Getting Outsmarted By The CEO

Gu Jue thought he had made a fool of himself back then, so he had never recounted the entire story to anyone, having only given a brief summary to his best friends. Xue Zhao had joked that his reaction curve was long enough to circle the Earth.

Of course, he didn’t mention certain details to Ruan An’an either.

Gu Jue didn’t say anything about the Gu family, only that he was living with some relatives during that time. He also glossed over how Dummy got lost in the first place.

“And that’s about it…”

Gu Jue turned his head to see a face filled with shock. Smiling, he said, “You seemed to have a lot of questions for me?”

“No…” Ruan An’an, still in a daze, digesting his story.

Gu Jue kept his words brief. When she first heard about him coming across her feed his cat after a fight at 1st High, her reactions were along the lines of “Why does he make getting into fights sound so cool?”, “Has our fate been entangled since that long ago?”, and “Wait, doesn’t that mean Dummy is our wingman?!”

But after…

Ruan An’an was astounded, “You were listening up above while I was chatting with Dummy underneath?”

It was a stupid act, he was aware… but now, to hear the person he was eavesdropping on question him about it, Gu Jue felt a rare sense of embarrassment.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, “… It wasn’t every day. I only… went a few times.” F̲u̲c̲k̲, he swore inwardly.

Ruan An’an had her eyes wide, “But why didn’t you just come talk to me and take him home?”

“… Some things happened with the relatives.” Gu Jue thought for a bit, and adjusted a few facts, “The one who kicked Dummy out was actually the relative’s cat-hating kid… I didn’t take him back right away because I was scared of him getting hurt again.”

Ruan An’an, “Oh…”

Gu Jue was playing with one of her hands, so she held out her other hand to pet the small cat that was on Gu Jue’s lap. “You poor thing…”

Gu Jue continued, “That’s why I left him in your care for so long.” Ruan An’an felt her hand being squeezed. He said, “I’m sorry.”

“…”

That made Ruan An’an uneasy, lifting her eyes to him, “Why are you apologizing… It wasn’t your fault. Plus, I was taking care of him willingly…”

“No,” Gu Jue shook his head, “I would be saying ‘Thank you’ for that.” With a pause, he averted his eyes, “That apology… is for eavesdropping on you.”

“…” It always felt so odd when the goofy guy becomes serious.

Ruan An’an had long forgotten what she had talked about with the cat many years ago.

She immediately replied, “It’s all good. I don’t remember anyway… I was just a teen back then, what did I even have to say? It must’ve all been trivial nonsense.”

Gu Jue suddenly remembered something when she said that.

When he had the epiphany of “f̲u̲c̲k̲, that was love”, he often had dreams. Because he made an effort to engrain them into his memory, every word she said in those dreams was crystal clear.

Once he woke up… he would pick out some of what she had said and record them in a notebook.

He would add to it every time he had a dream. In the end, the notebook was filled with her idle chatters.

… Of course, he would never admit that to her.

“So, afterwards, you saw my posts, knew that I can’t take care of him anymore, and took him back?”

Gu Jue nodded.

Ruan An’an could still remember this particular event.

Winter break was about to start but she had yet to find someone to take him in. Plus, Dummy’s leg still hadn’t fully recovered to the state it was now. Even cat shelters wouldn’t take him in because of the large wound and his limp. She was worried sick.

One day, she decided to put up some posters, saying something like “Dummy is cute, could a kind soul please take him in”.

The next day, Dummy was gone, and a piece of paper sat on top of the temporary shelter she had built, held down by a rock.

“I’ll take care of him, rest assured. – A Kind Soul”

Ten beautifully written words.

It was clearly a guy’s handwriting. The strokes revealed his young age and carefree nature.

Not just the handwriting, but the manner of speaking also clued her in that was probably a fellow student. Perhaps it was someone who passed by on the way home and decided to pick up the cat.

A boy with good handwriting and a kind heart.

That was the only impression she had of this person she’d never met.

She had often missed the little kitten in the days that followed, especially when she had to face the repulsive people at home thanks to the school break.

But over time, the memories of those two weeks faded into a shadow of itself.

She never thought she would meet the “stranger” that took Dummy in.

… Much less this “stranger” somehow becoming her boyfriend.

Ruan An’an usually took care of her image. She never swore unless she really couldn’t hold it back.

This was one of those times.

“I still can’t believe it…” Ruan An’an plopped back against the couch, “What a f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g̲ fate we have…”

“So, you knew it was me since the beginning…?” Ruan An’an felt alarmed, “So, what did you see me as when we first got to know each other?”

“… Did you pay special attention to me because I was your cat’s savior?”

Gu Jue stared at her for a while.

Ruan An’an was creeped out by his gaze.

“I thought I was clear in expressing myself…” Gu Jue sighed, “I approached you because you are my crush.”

“…” F̲.̲ ̲U̲.̲ ̲C̲.̲ ̲K̲.̲

“Cr…” Ruan An’an almost choked on her spit, “Crush? … Me???”

Gu Jue looked at her with a “What do you think” on his face.

“I…” Ruan An’an could feel her face heat up uncontrollably. She blinked and said, “Even back in high school, you lik…”

Gu Jue: “Mm-hmm.”

Other than the slight awkwardness from before, Gu Jue had kept his usual demeanor.

Gu Jue’s irises were light in color, and in this well-lit room, they appeared as if orbs of amber. Most of the time, he didn’t need to make a sound, all it took was a glance from him to draw her full attention.

This guy… was the hottie she fell for at first sight.

Now, he was saying that he had had a crush on her.

… Who would believe such a f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g̲ incredible story? How could anyone believe it? She couldn’t even believe it herself!!!

This is… pure… happiness?

Ruan An’an cheeks turned redder and hotter, her heart racing at 180 mph.

She saw Gu Jue curl the corner of his mouth slightly with a sense of defeat. “You know, every time I thought about coming clean to you… I would become afraid.”

It took a second for Ruan An’an to react, “You were self-conscious?”

Did he think his crush had gone on for too long?

“Not exactly self-conscious,” Gu Jue paused and cleared his throat, “I just thought, you might think I was being a pervert…”

“It does sound quite perverted.” Ruan An’an agreed with no hesitation. “But, I like it.”

Gu Jue: …

You don’t need to be so quick to admit.

Ruan An’an had calmed down a little. Her cheeks were still colored. With mirth, she said, “I was mostly just shocked at first… Then I imagined you sitting on the wall, peeping at me talking with your son… and found it quite cute.”

— And sweet.

Too bad she never found out back then.

But also, luckily, they were able to meet again after so many years.

Gu Jue, having said everything he wanted to, relaxed completely.

Since they were talking about it openly, he wanted to clarify something, “Last time you told me, you had a crush on a guy in high school—”

Ruan An’an continued to pet the cat.

Frankly, she didn’t expect to find out a secret this big today. She also had something big on her mind, “I’ve been meaning to ask, would you consider—”

The couple spoke at once.

Ruan An’an still had “rooming with me” stuck in her throat.

Her voice was quieter than Gu Jue’s, so she heard his words clearly, but he couldn’t make out what she said. They looked at each other and Ruan An’an gave him the go-ahead, “You first.”

“So, your high school crush…” Gu Jue paused, unwilling to say that title, “Your school’s School Boss.”

Ruan An’an hadn’t yet wrapped her head around his words, “… Hmm?”

“That guy from 1st High, I forgot his name. The one with a bigmouth and a weak punch. I don’t even know how he made it as the School Boss.”

“So, that kind of…” Gu Jue didn’t finish his sentence, but his insinuations were clear. What was left unspoken wasn’t anything nice.

He paused with each word, “You had a crush on him?!”

Ruan An’an: …

Gu Jue couldn’t stop once the floodgate opened, “After hearing about this, I thought your taste back in high school has some issues… of course, it got better in university.”

Ruan An’an: …?

In other words, it was bad taste to like the School Boss, but liking Gu Jue was good taste.

Ruan An’an’s taste in men was being questioned, but she wasn’t mad at all. It was clear that he was jealous.

Then, she remembered the time Gu Jue suddenly visited her at the dorms and wouldn’t let go once she was in his arms. At that time, she thought he just wanted to hear a heartfelt confession, but upon retrospection…

He was…

Jealous???

Ruan An’an didn’t answer him directly, and asked her own question, “You said you only met me when you came to 1st High for a fight… So, you got into fights often?”

Gu Jue hummed in affirmation, “I was really good at it.”

His mind was all over the place.

Especially after confessing to having a crush on his girlfriend for years.

I’ve liked you for so long and even beat up the group of scum who tried to rob you, only for you to have eyes for someone else all these years.

He was also regretting not being hotheaded and jumping down to start an against-the-world puppy love with her.

“…”

Ruan An’an ignored his boasting and grabbed his hand to take a closer look, “Tsk, it’s surprising. Your hands seem too delicate for fights.”

“… What do they look like then?”

“Like that of a piano player,” Ruan An’an released his hand. Sighing, “My experience with my crush was a little odd. All I could say is that I was young and immature. Plus, he even saved me once…”

Gu Jue’s eyes darted to her, “Saved you?”

“Oh, it’s—” Before Ruan An’an could finish…

“He was so weak I could even remember it to this day, how could he save you?” After insulting the guy, Gu Jue returned to a more important question, “… What happened? Why did you need saving?”

“Oh, I was…”

Ruan An’an was about to say “getting robbed”, but she suddenly realized a problem with what Gu Jue said.

“Wait a minute…” Ruan An’an voiced her confusion, “Wait, when did I say I liked my school’s School Boss?”

“The one at our school—if we’re talking about the same person—he was one of the most persistent people vying after me. I can still remember it now…” Ruan An’an blinked innocently, “But I never liked him. Why would I like him when all I wanted was to escape from him?”

Gu Jue: …?

Ruan An’an could still remember all the rumors her friends told her after she had revealed her little crush on the School Boss next door.

Their praises ran deep; like he was infallible—

Ruan An’an dud a double take on that thought.

Next door.

School Boss.

Next. Door.

In combination with what Gu Jue just told her, didn’t that mean…?

Ruan An’an stared at Gu Jue.

Somehow, suddenly, everything made sense.

Like why Gu Jue has such good stamina.

Like how he often displayed superb reflexes.

As a proper School Boss, getting into fights left and right was a given. Fighting requires stamina, running away also requires stamina… So, doing sports should be nothing for him? His reflexes would become second nature too.

And his voice…

It was only natural that it had changed between his teenage years and becoming an adult.

“Um, I only remember mentioning that my crush was a School Boss…” Ruan An’an’s mind was still in overdrive. Her voice was quiet, but it rang clearly in this otherwise silent room. “I never said he was from my school. Fill in the rest yourself…”

Something snapped in Gu Jue’s brain.

At the same time, a possibility he had never considered took root in his mind.

After three seconds, he spoke again, “Then…”

Ruan An’an softly interrupted him, “He’s from the school next door…”

“The School Boss of 7th High. I never paid attention to the other schools.” Ruan An’an’s eyes were big and her voice became softer, “It was my friends who told me… his last name is Gu.”

“…?”

F̲u̲c̲k̲?

TL/N:

Everything in the past has been (mostly) cleared up! Let’s see where their current cover-ups take them!