chapter 76
At the side, Xi Nai was practically laughing himself breathless.
Three overprotective brothers—what a headache.
Gu Che reached for his backpack, clearly unwilling to stay another second.
“Yao’er, let’s go.”
He paused, shot Fu Juncheng a sharp glare, and said coldly,
“Let’s stay away from that big bad wolf.”
Once the words fell, he took Gu Qingning by the hand and walked out, with Gu Ying and Gu Zhao following close behind.
The three brothers came and went like a gust of icy wind—enough to make anyone shiver.
Fu Juncheng didn’t try to stop them. His elegant features were relaxed, a faint, unreadable smile flickering in his eyes.
He withdrew his gaze, picked up his phone, and typed slowly—
[Still going to the villa?]
“Tsk tsk, what a family of sister-obsessed brothers.”
Xi Nai crossed his arms, his face full of teasing delight. “A-Cheng, she’s already been taken away. Aren’t you going to chase after her?”
“But to be fair, Zhao wasn’t wrong. Rabbits don’t eat the grass around their own burrow. You going for the young one—kind of indecent, don’t you think?”
Fu Juncheng’s eyelids lifted as he finished his message, his voice cold as frost.
“You looking to die?”
Xi Nai’s back stiffened instantly. He raised his hands in surrender.
“Didn’t say a thing! I’ll just… go pay the bill.”
Throwing out the words, he fled the private room as if for his life.
Can’t afford to offend him, but sure as hell can run.
Inside the car, the silence was almost eerie.
After cooling down a little, the three Gu brothers exchanged subtle glances.
Finally, Gu Che broke the long silence.
“Yao’er, when did you meet Fu Juncheng?”
At that, the two sitting up front pricked up their ears.
Gu Qingning’s gaze reflected the flashing streetlights outside. “Not long ago,” she said lazily.
Gu Che frowned. “You two close?”
“Sort of.”
Gu Che blurted out, “Has he ever tried to take advantage of you?”
Gu Zhao nearly choked.
“Second Brother, Juncheng’s not that kind of person—”
Before he could finish, Gu Che cut him off irritably.
“You shut it. He looks exactly like that kind of person.”
They were all men—he could tell exactly what was going through Fu Juncheng’s mind about their little sister.
Dream on. Not a chance.
“I told you not to let Fu Juncheng get close to her, and now look what happened—our Yao’er got dragged in too.”
Gu Zhao sighed helplessly. Honestly, he was starting to suspect that his second brother and Juncheng’s astrological signs were just natural enemies—they couldn’t meet without fighting.
“What’s he even doing in A City anyway?” Gu Che grumbled on. “Why can’t he just stay put in the capital?”
“Zhao, when’s he going back?”
Gu Zhao couldn’t help laughing. “How would I know that?”
After a long silence, Gu Ying finally spoke, his voice calm and even.
“Enough, Che.”
Gu Che shot him a look, snorted lightly, and shut up.
Gu Ying turned his head toward the girl leaning against the window. His tone softened.
“A-Ning, don’t worry about what’s going on in the forum. We’ll handle it for you.”
“That little thing? I’m not worried,” Gu Qingning said coolly. “I can handle it myself.”
Just two sentences—and the conversation died right there.
Gu Ying opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.
After another beat of silence, Gu Zhao tried to change the subject.
“Ning’er, Xu An told me he’s recommending you for the exchange competition. What do you think?”
Gu Qingning half-closed her eyes, sounding sleepy and bored. “Sure, I’ll go.”
She was broke—so she had to go earn some money.
Gu Che’s dark mood vanished instantly. He grinned.
“Then I’ll go cheer you on.”
Gu Zhao piped up quickly, “Then I’ll go too.”
Feeling two sets of eyes on him, Gu Ying’s black eyes flickered slightly. After a moment, his deep voice joined in.
“I’ll go as well.”
Gu Qingning: “…”
Cheer her on?
Since when was that still a thing? She wasn’t in kindergarten.
That afternoon, Gu Qingning returned to school.
The moment she stepped into the classroom, she sensed that something was off.
Ignoring it, she went straight to her seat.
Just as she put down her backpack, Sun Qiaoqiao and Chu Xu came running over.
Sun Qiaoqiao cupped her face in both hands, eyes sparkling.
“Qingning, you’re amazing! From now on, you’re my idol!”
Chu Xu stood proudly with hands on hips.
“Boss Ning, you really made our class proud this time. I’m following your lead from now on!”
Usually, students chosen for the exchange were all from the elite S-Class. For their humble C-Class to have someone picked—it was a huge deal.
Gu Qingning blinked, confused. “Huh?”
Seeing her expression, Chu Xu explained,
“You didn’t hear? You got picked for the exchange competition!”
Gu Qingning froze slightly, a little surprised.
At that moment, Xu An appeared in the doorway, a stack of textbooks tucked under his arm.
He waved at her. “Qingning, come out for a second.”
She stood up, and Sun Qiaoqiao scooted her chair aside to make room.
As soon as Gu Qingning stepped out, several heads immediately popped out of the windows in curiosity.
Gossip—human nature.
Xu An shouted, “Everyone sit back down! Whoever keeps peeking gets five extra worksheets for homework!”
The little brats scattered instantly.
Once they were alone, Xu An got straight to the point.
“Qingning, I managed to get you a spot in the exchange. What do you think?”
“I’ll participate,” she said without hesitation.
He blinked in surprise, taken aback by her decisiveness.
When her calm voice sounded again, he finally snapped out of it.
“Anything else, Mr. Xu?”
Xu An smiled in satisfaction. “Well, just so you know, I promised the principal you’d bring home a prize. My career’s basically in your hands now—so do your best out there, alright?”
Gu Qingning nodded, looking drowsy. “If I win, does the school give a reward?”
That caught his attention immediately. Suddenly, it all made sense.
“Of course! As long as you win any match, the school gives you a hundred thousand yuan.”
Gu Qingning’s half-lidded eyes lifted a bit. “A hundred thousand per match?”
“Exactly! Every match you win earns you a hundred thousand—and there’s also an automatic recommendation for admission to A University.”
Her eyebrow twitched slightly. Everyone kept bringing up that A University thing.
Was the money not tempting enough for them or what?
The bell rang for class, and Xu An hurried off.
“Qingning, come to my office after school to pick up some practice papers, okay?”
Even though she had aced her skip-grade exams with full marks, the exchange tests were notorious for being tricky—it wouldn’t hurt to do some extra prep.
Gu Qingning pressed her lips together and replied softly, “Alright.”
The first afternoon class was P.E., and the classroom was chaos.
When Gu Qingning walked in, Chu Xu immediately dropped Yao Dong and rushed to her.
“Boss Ning, did Old Xu talk to you about the exchange thing?”
“Yeah,” she replied casually, glancing at the students running out of the room.
“No class today?”
Chu Xu laughed. “Boss Ning, you really don’t look at the schedule, huh? It’s P.E. class!”
