The next day, Gu Ya slept until noon before waking up.
Upon opening his communication bracelet, he found over ten messages.
Most were from Wei Ping, one from Ye Ying, and another from Liu Feng.
He first opened Ye Ying's message, which simply read: "I'm home."
Gu Ya smiled, interpreting it as an invitation to visit her.
He then opened Wei Ping's messages, which mostly expressed gratitude.
The last one mentioned that she had asked her family to buy an identical gift for Gu Ya.
Gu Ya thought the girl was quite considerate.
Liu Feng's message, however, alerted Gu Ya: "After dinner last night, I saw Xuan Lang from your class talking to Ye Ying. They chatted for about ten minutes. Ye Ying didn't seem annoyed; on the contrary, she appeared quite interested."
Gu Ya wondered why Xuan Lang would approach Ye Ying and decided to ask her about it today.
In the afternoon, Gu Ya waited for Wei Ping's private vehicle at the school's hangar.
She alighted from the car, followed by a male servant carrying over a dozen items of various sizes.
Wei Ping, looking much better and composed, greeted Gu Ya with a smile.
"You've spent too much," Gu Ya said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Wei Ping waved her hand and replied with a smile, "Not at all, it's only right. Shall I put them on your mecha? Are you free tonight? May I invite you to dinner?"
Her demeanor suggested she attached great importance to the invitation.
Gu Ya smiled politely and declined, "No need, I'm afraid Ye Ying might misunderstand."
Wei Ping smiled gracefully and demurely, "Invite her along, and a few other friends. I'll inform you of the location later. Please do come."
With that, Wei Ping turned and walked back to her hovercar, leaving Gu Ya no chance to refuse.
An hour later, Gu Ya arrived at Ye Ying's house with a large stack of gifts.
Ye Ying was startled when she saw the presents.
The bags and boxes were stacked over a meter high, almost as tall as Ye Ying's long legs.
"Did you buy all of these?" Ye Ying asked incredulously.
"Uh," Gu Ya replied sheepishly, "Not exactly. There was a slight situation."
"I heard you went to Xianxia City with a girl from your class," Ye Ying said, picking up a gift box and examining it.
Gu Ya nodded and recounted the entire ordeal of his mission, leaving him parched.
After hearing Gu Ya's account, Ye Ying said nonchalantly, "I heard Xuan Lang from your class mention something."
Hearing Xuan Lang's name immediately soured Gu Ya's mood.
This also explained why he had been talking to Ye Ying last night.
He seemed to be up to something again.
Gu Ya calmly stated, "It's best to stay away from him. If I hadn't saved Wei Ping twice, she wouldn't have told me the truth."
Ye Ying opened all the gifts. Without exception, they were all for her.
"Don't buy any more in the future; you won't need most of them."
Gu Ya smiled and began opening boxes with Ye Ying, saying, "There's bound to be something you like."
They arranged the items on the sofa. Ye Ying looked at them for a long time before picking up a sea-blue mecha starter casing and softly remarking, "This one is very nice."
It was the cheapest accessory Gu Ya had chosen himself. He hadn't expected Wei Ping to buy an identical one.
What surprised Gu Ya even more was that among all these things, Ye Ying had only singled out this item.
"Pack the rest back and have that girl return them," Ye Ying said calmly.
"I saved her; it's only right that she repays me," Gu Ya quickly explained.
Ye Ying turned to face Gu Ya, tilting her head up slightly to look at him, and said with composure, "I only want what you chose."
Gu Ya blinked in surprise. How did she know this was his choice?
Ye Ying bashfully explained, "Something so abrupt and lacking in taste could only have been chosen by you."
Gu Ya burst into laughter, and Ye Ying joined him.
"Alright, I'll keep this one, and I'll return the rest to her."
Ye Ying's mood suddenly became dejected, her hands falling to her sides. After a pause, she slowly asked, "Did you and that Wei Ping... share a room?"
Without a doubt, Xuan Lang had told her this too.
Gu Ya had deliberately omitted this part of his experience earlier to avoid Ye Ying misunderstanding.
Gu Ya nodded and said, "Don't worry, I would never do anything to betray you."
Ye Ying's face suddenly flushed, and she said in a low voice, "I... I don't care, you have to compensate me for this too."
"Huh?" Gu Ya sighed softly, not understanding Ye Ying's meaning for a moment.
Ye Ying puffed out her cheeks, looking somewhat annoyed, and squeezed out in a very quiet voice, "You... go book a room, and let's spend a night there."
Gu Ya froze on the spot, the items in his hands slipping to the ground.
Ye Ying was jealous!
"I want to go kill bandits with you too!" Ye Ying seemed even more upset, pouting and saying.
Gu Ya grinned slyly and asked, "Want to go to the shopping district again? You can buy whatever you want!"
Ye Ying nodded emphatically, responding with an "Mm!"
They both burst into laughter again.
Gu Ya had never seen Ye Ying display such an expression before, a mix of shyness, anger, and a touch of resentment.
Gu Ya said with a smile, "Okay, let's go now."
"I was just kidding," Ye Ying seemed to have resolved her inner conflict, her face returning to its usual demeanor.
Looking at her rosy cheeks, Gu Ya felt an urge to embrace her deeply and then give her a gentle kiss.
Gu Ya's hands had already lifted, hovering in mid-air, before suddenly retracting.
It wasn't the right time yet.
If Ye Ying didn't know how to handle the situation, and Anaiy awoke, Gu Ya would be in serious trouble.
This castrated feeling was like having delicious food taken away halfway through a meal.
Ye Ying only displayed two personalities in front of him; the other two were still unknown.
What if one was even more volatile than Anaiy, and another even colder than Ye Ying?
How would Gu Ya handle that?
Let's change the subject. "I'll return the items this afternoon. Wei Ping is treating us to dinner tonight, I'll invite Liu Feng too," Gu Ya said.
Ye Ying nodded and replied, "Hua Hui Jing has been very close to him lately. Doesn't Liu Feng have a girlfriend?"
Gu Ya blinked. As he had feared, his worries were coming true.
Gu Ya had reminded Liu Feng to be careful that night.
As soon as Fu Yafang left, Liu Feng started acting recklessly.
Gu Ya nodded and said, "I'll have a word with him."
...
In the evening, Gu Ya took Ye Ying to the reserved restaurant. As soon as they dismounted their mecha motorcycles, they saw Liu Feng emerging from his hovercar.
He was dressed in casual wear and looked very sprightly.
Hua Hui Jing followed closely out of the hovercar, further confirming Gu Ya's suspicions.
The dining table was not large. Wei Ping had invited Mei Shanli, making it a party of two men and four women.
Wei Ping was very sociable, chatting with Ye Ying in a perfectly appropriate manner, neither letting the conversation lull nor becoming overly familiar.
Ye Ying and Wei Ping engaged in a back-and-forth conversation with smiles, appearing like two newfound best friends.
Considering Ye Ying's personality, she would usually become impatient and wish to leave after a few sentences with other girls, like Mei Shanli.
Hua Hui Jing whispered to Liu Feng throughout the meal, seemingly uninterested in interacting with anyone else.
Gu Ya tried to talk to Liu Feng several times, but his attempts were ignored.
On the table, only Gu Ya and Mei Shanli were left unengaged.
To prevent the conversation from dying, Gu Ya proactively asked Mei Shanli, "I heard Fan Mengtian is preparing to participate in the Mecha Mechanics Competition."
Mei Shanli glanced at Gu Ya and replied curtly, "Yes, but he can't be summoned; he's always holed up in the laboratory."
Gu Ya nodded and said, "I want to participate too."
Mei Shanli gave an awkward laugh and said, "Gu Ya, the school has already finalized the participant slots."
"It's fine, I'll apply to Teacher Xie to be paired with Fan Mengtian," Gu Ya said with a smile, then lowered his voice, "Don't worry, I won't disgrace your Brother Mengtian."
Mei Shanli blushed and playfully punched Gu Ya, saying with a stubborn grin, "My Mengtian will definitely win first place!"
"Provided I help him," Gu Ya burst into laughter.
The meal was incredibly lively and harmonious. Everyone had a little to drink and left the restaurant in a pleasant, tipsy state.
Wei Ping left with Mei Shanli.
Gu Ya stopped Liu Feng and asked earnestly, "What's going on between you and Hua Hui Jing?"
Liu Feng casually replied, "It's a brother-sister relationship!"
Gu Ya punched him hard, saying angrily, "Don't blame me for not warning you, behave yourself! What about your promise to Fu Yafang?"
Liu Feng, slightly drunk, swayed and said dismissively, "Oh, it's really not what you think! I know what I'm doing!"
With that, Liu Feng entered his hovercar, where Hua Hui Jing was already waiting for him.
The hovercar, with its automatic pilot function, smoothly ascended and flew towards the city.
"This Liu Feng!" Gu Ya muttered indignantly.
Ye Ying stood behind Gu Ya and said, "Everyone lives their own life. The more you say, the worse it might be."
"He won't learn until he hits a wall. Let's see what he does!"
They were the only two left in front of the grand hotel.
People bustled by on the street, occasionally casting glances at the young couple.
"Do you want to go home or to school?" Gu Ya asked.
Ye Ying lowered her head and said, "Can you walk with me for a while?"
"Of course!" Gu Ya replied with a smile.
...
Late at night, Liu Feng groggily woke up. He reached out and touched something soft.
Liu Feng jumped in surprise, sobered up, and turned on the light.
It turned out to be his bolster pillow.
Liu Feng breathed a sigh of relief.
He covered his head, trying hard to recall. He remembered sending Hua Hui Jing home tonight, but he hadn't done anything else.
After a moment of contemplation, he cursed fiercely, "Damn it, I'm such a scumbag!"
Liu Feng picked up his communication bracelet and tapped a few times, sending a message to Hua Hui Jing.
"I have a girlfriend. From now on, please keep your distance from me."