Chapter 3: As Friends

Early the next morning, Gu Bai stared at the two large red words on his computer screen, feeling completely numb.

To be honest, the breakup hadn’t made him depressed, but playing games with these two “good sons” from his dorm had certainly broken his spirit.

Especially when he recalled Wang Yu’s Yasuo—going 0/21/3, dashing incessantly while spamming mastery emotes so fast that Gu Bai’s “missing” pings couldn’t even keep up with him.

“My trash can at home is on fire, gotta run.”

Without waiting for the next match to start, Gu Bai shut down the computer and bolted out of the bedroom without looking back.

“White Brother! Don’t go, White Brother! We haven’t even gotten our First Win of the Day yet! Is all the effort from pulling an all-nighter going to waste?!”

Wang Yu’s voice echoed behind him, but Gu Bai didn’t want to stay on that “hearse” for even a second longer.

Once he escaped the dormitory, Gu Bai rubbed his tired eyes.

Because he had stayed up all night and failed to get a single win, he felt physically and mentally exhausted.

Despite this, he planned to head back to his rental apartment to get some proper rest. Although there were beds in the dorm, Gu Bai, accustomed to sleeping alone, couldn’t stand sleeping in such an environment.

“Look, look!”

A few passing girls shivered upon seeing Gu Bai.

They tucked their heads in and whispered, “Isn’t that the guy with the underworld background?”

Currently, the dark circles under Gu Bai’s eyes were heavy, and combined with his notorious reputation, he gave off a very fierce and menacing vibe.

“I think so. During registration last semester, he walked into the freshman office covered in blood, carrying two knives. Even when the police came, they couldn’t do anything to him! Later, he shamelessly harassed Su Shuhao until she was forced to agree to be his girlfriend out of intimidation. She’s so pitiful.”

“Shh—keep it down, don’t let him hear you. Otherwise, who knows where he might sell us off to…”

Listening to their private chatter, Gu Bai’s mouth twitched.

He was finally experiencing how “rumors are more terrifying than tigers.”

He had arrived at registration with some blood on him, but that was blood left over from fighting off some thugs.

Since he was nearly late, he hadn’t had time to change his clothes.

As for the police, they were there because he had called them; they were just taking his statement as a matter of routine.

And the part about carrying knives?

That was entirely fabricated.

This story had been circulating for a year—how did it get more ridiculous the more it was told?

Even the school’s official commendation for his bravery was interpreted by these people as his powerful underworld connections “forcing” the school to issue a clarification.

Gu Bai sighed helplessly.

He couldn’t be bothered to argue with them.

Rather than explaining things to people with overactive imaginations, he preferred to just live his life.

After his recent realization, he cared even less about what others thought.

However, on his way out, Gu Bai encountered someone unexpected.

Su Shuhao appeared not far ahead of him.

Beside her was her very close best friend—Li Xiaotong, if he remembered correctly.

When Gu Bai noticed Su Shuhao, the two of them also noticed his gaze.

She gave a cold snort and turned her head away, ignoring him.

If this had been in the past, Gu Bai might have rushed forward to comfort her, explain himself, apologize, or take the initiative to show weakness to make amends.

But now…

Heh, none of my business.

Gu Bai headed toward a breakfast stall without looking back, not sparing Su Shuhao a second glance.

At that moment, Li Xiaotong couldn’t help but whisper to Su Shuhao, “See? This Gu Bai talks tough, but he actually still cares about you. Look at those dark circles and that haggard, weak expression. He definitely didn’t sleep all night because of the breakup.”

Hearing Li Xiaotong’s words, Su Shuhao snorted, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

She did look a bit happy.

In her eyes, even if Gu Bai had walked away without saying a word, seeing him in this state meant that she was the winner in the end.

“You’re a recognized school beauty, Su Shuhao,” Li Xiaotong said confidently.

“And you’re in the prime of your youth, radiant and beautiful. In his ‘nothing-to-his-name’ state, there’s no way he’s willing to let you go.”

“True. I have plenty of time and energy to wait him out. I don’t believe he won’t come crawling back to find me.”

Su Shuhao lifted her chin like a proud little princess.

But before long, her expression vanished as she looked at the piles of luggage around her.

“But… what do we do with these bags?”

Normally, Gu Bai would have rushed over to carry everything all the way to the girl’s dormitory gate.

Without his help, moving this much stuff to a dorm over a kilometer away was going to be difficult.

As Su Shuhao stood there feeling lost, Li Xiaotong smiled and spoke up.

“Oh, that’s easy! You just need to call out, and plenty of men would jump at the chance to carry your things. Why worry about that?”

However, Su Shuhao immediately shook her head at the suggestion.

“I don’t like guys touching my luggage. I’ll carry it myself. Besides, it’s not that heavy…”

She usually saw Gu Bai carry them with such ease that she subconsciously thought it wasn’t hard.

It wasn’t until she tried it herself that she realized the truth.

The luggage her parents had sent was unexpectedly heavy.

She hadn’t even carried it ten meters before her back and waist started aching.

As for Li Xiaotong, her slender frame was also swaying under the weight.

Finally, she couldn’t help but look at Gu Bai, who hadn’t gone far yet.

“Su Shuhao, how about… you call Gu Bai and ask him to help us carry these?”

Gu Bai was still nearby because he was buying breakfast at the stall.

Su Shuhao saw him standing there, but she simply couldn’t—or rather, her pride wouldn’t let her—lower herself.

She forced herself to grunt, lifted the bags, and said:

“No need! We can do it ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Gu Bai, who was buying breakfast, watched Su Shuhao and her friend stumbling forward with their heavy bags.

At that pace, heaven only knew how long it would take them to reach the dorm.

As for letting other guys help?

Based on Gu Bai’s understanding of Su Shuhao, she had a bit of a “germaphobia” regarding the opposite sex; she would never ask another guy.

And he could see her eyes darting toward him every now and then—did she think he didn’t know?

“Gu Bai, are you just going to stand there and watch?”

Finally, Su Shuhao couldn’t hold it in any longer.

She walked over and asked.

To this, Gu Bai replied without a shred of sympathy:

“As a friend, I have to go back and sleep, so I can only cheer you on.”

Under Su Shuhao’s tooth-grinding glare, Gu Bai calmly walked away.