Yan Qingqiu realized that she had been reading for a long time but hadn't heard Gu Yan's annoying voice. She couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Did he… leave?
Thinking this, she whispered softly, "Gu Yan?"
Gu Yan, completely immersed in a book, didn't hear her voice at all.
At some point, he had sat down directly to the left of the bookshelf, his back against the wall—hidden from her line of sight from where she was sitting.
When Yan Qingqiu turned her head but didn't see him, and received no reply, she assumed he had left.
A strange feeling rose in her chest.
"This guy… why did he leave without saying a word?" she muttered.
The room, which had been lively just a moment ago, was suddenly silent again. The sudden quiet made her feel oddly uncomfortable, even though she had been in this environment long before Gu Yan arrived.
For years, she had stayed in this study, the only sound being her own breathing.
Her daily routine was simple—improve, improve, and improve again.
Only by constantly sharpening herself could she find the culprit behind the scenes and avenge her family.
Even when she stayed here day and night, she never lost track of time.
Her computer-like brain could calculate every minute and every second with precision.
Tsk… why am I thinking so much all of a sudden?
In the past, she never let her mind wander like this. But today…
When Gu Yan came over and said "I love you," buzzing in her ears like an irritating mosquito… she felt as if something had been added to her life.
It was as though her daily schedule had been forcibly changed from [Absorb knowledge, absorb knowledge, absorb knowledge] to [Wifey and baby, absorb knowledge, wifey and baby].
Bah! Why am I thinking about this?
Her face flushed slightly, and for some reason, Gu Yan's earlier words kept replaying in her mind.
"No, no… calm down," she told herself firmly. She really couldn't understand how Gu Yan could say such nauseating things so naturally.
Shaking her head, she stood and walked toward a particular bookshelf.
She knew every item here by heart—this was her domain.
Unfortunately, the shelf she was heading toward was exactly where Gu Yan was sitting.
Gu Yan, absorbed in his book, had just finished a page and paused to think over its contents. When he glanced up, he saw Yan Qingqiu walking straight toward him.
Hm? Why is Qingqiu coming this way?
And… what had she been thinking about earlier to look so lost in thought?
Seeing her approach with that cool, elegant expression, Gu Yan quickly covered his mouth to keep from smiling like an idiot.
Who can stand this?!
He swallowed hard. No—he couldn't do anything reckless right now. He had to increase her favorability, not scare her away.
Judging from her direction, she probably wanted the book behind him, so he quietly shifted to the side.
What he forgot was… earlier, he had moved a chair and left it out in the open.
Yan Qingqiu, walking her usual route without looking down—
Boom!
"Ah!"
She stumbled, panic surging in her chest as her body pitched forward.
If she fell like this—
"Qingqiu!" Gu Yan shot up instantly and caught her.
Plop! The two of them fell together, Yan Qingqiu landing right in his arms.
"Ouch—" Gu Yan was about to complain when a mechanical voice rang in his head:
[Saved your destined lover from falling – Points +10]
His irritation vanished instantly, replaced by a bright grin. "Heh… haha!"
Yan Qingqiu, who had braced herself for pain, was stunned.
She had… been rescued?
That laugh…
"Gu Yan?"
Wait—so he hadn't left at all?
Her eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you stayed here quietly and put that chair there just to see me fall?"
This… bastard!
Her annoyance spiked. Did this love idiot deliberately want to embarrass her?
Gu Yan's eyes widened. "That's not fair, Qingqiu! I was just reading here—I didn't do anything!"
"You know very well whether you did or not!"
Not wanting to hear his lame excuses, Yan Qingqiu pushed against his chest. "Let me go, you bastard!"
"Ahem—cough, cough! Qingqiu, you're making it hard to breathe!"
"Shut up! Who cares?!"
Her struggling made their position even more awkward. Gu Yan, worried about accidentally touching her injuries—most of which he didn't even know the exact location of—froze, not daring to move.
Click!
The door burst open.
A boy with dyed yellow hair rushed in. "Sister! I heard a loud noise—did that pervert Gu Yan do anything to you—"
He froze mid-sentence.
Before him was his dignified, intelligent elder sister… supporting herself on Gu Yan's chest, looking flustered.
"Ling'er? Come help me," Yan Qingqiu said quickly.
Ling'er's eyes trembled. "H-Help you…? Big sister, sob, sob! You've only been with this kind of man for a short while, and already—wahhh!"
"…?" Gu Yan tilted his head.
"…?" Yan Qingqiu blinked.
Later, in the room
Yan Qingqiu and Yan Ling'er sat side by side on the bed. Gu Yan sat in a chair opposite them, amused. This kind of cliché scene—he had only ever read about it in novels before.
A three-way "serious talk."
"In order to prevent this from happening again," Ling'er declared, pointing at Gu Yan, "you are not allowed to be alone with my big sister anymore!"
The misunderstanding had been cleared up, but Yan Qingqiu stayed silent. She had realized how suspicious her and Gu Yan's positions must have looked to an outsider.
Damn it! How could this happen in front of my own brother? I've lost all my dignity!
Gu Yan looked at the yellow-haired "brother-in-law" with slightly red eyes and nodded helplessly. "Alright, alright, I promise."
Heh… but once he goes back to school, Qingqiu and I can be alone as much as we want.