this moment Zhou Yang also stepped forward: 'Gu-ge, what were you and Ji Su doing on the Balcony?'

Gu Zhao: 'Looking at the night view.'

Ji Su: 'Hanging laundry.'

The two spoke in different keys; Zhou Yang was bewildered: 'Is it the night view or the laundry?'

Gu Zhao offered no further reply — only cast Ji Su a deep look, then turned and walked toward his own room.

'Huh? Going back to the room just like that?' Zhou Yang scratched the back of his head. 'Then I'll head back and wash up and sleep too. Xiao Qiao, Ji Su, see you tomorrow morning.'

'Bye-bye.' Qiao Jin waved at him. 'Good night.'

Watching the tall figure disappear from sight, Ji Su let out a long breath, braced one hand on the railing, and only then realized his legs were still a little unsteady.

'Susu, what on earth happened?' Qiao Jin turned back, lowering his voice. 'What were you and Gu Zhao doing on the Balcony — surely you weren't really looking at the night view?'

Ji Su gestured: 'Let's go inside first.'

The two walked into the room one after the other; to be safe, Qiao Jin locked the Balcony door behind them.

Ji Su sat on the edge of the bed and explained: 'I was hanging laundry on the Balcony, and the moment I turned around I saw Gu Zhao standing behind me — I was so startled I almost fell.'

Qiao Jin was puzzled: 'What was he doing standing behind you — just to scare you?'

Ji Su knit his brow: 'I thought it was strange too.'

'Wait...' Qiao Jin's expression wavered between alarm and doubt. 'Could Gu Zhao really be suspecting you?'

Ji Su recalled that ambiguous, unreadable gaze, and couldn't help lowering his eyes to the hem of his bathrobe.

He didn't know whether, in the instant the bathrobe had come loose, Gu Zhao had seen his legs.

But the other man's eyesight shouldn't be that good — at least not good enough to spot a mole that flashed for a moment on his leg under dim lighting...

'No, impossible.' Qiao Jin spoke, then quickly overturned his own thought. 'If he really suspected something, how could his reaction be so flat?'

'Fair point.' Ji Su lifted his face. 'He even kindly reached out and caught me.'

If Gu Zhao knew he was Mengmeng, a good beating to vent his anger would be the least of it — how could he possibly have saved him?

'Regardless, we're heading back to School tomorrow, and we won't run into Gu Zhao often — then it'll be even harder for him to suspect you.' Qiao Jin analyzed with great conviction. 'I believe it won't take long before he tosses Mengmeng out of his mind entirely, as if nothing had ever happened.'

'Let's hope so.' Ji Su nodded, then suddenly thought of an important question. 'Oh right, the trip's almost over — any progress with Zhou Yang?'

'Sigh, my head hurts just thinking about it.' Qiao Jin sat down beside him. 'These past few days have been group activities nonstop — I haven't had a single chance to be alone with him.'

Ji Su suggested: 'Why don't you take advantage of the last night to go talk with him alone?'

'School Heartthrob Gu is still in his room.' Qiao Jin rolled his eyes. 'With that walking iceberg around, don't even talk about warming up feelings — not freezing me to death would be good enough.'

'Then...' Ji Su hesitated. 'I'll lure Gu Zhao away?'

'Ah no no no!' Qiao Jin waved his hands repeatedly. 'I can't push you into an ice cave just for my little bit of happiness.'

Ji Su: 'It's not that dramatic...'

'Actually, I think this trip still had plenty of gains — at least I feel like the two of us have gotten much closer.' Qiao Jin's tone turned serious. 'There'll be plenty of chances in the future; I'm not in a rush for this moment or that. Let's just start by being good friends.'

'Alright.' Ji Su nudged him lightly with his shoulder, encouraging softly: 'Once people truly understand what kind of person you are, no one won't like you.'

'Really?' Qiao Jin immediately perked up, throwing his arms open and lunging: 'So Susu baby, you love me too?'

Ji Su dodged nimbly: 'Enough is enough.'

*

The next morning, after getting up, the group ate their last lunch at the Resort Villa, then set off by car back to A City.

By evening, the group arrived safely at the gate of A University.

Ji Su got out with his bag on his back and stood by the car, saying goodbye to the others: 'This trip was really fun — thanks, everyone.'

'We had a great time too — what are you thanking us for?' He Yi Ming grinned, his whole face bright as sunshine. 'Next time we get the chance, we absolutely have to meet up again!'

Wang Mingzhe, who happened to be getting out of the car with a crutch, picked up the thread: 'A must!'

He Yi Ming pulled out his phone again from his pocket, his tone playful: 'Ji Su, your phone isn't dead this time, is it?'

Ji Su gave a small smile and opened WeChat: 'It has battery.'

He lowered his head to bring up his WeChat QR code, and as He Yi Ming scanned it, he felt an inexplicable chill on the top of his head.

Ji Su instinctively raised his eyes, and plunged straight into a pair of dark, cold, glacial eyes.

For some reason, he felt that School Heartthrob Gu's expression looked rather unhappy, and the air pressure around him was very low.

With a soft 'ding,' Ji Su lowered his eyes and tapped to accept the friend request: 'Added.'

'Wonderful!' He Yi Ming happily put his phone away. 'Then I'll head back to the Dormitory first — keep in touch!'

'Okay.' Ji Su responded, raised his eyes again, and found that Gu Zhao had already turned and left — his tall, broad back looking rather cold.

Qiao Jin caught his arm: 'Let's go too, Susu.'

Ji Su came back to himself and set off walking.

This three-day, three-night trip should have been the most overlap between him and Gu Zhao, right?

From now on, if they ran into each other on campus, given Gu Zhao's personality he certainly wouldn't give him a second glance — let alone greet him.

This also meant that his experience of pretending to be Mengmeng and online-dating Gu Zhao was about to become history — no one but he and Qiao Jin would ever know.

Of course, if Gu Zhao ever needed him in the future, he would absolutely not refuse — this was what Mengmeng owed G.

*

The first week after the holiday, Ji Su threw himself wholeheartedly into studying and his part-time job.

But soon, Ji Su found that things didn't seem to be developing the way he'd imagined.

Over the following week, he kept running into Gu Zhao in all sorts of unexpected places — the cafeteria, the Library, even just walking down the road.

The vast A University suddenly became very small — small enough to bump into someone you barely knew anywhere, anytime.

What struck him as even more strange was that Gu Zhao not only didn't treat him like air — every time, he would fix Ji Su with a gaze that defied description, and even sit at the same table as him to eat.

Like tonight — Ji Su had clearly made a point of avoiding the dinner rush, but the moment he sat down at a table, a familiar voice rang in his ear: 'Oh wow, what a coincidence! We meet again, haha!'

Ji Su lifted his face, his smile a touch forced: 'What a coincidence.'

Given the high-intensity coincidences, even Qiao Jin wasn't as warm toward Zhou Yang as usual: 'Why are you guys eating so late too?'

Zhou Yang replied: 'Gu-ge and I got too into playing ball and lost track of time.'

Qiao Jin said helplessly: 'Fine.'

'Let's eat together.' Zhou Yang carried his tray and sat across from Qiao Jin, beckoning: 'Gu-ge, you sit too.'

Gu Zhao sat down across from Ji Su, his expressionless gaze falling on that beautiful face.

Ji Su sensed that gaze; outwardly he pretended to be calm, but inside something felt very wrong.

Since returning from the May Day trip, he'd been running into Gu Zhao more and more frequently lately, and the other's gaze on him seemed to linger longer and longer.

But Gu Zhao's face was always unreadable, the emotions in those dark eyes hard to fathom — he had no idea what the other man was actually thinking.

Honestly, he was a little afraid of someone like that — even if he wanted to curry favor, he wouldn't know where to begin.

Ji Su had finally endured his way through the meal and was about to make a hasty exit when a pleasantly surprised female voice rang out: 'Oh? Ji Su!'

Ji Su looked toward the sound, and his heart gave a sudden lurch.

Lin Yan was wearing a fitted white dress, the neckline, cuffs, and hem all trimmed with delicate lace — the quality alone made it clear it hadn't come cheap.

Gu Zhao lifted his eyelids as well, his gaze settling on the dress, his brow creasing noticeably.

'Senior.' Ji Su steadied himself, rose to his feet as though nothing were amiss. 'What brings you to the Second Cafeteria today?'

'My roommate wanted to try the Second Cafeteria's bobochicken, so she dragged me along.' Lin Yan glanced at the others at the table and only then noticed the strikingly handsome young man sitting right there.

'Gu Zhao?' Lin Yan said, surprised. 'What are you doing here too?'

Gu Zhao's gaze lingered on her hem, his tone even: 'That's a nice dress.'

Ji Su's scalp prickled instantly. 'Senior—'

'Right? Isn't it pretty?' Lin Yan, oblivious to his distress, pinched the hem between her fingers to show it off. 'This dress was actually Ji Su—'

'Senior!' Ji Su cut her off urgently. 'Senior, I just remembered something I need to tell you.'

Lin Yan blinked. 'What is it?'

Ji Su was about to pull her aside when Gu Zhao spoke again: 'Where did you buy the dress?'

Lin Yan, who hadn't caught the warning in Ji Su's eyes, answered honestly: 'I didn't buy it. Ji Su gave it to me.'

Ji Su: '……'

He was done for. This time, truly done for.

It was then that Qiao Jin, who had been sitting nearby, finally put it together — this must be the senior who'd been scammed out of her money and her heart by some scumbag online.

'Senior, I'm Qiao Jin.' He sprang to his feet, warmly steering her away. 'Come come, Senior, let me tell you something really important…'

The two of them walked off. Ji Su stood rooted to the spot, not daring to turn and look at Gu Zhao's expression.

'Where did you buy the dress you gave her?' That cold voice rose again regardless. 'I bought an identical one for my online girlfriend, too.'

'Huh? What?' Zhou Yang, piecing the connection together, asked in disbelief. 'So that girl just now is your online girlfriend?'

Gu Zhao didn't answer him. He called: 'Ji Su.'

Ji Su turned around slowly, trying to bluff his way through: 'Actually, that dress… I got it at a physical store…'

Halfway through, he met those dark, lightless eyes, and in the space between one breath and the next, the truth dawned on him.

Gu Zhao knew. He knew everything.

All this time, the other man had simply been watching him perform in terror, like watching a clumsy actor, waiting for the moment he'd slip and show his fatal flaw.

Once he understood this, Ji Su felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head from the crown down; the chill made him shiver, and no excuse would come to his lips.

'Zhou Yang.' Gu Zhao opened his mouth at last. 'Go back to the Dormitory first.'

Zhou Yang wore a thoroughly baffled expression, but he stood up as told: 'Alright, I'll head back to the Dormitory then.'

His last straw had walked away. Ji Su bit his lower lip unconsciously, struggling to compose an explanation in his mind.

Gu Zhao rose. 'Come with me.'

Ji Su's first thought was that he was being taken to some empty corner for a thorough beating — which, oddly, brought him a small measure of relief.

The next second, Gu Zhao asked: 'Where did you play that Piano piece for me?'

The answer tumbled out of Ji Su: 'Music Society.'

Gu Zhao's stride faltered for a beat. 'Lead the way.'

'Huh?' Ji Su stopped along with him, asking carefully, 'Aren't you taking me to a corner to beat me up?'

Gu Zhao looked at him and countered coldly: 'How many of my punches do you think you could take?'

Ji Su: 'Is… is that something we can negotiate?'

Gu Zhao laughed despite his anger: 'What do you think?'

Ji Su was unsettled by that laugh, taking it for a sign that the other man had been driven half-mad with fury.

Gu Zhao repeated: 'Lead the way.'

This time Ji Su asked no more questions, obediently leading him toward the Music Society.

At this hour the activity center was nearly empty, and the Music Society had no events tonight — the door had been locked early.

Ji Su retrieved a key from the flower bed on the windowsill, unlocked the music classroom door, and stepped inside.

Gu Zhao followed him in and shut the door behind them.

With a soft click, the lock fell into place.

Ji Su's heart gave a tremor, its rhythm climbing faster and faster.

Though he had braced himself all the way here, now that the two of them were truly alone in the same space, he could not help the tension rising in him beyond his control.

He could only tell himself inwardly that it was just a beating — close his eyes, endure it, and it would pass.

Let Gu Zhao vent his fury first; then he'd explain the whole thing clearly from beginning to end, and perhaps the other man would forgive him.

While he was still thinking, Gu Zhao's cold voice cut in: 'Play that Piano piece you played for me that night. Once more.'

Ji Su was a little stunned: 'That's all?'

Gu Zhao walked to the seat opposite the Piano and sat down. 'Play.'

Ji Su pressed his lips together, walked to the Piano, and sat.

He raised his hands, and his long, slender fingers pressed down the first key.

The piece was called 'Look Forward' — one he had played countless times since childhood, so thoroughly memorized he could play it with his eyes closed — yet today, for the first time, it came out halting and stumbling.

Because Gu Zhao sat directly across from him, his long legs planted on the floor, his gaze cold and clinging — like a sinister, cold-blooded serpent coiled tight around his body, deeply unsettling.

'Wrong note.' Gu Zhao remarked, neither warm nor cold.

Ji Su drew a deep breath, forcing himself to still his heart.

This time the music poured from his fingertips like flowing water, warm and peaceful, carrying with it the same old loneliness as always.

When the piece ended, Ji Su sat at the Piano with lowered eyes, quietly awaiting the final judgment that belonged to him.

'It really was you.' After a long silence, Gu Zhao spoke — each word measured, his voice seeming to be wrenched from the depths of his throat. 'The one who played Piano for me late at night was you. The one who put on a dress and sent me photos was you. The one who blocked me was also you.'

At those last few words, Ji Su could swear he heard the sound of teeth being ground together.

He gathered his courage, stood up, and turned to face Gu Zhao.

Gu Zhao moved as well, each step heavy as he closed the distance between them.

As that overwhelmingly oppressive figure drew near, Ji Su instinctively stepped back; his body bumped against the Piano's edge, lost its balance for a moment, and his hands fell backward onto the black and white keys.

The Piano rang out in a hurried, flustered cascade of notes — like some signal of unease.

Gu Zhao stopped before him, bent slightly at the waist to look down at him; those dark, bright eyes were sharp as knives and swords, as though they would cut him open and lay him bare.

Ji Su's long, dense lashes trembled violently — like butterfly wings caught in a storm, fragile and unable to withstand the slightest blow.

The next instant, Gu Zhao's large hands closed around that slender waist and lifted him up onto the Piano.

Another burst of disordered notes — much like Ji Su's increasingly panicked heart.

'Gu— Gu Zhao…' He tried to meet the other's eyes, and began in a small voice to plead his case. 'Actually, the whole thing is a misunderstanding, I can explain to you—'

'What did you call me?' Gu Zhao's voice was low and cold, carrying a trace of barely perceptible hoarseness.

Amid such chaos, Ji Su somehow understood what the question meant.

He bit his lower lip. 'I'm really sorry…'

'You know that's not what I want to hear.' Gu Zhao's lowered gaze fixed on those full, rosy lips, and not a trace of wavering emotion could be heard in his voice.

Ji Su closed his eyes briefly, then threw caution to the wind and called out: 'Gege, I'm sorry…'

This 'gege' was not delivered in a deliberately cute Clamp Tone; it was his true voice — clear, clean, and pleasant — and because of the shame and guilty unease, the tail of it softened and lifted faintly upward.

On Gu Zhao's handsome, severe face, his expression was unreadable; his thin lips pressed tightly together as though forcibly holding something back.

'Just hit me first.' Ji Su could no longer bear this slow-slicing sensation; he lifted his face with the courage of a man going to his death. 'I won't hit back, and I won't dodge.'

His pointed chin lifted, drawing the graceful line of his neck into something exquisite — like a white swan offered up in sacrifice.

Gu Zhao laughed coldly and said, in a tone of command: 'Spread your legs.'

Ji Su didn't catch on for a moment: 'What?'

'I said—' Gu Zhao reached out one hand, thrust it straight between those pressed-together knees, and with a force that brooked no resistance, parted those two long, slender legs.

The weather was already quite warm, and Ji Su had habitually put on a pair of long trousers — but the fabric was thin and sheer.

Gu Zhao's palm was scalding, his fingers strong, the pads of them slightly rough; they slid slowly upward along the side of his thigh, and though a layer of cloth lay between, Ji Su still felt the skin of his legs burning as though about to catch fire.

Just as those large, bony-knuckled hands crept higher, Ji Su finally could not bear it any longer and pressed his thighs together — trapping that large hand tightly between them.

Gu Zhao looked down at him from above, his voice dropping even lower: 'I haven't even done anything yet. What are you clamping down so tight for?'