8:00 in the morning, the sun slipped through the white curtains and fell on the bulge in the single bed.

That bulge shifted, as if the sun had disturbed its good sleep.

Gu Sheng rolled over in bed, then suddenly noticed something was off. He sat up; the sunlight hit his bleary eyes and made him blank out for a moment.

He suddenly realized this wasn’t his room.

The small bedroom was arranged very cozily, with only a single bed and a wardrobe, and a desk placed opposite the bed.

After a night’s rest, the aftereffects of forcibly breaking the hypnosis had already faded, and the memories that flooded back made him wish he could just die on the spot.

He’d run out of the clinic yesterday, scaring Doctor Li half to death—she’d never before encountered someone who’d broken free from hypnosis like that.

Gu Sheng ran off without a care, his mind occupied by only one thought: Zhou Shi Yi.

He didn’t know how he ended up at the library entrance; it was the last place he had seen Zhou Shi Yi.

He didn’t even know how his mind had carried him from the hospital to the library, how he hadn’t been hit by a car on the way—truly the favor of the goddess of luck.

He did remember how Zhou Shi Yi had brought him back, and how he’d ended up falling asleep unguarded in Zhou Shi Yi’s house.

At the thought of having made such a humiliating scene in front of Zhou Shi Yi, he wished he could have immediate amnesia.

Soon he realized: he was clearly asleep on the sofa yesterday—so how had he ended up sleeping in a bed?

He got out of bed, barefoot on the floor, and after a few steps saw several junior high textbooks spread open on the desk, their margins filled with notes.

The handwriting was strong and steady, the characters neat — clearly this was Zhou Shi Yi’s room.

Realizing he’d fallen asleep in his enemy’s bed made Gu Sheng feel sick all over. He frantically touched the back of his neck; it was still smooth as before.

Still uneasy, Gu Sheng opened the door and bolted into the bathroom.

Zhou Shiyi heard the door open, but when he turned back he found the bathroom door had been closed from the inside; he also heard the click of the lock.

Gu Sheng nervously clutched his gland, his anxiety like someone reading his own death sentence. He stood sideways in front of the mirror, inching his hand away little by little to reveal the skin beneath.

He suddenly let out a breath.

Thank goodness, Zhou Shiyi wasn’t that twisted yet — he hadn’t taken advantage of him while he was asleep to secretly inject something into his gland.

He woke up in a cold sweat first thing in the morning.

He looked down and saw a new toothbrush and a clean towel on the sink—clearly prepared for him.

When he stepped out of the bathroom with a sullen face, he found Zhou Shi Yi had already set breakfast on the table.

Breakfast was very simple: youtiao with plain congee, with a little bit of pickled vegetables on the side.

Zhou Shiyi saw Gu Sheng finish tidying up and called him over to have breakfast.

“Do you want something to eat?”

Gu Sheng watched Zhou Shiyi bustling about for a moment, then sat down across from him.

Gu Sheng said nothing, and Zhou Shiyi didn’t start a conversation either; the two of them quietly ate the breakfast together.

The rice porridge was soft and the grains melted in his mouth, the aroma of the food enticing; the porridge was the right temperature, soothing his stomach after a day of hunger.

Halfway through eating, Gu Sheng realized he was having breakfast sitting next to the man he considered his enemy.

Zhou Shiyi ate unhurriedly, with a very refined manner.

It wasn’t until Zhou Shiyi looked up that he noticed he’d been staring at him for a long time.

He quickly turned his gaze and found a blanket on the sofa that hadn’t been put away.

Last night he had taken Zhou Shiyi’s bed, so Zhou Shiyi had to make do with the sofa for the night.

It wasn’t that small single-seater sofa from yesterday, but Zhou Shiyi was a big guy—sleeping on the sofa all night probably wasn’t comfortable either.

Gu Sheng’s gaze felt as if it had been singed by fire; he quickly looked away, only to see the door to the room tightly shut.

He looked thoughtful; from yesterday until now, it seemed like he’d only seen Zhou Shiyi alone.

He didn’t know what Zhou Shiyi’s family situation had been in high school, only that his family was poor and that through Zhou Shiyi’s hard work he had received scholarships every year. If he remembered correctly, there was also an elderly person at his home.

Seeing Gu Sheng slow down, Zhou Shiyi reminded him:

“Last night you fell asleep, so I took your clothes to wash them. I found your phone in your pocket; it got water damage and wouldn’t turn on. I dried it with a hairdryer and it’s charging now — check it in a bit to see if it works.”

Talking about the phone, Zhou Shiyi was a little speechless.

Before tossing the clothes into the washing machine yesterday, he habitually checked his pockets for anything. Feeling the residual warmth on the damp fabric, he had no idea what Gu Sheng had been doing in the bathroom.

Gu Sheng paused his hand slightly, lowered his eyes, and said, “Oh, I know.”

After breakfast, Gu Sheng unplugged the phone charger. While the phone was booting up, he stared dazedly at the darkened screen.

After he ran out yesterday, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, and then it went silent—must have died at that point.

Luckily the phone’s waterproofing held up; it just wouldn’t power on because it was out of battery. He plugged it in, pressed the power button, and the icons lit up on the screen.

He wanted to stall for a bit, but then remembered he’d been missing all night and couldn’t be reached—his family must be frantic.

Just as he was thinking that, as soon as the phone booted up a call came in.

It was as if someone had been calling him all along, and now, suddenly, the call had gone through.

There wasn’t time to think; seeing the note on the screen, Gu Sheng answered.

The person on the other end seemed surprised it actually connected and froze for a moment.

“Hello? Shengsheng, is that you?” Nian Meilan asked hesitantly; there seemed to be some noise on her end, and she signaled to put the call on speaker.

“Mm, it’s me.” Gu Sheng stood on the balcony, lowering his head to look at the pattern of the floor tiles.

Hearing Gu Sheng’s voice, Nian Meilan let out a sigh of relief. She asked anxiously, “Shengsheng, why didn’t you answer your phone yesterday… yesterday? Mom was about to call the police.”

She had wanted to ask why he had suddenly run off and where he had gone, but she was afraid of upsetting him, so she could only ask why he hadn’t picked up.

At this, Gu Sheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Mom, I’m fine. I stayed at a classmate’s place last night, my phone just died and I was charging it all night.”

Nian Meilan was so angry she wanted to rush over and grab Gu Sheng to give him a beating. The Gu family weren’t the kind to physically punish their children, but she was clearly furious with him now.

“Isn’t there a nicer way to say things? At least pick up the phone.” After a moment, Nian Meilan frowned and spoke softly,

“Shengsheng, Mom’s just worried about you. Are you feeling any better? They said abrupt interruption of hypnosis can have aftereffects. Do you want to go to the hospital and get checked?”

Gu Sheng stared at the building across the way, his thoughts drifting, his voice very soft: “I’m fine, don’t worry. I slept last night and when I woke up this morning I was okay.”

“My fault, sorry for worrying you. I’ll come back tonight and make amends properly.”

Listening to Gu Sheng pretending to flatter her on the other end, Nian Meilan’s voice choked up a little.

Gu Sheng was her youngest child—sweet-talking from childhood, always endearing.

During the first two pregnancies, she and Gu Fu were out building their careers, traveling often. Later, as the company stabilized, they were able to come home more and spend time with the children every day.

Gu Sheng was raised by her single-handedly; she knew his temper better than anyone. Now that he was clearly unhappy but pretending to be fine, acting like nothing had happened in front of her, how could she not feel heartache.

Nian Meilan almost burst into tears on the phone. From the other end Gu Sheng heard a man’s voice say, “Give it to me, I’ll talk to him.”

The man took the phone and said, “Hello.”

Gu Sheng called out, “Big brother.”

On the balcony, Gu Sheng was on the phone; he was too far away, so his voice came through in broken fragments and it was hard to make out what he was saying.

Zhou Shiyi packed the porridge into an insulated container, planning to take it to the hospital later.

Having taken first place in the grade meant his scholarship was secure, so Zhou Shiyi persuaded the elder to go to the hospital for a checkup.

Grandma Zhou said aloud that people get old and their bodies are bound to have some problems.

But Zhou Shiyi knew she was just reluctant to part with the money, so he told her about the scholarship he had received and told her not to worry about money.

Seeing the elderly woman still hesitate, Zhou Shiyi could only say that next semester he’d be entering his final year of high school — a critical period — and if anything were to happen to her health, he might be distracted.

Grandma Zhou immediately became anxious, saying his studies couldn’t be delayed. Only after Zhou Shiyi repeatedly assured her that it wouldn’t affect his schoolwork did she agree to go into the hospital.

Once they were in the hospital and ran tests, a few nodules were discovered on her lungs.

After receiving the test results, the doctor recommended hospital observation first; if it couldn’t be controlled, surgery would be the only option.

Zhou Shiyi took Zhou Nai-nai’s paperwork downstairs to pay the fees and complete the admission procedures.

The people in the ward noticed that Zhou Shiyi was not only good-looking but also frequently bustling about helping others. When fellow patients in the ward needed assistance, he would proactively lend a hand, so Zhou Nai-nai’s wardmates all had a very good impression of him.

They even told Zhou Nai-nai, “This is your grandson, right? Young people these days really are getting better-looking and more filial.”

Grandma Zhou couldn’t hide her happiness when others praised Zhou Shi Yi; she said he truly was filial.

Zhou Shiyi hadn’t lied to Grandma Zhou — he really had secured a scholarship spot, but there would be a wait before it kicked in.

And it was still unclear whether he would need surgery later, which would cost a lot, so Zhou Shiyi took jobs outside without telling Grandma Zhou.

He often split his time between the school and hospital jobs in a fixed routine, and on weekends carved out time to do homework in the library, go to the hospital in the afternoons, and tutor in the evenings.

His regular client had originally been unhappy about his age, but upon learning that Zhou Shiyi excelled at Mingde High and had taken first in the grade, agreed to a trial period.

He had something to do yesterday, so he didn’t go; today he planned to go early to make up the lesson he missed yesterday.

After Gu Sheng finished the call and came in from the balcony, he saw Zhou Shi Yi putting a thermos box and some tutoring materials into his bag.

Just now, while Gu Sheng was on the phone, Zhou Shiyi finished packing his things and went into the bedroom to grab something.

Gu Sheng glanced at the middle school study guide and asked, “This looks like middle school material, right?”

Zhou Shiyi didn’t hide it: “I’m a tutor.”

Gu Sheng thought of that tightly shut bedroom door and had a suspicion in his mind.

But he wasn’t close to Zhou Shiyi, so asking out of the blue would be a bit presumptuous.

“How about this: I’m not good at science either. Come tutor me—how much do you charge as a private teacher? I can pay you.”

At this, Zhou Shiyi stopped what he was doing and looked at him without saying a word.

Gu Sheng could get any kind of tutor he wanted; it was obvious that this offer had ulterior motives.

Zhou Shiyi frowned, his expression showing disapproval.

Gu Sheng’s face immediately went cold. “I saw you with that new classmate He Yanqing yesterday. He’s fine, so why can’t I be?”

Zhou Shiyi’s eyes lit up—so that’s because of He Yanqing.

In the original story there was also a plot where Gu Sheng asked He Yanqing to tutor him; during those tutoring sessions the two had repeated contact and eventually discovered their feelings for each other. Only, in that version I wasn’t some expendable pawn.

Now Gu Sheng was probably a bit displeased about him taking up He Yanqing’s time.

He hadn’t expected Gu Sheng to show possessiveness toward He Yanqing at a moment like this.

Zhou Shiyi thought that once the protagonist pair got together, maybe the plot would be over sooner, so he nodded and agreed.

As for the tutoring fee—he was going to write the homework anyway.

He and He Yanqing each worked on their own in the library, only when they came across a problem they couldn’t solve would He Yanqing bring it over so they could discuss it together.

One sheep is herding, two sheep is grazing.

Zhou Shiyi didn’t think he could teach them anything, nor did he see how he could accept their money.

He’d just be a tool, laying the groundwork between He Yanqing and Gu Sheng.

When he agreed, Gu Sheng’s expression softened noticeably; pleased with Zhou Shiyi’s tact, he smiled faintly and said, “Then start today—come to my place.”

📘 The complete novel is available for download in PDF via the link below.