BRLF – Ch 43

The match on Sunday went very smoothly, and Wen Ke’an did not encounter Gu Ting. Gu Ting faced a student from the provincial capital high school, and that student narrowly won over Gu Ting by a few questions.

After Gu Ting finished his match and left the stage, Wen Ke’an then went on to compete. This time, Wen Ke’an’s opponent was a student from H City High School. It has to be said that it’s more comfortable to compete with a well-matched opponent; at least you don’t have to rack your brains to let them win.

In the end, Wen Ke’an tied with the other student.

As the competition was about to end, the live broadcast camera panned over the audience.

Many people then noticed Gu Ting in the audience, who was intently watching the match. Every time Wen Ke’an got a question right, Gu Ting’s gaze softened, and it was evident that he was proud of her.

[Barrage]: This guy looks fierce when he’s not smiling, but sometimes his eyes seem very gentle—what’s going on, haha.

[Barrage]: Why does it seem like he’s happier now than when he wins himself, haha?

[Barrage]: Maybe this is camaraderie! The feelings of young people are beautiful!

The competition concluded successfully. After two exhausting days, the accompanying teacher decided to let them rest first and then take the bus back to school in the evening.

Having worked hard for so long, it was gratifying that the final result was satisfying. Wen Ke’an was particularly happy.

Most students rarely visit the provincial capital city, so since there was still some time left, many students went out to play.

With the competition over, Wen Ke’an finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She hadn’t rested well for several days and was truly exhausted. Wen Ke’an didn’t want to go anywhere and just wanted to go back to her room and sleep.

But perhaps she was too excited—despite her tiredness, she couldn’t fall asleep.

After a while, there was a knock on the door. Wen Ke’an thought it was Qi Qing returning, but to her surprise, it was Gu Ting when she opened the door.

Wen Ke’an didn’t speak, just slightly moved aside.

Gu Ting glanced into the room, “No one else is here?”

“Mm.” Wen Ke’an responded while pulling him inside. “Qi Qing went out to play.” She whispered, “You can come in secretly, but that side is filled with Qi Qing’s stuff—don’t mess with her things.”

Not expecting her to be so cautious, Gu Ting nodded, “Okay, I understand.”

After closing the door, Gu Ting looked down at her and asked softly, “How are you?”

“Sleepy.” Wen Ke’an’s eyes were almost closed, and she replied very quietly, “And I have a bit of a headache.”

“Headache?” Worried that she might have a fever, Gu Ting reached out to feel her forehead.

“Not a fever; it’s probably because I went to bed too late yesterday and didn’t sleep well,” Wen Ke’an explained softly. “My body is extremely tired, but my brain is very excited and I can’t sleep.”

“Come here, I’ll massage you.” Gu Ting had her sit on the edge of the bed and seriously gave her a massage.

In the previous life, whenever she felt unwell, Gu Ting often massaged her like this, and over time, he had become quite skilled.

“Does this feel better?” Gu Ting asked.

“Mm.” Wen Ke’an nodded.

Just as her voice had barely fallen, there was a click, and the room’s door was suddenly opened from the outside.

“An’an.” Qi Qing froze right after stepping into the room.

She glanced at Gu Ting, then at Wen Ke’an. Quickly regaining her composure, Qi Qing pretended not to see Gu Ting, walked to the bedside, picked up her power bank, and left.

As she walked, she said, “Sorry, I forgot to take my power bank.”

With that, she closed the door with another click.

“………”

With Gu Ting there, Wen Ke’an felt much more at ease and gradually fell asleep after a while.

Not long after Wen Ke’an fell asleep, Gu Ting heard someone gently knocking on the door. Most of the school’s teachers and students weren’t at the hotel, so it could have been hotel staff knocking.

Gu Ting got up to answer the door.

Surprisingly, the person standing at the door wasn’t a staff member but a boy wearing a school uniform and glasses.

Gu Ting remembered this boy; he had been Wen Ke’an’s opponent in the last match, a student from H City No. 1 High School.

“Who are you looking for?” Gu Ting asked.

“Is Wen Ke’an here?” The boy seemed a bit nervous, probably not expecting a guy to be there.

“She’s sleeping.” Gu Ting replied coldly, looking down at him, and asked, “Do you need something?”

“I’m from H City No. 1 High. I just wanted to get to know her.” The boy murmured.

“No need, I’m her boyfriend.” Gu Ting stated.

“………”

The boy seemed stunned by Gu Ting’s directness. After a few seconds, he lowered his head and blushed, saying, “Well, sorry to bother you.”

“………”

When Wen Ke’an woke up, it was already 5 PM, and the sky was getting dark.

Qi Qing, who had been out playing, was back and now taking a bath in the bathroom.

On the bedside table, Gu Ting had prepared a glass of water for her. Wen Ke’an always needed water after her afternoon nap; otherwise, her throat would feel dry and uncomfortable.

She must have been sleeping very soundly because she hadn’t noticed when Gu Ting left.

They were leaving tonight, and Wen Ke’an had been planning to pack her luggage after waking up. To her surprise, when she looked down, she found that Gu Ting had almost packed everything for her.

When Qi Qing emerged from the bathroom, Wen Ke’an noticed her looking conflicted, as if she wanted to say something.

“What’s up?” Wen Ke’an asked.

Qi Qing, drying her hair, asked, “Was Gu Ting giving you a massage this afternoon?”

Wen Ke’an: “Yes.”

Qi Qing was silent for a few seconds, then said, “I think I might have misunderstood Gu Ting before.”

“What?”

“I suddenly feel,” Qi Qing couldn’t help but laugh, “he’s quite domesticated.”

Sunday evening, Wen Ke’an finally returned home. As soon as she entered, she received some good news. Her dad had found a store in the city over the past few days and planned to open a new shop in a few days.

The location of the new shop wasn’t very close, taking about half an hour to reach by bike.

To increase efficiency, Wen Qiangguo specially hired a delivery person. He also hired two salespeople for the new shop.

After the competition ended, life gradually returned to normal.

Recently, there wasn’t much going on at school, so Wen Ke’an found herself with some free time. Sometimes, after finishing her homework in the afternoon, if she had nothing else to do, she would go to the new shop with Wen Qiangguo.

The new shop was almost fully renovated, and Wen Ke’an personally designed a logo for their marinated meat store. This time, the new shop’s renovation style was based entirely on Wen Ke’an’s suggestions.

Since the new shop wasn’t located near a residential neighborhood or school, but rather near an office building and mall, it attracted more young people. Naturally, the rent was several times higher.

In the evenings, Wen Qiangguo would bring Liu Qing and Wen Ke’an to check on the shop. The renovation workers were very experienced and meticulous with the details.

The renovation was now complete, and after airing it out, they could open for business.

Even in the evening, the high-rise buildings were still brightly lit, and young people got off work quite late. Although it was already nine o’clock, the area was still bustling.

“There’s a lot of foot traffic here and many shops, I hope our business will be good,” Wen Qiangguo said, feeling overwhelmed by the variety of stores.

There were many chain stores around. Just on this street, there were already five or six marinated meat shops.

“Our flavor is good, it won’t be bad, Dad,” Wen Ke’an reassured with a smile.

Liu Qing also laughed at Wen Qiangguo’s worried expression, “Don’t worry, it will be fine!”

Before the new shop even opened, Wen Ke’an had her midterm exams. The exam questions weren’t very difficult, and Wen Ke’an performed well, ranking in the top ten of her grade.

Since Wen Ke’an and Gu Ting achieved good results in the last competition, the school leaders had started to view Wang Yilin in a new light.

Recently, the school selected outstanding teachers, and Wang Yilin passed unanimously.

To be honest, Wang Yilin is still in a state of confusion. Wen Ke’an is fine, but the most surprising person to her is Gu Ting.

No one could have expected it. They initially thought he was a troublemaker, but it turns out he’s exceptionally outstanding.

In the afternoon, there was a class meeting about the results of the end-of-term exams.

The exam results had already been distributed, and the rankings were visible. Gu Ting ranked seventeenth in the grade. It was actually a very good score, but it was obvious that Gu Ting wasn’t particularly happy.

Xie Hongyi didn’t initially understand why Gu Ting was unhappy until he saw the report card.

Gu Ting’s rank was just below Ji Xingran.

Ji Xingran was sixteenth, and Gu Ting was seventeenth.

Being outperformed by his rival by one rank was already quite frustrating. What’s more, Gu Ting is a proud person.

Xie Hongyi thought for a moment and suddenly cheered Gu Ting on: “Go for it! Next time, surpass him!”

“”

Xie Hongyi’s voice wasn’t quiet, and Wen Ke’an, who was sitting in front, heard it and turned around.

“What’s the matter?” Wen Ke’an asked softly.

Xie Hongyi, fearing nothing, said, “Brother Ting isn’t happy and needs little sister-in-law to cheer him up.”

“”

After school, Wen Ke’an took Gu Ting straight back to her house. Her parents weren’t home today; they’ve been busy lately and usually come back late.

Wen Ke’an directly pulled Gu Ting into her room and looked up at him, asking, “Are you upset because of the score?”

Gu Ting: “I’m not upset.”

Wen Ke’an shook her head, “I don’t believe you.”

“”

Gu Ting smiled and changed the subject, “I did well in the exams this time. I have a reward for you.”

Wen Ke’an curiously asked, “What’s the reward?”

Gu Ting pointed at himself with a smile, “This big one, do you want it?”

“”

Wen Ke’an knew it wasn’t that simple. She remained silent for a moment before softly saying, “But we can’t do it here.”

“”

Gu Ting was amused by her and intentionally took a step forward, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into his embrace. He deliberately asked, “Why not?”

Wen Ke’an raised her hand to block his chest, saying, “Dangerous.”

Given the current time, Wen Qiangguo and Liu Qing could return at any moment. Wen Ke’an found Gu Ting’s actions at this moment very risky.

Wen Ke’an seriously said, “Young man, you need to stay calm.”

Gu Ting protested, “I’m not a young man.”

Wen Ke’an replied earnestly, “No, your body still is.”