Chapter 56
“Did you hear that, Young President Gu? Your ex-girlfriend wants to see you. How about we have dinner together?” A few seconds later, Huo Bu’s voice came through again, laced with provocation and frivolity. He paused. “I’ve booked a table on the second floor of Sujing Pavilion. Interested in stopping by?”
“Sorry, not interested.” Gu Yuetong pressed the hang-up button without another word, closed her eyes for a moment, and then drove towards East Mountain Manor.
After picking up Qi Baizi and the others, Gu Yuetong moved to the back seat to sit with Qi Baizi.
Qi Baizi wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she saw a trace of subtle agitation on her face.
She gently touched Gu Yuetong’s palm with her fingertips. Gu Yuetong clearly snapped out of her daze, forced a smile, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Not feeling well?” Qi Baizi mouthed.
“No,” Gu Yuetong shook her head gently.
Auntie Qin was driving in the front and asked Gu Yuetong what she wanted to eat. Gu Yuetong hesitated for a moment, then named a Western restaurant.
“Western food again,” Auntie Qin sighed. “I heard the newly opened Sujing Pavilion is very good. Should we go try it?”
“No.” Hearing the name of the restaurant, Gu Yuetong’s face darkened. “We’ll eat what I say we eat.”
“Alright.”
Auntie Qin replied listlessly and turned the car around.
In the evening, they returned to the Old Fortress. Auntie Qin was listlessly leaning on the sofa watching TV. Gu Yuetong came downstairs after washing up and changing, and seeing Auntie Qin’s pale face, she asked with concern, “Is your old problem acting up?”
“No,” Auntie Qin said. “It’s just that the steak gave me gas.”
As she spoke, she rubbed her hard stomach, looking helpless. “You know I don’t like to eat this stuff.”
Gu Yuetong felt a pang of guilt. She sat down opposite her and poured her a cup of hot water. “I’m sorry, I overreacted today.”
“I could tell.” Auntie Qin took a sip and asked, “Did that Wang Lin contact you?”
“How did you know?”
“You drove my car today. My car has an automatic call recording system. The call is automatically uploaded to my app after it ends. You were the one who helped me set it up, didn’t you know?”
“…” Gu Yuetong fell silent, slowly letting out a breath. “I am a bit annoyed.”
“I have an impression of that Huo Bu. He’s quite a character, but he’s in a different industry. Even if Wang Lin was short on money for her exhibition, how did she get mixed up with him?” Auntie Qin analyzed, holding her cup. “He’s not planning to cause trouble, is he?”
“How do you know she’s holding an exhibition?”
“Huh?” Auntie Qin realized she had let it slip and quickly tried to find an excuse.
But before she could invent a lie, Gu Yuetong asked, “Did Little Bai tell you something?”
“…” Auntie Qin nodded and repeated the conversation she had with Qi Baizi in the study that day.
Before going to bed, Qi Baizi was in her bedroom memorizing French words. Hearing Gu Yuetong return to her room from the art studio, she closed her dictionary and glanced at the time on her phone.
Twelve-thirty.
It was a bit earlier today.
Qi Baizi got up, planning to go next door to share the bed. Although Gu Yuetong’s bed was very soft and a bit uncomfortable for her to sleep on, she would rather get used to the discomfort than be without Gu Yuetong by her side.
Only after pushing the door open did she realize it wasn’t Gu Yuetong in the room, but Auntie Qin, who had come to deliver Gu Yuetong’s clean clothes.
“Why are you still up?” Qi Baizi went over to help. “Let me fold them.”
Auntie Qin was happy to be relieved of the task and found a place to sit down.
“Yuetong is still painting.”
Qi Baizi replied while working, “I know. She’s been upset these past two days and likes to be alone.”
Auntie Qin smiled at her words. “It’s good that you understand her.”
“I just hope I’m the icing on the cake or help in her time of need, not a burden.” Qi Baizi folded Gu Yuetong’s clothes and placed them on the headboard, then turned to sit opposite Auntie Qin.
“I can’t help President Gu with much, so I’m always worried she’s too tired.”
“For Yuetong, just knowing you’re thinking of her is enough,” Auntie Qin smiled. “By the way, how’s your family?”
“They’re alright,” Qi Baizi answered truthfully.
“I see.” Auntie Qin coughed, seemingly trying to steer the conversation. “Do they know about you and Yuetong?”
Qi Baizi was taken aback and shook her head. “No.”
“Why haven’t you told them?”
“…Two reasons, I guess.” Qi Baizi hesitated before voicing her concerns. When facing Auntie Qin, she still chose to trust her. “One, I’m afraid they won’t be able to accept it. And two… on President Gu’s side, the timing isn’t right yet.”
“That’s true.” Auntie Qin suddenly gave a bitter smile. “If you two are together, let alone others, even Gu Hezhu wouldn’t be able to accept it.”
Qi Baizi nodded.
She knew all of this.
Auntie Qin continued to lament, “If Gu Hezhu has a brain fart one day and marries Yuetong off, then it’ll be all over.”
“…What?” Qi Baizi didn’t react to the words ‘marries off’ for a moment, asking twice, “What do you mean?”
“Oh, I’ve said too much.” Auntie Qin froze, then quickly got up, intending to leave.
Qi Baizi called her back, asking her to be clearer.
Auntie Qin was helpless. “Why don’t you go to the art studio and ask Yuetong yourself.”
With that, Auntie Qin turned and went downstairs.
Qi Baizi, full of questions, pushed open the door to the art studio. Gu Yuetong was painting a picture of the Louvre Palace after it was destroyed by fire. Perhaps her brush had slipped, as there was a patch of gray paint on the floor.
Hearing the sound, Gu Yuetong looked up and smiled. “You’re here?”
Qi Baizi’s face was grim as she walked around to the other side. “Did you ask Auntie Qin to tell me those things?”
“Consider it a heads-up,” Gu Yuetong said. “If you’re with me, you need to know these risks.”
“…Gu Hezhu won’t marry you off. She said she loves you, it’s just that Wang Lin and Han Zhiyu aren’t right for you.”
“She also said I’d have the freedom to date after I came of age,” Gu Yuetong sneered. “She’s overstepping her bounds.”
“But haven’t your relations already eased?” Qi Baizi asked.
Gu Yuetong was silent for a moment, then picked up her phone and threw it over. “See for yourself.”
Qi Baizi opened Gu Yuetong’s phone and saw the message from Gu Hezhu: ‘Find some time to have a meal with Huo Bu. He wants to see you.’
“Huo… Bu?” Qi Baizi hesitated, her heart beating faster and faster.
The last time she saw this sleazy man at the celebration, she could tell he had ill intentions towards Gu Yuetong. After so long with no activity, she thought it was just a passing fancy, but she never expected him to reach out to Gu Hezhu.
But what did Gu Hezhu mean by this? Had she given in?
“Little Bai.” Gu Yuetong sighed deeply, put down her paintbrush, and sat up straight to face Qi Baizi. “My situation is not stable. Being with me, you will have to go through many things that others don’t.”
“…I’m not afraid,” Qi Baizi said firmly. “I understand you.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Gu Yuetong was silent for a moment, then took her phone and swiped through her photo album a few times. “This is the job posting Pei Ran put up. The new store is almost done with renovations. You said before that you didn’t want to be the store manager, so I had her find someone else, but now I think it would be more stable if you went.”
Looking at the phone screen held up in front of her, Qi Baizi’s pupils dilated slightly, in disbelief. “Are you trying to kick me out?”
“I’m doing this for your safety,” Gu Yuetong raised her voice, as if to convince herself. “Do you remember Wang Lin? Auntie Qin told you about her, and you saw her at the mall.”
“I remember.”
“She’s being controlled by Huo Bu.”
“What do you mean?” Qi Baizi didn’t understand these convoluted matters. Wasn’t Wang Lin Gu Yuetong’s ex-girlfriend? What did she have to do with Huo Bu?
“The app developed by the team I built from scratch is currently using the overseas servers of Huo Bu’s company.”
“Before I had Auntie Qin talk to you, I had already spoken with Gu Hezhu on the phone.”
“Huo Bu is using Wang Lin to threaten me, wanting me to sell the app to him. Although our app is also profitable, the reality is that Gu Corporation has other troubles. If Huo Bu wants to suppress us, regardless of whether we fight back or not, our losses will not be small.”
Qi Baizi’s head was spinning. She waved her hand to interrupt. “Are you sure Huo Bu’s goal is just the app?”
“Why is he using Wang Lin to threaten you?”
Gu Yuetong was at a loss for words and avoided the topic. “Anyway, no matter what, I don’t want you to become the next Wang Lin.”
“Don’t you think this behavior is a bit of a clumsy denial?” Qi Baizi narrowed her eyes. “Who knows we’re dating right now?”
“If this continues, it’s only a matter of time before they find out!” Gu Yuetong looked at her. “Do you think you can hide it forever?”
“What are you really afraid of?”
“I’m afraid of you really leaving me!” Gu Yuetong became emotional, quickly getting up and knocking over the easel. The drawing paper flew up with a swoosh and fluttered to the ground, merging with the muddy paint on the floor.
Her eyes were red as she stared intently at Qi Baizi.
“Back then, I thought I had hidden things well with Wang Lin, but Gu Hezhu still went to great lengths to dig it all out.”
The art studio fell into a silence so profound you could hear a pin drop. Gu Yuetong pinched the bridge of her nose, her thick, long hair covering part of her face.
“I’ve already spoken with Pei Ran. Move out in a couple of days and find some time to report to her.”
Qi Baizi lowered her head in silence for a moment, then looked up. “Can we still see each other?”
Gu Yuetong replied, “I’ll have Auntie Qin pick you up for dinner regularly. Living apart won’t affect our relationship.”
Qi Baizi didn’t understand how much weight Gu Yuetong’s words “won’t affect our relationship” carried, but every moment after moving out of the Old Fortress felt suffocating. Whether she was at work in the branch store or back in her apartment after work, Gu Yuetong’s shadow would always appear before her eyes.
The new house was rented with the help of one of Auntie Qin’s friends, so no one could trace her. The house was only a kilometer away from the fried chicken shop. Although it was near the outer ring road, the environment was very nice. It was a large, single-level apartment with top-notch renovations, and the rent was almost equal to Qi Baizi’s monthly salary.
Although she didn’t have to pay for it, living alone in such a house didn’t bring Qi Baizi any joy; on the contrary, she often felt lonely. She had always been a loner before, but she had never felt this way. It was terrifying, like some kind of withdrawal symptom.
To suppress this withdrawal, Qi Baizi started smoking again. When she had nothing to do, she would squat by the trash can behind the store with Pei Ran, one cigarette after another.
Pei Ran drove her home a few times and joked about moving in with her. She didn’t mind, but Pei Ran felt it would be an intrusion. A bit of banter was fine, but actually moving in felt inappropriate.
So Qi Baizi continued to be lonely.
Occasionally, she would go to see her aunt, who was about to be discharged from the hospital and was recovering well. However, her health was not what it used to be; she would get dizzy after walking just a few steps. The doctor said it was a normal postoperative phenomenon and that she needed to recuperate properly, so Qi Baizi would buy some supplements and send them over whenever she had time.
Slowly, more than half a month passed. Jingzhou finally welcomed the height of summer. Everyone was languishing in the heat of the dog days of summer, breaking into a sweat after just ten minutes away from the air conditioning.
“Hang in there, autumn will be here soon.”
“It’ll still be hot for a while after autumn starts.”
Taking off the apron she wore while frying chicken, Pei Ran wiped the sweat from her face.
Smoking wasn’t allowed in the store, and there was no air conditioning outside. She unscrewed a bottle of iced cola and slipped out the back door.
Qi Baizi was one step ahead of her, a cigarette already half-burned.
Pei Ran fumbled in her pocket but couldn’t find her cigarette pack. Only then did she remember she had smoked her last one that morning. The nearest smoke shop was a two-minute walk away, and Pei Ran wasn’t willing to be an ostrich under the blazing sun, so she reached out and took the half-smoked cigarette from Qi Baizi.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you out. You’ve seemed really troubled lately.” Pei Ran said, a cigarette dangling from her lips as she took out her phone. “Wanna play Fight the Landlord?”
“No.”
Although she said that, Qi Baizi still took out her phone.
It was completely quiet, except for ad notifications from apps. There were no messages.
Just like with Gu Yuetong.
For over half a month, besides Gu Yuetong’s “good morning” and “good night,” there had been no other communication between them.
Qi Baizi also tacitly replied with only those two phrases, never bothering her at any other time.
However, one thing was worth noting: Gu Yuetong had changed her profile picture.
It was no longer the golden retriever from before, but a picture of Milk Ball sitting primly on a sofa.