A Cold and Aloof Top Student Is Relied Upon - Chapter 57

Chapter 57: The Gift

◎The Thing Itself◎

Gu Zhu was still a little dazed as she was led into the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed. The heater was on, so she wasn’t cold even after taking off her jacket.

The entire bedroom was decorated very cozily. There were built-in wooden wardrobes and a small, court-style sofa set with green floral patterns on the edges, a style that matched the bed curtains. A soft woolen rug was spread out on the floor.

The light gauze bed curtains, tied to the four posts, swayed gently in the breeze from the air conditioner. Gu Zhu clutched the fabric beneath her, her heart inexplicably beating a little fast.

Bai Tan had said the gift was in this room, then led her in, left her by the bed, and disappeared again.

After sitting for a moment, she couldn’t resist. She stood up and began to explore the room, as if it held some artistic details worth studying, her hands behind her back, taking her time to look at every little thing.

On the wall was a painting, about half a meter long and wide. The ivory-white frame was carved with patterns, and behind a layer of clear glass was a richly colored oil painting. Under a boundless grassland, crimson clouds burned in half the sky. A girl in a straw hat ran against the wind, her flushed cheeks beaming with a brilliant smile. The tangible sense of freedom seemed to leap from the painting.

All the colors were deep and heavy, bold and passionate.

In the bottom right corner of the frame was a small symbol. She stood on her tiptoes to get a closer look and found it was the chemical symbol for water, H₂O. The owner of the painting was clear.

Looking down, there was a sketchbook on the round coffee table. The cover showed a clear pond with a flourishing bamboo stalk bending over, a part of it dipping into the water. The shadow of the bamboo in the pond was light and faint. A fallen leaf carried the same symbol, spinning in the water.

H₂O.

As if feeling something, she sat down and picked up the sketchbook. The first page showed a girl looking up from under an umbrella in a rainy corridor.

It was their first meeting.

The second page had the entrance of Sanhai High School, faithfully reproduced. The girl at the gate was turned around by a hand on her shoulder. Beneath her black-framed glasses, her eyes were slightly widened and shimmering, and her pursed lips and soft mouth were stained a beautiful red.

The third page was from their time in the cottonwood forest, when she had looked down and bitten Bai Tan’s knuckle. The person being bitten also looked down, her gaze on the one opposite her, unconsciously filled with aggression.

The fourth page, the fifth page… every page documented a moment they had shared. It was as if she was re-reading their story from Bai Tan’s point of view, from their accidental meeting to their unconscious closeness—it was all traceable.

Her fingers traced the last page, which showed herself pressed against a wall, her face a magnified smile, as if cherished and preserved. As she looked at it, she couldn’t help but smile too.

It was strange. In another person’s eyes, she always seemed to be glowing.

But she was so insignificant, so insignificant that she had always longed for other people’s liveliness.

Her longing was finally seen and fulfilled, which meant the truly brilliant person was Bai Tan.

Gu Zhu gently touched the figures in the sketchbook, most of whom had their backs to the viewer. In her mind, she filled in their expressions, and those scenes were etched firmly in her memory.

The door was suddenly pushed open from the outside. The person who had been gone for a while returned in a set of loungewear. The soft fabric hung loosely on her. In her hands were a thermos and a cup with a straw. She came in, placed the items on the coffee table, saw the sketchbook in Gu Zhu’s hands, but only gave it a brief glance before looking away.

But that one glance made Gu Zhu’s knuckles tense up.

“I gave you time. Are you ready?”

Ready for what? Gu Zhu blinked, not following her train of thought.

Seeing her consciously tense expression, Bai Tan guessed that Gu Zhu hadn’t discovered the real gift she had prepared for her in the room, but that was okay. She could personally show her.

“Let’s get you changed first.”

The subject changed too quickly. The wardrobe was already open, and a long-sleeved, loose-fitting nightgown with a square neckline was taken out. The style was simple, with only a layer of pure white lace at the edges.

“Why do I have to change… change clothes?” Gu Zhu stammered uncomfortably. She felt like she was on the edge of a dangerous zone. Under Bai Tan’s aggressive, half-smiling gaze, she seemed to have guessed something but didn’t dare to touch upon it.

“The punishment, of course, is that you do whatever I say, isn’t it?” The hunter, who had been hiding for so long, finally revealed her fangs without a trace of concealment. The possessiveness of the young mistress was on full display.

As if controlled by the other’s possessiveness, the sketchbook fell to the rug. The slight sound was not enough to distract the two of them. Gu Zhu slowly approached. Just as she was about to reach for the nightgown, she was maliciously seized. “Do you want me to help you change?”

Of course not.

Gu Zhu silently took the nightgown and hid in the washroom. She took a few deep breaths before finally coming out.

The fair-skinned girl in a similarly colored dress only appeared whiter and purer. The square neckline was very wide, almost like an off-the-shoulder style, dangerously perched on the edge of her collarbones. It wasn’t hard to imagine what a beautiful sight could be seen with just a light tug.

Perhaps not wanting to appear weak, Gu Zhu emerged from the room with her head held high again. She hadn’t taken off her glasses, and the silver frames gleamed, making her seem unapproachable.

She walked past the person staring at her without blinking, then faced Bai Tan and sat down, her hands behind her back. The clothing on one of her shoulders slid down with her movement, revealing her pale, round shoulder and the sharp dip of her collarbone.

“Where is my gift?” In this moment, she seemed to take back the initiative, trying to regain control.

Bai Tan was practically mesmerized by her. She loved this about Gu Zhu: her cool indifference, her stubbornness, her aloofness, and the quiet arrogance hidden in her bones.

Moving closer, Bai Tan knelt by her side and carefully took off her glasses, unable to resist placing a light kiss on her eyelid.

The warm breath immediately made her eyelid flush red. The girl’s eyelashes fluttered, which made Bai Tan smile.

“Isn’t the gift right in front of you? Do you want to unwrap it first?” She took Gu Zhu’s hand and placed it on her own chest.

Gu Zhu opened her eyes and looked up. Under her palm, separated by a layer of soft fabric, a heart was beating.

She had been fooled by Bai Tan. The so-called gift was Bai Tan herself.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell who was whose gift.

The drawer of the bedside table was pulled open. Inside were several neatly arranged boxes. The first one taken out was a square jewelry box. When opened, it revealed a thin gold anklet with small gold leaves dangling from it and a familiar symbol beside them.

The foot beneath her dress was easily taken in hand, and the gold chain locked around her slender ankle. It wasn’t vulgar at all; it only made you want to play with it more. This time, Bai Tan didn’t hold back and kissed the delicate skin in her hand.

The confined foot couldn’t help but curl up, but it was firmly held. Gu Zhu had to use her hands to brace against Bai Tan’s shoulder, stopping her from getting too carried away.

Following her lead, Bai Tan let go and turned to get the second box. When the silver box was opened, it revealed two chibi figures. One had long curly hair and a green hat, and the other had short hair and a white hat. They were wearing the same blue and white school uniforms and looked just like the figures on the cake.

“They’re keychains. One for each of us.”

Gu Zhu picked up the two-inch-tall chibi figures. The green hat had an ‘H’ and a subscript, and the white hat had an ‘O’. Put together, they formed the familiar symbol. She was about to be surrounded by a person named Little Water.

“The accessories have been unwrapped. Now it’s time for the gift itself.”

The sketchbook, the dolls, the jewelry—she had guessed everything, but the cunning hunter had clearly set a multiple-choice question, and she had failed by missing one answer.

Unlike the nightgown on her, Bai Tan’s pajamas were a button-up shirt. Under her guidance, Gu Zhu unbuttoned it one by one. Under the open pajamas was another thin piece of clothing, a light green lace bra holding her well-developed breasts, with a slight cleavage.

This was the first time Gu Zhu had seen another person of the same gender’s body besides her own. Her fingertips briefly paused at the edge of the fabric, then moved down, stopping at the firm abs on her stomach.

This was a girl with a perfect athletic build. She would always run an extra two laps during morning exercises, and sit-up tests in PE class were nothing to her. She was always out of reach.

At that time, she had wondered if this person had a spring in her stomach. Now that her clothes were lifted, her warm palm didn’t feel any unscientific spring, but rather the beautiful lines of a human body.

“Do you like it?”

Seeing her staring, Bai Tan sat up and moved two steps forward. Her knees brushed against the long skirt at Gu Zhu’s feet, pushing it higher and higher, revealing dangerous territory. The soft fabric was now pressed against her delicate skin.

The warmth from her stomach almost touched Gu Zhu’s nose. Gu Zhu leaned back slightly, but the back of her head was held. With a little pressure, her lips were pressed against the gently breathing skin.

Between her breaths, she smelled the familiar fragrance of shower gel. This person had probably taken a shower on purpose before coming back in.

No wonder she had been gone for so long.

Her breathing was out of control. The breath she exhaled caused the person holding her to tremble slightly. That slight tremor gave Gu Zhu the courage to start tracing the territory with her lips.

Being explored like this, a ticklish sensation made Bai Tan tense up. The hand holding her head tightened slightly. When her patience ran out, Bai Tan moved her hand to Gu Zhu’s shoulder and, with a gentle push, laid her down on the bed.

Gu Zhu’s expression was fully exposed. Her tightly pursed lips now had a more vivid red color. The softness of her mouth attracted the desire of the thirsty person.

Bai Tan leaned down. Just as their lips were about to touch, she looked into Gu Zhu’s eyes and asked, “What kind of friend am I?”

She couldn’t look away from the other person. In the stalemate, in the intimate bedroom, the air became dry and thin from the heat, making their blood boil. She felt even more thirsty. Drops of sweat seemed to form on her nose. Gu Zhu couldn’t help but swallow, unable to answer the question for a moment.

A hand slid under her nightgown. She instinctively squeezed her legs together, but the heat on her skin was getting hotter and hotter.

“So, what kind of friend is it, hmm?”

The fingertips moved closer, like a warning. Gu Zhu gripped the bedsheet underneath. Under the pressing question, she finally opened her lips. “You’re… my—girlfriend.”

She answered in a whisper, her voice trembling, as if from nervousness or shyness, pitiful and adorable.

So Bai Tan held back no longer. Her lips pressed against hers, tracing them carefully. With her thumb, she gently lifted Gu Zhu’s chin, forcing her to tilt her head and open her mouth, then captured that enticing tongue, wantonly conquering the territory.

This was their first real kiss.

No longer a simple, comforting kiss on the forehead, but a passionate, urgent kiss filled with desire between two lovers.

Gu Zhu breathed with difficulty. It was too deep and too forceful. She couldn’t catch her breath, but this sense of suffocation also made her happy. She was held tightly, invaded recklessly, yet she felt so secure and so fulfilled.

The gentle kisses moved from the corner of her mouth downwards, to her collarbone, to her shoulder, pulling open the square neckline. The red plum blossoms on her chest bloomed brilliantly.

Bai Tan was almost lost in this soft, fragrant warmth. The moment she saw it, her movements stopped. Her eyes widened slightly in disbelief. She couldn’t believe Gu Zhu wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

It was so pure yet so bold. It was enough to drown a person in her charm.

With a trembling hand, she reached out, only daring to touch lightly. Then her head bent down again.

A foreign feeling surged through Gu Zhu’s body. Her feet rubbed against the bedsheet, wet and tingling, causing her to unconsciously arch her back. Her breathless gasps escaped in broken sounds under the lowered bed curtains.

With a slight push, she went from lying down to being on top of Bai Tan. The surging heat enveloped her, and her rationality slowly vanished. Other than wanting more, and more, she couldn’t think of anything else.

She clutched at the other person’s untouched pajamas. Her waist was firmly held. She sat between Bai Tan’s legs. The fabric rubbed against them, and they were both drenched in sweat.

In a moment of her mind going blank, Gu Zhu felt soft kisses on her lips.

At eighteen, Gu Zhu felt her first sense of physical pleasure.

She had blossomed her first flower on the person she loved.

Burying her head in Bai Tan’s embrace, smelling the sweet scent on her, her frantic heartbeat finally calmed down.

When she had recovered, Bai Tan sat up, took the cup, and held the straw to her lips.

Probably because she had lost so much water, the thirst in her throat made Gu Zhu instinctively take a few large sips.

As she drank, Bai Tan stroked her sweat-dampened hair. Her eyes were filled with undisguised satisfaction and joy. She wanted this person, body and soul. Even love itself could only be taught to her by Bai Tan.

She wanted Gu Zhu to never discard her, never forget her for the rest of her life, and only remember her firmly.

“Go take a shower and change.”

Bai Tan was in no hurry. Today, she had only taught her the first step, but they had a long way to go, and so much time to explore together.

In the future, and for every moment that was to come.

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