Gu Anxi headed directly to the library. Surprisingly, Bo Xichen wasn’t at his desk. She eventually found him between a row of bookshelves.
He was holding a book, looking down as he flipped through it. When Gu Anxi drew closer, he glanced up, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips. When she saw the book in his hand, she was astonished...
"You’re reading this?" She poked the book with her finger, asking somewhat uneasily.
Bo Xichen continued flipping through the book and replied casually, "Is there a problem, hmm?"
Gu Anxi became even more unsettled. "You’re a doctor, and you’re twenty-eight years old... surely you understand this stuff!"
Bo Xichen chuckled softly, closed his book, then leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Does being twenty-eight mean I should understand everything?"
Her hand covering the spot on her forehead he had kissed, she looked up at him, looking adorably awkward.
He ruffled her hair, then put the book back on the shelf.
Bo Xichen was tall and broad-shouldered, perfect for a woman to nestle into his embrace from behind. As she was gazing at him, somewhat mesmerized, he spoke, "I heard you’re running for student council president."
She hummed in acknowledgment, leaning against a nearby shelf.
He turned, his gaze clear as he focused on her. "That’s quite ambitious. Are your academics going to be a problem?" Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
"I’ll burn the midnight oil," Gu Anxi said earnestly.
Bo Xichen chuckled softly. "Not being honest."
She said nothing more, not mentioning her earlier conflict with Qin Siyuan, and simply kept her gaze fixed on Bo Xichen.
Bo Xichen rarely pried into her personal affairs—matters concerning Qin Siyuan, for instance, or Gu Changqing. She vaguely sensed it wasn’t because he was overly permissive, but rather because of a mature man’s characteristic self-assurance. He was confident she would be his, and confident she wouldn’t do anything to make him unhappy.
For some reason, this realization didn’t displease her; instead, it sent an indescribable flutter through her heart. Gu Anxi wasn’t one to readily express her emotions, but at this moment, she truly wanted to hug him.
She stepped forward, slid her arms around his torso, and hugged his waist.
Then, she rested her head against his chest, right over his heart...
"Xichen," she called softly.
She added, "Actually, I’ve been thinking about it a little too."
Bo Xichen looked down and gently stroked her hair. "Mm... I know."
"You don’t know at all!" she mumbled softly, burying her head deeper into his chest, her arms around him tightening...
「By the time they left, dusk had already fallen.」
They walked side by side, their shoulders occasionally brushing. There were no other overt displays of intimacy, yet their closeness was palpable.
Qin Siyuan stood in the shadows, watching the girl he considered his with another man. She looked radiant. He watched her get into someone else’s car. She rarely smiles, but around that man, a faint, unconscious smile often touches her lips... as if she’s doing very well...
Qin Siyuan simply stood there, watching quietly, until Shen Wanqing approached him.
"Siyuan," she said, her voice hoarse as if she’d been crying. "You won’t leave me, will you?"
Qin Siyuan lit a cigarette and took a slow drag, then looked at her. "Don’t worry. My grandfather and my father are both very fond of you."