Little Pink Starfish

Just then, a soft “ying ning” came from the bed…

Wait.

Ying ning?

The hell kind of ying ning was that?!

Did he think he was the heroine of some novel, waking up like a delicate flower after a passionate night with the male lead? Wake up, damn it!

Gu Bai mentally slapped himself, forcing his expression to remain neutral.

This is Gu Xiaoshan, not some heroine. This is Gu Xiaoshan, not some heroine…

After mentally chanting it ten times, he turned his head.

The person on the bed had a faint flush on his face, looking somewhat embarrassed. He seemed to have just realized something was off and awkwardly pulled the blanket up a little. “Gege, I…”

Gu Bai spoke with a straight face. “Take care of it yourself and come eat.”

Qi Guan Rui gave a shy smile. “Okay, gege.”

Only then did Gu Bai step out with steady strides.

Hmph, it was just a poke. No need to make such a big deal out of it.

At least his dignity as an elder brother remained intact.

The moment Gu Bai left the room, Qi Guan Rui’s expression changed.

He raised a brow, looking rather pleased with himself.

The cleanup last night had gone well. Ziche Shubai hadn’t noticed anything amiss, and his reaction today was… quite interesting.

It seemed that Ziche Shubai had already grown used to his presence.

No matter what situation arose, Ziche Shubai always remained so calm.

It made him want to break that calm even more.

With a few swift strokes, Qi Guan Rui quickly dealt with his problem, got up, and went to join Gu Bai.

Gu Bai glanced up and suddenly thought that Qi Guan Rui’s slightly flushed face looked quite nice.

…Hold up! Where was his mind going?!

Feeling utterly drained, he pressed his fingers against his forehead.

Why the hell am I paying attention to whether a man is good-looking or not? This is totally unscientific!

No, no, this must be because he was feeling nostalgic, seeing a kid grow up. Yeah, that’s definitely it.

With that thought, Gu Bai rationalized it away, then gave Qi Guan Rui’s face a critical look.

Mm, not bad. Still just a tiny bit worse than me, though.

Then, in a perfectly composed manner, he waved him over. “Come, let’s eat.”

Qi Guan Rui immediately got busy—setting dishes, pouring tea, handing over napkins, fetching water, and watching him eat—utterly in his element.

Gu Bai, as usual, enjoyed his meal in comfort. Once he was done, he waved a hand in dismissal and left for class.

The days continued on as usual.

Gu Bai was thoroughly pampered, his life as comfortable as ever.

There was just one… minor issue.

It seemed like some switch in Qi Guan Rui had been flipped, and now every morning, every damn morning, he had to deal with being poked.

Teenagers really were full of energy… but it wasn’t like he could just tell him to suppress it, right?

As a good older brother, Gu Bai believed there was no need to embarrass his innocent, kind-hearted, pure, and adorable Gu Xiaoshan over something like this.

It’s just a poke. No big deal. People in college dorms even helped each other out sometimes, right?

Besides, his dear Xiaoshan was a timid one. Back in the mountains, just seeing a bit too much blood from a hunt had startled him (misinterpretation), and later, to avoid making his gege feel bad (very mistaken), he had forced himself to pretend to admire him (absolutely wrong).

So naturally, he should be more understanding.

Having convinced himself, Gu Bai acted as if he noticed nothing, maintaining harmony between them.

Later, when he saw that Qi Guan Rui was no longer as embarrassed, he felt immensely proud.

I truly am the best gege in the world!

To burn off his excess energy, Gu Bai and Qi Guan Rui spent the next two months venturing deep into the mountains whenever they had free time.

The range was full of Wu Jun-level beasts, where the stronger ones claimed the peaks, and the weaker ones squabbled for survival.

After figuring out the pattern, Gu Bai hunted down numerous Wu Jun-level beasts, storing their heads in his spatial ring. Whenever one beast was killed, another would soon take its place, ensuring an endless supply.

One day, after crushing a beast’s heart, Gu Bai suddenly felt that this one looked familiar.

It was wolf-shaped, covered in fiery red fur—

A Lie Yan Wolf.

Wasn’t this one of Medusa’s neighbors…?

Medusa… Medu—Pfft.

A memory surfaced, and Gu Bai turned away, clutching a tree for support, his shoulders shaking.

Hahahaha.

Back then, the main character, while hiding in the mountains to escape his enemies, had transformed into a serpent for safety.

Unfortunately, as a Tun Tian Xuan Mang, he had a mating season.

Had he remained in human form, it wouldn’t have been an issue.

But staying in serpent form for too long…

Well.

When mating season hit, he nearly tore through several mountain peaks before devouring a Lie Yan Wolf and barging straight into Medusa’s den.

At lower levels, Medusas remained in their serpent forms, unable to shift into human shape. So when a very aroused main character stumbled into their territory, their instincts kicked in—

They all pounced on him.

For ten straight days, the main character indulged his insatiable urges.

Everyone involved was in their beast forms.

By the end of it, the Medusas, having absorbed the essence of a superior serpent bloodline, evolved into half-human, half-snake hybrids.

Their queen gained a full human form.

Thus, she and her snake sisters became part of the ever-growing harem.

And that, kids, is how you end up with three thousand wives.

Back then, Gu Bai had written it for fun, fully embracing the absurdity.

Some readers had been thrilled, others horrified, but either way, it had cemented the novel’s infamy.

And now, standing here in the real world, face to face with Medusa’s neighbor, Gu Bai couldn’t stop himself from recalling those scenes.

Especially the part where, before finding Medusa’s den, the protagonist almost went after every four-legged female beast he encountered…

The sheer mental image was killing him.

Of course, he kept his laughter in, but barely.

Then—

A pair of arms wrapped around his waist.

A familiar face rested against his shoulder.

Qi Guan Rui’s voice held a hint of concern. “Gege, what’s wrong?”

Ziche Shubai’s presence felt happy, almost as if he was laughing.

If so, Qi Guan Rui had to see it.

It had been far too long.

He needed to see it.

But when Gu Bai turned around, all he saw was the usual blank expression.

Only the subtle amusement in his eyes betrayed his mood.

A bit disappointed, Qi Guan Rui let go.

Gu Bai shook his head. “Nothing.”

Like hell I can tell you I was imagining the main character in a ten-day snake orgy.

Steadying himself, Gu Bai pushed the handsome face away. “How many now?”

Qi Guan Rui smiled. “Thirty-three heads, gege.”

Gu Bai nodded in satisfaction. “Once we’re back, I’ll head to the library. We won’t need to come here again.”

With this number, he could enter the fifteenth floor.

Unless he broke through again, anything beyond the sixteenth was out of reach for now.

It was time to focus on training.

Qi Guan Rui stilled, then quickly understood.

Indeed, they had gathered enough trophies.

That meant… a long time without seeing Ziche Shubai.

A feeling of dissatisfaction rose in him.

If only I were a student instead of just his personal guard…

Then he could enter with him.

That realization was extremely unpleasant.

Gu Bai, oblivious to Qi Guan Rui’s thoughts, merely left a word with the maids and headed for the library.

Qi Guan Rui silently watched his figure disappear.

Perhaps it’s time to make my next move.

Soon after, he summoned Qiu Tu.

And Qiu Tu… brought along Chen Yuanhao.

Chen Yuanhao looked at Qi Guan Rui with a hint of wariness in his otherwise roguish expression.

Qi Guan Rui smiled. “Qiu Tu, did you bring him here to pledge loyalty to me as well?”

Chen Yuanhao studied him carefully.

Then, he finally spoke.

“I need to take back what the Chen family gave to my mother… Master, can you help me?”