The Silly Shou Transmigrated Into a Book - Chapter 27

Because Chu Yueguang had been keeping him blacklisted, Gu Qiuyi gradually lost interest in sending him messages. Furthermore, with Kou Huai’s assurance that Chu Yueguang wouldn’t retaliate against him, his attention slowly shifted toward his studies.

Xu Muqing was very patient when tutoring him, moving at a steady pace. If Gu Qiuyi didn’t understand something, he would explain it several times until he did, which naturally made their progress quite slow.

In the third year of high school, there weren’t many new lessons left; it was mostly constant mock exams and revision. Even during lectures, they were reviewing old material. For Gu Qiuyi—who had actually just started his first year of high school in reality—everything except Chinese and English felt like a “book from heaven.”

To make matters worse, the original “Gu Qiuyi” had been a science student.

Faced with this situation, Gu Qiuyi would alternate between being pumped up with “chicken blood,” vowing to work hard and get into a good university, and feeling that the difficulty was too high and time too tight, thinking it might be better to repeat a year and take it slow.

Jiang Hansa strongly disapproved of this back-and-forth indecisiveness. Speaking from the heart, he said, “You’re already seventeen. If you repeat a year, looking at your current state, you’ll probably end up repeating two. By the time you start university, you’ll be nineteen; you’ll be pushing thirty by the time you graduate. It’s a waste of time. It’s better to suffer through this year and get in—it’ll save you a lot of trouble.”

After finishing, Jiang Hansa asked Xu Muqing, “What do you think?”

Before Xu Muqing could speak, Gu Qiuyi interjected, “He’s watching with his eyes.”

Jiang Hansa couldn’t help but glare at him. “…Can you be a bit more serious? This is your own life. If you don’t take it seriously yourself, do you expect others to put their heart and soul into it for you?”

Gu Qiuyi said aggrievedly, “I am being serious. Why are you being so mean?”

Jiang Hansa had lost his temper by now. “I truly want you to do well now, don’t you know…”

He didn’t finish, swallowing the rest of his words. Although he initially had other motives toward Gu Qiuyi, at this point, he was genuinely worried for him.

He had worried about the same things Kou Huai had. Ultimately, Gu Qiuyi had encountered those troubles because of him; there had been no need for Gu Qiuyi to get involved, yet the boy had charged in recklessly. That kind of pure sincerity was moving.

A person like Gu Qiuyi probably couldn’t achieve anything great; his heart wasn’t ruthless enough, and he still treated himself as a human being.

At that time, Jiang Hansa had many words of gratitude he wanted to say to Gu Qiuyi, but his personality made it difficult to say anything sentimental. He could only try to look out for him more in their daily lives.

…As Zhao Ming said, it really did feel like he had “become a father.” He must have committed a sin in his past life to end up with such a troublesome son.

Seeing Jiang Hansa’s heavy expression, like a weathered father worrying about his son, Gu Qiuyi felt his scalp tingle. He didn’t dare to keep joking and said quietly, “Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll work hard.”

He continued writing his practice paper. A female classmate walked over and saw him like this; she found it miraculous and stood beside him to watch. “This one is wrong. For this question, you should choose C, ‘when.’ I began school when I was 10.”

Gu Qiuyi hurried to erase the wrong answer and filled in C.

The female classmate couldn’t help but laugh and asked him, “Gu Qiuyi, did your brain really get gnawed by a dog for you to end up like this?”

Gu Qiuyi guiltily looked away, though his tone didn’t hesitate at all. “Really. I never lie.”

Beside them, Zhao Ming chimed in, “Actually, I’ve heard of a similar case.”

Gu Qiuyi quickly followed up to mask his guilt. “What kind of case?”

Zhao Ming said, “It’s a bit ‘yellow.’ Do you guys want to hear it?”

Gu Qiuyi: “? Mentioning that makes me not sleepy at all. Come on, don’t be shy.”

Zhao Ming said, “A guy in the class next to mine back in junior high told me. He had a ‘dummy’ sister in high school. This sister’s grades had always been average; she got around 400 on her High School Entrance Exam and went to an ordinary high school. However, she started dating a top student from the ‘Key Class’ at No. 1 High School. They slept together—just once—and it was like she had cleared her ‘Ren and Du’ meridians. Her grades suddenly became amazing, and she got into B-University for the National College Entrance Exam. On the contrary, that top student’s grades tanked. He originally wanted to go to B-University, but he failed to get in.”

After finishing, he summarized, “From this, we can see that knowledge can indeed be transferred through some strange mediums.”

Gu Qiuyi: “?? For real? I don’t believe it! That sounds like an urban legend.”

Zhao Ming shrugged. “Is that more ridiculous than your brain being gnawed by a dog and falling from the top twenty in class to dead last in the whole school?”

Gu Qiuyi said seriously, “For me, it’s not ridiculous.”

Zhao Ming laughed. “This is a classic case of double standards.”

The female classmate laughed heartily, then remembered something and said to Gu Qiuyi, “You’ve really changed a lot. You didn’t used to like talking.”

Gu Qiuyi said, “Don’t you think that was cooler?”

The classmate thought about it. “It was indeed cool—cool enough to have no friends.” After a pause, she lowered her voice and said, “There’s an arts festival after the National Day holiday. Every class needs to submit three performances. Do you want to sign up?”

Gu Qiuyi was stunned for a moment before remembering that this girl was also the class Arts Representative. “I don’t know how to do anything. What would I sign up for?”

The classmate asked, “Can you sing?”

Gu Qiuyi gave a shy smile. “Should I sing one for you?”

The classmate looked at him encouragingly. “Go ahead, go ahead.”

His voice was so clear and soft; his singing should be very pleasant, right? Just as she was thinking this, Gu Qiuyi started singing Eason Chan’s Love Transfer: “…Candlelight illuminates the dinner, but fails to illuminate an answer; love is not a cozy treat…”

The voice was indeed pleasant, but the pitch was incredibly off.

The classmate’s expression gradually became numb, and the people around them couldn’t help but frown. “…Stop, stop, stop. Don’t sing anymore.”

Gu Qiuyi stopped, a perfectly innocent smile on his face. “How was it?”

Jiang Hansa asked, “Can you play the piano?”

Wasn’t that skill a basic standard for people in their circle?

Gu Qiuyi raised his hand and said with pride, “I can fluff cotton!”

Jiang Hansa: “? What kind of joke is that?”

Gu Qiuyi said, “Don’t disbelieve me. I really can fluff cotton. I studied it for a while. If I can’t get into university, I can still go into a factory to fluff cotton.”

Jiang Hansa: “…” The female classmate: “…”

Jiang Hansa felt a pang of heartache, and his voice softened. “That won’t be necessary. If you can’t get into university, worst case scenario, I’ll…”

He paused, and Gu Qiuyi finished for him, “Worst case, you’ll support me?” He said this with an expectant look, his eyes practically glowing. “I’m really not that kind of person, but if you insist, it’s not impossible.”

Jiang Hansa: “…Worst case, I’ll use my connections to find you a big factory to fluff cotton in.”

Gu Qiuyi: “?”

The female classmate interjected, “How about a fairy tale play? Gu Qiuyi, you’re good-looking; the performance effect should be great.”

Gu Qiuyi was happy to be praised. “Sure, that works. What would I play? The Prince?”

The classmate looked at his face. Although she had always thought Gu Qiuyi was exceptionally beautiful, back then he had exuded a gloomy, dark aura that made one think of endless drizzling rain for weeks—a suffocating feeling. With that face and his decent grades, many girls in class actually liked him—the numbers were roughly a 40/60 split compared to those who liked Xu Muqing—but because of his aura, no one dared to approach him.

Now he had changed a lot; he was cheerful and lively, and that face had become even more vivid and delicate. However, the number of girls with crushes on him had plummeted. Half of it was due to his “dog-gnawed” grades, and the other half was because he seemed too lively. With his exquisite and pretty looks, it felt like he was growing more youthful. Though he was their age, their heart-throbbing feelings had subtly shifted into a sort of maternal affection.

She had been one of those who harbored a crush on him. She used to feel there was a fascinating quality about him—a sense of hoping to be saved—that sparked a mysterious urge to warm him up or fall into ruin with him.

Coming back to her senses, she smiled at Gu Qiuyi and said, “We haven’t decided on a script yet. I’ll notify you when we do. You’re sure you want to participate in the arts festival, right?”

Gu Qiuyi nodded. “I’m sure.” He turned to Jiang Hansa. “Brother Hansa, can you take pictures of me then?”

Jiang Hansa agreed, and the matter was settled. The classmate walked away as if she had completed a mission.

Zhao Ming said to Gu Qiuyi, “You’re finished. Hu Xinyi is famous for causing trouble. She might make you wear a dress for a ‘gender-bender’ role.”

Gu Qiuyi said bashfully, “As long as it’s not too revealing.”

Zhao Ming: “??” He found it hard to believe. “Wake up. You’re okay with wearing a dress?”

Gu Qiuyi looked at his expression and snorted. “What’s wrong with wearing a dress? If I lift it up, I’ll still be bigger than you.”

Zhao Ming was speechless. “…”

Jiang Hansa was gloating nearby. He had known for a long time that this fellow was extremely thick-skinned and had no lower limit.

Bantering aside, Gu Qiuyi seized the time to write his practice papers. He wasn’t incapable of being studious; he had worked hard before, so he could enter the “study zone” quickly.

After finishing, the papers were graded by Xu Muqing, who had been immersed in his own studies and hadn’t participated in their chatter. While waiting for his score, Gu Qiuyi’s gaze fell on Xu Muqing’s face.

As the protagonist of the original book, Xu Muqing had an elegant and refined face. But his beauty was different from Gu Qiuyi’s. If Gu Qiuyi was like a vibrant flower growing under the sun, then Xu Muqing was like a young, growing green bamboo. His vitality was hidden within; he wasn’t as fragile as Gu Qiuyi, but rather someone who could endure wind and rain without breaking.

Xu Muqing’s beauty carried a sense of power and resilience; it wasn’t as soft as Gu Qiuyi’s. His facial contours were sharp and defined, unlike Gu Qiuyi, who still had some baby fat on his face.

As Gu Qiuyi appraised Xu Muqing’s looks, Xu Muqing seemed unable to bear the staring anymore. He looked up. “What are you staring at me for?”

Gu Qiuyi said without thinking, “Looking at you because you’re good-looking, of course.”

Xu Muqing said, “Praising me won’t help; I won’t give you extra marks.”

Gu Qiuyi was shocked and aggrieved. “You actually think of me that way? I don’t have that many schemes.”

Xu Muqing lowered his head to continue grading, adding without looking up, “Just now Hu Xinyi asked you to sign up for the arts festival. Why didn’t you sign up to play the erhu? Aren’t you Level 10 on the erhu?”

Gu Qiuyi was stunned. It was true. Although “Gu Qiuyi” hadn’t been great at other things, he played the erhu exceptionally well. However, because his parents thought the erhu was “rustic” and couldn’t be shown off, they never valued that skill.

…Actually, “Gu Qiuyi” was already quite excellent compared to ordinary people.

Gu Qiuyi let out a “Hm” and said, “I used to know how, but I don’t anymore.”

Xu Muqing: “You don’t? After being gnawed by a dog, you even lost the ability to play the erhu?”

Gu Qiuyi said with some guilt, “Yes, fate truly toys with us, boo-hoo.”

Xu Muqing finished grading and said, “69. You still have a foundation in English, and your memory is good—you’re quick at memorizing vocabulary and grammar. Spend a bit more time, and you’ll catch up quickly.”

Gu Qiuyi acknowledged this and asked, “Do you think I can get into university?”

Xu Muqing’s gaze fell on him, a gentle smile on his face that made his handsome features seem more approachable. “What university do you want to get into?”

Gu Qiuyi hesitated, then lowered his voice. “Actually, I think getting into any university is fine. Telling Brother Hansa I wanted to get into a ‘211’ university was just to scare him.”

Xu Muqing said, “Then you have to work hard. Play on your phone less and squeeze out more time for studying.”

Hearing this, Gu Qiuyi felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. After a moment, he realized why and couldn’t help but laugh. “Brother Muqing, you really sound like a mother.”

Xu Muqing: “?”

Gu Qiuyi felt like he had discovered a new world, his voice rising. “Look, your name is Muqing, which sounds just like ‘Mother’, right? Hahaha, what a coincidence.”

Xu Muqing looked at him with a smile. For some reason, Gu Qiuyi suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine, and he silently shut his mouth. Why does Xu Muqing’s smile feel like there’s a knife hidden in it? It must be an illusion.

After school, after cadging a meal, Gu Qiuyi pulled out his phone and casually sent a message to Chu Yueguang—he was still blacklisted.

Fine, you’ve lost me.

Gu Qiuyi hesitated for a moment, then plucked up the courage to blacklist Chu Yueguang as well. After doing so, he went to tell Kou Huai.

Kou Huai replied: “Blacklisting is good! Brilliant! Should I go tell him for you?”

Gu Qiuyi immediately chickened out. “Don’t tell him!”

Kou Huai asked, “Why not?”

Gu Qiuyi: “I’m afraid he’ll be angry, boo-hoo. Anyway, he won’t forgive me, and I don’t want to make him angry anymore, boo-hoo.”

Kou Huai agreed readily, but immediately turned around and told Chu Yueguang. “Qiuqiu just told me he blacklisted you. What kind of misunderstanding is between you two? Is it really beyond repair?”

Sending this message, Kou Huai felt a bit like a “bitch,” but he was also doing it for safety to avoid brothers fighting over a person and hurting their feelings. Thinking of how Chu Yueguang had pinched the boy’s cheek and smiled that day, he felt Chu Yueguang might have a problem—after all, that guy always put on airs and had never shown such an expression.

He thought deeply, and seeing Chu Yueguang hadn’t replied, he sent another “bitchy” message: “I really hope you two can clear up any misunderstanding. Otherwise, what if you regret it later?”

When Chu Yueguang saw this, his blood pressure spiked on the spot. Kou Huai acting as a messenger made it seem like he was so intimate with Gu Qiuyi. Chu Yueguang couldn’t take it anymore, his slender fingers tapping rapidly on the screen: “I told you, don’t mention him to me again. Disgusting.”

He then added with a cold sneer to vent his emotions: “Does it matter if he blacklists me? I blacklisted him first!”

Kou Huai: “…”

Chu Yueguang seemed to realize his words were a bit off and quickly unsent that sentence.

Kou Huai: “…I saw it.” He couldn’t help himself. “Chu Yueguang, you really…”

Chu Yueguang: “? Say what you want to say, don’t hide it.”

Kou Huai: “…You really are like a primary school student.”

Chu Yueguang: “…” Chu Yueguang: “Are you sick? You’re the primary school student.”

Kou Huai: “That retort was also very similar.”

Chu Yueguang: “…”

Kou Huai: “Brother, why aren’t you talking?”

Just as Kou Huai sent this message, he went silent. A bright red exclamation mark appeared in his vision—he had been blacklisted by Chu Yueguang.

Kou Huai: “…” Is this flying into a rage out of shame? He’s even more like a primary school student now…

Chu Yueguang’s pale face was flushed with a faint red tint from anger. He slammed his desk, a spark of fury in his eyes. It’s all Gu Qiuyi’s fault!

He took a deep breath and picked up his phone to download Honor of Kings. It was a long process; he waited for a long time until his emotions had stabilized. However, he didn’t change his plan. Once the game was downloaded, he logged into his long-unused account, opened the search page, and typed in the game ID he had inadvertently remembered that day—Chiu-Chiu not Chiu-Chiu.

Then he clicked “Add Friend.”

After Gu Qiuyi finished his evening self-study and returned to his dorm, he quickly washed up and climbed into bed to play on his phone.

Seeing his smooth set of actions, Li Qingfeng couldn’t help but say, “Gu Qiuyi, show some restraint. Playing too many games isn’t good.”

Gu Qiuyi said, “I’m doing a part-time job. Someone is paying me a ‘Red Packet’ for every match I play with them.”

Li Qingfeng was shocked. “How much per match?”

Gu Qiuyi understated it. “25 yuan a match.”

Li Qingfeng was envious. “Making money while playing games, you’re amazing.”

Gu Qiuyi said modestly, “It’s alright. Please bear with me in a bit; the boss wants me to use the voice chat to communicate, so I might be a bit loud.”

Li Qingfeng waved it off. “It’s fine. I’m deaf.”

Gu Qiuyi pulled his curtain and logged into the game. Upon going online, he saw someone had added him. He wasn’t surprised; ever since he started playing with W, W had made him use the team voice chat. But perhaps it was a matter of his “constitution”—even after a match ended, someone would still add him. Checking their match history, they were all quite good.

Gu Qiuyi didn’t accept the friend request initially but clicked into the person’s profile to take a look. It seemed they hadn’t played in a long time, but their win rate was very high, and their main heroes were mostly “Side-laners” and “Marksmen.”

For the sake of that high win rate, Gu Qiuyi clicked “Accept,” and he was immediately invited by this person. Gu Qiuyi felt it was a bit strange—it was as if this person had been waiting for him.

Gu Qiuyi rejected the invite and looked at his friend list. Seeing W was online, he created a room and invited W over. Subsequently, that person’s profile picture appeared in the top right—it was the icon requesting to join the room.

Gu Qiuyi ignored it and clicked “Start.”

Once in the game, Gu Qiuyi called out “Brother” while asking, “Can you give me the second Blue Buff later? I’ll trade you a wave of minions for it; you won’t lose out, Brother.”

W typed: “Okay, the Blue is yours. No need to trade minions.”

Gu Qiuyi said, “Then won’t you be losing out? You can come and ‘leech’ my minion waves; I don’t mind. As long as you can scale up, Brother, it’s fine.”

One could actually see a player’s style from how they played. Seeing Gu Qiuyi being so humble and fawning, W couldn’t help but wonder: Is he like this in reality too?

W replied after a while: “En.”

Despite saying that, he didn’t go to “leech” Gu Qiuyi’s minions. He was truly a fast learner; it was as if heaven had gifted him talent in all things. Even for a game he had never touched before, he could quickly get the hang of it in a short time, including new heroes. Using the hero he had recently practiced, Ma Chao, he led Gu Qiuyi to push to the enemy’s high ground in ten minutes, earning a star.

Gu Qiuyi returned to the room. His gaze inadvertently landed on the list and saw that person’s profile picture was still lit—they were also online. He was momentarily stunned, and immediately after, that person’s request to join the room was sent again.

…It really felt like they were waiting for him specifically.

Couldn’t be, right? They waited ten minutes for me?

Gu Qiuyi hesitated for a moment and asked softly, “Brother, can I invite someone?”

W replied: “A classmate?”

Gu Qiuyi said, “I don’t know, but they keep inviting me. Can I invite them?”

W was magnanimous: “Invite them.”

Gu Qiuyi invited the person. This person’s profile picture was a photo of an artistic statue, looking like a boy. Their nickname was Orange Soda, which sounded like a girl.

Gu Qiuyi started the game and asked, “Orange Soda, do we know each other?”

Orange Soda didn’t speak. Gu Qiuyi wasn’t embarrassed. “Why aren’t you speaking? Is it inconvenient? You can type then.”

Orange Soda still ignored him. Gu Qiuyi said to W, “Brother, let’s kick them later.”

Orange Soda finally reacted, sending a string of “…”

Gu Qiuyi said, “So you can talk?”

Orange Soda: “Must one talk just to play a game?”

Gu Qiuyi said to W, “Brother, he’s being mean to me, boo-hoo.”

W typed: “He was talking to you nicely; what’s with your attitude?”

Orange Soda: “.”

W typed back: “Chiu-Chiu, don’t be angry. We’ll kick him later.”

Gu Qiuyi: “Brother, it’s my fault for inviting people randomly.”

W: “It’s not your problem; he’s the one with issues.”

Orange Soda: “…” Orange Soda: “What is the relationship between you two?”

W: “Mind your own business.”

Orange Soda: “…”

In this match, Orange Soda picked the side-laner Sun Ce, W picked the marksman Baili Shouyue, and Gu Qiuyi picked his usual mage, Daji.

As soon as they entered the game, Orange Soda very skillfully began clicking on Gu Qiuyi’s profile picture (poking).

Gu Qiuyi: “? Why are you clicking on me?”

Orange Soda didn’t speak, just kept clicking on Gu Qiuyi’s profile picture.

Gu Qiuyi: “!!!! STOP CLICKING ON ME!!!!”

W sent a message to “All”: “Kill Sun Ce once, 100 RMB reward. Add me on WeChat after the match for payment.”

The five enemies: “!!! Okay! No problem!”

Orange Soda: “.” Orange Soda also sent to “All”: “I’ll pay double. Kill Baili once for 200.”

The enemies: “!!” Team members: “Fight, fight!”

“!!!” Gu Qiuyi: “WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING!!!!!”

He also sent a message to “All”: “To the enemies, let’s negotiate. I’ll make the marksman ‘feed’ you; can the money be split half-and-half?”

W: “…” Orange Soda: “…” The enemies: “…”

This is truly a business genius!