Online Dating Fiasco with the Campus Heartthrob (DATING)
The night was silent, and at this moment, even the wind seemed to have stopped.
The dim light cast two entangled shadows on the ground. The tall shadow somewhat bloated and distorted, as if it was about to completely engulf the slender shadow.
Gu Zhao held the slender waist with one hand, and the moment he brought the person into his arms, his breath imperceptibly became heavier.
Ji Su's cheek was forced against the firm chest muscles and the heat of the chest actually penetrated through the thin layers of clothing that made his heart race.
The incident was so sudden that it caused his mind to go blank and even almost forget how to breathe, and naturally, he didn't have the time to struggle.
Until two exclamations sounded from behind at the same time—
Zhou Yang: "Brother Gu?"
Qiao Jin: "Damn it!"
Ji Su suddenly came back to his senses and instinctively pushed away the person holding him with force, and at the same time took a step back.
But the two had been too close just now, and the belt of his bathrobe accidentally got caught on Gu Zhao's belt, and when they separated, it was pulled open.
Ji Su couldn't help but let out a low cry: "Ah!"
But Gu Zhao's action was faster than his. His large hand quickly gathered the opened bathrobe before skillfully tying the belt back.
Although Qiao Jin didn't understand the situation, he still rushed forward excitedly and question, "Gu Zhao, what are you doing?"
Gu Zhao retracted his hand before sparing some words: "None of your business."
Qiao Jin raised his eyebrows and using his body to shield Ji Su behind him, righteously saying, "Ji Su's matters are my matters, don't think—"
"Xiao Qiao." Ji Su timely interrupted his speech, "I'm fine, just now... Gu Zhao helped me up."
Although it was Gu Zhao who scared him, if it weren't for that large hand, he would probably be lying on the ground with a broken head and bleeding now.
"Ah? Ah oh oh..." Qiao Jin was a bit embarrassed before he dryly laughed twice, "So that's it. I misunderstood the great campus heartthrob Gu Zhao haha..."
At this time, Zhou Yang also walked up: "Brother Gu, what were you and Ji Su doing on the balcony?"
Gu Zhao: "Looking at the night view."
Ji Su: "Hanging clothes."
The two spoke in unison, so Zhou Yang was confused: "Were you looking at the night view or hanging clothes?"
Gu Zhao didn't answer again, just deeply looked at Ji Su, then turned and walked towards his room.
"Eh? Going back to the room already?" Zhou Yang scratched the back of his head, "Then I'll go back to wash up and sleep too. Xiao Qiao, Ji Su, see you tomorrow morning."
"Bye." Qiao Jin waved at him, "Good night."
Watching the tall figure disappear from sight, Ji Su let out a long sigh of relief.
With one hand supporting the railing, only then did he realize that his legs were still a bit weak.
"Susu, what exactly happened?" Qiao Jin turned his face back while lowering his voice to ask, "What were you and Gu Zhao doing on the balcony? It couldn't really be looking at the night view, right?"
Ji Su gestured: "Let's go inside first."
The two walked into the room one after the other, and for safety's sake, Qiao Jin locked the balcony door.
Ji Su sat on the edge of the bed before explaining, "I was hanging clothes on the balcony and when I turned around, I saw Gu Zhao standing behind me. It scared me so much that I almost fell."
Qiao Jin was puzzled: "Why was he standing behind you? It is just to scare you?"
Ji Su frowned: "I also find it a bit strange."
"Wait..." Qiao Jin's expression was uncertain, "Could Gu Zhao really be suspecting you?"
Ji Su recalled that obscure and unclear gaze, and couldn't help but look down at the hem of his bathrobe.
He didn't know if Gu Zhao had seen his legs the moment the bathrobe opened.
But the other's eyesight shouldn't be that good, at least not good enough to see the fleeting mole on his leg under the dim light...
"No, impossible." Qiao Jin said and then quickly overturned his own thoughts, "If he really had suspicions, how could his reaction be so calm?"
"That makes sense." Ji Su raised his face, "He even kindly reached out to help me."
If Gu Zhao knew he was Meng Meng and beating him up to vent anger would be considered light, so how could he possibly save him?
"Anyway, we're going back to school tomorrow, and we won't be seeing Gu Zhao often, by then he won't be able to suspect you anymore." Qiao Jin analyzed with a clear head, "I believe it won't be long before he completely forgets about Meng Meng, as if nothing had happened."
"I hope so." Ji Su nodded and suddenly remembered an important question, "By the way, this trip is almost over, have you made any progress with Zhou Yang?"
"Ugh, talking about this gives me a headache." Qiao Jin sat down beside him, "These past few days have been non-stop group activities, I haven't had a chance to be alone with him."
Ji Su suggested: "Why don't you take advantage of the last night to have a private conversation with him?"
"Brother Gu is still in his room." Qiao Jin rolled his eyes, "With that moving iceberg around, forget about warming up the relationship, I'm lucky I didn't freeze to death."
"Then..." Ji Su hesitated, "Should I distract Gu Zhao?"
"No need, no need!" Qiao Jin waved his hands repeatedly, "I can't push you into the ice cave for my own happiness."
Ji Su: "It's not that exaggerated..."
"Actually, I think this trip has been quite rewarding, at least I feel our relationship has become much closer." Qiao Jin said seriously, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future and I'm not in a hurry for this moment, so let's just start by being good friends."
"Alright." Ji Su gently bumped his shoulder and softly encouraged, "As long as people truly understand what kind of person you are, no one will dislike you."
"Really?" Qiao Jin immediately got so excited that he spread his arms to pounce, "So my dear Susu, do you love me too?"
Ji Su nimbly dodged: "Enough is enough."
..........
The next day after getting up, the group had their last lunch at the resort and set off back to City A.
In the evening, the group successfully arrived at the gate of University A.
Ji Su got out of the car with his backpack and stood by the car to bid farewell to the others: "I really had a great time on this trip, thank you all."
"We had a great time too, what are you thanking us for?" He Yiming smiled brightly, "Next time we have the chance, we must meet again!"
Wang Mingzhe, who was getting out of the car on crutches, chimed in: "We must meet again!"
He Yiming took out his phone from his pocket and joke, "Ji Su, your phone won't be out of battery this time, right?"
Ji Su smiled slightly and opened his WeChat: "It's charged."
He lowered his head to bring up the WeChat QR code for He Yiming to scan but had an inexplicable feel of a chill on the top of his head.
Ji Su subconsciously looked up and suddenly fell into a pair of dark, cold eyes.
For some reason, he felt that the expression of the great campus heartthrob Gu Zhao didn't seem too happy, and the air pressure around him was also very low.
With a "beep," Ji Su lowered his eyes to click to accept the friend request: "Added."
"Great!" He Yiming happily put away his phone, "Then I'll head back to the dorm first. Let's keep in touch!"
"Alright." Ji Su responded before looking up again, and found that Gu Zhao had already turned and left, with his tall and big back looking quite cold.
Qiao Jin grabbed his arm: "Let's go, Susu."
Ji Su came back to his senses and took a step forward.
This three-day and three-night trip should be the biggest intersection between him and Gu Zhao, right?
In the future, when they meet on campus, and with Gu Zhao's personality, he definitely wouldn't give him a second glance, let alone greet him.
This also means that his experience of pretending to be Meng Meng and having an online romance with Gu Zhao is about to become history, and apart from him and Qiao Jin, no third person will know.
Of course, if Gu Zhao ever needs him in the future, he will never refuse because this is what Meng Meng owes G.
......
In the first week after the holiday, Ji Su threw himself wholeheartedly into studying and part-time work.
But soon, Ji Su found that things didn't seem to be developing as he had imagined.
In the following week, he would always run into Gu Zhao in various unexpected places, such as the cafeteria, the library, and even on the road.
The vast University A suddenly became very small, so small that he could meet people he wasn't familiar with at any time.
What surprised him even more was that Gu Zhao not only didn't treat him as air, but every time he would look at him with an indescribable gaze, and would even sit at the same table to eat with him.
Like tonight, Ji Su had deliberately avoided the dinner rush, but as soon as he sat down at the table, a familiar voice came from beside him: "What a coincidence! We meet again haha!"
Ji Su looked up with a slightly forced smile: "What a coincidence."
Due to the high frequency of coincidences, Qiao Jin wasn't as enthusiastic as usual when facing Zhou Yang: "Why are you guys eating so late too?"
Zhou Yang replied: "Brother Gu and I were playing basketball and got too into it, so we forgot the time."
Qiao Jin said helplessly: "Alright."
"Let's eat together." Zhou Yang sat down across from Qiao Jin with his tray before calling out, "Brother Gu, you sit too."
Gu Zhao sat down across from Ji Su with his emotionless gaze falling on that beautiful face.
Ji Su noticed that gaze but pretended to be calm on the surface while feeling very uneasy inside.
Since returning from the May Day trip, he had been seeing Gu Zhao more and more frequently recently, and the other's gaze seemed to linger longer and longer.
But Gu Zhao always had no expression, and the emotions in those dark eyes were hard to understand, so he had no idea what the other was thinking.
To be honest, he was a bit afraid of such people and even if he wanted to please them, he didn't know where to start.
Finally, after finishing the meal, Ji Su was about to quickly leave the scene, but a surprised female voice sounded: "Eh? Ji Su!"
Ji Su followed the voice and his heart skipped a beat.
Lin Yan was wearing a white fitted dress, with delicate lace trims on the collar, cuffs, and hem, with the quality obviously expensive.
Gu Zhao also lifted his eyelids with his gaze lingering on the dress while clearly frowning.
"Senior." Ji Su steadied his mind and stood up as if nothing was wrong, "What brings you to the second cafeteria today?"
"My roommate wanted to try the spicy chicken at the second cafeteria, so she asked me to come with her." Lin Yan looked at the others at the table and only then noticed a handsome guy sitting in front of her.
"Gu Zhao?" Lin Yan said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
Gu Zhao looked at her skirt with a calm tone: "That's a nice dress."
Ji Su instantly felt his scalp tingle: "Senior—"
"Right? Isn't it pretty?" Lin Yan didn't notice his abnormality and pinched the hem of the skirt to show it off, "This dress was given to me by Ji Su—"
"Senior!" Ji Su urgently interrupted her, "Senior, I just remembered there's something I need to tell you."
Lin Yan was stunned: "What is it?"
Ji Su was about to pull her aside to talk, but Gu Zhao spoke again: "Where did you buy the dress?"
Lin Yan didn't catch Ji Su's eye hint and honestly replied: "This dress wasn't bought, it was given to me by Ji Su."
Ji Su: "..."
He was done for!
He is really done for this time.
At this moment, Qiao Jin, who was sitting aside, finally reacted.
This should be the legendary senior who was scammed by a scumbag.
"Senior, I'm Qiao Jin." He suddenly stood up before enthusiastically guiding her away, "Come, come, senior, I have something very important to tell you..."
The two walked away but Ji Su stood where he was and did not dare to turn around to look at Gu Zhao's expression.
"The dress you gave her, where did you buy it?" The icy voice still rang out, "I bought an identical dress for my online girlfriend."
"Ah? What?" Zhou Yang figured out the connection and asked in disbelief, "So that girl just now was your online girlfriend?"
Gu Zhao didn't answer him but called out: "Ji Su."
Ji Su slowly turned around and try to muddle through: "Actually, that dress... I bought it at a physical store..."
Halfway through his sentence, he met those pitch-black eyes, and in a flash of lightning, he suddenly understood.
Gu Zhao knew.
He knew everything.
During this time, the other had just been watching him nervously perform, like watching a clumsy actor and waiting for him to reveal a fatal flaw.
Realizing this, Ji Su felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him, so cold that he shivered, and couldn't say any more words of defense.
"Zhou Yang." Gu Zhao said, "Go back to the dorm first."
Zhou Yang looked confused, but still stood up as told: "Alright, I'll head back to the dorm then."
The last lifeline was gone.
Ji Su unconsciously bit his lower lip while trying to organize an explanation in his mind.
Gu Zhao stood up: "Come with me."
Ji Su's first thought was that he was going to take him to a secluded corner and beat him up, which actually made him feel a bit relieved.
The next second, Gu Zhao asked again: "Where did you play that piano piece for me?"
Ji Su blurted out: "The music club."
Gu Zhao paused: "Lead the way."
"Ah?" Ji Su followed and stopped before cautiously asked, "Aren't you taking me to a corner to beat me up?"
Gu Zhao looked at him and coldly retorted: "How many punches do you think you can take from me?"
Ji Su: "Is... is this something we can discuss?"
Gu Zhao laughed in exasperation: "What do you think?"
Ji Su felt a chill run down his spine at his laughter and think that it was a sign of his anger reaching its peak.
Gu Zhao repeated: "Lead the way."
This time, Ji Su didn’t ask any more questions and obediently led him toward the music club.
At this hour, the activity center was nearly empty, and the music club had no events scheduled for the night, so the door had been locked early.
Ji Su retrieved the key from the flowerpot on the windowsill then unlocked the music room, and walked in.
Gu Zhao followed him into the room and closed the door behind him.
With a 'click', the lock fell into place.
Ji Su’s heart skipped a beat, and his pulse quickened.
Although he had mentally prepared himself on the way here, he couldn’t help but feel nervous now that they were alone in the same space.
He could only reassure himself that it was just a beating—he’d close his eyes, endure it, and it would be over.
Let Gu Zhao vent his anger first, and then he’d explain the whole situation clearly. Maybe then, Gu Zhao would forgive him.
As he was thinking this, Gu Zhao spoke coldly: "Play that piano piece you played for me that night again."
Ji Su was momentarily stunned: "That’s it?"
Gu Zhao walked to the seat opposite the piano and sat down: "Play."
Ji Su pursed his lips and walked over to the piano before sitting down.
He raised his hands and his long, slender fingers pressing down on the first key.
The piano piece was called "Look Forward", a piece he had played countless times as a child.
He knew it by heart and could play it with his eyes closed, but today, for the first time, his playing was clumsy and disjointed.
Because Gu Zhao was sitting right across from him with his long legs stretched out and his gaze icy yet intense, like a cold-blooded snake coiling tightly around him that send a shivers down his spine.
"You played it wrong," Gu Zhao remarked indifferently.
Ji Su took a deep breath to force himself to calm down.
This time, the music flowed effortlessly from his fingertips, warm and serene yet carrying its usual undertone of loneliness.
When the piece ended, Ji Su sat quietly at the piano with his head bowed and waited for his final judgment.
"It really was you." Gu Zhao finally spoke with his voice slow and deliberate, as if each word was being forced out from the depths of his throat. "The one who played the piano for me late at night, the one who sent me photos in a dress, and the one who blocked me."
Ji Su could hear the barely suppressed anger in his voice, especially in the last few words.
Summoning his courage, he stood up and turned to face Gu Zhao.
Gu Zhao moved as well to take heavy steps toward him.
As the imposing figure drew closer, Ji Su instinctively took a step back until his body hit the edge of the piano. Losing his balance, he pressed his hands against the black and white keys behind him.
A series of 'ding-dong' piano notes rang out, hurried and chaotic, like a signal of unease.
Gu Zhao stopped in front of him before leaning down slightly to look at him. His dark, piercing eyes were like sharp blades, as if they could cut him open.
Ji Su’s long, thick eyelashes trembled violently, like butterfly wings caught in a storm, fragile and vulnerable.
In the next moment, Gu Zhao reached out with both hands to grip his slender waist and lifted him onto the piano.
Another series of discordant piano notes echoed, mirroring Ji Su’s growing panic.
"Gu... Gu Zhao..." he tried to meet his gaze and speak softly in an attempt to plead his case. "Actually, this whole thing is a misunderstanding. I can explain—"
"What did you call me?" Gu Zhao’s voice was low and cold with a hint of hoarseness.
In the midst of this chaos, Ji Su somehow understood what he meant.
He bit his lower lip: "I’m really sorry..."
"You know that’s not what I want to hear." Gu Zhao said with his eyes fixed on Ji Su’s full, red lips, but his voice were unwavering.
Ji Su closed his eyes then blurted out: "Brother, I’m sorry..."
The word 'brother' wasn’t spoken in a cutesy, high-pitched tone but in his natural voice—clear, pleasant, and slightly soft at the end due to his shame and unease.
Gu Zhao’s handsome, cold face was unreadable as his thin lips tightly pressed together as if suppressing something.
"Just hit me." Ji Su couldn’t stand the feeling of being slowly tortured anymore and tilted his face up bravely. "I won’t fight back, and I won’t dodge."
His sharp chin lifted that elongating the graceful lines of his neck and made him look like a sacrificial white swan.
Gu Zhao let out a cold laugh and commanded: "Spread your legs."
Ji Su was momentarily confused: "What?"
"I said—" Gu Zhao reached out with one hand to forcefully part Ji Su’s knees and separated his long, slender legs.
The weather was already hot, and Ji Su had habitually worn a pair of thin, lightweight pants.
Gu Zhao’s palm was scorching hot with his fingers strong and slightly rough. They moved up along the side of his leg, and even through the fabric, Ji Su felt like the skin on his legs was burning.
As the large, bony hand moved higher, Ji Su couldn’t take it anymore and clamped his legs together and trapped the hand in between.
Gu Zhao looked down at him with his voice growing deeper: "I haven’t even done anything yet. Why are you clamping so tight?"
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