Chapter 74 Part 1

As the attention on the incident grew, the school administration began to intervene with an investigation. The whistleblower seemed to know a great deal about Zhou Chiyu’s family background and brought the close cooperation between ZN Group and the school’s biology department out into the open, openly and implicitly warning the school not to cover for him.

As a result, the school was also extremely troubled. Even if the investigation concluded that Zhou Chiyu had not cheated, few people would believe it.

After finishing his afternoon class, Zhou Chiyu began to check the current vote counts in the Finance Department. When he saw that fourth place was actually Bai Zhiqi, he gently bit his lip, revealing a hint of stubbornness and confusion.

He now needed to figure out who had been in fourth place from the moment the voting window opened. This person had clearly come prepared, so it was definitely not a plan hatched after the competition ended. If it was before the competition—

However, his line of thinking might not be entirely correct.

He was unwilling to speculate about Bai Zhiqi with such malicious intent.

Though their relationship as roommates was not particularly close, they often ate together and got along very harmoniously.

At that moment, he received an email confirming his successful registration for the Global Entrepreneur Competition hosted by the Sloan School of Management. He planned to head to the corporation.

Qing University’s x-lab platform provided excellent professors and funding support for such international events, but he no longer had enough time. Joining would require layers of review, so he planned to privately hire a professional professor for one-on-one tutoring.

ZN Group had his dedicated assistant, Xia Minglang, who had been handling the competition preparations for him all along. The two needed to meet up.

Coincidentally, on his way to the corporation, he received a call from Professor Lin.

“Little Fish, I’ve heard about the voting issue. Do you need my help?”

Zhou Chiyu felt deeply guilty. The forum post had even exposed how he had invited a Music Academy professor to coach him, and though the professor’s name wasn’t mentioned, it was only a matter of time before someone dug it up.

“Professor Lin, I’m very sorry to have dragged you into this.”

“I can handle this matter myself. Please don’t worry.”

In response to Zhou Chiyu’s polite refusal, Professor Lin did not react strongly. He simply said warmly, “You have so many good friends and many elders who truly care for you. If the pressure gets too much, there are people willing to share the burden. As for me, call me anytime if you need anything. I’m willing to speak up for you using my own position.”

“Thank you, Professor Lin.”

Zhou Chiyu was afraid the driver would overhear and report back to Old Master Gu, so he deliberately said, “Uncle Li, I’ve run into some academic difficulties, but I’ll sort them out soon. Please don’t tell Grandpa. He’s getting on in years with high blood pressure, and I’m worried he’ll get upset and harm his health.”

“No problem.” The driver nodded lightly.

It was already ten o’clock at night when he left the corporation. To Zhou Chiyu’s surprise, Gu Yuan was in the car waiting to pick him up.

“Brother, aren’t you busy with lab stuff?”

When he saw Gu Yuan, his eyes suddenly welled up with heat, and the bitterness and grievance in his heart gradually welled up.

Afraid the other would notice, he avoided that gentle gaze and deliberately turned his face toward the window.

His first instinct was that he could not let Gu Yuan know about this.

Moreover, deep down, he felt a subconscious fear.

He worried that Gu Yuan might also doubt whether he had really bought votes. But based on his understanding of Gu Yuan, he knew Gu Yuan trusted him completely. Perhaps more than that, he just did not want Gu Yuan to know about this upsetting matter.

“I finished up. The driver mentioned you were at the company, so I came to pick you up.”

As soon as Gu Yuan finished speaking, something warm suddenly appeared in Zhou Chiyu’s palm. He looked down. “Cheese Molten Sweet Potato?”

“Mm.” Gu Yuan raised his hand and pulled Zhou Chiyu into his arms, massaging his temples. “Are you especially tired?”

“Mm.” Zhou Chiyu took a bite of the sweet, soft, and fragrant dessert, his eyelashes fluttering. “It’s delicious.”

“Eat more if you like it.” Gu Yuan’s voice lowered, sounding especially deep in the quiet space. “You seem to have lost weight again lately.”

“No, I haven’t.”

Zhou Chiyu was stubborn. “I eat well and sleep soundly.”

“That’s the best, of course.” Gu Yuan’s fingertips hovered at his hair ends. The words he had been mulling over repeatedly ultimately stopped at his lips, turning into a long sigh.

Zhou Chiyu must have already known about the voting matter.

“Don’t worry.” Zhou Chiyu yawned and leaned on Gu Yuan’s shoulder, pretending to be relaxed as he squinted his eyes. “Brother, are you busy at the lab these next few days?”

“Not too busy.”

Gu Yuan tilted his head slightly and rubbed his nose against Zhou Chiyu’s eye, his breath gentle and lingering.

His neck grew increasingly hot. Zhou Chiyu opened his eyes and looked toward the driver in the front seat in surprise.

“Hey.”

His breathing quickened, his trembling eyelashes brushing over Gu Yuan’s lips. Gu Yuan lifted them slightly and stole a kiss.

Master Ji had been focused on driving the whole time. Zhou Chiyu lowered his guard and carefully rubbed his cheek against Gu Yuan’s in response.

In the quiet space, the two hugged tightly, seemingly no different from when they were children.

“Brother.”

Zhou Chiyu’s worries were hard to unravel. He silently buried his head in Gu Yuan’s embrace.

He really wanted to hurry up and go study at MIT with Gu Yuan.

The driver occasionally glanced at them through the rearview mirror. Seeing that the two still got along as well as they had as kids, he smiled contentedly, unaware that beneath this seemingly caring embrace surged the green hints of ambiguity.

By this time, everyone in the Gu Family had already gone to bed. Gu Yuan sent Zhou Chiyu back to his bedroom and then returned to his own room to work on his program designs.

Today’s Zhou Chiyu was utterly exhausted. He collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep quickly. He did not check the forum again; it was nothing but attacks against him. This whistleblower was very clever, seizing on everyone’s resentment toward the wealthy and dissatisfaction with the elite class, desperately slapping labels onto him.

In Gu Yuan’s bedroom, crisp “click” sounds rose and fell in the silent night. He gripped the mouse, his eyes scorched by the screen’s glow.

The flood of malicious comments washed over him like tidal waves. He wanted to defend Zhou Chiyu, but he found it utterly futile.

The chill surging in his chest grew sharper. His wrist hovered over the keyboard for a moment before slamming down heavily.

He still had one day before he could clear Zhou Chiyu’s name. He needed to speed things up.

…