When Assistant Fang returned to the office entrance, the people inside were filing out one by one. The last one to leave was Lin Tao, whose forehead was beaded with sweat. He looked embarrassed when he saw Fang.
The two were college alumni. Fang Qi was two years his junior, but now he was already a big shot at headquarters.
Lin Tao felt somewhat resentful, annoyed that Fang Qi hadn’t given him a heads-up. Young Master Bai hadn’t shown up at the company for two days, and he didn’t answer his calls. Lin Tao figured he should handle it himself as usual—who knew the big boss would suddenly show up and ask about Miss Gu, who was waiting downstairs?
Fang Qi ignored him and walked straight to the door, knocking before entering.
Seeing that the boss was reviewing documents in his hand, he waited quietly. But he didn’t have to wait long before the man asked, “Well?”
Fang Qi replied, “By the time I got downstairs, she had already left. The front desk said she arrived around eight in the morning and called Lin Tao. Lin Tao told them to say Young Master Bai wasn’t in, and if she wanted to find him, to tell her he was in a meeting.”
As he said this, he felt Lin Tao was a bit unlucky. He’d never told Lin Tao that no matter who Young Master Bai fancied, the Bai family only acknowledged Gu Xi.
But he didn’t plan to remind him. Lin Tao had been pretty insufferable back in college.
The man frowned slightly, recalling that night a month ago. He’d drunk a bit too much at that gathering and woke up in the morning to find someone extra beside him, wearing only a thin dress, her exposed skin very pale…
But she was terrified of him. With just one glance, she shrank under the covers and didn’t dare come out.
He found it quite dull.
One Gu Xi, one Bai Yuzhou.
Thinking of Bai Yuzhou, the man said flatly, “Remove him from his General Manager position. Have Fu Lei come in tomorrow.”
Fang Qi acknowledged with an “mm.” Fu Lei had previously been a backbone of the finance department, but after getting pregnant, having a child, and going through a divorce, there was no place for her when she returned. Giving her this position would surely make her cherish the opportunity.
He made a mental note to mooch a meal off her when he told her the good news.
On the way back, Gu Xi received a call from Ling Jiaojiao.
She hadn’t wanted to answer. In her previous life, she hadn’t known until much later that Ling Jiaojiao had secretly crushed on Bai Yuzhou since middle school. She’d only attached herself to Gu Xi to get close to him, later badmouthing Song Rumeng in front of Gu Xi while telling Bai Yuzhou that Gu Xi was bullying Song Rumeng.
Ling Jiaojiao’s indignant voice came through the phone: “Xixi, guess what? Your Bai Yuzhou got into a fight and ended up in the hospital, all for that Song Rumeng!”
Before Gu Xi could respond, she rattled on without pause: “I heard that Song Rumeng has an ex-boyfriend who just got out of prison, and now he won’t leave her alone…”
Gu Xi pressed her lips together. She remembered that ex-boyfriend—he’d once shown up and threatened her, telling her to keep her man in line. Back then, Gu Xi had been terrified. She’d never dealt with someone like that before. Looking at the black tattoos on his arms, she’d been both angry and genuinely afraid something might happen to Bai Yuzhou.
Looking back now, it was laughable. What was the point of threatening her? Shouldn’t he have gone straight to Bai Yuzhou and Song Rumeng?
She cut off Ling Jiaojiao’s chatter: “Which hospital?”
In her memory, Bai Yuzhou had indeed been injured around this time. In her previous life, she couldn’t find him and was furious at first, but when she learned he was hurt, her anger turned to worry. She cooked chicken soup for the first time, only to have Song Rumeng drink it.
Ling Jiaojiao paused on the other end, sensing something off, but quickly said: “I heard he’s in Room 1403 of the inpatient department at Second Hospital.”
That so-called “heard” was actually thoroughly investigated—she was better informed than Gu Xi.
So by this point, Ling Jiaojiao had already become “good friends” with Song Rumeng.
Gu Xi said calmly, “Got it.”
She hung up directly. Ling Jiaojiao was about to say more when the line went dead. Frowning, she finally realized what felt wrong—Gu Xi had shown absolutely no reaction upon learning that Bai Yuzhou was hospitalized for fighting over Song Rumeng. She was even eerily cold.
Before, she would have flown into a rage, cursed, and insisted on confronting Song Rumeng. Ling Jiaojiao would have talked her down, then rounded up a few people to go to the hospital together.
Feeling uncertain, Ling Jiaojiao tried calling Gu Xi again—twice—but no one answered.
Gu Xi told the driver to turn around and head to Second Hospital. It wasn’t a particularly good hospital, but she knew Bai Yuzhou had a classmate working there. It wasn’t hard to guess why he’d choose this place over the private hospital the Bai family had shares in—he still didn’t dare let his family know about his relationship with Song Rumeng.
Following the information Ling Jiaojiao had given her, Gu Xi found Bai Yuzhou’s room. It was a private room with a square glass panel on the door, probably for medical staff to check on the patient.
Standing at the entrance, Gu Xi quite coincidentally saw the two of them embracing inside. Bai Yuzhou was propped against the headboard, his left arm in a cast, a bandage on his face, and several bruises scattered about. Song Rumeng leaned in, hugging his waist, her head tilted against his chest. She kept looking up to say something, their eyes locked, their lips drawing closer and closer…
Gu Xi calmly pulled out her phone and snapped a series of photos—click, click, click.
After taking the pictures, she pushed the door open and walked straight in. The sound of the door opening was rather abrupt. The two, who had been locked in an embrace and kissing, startled. Seeing it was Gu Xi, Bai Yuzhou’s initially annoyed expression shifted to embarrassment. He stammered, “Xixi…”
Song Rumeng recognized her. Flustered, she stood up hastily, her face flushed with awkwardness as she lowered her head.
Bai Yuzhou regained his composure and opened his mouth to explain, “It’s not what you think…”
Then he said to Song Rumeng beside him, “Step out for a moment.”
Hearing this, Song Rumeng couldn’t help biting her lower lip, looking rather pitiful. She glanced up at Gu Xi again, hesitating whether to leave.
Gu Xi laughed at the sight, once again feeling that her past self had been utterly foolish—so foolish that even after all this, Bai Yuzhou still thought he could fool her.
She walked closer step by step, stopping a foot away from the hospital bed. She pulled a tissue from the side cabinet and wiped his mouth without ceremony—roughly enough that Bai Yuzhou winced and turned his head away, then frowned at her with displeasure. “What are you doing?”
But when his eyes caught the lipstick stains on the tissue, he suddenly paused, softening his tone. “Xixi…”
Smack—
Bai Yuzhou froze for a moment. Feeling the stinging pain on his face, he turned his head back to look at her in disbelief.
Gu Xi shook her stinging hand, met his gaze, and pressed her advantage with another slap—Smack!
This one was even heavier, delivered with all her strength, so much so that Bai Yuzhou’s body lurched backward unsteadily.
The ward fell deathly silent.
Song Rumeng’s eyes went wide. Regaining her senses, she hurriedly steadied Bai Yuzhou, whose face was now twisted to the side. His fair skin made the two handprints starkly visible, along with red scratches from Gu Xi’s manicured nails. Her face full of distress, Song Rumeng said indignantly, “Gu Xi, even if we were wrong, you can’t hit people! Yuzhou is still injured!”
Gu Xi didn’t even glance at her. “Who asked for your opinion here?”
Ignoring Song Rumeng’s aggrieved expression, she said directly to Bai Yuzhou, “Since you’ve cheated, that’s a fact. There’s nothing more to say between us. We’re breaking up. I’ll make this clear to Grandpa.”
The resentment on Bai Yuzhou’s face froze, replaced by an inexplicable panic. No matter how much Gu Xi had thrown tantrums before, she had never once mentioned breaking up.
He steadied his emotions and said calmly, “What happened today was my fault. I lost my head for a moment. But breaking up isn’t necessary. No matter what, the years we’ve spent together aren’t fake. Forgive me this once—I’ll sort it out.”
He did like Song Rumeng, but he was also fully aware that the timing wasn’t right.
Hearing this, Song Rumeng’s previously hopeful expression stiffened. She bit her lip, let go of Bai Yuzhou’s arm, and ran out with red-rimmed eyes.
Bai Yuzhou glanced up, a flicker of pity in his eyes. His hand on the blanket clenched into a fist, but he held back and said, “Xixi, it won’t happen again.”
Truth be told, Gu Xi wasn’t surprised by Bai Yuzhou’s reaction. This was how it had always been in her past life—every time, he’d promise it was the last time, and only she had been foolish enough to believe him, unwilling to let go of so many years together.
But this time was different. She wasn’t going to waste any more time on him. Knowing he wouldn’t give up so easily, she didn’t bother trying to convince him. Instead, she asked, “The jade pendant I gave you for your eleventh birthday—where is it?”
Bai Yuzhou had assumed he’d need to coax her a bit more. Caught off guard by the question, he thought she’d been won over again and felt relieved. He tried to recall—but memories from when he was eleven were too distant. He did remember there was such a pendant, though he wasn’t entirely sure. “It should be at the old house,” he said.
The “old house” he meant was Lan Garden—the villa where Bai Yuzhou had lived after being brought back to the Bai family. He’d rarely gone back after college, and Gu Xi had visited less often too. Now, only that one person still returned there.
Hearing his answer, Gu Xi knew he hadn’t given it away yet.
She had nothing more to say. She pulled another tissue to wipe her hands, then turned and walked away.
The tissue was tossed carelessly by the bedside, like discarding something filthy.
Bai Yuzhou watched her retreating figure, stunned. It only dawned on him belatedly that she had really just left like that. Looking at his casted arm, he felt an inexplicable pang of unease.
Something about this Gu Xi felt unfamiliar. But then he figured she was probably still angry, so it made sense. He’d coax her again after he was discharged—everything would be fine.
Maybe because she’d mentioned the pendant she’d given him years ago, Bai Yuzhou found himself remembering how cute she’d been as a child, trailing behind him and calling him “big brother” in her soft, sweet voice.
He stared at the doorway, a whirlwind of emotions churning inside him.
Once outside the hospital, Gu Xi dialed Grandpa Bai’s number. The call was answered by Auntie Lin, the housekeeper. Recognizing Gu Xi’s voice, she immediately took the phone out to the yard.
Soon, Grandpa Bai’s booming voice came through: “Xixi! Are you free to come over this week?”
Hearing that familiar voice, Gu Xi’s nose stung and her eyes reddened involuntarily. She swallowed the words she’d originally planned to say and forced her voice to stay steady. “Yes, Grandpa Bai, I was just about to tell you. Save me some dinner on Friday.”
“Good, good, good!”
Grandpa Bai happily agreed three times in a row. “I’ll make your favorite—sweet and sour spare ribs.”
Gu Xi’s nose stung again. Only Grandpa Bai still remembered what she loved to eat most.