Chapter 62: All Quiet—Something’s Brewing!

“Are you going to A City next week for the break?” A classmate walked up to Yue Yiyue with a form in hand. “We finally have no classes from Wednesday afternoon to Friday, and then Monday is New Year’s Day holiday, making a full seven days off. It’d be great to go play in the neighboring city. The winter temperature there is low too, but better than here, and they have hot springs.”

Yue Yiyue looked at the form in her hand. She was in the final stretch of her reviews, so going out to play sounded like a good idea.

The weather had cooled down, and she could finish the scarf next week. She would give it to Gu Nanqiu first, then mail one to her mom.

As for Sister Ye Qiu, she could ask if she had time this week.

Wu Zhen’s case had concluded a while back, and the coroner had sent Yue Yiyue a bonus labeled as “for acting bravely for a just cause”—over two thousand.

It was just enough to pay for Sister Ye Qiu’s scarf.

She browsed the tablet for information on A City and casually forwarded it to her mom.

“Baby, this place has nice scenery. Are you planning to go there?” The reply came instantly, along with a transfer of money.

“At the very least, stay in a five-star hotel. For homestays, don’t consider anything under five thousand a night. Be careful when you’re out.”

“Thanks, Mom. I just wanted to ask if you’ve been to A City. Is there anything you need? I can mail it to you together.”

Seeing the tens of thousands transferred, Yue Yiyue grew curious about her mom’s job.

in the original work, Yue Yiyue as a background character hadn’t mentioned much about her birth family.

From their chats, Yue Yiyue realized her mom was warmer than the chat history suggested—just money transfers.

Mom cared about what she ate for breakfast, bought her new clothes, and taught her some social etiquette.

She occasionally sent photos from her end too.

It was just that Yue Yiyue had never seen what her mom looked like.

“Mom, I still have money.” Yue Yiyue replied, returning the transfer. “Mom, are you coming back for New Year’s?”

“Sorry, baby. I’ll try to come back for Chinese New Year to spend it with you. Wait a little longer… Work is a bit busy here.”

Yue Yiyue replied considerately. “That’s unavoidable. If possible then, we can video call. If Gu Nanqiu’s mother takes her back for New Year’s, I’ll just go play there alone.”

“That won’t happen… Over there… They won’t let you go alone.”

————

The last sentence seemed a bit odd on its own, but Yue Yiyue didn’t dwell on it.

She chatted idly with her mom about other things, then spotted someone peeking curiously into the classroom.

She looked familiar—it was Zhou Qingyi from the KTV incident.

She wore a white suit, her hair perfectly styled and draped, one hand in her pocket as she stood at the door peering inside.

Yue Yiyue looked up and met Zhou Qingyi’s eyes just then.

She scanned the entire classroom but still didn’t see the person she wanted. Her brows furrowed instantly.

Was she here for Gu Ye?

Yue Yiyue had asked the counselor recently too, and the answer was that the person had gone back home, saying it was for treatment.

Yue Yiyue sighed inwardly. In her previous life, it had been her lying in the cold hospital room.

With that thought, Yue Yiyue lowered her head to play on her phone, hoping Zhou Qingyi wouldn’t find anyone and would leave on her own.

But footsteps drew closer, and Yue Yiyue heard whispers around her. The classmate behind pushed her lightly.

Yue Yiyue looked up to see Zhou Qingyi offering her hand. “I’m Zhou Qingyi. We met at KTV before.”

After the introduction, she got straight to the point. “That Gu Ye from your class—is she out on something, or on leave? She saved me a while back, so I’m here specifically to thank her.”

“Hello, President Zhou.” Yue Yiyue instinctively shook her hand. “Gu Ye has dropped out to go home and recuperate, but she didn’t share more details, so I don’t know the details either.”

At those words, Zhou Qingyi let out a soft sigh. “I know, but I can’t find any information on Gu Ye at all now. I have questions for her but can’t locate her.”

“She’s like someone who appeared out of nowhere and vanished into thin air.”

By the end, Zhou Qingyi’s tone carried a hint of complaint, as if she really minded Gu Ye’s sudden departure without a word.

Yue Yiyue had never heard about Gu Ye and Zhou Qingyi’s dealings before.

She didn’t want to betray Gu Ye by revealing too much, so she carefully worded her response in her mind to avoid sounding harsh. “President Zhou, know your boundaries. Gu Ye’s situation was probably too sudden, so she left in a rush without explaining anything.”

“Boundaries? Me?” Zhou Qingyi’s voice turned icy in an instant. “I didn’t just tie her up. I’ve been patiently trying to find her to ask if she’d try dating me, and she dislikes me that much?”

As she spoke, Zhou Qingyi’s gaze fell on Yue Yiyue, the coldness in her expression leaving Yue Yiyue baffled by the tantrum she was throwing.

“Gu Nanqiu likes you, Gu Ye clings to you—don’t you feel thrilled about it deep down?”

“I’m asking you one last time: do you really not know where Gu Ye went?”

Such words were overly offensive, completely at odds with the Zhou Qingyi she’d met at KTV, and different from the one in the original work too.

“Zhou Qingyi, watch your words. We’re not close, and I have no reason to take your baseless accusations. If you can’t find Gu Ye, use proper channels. If you like her, pursue her normally.” Yue Yiyue replied calmly. She wasn’t good at handling emotional entanglements between strangers and just hoped to end the conversation quickly—Nanqiu’s class was almost over, and she needed to pick her up.

After hearing Yue Yiyue’s words, Zhou Qingyi’s expression turned grim.

Zhou Qingyi’s arrival had already drawn a lot of attention, and those around who heard the exchange initially wanted to watch the drama. But seeing Zhou Qingyi’s expression, they fell silent—no need to upset President Zhou over a classmate.

Some busybody still forwarded the incident to the Confession Wall, though the version that spread was: “President Zhou storms classroom for love—searching for someone—”

Comments were already buzzing below, wondering who the other person in this romance was.

The Class Monitor hurriedly squeezed in from the crowd and pulled at Yue Yiyue, signaling her to apologize to Zhou Qingyi.

“Sorry, President Zhou. Is there some misunderstanding here?”

“No misunderstanding.” Yue Yiyue remained expressionless. “She came out of nowhere spouting nonsense. Zhou Qingyi, if you need a good doctor I know, I can recommend one.”

Zhou Qingyi seemed emotionally unstable, her mood swinging wildly—likely due to lingering SAN Value issues.

Yue Yiyue didn’t hold it against her and sincerely planned to make an introduction.

But at those words, Zhou Qingyi seemed like a provoked lion, swinging her fist at Yue Yiyue. “Who are you calling sick? I’ve never liked you. With one word from me, I could make you—”

The fist didn’t land, and the words didn’t finish. Zhou Qingyi watched as Yue Yiyue blocked her hand. Her previously calm brows pressed down, exuding an inexplicable pressure that made Zhou Qingyi instinctively feel that provoking this person would lead to trouble later.

“Make me how?”

The next moment, Gu Nanqiu’s voice cut through the crowd, landing lightly but firmly in Zhou Qingyi’s ear. “Make her how?”

The people around shifted, quickly clearing a path for the other protagonist.

“Gu Ye left for personal matters. If you can’t find her, why take it out on an unrelated person?” Gu Nanqiu walked up to Zhou Qingyi and slipped a business card into her hand with her slender fingers. “Remember to see a doctor. Don’t do anything illegal.”

With that, she returned to Yue Yiyue’s side and flashed a sweetly cloying smile. “Yiyue, it’s been four minutes and thirty-seven seconds since you last replied to me—”

“I started seeing posts on the Confession Wall. I thought Zhou Qingyi had finally faced her feelings and wanted to confess to you. I was even thinking that if so, as your friend, I’d have to step aside for your future girlfriend and let you two go to A City together.”

Yue Yiyue patted Gu Nanqiu’s hand lightly. “Don’t look at random posts. I only knew Zhou Qingyi from months ago.”

“And right now, I won’t have a lover or time for romance. So, are you planning to go to A City?”

From the moment Gu Nanqiu entered, all eyes in the room turned to her.

Even the Class Monitor, who had just tried explaining to Zhou Qingyi, quietly shut her mouth.

A bolder one muttered softly from the back. “Who takes it out on someone’s old friend just because they can’t find the person? Besides, President Zhou is rich, so it’s different. She and Gu Ye were at most dinner buddies, but in her mouth, it always sounds like some unclear affection.”

With Gu Nanqiu’s arrival, Zhou Qingyi quieted down a lot—at least her emotions didn’t seem so out of control.

In truth, when Gu Nanqiu had approached her just now, she caught a whiff of a wonderful, indescribable scent, just like the one on Gu Ye before.

In that instant, Zhou Qingyi felt her headache ease.

It felt the same as when she’d contacted Gu Ye before, and it even changed her perception of the world greatly…

That brief contact had let her pass as normal for over two months.

Finally…

Why did she run off?

A strange dark red flashed in Zhou Qingyi’s eyes.

Come to think of it, Gu Nanqiu seemed to have the same effect.

Come to think of it, there was an interesting business in A City… That person was especially good at training dogs, and there was some information she had always been seeking about a certain someone…

————

The farce started absurdly and ended just as abruptly.

Yue Yiyue watched the person leave like that, then packed her bag and pulled Gu Nanqiu toward the dorm.

On the way, Yue Yiyue was still marveling. “I really don’t know how Gu Ye and Zhou Qingyi got involved. Zhou Qingyi’s family does have deep roots here, but I’ve never heard of her searching for someone so flamboyantly.”

“Yeah, really immature,” Gu Nanqiu agreed, seeing Yue Yiyue wasn’t dwelling on it. She asked curiously, “Aren’t you afraid Zhou Qingyi will say something to make you unable to stay at C University?”

At Nanqiu’s words, Yue Yiyue gave a knowing smile. “Nanqiu, that would be illegal, unless I commit serious violations.”

Halfway there, since Gu Nanqiu got tired, they ducked into a nice restaurant.

In the private room, after some discussion, they booked tickets to A City together, plus a hot spring hotel.

In A City, a woman overlooking the entire city from floor-to-ceiling windows turned to the trembling person kneeling beside her. “Birdcage, time to wrap up soon?”

“I can’t wait for my baby to see the gift I’ve prepared for her.”

“I hope she likes it.” Imagining her reaction, she smiled with pleasure. She couldn’t wait…