"Nothing much. I just… like it this way. Don't let go."
I pressed my lips together and lowered my eyes, a flush warming my cheeks.
He held my hand as we walked along the campus path, and the way people kept turning to stare was like walking past a superstar.
"We should go over there," I murmured, pointing shyly to a small copse of trees not far off. "Fewer people that way."
Gu Yuan followed my finger, glanced toward the grove, and asked softly, "You want to take me into the trees?"
I was already embarrassed enough; his teasing only drove the color up my neck. Before I knew it I was acting like a coquettish child—twisting my small frame and sticking out my lip. "No, it's not that. There are too many people here. I'm… kind of embarrassed."
Today he was in an odd mood—calm, almost indulgent. He didn't scold me. Instead he tightened his grip on my hand and led me to the stone table under the trees and sat down.
He must be in a good mood, I thought. Might as well test it.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," I said, probing. "Is now a bad time?"
"If it is, you don't have to tell me," he replied.
I immediately regretted the sentence and hunched my shoulders, fiddling with my nails like a sulky child. Gu Yuan watched me with the mild amusement of someone enjoying a private joke; a faint smile tugged at one side of his mouth. When I happened to look up and caught him smiling, my embarrassment deepened.
"Don't stare," I snapped. "You're making me embarrassed."
"What for? Isn't a pretty face meant to be looked at?"
Is this still the same Gu Yuan I knew? He'd smiled at me several times already today; it felt like the sun had come up in the west.
He seemed so approachable now that I decided to be blunt. I cleared my throat. "I spoke with my teacher earlier. She said that, as sophomores, we're not allowed to sleep away from the dorm entirely. We have to spend at least three nights a week in the dorm."
"Fine," he answered.
What? Did I hear that right? He agreed without hesitation. A part of me wanted to have asked for five nights instead.
"Is there anything else you want?" he asked, surprisingly.
Well, since he offered—I'd been fretting about the peach-blossom curse on me. To ordinary guys it caused trouble at every turn, but around Gu Yuan it seemed to do nothing. I suspected, foolishly, that he might have been the one who placed it.
"There’s one more thing," I said, daring a little. "This peach-blossom curse on me—could it be because of you…?"
I only managed half the question before he cut in, flat and almost amused, "I'm not that bored."
"See? I knew it couldn't be you," I forced a laugh, trying to save face. He gave no response, and my chuckle died on my lips.
"If it doesn't affect you, that must mean you can break it, right? Can you… get rid of it?" I asked.
"I kind of like it," he said. "It keeps the rotten suitors away."
Typical—such petty thinking. I was trying to coax him into helping me, and he was already philosophizing about the curse's benefits.
Laughter and teasing drifted from deeper inside the copse. We both turned our heads.
Two students were tangled up on a bench—she sitting on his lap, whispering and laughing, utterly absorbed in each other. I quickly looked away and tugged Gu Yuan to my feet.
He read my embarrassment and let his mouth tilt down in a small, indulgent frown, allowing me to pull him along. I could hardly believe how different he was today—so patient, so gentle. It unnerved me a little.
Because it was the first day back at school, I had to stay in the dorm. I walked Gu Yuan to the gate and watched him drive away, feeling a small, reluctant tug of regret until his car vanished down the street. Only then did I return to the dorm.
I opened the door to find Yan Lin in our room already. The moment she saw me, she treated me like some rare animal—eyes darting up and down, taking me in. "What are you doing?" I asked, shrugging off her hands and sitting back down.
"I had to make sure you weren't missing any limbs," she complained dramatically. "I spent the whole break worrying."
I took her hand and pouted. "I'm fine. Don't worry."
Yan Lin pursed her lips. "Looks like your break was eventful. I'm actually curious to see what that 'snake woman' looks like."
"Not a snake woman—she's a xian, okay? An immortal, not a demon," I corrected.
"Oh, so you've already taken to defending her," Yan Lin teased. "Married women do that—speaking up for the other side."
I flared my nostrils and ignored her.
"Listen," our other roommate, Li Xue—the gossip queen of the dorm—cut in. "Did you hear? Wei Liang is dead."
I had already heard the rumor from Qin Lan, so I kept my face blank while Li Xue waited to see if I'd react.
"What do you mean, dead?" Yan Lin snapped, grabbing Li Xue's hand and urging her to slow down. "You mean Wei Liang, the basketball captain?"
Li Xue took a sip of water, then told the story she'd heard. A few days ago, Wei Liang had apparently been possessed by some kind of mania, raced up to the roof of the academic building, and jumped. He died on impact. They didn't even call an ambulance—he was taken away by the coroner's van.
I didn't show surprise. But Li Xue stared straight at me, eyes hungry for a reaction.
"Why are you staring at me like that? It's not my fault," I protested, immediately defensive.
"I know it's not you," Li Xue said, placating. "But everyone's saying it. The whole school—people say you're a jinx who brings bad luck."
Yan Lin slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Are you kidding me? Wei Liang and Lanlan's love story was ancient history—he was avoiding her like the plague. How could Lanlan be the reason he did this?"
Even though Yan Lin was defending me, there was a prickly edge to the conversation that left me uncomfortable. It felt like they really did believe I was some walking disaster. Still—we all know the truth in our bones. If you stand straight, you don't fear a bent shadow.
"Hold on, I'm not finished," Li Xue said. She leaned forward in a conspiratorial hush. "Some people have even seen Wei Liang's ghost wandering the academic building at night. It's creepy."
"Maybe he has some unfinished business," I offered.
"Oh my God," Yan Lin squealed, smacking my shoulder in excitement as if I were a celebrity detective. "You're our little mystic—Lanlan, you have to do something!"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. I don't have any special tricks."
Still, part of me wanted to ask Gu Yuan. He might be able to help. Before I could voice that aloud, Yan Lin had another idea.
"Lanlan, tonight let's round up a few people and go check the academic building," she said. "Since everyone thinks you're involved, don’t you want to clear things up?"