As the afternoon arrived.
On the way to Jianghai High School.
After the events of midday, Gu Yan felt that the barrier that should have existed between him and Leng Qingqiu seemed to have diminished significantly.
For example, when he had held her hand before, he could feel her obvious resistance.
But now, she only pretended to struggle a little before letting him have his way.
"Very good!"
A slight smile appeared at the corner of Gu Yan's mouth.
Although initially he only approached Leng Qingqiu to avoid his otherwise inevitable death,
Now, he found that he might have truly fallen for this final boss.
Could this be... what they call villain attracting villain?
Gu Yan thought for a moment, then shook his head.
No, no, no, he wasn't a villain, and neither was Leng Qingqiu.
It was just a difference in standpoints.
In no time at all.
"Young master, we've arrived."
Old Gao slowly brought the luxury car to a stop at the school gate.
"Mm."
Gu Yan snapped back to reality and looked out the window.
Students were coming and going, but... there was no sign of Leng Ling'er.
After about ten minutes.
Gu Yan frowned. What was going on?
What was that kid up to?
Hadn't he told her he'd come to pick her up after school?
Just then.
Knock knock!
There came a knocking sound from outside the window.
Gu Yan's expression remained unchanged as he slowly lowered the car window.
A rather young and innocent face appeared from outside.
The person spoke with some hesitation: "He-hello... Are you waiting for Leng Ling'er?"
Hearing this.
Gu Yan raised an eyebrow, then looked at the speaker.
It was a male student wearing a school uniform, with a crew cut and black-framed glasses, carrying a backpack that looked stuffed with textbooks.
He seemed nervous after Gu Yan lowered the window.
Oh, just a student.
Seeing this, Gu Yan relaxed his guard and chuckled, "Yes, but... how did you know?"
Seeing that Gu Yan was indeed waiting for Leng Ling'er, the boy's eyes became a bit evasive.
But he still replied, "Well, I saw you dropping her off this morning."
"And I'm in the same class as Leng Ling'er. Today I happened to hear her make plans with her friends to go singing after school."
"They skipped the last class of the afternoon, so they've probably gone singing."
Hearing this answer, Gu Yan understood.
Why had this kid gone off to sing according to the plot again?
But now that he had eliminated that plot line in advance, Leng Ling'er and her friends probably wouldn't be in any danger.
"Alright, thank you."
Thinking this, Gu Yan nodded with a smile.
Then he rolled up the window, no longer looking at the student whose expression had become somewhat dejected, and said, "Let's go, Old Gao, to the city center."
"Yes, young master."
As the luxury car drove away.
The boy's gaze returned, he clenched his fists, and a hint of pain appeared in his eyes.
Ling'er's boyfriend is so handsome and rich.
Compared to him, I'm inferior in every way.
It's so frustrating...!
......
.......
At that moment, in the city center.
Several girls carrying schoolbags, but dressed somewhat inappropriately for their age, were walking aimlessly down the street.
It was Leng Ling'er and her group.
Leng Ling'er felt a bit helpless. She had originally planned to wait for Gu Yan to arrive, then tell him about her plans.
But before she could voice this idea, she was half-dragged, half-pushed by her friends onto a bus to the city center.
She had then thought about borrowing a phone to call home once they reached the KTV.
But then....
She turned her head in confusion to look at the girl behind her, who had been hanging her head as if she'd suffered some major setback: "Little Wei, what's wrong?"
"Where's the free KTV you mentioned?"
This question was also on everyone else's mind.
They had come because Little Wei had invited them.
But how come things weren't quite as they had imagined now that they were here?
"Yeah, Little Wei, what happened?"
"Where's your boyfriend? Where is he?"
"Right, why is it just you alone?"
The others also asked with concern.
They seemed to sense that something had happened to Little Wei.
"I....."
Little Wei heard this and raised her head, her eyes showing a hint of hesitation.
Should she tell them?
But if she did, what if Ling'er and the others went to confront Shen Tian?
He was the brother-in-law of the Gu family's young master. Although they seemed to have had a falling out, who knew when they might reconcile?
She couldn't let her friends put themselves in danger.
So Little Wei closed her mouth, shook her head, and said in a downcast tone: "I'm sorry, I broke up with my boyfriend, so the KTV plan fell through."
Hearing this.
Leng Ling'er and the others were stunned. They exchanged glances, then began to comfort her.
"Oh, is that all? It's no big deal!"
"We never thought much of that boyfriend of yours anyway! He always looked sneaky!"
"Yeah, Little Wei, it's not like we're broke. Let's just find another place to sing!"
"Right, you've been upset about this all this time?"
Leng Ling'er hadn't expected Little Wei to have broken up. Although she didn't know the reason, the other girl's dejected demeanor suggested the breakup had affected her greatly.
"Alright! In that case, let's celebrate Little Wei's escape from the misery of love!"
"Come on, let's find a place and sing until we can't anymore!"
Leng Ling'er raised her hand and looked at the others with a grin: "Who's with me?"
The others exchanged smiles and agreed: "I'm in!"
"Me too!"
"Count me in!"
.......
........
At Lingxiao KTV.
In one of the private rooms.
Shen Tian, his face wrapped in bandages, was drinking sullenly. Two women sat beside him, trying to comfort him: "Come on, Brother Tian, don't be angry!"
"The young master Gu must have treated you this way because your sister was being unreasonable."
"If your sister had married young master Gu earlier, wouldn't your reputation in Jianghai City be even higher than it is now?"
Shen Tian took a swig of his drink and nodded in agreement. Emboldened by the alcohol, he complained: "You don't know the half of it. My older sister is just putting on airs, always stringing along that Gu family's young master."
"If my sister had agreed earlier, why would I have to suffer this kind of humiliation today!"
"Look at this! Now even young master Gu treats his brother-in-law like this!"
As Shen Tian spoke, he stood up: "Wait a moment, I need to use the restroom."
"Alright! Take your time, Brother Tian!"
"We'll be waiting for you to come back, Brother Tian~!"
"Hehe, I get it!"
Meanwhile.
At the KTV reception.
"Hello, guests. This is your room number, and you have booked for 2 hours."
The receptionist smiled as she handed the room card to Leng Ling'er and her friends.
"Oh, okay."
Leng Ling'er and her friends were clearly first-timers at such a place, each of them looking a bit nervous.
When they first entered, they had been curiously examining their surroundings.