The Silly Shou Transmigrated Into a Book - Chapter 45

Gu Qiuyi kicked the Marksman out of the lobby, played a few more rounds with Gu Dancheng, and then went to sleep.

The next day, he met Xu Muqing at the library to continue working on test papers. Remembering his plan with Kou Huai, he mentioned it to Xu Muqing.

Without looking up, Xu Muqing asked, “Going out with whom?”

“With a friend,” Gu Qiuyi said.

Xu Muqing remarked, “A yacht party. If they sail into international waters, even murder isn’t considered a crime.”

Gu Qiuyi: “…Uh, surely not?”

“Which friend?” Xu Muqing asked.

There was a certain interrogative weight to Xu Muqing’s tone that Gu Qiuyi didn’t immediately register, causing him to blur out the name instinctively: “His name is Kou Huai.” After saying it, he added guiltily, “You probably don’t know him, right?”

Xu Muqing paused. “Never heard of him. But are you going alone, or will Jiang Hansa be with you?”

“Of course Hansa-ge is coming,” Gu Qiuyi said. “It’s too far; I’ll feel more secure if he’s with me.”

Xu Muqing nodded slightly. “Then it’s fine.”

Gu Qiuyi looked at him and asked, “Do you want to come along?”

“No,” Xu Muqing replied.

“Why not? There are still four or five days left of the National Day holiday. Don’t you want to relax?”

Xu Muqing lifted his head and offered a faint smile. “I have more important things to do.”

Gu Qiuyi’s heart tightened at the sight of that smile, and he quickly lowered his head back to his test paper.

Since yesterday, Gu Qiuyi’s learning efficiency had become very high. As Xu Muqing watched him finish a paper, he suddenly said, “If you always maintained this efficiency, it wouldn’t be impossible for me to keep teaching you.”

Gu Qiuyi looked up. “Huh?”

Xu Muqing stared into his eyes. “Do you want me to continue tutoring you?”

Gu Qiuyi scratched his cheek. “But I’ve already contacted my friend, and he said he’d tutor me.”

“You can tell him you’re not going,” Xu Muqing suggested.

“That wouldn’t be right,” Gu Qiuyi said. “Besides, he’s providing room and board!”

“That is indeed something I cannot give you,” Xu Muqing admitted.

“I’m already very grateful for your help this past month,” Gu Qiuyi added. “And since you’re also in your senior year, it wouldn’t be right to trouble you too much.”

Xu Muqing gave a soft “mhm.”

Looking at Xu Muqing’s features, which seemed imbued with a gentle warmth, Gu Qiuyi couldn’t help but whisper, “Muqing-ge, what is this ‘important thing’ you mentioned?”

“Are you curious?” Xu Muqing asked.

Gu Qiuyi nodded.

“You really want to know?”

Gu Qiuyi nodded frantically. “I want to know!”

Xu Muqing said plainly, “It’s nothing much. I’m going to fight in underground matches.”

Gu Qiuyi: “…” Wait, what happened to the vibe here?!

Xu Muqing spoke quite frankly: “I am very short of money.”

As he spoke, there was no sign of embarrassment on his face. Poverty, to him, did not seem like something to be ashamed of.

“How much do you need?” Gu Qiuyi asked. “I can lend it to you!”

Xu Muqing looked at him. “Lend me? How much could you possibly lend me?”

Gu Qiuyi whispered, “I can lend you 900,000 yuan. But any more than that is impossible, because I only have 900,000.”

As he said this, an obvious look of physical pain appeared on his face; clearly, this sum represented every cent he owned.

Xu Muqing laughed. This time, he reached out and patted the boy’s head. “No need. I was just joking with you.”

Gu Qiuyi grew anxious. “Really, you don’t need it? You don’t have to rush to pay me back. You can wait until you graduate.”

“No, really, it’s fine.”

Gu Qiuyi was half-skeptical. “Really?”

“Mhm.”

“Are you really going to fight in underground matches?” Gu Qiuyi pressed.

“I really am.”

His expression was very gentle, appearing devoid of any sharp edges, and it was also extremely deceptive.

Gu Qiuyi remembered that in the original book, long passages were often dedicated to describing his refined beauty—like spring rain, nourishing things silently, or a summer breeze, refreshing to the core. Being with him was a source of comfort that all his pursuers agreed upon.

But Xu Muqing was not a person without character; he was aloof and principled. Though poor, he viewed money like dirt and had few material desires. He wasn’t a puppet; he could get angry, be sarcastic, and he would fight back—as seen when Kou Huai tried to force himself on him. He was a very vivid character.

However, Gu Qiuyi simply could not reconcile such a person with the idea of “underground fighting.”

At that moment, Xu Muqing spoke unhurriedly: “It’s likely because I look like a pretty boy who would go down in one punch. The odds against me are surprisingly high because so many people want to see me crushed. It’s strange how many people believe only what their eyes see. Even after suffering for it, they repeat the same mistake the next time, only waking up once they’ve lost enough and paid a high enough price.”

Gu Qiuyi’s expression became conflicted. Xu Muqing’s gaze fell on him. “Don’t think too much about it, and don’t pity me. I quite like my life as it is now.”

“I don’t pity you! On the contrary, I think your life is really cool! Truly!” Gu Qiuyi paused before adding, “I’m just a little worried about you. Underground fighting sounds really bad. If you have any trouble, you must tell me. I’ll definitely help you, and Hansa-ge will too!”

Xu Muqing gave a soft “mhm.”

Gu Qiuyi remembered something else and asked, “Muqing-ge, do you want to fall in love?”

Xu Muqing’s eyes flickered slightly. “Why do you ask?”

Gu Qiuyi didn’t realize that the other’s expression was actually a bit conflicted. “If you want to, I can introduce someone to you!”

“I don’t need that,” Xu Muqing said.

Gu Qiuyi was surprised. “Really? You don’t need it?”

Xu Muqing gazed at him. Gu Qiuyi felt a subtle, fleeting sense of something strange, but before he could grasp it, Xu Muqing spoke again: “I don’t need it. There are always things more important than falling in love. For me, romance will always be the last priority.” He paused, his voice lowering. “Perhaps one day it will become the thing I desire most, but it will never be now.”

Gu Qiuyi said honestly, “Muqing-ge, I don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to understand,” Xu Muqing said. “It’s better this way.”

As the day’s study session ended, Xu Muqing warned him: “Even if your friend is tutoring you, I am available anytime. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me.”

Gu Qiuyi agreed obediently and then asked, “Muqing-ge, are you going home now?”

“To the matches,” Xu Muqing said. “Want to come and watch?”

Jiang Hansa, listening from the side, was confused. “What underground matches?”

Xu Muqing looked at him and smiled warmly. “If you come, I’ll have someone arrange VIP seats for you so you can see more clearly.”

Gu Qiuyi raised his hand: “I want to watch!”

“Then come along,” Xu Muqing said.

Gu Qiuyi pulled Jiang Hansa along, following behind Xu Muqing.

Jiang Hansa asked Gu Qiuyi: “What’s the deal? What matches?”

Gu Qiuyi whispered back, “Didn’t I tell you yesterday that Muqing-ge studied Judo and BJJ? He told me today that he goes to underground fights during the holidays to earn money!”

Jiang Hansa: “…” “That’s impossible!”

Xu Muqing’s frail frame, which looked like it would collapse from a single punch, going to an underground fight? Are you kidding me?

“We’ll know when we get there,” Gu Qiuyi said.

Even though Xu Muqing had said it, Gu Qiuyi also had his doubts. Could someone with a personality as gentle as Xu Muqing’s really handle all that violence? He didn’t know; at this moment, his lack of understanding of the man had reached its peak.

Just then, Gu Qiuyi’s phone rang. He checked and saw it was Science and Education to Prosper the Nation (Chu Yueguang’s alt account).

Science and Education: “I’m so bored. What are you doing?”

Gu Qiuyi typed back: “I’m going to watch an underground fight!”

Science and Education: “?” Science and Education: “What underground fight?”

Gu Qiuyi: “Remember that brother I told you about? He told me today he fights in underground matches to make money! The contrast is just too huge!”

Science and Education: “…” He was clearly uninterested—and even annoyed—by the “brother” Gu Qiuyi kept mentioning. He hurried to change the subject. “There are four or five days of the holiday left. Do you have any plans?”

Gu Qiuyi’s attention was quickly diverted. “Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to a brother’s yacht party. He says we can fish at sea, and if we’re lucky, we can catch small sharks!”

Science and Education: “…How do you have so many brothers?”

Gu Qiuyi: “Your focus is so weird. Am I not allowed to have this many brothers?”

Science and Education replied, holding back his irritation: “You are. You absolutely are!”

Seeing the exclamation mark, Gu Qiuyi said: “Are you jealous of me?”

Science and Education: “…Who is this brother? Is he reliable? You won’t be sold off, will you?”

Gu Qiuyi: “He’s very reliable. He’s helped me a lot and is especially good to me.”

Science and Education: “Is that so?”

He switched back to his main account, found Kou Huai, and asked: “Are you free tomorrow afternoon? Let’s go out for a drink.”

Kou Huai replied: “Can’t do it, bro. I’ve got an appointment tomorrow afternoon.”

Chu Yueguang: “With whom?”

Kou Huai lied: “With Li Yu and the others. We agreed to go mountain climbing and have a picnic.”

Chu Yueguang: “Is that so?”

Kou Huai replied righteously: “Yeah, there will be a lot of people. Don’t you dislike crowds?”

Chu Yueguang: “I’m going.”

Kou Huai: “Huh?”

Chu Yueguang: “I’m going with you.”

Kou Huai: “…”

Chu Yueguang: “Good brothers should be inseparable.”

Kou Huai: “…”