Finale
The morning of September 8th was bright and sunny.
The preliminary round of the CPhO was scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM at City No. 1 High School, with an exam duration of three hours.
Since the first documentary had received such a great response online, the host school quickly arranged a second filming session, hoping to seize the moment and further boost the reputation of their physics competition team.
Carrying his exam pouch, Su Zesui waved goodbye to Gu Yilan, gave a shy smile toward the cameraman, and then walked into the school gates.
He wasn’t nervous about today’s exam. First, he had regained the memories of his past life as a gold medalist. Second, Gu Yilan had gone over all the key points with him again the night before.
The evening prior, though Gu Yilan had called him to dinner, Su Zesui couldn’t bear to cut off the livestream when viewers were reluctant to say goodbye. So, he simply took his phone with him and brought hundreds of thousands of live viewers downstairs to join him for dinner.
The dining table on the first floor was filled with his favorite dishes, and Gu Yilan even helped put food into his bowl while he was busy glancing at the comments—a warm, domestic scene. The chat instantly exploded with demands to see Gu Yilan.
After his own and others’ reputations online reversed at an astonishing speed, Gu Yilan went from being seen as the villain to a behind-the-scenes big shot who punishes evil and upholds justice. Coupled with his exceptionally impressive life experiences and outward qualities, this sparked endless speculation among netizens.
Su Zesui curved his eyes into a smile, turning the camera toward Gu Yilan’s bowl.
“Brother, say hi to everyone.”
To everyone’s surprise, the man who always looked frosty in interviews didn’t refuse outright. Instead, with a trace of helpless laughter in his low voice, he said: “Hello, everyone. Like this?”
The indulgence in his tone was unmistakable, and the livestream chat absolutely lost their minds.
[We thought you two were just in a loveless business arrangement… turns out it’s pure romance?!]
Hearing this, Su Zesui couldn’t help laughing, leaning closer to look at the comments flooding in—sure enough, the screen was once again full of requests for Gu Yilan to appear on camera.
But to him, that brief greeting was just a small bit of fun. He didn’t want to drag Gu Yilan into the center of public opinion, so he quickly changed the topic.
After dinner, viewers began worrying about the CPhO preliminary the next day.
Of course, there were still people questioning whether his performance in the school-level contest was just dumb luck. But even the doubts were phrased far more gently than before—followed by strings of emojis, as if the commenters were afraid of hurting his feelings.
Su Zesui had planned to review a bit that evening, but when he saw those comments, he decided to solve practice problems live on stream instead.
Just as he was setting up his desk, though, Gu Yilan came over with a packet of neatly organized “last-minute review notes” and said that, with his guidance, the material would work even better.
So, on camera, the viewers saw a packet of exclusive notes compiled by former physics gold medalist Gu Yilan resting quietly on the desk. Off camera, too lazy to fetch another chair, Gu Yilan simply pulled Su Zesui into his lap.
The livestream audience couldn’t see their movements, but they could hear the faint rustle of clothes and noticed Su Zesui’s hands framed between Gu Yilan’s arms. Instantly, they realized something was off.
To make matters worse, Gu Yilan chuckled softly and said, as if on purpose: “Come on, let brother teach you.”
With the serious study materials on-screen and the comment section spiraling with wild imagination, Su Zesui shifted awkwardly in the man’s lap, blushing from his neck to the tips of his ears. That night’s “review session” became unforgettable for him.
. . . . .
“The exam is about to begin. Candidates, please remain quiet. Place all unrelated items, such as phones and bags, outside the exam hall or in the designated area to avoid interference.”
“Ding-ling-ling—Invigilators, please distribute the exam papers and answer sheets.”
When Su Zesui saw the big problems printed on the crisp white pages of the CPhO preliminary, his eyes lit up despite having been confident all along.
The moment the bell signaled the start, his pen flew across the page.
These problems all fell within the scope of the key points Gu Yilan had marked for him last night. With a glance, the solution popped into his mind like an open, unobstructed highway.
Because the problems didn’t strain him much, he felt perfectly relaxed. As he worked through them, images of Gu Yilan explaining similar questions the previous night surfaced in his mind.
Sometimes, the man would guide his hand to circle overlooked information. Sometimes, while waiting for him to think, he would absentmindedly pinch his cheek…
Though the exam was scheduled for three hours, Su Zesui finished in just over one hour.
He wasn’t the type to hand in early, though. After checking his answers several times, he rested his chin in his hand and began thinking about his afternoon plans.
Yesterday’s all-day livestream had disrupted his and Gu Yilan’s original plan to go out shopping, but they could easily pick it back up this afternoon!
“Although this morning no little kitten accompanied him to the exam, this afternoon he would go home with Mr. Gu to pick up the little kitten and bring it home.
This morning, he hadn’t been accompanied to the exam room by
Last night, he had looked up pictures of different cats online—every single one was adorable, and he liked them all.
So instead, he focused on shopping for supplies: a cat bed, cat food, a scratching post, a litter box… maybe even some cute little outfits for the kitten.
Once they picked it up, he’d let Gu Yilan hold the cat, while he himself carried two ice creams—different flavors, both for him, eaten at once.
He’d heard that the shop had new flavors. He wanted to try them so badly…
Licking his lips, he daydreamed as time quietly slipped away. Finally, the bell rang to signal the end of the exam.
When the invigilators finished collecting the papers and announced dismissal, Su Zesui grabbed his bag and dashed straight out of the classroom toward the school gates.
Along the way, many people recognized him and quietly spoke words of encouragement and praise, wishing him peace and happiness in the future. Su Zesui politely whispered a “thank you” to each of them.
He ran to the front gate, and at first glance, he saw a man who stood out among the crowd.
Gu Yilan, just like he had that morning when Su Zesui first entered the exam hall, was leaning against the car door, lips curved in a smile, and silently opened his arms toward him.
Su Zesui’s eyes curved with happiness. He opened his arms and stepped into the man’s embrace.
By the time the preliminary were over, it was already 11:30 AM, and Su Zesui’s stomach was growling from hunger. They drove back to the villa, planning to have lunch together, freshen up a bit, and then go out shopping.
Excited, Su Zesui ate while scrolling through his phone, not worrying at all that someone might grab his food without him noticing.
On WeChat, many people congratulated him on finishing the preliminary. There was his big brother and parents, Brother Gong Chuang and Brother Ji Yuxing from A University, the butler who arranged the dishes at the table, the maid who delivered fruits daily, and his friends.
In the group chat, Feng Chengwen and others flooded the chat with emojis, drums, and firecrackers—celebrating and congratulating him exuberantly.
After the emoji parade, Feng Chengwen gleefully told him that the official notice of Zhou Qizhao’s expulsion from school had been released, and everyone in the school’s group chat was talking about it.
Zhou Qizhao seemed to have lost his mind over the matter. Some passersby had photographed him looking disheveled, wreaking havoc on the streets like a madman, until annoyed onlookers called the police and he was taken away.
Yuan Mingcheng sent a long string of “hahaha,” along with screenshots of apologies—texts, images, and videos—from people who had previously cyberbullied Su Zesui. The messages were dense, sincere, and seemingly endless.
Tong Jing, the ‘hype man’ of the group, finished commenting one by one and added that they loved Su Zesui’s game room, promising to visit it over the weekend.
Su Zesui couldn’t help but smile. He typed quickly on his phone, but before he could notice, Gu Yilan had shoved a piece of rib into his mouth.
After sending his messages, he set down his phone, picked up his chopsticks, and was about to feed Gu Yilan in return.
After a lively and cheerful lunch, it was time to head out.
Su Zesui carried his favorite blue bag and wore a baseball cap. Unlike before, when hats were used to hide from strangers, this one mainly shielded him from the harsh summer sun.
Looking at the man ready to go, Su Zesui “complained” playfully: “When we got married, you promised you’d lock me in the room forever, so I wouldn’t have any contact with the outside world. Why break that promise now?”
Gu Yilan, holding the sports car keys, smiled and raised an eyebrow. “You need exposure to get used to the outside world. Only then can your body recover and be ready for my reward. To fulfill the more important reward I promised, I had to let go of the other promise. And this time, don’t hide behind me again.”
“I-I won’t. I even learned a few simple greetings now,” Su Zesui puffed his pale cheeks and said, “But you—you can’t shipping about us when others talk to me.”
Gu Yilan didn’t expect Gong Chuang to tell everything, and he found it a mix of helpless and funny. “Alright. I guess it’s my turn to get desensitized too.”
Following Gu Yilan to the villa’s entrance, Su Zesui instinctively stopped, imagining the old routine of standing there while the man drove up from the underground parking lot.
But this time, Gu Yilan also stopped, turned back, and reached out his hand. Smiling, he said, “Come on, let’s go together.”
Su Zesui paused for a moment, then placed his hand into the man’s warm palm, nodded, and said firmly, “Together.”
In that brief pause, memories of his time in the psychiatric ward surfaced.
During those dark days, he had met many kind people who wanted to pull him out of the mire without expecting anything in return. They genuinely wanted to be his friends.
Those people were all wonderful—he just hadn’t been good enough.
Everyone has their own path in life, but back then, he was trapped in memories, stuck in one place. Gradually, all those delicate connections had broken, leaving no intersection in their lives.
But now, feeling Gu Yilan’s burning warmth, walking confidently together, their futures seemed intertwined, inseparable by anyone or anything.
They had each walked alone for far too long, finally finding each other.
Both brave, both strong, both ready to step into each other’s future.
Just crying here on the ground, lovingly cluching my babies to my chest and giving them kisses and love 🥹
Wow this was an incredible journey, ans thank you so much, translator for your amazing work in bringing it to life in English. It was a beautiful experience 💕
10/10