Chapter 242
The weekend, below the teaching building of Pei Susu's school.
The autumn sunlight filtered through the leaves of the plane trees, casting mottled shadows on the ground.
It was the peak time after classes. A large wave of fashionable art students carrying drawing boards poured out of the teaching building.
But in the crowd, one figure stood out exceptionally.
It was Ye Jinliang.
Today, he wasn't wearing his usual baggy sweatpants and plaid shirt.
Instead, he had changed into a highly textured "City Boy" style outfit.
He wore well-tailored dark olive cargo pants, paired with a heavy-weight white T-shirt layered under a Japanese-style navy blue shirt.
His sleeves were casually rolled up, revealing a rugged sports watch.
The most crucial part was his hairstyle.
His original bird's nest hair, which looked like it had been struck by lightning, was gone.
In its place was a fresh, clean-cut American-style textured crop.
His sideburns were neatly trimmed, clearly the result of careful grooming.
He stood under the tree, holding two cups of Pei Susu's favorite Yi Dian Dian bubble tea.
Although he was shaded from the sun, his palms were sweating profusely.
Watching the crowd coming out one after another, knowing he was about to see the person he wanted to see, he grew increasingly nervous.
He occasionally looked down at the retro skate shoes Gu Ran had specifically told him to buy, his heart pounding.
"That dog Gu Ran, he said this is called... City Boy style. He couldn't be fooling me, right?"
Ye Jinliang was panicking hard.
"Susu won't think I look stupid, will she..."
Just as he was feeling apprehensive, a few girls passing by began whispering to each other.
"Hey, that guy has good taste in clothes. He looks really clean."
"Although he's a bit chubby, he looks very reliable. That kind of adorkable trendy guy vibe is actually kind of cute."
Ye Jinliang had sharp ears. Hearing these comments, his previously tense back instantly straightened, and he stood a bit taller.
From this moment on, he declared Gu Ran as his literal father!
At this moment, a commotion came from the entrance of the teaching building.
Pei Susu walked out arm-in-arm with her roommate.
Today she was wearing a small black camisole paired with high-waisted wide-leg pants.
Cool and hot, she was the center of attention the moment she appeared.
"Susu, look at that chubby guy over there, is he waiting for someone?"
Her roommate had sharp eyes and pointed at Ye Jinliang under the tree.
"He's dressed quite trendy, looks a bit like... that one rapper."
Pei Susu looked in the direction she was pointing.
With just one glance, she froze.
Was that... Ye Jinliang?!
What kind of international joke was this!
Under the sunlight, Ye Jinliang stood perfectly straight, raising his head from time to time to search the crowd.
The moment their eyes met in the air...
The "trendy guy's" face instantly broke into his signature goofy smile.
A mouthful of big white teeth and that familiar silliness instantly shattered his outward disguise.
Only then did Pei Susu breathe a slight sigh of relief.
"Sister Susu!"
Ye Jinliang waved his hand and trotted over eagerly.
Watching him run towards her, a strange feeling inexplicably rose in Pei Susu's heart.
It was as if... a piece of uncut jade she had secretly hoarded...
Had suddenly been polished and placed in a display cabinet.
The evaluating gazes from the surrounding girls made her alarm bells ring.
An instinct known as "food guarding" instantly took the high ground in her brain.
Ye Jinliang ran up to her, handed over the milk tea, and scratched his head a bit embarrassedly:
"Um... I cleaned up a bit, like you said. Does it look weird?"
Pei Susu didn't take the milk tea.
She took a step forward, completely ignoring her dumbfounded roommate beside her.
She reached out with her slender fingers and carefully adjusted the slightly turned-up collar of Ye Jinliang's shirt.
"You clean up alright, at least you look human now."
Her words were still sharp, but the corners of her eyes and brows revealed an unconcealable smile.
She patted Ye Jinliang on the shoulder and swept a warning glance at the surrounding girls who were watching the scene.
"Dress to this standard from now on, don't embarrass me."
Ye Jinliang's brain crashed from this sudden intimate gesture; he only knew to smile goofily and nod.
"Okay! I'll listen to you! I'll listen to whatever you say!"
The roommate beside them had an auntie-like smile on her face and nudged Pei Susu with her elbow.
"Not bad, Susu, you've trained him well. You've definitely got this potential stock in the palm of your hand."
Pei Susu snorted, took the milk tea, inserted the straw, and took a fierce sip.
So sweet.
...
Evening, Nanning District Library.
As the National Day holiday approached, everyone's minds were elsewhere, and there were far fewer people in the library than usual.
The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the desks through the floor-to-ceiling windows, stretching their shadows long.
The youth was spinning his pen in boredom, a copy of Macroeconomics spread open in front of him, but his gaze kept drifting to the side.
Ye Zhenzhen was reviewing Systematic Anatomy.
The bloody diagrams of human muscles and internal organs in the book looked exceptionally... appetizing in the warm yellow light!
Gu Ran leaned over, resting his chin on the girl's shoulder.
He pointed at a diagram of a skinned human specimen in the book and lowered his voice.
"Dr. Ye, is this the pectoralis major? I have one that moves, do you want to feel it?"
Ye Zhenzhen was memorizing nerve pathways, and this interruption completely broke her train of thought.
She lifted her head from the pile of books, pushed up the blue-light-blocking glasses on the bridge of her nose, her eyes filled with helplessness and amusement.
"Gu 'Dog' Ran, move aside, I'm studying."
"Aren't I helping you study? Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth, right?"
The youth smirked mischievously, his finger sliding down the page and stopping at the location of the heart.
"Tell me, if I make you mad in the future, will you dismantle me according to this diagram?"
Ye Zhenzhen looked at his punchable expression and couldn't help but pick up the red pen in her hand, lightly tapping the back of his hand.
"That depends on my mood."
She put on a faux-serious face, but her eyes were full of playful mischief.
"If I'm in a bad mood, I'll make the first cut right here..."
The tip of the pen slid from the back of Gu Ran's hand to the artery on his wrist, giving it a gentle tap.
"...and let you experience the true meaning of being chilled to the bone."
Gu Ran exaggeratedly pulled his hand back, clutching his chest and gasping in mock horror.
"A woman's heart is the most venomous! I can't afford to mess with you."
"As long as you know."
The girl gave a soft humph, but the corners of her lips couldn't help but curve upward.
The library's closing music started playing; it was a saxophone version of Going Home.
The two packed up their things and walked out.
The youth naturally took the backpack filled with brick-like books and slung it over one shoulder.
With his other hand, he took Ye Zhenzhen's hand, their fingers intertwining tightly.
The evening breeze blew through the tree-lined avenues of the campus, swirling up a few fallen leaves.
"Besides gathering with Ye Jinliang and the others during the National Day holiday, do you have any other plans?" Gu Ran asked.
"Spend time with my mom, and then... review my studies."
Ye Zhenzhen sighed, her tone revealing the despair unique to medical students.
"A medical student's holiday just means changing the location where you memorize books."
"You need to strike a balance between work and rest."
Gu Ran gave her palm a light squeeze, his tone mysterious.
"Once we're done with this busy period, I'll take you somewhere nice."
"Where to now? Is Boss Gu going on another undercover inspection?"
"It's a secret."
Gu Ran smiled mysteriously, casting his gaze into the distance.
Their silhouettes were stretched long under the streetlights, gradually merging into one.
...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
