Little Sweetheart

After Gu Siyi persuaded Xia Zhijun, he began to prepare for studying abroad.

When Zheng Peipei learned about this, her jaw almost dropped. She asked Gu Siyi in disbelief, "Why did you make him go abroad? Have you never experienced the hardship of a long-distance relationship? Do you think it's fashionable and fun?"

"Are you kidding me? Fashionable and fun…" Gu Siyi scoffed.

"Well, I've never seen anyone actively persuade their boyfriend to go abroad."

Gu Siyi smiled and suddenly asked Zheng Peipei, "Have you ever persuaded Su Han to quit the entertainment industry? To come back to school and be an ordinary person?"

"Of course not! He got into the Beijing Film Academy. His major is acting, and his talent is singing and dancing. What would he do if he quit? Even if he wanted to be an ordinary person, people would still point fingers at him and laugh at him for being washed-up and past his prime!"

Gu Siyi nodded and said, "It's the same for a top student like him. He's a genius. Only a higher, stronger, and more advanced level of academic study can stimulate his unlimited potential and allow him to find his career pursuit."

With this analogy, Zheng Peipei understood. She sighed and said with a slightly bitter smile, "I didn't want you to be in the same boat as me, but since it's already like this, let's be a pair of 'difficult sisters' from now on."

Gu Siyi was amused. "Don't make it sound so tragic, okay? I'm optimistic."

Xia Zhijun's parents also fully supported his decision to study abroad.

However, Xia Guangyu specifically asked his wife to confirm with the school whether Gu Siyi would be going as well.

Peng Ling said, "Zhijun is going alone. MIT's admission requirements are so strict, and they made an exception for him. Siyi is only a freshman, how can she go? Unless she goes to some random, no-name university over there to accompany him. In that case, Siyi's parents wouldn't agree."

Xia Guangyu pondered for a moment and said, "It's good that she's not going. This way, being apart will give them a cooling-off period."

Peng Ling wasn't as insistent about Xia Zhijun's choice of partner. She understood her husband's hope that their son would have a promising future in politics. However, she felt very uneasy seeing her son's indifference towards the family over the past few years.

Now, she placed her hopes on time to resolve those conflicts and mend the previous rifts.

The day Gu Siyi saw Xia Zhijun off, the sky was clear and cloudless.

Just like her heart, although there was reluctance, overall, it was open and free.

They hugged and kissed at the airport, watching his figure pass through security until he disappeared…

On her way back, Gu Siyi typed a message and sent it to him.

"Watching you leave, I realized how much I really, really don't want you to go…

I have a tiny bit of regret? But that little bit of regret was quickly swatted away.

I'm still very happy and very proud. The person I like is so amazing!

This little burden is waiting for my big boss to come back and carry me again~

Love you! [Heart][Heart]"

After Xia Zhijun got off the plane, he turned on his phone and received this message immediately.

The corners of his mouth curved up. He replied, "I can supervise your studying through video calls. Don't think you can slack off just because I'm not there."

A moment later, Gu Siyi replied: "[Laugh][Laugh] I wouldn't dare!"

After the summer vacation, Gu Siyi became a sophomore, a senior sister.

The make-up exams after the start of the school year went smoothly. However, because she had failed a course, she missed out on the scholarship. Her roommates felt sorry for her because she performed well in extracurricular activities and had a good relationship with the teachers. As long as she passed all her exams and got a high score on the evaluation, she would definitely have received a scholarship.

Gu Siyi smiled and said, "It's okay, the scholarship can go to classmates who need it more. To say something that might get me in trouble, I still have a lot of unspent allowance in my account."

After entering university, the living expenses her parents gave her had increased several times compared to high school. Considering that she was their only child, she was of age, and she was in a relationship, they were very generous with her budget.

Her parents didn't know that Xia Zhijun also had sources of income, and he was very happy to spend money on her.

He wanted to cover all their expenses, regularly gave her electronic products, and periodically took her shopping to buy clothes and bags. Gu Siyi didn't want him to spend so much money, but he would get upset.

Once, when Gu Siyi refused to let him pay, Xia Zhijun asked, "Would you refuse if your parents bought it for you?"

Gu Siyi was taken aback. "No."

"If I don't treat you as well as your parents do, how can they feel at ease giving you to me?"

"But…"

"You're my wife. Can't I provide for you?"

"But we're not even…"

"It's only a matter of time. Starting to learn how to provide for the family now will make me more responsible."

"…" That sounded reasonable?

"Only when a woman doesn't have a man will she draw a clear line."

"…"

Under his day-after-day indoctrination, Gu Siyi gradually adapted to his way of doing things. And the living expenses her parents gave her, including the dating budget, were really sufficient. Apart from buying him gifts and doing some charity work regularly, she didn't have any other significant expenses. She actually saved quite a bit of money over the year.

Gu Siyi really didn't care about the scholarship. Her friends felt sorry for her, but she didn't mind at all.

The final winner of the first-class scholarship was Wen Ying. Some of her roommates received second-class and some received third-class scholarships. She was happy for them and urged them to treat everyone to a meal.

During a small gathering in the dorm, with some drinks, Zhang Weilan gossiped, "Wen Ying is really amazing. With barely passing grades, she got all sorts of extra points and ended up with the first-class scholarship."

Liu Chang chimed in, "Exactly! My grades crushed hers, but I still got beaten."

Gu Siyi comforted them, "This is a comprehensive evaluation. All kinds of abilities are considered. Getting it is her skill."

Wang Shu said, "If you hadn't failed that course, you might have been able to compete with her."

Gu Siyi quickly said, "I can't compare. I'm just a salted fish."

Zhang Weilan said, "I'm really not envious of Wen Ying. I think she tries too hard. I still think Siyi is better this way, not caring about gains and losses, very magnanimous."

"Let's just keep this between us, okay? Consider it internal flattery. Don't say it outside, or I'll be so embarrassed." Gu Siyi laughed. "I'm just a salted fish, nothing magnanimous about me."

After a year of active participation, Gu Siyi became a key member of the student union and various clubs.

The original president of the department's student union was now a senior and stepped down from his position. Zhang Sicheng became the new president, and Gu Siyi was promoted to vice president. At the same time, she was also recommended to the university student union. In this reshuffle, Wen Ying only became a minister in the department's student union.

Others remained in their original positions, but Gu Siyi, who was initially on par with Wen Ying, had become her superior.

Due to her outstanding performance at the New Year's Eve gala, Gu Siyi was invited to host many large-scale university events. She became increasingly famous at school, and her Weibo followers grew, making her practically a living advertisement for the university. The school wasn't lagging behind in marketing either. To attract new students, they used the title "Most Beautiful Senior Sister" for her.

Gradually, some rumors started spreading in the department, saying that she was scheming and a "green tea bitch," wanting to become an internet celebrity and spending money to buy trolls to praise her.

Gu Siyi's roommates knew that she was simply more active and thus attracted attention. Her personality was actually very laid-back, and she wouldn't spend money to create a persona or hype herself up. They were very angry about these rumors.

"I wonder who are these malicious people spreading rumors behind your back…"

"They're just jealous that you're beautiful, rich, and famous!"

"I was really shocked. I even heard rumors that you were being kept by someone. That's hilarious… Your own father is a real estate tycoon, do you need a sugar daddy?"

"I finally understand one thing: popularity breeds gossip."

Gu Siyi gave them snacks. "With you guys getting angry for me, I don't have to be angry myself. Thank you!"

If anyone dared to say those absurd things to her face, she would beat them up. But now, they were just rumors, and she didn't know who started them. She didn't want to bother dealing with them. After all, she had many things to keep her busy every day.

One day, these previously whispered rumors surfaced on the university forum.

Someone directly started a thread: "How did Gu Siyi, the most beautiful senior sister of the School of Economics and Management, reach the peak of her life?"

"First, she had a top scorer boyfriend escorting her, then a tech company founder backing her, the student union president bowing to her, and countless male admirers willingly becoming her stepping stones! The biggest white lotus of this century is none other than Gu Siyi!"

The post mentioned some true events, then added a lot of fabricated details, saying that she relied on her top scorer boyfriend to get into university, then cheated on him with a tech tycoon, used his capital for her own benefit, and then had ambiguous relationships with superiors in the student union… Buckets of dirty water were poured on her. People who didn't know her read it with relish, and the post's popularity exploded overnight. Although some people familiar with Gu Siyi tried to refute the claims, their comments were quickly drowned in the waves stirred up by the trolls.

Then someone registered a Weibo ID and posted the content of the forum post as images.

The spread of negative gossip is the fastest, like a snowball rolling downhill, getting bigger and bigger, and seeming more and more like the truth.

This time, Gu Siyi was truly affected by these upsetting things. People she knew and didn't know, those who cared and those who were watching the show, all came to ask her about it. The amount of information she received in a day was overwhelming. The comments on her Weibo posts exceeded tens of thousands. Even the department leaders called her in for a talk to understand the situation.

After Zhou Zhuo found out, he immediately contacted a professional lawyer for her and told her, "You can sue the people spreading the rumors."

Gu Siyi said worriedly, "But I don't know who they are, except for that Weibo account…"

Zhou Zhuo would sometimes invite her to dinner during holidays. He had resigned himself to the title of "Uncle."

Although he had some romantic interest in her before, after witnessing the sweetness between her and her boyfriend, he gradually let go of those feelings and treated her as a younger sister. Otherwise, being called "Uncle" by the person he liked every day would really give him a heart attack…

Because of this incident, Zhou Zhuo, who didn't have a personal Weibo account, used his company's official account to repost Gu Siyi's clarification post, explaining his relationship with her parents, and expressing his admiration for her boyfriend.

The biggest plot twist came after a mysterious figure appeared.

In a new post, this online guru decoded the IP addresses of the accounts that had been spreading negative rumors, pinpointing a professional troll company, and then miraculously revealed transaction records. Then came the tracing of the person behind the transactions…

This guru posted evidence online every three hours, like a live broadcast…

The onlookers watched the updates while virtually kneeling in awe.

Gu Siyi's roommates huddled together to watch, exclaiming, "Oh my god, who is this person? How are they so amazing? Siyi, did you hire a hacker?"

"I didn't…" Gu Siyi looked bewildered.

Just like the other onlookers, she watched as the situation unfolded.

Someone on the other side of the computer panicked.

She thought she had done it flawlessly, hiding herself through so many channels…

But as more and more evidence surfaced, she became afraid.

She was afraid that this person would really find evidence and expose her… Then she would become a pariah at school.

While Gu Siyi was having dinner in the cafeteria, she received a call from Wen Ying. Wen Ying said that the department teachers had something for them to do and asked them both to go over.

After dinner, Gu Siyi met up with Wen Ying and found that she was alone.

Wen Ying said, "I have something to tell you. Can we go somewhere private to talk?"

Gu Siyi: "Sure."

Wen Ying led Gu Siyi to the rooftop. Gu Siyi waited for her to speak. Suddenly, Wen Ying turned around, tears streaming down her face.

"Siyi, I'm sorry…"

"…??"

"You know it was me, right? You found out, but instead of confronting me, you exposed it this way, you just wanted to ruin my reputation, didn't you?"

Gu Siyi instantly understood. With disbelief, it was actually… her?

After all, they were in the same class and often worked together. Wen Ying had never shown any hostility towards her. When the rumors first came out, she had even comforted Gu Siyi and helped her clarify.

Unexpectedly, this whole drama was self-directed and self-acted, played so deeply?

"How did I offend you?" Gu Siyi asked, bewildered.

"I just… I was momentarily blinded by greed… I was wrong… Please forgive me… You've already clarified, everyone knows you're innocent, please let me go…" she pleaded tearfully.

Gu Siyi's face was cold. "Oh, I'm sorry, we're all over 18. We have to be responsible for what we've done."

Wen Ying didn't expect that Gu Siyi, who usually seemed so casual and easygoing, would be so unyielding. She pleaded repeatedly, but Gu Siyi remained unmoved.

"Why do you have to push me to the edge… What good does it do you to ruin me completely…"

"Then what good did it do you to painstakingly slander me?" Gu Siyi retorted.

"You took away all the best things, can't you even let me vent?"

"…???" Gu Siyi was completely confused.

"You have such an outstanding boyfriend, and so many good opportunities. No matter what, unless you withdraw, you always get the opportunity. Back then, you promised me you wouldn't be the host, but then you went and snatched the opportunity. The same with the student union president position, you acted like you didn't care and weren't competing, but in the end, you got it! Have you ever thought about how much you hurt me? I tried so hard, but I was still stepped on by you!"

"Oh, I got my boyfriend and the student union position through my own abilities. Is it my fault that you're unhappy about it?"

"You only have all this because of your looks and your family's wealth!"

"Oh, but that's also my ability. Don't you know that being born well is a skill?"

"…You!!!" Wen Ying was almost speechless with anger.

Gu Siyi's face remained impassive. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

As she was about to turn around, Wen Ying rushed over and grabbed her. Gu Siyi immediately countered.

Gu Siyi's eyes were icy, filled with ruthlessness. "I think it's not good for girls to fight, so I rarely fight. But since you started it, don't blame me."

After saying that, Gu Siyi gave Wen Ying a good beating.

Back in the dorm, when she went online, the truth-revealing process had reached a fever pitch.

Her roommates were having a guessing game, and she already knew the answer.

She sent a message to Xia Zhijun: "My god, my god, please accept my knee of worship."

Xia Zhijun: "You know it was me?"

Gu Siyi: "[Pitiful] Besides my dashing, handsome, intelligent, and incredibly capable boyfriend, who else could protect me like this?"

Xia Zhijun: "Then why didn't you tell me?"

Gu Siyi: "I didn't want you to worry. I've already clarified here, and the legal proceedings are underway…"

Xia Zhijun: "And then?"

Gu Siyi: "My boyfriend, Xia. Sherlock. Zhi. Conan. Jun, is the most reliable! He caught the culprit in one fell swoop! This is more effective than anything! [Applause][Applause]"

Xia Zhijun: "Will you tell me if something happens in the future?"

Gu Siyi: "Yes! I'll cry to my big boss immediately!"

Xia Zhijun: "Even if I'm not by your side, no one can bully you, understand?"

Gu Siyi: "Mm-hmm [Shy][Shy]"

Xia Zhijun: "I've already booked my flight, arriving Saturday afternoon."

Gu Siyi: "…It's only been half a month?"

Xia Zhijun: "Special circumstances. I have to come back and comfort you."

Gu Siyi: "I'm fine, nothing happened…"

Xia Zhijun: "Are you sure?"

Just as Gu Siyi saw this message, her phone rang. The guru was calling.

The experience of talking on the phone was much more intense than texting. Gu Siyi understood; there's a kind of vulnerability that comes from your boyfriend thinking you're vulnerable…

So, she obediently and happily welcomed the guru's early return.

After Wen Ying's actions were exposed, she became a pariah, the target of gossip and finger-pointing. Gu Siyi's lawyer filed a lawsuit against her for defamation and slander. Since Gu Siyi was in good condition and hadn't suffered any serious consequences, the court ordered Wen Ying to pay Gu Siyi 500,000 yuan and issue a public apology.

Gu Siyi posted the court verdict on Weibo, and the comments were overwhelmingly supportive.

This dramatic reversal gave the onlookers a great show and also made them realize more deeply that Gu Siyi was indeed born with a silver spoon in her mouth, a real little rich girl.

"I'm so envious of Gu Siyi!"

"Envious to the point of tears QAQ"

"How can there be such a wonderful young lady…"

"Not only is she beautiful, but her family is also rich! And not only is her family rich, but she also got into a prestigious university! And not only did she get into a prestigious university, but she also has a doting boyfriend! And not only does she have a boyfriend, but he's also a handsome top scorer in the college entrance exam!"

"From now on, Gu Siyi is my lucky charm!"

Wen Ying's family rushed to the school to deal with the aftermath, compensating Gu Siyi according to the court's decision. The school issued a public reprimand to Wen Ying and gave her a major demerit. Unable to bear the mental torment of being ostracized and criticized at school, Wen Ying withdrew.

As for whether she would return to her hometown to retake the college entrance exam or do something else after withdrawing, Gu Siyi didn't care and didn't gossip about it.

At first, people still talked about it, but as time passed, everyone seemed to forget that such a person had ever existed.

…

University time flew by. Before Gu Siyi knew it, four years had passed, and it was graduation season.

Although her major was economics and management, she interned at a television station during her senior year and performed remarkably well. The television station planned to sign a formal contract with her after graduation.

Gu Siyi hadn't expected that because of a chance hosting opportunity in her freshman year, she would embark on a professional broadcasting path.

She said to Gu Zhiyuan with some regret, "Dad, it seems I won't be able to be your right-hand man in the future."

Gu Zhiyuan laughed. "Do whatever makes you happy. No one's forcing you. We don't have a throne waiting for you to inherit."

Xu Jiahui said, "If you ever feel tired and want to come back to freeload, we won't object either."

Gu Siyi beamed, clasping her hands together with starry eyes. "Mr. Gu, Mrs. Gu, I swear I love you two the most in this life!"

"Oh? What about your top scorer?" Xu Jiahui asked with a smile.

"He's also my favorite! You two are favorites in different dimensions!" Gu Siyi grinned.

"By the way, when is he coming back?" Gu Zhiyuan asked.

In the blink of an eye, the boy had been abroad for three years. Every year during the Spring Festival, he would personally visit and pay his respects. Gu Zhiyuan generally understood his situation. He had earned his doctorate at MIT, published several research papers, achieved fruitful results, and even interned at a research institution.

Gu Siyi smiled and said, "He'll be back next week to attend my graduation ceremony. Also, he's already graduated with his doctorate. After wrapping things up at school and work, he'll be back for good. He said it'll be one or two months at most."

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