Moving On from the Tsundere, I Choose the Perfect Sweetheart

Sigh...

’The men of the Gu family are all hopelessly devoted!’

For a moment, Gu Jiaguo was lost in thought.

He looked up at his wife, who was still a ball of fire, relentlessly urging their son’s female classmate to eat.

And with that, his mind was made up.

And so, he chimed in, "Xiaosu, your auntie is right. Your college entrance exams are just around the corner. You really need to eat more and keep your strength up!"

"Huh?"

Gu Yifan was stunned.

He was shocked to hear his usually composed father say such a thing.

’Something’s not right!’

’Something is seriously not right!’

’What in the world is wrong with my parents today?’

’This whole meal, it felt like everyone had "ulterior motives".’

................

「Ten-thirty at night.」

Gu Yifan planned to make a run for it under the pretext of taking Su Qinghe back to school.

The reason was simple.

His parents were being a little too enthusiastic toward Su Qinghe!

Their strange behavior made his skin crawl. He just knew the two of them were plotting something.

’Time to beat a strategic retreat!’

’Whatever they were plotting, his best move was to lay low for now.’

And so,

Watched on by his parents, Gu Yifan led Su Qinghe out the door.

"Phew..."

After stepping out of the elevator, Gu Yifan heaved a deep sigh of relief. His whole body relaxed.

He wasn’t the only one; Su Qinghe sighed in relief too.

’Gu Yifan’s parents had been so enthusiastic. Or was it that they were *too* nice?’

’Back at Gu Yifan’s house, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.’

’Especially the look in his mother’s eyes.’

’It was the kind of look... hmm... you give a potential daughter-in-law?’

It left her with an indescribable feeling.

"Um... my mom’s just like that. If she said anything out of line, I hope you won’t take it to heart."

As they walked through the community garden, Gu Yifan suddenly spoke to Su Qinghe beside him.

Su Qinghe was taken aback for a moment, then said out of the blue, "Your mom is very nice."

Her words seemed to be a reply, but at the same time, they weren’t.

Gu Yifan gave her a curious glance, but didn’t dwell on it.

Withdrawing his gaze, he smiled faintly. "It’s getting late. Come on, I’ll call a cab to take you back to school."

After he finished speaking, Su Qinghe suddenly fell silent.

"What’s wrong?"

Noticing Su Qinghe hadn’t moved, Gu Yifan stopped and asked.

"I... I don’t want to go back yet."

Su Qinghe said softly.

"Er..."

Her answer caught Gu Yifan off guard.

After a moment’s thought, he had a good idea of what she meant.

It made sense.

After the whole rooftop incident today, even though he was the one who fell, she was at the center of it. Facing her roommates right now would be incredibly awkward.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Yifan suddenly asked her, "Do you trust me?"

"Hm?"

Su Qinghe tilted her head, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

After a moment of silence, she nodded lightly and said softly, "I do."

"Okay!"

"Then come with me. I’ll take you somewhere!"

Hearing her answer, Gu Yifan didn’t hesitate for a second.

He then held out his right hand to Su Qinghe.

Looking at Gu Yifan’s right hand in front of her, she hesitated slightly before extending her own left hand.

With a small smile, Gu Yifan gently took her hand and led her towards the entrance of the complex.

...

By now, it was quite late. Other than a few cars passing by occasionally, there were hardly any pedestrians on the street.

The streets seemed somewhat deserted at night.

Winter in Mountain City hadn’t quite ended yet. The gentle breeze still carried a hint of a chill.

However, the trees lining the sidewalks were already showing hints of spring, with new buds sprouting from their branches.

Clearly, Miss Spring was eagerly waiting to make her entrance.

Under the dim yellow streetlights, the two of them walked slowly down the sidewalk, hand in hand.

Gu Yifan glanced at Su Qinghe beside him. The dim, yellow lamplight cast a faint golden hue on her waterfall of straight, black hair. Beneath her loose school uniform, a closer look revealed the fine figure that the baggy clothes couldn’t entirely conceal.

Especially her chest, which bounced slightly as she walked.

’She’s only eighteen. A size like that is already pretty impressive.’

’Her potential was limitless!’

’The "’Pauper’ Campus Belle"... looks like she isn’t so "poor" after all!’

Gu Yifan nodded to himself in approval.

As if sensing his gaze, Su Qinghe turned her head to look at him.

A pair of glistening, almond-shaped eyes met his.

"What is it?"

She tilted her head, her voice soft with puzzlement.

"It’s nothing!"

Gu Yifan said nonchalantly.

"Oh, okay."

Although she was still puzzled, Su Qinghe didn’t dwell on it.

"Let’s walk a little faster."

Averting his eyes, Gu Yifan changed the subject.

"Okay!"

Su Qinghe nodded.

As for where they were going, Gu Yifan didn’t say, and she didn’t ask.

And so, the two of them walked on, quickening their pace, seemingly without a destination.

「As time passed.」

Before they knew it, they had left the city center far behind.

It was now eleven-thirty at night.

They had been walking for a full hour.

At the edge of the city, there were still streetlights.

But compared to the city center, it was much more deserted.

"Are you tired?"

Gu Yifan stopped and asked Su Qinghe, who was beside him.

"Mhm, a little."

Su Qinghe didn’t try to be coy. She nodded and spoke softly.

"Okay, let’s rest for a bit then."

Gu Yifan nodded, then caught sight of a late-night food stall near a construction site not far ahead. "There’s a food stall over there," he said. "Let’s get something to eat!"

"After all, it’ll probably be a long time before we can eat again!"

"Huh?"

Su Qinghe paused, then asked quizzically, "A long time before we can eat again?"

"Yeah!"

"Where are you going to find food on a mountain this late at night?"

Gu Yifan answered casually.

’A mountain?’

Su Qinghe had a sudden realization. So he was taking her mountain climbing!

’But... going mountain climbing this late at night?’

’What a strange thing to do.’

She was completely bewildered.

"Don’t just stand there spacing out, let’s go!"

Gu Yifan tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her toward the food stall.

"Oh, okay."

Su Qinghe replied, letting him pull her along to the food stall.

The food stall was bustling, likely due to the nearby construction site. It was filled with men in work clothes eating stir-fried noodles and rice vermicelli, many of them washing it all down with beer.

Meanwhile, the owner of the stall was stir-frying noodles in his wok without a pause.

His movements were as smooth as flowing water—you could tell at a glance he was an old pro.

In just a moment, a steaming hot portion of stir-fried noodles was ready!

"Boss, one order of stir-fried noodles and one order of stir-fried rice noodles! Add meat and an egg to both!"

Gu Yifan shouted to the owner.

His shout made many of the people there turn to look at them involuntarily.

It was simple.

The sudden appearance of Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe made them stick out like sore thumbs in this environment.

...