“At first, I was just an assistant, getting bossed around by tourists. Exhausted all the time, being yelled at. Totally not a vacation.”
“But later, I led my own groups. I couldn’t go far, but that year I saw a lot of places. And the best part? Going out to ‘travel’ and still getting paid.”
She stopped at the stone steps by the lake, flicking the willow branch idly across the water.
Her tone was a mix of pride and quiet bitterness.
Gu Qing pressed his lips together. His heart felt like it’d been stabbed.
She glanced back at his face, coughed lightly, and dropped her proud tone, switching instantly to “sad story mode.”
“Normally, if you get the national scholarship, life gets easier. But it’s not just about grades — it’s about being well-rounded. I was working all the time. No time for competitions or school activities. So I never had a chance.”
She pouted slightly, looking pitiful on purpose.
“I almost became unemployed after graduation. It was miserable.”
Gu Qing’s voice turned hoarse.
“It won’t be like that anymore.”
Today, if this were anyone else, Ming Ming wouldn’t have said these things.
But Gu Qing was different.
They had met in a world that felt unreal. She’d thought it was just a dream.
But somehow, he’d followed her into reality.
To her, Gu Qing didn’t feel like an ordinary person.
More like a character that had stepped out of a game.
Simple identity. Simple emotions.
Someone who understood her, loved her, and spoiled her.
In front of him, she didn’t feel the need to hide.
It felt like being with family.
And for more than twenty years of her life, she’d never been allowed to act spoiled.
Something landed lightly on her head.
She looked down at the water — a small ring woven from willow leaves.
Gu Qing had placed it there.
She tilted her head back to look at him.
His face drew closer.
He kissed her gently.
The lake breeze stirred the leaves, and the little crown trembled slightly.
Her heart raced.
The kiss didn’t last long.
He released her, then held her arms gently, lifting her so they were face to face.
Their emotions were written plainly in their eyes.
Like any ordinary couple by Lovers’ Lake, they embraced.
(Fade to black: their closeness remains romantic but non-explicit.)
Ming Ming’s eyes were slightly red as she looked at him.
“President Gu,” she said lightly,
“We just met today.”
The rest of the moment remained unspoken.
Gu Qing smiled softly, pulling her into a quiet embrace.
In the eyes of others, they were just another pair of sweethearts.
No words were needed.
He laced his fingers with hers.
“I won’t talk nonsense in public anymore,” he said.
She tried to pull her hand away. He didn’t let go.
He changed the subject:
“You won’t have to live like that anymore.”
Ming Ming, as always, latched onto the practical point:
Of course not.
With you as my walking bank account, what’s there to worry about?
“When I think about it, I didn’t have it that bad,” she said calmly.
“At least I never went hungry. And once your investment comes through, it’ll be even better.”
He laughed.
“I really wish I’d found you sooner.”
She blinked.
“By our timeline, even if you found me earlier, it’d only be a few months. No real difference.”
He just looked at her.
And said nothing.
As dinner time approached, Ming Ming volunteered proudly:
“I’ll spend big money and treat you to stir-fry!”
The stir-fry place in their campus’s third cafeteria was far from the lake.
“President Gu, you’ve got two choices,” she said brightly.
“Should I rent a little electric bike, or walk ten minutes and take the free campus bus?”
He looked at her sparkling eyes and said helplessly,
“Even though you gave me two choices… You already want me to pick the first one, don’t you?”
Ming Ming clasped her hands behind her back and just smiled.
Gu Qing let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Then I’ll trouble Miss Ming to give me a ride.”
“Say less!” Ming Ming said brightly — clearly she’d been waiting for exactly that — and bolted off to rent an electric scooter.
A short while later, she rolled up in front of him, lifting her chin smugly.
“Hop on, President Gu. Big Sis is taking you for a ride.”
Gu Qing silently climbed onto the back seat.
But Ming Ming wasn’t satisfied. She dragged his arm forward and wrapped it around her waist, stacking his hands in front of her. After patting them into place with satisfaction, she finally started the little scooter.
On the back seat, Gu Qing went through an intense internal struggle.
He remembered a scene from another world, where he’d once taken Ming Ming for a motorcycle ride. After hesitating, he asked carefully:
“When I used to ride with you… did we sit like this too?”
“Like this?” Ming Ming asked innocently.
“Like what, exactly?”
Gu Qing fell silent, unable to put it into words.
Ming Ming burst into laughter, showing no mercy.
“Relax, President Gu. I like looking cool too. In the future, let’s show off together, okay? Hahaha…”
Gu Qing: “……”
He defended himself seriously.
“That was a system-enforced setting. It had nothing to do with me.”
“Mm-hmm,” Ming Ming agreed vaguely.
At the third cafeteria, Ming Ming told Gu Qing to find a seat with chopsticks while she went to order. They’d arrived early, before the crowds, so their food could be cooked first.
Worried he might eat a lot, she generously ordered three meat dishes, one vegetable, and a soup.
She busied herself serving him attentively, acting incredibly thoughtful.
Gu Qing felt oddly flustered by the treatment.
By the time they started eating, more people had filtered into the cafeteria.
His looks and presence stood out far too much among the college crowd of awkward, overconfident young guys. Curious students kept taking detours just to get a second look at him.
“Who’s that?”
“No idea. Probably not from campus.”
“Is he that girl’s relative… or boyfriend?”
“Wait — isn’t that the chairman of Jiangyun Technology Group?”
“No way. That young? A chairman?”
“Holy — it really is him! That’s a big shot!”
The whispers grew louder and more frequent as more people recognized him, and a few even seemed tempted to approach.
But Gu Qing, who was gentle and warm when facing Ming Ming, turned cold and intimidating when looking at anyone else. His dark gaze shut down several people on the spot, and the rest decided not to try.
“Am I the only person who doesn’t watch financial interviews?” Ming Ming muttered quietly.
“I should’ve taken you to eat outside.”
It felt like her precious treasure had been discovered.
Territorial instincts instantly activated.
Gu Qing opened her soda bottle and teased,
“Isn’t this good? It boosts your reputation — and helps me claim what’s mine.”
That pleased her.
She turned her face away proudly and pretended to be modest.
“That’s… really embarrassing.”
Then she thoughtfully picked food for him.
In front of Gu Qing, Ming Ming felt a strange sense of accomplishment… and a soft kind of affection she couldn’t explain.
Look at him.
For her, he’d crossed worlds — from code and data into flesh and blood — and come to her reality, her hometown, her side.
That couldn’t have been easy.
Compared to him, he was the truly lonely one.
Other than money, he had nothing.
So pitiful.
I should treat him better.
Live-in sons-in-law always have it hard.
Gu Qing noticed the pity in her gaze and laughed silently, saying nothing.
He was curious how far her imagination would go.
After finishing their meal, Ming Ming set down her chopsticks and hesitantly asked,
“So… are we officially together now?”
Gu Qing raised a brow.
“Haven’t we always been together?”
She rested her chin in her hands, smiling sweetly.
She was happy.
“Then to celebrate us being together… what should we do?”
She immediately regretted saying it — it sounded way too suggestive.
But to her surprise, Gu Qing thought seriously before answering, very solemnly:
“Let’s start by throwing money at you until you faint.”
“That’s a brilliant idea,” she said brightly.
“Approved with both hands.”
Around graduation season, Gu Qing’s investment arrived.
He also brought in professional managers.
Her tiny, messy company suddenly became legitimate. Graduates who couldn’t find work and new starters stayed on and officially began doing outsourced work.
After defending her thesis, with her job situation secured, Ming Ming visibly relaxed.
Gu Qing stayed busy but still made time for her.
“Is there anywhere you want to go?” he asked.
“You name the place. I’ll arrange everything.”
She thought for a moment.
“I want to visit the orphanage.”
Gu Qing paused, then said,
“Okay.”
After arranging his work, he drove her to the orphanage where she’d grown up.
It was in a remote mountain village, only half a day’s drive from the city, but the scenery felt like a completely different world.
Places with hardly any people were always quiet.
The laughter and shouts of the children in the orphanage were probably the loudest sounds for miles.
It had been a long time. Ming Ming felt nervous as she stood at the gate.
sarcastisaurus On CFRFGC Chapter 102