Diagnosis: Friend [Rebirth] - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Gu Yining had suffered a head injury and had experienced episodes in the hospital. Recalling that Auntie Zhou had even found a psychiatrist for her, Gu Xi’s anger dissipated slightly, replaced by a tremulous worry. “Gu… Gu Yining, you can’t stop the car here.”

The middle-aged man in the driver’s seat looked up at the light that had just turned green. As he started the car, he checked the girl’s condition through the rearview mirror. “Miss, I can’t stop here. I’ll pull over a bit further ahead.”

The car soon came to a stop. The driver pulled the handbrake and turned to check on the girl, only to hear a loud thud—she was already out of the car, her sprinting figure disappearing from the side mirror.

“Uncle Chen, I… I’ll go check on her.” Gu Xi scrambled out from the other side and ran in the direction Gu Yining had gone.

She didn’t know what Gu Yining had been eating to grow so strong, but she ran incredibly fast. After only a few steps, Gu Xi felt a sharp pain in her left side. She couldn’t help but curse Gu Yining under her breath; what kind of fit was she throwing now? Still, fearing something might actually be wrong, she kept her eyes glued to Gu Yining’s figure, jogging along far behind.

Finally, unable to run anymore and in agonizing pain, Gu Xi squinted and saw Gu Yining disappear. Realizing her sister had entered a pharmacy, Gu Xi rolled her eyes and followed.

Inside the pharmacy, a clerk was stocking new medicine on the shelves. Feeling a needle-like gaze from behind, she shivered and turned around. A person was standing at the entrance, silhouetted against the light, looking quite gloomy.

“Hello, do you need help with something?” The clerk walked to the counter, only then seeing it was a student. “Classmate, are you feeling unwell?”

“Sister, was there a girl who just came in to buy medicine? What did she buy?” Gu Yining asked.

The clerk rested her chin on her left hand, appearing to recall. After a moment, her expression changed slightly as she scrutinized the student before her. “Are you that girl’s…”

The girl’s face was slightly flushed, as if she had just engaged in strenuous exercise.

“I… I’m her older sister. She… she had a fight with the family and ran away a few days ago. I just saw her enter the pharmacy and I’m worried she might have a fever or a cold.”

Gu Yining lied without blinking.

While waiting for the red light in the car, she had seen clearly: the person walking out of the pharmacy was Jiang Qing. If Jiang Qing just had a common cold, she would have gone to the school clinic. Medicine at outside pharmacies was more expensive than at school; she would only come out here if the school clinic didn’t have what she needed.

That meant it couldn’t be a simple cold. Could it be that even now…

Seeing the clerk’s expression turn serious, Gu Yining’s heart was suspended at a high altitude. Her heart nearly hammered out of her throat, her breathing grew rapid, and her hands hanging by her sides were clenched tight.

“Ah…” The clerk hesitated. “Are you… are you really her sister?”

As someone else entered the shop, the clerk’s eyes flickered. She motioned for the girl to come closer and whispered:

“She bought a pregnancy test.”

Gu Yining: ?

Gu Yining still couldn’t let her heart settle. “She didn’t buy any other medicine? Like… something for stomach pain?”

The clerk shook her head gently. Seeing the girl let out a sigh of relief, she couldn’t help but remind her: “It’s a bit strange for a high schooler to buy a pregnancy test. As her sister, maybe you should ask her about it.”

“No need, thank you, Sister.” Gu Yining smiled. “That pregnancy test was actually for me.”

Gu Xi, who had finally staggered into the shop just in time to hear this, nearly tripped on the steps. She stared at Gu Yining in utter confusion, but before she could speak, she was hoisted up by Gu Yining and marched out of the door.

“What are you doing, Gu Yining!” Gu Xi’s face turned white and red in turns. “What did I just hear?”

“You didn’t hear anything. Let’s go home.” Gu Yining let go of her and noticed her frowning with an odd expression. She stepped forward to support her. “What’s wrong with you?”

“It’s because of you!” Gu Xi slapped Gu Yining’s arm, her left hand still clutching her stomach. “I ran too fast and got a stitch in my side.”

Gu Yining let out a scoff. “So pathetic.” She added, “Why didn’t you stay in the car? Why did you follow me?”

Gu Xi thought to herself: Because I was afraid you were having another episode!

She couldn’t say that directly. Feeling aggrieved that her kindness was being treated like dirt, Gu Xi simply slumped her weight onto Gu Yining. “It hurts so much!”

Gu Yining staggered under the weight. While struggling to hold her up, she suggested: “How about I just carry you on my back? Also, your physical condition is way too poor. I’ll have Uncle take you to the hospital for a checkup some other day.”

After some bickering, the pain in Gu Xi’s side eased. She deliberately leaned on her. “I don’t want you to carry me, or you’ll go tattle to Grandma again.”

Gu Yining laughed. “I’m not that petty.”

“Hmph, who knows.”

Gu Xi continued: “Why were you in such a hurry to run into the pharmacy? And what was that nonsense you said inside—what pregnancy test?” She glanced at Gu Yining’s stomach hidden by the school uniform. “Don’t you go making a mess of things.”

Gu Yining supported her. “No, I just saw a friend. You misheard ‘pregnancy test’; I said ‘painkillers’.”

As they sat back in the car, Gu Xi asked: “That friend… it wasn’t Jiang Qing, was it?”

Gu Yining remained silent, which was a tacit admission.

Gu Xi grew curious. “You wanted to live in her dorm so badly that I thought you two were best friends. On the first day of school, you ran to Class 1 to sweep for her, but it turns out she isn’t even familiar with you.” She turned gleeful. “You weren’t running that fast just because you were worried she was sick, were you?”

Gu Yining looked at her. “Caring for classmates is a traditional virtue.”

“What ‘caring’? That was clearly stalker behavior.” Gu Xi let out a disdainful sneer. “That morning you dressed up so nicely and even wore lipstick—was that just to see her?”

The more Gu Xi spoke, the more she felt something was off. She got goosebumps, hugged her arms, and let out an “Eww,” looking at Gu Yining with an indescribable expression:

“Pervert.”

As her stomach pain subsided, Gu Xi became more lively. Gu Yining looked at her with a smile. “Is that so? I’m not exactly a celebrity at school; how is it that Xixi knows my every move so well, even whether I’m wearing lipstick? I think the word ‘stalker’ fits Xixi much better.”

Gu Xi made a gagging motion. “Who wants to know about you? It’s just that you’re too showy. And don’t slander me—I just happened to overhear my classmates talking.”

Gu Yining raised an eyebrow. “Which classmate? Was it Tan Baozhu?”

Seeing Gu Xi pause, Gu Yining knew she had guessed correctly. “It seems the real stalker is someone else.”

Tapping her knee, Gu Yining let out a yawn. “As your sister, I’m giving you some friendly advice: that transfer student in your class is not a good person. Stay away from her.”

“The transfer student in your class is even less of a good person; I’ll stay far away.” Gu Xi shrank toward the car door. “If I get the chance, I’ll tell Classmate Jiang Qing to stay away from her too.”

“You don’t have the ability.”

“You—!”

The two girls bickered in the car until the black vehicle pulled into a villa.

After dinner.

Gu Yining lay spread-eagled on her bed, thinking about what the pharmacy clerk had said: What was she doing buying a pregnancy test?

First of all, it definitely wasn’t for herself. Secondly, according to the timeline, Jiang Qing had already broken ties with her family, so it certainly wasn’t for a family member. Gu Yining flipped over to lie on her stomach, looking down at her phone.

Should I give her a call?

The next second, the screen showed the call being placed. The ringtone lasted for five seconds before it was picked up. Jiang Qing’s crisp, ethereal voice came through:

“Hello? Who is this, please?”

On Friday nights, most boarding students went home; the hair-drying room was empty except for Jiang Qing. Putting down the hairdryer, Jiang Qing looked at the unfamiliar number on the screen. Two seconds after she asked, a light laugh came from the phone:

“Jiang Qing, it’s me.”

Those four simple words didn’t provide much information, yet Jiang Qing knew immediately it was Gu Yining. The sound of the dorm supervisor mopping the floor came from the corridor. Jiang Qing’s gaze was deep as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Gu Yining’s voice continued: “I’m Gu Yining.”

As if afraid of a misunderstanding, she quickly explained: “I didn’t mean to disturb you, it’s just…” She seemed to be choosing her words. “When I was going home today, I thought I saw you entering a pharmacy. What happened?”

Her semi-damp hair fell over her shoulders, unknowingly leaving a few wet spots on her chest. Sensing the damp chill, Jiang Qing flicked the strand of wet hair away. “Mm. I ate too much at noon, so I went to buy some digestive tablets.”

She lied.

Gu Yining gripped her phone and bit her lip slightly, asking with feigned casualness: “Oh, I see. The school clinic was closed then, but I remember there’s a pharmacy near the back gate too. Why did you go so far?”

A drop of water slid down from her collarbone, and Jiang Qing wiped it away. She keenly detected the skepticism in Gu Yining’s voice; clearly, she didn’t believe the excuse. Jiang Qing lowered her gaze and noticed a strand of hair on her right forearm, so she reached out to pick it off. “I just happened to be in that area for something. Is there a problem, Classmate Gu?”

Jiang Qing was reminding Gu Yining of her overstepping.

Gu Yining received the hint and flipped over to lie on her back, looking at the blurred, bright light on the ceiling. “Nothing, I was just worried about you, so I asked. It’s good that you’re okay.”

As usual, she felt a bit depressed by Jiang Qing’s invisible walls, but she couldn’t help telling her: “Jiang Qing, this is my current phone number. The previous one is no longer in use.”

She didn’t want to hear “Hello, who is this?” the next time she called. It made her feel like a total stranger. They were clearly best friends.

There was silence on the other end for a moment. Then: “Alright. Goodnight, Classmate Gu.”