「Gu Muxue’s Home」

Gu Muxue angrily tossed her phone onto the bed. Xue Rui had just seen the photo, sent "886," and his profile picture had immediately gone gray.

’"886" is slang for "bye-bye." He’s just leaving without another word?’

She remembered Xue Rui had been acting strangely at school, too. He had clearly promised to come and confess his feelings to her, but he stood her up time and time again.

"What if he stops trying to confess...?" Gu Muxue began to grow anxious.

Gu Muxue didn’t understand what it meant to like someone, or what feelings even were.

She only knew that she was very happy whenever she was with Xue Rui.

Besides, Xue Rui used to confess to her once every day, and each time, she would secretly gloat, ’Now it’s your turn to beg me.’

But now Xue Rui had stopped chasing her, and the situation left her completely flustered.

"Why was I looking forward to his confession? Could it be... that subconsciously, I wanted to say yes?" Gu Muxue’s eyes glazed over.

The music from the piano conveyed her emotions. The notes flowing from under Gu Muxue’s long, slender fingertips were no longer as smooth or lively as they used to be; instead, they carried a trace of melancholy.

Outside the piano room, a middle-aged man frowned the moment he heard the music.

This was the same handsome young man Xue Rui had seen in the photograph.

But now, that handsome young man had entered middle age. The sharpness in his features was gone, replaced by a scholarly and gentle aura.

It was as if a swordsman in white had transformed into a scholar in white.

This was Gu Muxue’s father, Gu Qingshan.

He tiptoed to the doorway and knocked gently a few times on the open door.

"Xue’er, are you in a bad mood? Why don’t you tell Dad about it?" the man said with a light chuckle.

"Old Gu, a classmate of mine said he ran into someone who looks just like me," Gu Muxue replied casually.

Gu Muxue had a very close relationship with her father; there was no need for formalities.

When no one else was around, she liked to call her father Old Gu.

"Someone who looks like Xue’er?" Gu Qingshan was visibly surprised, and the image of a figure with braided pigtails flashed through his mind.

’Could it be her...?’

Gu Muxue tilted her head. "Who’s ’her’? Old Gu, you know someone who looks like me, too?"

Gu Qingshan’s eyes darted away as he waved his hand dismissively. "It’s nothing."

Gu Qingshan suddenly grew tense. At the mention of that person, he had subconsciously blurted out his thoughts.

"Dad, you’re acting weird," Gu Muxue said, giving her father a long, searching look.

In her memory, Gu Qingshan had always been composed; he would never lose his cool like this. His body language had completely given him away.

"Dad’s free today. How about I play some tennis with you?" Gu Qingshan recovered quickly, instantly returning to his normal self.

’Who on earth is that person?’

Gu Muxue grumbled internally. It was obvious she wouldn’t get anything out of her father. ’I’ll have to question Xue Rui at school,’ she resolved.

...

「Xue Rui’s Home」

「The walk-in closet」

In the section belonging to Xue Yao, racks were filled with colorful clothes in every imaginable style, each and every piece expensive.

Xue Rui turned to look at his own section of the closet. It was pitifully sparse, filled with nothing but cheap, roadside-stall junk.

"This one doesn’t suit you. I’m taking it. I’ll donate it to the children in the mountain regions."

Xue Rui held a long, light-colored dress. Its color was simple and would be perfect for Lin Ruoxi.

"Are dresses really suitable for the mountains?"

Xue Yao’s heart was bleeding. Even though she didn’t wear it, she got a sense of satisfaction just from having it on display.

But there was nothing Xue Yao could do. She had kicked Xue Rui, and this was her karma.

She had assumed Xue Rui would ask for an allowance, or maybe for permission to play games on the computer in her room.

But he actually wanted her clothes!

"Girls in the mountains care about beauty too, Yaoyao. Don’t be so superficial." As he spoke, Xue Rui pulled out a pair of pants. His mind worked as if he were playing with dress-up dolls, imagining what Lin Ruoxi would look like in the outfit.

The more he pictured it, the more satisfied he became, and the happier he got. The pile of clothes in his arms grew larger and heavier until he finally just found a suitcase to stuff them in.

"By the way, what’s your shoe size?" Xue Rui asked casually.

In truth, he had already taken several pairs of sneakers and casual shoes before even asking.

The worst part was, Xue Rui’s hand was now reaching for her evening gown—the one she planned on wearing to her middle school graduation ceremony.

"You! I’m telling Mom!" Xue Yao was so angry her eyes welled up with tears.

Xue Rui shook his head. There were plenty of clothes, but they were all light-colored. Even the shoes were mostly white or pink.

To be precise, Xue Yao’s clothes were all too flashy. He had specifically picked out a few items that would suit Lin Ruoxi.

’But the weather in Hedong... dust is everywhere. Light-colored clothes would need to be washed every day. Aren’t there any dark-colored ones?’

He opened his mom’s closet and clicked his tongue. This was way too extravagant.

It was all either mature, graceful long dresses or luxurious gowns. There were very few pieces suitable for Lin Ruoxi.

Just as he was about to close the doors, he caught sight of a box out of the corner of his eye. It had a Balenciaga logo on it. Opening it, he found several pairs of brand-new pantyhose.

’Black stockings?’ Xue Rui’s imagination ran wild. ’Black stockings on Lin Ruoxi... What an incredible sight that would be.’

So, he casually tossed them into the suitcase.

"Mmm... this is enough, more than enough." Xue Rui was very satisfied. He closed the lid on the overstuffed suitcase. ’I have to bring this over tomorrow and have Lin Ruoxi try them on,’ he thought.

Xue Rui dragged the suitcase into his room.

Lying on the hard plank bed, he looked around. The room was practically bare.

Besides a bed and a desk, there was nothing.

A ranking couldn’t help but flash through Xue Rui’s mind:

Ren Qunfang > Xue Yao > Xue Jianfeng > Xue Rui.

That was roughly the hierarchy of status in his family. If they had a dog, it would probably rank higher than him, too.

"I’ve had enough of this world where women are revered and men are scorned!" Xue Rui furiously slammed his fist on the bed.

The recoil from the wooden plank shot through his hand, making it ache. His frown deepened. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Ren Qunfang said that children shouldn’t sleep on soft beds, so his room had a hard plank bed.

But Xue Yao’s bed was very soft...

"I need to raise my status in this family," Xue Rui muttered to himself before falling into a deep sleep.

After a short nap, it was dinnertime.

The whole family sat in an orderly fashion at the table.

Because Xue Jianfeng hadn’t returned, Ren Qunfang sat in the head seat. Xue Yao and Xue Rui sat on either side of her like her left and right guardians. Xue Xiaying was next to Xue Yao, and Ren Jun was on Xue Rui’s side.

"Mom, my brother stole my clothes!" Xue Yao continued to tattle.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What would your brother want with your clothes?" Ren Qunfang paid her no mind, assuming her daughter was just throwing a tantrum and finding an excuse to bully Xue Rui.

"You wear a school uniform all day, and you’re a shut-in at home. What’s the point of having so many clothes?" Xue Rui retorted.

"You really took them?" Ren Qunfang asked in disbelief.

"He must have taken my clothes to do some unspeakable things!" Xue Yao said through gritted teeth.

Xue Rui’s heart skipped a beat. He thought of the Balenciaga stockings and recalled how he had brought Lin Ruoxi to the city and set her up in a small, secret house—just like a man keeping a mistress...

But his expression remained unchanged as he said, "I took them to do a good deed. Our teacher taught us to be helpful to others. Isn’t that right, Auntie?"

"Me?" Xue Xiaying pointed at herself. Those two had been bickering for ages; why was she being dragged into it today?

"Don’t mind them. Here, eat, eat." Ren Jun kept putting food into Xue Xiaying’s bowl.

"That’s enough, thank you," Xue Xiaying said with a smiling nod.

She knew Ren Jun was her sister-in-law’s biological younger brother, but she had been away studying for years and had only seen him a few times during New Year holidays.

"You teachers must get paid pretty well, right? And you get weekends and winter and summer breaks," Ren Jun said, casually making conversation.