The Protagonist 'Gong' Became my Wife - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Sunburn

These words were very ordinary, but the location where they were spoken was not ordinary at all.

Gu Zhuo’s face instantly exploded into a deep red.

In front of outsiders, they were merely strangers, but in private, they cohabitated, were married, and had even performed a temporary marking.

There was an inexplicably thrilling sensation, as if they were having an affair.

Jiang Yanning saw the young man’s flustered appearance as he intended. With a curl of his lips, he finally turned his attention back to what the people beside him were saying.

The leaders walked along the main road; the volunteers were left behind and soon dispersed to handle the next task.

Gu Xiao walked over wearing a sun hat and carrying a small handheld fan. Seeing that Gu Zhuo’s face was terrifyingly red, he couldn’t help but be startled.

“Zhuo-zhuo! Are you okay? You didn’t get heatstroke, did you? Quick, take the fan and blow some air on yourself.”

Gu Zhuo took the small fan. Seeing that Gu Xiao’s complexion was ruddy and he didn’t look at all like he was about to faint, he felt relieved.

“I’m fine, just overheated. I’ll be better in a moment.”

Gu Xiao glared at him. “Look at you. You knew you had to stand under the sun for so long, yet you didn’t think to bring a hat or a fan?”

Gu Zhuo pursed his lips.

He really didn’t know.

Because the Gu Xiao in the original book hadn’t brought them either.

【77, are we stuck? If Gu Xiao doesn’t faint, how can the plot progress?】

77 pondered for two seconds.

【Host, how about you go instead?】

【??】

Before Gu Zhuo could react, 77’s wing slapped the back of his head.

Stars abruptly burst before his eyes. His body lost its strength and he collapsed toward the ground.

Fortunately, Gu Xiao caught him in time, so he didn’t actually hit the pavement.

After a few seconds of recovery, Gu Zhuo regained his senses. He used his mental power to bind the entirety of the ball-shaped 77 tightly, hanging it in the air and swinging it around like a toy.

【Aaaaah, Host, I was wrong, I was wrong! Hurry and let me down!】

Gu Zhuo turned a deaf ear, preparing to go to the large auditorium inside with Gu Xiao to continue working.

Gu Xiao was somewhat spooked. He waved over a senior student, intending to ask for leave for both of them to go to the infirmary.

The person called over happened to be the seventh lead, Qi Chi.

Gu Zhuo and the upside-down 77 exchanged a glance and remained silent.

After hearing the reason, Qi Chi very readily agreed to help them ask for leave.

But just as Gu Zhuo took two steps, someone behind him urged him to stay.

It was clear that the “God of Plot” insisted on having Gu Xiao and Qi Chi in the same frame.

Gu Zhuo let out a sigh and pulled Gu Xiao, preparing to head back.

However, Gu Xiao suddenly erupted with primeval strength and shoved Gu Zhuo in Qi Chi’s direction.

“Senior, I’ll leave Zhuo-zhuo in your care. I’m going to the auditorium first to help.”

He walked away very fast; Gu Zhuo extended a “hand of despair” but failed to call him back.

Since things had come to this, Gu Zhuo had to bite the bullet and play out Gu Xiao’s plotline.

In school, he had always been a “transparent” presence, and he had never even spoken a word to Qi Chi. As the two walked side-by-side, the awkwardness was unspeakable.

Gu Zhuo focused his attention on 77, using a rope condensed from mental power to wrap around it until it became a perfectly round white ball.

77 was ready to cry but had no tears, deeply regretting provoking its vengeful Host.

Because they were so engrossed in their play, they didn’t know that someone behind them was recording this scene.

In the photo, Gu Zhuo and Qi Chi were standing very close. One was refined and beautiful, the other sunny and handsome. They were of similar height, and the atmosphere was ambiguous.

What a picture of “quiet and beautiful years”—

My foot!

In the auditorium, Jiang Yanning had just sat down when he received such a photo.

Following it was He Wenyun’s “tea-flavored” (hypocritical/manipulative) consolation.

“Yanning, I happened to come to Huaqing University today to find someone and bumped into this scene. I don’t mean anything by it, I just don’t want you to be kept in the dark. You should probably ask for clarification as soon as possible.”

Jiang Yanning told himself that this was just a normal classmate relationship, it was nothing.

Besides, he and Gu Zhuo were in a contractual relationship. The contract did not restrict either party from developing true love.

After all, once the contract expired, both parties would be settled up and have nothing to do with each other.

But the sudden surge of anger in his heart told him he could not stay calm.

He wanted to go and question him, yet he had no standing.

What if Gu Zhuo said those words “It has nothing to do with you” to his face? How would he end the scene?

Jiang Yanning turned off his phone screen and handed it to Assistant Zhou to avoid doing anything unseemly.

Coincidentally, at this time, the leaders on stage finished speaking, and it was Jiang Yanning’s turn.

He adjusted his suit and stepped onto the stage with steady strides.

By the time he finished speaking, half an hour had passed.

He couldn’t help himself; he took his phone back from Assistant Zhou and tentatively sent a message to Gu Zhuo.

Ning: Where are you?

A moment later.

Zhuo: In the infirmary. My face seems a bit sunburned, it hurts a little.

It will only get better if Brother blows on it for me~

Gu Zhuo at least remembered to show some restraint and didn’t send that last sentence.

His greatest hobby now was watching Jiang Yanning retreat step by step, helpless yet indulgent, just because he acted a little spoiled.

It was just a pity Jiang Yanning wasn’t in front of him, so he couldn’t see it.

Qi Chi held a medicine bottle and hesitantly handed it to Gu Zhuo.

“Junior, your medicine.”

For some reason, he was inexplicably afraid of the expressionless Gu Zhuo. Just by locking eyes with him a moment ago, he felt a chill down his spine and scurried off to get the medicine.

Looking at the two pinkish traces left on that exquisite face, Qi Chi’s heart couldn’t help but pound wildly. He sat up even straighter, fearing he would perform poorly in front of Gu Zhuo.

Gu Zhuo took the medicine. Seeing that Jiang Yanning had no intention of coming to find him on the other end of the phone, he couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

He had originally wanted to put on a bit of a show here.

A message suddenly popped up from someone else; it was a joyous update from Gu Xiao.

“Zhuo-zhuo! I’m going to be famous! Someone came to ask me to be a model!”

Gu Zhuo remained expressionless, his fingers moving slightly to send a string of congratulatory words.

He didn’t feel much in his heart.

Because this was what he had won for Gu Xiao.

It was the bet He Wenyun had to honor.

The original plot was exceptionally stubborn in certain places; at least regarding He Wenyun, Gu Xiao was still the most perfect model for his “New Show.”

He stayed in the infirmary for half an hour.

Gu Zhuo lowered his head to play with his phone; the sunburn on his face soon healed mostly due to his own powerful self-healing abilities.

Meanwhile, Qi Chi sat there solidly for half an hour without moving, covered in sweat, his face flushed red from holding his breath.

【Ding! Today’s task is completed!】

【Host! You actually came up with this method to muddle through the plot.】

In the original plot, after Gu Xiao was carried to the infirmary, he fainted for half an hour before slowly waking up. Qi Chi naturally stayed by his side.

Furthermore, because of this, he discovered the secret in Gu Xiao’s body, leaving him blushing with embarrassment.

Half an hour, blushing with embarrassment all criteria were met. No problem.

Gu Zhuo stood up, just about to go find Jiang Yanning.

The infirmary door was pushed open.

Jiang Yanning was wearing a white shirt with his suit jacket draped over his arm. He was panting slightly with thin sweat on his forehead, looking as though he had come in a great hurry.

Seeing Qi Chi, his forward step faltered slightly. He stood where he was and asked with feigned composure, “Student… Student Gu, is your injury okay?”

But in a corner where others couldn’t see, his palms were almost pierced by his fingernails.

A lone man and a lone youth alone in a room, with one showing a face full of “spring-like” affection (flushed) and an ambiguous atmosphere.

Had he interrupted these two people’s “good business”?

Gu Zhuo didn’t care about Qi Chi at all; he only noticed that Jiang Yanning was distancing himself.

He even called him “Student Gu”?

He rushed to Jiang Yanning’s side and leaned his slightly pink cheek toward him.

“Brother, why did you only just arrive? It’s not convenient for me to apply the medicine alone. Help me.”

Gazing at the pink-on-white face before him, Jiang Yanning inexplicably wanted to lean in and take a bite. He quickly snapped out of it and took a small step back.

Gu Zhuo was somewhat displeased by this action, his voice dropping low.

“Brother, you don’t want to help me? Then I’ll do it myself. If I don’t apply the medicine well and get disfigured, becoming an ugly monster, Brother will definitely despise me.”

Although he said this, the resentment in his tone was so deep it was about to overflow.

Jiang Yanning was both anxious and helpless.

“I didn’t mean that. Fine, give it to me. I’ll help you apply it.”

The two sat down one after another; the atmosphere was harmonious.

Qi Chi felt like a giant “light bulb” (third wheel) and slipped away quietly.

President Jiang, who was pretending to be magnanimous and broad-minded acting as if he didn’t care at all, slightly curled his lips. Satisfied, he inhaled the scent of bitter coffee near his nose and leaned his body a few inches closer.

After finishing the medicine, he packed up the box and casually asked, “I’m meeting Ji Zenan and the others tonight for a get-together. Do you want to come along?”

Gu Zhuo didn’t speak. Thinking Gu Zhuo was unwilling, he added another sentence.

“If you don’t want to go, that’s fine—”

“Brother, are you doing this on purpose?”

Jiang Yanning looked down in confusion and saw Gu Zhuo pointing at the two obvious blobs of white ointment on his face, his eyes full of grievance.

“Brother, you didn’t tell me earlier. My face got sunburned today, how can I go out to see people!”

Jiang Yanning’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help but start laughing.

“It’s okay. They can meet anytime.”

As long as you want to go.

Gu Zhuo didn’t understand why Jiang Yanning was suddenly so happy, but that didn’t stop him from using the excuse of “applying medicine” that night to successfully crawl into Jiang Yanning’s master bedroom.

Once inside, he wantonly released his pheromones.

It was a good thing this wasn’t the interstellar world; otherwise, he would definitely have been arrested as a pervert.

Jiang Yanning was completely unaware of this, only his hands became even more gentle as he applied the ointment for Gu Zhuo.

They spent a long time dawdling over the application, and neither suggested stopping.

Gu Zhuo’s entire face was covered in ointment. He blinked, and even his eyelashes caught a little bit of it.

Jiang Yanning came to his senses and hurriedly put down the cotton swab. One hand lifted Gu Zhuo’s chin while the other held a tissue, carefully wiping the area near the corner of the eye.

When he finished, the two locked eyes for a moment, then each looked away to avoid the other’s gaze.

Jiang Yanning tidied up the items while searching for a topic.

“I heard He Wenyun found the model for his new show. Is it Gu Xiao?”

“Yes, Gu Xiao told me. This opportunity is very rare, I’m really happy for him.”

Following the character setting of the original owner, Gu Zhuo’s words were impeccable.

Jiang Yanning nodded, but his brow furrowed secretly as he muttered, “I didn’t expect such a requirement. I wonder what the relationship is between that guy and Gu Xiao?”

Gu Zhuo was confused: “What is Brother saying?”

Jiang Yanning glanced at him, remembering how he had once suspected Ding You was Gu Zhuo, and felt it was bad luck.

His tone was disgusted: “Nothing. Just a loathsome thing. It’s best if we never meet again.”

Gu Zhuo asked no further. He intentionally left the medicine at Jiang Yanning’s place and walked slowly back to his room.

The moment he closed the door, his eyes shifted instantly.

the aura belonging to Ding You was revealed without reserve.

The mental power tentacles left in Jiang Yanning’s room moved slowly, crawling into Jiang Yanning’s quilt and loosely wrapping around his waist.

“Wife, sweet dreams.”