The Cannon Fodder Became the Empire's Beloved Omega - Chapter 41

In an instant, Yu Ruan’s face flushed a deep crimson.

He instinctively took a step back, putting some distance between himself and Gu Yu. The shadow on the ground followed suit, leaving behind only a solitary figure.

It looked a little pitiful.

An inexplicable wave of guilt washed over him. After a moment of hesitation, Yu Ruan shuffled closer, stopping only when he was shoulder-to-shoulder with the other. He then cautiously stole a glance sideways.

Gu Yu’s expression was calm, his eyelashes slightly lowered as if lost in thought. Seemingly sensing the gaze, he turned his eyes toward Yu Ruan, accidentally meeting his unprepared stare.

Yu Ruan’s heart tightened, and he blurted out, “I really wasn’t peeking!”

Immediately, he realized his words were a blatant admission. His face flushed with embarrassment, and he obediently shut his mouth.

QAQ, so embarrassing.

Fortunately, Gu Yu didn’t press the matter. He glanced at Yu Ruan, letting out a faint, almost imperceptible “Mm,” seemingly in a good mood. “Let’s go.”

Yu Ruan nodded blankly.

The two walked out of the classroom together.

As soon as they stepped into the hallway, a hurried figure appeared in the distance. The person had short black hair and a handsome face, but his brows were tinged with an unshakable gloom.

He strode up to the classroom, paused briefly, and then, as if belatedly noticing them, lifted his gaze. Yu Ruan found the face vaguely familiar but couldn’t recall where he had seen it before.

Gu Yu, however, stopped in his tracks, his brow slightly furrowed, and said coldly, “What is it?”

The other didn’t answer immediately.

His eyes swept over Yu Ruan, revealing a hint of surprise. He widened his eyes slightly and said with some astonishment, “It’s you?”

The familiar voice finally jogged Yu Ruan’s memory. Recalling their last encounter, he exclaimed, “Ah, it’s you?”

It was actually the person who had lost his student ID last time.

If he remembered correctly, wasn’t he Gu Yu’s relative?

Hearing this, Jiang Ye’s frown deepened. “Thank you for last time,” he said, a trace of hesitation in his eyes, perhaps thrown off by unexpectedly running into Yu Ruan.

Yu Ruan instinctively glanced at Gu Yu and noticed that, although his expression remained aloof and distant, his lips were pressed tightly together. Clearly, he wasn’t pleased to see the other here.

After waiting a few seconds and seeing that Jiang Ye showed no intention of speaking, Gu Yu’s brow twitched slightly. He suddenly reached out, grabbed Yu Ruan’s wrist, and led him around the other person.

This action seemed to provoke Jiang Ye. The hesitation on his face vanished, replaced by a cold expression. “Wait, Gu Yu, I have something to say to you.”

Such a familiar tone.

Yu Ruan felt that he might need to find a place to step aside. It would be far too awkward if these two started arguing in front of him again.

“I’ll wait for you outside,” he offered quietly to Gu Yu. “It’s fine, you two can talk slowly. Don’t worry about me.”

Gu Yu’s eyes shifted slightly, and his lips moved as if to say something. In the end, he said nothing, only giving a slow nod. “Thank you.”

But before Yu Ruan could turn to leave, Jiang Ye spoke up. “Why aren’t you answering my calls?”

“…” Gu Yu leisurely shifted his gaze to him. After a few seconds, he replied, “No need.”

Jiang Ye was left speechless, momentarily stunned.

Realizing the situation was turning sour, Yu Ruan immediately let go of Gu Yu’s hand and hurriedly turned to leave before the two could get to the main point of their conversation.

Before he could get far, he heard a cold, distant voice drift from behind: “I hope you won’t attend the Nebula Ball this time, and don’t sign up for the competition either. If you’ve already drawn a slot, please withdraw. Is that okay?”

Yu Ruan’s footsteps halted.

The next moment, he heard Gu Yu’s reply: “It’s none of your business.”

“How is this none of my business? Uncle Gu, he—”

“I believe I made it clear last time that you should mind your own affairs and not meddle in other people’s family matters,” Gu Yu interrupted. “Was I not clear enough?”

Jiang Ye froze for a moment, then clenched his fists, a flicker of frustrated anger in his eyes.

The tension in the hallway felt ready to ignite at any moment.

Seeing that the two were on the verge of a confrontation, Yu Ruan, ignoring his own embarrassment, rushed back and tried to mediate: “Um… hey, let’s talk this out calmly.”

Instantly, both pairs of eyes turned toward him.

Yu Ruan’s scalp prickled, and he blurted out without thinking: “If you really can’t resolve it, you could always go to the training ground and fight it out.”

“…”

“…” !!!?

Yu Ruan froze: Wait, what did he just say? Did he really suggest they go fight in the training ground?

Oh, fight it out.

Wait.

Fight it out???! Ahhh, fight it out???!

Wasn’t he supposed to be stopping them??? Why did he just encourage them to fight instead?! Ahhhh!!!

“…” Under their subtle gazes, Yu Ruan forced a stiff smile. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I meant maybe using your fists is simpler than using words.”

Immediately, the looks directed at him grew even more pointed.

The more he tried to explain, the worse it got.

“…” Yu Ruan wanted to die on the spot.

His face flushed bright red as he lowered his head, utterly defeated: “I didn’t say anything just now. Sorry, please continue.”

The interruption, however, seemed to diffuse some of the tension between the two. A complex expression flickered in Jiang Ye’s eyes as he glanced at Yu Ruan, his thoughts unclear. He didn’t bring up the earlier topic again. “Gu Yu, think it over carefully.”

Then, turning to Yu Ruan, he hesitated for a moment before murmuring quietly, “Thank you.”

Yu Ruan stared at him blankly, completely baffled as to what he had done to deserve thanks.

But clearly, Jiang Ye had no intention of explaining. He gave Yu Ruan a slight nod, pushed past Gu Yu, who was blocking the way, and slipped between the two before walking off.

Soon, the hallway fell back into silence.

Yu Ruan nervously watched Gu Yu, who had remained silent since Jiang Ye left, worried that the earlier fiasco might have left a bad impression.

After a moment, a calm “Let’s go back” came from beside him.

Mumbling a dry “Oh,” Yu Ruan looked up and caught a faint trace of lingering amusement in the other’s eyes.

“…” What’s so funny about that?! QAQ

“Don’t do that next time,” Gu Yu said, his tone returning to its usual flatness. He held out a hand to Yu Ruan. “Come here.”

Dazedly placing his hand in Gu Yu’s, Yu Ruan let out an embarrassed “Mhm” and allowed himself to be led out of the building.

It was probably because it was mealtime, so there were very few students on the road when they went out. The two walked one after the other, returning to the dormitory peacefully and bidding farewell at their respective doors.

The lingering warmth from the other person’s body still tingled on his fingertips. Blushing, Yu Ruan scurried back into his room.

His heart was thumping a little too loudly. Unable to resist, he collapsed onto the soft bed and buried his face in the pillow in resignation.

It felt a little strange.

The sound of an incoming call woke Yu Ruan.

Still groggy, he fumbled for his light screen device and glanced at the caller’s name. His mind was still foggy, but the words “Ye Yizhou” displayed on the screen jolted him awake instantly.

Ye Yizhou??

Why would he call at a time like this?

Yu Ruan suddenly felt like a primary school student who hadn’t finished his summer homework, about to face his homeroom teacher. With his heart racing, he answered the call cautiously and said, “Hello?”

The slightly muffled, somewhat soft-toned reply from the other end of the line made Ye Yizhou raise an eyebrow in surprise. After a brief pause, he asked with amusement, “Still not awake?”

“…” Yu Ruan froze, his confidence quickly deflating. “Just woke up.”

“It’s time to get up,” Ye Yizhou said, glancing at the clock. He couldn’t resist teasing, “You little sleepyhead.”

Yu Ruan quickly got out of bed and walked into the living room, pretending nothing was wrong. Softly, he asked, “Is there something you need?”

“No need to be nervous. I’m just calling to check in on you, as usual,” Ye Yizhou chuckled lightly. “So, how are things at Xingyun? Are you happy there?”

Yu Ruan thought for a moment and said, “Pretty happy.”

Although he had faced a lot of criticism when he first arrived, most of it had disappeared after the speech and the incident on the sports field. The students at Xingyun were quite friendly to him now, and they would even lend a hand if he encountered any difficulties.

Xingyun was that kind of place straightforward, harsh, but easy to understand.

“Really?” Ye Yizhou’s tone lifted slightly. “There’s nothing you want to tell me?”

Yu Ruan had intended to brush it off, but suddenly, the image of Gu Yu and Jiang Ye talking a few days ago surfaced in his mind.

Hesitating for a moment, he asked tentatively, “Is Gu Yu not on good terms with his family?” After asking, he immediately felt it was too abrupt. “Sorry, that was too sudden. Please pretend you didn’t hear it.”

Gu Yu’s relationship with his family?

Hearing this, Ye Yizhou’s gaze deepened. “Why did you suddenly think to ask about this?”

“…” Sensing the change in the other’s tone, Yu Ruan grew uneasy, afraid he had said something wrong. “A few days ago, I saw him arguing with his family. I’m a little worried about him.”

“Hmm.” Ye Yizhou acknowledged, his tone softening again. “Would you like to elaborate? There are some things I can only tell you after I understand the situation. Otherwise, if I accidentally reveal something he doesn’t want you to know, he’ll definitely be angry with me.”

Yu Ruan immediately grew nervous. Gripping the earpiece tightly, he thought for a long while before deciding to recount the events of the past few days in a relatively lighthearted manner.

After he finished, the other end fell silent for a long time.

Just as Yu Ruan began to worry that he had said something wrong, a gentle voice suddenly came from the other side.

“His relationship with his family really isn’t that good,” Ye Yizhou said. “But strictly speaking, he and Gu Li can’t be considered as having a family relationship. At most, they’re just connected by blood as uncle and nephew.”

Yu Ruan held the receiver, feeling a bit confused. “Then,”

“His father passed away very early, and his mother remarried not long after,” Ye Yizhou’s voice softened. “If you’re willing, you could be a little gentler with him. As for his family matters, you can have a bit more confidence in him, trust that he can handle them himself. There’s no need to worry too much.”

Yu Ruan hadn’t expected Gu Yu’s background to be so complicated, and his sympathy for him deepened even further. Feeling quite guilty, he let out a low “Mm” and nodded. “I will.”

No wonder Gu Yu usually acted so cold and distant toward others. Who would have thought there was such a story behind it?

Yu Ruan felt both sad and heartbroken for him.

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