Alarm bells rang loudly in Gu Hai's mind. He quickly stepped away from Sun Xiaoping and said, "Sun Xiaoping, why did you come looking for me?"
Pouting, Sun Xiaoping moved closer again and complained resentfully, "Brother Gu Hai, we were so close when we were kids. Why are you ignoring me now that we've grown up?"
"I know—it must be because of my mom's attitude affecting us. But don't worry, my dad supports us. As long as we stay firm, my mom will eventually give in."
Her eyes were filled with determination as she declared, "My feelings will not be stopped by anything!"
"Wait!"
Gu Hai was shocked. Afraid Su Yun might misunderstand, he immediately clarified, "Sun Xiaoping, what 'feelings' are you talking about between us?"
Sun Xiaoping stamped her foot. "How can there be no feelings? Have you forgotten? When we were kids playing house, I was always your bride!"
As she spoke, she quickly took out a lunchbox from her bag, opened it, and pushed it toward him with a bright smile. "Brother Gu Hai, this is crispy pork my family made yesterday. I didn't even eat it myself—I saved it especially for you. Try it!"
"No need!" Gu Hai refused as usual.
Then he said clearly, word by word, "Sun Xiaoping, I have no feelings for you. Don't waste your time on me anymore. I already have someone I'm seeing."
"What?"
Sun Xiaoping froze, the lunchbox still in her hand.
She immediately turned and pointed at Su Yun, demanding, "Is it her?"
"I knew it! That's why she was shamelessly sticking so close to you earlier—you two are together! Brother Gu Hai, what's wrong with me? How could you fall for someone who collects scrap?"
Hearing that, Su Yun felt speechless.
What's wrong with collecting scrap? Labor is honorable!
After speaking, Sun Xiaoping strode over to Su Yun and said in a condescending tone, "You—name your price. How much will it take for you to leave my Brother Gu Hai?"
Su Yun blinked in confusion. "???"
Sun Xiaoping snorted. "I've seen plenty like you! You're just after his looks. But let me tell you the truth—Brother Gu Hai is poor. He has no money. You won't have a good life with him! If you know what's good for you, leave him now. I might give you some compensation. Otherwise, you'll get nothing!"
Gu Hai: "..."
Su Yun smacked her lips and said plainly, "250."
"What?" Sun Xiaoping stared in shock.
Kindly, Su Yun repeated, "For 250 yuan, you can take Gu Hai away."
Sun Xiaoping stood there with her mouth open, completely unprepared for such an outrageous demand.
She frowned tightly and looked at Su Yun like she was a heartless betrayer. Through gritted teeth, she said, "Fine. Just you wait. I'll go raise the money right now. I will not let Brother Gu Hai stay with someone as greedy as you!"
"Brother Gu Hai, wait for me to save you! You must wait for me!"
With that, she turned and ran off in tears.
Gu Hai's expression was complicated. Just as he was about to explain, he saw Su Yun crossing her arms and looking at him like he was a scumbag.
He didn't dare move and asked cautiously, "Xiaoyun… what's wrong?"
Su Yun snorted sarcastically. "Nothing. I'm just taking a look at you."
Hearing that, Gu Hai didn't even dare breathe loudly.
Su Yun coldly walked past him, sat behind the counter, picked up her pen, and continued working on her test papers.
After a while, Gu Hai tried to quietly sit beside her, but she kicked his stool aside.
He instantly stood up straight, like a student who had made a mistake!
---
Meanwhile, Sun Xiaoping wiped her tears and ran home.
It was noon. Her mother was cooking in the kitchen. When she saw Sun Xiaoping return, she shut the door and demanded, "Xiaoping, did you take the crispy pork from home again? Did you go looking for Gu Hai? How many times have I told you—he has no future! There are so many good young men in our police compound. You could pick one with your eyes closed, and he'd still be better than Gu Hai!"
Following her into the room, her mother saw her rummaging through drawers and asked, "Did you even hear me? What are you looking for?"
After searching for a long time, Sun Xiaoping found only eight yuan of her private savings.
Although she was the daughter of the police chief, most of her allowance was spent on food and clothes—she had very little left.
Without money, she couldn't "save" Gu Hai!
Thinking this, she burst into tears. "Mom, lend me 250 yuan! Brother Gu Hai already has a girlfriend—a scrap collector! She said she won't leave him unless I pay her 250 yuan. Lend me the money first. Once I rescue Brother Gu Hai, I'll pay you back slowly!"
Hearing this, her mother's expression brightened with delight—she was practically overjoyed!
"What did you say? Gu Hai has a girlfriend? And she collects scrap? How could he sink so low?"
Though she said that, she was secretly very satisfied.
As she had expected, in Gu Hai's current situation, what kind of good match could he possibly find?
As long as he stayed away from her daughter, that was enough!
Sun Xiaoping cried pitifully, "Mom… 250 yuan…"
Before she could finish, her mother's face hardened. "Xiaoping, since Gu Hai already has a girlfriend, how can you be so unreasonable? How could you think of breaking them up? There's a saying—better to tear down a temple than ruin a marriage. I absolutely cannot tolerate this. I won't help you!"
Sun Xiaoping was furious. "Mom, you just don't want me to be with Brother Gu Hai! You're a snob who looks down on the poor! Fine, if you won't help me, I'll go ask Dad—he'll understand me!"
"Hmph!"
She snorted heavily, shoved past her mother, and ran out.
Her mother shouted angrily, "Sun Xiaoping, you're asking for trouble! Get back here!"
---
Sun Xiaoping ran quickly. As she rushed out of the residential building, she nearly crashed into Su Wenbing, who was riding a bicycle. Luckily, he braked just in time.
"Sun Xiaoping, are you crazy? If you had hit my bike, I would've made you pay for it!"
Su Wenbing planted his foot on the ground and snapped at her irritably.
There were valuable antiques tied to the back of his bike!
Tearfully, Sun Xiaoping looked at him and blurted out, "Su Wenbing, lend me some money!"
He immediately clutched his pocket. "Sun Xiaoping, let me tell you—you can trick my feelings, but don't even dream about tricking my money!"
With that, he sped off, afraid she might cling to him!
Sun Xiaoping stood there, stunned.
When she came back to her senses, she stomped her foot and cursed, "Su Wenbing, you bastard! I'll tell Brother Gu Hai and make him cut ties with you!"
Not long after Sun Xiaoping left the residential compound, the news spread throughout the entire area—
Gu Hai had a girlfriend.