Chapter 17: Gu Yansheng

The boy who spoke blocked the doorway to the activity room, his voice deliberately loud. His school uniform jacket was slung over his shoulders in a lazy manner, preventing the male lead from entering the room.

Through the obstructing boy’s shoulder, the male lead could be seen standing at the door, silhouetted against the hallway light, his expression unclear.

“Hey, Gu Yansheng, are you mute?” the boy continued to provoke.

Gu Yansheng, the male lead, shrugged. “Say whatever you want.”

He flicked his chestnut hair, his eyebrows sharp like swords, completely ignoring the boy. As he sidestepped to enter the room, his gaze paused when it swept over Su Mi and Xu Nanqiao inside.

Then the boy pushed Gu Yansheng’s shoulder hard.

But Gu Yansheng didn’t move an inch.

He looked up, his expression calm as he asked, “Classmate, do you have any other business?”

The boy hesitated, then reacted angrily, saying, “No, I’m just standing here.”

“You’re blocking my way,” Gu Yansheng said politely.

The boy laughed mockingly. “When I spoke to you earlier, you didn’t answer. I thought you were mute. Turns out your ears don’t work either. Did those slaps from Master Gu deafen you? I heard you were punished to kneel for several nights, so your legs should be bad too. Why don’t you crawl under me?”

His voice was loud, and the confrontation drew the attention of most people in the room, including Xu Nanqiao.

Xu Nanqiao looked on for a while, then asked Su Mi, “Isn’t that boy the one who appeared when we were surrounded before?”

Su Mi quickly denied it. “Really? I can’t see clearly. Let’s step back in case they start fighting.”

She pulled Xu Nanqiao back firmly.

Please, the male lead is a character who plays dumb to outsmart others. He can handle it himself but always waits for the female lead to appear and then hits back.

Su Mi watched the situation warily.

Despite the boy’s taunts, Gu Yansheng remained still, his voice calm. “Han, if you want to recreate the story of Han Xin’s humiliation, you should be the one to perform it…”

He paused, then pretended to remember something. “Oh, sorry, I forgot your Chinese score is only fifteen. You probably don’t know this story.”

The boy named Han froze, then became furious. He initially wanted to bully Gu Yansheng but didn’t expect him to be so arrogant.

He raised his fist, ready to hit Gu Yansheng.

Xu Nanqiao panicked. “Su Mi! They’re going to fight!”

In the original plot, the female lead would step in at this point.

Why is the male lead not reacting?

Su Mi was frustrated. She held Xu Nanqiao back. “You stay back. I’ll check it out.”

Claiming her Beta status and the powerful backer she had, Su Mi folded her arms and walked up.

“Han Yuxiang, are you here for the dessert contest or to cause trouble? This is… hey?”

As she neared the door, Su Mi was stunned.

Han Yuxiang stood rigid, leaning back slightly.

In front of him, less than ten centimeters away, was a sharp knife.

…?

Wait, how did a knife appear in a school?

Su Mi looked at Gu Yansheng, who was holding the knife.

Gu Yansheng, his tone friendly and the blade reflecting light, explained, “Sorry, I thought you didn’t know the story of Han Xin’s humiliation and wanted to demonstrate it. No offense.”

He sheathed the knife, smiled slightly, and nodded at Han Yuxiang. “Since Su Mi came to mediate, will you give her face?”

Su Mi turned to look at Han Yuxiang.

Cold sweat dripping, Han Yuxiang swallowed and, trembling, nodded. “Of course, I’ll leave now.”

Gu Yansheng stepped aside to let Han Yuxiang pass.

With the large boy no longer blocking the view, those in the classroom probably didn’t see Gu Yansheng draw a knife. To them, it looked like Su Mi mediated and quickly dispersed the troublemaker.

Feeling that something was off with the male lead, Su Mi didn’t want to stay long. Before turning away, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you bring a knife to school?”

Gu Yansheng, calm as ever, replied, “Since I signed up for the dessert contest, I was worried someone might need a knife to cut the cake, so I brought mine.”

Su Mi: “…”

She rolled her eyes, feeling it was fitting for her character, and returned to Xu Nanqiao.

Xu Nanqiao, unaware of what happened, was curious. “Su Mi, you’re amazing!”

Su Mi kept a straight face. “No big deal. Let’s make our desserts quickly, so we can finish and go home to study.”

Talking about studying distracted the female lead.

She glanced at the male lead before following Su Mi to prepare their ingredients.

This contest wasn’t professional at all. Last night, Su Mi and Xu Nanqiao decided to bake cookies and make some chocolates, simple and quick.

As they worked on their ingredients, Su Mi’s mind wandered.

In the original plot, the male lead didn’t seem to have this personality.

He used to be indifferent, never reacting to minor provocations but retaliating later in other ways.

Because of his meek façade combined with rumors about his transfer, the female lead pitied him, seeing him as an outcast like herself.

So why did he react so violently to a minor provocation?

Su Mi felt the male lead was out of character.

After working for a while, they put the cookies in the oven and the chocolates in the freezer.

With an hour left, Su Mi and Xu Nanqiao took a walk and found a study room to work on some questions.

Returning to the activity room, the timing was perfect. They packaged their desserts, submitted them, and were about to leave when a voice called out.

“Wait a moment.”

They turned to see the male lead in a cartoon apron.

Gu Yansheng, over six feet tall, wore a pink Hello Kitty apron, smudged with various colors of cream.

He smiled and asked, “Are you leaving?”

Su Mi was wary. “Yes.”

Gu Yansheng said, “There’s still some time before school ends. Are you heading to the study room? Can I join you? Next week’s midterms are coming up, and our teacher just highlighted some points we haven’t covered. Perhaps the top student can help?”

The last part was directed at Xu Nanqiao.

Cunning! thought Su Mi.

This excuse was hard to refuse for both the top student and herself.

She looked at Xu Nanqiao, who was surprised. “You know me?”

Gu Yansheng shrugged. “You’re the only other special student besides me. You’ve consistently ranked above me since I transferred. Of course, I remember.”

He had an air of nobility and was evidently good at pretending. Su Mi recalled his cool demeanor in the alley and the cold look when holding the knife.

Seeing his gentle smile now made Su Mi feel inadequate in comparison.

Apparently, Xu Nanqiao didn’t remember Gu Yansheng from the alley due to the pheromone-induced confusion.

She thought for a moment and said, “I do have some impression. But…”

She turned to Su Mi, mouthing, “Should we go together?”

Su Mi: … AO boundaries… oh well, I want to listen too.

She nodded. “Let’s go.”

Gu Yansheng submitted his dessert and joined them in the study room.

An afternoon of studying with Gu Yansheng was not only enlightening for Su Mi but also a reminder of his impressive qualities: smart, high EQ, and good at baking!

Compared to most rich kids at the school, Gu Yansheng was a breath of fresh air.

If this male lead truly pursued something with the female lead, Su Mi feared she couldn’t stop it.

Except…

After finishing the last bite of cake, Su Mi was puzzled.

Her interventions in the plot seemed successful, but why did the leads show no sparks?

Unable to figure it out, she shrugged it off.

After studying, they shared their cookies and chocolates with Gu Yansheng as a thank you for his help.

Gu Yansheng, polite as always, tasted the cookie—

And his expression froze.

Su Mi: ?

Gu Yansheng chewed slowly, then took a spoonful of molten chocolate, showing a complex expression.

He sincerely said, “Good luck.”

Xu Nanqiao, confused, asked, “Hmm?”

Gu Yansheng, courteous, said, “As far as I know, no one has ever failed to win a prize in this contest. You might create a miracle.”

Su Mi: Understood.

She tasted a bit of Xu Nanqiao’s molten chocolate. It was strangely salty.

Why is it salty? I didn’t bring any salt today!

Su Mi took a long time to swallow the chocolate, recalling that the female lead never cooked in the original plot.

She quietly checked the two boxes of chocolate in her bag.

One was her own, for her family.

The other was Xu Nanqiao’s.

She glanced at the message she sent to Shen Han two hours ago.

: Sister, do you like chocolate?

: Nanqiao and I made some for a dessert contest. Would you like to try some^^?

Shen Han hadn’t replied.

But too much time had passed to retract it.

Could she pretend to forget about it?

In Su Mi’s conventional thinking, chocolate was a great way to express feelings. If someone she liked made chocolate, she’d be thrilled to taste it.

She’d focused on Shen Han eating a piece to open her heart, forgetting to consider the taste.

Unsure of how to address the chocolate dilemma, Su Mi turned off her communication device and prepared to leave the study room. As she stepped outside, she noticed Xu Nanqiao and Gu Yansheng still discussing questions. The handsome boy and pretty girl, in a quiet afternoon study room, made for a picturesque scene—

Su Mi cleared her throat, determined to separate them.

“Nanqiao, don’t you have a part-time job later? Let’s go, I’ll drive you.”

Su Mi eagerly pulled Xu Nanqiao away and bid farewell to Gu Yansheng.

Downstairs, Su Mi’s eyes caught sight of a familiar car parked outside the office building next door. She paused.

“Nanqiao, I think my sister is here to see you!”

She pulled Xu Nanqiao along, her excitement mounting.

And indeed, walking out of the office building was Shen Han, surrounded by a group of people. Dressed simply yet elegantly in a shirt and trousers, her long hair was neatly tied up. Shen Han stood out, her commanding presence unmistakable.

Spotting them, Shen Han raised her hand and waved.