Chapter 20 Look at Me More

Chapter 20: Look at Me More

By the time Gu Shiying registered what was happening, the man was already lowering his head to leave. In a panic, Gu Shiying instinctively wanted to rush forward and grab him.

But he was still in Fu Huan's arms. He wanted to yell at the man not to run, but what came out was: "Fu Huan, grab that man in the gray T-shirt!"

Fu Huan released Gu Shiying, strode forward, and seized the man. Without even raising his hands, he kicked the back of the man’s knee, instantly pinning him to the ground. The entire process took barely two seconds—hardly enough time for anyone else to blink.

The middle-aged man, now restrained, turned pale: "Let me go! What are you doing?!"

Fu Huan maintained his grip, then hauled the man up and pushed him towards Gu Shiying.

Gu Shiying asked the fried rice stall owner, "Boss, do you recognize this person?"

The boss recognized him: "Isn’t that Boss Sun from the fried rice shop down the street?"

Zhang Zhi, who had just been worried about Gu Shiying touching the hot stove, was now bewildered by the sudden shift in events.

"What’s going on? What happened?"

The middle-aged man had a guilty conscience, but since no one else knew, he defiantly shouted at Gu Shiying.

"What do you want? Are you trying to extort money from me just because there are more of you?"

Gu Shiying didn't have time to dwell on that now—what if something had happened to the students from their school?

"Boss, did you do something unsavory to Boss Wang’s food? Otherwise, why were you sneaking out from the back?"

He couldn’t explicitly mention poisoning, but he could imply it. He needed the fried rice boss’s cooperation.

The middle-aged man retorted, "You’re crazy! Go see a doctor! What unsavory thing did I do? Who says I can’t pass through here?"

Zhang Zhi trusted Gu Shiying implicitly. "Boss Wang, check if there’s anything wrong with your ingredients today."

The boss immediately turned back to his stall. He asked his wife to inspect the ingredients while he scooped a spoonful of rice and sniffed it.

"The rice smells off."

His wife added, "I was just about to say the fried rice color looks wrong—darker than usual. I thought you’d added too much soy sauce."

The boss shone his phone's light for a closer look. "Why has the rice turned yellow? It was perfectly fine before we left!"

Gu Shiying was sharp. Boss Wang and his wife had been there the whole time, so Boss Sun couldn't have found an opportunity to tamper with the food at the stall. But something could have happened on their way there.

"Did anything unusual happen on your way here?"

The wife recalled, "Yes, yes! On our way here, we accidentally had a close call with a pickup truck. Several people got out, but there was no damage to their vehicle, so we let it go. Could it be you…?"

Boss Sun tried to struggle free from Fu Huan's grip. "Don’t talk nonsense! You need evidence! This is slander!"

Boss Wang, seeing his prepared rice discolored, looked heartbroken. As someone in the same industry, he instantly understood. Furious, he said, "Boss Sun, I’ve never done anything to offend you. Why would you try to harm me like this?"

Zhang Zhi took out his phone. "I’m calling the police. Once they investigate, we’ll know whether you did it or not."

The area was surrounded by several schools, with a huge flow of students. Everyone wanted a share of the business there. The mention of the police made Boss Sun even more panicked.

Liang Qi emphasized the severity of the situation. "Calling the police is the right move. If any student who bought the fried rice falls ill, Boss Wang will be the one held responsible."

That was exactly what Boss Sun had been counting on—if something happened to Boss Wang’s fried rice, his competitor would be driven out of business.

"Let go of me! How dare you frame someone? Just because you college students got into a good university, you think you're something special?!" Boss Sun began to act unreasonably and shouted loudly, "Someone, come quick! Look, students from a prestigious university are bullying an ordinary citizen, falsely accusing an honest man!"

There were already students waiting in line for food. Except for those at the back, the ones at the front had heard the whole story, and everyone chose to wait for the outcome.

Since they were close to the police station, two officers arrived shortly, one of whom was Officer Cheng, whom they had met before.

After hearing the full story, Officer Cheng and his colleague asked Boss Sun to temporarily close his stall.

Officer Cheng recognized Gu Shiying and Fu Huan, finding them somewhat familiar. "I didn’t recognize you at first—it’s Student Gu and Student Fu."

Gu Shiying: "Hello, Officer Cheng."

Boss Sun was still shouting: "Officers, you have to stand up for me! These college punks are bullying me and slandering my character!"

Though Officer Cheng was young, he dealt with all sorts of strange reports daily and was long accustomed to people like Boss Sun who blustered and postured.

Officer Cheng escorted him to the police car: "We’ve been waiting to award them both a civilian bravery award down at the station."

Boss Sun: "Huh?"

Officer Cheng: "No joke, it’s true. Did you see the injury on that kid’s hand? He got it from saving someone, and it hasn’t fully healed yet."

Boss Sun: "..."

This time, Gu Shiying and Fu Huan didn’t need to give statements. Boss Sun and his wife took their stall to the police station.

The whole incident also threw off Gu Shiying’s group’s plans.

Liang Qi was starting to think Gu Shiying had a talent for running into bizarre situations.

"Gu Shiying, your eyesight is really sharp—you noticed this guy was trouble?"

Gu Shiying offered a vague suspicion about Boss Sun: "I just saw him lurking around and watching over here."

Zhang Zhi, being a true friend, unintentionally changed the subject: "Our Ying'er has a sharp eye. By the way, what brings you guys here?"

Liang Qi pointed at Fu Huan: "We were hungry, so we got him to come out for a late-night snack. What are you all doing out? Let’s eat together."

Zhang Zhi, who was a naturally sociable person, had spent all evening filming. He was not only tired but also ended up in this mess.

He said with a hand over his heart: "Sure, sure. Our innocent college bubble's been burst—we need some late-night snacks to lift our spirits."

Gu Shiying noticed Fu Huan’s puzzled look and explained: "We were gathering material for an assignment. You saw what happened afterward."

Fu Huan: "Let’s go. I’m hungry."

Gu Shiying considered the only girl present: "Du Zhihan, are you coming?"

Du Zhihan smiled: "Sure."

Only then did Fu Huan notice Du Zhihan, who had been standing to the side all along. His expression darkened slightly—he remembered this girl. She had been in swimming class with Gu Shiying this week.

The barbecue stand was doing booming business, and they'd even set up tables out front. They chose to sit outdoors.

Liang Qi: "Barbecue's only any good when you eat it outdoors."

He deliberately left the seat next to Gu Shiying for Fu Huan, setting up his friend.

Zhang Zhi, completely unaware, cheerfully ordered barbecue.

The table was square, so the five of them had to sit close together on plastic stools.

The skewers they ordered arrived quickly; they moved aside to make space for the food.

Liang Qi said to Fu Huan, "Scoot closer to Gu Shiying."

Gu Shiying was forced to sit close to Fu Huan. It was a hot day, and he was wearing shorts that reached his knees. As soon as he sat down, the fabric rode up.

Fu Huan had probably just come from playing ball—his bent knee brushed against Gu Shiying’s without warning.

Amid the noisy chatter, Gu Shiying could clearly sense Fu Huan’s current thoughts.

Again?

"Gu Shiying, Gu Shiying, Gu Shiying."

"Don’t look at other girls—look at me more."

Gu Shiying quickly shifted his knee away. "…"

The other’s inner voice was less suggestive this time, more polite—but could he please stop repeating his name like that? It sounded like he was confessing to him over and over.

Fu Huan really had a way of giving him a headache.

Fu Huan asked Gu Shiying, "Do you want to eat this?"

He felt a flicker of secret delight at having touched Gu Shiying’s leg. The more they touched, the more his desire for him grew. He wanted Gu Shiying—his longing was growing stronger and stronger. Maybe Liang Qi was right—he needed to let Gu Shiying know he liked him. He needed to take action. Or maybe he shouldn’t have allowed himself to get so close to Gu Shiying in the first place. He was torn—on one hand, his heart yearned for Gu Shiying; on the other, he didn’t want to disrupt the balance between them.

Wasn’t being roommates enough? At least he could see him every day.

Gu Shiying looked at the freshly grilled, fragrant eggplant. "Yes."

He could ignore Fu Huan’s inner voice for now, but he couldn’t pass up good food.

He ate happily, his eyes narrowing with pleasure.

Fu Huan occasionally asked if he wanted to try something: "How about the lamb skewers?"

Gu Shiying: "Yeah, these are good too. The lamb skewers here are their specialty."

Fu Huan: "Then let’s order ten more, plus some vegetables to balance it out."

Zhang Zhi: "Great, I want some chives!"

Liang Qi suddenly smirked at Fu Huan: "Better go with green beans." He was worried some people couldn’t handle the effects of chives.

Fu Huan caught his meaning: "…"

Remembering his past bout of acute gastroenteritis, Fu Huan took charge of the order this time—half the skewers were only lightly spiced, with the excuse of being considerate to the girl.

Du Zhihan was too embarrassed to tell them she was actually a fan of extra-spicy food.

These guys were all tall and handsome, but they couldn’t handle the same level of spice as her—so weak.

The meal took over an hour. By the time they headed back to campus, it was almost 10 p.m. Zhang Zhi once again played the role of protector and walked Du Zhihan back to her dorm.

Liang Qi made an excuse that he had something to do and needed to stop by the 24-hour supermarket on campus, which was in the opposite direction of the male dorms.

So, only Fu Huan and Gu Shiying were left on the walk back to the dorm.

Gu Shiying felt inexplicably awkward and restless, quickening his pace. The thought of all the things running through Fu Huan’s mind made him even more flustered.

But Fu Huan had long strides—no matter how fast Gu Shiying walked, he kept up easily. It wasn’t until Gu Shiying nearly broke into a run that Fu Huan noticed something was off.

Fu Huan: "Is your stomach bothering you again?"

Gu Shiying’s brain wasn’t on the same page: "Huh?"

Fu Huan: "Why else would you be walking so fast? You’re just rushing back to use the bathroom, right?"

Gu Shiying scratched his arm—that excuse was perfect: "Yeah, my stomach’s a bit upset. Probably from the spicy food."

Fu Huan lazily glanced at his stomach: "Then next time, don’t order spicy or cold stuff. Your stomach acts up easily."

Gu Shiying argued, "My stomach just hasn’t fully recovered yet. Once it does, I can even handle the spiciest food."

Fu Huan: "Mm." He didn’t believe him.

Gu Shiying: "…" Next time, I won’t be eating with you anyway.

After hurrying back to the dorm, Gu Shiying had to commit to the act and spent a few minutes in the bathroom.

Yang Shuhang was busy these days, taking private dance lessons off-campus, and Guan Yu was still at the library studying for the judicial exam and hadn’t returned yet.

Gu Shiying remembered the gift he still hadn’t given.

Thinking of Fu Huan’s inner monologue, he wasn’t sure he wanted to give it to him—but then again, Fu Huan had helped him out tonight.

After turning it over in his mind, Gu Shiying steeled himself and decided he should still give it. One thing at a time.

Fu Huan was leaning back in his chair, long legs spread, replying to messages on his phone.

Gu Shiying took out the gift from the pink box and walked over to him.

"Fu Huan, thanks for always helping me out lately. Here’s a little something for you."

Fu Huan’s hand, holding his phone, stilled. He looked up at Gu Shiying, his gaze momentarily dazed.

He was stunned.

Author’s Note:

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Fu Huan: [Sobbing loudly] My wifey gave me a token of his affection!

Gu Shiying: …