"What?" You Ran asked.
"Have you done your practical assignments?" Qu Yun seemed particularly interested in this question.
"I did it, and I've already submitted it." You Ran straightened her chest.
"Is this the one?" Qu Yun took out a piece of paper from the folder next to her and read aloud: "Help the neighbor pick up newspapers, help the old lady cross the road, do housework at home."
After reading it aloud, Qu Yun looked up and said, "The other students either went to the countryside or found companies to do summer internships. Compared to them... I really want to know, how did you have the courage to hand this in?"
"I believe that what I do is very approachable."
Please don't misuse idioms.
"Anyway, I've already done it." He was nonchalant, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
"I won't accept this kind of practical assignment. Just a heads up, this assignment will count towards your required credits, which will have some impact on graduation," Qu Yun said, her words carrying a hint of threat.
"Since it's so important, then I'll trouble you to take care of it for me." You Ran shrugged.
"Self-reliance leads to abundance," Qu Yun said.
"What do you mean?" You Ran asked.
"That means I'm not going to help you." Qu Yun opened her notebook and continued working on her presentation slides.
“Qu Yun, you’re my boyfriend.” You Ran shook his arm.
"I am still your teacher." Qu Yun remained unmoved.
"Okay, teacher..." You Ran gently pulled open her large T-shirt, revealing half of her fragrant shoulder, then narrowed her eyes seductively and circled her red tongue around her lips: "Want to take advantage of me?"
Qu Yun: "..."
The answer is naturally no.
You Ran was so easily fooled by Qu Yun that she forgot her purpose. She didn't even have time to ask about the sinful Starbucks woman and the coffee before she was pushed out the door.
As expected, the practical assignment was rejected. You Ran pestered Qu Yun several times, even threatening to humiliate him physically and mentally, but Qu Yun didn't react at all and didn't help her at all.
It's too late to put it into practice now, You Ran was extremely anxious, but fortunately Bai Ling found out about it and reassured her that she would find someone she knew to help her sort it out.
Hearing this, You Ran finally felt relieved.
After letting go, recalling Qu Yun's ruthlessness, You Ran decided to teach him a lesson. She suppressed her impulse and didn't contact him for several days.
With nothing to do, I leisurely resumed my life of sleeping and eating, and in just a few days, I gained quite a bit of weight.
That noon, all three of her roommates went out shopping. With nothing to do, You Ran crawled into bed and went to sleep.
In a daze, my phone rang, and I answered it leisurely.
Everyone could guess that the caller was Qu Yun himself.
"What are you doing?" Qu Yun asked.
"I curse you," You Ran replied.
"Are you hungry because of the stomach curse?" Qu Yun asked.
"I'm starving, but do you really care whether I live or die?" You Ran asked.
“Didn’t you say you were mine? Since that’s the case, I have to take care of you,” Qu Yun said.
"Then why did you act like you were being raped and refuse to do it no matter what when I asked you to help with your practical assignment the other day?!" You Ran asked.
“Because of that incident, I reminded you many times during the summer vacation, but you didn’t take it to heart at all. By extension, it means you don’t care about anything I say. If you think about it more deeply, it means you don’t care about me as a person… Don’t you think I should teach you a lesson?” Qu Yun said slowly.
"Yes, yes, you can say whatever you want." You Ran sighed.
"So, have you finished your homework?" Qu Yun asked.
“My mom got it sorted out yesterday, and the package should arrive in the next couple of days,” You Ran said.
"I hope you can learn a lesson from this," Qu Yun concluded.
"Qu Yun," You Ran calmly said into the phone, "die."
After finishing the curse, she leisurely tossed aside her phone and went back to sleep.
But she hadn't slept for long when her phone rang again. It was an unfamiliar number. When she answered, an unfamiliar voice said he was a deliveryman and asked You Ran to come to the dormitory entrance to pick up the package.
You Ran guessed that it was a social practice certificate sent by her mother. Not daring to offend the deliveryman, she quickly ran downstairs in her pajamas.
However, You Ran didn't see the package; instead, she saw the person she least wanted to see—Gu Chengyuan.
He was dressed in a suit, tall and with strong features, his eyes shifting between ruthlessness and tenderness.
Seeing him was like seeing memories from many years ago, and You Ran was instantly nailed to the floor.
"Long time no see." Gu Chengyuan stood in front of You Ran, his hands in his pockets.
He gave her a smile, but the temperature of that smile was ambiguous, making You Ran feel both cold and hot.
"What, don't you recognize me?" Gu Chengyuan said, taking a step forward.
She didn't take big steps, but You Ran was still terrified. Her whole body jerked violently, and she looked like she really wanted to run away as quickly as possible.
After doing so, even You Ran felt that she had overreacted, so she could only pretend to be calm, touch her forehead, and say, "Oh, what brings you here?"
His eyes remained lowered, and he dared not look up.
"Can I say you're asking a question you already know the answer to?" Gu Chengyuan asked.
You Ran didn't answer, tacitly agreeing, her eyes fixed on the ground, where their shoes were and a pool of water had accumulated, glistening.
"Shall we go inside and talk?" Gu Chengyuan asked.
His voice always had a strong, hard quality, but when he was with You Ran, his tone softened considerably towards the end.
It was as if he suddenly realized that You Ran was different to him.
Or perhaps, I think leisurely, or perhaps, this is just wishful thinking on my part.
But none of that matters anymore.
You Ran knew Gu Chengyuan's personality and knew she couldn't stop him. So, after registering with the aunt downstairs, You Ran took Gu Chengyuan to her dormitory.
After closing the door, You Ran plopped down on the bed near the door, subconsciously preparing to run away in case of an emergency.
Gu Chengyuan saw through this intention, unsurprisingly: "Don't be afraid, I won't do anything to you... at least not here."
You Ran pretended not to understand and fiddled with her fingernails.
Gu Chengyuan's gaze remained fixed on You Ran for a long time before he said, "It's been a long time since I've seen you in your pajamas."
You Ran's body trembled, as if she remembered something, and she tightened her grip on her nails, as if she wanted to scrape something away.
Gu Chengyuan looked at You Ran, his gaze equally unpredictable.
You Ran sensed it, but she could only pretend not to know.
It was Gu Chengyuan who broke the silence: "It's been a long time since I've seen you in your pajamas."
The tone of the sentence was calm, but to You Ran, it had a completely different flavor.
Another feeling, one that only she could feel and understand.
"What brings you here?" You Ran asked.
"I'm here to bring you something." Gu Chengyuan took out a piece of paper, which was a certificate for his practical assignment. It had already been stamped and signed by a large corporation. "I asked a friend to make this certificate for you. This time, it should be enough to pass."
"Did your mother tell you to do this?" You Ran asked.
"Actually, she also wanted to improve our relationship," Gu Chengyuan said. "That's why she asked me to help you and brought me here to see you."
"Oh... thank you." After saying that, You Ran reached out, pinched the corner of the paper, and tried to take it.
However, Gu Chengyuan did not let go. Instead, he suddenly grabbed You Ran's fair wrist, and the next second, You Ran was pulled into his arms.
In her desperation, You Ran began to struggle without regard for her image, but Gu Chengyuan leaned down and whispered in her ear, "No need to thank me, it was just a coincidence... You should know the real reason I came here."
Upon hearing this, You Ran calmed down: "I don't know... and I don't want to know."
"Have you forgotten what happened that night?" Gu Chengyuan's voice carried the warmth of memory, yet a coolness seeped in, like soft, alluring threads that ensnared one's body.
You Ran clenched her teeth tightly, unable to make a sound.
“You can’t forget, and neither can I,” Gu Chengyuan said softly. “Neither of us can forget.”
You Ran felt a cool, itchy sensation on her earlobe, which slowly and gently traveled to her bone marrow.
“You’re my brother,” You Ran said, her tone more like she was trying to convince herself.
"Yes, that's why that matter caused you pain." As he finished speaking, Gu Chengyuan bit You Ran's earlobe.
That was the softest part of her body.
The softest.
"Is this your purpose?" You Ran asked. "Making me suffer is what you've always been pursuing."
"Not entirely." A smile appeared in Gu Chengyuan's eyes: "Sometimes, I also want to make you happy."
You Ran closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "If you are still willing to accept me and Mom, then I am willing to continue to treat you as my brother. If... then it's better if we don't see each other in the future."
Her voice was very soft, but it sounded like she was using all her strength.
"In this life, very few things go as planned." Gu Chengyuan's voice held an uncontrollable chuckle, his emotions clearly hostile.
You Ran suddenly broke free from him, then opened the door and said, "Get out."
Gu Chengyuan did not disobey her wishes. He stepped out, but stopped when he passed You Ran.
"If you need anything, just come to me... After all, we are siblings who are half-bloods."
After Gu Chengyuan left, You Ran closed the door and realized that her limbs were weak and she almost fell to the ground.
Then, You Ran slowly crawled onto the bed like a snail, covered her head and face with the blanket, and continued to sleep.
But the drowsiness had already left her, and all that was replaying in You Ran's mind were things from the past, things she thought she had forgotten.
After some time, I suddenly heard the sound of a key turning in the lock.
It was probably the three sisters who had returned. Normally, You Ran would have jumped up to greet them, but after the incident with Gu Chengyuan, she was not in the mood and continued to pretend to be asleep.
But as she drifted off to sleep, You Ran realized something was amiss—even if those three women came back in the middle of the night, they would have been making a huge ruckus, not being as quiet as they were now.
Could it be a petty thief?