Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Wh, wh, what?! Broke up?!” Ma Qiqi sprang up from her bed. “Are you playing with me?!”
“No. Stop being so surprised.” Gu Nianzhi pulled her down so she could sit. “You tell me first, then I’ll tell you why we broke up.”
Ma Qiqi patted her chest. Her heart was still fluttering with fear as she said, “Ok, it’s like this. That day Brother Xiong told me the one who was going to the airport to pick you up was Huo Shao, I went to the airport to stop him. But you also know that I can’t get in. I was only able to get in because Brother Xiong helped me out.”
Gu Nianzhi felt warmth in her heart as she grasped Ma Qiqi’s hands.
Ma Qiqi felt encouraged and continued to speak as her face lit up. She told it like telling a story and told her everything, including what Yin Shixiong told her and how she desperately begged for help. At the end she said, “…When I arrived where Huo Shao and that Tan something were, I was right on time to see them get off the plane. Can you guess what I saw? I saw your Huo Shao being that Tan something’s flower guard! I was so mad! I ran up to him and yelled at him. I said, ‘Huo Shao! Your girlfriend has been kidnapped and electrocuted! You’re still in the mood to be a flower guard!? Nianzhi was really blind! You’re trash! You will get retribution!’”
Gu Nianzhi’s heart trembled as she listened. She hadn’t seen what Ma Qiqi just said on the video! “Qiqi, you mean, you saw them getting off the plane? You saw Huo Shao help that Tan Guiren and take the flowers from her hands, and then you ran over and yelled at him?” Gu Nianzhi asked about it in detail. Like a puzzle with a piece missing, she tried hard to reconstruct the whole picture.
Ma Qiqi nodded a little. “Yes. As you also know, at that time, the live broadcast was cut. The whole internet didn’t see me when I was yelling.” She laughed mischievously and poked Gu Nianzhi. “Nianzhi, you can’t blame me, right?”
Gu Nianzhi came to her senses and shook her head. “Of course not.” How could she blame her for helping her to that extent?! She couldn’t even wait to thank her! To have someone who has my back and that spoke up for me feels really good… She hugged Ma Qiqi and placed her head on her shoulder.
“But you said that you guys broke up. Did he fall for someone else?” Ma Qiqi was puzzled. “What happened?”
Gu Nianzhi felt very perplexed. Her feelings and her decisions were not something that could be explained in a sentence or two. But she was also considerate of Ma Qiqi’s worries. After thinking about it, she said in a concise yet comprehensive manner, “No, Huo Shaoheng didn’t fall for someone else. It was me. I almost died from braving through untold dangers. Now, I’m able to accept many things. Stop insisting. It’s better for everyone this way.” Huo Shaoheng wouldn’t change, and she wouldn’t ask him to change for her. So the best outcome was to break up peacefully. She didn’t want to wear the feelings down to nothing.That would be too ugly.
Ma Qiqi only understood half of it, but she still nodded. “Ok, as long as you know what you are doing, then it’s good. But Nianzhi, you are still young. Even if you are dating, you don’t need to die by hanging yourself on one tree. Look at me, I’ve already hanged myself on many trees, but not only am I still not dead, I’m stronger!”
Gu Nianzhi snorted with laughter from her joke. Those grievances and unwillingness that were at the bottom of Ma Qiqi’s heart slowly dissipated in her hearty laughter. She thought about it. It is only a breakup, and just like Ma Qiqi said, I’m still young, and the most important thing right now is to finish school, start my own business, and be able to stand on my own feet in this society. Only then will I not be abandoned by someone…
Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi laughed for a while. Then she remembered that it was Tuesday and said, “Qiqi, do you have classes today?”
“Ah?! Oh no, oh no! I forgot about it when you came back! I have two classes this morning! One of the classes is already halfway over!” Ma Qiqi put her backpack on in a hurry and ran out in an instant.
Gu Nianzhi returned to her room after she heard the door outside the dormitory close with a bang. The moment she walked in, she was dumbfounded. Huo Shaoheng had already put her suitcase in the closet, and he was getting water to do some cleaning for her.
The window was thoroughly cleaned, the floor was mopped, and there were new sheets on the bed. The quilt cover was in the laundry basket. The old bed cover had been taken off, and it was also in the laundry basket.
Huo Shaoheng turned to see Gu Nianzhi walking in when he heard the sound of the door. He stood up straight and asked, “Ma Qiqi left?”
Gu Nianzhi nodded. “She went to class. She was so excited just now, she forgot she had classes. She just left.”
Huo Shaoheng patted the bed. “Come sit here.”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
“What? I won’t do anything to you,” Huo Shaoheng said in a calm and collected manner. He stood up from the bed and gave up his seat.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t go over there. She didn’t say anything as she lowered her head for a long time. She thought a lot about what Ma Qiqi had just said. Huo Shaoheng didn’t mention a thing about Ma Qiqi yelling at him at the airport or little things like that. Men like Huo Shaoheng wouldn’t take it to heart.
Only big things about the country and unstable situations around the world are on their minds. In their eyes, people like Ma Qiqi and myself are completely not worth mentioning. They naturally wouldn’t care if you yelled at them, praised them, or loved them. And he’s too rich to be a good match for me. We don’t suit each other. Also, I’m too demanding. It’s too difficult. Isn’t it a good thing to get out of such intense feelings?
Gu Nianzhi calmly said, “Huo Shaoheng, I apologize for my attitude from before. I didn’t feel good, and I wasn’t in a good mental state. I hope you will be a bigger and better person and not take it to heart.”
Huo Shaoheng was stupefied. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Gu Nianzhi. He wasn’t happy with her mild attitude. On the contrary, he was even more depressed.
She continued, “I know you had your reasons, but you also know that I… I, under this kind of situation, really… really don’t have that generous attitude. I… am really tired.” Gu Nianzhi hung her head and stroked a few strands of her hair that had fallen down.
“I know. You don’t need to apologize.” Huo Shaoheng walked over to her and held onto her shoulder. “The one who should apologize is me.”
“It’s not your fault.” Gu Nianzhi quickly shook her head. “I know, it’s not your fault. Even though I was really upset, I know I shouldn’t blame you.”
“You can blame me.” Huo Shaoheng felt worse. Worse than when Gu Nianzhi kicked up a row, worse than when she cut him with her words. He leaned forward and embraced her as he leaned her against his chest. He patted her back. “Nianzhi, you’re not angry anymore, right?”
Gu Nianzhi smiled and lightly pushed Huo Shaoheng away. “Huo Shaoheng, I already told you that I’m not angry anymore.”
“Are we still breaking up?”
“Of course we are breaking up.”
“Why?” Huo Shaoheng asked after being silent for a while.
“No reason. If you really want a reason, you could say you are too rich to be a good match.” Gu Nianzhi raised her head. The sparkle and twinkle in her eyes disappeared instantly.
“You resent my age.” Huo Shaoheng let go of Gu Nianzhi’s shoulder and took a step back. He looked at Gu Nianzhi’s face and clasped his hands behind his back. He clenched his fist tightly.
Gu Nianzhi was a bit irritated. “Is too rich to be a good match interpreted that way? You clearly know it’s not like that.”
Huo Shaoheng stopped being at a loss with that subject. He looked away. He then looked around the room and said, “I’ll take you to buy a cellphone and to buy daily necessities. Your refrigerator is empty.”
“I can buy them myself. Huo Shaoheng, thank you for today. Take care. I won’t walk you out.” Gu Nianzhi opened the door in the room. She was ready to drive him away.
Huo Shaoheng suddenly smiled at her like a sudden spring breeze that blew by a dormant valley and immediately following, creations came back to life, full of vitality. Gu Nianzhi felt like what was in front of her eyes was splendid and dazzling. Her eyes were bursting.
“Let’s go. I’m free today.” Huo Shaoheng picked her hand up the way he used to before. He took her out of the dormitory in a smooth manner.
Gu Nianzhi was still shocked and immersed in that beautiful smile. After a while, she came to her senses and struggled free of Huo Shaoheng’s hand, but they were already in the car. He really is too crafty… The corner of Gu Nianzhi’s mouth raised, and she didn’t say a thing as she went with Huo Shaoheng to buy a cell phone.
When it was time to pay, she used her own bank card. Huo Shaoheng didn’t say anything. He only helped her to turn her phone on and looked inside it. He put it down without saying anything. Gu Nianzhi finished buying the phone and finished installing the SIM card. Huo Shaoheng was the first to call it. He then took the phone out of Gu Nianzhi’s hand and saved his number. He saved it under “A.” That way, his number would always be the first number.
Gu Nianzhi was speechless.
She took back her phone and gave He Zhichu a call. This is an unfamiliar number. He Zhichu won’t pick up. Indeed, the phone went to voicemail. Gu Nianzhi left a cheerful and lively message. “Professor He, it’s Nianzhi. This is my new cellphone number. I’m back at class. Can you please send me the class schedule?”
Not only was Gu Nianzhi He Zhichu’s teaching assistant, but she was also his assistant in the American law firm. She was an official employee who was on his payroll.
Huo Shaoheng drove the car in silence as he drove Gu Nianzhi in a circle near her school. He nonchalantly asked, “Nianzhi, you said you were looking for a house near the school. Where?”
