I've Been Waiting a Long Time for You to Break Up - Chapter 3

Gu Xiaoshuang did not mention her situation with Jiang Xu, but by now, Lin Huai must have had her suspicions. It was almost twelve o’clock, and Jiang Xu had definitely tried to contact her.

Before entering Lin Huai’s home, Gu Xiaoshuang had turned off her phone. Since Jiang Xu would contact Lin Huai, even if she said nothing, Lin Huai would be able to realize what had happened.

She smoothed out the neatly folded quilt over and over, waiting for Lin Huai to nod in agreement.

Lin Huai would certainly agree; she was not the type to interfere in other people’s affairs, and she would support whatever Gu Xiaoshuang decided to do.

Sure enough, after a brief moment of thought, Lin Huai nodded, but then turned to crouch on the rug, looking at her and asking: “How do you plan to handle the old account? What about the remaining work and the fans? Are you planning to move out? Are you going to look for a place today, or stay at my place first? How will you and she divide the money between you?”

The series of questions she asked concerned matters that Gu Xiaoshuang was currently desperate to resolve. Originally feeling a bit sentimental, she immediately covered her face and let out a long sigh. “Can I stay at your place for two days first?”

Lin Huai nodded and began to pack up the LEGOs on the floor, placing each shape into its own separate bag, and then organizing them methodically into boxes. Only after finishing this did she look up at Gu Xiaoshuang. “Have you decided? When are you going back to move your things?”

Lin Huai was a person who was very structured in her daily life. Usually, Gu Xiaoshuang liked watching her tidy up or work. While in school, she would occasionally imitate Lin Huai in how she did things, but as a person born with a lazy temperament, it was still too tiring to keep up that level of effort. With her eyes unfocused, staring at Lin Huai, and in a state where her mind was a mess and she could not think clearly, being pushed to do things step by step by her friend gave her a sense of exhaustion, yet also profound peace of mind.

In the state of anxiety where she felt like she was stepping into a void and didn’t know when she would fall, having someone there to catch her firmly gave her an opportunity to finally relax a little.

“Let’s do it now.” Gu Xiaoshuang picked up the eye mask that had fallen by her leg, placed it with the quilt, and stood up to stretch her body.

Perhaps because she felt safer at Lin Huai’s, or perhaps her own pride was at play, Gu Xiaoshuang did not cry again. She acted differently from the person who had been wiping away tears every few seconds last night. She went downstairs to bring up her two suitcases. Lin Huai went with her and booked a moving company along the way.

Only when Gu Xiaoshuang heard her confirming the details on the phone did she say: “I could have handled this small matter myself. I intended to book them when I started packing.”

“It would be too busy and chaotic then. It’s hard to say if you would forget. I don’t want to be standing downstairs with you waiting with all our luggage.”

Lin Huai said with a smile, helping Gu Xiaoshuang pull her suitcase as they exited the elevator. The two of them had known each other since their freshman year; with so many years of chemistry between them, Gu Xiaoshuang would usually have retorted to a small joke like that, but today she remained silent. She let out two difficult sobs from her chest, as if she had just finished crying and hadn’t quite recovered.

Lin Huai looked back at her, waited for Gu Xiaoshuang to step slowly out of the elevator, and reached out to ruffle her hair. “If you have anything to explain, if you end up crying too hard to speak, I’ll say it for you.”

Gu Xiaoshuang drooped her eyelids and hummed, “No need, I’ll do it myself.”

Lin Huai walked in front. As they reached the door, she bent down to look at Gu Xiaoshuang while opening it. Her expression held a sense of relaxed, self-assured observation. When Gu Xiaoshuang raised her eyes and caught that hint of a smile in her friend’s eyes, she couldn’t help but click her tongue. “Is it that funny to watch me make a fool of myself?”

“Where did you make a fool of yourself?” Lin Huai asked sincerely.

Gu Xiaoshuang’s eyes were still a bit swollen, and it felt awkward to raise her eyelids to look at someone. She glanced once and then withdrew her gaze, thinking to herself, You have no idea what happened.

Lin Huai said nothing more. They put the suitcases inside. When they reached the basement parking, Lin Huai said she would drive. Gu Xiaoshuang parked in a temporary spot, needing to swap positions.

It wasn’t until she pulled into Lin Huai’s parking space that she realized something and, as she got out, asked: “How will you get back?”

Lin Huai waited for her to get into the passenger seat before smiling and saying: “You still have the energy to think about this? Looks like you’re not that fired up.”

Gu Xiaoshuang fastened her seatbelt and looked at her. “Can you say something nice for once?”

Lin Huai laughed. “When you explain things to me clearly, that’s when I’ll say something nice.”

She understood that Gu Xiaoshuang didn’t want to talk right now, but as a friend of so many years, she certainly could not accept being kept in the dark forever, so she had made that remark as a joke—part teasing, part reminder.

Gu Xiaoshuang watched her drive with a calm and collected demeanor. On the surface, it seemed she hadn’t taken that remark to heart, but in reality, she must have been pondering it already. Gu Xiaoshuang smiled and turned to look out the window, feeling once again that familiar sense of being supported. It was truly good to have a familiar friend by her side when encountering problems; otherwise, she would have had to lie in a hotel for a full day before dealing with these things.

The two soon arrived at the place where Gu Xiaoshuang used to live. Before opening the door, she stood there with her hand raised for a long time without moving. The memories of last night rushed back to her; she felt a chill running from her neck downwards. She could barely remember the details of yesterday; only one thought filled her mind: Jiang Xu had lied to her.

She had stood there for too long. Lin Huai gripped her shoulders from behind and moved her aside. “You just wait here; I’ll go in and pack.”

Gu Xiaoshuang lowered her head, uselessly trying to hold back the tears in her eyes.

Before turning around, Lin Huai told her: “Don’t hold it back. Crying is a very normal thing. If you don’t want her to see you, go wait in the car.”

Gu Xiaoshuang nodded slightly. Once Lin Huai had left, she turned around and took quick breaths. She was being stubborn; she simply did not want to cry in front of Jiang Xu.

When Lin Huai entered, Jiang Xu looked as if she had been attacked by something; she bolted up from the sofa, but upon seeing who it was, she stopped in her tracks, startled. Only when Lin Huai closed the door did she rush over to ask where Gu Xiaoshuang was. Lin Huai’s expression was cold, and she dodged to the side without even looking at her. She couldn’t help but frown and ask: “Where are her things?”

Only when Jiang Xu came closer could one see that her eyes were red and swollen, with traces of recently wiped-away tears on her face. The look in her eyes was a mix of panic and worry, and there was even a hint of hard-to-detect resentment pressed between her brows. Lin Huai walked past her and said: “I don’t know what happened between you two. I am here to pack her things, so don’t ask too much.”

Jiang Xu looked at her in disbelief as she walked further in, then immediately stumbled to the door to look outside. Finding no sign of Gu Xiaoshuang, she chased after her and asked: “Is she with you? You don’t know what happened?”

Jiang Xu’s voice suddenly faltered when she said that. She then rushed up from behind and grabbed Lin Huai’s arm, begging with a sobbing tone: “Help me persuade her! At least let me know what happened, or give me a chance to explain! Please help me!”

Lin Huai was held back and could not move. Helpless, she had to turn around and look at her. The sadness on Jiang Xu’s face was not fake; tears were falling uncontrollably. Yet, there was always something else mixed into it, just like every time she had seen her discuss relationships with Gu Xiaoshuang—there was a feeling of something indescribable within that clumsy display.

Jiang Xu hadn’t even changed out of her pajamas, and the curtains weren’t drawn. The room was dark and messy, with only a ray of light shining through a crack in the curtains, reflecting a blinding glare on the floor, which made the room and the person look even more disheveled. It was clear that Gu Xiaoshuang’s sudden departure was truly hard for her to accept.

Jiang Xu couldn’t even bother to wipe her tears, saying with a mix of shock and regret: “I don’t even know why this happened. Help me persuade her, Lin Huai. We’ve been friends for so many years; help us. You’ve watched us over these years—we’ve never had any problems!”

Lin Huai felt something was off. She took two more steps forward, and after being pulled back forcefully, Jiang Xu repeated the same circular arguments. It was then that Lin Huai finally reacted, her brows furrowing with suppressed anger as she looked at her: “You don’t even know why, yet you are this anxious?”

Jiang Xu choked on her words, and immediately began to emphasize: “Of course I’m anxious! My girlfriend went out in the middle of the night and I haven’t been able to reach her until now. I was so worried I was about to call the police!”

“Then why didn’t you go to my place to look for her?” Lin Huai asked, staring at her. Her calm voice was in stark contrast to the other person’s trembling, anxious one.

The expression on Jiang Xu’s face stiffened. She said without much conviction: “You didn’t answer my messages, nor did you pick up the phone.”

Lin Huai angrily withdrew her gaze and pushed away her hand. She walked toward the bedroom and said: “I don’t care what happened between the two of you, but I will definitely help her. I am her friend first, and then I met you. I maintained a friendship with you only because of her. Her actions today must have had their own reasons; she wouldn’t make a scene without cause. Stop bothering her.”

Gu Xiaoshuang had a good temperament—everyone who knew her knew this. She never even got angry at anyone; even when she encountered the most disgusting things, she would just mutter a few things with a smile, and that was it, let alone getting angry at the people around her. To have made her this angry, Jiang Xu must have done something that touched Gu Xiaoshuang’s bottom line. Lin Huai was already restraining her temper by not giving Jiang Xu a piece of her mind right now.

She walked, and Jiang Xu followed, repeatedly saying that nothing had happened recently and that it was impossible for there to be an issue. Lin Huai didn’t want to hear it. Before entering the bedroom, she waved her hand backward: “I am here to pack things. I don’t want to be overly involved in your affairs. I only need to take care of her alone. What you do has nothing to do with me. Do you understand?”

Jiang Xu stood outside, dazed and lost. Lin Huai went inside and started looking for documents. While she opened drawers and closets without caring about Jiang Xu’s pride, Gu Xiaoshuang opened the door and walked in with a cold face. As soon as Jiang Xu heard the sound, she turned and ran over, wanting to hug her. Gu Xiaoshuang reached out to block her in advance, looking at her with extreme disgust. “Don’t get this close to me, and don’t put on this ‘my parents just died’ look. Let’s keep some dignity for each other.”

Lin Huai stood in front of the wardrobe looking at the clothes inside. Most of them were Gu Xiaoshuang’s, but same-sex partners often wore each other’s clothes, so every item she looked at felt heavy. When she heard Gu Xiaoshuang’s harsh words, she tilted her head back to look outside. Although Jiang Xu was still pestering her, Gu Xiaoshuang could handle it herself. She did not go out; she closed the wardrobe and looked at the large drawers below.

After the anger and the grievances, only a sense of nausea remained. Gu Xiaoshuang walked past Jiang Xu with an ugly expression. Jiang Xu, scolded like that, seemed to have had the bones pulled out of her; she leaned limply against the wall, unable to even lift her head.

When Gu Xiaoshuang entered the bedroom, Lin Huai was just closing a drawer. She looked back and told her: “There’s nothing worth taking. Dividing the money is the most important thing.”

Gu Xiaoshuang looked around the room with some reluctance, then personally opened every space to check. Indeed, they were all unimportant things. She threw a few very expensive coats onto the bed, packed up a few of her own designer bags, and turned to go to the storage room to pack the things inside.

Lin Huai joined her, found a storage bag to use for the time being, and seeing Gu Xiaoshuang touching every piece of clothing she used for shooting, she simply waved her hand: “Take them all. She won’t need them anyway. These are all yours.”

Thus, the two of them swept through the storage room like a storm, packing up ninety percent of the items. When the moving company people arrived, they helped move five or six bags of clothes and props down first.

Gu Xiaoshuang took two camera lenses and went to find Jiang Xu, who had moved to the living room to avoid being in the way. Seeing Gu Xiaoshuang come over, Jiang Xu said to her: “Can you not leave? Let’s talk properly.”

Gu Xiaoshuang gritted her teeth, tapped her fingertips quickly on the lens, and said in a voice that was not loud but very determined: “No.”

Jiang Xu still wanted to plead, but Lin Huai came out of the storage room, looked around, and directly interrupted Jiang Xu’s words: “Forget about the things in the kitchen. Take the handmade items you made in the living room; leave everything else. Pack your own cosmetics.”

The courage Jiang Xu had finally mustered dissipated at once. She slumped on the sofa, completely speechless.

She knew what had happened. She didn’t need to ask now; she already knew.

Seeing her like this, Gu Xiaoshuang couldn’t be bothered to ask anymore and said directly: “I’ll leave you the shooting equipment I don’t want.”

She and Lin Huai packed very quickly. The rented apartment where they had lived for two years became more than half-empty in an instant. Before leaving, Lin Huai reminded her again to settle the money between them clearly. So, Gu Xiaoshuang told Jiang Xu: “We will split the money in the card in half. The account is yours. You will pay for the breach of any commercial contracts yourself. I will transfer the money to you, and from now on, we will have nothing more to do with each other.”