Chapter 48
She wasn’t as disheveled as a cartoon character after a smoke-filled explosion, but the sight of Gu Yuetong coughing uncontrollably was still inexplicably comical.
Li Yi suppressed an inappropriate smile. Before she could even see what was on the plate in her hands, Qi Baizi had already rushed over in three quick steps to support Gu Yuetong.
Useless legs, move faster, Li Yi thought.
Li Yi had thought it was a “suck-up” move that she had been too slow to react to, but she hadn’t realized that for Qi Baizi, it was a completely instinctive reaction.
The moment her skin touched Gu Yuetong’s wrist, Qi Baizi was filled with a mix of confusion and heartache. Why would she do something like this? The heartache intensified when she looked down and saw the bright red dots on the back of Gu Yuetong’s hand. She quickly called for Auntie Qin to bring burn ointment.
Only after saying this did she notice what was on the plate in Gu Yuetong’s hand: four fried eggs.
One of them was heart-shaped, likely made with a mold.
“Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve cooked. I’m a bit rusty,” Gu Yuetong said with a slight smile, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere. “I upset someone yesterday, so I thought I’d make breakfast for everyone today and apologize to that someone at the same time.”
She emphasized the words ‘that someone’, her meaning clear.
Beside her, Qi Baizi lowered her eyes, took the plate from her hands, and left her with a single sentence: “You didn’t have to blow up the kitchen for that.” She then turned and walked to the dining room, carefully placing the plate of fried eggs on the table before sitting down.
But less than a few seconds after sitting down, she felt as if there were nails under her, making her restless. After a moment’s hesitation, she stood up and returned to the living room.
Auntie Qin was applying medicine to Gu Yuetong’s burns. There weren’t many splatters from the oil, mostly concentrated on the back of her right hand and where it connected to her wrist. Perhaps it was because Gu Yuetong’s skin was so fair that the burns looked a bit dark. In any case, the oil must have been quite hot.
Qi Baizi concealed the pain in her eyes, walked over, took the tweezers from Auntie Qin’s hand, and took over the task of applying the medicine.
Beside them, Li Yi looked as if she had just stumbled upon some major gossip. She pretended to be calm, but was actually both excited and curious.
Auntie Qin went to the kitchen and turned on the range hood. When she came back, she called Li Yi over under the pretext of helping to clean up.
Closing the kitchen door, just as Li Yi was about to speak, Auntie Qin interrupted her. “You’ve guessed something, haven’t you?”
Li Yi nodded excitedly, grabbing Auntie Qin’s hands as if she had found a kindred spirit. “You see it too?”
Auntie Qin’s heart sank. She was a little annoyed at them for not being more discreet, but she also understood—after all, it was perfectly normal for a young couple in love to show their true feelings.
Auntie Qin pulled her hands away, hesitating, trying to figure out how to make Li Yi keep it to herself. But then she heard Li Yi muttering, “If only my ship could be like this. Even if it’s not real, they could at least give me some more sweet moments.”
“What’s not real?” Auntie Qin was stunned, scratching her head in confusion.
Li Yi’s expression was ecstatic. “The ship I’m shipping!” She paused, then suddenly deflated. “But they’re like President Gu and Xiao Bai. To outsiders, they’re superior and subordinate, but privately, they’re close friends.”
Auntie Qin didn’t quite understand all this “ship” business, but she understood the last part. So, Li Yi didn’t actually know about Gu Yuetong and Qi Baizi’s relationship; she was just using them as a comparison.
“My ship isn’t even as good as President Gu and Xiao Bai. At least President Gu and Xiao Bai interact, and they apologize to each other after a fight. My ship just gives each other the cold shoulder and then makes up in battle… Even for a superior and subordinate in a hot-blooded anime, they don’t have to be so distant. The producer is so evil—”
Li Yi rambled on incoherently while Auntie Qin turned away and silently started slicing toast.
In the living room outside, Qi Baizi silently applied medicine to Gu Yuetong’s hand. Gu Yuetong stared at her slightly trembling shoulders and suddenly reached out with her other hand to squeeze it.
Qi Baizi’s whole body tensed, and she slowly raised her head.
Gu Yuetong had a smile on her face. “Sorry, I messed up the heart-shaped breakfast.”
Qi Baizi was silent for a moment, then muttered softly, “You shouldn’t have been so stubborn when you can’t even cook…”
Gu Yuetong sighed softly. “I just don’t know how to turn on this range hood.” She then smiled again, a hint of pride in her voice. “And so what if I was being stubborn? Are you the only one allowed to be stubborn? Am I not allowed to learn from you?”
“You—” Qi Baizi knew what she was referring to and stood up in anger, but the moment her eyes met Gu Yuetong’s, she fell silent, the words on the tip of her tongue swallowed back down.
Gu Yuetong was still smiling, looking up at her slightly. “What about me? Were you going to say I was using sophistry?”
“I wasn’t.” Qi Baizi bit her lower lip and stubbornly looked away.
Gu Yuetong lowered her eyes and said no more.
The atmosphere grew cold again. Unwilling to endure this sense of distance any longer, Qi Baizi hesitated for a moment and then decided to soften her stance.
She sat back down in her previous spot and said softly, “I’m sorry. I apologize for my emotions.”
“So, you also realize how absurd your actions were?”
Gu Yuetong was taken aback for a moment, then looked up at her. “I only feel sorry for hiding things from you.”
After a half-second standoff, Qi Baizi laughed in anger. “So President Gu thinks that paying back the money to Qi Wu’s family on my behalf was the right thing to do?”
“That wasn’t paying back money,” Gu Yuetong said seriously. “I talked to your cousin when you were in the hospital room. That was just an investment.”
“How noble.” Qi Baizi rarely showed a cold smile, but her pent-up anger had nowhere to go and finally ignited in that smile. “I asked Qi Wu. You just donated under the guise of an investment.”
“Investing in a fried chicken shop is understandable. After all, the store manager heard your secret, so you used money to shut her up. You might not even lose money if the shop makes a profit. But what about Qi Wu? Her? She’s a college student with an ordinary major and average abilities. What’s so worthy of President Gu’s investment?”
“Fortunately, my family members aren’t vampires. They know what money they should take and what they shouldn’t.”
“If she had taken your money and my ten thousand, then I would have to spend the rest of my life drowning in debt!”
The more Qi Baizi spoke, the more agitated she became. The strands of hair on her shoulders trembled along with her vocal cords. It was the first time Gu Yuetong had seen her say so much at once. The fake smile froze on her face, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to react.
She could be like Gu Hezhu, who, when faced with an emotional subordinate, would first persuade them to calm down, then manipulate them until they fell into an emotional black hole. But the person she was facing now was Qi Baizi. She couldn’t bring herself to use that trick on her.
“I’m just here to work, not to solicit donations, President Gu!”
Qi Baizi emphasized the last two words to express her anger.
The sound of the range hood in the kitchen was quite loud. Auntie Qin had prepared the toast and lettuce but didn’t dare to go out with Li Yi. They could hear arguing outside, but they couldn’t make out the words.
This was likely the first time the two had argued like this. Li Yi peered out the door worriedly and saw an explosive Qi Baizi and a silent Gu Yuetong on the sofa.
“How is it?”
“They’re not talking anymore,” Li Yi asked Auntie Qin worriedly. “Should we go out and try to mediate?”
Auntie Qin sighed. “Leave it to me.”
With that, she pulled the door open and pretended to slip and fall to the ground.
Li Yi was stunned. She wanted to help but didn’t dare, so she just let out a deliberate scream to attract their attention.
Sure enough, Qi Baizi and Gu Yuetong’s attention was immediately drawn. They quickly got up and came to the kitchen. Seeing Auntie Qin collapsed on the floor, Gu Yuetong was extremely anxious and said sternly, “Auntie Qin, Auntie Qin, don’t scare me!”
“I’ll call an ambulance.” Qi Baizi was relatively calm. She placed a hand on Gu Yuetong’s shoulder to comfort her, while taking out her phone with the other hand to make a call.
Gu Yuetong didn’t shy away from her touch, her eyes filled with anxiety and worry. The tense, confrontational atmosphere between them had already transformed into mutual reliance.
Seeing this, Li Yi coughed. Auntie Qin understood, gritted her teeth, and pretended to take a long, deep breath before slowly opening her eyes.
Before the two could react, she suddenly sat up and pulled their hands, placing them on top of each other.
No matter how slow she was, Qi Baizi realized that Auntie Qin was doing this on purpose.
Gu Yuetong, however, looked as if she was still in shock, as if she truly believed it. She took the opportunity to grab Qi Baizi’s hand and pleaded, “Keep calling, call an ambulance!”
Auntie Qin saw this wasn’t going well and quickly said, “I’m fine, I don’t need to go to the hospital!”
“What if!” Gu Yuetong interrupted frantically. “Let’s go get it checked out anyway. An ultrasound, blood tests, a full-body CT scan, let’s check everything to see what caused you to suddenly faint!”
Hearing this, Auntie Qin instantly felt something was wrong. She immediately pushed herself up from the floor, grabbed the bewildered Li Yi, and fled to the dining room.
Watching her clumsy yet somewhat cute appearance, Gu Yuetong sighed and couldn’t help but shake her head.
Qi Baizi also couldn’t help but smile. She inadvertently met Gu Yuetong’s gaze and found her smiling back. “A complete victory.”
“Mm,” Qi Baizi blinked.
Realizing their hands were still clasped together, Qi Baizi’s chest suddenly softened. She squeezed Gu Yuetong’s hand firmly.
Gu Yuetong squeezed back in the same way.
Li Yi, peeking from the dining room, thought to herself: This must be what they call letting bygones be bygones with a smile.
After the meal, Gu Yuetong took the initiative to find Qi Baizi and invite her to be her model.
Li Yi had wanted to go too. She certainly wouldn’t miss an opportunity to suck up to her boss. But when she thought about how the two of them hadn’t seemed to finish their argument, she immediately dismissed the idea of brown-nosing. After all, going at a time like this would do nothing but get in the way of their reconciliation.
Thinking the two were about to return to a hostile state, Li Yi sought help from Auntie Qin while making tea. “What if they get into a heated argument again?”
“They won’t,” Auntie Qin said decisively. “If they start arguing again, then my act was for nothing, and I embarrassed myself for nothing.”
“Don’t worry, the fire won’t spread to us,” she comforted Li Yi. She also pitied Li Yi for not understanding the games young couples play. What couple doesn’t fight? Besides, they always make up. The art studio was so big and empty, anything could happen.
“Remember, don’t disturb them until they come out today, and don’t eavesdrop.”
Li Yi nodded like a chick pecking at rice. “Okay.”
In the art studio, Qi Baizi sat upright on the stool as she had last time, while Gu Yuetong opposite her was mixing paints.
Qi Baizi couldn’t help but start a conversation. “Is it watercolor today?”
“Mm.” Gu Yuetong nodded, then turned back to look at her. “You don’t have to sit so straight. I remember what you look like.”
Qi Baizi said “oh” and relaxed her back. After a moment of silence, she asked Gu Yuetong, “Then do you know what I’m thinking?”
“You’re thinking about why I’m so domineering, giving your family money without your permission.” Gu Yuetong flicked her brush and looked at Qi Baizi. “I just wanted to help you relieve some pressure.”
“That’s not what I need,” Qi Baizi said, her eyelids drooping slightly. She then smiled and said seriously, “That’s not the purpose of my relationship with you.”
“I know.”
“You don’t know.” Qi Baizi stared into Gu Yuetong’s eyes and said, word by word, “If we can’t achieve mutual understanding, then let’s just be respectful colleagues.”
“Don’t ask too much about my affairs in the future, or… I can resign.”
The brush that had just touched the paper paused. Gu Yuetong looked at her in disbelief. “Are you saying you want to break up?”
“I don’t,” Qi Baizi said. “That’s why I’d rather resign.”