Chapter 108
Gu Ximian soon learned that Lou Che was going to help Zhuang Chi review for the final exams.
Zhuang Chi told her herself. While the two were having dinner together in the cafeteria, Zhuang Chi recounted the uneventful emergency meeting from that day and finally admitted her intention to accept Lou Che's help. It was undeniable that Gu Ximian's heart tightened upon hearing this, but Zhuang Chi quickly followed up with, “Don’t overthink it. I don’t have any other intentions. Even if I win against you, I won’t ask for anything that would make you unhappy.”
Her tone was very certain. When Gu Ximian looked up, she saw only clear and honest sincerity in Zhuang Chi’s eyes. Her heart relaxed slightly, and she couldn't help but ask, “Then what do you want to do?”
“…” Zhuang Chi blinked and averted her gaze unnaturally. “…I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it yet.”
This wasn't very sincere. The girl clearly had some ideas but didn't plan on revealing them. Gu Ximian felt concerned, but seeing Zhuang Chi's expression, she didn't want to force her to speak. In the end, she just let out a light humph. “Even with Lou Che’s help, it won’t be that easy to beat me.”
“I know.” No one knew better than her how outstanding her female protagonist was. Zhuang Chi’s eyes curved into a smile as she said calmly, “I’m just giving it a try.”
She didn't seem particularly attached to winning or losing. This attitude, in turn, made Gu Ximian concerned—mainly about the “thing she wanted to ask for after winning” that Zhuang Chi hadn't mentioned.
…Come to think of it, Zhuang Chi had never seemed to actively ask her for anything, Gu Ximian thought. Whether it was the beginning of their relationship or the idea of living together, she had always been the one who couldn't hold back first. Her Alpha was so gentle; if she hadn't been the one to bring these things up, it probably would have taken them twice as long to reach this stage.
So she was a little curious about Zhuang Chi's rare, proactive idea. But Gu Ximian didn't ask that day, and later, she couldn't find an opportunity to ask. Zhuang Chi suddenly became extremely busy. With two weeks left until the final exam period, she spent all her time outside of class being dragged to the library's study rooms by Lou Che. Even the time Gu Ximian spent with her was drastically compressed. It looked like a serious, all-out battle.
One could guess this wasn't the idea of her lover, who had said she was “just giving it a try.” Gu Ximian trusted Zhuang Chi, but she wasn't as confident about her helper—she always felt that Lou Che wasn't such a kind-hearted person. She was a little worried that Zhuang Chi would be influenced by Lou Che's strange words. Before she could decide whether to go find Lou Che and ask about the situation, she ran into him at the library entrance. The genius boy was leisurely reading a few books in front of the library. Upon seeing Gu Ximian, he closed his book. Judging from his unsurprised expression, this encounter was probably not an accidental one.
“Well, if it isn't Gu Ximian,” Lou Che said with a grin, not even bothering to feign surprise. His words were very direct. “You’ve been coming to the library quite often these past two days. I thought you were here to see us, but I waited for days and you never came. So I decided to just come and ask… aren't you here to see Zhuang Chi?”
This person seemed quite aware that he had been taking up Zhuang Chi's time, Gu Ximian thought, but her face remained impassive as she said coolly, “No. I’m here to tutor Olivia.”
…And to catch a glimpse of Zhuang Chi. But every time she saw her, the girl was studying so diligently that Gu Ximian always hesitated, not wanting to disturb her. She would just send her a message to arrange for lunch together or something similar.
“…Oh, now that you mention it, her Chinese really does need some serious tutoring…” Lou Che nodded in realization, then raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “You still have to divert your attention to guide others now? In that case, Zhuang Chi is really going to beat you. Are you okay with that?”
From his tone, it was clear he had already found out about their bet from Zhuang Chi. Gu Ximian silently turned her head away, while Lou Che continued to chatter on, “Don’t underestimate Zhuang Chi. Her knowledge base is very solid, and she’s easy to teach. She also has an advantage you don’t have—all her professors know about her kidnapping. Whatever their feelings, they’ll definitely be very lenient with her exam scores. At the very least, her participation score will be full marks…”
“And now with me teaching her, her GPA will naturally be very high.” Speaking with great confidence, Lou Che tilted his head at Gu Ximian, as if in provocation. “If she beats you and then says she doesn’t want to live with you—”
…The deliberately drawn-out tone was irritating. Gu Ximian frowned, but she quickly remembered Zhuang Chi’s words and her expression relaxed, though her tone couldn't help but turn cold. “…That has nothing to do with you. Besides, she said that even if she wins, she won’t ask for anything that would make me unhappy.”
Lou Che was taken aback for a moment, then his entire expression fell. He sighed, “What? She already told you that directly? Seriously… where did such an honest person come from? She really doesn't leave any room for misunderstanding.”
Indeed, she was a very reassuring person. The corners of Gu Ximian’s lips curled up slightly. As her mood improved, she didn't forget to challenge Lou Che, “So what were you trying to do just now? Were you trying to make me misunderstand?”
“Half and half, I guess,” Lou Che admitted readily, nodding. “I wanted to see how you’d react to that, and then, just as you were about to get angry, I’d apologize and say I was just talking nonsense.”
Sometimes, you really couldn't know what was going on in a genius's head. Gu Ximian didn't even know if she should be angry at him right now. Just as she pursed her lips, she heard Lou Che hurriedly explain, “Alright, alright, I was just a little curious. Just consider the hard work I put in every day teaching Zhuang Chi and don't be mad at me… Ah, I even prepared a victory gift for Zhuang Chi! I can’t tell you what it is now, but she’ll definitely like it!”
It was hard to say whether he was perceptive or not, knowing to use Zhuang Chi as a shield in front of Gu Ximian. And Gu Ximian's attention was indeed captured by the “gift” he mentioned. His words were intriguing, so she asked, “…Is it a proper gift?”
“Of course!” Lou Che looked at her with an offended expression and frowned. “I wouldn’t deliberately bully her by giving her a caterpillar or something!”
…Their lines of thought were subtly misaligned, but Gu Ximian felt it sounded safe enough, so she decided not to pursue the topic. Seeing her silence, Lou Che took the initiative to start a new conversation. “Speaking of which, your reaction was quite surprising to me. I thought you would, to some extent, not want me to teach Zhuang Chi.”
Gu Ximian glanced at him and replied, “Why? Would you teach her some strange knowledge?”
“…Of course not, that’s not what I meant.” Lou Che refuted indignantly, then said seriously, “I just thought… since you’ve probably never lost to anyone before, I thought that even in a relationship, you wouldn’t want to lose…”
“…”
It wasn't that Lou Che was wrong, Gu Ximian thought. She did indeed have that tendency before, especially in the days after the Christmas Ball. It felt like speaking first meant losing, so she had to maintain that standoffish attitude.
…And then she paid the price for it. Strictly speaking, even though she hadn't officially lost to Zhuang Chi, she had at least suffered many “silent losses” at her hands.
And she had gradually learned something from these experiences, and felt that perhaps she hadn't completely lost out. Maybe it depended on how one defined “winning and losing”—ultimately, did that concept even exist in a relationship? Gu Ximian actually considered herself a very competitive person. As Lou Che said, she had never lost before. But now, when she looked at Zhuang Chi, what she cared about was no longer a matter of victory or defeat, but of having or losing.
Besides, if she thought about it from the very beginning, Gu Ximian mused, the reason she had been able to win all along was because of Zhuang Chi—because her creator favored her, paved a path full of flowers for her, and delivered victory to her.
“It’s fine.”
Gu Ximian said softly, not noticing how gentle and tender her tone was, nor could she suppress the faint smile that appeared on her lips. “If it’s losing to her, that’s fine too.”
She could see Zhuang Chi's previous hesitation about the invitation to move in, and knew it was because her Alpha was too considerate. She had also thought that even if she won, she probably shouldn't bring up moving in, not wanting to pressure her too much. And now, even if she lost the bet to Zhuang Chi, it was fine. Even if Zhuang Chi didn't mention moving in after winning… that was fine too. It would just happen a little later.
Because Gu Ximian knew she was favored. She knew her lover would never truly let her be the loser.
Perhaps it was because of Gu Ximian's indifferent attitude toward winning or losing that when the final grades were finally released during the winter break, she really was beaten.
“…Just off by 0.02.”
Comparing their GPAs, the difference was so small it was laughable. Gu Ximian looked at the report card, then at her lover sitting primly and properly in the video call. The feeling of losing to someone else in academics for the first time wasn't as hard to accept as she'd thought, but she still grumbled a little, not entirely convinced. “It must be because of that one elective I skipped. It must have docked a few points from my participation score for that course.”
…But when Gu Ximian skipped that class, she had skipped it too, and even earlier at that, Zhuang Chi thought, but she didn't say it out loud. She had to admit, Lou Che's two weeks of Spartan education had been remarkably effective, earning her such a shockingly high GPA that she had actually managed to beat Gu Ximian… She still felt a sense of unreality, and when she spoke to Gu Ximian, she didn't have the air of a victor. “Mm. And your major courses are probably harder than mine. The grading standards for liberal arts aren't as clear as for sciences either…”
She was actually making excuses for Gu Ximian. Gu Ximian couldn't help but laugh, thinking Zhuang Chi was a little cute. She herself wasn't actually that unconvinced and didn't need such comfort, but she couldn't bear to interrupt her. After the winter break began, they had been apart for nearly ten days, relying only on messages and video calls to stay in touch. It wasn't a very long time, but for the two of them, it was the longest they had ever been apart. Gu Ximian's longing was already bubbling up. She listened as Zhuang Chi earnestly finished her speech, then chuckled softly, “It’s okay, I’m not unhappy. You did very well on your exams. You can be a little happier, you know.”
Zhuang Chi let out a small “mm,” but when she thought about what she had to say next, nervousness welled up more than happiness. She looked at Gu Ximian on the screen, her fingers unconsciously twisting together outside the frame, hesitating on how to begin. Both of them knew what the main topic of this video call was; it certainly wouldn't end with just looking at each other's grades. In the end, it was Gu Ximian who spoke first. “…So, you won. I’ll listen to you. Just say whatever you want to do.”
Here it comes. Zhuang Chi’s shoulders tensed up at once. She felt that being on a screen had its advantages; at least her nervousness wasn't so completely exposed to Gu Ximian's eyes. This was the first time she had ever formally made a request to Gu Ximian. She had actually thought about it a lot. Lou Che always said this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and who knew when she would ever be able to beat Gu Ximian again, so she had to think carefully and come up with a proposal that would maximize her benefits. But after thinking it over and over, Zhuang Chi could only come up with this one thing.
“After school starts, let’s go pick out two couple mugs.” Zhuang Chi paused, then sat up even straighter than she already was, and said softly, “…When I move in… we’ll use them together, okay?”
There was no response from the other side for a long time. Zhuang Chi had spoken with trepidation, and now she couldn't stop herself from stealing glances at Gu Ximian. She saw the coolly beautiful person on the screen staring at her, seemingly in a daze, before finally blinking slowly. “You agreed?”
After speaking, Gu Ximian took a deep breath. She couldn't suppress the surging, fervent affection in her heart. As her eyes and brows curved into a smile, she couldn't help but ask, “…Is it just about buying couple mugs? Something like that… even if you didn't use this chance to say it, I…”
“…Because I felt that buying couple items like this seems a bit childish, and I thought you might not want to,” Zhuang Chi pursed her lips, a little embarrassed. “Since I had this opportunity, I thought I’d just mention it.”
The old Gu Ximian would indeed have scoffed at any kind of couple item, but of course, things were different now. Gu Ximian smiled, her voice softening by several degrees. “How could I? Even if you wanted to buy the most common kind, the ones with half a heart on each mug, that would be fine.”
“Wow, that would clash so much with your home’s style…”
Zhuang Chi clearly took it as a joke and laughed along with her. Gu Ximian looked at her clear, gentle features and, as if guided by a whim, reached out a hand outside the screen and gently poked Zhuang Chi's cheek on the screen. It looked fair and soft, but she could see it and not touch it. Her fingertip only met the phone screen.
“It wouldn’t clash,” she said softly.
Her finger quietly moved down, stopping at Zhuang Chi’s neck. In truth, there was no need for Zhuang Chi to continue wearing the pheromone blocking collar at home, but Gu Ximian needed to wear hers, so every time they had a video call, she could see the collar neatly fastened around Zhuang Chi’s neck. Today was no exception, giving her an obedient and well-behaved appearance.
This was their first couple item, wasn't it, Gu Ximian thought. If Zhuang Chi liked couple items, then maybe they could buy a few more. Bowls and chopsticks, bow ties, pajamas, filling their home with the atmosphere of a couple…
Their home.
Silently repeating these two words, Gu Ximian held her breath without realizing it, her fingertips unconsciously tightening, as if wanting to hook the choker on Zhuang Chi’s neck.
…She suddenly felt like she really wanted a coffee.
Post a Comment