Chapter 366 - 160: Pokémon’s Island Departure (Part 1)

Chapter 366: Chapter 160: Pokémon’s Island Departure (Part 1)

’For some reason, her dad seems to be keeping a close eye on me.’ He’d even made a point of asking the nanny, Aunt Wu, about him. After learning that he was the son of an employee at his company, there was no follow-up.

Even Gu Qiuyan had been casually, yet pointedly, asked about it at dinner.

They had talked about it last night.

Gu Qiuyan’s attitude was hot and cold, and Zhang Shutong’s sleepiness came and went. They didn’t say a single word the entire ride, and the driver kept his eyes glued to the road, focused on driving.

About ten minutes later, they arrived at the pier.

The driver opened the door for his young miss. Gu Qiuyan nodded, got out, and said a few words nonchalantly. But the driver replied that President Gu had instructed him to wait until he saw everyone had arrived and boarded the boat before leaving.

Gu Qiuyan lifted her chin, and Zhang Shutong knew exactly what she was about to say. He held up his phone and waved it. "They’re here," he said, "waiting on the boat." The driver followed his finger and saw several figures, men and women, leaning against the deck railing. The driver apologized to his young miss but didn’t budge.

"Let’s go. He’s going to wait until the boat leaves," Gu Qiuyan said.

She turned, her skirt swishing with the movement. Yawning, Zhang Shutong followed, only then noticing she was carrying a small leather bag that looked very expensive.

They boarded the boat one after another. It only just occurred to Zhang Shutong: ’Why didn’t she have her family’s car follow us? On such a cold day, we could have just taken the car into the city. Why stop at the port?’

He could only chalk it up to the whims of a rich young lady.

Zhang Shutong waved to his best buds from a distance. The three of them were leaning against the railing, playing games. They looked up at his call and they all exchanged greetings.

Du Kang, holding Ruoping’s phone, asked him if he wanted to play Fruit Ninja. Zhang Shutong suddenly realized Ruoping was quite the gamer. Last time, it had been Angry Birds.

Mobile data was so expensive these days; you had to download whatever you wanted to play or watch in advance. Ruoping’s phone was passed around, and just as Zhang Shutong tapped "start," he asked Gu Qiuyan if she wanted to play next. "This game is perfect for your one-finger-tap style."

The words had barely left his mouth when the ship’s horn blew and the ferry started to move. The driver standing on the shore waved before leaving.

Zhang Shutong looked away from the shore. ’That guy is really dedicated,’ he thought. He had just sliced a watermelon in the game when a pair of slender, pale fingers reached out and hit the pause button for him.

Zhang Shutong looked up. Gu Qiuyan was watching him with her arms crossed.

’A person needs to recognize their place.’

The meaning of her look was—

He was a gofer today, not a ninja. With great regret, Zhang Shutong handed the phone back to Du Kang, ending his ninja dream. Gu Qiuyan let out a smug little laugh. She stretched lazily, took the clip out of her hair, and shook her head, letting her long hair fall loose. A strand stuck to her lips. In an instant, she transformed from the little "President Gu" into a young girl. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she yelled out over the lake:

"He’s finally gone!"

The ferry slowly pulled away from the shore. Then, Gu Qiuyan waved at him.

"Hurry, hurry! I want to take pictures!"

Despite saying so, she showed no intention of taking out her own phone.

’This is a bit much.’

Zhang Shutong thought, ’You want me to take pictures for you, and I’m supposed to use my own phone?’

’Even a gofer has his limits. You have to keep business and personal matters separate.’ He took out his phone and said, "Your hair’s a mess. Straighten it out. Also, you’re acting crazy right now."

"You’re the one who’s crazy!"

The moment she glared at him, Zhang Shutong quickly pressed the shutter button, freezing the image of her scrunched-up nose on the screen.

And then she wasn’t happy.

"Use my phone! And delete that last picture!"

Zhang Shutong took her phone. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. He snapped a dozen or so photos, from the bow to the stern, silently lamenting how hard a secretary’s job must be.

Fortunately, Gu Qiuyan was very pretty and didn’t need any extra photo editing. He handed the phone back to her, genuinely thinking every shot was photogenic, but she was still unsatisfied, insisting on scrutinizing each one.

Zhang Shutong leaned against the railing by himself, yawning. The fog from the city had completely dissipated out here. The lake today was a rare azure blue, reflecting the entire sky. As the wind blew, the clouds on the water’s surface seemed to ripple along with it.

Gu Qiuyan was engrossed in looking at the photos beside him. Zhang Shutong didn’t understand why girls had to take pictures and "check in" everywhere they went, and this rich young lady was no exception. But the weather today really was nice; even a simple landscape photo would be beautiful.

"Here, hold my..."

Gu Qiuyan, her head down, held her shoulder bag out to him. One hand was shielding her forehead while the other swiped on her phone; it must have been inconvenient to hold the bag. But she didn’t finish her sentence. Instead, she suddenly leaned in close.

"You have really bad dark circles today."

"I didn’t sleep well last night." ’Ah, so you’ve finally noticed your humble servant is unwell,’ Zhang Shutong thought.

"You... why were you so excited?" She blinked, then burst out laughing. "Aiya, who was it that said ’I’m fine with playing whatever’ yesterday, but then got too excited to even sleep properly?"

"Uh..." Zhang Shutong didn’t know what to say. He just nodded. "The thought of a Tender Beef Wrap gets me very excited."

"Tch." She turned her face away.

Gu Qiuyan also leaned on the railing, cupping her face in her hands.

"You should have just said you didn’t sleep well."

"It’s not that bad, really." Zhang Shutong had looked up the condition. The medical consensus was that a diagnosis required symptoms to persist for a period of time—a period measured in months. Never mind that he didn’t want to tell his family; even if he did and went to the hospital, the doctor would just tell him to get more rest.

Of course, since he didn’t say anything, others just saw him as someone who played around too much. Zhang Shutong figured it was better that way.

So, the dark circles were just a minor interlude. In the end, Gu Qiuyan didn’t make him hold her bag. Instead, she tapped her phone a few times and handed it to him. He looked closely. The screen showed the Apple App Store, with a fruit icon spinning in a circle.