Chapter 36: Who Is Whose Dog?

In the KTV private room, singing voices shook the heavens amid laughter, chatter, and playful noises. It seemed they were playing Truth or Dare, with cheers erupting from time to time.

Yue Yiyue stood at the door and peered through the narrow glass window. She suddenly regretted coming.

She did not like such occasions much.

But she had rejected so many invitations since the start of the semester. It was neither polite nor reasonable to refuse again.

Besides, she came because an important plot character would attend today.

Social niceties were just a bit difficult for her.

Gu Nanqiu, standing beside her, saw Yue Yiyue’s hesitant look. She took Yue Yiyue’s hand. “We’re already here. Go have fun with your classmates~ Sit for a bit, and then we’ll find an excuse to leave.”

Gu Nanqiu blinked. She admired her fresh bright red manicure and smiled gently at Yue Yiyue as she reminded her. “Yiyue, you must not drink any alcohol, not even a drop. If you want to drink, you can only do it with me at home. This place is a mixed bag of all sorts—who knows what bad things might happen~

At this point, just standing at the door felt awkward. Yue Yiyue nodded. “Alright then. Let’s go in and play a little. I won’t drink.”

“Hey, Yiyue, why are you only— ” The Class Monitor, who held the microphone and was about to belt out a song, heard the noise at the door. As she teased, her attention was completely stolen by the girl next to Yue Yiyue, who wore clothes in the same color scheme.

Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders in gentle waves. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes held little expression.

But she was beautiful, exceptionally so.

So beautiful that the Class Monitor forgot what she was about to say in that instant. She just stared blankly at the person beside Yue Yiyue, hearing gasps from those around her.

It went without saying that they were stunned by her beauty.

Without Yue Yiyue’s introduction, the Class Monitor immediately recognized her: the aloof top student from the Confession Wall—Gu Nanqiu, whom people wailed over online while fishing for her WeChat, but no one had ever succeeded.

The school was so big, and Yue Yiyue had kept her well hidden.

What a lack of loyalty.

To think such a beauty was… monopolized.

The private room fell into an eerie silence for a moment. Everyone’s gazes focused on the two at the door.

But Yue Yiyue knew their gazes were really fixed on Gu Nanqiu behind her.

She shifted slightly to block those meaningful stares. “We’re here. I brought a friend along. We got held up on the way.”

“Class Monitor, keep singing. We’ll sit for a bit. We have something to do later.”

“You’re already here, so why not play the game with us?” A classmate on the sofa reacted and immediately cleared a spot. They also moved the tray of watermelon slices to that table.

“Yiyue, this must be the famous Gu Nanqiu. Today we finally get to see the real person. I’m Sun Li— the ‘Li’ from chestnut. I wonder if the great Nanqiu would grace us by sitting here and playing Truth or Dare with us?”

The lyrical background music continued to play. The Class Monitor had already set down the microphone and come to the game table.

The few classmates who were drinking also put down their cups.

At that moment, Yue Yiyue regretted inviting Gu Nanqiu.

Her original intention was to let her experience a Social Gathering… maybe she’d meet…

Not this one. Yue Yiyue felt she had acted too rashly. She had clearly scouted the info and seen that person’s name on the attendee list.

Yue Yiyue scanned the people in the room, feeling some regret. She wondered if something had come up at the Outer Courtyard…

“Yiyue, I haven’t played this game before. Shall we go play together?” Gu Nanqiu noticed Yue Yiyue seemed to be looking for someone inside. She took the initiative to draw Yue Yiyue’s attention and led her to the game table. But Yue Yiyue was immediately pulled to the other side and pressed into a somewhat marginal seat by the classmate next to her.

Gu Nanqiu was about to say something when Sun Li, who was quick on the uptake and close by, immediately sidled up. “If you sit there, you don’t have to drink. Over here, we’ll have to drink a bit, but you’re the exception.”

With that, she enthusiastically introduced the Game Rules.

She pointed to the empty beer bottle on the table. “Whoever it points to draws one of these little Cards. If you skip the question, you take a penalty drink. Want to give it a try?”

Sun Li ingratiatingly pointed to the spot beside the table. “This position has great feng shui. If alcohol comes up, I can drink for you. Gu Nanqiu, want to try it?”

Gu Nanqiu eyed Sun Li but didn’t agree right away. Instead, she glanced at Yue Yiyue sitting on the other side. “Are you playing too?”

Under everyone’s gaze, Yue Yiyue nodded slowly. The room instantly livened up again.

The music became background noise. Everyone geared up, hoping the bottle would stop where it should.

The spot Sun Li mentioned really was a “prime spot.” The bottle pointed to Gu Nanqiu three times shortly after she sat down.

But her luck was good; she drew only harmless little questions.

Like, what was the most delicious thing she had eaten recently?

Or the most unforgettable event?

The dares were just things like checking who was pinned at the top.

As expected, fate indulged the strong.

There was no helping it. It was normal for someone as amazing as Gu Nanqiu to have good luck.

————

Everyone exchanged glances and soon switched things up. They all hoped to draw the one dare Card that let them specify someone to do something.

The bottle spun round and round on the table. Gu Nanqiu sat right in the middle, focused only on the game itself and on Yue Yiyue, who had been squeezed into the corner and looked a bit pitiful.

The spot was cramped. If the person next to her moved too much, they would bump into Yue Yiyue.

After an event like this, Yiyue probably would not want to attend anymore, right?

Yiyue was so pitiful. As expected, few people truly wanted to befriend her.

After this event, Yiyue would surely give up and settle into their two-person world nicely.

It was all her fault for indulging Yiyue too much, leaving her with little secrets behind her back.

This was not good for the development of their relationship.

“Hey, it’s the Class Monitor this time! Class Monitor, what are you drawing?” The person nearby asked the Class Monitor aloud, but everyone knew it was for the dare.

It was a game, after all.

They exchanged smiles.

The Class Monitor drew the first Card confidently amid the cheers around her and flipped it over.

Dare— Specify someone present to do something.

The surroundings grew even rowdier.

“The Class Monitor has good luck. Who are you going to pick and what for?”

“Wow, that Card— such great luck.”

The Class Monitor smiled, pursing her lips. “Hey, I do have some luck on my side. My request is simple. Would I have the honor of adding Gu Nanqiu’s WeChat? That’s not too much, right?”

Gu Nanqiu sat there, still smiling, but a flash of boredom passed through her eyes. What a dull game.

She casually pulled up her WeChat interface. “Sure.”

Amid the envious gazes, there was a ding.

The Class Monitor looked at the three words Gu Nanqiu sent: Gu Nanqiu. She swallowed excitedly, but the next message doused her like a bucket of cold water. “Thanks for taking such good care of Yue Yiyue.”

Yue Yiyue. Tsk.

She then discovered that all— every single one— of Gu Nanqiu’s Moments were related to Yue Yiyue.

Including her profile picture.

…Why could that big klutz Yue Yiyue have this?

But no one paid attention to the Class Monitor’s changing expression.

The game started a new round. Everyone kept at it, all anticipating luck’s favor.

Yue Yiyue sat there on pins and needles. When the Class Monitor asked for Gu Nanqiu’s WeChat, she had wanted to pull Gu Nanqiu away. But seeing Gu Nanqiu seeming like she still wanted to play, she sat back down.

This place was truly boring.

She sipped her sweet drink and watched the huge KTV screen flash scenes. What was going on over at the Outer Courtyard?

But Yue Yiyue only knew Gu Ye as a familiar face in the class. It was not good to ask others rashly.

She played with her phone out of boredom, scrolling through fragmented info.

————

The private room door was pushed open again. A refreshingly dressed classmate walked in.

She had big wavy hair and wore what looked like an expensive shirt, with a suit jacket draped over her arm, as if she had just left a meeting.

“Zhou Qingyi! President Zhou is really capable and busy. You only made it now. Come sit down quick! Sun Li saw the person at the door, and her eyes lit up. “Come, come, let me introduce our Outer Courtyard’s student council president, the famous Zhou Qingyi, President Zhou.”

She paused. “You all know Qingyuan Enterprise, right? The tech company that rose in recent years— that’s President Zhou’s family. For today’s Social Gathering, President Zhou thought it sounded fun and came specially to check it out. Everyone, step up your game. Maybe you can get hired right by the big boss.”

From the moment she entered, Zhou Qingyi’s gaze had locked onto the center of attention amid the crowd— Gu Nanqiu.

It never shifted.

Sun Li, that shrewd one, naturally noticed this.

Zhou Qingyi had not planned to come originally. It was only after Sun Li said Gu Nanqiu was here that she rushed over.

President Zhou’s preference for women was no secret in their circles.

“This is Gu Nanqiu, the top student from our Computer Science Department. Great grades, great person.” With that, she shifted over. “President Zhou, come sit. You two should get to know each other?”

Seeing Sun Li so eagerly playing matchmaker, Yue Yiyue, who had been wondering how to introduce them, finally relaxed.

She had finally waited for one of the Protagonist Group members—Gu Nanqiu’s capable right-hand woman, Zhou Qingyi.

Though her mood felt a bit off, Zhou Qingyi had an excellent background, high combat prowess, a sharp mind, and was thoughtful in her actions.

She was wholeheartedly devoted to Gu Nanqiu, so many people bet on her as the official pairing.

But before Yue Yiyue came to this world, while browsing info, she remembered their emotional line was zero. Only CP fans were working hard to scrounge for sweet moments.

That was not an issue. Gu Nanqiu probably had little interest in Zhou Qingyi… right?

But in the original work, Zhou Qingyi was truly strong. She faced infected entities without batting an eye, handling them with ease. With someone like her alongside Gu Nanqiu against those bizarre events, their chances of success would surely increase a lot.

But Yue Yiyue felt like she had forgotten something?

She sat in the corner, seriously recalling, and did not notice the gaze that had been resentfully fixed on this corner all along.

Zhou Qingyi tried to start a conversation two or three times, but Gu Nanqiu barely responded. She just kept looking at a certain corner.

Feeling it futile but stirred by a desire to conquer the woman before her,

“Is there someone sitting there?” Zhou Qingyi cut a neat piece of watermelon, skewered it prettily, and handed it to Gu Nanqiu. “Ever since I sat here, you’ve been distracted. Or rather, you’re not interested in any of this at all. It’s like you’re just sitting here killing time for some reason you can’t avoid.”

“It’s Yiyue. Yiyue is sitting there, all small and cute.” Since Zhou Qingyi finally asked something not boring, Gu Nanqiu reluctantly shifted her gaze for a second, her peripheral vision falling on the smelly human beside her.

“Yiyue?” Only then did Zhou Qingyi notice the youth in the corner wearing clothes similar to Gu Nanqiu’s.

Her presence was not strong, and her face was not particularly pretty, but she had a wild vibe.

Like an untamed wolf who hid her claws for her master, clumsily adapting to human society.

Seeing this, the perceptive Zhou Qingyi smiled faintly.

She sat so far away. Though their clothes matched, it was clear this person displeased Gu Nanqiu somewhat.

She did not seem like an obedient doggy.

In that case, she would not hold back.

Amid the hubbub, she leaned close to Gu Nanqiu, lowered her voice, and murmured in a slightly husky tone by her ear. “She doesn’t seem that obedient. Want to try raising a different dog? I think I’m pretty obedient.”

Yue Yiyue, sitting opposite and just then remembering what she had forgotten, looked up and saw the two in such an intimate pose…

Damn the plot.

She shot to her feet right away, drawing annoyed complaints from the classmate beside her.

Yue Yiyue had no time for that.

“Hello, could you let me through? Gu Nanqiu and I have something to say.” Yue Yiyue smiled without mirth at Zhou Qingyi, gesturing for Gu Nanqiu, who sat inside, to come out.

She really came. Seeing Yue Yiyue like this, Gu Nanqiu thought, fine then. She would reluctantly forgive Yiyue for her little secret.

At least forgive her briefly for now. As for the rest, they would settle it behind closed doors at home.

Gu Nanqiu gave a peculiar smile. She stood up reservedly and gave an apologetic smile to Zhou Qingyi nearby. “My good friend is calling me. I have to go first. As for contact info, our Computer Academy doesn’t have much to do with you all. We’ll meet again if fate allows.”

She emphasized the three words “good friend,” and Zhou Qingyi heard it. She raised her brow in some surprise.

After she finished speaking, Gu Nanqiu stood up and followed Yue Yiyue out with cheerful, quick little steps.

Once they left, the private room fell into a strange silence.

Zhou Qingyi watched Gu Nanqiu’s back. She tsked and realized she had misjudged.

‘So the master is her, huh.’

‘What an interesting pair.’