TLDMDTBS Chapter 17

Chapter 17

After the new students report to their respective departments, they need to gather at the playground for a conference.

Gu Xiuyi held Ji Ruan’s hand as they walked over, receiving plenty of surprised stares.

He was already accustomed to various gazes, but he wasn’t sure if Ji Ruan could handle it, so he lowered his head to observe his expression: “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Ji Ruan actually didn’t care much about others’ stares; he just really disliked being crowded at close distance, as it would make him dizzy.

In the college gift bag, there was a folding fan, a campus cultural product, with the school motto inscribed, and a blue tassel hanging from the bottom. Ji Ruan opened it and gently fanned himself, looking at Gu Xiuyi: “I just felt a little dizzy earlier.”

Gu Xiuyi’s expression turned serious, “Do you want to go home first?”

“No need,” Ji Ruan shook his head with a smile, “I’m fine now; it was just hot earlier.”

Gu Xiuyi pressed his lips together slightly, not saying anything but also not forcing Ji Ruan to go home.

He stood with Ji Ruan in the playground for a while, and only when Han Xiaolin came running over excitedly, safely handing Ji Ruan over to his good friend, did he go to sit in the family area in the stands.

Han Xiaolin watched Gu Xiuyi walk away and immediately put an arm around Ji Ruan’s shoulder, eyes wide open: “What was going on with you just now?”

Ji Ruan wiped the sweat from his nose: “What do you mean?”

“Just this!” Han Xiaolin pulled out his phone and opened Weibo, his brow dancing with excitement: “How did you end up in Gu Zong’s arms?! Why were you holding hands? And you walked such a long distance like that!”

Ji Ruan quickly leaned over to take a look, and in just a short moment, the news was out!

[Close-up revealed! Today, Gu Group’s chairman attended his alma mater’s celebration with his lovely wife, who happens to be a freshman at a prestigious university! Intimate hugs and hand-holding caught on camera!]

The accompanying pictures featured Gu Xiuyi holding him, the two of them hand in hand walking to the playground, Gu Xiuyi bending down to speak to him— all were original images directly from mobile phones.

To be honest, it did look a bit like a newlywed couple.

“What is this?!” Ji Ruan’s face scrunched up as he read, quickly pressing the screen off and shoving the phone back into Han Xiaolin’s hands, as if looking for one more second would set his face on fire.

“What a ridiculous news title, they’re making wild claims! Truly a disreputable media!” Ji Ruan stumbled over his words, unable to believe that in this day and age there were still media outlets using such old-fashioned gossip titles.

Han Xiaolin took his phone back, grabbed Ji Ruan’s fan and fanned himself: “Although the wording is a bit vulgar, they’re seriously trying to depict what they see~”

He raised an eyebrow at Ji Ruan: “Otherwise, as the person involved, why don’t you tell me the real situation?”

Ji Ruan’s mind was filled with that title and those intimate photos, feeling both embarrassed and awkward, his ears turning red: “It’s all nonsense! There were just a lot of people earlier, and I felt a little dizzy, and he just helped me a bit, that’s all!”

Han Xiaolin clearly didn’t believe him, a teasing smile on his lips: “Oh?”

·

There were just as many people in the stands as below, many of whom were parents accompanying their children.

Next to Gu Xiuyi sat a plump middle-aged man, who had a face full of fortune and kept smiling. He held a DSLR camera and occasionally waved to the crowd below, clearly a good father who didn’t want to miss any moment of his child.

The two exchanged a glance, and Gu Xiuyi nodded politely.

The man, however, was very enthusiastic, taking a good look at Gu Xiuyi and commenting that he didn’t look old enough to be a father, estimating that he was more like an older brother or an uncle. He then threw an arm over Gu Xiuyi’s shoulder: “Little brother, are you here to see your child report too?”

Gu Xiuyi hadn’t been called “little brother” for many years and nodded politely: “Yes, and you are too, right?”

“Of course!” The man laughed, pointing to the crowd below: “My kid is right there, by the national flag, round head and all, just like me!”

Gu Xiuyi glanced over but didn’t recognize the kid at all, maintaining his composure: “What a fine-looking talent.”

The man was even happier, patting his thigh: “Not just looks, those who get into Jing Da are the pillars of the country! My little Hu got 681 this year! 681, you know! Hahaha, my family’s old Wang family tomb must be smoking blue for us to have such a one!”

He nudged Gu Xiuyi’s elbow: “How much did your child score?”

Gu Xiuyi raised an eyebrow slightly, covering his mouth as he coughed: “He was admitted through recommendation.”

“Oh wow!” The man was astonished and quickly gave a thumbs up: “That’s impressive, you must have done great at home!”

“Not at all,” Gu Xiuyi waved his hand modestly, saying: “He worked hard himself.”

The man praised him a bit more, then turned to the crowd below, snapping pictures: “Hu’er! Daddy’s over here! Hahahaha—”

Gu Xiuyi sat quietly for a while, noticing that many parents in the stands had cameras, and the rest were taking pictures with their phones. He stood alone with his arms crossed in the middle, feeling a bit out of place.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally took out his phone, opened the camera, aimed it at Ji Ruan’s direction, and zoomed in with two fingers.

Click—

Ji Ruan’s face, shining with an exceptionally bright smile, appeared on the screen. Due to the zoom, the picture was slightly blurry, but Ji Ruan’s twinkling eyes and adorable dimples were clear as day.

Gu Xiuyi was unexpectedly attacked by the beauty on the screen, and his heart leaped loudly in his chest, hitting against his ribcage heavily, causing his eardrums to ache.

Then, miraculously, the warm blood flowed through his limbs, and his fingertips inexplicably began to feel hot.

Han Xiaolin seemed really good at telling jokes, always able to make Ji Ruan laugh heartily, his big eyes crinkling into crescent shapes.

Gu Xiuyi just held his phone and watched for a while.

Unintentionally, in sync with the beat of his heart, he zoomed out the picture to a suitable level and gently pressed the shutter button.

·

After the conference ended, Han Xiaolin left first, and Gu Xiuyi found Ji Ruan waiting for him under the shade of the tree.

Ji Ruan seemed to be in decent spirits, but his complexion had deteriorated a bit; his cheeks were flushed while his lips turned pale.

Gu Xiuyi feigned to support him: “What’s wrong, are you not feeling well?”

“No,” Ji Ruan licked his lips, frowning: “I was just too hot earlier.”

He took out a small thermos from his bag, a gift from Aunt Zhao, filled with rock sugar pear water. He still couldn’t drink anything cold, so this was perfect for moistening his lungs and preventing low blood sugar.

Ji Ruan sat on the steps, drank a few sips, then slowly stood up with Gu Xiuyi’s help: “Let’s go home.”

While they had walked to explore the campus earlier, on the way back, Gu Xiuyi directly took Ji Ruan on a sightseeing car.

As the cool breeze blew, Ji Ruan’s stuffy head finally cleared up a bit. He turned to Gu Xiuyi and asked: “We’ll have military training in a few days; can I…”

“You don’t have to go.” Gu Xiuyi scanned the payment for the car fare; the two of them paid two yuan, allowing them to cross the entire school from the playground to the main gate.

He turned off the screen and looked at Ji Ruan: “Your body isn’t fit for military training; I’ve already arranged for someone to handle the paperwork for you.”

“Really?!”

Ji Ruan’s eyes lit up, shining like beautiful gemstones under the sunlight.

Gu Xiuyi couldn’t help but look a couple more times: “Are you that happy?”

“Of course!”

Ji Ruan grinned, lowered his head to message Han Xiaolin, indicating that he wouldn’t need to participate in military training and would come to the dorm a few days later before happily putting his phone away.

“Are you hungry?” Gu Xiuyi asked again.

“I am a bit…” Ji Ruan touched his stomach, gazing at the leaves by the roadside, lost in thought: “I want to eat sweet and sour ribs…”

Gu Xiuyi frowned slightly and suppressed a smile, softly saying: “Just tell Aunt Zhao yourself.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Ruan lowered his head to start tapping on his phone, pressing his lips together, and his dimples were truly adorable.

Gu Xiuyi turned his head to cover his lips, no longer able to suppress the rising corners of his mouth.