A Cold and Aloof Top Student Is Relied Upon - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Name

◎The Exchange◎

Unlike Bai Tan’s excitement, Gu Zhu casually turned her gaze away, rubbed the earpiece of her glasses, and walked toward the school gate as if she hadn’t heard anything. She planned to simply avoid the situation. But before she could get through the gate, a hand unceremoniously landed on her shoulder.

The sudden touch on her shoulder made her instinctively flinch. She turned to the side, silently looking at the girl in front of her.

The green baseball cap made her skin look very fair. She really did have the face of a beautiful, wealthy girl. The face she had almost forgotten now looked stunningly beautiful up close. Bai Tan was the type who would leave a striking impression at first glance. Her features were vibrant and full, and she had a pair of expressive phoenix eyes. The creases of her double eyelids were deep, and paired with the long, upturned corners of her eyes, she looked especially captivating and alluring.

The girl was still dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, but her Crocs were a different color—the same green as her hat.

“Is there something you need?” Gu Zhu politely asked, stepping back a little.

Bai Tan lifted her hat a little, suspiciously studying the girl opposite her. Why does it feel like she’s a bit more distant than she was a few days ago?

“I forgot to introduce myself last time. My name is Bai Tan, and I’m the new transfer student. It’s my first day on campus, and I’m not very familiar with the school yet. Running into you again is such a coincidence, so can I follow you?” She curved her eyebrows slightly, smiling sweetly. In her experience, whenever she smiled like this, people would find it hard to refuse her and naturally become more friendly.

But this time, her flowery smile failed to elicit a positive response.

“Okay, let’s go.” Gu Zhu nodded and turned to enter the school.

Huh? Bai Tan thought to herself. That’s not right. She was the one who was in the wrong last time, and I was so magnanimous not to hold it against her. By all accounts, if not a warm reception, she should at least be a little more welcoming!

She’s so cold.

She looks like she should be all soft and sweet, but why does she seem to be filled with bitter chocolate instead of a molten egg yolk?

“Hey, wait for me!” Seeing that Gu Zhu was about to walk away, she quickly called out to her. “I didn’t bring my student ID. Beautiful, help me out here!” She was stopped at the gate by the security guard and had to raise her voice. Her uniform and student ID had been delivered to her house two days ago, but she had been in such a rush when she was kicked out today that she must have thrown them into a drawer and forgotten to grab them.

At this moment, more students were returning to school. When they heard the crisp, confident “beautiful,” they all subconsciously looked over at them.

Gu Zhu’s figure, holding her bag, paused. The loose, soft school uniform was lightly plastered to her back by the breeze, making her back look straight and thin. She looked back at Bai Tan. The camphor trees lining the road were lush and green, their branches swaying, making Gu Zhu look as elegant and ethereal as a jade bamboo.

Bai Tan’s gaze was dazed for a moment. She stood by the guard station with her suitcase in front of her, craning her neck, completely forgetting to move.

How can someone be so dazzlingly beautiful and pure?

Bai Tan had always known she was good-looking, but this was the first time she had been captivated by a person’s aura before even getting a good look at their face. She slightly twitched her fingers, gripping the handle of her suitcase, and unconsciously held her breath, watching the person slowly walk toward her.

For a moment, she even felt a little proud. Out of all the people who had stopped to look, she was the only one that person’s eyes were on.

Gu Zhu didn’t get the self-important conclusion Bai Tan had drawn from all the lingering looks. She just felt a little embarrassed and hurried to lead the girl away to prevent her from saying anything outrageous again.

But the security guard at the gate was strict and needed proof. Under the girl’s pleading gaze, Gu Zhu had no choice but to provide her class teacher’s phone number and have the guard call to verify.

Luckily, Lin Qingmei answered in time and quickly resolved the identity issue. When she found out Gu Zhu was there, she specifically told her to take good care of the transfer student. Gu Zhu looked at the person next to her, who was smiling and nodding in agreement, and with a small sigh, she agreed with a simple “oh.”

…

“I really can’t believe we’re in the same class. We’re so fated, aren’t we?” Bai Tan sat on her suitcase, resting her face on the handle. She pushed her hat up, revealing her smooth forehead and delicate brow bone. She seemed to love smiling. Her lips were always curved, and even her eyes seemed to be speaking. “My fated classmate, I’m entrusting myself to you~”

She dragged out the last word, with the special lilt of a southern girl, sounding like a pampered child.

Gu Zhu inexplicably thought she was like a white Persian cat: noble fur, lazy expression, looking aloof but also very clingy.

But she wasn’t a big fan of clingy kittens. After a few seconds of silence, she motioned for Bai Tan to walk with her toward the dorms.

This time she didn’t take the route through the teaching building. She led the girl down a tree-lined avenue, honoring her promise to “take care of” her. “This is the track and field, where we have gym class. This is the cafeteria. It has two floors, and the second floor sells late-night snacks.”

She would stop slightly at each location to introduce it. “To the left, through the archway, is the senior building, which is quieter. To the right, down the stone path, are the junior and sophomore buildings. Our classroom is on the sixth floor of the sophomore building.”

Walking straight ahead led to the sports field they had passed last time, which had basketball and badminton courts. The ping-pong tables were in a sheltered area under the dorm building.

From here, the way back to the dorm was familiar. Gu Zhu stopped talking. For a moment, the only sound was the wheels of the suitcase rolling across the cement.

When they got to the stairs, Bai Tan was ready to carry her own suitcase up. But to her surprise, Gu Zhu hooked the plastic bag she was holding onto her forearm, bent down, and with both hands, lifted the back half of the suitcase.

The loose collar of her school uniform revealed a hint of white.

Seeing that she was standing there in a daze, Gu Zhu tilted her head slightly. “Are you not coming?” she asked, confused.

“I am, I am…” Bai Tan stammered a bit in surprise. She blinked her eyes a few times before continuing to walk forward.

The suitcase was heavy. It was a 26-inch case, probably packed by her over-worrying mother. She didn’t know what was in it, but it was so heavy. This is an unbearable mother’s love!

She sighed internally, lucky that Gu Zhu was helping her. She was happily panting and chatting as she climbed the stairs. “Hey, pretty girl, another day of being grateful for you. I’ve run into you twice, and both times have been super lucky. Are you perhaps the embodiment of the Goddess of Luck herself?”

Gu Zhu: …

Actually, if you’re out of breath, you don’t have to keep talking.

But the other girl clearly didn’t need her to respond and continued to chat enthusiastically on her own. “I was a little nervous coming here by myself, not knowing anyone, but now that I’ve seen you, I feel like transferring here was a good idea. I remember you moved in mid-semester too, right? Do you think we’ll be in the same dorm?”

“I forgot to check your dorm room number last time. My notice says I’m in 512. What’s your room number?”

They had reached the fifth floor. Gu Zhu put the suitcase down, shook her hand slightly, picked up the plastic bag again, and pointed to the last dorm room near the stairs. “Here you go.” She then pointed to the one across from 512, around the corner of the stairwell. “513, mine.”

Bai Tan looked at 512, then at 513. Hmm… based on my incredibly smart brain, I think I’m sensing something’s not quite right.

As a transfer student, she was assigned to a normal dorm with classmates.

As a student who had been here all along, the other girl was relegated to a single room all by herself.

Is that logical?

Not very, unless the girl was extremely isolated or disliked, and no one wanted to share a dorm with her, or she didn’t want to live with anyone else.

Bai Tan had a hunch that, given the school’s “live and let live, only mediate, never separate” policy, the first scenario was unlikely.

That left only the last reason: her dad had used “money power.”

The moment she thought of that, she felt a pang of guilt.

However, Gu Zhu was the first to say goodbye. She turned, opened her door, and as she stepped inside and turned to close it, she looked at the person still standing there in a daze. “From now on, don’t call me ‘pretty girl’ or ‘beautiful.’ I’m not used to it,” she said before closing the door.

It looks like she really doesn’t like me. But guilt was one thing, and Bai Tan wasn’t a fool. Judging by the girl’s behavior, she was certain she had her own reasons for getting a single room.

Based on her habit of only responding with an “oh” to every ten things you say and an “mhm” to every thank you, if the girl weren’t so good-looking, she would have been put in a sack and beaten up by now.

Bai Tan touched her nose. Oh well, even though I’ve only seen her twice, I still really like this girl with a little attitude. So she threw her suitcase aside, ignoring Gu Zhu’s cold shoulder. She walked to the girl’s door, curled her fingers, and knocked. “Knock, knock.”

Gu Zhu hadn’t put down her bag of groceries yet. After entering, she leaned against the door, her thoughts wandering aimlessly. The lights were not on in the room yet, and in the dim light, only the profile of her lowered head could be seen.

Hearing the knock, she paused and didn’t open the door immediately.

The person outside didn’t knock a second time. The door was silent; there was no more sound.

Gu Zhu’s hand found the doorknob. She turned it and opened the door a tiny crack.

The person outside had already taken off her baseball cap and was twirling it between her fingers. A head of long, wavy hair flowed like seaweed, fully revealing her beautiful and delicate face. Seeing the half-face peeking out from the door, she grinned and said loudly, “Pretty girl! So what’s your name?”

The deliberately emphasized “pretty girl” almost made Gu Zhu lose her composure. As she was about to close the door, she pursed her lips and replied softly, “Gu Zhu. The ‘Gu’ from ‘don’t let the delicate purity near you be neglected,’ and the ‘Zhu’ from bamboo.”

“Oh~ So it’s the ‘Gu’ from ‘辜負’ (let down)!” Bai Tan didn’t understand the poetic reference and instinctively blurted out the first thing she could think of.

Gu Zhu: …

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