Chapter 33

Zhu Zhihong continued trying to persuade Fu Cheng.

Outside, Youyi waited for a while. The cold wind was biting, so she rubbed her hands together and took out her phone to check the time.

It had already been six minutes.

Her friends, including Huang Youyi, were still waiting for her. She wondered what Fu Cheng and Zhu Zhihong were discussing.

Fu Cheng glanced outside.

“Let her in,” he said.

Zhu Zhihong sighed.

“Come in.”

Youyi hurried in.

She quickly made her way to the desk, but her shoes slipped on the floor. She staggered a bit, and Fu Cheng reached out to steady her.

Youyi regained her balance and didn’t dare look at him. “Thank you.”

His hand was steady on her arm, and he only released it after confirming she was stable. She thought she heard him mumble something, but the voice was too soft to catch.

Youyi handed over the documents.

“Student Ding Youyi, you’re the last one to submit,” Zhu Zhihong said as he rummaged through his drawer for the stamp, reminding her.

Other students had finished their paperwork a couple of days ago. The deadline was noon today, and she had really pushed it to the limit.

Youyi awkwardly explained, “I overslept this morning.”

“I know,” Zhu Zhihong said. “You’re living off-campus, so it’s not as convenient as for other students. But that doesn’t mean you can be lazy and sleep in just because the environment is nice.”

Previously, Ding Youyi was always the earliest to arrive for her 8 AM classes, but now she was starting to sleep in as well.

Zhu Zhihong was quite chatty and didn’t stop. Since Fu Cheng was beside her, she could only listen and nod, saying, “I’ll definitely improve next time.”

She promised to go to bed early and wake up early.

Zhu Zhihong flipped through her documents, stamped them, and signed off.

“All done. You can go now.”

Youyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fu Cheng glanced back.

She slipped out quickly.

“I’m not unwilling to help, but I can’t,” Fu Cheng said, pulling his gaze back. “My hand has some issues lately and might require surgery.”

His left hand hung by his side, the veins on the back of his hand prominently visible. At the base of his thumb, the joint was stiff.

For example, with shooting, he could no longer pull the trigger.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhihong paused, looking somewhat stunned. He couldn’t find the words to respond and asked with concern, “Your hand… is it okay?”

Fu Cheng replied calmly, “It’s nothing. Just an old problem.”

Zhu Zhihong said, “Then… let’s wait until your surgery is done. I wish you a smooth operation.”

*

Fu Cheng went downstairs and waited at the door, glancing back at the stairwell.

When Youyi said she would be out in an hour, it was about that time.

He waited for her to return together.

Fu Cheng stood at the entrance, his tall and indifferent demeanor attracting the attention of passing students.

Although it was Saturday, many students were still at the department, mostly first-year students coming in for paperwork. Seeing Fu Cheng made them uneasy.

Youyi descended two floors and encountered some issues, causing her to run back and forth.

Handling paperwork was always a hassle, and it often felt like a never-ending task.

Finally finishing up, she checked her phone and saw Fu Cheng’s message saying he was waiting on the first floor. Youyi pressed the elevator button.

The building only had two elevators, and the other one was out of service for maintenance. The remaining one had been running non-stop, making it very busy.

After waiting for two minutes, the elevator arrived.

Youyi entered and pressed the button for the first floor.

The next second, a figure darted into the elevator.

Youyi paused, turned her head, and met Du Li’s gaze.

Her expression changed abruptly.

Du Li saw her and smirked.

“It’s been a while, Ding Youyi,” Du Li sneered. “I heard that Wei Jing from your class confessed to you. You really know how to attract people, don’t you? Everyone seems to like you.”

When he was pursuing her, he used flattering words. Now, his harsh sarcasm revealed his true ugly nature.

Du Li had always been an extremely selfish and despicable person—a typical example of someone who is kind in front of people and monstrous behind their backs.

“It seems you’re quite fond of him. How is it? Is he better-looking and wealthier than me?”

Du Li had spread some very unpleasant rumors before, hoping to provoke Ding Youyi, but she didn’t react much.

It was as if she had never heard those words.

As the elevator numbers counted down and reached “1,” the elevator stopped.

“Indeed, after all, people shouldn’t be compared to beasts,” Youyi said, and as the doors opened, she walked out.

This was the first time Du Li had heard such strong words from Ding Youyi.

He was someone who couldn’t stand criticism, especially from someone like Ding Youyi, whom he saw as a naive girl. Du Li followed her out, ignoring the people around, and threatened, “Who are you calling a beast?”

Youyi quickened her pace.

Du Li sped up as well. Even though Youyi didn’t turn back, she could hear him. She saw Fu Cheng’s figure ahead, and began to run, calling out, “Fu Cheng—”

Fu Cheng turned around.

Youyi was about five steps away from him, and Du Li was likely right behind. As Fu Cheng turned, Youyi almost threw herself into his arms, her forehead hitting his chest. Without time to feel the pain, she softly called out, “Husband.”

Fu Cheng instinctively embraced her and looked up to see Du Li.

At first, I didn’t know what had suddenly happened with Youyi.

Now, I do.

When Youyi crashed into Fu Cheng’s arms, some classmates nearby tried to remind her, but before they could say anything, she had already thrown herself into his embrace, causing everyone around to gasp.

What a disaster. Did Ding Youyi forget what happened to her when she was punished by the Chief Instructor?

Fu Cheng stared coldly at Du Li.

Not having beaten him up the last time at the door was his biggest regret.

“What do you want?” Fu Cheng moved forward, positioning himself so that he shielded Youyi completely from view. When he stood straight, he completely blocked her from sight.

His tone was stern. Compared to the severity of his training, he now resembled a fierce wolf, ready to tear apart anyone who invaded his territory with his bloodthirsty claws.

This was the danger he now emanated.

It was all too evident.

Previously, when they were in the corridor, Du Li had been scared out of his wits by him, especially after being punished to run five kilometers, something he still held a grudge about.

Now, at the entrance of their school, with people coming and going and several surveillance cameras monitoring everything, Du Li thought there was no need to be afraid.

Du Li said, “I was just talking to her.”

Even though he was standing right in front of him, Du Li dared not meet Fu Cheng’s eyes. Instead, he looked at Ding Youyi and said, “I’m asking you, why did you call me a beast?”

Tsk, who’s really fitting the description?

“Was I cursing at you?” Before Fu Cheng could speak, Youyi calmly asked.

This question left Du Li speechless.

Youyi had said many things to Du Li before, but since animals don’t have ears, he never listened. Despite that, she felt the need to speak out today.

“Do you really think you like someone, or is it just to satisfy your dark and vain heart?”

Youyi stepped out from behind Fu Cheng and continued, “You should know best how many times I’ve rejected you. The biggest difference between a person and an animal is that a person can understand human speech.”

But animals don’t understand anything.

Arguing with Du Li was useless, and Youyi knew this, so she didn’t expect to reason with him or make him repent.

That was simply impossible.

“So today, right here, I’m telling you again.”

Youyi paused, her voice gentle but firm.

“I not only have someone I like, but I’m also already married.”

She held Fu Cheng’s hand.

“If you’re interested, I can introduce him to you.”

“This is my husband, Fu Cheng.”

For the first time, little Youyi called him “husband” in front of others. Clinging to his hand, she looked both a bit angry and determined, making her simply adorable.

Fu Cheng grasped her hand in return.

Du Li looked visibly shocked, unable to process the information. The fact that Ding Youyi was already married seemed to completely break him.

At that moment, he realized why Fu Cheng had been so targeted towards him.

“Let’s go home,” Youyi said softly, pulling on Fu Cheng’s hand.

She hadn’t thought much before she spoke to Du Li, but now she noticed everyone around them was watching.

“Okay,” Fu Cheng said, taking her hand and walking out.

That evening, a short story was posted on the school’s confession wall.

— “The Tough Instructor and the Beautiful School Belle”

Huang Youyi even shared a screenshot in the group chat.

Huang Youyi: [Our class has been buzzing about this for the whole day, not just our class, but the entire grade and even the whole school.]

Sheng Sheng: [Don’t mention it. My WeChat is blowing up with questions.]

Everyone was curious about when they had gotten married. Sheng Sheng said she wasn’t sure, but they had already obtained their marriage license before Fu Cheng became the Chief Instructor.

What a stealthy move.

Huang Youyi: [There’s more.]

She then shared an image in the group.

It was an illustration by a classmate from the neighboring class, Li, depicting an intense and passionate kiss.

Student Li was a fanatical shipper with a decent following on Weibo.

Youyi opened the image.

In the drawing, the man had bulging muscles and a fierce, chiseled profile, holding the petite woman tightly by the chin and kissing her aggressively.

The sexual tension was palpable.

The visual impact was intense.

Even without stating it explicitly, everyone knew who was being portrayed.

Footsteps approached from behind, and Youyi hurriedly closed the image. But in her haste, she accidentally dropped her phone.

Fu Cheng picked it up before her.

The phone displayed the vivid image.

Fu Cheng looked at it briefly, then sat down with the phone, staring intently.

He remembered the video she had sent him last time—

“Do you guys in the group chat watch this kind of stuff every day?”

Youyi wanted to explain but found that no matter how she explained, it wouldn’t help. She could only shake her head silently.

They usually talked more about lipsticks, foundations, clothes, and skirts. This was just… a very rare occurrence.

Too bad it was seen by him at that rare moment.

Fu Cheng said, “The five minutes last time, we still haven’t tried it.”

Youyi was slightly startled. She wrapped her arms around his neck, gently rubbing against him and praised, “You’re the best, husband.”

Not just five minutes. Last time wasn’t intentional either.

Fu Cheng lightly pressed his fingers against her cheek, his voice gravelly, like pebbles grinding against a hard stone slab.

“Then I can only wait until you beg me.”