Was she really supposed to send Gu Yizhou a text message saying, "Hubby, I'm sorry—I was wrong"??? Just reciting those words in her head made Su Mianmian feel utterly mortified. No way; she felt she genuinely couldn't bring herself to do it.
Perhaps it would be better to wait until she saw him next and explain it to him in person. Just as she was wondering if Gu Yizhou would be even angrier if she waited until the weekend, she suddenly received a text message from Gu Jingyu. "Sister-in-law, are you coming over to the ancestral home tomorrow?" Tomorrow? That was Wednesday!
Su Mianmian suddenly recalled how Gu Jingyu had previously mentioned that Wednesday marked the anniversary of Gu Yizhou's younger brother's death. Her heart gave a sudden flutter. "Yes, I'll be there on time."
After sending the message, Su Mianmian began walking toward the faculty building and turned to Song Zhi with an apologetic look. "Zhizhi, something's come up. You head back to the dorms first." "Hey! What is it? Why the rush?"
Song Zhi chased after her for a couple of steps, only to be suddenly cut off by a familiar figure. Her body went rigid instantly. She wanted to slip away, but it was already too late; squaring her shoulders, she steeled herself and greeted Cheng Yuli. "Well, look who it is—Cheng Yuli! What a coincidence."
Today, Cheng Yuli was wearing an ivory-colored bomber jacket, and his hair was styled in the latest trendy look—a slicked-back, side-parted cut known as a "heartbreaker" style. Paired with his innocent features—a face brimming with youthful vitality—he exuded an almost absurdly vibrant aura of youth.
Yet, at this moment, Song Zhi had no desire to admire him. On the contrary, the sense of humiliation she had struggled so hard to suppress countless times suddenly resurfaced, rising up to torment her once again. She remembered all too well how Cheng Yuli had used that very face to toy with her in the past, leaving her utterly heartbroken and miserable! "It's no coincidence. I came here specifically to find you."
As he spoke, Cheng Yuli's lips curved into a slight smile. "Song Zhi, there's something I want to talk to you about." Song Zhi raised her hand, making a "stop" gesture. "You're not going to bring up that night last Friday again, are you? I seem to recall making myself perfectly clear to you last night." "It wasn't clear enough."
Cheng Yuli's handsome lips parted slightly. "What you said last night was just nonsense; it wasn't the truth at all. The truth is..." "We both know the truth perfectly well in our own hearts; is there really any need to keep bringing it up?"
Song Zhi felt as though she was about to be driven mad by this jerk, Cheng Yuli. "Listen here, Student Cheng Yuli: you can rest a hundred and twenty percent assured. I'm actually a pretty open-minded person. I'm not going to go around clamoring for you to 'take responsibility' for me just because of that one night—and I certainly wouldn't do myself the disservice of dating a man I don't even like!"
"You don't like me?" Cheng Yuli raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone carrying a distinct note of grievance. "But that's clearly not what you said that night. Besides—come to think of it—wasn't *I* the one clamoring for the other person to take responsibility?"
Song Zhi felt as though she'd been struck by a sudden clap of thunder on a perfectly sunny day—the kind accompanied by a sharp crackle and a flash of lightning. She turned her head in slow motion to look at Cheng Yuli. "Do you even hear the absolute *garbage* coming out of your mouth right now? You forced yourself on me, and now you want *me* to take responsibility for *you*?"
Cheng Yuli blinked his clear, bright eyes, then pulled a video up on his phone and held it out in front of Song Zhi. "Student Song Zhi, why don't you take a look at this first? Then we can talk." ...Su Mianmian was in a rush to find her academic advisor to ask for leave when she unexpectedly bumped into Tang Yunzheng on the stairs.
He seemed to be in an even worse mood today than yesterday; scowling darkly, and either failing to watch where he was going or simply lost in his own thoughts, he walked right into Su Mianmian. The collision sent Su Mianmian stumbling backward, and she nearly tumbled down the stairs.
Tang Yunzheng immediately grabbed her arm to steady her. He was just about to apologize when he realized it was Su Mianmian; a flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes. "...It's *you*?" Su Mianmian wondered if she was suffering through some kind of cosmic misfortune today—why did bad luck seem to follow her everywhere she went?
She remembered that Gu Yizhou was still angry with her—all because of Tang Yunzheng. Su Mianmian warily pulled her arm out of Tang Yunzheng's grasp and took two steps back. "I have something to discuss with my advisor. I'm leaving now."
Tang Yunzheng couldn't recall exactly when it had started, but lately, Su Mianmian had been avoiding him as if he were the plague—as if he were carrying some kind of infectious germ that would sicken anyone who came into contact with him. Yet, barely a month ago, the two of them had been as close as two peas in a pod. Watching her retreating figure—so eager to escape his presence—Tang Yunzheng felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. Finally unable to hold back, he called out to her: "Little Mianmian!"
Ever since Su Mianmian's birthday, the relationship between her and Tang Yunzheng had been in an awkward state; whenever they crossed paths, their interactions were sharp and confrontational. Tang Yunzheng had hardly uttered the name "Little Mianmian" since then.
Hearing it so suddenly, Su Mianmian still felt a twinge of wistfulness deep down. She halted her steps but did not turn around. Tang Yunzheng gave a roguish chuckle. "Little Mianmian, I'm starting my internship at the company. I probably won't be coming back to school very often from now on..."
*Internship?*
Su Mianmian frowned. "Didn't you say you were going to wait until after your junior year ended before joining the company? Why the sudden change of plans?" Tang Yunzheng smiled wryly to himself; he realized that, deep down, Su Mianmian still cared about him.
"Yeah, things at the company haven't been going so well lately. Plus, my dad is getting on in years, so he wants me to go in early and get familiar with the ropes." Su Mianmian turned around, her gaze resting on Tang Yunzheng with evident concern. "Is Uncle Tang's company in trouble? What's going on? Is everything okay?"
Although her relationship with Tang Yunzheng had fractured, Uncle Tang and Aunt Tang had always treated her wonderfully, so Su Mianmian's concern was entirely genuine. "It's nothing major—we can handle it."
Tang Yunzheng tilted his head back. Standing on the stairs above him, the woman wore a simple white dress; her jet-black hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall—beautiful and pure, like a jasmine flower.
He suddenly found himself wondering: *If only—back on Su Mianmian's birthday—I hadn't taken Lin Jiaojiao to the Yunfan Club... If only I had realized sooner that Su Mianmian actually liked me...* Would this woman—as pure as a jasmine flower—belong to him right now?
As Tang Yunzheng entertained these thoughts, his gaze was filled with nothing but regret and longing. But "if only" remained just that—a hypothetical. His fingers, hanging loosely by his side, twitched almost imperceptibly.
He recalled how, just yesterday, he had accidentally overheard his father speaking on the phone in the study—mentioning the Gu Group in the conversation. For the very first time in his life, Tang Yunzheng had felt a crushing sense of helplessness—a feeling that everything was utterly screwed up. When he spoke again, his tone was once more laced with cynical flippancy. "Alright, you can go now. I just wanted to let you know: from this day forward, you'll never have to worry about running into me at school again, nor will you have to worry about me clinging to you like a desperate nuisance." Having said his piece, Tang Yunzheng gave a casual wave, turned around, and headed down the stairs.
Watching Tang Yunzheng's retreating figure—one hand shoved nonchalantly into his pocket as he sauntered away—Su Mianmian felt as though she could read the word "loneliness" etched upon him. Su Mianmian stood silently on the stairs for a few seconds; then, she turned around and headed upstairs. ...When her academic advisor heard that Su Mianmian wanted to request a leave of absence, he didn't ask too many questions.
After all, she was now the wife of the Gu Group's CEO; even if she didn't graduate from university, she would never have to worry about her livelihood or finding a job in the future. However, just before Su Mianmian left his office, he couldn't resist asking one more thing.
"Su Mianmian, you're currently preparing for the C1 exam, aren't you?" Su Mianmian nodded. "Yes, I am." "Have you ever thought about interning at a company? Someone from Huarui Corporation stopped by earlier looking to recruit a few students specializing in minor languages; I think you should give it a shot."
Huarui was a renowned translation agency in Jiang City; landing an internship there was a dream for almost every student majoring in languages. Su Mianmian hadn't expected her advisor to recommend her for such an opportunity. She thought it over carefully before replying, "I'd like to wait until I've passed the C1 exam before I consider that."
After all, she needed to focus intensely on her exam preparations right now and didn't have the mental energy to take on a corporate internship. "There's no conflict between the two. Since you'd be just starting out at the company, the workload wouldn't be too heavy, and you'd have plenty of time to study for your exam." "Besides," he added, "sometimes practical experience is the best way to hone your skills."
Su Mianmian felt her advisor made a very valid point, but she didn't give him an immediate answer; she needed a few days to think it over. After leaving the faculty building, Su Mianmian made a special detour to buy Song Zhi a cup of milk tea and a generous assortment of her favorite snacks.
Just as she reached the entrance of the dormitory, she heard the sound of frantic wailing and furious pounding on a bed coming from inside. "I'm dying! I'm absolutely dying of embarrassment! I've humiliated myself on a scale that spans the entire Pacific Ocean!" "If this world really is just a simulation, then whoever is controlling my character—could you please pay a little more attention? And maybe drop some cash to upgrade my stats?"
Hearing this, Su Mianmian let out a soft chuckle. She stepped inside to find Song Zhi sitting on her bed, wailing dramatically, her hair a tangled mess that looked like a bird's nest. Tan Huilin had earbuds plugged into her ears, wearing an expression that suggested she was seething with frustration but dared not voice it. "Zhizhi, what is it with you *now*?"
Song Zhi pushed aside a tangled mass of hair; upon clearly seeing Su Mianmian, she let out a loud, startled cry. "Su Mianmian! What took you so long to get back? Where on earth did you run off to? Do you have any idea that if you had come back even one minute later, I would have died of sheer mortification?"