A Cold and Aloof Top Student Is Relied Upon - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: A Promise

◎A Vow◎

They left in the evening. The sun had just set, and the twilight blue sky was partially hidden by the tall palm trees on either side. The streetlights suddenly turned on, and in the distance, a bus with its headlights on slowly came into view.

“Auntie, we’ll head back now. See you next time we have a chance.”

Gu Zhu said goodbye to Chang Yuehua. She was held in her arms, and a warm hand gently patted her back. Chang Yuehua wasn’t very tall. Gu Zhu bent down and rested her head on her shoulder, listening to her gentle voice. “Be happy, sweetheart.”

“Mhm, I know, Auntie,” she replied softly, hugging her back. “I had a really good time these past two days.”

Chang Yuehua stroked her face again. The wrinkles that had crept around her eyes added a trace of age, making her look even gentler and more composed. Only her occasional firmness would reveal the spirited and straightforward person she had been in her youth. “Seeing you like this, I feel a little more at ease. Bring more friends to visit in the future. Auntie’s door is always open for you.”

“Okay, Auntie.” The bus stopped at the station. Gu Zhu gave a light smile and waved to her. “See you next time.”

Before leaving, she also hugged Chang Xiling and linked her pinky finger with hers under the little girl’s reluctant gaze.

Chang Xiling’s eyes lit up. As Gu Zhu boarded the bus, she ran to the door and waved her hands energetically. “Sister, have a safe trip! See you next week!”

Gu Zhu swiped her bus card, turned around, and waved, signaling for her to go back. The bus started moving before they had even sat down. Gu Zhu leaned against the window, watching Chang Yuehua and Chang Xiling’s figures get smaller until they disappeared from view. Only then did she slowly pull her gaze away.

It had been a year and six months since she left this small town. Every part of it was familiar, but in the slowly darkening sky, it also felt a little foreign.

Gu Baozhi didn’t like her to come back because she didn’t want her to hear the gossip and be pointed at, affecting her high school life. So when she did come back for a visit, it was usually for half a day or a full day.

She actually didn’t dislike it here, because there were people who loved her here.

Gu Zhu remembered every time Gu Baozhi and Chang Yuehua stood in front of her, arguing with those people, sometimes even getting physical. It was a kind of heroism, as if they were willing to do anything for her.

So more than anything, she cherished those moments she was protected.

She pulled back her gaze and leaned against the back of the seat, only to realize that at some point, she was cornered against the seat by someone beside her.

She gently lowered her eyes and then slowly lifted them. From right to left, a long, slender hand was hooked over the back of the seat in front of them, and then there was her body leaning toward her. Behind her, Bai Tan’s other arm was wrapped around her.

She was trapped. Gu Zhu’s eyes were full of confusion. She looked to the side. “Hmm?”

“So why were you unhappy? Tonight, I peeled ten shrimp and two crabs for you, gave you five or six servings of food, and refilled your water four times, but you didn’t even look at me except to say thank you. What’s the meaning of that?” The young lady started her list of grievances, her face full of accusation and frustration. “Don’t you dare not say anything. Don’t try to pull that pretending-not-to-hear trick on me. I’m not falling for it!”

She probably got tired of holding her arms up, so she pulled them back and crossed them over her chest, looking like she wouldn’t give up until she got an answer.

Gu Zhu lowered her eyes again, just about to pretend she was asleep, when she was pulled into Bai Tan’s arms with a lot of force. She almost cried out in surprise. Her eyes widened, and her elbows supported her on the pair of fair, long legs beneath her. Before she could even react, she was grabbed by the chin and turned to face her.

She instinctively wanted to curl her fingers, but the smooth and delicate skin beneath her hand made her freeze. The upward-tilted position of her head made it impossible for her to escape.

Her eyes were forced to meet the other person’s. The phoenix eyes, which usually held a smile, were now cold and sharp. The icy gaze staring at her seemed to want to dissect her. This kind of Bai Tan was forceful and oppressive. A strange feeling spread through her, making her spine tremble uncontrollably.

“What?” she asked unconsciously.

Bai Tan almost laughed in anger. She knew Gu Zhu’s habit of pretending to be silent whenever she didn’t want to answer something. It might have something to do with her quiet nature, but it was mostly a way of avoiding things.

If the cause of her unhappiness hadn’t been her, she probably wouldn’t have dug for the truth. She would have just tried to cheer her up. But since it was because of her, she couldn’t allow a potential problem to be buried and fester. Bai Tan had always believed that problems wouldn’t be solved by procrastination; they would only get bigger.

Her feelings for Gu Zhu weren’t just a passing fancy. She wanted to be with her for a long, long time.

“What did I do to make you unhappy?” She directly addressed the topic, not allowing Gu Zhu to avoid it.

If she could have avoided it when she was just cornered in her seat, now, being held in Bai Tan’s arms, she had nowhere to run.

She was so close to her. So close that she could feel Bai Tan’s breath and body temperature, as if the rapid heartbeat from the blood rushing through her veins could be transmitted to the other person through the thin layer of skin where they touched.

The bus suddenly came to a stop. Caught off guard, her body almost flew forward. The arms around her waist immediately held her in place, pulling her up until she was almost pressed against the fair, long neck. Gu Zhu had to wrap her arms around her shoulders to keep from sliding down.

Her heartbeat grew faster and faster, causing her to close her eyes. It was as if she was trying to deceive herself, to believe that her panic was caused by this accident.

So dominant.

Bai Tan had forcefully entered her world, leaving more and more traces of herself in her life.

Maybe one day, she would start to miss Bai Tan, just as she missed her past.

Gu Zhu admitted that she was both nostalgic and cowardly. So much so that she was starting to be afraid that Bai Tan would leave.

Her silence had been too long, and the way she lay on her was slender and fragile. Bai Tan’s arms were still around her delicate waist, holding her gently, as if afraid of hurting her.

Maybe I should just let it go.

Bai Tan sighed. For the first time, she wanted to compromise. If she didn’t want to talk, then she wouldn’t. After all, as long as she clung to her, there wouldn’t be a day she would leave.

Just as she was comforting herself, she heard the person next to her quietly say, “Are you going to leave?” The beautiful summer migratory birds nested here, but they would leave once the season was over, right?

Bai Tan lowered her eyes, her gaze sliding over her unintentionally furrowed brows. The lights of passing vehicles from the road shone through the transparent window, creating a blurry, flickering light. Those lights fell precisely on Gu Zhu’s face, as if a layer of hazy tulle was covering it, making her look a little ethereal and a little melancholic.

She suddenly caressed her cheek, lowering her head to her forehead. Her loose hair fell, covering her expression.

Gu Zhu’s hands, which were clinging to her, clenched in an instant, as if she were having a strange dream in the flickering lights.

“I won’t leave. I’ll go to college with you, take the college entrance exam with you, and go to college in the same city. I want to walk a long, long time with you.”

“So, can you not be unhappy?”

Gu Zhu felt her heart go from feeling empty and a little painful to feeling soft and a little painful. She couldn’t answer, so she just let go of one hand and reached for Bai Tan’s pinky finger, as if secretly making a promise.

Bai Tan would always be Gu Zhu’s good friend. They would walk a long, long road together, so long that they wouldn’t be separated even at the end of the world.

Support A Cold and Aloof Top Student Is Relied Upon