Gu Bai looked at the mineral water offered to him and eventually accepted it with a resigned sigh.
Sitting on a bench by the roadside, he asked the young girl in front of him.
“So? Is there something you need from me?”
Gu Bai did not think for a moment that the arrogant Su Shuhao would ever humble herself before him, and even if she did, it was impossible for them to get back together.
Some things, once missed, are gone forever; a good horse does not turn back to graze on old grass.
There was no need for him to maintain a relationship where only he was putting in the effort.
Su Wan’er, dressed in Su Shuhao’s clothes, felt a wave of relief as she watched Gu Bai take the water.
She had been genuinely worried that Gu Bai would heartlessly reject her kindness, but it seemed she was safe for now.
Su Wan’er also sat on the bench, though she kept a distance of nearly half a meter, her petite frame curled up as she looked incredibly nervous.
After carefully weighing her words, Su Wan’er finally spoke.
“I… Is it not allowed for me to want to see you?”
The moment those thoughtless words left her mouth, her face flushed red, and she kept her head down, completely afraid to meet Gu Bai’s gaze.
The latter almost spit out the water he had just sipped upon hearing this.
He could rack his brain all day and still not understand why Su Shuhao had transformed into such a meek, womanly figure.
She looked so submissive; if he hadn’t confirmed her appearance and clothing multiple times, he would have truly believed someone else had taken her place.
A person might be mistaken, but clothes do not lie—after all, he had designed that outfit himself.
In truth, Nanjiang University did not have the custom of crowning a school beauty or a heartthrob, but that hadn’t stopped Su Shuhao from stunning the crowd during the freshman performance years ago.
Clad in that outfit while playing a graceful piano piece, she had possessed the charm and impact of a fairy.
However, in reality, not only the outfit but even the sheet music had been written by him.
Over the last seven years, he had learned a little bit of every skill, whether it seemed useful to him or not.
“If you’re going to say things like that, you might as well save it.”
Gu Bai coughed lightly, his voice as flat and indifferent as ever.
Seeing this, Su Wan’er felt like her heart was jumping in anxiety.
She wanted to confront her domineering sister right now and ask what on earth she had done to make Gu Bai change like this.
The shift was too profound; the innocence was gone, replaced by a maturity and detachment far beyond his peers.
He was like an old man who had seen through the trials of the world.
“I’m sorry.”
Driven by an inexplicable impulse, Su Wan’er whispered an apology.
Even though it wasn’t her fault, she still wanted to apologize to Gu Bai on her sister’s behalf.
Furthermore, she was currently interacting with him in her sister’s identity.
Gu Bai paused, not because he intended to change his mind, but because this was the first time he had ever seen Su Shuhao show weakness.
Did she take the wrong medicine today?
Or was she possessed?
Under these suspicious musings, Gu Bai kept scrutinizing “Su Shuhao’s” face, trying to find some clue.
But after watching for a long time, he couldn’t see any difference.
Even Su Wan’er, feeling his intense stare, grew redder until she couldn’t take it anymore, quickly looking down and not daring to make a sound.
“You are acting very strange today.”
After much thought, Gu Bai could only guess that she wanted him to buy her something again.
Just as Gu Bai was thinking that, Su Wan’er looked up and said to him.
“Um… actually, I have a younger sister.”
“?”
Gu Bai, who had been expecting the other party to make some unreasonable demand, was instantly dumbfounded.
The topic shift was too blunt; it felt like being set up on a blind date by his family.
What is this?
Are you trying to set your sister up with me?
Gu Bai felt a bit speechless, while Su Wan’er clearly had her own little agenda.
She had never dared to defy her sister’s demands since she was a child, but that didn’t mean she would obediently do her bidding now.
With her extensive experience reading web novels and playing gal-games, she had formed a plan.
She would use her sister’s identity to get close to Gu Bai and spend time with him; when the timing was right, she would reveal her true identity, proving that the person he had been spending time with was her and had nothing to do with her sister.
By then, she would not only have built a good relationship with Gu Bai, but she also wouldn’t have to worry about the pressure from her current sister.
It was killing two birds with one stone.
I really am a little genius.
Su Wan’er couldn’t help but feel pleased with herself, even harboring a little pride.
At this moment, Gu Bai watched the foolishly grinning Su Wan’er with a sense of speechlessness.
After saying that nonsensical sentence, she had retreated into her own world, leaving him completely baffled.
“Anyway!”
Su Wan’er said after building up her courage, head held high.
“I have a sister, and she is very cute.”
“…”
Amidst her self-praise, Su Wan’er’s cheeks flushed.
Finally, unable to bear Gu Bai’s weird gaze any longer, she stood up with a thud and said.
“I have something to do, I’m leaving!”
With that, she hurried away, not giving Gu Bai any chance to ask questions.
After Su Wan’er was far away, Gu Bai took a sip of the mineral water to calm his nerves.
Even though this water had been given by Su Shuhao, Gu Bai didn’t care about such trivial things.
It was already in his hand, so he might as well drink it.
*
“How did it go?”
After Su Wan’er returned, Su Shuhao called immediately to check on the situation.
“What did he think of me?”
The implication was whether there was still a chance for reconciliation.
To this, Su Wan’er answered against her true feelings.
“He apologized, but he didn’t accept it.”
Upon hearing this, Su Shuhao, at the other end of the line, felt her anger boil.
Gritting her teeth, she said stubbornly.
“This guy, he used to be so obedient to me, why has he become like this? And I even swallowed my pride to apologize to him, this guy…”
Perhaps in Su Shuhao’s eyes, having Su Wan’er pretend to be her to apologize was no different from her doing it herself.
“Forget it, just leave him alone for now. I want to see how long he can keep this up. When he comes back begging for me, I absolutely will not accept him.”
After saying these bitter words, Su Shuhao hung up the phone.
She was currently at the entrance of the city library.
She had spent the whole morning reviewing materials, but for some reason, the problems that she could have understood before were now completely incomprehensible.
It seems..
Gu Bai used to point out the logic for these problems to me, right?
No.
Su Shuhao shook her head vigorously and said.
“It must be because there are too many distracting things these days, causing a lack of concentration.”
In the end, she still chose to believe her own excuses.
But the summer weather changes in an instant.
It had been sunny this morning, but by noon, it had turned into a torrential downpour.
According to the weather forecast, it looked like it would rain until night.
Su Shuhao had brought an umbrella and had ridden a bicycle here.
If she were to walk home, it would take at least 2 hours, and returning to the university dorm would take at least 1 hour.
But the sky was getting dark, and it would be dangerous to go back after sunset.
Besides, the rain didn’t seem like it would stop anytime soon.
In the past, Gu Bai would have definitely driven over to pick her up…
But that was basically impossible now.
So, the defiant Su Shuhao gritted her teeth, held an umbrella in one hand and steered with the other, heading home into the pouring rain.