A Cold and Aloof Top Student Is Relied Upon - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Reunion

◎Goodbye◎

For four years of her undergraduate studies, Gu Zhu was like a spinning top, staying busy with professional courses and competitions. In her fourth year, with her outstanding academic performance, she was accepted directly into her university’s graduate program and later, with her advisor’s encouragement, chose a combined master’s and doctorate program.

These past few years, she had filled her schedule to the brim. In her free time, she was either at the library or in the lab. She wouldn’t sleep until she hit her breaking point, and she was still able to wake up on time every day.

Except for a few times, when the capital’s sky looked like it had a hole in it, and there would be a massive downpour that didn’t stop even at night. She would lie in bed, looking ill, pale and covered in a cold sweat.

It was only then that Meng Yuanyi felt she was finally acting like a human being, and not a tireless machine.

As a fellow provincial top student, Meng Yuanyi had almost been “burnt out” by her, doubting her own life path. But luckily, besides being smart, Meng Yuanyi also had a big heart, and she managed to get into the graduate program as well, becoming Gu Zhu’s colleague again under the same advisor.

Their connection could be traced back to that same high-speed train. Meng Yuanyi never expected that the person she kindly offered a tissue to would become her classmate, roommate, and now her team member.

But since then, she had never seen Gu Zhu cry again.

This was their third year of their doctoral program, and with a turn of time, it was graduation year again. Their job prospects had been secured early on. Meng Yuanyi had once again become Gu Zhu’s colleague; they had joined their advisor’s studio and also served as technical consultants for several companies. All in all, they were a perfect match in both academics and work.

“I wonder how many days this business trip will be. The CEO of this company is a divine being. As soon as a breakthrough in our research was made, they immediately sent an invitation, wanting to buy the patent. It just goes to show you, capitalists have a viciously keen eye.”

Hearing Meng Yuanyi’s words, Gu Zhu took off her gloves, disinfected and put away her goggles and other tools. After instructing her assistant to record the data, she left the lab with Meng Yuanyi, who had also packed up.

Taking off their lab coats and changing into their regular clothes, they headed for the conference room.

The advisor was leading this business trip. The meeting was to confirm the team members and go over some details.

Gu Zhu and Meng Yuanyi had been confirmed as team members for a while. The destination was Yue City, and the trip would be seven days long.

The meeting ended quickly. On the way to the cafeteria, Meng Yuanyi couldn’t help but start talking again. “Isn’t this your hometown? But do you have time? Isn’t Auntie still in the hospital?”

Two years ago, Gu Baozhi’s health had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. Gu Zhu wasn’t at home at the time, and Gu Baozhi kept it a secret from her so as not to worry her. Then one day, she suddenly fainted. Chang Yuehua found her and took her to the hospital, and it was only after she called Gu Zhu that she found out.

Gu Baozhi’s intermittent discomfort had been happening for the past two years, but this time, it was so severe that she had fainted.

Gu Zhu immediately took time off, bought a plane ticket home, and went straight to the provincial hospital. The doctor told them it was a metastatic brain tumor. The treatment was very difficult, and the prognosis was not optimistic.

At that point, Gu Zhu asked her advisor for help and transferred Gu Baozhi to a hospital in the capital. She had surgery at the time, which temporarily stabilized her condition. But this year, it had relapsed. Because of Gu Baozhi’s advanced age, the location of the recurrent tumor was difficult to treat, so she could only continue with radiation therapy.

So, Gu Zhu was a little hesitant about this business trip. But as a key member of the project, her advisor felt it was better for her to go.

She had already hired a professional caregiver to look after her mother while she was busy. Her advisor had already done so much for her mother’s treatment. Gu Zhu could not refuse.

So, she nodded.

There were two days until they were to leave. In these two days, after handing over her work, Gu Zhu stayed at the hospital to accompany Gu Baozhi.

Gu Baozhi had lost a lot of weight. Due to the radiation therapy, her hair was also gone. In the August heat, she still wore a knitted hat. The lines around her eyes and her nasolabial folds had deepened significantly.

Nine years had been enough time for Gu Zhu to mature and for Gu Baozhi to become more fragile and aged.

She let Gu Zhu wash and clean her, change her clean bedding and clothes, and watched her busy herself in the hospital hallway. At 27, Gu Zhu had grown another two or three centimeters. She was still slender, but her fragile frame never bent, as if she had taken the burden upon herself and was shouldering the responsibility for both of them.

But she was still alone.

Gu Baozhi had heard many people praise Gu Zhu, saying she was smart, patient, and strong, a highly sought-after technical talent wherever she went. Not only that, but she was also beautiful. Her graduation speech was filmed and posted online, where it unexpectedly went viral. The comments below were filled with people crying out, begging to have her children, asking their “jiejie” not to be confined by gender and to look at them, these cute little “ji zai” (slang for lesbians).

By then, Gu Baozhi was no stranger to the term “ji zai.” After she had asked the doctor and received the answer that it was not a mental illness, she had secretly looked into the small community of homosexuals.

She had even asked Chang Xiling to teach her how to use the internet and slowly figured it out herself. Fortunately, in the age of AI, data was powerful. All she had to do was voice her questions, and relevant content and links would automatically pop up. The AI could even answer her questions aloud, allowing her to find answers even if she couldn’t read the words.

She was like an old person left behind by the times, unable to keep up with new information. For a long time, she still couldn’t accept it. Gu Baolin’s death was like a thorn in her heart, making her constantly fearful that one day, Gu Zhu would meet the same end.

Seeing her come back from getting water, Gu Baozhi patted the side of the bed, telling her to sit down and rest. “Are you still very busy? If you’re busy, you don’t have to come. The caregiver is very careful and often takes me out to get some sun. You don’t have to worry.”

Gu Zhu picked up a new apple from the table that she had bought on the way there. With her head down, she peeled it, replying, “I’m not busy these two days. I’m going on a business trip in a few days for about a week. I wanted to spend more time with you.”

Hearing that she was going on a business trip, Gu Baozhi felt a little melancholy, like the heart-wrenching and empty feeling she had when she stood at the high-speed rail station entrance, sending Gu Zhu off to school. But she quickly hid it, not wanting to burden Gu Zhu’s work or make her overthink things. “Where are you going for your business trip? Is it far? If you haven’t packed, don’t waste time here with me. Go back and get ready.”

“To Yue City. If I have time, I’ll go back and visit Auntie before I return.” She didn’t hide the destination, even though that city might hold someone they both found it difficult to mention. “There’s not much to pack. I’ll just pack when I go back tonight.”

Gu Baozhi watched her speak so nonchalantly, as if she had forgotten certain people and events from the past. Gu Zhu no longer looked like she didn’t like to smile, her face always cold or tense. Instead, it was a practiced, faint smile, with her lips pulled up at a certain angle. It didn’t push people away, but it still held a gentle yet unshakeable sense of distance.

A thought crossed her mind, and a question of concern slipped out. “Is your illness getting any better?”

Gu Zhu’s action of cutting the fruit paused. The hospital bed was by the window, and a row of glass panes was set in the half-height wall. Her figure was bathed in the bright light. When she lowered her head, the unpinned hair hung down, casting a shadow that was all you could see. As Gu Baozhi’s fingers seemed to nervously clutch the corner of her blanket, she looked up, handed the fruit to Gu Baozhi, and replied softly, “When it’s not raining, it’s a little better.”

It really had gotten a lot better. She just still felt sad when it rained. The loss of sight had almost never happened again.

…

Two days later, she said goodbye to Gu Baozhi and went with her team to the airport, ready to fly to their destination.

The company’s relevant department had already arranged a pickup. As soon as they landed, someone came to help them with their luggage and took them in a private car to the hotel. After resting, there was a welcome banquet in the hotel’s ballroom that night.

“This company is quite generous and extravagant. It’s a five-star hotel, and everyone gets a single luxury suite. I quickly looked up the price, and it’s almost five thousand a night! This is legit!” Meng Yuanyi gave a thumbs-up. As soon as she put down her luggage, she came to bother Gu Zhu. “The professor said in the group chat that we should dress formally for the banquet tonight. It sounds like there will probably be drinking. We’ll use our old trick and get some more bottled water, or we won’t be able to handle it.”

Ever since their first time socializing for work, when they drank so much they went back to the dorm and threw up, Meng Yuanyi had been cautious. There were usually bottled waters on the banquet table. Later, Gu Zhu learned to pour mineral water into her shot glass. The color was the same, so it could easily be mistaken for alcohol. Because they were girls, other people on the team would help them cover for it.

In some situations, the advisor wouldn’t let them drink if they didn’t have to. But sometimes they had no choice, especially when there were female colleagues on the other side. In those cases, they just had to steel themselves and drink. But with this new method, they were no longer afraid of sitting at the banquet table.

For people who work in research like them, no matter how formal an occasion was, a simple suit would do. If they had to wear bejeweled evening gowns, they would feel burdened and uncomfortable.

After all, their time was tight, their tasks were heavy, and the pressure was immense. Every graduate student or PhD student was always haggard and tired, with oily faces. That one round of skincare before bed was the last act of kindness they showed themselves.

The inviting company was called Xingning New Energy Co., Ltd. It was a new company established in recent years, with its main business covering power generation, environmental technology, and finance and services. They were committed to using new technologies to transform the industry’s development structure and reduce electricity and energy waste. They were therefore very interested in the new technology they had developed in polymer materials.

Banquets like this were usually for eating, drinking, and getting to know each other. As the guests, they arrived to find that the Xingning team was already waiting at the entrance to greet them.

To their surprise, the person leading the group was a very young woman. In the warm light of the hotel, her light brown hair looked even paler, almost shimmering. She was also wearing a suit dress, but unlike their simple and comfortable suits, hers was more intricately crafted and refined.

Gu Zhu’s steps faltered. She and Meng Yuanyi stood on either side of their professor. As the two sides introduced themselves, she heard the director of the other company’s R&D department say, “This is our General Manager of Xingning, Ms. Bai Tan. She just returned from a business trip in Singapore and made a special effort to come and welcome our esteemed guests.”

Bai Tan took a step forward and extended her hand to the professor. “Hello, and welcome to all of you. It’s just a simple meal, please make yourselves at home.”

Gu Zhu’s mind was still in a daze. She hadn’t even tasted any alcohol yet, but she already felt dizzy. That fair hand was now extended to her. Gu Zhu looked up and saw the woman say, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Gu.”

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