161. Telepathy

If there was anyone in the Guo family who treated Guo Jingyuan reasonably well, it was the "aunt" Guo Yang had just mentioned.

Guo Yang’s parents had both passed away when he was very young. With an elder sister acting as a mother, he was raised through all sorts of hardships by this sister, who was more than a decade older than him.

Perhaps because Guo Jingyuan was the first child in the Guo family, this aunt had always been quite kind to her. Although they did not live in the same city, in Guo Jingyuan’s memory, whenever this not particularly wealthy aunt came to visit her every year, she would at least give her red envelopes and buy her gifts.

During the years after her mother passed away, when the new bride entered the household and treated Guo Jingyuan harshly, it was thanks to this aunt’s occasional financial support that Guo Jingyuan managed not to starve to death.

Whether it was because Guo Yang deliberately kept the aunt and niece distant, although the aunt had visited them a few times over the past few years, whenever Guo Yang went to Pingcheng to visit relatives, he always took Guo Yarong instead of her.

When Guo Jingyuan received her first earnings, she had already resolved that she must repay her aunt manifold for all the kindness she had shown her over the years, the money she had secretly slipped her, and the things she had bought for her.

……

Inside the classroom on the first day of the new semester for Clinical Medicine Class 1, over thirty classmates gathered once again.

"…That’s all for the welcome party. Students who are interested can come sign up with Guo Jingyuan later. Those who pass the department screening will receive an additional 0.2 GPA points. I hope everyone will sign up enthusiastically."

After giving his instructions, Counselor Qin Ming left, happily dumping all the remaining chores onto Guo Jingyuan.

"Class monitor, class monitor, are you signing up?"

The male student in the front row immediately turned around and leaned in close to Guo Jingyuan. It was none other than the guy who had "flirted" with Guo Jingyuan during the get-together a few days earlier. His name was Li Mi; he was not very tall, but his features were rather delicate and clean.

"I heard that Nanda's scholarships are ranked based on GPA points. 0.2 GPA points is worth as much as an elective course! Class monitor, are you signing up? Class monitor?"

Li Mi called out several times before Guo Jingyuan snapped out of her daze, offering him a somewhat awkward and apologetic smile.

"I… I haven't decided yet."

"What's there to decide? You definitely have to sign up! I'm planning to go up and sing a song. Class monitor, do you want to join me? Class monitor?"

Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, Guo Jingyuan shook her head, took a registration form out of her schoolbag, and wrote down Li Mi's name.

"What song are you planning to sing?"

Li Mi rattled off several song titles in one breath, intending to let Guo Jingyuan help him choose one, but unfortunately, Guo Jingyuan's mind was full of worries, and she really was not in the mood.

After registering the few students who had trickled over to sign up, Guo Jingyuan walked like a sleepwalker toward the Crape Myrtle Court.

Chen Ruowen's willful nature had already been completely exposed.

Today, when the class group chat sent out a notification about the meeting, even if other students had matters to attend to, they would privately message the counselor to ask for leave. But as for her, she boldly and openly tagged Qin Ming right in the group chat with just four words:

"On a date, no time."

Fortunately, Qin Ming had a good temper, and this class meeting wasn't particularly important; otherwise, Guo Jingyuan really would have broken out in a cold sweat for her.

The words Guo Yang had spoken that morning were still swirling in her mind. Guo Jingyuan genuinely wanted to ask about Liu Yong's situation, but when she reached the foot of Building 8, she felt certain that this question would make Chen Ruowen angry.

Chen Ruowen was fully aware of her family background and could not possibly be ignorant of the relationship between Liu Yong and her. Guo Jingyuan even suspected that Liu Yong's imprisonment might, as Guo Yang had claimed, be partly caused by her dragging him down.

"Maybe… I shouldn't ask after all?"

As for her aunt, she would wait until she saved up enough money from her winter break job before going to Pingcheng to visit her.

With these thoughts, Guo Jingyuan turned around to leave, but the moment she spun back, she crashed straight into a solid chest.

The person she bumped into let out a muffled grunt. Guo Jingyuan was just about to apologize when she heard a somewhat familiar male voice, clear and sexy in tone.

"Beauty, I know I'm handsome, but you don't need to throw yourself into my arms quite so eagerly, do you?"

The remark sounded like something a rogue would say, but coming from this man's lips, it didn't feel flippant in the slightest. In fact, if you took a clear look at his appearance, you would find yourself overwhelmingly agreeing with his point.

With a face like that, when a woman crashed into him, didn't it look precisely like throwing herself into his arms?

Guo Jingyuan was so mortified by the remark that she didn't even dare to raise her head, which resulted in Gaotang taking quite a while to clearly see who was standing right in front of him.

"It's you?" The playful, unrefined smirk on Gaotang's face restrained itself just a fraction.

By this time, Guo Jingyuan had finally realized who was standing behind her, and she hurriedly took two steps back to distance herself from Gaotang.

Gaotang mentally drew three dark lines of speechlessness.

Was her reaction really that dramatic? He hadn't even dodged yet; what on earth was she running away from?

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Guo Jingyuan lowered her head and murmured.

Gaotang's brain spun rapidly for a moment, and then he flashed a very friendly grin that revealed a row of white teeth.

"It's fine. Are you here to see Chen Ruowen?"

Guo Jingyuan nodded, then quickly shook her head. "No, I just…"

Gaotang didn't mind her disjointed sentences in the least, completely ignoring her denial.

"She probably hasn't come back yet. Do you want to go upstairs and wait?"

……

Guo Jingyuan had no idea how she had allowed herself to be coaxed upstairs by Gaotang in just a few sentences. It wasn't until she followed him into Room 803 and stepped inside that she came to her senses with a start.

"Y-You… you live here too?"

Gaotang friendly handed her a pair of disposable slippers to change into and casually tossed his jacket over the sofa.

"Mhm, the proximity grants the first advantage, after all." He made no effort to conceal his intentions. "No need to close the door. The moment Chen Ruowen comes back, we'll be able to see her right away."

Guo Jingyuan also felt that a single man and woman shutting a door and sharing a room was rather inappropriate, so she agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Gaotang went into his room to change into more casual clothing, then leaned against the sofa and turned on the television. Guo Jingyuan didn't dare to get too close to him, fearing she might hear something else about "throwing herself into arms," so she stood obediently by the doorway.

The television was broadcasting a hit drama from the summer break called *Legends of Qingqiu*. When Guo Jingyuan was interning in Beicheng, she had heard her colleagues in the company elevator discussing this drama many times. It seemed to be a story about a fox cultivating immortality, and it was quite popular.

At that moment, the television happened to be rebroadcasting a classic trope where the male lead and the second male lead were fighting over the female lead. Gaotang watched very intently for a moment and even offered a couple of genuinely interested critiques, which completely upended Guo Jingyuan's initial impression of him.

Had you ever seen a guy watch a romance drama? And not just watch it, but critique it? Not only critique it, but analyze it with absolute fluency? It was truly an eye-opener.

The plot of this fantasy-romance show leaned toward the humorous side, and Gaotang would occasionally let out a soft chuckle in sync with it. Seeing that he seemed to be genuinely enjoying it, Guo Jingyuan couldn't help glancing at the screen for a while herself.

Must admit, the show was actually quite entertaining.

After the two of them had watched half an episode, Gaotang—who appeared completely absorbed in the drama—suddenly twitched his ears.

"Ah, she's back."

The moment his voice trailed off, a "ding" chime echoed from the far end of the hallway, followed by the elevator doors sliding open as Chen Ruowen walked out, pulling Bai Jinyan along with her.

Guo Jingyuan's red lips parted slightly in a daze as she turned back to look at Gaotang. "H-How did you know she was back?"

Gaotang set the remote control in his hand down, tilted his head toward her, and smiled.

"Telepathy."