“What’s this business about the post on the forum? Wasn’t your outing with Gu Li arranged at the last minute? How did anyone even find out? Don’t tell me Gu Li leaked it deliberately.”
The rumor was a large part of why Wang Cheng had rushed over so quickly. Chu Yifeng had received a call from Lei Yunze telling them about the forum post. Wang Cheng, afraid his sister would be hurt, came straight away. One look at her expression convinced him he had been right.
“Probably not. I think this really could have been a coincidence.”
Chu Yifeng spoke objectively.
He did not explain further, but Wang Cheng understood. Gu Li’s aim was to win his sister’s affection. Why would he do something that would hurt her? If she distanced herself from him because of the scandal, all his previous efforts would have been wasted.
Pang Chunjuan raised her hand. “I read the post. It really might be a coincidence. The poster said he and a friend were drinking last night and ended up running late. They decided to spend the night at a hotel. That’s how they happened to see Ziyu and Senior Gu. I checked the place they were drinking, and it’s not far from the hotel where Ziyu stayed.”
“If it was just a misunderstanding, then this should be easy to deal with. But there’s one thing…” Wang Cheng turned to Wang Ziyu. “Starting today, don’t see Gu Li again.”
Wang Ziyu stared. “Why?”
“You just have to trust that I’m doing this for your own good. Gu Li had a reason for approaching you. Even without all these misunderstandings, you two could never be together. It’s better to give up any hopes about him now.”
Wang Cheng spoke with complete seriousness.
“But Second Brother, what could he possibly want from me?” Wang Ziyu couldn’t understand. Gu Li was said to come from a comfortable family, so it was unlikely he wanted money. Her own family had little money and even less social influence, as far as she knew.
Wang Cheng hadn’t intended to explain everything immediately, but everyone here was close to the family. After some thought, he decided it would be better to tell his sister now, before Gu Li could hurt her badly.
“Since you want to know, I’ll tell you. Gu Li is a cousin of yours.”
“No way!” Qian Baobao exclaimed.
Wang Ziyu stared at him in disbelief. “Second Brother, you’re joking, right?” As soon as she said it, she remembered something. Strictly speaking, her real family surname was Gu. But they had only recently found her grandfather, and she had barely met him. She hadn’t started thinking of herself as part of the Gu family.
“I’m not joking. When Baobao told me about him this morning, I had someone investigate. Gu Li was born to a daughter of the Gu family’s fourth branch and was adopted by Gu Tianming, her older brother. He’s your relative. Dating him is out of the question.”
Wang Ziyu looked wounded.
How had a relationship between a senior student and a junior suddenly become one between relatives?
Thinking about Gu Li, she found it hard to accept. Her heart had only just started to stir, and now the feelings had been nipped in the bud. Perhaps she would never dare fall in love again.
“Wait,” Mi Li said seriously. “If Gu Li really is Ziyu’s cousin, why would he act so ambiguously toward her and treat her so well?” The kinship was distant, admittedly.
“Unless Gu Li didn’t know they were related either,” Qian Baobao suggested.
“Or maybe he knew and treated Ziyu so well because she’s his younger cousin?” Pang Chunjuan offered another possibility.
Wang Cheng doubted Gu Li could have been unaware. The collateral branches watched the main Gu line closely. Once his parents had returned to the Gu family, everyone would have investigated them, especially an ambitious man like Gu Li, who wanted a share of Gu Group. What Wang Cheng couldn’t understand was why Gu Li had taken such a risk. As soon as the family found out, Wang Cheng, as Ziyu’s brother, would investigate him. His identity was bound to come to light eventually.
“The urgent thing is to sort out the forum rumors. We can’t let people destroy Xiaoyu’s reputation,” Wang Cheng decided. He could think about the rest later.
“Right, right. Let’s handle that first,” everyone agreed.
The original forum poster had not actually made a direct accusation. He only claimed to have seen Gu Li and Wang Ziyu entering a hotel together. He didn’t say he had witnessed them doing anything intimate, and he had no photograph. The lurid version of the story had been invented by other people’s imaginations. Most people assumed that a man and woman going into a hotel late at night must be renting a room together. Those who enjoyed stirring up trouble spread the rumor.
Wang Cheng opened the forum on the computer he had bought for Ziyu. After reading only a couple of posts, he noticed a red thread pinned at the top of the page. The poster’s username was Gu Li. He had registered under his own name.
Wang Cheng opened the thread. It already had an enormous number of replies. To his surprise, it was a post defending Wang Ziyu. Gu Li recounted the circumstances of their missed curfew in detail. He admitted they had stayed outside overnight, but explained that they had slept in separate rooms and that nothing inappropriate had happened. Nothing could have, he added, because they were relatives: he was Wang Ziyu’s cousin. Rumors about them were distressing to both of them, and he hoped everyone would stop discussing the matter.
The announcement attracted instant attention. Many commenters said they didn’t believe it; some accused Gu Li of inventing the family connection to clear Ziyu’s name. Others pointed out that only an idiot would pretend to be blood relatives as an excuse. If they did that, how could the two ever date in the future? Once their family connection had been laid out, most readers believed the explanation. If two cousins missed curfew and had to spend the night away, the situation was much less scandalous.
“So Senior Gu really was only showing Ziyu the affection of an older brother,” Qian Baobao said disappointedly. She wasn’t sure why she was disappointed. She thought Senior Gu was quite a good person: intelligent, with an excellent reputation. He had dated only one girl in four years of university, and that relationship had ended because the girl had been unfaithful.
Mi Li glared at her.
Baobao looked puzzled until Pang Chunjuan gestured toward Wang Ziyu. Then she understood and hurriedly covered her mouth. If things were as they now appeared, Ziyu’s feelings had been entirely one-sided. That might be harder to accept than merely discovering that they were relatives.
Wang Cheng’s face was black as thunder. He had intended to use the forum rumors as an entirely legitimate reason to confront Gu Li. Instead, the other man had struck first, putting Ziyu in his debt while using the supposedly brotherly relationship to dispel suspicion. What a clever plan.
“Xiaoyu…”
“Second Brother, I’m okay. I just feel a little embarrassed. Thankfully, not many people knew about my feelings, or I’d never live it down.” Wang Ziyu forced a smile.
Seeing her like this only made Wang Cheng angrier with Gu Li. That bastard had better not fall into his hands. “Don’t feel embarrassed. I think Gu Li was at fault. He knew you were related. It’s bad enough that he didn’t tell you, but he kept asking you out. Anyone would naturally assume that meant the other person liked them.”
Wang Ziyu shook her head. “You really don’t have to worry, Second Brother. I’m fine. I just need a little time to get my head around it. Give me an hour. No, half an hour. I’ll sort out my feelings soon.”
She wasn’t merely saying that to comfort them. She understood what she felt for Gu Li. It was only a budding attraction, not yet love. Someone more emotional might need longer to recover, but she saw herself as a fairly sensible person. She was determined never to let this sort of thing happen again.
“All right. As long as you understand.”
Seeing that she genuinely seemed ready to let go, Wang Cheng felt a little better.
“I’m sorry I made everyone worry,” Wang Ziyu said apologetically.
After leaving the girls’ dormitory, Wang Cheng did not immediately leave the university.
Judging by his manner, Chu Yifeng asked, “You’re not thinking of going straight to Gu Li, are you?”
“Exactly. He may fool others, but he can’t fool me. That guy clearly wants to use Xiaoyu as a stepping stone. I finally understand his plan. If he builds a good relationship with my family, he’ll get a share of the benefits after my brother takes control of Gu Group.”
If Wang Ning’an had been an ordinary man without influence, Gu Li might even have risked doing something illegal. But Wang Ning’an was no ordinary man, and Wang Cheng stood behind him, with powerful backers of his own. Gu Li didn’t dare take that chance, so he chose the next-best approach instead.
After reaching this conclusion, there were only two words Wang Cheng wanted to say to Gu Li: Dream on.
Seeing Wang Cheng so determined, Chu Yifeng accompanied him to the boys’ dormitory. Since Gu Li had moved back, his room had been especially busy. His pleasant manner and talent for making friends had earned him many acquaintances. When people heard he had been injured protecting Wang Ziyu, students from upstairs and downstairs came to visit. Once his forum post became popular, others came to ask whether it was true. Some even thought it a shame that the two were relatives, because Gu Li and Wang Ziyu looked so well matched.