Volume One, Chapter 19: Honest

During the summer break, various large-scale events competed to take place.

When Gu Nanxiao received the assignment notice, his eyelids twitched sharply.

Early in the morning, he stood in the stairwell, staring across the hall for a long while.

Opposite him, everything was silent, with no sign of activity.

Gu Nanxiao glanced at his wristwatch as the second hand circled around.

After five minutes, he descended the stairs without looking back.

He figured that someone must be busy with end-of-term work and didn’t have time to cause trouble.

She hadn’t come to visit Gu Nanqing much lately; yesterday, the child kept pestering him about her.

Annoying. Both of them were a nuisance.

At Century Metropolis Plaza,

after some time of quiet, the anime and cosplay enthusiasts had once again become lively and active,

even surpassing the energy of when Gu Nanxiao first encountered them.

Xie Yangfeng, with a steamed bun dangling from his mouth, hopped into Gu Nanxiao’s car as soon as the door opened.

“Boss, you finally showed up! Honestly, I have no idea what the higher-ups are smoking. To prevent a repeat of last time, they’ve assigned personal bodyguards to every influencer and cosplayer. Do they think we have nothing better to do? The whole thing with Liang Yingying was my fault… Why don’t you take charge of that lady this time?”

He glanced back at the rear seat as he spoke.

Gu Nanxiao rested his hands on the steering wheel, his mind clouded with thoughts unknown even to himself.

After Xie Yangfeng finished his complaints, he swallowed the last bite of his bun.

Stepping out of the car and opening the door, Gu Nanxiao felt as if he had never been here before.

The car was now empty except for him.

He looked into the vacant back seat through the rearview mirror, his eyelashes lowering to conceal the emotions in his eyes.

The bustling venue was filled with the roar of voices.

But none of the excitement concerned Gu Nanxiao.

Xie Yangfeng followed a cosplayer past him, casting envious glances at the idle Gu Nanxiao.

Originally, he was supposed to be the personal bodyguard, but apparently, the person he was assigned to protect couldn’t make it last minute.

Their codename seemed to be “Yao Yao”?

A familiar name. Just standing there for an hour, Gu Nanxiao had heard countless lamentations about her absence.

He lowered his lashes further to hide the feelings beneath.

He had always wished she would be less troublesome, and now that it was so, it seemed… not joyful at all.

The lightness of his task meant he could finish work early.

When Gu Nanxiao pushed open the door to his home, it was just six o’clock in the evening.

On the coffee table in the living room, two figures lay sprawled—one large, one small.

Yao Yao, adored by countless fans, sat cross-legged on the floor without any regard for her image, tutoring her little mischievous brother.

The warm, yellow light of the living room cast a gentle glow on them, adding a touch of warmth to the moment.

From the kitchen came the mouthwatering aroma of a freshly prepared meal.

Gu Nanxiao’s body, weary from the day, finally relaxed.

Alongside came an undefinable emotion, elusive and difficult to express.

“You’re back?”

“Back!”

A gentle and youthful voice merged together, welcoming the one who had been busy outside all day.

“Sorry to bother you again. I went to the restaurant outside to get takeout, so the food is ready to eat now. By the way… thank you for that day.”

Mu Yao stood up and approached Gu Nanxiao.

After these days of reflection, she had come to a clear understanding.

No matter what, he had helped her—that was a fact.

Gu Nanxiao straightened up, looking at the honest and demure Mu Yao before him.

Unease welled up inside him.

She shouldn’t be like this.

She should be vibrant, lively, with eyes bright and sparkling.

Not like this...

Gu Nanxiao’s heart ached sharply.

Was it because of that incident?

Before going to sleep, Gu Nanqing had chattered on and on, pestering Gu Nanxiao.

Watching the child becoming more and more lively, his patience wore thin.

As he stood up,

“Brother, did you know? They say Teacher Mu was suspended and might not teach us anymore after the new term starts. Is that true? I really like Teacher Mu.”

Those words struck Gu Nanxiao dumb.

At night, tossing and turning in bed,

Gu Nanxiao was deeply conflicted.

Logically speaking, ever since he learned that the girl was a teacher, he had been looking forward to this day.

Now that it had come,

why did he feel no happiness at all?

Gu Nanxiao forced himself to clear his mind and fall asleep.

What did it matter to him what happened to her?

Just as he was about to drift off, a faint sound woke him instantly.

The high-end community had excellent soundproofing.

Judging from the layout of the rooms, his bedroom was adjacent to the master bedroom opposite.

At this moment, he heard soft sobbing nearby.

Which meant...

Gu Nanxiao suddenly sat up in bed.

...

After dinner, Mu Yao returned home and casually turned on the TV in the living room, collapsing onto the sofa.

She grabbed a cushion from the couch and hugged it to her chest.

Listening to the familiar background noise and gazing out at the city’s dazzling nightscape,

she seemed lost in profound confusion.

In the days following the incident, she had indeed adopted a “damn it all” attitude.

But... did she really want to give up on her passion because of one scoundrel?

These past days, she had locked herself in her room, reflecting from high school until now.

She felt as if she were running endlessly on a Möbius strip.

She couldn’t find the answer she sought, nor did she truly know what she wanted.

During this time, she rejected all social contact, even abandoning the hobby she had loved since childhood.

She was forcing herself to provide a definitive answer.

Exhausted.

Until today, when she saw little Nanqing taking out the trash,

and picked up her teaching materials again to instruct,

Mu Yao realized...

she still loved it.

The sudden ringing of the phone abruptly drowned out the TV and shattered the quiet night.

“Hello, Mom.”

“Sweetheart, have you been going through something lately?”

Despite Mu Yao’s efforts to control her emotions, Ye An sensed her daughter’s troubled mood the moment she spoke.

Mu Yao bit her lip, holding the phone away from her ear.

She stared at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and chose to keep things hidden.

This path was one she had chosen herself.

No regrets, and no reason to make her parents worry.

Ye An wanted to ask more, but her husband patted her leg, silencing her.

She cast a pleading glance toward Mu Weiran.

Mu Weiran closed his eyes, shook his head, then nodded subtly.

“As long as you’re okay, Yao Yao. Your father and I just wanted to ask, how have you been getting along with Nanxiao recently?”

Mu Yao was stunned—why was it always Gu Nanxiao?

Since that inexplicable blind date, Gu Nanxiao had come up in eight and a half out of ten conversations with her parents.

She was only twenty-five. Last year, her parents had told her calmly that she was still young, no need to rush into a relationship.

But this year...

What on earth was going on?

“Yao Yao, you don’t have to give us a brush-off. If you think Nanxiao isn’t right, Dad still has…”

“No! We’re really getting along very well!”

Mu Weiran had just taken the phone to speak when Mu Yao interrupted fiercely.

The clear scene before her eyes gradually blurred.

What was happening? What was going on?!

Why hide things from her? She was already an adult—why couldn’t they just be honest and straightforward with her?!

Because they thought she was too young, or... because they didn’t trust her?