When Gu Hai left the house that morning, he noticed that Gu Jun was secretly following him. So he deliberately teased him, riding his bicycle in circles through the alleys and lanes to shake him off.
After telling this, Gu Hai took a lunchbox out of his shoulder bag and asked, "Xiao Yun, have you had breakfast?"
Su Yun replied, "Of course I have…"
But when she saw him open the lunchbox, she shamelessly gave in again: "But I'm not full!"
Gu Hai immediately handed the lunchbox to her. Su Yun happily took two bites of the beautifully shaped steamed buns, then casually passed the new clothes to Gu Hai, her cheeks puffed as she said:
"Here, these are new clothes my mom made for you. She's so biased! Ever since she got a sewing machine, she hasn't made anything new for me, but she made clothes for you first. I don't know what kind of spell you cast on her, last night she even said she wants to arrange an engagement banquet for us!"
Gu Hai held the clothes, overjoyed.
When he heard her last sentence, he became instantly excited: "An engagement banquet? When? Do I need to attend? Then I'll wear this new outfit Mom made for me!"
Su Yun: "???"
At that moment, she forgot about eating the bun. Frowning, she looked at him in confusion. "You seem very excited?"
Wasn't this guy a lifelong bachelor in his previous life?
Gu Hai coughed lightly, his excitement turning into shyness. "I am a bit excited. I didn't expect the two of us to reach the stage of engagement. Back then, after you found out about my feelings, I was afraid you would reject me."
What did he mean?
Only then did Su Yun realize that Gu Hai was confessing his feelings.
She was shocked and stared at him in disbelief. "You… aren't you… you know… that…?"
Didn't Gu Hai have a hidden condition?
In her previous life, that was the reason he never married.
So why was he so enthusiastic now?
Could it be that she had changed his mindset? That he believed she wouldn't mind his condition?
Su Yun bit her lip, looking at him with a complicated expression.
Gu Hai didn't understand and asked cautiously, "Xiao Yun, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Snapping out of it, Su Yun shook her head. "No, nothing. What I mean is… I've already convinced my parents!"
"I told them that both of us want to go to university, and we won't get entangled in romantic matters. Everything can wait until after the exams. I plan to just get through these next few months, and once we get into university, we'll have even more reasons to delay it. I guarantee they won't find any chance to arrange our engagement!"
Hearing this, the bright sparkle in Gu Hai's eyes dimmed instantly.
His mood dropped, and he looked at her resentfully, asking in a hurt tone, "Xiao Yun… do you… not like me?"
The way he said it made it sound as if she had used him and then cast him aside.
Su Yun felt troubled for several seconds.
Her gaze dropped briefly, and she suddenly felt she might have gone too far.
Gu Hai already had his own difficulties—how could she take advantage of him so casually?
To be honest, Gu Hai had helped her a lot, and she didn't dislike him. It was just that she hadn't reached the point of wanting to marry him.
After struggling internally for a moment, Su Yun made a decisive choice.
She said earnestly, "It's not that I don't like you. I just don't want to get engaged right now. How about this—after we graduate from university, if you still haven't found someone you like, then we can consider getting engaged?"
The moment she finished speaking, Gu Hai's deep, dazzling eyes lit up with overwhelming joy.
He looked at her excitedly, about to push things further, when suddenly someone knocked on the recycling station's door and called out loudly:
"Excuse me, is Comrade Su Yun here?"
The voice had an oddly official tone, as if calling someone by name.
Su Yun immediately stood up and responded loudly, "Yes!"
Gu Hai shot a resentful glance at the newcomer.
When Chu Chengsong entered with a camera slung over his shoulder, he immediately spotted Su Yun behind the counter, youthful and radiant.
His mood instantly improved. Just as he was about to speak to her, he noticed Gu Hai staring at him expressionlessly.
Chu Chengsong was not surprised. He greeted him calmly, "Comrade Gu Hai, we meet again."
Su Yun asked in surprise, "Gu Hai, is he your friend?"
At the same time, she thought to herself: as expected, handsome guys have handsome friends!
Gu Hai quickly shook his head. "I don't know him!"
Chu Chengsong smiled, then turned to Su Yun and extended his hand politely. "Comrade Su Yun, my name is Chu Chengsong. I'm a criminal police officer from Haicheng. I've met Comrade Gu Hai before—I'm also a friend of Zhou Ziyang."
Su Yun nodded in understanding and politely shook his hand. His hand felt rough, but it gave her a warm sensation.
Gu Hai stared at their joined hands, feeling extremely annoyed.
He hadn't even held Su Yun's hand—why should this guy get to?
Unaware of Gu Hai's thoughts, Su Yun found Chu Chengsong very approachable and naturally felt a favorable impression. She asked:
"Comrade Chu, are you here to see Gu Hai?"
Chu Chengsong looked at her with a gentle smile. "I'm here to see you."
"Me?"
Su Yun was surprised and looked at him more closely, certain she had never met him before.
Meanwhile, Gu Hai was already grinding his teeth, his fists subtly clenching, ready to fight at any moment.
Chu Chengsong noticed immediately. He curled his lips into a harmless smile. With his sharp brows and bright eyes, his smile made him even more striking.
Su Yun's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Why are you looking for me? Do we know each other?"
Chu Chengsong lifted his camera and politely asked, "Comrade Su Yun, may I take a few photos of you?"
At this point, Gu Hai could no longer tolerate it.
With obvious jealousy, he snapped, "No! Don't you understand that men and women should keep proper distance?"
Ignoring him, Chu Chengsong spoke directly to Su Yun. "Comrade Su Yun, here's the situation. The last time I saw you outside the Public Security Bureau, I noticed that you look very similar to my mother when she was young."
"For certain reasons, all of my mother's photos from her youth were destroyed. It has always been a regret for her. After seeing you that day, I wanted to take a few photos of you and bring them back to Haicheng for her. You truly resemble her younger self—I believe when she sees your photos, she'll feel as though she's looking at her younger self again."
Hearing this, Su Yun felt deeply moved.
In those past years, it wasn't just photos that had been destroyed—so many things had been erased by the times.
Just as she was sighing emotionally, Gu Hai said coolly, "Oh? What a coincidence. Are you sure you didn't just make that up? I've heard that recently in the capital, some people have been deceiving innocent young girls…"
Before he could finish, Chu Chengsong interrupted calmly, "I'm a criminal police officer."
Gu Hai: "…"
Seeing the tension between them about to escalate, Su Yun quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Oh, it's just taking a few photos—what's the big deal? I'll do it!"
Hearing this, Gu Hai felt completely miserable.
Chu Chengsong wasted no time. He immediately began directing Su Yun into different poses, raising his camera to take her pictures.