Chapter 29: Cards, Rumors, and Shifting Moods
There were four people in the dorm.
And the most suitable thing for four people to play—
Gu Tang pulled a box of cards out of his luggage. Grandma Mei had packed them into his bag before school started.
Xie Qian made a thoroughly uncultured sound of shock. “Playing cards?!”
Zhu Xu nervously glanced at Gu Qinian, then looked at Gu Tang. He thought that no matter how doted on someone was, this was still going too far. In a low voice, he reminded him, “…Is this really something you can play in the dorm? If the student council catches you, you’re dead!”
The palm-sized cards flew between Gu Tang’s pale fingers, dazzling the eye.
“No problem. My grandma specially made these. They’re allowed.”
Gu Tang shuffled calmly, and still had time to chat with his roommates.
Madam Su had taught him this shuffling technique personally. He had practiced it for over ten years, and by now it was second nature.
Back then, while young master Gu trained every day, studied, and took elite courses, Gu Tang sat beside him painting, playing piano, and fooling around with cards, becoming thoroughly skilled in all the spoiled-young-master hobbies.
Zhu Xu’s eyes widened, but he still could not tell how Gu Tang’s fingers were moving. “No, seriously, are you doing magic?!”
It was practically blooming into flowers!
If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought it was a visual effect!
Xie Qian swallowed too. “Gu Tang, your hands need insurance more than mine…”
“My grandma taught me when I was little. I just practiced a lot.”
There was a bit of pride in Gu Tang’s tone. “Grandma is way better at this than I am. She used to be a professional!”
Thinking of that elegant, noble lady from the Gu family, Xie Qian could not imagine her having such skills at all. He immediately felt deep respect. “That’s incredible!”
Zhu Xu had originally meant to give a thumbs-up, but after reconsidering, he simply knelt on the bed. “I offer my knees to Gu Tang and our grandma.”
The moment he heard the word our, young master Gu’s brow twitched.
At the same time, the system discovered that the sea of plot had darkened a little more.
[…]
It was numb from shock…
The whole sea was practically turning into ink!
Its senior had told it that if the male lead truly blackened, things would become extremely dangerous, and the plot could collapse at any moment.
When that happened, it would grab its host and run first!
Without such an adorable and absurdly efficient host—
the system felt it did not really need this job all that much anyway.
Xie Qian and Zhu Xu stared with all four eyes, unblinking, admiring Gu Tang’s brilliant shuffling technique.
They even ignored the fact that he was still sitting in young master Gu’s arms.
Gu Tang had not moved from that spot since just now.
He had only gone from lying down to sitting up.
At that age of growth, the boy ate plenty but never gained weight. His thin white T-shirt outlined the beautiful shape of his spine, and as he shuffled, his slim shoulder blades moved slightly, like two little wings.
Like they might flutter and fly away at any moment.
Gu Qinian reached toward those two “little wings,” wanting to touch his feathers.
Feeling young master Gu touching his back, Gu Tang got ticklish and instinctively twisted a little.
Gu Qinian’s fingers paused.
Trying to run?
Gu Tang wanted to escape from the range of his reach?
The moment that thought appeared, an inexplicable wave of irritation surged up in Gu Qinian’s chest.
In truth, that restless emotion had been there for a long time already. Even he could not say clearly when it had begun.
Maybe when Gu Tang had not been seated beside him in elementary school. Or when they were not put in the same class in middle school. Or perhaps when he imagined that Gu Tang might one day want to look for his biological family…
Every possibility of being separated from Gu Tang made him feel restless and uneasy.
Gu Qinian stared at the boy’s slender back, his eyes dark.
[Oh no, oh no, it’s getting darker, darker, the sea of plot is turning darker and darker…]
System: beginning to draft resignation letter.
“All shuffled!”
Gu Tang excitedly stacked the cards together.
Gu Qinian sat up and wrapped his arms around Gu Tang’s waist from behind, resting his chin in the small hollow of his neck.
Young master Gu’s hair brushed against his neck and made him itch. Gu Tang tilted his head and rubbed against it, and their heads ended up brushing together.
Like two birds crossing their necks together.
Zhu Xu, across from them, stared blankly for a moment.
“Gu Qinian, why are you hugging Gu Tang? That’s kind of weird…”
Xie Qian voiced exactly what Zhu Xu was thinking, and Zhu Xu nodded repeatedly.
Then the piano prince added, “Are you trying to peek at his cards?”
Zhu Xu: “…?”
Gu Qinian did not let go of Gu Tang. In fact, he shamelessly rubbed against him a couple more times. “With his shuffling skills, even if he laid the cards open for you, you still wouldn’t be able to read them.”
That was, in fact, a very logical argument.
Xie Qian had no rebuttal.
Distracted by that explanation, Zhu Xu no longer felt that the two of them hugging looked strange at all.
He was just looking at the cards.
Being praised in a roundabout way by young master Gu, Gu Tang proudly lifted his chin at him. “Praise me for being amazing!”
“Mm, you’re amazing.”
The corners of Gu Qinian’s lips lifted slightly.
Somehow, after rubbing against Gu Tang like that, his mood had improved.
[? Why has the sea of plot turned colorful again?!]
[The male lead isn’t blackening anymore?!!]
The system had only just returned and discovered that not only had the darkness faded from the sea of plot, it had turned brilliantly multicolored.
The system, which had only just finished its resignation letter: “…”
Smack—
Gu Tang slapped the shuffled deck onto the bed. “Come on! Start drawing!”
“A dorm inspection right after school starts? Isn’t that a little early?”
The arts teacher found it very strange.
In past years, it had always been about a month after school started before the dean arranged dorm inspections. But this semester, the student council was unusually enthusiastic. The vice president had taken the initiative to suggest checking the dorms right away.
Cheng Shu smiled gently. “Time is precious. The earlier students develop good habits, the more it helps their studies.”
“That makes a lot of sense!”
The dean said appreciatively, “There are quite a few excellent new students this semester. I believe they won’t disappoint us.”
A surprise inspection, put plainly, was aimed at freshmen.
The arts teacher was worried.
The experimental class teacher voiced exactly what he was thinking. “Your arts students are used to having more freedom. Every year, their dorms are the hardest-hit areas during inspections.”
And that was still after they had cleaned up!
The arts teacher had no words for his suffering.
He had no time to notify the boarding students in his class to tidy up, so he could only grit his teeth and follow the inspection team.
Nervous the whole way, fully prepared for point deductions at any moment.
Walking at the front with his hands behind his back, the dean said, “This should be the first inspection since different classes started mixing in dorms, right?”
“Yes.” Cheng Shu followed at the dean’s right side. The lenses of his gold-rimmed glasses flashed, and a faint smile curved his lips. “Any point deductions should be carefully assigned to the right individual.”
The inspection group, wearing red armbands, moved floor by floor from the lower levels upward.
When they reached a certain middle school dorm room, the dean stopped in his tracks.
“Three with one!”
“Four kings!”
“Bomb!!!”
Several voices drifted out from inside the room.
The dean’s kindly smile froze on his face. “Which class is this?”
The moment he saw the dorm number, the arts teacher’s vision went black—
this was his class’s dorm room!
“Let’s see whose names are on the plaque… Oh? Gu Qinian?!”
Pushing up his glasses with one finger, Cheng Shu said in mock surprise, “Is that the same student from our student council? Oh dear, a student council member really shouldn’t be involved in this kind of violation…”
“Come to think of it, wasn’t it also his idea to merge the dorms? Could this be using public power for private purposes? Misusing authority? Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
Shaking his head as if regretful, Cheng Shu sighed. “What a pity. Looks like the student council isn’t suitable for him after all.”
After hearing those few sentences, the arts teacher watched the experimental class teacher’s face go white, then red—
and finally black.
This student was the pride of the experimental class.
Every line Cheng Shu said was like stabbing the teacher straight in the heart.
At last, the experimental class teacher snapped. “What are you all doing?!” He shoved the door open—
Inside the room, all four students turned toward the entrance at the same time.
Each of them was holding cards, and one of them even had paper strips stuck all over his face.
Pulling one strip off, Zhu Xu looked innocent and nervous. “Hello, Teacher. Wh-what’s wrong?”
Leaning against the doorway, Cheng Shu glanced at the cards still in their hands and sighed. “Caught red-handed.”
Although the arts teacher was strict in daily life, he was actually very protective of his students. He rushed into the room first and grabbed the one who looked the most well-behaved—Gu Tang. “Gu Tang, what are you all doing? Hurry and explain…”
“What is there to explain? Anyone with eyes can see it!”
The experimental class teacher was so angry his mustache nearly flew off. He glared hatefully at the pride of his class. “Gu Qinian! You, you—you—”
He was too angry to continue.
At such a young age, gathering to gamble with cards!
This was not something a simple written self-criticism could fix!
A few student council members also stepped in, preparing to confiscate the “evidence.”
“Wait.”
The dean raised a hand, and everyone stopped.
He slowly walked into the room, looked at the cards in their hands, then at the ones scattered on the floor. He picked one up.
“…A two-variable linear equation? A math question?”
Then he picked up another.
“Chinese classical poetry recitation?”
Realization dawned on him. He snatched the card from Zhu Xu’s hand and flipped through it. “English reading comprehension… Why is there even a physics question in here? You’re only in first-year middle school. This is beyond the syllabus…”
No wonder Zhu Xu had lost enough to end up with his whole face covered in paper strips.
This kid had incredibly bad luck…
The dean looked at Zhu Xu with pity.
Zhu Xu: “?”
The dean’s warm, spring-like smile returned. Shaking the cards in his hand, he asked, “Who made these?”
Gu Tang honestly raised his hand. “My grandma. The placement test is coming soon, so she made these review cards in card form for us to draw and practice.”
Cheng Shu looked completely unconvinced and snatched the cards out of Gu Tang’s hand. “Why do these review cards look so much like playing cards?!”
Gu Tang tilted his head innocently. “Because… they look nice?”
He had asked the same question himself, and Grandma Mei had given exactly that answer.
Cheng Shu narrowed his eyes. “Then tell me—what does ‘three with one’ mean?”
Gu Tang answered, “If you draw questions from three main subjects in a row, you get to choose one person to do an extra-syllabus physics question.”
“And ‘four kings’?”
“If you draw four questions from the same subject in a row, you can skip one draw.”
“…”
Cheng Shu shut his eyes and almost choked on frustration.
Damn it, it was actually kind of well-designed!
He angrily ripped the paper strips off Zhu Xu’s face and demanded through clenched teeth, “Then what are these? Isn’t this gambling?!”
Zhu Xu clutched his face in pain. “Ow————”
Gu Tang pinched the hem of his shirt with both hands and answered honestly, “One strip for every wrong answer. So we remember better…”
The injured-handed piano prince even chimed in from the side.
In a delicate voice, Xie Qian added, “Thanks for helping tear them off, Senior. None of us had the heart to do it ourselves.”
Cheng Shu had nowhere to vent his anger. He crushed the paper strips into a ball in his hand and glared furiously at Zhu Xu.
Zhu Xu hugged himself like a bullied little wife and stared back with tearful eyes. “Wuu—”
Cheng Shu felt a little sick and looked away.
“Does Vice President Cheng really want so badly to catch students making mistakes?”
A cool, calm voice rang out, and every eye turned toward its owner.
Gu Qinian’s tone was steady, as though he had no emotion and was targeting no one in particular. Quietly, he said, “Isn’t dorm inspection meant to prevent students from making mistakes in the first place?”
Gu Tang instantly understood what young master Gu meant. Tilting his head, he looked at Cheng Shu with an innocent face. “That’s right. Why is that?”
Cheng Shu choked. “…”
Gu Tang’s big round eyes widened even further, his expression dazed like a lost little deer. “Could it be that Vice President Cheng only wants to catch people? So when you saw that no one had broken any rules, you were actually unhappy. Is that it?”
Cheng Shu was so choked up he could not answer. After a long pause, he finally forced out a stiff smile. “Of course not. You really like joking, student.”
“This student is absolutely right!”
The experimental class teacher smacked one fist into his palm. “Dorm inspection is meant to prevent mistakes, not to nitpick and catch students out.”
The arts teacher agreed fiercely. “Exactly, exactly!”
The corners of Cheng Shu’s fake smile twitched a few times, and he stepped back.
The dean came over and patted Gu Qinian on the shoulder. “Very good. Excellent awareness. The student council needs students like you. Keep up the good work. I think highly of you.”
Young master Gu nodded without arrogance or servility. “All right.”
The more the dean looked at him, the more satisfied he became. Then he turned to Gu Tang. This child looked obedient and quick-witted, and most importantly, lovable.
“Student Gu Tang, would you like to join the student council?” the dean asked gently.
Everyone present looked at each other.
Who had ever seen the dean behave this gently before?
Gu Tang froze. He had not expected there to be business for him too.
[Host, hurry and agree! You can complete the achievement “Share the Spotlight with the Male Lead,” and it rewards three plot coins!]
Gu Tang: “…I don’t really want to work.”
The student council was exhausting!
Young master Gu was already busy enough running around all the time.
[Host, do you know why we get along so well?]
Gu Tang: “?”
[Because same world, same dream.]
System: Who actually wants to work?!!
Gu Tang: “…”
Seeing that Gu Tang seemed hesitant, the dean dangled another piece of bait. “The publicity department isn’t very busy, and the work is interesting too. I think it suits you very well. Interested? You can also work together with Gu Qinian.”
Well then.
No wonder this man had become dean.
He had hit exactly where it mattered.
Since they had not been assigned to the same class, Gu Tang had been worrying about how to find more chances to stay close to young master Gu. And now this had practically delivered itself to his door!
Gu Tang glanced at young master Gu and found that while his face showed little expression, Gu Tang could tell that he was also hoping he would join.
So Gu Tang nodded and, copying Gu Qinian’s tone, declared loudly—
“To serve the students!”
The dean was extremely pleased and said “good” several times in a row.
Clearly, he was very satisfied with this new member of the student council.
As vice president, Cheng Shu was not even asked for input about the addition of new student council blood.
Standing in the corner, Cheng Shu ground his teeth. Then he heard the dean say, “I think student Gu Qinian can be exceptionally promoted to officer rank. Cheng Shu, make a note of that.”
“…”
Cheng Shu nearly bit through his own teeth. “Teacher, isn’t that inappropriate? Shouldn’t there be a public student election first?”
The dean looked at him in surprise. “I’m allowed to make nomination recommendations. Did you forget the process?”
Cheng Shu laughed dryly. “No, it’s just that Gu Qinian’s promotion is a bit fast…”
“We should let outstanding students shine and contribute in the right position as soon as possible.”
As he said that, the dean made a little fist at young master Gu. “To serve the students! Right?”
Gu Qinian: “…Right.”
After school officially began, the weather gradually turned cooler.
That morning, Gu Tang struggled out of bed.
With his eyes still closed, he went to wash up. With his eyes still closed, he got dressed and grabbed his backpack. Then he opened his eyes just enough to find young master Gu, pinched the hem of his shirt, shut his eyes again, and followed him outside like a little blind person.
“We’re going downstairs. Open your eyes.”
Young master Gu’s cool, clear voice came right beside his ear.
Only then did Gu Tang reluctantly open them. “Oh.”
This was not home, after all. He could not joke around and ask young master Gu to carry him.
Gu Qinian actually felt a little regretful. With his current build, carrying Gu Tang would be effortless. But since Gu Tang did not ask, he could only keep quiet and walk beside him.
Something was strange.
As Gu Tang walked, he gradually felt that today was very strange.
The moment they stepped out of the dorm building, many gazes turned toward him and Gu Qinian. And when he looked up to see who was staring, not only did those people not hide it, a few students even secretly pulled out their phones and took pictures of them.
…What was going on?
Completely confused, Gu Tang walked into class and sat down in his seat.
A girl in the front row turned around, looked at him, then out the window at young master Gu, who had escorted him to the arts class before heading next door to the experimental class, and let out a repressed scream.
Gu Tang: “???”
Even though he had no idea what was happening—
he was now certain that this girl’s specialty had to be vocal performance.
And specifically high soprano.
Grabbing hold of gossip king Zhu Xu, Gu Tang asked gravely, “What exactly is going on?”
With a bun in his mouth, Zhu Xu handed the other bun to Gu Tang, sat beside him, and said lazily while chewing, “Check the trending topics.”
Jiang City No. 1 High School did not ban phones, so Gu Tang pulled his out of his pocket and opened the trending list.
Most of it was news or celebrity gossip, but one item stuck out from the rest—
#Super Handsome Junior Boys Sugar#
Gu Tang: “?”
He tapped in. It turned out that the video of him and young master Gu performing their four-hand piano duet at the opening ceremony had leaked out.
The video had been shot very comprehensively. It included not only the school anthem portion, but also a clip of him and young master Gu playing that other piece together.
Then he opened the comment section, and Gu Tang nearly drowned in the tidal wave of comments.
“Let me see just how handsome they are… oh my god, I’m sold!”
“I need both of their contact information within one minute! Not one can be missing!”
“Do middle school boys develop this well now?! If I flirt with them and ask for their numbers, will they pull out one of those kid smartwatches?”
“The boy in white is so cute! Asking online: what color sack does he like?”
“He’s looking at him, and he’s looking back at him, wuwuwu this has to be a little couple! I can’t take it, I’m shipping the junior boys!”
“Nonsense!”
Reading that last line, Gu Tang frowned. “They’re obviously brothers.”
He was just about to close the phone when a new message popped up.
It was from Gu Lin.
The content was simple: two red packets. One was huge, and the other was slightly smaller, though still a lot.
Gu Tang: [Uncle, what’s this for?]
Gu Lin replied quickly: [Profit share!]
Since Sugar’s song had made the trending list, Xinglin Media had earned another nice sum, so naturally the creator got a share.
Gu Tang accepted the big packet with perfect peace of mind, then asked: [Why is there another one underneath it?]
Gu Lin: [Pocket money from Uncle. Go buy some cheese sticks!]
Gu Tang: “…”
How old did Gu Lin think he was?
His uncle still loved buying him cheese sticks…
Though, to be fair, he did really like them.
Still, he could not spend that much money on snacks, so he might as well save it!
Happily, Gu Tang began calculating his personal fortune: all the red packets he had received over the years, plus the plot coins he had been saving for a long time.
The little wallet beside his life-value bar was already stuffed full.
His rough estimate—he would soon have enough to buy a small house!
Gu Tang planned to buy himself a little house once he became an adult, just to keep there. Then, whenever the mission was finally over, he would move into it.
[Host, are you not going to see the male lead anymore?]
Gu Tang fell silent for a moment.
He had thought about that question too. But according to the plot, the cannon-fodder fake young master was doomed to be crushed by the male lead. Once all the missions were completed, there was no telling what kind of relationship he and young master Gu would end up having.
Whether they would even be able to meet at all was uncertain.
Gu Tang curved his lips faintly. “We’ll talk about that when the time comes.”
The rule he had lived by in his previous life had not changed in this one—
as long as he had one day, he would live that day well!
The course load in middle school was far heavier than in elementary school.
Near the end of the day, the teacher also announced that a placement test was coming soon.
The whole classroom burst into groans.
After finishing the move from elementary to middle school, most students had enjoyed a carefree summer vacation, and then school had started with military training. This test was meant to help everyone refocus and also let the teachers understand each student’s true level.
Once the tide receded, you could see who had been swimming naked.
Zhu Xu was so nervous he started chewing his nails.
Song Chen leaned back in his chair calmly.
Gu Tang was also very calm. For him, middle school coursework was not difficult at all.
Xie Qian raised his injured middle finger. “I’m hurt and can’t write, so I guess I can’t take the exam. What a pity.”
Gu Tang glanced at him. “The injured hand is your right hand.”
Xie Qian: “Yeah.”
Gu Tang: “But you’re left-handed.”
Xie Qian: “…”
“No, seriously? Even that got found out?!”
Gu Tang pointed at his own round eyes. “I have good eyesight.”
Next to him, Song Chen grabbed the piano prince by the neck. “So you tricked me into feeding you for three days?”
Now that he no longer cared about maintaining appearances, Xie Qian pitifully said, “No one had ever fed me before…”
“Brother Song…”
“Brother…”
Song Chen: “…”
Everyone nearby immediately made retching noises.
Xie Qian felt innocent. Clearly Gu Tang loved making Gu Qinian call him brother, so why was it unbearable when he called Song Chen that?
The arts class was full of peace and harmony.
Suddenly, a figure shot past outside the window.
“What was that?!”
Zhu Xu sat by the window and jumped in fright.
The others had not seen clearly.
Only Gu Tang, with his excellent eyesight, recognized it as Little Glasses—
Duan Zhengyu was clutching his schoolbag and sprinting wildly toward the piano room building, as though a ghost were chasing him.
That little white building was Duan Zhengyu’s secret study base.
Xie Qian looked puzzled. “So he’s going to study. What’s he in such a hurry for?”
“Of course he’s in a hurry.”
Zhu Xu leaned back against the window. “Duan Zhengyu’s parents are university teachers. They have really high expectations for him. He’s probably stressed about the mock exam. If he doesn’t do well, he’s dead. I’m nervous too…”
Silently, Gu Tang gave Zhu Xu a thumbs-up in his heart. He really was doing his best to live up to the title of gossip king.
Gu Tang had been Duan Zhengyu’s elementary school classmate and still had not known anything about his family background.
Little Glasses hardly ever mentioned his parents.
Gu Tang faintly felt that something was strange, but before he could think about it more, Zhu Xu called to him.
“Let’s go to the cafeteria together, then go back to the dorm and play your card game? We can review while we’re at it!”
Gu Tang waved him off. “My family sent food today. I’m going to pick it up with Niannian later.”
The moment they heard the Gu family had sent food—
Zhu Xu and Xie Qian, the two gluttons: eager puppy eyes.jpg
“Relax, there’s enough for everyone.”
As soon as Gu Tang said that, several enthusiastic classmates immediately offered to help him carry the food.
Mainly so they could mooch.
Food from the Gu household was freaking delicious.
The moment Gu Qinian reached the arts class doorway, he saw several tall boys crowding around Gu Tang, saying they were worried he would not be able to carry everything and wanted to go help.
Young master Gu’s face darkened instantly.
[Host! It’s black again, black again!]
Huh?
Gu Tang had no idea what the system meant by black again. He was too busy waving both hands at the overly helpful classmates. “No need, no need. Niannian and I are enough. The two of us can carry it.”
Hearing that, young master Gu’s expression softened again.
[How strange, it’s not black anymore…]
The system was baffled.
Was the male lead some kind of chameleon?
***
Author’s Note:
System: A man’s heart is deeper than the sea!
