Gu Yang let out a cold laugh, shaking his head and dropping the subject.
After all, with Gu Weiguo's appearance, anyone could tell at a glance that he was a street brawler.
A boss of street thugs, no less.
No matter how he explained it, nobody would believe him.
Seeing that Gu Yang was ignoring her, Wang Chenxi bit her red lips in hesitation.
"He... really isn't in the underworld, is he?"
"Believe whatever you want! I'm done eating. What about you?"
Looking at the bowl of rice that was still more than half full, Wang Chenxi stood right up. "I'm done too. Waiter, the bill!"
Gu Yang lit a cigarette and quietly enjoyed his after-dinner smoke.
The waiter walked right up to Gu Yang. "That'll be 382 yuan in total!"
Gu Yang froze for a moment, then pointed at Wang Chenxi. "Charge her!"
Wang Chenxi was stunned as well, only then remembering that she was the one treating.
She hurriedly waved at the waiter.
The waiter glanced at the stunning Wang Chenxi and frowned almost imperceptibly.
Still, saying nothing, the waiter brought out the payment code for Wang Chenxi to scan, then cast an intentional or accidental glance at Gu Yang.
With a slight shake of the head, the waiter walked out of the private room.
Gu Yang saw it, but didn't care at all.
Even Wang Chenxi couldn't help muttering to herself that Gu Yang lacked manners.
You had to understand, her family wasn't short on money, and she didn't care who paid when eating out.
Yet others always paid for her; she had never footed the bill herself.
However, looking back at Gu Yang's outfit—a white shirt and faded jeans—she guessed the whole ensemble added up to less than a hundred yuan of Pinduoduo goods.
Then thinking of Gu Weiguo...
As she walked out alongside Gu Yang, she asked cautiously, "Um, are you short on cash? I can lend you some!"
Gu Yang gave her a surprised look. "Not short on cash, plenty to spend. Thanks though!"
Wang Chenxi secretly curled her rosy lips in a silent sneer.
She figured Gu Yang's macho pride was acting up and he couldn't drop his face.
"Well, if you ever need anything, just look me up!"
Gu Yang frowned, looking at her in bewilderment. "Do I... look like I'm dirt poor?"
Wang Chenxi paused, wanting to say *yes*, but afraid of bruising his self-esteem.
So she hurriedly chuckled and waved her hands. "No, no! I just wanted to thank you!"
"Then marry me to show your gratitude."
"Huh?" Wang Chenxi stood frozen in a daze, watching the tall figure walking ahead.
For some inexplicable reason, her cheeks flushed bright red.
Yet seeing that Gu Yang just said it and kept walking, it was obviously a joke.
In the afternoon, Wang Chenxi returned to her seat to continue classes.
Gu Yang was equally earnest as he read his books.
Only Zhang Xiang kept glancing at the incomparably alluring Wang Chenxi from time to time.
Then, looking back at Gu Yang, he gritted his teeth and sent out a text message.
Wang Chenxi, meanwhile, was somewhat absent-minded.
A young girl's heart stirring for the first time knew nothing of how to untangle such worries.
In fact, ever since Gu Yang had first arrived in the class, she had noticed this older brother figure.
Yet because Gu Yang had an unsociable, cold personality and practically never communicated with anyone, it only made her all the more curious about him.
Twenty-three years old and just starting the third year of high school—had he been held back for five whole years?
Yet judging by his mock exam scores over the past few days, Gu Yang's grades weren't bad at all.
Not to mention key universities, getting into a tier-one university was definitely not a problem.
Could he be aiming for Tsinghua or Peking University?
Though to get into Tsinghua or Peking, Gu Yang's grades fell quite a bit short.
Aside from anything else, his math alone lagged far behind.
And his Chinese too; the only exception was English, where Gu Yang scored a perfect grade practically every time.
Everything else was pretty much average.
Abruptly, she thought back to what Gu Yang had said about marrying him.
Wang Chenxi's heart skipped a violent beat.
She remembered standing behind that tall, broad back at noon—how reassuring and safe it had felt.
Add in Gu Yang's handsome, sunny appearance and his cool, aloof demeanor, and in an instant, a flush inexplicably rushed up to Wang Chenxi's face.
When school let out in the evening, Wang Chenxi saw Gu Yang walking out of the classroom.
She hurriedly packed up her things and hurried after him.
She wanted to talk more with Gu Yang, and had even come up with an excuse: she could brush up his skills right before the exams and tutor him—even if it didn't make him a genius overnight, it would still sharpen his edge, wouldn't it?
Yet, the moment she chased him out to the school gates, she saw Gu Yang surrounded by Zhang Xiang once again.
She hurriedly ducked out of sight and dialed the police.
Gu Yang frowned as he looked at the arrogant Zhang Xiang in the lead, accompanied by a dozen punks and an older hoodlum around his own age.
"Fuck, Gu Yang, your old man isn't here now, is he? I'm gonna fucking—"
Before Zhang Xiang could finish, Gu Yang impatiently stepped forward and delivered a direct kick to his chest, sending him flying more than three meters away.
The older hoodlum was startled by the sight.
Yet thinking of the thirty thousand yuan Zhang Xiang had promised him, he waved a hand. "Get him! Beat him down!"
Gu Yang moved with lightning speed, charging forward before the punks could even form a circle.
One minute!
Groans echoed everywhere as nearby students and pedestrians watched in utter astonishment.
They had seen tough fighters before, but never anyone as ferocious as Gu Yang.
With that kind of brute force, it was one punch per man.
With that kind of speed, his movements were completely unpredictable.
And that footwork—anyone could tell he was trained in martial arts.
Over a dozen men were beaten to the ground without managing to lay a single finger on Gu Yang.
At that moment, Wang Chenxi had just hung up her phone and looked over.
Seeing the scene in utter disarray, she was startled.
She assumed Gu Weiguo had shown up again.
Yet after looking around, she didn't see Gu Weiguo.
After all, given Gu Weiguo's height, you could spot him with a single glance.
Seeing Gu Yang's foot planted right on Zhang Xiang's face, Wang Chenxi hurried over, grabbed Gu Yang, and said, "Gu Yang, stop hitting him! I've called the police."
Gu Yang frowned.
He still pressed down hard with his foot, grinding it back and forth across Zhang Xiang's terrified face.
"Are you honestly not afraid of dying?"
Only then was Zhang Xiang truly terrified.
He had assumed Gu Yang was just relying on his old man, Gu Weiguo.
Now, however, he realized this guy was an absolute monster in his own right.
Why hadn't he figured it out in the morning?
Because... in the morning, Gu Yang had punched him right in the eye.
Before he could even see who it was, a barrage of blows had rained down on his head and face.
And right after that, the passing head teacher had dragged him away.
"I won't do it again, big brother, bro, I was wrong, I'll never dare do it again."
While they were speaking, the police station officers arrived.
Everyone was hauled off to the local police station.
Worried about Gu Yang, Wang Chenxi tagged along as well.
At the police station, after questioning by the police, everyone gave their accounts of what happened.
With the police's permission, Zhang Xiang immediately pulled out his phone and called Zhang Weiping.
Just as the police were getting ready to let Gu Yang go, an officer hurried over.
"We can't let him go. Beating up so many people—even if it's self-defense, this goes way too far. He has to compensate for the damages!"
With that, the officer looked at Gu Yang's expressionless face.
"Call your family. Have your family come down here."
Gu Yang curled his lip in disdain, and Wang Chenxi hurriedly stepped forward. "How much is it? I'll pay!"
The officer frowned and looked at Wang Chenxi. "Miss, this has nothing to do with you. You aren't his parent; a family member has to come."
Wang Chenxi looked anxiously at the silent Gu Yang, terrified that if Gu Weiguo showed up, it would stir up even more trouble.