"Look! This is our teacher's villa!"
In front of Leng Yaozhu's villa, Shaoyu parked his bike with Gu Yue still seated on the back. He pointed toward the villa, letting her take it in.
"It's so big and beautiful!" Gu Yue's eyes sparkled as she looked at the villa with delight. "Amazing! Ah Yuan, let's go inside and look around!"
"Alright," Shaoyu nodded, his face softening into a smile. Seeing Gu Yue's girlish excitement was refreshing; she looked utterly captivating.
He opened the villa's front gate, leading her into the courtyard. It was full of golden tulips and red roses, with every bit of open space covered in these two flowers—flowers that clearly held a special place in Leng Yaozhu's heart.
"Ah Yuan, do you like tulips and roses?" Gu Yue squatted down, leaning in to gently inhale the fragrance of a blooming rose, a radiant smile lighting up her face.
Shaoyu watched her kneeling among the flowers, a strange feeling washing over him. For a moment, her features seemed to shift; her refined, serene face transformed into a vision of striking beauty, shockingly similar to Na'er's. The roses appeared to dim next to her radiance, making him understand, in an instant, what it meant to be "more beautiful than a flower."
He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, everything was back to normal. Gu Yue's face was the same as always, her features untouched by the illusion, and she maintained a respectful distance from the rose.
Puzzled, Shaoyu shook his head, sensing that what he'd seen wasn't just his imagination.
"Ah Yuan, what are you staring at?" Unbeknownst to him, Gu Yue had already walked over and waved a delicate hand in front of his face, looking at him quizzically.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking that this scene was... really beautiful," Shaoyu replied, snapping out of his daze and meeting her amused gaze.
"Really? I think it's alright." Gu Yue turned around with her hands clasped behind her, walking leisurely ahead. Her tone was calm, but the slight upturn of her lips revealed her quiet delight. Shaoyu, however, missed this subtle expression.
"That's a shame," he chuckled, pushing the earlier scene from his mind as he led her toward the villa entrance. "Come on, let's go inside."
Inside the villa, Shaoyu showed Gu Yue around, pointing out the rooms they'd likely be using for training. Gu Yue seemed content with what she saw, smiling faintly the entire time, which surprised him.
"Yue'er, you seem very happy. Did something good happen?" he asked, curious.
"Heh heh, not really," Gu Yue replied with a small laugh. "It's just that Teacher said I could pick a room and move in with her."
"Huh?" Shaoyu was taken aback, then asked in surprise, "When did she say that? I didn't know anything about it!"
"Right before you arrived," Gu Yue said casually. "So, you'll need to take me back to the academy afterward to get my things."
Shaoyu sighed, resigned. "Alright, I got it."
He couldn't help feeling a bit slighted. Why was Leng Yaozhu giving her special treatment? They were both her disciples, and he was the senior one! Why didn't she ask him to move in too? Just because he was a guy? The nerve!
But deep down, he knew he was just venting. Even if she had invited him to live here, he would have declined. He still had family to take care of—his mom, Ziyuan, and Aunt Lin Xin. If he didn't spend more time with them now, he wouldn't see them as often once he went to Shrek Academy in a few years.
After about half an hour exploring the villa, they headed back to East Sea Academy, where they arrived in half the time it took to get there initially.
Since it was class time, they were able to walk into the campus without much hassle, heading straight to their dorms. The Zero Class dorm floor was empty, with Xu Xiaoyan and Xie Xie both at home, and Tang Wulin nowhere to be found. Gu Yue opened her dorm room door and walked inside, Shaoyu following close behind.
Gu Yue's room was tidy and minimalistic. Besides the bookshelves filled with books at her bedside, the space was bare—completely different from Xu Xiaoyan's room, which was filled with clothes, toys, and photos. Shaoyu casually walked over to the bed, lay down, and grabbed a book from the shelf to flip through.
Initially, Gu Yue didn't mind. But when she glimpsed the title of the book in his hand, her face turned crimson. She lunged forward, snatching the book from him, and with a flash of silver light, the book vanished to who knows where.
Her actions were swift and decisive, leaving Shaoyu momentarily stunned. He stared at her, a strange expression in his eyes, and a mischievous smile began to creep onto his face.
Clearing his throat, he said teasingly, "Well, well... You've certainly piqued my interest, woman."
"Argh!" Gu Yue's face flushed even deeper, and in a fluster, she pounced on him, trying to cover his mouth with her hands.
Shaoyu was speechless at her reaction; he had only quoted a line from the book he'd glanced at. It wasn't that big of a deal, but she was getting this worked up? He wondered how she even read the book in the first place if just hearing a line made her so embarrassed.
"Alright, alright, I won't say it anymore!" he chuckled, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders to stop her from struggling.
"You're such a troublemaker!" Gu Yue huffed, still slightly annoyed. She leaned down and bit him on the shoulder, sending a strange tingling sensation through him.
"Hey! Don't bite me! Are you a dog or something?" Shaoyu exclaimed, tapping her lightly on the hip. "Come on, let go!"
"No way!" Gu Yue retorted stubbornly, her voice muffled against his shoulder as she clung on like a kid refusing to let go.
"Yue'er, be a good girl and let go, alright?" Shaoyu, exasperated, tried to soothe her as if she were Xu Xiaoyan.
"Hmph! Let's see if you dare sneak a peek at my books again!" Finally, Gu Yue released him, glancing down at the shoulder of his shirt where her bite left a clear imprint. A flash of worry crossed her face—had she hurt him? She didn't think she'd bitten that hard!
To make sure, Gu Yue pulled his shirt aside, checking his shoulder. Seeing he was unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Shaoyu watched her, trying to suppress a laugh. This girl was clearly using the biting as an excuse to act playfully, yet she still put on this show of concern.
What kind of romance novels was she reading? Didn't she know that "tsundere" was out of style? Maybe he should find some other books for her.
They lay there together in silence, Gu Yue resting her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. Somehow, it brought her a deep sense of peace, as if all her emotions had faded away, leaving only her love for him. If only this moment could last forever.
"I'm ready," she finally said, sitting up. "Let's go back to the villa."
"Ready? Alright, let's go!" Shaoyu replied with a smile.
As they walked out of the dorm, they happened to run into Tang Wulin on the first floor.
"Captain, Gu Yue, you guys are back?" Tang Wulin asked, surprised.
Gu Yue ignored him, while Shaoyu responded with a friendly smile, "Just here to help Gu Yue grab some things."
"I see," Tang Wulin nodded, unfazed by Gu Yue's coldness, which he'd come to expect. "So you're heading out again?"
"Yeah," Shaoyu replied. "See you after the break."
Once they were outside East Sea Academy, Gu Yue asked, "Why did you bother talking to Tang
Wulin?"
Shaoyu shrugged. "We're all classmates for now, so isn't it normal to say hello?"
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