Over the past few months, Xue Jiao had been diligently studying. Moreover, due to her arrival, this world had undergone significant changes, making her almost forget about the original plot!
In the original storyline, the current Xue Jiao still disliked studying, Li Sitong had already passed away, and Cheng Shuo doted on her excessively.
Upon hearing that Gu Shiyun and Cheng Mingze were going to participate in a competition together, Gu Xue Jiao became furious and went drinking with Li Wei and others. In her drunken stupor, she got into a fight. Cheng Shuo went to see her, leaving Cheng Mingze to attend the competition alone.
That very night, he stayed at a hotel outside.
Late in the evening, he was tricked by a fellow competitor into going out, only to be locked inside the most remote laboratory at No. 1 High School by that person.
Gu Shiyun was also locked inside. She had followed Cheng Mingze when she saw him going out alone so late at night, only to end up trapped as well.
Neither of them could participate in the competition the next day.
However, their feelings for each other deepened rapidly that night. Out of guilt, Cheng Shuo turned a blind eye to their budding relationship. Otherwise, solely because of Li Sitong's departure, Cheng Shuo would never have allowed Cheng Mingze and Gu Shiyun to get close.
Thinking of this, Xue Jiao's pupils slightly contracted.
She had to get them out. First, since she knew about it, she couldn't just stand by. Second... she couldn't let Gu Shiyun use a difficult exam to morally bind the Cheng family!
They were currently in the laboratory at No. 1 High School...
Xue Jiao instinctively took out her phone to call Li Sitong but paused, gripping the phone tightly.
How could she explain knowing they were at No. 1 High School?
Biting her lower lip, she sent a message:
[Mom, I’m going to No. 1 High School to look for Brother. Maybe he went there early to familiarize himself with the place.]
After sending it, she put away her phone and hurried out.
——
"Gu Shiyun... I'm sorry, I dragged you into this..." Cheng Mingze said somewhat awkwardly, his voice hoarse from shouting earlier. In the darkness, his words came out raspy.
The room was pitch black, making it nearly impossible to see anything.
Gu Shiyun's voice trembled slightly, but she forced herself to sound firm. "It's okay... I should have called the police before rushing in..."
Cheng Mingze shook his head, then remembered she couldn't see him and spoke instead. "It's not your fault. I’m the one who got you into this."
"Mingze... do you think we... might die here?" Gu Shiyun's voice still quivered.
"No," Cheng Mingze replied firmly. "His goal was to stop me from taking the exam, not to kill us. My parents will come looking for us. At worst, we’ll miss tomorrow’s exam, but we’ll definitely get out."
"Okay! That’s good to hear."
"Gu Shiyun..."
"Yes?"
"You might not be able to take the exam tomorrow because of me."
"It doesn’t matter!" Gu Shiyun pretended to be strong. "I probably wouldn’t have ranked well anyway, and there’s always next year! But Mingze, you..."
"I’ll be fine too. There’s always the college entrance exam." This competition wasn’t a life-or-death matter for Cheng Mingze.
"That’s good!"
For a moment, silence fell over the room.
After a long while, Cheng Mingze's ears picked up the sound of sobbing.
The person who locked them in had also cut the power, so he could only tell the sound was coming from Gu Shiyun's direction.
"Gu Shiyun? What’s wrong?" Cheng Mingze asked tentatively.
"Mingze... I’m scared... wuwu..." Her crying grew louder.
Cheng Mingze frowned slightly but eventually said, "I’ll come over to you..."
With that, he began groping his way toward her.As soon as she sat down beside Gu Shiyun, two arms wrapped around him, and a head buried itself in his chest with muffled sobs.
"Mingze-ge... I'm scared..."
Cheng Mingze instinctively wanted to push her away, but Xue Jiao's words flashed through his mind—
"Are you worthy of my mom?"
His frown deepened as the girl in his arms began trembling, her sobs growing more pronounced.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Cheng Mingze let out an almost imperceptible sigh and raised his hand—
"Click!"
The lights came on.
Both froze momentarily. Gu Shiyun's eyes flashed with surprise, while Cheng Mingze immediately exhaled in relief.
"Someone turned on the power. Help is here."
Gu Shiyun bit her lower lip, her face still buried in Cheng Mingze's chest as she continued trembling, though a trace of irritation crossed her features.
"No need to fear now. Get up quickly—someone's come to rescue us." Cheng Mingze patted Gu Shiyun's back.
"Bang! Bang-bang!!"
Something was pounding against the door. Gu Shiyun clung tighter to Cheng Mingze. "Mingze-ge! What's that?!"
"It's alright, it must be our rescuers." Cheng Mingze's voice held a note of uncertainty as he tried to make sense of the situation.
Gu Shiyun held onto him even tighter, hiding in his embrace.
With a final loud "Crash—", the lock gave way and the door was kicked open.
A girl in Qizhong High's uniform stood at the entrance, a hammer in hand, staring at them.
Her hair was slightly disheveled, loosely tucked behind her ears, revealing a delicate face that glowed like jade under the light.
Cheng Mingze's heart pounded wildly.
Xue Jiao arched an eyebrow at the sight of the male and female leads "embracing" before her—
"Cheng Mingze, you're paying for this door."
——
The aftermath was left to the police and school authorities. Though Xue Jiao had smashed the door of First High, the fact that an outsider could use the lab to lock up students meant no one mentioned the damaged door—only apologies were offered.
The boy who had locked Cheng Mingze inside was handed over to the police. Cheng Shuo and Li Sitong had much to say to the siblings but ultimately held their tongues.
With exams the next day, rest was the priority.
Xue Jiao went straight to bed upon returning to the hotel, unaware that Cheng Mingze next door and Gu Shiyun downstairs... were tossing and turning sleeplessly.
What Xue Jiao didn't know was that Gu Shiyun's confinement wasn't accidental. She had followed Cheng Mingze out and witnessed him being locked in by another boy. In that moment, she had a hundred ways to rescue him—yet chose instead to not intervene, even getting herself locked in as well.
Thus, with barely any resistance, she too was shoved inside.
She had planned everything—except for that wretched Gu Xue Jiao coming to their rescue!
Gu Shiyun knew she stood little chance of performing well in this competition now, so she had rationally decided to trade it for Cheng Mingze's gratitude...
Damn that Gu Xue Jiao!
Gu Shiyun seethed silently.
Cheng Mingze was equally restless. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Xue Jiao standing at the doorway, eyebrow raised.
Ah—
He screamed soundlessly twice before pulling the covers over his head.
——
Early the next morning, Cheng Shuo and Li Sitong sent them off to the exam venue. The two-hour math competition had few problems, but most struggled to finish, each lost in thought—until, what felt like moments later, time was called.
Xue Jiao packed her stationery pouch and followed the crowd out of the examination hall."Shiyun, my dear Shiyun, are you alright?" Wu Wanjun pulled Gu Shiyun into a tight embrace as she emerged, her face full of concern. Gu Jingxu stood nearby, his eyes filled with heartache as he watched her.
Cheng Mingze stepped forward and spoke earnestly, "This time, it was my fault that Gu Shiyun got involved. I sincerely hope you both can forgive me. Rest assured, the person responsible will face the consequences they deserve."
"Shiyun..." Wu Wanjun didn't say anything else, simply holding Gu Shiyun tightly.
Gu Shiyun returned the hug. "Mom, I'm fine. It's not Mingze's fault—it's that person's doing."
At that moment, Xue Jiao had just stepped out of the school gate and approached Cheng Shuo and Li Sitong, standing close to Gu Jingxu and Wu Wanjun.
She heard Cheng Shuo say, "That girl is quite good. Mingze's classmate, though, has a wicked heart."
Li Sitong's expression darkened briefly. Though she knew it was misplaced anger, she simply couldn't bring herself to like Gu Shiyun.
Xue Jiao glanced at Cheng Mingze, who looked remorseful, then at Gu Shiyun, who smiled gently, and finally at Gu Jingxu, whose face was now burning with anger toward Cheng Mingze...
"Brother, is Gu Shiyun your girlfriend?" Xue Jiao suddenly spoke up.
Gu Shiyun buried her face in Wu Wanjun's chest, as if embarrassed.
"No!" Cheng Mingze immediately denied, his tone urgent.
Gu Shiyun froze, but fortunately, her face was hidden in Wu Wanjun's embrace, masking her expression.
Xue Jiao tilted her head, blinking her large eyes. "Then why did Gu Shiyun follow you last night? Did you invite her?"
"No..." Gu Shiyun's face flushed slightly as she buried herself deeper, murmuring, "I was worried about him, so I followed..."
"Oh..." Xue Jiao nodded as if enlightened, then frowned in confusion. "So you left the hotel on your own at night and got locked up by the person who wanted to harm my brother? Then how is that his fault?"
Her eyes widened, as if genuinely curious.
Everyone froze—even Cheng Mingze.
That was true. Cheng Mingze hadn’t asked her to come, nor had he harmed her. Someone else had targeted him, and she had simply gotten caught in the crossfire.
So... was it really Cheng Mingze’s fault?
Xue Jiao added, "Then my brother shouldn’t feel guilty, right? He didn’t ask for someone to harm him, and he didn’t ask anyone to follow him either." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Actually, Gu Shiyun, you should thank me. I was the one who saved everyone yesterday—including you."
"Gu Xue Jiao!" Gu Jingxu glared at her.
Xue Jiao blinked innocently. "Did I say something wrong?"
Cheng Mingze met her gaze and shook his head.
No, Xue Jiao wasn’t wrong. Gu Shiyun had been caught up in the incident, but the fault wasn’t his. He didn’t need to grovel in apology.
"Not wrong at all," Cheng Shuo suddenly chuckled, ruffling her hair. "We need to take your brother to the police station for a statement. Jiao Jiao, should we take you home first, or do you want to come with us?"
Xue Jiao shook her head. "No need. I’ll take a taxi back. I’ll be fine."
Seeing Wu Wanjun’s sour expression, Li Sitong couldn’t help but feel a flicker of delight. Smiling brightly, she pulled Xue Jiao into a hug. "Jiao Jiao, let us take you home. I won’t feel at ease otherwise."
"It’s fine, really. Just a taxi ride. You should hurry—the police station might close soon.""Alright then, take care of yourself. We'll head over first and have lunch together at home later." Cheng Shuo glanced at the time. If they went now, they might still finish before lunch. If they waited any longer and the police station closed for break, they'd have to wait until afternoon.
"Let's go." Cheng Mingze had his hands in his pockets and also smiled at Xue Jiao.
Xue Jiao froze for a moment before stiffly returning the smile.
After Cheng Shuo and the others left, Xue Jiao prepared to hail a taxi. Just as she turned around, Gu Jingxu grabbed her arm.
"Gu Xue Jiao!"
"Hmm?"
"You... didn't call me Dad today..."
Xue Jiao's face turned cold: "I've said it before—I don't have a father like you."
"Gu Xue Jiao!"
Xue Jiao remained expressionless and silent, simply shaking off his hand.
"Jiao Jiao, I know you still care about the Gu family. You saved Shiyun—let's go eat together. You should spend some time with your sister too." Gu Jingxu continued patiently.
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