Chapter 41: A Jump Into the Frozen River
By the time this batch of secondhand cameras had all been repaired and refurbished, the final exams were already over.
The dean came running over excitedly to tell Gu Tang the news.
“The principal greatly appreciates the student council publicity department’s spirit of thrift and efficiency. He’s planning to hold a commendation ceremony for you all at the start of next semester!”
“All right, thank you, Teacher…”
Gu Tang glanced at the deluxe office young master Gu had fixed up for him and felt inexplicably guilty.
Of course, that was the student council president spending his own money. Not only did the school not stop him, they even praised the president’s noble spirit and grand contribution to campus construction.
Young master Gu still had only one line:
“To serve the students.”
As one of the students being served, classmate Gu Tang had nothing to say. He could only tearfully enjoy it.
After the praise was over, the dean handed Gu Tang a new task.
“Filming for the school magazine?!”
Back in the dorm, Zhu Xu held Gu Tang’s shooting schedule for the next three days and flipped through it curiously.
The new principal was the type who loved making things happen. He had already organized the sports meet and approved funding for the publicity department to add equipment. Now, for the next school year’s admissions campaign, he planned to select three boys and three girls from the sports meet video materials to shoot a campus magazine feature for external promotion.
Although Gu Tang had not placed first in the 3000-meter race, he was strikingly good-looking, sunny, and adorable, and especially photogenic on camera, so he had been chosen at a glance.
Zhu Xu clicked his tongue. “Our new principal really has good taste.”
At the side, the piano prince nodded in deep agreement. “Indeed. He picked me too.”
Zhu Xu immediately changed his tune. “Even good taste has its failures sometimes.”
Xie Qian: “…”
“What do you mean by that?!”
Zhu Xu did not mean anything specific. He was just consumed with envy and jealousy toward Xie Qian and Gu Tang getting to go play at a ski resort for three days and two nights.
“It’s not for fun.”
Gu Tang took the schedule back, folded it, and tucked it into his suitcase. “The shooting schedule is packed. We only have a short period of free time on the afternoon of the last day.”
Sadly, his roommates could not hear that part at all.
Zhu Xu collapsed onto his bed miserably. “Wuwuwu, I want to go too! I want to go watch snow, stars, and the moon with Tang Tang too!”
Xie Qian, meanwhile, was so happy he looked like he was celebrating New Year. “Wuhu! I’m going to kick all of you aside and have a romantic world for two with Gu Tang! Watch snow, stars, and the moon!”
Gu Tang: “…”
Was he just too straight-minded?
Why did two boys need to watch snow, stars, and the moon together?!
From beginning to end, Gu Qinian did not join the conversation at all.
Once deep winter arrived, young master Gu became like a hibernating little animal, so quiet that he practically had no presence at all.
After zipping up his suitcase, Gu Tang climbed onto the bed and poked young master Gu, who was curled under the blanket like an old monk in meditation, afraid of the cold.
“Niannian, I’m leaving early tomorrow morning.”
“Mm.”
With his eyes still closed, Gu Qinian answered faintly.
Gripping the bed rail, Gu Tang leaned a little closer. “I won’t make it back in time for our birthday.”
The original plan had been for them to go home together right after final exams and celebrate their birthday the way they did every year. Grandma Mei and Papa Gu had even already prepared the birthday cake. But then he had suddenly received the filming assignment notice.
By the time he came back, the birthday would already have passed.
“Will you miss me?”
With his little mouth downturned, Gu Tang asked pitifully.
Gu Qinian still did not open his eyes. As Gu Tang spoke, his breath brushed against his face, making his lashes tremble slightly.
“No.”
Young master Gu parted his lips.
How could you use a thirty-seven-degree mouth to say something so cold and heartless?
Gu Tang furrowed his brows and became instantly unhappy. “Hmph!”
“If you won’t miss me, then forget it!”
“Sleep!”
He yanked the blanket over himself and lay down with his head aligned with young master Gu’s.
Tonight he did not even feel like climbing into his bed!
Gu Qinian lay there without moving and silently counted in his heart: one, two, three…
“Niannian…”
Gu Tang’s voice sounded again.
The corners of Gu Qinian’s lips lifted slightly.
Like a little worm, Gu Tang poked his head out from the blanket, clutched the bed rail, and gave it a light shake. “You really won’t miss me?”
Gu Qinian said nothing and quietly listened as Gu Tang went on and on above his head.
“It’s the first time we’ll spend our birthday apart…”
Pitifully rubbing his fingers together, Gu Tang muttered softly, “I’ll miss Niannian.”
Gu Qinian lifted his eyelids and saw the boy gripping the bed rail with both hands, his pale little chin resting on it too, his round eyes full of reluctance and unwillingness to part.
Young master Gu’s heart softened. Just as he was about to say something comforting, the boy added—
“Remember to save me a slice of strawberry cake!”
Gu Qinian: “…”
Did he miss him, or did he miss the cake?!
Early the next morning, it snowed heavily.
Standing beside the car, Gu Tang stretched out his hand and caught a snowflake drifting down from the sky.
The little six-pointed crystal was beautiful. The moment it landed in his palm, it melted into a round little drop of water that gave off a thread of coldness.
Whether this cold was exactly what young master Gu hated most.
He probably was not coming out to see him off.
Gu Tang brushed away the little water droplet, wiped his palm against the hem of his clothes, then turned to Xie Qian and said, “Let’s go.”
The vehicle picking them up was a six-seater nanny van, and an equipment vehicle would follow behind it. The two cars would set off one after the other.
The moment Gu Tang got in, he saw the classmates participating in this shoot.
The girl sitting in the very front was named Ye Xiao. She was a second-year senior and also Jiang City No. 1 High School’s recognized school beauty, with goddess-level looks and a cool, aloof beauty. At first glance, Gu Tang felt that her aura was somewhat similar to young master Gu’s.
And he could not help thinking again—if young master Gu, with his red lips and white teeth, grew his hair out, he might look even more like a school beauty than Senior Ye Xiao…
“Classmate Gu Tang.”
Ye Xiao suddenly called out to him.
Gu Tang had been lost in his own nonsense and did not react right away. He blanked out for a second. “Huh?”
Ye Xiao picked up her bag and hugged it in her lap, clearing the seat beside her. “Do you want to sit here?”
Normally, Gu Tang had no interactions with this senior at all. This was the first time they had ever spoken. He did not understand why she was warmly inviting him to sit beside her, so he honestly shook his head. “Thank you, Senior, but I already agreed to sit with my roommate.”
Ye Xiao nodded when she heard that and said nothing more, only turning her gaze back toward the window.
Gu Tang felt that something was a little strange, but he could not tell what.
From behind him, Xie Qian was already urging him to hurry up and choose a seat, so Gu Tang simply sat directly behind Ye Xiao, while Xie Qian sat beside him.
Soon after, the other two girls got on.
One was named Qiao Lili, and the other was Xu Wei.
Gu Tang noticed that Ye Xiao glanced at them, but the two girls were both first-years and were not close to her. They went right past her, greeted Gu Tang, and sat down in the back row.
Strangely enough, from that point on, Ye Xiao began acting nervous.
One moment she put her bag on the seat beside her, then the next she picked it up again and hugged it. She looked like she was torn over something.
Gu Tang had been about to ask if she got carsick or if she was feeling unwell somewhere.
Just then, the last student participating in the shoot got on the van.
Because he was so physically large, the inside of the van instantly felt cramped.
He was a track team boy named Qiu Kaiyi, a third-year student.
The new principal’s idea was easy enough to understand. Since they were shooting a campus magazine, every year group should naturally be represented. First-years had relatively flexible schedules, so four of them were chosen. One good-looking student from the second-years was selected as a representative, and the third-years got an athletic specialist.
But Gu Tang had heard from Zhu Xu that Qiu Kaiyi’s reputation was terrible.
Even though he had won many track medals for the school, he was still only a high school student, yet had already gone through several girlfriends.
He had even once bragged that he would definitely get the school beauty into his hands.
These kinds of student matters might not be known by teachers, especially since the new principal did not yet understand the students very well. He had only seen Qiu Kaiyi’s pile of medals and the fact that the boy looked decent enough, and, considering that senior-year sports students were not under especially heavy academic pressure, he had assigned him to join the shoot.
He had no idea that Qiu Kaiyi’s character was bad.
Sure enough.
The moment Qiu Kaiyi got in and saw the empty seat beside Ye Xiao, a gleam of excitement flashed through his eyes.
Gu Tang had no liking for scumbags. The second he saw that oily, eager look on Qiu Kaiyi’s face, he felt disgusted, and instantly understood why Ye Xiao had been so tense.
Clearly, she was afraid of being targeted by Qiu Kaiyi.
So Gu Tang stood up and, before Qiu Kaiyi could get there, sat down beside Ye Xiao first.
The previously tense Ye Xiao froze.
Gu Tang smiled at her. “Senior, I get carsick easily in the back. Can I sit here beside you?”
Ye Xiao could not have been more willing and nodded quickly. “Of course, of course. I have motion sickness medicine. Do you want some?”
Gu Tang smiled faintly. “Not for now, thank you, Senior.”
Ye Xiao was a smart person. Hearing him say that, she instantly understood that Gu Tang had deliberately come to help her, and gratitude showed in her eyes.
Gu Tang blinked at her, signaling for her to relax, then leaned back and buckled his seat belt.
Qiu Kaiyi had been one step too slow. Seeing the seat beside Ye Xiao taken by some little first-year brat, he was so annoyed his brows practically stood up.
But he had no excuse to make Gu Tang move, so he could only sit down in a huff beside Xie Qian.
In the front row, Ye Xiao pulled out some snacks from her bag and handed them to Gu Tang. “Do you want some? Eating something can make the ride more comfortable.”
Gu Tang’s eyes lit up immediately. He reached out with both hands and accepted them politely. “Thank you, Senior.”
He and young master Gu had quarreled a little last night, and he had rushed out in the morning.
He had been worrying because he forgot to bring snacks!
The boy was so pure and adorable that at the sight of food, his eyes curved into crescents and his pupils sparkled with a clear, innocent shine. He was actually pretty tall already, yet he still somehow looked like a child.
Ye Xiao’s maternal instincts were activated at once, and she regretted only bringing one small pack because she was dieting.
Otherwise she could have fed Gu Tang several more.
Crunching away like a little hamster, Gu Tang had no idea that he had somehow gained a new “mom fan.”
While he enjoyed the school beauty senior’s care in the front, Qiu Kaiyi in the back was glaring so hard in jealousy that his eyes were red.
He stared at the back of Gu Tang’s head, grinding his molars so hard they clicked.
Xie Qian more or less understood why Gu Tang had suddenly changed seats.
After nearly four years in the same dorm, even if the two of them were not nearly as clingy as Gu Qinian and Gu Tang, he still had at least that bit of tacit understanding.
Seeing that Qiu Kaiyi’s eyes looked ready to pop out of his skull, Xie Qian deliberately said in a lazy tone, “I know I’m popular, but staring at me is useless. I have principles. I only sign autographs for fans when I’m traveling for competitions or performances.”
In front of outsiders, the piano prince had returned to his fake, pretentious self.
Qiu Kaiyi had already been burning with anger after losing the seat next to the goddess because of Gu Tang, so he snapped viciously, “Who the hell is looking at you?!”
Xie Qian lifted a brow. “Then why are your eyes so wide? Who exactly are you looking at?”
As if he had no clue, he followed Qiu Kaiyi’s line of sight to the front.
Then Xie Qian made a show of sudden realization. “…You’re looking at Gu Tang?”
Qiu Kaiyi: “?”
Xie Qian smacked his lips. “Tang Tang is handsome, sure, but he’s a boy! Who would’ve thought, Senior, that despite your thick eyebrows and big eyes, you were actually that kind of person. Tsk tsk tsk…”
After saying that, he even scooted away slightly in fear.
As if to say: Yes, I’m also very handsome, but please don’t make a move on me.
“…”
Qiu Kaiyi nearly exploded with rage.
If you wanted to fight magic with magic, then Xie Qian was the expert.
Gu Tang secretly gave Xie Qian a thumbs-up, and, borrowing flowers to offer Buddha, he even shared two little pieces of the snack from Senior with him.
No more than that!
The bag had been tiny to begin with.
Xie Qian looked down at the two crumbs of snack Gu Tang had squeezed out for him and frowned. “Why does this feel so much like dog food?”
Then again, he had already been fed plenty of dog food by Gu Tang and Gu Qinian over the years.
“Forget it, one bite is still a bite.”
The piano prince made peace with life and swallowed both pieces, smacking his lips thoughtfully.
The nanny van sped down the road.
Inside the van, aside from the hardworking driver, everyone else was drowsy.
Gu Tang pulled out his phone and texted young master Gu.
We’ve set off.
The other side replied very quickly.
But there was only one word.
Mm.
Gu Tang: “…”
All day long he only knew how to say mm. Could he say literally anything else?
Staring at young master Gu’s profile picture, Gu Tang wrinkled his nose.
Gu Qinian’s avatar was a white jade little gourd.
That’s right—the exact same one hanging from his own wrist.
Back then, young master Gu hadn’t had a profile picture at all. It had just been the default gray silhouette. Gu Tang had thought it looked far too much like a useless alternate account, the kind that was barely used and practically abandoned, so he had insisted that he change it to something proper.
But Gu Qinian had not cared and had only said, “It’s not like you can’t recognize me.”
“But I can’t recognize you!”
Gu Tang had almost accidentally deleted him at one point and suggested, “If you’re too lazy to pick one, I can just take a random photo of you and use that as your avatar?”
He had only said it casually, but unexpectedly, young master Gu had actually tossed his phone to him.
Since he had taken the phone, Gu Tang had wanted to shoot some artistically stunning beauty shot of young master Gu, but unfortunately the other party refused.
“It has to be something recognizable at a glance, something that clearly looks like you!”
After thinking about it for ages, Gu Tang suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He grabbed young master Gu’s wrist and click snapped a picture of the green jade little gourd.
A green little gourd for young master Gu—perfectly logical.
Very pleased with himself, Gu Tang set it as the avatar.
But when he woke up the next day, he found that young master Gu’s avatar had become his white jade little gourd instead.
“You secretly photographed me while I was sleeping?”
He had gone off to interrogate little Gu Qinian about it.
The tsundere young master had not answered directly, but instead sent him the photo of the green jade little gourd and, in a low voice that somehow carried a trace of expectation, said, “Use it.”
Gu Tang did not even know what had been going through his mind at the time.
But he had obediently switched his own avatar to the green gourd.
One white little gourd and one green little gourd.
At first glance, they had looked a little like matching couple avatars.
Gu Tang had cheerfully assumed this was a sign of how close he and young master Gu were as brothers—right up until the day Zhu Xu loudly informed him, “Using a green avatar is basically the same thing as wearing a green hat on your head, isn’t it?”
Only then had Gu Tang angrily changed it.
Young master Gu was too evil—he had actually wanted to make him wear the green hat of a cuckold!
Even now, just remembering it still made him a little mad.
Adding old grudges to new ones, Gu Tang viciously poked at young master Gu’s white jade gourd avatar, which triggered the notification—
Gu Tang patted ‘Niannian’s’ big head.
On the other side—seeing that sentence, Gu Qinian gave a faint smile.
Then he slipped his phone into his pocket.
The dean patted him on the shoulder. “It’s all thanks to how thoughtful you are, noticing that my old cold-damp knees can’t handle this weather and even volunteering to travel in my place…”
“You’re too kind, Teacher. This is all just what students ought to do.”
Young master Gu smiled with perfect righteousness.
The dean had not the slightest suspicion toward this good student. “Then I won’t be going. You keep an eye on the school magazine shoot for me.”
Gu Qinian nodded. “Yes. Don’t worry.”
With that, he took a long stride and climbed into the equipment vehicle.
Leaning back into the seat, young master Gu said to the driver, “Keep up with the car in front.”
Outside the school, Gu Qinian represented the dean.
The driver was very obedient. He stepped on the gas, and the equipment van shot forward.
Leaving the dean choking in a cloud of exhaust.
The dean wiped at his eyes from the smoke, gazed at the retreating rear of the car, and sighed emotionally, “What a good child!”
Inside the car, it was as warm as spring thanks to the heater.
Outside, however, the temperature kept dropping.
Gu Tang saw a thin layer of frost forming on the car windows. The snow was falling heavily, and there was already a thick layer of accumulation on the ground.
Visibility was getting worse and worse too.
The driver probably wanted to get them to their destination before the weather turned even nastier, so within the limits of safety, he was driving as fast as possible. Before long, they had already reached the outskirts of the city.
This road ran alongside a river, with a guardrail on one side.
Even though everything outside was white and hard to see, Gu Tang could imagine it well enough.
At this time of year, the river had to be frozen over, and probably with that sort of thin, unstable ice.
That immediately made him think of the car accident described in the original novel—
“Suddenly, a dump truck came straight toward them. The snowy road was too slippery. Even though the brakes dragged a long streak of tire marks across the snow, disaster still could not be stopped. The vehicle carrying Gu Qinian overturned and rolled into the frozen river…”
Gu Tang shivered all at once.
In weather like this, falling into an icy river—forget certain death, it would still be nine chances out of ten against survival.
And someone like young master Gu, who hated the cold so much, how could he possibly endure that?
Although there was no river on the road from school back to the Gu residence, Gu Tang still could not settle down. A faint, ominous sense of foreboding kept rising in him.
He grabbed his phone and started typing a message to Gu Qinian—
Wait until the weather clears before going home…
But halfway through writing it, he thought of how young master Gu never replied properly anyway, and who knew whether he would even read the message seriously.
So Gu Tang simply deleted it and called him directly instead.
Xie Qian woke up from his nap just in time to see Gu Tang leaning over his seat, looking like a thief as he made a secretive phone call.
There was no need to ask who he was calling.
“You two really can’t handle being apart even for a little while, can you?”
Xie Qian could not help asking.
Gu Tang reached over, pulled the brim of Xie Qian’s hat down over his face, and whispered, “Go back to sleep. Don’t talk. The more you talk, the harder it is to maintain your idol image.”
Xie Qian: “…”
The call went through, and the other side picked up quickly.
Young master Gu’s voice was still clear and cool. “Mm?”
Not wanting to wake up anyone sleeping in the van, Gu Tang clutched the phone, pressed his lips close to the microphone, and said in a tiny breathy whisper, “Niannian, the snow is really heavy. Wait until it stops before going home…”
The boy had deliberately lowered his voice, so it sounded soft and clingy.
Gu Qinian’s fingers around the phone curled slightly. “Mm.”
From the front seat, the driver teased him, “Your girlfriend calling?”
“Handsome guy, being this cold won’t do. Your girlfriend will run away.”
Gu Qinian lifted his eyes and glanced at the driver through the rearview mirror, but did not answer.
He thought, Gu Tang already promised that when the classes split in second year, he would test into the same class as me. Later we’ll go to the same university too.
Gu Tang won’t run away.
But while he remained silent, Gu Tang heard that something was off.
It sounded like young master Gu was not actually in the dorm?
Listening carefully, Gu Tang asked, “Are you in a car?”
The equipment van’s heater wasn’t very strong, and Gu Qinian shrank further into his down jacket, giving another quiet “Mm.”
The boy’s dissatisfied voice came through the receiver.
Gu Tang: “How come all you ever know how to say is ‘mm’?”
“Mm.”
This time there was the faintest trace of laughter hidden in the sound.
At some point, Gu Qinian had realized that he had changed.
Back then, when he used to only say “mm,” it had been because he found the little brat annoying. But now… it was because he liked hearing Gu Tang talk.
That soft, sticky voice.
Especially when Gu Tang called him “Niannian,” it was as if he had sugar in his mouth—sweet, with a little hook on it, scratching comfortably at his heart.
If he stayed quiet, Gu Tang would keep talking.
And the way he muttered on and on was especially cute.
Gu Qinian deliberately kept his responses short because he wanted to hear Gu Tang say more.
And then, suddenly—
Gu Tang’s voice broke off.
Boom—!
BEEEEEP————
A tremendous crash came from the other side of the line, along with the shriek of brakes scraping across the ground. Then the call cut off.
Gu Qinian’s pupils contracted violently.
“Gu Tang!!!”
When Gu Qinian jumped out of the van, it was the first time since his rebirth that his legs had gone weak.
He forced himself to stay upright and sprinted toward the river.
Ten minutes earlier, there had been a car accident there.
A dump truck had suddenly changed lanes. The nanny van following behind could not dodge in time, and with the accumulated snow making the road too slippery, the van overturned, smashed through the guardrail, and rolled into the river.
The rescue operation was already underway in frantic motion.
Gu Qinian dashed past everyone, jumped down the embankment, and charged toward the river at full speed.
He did not care about the cold. He let shattered ice strike his ankles and let the freezing river water swallow his calves…
Gu Tang…
Gu Tang was inside…
“Hey! Student! What are you doing?! Come back!!!”
Someone behind him was shouting something.
But Gu Qinian could not hear it clearly.
All that echoed in his ears was the shrill screech of the brakes from the end of the call. The ringing in his ears made his whole mind buzz.
“Niannian!”
A familiar voice rang out from behind him.
It sounded very far away, blurred and indistinct, impossible to hear clearly.
Gu Qinian froze.
And suspected he was hallucinating.
On the riverbank, Gu Tang was half out of his mind with panic.
Their own car had suddenly braked hard just now, and his phone had flown out of his hand and smashed beyond repair.
But he wasn’t the worst off. Qiu Kaiyi in the back seat hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt, and he had rolled all the way from the back to the front of the car like a giant lump, coming out worse than Gu Tang’s phone. There was already a huge lump swelling on his forehead.
The driver had told them that there had been an accident up ahead and ordered them to stay inside the vehicle.
But Gu Tang had been desperate to call young master Gu. He borrowed Xie Qian’s phone, only to discover the signal was terrible, so he had no choice but to run out of the vehicle to look for better reception.
Then from far away, he heard people shouting that someone was about to jump into the river.
At exactly the same time, the system’s cheerful prompt went off.
[Congratulations, Host! You have completed the key plot node “The Male Lead Encounters a Car Accident and Falls into the Water,” reward: 100 life points and 10 plot coins!]
[Our plot is about to enter a brand-new chapter!!!]
The system sounded almost disturbingly excited, completely indifferent to whether the male lead lived or died.
After this plot node, the male lead’s rise arc was about to begin, along with the emotional arc!
Which meant—the male lead was about to get busy!
And would no longer have time to cling to its host, heeheehee!!!
The moment Gu Tang heard the system, he ran to the river in panic.
And then—good lord!
If that figure charging into the water was not young master Gu, who else could it be?
Young master Gu was acting like he had gone mad, rushing into the river, and several people still couldn’t hold him back.
The rescuers were already struggling just to stop one person from jumping in. When they saw another one coming, they hurried to block Gu Tang too. “Young man, think clearly!”
Unable to get through, Gu Tang could only shout toward the figure in the river, “Niannian——”
Gu Qinian suddenly turned around.
And met a completely unharmed, perfectly intact Gu Tang.
The moment Gu Tang saw him look over, his eyes lit up, and he waved at him from a distance, looking like a little strand of seaweed swaying with the waves.
Slowly, stiffly, Gu Qinian lowered his head and looked at himself.
His pants were soaked all the way up to the roots of his thighs…
Gu Qinian: “…”
How exactly was he supposed to explain why he was in the river?
***
Author’s Note:
Gu Niannian: Urgent question! How do I find a reason for jumping into the river that still lets me save face?
