Chapter 27: If I Go Bald, Will You Still Love Me? (27)

Gu Yue was pushed down onto the sofa chair, with Bu Zhongyao sitting astride him. As she slipped her hand into his trouser pocket, she arched a brow and said, “Good thing I locked the door when I came in. Enough with the act—let’s get straight to the point.”

“Wait!” Gu Yue cried out in panic, reaching to grab her wandering hand, his whole body tense.

Bu Zhongyao clicked her tongue twice. “You never used to be this hesitant. Has it been so long you've forgotten what to do?”

Gu Yue fumbled nervously. “Stop it, I don’t have that kind of intention at all!”

Bu Zhongyao rummaged in his pocket for a while, failing to find the necessary item for their activity. She frowned. “You didn’t bring protection today?”

Gu Yue’s face flushed bright red. “I told you, I’m not thinking about that today!”

Finding it suddenly dull, Bu Zhongyao got off him. She sat on the sofa, arms crossed, eyeing Gu Yue with deep suspicion.

Gu Yue hurriedly sat up straight, zipping his trousers and buttoning his shirt. The once-handsome young man now looked as if he’d aged ten years, letting out a heavy sigh.

Bu Zhongyao asked, “Did you call me here today to break up with me?”

Gu Yue looked at her.

She pressed on: “Don’t tell me you only asked me over to watch a movie together?”

“It really was just to watch a movie,” Gu Yue replied.

Bu Zhongyao pursed her lips and slouched back on the sofa. “Fine, let’s watch the movie then.”

Gu Yue’s expression twisted with inner conflict. He slowly walked over to the television and picked up the box containing the disc.

Bu Zhongyao drawled lazily, “So much has happened lately. I used to look down on Bai Yao and Shen Ji’s relationship, but seeing how inseparable they are, maybe pure love isn’t so bad after all.”

Gu Yue gave a half-hearted “mm.”

Bu Zhongyao continued absent-mindedly, “We’re graduating next year. Why don’t we just get engaged first?”

Gu Yue’s hand trembled as he held the box. He turned to look at her. “Engaged?”

“That’s right,” Bu Zhongyao said as if it were only natural. “We’ve been together for so long, it’s about time. Or do you not want to get engaged? Waiting for your family to arrange someone else?”

In their circle, this was how things worked—engagement upon graduation, then marriage. If you didn’t find someone suitable at school, you’d have to accept a family-arranged match of equal standing.

Lately, Bu Zhongyao felt she and Gu Yue were quite compatible—no pressure in their interactions, and both were easygoing.

Yet, engagement was something they’d always tacitly agreed never to mention.

Clutching the box in his hands, Gu Yue asked, “Why did you suddenly decide you’d stay with me after graduation?”

Bu Zhongyao looked uneasy, turning her face away. “If you weren’t good-looking, I wouldn’t even consider it.”

Gu Yue’s grip tightened until his entire arm trembled.

Bu Zhongyao prompted, “Are you going to put on the movie or not? If you don’t know how, let me do it.”

She stood up to take the box from his hand, but before she could, Gu Yue suddenly shouted, “Get out!”

Bu Zhongyao was stunned. “What did you say?”

“I said, get out! I don’t want to see you!”

“Hey, Gu Yue, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Bu Zhongyao was shoved out of the screening room, and the door slammed shut behind her. No matter how hard she knocked, there was no response. Fuming, she kicked the door. “Gu Yue, no one’s ever yelled at me before! If you’ve got the guts, stay in there forever, or else I’ll make you pay!”

Everything had been fine just moments ago—why was he acting so crazy all of a sudden?

Bu Zhongyao stamped her foot in anger and turned to leave.

Gu Yue flung the box aside, crouched on the floor, hugging himself and shivering. The clock on the wall ticked relentlessly, a constant reminder that once midnight struck, the ghost would come for his life.

He was terrified of dying, and furious with himself for foolishly driving away the one person who could have saved him.

He couldn’t quite say what he felt. Sometimes he thought of how, after his death, his stepmother’s son would inherit all his father’s wealth; other times he imagined Bu Zhongyao, arms entwined with others, forgetting him completely. Overwhelmed, he buried his head in his hands and sobbed helplessly.

He was still so young—he didn’t want to die!

If he had another chance to live, he swore he’d live right, never be so fickle again—even if he had to let Bu Zhongyao unzip his trousers every day!

Suddenly, the TV screen lit up.

Gu Yue looked up to see someone sitting on the sofa. He jumped in fright. “Bai Yao!”

What was she doing here?

Bai Yao sat comfortably on the sofa, staring absently at the snowy static on the screen. Hearing his voice, she turned to the cowering Gu Yue and greeted him with a cheerful, “Hey.”

Hey? Seriously?

Gu Yue stood up. “When did you get here?”

Bai Yao replied lazily, “A bit earlier than you.”

Gu Yue’s eyes widened. “You’ve been hiding here this whole time, watching us, we…”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t see Bu Zhongyao unzip your trousers, nor did I hear anything about you not bringing protection.”

Gu Yue was mortified.

The TV screen flickered, showing the familiar image of a woman brushing her hair in front of a mirror.

Gu Yue blanched. “Bai Yao, watching this movie puts a curse on you—you’ll die in seven days!”

Bai Yao remained unruffled, even inviting Gu Yue to sit and watch with her. “It’s started already. Let’s finish it together.”

“Did you hear what I said?” Gu Yue protested. “This movie is seriously cursed—the ghost…”

“If midnight passes and you’re still alive, doesn’t that prove the curse is bogus?”

Gu Yue froze. Was this woman insane?

Bai Yao narrowed her eyes at the screen, a slow smile spreading across her face. “I want to see for myself if this ghost will really crawl out of the TV to kill us.”

Her fists clenched, brimming with a dangerous edge.

With a snap, the comb in the woman’s hand on the TV screen broke.

In the dead of night, Bu Zhongyao parted ways with a few girlfriends she’d met for drinks. Still fuming, she walked back to the dorm, cursing Gu Yue’s cluelessness the whole way.

Gu Yue’s bizarre behavior today—could he be trying to break up with her?

She took another swig, but her anger only grew. Ever since she was young, only Bai Yao had ever bested her. She would never allow herself to be dumped! If Gu Yue dared dump her, she’d make him pay dearly!

“I told you, Gu Yue isn’t good enough for you.”

The sudden voice startled Bu Zhongyao out of her rage. She looked up.

In the darkness, Wei Suo approached, his face full of feigned sympathy though his eyes gleamed with triumph. “You see? When faced with death, he chose to let you die instead.”

Bu Zhongyao frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Wei Suo said with pity, “He watched that movie and was cursed by Sadako. He’ll die within seven days—and today is the last day. The only way to lift the curse is to have someone close to you watch the same film, so the curse transfers and he survives.”

Judging by how angry Bu Zhongyao was, he guessed Gu Yue had followed his directions exactly.

It hadn’t been for nothing that he’d gone through so much trouble to track down the cursed film and pass it on to Bu Zhongyao, thus making Gu Yue the next victim.

Wei Suo looked at the stunned Bu Zhongyao, drawing closer with a gentle tone. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll find a way to save you. I can pray to the gods—surely they can lift the curse. Zhongyao, be with me. I’ll treat you better than Gu Yue ever could.”

Bu Zhongyao was no genius, but she wasn’t a fool. In that instant, many things became clear. As Wei Suo drew near, she swung the bottle in her hand straight at his head. “You bastard!”

The bottle shattered, and Wei Suo fell to the ground.

Bu Zhongyao spun and ran headlong into the night.

“Ah! Wei Suo!” Lu Zhizhi, passing by, hurried over to help him up. She’d only seen Bu Zhongyao strike him, and was instantly indignant. “Bu Zhongyao went too far! She actually hit someone with a bottle—we have to tell the teacher!”

Wei Suo pressed a hand to his bleeding head, lowering it as his expression grew dark.