“I feel like we’ve known each other for quite some time, but I haven’t properly introduced myself. My name is Gu Chen—similar to the Gu Cheng you like^[1]Gu Cheng was a famous Chinese modern poet, essayist and novelist. He was a prominent member of the “Misty Poets”, a group of Chinese modernist poets., but Gu Chen.”

Mimicking her tone, Gu Chen watched as her ears gradually turned red, his voice filled with amusement. “If I keep teasing you, are you going to grab your bag and leave? …Shall we start talking about the project?”

Silently withdrawing her hand from her bag, Ji Ranyou scrunched up her small face. “Alright, you go ahead, I’ll listen.”

“Is there anything you’re particularly interested in?” Gu Chen coughed lightly, his brows still carrying a trace of a smile.

“I’m not very knowledgeable about finance,” Ji Ranyou furrowed her delicate brows even tighter, lacking confidence. “Even if I have some ideas, they’re probably random and unsuitable for a research project.”

“Having ideas is already great,” Gu Chen mused. “Go ahead and share them.”

Ji Ranyou wasn’t someone without opinions, but from past group experiences, she had learned not to argue until she was red-faced only to be forced to compromise in the end.

Hearing Gu Chen’s encouragement, she twisted her fingers and, without hesitation, proposed, “Do you think the sales of donuts outside Wall Street correlate with the daily fluctuations of the NASDAQ?”

There are no donuts sold outside Wall Street.

Gu Chen nodded. “That could work.”

“Really?” Ji Ranyou’s eyes lit up. She continued, “Then do you think the daily discounts at East Gate’s ‘Taste of the Way’ restaurant are related to international oil prices?”

‘Taste of the Way’ uses blended or rapeseed oil, while international oil prices generally refer to petroleum/crude oil.

Gu Chen nodded again. “That could work.”

A sudden illusion that she might be a financial genius surfaced in her mind. Ji Ranyou pursed her lips, excitedly looking up at him. “Then can we pick a time to bask in the sun together, count the number of clouds passing by in a fixed period, and study how that relates to the random walk theory in stock markets?”

Pick a time, together, to bask in the sun…

This time, Gu Chen nodded even more seriously. “That could work.”

“But when I suggested this in last year’s Corporate Finance project, my teammates rejected it, saying it was too far-fetched,” Ji Ranyou hesitated. “Are you sure we can do it?”

“Back then, your teammates were them, so of course, you couldn’t do it…”

Gu Chen twirled the metallic spoon in his cup, his pale fingers moving with elegant slowness, like a scene in slow motion. “But now, you have me.”

Her voice was warm, crisp like silver bells ringing.

His tone was calm, carrying its usual certainty and an almost imperceptible… gentleness?!

Realizing this description, Ji Ranyou, who had been excitedly talking a second ago, suddenly lost her voice upon meeting his gaze.

Gu Chen said—she had him?

#Yes#

Her long, curled eyelashes fluttered, making her light-kissed face appear lively and full of spirit. Her evasive gaze seemed shy, and as she shifted, a stray strand of hair fell down.

It landed against her cheek, as if it had also landed on his heart…

Gu Chen stared for a long time, his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed. Without thinking, he reached out. The distance between his fingers and her hair shrank from a foot to an inch, from an inch to a centimeter, until there was no distance at all.

Just as Gu Chen hooked that soft strand, ready to gently tuck it behind her ear—

“Alishan Milk Green Tea.”

A voice broke through the moment. The glass curtain was lifted with a swish, and the shop owner stepped in carrying a tray of drinks. She looked up—

A young man and woman, sitting across from each other, the young man’s hand barely hovering by the girl’s face.

A strand of hair hung in an arc, and even the air seemed to freeze.

“Ahem, ahem.” The shop owner, apparently used to such moments, only paused for a second before regaining her composure.

As she placed the milk green tea in front of Ji Ranyou, she chuckled. “I overheard a bit since the shop isn’t too crowded. With your way of working together… let me be honest, something’s bound to happen.”

“Why?” Gu Chen retracted his hand and took a sip of his tea, his left earlobe twitching slightly.

Noticing this detail, Ji Ranyou stirred the foamy milk cap on her drink and echoed, “Yeah, why?”

“Compare yourselves to the group of students in the back room. They’re debating, disagreeing, countering each other—that’s what discussing a research project looks like,” the shop owner laughed. “But you two? One suggests an idea, and the other just keeps saying ‘that could work.’ There’s no argument at all. This isn’t a project discussion—”

A soft meow interrupted her before she could finish saying “this is basically a date.”

Just then, new customers entered. The shop owner glanced at Ji Ranyou, then at Gu Chen. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she tapped her temple. “Oh! I got it! You two look like you’re on a blind date!”

With that, she walked away, leaving the two of them sitting there, suddenly locking eyes…

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

“Pfft.” Breaking the silence, Gu Chen turned away and coughed a few times. When he finally recovered, his face still held a tinge of red. “I think there’s something wrong with this drink.”

“Clatter.”

Ji Ranyou had been about to take a spoonful of her milk green tea when, reacting to his words, her wrist tilted, and the thick liquid slid past her lips and spilled directly onto her lap.

The warmth seeped through her thick stockings. Ji Ranyou looked down, then sluggishly lifted her gaze. “I forgot to open my mouth.”

“Mm.”

Gu Chen stood up and handed her a napkin. His voice was calm, but his eyes flickered with amusement.

“Your lip color is beautiful.”

Still in a daze after spilling her drink in front of him, Ji Ranyou not only didn’t run away, instead she blankly licked the corner of her lips and muttered, “Thank you.”

“As I should.”

The same three words again.^[2]When Gu Chen waited for Ji Ranyou in the previous chapter

Gu Chen’s gaze openly lingered on the soft blush of Ji Ranyou’s cheeks. His eyes darkened for a moment—then another.

Gu Chen thought, If I don’t compliment my girl, who will?

Besides, she really did look sweet.

So sweet that he… kind of want to kiss her.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Why do I always act like a fool in front of him?! Why did I go through the trouble of carefully applying a subtle, natural-looking makeup, only to forget to open my mouth and end up spilling my drink all over myself?!

And after introducing the matcha mille-crepe cake to the shop owner, how did the conversation suddenly turn into… a blind date?!

For the next several minutes, Ji Ranyou had no idea what she said or what Gu Chen said. All she knew was that a thousand mythical beasts seemed to be stampeding through her mind, roaring back and forth.

Gu Chen, on the other hand, wasn’t much better.

Every now and then, he’d sneak a glance at the way her lips moved as she spoke, his expression calm and composed, but his chest filled with a restless itch—like a cat pawing at his heart.

An itch that came with messy thoughts—

He wanted to kiss her.

When could he kiss her?

Where should he kiss her? In what position?

Should he wear his best outfit that day? Maybe put on a little cologne?

It should be under the moonlight, with a soft evening breeze… Writers like her probably appreciate romantic atmospheres like that, right?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Despite their absentminded conversation, by the time they left, Gu Chen’s tablet had somehow ended up filled with an entire page of notes.

Ji Ranyou suggested “AA”.

Gu Chen held up the glass door curtain for her and didn’t object. But when they walked up to the counter to scan the payment code, the shop owner just smiled and waved them off.

“Miss, did you forget? Last time you came, I told you it was a free tasting. No need to pay!”

“Oh? Right… well, thank you, boss. We’ll get going then.”

“Wait a second.”

The shop owner, who had a particular fondness for couples with a slight height difference—especially when the guy was tall, handsome, and had long legs—enthusiastically pulled out two vouchers from the drawer.

“Take these! And bring your boyfriend along next time!”

Ji Ranyou’s ears turned red, and she mumbled, “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Gu Chen, however, remained unbothered as he took the vouchers. “Okay.”

…

The night sky stretched cool and deep like flowing water. A few faint stars flickered in and out behind the clouds. The sound of rustling came from the banyan trees and the low shrubs.

Classes weren’t over yet, so the campus was relatively empty. Occasionally, a bicycle or two passed by, its shadow blending with the warm glow of the streetlamps.

The fallen leaves had been swept onto the grass by the groundskeepers, making the sound of footsteps on the pavement all the more distinct.

Their shoulders drifted apart, then back together.

Ji Ranyou stared down at her feet. Gu Chen stared at her.

Silently, they walked, the glowing sign of Huiyuan Hall growing closer.

Then, Ji Ranyou suddenly stopped. “Why did you agree with the shop owner just now?”

“I was agreeing for you. You’ll have a boyfriend someday,” he said, effortlessly calm. He paused for a moment, then held out the discount vouchers he’d been gripping the entire way.

“If—”

“The topic we discussed today will be my decision, then.”

She cut him off, her words quick and to the point.

“Since the shop owner said I was the only one suggesting ideas, I’ll take responsibility. As for the division of work, could you handle the modeling and data processing? I’ll finalize the paper at the end.”

“I may be catching a ride on your expertise in modeling, but not too much. At least you won’t have to worry about the paper at all. Any issues with that?”

The sudden burst of words stood in stark contrast to the earlier silence.

Gu Chen frowned slightly. “…No issues?”

“It’s getting late. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head up now. We can continue discussing things online later. No need to meet in person unless absolutely necessary. Goodbye.”

With that, she briskly turned toward the dormitory building, taking several steps before hesitating.

Then, she walked back, smoothly plucked the discount vouchers from Gu Chen’s hand, thanked him, and left again.

She pulled out her meal card, compulsively swiped the central scanner for the entrance, and disappeared up the staircase—

One step.

Two steps.

Three…

Until she was gone.

Like mist.

Like a dream.

Gu Chen slowly withdrew his gaze and lowered his still-suspended hand.

Then, he swallowed down the words he had almost spoken—

“If you’d like… I could be.”

He turned around.

From Huiyuan Hall, down the path toward Zhihui Garden, then to the entrance of Zhiyuan Hall.

He greeted his roommates, said something nonchalant, and swiped his card to enter…

Always composed.

Always calm.

Always unshaken.

…

From the third-floor balcony, Ji Ranyou watched him disappear.

The entrance of Zhiyuan Hall was empty now, bathed in moonlight filtering through the metal railings, casting a cool glow.

She couldn’t tell if the sting in her chest came from crouching too long or from her eyes.

Pulling out her phone, she dialled a number.

As soon as it connected, her voice cracked:

“Ge, I know I shouldn’t be this sensitive, but when I heard him say ‘you’ll have a boyfriend someday’… I just felt so awful. So, so awful…”

“…”

“I don’t know what he’s thinking. I don’t know how he treats other girls. And I don’t want to hear about him from someone else… But how am I supposed to say it? How am I supposed to express it?”

“Chu Binghe, you really don’t understand how I felt when I heard those words…

Yes, I’ll have a boyfriend someday.

But why can’t it be him?

I only… want it to be him.”