Сhaptеr 23: Dо Yоu Еnjоy Saving Othеrs?
Тhe wind rustled thе leavеs, сrеаting а sуmphоnу with thе teаchеr’s impassiоnеd leсture оn thе рodium.
Glаnсing at Сhi Yu, Lin Кuizhi сurlеd hеr liрs. “Sо what?”
“Dоn’t yоu think Сhi Lin and Chi Yu look vеry similаr?” Gu Chеn didn’t bеliеvе she hadn’t nоticed. It wаs рrесiselу beсause thе twо lооkеd so аlike that he hаd invеstigаtеd furthеr, and as it turned оut, hе wаs right.
“Oh, I dоn’t think so.” Lin Кuizhi’s tone wаs indiffеrеnt аnd dismissive.
Gu Chеn grеw impatiеnt, slapрing thе tаblе. “Arе уou blind?”
“None of your business.” Shе leаnеd fоrwаrd, nо longеr wanting to engаge.
“Сomе ovеr tonight and take a closer look.” Gu Chen refused to give up.
“Get lost, not interested.”
“We’ll split the money fifty-fifty.” Still persistent.
This was a promise from Gu Chen’s mother: if he could bring Lin Kuizhi over for dinner, she would give him two million.
“You don’t actually think I need your money, do you?” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.
Lin Kuizhi found him utterly ridiculous.
Beside them, Yue Xin burst into laughter. “Are you two some kind of bickering couple?”
“Also, rich lady, please hurry up and take care of me.”
She wrapped her arms around Lin Kuizhi’s and swayed back and forth.
“Kiss, kiss~” Lin Kuizhi blew a flying kiss.
As soon as the class bell rang, she dashed out as if escaping from some unbearable place.
After all, having a chattering idiot behind her was truly annoying.
Yet Gu Chen chased after her relentlessly. “How about a twenty-eight split? Twenty-eight?”
The two of them bickered and walked away.
Ji Yan, who had been secretly playing with her phone under the desk, glanced at Chi Yu.
“Aren’t you going after them?” she teased. “If you don’t, the foundation might be dug up.”
Chi Yu’s thin lips were pressed tightly together, his restless pen-twirling betraying his anxiety.
Light and shadow were shattered by the glass, while a nearby phone received a message.
Opening it, it was a video sent by Ji Yan.
In the video, a girl grinned as she held a beer mug larger than her face, her eyes shimmering with intoxicating light. “Yan Yan, come on, cheers!”
Just as the glass, swirling with liquid, was about to clink, another face suddenly appeared on the screen, snatching her mug away.
“Ji Yan! Can’t you control her?”
The girl whose name was called was pressed close to a fair-skinned, slightly flustered young man, her slender fingers gently brushing against the side of his neck.
“Big brother, does she look drunk to you? If your alcohol tolerance is poor, why stop others from drinking? How can you eat crayfish without beer?”
Gu Chen choked, at a loss for words, then turned a pitiful gaze toward the young man. “Ji Yan, I never expected you to be this kind of person.”
“What kind of person am I?” Ji Yan’s eyes widened suddenly.
“Abducting innocent young men.” Gu Chen said disdainfully.
The young man’s face flushed even redder.
“Hey, hey, what do you mean ‘abducting’? He came willingly, okay?” With that, she lifted the young man’s chin. “Isn’t that right?”
The young man nodded shyly, and Ji Yan finally patted his head contentedly. “So obedient.”
Gu Chen: …This is too much to watch.
Meanwhile, Lin Kuizhi recalled the scene she had witnessed earlier that day.
A tall man stood by the window making a phone call. Amid the chilly wind, she faintly overheard words like “illegitimate child,” “inheritance,” and “returning to the family roots.”
It seemed the Chi family had already decided to bring Chi Yu back.
The System’s prompt also sounded, urging her to advance the plot of Chi Yu returning to the Chi family.
She blinked, trying hard to ignore the reluctance in her heart.”Hey, what exactly happened between you and Chi Yu? Winter break is almost here and you still haven’t made up?” Ji Yan curiously leaned in.
Lin Kuizhi didn’t speak. She actually suspected Chi Yu might have seen something that day, but she didn’t know how to explain.
When they found Chen Yi through the surveillance footage that day, Chen Yi stared at her with eyes full of hatred. That look shook her to the core.
Steadying herself, Lin Kuizhi asked him why he did it, only to receive a scornful sneer that eventually escalated into hysterical venting.
Standing there silently enduring it all, she finally realized that the young man before her was also a victim of the original owner’s school bullying.
“Miss Lin, I once thought he was like me—fellow sufferers in this dark, hopeless school.”
“I recognized him when he was working part-time at the milk tea shop. He seemed to be doing well, and I was genuinely happy for him.”
“But what I never expected was that he was actually trying to please you—pleasing the very person who hurt him, hahahaha…”
“I asked him if he was crazy, told him if he was in a difficult situation and had no choice, I could help him. But he actually warned me not to speak ill of you!”
“He’s disgusting.”
“Just thinking about how the friend I thought I had is now romantically involved with the woman who shoved my face into a toilet makes me want to vomit!”
Lin Kuizhi dug her nails into her palms. She couldn’t refute any of it, could only bow repeatedly, saying “I’m sorry” over and over.
Chen Yi was stunned for a moment, then sneered coldly, “Love really is something great, huh? Even a scumbag like Miss Lin knows how to apologize now.”
“Alright then. Give me one million, and I’ll apologize and transfer schools.” He coldly turned his dignity into a condition.
Lin Kuizhi naturally agreed. This was what she should have done anyway.
Finally, she suddenly remembered something and hesitated, “Could you… not tell Chi Yu?”
Chen Yi froze for a second, then laughed so hard tears came to his eyes.
“Miss Lin, you’ve done so many evil deeds, and you’re still afraid of Chi Yu finding out?”
A mocking smile tugged at his lips. “I can agree to that, but I’ll be expecting your hush money.”
…
Her arm was suddenly gripped tightly, interrupting her memories.
“Lin Kuizhi, come back with me.” A low voice, suppressed with anger, revealed the speaker’s current turmoil.
Chi Yu?
What was he doing here?
Before she could react, she was yanked up and pulled into his embrace, a strong, solid arm wrapping firmly around her waist.
“Hey, you—”
Gu Chen moved to intervene but was directly kicked to the ground.
Dark eyes held a terrifying ferocity. Gu Chen was frozen by that dangerous gaze.
Lin Kuizhi was thrown onto the bed. Chi Yu’s face was cold and hard as he took a warm towel and wiped her down.
Her soft hand grabbed his fingertips. “I’m sorry…”
“Sorry for what?”
She didn’t say anything else, just blinked and stared at him.
Chi Yu let out a long sigh. “Do you really enjoy saving people?”
? What did that mean?
“You thought I was pitiful, so you came to care about me. You thought Chen Yi was pitiful, so you went to care about him too, right?”
Lin Kuizhi was stunned by his words, completely failing to follow his train of thought. Combined with having drunk quite a bit, her mind was completely muddled.
To Chi Yu, this expression looked like guilt and silent admission.
“I understand now.”
He… understood what?
Lin Kuizhi watched blankly as he walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind him, his eyes unreadable.
And from that day on, Chi Yu seemed to return to his usual self, and their relationship returned to normal.But Lin Kuizhi always felt somewhat uneasy, especially when she inadvertently caught Chi Yu’s dark gaze resting upon her—that unease grew even stronger.