Chapter 47: When You Were a Freshman, I Was a Senior

Aunt Zhao let out a cold snort, threw out a dismissive “Do as you please, I can’t control you,” and left.

The situation had so much to unpack that even Qin Zhaoli and Song Kairui were a little stunned after hearing everything.

“I’ll visit you another time,” Li Chaomu said.

Gu Yuchen, hearing her voice, instinctively replied, “Take care on the way.”

Li Chaomu nodded, bid farewell to the others at the door, and left as well.

Qin Zhaoli scoffed. “I remember there was one night when Zhixian drove you home, and you didn’t even bother to say, ‘Take care.’”

Wen Zhixian opened her mouth as if to retort, but then thought better of it. “Forget it. Rest well. I’m leaving.”

It seemed there wasn’t much left to say.

Now only Song Kairui and Gu Yuchen remained in the room.

Song Kairui sat down by Gu Yuchen’s bed. “What’s the deal with Li Chaomu?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen her in years,” Gu Yuchen explained. “She came to the hospital for a checkup and happened to see me outside my room.”

“Oh, really? Such a coincidence. Her family doesn’t live here, and she should’ve done her checkups at the hospital where she was treated. It’s obvious she came looking for you. You’re so shrewd when it comes to scheming and hiding things from Zhixian, but you’re utterly clueless around her?”

Gu Yuchen rubbed his temples in frustration. “There’s no way anything will happen between me and her. Why do you keep questioning it?”

He looked at Song Kairui. “Do you think Zhixian misunderstood just now?”

“Who cares? Zhixian doesn’t like you. She treasures Qi Yanjing.”

And honestly, Qi Yanjing deserved it.

“Let it go, Yuchen. Stop interfering in Zhixian and Qi Yanjing’s relationship. They’re happy together, and the things you’ve done are really over the line.”

Gu Yuchen tapped his temple with his finger. “Unless I lose my memory, I’ll be tied to her for life.”

“…”

That was just who Gu Yuchen was.

But really, there was no need for this.

If you can’t live well, don’t drag others down with you!

---

After leaving the hospital, Wen Zhixian suddenly hugged Qi Yanjing, burying her face in his chest. “He was talking about you.”

Qi Yanjing patted her back. “Let him talk if he wants. He’s probably fuming.”

A few words wouldn’t hurt him.

Using past grievances to provoke someone? That was the kind of tasteless thing only a loser ex like Gu Yuchen would do. Too bad Zhixian was his now—she had nothing to do with Gu Yuchen anymore.

Besides, what happened earlier in the hospital was amusing. It only made Zhixian despise Gu Yuchen more.

“Want to get something to eat?” Wen Zhixian looked up at him and asked.

Qi Yanjing drove them to a restaurant.

After placing their order, Wen Zhixian began talking about Li Chaomu.

“That woman in the hospital room earlier was Li Chaomu, Gu Yuchen’s ex. I used to think she was pretty bold. Turns out she’s just a hopeless romantic,” she said, glancing at Qi Yanjing. “Guess what she did?”

Qi Yanjing had vaguely heard about Gu Yuchen being dumped by an ex before. Hearing Wen Zhixian’s explanation, he added, “She graduated, and Gu Yuchen set her up with a job. Then she broke up with him to chase after her ‘true love,’ quitting the job as well. When I found out about all that, I thought she was so bold—dropping everything for someone she loved.”

Wen Zhixian paused, feeling a little embarrassed as she recalled how she had once thought of emulating her.

After clearing her throat, she continued, “But a few years later, she’s completely different. Gone is the boldness she had back then.”

Qi Yanjing gave her a meaningful look. “Don’t tell me you wanted to learn from her back then?”

Wen Zhixian’s eyes widened. “!!?”

How did he know?

Just as the server brought their dishes to the table, Wen Zhixian shoved a pair of chopsticks into Qi Yanjing’s hand. “Let’s eat.”

Just as they were about to start, Qin Zhaoli and Song Kairui walked over to them.

“What a coincidence,” Song Kairui said, immediately sitting down next to Qi Yanjing.

Qin Zhaoli took a seat beside Wen Zhixian. “We saw you come in, so we followed.”

The server brought two more sets of tableware and added a few extra dishes to the table.

“What was Aunt Zhao’s reaction to the things I said earlier?” Wen Zhixian asked, realizing she hadn’t paid attention before leaving.

“She gave Gu Yuchen a good scolding, of course,” Qin Zhaoli replied.

Song Kairui chuckled. “This morning, Aunt Zhao said she was going to make soup for Gu Yuchen. But after his little performance, she just threw it straight into the trash.”

“Aunt Zhao had a special meal prepared at home for him, but he refused to eat it, acting all dramatic like he was dying. Then Li Chaomu shows up with some store-bought food, and he’s suddenly eating like it’s the best thing ever,” Qin Zhaoli added, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Qi Yanjing thought to himself: Truly, pearls before swine.

Wen Zhixian tilted her head, curious. “What’s with the drastic change in Li Chaomu? I haven’t kept up with her, so I don’t know what happened.”

Judging from her behavior today, Wen Zhixian guessed Li Chaomu must have gone through a breakup.

Qin Zhaoli hesitated for a few seconds, debating whether to share what he’d overheard at the hospital.

Before he could decide, Song Kairui chimed in with a mocking tone, though his words were entirely true: “She had a serious illness. Her so-called ‘true love’ found her a burden and divorced her. About six months ago, Gu Yuchen, being the fool he is, gave her money for treatment and even wanted to visit her. Now that she’s remembered how good Gu Yuchen was to her, she decided to orchestrate this ‘coincidental’ reunion.”

Disgusting.

Song Kairui, clearly done with the topic, shifted gears and looked at Qi Yanjing. “Professor, you’re from Hua A University, right?”

Qi Yanjing nodded.

“We’re the same age. How come I’ve never heard of you before?” Song Kairui asked.

He, Gu Yuchen, and Qin Zhaoli had all been in Hua A University’s finance department. Even if Qi Yanjing had been in a different department, with his capabilities, his name should have come up. But there wasn’t even the faintest recollection.

Could it be that Qi Yanjing was a late bloomer?

Wen Zhixian, nibbling on her chopsticks, raised her gaze to Qi Yanjing, who answered calmly, “When you were a freshman, I was likely a senior.”

Song Kairui and Qin Zhaoli: “…”

With his overwhelming talent, he was already leagues ahead of them.

Wen Zhixian blinked, momentarily surprised. She had known he skipped grades, but hearing it put this way was still a bit shocking.

After a brief silence, Song Kairui let out a laugh. “Alright, I’ll go dig into your legendary past tonight.”

“Professor, you’re so calm. It’s like you’re not worried about Gu Yuchen targeting you at all,” Song Kairui remarked, finding Qi Yanjing increasingly intriguing.

A glint of mockery flashed in Qi Yanjing’s eyes, but when he noticed the concern on Wen Zhixian’s face, he softened and said reassuringly, “Don’t worry.”

Wen Zhixian smiled faintly and lowered her head to continue eating.

“I still think you should be careful. Gu Yuchen is pretty insidious,” Song Kairui warned.

He added, “Gu Yuchen wouldn’t dare go all out against you—he’d be afraid of offending Uncle Wen and Aunt Shen. Their relationship is already strained enough. If he pushed too far and targeted their golden son-in-law, it’d be completely over for him.”

“But Gu Yuchen has a knack for ruining people’s reputations and careers. That’s his favorite game.”