Bro's Taking You Skipping Class Today

"Morning, Yue Mom, you're back."

Gu Luo sat down at his seat with a smile and greeted Shen Yue, casually slipping his backpack into the desk drawer.

Life without a deskmate feeding him snacks always felt like something was missing.

Of course, the main reason was that he didn’t want to eat lunch with Situ Wenyao and his crew anymore.

Endless chatter about airplane flights—who could stand that?

And the flight attendants they talked about were all bizarrely terrifying.

He’d thought "Big Northern Rain Sis" was already mind-boggling enough, but who knew they’d bring up "the final math problem from last semester’s finals"?

Derivative functions? Seriously?

"Good morning."

Shen Yue returned his smile, then pulled out an exquisitely wrapped box from her drawer and placed it on his desk.

"What’s this?"

Gu Luo’s gaze was drawn to the box.

"A gift I brought back for you."

"I actually get a gift?" Gu Luo picked up the box and gave it a gentle shake, curiosity lighting his voice. "What is it? Can I open it?"

"Of course. It’s a watch. Mom helped me pick it out."

"......Isn’t this too expensive?" Gu Luo suddenly felt the gift box burning in his hands.

"It’s fine, it’s not that pricey."

Shen Yue smiled softly.

Because it really wasn’t that expensive.

Just a little over a thousand yuan.

That was her mom’s suggestion—a thousand yuan was enough to feel meaningful without being excessive for their age. Anything more would’ve been inappropriate.

"......"

Gu Luo hesitated.

He didn’t trust these little rich girls when they said something "wasn’t expensive."

The thought of the little devil casually spending ten thousand like it was nothing, or the little angel inviting him to share her hundred-thousand-yuan monthly allowance, made the gift in his hands feel even hotter.

If it was too expensive, how could he reciprocate?

No matter how close he was with Shen Yue, they were still just classmates and friends—not family.

That was fundamentally different from his relationship with the little devil and the little angel.

Being forced to spend their money... well, his conscience could just barely tolerate that.

But with Shen Yue, he didn’t want money to complicate things.

"Yue Mom... maybe we should just forget about this..."

Gu Luo slowly pushed the gift box back toward her, his face tinged with apology as he carefully explained:

"I really appreciate the thought, and I’m genuinely happy, but..."

"But we’re still just students..."

Hearing this, Shen Yue immediately placed the box back on his desk and insisted:

"Really, it’s not expensive. Just a few hundred yuan."

Well... rounding up a thousand to "a few hundred" wasn’t technically wrong.

At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Her initial idea had been to pick something between 5K and 20K, but her mom had outright vetoed it.

Thank goodness she’d listened—otherwise, Gu Luo definitely wouldn’t have accepted it.

Mom for the win!

"Really?"

Gu Luo still looked skeptical.

"Really!"

"Then... thanks, Yue Mom."

Only then did Gu Luo relax, his smile returning as he carefully unwrapped the box.

A gift worth a few hundred yuan was something he could handle.

This feeling of not being "kept" was truly wonderful.

The whole "little rich girl forced love" thing was already more than enough with the little devil and the little angel.

Otherwise, once his standards softened, they’d be hard to raise again.

The box was soon opened, revealing a sleek black men’s watch inside.

The watch face was minimalist in design, and the strap felt soft and comfortable to the touch.

Though he didn’t recognize the brand, it looked undeniably stylish and high-quality.

Gu Luo smiled sincerely.

"It’s really nice. Thank you, I love it."

He trusted Shen Yue enough not to immediately look up the price—that would’ve been rude.

But he’d definitely check later.

Just in case.

Seeing Gu Luo’s happiness, Shen Yue felt as if she’d swallowed honey—sweet and satisfying, a warm rush of fulfillment filling her chest, making her want to give him even more.

This feeling was strange.

She just wanted him to be happy.

The happier he was, the happier she became.

This was... no, this had to be what they called "liking" someone.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Shen Yue pulled two more boxes from her drawer.

These were also beautifully wrapped, though compared to Gu Luo’s, they were less elegant and more cute.

She grinned.

"These are gifts for Manman and Xuexue. I’ll give them to them during the long break."

Gu Ximan was Gu Luo’s sister, so of course she had to show some appreciation.

As for Lu Xuexue—even if she was a potential rival, she always brought homemade treats whenever she visited. It was only polite to return the favor.

Besides, the three of them got along really well now.

"Ah... then I’ll thank you on Manman’s behalf first," Gu Luo said, then added:

"But they won’t be coming during the long break today."

"Huh? Why not?" Shen Yue blinked, surprised.

Part of her felt sad—she’d finally made two good friends—but another part was secretly glad her rival Lu Xuexue wouldn’t be around.

Her emotions were complicated, to say the least.

"That’s what Manman told me, at least. I’m not sure why." Gu Luo shook his head, looking just as puzzled.

"I see... Then could you give these to them after school?"

"Oki-doki." Gu Luo flashed an OK sign, then quickly followed up:

"Uh... they’re not expensive, right?"

"Nope, just little accessories."

"Good. Manman’ll be thrilled."

Just then, Gu Luo’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out and saw a message from Gu Ximan.

[Gu Ximan: Big bro, can you take a walk with me in the garden during the long break?]

Reading this, Gu Luo almost rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Since when did the girl who constantly called him "stupid old bro" sound so... soft?

A bad feeling crept into his chest.

Something must’ve happened.

He immediately typed back:

[Gu Luo: Manman, did someone bully you?]

[Gu Ximan: No, no... I just really want to talk to you...]

Seeing this, Gu Luo quickly pulled up his saved class schedule, skimmed it, and replied:

[Gu Luo: Your first period is music class. I’ll go tell your teacher you’re not feeling well and that I’m taking you to the nurse’s office.]

[Gu Ximan: Bro... how do you know our first-period schedule...]

[Gu Luo: I’ve known since day one. Anyway, head to the garden first. I’m skipping class with you today.]

[Gu Ximan: Are you... really sure?]

[Gu Luo: Absolutely. Because a certain little comrade needs me right now.]

[Gu Luo: Meet you at our usual spot in the garden.]

This time, Gu Ximan’s chat bubble showed "typing..." before disappearing, then reappearing several times.

Finally, she sent back a cute panda nodding sticker.

............

............