Gu Jiasui was on the phone when she heard a noise behind her. She turned around and unexpectedly came face-to-face with a familiar figure once again.
Su Jing, a professor in the mathematics department at Bin University.
But this was not the Su Jing she had once known, of that she was certain.
In fact, apart from the accidental encounter at the start of the semester, she had very little interaction with this man.
One was a student, the other a teacher.
One was an entertainer in the entertainment industry, the other a professor in the ivory tower.
At this moment, it was only their third unexpected meeting.
The last time had been just a few days ago, at the birthday banquet of the Lu family patriarch. Su Jing had been one of the invited guests, and her grandfather had specifically called him over to chat, asking him to look out for his granddaughter.
This Su Jing came from a prestigious literary family, with elders who were renowned writers, musicians, and painters—all highly celebrated figures. Yet Su Jing had chosen the path of mathematics. His gaze and demeanor were different from the Su Jing she had known in her past life.
This realization brought her a sense of relief, though tinged with a faint, almost imperceptible melancholy.
It was just the same face and name, nothing more.
Perhaps he was a descendant of the Su Jing from her past life—who could say?
She had been given the chance to live another life, and she ought to cherish the present rather than dwell on the past.
So, when Su Jing approached her and invited her to walk together, Gu Jiasui was somewhat surprised.
Professor Su clearly wasn’t the most talkative person. As they walked, their conversation was limited to a few perfunctory remarks like, “How’s school life?” and “How are things with your roommate?”
The questions felt almost like the kind of polite small talk an elder might make.
Gu Jiasui responded with shallow answers, not feeling particularly close to him and having little to say.
After a while of walking in silence, the man beside her spoke up:
“Miss Gu, has Old Master Lu mentioned the marriage arrangement between the Lu and Su families to you?”
Marriage arrangement?
The words caught Gu Jiasui completely off guard.
She remembered that before she had transmigrated into this body, there had indeed been a marriage arrangement between the Lu and Su families. However, since the original owner of this body had gone missing as a child, the arrangement had essentially fallen to the adopted daughter, Lu Jianian, and her fiancé.
“Wasn’t that arrangement meant for Lu Jianian?”
Seeing her expression, Su Jing realized that Gu Jiasui was unaware of the complications.
He explained in a low, magnetic voice:
“That’s correct. Originally, the arrangement was between my cousin and Miss Lu. However, during the birthday banquet, my grandfather mentioned that Lu Jianian is not a biological member of the Lu family, and he suggested reconnecting the arrangement.”
Reconnecting the arrangement?
Gu Jiasui felt a strange unease. Did this mean Lu Jianian and her fiancé were no longer together? But hadn’t they been deeply in love?
So why had Su Jing suddenly approached her? Was he implying that the arrangement might now involve her and him?
She stopped walking and looked up at him. “Professor Su, given your current status, surely your marriage isn’t something your family can dictate, is it?”
“You mentioned the marriage arrangement between the Lu and Su families, but my surname is Gu. Arranged marriages are illegal in this day and age.”
Her expression was cold, her slightly furrowed brows clearly conveying her displeasure.
Gu Jiasui had prepared herself for the possibility that he might react with anger, but instead, she heard him chuckle.
“Miss Gu, you’re absolutely right. I feel the same way.”
“To be honest, there’s nearly a ten-year age gap between us. Since we’re both in an academic environment, it’s better to keep things purely professional between teacher and student.”
Gu Jiasui gave him a surprised look as he continued, “It’s better for us to clear the air now than to let our elders meddle. That way, we can put this matter to rest for both families.”
She nodded slightly, and after this exchange, the atmosphere between them lightened considerably. They chatted about trivial matters as they walked.
“The staff canteen has a few good dishes, and students are allowed in. If you have time, you should try them.”
Su Jing also asked a few curious questions about some famous “gossip” in the entertainment industry. Gu Jiasui shook her head. “I really don’t know much about that.”
This wasn’t the first time someone at school had asked her about some celebrity scandal or another.
Gu Jiasui found it frustrating. She didn’t have cameras installed in people’s homes, and while she might have met or heard about some of these celebrities, she had no way of knowing whether the rumors were true.
She relied on news and online gossip just like everyone else!
As they talked, Gu Jiasui spotted Yan and Zhu Jue up ahead.
Without hesitation, she spoke up. “My roommates are over there. I’ll see you later.”
Su Jing nodded politely and gestured for her to go ahead. “Goodbye.”
Yan watched as Gu Jiasui waved at her and then left Professor Su behind, walking over to join them. She and Zhu Jue stopped and waited.
Though they weren’t sure what had happened, it didn’t seem like anything major had occurred.
However, it looked like their plans for a quiet evening together were over.
“Jiasui, want to head back to the dorm together?” Yan asked.
Gu Jiasui smiled apologetically. “Sorry for interrupting your time.”
Yan glanced curiously in the direction of Professor Su but didn’t ask Gu Jiasui any questions.
After all, the man didn’t seem like someone who would cause any drama.
The three of them walked together, and suddenly, a plump orange cat emerged from the bushes, boldly making its way toward them.
“Wow, a big orange cat!” Yan exclaimed in delight.
The Bin University campus was home to many cats and dogs, some of whom even wandered into classrooms, earning them the nickname “Bin University Class Monitors” among the students.
These animals were well cared for by the campus pet protection association, which ensured they were spayed or neutered. Now, they lived freely on campus, enjoying the constant stream of food from students.
This particular orange cat was clearly one of them, its fur sleek and shiny, a testament to its well-fed life.
The cat confidently approached Gu Jiasui, seemingly familiar with her, and promptly flopped onto its back, exposing its belly. Yan was stunned.
“So bold!”
Gu Jiasui, clearly used to this, pulled out a sealed packet of chicken breast from her bag, opened it, and placed it in front of the cat. But the cat sniffed it and refused to eat.
Yan had noticed the convenience store chicken strips in Gu Jiasui’s bag before and assumed they were for her own diet as an entertainer. Now it seemed they were meant for the cats.
Gu Jiasui crouched down and began petting the cat, which lay there, completely relaxed and enjoying the attention. She broke off a small piece of chicken and held it to the cat’s nose. Only then did the cat deign to give it a lick.
And then, Yan swore she saw the cat make a “yuck” face.
Even the cat thought the chicken was gross!
Yan and Zhu Jue crouched beside Gu Jiasui, watching her pet the cat. Despite its sharp claws, the cat kept them retracted, clearly mindful not to scratch her.
What a clever little cat!
“Yan, do you want to pet it? This one’s not shy,” Gu Jiasui said softly.
She had first encountered the cat by chance while feeding it on campus. Since then, whenever she sat on a bench alone, the cat would come over and sit beside her, rubbing against her.
Yan shook her head wistfully. “No, we’ll just watch you enjoy it. Zhu Jue and I are both severely allergic to cats.”
Strangely, they weren’t allergic to dogs, but cat fur was a different story. Initially, only Zhu Jue had been allergic, but over time, Yan had developed the same sensitivity.
“That chicken probably doesn’t taste very good,” Yan commented.
Gu Jiasui shook her head. “It’s too fat. I took it to the vet once, and they said it needs to lose weight. The students here feed it too much, so I use this to help curb its appetite.”
Yan was surprised. She hadn’t expected that to be the reason.
“I actually contacted the association to have it adopted by my company, but after a few days, it kept escaping. It was exhausting trying to catch it, so we brought it back. It clearly prefers the freedom of campus life.”
Yan suddenly remembered. “That’s why you were away from the dorm so much last month.”
“Yeah, a cat that’s grown up on such a big campus probably doesn’t want to be cooped up indoors,” Gu Jiasui mused.
The big orange cat was petted for a while, then it nimbly flipped over its chubby body, sniffed around Gu Jiasui's feet, picked up the chicken strip with its mouth, and disappeared into the grass, wagging its tail.
"Using me and then running away," Yan said with a laugh.
Feeling much better after being healed by the kitten, Zhu Jue accompanied the two back to the dormitory. As soon as Yan and Gu Jiasui entered the room, they saw Chu Bingbing slamming the communal table in excitement.
"Scumbag! How despicable!"
"A teacher seducing a young girl, I'm so angry, I'm so angry, ahhh!"
Chu Bingbing waved her hands with great intensity, and Yan could almost see flames coming out of her head.
Yan was very curious about her state, "What's wrong, Bingbing?"
Yi Zhi, who was sitting nearby, swiveled her chair around to face them and spoke in a smooth, rapid tone, "You haven't seen the trending topic on Weibo, have you? Just now, a big scandal broke out. A former actor who quit the industry to run an art exam training school has been stringing along underage girls, dating them and taking a lot of money from them."
"This male celebrity was quite famous a few years ago, his name is Xie Qiyuan."
Yan blinked her eyes, utterly shocked, "Teacher-student romance? Underage? What a beast!"
"What's going on?" she said, quickly pulling out her phone to check the gossip.
Gu Jiasui, listening to their discussion, was also stunned and began scrolling through her phone.
#Explosive: Xie Qiyuan, a playboy with multiple art exam students#
#Explosive: Qi Xue'er exposes Xie Qiyuan for dating multiple underage girls#
This Qi Xue'er is a freshman in the acting department at Ningcheng Film Academy this year. Yan noticed that she already had a million followers on Weibo, with an extremely pure and beautiful face, seemingly gaining fame during the art exams due to her good looks.
The leaked video was a screen recording of WeChat chat logs, not fabricated or edited.
From the chat logs and the lengthy post, Yan quickly understood the details of the scandal.
In short, Xie Qiyuan, a retired male celebrity, runs an art exam training institution, boasting that it offers training by actual film industry stars. Qi Xue'er is one of his students.
Qi Xue'er studied under Xie Qiyuan for two years, learning voice, acting, and movement from him. As a young girl, she naturally developed feelings for her teacher, who was a celebrity with a special aura, handsome, and highly skilled in his profession. The inevitable physical contact during training further drew her in.
Unable to suppress her intense feelings, Qi Xue'er confessed her love. Xie Qiyuan initially refused, citing his status as an actor who couldn't date, but then turned around and said he actually liked her too.
Qi Xue'er came from a wealthy family. After receiving her teacher's response, Xie Qiyuan suggested that there were some scripts worth investing in or that the training institution was facing financial difficulties. Not only did she provide money herself, but she also convinced her family to invest.
When Qi Xue'er got into her dream school, she thought they could eventually go public with their relationship. However, Xie Qiyuan claimed that revealing their romance would harm both their careers. It wasn't until Qi Xue'er discovered that he had multiple phones and was simultaneously dating several other beautiful, underage students that she realized she was just one of many, deceived both emotionally and financially.
"Teacher-student romance, and with so many? This is just taking advantage of young girls who are still immature! How can someone be so vile!" Chu Bingbing was furious.
"Some people are actually defending him, saying that he initially refused to protect the girl's feelings and prevent her from being too heartbroken, which might affect her grades. This is just stringing her along! It's a classic manipulative tactic!"
"After following eight hundred gossip accounts about relationships, I've developed a sharp eye. Young, inexperienced girls who haven't interacted much with boys are easily taken in by this kind of behavior," she sighed.
"We had a handsome teacher in high school too. After being confessed to by a student, he went from being clean and tidy to unkempt, grinding his teeth, smoking, and picking his nose. He quickly got married through a blind date, and no one had a crush on him anymore."
Gu Jiasui listened silently. Inexperienced young girls, huh?
"Exactly," Yan chimed in.
"First, as a teacher, you should nip any inappropriate feelings in the bud and guide students in the right direction. A normal teacher would avoid physical contact with the opposite sex. The phrase 'setting an example as a teacher' exists for a reason."
"In an environment with limited interaction with the opposite sex, especially in a training institution, the teacher's age and experience naturally overshadow those of the students. This scumbag must have noticed the girl's feelings early on but chose to let it continue until Qi Xue'er confessed. He probably enjoyed the attention and the thrill of being admired."
Yan picked up a washed cherry tomato from the communal table and handed one to Gu Jiasui beside her. It was clearly another batch of fruit brought by Yi Zhi, bright red and very appealing.
"Right, Suisui?"
Gu Jiasui nodded silently, took the cherry tomato, and ate it.
Yi Zhi looked a bit dazed, processing everything in her mind.
"It's so complicated."
"It's actually not complicated at all. People just tend to be blinded by their emotions. When you're young and full of hormones, you see the person you like through rose-colored glasses. You don't think too deeply. Usually, in relationships, after a breakup, you might hate the other person and wonder how you ever fell for them in the first place," Chu Bingbing said, munching on a strawberry.
"Mmm, Bingbing is right," Yan said, popping a blueberry into her mouth.
"Yi Zhi, you should take a closer look at the chat logs in the scandal. This scumbag is a classic example of wanting to have his cake and eat it too."
"Most people would either reject or accept a confession. But he left a little opening for the girl, letting her continue to like him while also benefiting from her financial support."
"Let me see, this girl is indeed from a wealthy family. They even set up an entertainment company to invest in his projects."
"This is the epitome of pretending to be self-reliant while actually leeching off the girl's resources. It's the ultimate hypocrisy."
"Moreover, as a teacher and an older man, his words carry weight and are easily believed by young girls. It's a form of psychological manipulation, a kind of PUA."
Yan shook her head, "The girl is so unlucky. Such a pretty girl, but so naive!"
"This guy is so sneaky!"
Yi Zhi looked enlightened, nodding in deep sympathy, while Gu Jiasui seemed lost in thought, as if her mind was elsewhere.
"Suisui, why aren't you saying anything?" Yan asked, noticing Gu Jiasui's distant expression.
Gu Jiasui stood up and took a big gulp of water, "I'm too angry to speak."
"This is what they call being love-struck," she said coolly, but Yan could hear a hint of bitterness in her tone.
"Ah, it's normal to misjudge people when you're young. There are plenty of good-looking people who do terrible things. Isn't that what most entertainment industry scandals are about?" Yan said with a knowing air.
Gu Jiasui grabbed a strawberry and bit into it fiercely. The more Yan spoke, the more it felt like she was indirectly criticizing her.
Why didn't Yan ask anyone else, but specifically sought her opinion every time?
"Yan, you sound like you have a lot of experience," Chu Bingbing nudged her with her elbow.
Yan waved her hand, "This is all from observing scumbags with Jue during high school."
Not to mention, the four scoundrels around Xu Jiaojiao were all handsome, but their character... well, it left much to be desired.
Gu Jiasui watched as Yan spoke with the air of a seasoned veteran. Her eyes flickered, and she pursed her lips, saying nothing.
"Because you and Zhu Jue have such a good relationship, it's easier to spot the contrast, right?" Chu Bingbing said.
Yan touched her chin, "Is that so?"
"Well, I think that if you truly love someone, it shows in everything you do," she said, her eyebrows curving into a smile.
"Even if faced with a thousand choices, you would never doubt that they are the one," Yan said, her cheeks flushing.
"Ooh la la," Chu Bingbing teased, laughing at her expression.
"They say campus love is the most passionate because as you grow older, you start considering too many practical factors—work, distance, family, and so on," Chu Bingbing mused. Given her own secrets, even if the damn system disappeared one day, it would be hard for her to give her whole heart.
From discussing the scandal, the girls in the dormitory moved on to the topic of love.
"I think if two people love each other enough and can provide each other with a sense of security, and if they have the determination to face and solve difficulties together, they won’t separate. If they do separate, whether it’s for career reasons or something else, such reasons suggest that the importance of their partner in their heart isn’t higher than other things," Yan said, tilting her head.
Isn’t being forced by circumstances just another way of saying one party lacks the courage to face hardships together? And that their affection isn’t that strong, after all?
As they snacked on melon seeds, tonight’s Weibo was buzzing with activity. One after another, new female accounts came forward to expose scandals, and netizens were feasting on the drama. The male celebrity Xie Qiyuan had already been thoroughly exposed.
Even past two or three in the morning, the gossip-hungry netizens were still scurrying around, howling about staying up all night, afraid they might miss any new revelations.
Yan had been indulging in the gossip all night and only reluctantly closed her eyes after receiving two reminders from Zhu Jue to sleep on time.
If she didn’t sleep now, she really might not be able to get up tomorrow.
Though she often felt drowsy during class, she became wide awake the moment there was gossip to devour.
While her roommates were busy commenting on the drama and enjoying the spectacle, Gu Jiasui lay in bed, her emotions hard to articulate.
Gu Jiasui had always had an excellent memory, and now Yan and Chu Bingbing’s comments replayed in her mind as if they were right beside her.
"Hypocritical and indecisive. Isn’t it just a lack of love?"
She closed her eyes. The "gossip" she had shared with her roommates today felt like a heavy blow to her own mind.
It was as if this one moment had suddenly cleared away the fog, shaking out all the illusions she had held onto for years.
Yan had said something very true: people view their past memories through a filter.
Because those moments from the past are so distant, many details are forgotten, leaving only the beautiful aspects we choose to remember.
Just like how, after someone passes away, those around them only reminisce about their good qualities, and the pain they once caused is no longer mentioned.
When Gu Jiasui revisited her past with a different mindset, it seemed as though everything had a new explanation.
Back then, when Su Jing had told her that a true man should prioritize his country and family, he should have completely severed her hopes.
Yet, just before she moved into the princess’s residence, he had knelt before her and gently urged her to take care of herself, as if still expressing his feelings.
She had a gentle and steady personality, and Su Jing had been her mentor. He knew her all too well.
His words about prioritizing the nation and fulfilling his ambitions had struck her at her weakest point.
As a princess bound by etiquette and tradition, she couldn’t force him to become her consort.
Su Jing had been nearly ten years older than her, with impeccable family background, prospects, and looks. None of the noble ladies in the capital had caught his eye, so why would a proud and privileged princess like her be any different?
Now, thinking back, it was likely not the case.
Perhaps there had been some genuine affection, but it had never outweighed his ambition to serve the country.
Or perhaps there had never been any true feelings at all—just a way to placate her, to prevent her from doing anything reckless, using her lingering affection as an invisible political tool.
The Professor Su of this lifetime was not the same person from her past, and the Su Jing of her previous life was not without flaws.
All that had passed was merely a prologue.
Gu Jiasui fell into a deep sleep. Since she had now lived hundreds of years later, it was time to bid farewell to the past.
The next morning, as the five of them had breakfast together, Chu Bingbing was still eagerly updating everyone on the latest gossip.
The morning sun was bright, and Yi Zhi moved a few sun-loving potted plants on the balcony to better positions.
Yan glanced at them, unsure what kind of plants they were.
"Yi Zhi, isn’t the top one growing a bit crooked?"
Yi Zhi waved her hand dismissively. "It’s fine. Let it grow wild. Plants are resilient; they’ll survive."
The gentle morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting golden light on the vibrant green stems and leaves. Though the plant looked a bit crooked, it was full of life.
Gu Jiasui took out her phone and captured the moment perfectly.
In her past life, as a princess, she had been bound by countless rules and traditions, let alone ordinary women.
In this life, though she was just an ordinary person, she lived in an era that was the most favorable for women in thousands of years.
Even a crooked plant could thrive with such vitality, and so should people.
Life should be like plants—unbound by rules, growing freely and wildly.
