Chapter 63: You can definitely do it

Gu Yebai lay on the window side of the large bed, his body curled up.

A 2-meter-wide bed like this, if two people slept in it together, should have an unspoken boundary between them — like an axis of symmetry, each side keeping to their own space without intrusion.

Unfortunately, he was facing a girl like a cat who never listened to reason.

Gao Hongyi’s sleeping posture had always been willful.

She shifted, drew closer, and then closer again, as if she were being pulled by a familiar scent in her unconscious state, gradually invading Gu Yebai’s territory.

By the time Gu Yebai realized it, it was already too late.

The space belonging to him was being compressed little by little.

In contrast, Gao Hongyi’s space grew wider, as if the entire bed were silently tilting toward her.

She pressed against him almost unconsciously.

The warmth reached him first, followed by the sensation of touch.

Their skin pressed together through the thin layers of fabric.

There were no deliberate movements or tentative probes, just simple and unavoidable contact.

The night was incredibly quiet.

There was no sound of wind outside, nor any noise from passing vehicles, as if the entire city were holding its breath at that moment.

In such silence, her presence was infinitely magnified.

The sound of her heartbeat.

The sound of her breathing.

It was so close it felt as if it were right by his ear.

Gu Yebai did not dare to move.

He couldn’t even be sure if she was awake.

But her breathing was steady and rhythmic, carrying an undeniable warmth that brushed lightly against his shoulder.

She was like a cat that had finally occupied its ideal position, curling up contentedly.

And he, in this gradually encroaching space, could only silently realize one thing —

‘Tonight, there is no retreat.’

Later, Gu Yebai felt himself being held.

the movement wasn’t obvious, but it certainly existed.

It was so warm.

She smelled so fragrant.

Drowsiness crept up on him unknowingly.

Whether it was 2:00 AM or 3:00 AM, Gu Yebai finally fell asleep.

It wasn’t on the wooden bed that always left his back aching upon waking.

He wasn’t alone, whispering goodnight to his parents’ portraits in the master bedroom.

Instead, he was held to sleep by a girl who liked him.

At that moment, a feeling he couldn’t quite describe welled up in his heart.

It felt like bitterness turning to sweetness, and like he was finally being gently caught by the world for once.

However —

‘Will a happy life really follow after this?’

Tomorrow, he was going to Donghai.

To Gu Yebai, that was a city that had only ever existed on the internet.

In the eyes of a Gu Yebai who had just crawled out of the mire, it was almost equivalent to a heavenly realm.

The most excellent people were all in Donghai.

‘Can a person like me… really establish a foothold in a place like that?’

….

‘You can definitely do it.’

This voice seemed to ring out from the depths of his memory.

In fact, at the very beginning, Gu Yebai’s grades weren’t good.

When he first entered elementary school, while other children had already learned multiplication, he still struggled with simple addition and subtraction.

When other children could recite English fluently, he couldn’t even recognize all twenty-six letters of the alphabet.

He remembered a particular parent-teacher meeting.

His seatmate had ranked third in the class, yet was slapped in public by his mother.

“Why didn’t you get first place?”

As for him, looking at his score which ranked him last in the class, he instinctively shrank his neck.

He thought that what awaited him would be even harsher criticism.

He even felt that being beaten would be more straightforward than seeing his parents’ disappointed expressions.

But his parents were different.

“Victory and defeat are common for a soldier,” his father, Gu Chengfeng, laughed indifferently.

“Our Xiaobai has plenty of room for improvement.”

“As long as you do your best, you are the best.”

His mother, Lu Xiaoai, also reached out and gently rubbed his head.

“You can definitely do it.”

…

‘I can definitely do it.’

Many things start from zero.

If one refuses to take the first step out of fear, they will ultimately achieve nothing.

At 7:30 AM, Gu Yebai opened his eyes.

A pair of lively eyes were right in front of him, staring back.

The two of them remained in a brief silence in the soft morning light, looking into each other’s eyes.

“Good morning, Xiaoyi.”

“Good morning, Master Bai!”

Compared to Gu Yebai, Gao Hongyi appeared exceptionally excited.

Her voice was clear and bright, as if she had been waiting for a long time.

“How long have you been awake?”

“I woke up at 6:00.”

“So early? Then why didn’t you go eat breakfast?”

“I didn’t want to.”

She blinked gently, her tone filled with blatant satisfaction.

“I’ve been lying on my side, watching Master Bai’s sleeping face.”

“I really wanted to reach out and pinch you.”

“But I was afraid of waking Master Bai from his beautiful dream.”

“I’m truly grateful for your kindness and consideration,” Gu Yebai said as he sat up, his voice still carrying a hint of morning raspiness.

“Just now, I dreamed of my parents again.”

“Actually, I’m a bit nervous about going to Donghai.”

“Master Bai is excellent,” Gao Hongyi said without hesitation.

“There won’t be any problems when we get to Donghai.”

“Excellent?”

Gu Yebai chuckled self-deprecatingly.

“I was dead last in my first exam in elementary school.”

“However, later on, I managed to turn many things around through my own efforts.”

“My parents… they always supported me from behind.”

Gao Hongyi looked at him quietly, and her tone turned serious.

“From now on, I will take their place and always support Master Bai.”

“They believed unconditionally that you would become better.”

“And so do I.”

“My Master Bai is the most capable, most wonderful man in the entire world.”

“Thank you, Xiaoyi.”

“Let’s change, wash up, eat, and then go home.”

Gao Hongyi took his hand and led him toward the bathroom.

Incidentally, the toothbrushes and cups were a matching couple’s set.

It was unclear if she had bought them on a whim during their shopping trip yesterday.

She maintained a sweet smile the entire time, asking Gu Yebai if he preferred her hair down, in twin tails, or in a high ponytail.

Today, she had specifically changed her hairstyle.

Her twin tails were gone, replaced by a Lolita-style dress that made her look exceptionally adorable.

“Master Bai, actually, I wasn’t very satisfied with the candlelight dinner or the accommodations this time.”

She spoke casually.

“But it doesn’t matter.”

“In the future, there are many more places we can go.”

“Whether it’s Paris, Tokyo, or New York, we will go together.”

“In the future, we have to stay together forever.”

“And be happy forever.”

After eating the buffet breakfast at the hotel, the two walked out of the main entrance with their luggage.

A Maybach had been waiting at the door for a long time.

“Good morning, Master Lin.”

“Young Lady, Young Master.”

The driver gave a respectful bow.

“Next, I will take you to Shencheng Taoxian International Airport.”

“You will be taking the first-class cabin of Flight MF 8096 back to Donghai.”

“Once we arrive in Donghai, the servants will take care of everything.”

“You have too much luggage, and checking it all in would be a hassle. Aside from your carry-on bags, I’ve already arranged for a courier company to ship most of the rest back.”