Leng Qingqiu realized that she had been reading for quite some time—
Yet she hadn't heard Gu Yan's annoying voice even once.
She paused.
…That was strange.
Had he left?
Thinking of this, she asked softly,
"Gu Yan?"
No response.
Meanwhile—
Gu Yan was just about to reply when his eyes suddenly spun, and the corner of his mouth curled up.
An idea struck him.
He held his breath, stood up quietly, and deliberately backed away without making a sound.
Leng Qingqiu waited.
Still nothing.
So… he really left?
For some reason, a faint, indescribable feeling rose in her chest.
"This guy…"
"Why would he leave without saying anything?"
She shook her head lightly.
Perhaps it was simply because the study—once noisy—had suddenly fallen silent.
It felt… uncomfortable.
Before Gu Yan came, she had lived like this every day.
Dark.
Quiet.
Still.
In this study, the only sound was her own breathing.
Her life followed a rigid cycle—
Improve herself.
Strengthen herself.
Again and again.
Only then could she find the true culprit behind the tragedy.
Only then could she avenge her family.
She never forgot time, even here.
Her mind was like a precision machine, calculating every minute, every second flawlessly.
"…Why am I suddenly thinking so much?"
She laughed softly at herself.
In the past, she would never have been distracted by things like this.
But today—
Gu Yan had appeared.
He said he wanted to marry her.
He made noise beside her.
Annoying. Shameless. Ridiculous.
And yet—
Her life seemed to have gained something extra.
As if her daily schedule had shifted from:
[Absorb knowledge → Absorb knowledge → Absorb knowledge]
To:
[Wife and baby → Learn knowledge → Wife and baby]
"——Bah!"
Her face warmed instantly.
Why was she thinking about that again?!
Those stupid words echoed in her mind.
"No, no… calm down."
She muttered softly.
She really couldn't understand how Gu Yan could say such corny things without shame.
Standing up, she walked toward the bookshelf.
This room—
Every shelf, every corner—
She knew them all by heart.
She had been here for years.
But—
She didn't know one thing.
Gu Yan was standing right in front of the shelf.
—
Why is Qingqiu coming this way?
Gu Yan froze.
And what was she thinking about just now? She looked unusually focused…
He covered his mouth instinctively.
Watching her approach with closed eyes and a calm, cold expression—
It was honestly…
Too dangerous.
This… this is lethal.
Gu Yan swallowed.
No, no. He was here to build favorability, not self-destruct.
He glanced toward the door.
Since Qingqiu thought he'd left, he could quietly slip away.
Judging by her steps, she was clearly heading for the book behind him.
He just needed to move aside.
So—
He carefully shifted his body.
Leng Qingqiu continued walking along her familiar route.
However—
She forgot one thing.
Earlier, Gu Yan had moved a chair and left it not far away.
She walked forward without any guard.
The next second—
Bang!
"Ah—!"
Her foot hit something hard.
Her body tilted forward violently.
Blindness meant instant panic.
If she fell—
If she got hurt—
Before the thought even finished—
"Qingqiu!"
Gu Yan rushed forward.
Thud!
The two fell together.
Leng Qingqiu landed straight into Gu Yan's arms.
"Ouch—!"
Gu Yan was about to cry out when—
[Saved your love interest from falling: Pure Love Points +10]
"Hey—haha!"
The system notification hit.
He laughed out loud without thinking.
Leng Qingqiu, who had braced herself for pain, froze.
…Saved?
That laugh—
"Gu Yan?"
She asked hesitantly.
That wasn't right.
Didn't he leave?
He hadn't answered earlier.
Unless—
Realization struck.
Her expression cooled instantly.
"You deliberately stayed silent," she said slowly,
"just to watch me fall?"
"…Bastard."
Annoyance flared.
So this was the so-called pure love idiot?
Did he want to see her embarrass herself?
Fine.
So this was how he wanted to play it.
"That's not fair, Qingqiu!" Gu Yan protested.
"Didn't you tell me to be quiet? I didn't dare make a sound!"
He absolutely refused to admit it.
This was an accident—purely an accident!
"You know very well whether you had that thought or not!"
She didn't want to hear his nonsense.
She immediately struggled to get up.
"Let go of me! You bastard!"
"H-Hey—cough, cough—! Qingqiu, you're crushing me!"
"Shut up! You deserve it!"
She pressed her hands against his chest, trying to stand—
Completely unaware that their posture had become… extremely questionable.
—
Click.
The door burst open.
"Sister! I heard a loud noise—are you okay?! That pervert Gu Yan didn't do anything to you, did he—"
Leng Ling'er rushed in—
Then froze mid-sentence.
The scene before her eyes struck like lightning.
Her always-calm, always-composed elder sister—
Was pressing both hands against Gu Yan's chest.
Their bodies were far too close.
Her sister's expression looked… painful.
"…Is that Ling'er?"
"Help me up."
Leng Qingqiu heard her sister's voice and spoke quickly.
"Help—?!"
Leng Ling'er's eyes instantly turned red.
"Big sister—sob! You've only been seeing this man for one day and this already happened?! Waaa—!!"
She burst into tears on the spot.
?
Gu Yan slowly raised a question mark.
Leng Qingqiu also slowly raised a question mark.
Later.
Inside the room—
Leng Qingqiu and Leng Ling'er sat on the bed.
Gu Yan sat opposite them on a chair.
A three-person interrogation.
"So!" Leng Ling'er pointed at him fiercely.
"To prevent this from happening again—!"
"You are absolutely not allowed to be alone with my sister anymore!"
The misunderstanding was… somehow cleared up.
Leng Qingqiu stayed silent.
She now fully understood what that scene must have looked like to an outsider.
Shame crept up her spine.
Damn it…
In front of my sister…
I've lost all dignity…
Gu Yan looked at the red-eyed, yellow-haired sister-in-law and nodded helplessly.
"Okay, okay. I promise."
That said—
She still had to go to school later, right?
So doesn't that mean—
He and Qingqiu could still be close whenever they wanted?