The wolf did not know when it had run over to the side of the sofa. For a while it rubbed against Yan Luqing, then for a while against Gu Ci. Seeing that the two of them ignored it for a long time, it ran off again to continue tormenting others.

Yan Luqing stared with eyes wide in shock.

The television she had just casually turned on was at this moment broadcasting a soap opera. Compared with it, Gu Ci’s voice was not loud, yet the content of what he said entered her ears word for word without omission.

At first, Yan Luqing did not think Gu Ci would say anything astonishing. After all, their conversations before had all been quite normal.

Who would have thought that from his mouth such a sudden twist would unexpectedly come out?

At this very moment, Yan Luqing was terrified yet excited to discover that the scene she had casually imagined earlier seemed to fit perfectly with now—she seemed like a husband who had something with his little secretary, secretly buying the little secretary many brand-name clothes and bags, then being caught red-handed by the one at home.

Although whether it was Gu Ci’s relationship with her, or the event itself, neither had any connection whatsoever, the sense of déjà vu from this scene was simply absurdly strong.

If a dialogue box could appear above Yan Luqing’s head right now, inside would definitely be a neat row of “？？？？？”.

The two of them stared at each other in silence for five seconds.

Yan Luqing spoke with extreme hesitation: “You are…”

Just now he said, Big Black and Little Black had, but he did not, questioning her if this was the treatment of a best friend.

Thinking and thinking.

This is… this is… asking her for clothes?

Yan Luqing slightly furrowed her brows, with a very puzzled appearance, finally uttering a complete sentence: “Do you like that brand? So you also want clothes of that brand?”

Gu Ci: “…………”

How could such a line of thought exist in this world.

If she could be studied as a physics subject, then one could probably study to the end of life.

Yan Luqing once again read from Gu Ci’s gaze an indescribable kind of emotion. But before she could speak, he opened his mouth first.

“You don’t need to think so much, just answer my question.” Gu Ci’s expression returned to normal, his tone also turning plain and gentle. “If you don’t shop men’s clothing then so be it, but having shopped, why treat with difference?”

“Besides, no matter how you look at it, the one who shouldn’t be treated differently is the best friend.”

These words were as natural as if he were discussing with her what to eat tonight.

Not only natural, but even rather orderly and logical. As if it had returned to when Gu Ci gave her lectures, but his attitude now carried even fewer traces of seriousness than then.

Although Gu Ci often took out “best friend” to joke, and she had already long grown used to hearing it, she never thought that this joke could be used here with such flexibility and variation.

“So,” Gu Ci looked at her, his gaze clear and bright, “why didn’t you buy for me?”

“……”

Yan Luqing, while wondering: why can Gu Ci ask this kind of question with such naturalness?

At the same time in her heart answered: what else could it be for? Because today I was rebellious.

Just then someone turned on the lights in the living room, a narrow beam of light falling upon his thin eyelids.

All along, Yan Luqing had been thinking how could Gu Ci possibly ask such a question—it was as if someone else’s soul had entered his body.

But now, as she looked into Gu Ci’s eyes, she instead felt that this Gu Ci, who half-jokingly and half-seriously asked her why she hadn’t bought for him, was even more real.

He was so natural about it that Yan Luqing also began to put down those guesses and doubts, and answered with a very relaxed state of mind: “That’s because you’re different from the two of them.”

Gu Ci’s movements paused, his gaze flickered, and with a faint smile he asked: “Where is it different.”

“They don’t have many clothes to wear.” Yan Luqing felt that the two brothers always wore the same set every day, and she was already tired of looking at it. Then she said to Gu Ci: “But you, you’re not lacking clothes, right.”

“……”

Gu Ci’s eyelids twitched.

This was the so-called “different”?

Once, someone had commented on Gu Ci: the first impression was that his outward appearance was too good, making people feel very distant. But after slight contact one would feel he was a gentle and courteous person, rarely angry.

But after interacting longer, one would discover that the reason he was not often angry was not because his temperament was gentle, nor because his disposition was good, but because those things simply did not matter to him.

People he did not care about, he would not remember their faces. Things he did not care about, he would not give emotions to.

It was always he who controlled emotions.

But now— including certain times within the past month or so—he had, more than once, felt the difficulty of human emotional control.

“Because they lack, so you give.” Gu Ci suddenly laughed, “Is this your law of gift-giving.”

Yan Luqing felt that the topic was about done, so without thinking carefully she just admitted: “Mm-hm!”

Gu Ci again very abruptly let out an “Oh,” the sound drawn out rather long: “So in your eyes, I lack wreaths, huh.”

Yan Luqing: “…………”

The implication— you have not been someone who gave things only because of lack.

How could one even respond to such a precisely targeted retort!

Yan Luqing was showing an awkward face when Big Black, who came to call her to dinner, saved her life.

“Dinner is already—”

Big Black said halfway, then felt a gaze rest upon him, extremely clear. When he finished speaking and looked up, he met Gu Ci’s calm eyes.

Big Black left in complete confusion.

Gu Ci seemed not to intend to continue the topic just now. He rose from the sofa and walked toward the dining room.

Yan Luqing followed behind him, and suddenly thought of the sentence Gu Ci said at the end of the hypnosis. Anyway, he didn’t know, so Yan Luqing prepared to steal that sentence pattern—using it to coax him.

As the two of them walked, Yan Luqing tugged at the sleeve of Gu Ci’s clothes that was very close to her.

His steps halted. After a few seconds, he turned back, lowered his eyes to look at her: “What is it?”

Yan Luqing lifted her hand, paused halfway in the air, hesitated for a few seconds, but still continued upward—

She slightly tiptoed and touched his soft hair.

Gu Ci did not dodge, but froze for a moment, in his eyes appearing a rare confusion and bewilderment.

“What are you doing.”

Yan Luqing, doing such a thing, also felt a little embarrassed. Her cheeks were rosy, and with wide apricot eyes she looked at him.

“Coaxing my best friend.”

“……”

Immediately after, her voice became even smaller than just now, sounding extremely cute—

“Tomorrow I’ll buy for him, hope he won’t be jealous again.”

Yan Luqing had originally wanted to go out shopping with Gu Ci as before, but unexpectedly, after only walking one afternoon yesterday with Big Black and Little Black, when she got up in the morning her legs seemed no longer her own. She almost couldn’t even get out of bed.

Gu Ci had gone out very early, saying the school had something to find him for. Yan Luqing, left at home, was even lazier to move. In the end she directly made a wave of online purchases, and when it was delivered to the villa, it just so happened to be when Gu Ci returned.

Yan Luqing didn’t ask him what he had gone out for, only knowing her happy moment had arrived—if the crown-changing game before was “Miracle Ci Ci,” then now it was the dress-up game, 3D, “Shining Ci Ci.”

She pointed at that big pile of bags and said to him: “This is part of it, there are some more in your room. You try the sizes first, in case they don’t fit, then you can pick them all out.”

The second after she said this, she saw that Gu Ci’s face already seemed to have the expression of about to refuse.

But strangely, the words of refusal inexplicably did not leave his mouth. Instead, he stared at her eyes for a few seconds, then really lowered his head without a word and began picking up the bags, as if intending to do as she said.

Yan Luqing, although she didn’t know what his mind had gone through in those few seconds, was truly delighted with this result.

Gu Ci very quickly picked out a few bags. When he looked at her, there was a bit of playfulness in his eyes: “But, there’s a problem.”

Yan Luqing: “What?”

“When I try the clothes, is it fine to just try them inside the room, or…” Gu Ci’s voice paused, “do I need to come out once?”

“……” Yan Luqing felt she still had some say in this, and hinted with her words, “After all, it’s my money I spent…”

At least he should let her see.

Gu Ci looked at her expression, and thought of many days ago, when in one night he told two people about his current “profession.”

It seemed those three words were indeed extremely fitting.

He said: “Alright.”

……

When Gu Ci went back to his room to change clothes, next door Little Black was so sour it was deadly: “Mr. Gu Ci’s clothes are ten times mine.”

When he tried one on and came out, Little Black again was overwhelmingly sour: “His clothes look much better than mine.”

Yan Luqing thought to herself: why are you two still taking turns being sour at each other.

Then she spoke with an objective evaluation: “His clothes aren’t much different from those few pieces yesterday, you have to admit, mainly it’s because he looks good.”

Then, what Yan Luqing really wished for came true—she saw the dress-up game. Although Gu Ci lost patience after changing a few sets and didn’t try more, it had to be said, it was truly a visual feast.

She especially liked one white shirt, with no pattern at all, very much like that kind of clean and neat shirt from a high school uniform, full of youthful feeling, the single piece most suitable for Gu Ci.

When he wore this, Yan Luqing’s eyes practically shone: “Tsk, my eye is really good…”

Sour Little Black continued sourly: “Miss Yan clearly chose just average, it’s because he looks good—put a sack on him and he’d still look good.”

Yan Luqing: “……” She didn’t know why, but when Big Black and Little Black spoke, they really began unconsciously to bring out Ci-flavor.

Today was a day of repaired best friend relationship, the afternoon passed happily, and finally ended with a harmonious dinner.

Wherever Gu Ci was, Makka Pakka would be blocked, so whenever Yan Luqing returned to her room at night, she would usually at once hear Makka Pakka’s call connection sound.

When she was bathing, as usual she told it a bit of what had happened, like narrating to a friend, speaking while at the same time also recalling for herself.

Yan Luqing suddenly had an enlightenment that Gu Ci had been jealous.

She had once experienced the kind of small jealousy among several girls’ friendships, but she had never had a boyfriend, so she had never seen a boy being jealous. Add to that she never associated Gu Ci with the words “jealous,” so naturally she had been unable to understand his behavior.

But ever since she put on the frame of “jealous,” everything suddenly became explainable.

The most amazing point was Gu Ci’s reaction after Yan Luqing pointed out the word “jealous.”

Normally, when people were exposed, they would respond with things like, “Ha? Jealous? How the hell could I be jealous.” “You’re overthinking, don’t be narcissistic.” and so on.

Gu Ci was not like that.

He was not in the least embarrassed, nor did he deny it. Although it was possible he was too lazy to explain, Yan Luqing felt it was more like an open and aboveboard admission.

This behavior, when connected to all the words he had said before, made Yan Luqing feel inexplicably adorable.

——When this thought appeared in her mind, she suddenly froze.

Immediately after, Makka Pakka’s voice also rang out.

“Maria, have you noticed——”

Yan Luqing came back to herself: “Hm? Noticed what?”

“Noticed… that recently the frequency of Gu Ci being mentioned in your brain activity is a bit exceeding the standard?”

Yan Luqing was startled for a moment, “Aren’t you unable to see?”

Its voice sounded faint: “Indeed, I can’t see. But usually if what is displayed on my side is a mess of garbled codes, then it means you are thinking about or recalling things related to Gu Ci.”

“……”

“I made a calculation of the data. Roughly in this past week or more, it’s really, really exceeding the standard. Do you want to look at the result?”

“……” Yan Luqing hesitated for three seconds, then refused, “No need.”

But she still spoke too slowly. Before her words fell, suddenly before her eyes a statistical chart appeared without warning.

Makka Pakka suddenly began to read out material science explanations at her ear. Yan Luqing, while looking at the statistical chart, carefully distinguished the content it was reading.

Only after listening for a long while did she realize it was reading out past failed cases of book-travelers who fell in love with people in the book and got themselves killed because of it.

Yan Luqing said helplessly: “Actually you don’t need to do this, Gu Ci and I are completely not…”

Makka Pakka interrupted her: “No, Maria, I’m worried like this because right now I can’t see any information about Gu Ci! I also don’t understand whether it’s a system bug or something else… I’m worried you’ll be in danger.”

Yan Luqing inexplicably let out a breath of relief: “Oh, I see.”

But that breath of relief did not last long before it rose again.

This was Makka Pakka’s worry.

Then what about her own?

Was she going to stay forever in the world of the book?

If she stayed here, when the age came that the original host should have died, what would happen to her?

And Gu Ci…

These past few days had truly been quite happy, but now when she thought of it, it was like a balloon being punctured—such a great happiness, pop! Gone.

Yan Luqing, deep in thought, dried her hair and stepped out of the bathroom. Thinking of the two words Gu Ci, thinking of the statistical chart Makka Pakka had shown her, she then heard the ringing of her phone.

She glanced at the caller ID and picked up: “Grandpa.”

The old man’s voice burst forth with full momentum as soon as he spoke: “I asked the people in your villa, and I asked your family doctor too. Right now you don’t have a single problem. Starting tomorrow you’ll be going to class, did you hear?!”

Yan Luqing opened her mouth. She could probably still find an excuse to stall, but she got stuck halfway.

She again thought of the chart Makka Pakka had shown her. She thought of her true identity. That mood was like a pebble being thrown into a calm lake, sinking and sinking, finally settling lightly on the lakebed.

Seemingly insignificant, yet enough to change one’s state of mind in a moment.

She softly said: “Mm, I heard.”

This time it was Grandpa Yan who froze.

More than ten seconds later, the old man spoke again: “I’ll send you the schedule, remember to go tomorrow. Rest early tonight.”

The call hung up.

Yan Luqing quickly received the schedule. The first class was at nine o’clock, so getting up at a normal time would be fine.

“Maria… why do you suddenly want to go to school? Didn’t you dislike it?”

Yan Luqing didn’t answer. Instead she asked: “How long until the plot where Gu Ci leaves?”

“Seventeen days.”

Just half a month.

Yan Luqing thought, then she would study for half a month first.

“Why do I go to school?” She lifted the quilt, preparing to get into bed and brew some sleepiness. “Of course it’s because I don’t dare to keep spending time with Princess Ci anymore. Anyway, in the end he has to leave, it’s what the plot requires. And since I listened to those things you told me about… I even more don’t want to keep running into him again and again.”

And that statistical chart—

It was absurd. How could her daily thoughts be that monotonous? Even if a lot of it was probably spent thinking about how to change Gu Ci’s skins and so on, that amount was still far too exaggerated!

The world was so big, she had to go look at it, she had to go think about other people.