What's Wrong with Changing to a New Wife? [Rebirth] - Chapter 14

The next day.

Gu Ji was shaken awake.

As he opened his eyes, he saw Cheng Zhuo’s anxious face, urgently pushing his shoulder as if something major had happened.

Seeing Gu Ji awake, Cheng Zhuo quickly said, “Brother Gu, have you checked the school forum?”

“…”

Though still groggy, Gu Ji visibly paused at the mention of the school forum, as if suddenly doused with cold water.

In his past life, after the same incident occurred, Gu Ji had attempted to break up just once, only for someone to post about it on the school forum, twisting the facts and turning the truth upside down.

Originally, it was Lin Qingran who had been ambiguous with someone else, prompting Gu Ji to end the relationship, but public opinion painted Gu Ji as the heartless scoundrel. Some even claimed he was the one interfering in someone else’s relationship.

At the time, Gu Ji had no evidence and could only endure months of undeserved criticism. He was even called disgusting for being gay while walking on the street and had dirty water thrown at him.

Even with a second chance, was he still doomed to face the same outcome as before?

The thought of what had happened in his past life weighed heavily on Gu Ji’s chest, making it hard to breathe. Even with this opportunity to start over, did he really have to go through it all again?

But no matter what, this time he had photos as evidence. No matter how bad things got, there was still more hope than in his previous life.

“—Lin Qingran cheated! Look at this!” Cheng Zhuo shoved his phone into Gu Ji’s hands, frantic. “It’s all over the school forum. It happened last night.”

“…”

Gu Ji was taken aback. Wasn’t this about him being criticized?

He pursed his lips and took the phone Cheng Zhuo handed him. On the screen were several photos of Lin Qingran in intimate poses with an unfamiliar man.

These photos were taken from inside a room, not the ones Gu Ji had on his phone. These were much clearer, even revealing the unfamiliar man’s face.

Initially, the posts hadn’t gained traction because of Lin Qingran’s infidelity. Instead, someone had recognized the unfamiliar man as the young and accomplished CEO of a certain corporation, frequently featured on magazine covers, which drew the attention of gossip enthusiasts.

It wasn’t until later that someone recognized Lin Qingran and raised questions in the comments.

[…Lin Qingran from the Fine Arts Department? Doesn’t he have a boyfriend? He’s from our school—I’ve seen them together.]

[Maybe they broke up already.]

[Break up, my foot! I saw his boyfriend at the gathering last night.]

[Spill the tea—what’s really going on!]

The forum was buzzing with activity, but as Gu Ji skimmed through, he didn’t see much discussion about himself.

This time, the situation had taken a completely different turn.

He was still processing it. Who had posted these photos? Last night in the private room, someone else had witnessed Lin Qingran’s behavior and taken pictures to post on the forum.

Seeing Gu Ji silent, Cheng Zhuo gripped his arm tightly, shaking him anxiously. “Did you see? What do we do? What do we do?”

Before Gu Ji could even sort out his own thoughts, he was nearly shaken dizzy by Cheng Zhuo. He pushed his hand away and said, “What do you mean, what do we do? It has nothing to do with me. We’ve already broken up.”

Cheng Zhuo froze for a few seconds before his face lit up with delight. “Really?”

As soon as Gu Ji nodded, Cheng Zhuo was overjoyed. He gave Gu Ji a tight hug and exclaimed loudly, “That’s great! I always said Lin Qingran was no good!”

Gu Ji was amused and got out of bed. Seeing that only Cheng Zhuo was in the dorm, he casually asked, “Where’s Jing Yin?”

Cheng Zhuo paused for a moment, then abruptly grabbed his phone to call Xu Jingyin. “He doesn’t know about the breakup yet. He went to find Lin Qingran earlier. I need to call him back right away.”

Gu Ji was puzzled. “Why is he looking for Lin Qingran?”

Cheng Zhuo struggled to explain. “Jing Yin was furious after seeing the post this morning and impulsively went to confront him. You know how it is. His father cheated, so he despises people like that.”

“…”

Gu Ji was also taken aback, finding it hard to associate this version of Xu Jingyin with impulsiveness. Xu Jingyin was excessively rational, the type who wouldn’t panic even if the sky fell. His life was usually minimalist, with almost no major emotional fluctuations.

Cheng Zhuo called Xu Jingyin, relieved to find he hadn’t reached his destination yet and was called back midway.

Xu Jingyin’s voice came through the phone, “We broke up? Really?”

His first reaction was identical to Cheng Zhuo’s—both sought confirmation.

Cheng Zhuo replied, “Of course it’s true, truer than gold.”

Xu Jingyin spoke rapidly, “I’ll be right back.”

After hanging up, Cheng Zhuo tugged at Gu Ji. “Such great news calls for a celebratory meal. Come on, come on, stop lazing around—let’s go!”

Gu Ji chuckled helplessly. “Let me change first.”

The post had been made late last night, and initially, the number of onlookers and commenters wasn’t high. But by morning, after everyone had woken up, the post’s popularity had nearly doubled.

At first, people were merely curious about the relationship between an art student from their university and a corporate CEO, surprised to learn they were a same-sex couple.

But when someone pointed out that Lin Qingran already had a boyfriend—who also attended their university—the discussion quickly shifted direction.

[So, isn’t this cheating?… Or are same-sex relationships always this messy?]

[Don’t generalize! This is an individual character issue, not a group one.]

[Wow, am I the only one wondering how he has such appeal? I heard his boyfriend is the heartthrob of the finance department, and now there’s some CEO. I’m crying as someone with zero boyfriends.]

[What? Department heartthrob? Any photos?]

[Yeah, yeah. [Photo][Photo][Photo], saved from an earlier post, not taken secretly.]

[…My roommate asked why I’m drooling. Damn, is he really that handsome?]

[I’m in the same major as the heartthrob—seen him in person. He’s even better-looking than in photos, with really fair skin.]

[If I recall correctly, he’s also on the university basketball team. You can catch him at games sometimes.]

[!!! Really? When? Where? Can we see his abs?]

[You’re dreaming. It’s a basketball game, not a nightclub show.]

[We’re getting off-topic. As gossip enthusiasts, we just want to know: Is Lin really two-timing?]

[I also want to know… Did the heartthrob really break up with him? Can anyone in the know confirm? We’re dying of suspense here.]

[+1. The comments above are all speculation and contradict each other. This gossip is so unclear.]

After a long while, someone suddenly posted a new comment, which quickly shot to the top.

【Clarification (I’m Lin’s roommate): Lin had already broken up last night, so there’s no such thing as cheating. It was a relationship between two consenting adults.】

The previously silent original poster finally replied: 【Bullshit! The breakup happened because of cheating. Do you think no one knows? If you have the guts, come forward and clarify yourself. Hiding behind a screen like a coward—what kind of man are you?】

At that moment, Yan Congyu was also browsing the school forum.

He only skimmed through the discussions about Lin Qingran, finding them utterly uninteresting.

However, when he came across a post titled 【Hey, the department heartthrob broke up. Does that mean I have a chance now? If I make a move while he’s vulnerable, what are the odds of a successful confession today?】, Yan Congyu frowned and clicked on it.

【OP, are you male or female? The department heartthrob is into guys, so if your gender doesn’t match, you might as well give up.】

【My gender fits perfectly.—I just don’t know if the heartthrob would be interested in me?】

【Ahem—I have some authority on this. As a high school classmate of the heartthrob who was once rejected after confessing, I overheard him say he likes someone obedient and well-behaved.】

【…Does Lin fit that description?】

【Maybe.】

Yan Congyu’s gaze lingered on the words “obedient and well-behaved” for a moment. He then glanced at himself and suddenly felt a flicker of uncertainty.

The forum was buzzing with excitement, but after confirming that the situation had little to do with him, Gu Ji closed the page without reading further and went out for a meal with his roommates.

Along the way, Xu Jingyin and Cheng Zhuo chattered incessantly. It was clear that these two were even more thrilled about Gu Ji’s breakup than he was.

When they arrived at the restaurant and Gu Ji saw the travel-worn Song Jinzhen, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

“Weren’t you out of Rong City yesterday?”

Song Jinzhen straightened his sleeves. “I rushed back at six this morning.”

How could he miss such a joyous occasion as his buddy’s breakup?

Originally, he had returned upon hearing about Lin Qingran’s infidelity, intending to comfort Gu Ji. But halfway through his journey, he learned that the two had already broken up, so Song Jinzhen sped back to celebrate.

“…”

Gu Ji let out a helpless laugh. “How long have you all been hoping for me to break up?”

In the private room of the restaurant, Cheng Zhuo poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Gu Ji. “Brother Gu, now that you’ve broken up, we can be honest with you.”

“From the very beginning, we could tell something was off. What kind of relationship is it when only one person gives while the other just lies back and enjoys it?”

Back when they first started college, after learning about Gu Ji’s sexual orientation, they had found it somewhat novel. But as they observed Gu Ji’s interactions with Lin Qingran, the three of them gradually began to question their understanding.

—In a relationship between two people, why did Xiao Gu have to treat Lin like a servant? Whenever Lin was dissatisfied, he would give Gu Ji the cold shoulder, and Gu Ji would have to coax him back.

Xu Jingyin brought up the past with a laugh. “Back then, Chengzi was up late at night searching online, wondering if all same-sex relationships were like yours.”

Song Jinzhen added with disdain, “This kid even dragged me to a gay bar to ask around. So embarrassing.”

What should have been a funny story made Gu Ji unable to laugh. Instead, a bittersweet feeling welled up in his heart.

Aside from everything he already knew, it turned out that even when he wasn’t aware, these friends had been worrying about him.

Cheng Zhuo placed a piece of braised pork in Gu Ji’s bowl and leaned in with intense curiosity, saying, “When I was learning about these things before, there was actually one question I’ve always wanted to ask.”

Gu Ji glanced at him, amused, and replied, “Go ahead, ask.”

“Isn’t it true that there are way more bottoms than tops? I’ve seen so many bottoms online complaining they can’t find a partner. How on earth did you end up choosing someone like him?”

Cheng Zhuo had already phrased it as tactfully as possible. He’d almost blurted out why Gu Ji would settle for someone so unworthy.