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To Ye Qingyun’s regret, after rolling around for a while, Pu Tian recovered and didn’t seem to have sustained any serious injuries.

Pu Tian sat up from the ground, glaring at Ye Qingyun as if he were about to kill him at any moment.

Ye Qingyun acted first, covering his face and choking back tears. “Pu Tian, I’m sorry! It was too sudden; I was so scared that I just…”

“Scared?” Pu Tian laughed out of anger. “What are you scared of? Isn’t this what you’ve been looking forward to for so long?”

Ye Qingyun quickly tried to salvage his precarious persona, saying sadly, “No… it’s just that when you guys were fighting, someone burst into my room and tried to… So when I saw you wanted to do the same, I instinctively…”

Pu Tian fell silent, staring at Ye Qingyun for a long moment before slowly getting up from the floor and sitting on the soft bed. He skipped over the previous incident and asked the question he originally intended to ask.

“How did you end up with Gu Shenyuan? Did he come to save you?” Pu Tian asked with a dark expression.

If Ye Qingyun answered yes, he would likely have to reevaluate the relationship between the two of them.
Although he’s liked the aloof type, he had no interest in being a cuckold.
Ye Qingyun certainly knew what Pu Tian was thinking. He choked back tears, playing the role of a cannon fodder who was at odds with Gu Shenyuan: “He’s not that kind-hearted! How could he possibly come to save me? Pu Tian, do you think of him as some kind of benevolent angel? He’s not!”

Ye Qingyun continued to angrily distort the truth, tarnishing his image: “When that person was trying to… I did everything I could to escape. That person was chasing me the whole time, and I just… accidentally ran into Gu Shenyuan, so that’s how I encountered him.”

After listening, Pu Tian scoffed.

Saying it was an accident was a lie; he must have deliberately gone to Gu Shenyuan to get him to distract the enemy.

Seeing Pu Tian’s expression, Ye Qingyun knew he had bought his lie, so he continued, “Gu Shenyuan… he’s pretty amazing. He killed that person, and I told him I owed him a debt of gratitude and hoped he could keep me safe. He agreed, so that’s why we were together back then.”

The entire situation was logical, and Pu Tian did not doubt that Ye Qingyun would repay kindness with kindness. He also understood why Gu Shenyuan would temporarily protect Ye Qingyun—because Gu Shenyuan needed to learn from him, so he couldn’t let Ye Qingyun die.

Ah, it made sense. How could Ye Qingyun ever win Gu Shenyuan’s favor? Pu Tian had inquired about Gu Shenyuan before; many people pursued him, but not one succeeded. Gu Shenyuan would never easily fall for anyone.

Relieved that he wouldn’t be wearing a green hat,^[1]an expression that the Chinese use when a woman cheats on her husband or boyfriend, Pu Tian sighed and then thought it had been a while since he had spoken to Gu Shenyuan. He turned to Ye Qingyun and said, “I’ll go with you tomorrow to explain things to Gu Shenyuan.”

With Ye Qingyun beside him, he would appear even more amiable. He would take the opportunity to scold Ye Qingyun a bit, and Gu Shenyuan would surely be more inclined to get close to him.

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The next day, Ye Qingyun, feeling hopeless, went with Pu Tian to find Gu Shenyuan.

There was a similar plot in the original story where the cannon fodder neglected to teach properly and frequently tried to talk to Pu Tian while Pu Tian was busy trying to talk to Gu Shenyuan, who ignored both of them. In the end, Gu Shenyuan got fed up with their noise and kicked them both out.

Ye Qingyun guessed this plot wouldn’t change much; at most, Gu Shenyuan would endure them for a bit longer out of consideration for him.

Ye Qingyun knocked on the door, which was quickly opened, revealing Gu Shenyuan’s expressionless face.

Maybe because he had spent so much time with Gu Shenyuan, Ye Qingyun surprisingly felt he could sense a change in his emotion, from the pleasant look when he opened the door to the annoyance upon seeing Pu Tian, as if there were a pile of garbage next to beautiful flowers.

It was normal for Pu Tian to be annoyed, but why was Gu Shenyuan happy?

He must have been mistaken; it was all just one expression—no expression at all.

Ye Qingyun stepped inside and took his usual place to teach, with Gu Shenyuan sitting on his left and Pu Tian on his right.

Ye Qingyun began to explain the book’s content as usual, but this time he was mindful to engage with Pu Tian now and then.

It wasn’t too difficult; whenever Pu Tian spoke to Gu Shenyuan, Ye Qingyun could simply add a few words without needing to come up with anything new.

Pu Tian: “Shenyuan, do you want some water? I can have someone bring it to you.”

Ye Qingyun followed up, “Pu Tian, do you want some water? I’ll go get it for you.”

Gu Shenyuan remained silent.

Pu Tian: “Shenyuan, what flavor do you like? I can have someone prepare a box for you and leave it in your room.”

Ye Qingyun: “I prefer something sweet; the honey flavor is delicious. Pu Tian, I’ll send you a bottle to try?”

Gu Shenyuan stayed silent.

Pu Tian: “After so long in class, it’s time to take a break, right? Shenyuan, are you tired?”

Ye Qingyun: “Actually, I’m quite thirsty too. Why don’t you ask how I’m doing?”

Finally, Gu Shenyuan broke his silence.

He set down his pen, stood up, and walked out of the room.

Ye Qingyun: “!”

“Wait a minute! Big brother, why did you leave? Shouldn’t you have kicked them out instead?”

Gu Shenyuan’s temper seemed much milder than in the original book. He wasn’t as ruthless?

Ye Qingyun wasn’t sure whether to stay or go. He fidgeted for a while until he saw Gu Shenyuan returning.

Gu Shenyuan held a bottle in his hand, walking up to Ye Qingyun and placing it on the desk in front of him.

It was the honey-flavored drink that Ye Qingyun had just mentioned liking.

Ye Qingyun was momentarily stunned, looking at Gu Shenyuan.

“Here, take a sip if you’re thirsty,” Gu Shenyuan said.

Before Ye Qingyun could respond, he noticed Gu Shenyuan’s gaze shift to Pu Tian.

Although Gu Shenyuan’s expression was still blank, Ye Qingyun could swear that it had turned from spring to winter in an instant.

“You’re too noisy,” Gu Shenyuan said coldly. “Get out.”

Of course, Pu Tian wouldn’t want to leave. He argued that Ye Qingyun talked more about irrelevant topics than he did and was even louder.

Then, Ye Qingyun watched in astonishment as Pu Tian’s voice abruptly cut off. He suddenly fainted, and Gu Shenyuan grabbed Pu Tian by the collar, dragging the unconscious man out of the room and throwing him into the hallway.

Ye Qingyun: “… That was way too ruthless!”

He realized he was wrong; he shouldn’t have said that Gu Shenyuan was mild-mannered and not ruthless. This was much more brutal than just kicking them out like in the book!

Gu Shenyuan closed the door, returning to his seat with an expression that didn’t look like someone who had just thrown someone out, but rather like he had tossed out a bag of trash.

“Are you tired?” Gu Shenyuan looked at the silent Ye Qingyun. “Drink some water to relax; take a break.”
Ye Qingyun slowly opened the drink and took a sip, asking, “How did Pu Tian… pass out?”

“I did it,” Gu Shenyuan replied. “He was too noisy.”

Even though Gu Shenyuan claimed responsibility, Ye Qingyun still couldn’t understand how Gu Shenyuan managed to knock out Pu Tian, who had both S-class abilities and physique, without anyone noticing in an instant.

Previously, when Gu Shenyuan had protected him, Ye Qingyun knew he was strong, but since his opponents were all weaklings, he hadn’t been overly impressed.

This time, however, Gu Shenyuan’s target was Pu Tian, who was also S-class in abilities and physique, someone who ranked well in strength throughout the entire book.

At that time, Ye Qingyun thought that while Gu Shenyuan was strong, it shouldn’t be to such an exaggerated extent. Was the book hiding his true power?

What if one day Gu Shenyuan didn’t need him to teach anymore? Would he end up experiencing that feeling of being unable to survive or die because he was constantly mocked and belittled? Even more terrifying was the thought that no one could stop Gu Shenyuan.

It seemed Gu Shenyuan could see what Ye Qingyun was thinking. He smiled faintly and said softly, “Don’t be afraid. I won’t hit you.”