The research institute was in the suburbs of the capital. Lu Chengzhou arrived after a two hour drive.
It was already 12am.
The surroundings were silent. The moon hanging in the sky had a cold glow and the outlines of the dark clouds could be seen. They moved slowly and the sound of the wind was faint.
When Lu Chengzhou turned off the engine and got out of the car, he saw Gu Mang sitting casually on the steps of the research institute. She was playing games with her hands on her knees. She wore her baseball cap backwards. She was dressed in all black, almost camouflaged in the darkness of the night.
Lu Chengzhou took his coat and thermal flask from the car and walked towards her.
Gu Mang looked up at him. “Wait until I finish this game.”
“Okay.” Lu Chengzhou put his coat on her shoulders and sat down beside her to watch her play.
…
Upstairs.
Yu Zhongjing and Yu Mufeng stood by the window watching the couple.
“Is he crazy? He drove here in the middle of the night just to meet the Young Grandmaster?” Yu Mufeng held a cup of wolfberry tea in hand and his feelings were complicated like never before.
Yu Zhongjing was very calm. He was even smirking slyly. He peeled a banana and said, “I think I will never need to worry about research funding anymore.”
Yu Mufeng was speechless.
So does my father intend to ’seek asylum’ from Lu Chengzhou?
…
After Gu Mang finished playing the game, she drank most of the honey water that Lu Chengzhou had brought her.
She put her phone in her pocket and turned to him. “Let’s go.”
Lu Chengzhou raised his eyebrows. “You don’t seem very tired.”
He held her hand and the two of them stood up.
Gu Mang pointed her chin at the car. “Shall I drive back?”
Lu Chengzhou pinched her fingertips. “Nah, rest a bit. I’ll drive.”
Gu Mang raised her delicate eyebrows slightly. “Fine.”
On the way back to the city.
Gu Mang nestled into the passenger seat lazily and glanced at Lu Chengzhou.
After thinking for two seconds, she said, “When I asked you to come pick me up it was actually out of impulse.”
Lu Chengzhou looked at the road ahead and smiled. “It’s a good thing that you act impulsively around me.”
Gu Mang was silent.
Lu Chengzhou held her hand and said, “If you are tired, go to sleep. We will arrive in a bit.”
“Oh,” Gu Mang replied perfunctorily, but she didn’t sleep. She just played with her phone next to him.
She checked the balance of her bank card and frowned.
This time, I’m really poor. I only have a few million left. Time to work.
Lu Chengzhou caught a glimpse of her unhappy expression. “What’s the matter?”
Gu Mang cleared her throat and answered casually, “Just tired.”
Lu Chengzhou parked the car on the side of the road, took a blanket out from the back seat, and went back to the driver’s seat.
He put the blanket over her. “Go to sleep. I will wake you up when we arrive.”
…
The next day.
When Gu Mang opened her eyes, she saw a familiar scene before her. They had returned to the Seal Palace. Last night she had fallen asleep in the car and did not wake up even when Lu Chengzhou carried her upstairs.
This had never happened before.
Gu Mang looked at the time. It was already 10am. She massaged her temples, lifted the quilt, and put her feet on the carpet. Then, she went to wash up.
She came out of the washroom with a towel in hand. Lu Chengzhou happened to enter the bedroom just then.
“Why don’t you sleep for a little longer?” he asked.
He walked towards the table and poured her a glass of water.
Gu Mang took it and had a sip. “I still have to return to school.”
In the past few days, she had almost read all the books that she had borrowed from the research institute’s library. She wanted to return to school to practice her assignments.
Lu Chengzhou smiled rather helplessly. “Eight days leave and only one for me.”
Gu Mang raised her eyebrows and answered rather insincerely, “That’s pretty pitiful.”
Lu Chengzhou squinted. There was a little bit of danger in his eyes.
Gu Mang looked away and cleared her throat. “What are we having later?”
Lu Chengzhou looked at her exquisite face. After a while, he gave in and sighed. “Go get changed.”
“Oh.” Gu Mang put down the cup and turned to the changing room.
Just as she stepped forward, she paused.
She turned around and grabbed Lu Chengzhou’s chin and kissed him on the lips.
Before he could react, she let go.
Gu Mang retreated a little and smirked at him with some rebelliousness and slyness. Her dark eyes were alluring. “That’s your compensation.”
She turned and walked towards the changing room. Lu Chengzhou watched her walk away. After a few seconds, he looked down and smiled. He pressed his thumb on his lips.
…
They did not have breakfast. Lu Chengzhou took Gu Mang to eat at a restaurant that served rather bland food. After their meal, he sent her back to school.
Even though Gu Mang wore her cap and a mask, many people turned around to look at her as she walked to school. When she arrived at the dormitory, Zheng Miao and Tang Xiaoxiao were not there. Shen Qianzi was reading a book, headphones covering her ears.
Gu Mang put her bag on the table and removed her cap. Then she took off her mask. After that, she went to the washroom to wash her hands.
Shen Qianzi turned her gaze slightly to look at Gu Mang. Then, she casually looked back at her book. An exam was just around the corner. The teachers here took exams very seriously.
…
The exam was in two days.
At the office of the traditional chinese medicine major.
“The exam this time is of S-grade difficulty, huh?” Yang Tianming went to the Academic Affairs Office to handle some matters and he happened to see the exam papers printed by the traditional chinese medicine major. After reading the test questions, he rushed to the office.
“In the first exam, you should teach this group of students a lesson and warn them to study hard,” a professor said. “Does the dean find this inappropriate?”
Yang Tianming looked at them and without a second thought, he knew who they were going against. Everyone was unhappy that Gu Mang did not attend classes at the medical school.
Obviously, they wanted to teach Gu Mang a lesson with this exam. They also hoped to use this incident to warn everyone else not to take shortcuts to success.
Another professor said, “Dean, we have said this before. If Gu Mang is in the top five this time, we will allow her to skip classes. However, if she is not among the top five, I believe even the medical informatics specialization would ask her to leave. A person who lacks capabilities should not waste her time. She needs to learn the basics.”