Chapter 311: Of Course

Like a heavy hammer, it smashed into Zhu Niao’s mind.

It struck her until her mind went blank, until her limbs went numb.

She followed Gou Yu like a wooden puppet, fleeing from everything.

Her mind echoed and churned.

Gou Yu had said that his liking had nothing to do with her rejection.

She seemed to have stumbled across such words while scrolling through videos—the so-called “I love you, but it has nothing to do with you.”

Was that romantic? She didn’t know.

She just felt that Gou Yu wasn’t worth it.

She wasn’t worth Gou Yu’s treatment like this. She wasn’t worth being Gou Yu’s one and only.

Suddenly, her steps halted, and she crashed into Gou Yu’s back.

It was the destination.

She looked around. The familiar scenery naturally brought back her memories.

A small pond, with a pavilion by its side.

Back in the day, the pond had always been crystal clear.

The moral standards of young students didn’t allow them to throw trash into it.

Under the small pavilion, there was only one bench, just enough for two people to sit.

It was a perfect holy land for early love couples to date.

There was a patch of grass behind it, with a relatively flat large stone inside.

When nothing was happening, the Discipline Director would crouch there, waiting for the young couples who came here to date.

Because the scenery here was good enough, the young couples would rather check the grass for the Discipline Director before their date than change locations.

But it was different now.

The pavilion had collapsed into who knows how many pieces.

Now it probably couldn’t even provide shade or shelter from the rain.

The grass beside it had grown even more lush, with weeds reaching half a person’s height.

The pond didn’t have a single drop of water left.

Plastic bottles and garbage bags that didn’t belong here had all appeared here.

The fish that had once been in the pond were gone.

Back then, Zhu Niao and Gou Yu had fished a long-raised one out of it and grilled it half-cooked in the bamboo forest.

Maybe they had good stomachs as kids—eating it turned out to be fine.

“What do you think of this place now?” Gou Yu said, his hand sliding down from her wrist until it fit her palm, fingers interlaced.

Zhu Niao didn’t refuse, nor did she resist in the slightest. Her eyes just trembled slightly.

“It’s a mess,” she commented.

“But I think it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful everywhere,” Gou Yu said, holding her hand as they walked under the pavilion.

The beauty of a scene didn’t lie in itself, but in the person viewing it.

Emotion was something profoundly mysterious.

Someone once said that as long as you’re with the person you like, everything you do is joyful.

Gou Yu had always been happy, but Zhu Niao said he was heartless and just grinned like an idiot every day.

He knew that wasn’t it. It was just because he had Zhu Niao with him every day.

And Zhu Niao was also happy every day.

He briefly let go of Zhu Niao’s hand, without a word.

That slender hand, now missing its companion, instinctively grabbed Gou Yu’s arm, as if pleading.

Yes, she said she didn’t deserve it, but she still couldn’t bear to let go, still wanted to be together.

Gou Yu’s eyes held warmth.

His left hand reached around and pressed against the black butterfly hair ornament on the back of Zhu Niao’s head, gently planting a kiss on her forehead.

Only then did the small hand gripping his arm loosen.

Gou Yu was then able to take off his white suit jacket quite casually, lay it on the dusty bench, and pull Zhu Niao to sit down.

During their middle school years, they had seen countless young couples whisper sweet nothings to each other in this spot, but the two of them had never once left their mark on this bench.

Then, they leaned together, just like those young couples in their memories.

It was at a level where if the Discipline Director saw them, they definitely couldn’t escape.

Neither of them knew what a real couple should be like.

They just simultaneously imitated the demeanor of the young couples they remembered seeing.

“Little Bird.” Gou Yu reached out and wrapped his arm around Zhu Niao’s shoulders from behind.

“This should be the first time I’ve openly expressed my feelings to you.”

He could feel the delicate body in his arms tremble slightly after he said this.

“You could say I’ve been plotting for a long time, or you could say I was taken by your looks, but I really did fall for you. It’s you, or no one.”

Gou Yu couldn’t say any sweet nothings, nor could he improvise a poem or compose a couplet on the spot and have a literary flavor.

Just being able to say these words so openly had already drained all his strength.

Zhu Niao didn’t feel nervous. Instead, it felt like some heavy stone in her heart had finally landed.

“…When did you start liking me?” the girl murmured.

“Probably about a month after you became like this. I might have already felt something back then.” Gou Yu scratched his head with his other hand.

Zhu Niao fell silent again.

Her tightly furrowed brows always carried unsolvable riddles. Her resentful eyes always held irremovable sorrow.

Gou Yu knew exactly what she was thinking about.

“Little Bird.” The young man’s arm holding Zhu Niao’s shoulder tightened slightly.

“I’m actually scared too. I only know that I love you without hesitation, but I don’t know what you think of me.”

“I…”

A variety of emotions flashed through Zhu Niao’s eyes.

Her expression changed several times.

She didn’t know how to answer. Her thoughts were chaotic, with countless ideas arguing, and among them, a voice that had once been nearly inaudible grew louder and louder.

“I can’t agree to you.”

“Why?”

“I know, I know everything. But if I agree, if the two of us get together, I’ll turn back!”

This seemed to be the last line of defense.

Only one line remained.

Was Gou Yu forcing her to answer?

No. Gou Yu would never do something like that.

Gou Yu just looked at Zhu Niao’s expression, wrapped both arms around her, and pressed her firmly into his embrace.

“No, you won’t. I’ve already received word. You won’t turn back.”

It was as if he wanted to transmit his love, to make Zhu Niao believe him, accept him.

“I know. Your worries, your inferiority complex—I’ll find a way.”

Gou Yu said softly, “I’ll go find your parents and accompany you. Of course, whether you go or not, I’ll go. I’ll explain to them what a wonderful person Zhu Niao is, how worthy she is of being loved, that Zhu Niao deserves all the love in this world.”

“Then, if they’re willing to talk properly, I’ll make them acknowledge how excellent you are and keep you from being bound by those inexplicable expectations. If they’re not willing to talk properly…”

Gou Yu held Zhu Niao even tighter. “I’ll take you and cut ties with them completely. Then, I’ll love you with the share they should have loved you.”

“Are you willing to believe me?”

Zhu Niao didn’t speak.

Held in Gou Yu’s arms, her eyes—full of stars—were wide open, shimmering with brilliance.

The girl opened her mouth, but was interrupted by a sudden voice.

“Hey, you two!” It was the Security Uncle who had come looking.

Gou Yu glanced back at the Security Uncle and was about to grab Zhu Niao’s wrist to make a run for it.

But he didn’t catch it.

Because Zhu Niao’s hands cupped his face.

Then, with a tide of emotion, she surged toward him.

This was their first kiss. He could even see her long, trembling eyelashes during those two or three seconds.

She said, “I believe you.”

Before Gou Yu could react, she grabbed his left hand and interlaced their fingers. The two gold-wrapped silver rings gently tapped each other.

Gou Yu was stunned, looking at the girl before him, who couldn’t control the tears streaming down her face, her pear-blossom-with-rain look, so pitiful and charming.

It was as if she had suddenly let go of many things, with a desperate, reckless resolve.

Neither of them could escape now. The Security Uncle was pretty fast.

He didn’t intend to run anymore.

At least he had just learned that the taste of his first kiss was Zhu Niao’s lip balm—a faint sweetness of jasmine.

“Then I’ll leave everything to you.” Though the tears wouldn’t stop flowing, she forced a smile. “Please save me.”

“I will.”

Gou Yu kissed her back.