312: Cousins

"What’s up with the news about you on the forum? Didn't you and Gu Li go out last minute? How did others learn about it? Could it be that Gu Li leaked it out on purpose?"

The reason why Wang Cheng was so quick to take action had a lot to do with this incident. Chu Yifeng received a call from Lei Yunze, who told them about all the news on the forum. Wang Cheng was afraid that his sister would be hurt and rushed over immediately. Based on his sister’s expression, he guessed correctly.

"Shouldn’t be him, it's probably just a coincidence," Chu Yifeng said objectively.

Wang Cheng didn't clearly tell this to the others, but he had already discovered that Gu Li's goal was to gain his sister's favor. So how could he do something to hurt her? If this incident caused his sister to distance herself from him, then all his efforts would have been in vain.

Pang Chunjuan raised her hand and said, "I saw the news on the forum and agree that this matter should be a coincidence. The whistleblower said that he and his friend were out drinking last night, and they also stayed out past curfew. When the two went to open a hotel room for the night, they just happened to see Ziyu and Senior Gu. I checked out the place where they went drinking, it's really not far from the hotel where they claimed to see Ziyu."

"Since it's a misunderstanding, then it’ll be easy to handle, as long as we’re not careless..." Wang Cheng looked at Wang Ziyu and said, "From now on, don't meet Gu Li again."

Wang Ziyu was taken aback. "Why?"

"You just have to trust that your second brother is doing this for your own good. Gu Li actually has a reason for approaching you. Even without all these misunderstandings, it would be absolutely impossible for you and him to be together. You'd better stop thinking about him before it’s too late."

Wang Cheng said this solemnly.

“Second brother, what reason could he have for approaching me?" Wang Ziyu couldn't understand. It was said that Gu Li's family standing was not bad, so he shouldn’t be approaching her for money. After all, her family had no status and even less money.

Wang Cheng didn't want to say it right away, but then thought it over. Everyone there was on Wang Ziyu’s side, anyway. He felt it might be better to clarify things before his sister was really hurt, in case Gu Li didn’t give up.

"Since you want to know, I'll tell you. Gu Li is your cousin."

"No way!" Qian Baobao had a surprised expression.

Wang Ziyu was stunned as she stared at her second brother in disbelief, "Second brother, you’re kidding me, right?" Just as she finished speaking, she remembered something. Her real surname was indeed Gu. The thing was, she had only just recognized her grandfather and had met him so few times that she did not regard herself as a Gu family member.

"I'm not kidding you. After Qian Baobao told me about this in the morning, I asked someone to check on Gu Li's identity. He is a grandson of the eldest daughter of the fourth branch of the Gu family. He was passed on to the second uncle of the fourth branch, Gu Tianming, soon after he was born. You are relatives, it is impossible for you to have a relationship with each other."

Wang Ziyu looked stricken and hurt.

They obviously shared an upperclassmen-underclassmen relationship. Why did they suddenly become relatives?

As she thought of Gu Li, she felt unreconciled. For once, a budding affection grew in her heart, yet it ended up stillborn. She might not dare to fall in love again in the future.

"Wait, if Gu Li is Ziyu's cousin, why did he treat Ziyu so ambiguously?" Mi Li said solemnly. Perhaps it was because they weren’t very closely related.

Qian Baobao replied, "Unless, Gu Li doesn't know that he is Ziyu's cousin."

"It's also possible that he does know, and he treats Ziyu well because she is his cousin?" Pang Chunjuan also suggested this possibility.

Wang Cheng doubted that Gu Li didn't know they were related. The side branches of the Gu family were very concerned about the situation of the third branch. After his parents recognized the Gu family, the Gu family would definitely investigate their family. Gu Li, who wanted to compete for the Gu family's group, would pay even more attention to them. In fact, Wang Cheng couldn't figure out why Gu Li made such a risky move. Once Wang Cheng learned about this, as Wang Ziyu’s brother, he would definitely investigate this for his sister's sake. Then, it would only be a matter of time before Gu Li’s identity was revealed.

"Our top priority is to deal with the forum. We can’t let others ruin Xiao Yu’s reputation." Wang Cheng decided to think about the other things later.

"Yes, yes, let's solve that matter first." Everyone echoed his decision.

The landlord* who broke the news online didn't actually describe things in detail, he just said that he saw Gu Li and Wang Ziyu enter the hotel together. He didn't say that he saw what happened between them with his own eyes, and he also had no photos. The reason the rumor became so outrageous was because of everyone’s imagination. Most people figured, why else would a man and a woman go to a hotel in the middle of the night, other than to open a room? So, everyone naturally arrived at that conclusion and spread the news .

[T/N: *original poster]

Wang Cheng used the computer he bought for Wang Ziyu to open the link of the forum. His gaze was immediately attracted to the popular post pinned to the top of the forum. When he checked the ID of the poster, he learned that it was Gu Li. The other party had directly registered an account with his own name.

Wang Cheng opened the post, which already received many comments. Unexpectedly, this was a post meant to clear Wang Ziyu’s name. Gu Li let everyone know that they misunderstood what happened last night by describing the whole chain of events that caused them to miss the curfew. He explained that although he and Wang Ziyu spent the night out, they both slept in their own rooms and never overstepped any boundaries. They couldn’t have done anything, anyway, because they were relatives - he was Wang Ziyu's cousin. He said that everyone was causing trouble for him and Wang Ziyu when they claimed that they were dating. So, he hoped that everyone would stop discussing this matter. That was all.

This statement immediately attracted everyone's attention. Below the post were tons of disbelieving responses. Some people said that Gu Li only wrote all that to help clear Wang Ziyu’s name. Others said that if he made up a blood relationship to clear her name, then his brain must have been kicked by a donkey. How could they still date in the future, ah? Since he used the ‘we are related’ card, most people believed him. It was indeed a more acceptable situation for relatives to spend the night out because they missed a curfew.

"It seems that Gu Li really was just feeling familial love for Ziyu," Qian Baobao said, disappointed. She didn't know what exactly she was disappointed about. Actually, Senior Gu was very good. Not only did he study well, he also had a very clean reputation. He only had one girlfriend in his four years at university, but they had a smooth breakup because his girlfriend cheated on him.

Mi Li glared at her.

Qian Baobao was unaware of what was going on. It wasn’t until Pang Chunjuan gestured towards Wang Ziyu that she reacted and hastily covered her mouth. If this matter was as they guessed, then Ziyu was deluding herself with her crush. This result was even more difficult to accept than learning that the two were relatives.

Wang Cheng's expression became dark. He originally wanted to use this matter as an excuse to approach Gu Li. Who knew he would make the first move? Not only did his sister now owe him a favor, but he also cleared himself of the suspicion of misleading her with this blood relationship. What a great idea.

"Xiao Yu..."

"Second brother, I'm fine. I just feel a little ashamed. Fortunately, not many people knew the truth. Otherwise, I would be laughed at to death," Wang Ziyu said with a smile.

When Wang Cheng saw her like this, he instantly became more annoyed with Gu Li. That bastard better not fall into his hands, or else he wouldn’t leave him any face. "You shouldn’t feel embarrassed, this is Gu Li's fault. He clearly knew you were related. It would be fine if he just didn’t explain it, but he even invited you out every day. Anyone would form a good impression of someone after they act like that."

Wang Ziyu shook her head. "Second brother, you really don't have to worry about me. I'm fine. I just need some time to readjust, so give me an hour, no, half an hour. I'll be able to sort my mood out soon."

What she said was not empty words of comfort. Wang Ziyu knew how she felt about Gu Li. In fact, she had only formed a good impression of him. To put it simply, it was a crush still in its infancy, she hadn’t yet reached the point of liking him. It might have taken longer for a more emotional person to clean up their mood, but not her. She felt that she was more sensible than that, she would never let this kind of thing happen again in the future.

"Okay, it’s good that you’re able to think things through."

When Wang Cheng saw that she really looked like she was letting go, he felt a little relieved.

Wang Ziyu apologetically looked at everyone and said, "I made you worry."

After leaving the dormitory, Wang Cheng did not immediately leave Beijing University.

Chu Yifeng sensed something in the way he stood and asked, "You want to find Gu Li now, don’t you?"

"That’s right. He can deceive others, but he can't deceive me. That guy clearly wants to use Xiao Yu’s hand to reach the throne. Now I finally understand what he is planning. If he forms a good relationship with my family now, he can just wait for my eldest brother to take over the Gu family in the future and receive a slice of the pie."

If Wang Ning'an had been an ordinary, inconspicuous person, Gu Li might have first risked doing something illegal. However, Wang Ning'an was not, and he also had Wang Cheng as his backer. Wang Cheng was a pretty strong backer and Gu Li didn’t dare take such a risk, so he settled for being the second best.

Having figured this out, Wang Cheng just wanted to say two words to Gu Li: dream on.

Chu Yifeng saw that he was provoked and ready to fight, so he accompanied him to the boys' dormitory. Gu Li's dorm room had been lively ever since he moved back. Thanks to his usual good manners and skill at dealing with people, he had a lot of friends. When they heard that he got injured protecting Wang Ziyu, all his neighbors - upstairs and downstairs - came to visit him. After his post on the forum became popular, everyone came to visit again and ask if the matter was true or not. Some felt that it was a pity because Gu Li and Wang Ziyu looked good together as a couple.

***

[T/N: Sorry about the reeeally late update. I was literally just procrastinating 🙃]

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