C6 Do You like Me?

On Sunday, Gao Mu had intended to dedicate his day to updating historical points.

Yet, as he rose early in the morning, he was unexpectedly greeted by a text message.

"I broke up." It was from Qing.

At eight in the morning, he glanced outside to see a heavy downpour.

Years ago, when he first met Qing, he innocently believed she was the love of his life.

But as time passed, Gao Mu came to the realization that despite his efforts, Qing seemed indifferent to him.

When he acquired the system, it was as if he grasped a simple truth that many spend a lifetime trying to understand.

"Send me an address; I'll come right over," Gao Mu texted back.

Qing promptly sent him an address, which gave Gao Mu an uneasy feeling.

"Fortune Square?"

Fortune Square was an antiquated plaza in Tianhai.

A decade prior, it was the heartbeat of the city. Now, with the city's expansion westward, its significance had waned.

Though it remained a favored haunt for some elderly in the evenings, Gao Mu could tell that the crowds were thinning.

Shielding himself with an umbrella, Gao Mu spotted Qing in the center of Fortune Square, shivering and soaked to the skin.

Despite his resolve to let go of his feelings, his long-standing affection for her wasn't easily dismissed.

"What happened?" Gao Mu hurried to Qing's side, sheltering her from the rain with his umbrella.

Qing's eyes were tinged with red.

"He doesn't want me anymore," she uttered, tears beginning to fall.

Gao Mu offered words of comfort, "There are others who will want you."

Qing continued to weep, her voice choked with emotion.

Silence lingered before Qing could muster any more words.

Gao Mu, observing Qing's elegant figure and her clothes clinging from the rain, inhaled deeply.

After about a minute, Qing's tears subsided.

Her face, now less beguiling, bore a look of vulnerability.

"Do you like me?" Qing whispered to Gao Mu.

Gao Mu stared at Qing, at a loss for words momentarily.

Meanwhile, Qing, who had been facing away from Gao Mu, turned around.

In that split second, Gao Mu caught a glimpse of the skin beneath her clothes, sending a tingling sensation across his scalp.

Gao Mu tried to speak, but found himself speechless.

Unbeknownst to him, a flicker of smugness had passed through Qing's eyes just then.

"Do you like me?" she pressed on.

Gao Mu's entire body felt warm, as if the chilly rain had suddenly heated up.

With flushed cheeks, Gao Mu gazed at Qing and earnestly confessed, "I like you!"

After his admission, Gao Mu experienced a sense of relief like never before.

However, Qing's response left Gao Mu with an unsettling feeling.