After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Got Together with My White Moonlight - Chapter 35

Yan Guiqiu glanced at Gu Yuyin ahead and said nothing more.

When they arrived home, Ms. Meng and Yan Guizhou were waiting at the door, helping to carry the drunk woman inside. The guest room was prepared on the first floor, so they could take her straight in.

“How much did she even drink?” Yan Guizhou couldn’t help but click her tongue.

Yan Guiqiu didn’t respond, only furrowing her brows slightly before turning to her sister and mother. “You two should go back and rest now.”

Yan Guizhou had classes the next morning, and Ms. Meng had an early meeting.

It was already quite late, so Yan Guiqiu urged them to get some rest.

Fortunately, Gu Yuyin wasn’t much of a handful when drunk. Once inside the Yan residence, she remained quiet and compliant, letting others handle her. It wasn’t until she was laid on the bed that her eyes suddenly snapped open, staring intently at Yan Guiqiu.

Jiang Xuehe guessed that Gu Yuyin probably had something she wanted to say to Yan Guiqiu in private. Seeing that there was nothing else to help with, she offered, “Guiqiu, why don’t you look after her for a bit? I’ll go freshen up first.”

Yan Guiqiu paused for a moment, then murmured an “Oh,” watching as Jiang Xuehe stepped out and thoughtfully closed the door behind her before slowly turning back.

Gu Yuyin propped herself up against the headboard, reached for a small orange nearby, and began peeling it. Her eyes were now clear and alert, and aside from a faint blush on her cheeks, there was no trace of her earlier drunkenness.

Yan Guiqiu turned to see her so at ease and couldn’t help feeling a bit irritated. “What exactly were you trying to do today?”

Gu Yuyin lifted her eyelids to glance at her, swallowing a segment of orange before replying, “You’re angry.”

Earlier at the hotel, Yan Guiqiu must have been truly furious to have yelled at her in public.

Even though she had remembered to keep her voice down, that was probably the last shred of her restraint.

Unbelievable.

In all the time they’d known each other, she had never seen Yan Guiqiu lose her temper with anyone, especially not someone close to her. She’d heard that when they were kids, even after Song Anchen burned the textbooks she needed for class, Yan Guiqiu had only sulked for a day without ever raising her voice at her.

Of course, their usual playful banter was another matter entirely.

Yan Guiqiu’s eyebrow twitched repeatedly, but she had calmed down by now and retorted, “What do you think?”

“Because I wanted to kiss you?” Gu Yuyin said slowly. “It was only meant to be on the cheek just a friendly gesture of excitement. Pretty normal, right?”

Yan Guiqiu snorted. “Aren’t you afraid you’d throw up?”

As she peeled the other half of the orange, Gu Yuyin replied nonchalantly, “Not with you.”

Yan Guiqiu raised her voice slightly. “Gu Yuyin!”

“Alright, alright,” Gu Yuyin relented a little. “What I meant was, I probably could’ve held back from throwing up.”

Yan Guiqiu: “…”

“So you came all this way just to mess with me?” Yan Guiqiu pressed her fingers to her temples. “Or is it that you don’t like Xuehe-jie either?”

“I just needed to see for myself to feel at ease,” Gu Yuyin explained. “I don’t have any ill feelings toward her personally.”

“Are you satisfied now?” Yan Guiqiu asked.

“I think she’s a good person,” Gu Yuyin said.

“Then stop causing trouble,” Yan Guiqiu said.

Gu Yuyin nodded.

Seeing that she was now sober and didn’t need constant supervision, Yan Guiqiu told her to get some rest and left the room.

Through the partially closed door, Gu Yuyin could hear Yan Guiqiu speaking with Jiang Xuehe outside.

Jiang Xuehe asked Gu Yuyin how she was feeling and if she was uncomfortable anywhere.

Her words were full of tenderness and concern, with not a trace of dissatisfaction or hostility.

Yan Guiqiu, of course, said she was fine, and as she spoke, she closed the door, mentioning that Gu Yuyin was resting.

The remaining sounds were blocked outside, no longer audible.

Gu Yuyin looked up at the ceiling, recalling the look in Jiang Xuehe’s eyes when she had bumped into Yan Guiqiu’s embrace earlier, and slowly curled her lips into a smile before letting out a soft sigh.

“It’s just a little too good.” Gu Yuyin murmured to herself, peeling another segment of tangerine and popping it into her mouth.

The sourness and sweetness were equally intense.

It wasn’t a flavor she particularly liked.

The next morning, when Jiang Xuehe got up, she only saw Gu Yuyin in the living room.

Gu Yuyin had already washed up, was neatly dressed, and showed no sign of yesterday’s dazed state. She was sitting at the table, drinking milk.

Hearing footsteps, she glanced up at Jiang Xuehe.

“Good morning,” Gu Yuyin greeted leisurely, then explained, “Your aunt and uncle have gone to work, and Guiqiu went to deliver textbooks to her sister.”

Yan Guizhou had an early class but realized upon arriving at school that she had forgotten the books for her second-period class. Since the driver had already left, she called her sister to ask for help.

Before leaving, Yan Guiqiu had left a note on Jiang Xuehe’s door explaining the situation.

Jiang Xuehe merely nodded upon hearing this, without arguing anything.

Gu Yuyin looked at her and asked, “Shall we go out somewhere for breakfast?”

It was an invitation to sit down and talk.

Jiang Xuehe nodded and said she’d go back to get her phone.

Once outside, they headed in the opposite direction of the shopping mall. It was Jiang Xuehe’s first time there, but Gu Yuyin seemed familiar with the area.

They eventually stopped at the entrance of an alley two streets away, where a simple noodle shop stood at the corner. The business seemed decent, with several tables set up outside, but the breakfast rush had likely passed, as there were few people around.

Gu Yuyin sat at a table in the farthest corner, and Jiang Xuehe took the seat opposite.

Fortunately, although the shop was humble, the tables were wiped clean.

The apron-clad boss lady came over to ask what they wanted. Gu Yuyin ordered two bowls of plain noodles and a basket of steamed buns.

As the boss lady went to prepare the noodles, Gu Yuyin turned to Jiang Xuehe and asked, “Do you mind if I smoke?””

Jiang Xuehe looked at her in surprise, as if not expecting her to smoke, but nodded and said it was fine.

She didn’t press further.

Gu Yuyin took out a pack of slim cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket, lighting one on her own.

She didn’t seem like a regular smoker her movements were clumsy, and she coughed several times after taking a puff.

But the way she held the cigarette was elegant, her brows and eyes relaxed and at ease, exuding a sense of calm.

After smoking half the cigarette, a faint haze lingered around the table, blurring her face slightly.

“The director’s request, the character has to smoke later on, and it has to look good,” Gu Yuyin explained only then. “They just mentioned it a couple of days ago. I don’t usually smoke.”

She paused, then added, “And I don’t drink either.”

Jiang Xuehe thought to herself, then what happened last night? But she felt asking would sound petty, so she just smiled faintly and said, “Work must be tough.”

Gu Yuyin seemed at a loss for words, letting out an “Mm” before falling silent.

The shop owner first brought out the steamed buns, saying the noodles would be ready soon.

Gu Yuyin called her back and asked to add two fried eggs.

The shop owner nodded in agreement, but the smile on her face noticeably faded. She glanced at the way Gu Yuyin held her cigarette, likely mistaking her for a rebellious troublemaker. Turning away as if hoping no one would notice, she waved a hand to fan away the smoke.

Gu Yuyin chuckled softly and blew out a breath of air. Jiang Xuehe, sitting directly across from her, didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.

“Are you always this tolerant?” Gu Yuyin seemed bored as she pulled out a piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, placed it on the table, and forcefully stubbed out the cigarette.

The smoke hadn’t yet dissipated, but her demeanor abruptly shifted, becoming noticeably more lively and amiable.

“Last night, my classmate dragged me out for drinks. She just went through a breakup and was feeling sentimental. Not wanting to spoil the mood, she asked me to drink with her,” Gu Yuyin explained. “She and her boyfriend had been together since middle school, all the way through university. Last year, she even posted a photo of her engagement ring, saying they’d get married right after graduation. They were always so sweet together. But then, just after summer, her boyfriend got into a car accident and ended up paralyzed.”

“Her boyfriend didn’t want to burden her, so he paid someone to act as the ‘other woman’ and upset her, saying he wanted to break up. She was so distraught she ended up in the emergency room. She stayed with him in the hospital for a month but still refused to break up, saying, ‘Marry a chicken, follow a chicken; marry a dog, follow a dog.'”

The shop owner brought over two bowls of noodles, each topped with a fried egg.

The steaming heat from the bowls overpowered the faint traces of smoke. Gu Yuyin paused for a moment, and Jiang Xuehe, watching her expression, guessed the outcome wasn’t good.

“By the end of the year, her boyfriend took his own life.”

The funeral had already passed half a year ago. Her friend had been eating, drinking, and sleeping as usual, as if the grief had faded and everything was back to normal. But when she saw her classmates gathered around, looking at a bride’s wedding photos, the emotions suddenly surged back.

Gu Yuyin had been close to her before. With most people around them already drunk, no one noticed her friend grieving alone in the corner. So, Gu Yuyin took a glass and slowly drank with her.

In the end, her friend cried for a while and began to calm down, but Gu Yuyin ended up too intoxicated to think clearly.

Listening to this tragic story, Jiang Xuehe felt a pang of sorrow, thinking how truly pitiable it was. She couldn’t help but sigh softly, “That’s truly heartbreaking.”

“Happy endings are rare in this world,” Gu Yuyin said. “Forget about earth-shattering love or familial bonds just living a decent life is hard enough.”

Though young, she had already experienced life and death, having ventured into society early and tasted all its bitterness and sweetness. Her words, wise beyond her years, didn’t feel out of place.

It was only at this moment that Jiang Xuehe began to sense what Yan Guiqiu had described that Gu Yuyin was an “easygoing person” rather than the prickly, slightly uncomfortable impression she had given during their first meeting the night before.

Jiang Xuehe wondered if she had been overly sensitive. She chatted idly with Gu Yuyin for a while. After finishing their noodles, there was still a basket of steamed buns left untouched.

Gu Yuyin said she’d pack them to take back later, as Yan Guiqiu really liked the filling.

The two sat and chatted a little longer. Gu Yuyin took out a second cigarette but didn’t light it this time. She simply held it between her fingers, slowly adjusting its position and angle.

“Although I had too much to drink last night, I still remember everything clearly.” Gu Yuyin brought up the events of the previous night on her own initiative. “I didn’t expect to upset all of you, I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s nothing,” Jiang Xuehe replied calmly. “Friends teasing and joking around is perfectly normal. It’s really no big deal.”

“Is that so?” Gu Yuyin chuckled softly.

The look in Jiang Xuehe’s eyes last night was still vivid in her mind.

She hadn’t interacted with Jiang Xuehe before, but from their brief conversation now, it seemed Jiang Xuehe would never normally reveal such a cold and sharp expression, one that had unsettled her.

She must have sensed it too.

Gu Yuyin thought to herself, then lifted her gaze to meet Jiang Xuehe’s eyes. Her movements paused briefly before she continued with a light, carefree smile.

“However, I really did do it on purpose back then.”

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