Chapter 7
After Zheng Xiaoxiao left, Gu Yuetong frowned at Qi Baizi, who was lying on the sofa.
Under the light of the crystal chandelier, Qi Baizi’s face was excessively red. Combined with her deep sleep, Gu Yuetong found it hard to believe what Zheng Xiaoxiao had said.
“Just two sips?” Gu Yuetong walked forward and sat down on the sofa next to Qi Baizi.
She quietly watched Qi Baizi’s flushed face, reaching out a hand to hover over it.
Qi Baizi had excellent features, with perfectly proportioned facial thirds and fifths. Her philtrum and brow bones were slightly prominent, giving her a look that was both gentle and sharp.
She still had a student-like air about her now, but Gu Yuetong imagined that with just a little makeup, she could exude considerable charm.
Gu Yuetong thought of the scene of Zheng Xiaoxiao supporting her as she got out of the car and couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
“She’s quite the charmer, isn’t she.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Qi Baizi suddenly stirred. Gu Yuetong was taken aback.
Qi Baizi raised her hand and started scratching. As she turned over, a patch of red was revealed on her neck.
Gu Yuetong couldn’t see it clearly, so she leaned forward a bit. Only then did she discover that a red rash had broken out on Qi Baizi’s neck and behind her ears.
Gu Yuetong quickly called her name, but Qi Baizi was sleeping too soundly and didn’t move.
Helpless, Gu Yuetong had to first pull out her phone to call 120, then called for the housekeeping manager to come up and help.
In a daze, Qi Baizi was carried into the emergency room. By the time she was conscious, half a bag of IV fluid had already been administered.
She groggily opened her eyes and saw Gu Yuetong sitting by her bed. After a few seconds of eye contact, Qi Baizi shot up, her speech a little slurred. “P-President Gu, what are you doing here?”
Only then did she realize she was in a hospital. But no matter where she was, waking up to see her boss first thing was quite a shock.
“W-what happened to me?” She calmed herself down and stammered, asking Gu Yuetong, “W-w-what am I doing here?”
Gu Yuetong replied in a flat tone, “You had an allergic reaction to alcohol.”
“An allergic reaction to alcohol…” Qi Baizi remembered that she had indeed had a drink, but wasn’t she drinking with Zheng Xiaoxiao on the rooftop?
“Did I drink a lot?”
Gu Yuetong leaned back in her chair and raised an eyebrow. “Not really. You only had two sips.”
Zheng Xiaoxiao might lie, but the recent blood test report wouldn’t. Qi Baizi indeed hadn’t drunk much; the average alcohol content in her blood was very low.
But her body just couldn’t break it down, and the absorption rate was incredibly fast.
“The doctor said it’s related to your constitution. It might be hereditary.”
As Gu Yuetong spoke, she patted her legs and stood up. She was still wearing that thin black trench coat over a white shirt and black trousers, her hair half-up and half-down, slightly obscuring her face.
Their eyes met, and a suffocating sense of pressure washed over Qi Baizi. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but her face started to burn again.
Fortunately, Gu Yuetong had already turned away and didn’t notice her abnormality.
“I’m going back first. Remember to go back and get some sleep after your IV is done. Don’t miss the flight.”
Gu Yuetong had come with the ambulance. After leaving the hospital, she casually hailed a taxi, gave the hotel address after getting in, and then remained silent.
She was recalling the words Qi Baizi had mumbled in her sleep—”Mom.” From the moment she got into the ambulance, Qi Baizi had been calling for her mother the entire way.
After a few seconds of thought, Gu Yuetong opened her phone, went to her browsing history, and clicked on “Little Baizi’s” Weibo. She searched for posts with the keyword: Mom.
There were a total of fifty-one results.
Sorting them by date, Gu Yuetong started from the first Weibo post with the keyword “Mom.” Below the post was the tag “First Weibo Post.”
The time was about two years ago:
“Mom, please get well.”
The second one was three days later:
“Mom, are you scared? I’m so scared.”
The third one was over a month later:
“Uncle and Aunt gave us another fifty thousand yuan. Mom, you have to get well. Don’t let them down.”
The fourth one was already half a year later:
“It’s okay, Mom. We cured it last time, and we’ll cure it this time too.”
Gu Yuetong slowed down her browsing. By the time she got out of the car, she had just finished reading about a dozen posts.
She paid the fare, went upstairs, washed up briefly, and lay in bed to continue reading. When she reached the second-to-last post, her heart suddenly clenched.
“Goodbye, Mom.”
The time was three months ago.
Gu Yuetong fought back a tremor and scrolled to the last one:
“I miss you, Mom. Please watch over Aunt and help me earn enough money to pay for her treatment.”
Gu Yuetong stared blankly for a long time. When she came to her senses, a sour feeling welled up in her nose.
So that was it.
***
Qi Baizi slept at the hospital until six in the morning. After finishing the remaining half-bag of IV fluid, the nurse came in to add a bag of glucose. She really couldn’t stay awake, so she set an alarm and fell asleep.
When she returned to the hotel, Gu Yuetong was already up, drawing in the unoccupied guest room. Hearing the noise, Gu Yuetong poked her head out and said, “The two bags on the table are for you.”
Qi Baizi acknowledged her and curiously opened the bags. One of them contained clothes, a black and white professional women’s suit. She took it out and compared it; the fabric was much finer than the set she had worn before. A glance at the price tag showed a four-digit number.
Qi Baizi was stunned for a moment but said nothing.
The other bag seemed to contain a book, heavy and wrapped in kraft paper, the classic packaging of a certain bookstore.
Qi Baizi picked up the room card from the table and slit the kraft paper along a crease. The paper split open neatly, revealing a copy of the French-Chinese Dictionary.
Qi Baizi: ???
What did this mean?
She couldn’t help but think of yesterday’s transoceanic conference call, where Gu Yuetong had spoken to her in French.
So her giving her this… was she criticizing her foreign language skills?
“Thank you, President Gu.”
Half a minute later, Gu Yuetong’s phone vibrated with a notification that a specially followed account had updated. She put down her paintbrush, clicked on it, and saw that Qi Baizi was complaining about her.
“I’m speechless. Do people from wealthy families just know how to speak eight languages from birth? Also, what does it mean to suddenly throw a French dictionary at me after a transoceanic conference call? If you have a problem with me, can’t you just say it directly!”
Gu Yuetong: Isn’t this obvious enough?
She was already being very direct.
Gu Yuetong once again realized what kind of role she played in Qi Baizi’s eyes: an arrogant, unapproachable, and petty boss.
At 3:40 in the afternoon, Gu Yuetong sat in a business van parked outside Jingzhou Airport, waiting for Qi Baizi to retrieve the luggage. She wore sunglasses, held a cup of fruit juice, and the car door was half-open to air out the stuffy vehicle that had been baking in the sun all afternoon.
She was looking at a document on her computer for the meeting back at the company when someone suddenly knocked on the car window.
Thinking it was Qi Baizi, she grunted in acknowledgment without looking up. It wasn’t until the person outside spoke that she realized and turned to look: it was her Ex-wife Sister, Wang Lin.
Wang Lin had shoulder-length curly hair, wore a shiny, form-fitting leather dress, and was teetering on a pair of high heels, trying to squeeze through the half-open car door.
Gu Yuetong was stunned for half a second before quickly asking her, “What are you doing here?”
The sun was beating down outside. Wang Lin used her limited-edition bag to shield half her face from the sun. “Let me get in first.”
Gu Yuetong was silent for half a second, then opened the door to let her in.
Wang Lin: “Did you just get off a flight too?”
As she spoke, Wang Lin snatched the juice from Gu Yuetong’s hand and, without a second thought, stuck the straw in her mouth.
Gu Yuetong paused for a moment, then nodded.
“Why are you still so dull?” Wang Lin finished the juice in one go, leaned closer to her, and pouted. “Why did you block me?”
Gu Yuetong’s face turned cold. “Did you look for me just to borrow money?”
“Of course not!” Wang Lin took off Gu Yuetong’s sunglasses and playfully tapped her on the nose. “My A-Yue, I just wanted to find an excuse to talk to you.”
Gu Yuetong frowned, dodging her hand. “So, can I not transfer the money?”
Wang Lin laughed. “Of course… you can’t.”
“Are you treating me like an ATM?”
“Of course not…” Wang Lin coughed and said seriously, “I’m setting up an exhibition recently, and the expenses for the venue are quite high.”
Gu Yuetong asked, “Where are you setting up the exhibition?”
“Donglin City.”
Gu Yuetong said nothing. Wang Lin glanced at her guiltily. “What’s wrong?”
“Which exhibition hall in Donglin City?”
“Just… the City Express Exhibition.”
Gu Yuetong let out a meaningful “oh” and nodded. “When does it open? Will you invite me to see it?”
“It’s already open. If you’re free, we can go now…”
“That’s enough.”
Wang Lin wanted to continue, but Gu Yuetong cut her off in a low voice. “After all these years, you’re still the same as you were back then.”
Still full of lies, just like back then.
Her long, bright eyes were blazing with anger, but it was suppressed by her upbringing and reason.
Wang Lin was glared at by her and didn’t dare to meet her eyes again. She said guiltily, “What did I do? It wasn’t my fault we broke up back then. It was your mother who…”
Wang Lin’s voice trailed off.
In the end, she was the one who had taken Gu Hezhu’s money and given up on Gu Yuetong. To push the blame onto Gu Yuetong now… after all, they had been in love. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
Gu Yuetong was silent for a long time.
Wang Lin shook her arm. “A-Yue, I just got back from Donglin. I have a lot of fans there. You wouldn’t want to see my exhibition close down halfway through, would you…”
Gu Yuetong said nothing, took out her phone, and transferred one hundred thousand yuan to her bank card.
“I hope this is the last time we meet.”
“Aren’t you going to unblock me?” Wang Lin received the money and asked Gu Yuetong while tapping on her phone. “Can you bear to treat me like this?”
Gu Yuetong let out a cold laugh and pushed her out of the car. “You’ve been treating me like this for many years.”
“Ouch!” Wang Lin exclaimed. She hadn’t expected Gu Yuetong to actually push her. The business van was a bit high, and she stumbled when she landed, almost falling. Fortunately, there was someone behind her who firmly supported her.
Gu Yuetong looked out from the car and saw that it was Qi Baizi.
Qi Baizi stood behind Wang Lin with a suitcase, having been the one to stop her from falling flat on her face.
“President Gu.” Qi Baizi looked at Gu Yuetong, then at Wang Lin, her head full of questions. But she still maintained a sufficient sense of boundaries, firmly not asking what she shouldn’t.
But Gu Yuetong, unlike her usual cold self, actually got out of the car to take the suitcase.
“Check if that art exhibition in Donglin City is open today.”
Qi Baizi freed her hands to take out her phone.
“Yes, President Gu.”
Wang Lin’s face changed slightly. “Gu Yuetong, what do you mean?”
“I don’t mean anything.” Gu Yuetong stood by, holding the suitcase.
Qi Baizi clicked on the official exhibition account for Donglin City.
“President Gu, not yet. But the artist and the curator have an interview this afternoon and said they will respond to the controversy over the closure.”
As expected.
Gu Yuetong snorted coldly and narrowed her eyes at Wang Lin. “Then I’ll have to trouble you to take that hundred thousand yuan and rush back to Donglin for the interview.”
With that, she turned and got back into the car, closing the door. Seeing this, Qi Baizi quickly followed. The two drove away from the airport, leaving Wang Lin alone, fuming. “Gu Yuetong!”