Chapter 110: Is Gu Shiyan Truly Pursuing You?

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Once Luo Xing found out, she would refuse everything he offered without reservation.
Shen Que looked down and gave a bitter smile; he should have concealed himself more deeply.
He should not have hoped for any more than that.

The skyscraper rose into the clouds, its glass façade reflecting the glitter of drifting snow.
Several of them checked into the hotel, signing in at the front desk while the staff assigned rooms.
After dinner, Professor Wen led them to tour the research base.
By the time they returned to the hotel, darkness had already fallen.

After freshening up, Luo Xing went to bed with her phone in hand.
As a matter of routine, she skimmed the briefings on the other teams in the competition and the award-winning experiment designs from earlier rounds.
Without doubt, each was among the best in their schools.
Unnoticed, it was already midnight.

Luo Xing had set an alarm; for the last few days she had been strict with herself, going to sleep at exactly twelve each night so she would be in better shape during the day.
That night, however, sleep would not come.

She reached under her pillow and found the phone.
She opened the business news.
So far, there had been no report about Grandpa Gu.
She opened a few viral posts, trying to catch any clue.
She tapped one that was trending.

The popularity was still high.
By the time the sunset had faded into a cold, forlorn afterlight, the man in the photo walked alone toward the airport, the black coat on his back looking neither bulky nor heavy but clean and sharp in its fit.
Even in profile, his exhaustion was impossible to hide.

The Gu family in Capital City remained the focus of domestic media attention. Even though Gu Shiyan had been away from the city for years and had not shown himself, the press still kept close watch.
Luo Xing turned off her phone.
Gu Shiyan had gone to the airport; Grandpa Gu should be safe now.

The next afternoon at two o’clock, Gu Shiyan arrived in New York on Air China Flight CA9981, where Professor Wen himself had gone to pick him up.
He was taken straight to the research base.

Luo Xing watched him enter while talking with Professor Wen; the cold wind had painted a thin red across the edge of his ears.
When he reached the core of what he was saying, he pressed down under his brows, his long, dense lashes slightly gathering. As soon as he finished speaking, and without any warning, he lifted his head and looked straight past the people in between to meet her eyes.
His eye sockets were a bit hollow. He looked as if he had not slept much recently.

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Luo Xing’s eyes slid down to him. He still held a cup of coffee in his hand, perhaps to stay awake.
She offered him a small smile, a faint curve to the corner of her lip.
Gu Shiyan followed Professor Wen and walked toward them.

He looked weary, even with a sheen at the corners of his eyes from yawning. He withdrew a hand from his pocket and handed Luo Xing the envelope.
“He said this is for you.”
Luo Xing was stunned for a moment before she understood that the “he” Gu Shiyan meant was Grandpa Gu.
She took the envelope and put it back into her pocket.

The research base held not only students who had come from home but also local students. The local students wore matching uniforms—blue-gray windbreakers—and in that wide wash of blue-gray, this group without uniforms stood out all the more.

Besides the two teams from North City, there were two teams from Capital City as well.
A few from the Capital City squad came to greet Gu Shiyan.
Among them was a boy Luo Xing recognized from the photo of them receiving a trophy.
He stood beside Gu Shiyan; though she had seen him in middle school, he had changed little.

Xu Yuxiao and Gu Shiyan exchanged a quiet glance.
“Who would have thought it—you’re actually competing.”
“Mm.” Gu Shiyan pulled at his lip, as if he had never imagined he would ever run into an old teammate again after so many years.

Dinner was to be with the organizers, and the entire process was being recorded by cameras.
Luo Xing noticed the cameraman at her side pressing in on her and edged away.
She looked around. Every other photographer kept several paces back; only this one stood right up close, as if he wanted to jam the lens in her face.
Did he think she was easy to bully?

The cameraman saw her sidestepping and still tried to follow.
Irritated, she was about to speak when someone stepped in front of her.
Gu Shiyan slowed his pace, said nothing, and kept looking at his phone as if nothing had happened.
“No need.” Luo Xing said simply.

Then she stepped past Gu Shiyan and spoke to the cameraman still trying to crowd her; her American accent was crisp and precise.
Startled by her steadfast eyes, the cameraman jumped back several steps and, following protocol, kept a safer distance while filming.
Only then did Luo Xing settle.

In the restaurant, a few professors in charge and the event officials shook hands up front, while the students followed and sat down.
Each had a participant badge, showing the school name and even the leading professor’s name.
As they took seats along the side, the person who ended up beside Luo Xing was exactly the same one who had greeted Gu Shiyan.
From his student badge she saw his name: Xu Yuxiao.
Luo Xing was eating her own, and Xu Yuxiao suddenly refilled her glass, which she had already emptied.

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“Oh no, I’ll pour for myself.” Luo Xing reached to take it.
Xu Yuxiao smiled modestly. “It’s all right. I was just doing it anyway.”
When Luo Xing saw that he had poured himself a drink as well, she gave no further thought to it.

Before Luo Xing had finished even one mouthful, the man beside her asked with a laugh, “So, is Gu Shiyan really pursuing you?”
“Hmm.” She swallowed her bite. “Sorry, I don’t want to answer.”
Xu Yuxiao smiled naturally. “Forgive me if that’s rude, but you know…”
“Sorry. I don’t want to know.” Luo Xing said flatly, and did not look at him again.
“Mm.” Xu Yuxiao pulled his gaze away and gave a wry smile.
So proud.
Like Gu Shiyan.

The schedule was tight. Right after dinner there was venue flow explanation and pre-competition training.
It took a full three to four hours to finish.
When they left the restaurant, it was dark again.

After three or four hours of a lesson that demanded full concentration, they were so exhausted they could barely speak, not even in the mood to check their phones.
With their shoulders sagging, the group returned quietly to the hotel and entered the elevator.
The team was supposed to be all on one floor, but as the doors were about to close, Xu Yuxiao slipped in.

Luo Xing had just pressed the elevator button when Xu Yuxiao said to her, “Please press thirteen for me, thank you, miss.”
She tapped it quickly.
The calm atmosphere had been broken: as soon as Xu Yuxiao came in, he draped his arm over Gu Shiyan’s shoulder; Gu Shiyan shook it off with a little shoulder-toss.
Xu Yuxiao shrugged. “So heartless. After three years of knowing each other—nothing left, even the bond of the old days when we won together?”

Gu Shiyan looked at him, his fatigue unmistakable in his voice: “Now we are rivals.”
Xu Yuxiao laughed at that, arms crossed as he leaned against the elevator wall. “This kind of contest means nothing to you anyway, right? You’re going back to run the company eventually.”
“As if you think so highly of me; what about the gentlemen in front?” Gu Shiyan replied lightly.
“Don’t forget the old brotherhood when it comes time to divvy up the spoils.”
Xu Yuxiao shifted his tone and turned to Luo Xing. “Girl, you need to take hold of this. If it were anyone else, he would have agreed long ago.”