Chapter 38: Don’t Be Sad 2

Chapter 38: Don't Be Sad 2

They stood by the window niche, hidden from their classmates' view.

"Who told you?" Gu Jiabei asked.

Yun He snorted softly. "Your every move as the school's heartthrob is probably known to everyone. There's no need for anyone to inform me."

"I swear..." Gu Jiabei said helplessly, leaning his back gently against the wall. He pressed the back of his head against it and sighed deeply into the gradually warming air.

Yun He glanced at Gu Jiabei sideways. He could sense that the latter was troubled and agitated, though he didn't know the reason. Yun He didn't push for an answer; if Gu Jiabei didn't want to talk, he would stand quietly with him.

Gu Jiabei closed his eyes lightly, but his brows remained knitted.

His soft, scattered hair fell across his forehead, hiding his bright black eyes behind his lids. Neither his usual indifferent expression nor the gentle, affectionate gaze he had when looking at Yun He was visible now.

Gu Jiabei seemed exhausted, his thin lips pressed tightly together. Only shallow breaths escaped his lips with each slight rise and fall of his chest.

Yun He watched Gu Jiabei in silence. The sound of the teacher lecturing, students answering questions, and another teacher shouting in anger from a neighboring classroom all faded away. To Yun He, the corridor seemed utterly quiet. Standing beside Gu Jiabei, he felt as if time had stopped and the world would end.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Gu Jiabei finally opened his eyes. His thick lashes fluttered like a fan as his dark gaze met Yun He's, who had been staring at him the entire time.

"Not enough yet?" Gu Jiabei asked softly, his expression significantly improved from before, at least his brows were no longer knitted tightly.

"I could never get enough," Yun He replied.

Gu Jiabei fell silent for a moment before retrieving his phone and passing it to Yun He.

Taking the phone, Yun He saw a message from Lu Angyu, which included a photograph. He tapped on the image to enlarge it.

It was a picture of Gu Wei embracing a woman, seemingly taken secretly from a distance. Though the image was somewhat blurry, the expressions and gestures of the two individuals were clearly visible. Gu Wei appeared genuinely happy, with one arm around the woman's waist and the other holding a phone to his ear. They stood casually yet intimately on a busy street.

Lu Angyu had also sent a few lines: "Took this a couple of days ago. That woman's back, and I assume your father has been in contact with her all along."

"She seemed to be away for your father's business matters some time ago and has only recently returned."

"From what my uncle told me, she's been quite helpful with your father's recent affairs."

"Beibei, should we continue following up on this?"

Gu Jiabei didn't reply to Lu Angyu anymore.

It turned out that Gu Jiabei had been engrossed in his phone during class due to receiving this photo, which led the teacher to misjudge him as playing games on his device, hence resulting in his punishment of standing in the corner.

"I first encountered him with this woman on Valentine's Day, when they were spending the holiday together in a hotel, never expecting to be caught by me," Gu Jiabei said slowly, his eyes tinged with icy sarcasm. "It was the first time I saw my always composed and loving father towards my mother reveal a flustered expression. It was quite an indescribable sight..."

Yun He didn't speak, but merely tugged gently at Gu Jiabei's sleeve. If not for the fear of being secretly snapped by their elusive classmates, he would have dearly loved to embrace Gu Jiabei.

"He promised me he wouldn't hurt my mother, that he would cut ties with that woman. He claimed it was just a momentary lapse in judgment. But I didn't believe him, because after that, his gaze whenever he looked at me was always evasive. He started coming home less and less until his business troubles forced us to move here together," Gu Jiabei said, his eyes fixed on the basketball court ahead where a few boys were playing. A smile tugged at his lips, though it was tinged with bitterness. "But he still had to go back frequently to attend to matters. So I asked Lu Angyu to have someone keep an eye on him. I just wanted to be sure, given our current situation, if that woman would still be by his side."

"During winter vacation, I followed him the whole time and didn't catch a single glimpse of this woman. I still held onto a sliver of hope that perhaps they really had lost contact," Gu Jiabei clenched his fists tightly, his face cold. "But who would have thought, true love lasts forever, even for a bastard and a dog."

"Gu Jiabei..." Yun He said softly.

Gu Jiabei shook his head and continued, "I'm fine. It's just that I feel it's unfair to my mother. She devoted her best years to this man, blindly loving and trusting him, living in a lie every day. I wanted to keep up the pretense for her, but I can't bear to see her trapped in this deceit forever. What should I do... How can I prevent Ms. Zhang Xunmei from being heartbroken and desperate?"

"Gu Jiabei, don't be sad..." Yun He gently entwined his little finger with Gu Jiabei's, concern etched on his face.

"I still remember how my father used to hold my mother, promising he'd always be by our side. It's damned ridiculous. Those fake displays of affection are nauseating..." Gu Jiabei's gaze dimmed.

Yun He's heart ached terribly. He couldn't bear to see the hurt expression on Gu Jiabei's face, like that of a wronged puppy, yet still stubbornly hiding it. Just as Yun He was about to wrap his arms tightly around Gu Jiabei, a short and plump middle-aged man approached them.

"What are you two doing here?!" The man barked, his voice full of authority and arrogance.

Only then did Yun He realize that the head of the disciplinary committee had arrived.

"We're standing in punishment," Yun He replied gloomily, still preoccupied with Gu Jiabei's emotions.

"Why are you standing so close together during punishment?!" the disciplinarian scolded, always on the lookout for rule-breaking students across campus.

"It's cold. We're keeping warm," Gu Jiabei replied coldly.

"Hmph, if it's cold, wear more clothes! Always showing off, thinking you can catch the eye of the opposite sex that way? I've been your age before, let me tell you, focus on studying when you should be studying. Cut out all those crooked shortcuts! Otherwise, no matter how handsome, you'll end up good for nothing!" The disciplinarian spouted a string of self-righteous maxims, rambling on incessantly. "You obviously don't take your studies seriously, or else why would you be standing here punished by the teacher? You, what rank were you in this month's exams for your class?!"

Pointing his index finger at Gu Jiabei, the disciplinarian questioned him.

"First place," Gu Jiabei replied, his face expressionless, looking straight at the disciplinarian.

The disciplinarian's mouth gaped open, and he blinked. Then, he turned his finger to point at Yun He. "And you? What was your ranking?!"

"Number five," Yun He said.

The dean of studies fell silent for two seconds before erupting, "Don't think that being good at studies makes you invincible! Allows you to do as you please! Grades don't define everything! Wait! Stop right there!!"

The dean suddenly bellowed down the corridor, "Come here this instant!"

Yun He and Gu Jiabei followed the direction of the dean's rage to see a suspicious figure standing still.

"The class of which student is this? Wandering the corridors instead of attending class at this hour!" the dean shouted menacingly. Then, turning to Yun He and Gu Jiabei, they continued, "Both of you reflect on what I just said!"

With a furious stride, the dean approached the truant student, leaving Yun He and Gu Jiabei behind.

Looking at each other, both Yun He and Gu Jiabei couldn't help but smile, their grins tinged with a hint of helplessness, as they listened to the dean's fading scolding.

"Idiot," Gu Jiabei said.

"Yeah, the dean's nickname, Mad Dog, wasn't earned for nothing," Yun He replied.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the dean, and with the bell signaling the end of class, more students began to fill the corridor. Gu Jiabei gently ruffled Yun He's hair without another word before turning back to their classroom.

Yun He gazed at Gu Jiabei's figure, his eyes filled with profound compassion.