A Cold and Aloof Top Student Is Relied Upon - Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Heart Sickness

◎Sick for a Long Time◎

Leaving the exam venue, Gu Zhu carried her pipa, ready to head to the institutional bus.

This year, the pipa grade exam was held earlier, before the start of her senior year of high school, which meant she wouldn’t have to miss class. Though the results would take some time to come out, Gu Zhu was confident. She had played the pieces for this exam smoothly, without any technical errors. As for the expressive quality, judging by the judges’ nods, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.

She sent a message to Gu Baozhi telling her that everything went well and she would be heading back once all the other students who took the exam had gathered. Gu Zhu then switched to her chat with Bai Tan.

Cat Doesn’t Eat Fish: “I’m expected to be back at 4:30 PM tomorrow. I bribed Bai Yi Bai all night, but she still wouldn’t come with me. What a selective, clingy, bad cat! [Image] [Image]”

The two photos showed Bai Yi Bai lying on her towering, multi-story climbing tree, with her belly exposed and her tail casually swaying. They perfectly conveyed Bai Yi Bai’s love for her little home, as if to say, Human, I, the cat, have my own luxurious villa. Be careful out there, meow.

Gu Zhu couldn’t help herself. She right-clicked with her thumb and quietly saved the images. Exiting the chat, the only other album cover was a locked gray pattern. Only by entering a password could she see its contents. The album’s name was three uppercase letters, [DXJ], and it displayed a count of 18 photos.

Just as she stepped out the door, her eyes landed on a familiar car. Gu Zhu averted her gaze, looked down at her phone, and turned right, intending to take a detour.

“Beep beep.”

The car honked twice, and the woman who got out called to her, “Gu Zhu.”

Afraid she would honk again and attract more attention, Gu Zhu had no choice but to stop and wait for the woman to approach.

Zhu Li wasn’t dressed as extravagantly as before. She wore a simple khaki sleeveless suit, nine-tenths length pants, and pointed flats. Her hair was pulled back in a low bun. With her usual imposing aura toned down, she looked much more approachable, and her words were softer and friendlier. “I heard you had an exam today. How did it go? Was it smooth?”

Seeing her only nod and not speak, Zhu Li smiled and continued, “Don’t get me wrong. I just happened to be in the city for business today and thought I could give you a ride back. It’s so hot. Staying in the sun for too long can lead to heatstroke.”

Unlike her aggressive attitude the previous two times, Zhu Li had clearly changed her strategy. Gu Zhu didn’t feel much emotion about it. To her, Zhu Li was still just a stranger. Perhaps biologically they were related, but beyond that, they could have no interaction whatsoever.

After the curtain was torn away, Gu Zhu could now face Zhu Li with a sense of calm. Her attitude was clear, her answer obvious, so her refusal was direct and to the point. “No, thank you. I’ll take the bus from the institution.”

“Then let’s just chat for a couple of minutes. Can we just talk like friends?” Afraid she would refuse, Zhu Li pointed to a bubble tea shop across the street. “You still have to wait for the others, right? We can just spend a few minutes talking there.”

It was true that she wasn’t the only one who had taken the exam, nor were they all pipa students. Her exam number was early, so she had gotten out quickly. She still had almost an hour until the meeting time. Gu Zhu thought for a moment, didn’t refuse, and nodded. She walked with her across the street, and upon entering, she was the first to scan a code to order, getting a fruit tea and then sitting down.

Her attitude was clear: she didn’t want to owe her anything.

Zhu Li was silent for a few seconds before telling the clerk she would have the same thing as the girl. After paying at the counter, she sat down across from Gu Zhu.

“You’ll be in your senior year in a few days. Do you have any ideal universities in China? Or have you ever thought about studying abroad?”

Seeing her remain silent, Zhu Li felt a little frustrated. She had almost no experience communicating with young people, and she had never met a girl as quiet and unwilling to talk as Gu Zhu. This was completely different from Gu Baolin. When she was with Gu Baolin, she didn’t have to look for topics; the other woman would have endless things to say.

Gu Zhu could tell that Zhu Li was actually holding back her anger, only enduring it for some reason. She lowered her eyes. When the clerk brought the bubble tea to the table, she poked the straw through the lid and took a big gulp, remaining silent.

This was just her personality. Sometimes she was too lazy to speak, which could make people feel frustrated and misunderstood. That was why she had never had many friends. People who tried to get close to her were often put off by her solitary nature and silence.

Once Zhu Li gets impatient, she’ll probably give up, Gu Zhu thought, which only made her more determined not to speak. She would rather send a few more messages to Bai Tan than talk to someone she didn’t know well.

“Are you messaging Miss Bai? Do you like her?”

But Zhu Li was, after all, a mature and successful businesswoman. She knew exactly where to find a crack in Gu Zhu’s shell. “Perhaps you’d be willing to hear a few things about her?”

Gu Zhu flipped her phone over and placed it face down on the table. She finally looked Zhu Li directly in the eye. That pair of clear, black-and-white eyes made Zhu Li falter for a moment. Noticing the change in her gaze, Gu Zhu’s momentary hesitation immediately vanished. “No, thank you. I can ask her myself.”

Seeing that she hadn’t denied the word “like,” Zhu Li couldn’t help but frown. Even though she had guessed that Gu Zhu and Bai Tan were close, hearing her admit her feelings was still unexpected. “Her father is a very traditional man. He has a strong sense of family legacy. Although he only has one daughter, he will never agree to you two being together.”

“Look at this article.” Zhu Li pushed her phone toward Gu Zhu. Under a bold red headline was a photo of Bai Tan standing with her father. “Miss Bai will have to inherit the family business in the future. She has already begun to make a name for herself, and her status as an heir is a brand. Many people are eyeing her covetously. The most likely outcome is a business marriage or finding a man to become a live-in husband.”

“In our circle, it’s very common for married couples to have their own separate lives. With her wealth, she can do whatever she wants. But what about you? Gu Zhu, are you willing to be her secret lover?”

Gu Zhu’s gaze fell on the photo of Bai Tan in a champagne-colored gown. Dripping with jewels, she looked bright and confident, just like the protagonist of a drama who goes from being quiet and plain to a dazzling young mistress who is difficult to approach.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered these problems. In every future Bai Tan had described, she had subconsciously ignored the harsh realities that lay hidden beneath the surface. It wasn’t just Bai Tan’s family, but her own family as well. But Gu Zhu still wanted to hope. At an age where she could still fantasize, she didn’t want to give up at all.

She was treading on thin ice, walking carefully, hoping to at least maintain the current situation.

She was here, and Bai Tan was here. They could still be together, slowly moving toward the future they had planned. Even if that path was so narrow and so long, at least give her a little hope.

Just give me a little hope so I can keep going.

But someone always had to come and break her hope.

Gu Zhu’s eyes grew colder. She unconsciously squeezed the plastic bubble tea cup, and the fruit tea overflowed, making her hands sticky.

The sudden accident made Zhu Li instinctively pull out a tissue to hand to her. Gu Zhu didn’t take it. She just pushed Zhu Li’s phone back to her and slowly wiped her own hands with a tissue she took herself.

Her strange reaction made Zhu Li sigh deeply. She took back her phone. “Gu Zhu, can you not be so hostile toward me? I want to help you, not hurt you.”

Help her? She appeared out of nowhere, told her a long story about her birth mother, and then shattered her original life. Was that considered helping her?

“How do you plan to help me?” Gu Zhu said with a hint of sarcasm, her eyes full of suppressed emotion.

Sensing her distrust, Zhu Li slowly dropped her gentle facade. She wasn’t the type to play on emotions. She was a master strategist, using any means necessary to achieve her goals. This was the second time she had restrained her sharpness for someone. Zhu Li took a cigarette case out of her bag and put one in her mouth. She didn’t light it, but just used it to suppress her frustration. “Come with me. Become my successor.”

“I know you’ve looked into Changsheng Group. Once you become the future heir of Changsheng, your leverage will increase exponentially. By then, it won’t be impossible for you to be with Miss Bai.”

“She can have a contract marriage to deal with her family, and you can still be together. As the heir of Changsheng Group, no one would dare to bully you. People would turn a blind eye and wouldn’t dare to say anything about you two.”

“This is the best option for you, isn’t it?”

She seemed confident that Gu Zhu would choose the most likely and easiest path according to her plan. Gu Zhu crumpled the tissue she had used to wipe her hands and threw it into the trash can. “So, is that the strategy you used to trick Gu Baolin into marrying your brother?”

With a clarity and intelligence beyond her years, Gu Zhu pieced together the truth from the clues and fragments of their conversation. Her perceptiveness surprised Zhu Li, and the exposed past made her feel a moment of loneliness. “That was just a stratagem. Gu Zhu, no one can predict everything. Everyone makes mistakes. You have to allow for unexpected things to happen.”

“In that case, you shouldn’t have come looking for me. It would have been better to let your mistake stay buried forever, so no one could blame you, right?”

Seeing the stubbornness in her eyes, Zhu Li didn’t try to persuade her anymore. Silence filled the small space until the institutional teacher called to confirm her location. The two of them then got up and walked out of the bubble tea shop together.

“What I said today will always stand. If you ever think it over, you can contact me.” Before she left, Zhu Li said one last time. Seeing Gu Zhu nod and then walk away without any hesitation, Zhu Li watched her back and finally lit the cigarette in her hand.

She had actually been wrong. Gu Zhu and Gu Baolin were very similar. That stubbornness was exactly the same.

If not for the series of unfortunate events back then… She gave a self-deprecating smile. Perhaps I started making mistakes the moment I took my first step.

Back at the bus stop, she signed in and sat down. Once everyone was there, they prepared to go back.

Gu Zhu sat by the window, watching the scenery slowly move backward. Her heart felt empty. She had been pretending that everything was moving in a good direction, trying so hard to move forward. Why did someone always have to lift her turtle shell, again and again, letting her soft flesh roll over gravel and get crushed into her very being?

She remembered the day she had clicked on a video. It was an interview with an old lesbian couple. The two elderly women recounted their story of supporting each other from the Republican era until now.

“The times were chaotic, and my family sent me abroad. I was a stranger there, but she took me in and helped me integrate into the environment. Later, after we returned to China, we went to the front lines for our ideals.”

“We were separated for nearly ten years. It wasn’t until the day of victory that we met again in front of Tiananmen Square.”

“For a time, our relationship was very sensitive, so we had to hide. Then, because of a job change, she and I were separated again.”

“What was hard was not being in two different places, but that when she was sick, I couldn’t take care of her, and I couldn’t be the one to legally sign the surgical consent forms.”

“But things are much better now. We are friends, confidantes, comrades, and lovers. We are so lucky to have survived, to be reunited, and to grow old together. We cherish each other very much.”

…

As she listened, Gu Zhu didn’t know why, but she started to cry. Her mother happened to walk in the room and saw her.

Gu Zhu couldn’t forget the strange look in Gu Baozhi’s eyes when she asked, “What’s there to cry about in the love of two mentally ill people?”

Wiping her tears, Gu Zhu cried as she replied, “Yes, I’m crying because they’re sick.”

But… I think I’ve been sick for a long, long time.

Her heart has been sick, for so, so long.

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