Moving On from the Tsundere, I Choose the Perfect Sweetheart

"Quietly holding a blue-and-white token, keeping a promise true... goodbyes are always spent in gloom..."

In a daze.

Suddenly, the ringing of a cell phone pulled Gu Yifan from his thoughts.

Coming back to his senses, he looked down and realized the cigarette in his hand had burned out at some point, leaving only the butt.

He shook his head, casually tossed the extinguished butt into a nearby trash can, and freed up a hand to pull the constantly ringing phone from his pocket.

A glance at the screen made Gu Yifan pause. It was a call from an unknown number.

After a moment’s thought, he pressed the answer button anyway.

"Hello?"

"Hi, who is this?"

Gu Yifan asked, his voice a bit languid.

"Hello, it’s me. I’m Su Qinghe."

Su Qinghe’s gentle, soft voice came from the other end of the line. "I was washing my hair just now, so it wasn’t convenient. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Oh... Classmate Su, it’s you!"

"I thought it was a wrong number!"

"Haha."

Gu Yifan said with a slight smile after a moment of surprise.

’I wonder when Su Qinghe saved my number,’ he thought, a little puzzled.

But after thinking it over, he decided not to ask.

"By the way, Classmate Su, you..."

They had spoken at the exact same moment.

For a moment, both were a little embarrassed.

"Um, Classmate Yifan, you go first," Su Qinghe said softly.

"Okay, I’ll go first then. Classmate Su, you sent me a message earlier saying you had something to give me?"

Gu Yifan didn’t stand on ceremony and asked directly.

"Mhm."

"Yes. Didn’t you say you wanted my help with your schoolwork, Classmate Yifan? This afternoon in my dorm, I organized my old notes from all my subjects. I thought you could use them, so I wanted to give them to you."

Su Qinghe replied from the other end of the line.

"Ohh, I see!"

"Okay, thanks a lot. Sorry for the trouble."

Gu Yifan nodded and thanked her with a smile.

"You don’t have to be so polite. It’s the least I can do."

"You saved me and even bought me clothes and shoes. I don’t know how I could ever thank you enough."

Su Qinghe said softly.

"Ah."

"Let’s keep things separate. I still have to thank you!"

Gu Yifan said with a laugh.

He suddenly remembered the task his mom, Ms. Chen, had given him. "By the way, have you had dinner yet?" he asked.

"Huh?"

Su Qinghe was clearly taken aback on the other end of the line. She was having a little trouble keeping up with Gu Yifan’s abrupt change of topic.

Still, she answered honestly, "Not yet. I just finished washing my hair and was about to head to the school cafeteria."

"Perfect. Don’t go to the cafeteria."

Gu Yifan said, "My mom told me to invite you over to our house for dinner."

"Well..."

Su Qinghe hesitated, then said, "I’m not so sure. I already imposed on you yesterday. I’ll be fine just getting something at the school cafeteria."

"It’s no problem!"

"My mom said she’s already cooked a huge feast and gave me strict orders to bring you over. Just think of it as doing me a favor!"

Gu Yifan said.

"I..."

Su Qinghe was about to say something but was cut off by Gu Yifan. "Alright, it’s settled then. Go wait for me at the school gate. I’ll grab a taxi and come pick you up!"

He decided to cut things short. After saying his piece, he hung up immediately, giving Su Qinghe no chance to refuse.

"BEEP BEEP BEEP— BEEP BEEP BEEP—"

Listening to the busy signal, Su Qinghe felt a bit helpless and gently shook her head.

There was no hair dryer in the dorm. After setting her phone aside, she grabbed a towel from a chair and gave her still-damp hair a quick rub, then changed her clothes and got ready to leave.

Before heading out, she thought for a moment, then packed a pair of newly-knitted, sky-blue gloves from her bed into her schoolbag.

Once that was done, she glanced back at her dorm room before gently closing the door and heading downstairs.

...

Fingertip Fate Internet Cafe wasn’t too far from Mountain City First Middle School.

About ten minutes later, Gu Yifan appeared at the school’s main gate.

After getting out of the car, he glanced toward the gate and saw that Su Qinghe hadn’t come out yet.

So, he asked the taxi driver to wait a moment.

Seeing that Gu Yifan would be continuing the ride, the driver was more than happy to wait.

After all, if he didn’t wait and just left, there was no guarantee he’d find another fare right away.

Su Qinghe didn’t keep Gu Yifan waiting long. Less than two minutes later, her figure appeared at the school gate.

She had changed her clothes. She was wearing a black knit cardigan on top, and on the bottom, a long, white chiffon skirt made of a soft fabric, paired with a pair of simple white sneakers. The whole look was incredibly pure and gentle.

Compared to her outfit from the morning, this one had a touch more sweetness to it, accentuating her gentle aura even more!

Gu Yifan stared, stunned for a few seconds, before snapping back to his senses.

He quickly got out of the car, stood by the door, and waved to her. "Classmate Su, over here!"

Thinking Gu Yifan hadn’t arrived yet, she paused in surprise at the sound of his voice.

When she turned and saw it was Gu Yifan, she walked over to the car without hesitation.

"Sorry, I had to stop by the classroom, so I’m a little late."

Su Qinghe explained softly.

"Nah, it’s fine!"

"I just got here myself. Let’s get in the car first!"

Gu Yifan waved his hand dismissively and smiled.

He’d only been waiting a few minutes, so Gu Yifan didn’t mind at all.

Back when he used to wait for Han Ning, it was always at least half an hour, minimum!

’Huh?’

’Why did I suddenly think of Han Ning again?’

’Is this some kind of simp withdrawal kicking in?’

Gu Yifan quickly shook his head, trying to clear away those distracting thoughts.

"Driver, Cuihu District!"

Gu Yifan said to the driver in front after settling into the car.

"You got it!"

The driver replied, then started the car and drove off.

"Classmate Yifan, this is for you."

Su Qinghe took a thick stack of notebooks from her schoolbag and handed them to Gu Yifan.

"Uh..."

Gu Yifan was a little surprised. "Are these... your notes?"

"Mhm."

"This is all of my notes from my three years of high school. You can take them and go through them at your own pace."

Su Qinghe said with a gentle nod.

"No wonder!"

"There’s a reason you always rank first in our year!"

Gu Yifan remarked with admiration, turning to look at Su Qinghe.

FLUSH.

His words made Su Qinghe embarrassed. Her face flushed red, making her look quite adorable.

But this was bad news for Gu Yifan. Looking at the thick stack of notebooks in his hands, he felt a massive headache coming on.

"DING~"

Just then, the crisp, mechanical female voice of the system suddenly rang out in his mind...