Diagnosis: Friend [Rebirth] - Chapter 31.2

Chapter 31.2

Her physical condition wasn’t a major issue. Regarding the tinnitus and headaches, the doctor prescribed some medication and instructed her to return for a follow-up. Zhou Xuening then drove Gu Xi and Gu Yining home.

Today was New Year’s Eve.

The New Year’s Eve dinner at the Gu family villa was served early. Young and old gathered around the sofa to chat, but Gu Yining remained distracted ever since returning from the hospital. Considering her condition, Old Madam Gu suggested that if she was tired, she could go upstairs to rest.

Under the watchful eyes of the family, Gu Yining went upstairs, but she didn’t enter her own room.

Ms. Yu had prepared a table full of dishes. She went door-to-door, knocking on every room to invite the guests who hadn’t gone home to join her for the New Year’s Eve dinner; Jiang Qing was among them.

As night fell and the lights began to glow, seven or eight strangers sat around the dining table. The table was laden with a magnificent spread of steaming, fragrant delicacies.

Jiang Qing was full quickly. The middle-aged men at the table were still smoking and drinking; unable to stand the smell of smoke, Jiang Qing whispered to Ms. Yu, “Sister, enjoy your meal. I’m heading back to my room.”

“Wait a moment.” Ms. Yu caught the girl’s hand, and a moment later, a red envelope appeared in Jiang Qing’s palm. Ms. Yu patted her hand and whispered, “Take it, Xiao Qing. Happy New Year!”

Jiang Qing felt a sting in her nose. She offered Ms. Yu a smile: “Sister, Happy New Year!”

Turning from the stairwell into the corridor, the light was dim. Jiang Qing found the switch on the wall, and with a click, the corridor lit up. She walked forward, only to suddenly see someone crouching by her door.

The person looked up at Jiang Qing, their eyes freezing for a moment before they scrambled to stand up against the wall. Jiang Qing lowered her gaze and walked over to open the door as if nothing were wrong.

The moment the key turned the lock, a muffled voice came from behind her: “Jiang Qing, I’m sorry.”

Her movements paused for a split second before she pushed the door open.

She entered the room, placed the red envelope on the cabinet next to the TV, and turned back. The girl was clinging to the doorframe, peeking her head in, saying cautiously, “Jiang Qing, I came to apologize. Let’s make up.”

Gu Yining’s fingers picked at the door, terrified that Jiang Qing would come over and shut it. “Jiang Qing, let’s not fight anymore, okay?”

A person’s life is only about thirty thousand days long, yet she had wasted five of them on a cold war with Jiang Qing. Compared to the ten years of losing her, it was both excessively luxurious and excessively foolish.

Ultimately, this whole thing was triggered by Tan Baozhu. Every fault lay with Tan Baozhu; she shouldn’t have taken her temper out on Jiang Qing.

She bit her lip and looked at Jiang Qing, her head slightly tilted, saying softly, “Jiang Qing… say something.” The girl hunched her shoulders as if shivering. “The corridor is so cold.”

Jiang Qing looked up at her. “Come in.”

That was the signal for a truce.

Gu Yining turned around to grab her snacks and entered the room, virtually wagging an invisible tail with joy. Upon entering, she saw the calamondin tree on the windowsill and looked at Jiang Qing. “You kept it alive.”

Jiang Qing squatted to change her shoes, answering casually, “It didn’t really want to die; only the pot was broken.”

Placing the snacks on the table, Gu Yining pulled out a small cake. She had bought it on the way here; it was New Year’s Eve, and yet this cake shop was actually still open. She sliced half and handed it to Jiang Qing: “Mango cake, want a taste?”

Jiang Qing shook her head. She had just eaten downstairs and was very full; she didn’t want food. She bent over to rummage through her suitcase for a change of clothes. Looking up, she suddenly noticed Gu Yining’s expression seemed a bit off.

She asked, “Do you have a cold?”

Gu Yining, who was poking at a piece of mango in the cake, was stunned. “No.” Afraid Jiang Qing would worry, she explained, “Maybe I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

Jiang Qing tilted her head. “Stayed up late?” After all, it was rare for Gu Yining to have trouble sleeping.

“No.” Gu Yining looked down at her cake, not wanting Jiang Qing to dig deeper into the matter. She quickly urged her: “Go take your shower. You can have cake when you come out.”

She seemed perpetually concerned about Jiang Qing eating that piece of cake. Jiang Qing laughed softly and turned into the bathroom.

After a quick rinse to wash away the smell of smoke and alcohol, Jiang Qing put on her nightgown and stepped out. Gu Yining, having finished her small portion of cake, was leaning over the back of the chair, her eyes curved like crescent moons, smiling brilliantly at Jiang Qing.

Wet hair was draped loosely over her shoulders, and crystal droplets slid slowly down the strands like dew rolling off a lotus leaf. As Jiang Qing tilted her head, a few strands slid against her cheek, accentuating her delicate face and snow-white skin.

Gu Yining folded her hands under her chin and laughed softly. “Jiang Qing, you’re so beautiful.”

She stood up to find the hairdryer in the cabinet and volunteered to dry Jiang Qing’s hair. Jiang Qing’s hair was neither long nor short, falling just past her shoulders. When the hairdryer started, droplets of water smelling of fragrant shampoo splashed onto Gu Yining’s hands.

They felt icy cold.

Once she had nearly dried Jiang Qing’s hair, Gu Yining put the dryer away. Closing the cabinet door, she looked at Jiang Qing, who was now sitting in the chair eating cake. “Jiang Qing, find me a pair of pajamas. I want to take a shower.”

Before the incident with Tan Baozhu, Gu Yining almost never had to ask Jiang Qing which pajamas to wear; she would just rummage through the suitcase herself. But during the fight that day, Jiang Qing had explicitly and implicitly stated that their relationship wasn’t that close and told Gu Yining to mind her boundaries. Gu Yining felt she had to ask first.

The hand holding the fork paused. Jiang Qing looked at her, frowning slightly. “You… aren’t going home tonight?”

Gu Yining almost blurted out, “This is our home,” but learning from their argument, she decided on a roundabout tactic. “I already had dinner at the Gu house. Our family doesn’t have a tradition of staying up all night, so it doesn’t matter if I go back or not.”

Seeing no reaction from Jiang Qing, Gu Yining glanced out the window. “Besides, it’s so late. It’s not safe for a girl to take a taxi alone.”

Jiang Qing put a bit of cake into her mouth, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Why not have the Gu family driver pick you up?”

“Uncle driver needs to go home for the New Year too. It would be so unethical to suddenly call him away while he’s having dinner.”

“So,” Jiang Qing said, “you planned to stay the night here from the start.”

That wasn’t true. Gu Yining said hurriedly, “I just wanted to apologize and see you.”

Gu Yining hadn’t even considered the possibility that Jiang Qing wouldn’t let her stay. In the past, she could come and go as she pleased with a bit of acting cute; Jiang Qing had never been this resistant.

Thinking about it, she blamed Tan Baozhu. Gu Yining felt indignant in her heart, but her face took on a wronged expression. “It’s so dark out, Jiang Qing. You know I’m afraid of the dark.”

Jiang Qing looked down at her cake. “Pajamas are in the suitcase. Find them yourself.”

New Year’s Eve was lively. The streets were packed, and the guesthouse lobby was a revolving door of people; the atmosphere was celebratory. Jiang Qing went to Ms. Yu to get an extra quilt, to avoid Gu Yining clinging to her if they shared one.

The TV screen was bright as Jiang Qing leaned against the bed, expressionlessly watching a Spring Festival Gala skit.

Gu Yining came out of the bathroom. She hadn’t washed her hair, just a quick body wash. The heat on her skin was dissipated by the cold air; she trotted over and jumped onto the bed, shivering as she hit the icy quilt. She looked to Jiang Qing for help. “Jiang Qing, my side is freezing.”

A quilt with no one to warm it was naturally cold. Jiang Qing looked at her and reached for the switch by the bed to turn on the electric blanket. There was no helping it; such a cheap guesthouse didn’t provide air conditioning. Even the electric blanket under the sheets was something Ms. Yu had lent Jiang Qing recently after noticing how thin she was.

“Miss Gu,” Jiang Qing said to the TV screen, her face blank. “My temple is small. Since you’ve chosen to stay, please bear with it.”

Gu Yining rubbed her hands together, propped her pillow against the headboard, and leaned back to watch the gala.

The bed soon warmed up.

When Jiang Qing turned her head to look at Gu Yining again, she found that the girl had fallen asleep against the headboard. Her eyelids rested lightly, and her long lashes cast a small shadow on her cheeks. Compared to her usual vibrant appearance, Gu Yining’s lips looked a bit pale today.

Jiang Qing was somewhat surprised that Gu Yining had come to make peace today. After so many days of a cold war, why today? Just to spend New Year’s Eve with her?

She silently turned down the TV volume. Honestly, this year’s skits were boring; watching them made her want to sleep, too. The deep voice of the gala host sounded like a lullaby. Jiang Qing slowly closed her eyes, her breathing grew shallow, and the hand she had resting on her chest slowly slid down.

An unknown amount of time passed. In a daze, she felt someone approaching.

A warm breath brushed against her cheek, tickling her. Jiang Qing reached out to brush it away and heard a soft laugh through her stupor. The voice was as soft as cotton candy—not enough to truly wake her. “It’s almost the New Year, Jiang Qing. Wake up.”

What truly woke Jiang Qing was the fireworks blooming outside.

With about ten minutes left until midnight, some people couldn’t wait any longer. Multicolored fireworks exploded in the night sky, their light flashing through the window like lightning. Anhe City had designated areas for fireworks, and the Xuemei Guesthouse was within one.

Jiang Qing and Gu Yining stood side-by-side at the window. Fireworks bloomed one after another in the darkness.

The audience on the TV began to count down with the host, and Gu Yining joined in, shouting: “Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!”

The New Year’s bell rang, and the entire world seemed to ignite. Streaks of fireworks whistled into the sky, thousands of brilliant blossoms opening in the night air. The sounds rose and fell, accompanied by the cheers and screams of people.

Gu Yining turned her head to look at Jiang Qing. Jiang Qing was looking up at the fireworks. The flickering light illuminated her exquisite face, and her light gray pupils reflected the brilliant colors. Jiang Qing’s lips curled up unconsciously, a shallow dimple appearing.

Gu Yining smiled along with her.

“Happy New Year, Jiang Qing.”