Today was Friday, and the morning reading session was Chinese, so Gu Xi had to go in early.
She didn’t go back to sleep after returning to her room. She changed her clothes. There was quite a bit of blood on the bedsheet, so she gathered it up and threw it into the trash can.
When she went downstairs, Aunt Zhao was still busy in the kitchen. Gu Xi went over to say hello. “Aunt Zhao, I got my period last night and stained the sheets and comforter.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao quickly said, “No problem. I’ll take care of it later.”
Gu Xi acknowledged with an “okay.” “I threw the sheet in the trash. I’ll buy a new set myself tomorrow.”
Aunt Zhao nodded. “That works too. Are you heading to work now? Let me make you some ginger and brown sugar tea to take with you. Breakfast isn’t ready yet—how about I pack you some steamed buns and stuffed buns to bring along?”
“Sure. Thanks, Aunt Zhao.”
“Don’t be polite with me. I’m so happy you’re here—it’s like having my own daughter around.”
Gu Xi couldn’t help but smile, though a pang of envy rose in her heart. She had never been loved like that by her own mother.
Her stomach was still a bit uncomfortable. After Aunt Zhao packed her breakfast and ginger tea, she left.
About half an hour later, another person came downstairs.
Aunt Zhao glanced suspiciously at the clock on the wall, wondering why everyone was up so early today. She couldn’t help saying, “Miss Gu just left not long ago. I noticed her face looked a bit pale—she didn’t seem well. That school really puts people through the wringer, out early and back late every day. An intern works harder than a regular employee. Good thing tomorrow’s the weekend—she’ll get two days off. I wonder if she’ll be back tonight?”
Thinking of the scene she had seen yesterday afternoon, Aunt Zhao couldn’t help glancing at the man sitting at the table. Then she caught a glimpse of his somewhat gloomy expression. The man gave her a heavy look. “Do you have nothing better to do?”
Aunt Zhao flinched, too scared to say another word, and quickly slipped into the kitchen.
Gu Xi didn’t go back that night—nor did she return to the dormitory. She couldn’t sleep well there at night, so she went straight to her apartment.
Maybe because she had been so busy lately, many things had slipped her mind. It wasn’t until Gu Chenghai called that she remembered there were still plenty of unpleasant matters left unresolved.
On the phone, Gu Chenghai’s voice was rather cold. “What’s going on between you and Bai Yuzhou? I talked to him today, and he said you want to break up.”
Gu Xi’s lower abdomen still felt heavy and uncomfortable. She thought she should have taken her medicine with her that morning. Hearing this, she simply said, “Mm.”
Gu Chenghai suppressed his temper, grinding his teeth. “Have you lost your mind? Do you really think you’re some big shot that everyone has to fawn over? Do you know Bai Shulin’s standing in the business world? His accumulated assets could support you for ten lifetimes and more. He only has one adopted son—Bai Yuzhou. Instead of treating him well, you’re making a scene and breaking up? Have you had such a good life that you’ve forgotten your place?”
“The only reason you caught the Bai family’s attention is because of your grandfather’s old ties with Old Master Bai. But your grandfather’s been dead for years, and how much longer do you think Old Master Bai has? Have you thought about that? Once Old Master Bai is gone, you might not even get through the Bai family’s front door…”
“Then I won’t go in at all.”
Gu Xi said calmly, “I’m not like you—greedy, selfish, and ungrateful, stopping at nothing to achieve your goals. Since you like Bai Yuzhou so much, why don’t you marry him yourself?”
“Gu Xi—” The man’s furious roar came through the phone. “You’re getting more and more ill-mannered. How can you say such things?”
Gu Xi let out a sneer. “No matter how ill-mannered I am, I’m still better than you. I would never cheat during a marriage or drive my own wife to her death.”
“You…”
Gu Xi hung up directly, not bothering to listen to his rambling.
In her previous life, she still held a sliver of hope for this man, thinking there might be some father-daughter bond left. Only later did she understand—he just wanted to get close to Bai Shulin.
Now, having no expectations of him whatsoever, she naturally had no reason to be polite.
Gu Xi sat on the sofa in her apartment for a long while. Finally, she got up and went to the bedroom to dig out the property deed, deciding to list the apartment for sale in the next few days.
This apartment was a gift from Gu Chenghai—so it was hers. Gu Xi wouldn’t refuse it just because she hated him. What he owed her and her mother was far from repaid.
As she tidied up, she thought about how the old house by Ninghu had suddenly been slated for demolition in her previous life. She could buy property there.
She thought to herself, if possible, she would persuade Fang Pingping to buy a place too. The main reason Pingping had listened to advice and returned to her hometown later was that she hadn’t been able to settle down here. But property prices in City C later skyrocketed, and many people couldn’t afford to buy even if they wanted to.
In her previous life, Gu Xi didn’t understand Pingping’s difficulties and couldn’t figure out why she wouldn’t leave a family like that. But now, looking back, it was probably the same reason as her own—still holding onto a sliver of hope for those people.
Perhaps if someone had reached out a hand to pull her up, everything could have been different.
Thinking this, Gu Xi’s heart gradually settled.
The next day, Gu Xi planned to go to the mall first to buy a new set of bedding for Lan Garden. But she woke up a little late, and before she could even get out the door, she received a call from Fang Pingping.
On the phone, Fang Pingping’s voice was barely containing her anger. “Xixi, come to school. There’s something I need to tell you.”
Gu Xi rarely saw Fang Pingping this serious, so she knew something major must have happened. She quickly called a car and headed straight to school.
When she arrived at the dormitory, she found a crowd gathered outside their door—even the dorm matron and the counselor were there. Seeing Gu Xi approach, people instinctively made way, many casting sympathetic glances her way.
Frowning, Gu Xi made her way through the crowd. Fang Pingping stood by the bed near the door, her face dark. The other two roommates were also there. Zhou Fei sat beside Fang Pingping with her arms crossed, looking equally displeased. The other, Chen Han, sat on a stool by her lower bunk, covering her face. Two young men squatted beside her, both wearing nothing but boxers. Gu Xi didn’t recognize them, but having two strange men suddenly appear in a girls’ dormitory clearly spelled trouble.
The counselor, seeing Gu Xi arrive, grimly told everyone else to leave. The onlookers at the door, reluctant as they were, gradually drifted back to their own rooms—but none of them closed their doors, likely straining to eavesdrop.
Before Gu Xi could even ask what had happened, Fang Pingping pulled her aside and explained the situation.
Yesterday, while everyone was out of the dorm, Chen Han had brought these two guys in to fool around. One of them had slept in Gu Xi’s bed, and the other had slept in Chen Han’s own bed.
That meant that last night, she and Zhou Fei had been sleeping in the same room as two strange men—and neither of them had noticed until morning. Chen Han had even gone out to breakfast with them as usual, then returned early, saying she hadn’t slept well.
At the time, Fang Pingping had naively said she hadn’t slept well either, complaining that someone had been snoring all night and giving her a headache. Zhou Fei, who had sinusitis, felt a bit guilty when Fang Pingping brought it up, assuming she must have snored in her sleep.
That morning, Fang Pingping had gotten her period. She even wondered if Gu Xi had somehow passed it on to her—yesterday Gu Xi had mentioned her period cramps, and today Fang Pingping got hers too. Luckily, she didn’t have much pain, so she rushed back to the dorm to grab some pads. But when she opened the door, what she saw was an absolute eyesore.
Just thinking about it made Fang Pingping want to vomit. Her face was pale green with disgust. “My bed is right next to hers. Instead of doing it on her own bed, she did it on mine—my pillow was under her…”
She couldn’t finish the sentence. Her eyes reddened with anger as she turned her head away, unable to stand even the thought of it.
Gu Xi felt thoroughly sickened too. Just knowing that a stranger had slept in her bed made her want to throw everything away.
Her expression instantly turned cold, but she still comforted the more distressed Fang Pingping. “Don’t get angry over someone like that. Since it’s happened, let’s figure out how to deal with it. First, be clear with the counselor about what we need—whether it’s switching dorms or getting her kicked out, and how the harm should be compensated.”
Fang Pingping kept nodding. “I know. Zhou Fei and I both want to switch dorms, but we don’t want to have to adjust to new roommates. We’re in the second half of senior year—we don’t have the energy for that. Besides, other people probably wouldn’t want us moving in either.”
She sighed. She couldn’t understand why Chen Han would do such a thing. If she hadn’t come back, would she have never known? The thought was even more disgusting.
Because of this, Gu Xi stayed at school until very late. They discussed the matter with the counselor for a long time. The counselor was reluctant to blow things up at this point—it wouldn’t be good for the school or for herself, and she hoped to smooth things over quietly. She also couldn’t fathom how anyone could do something like this. Chen Han came from a well-off family and reportedly had a steady boyfriend. The two guys she brought in today were people she’d met online.
The counselor called Chen Han’s parents. They lived in the city and arrived at school an hour later. The first thing they did was slap Chen Han twice.
Her parents stepped in and offered material compensation to Gu Xi and the other two, but asked them to go easy. If Chen Han received a major demerit or was expelled, it would be a huge blow to her future career.
Gu Xi looked at the other two. Zhou Fei seemed tempted, and Fang Pingping fell silent as well.
In the end, Chen Han’s parents paid Fang Pingping 10,000 yuan, Gu Xi 5,000, and Zhou Fei 5,000. At the same time, Chen Han was switched to commuting from home and would not return to the dormitory unless necessary.
The three of them went back to the dorm and stripped all the bedding, throwing everything away. Zhou Fei packed some things and went to stay with her boyfriend. Gu Xi and Fang Pingping left for the apartment together.
On the way, Gu Xi handed her 5,000 yuan to Fang Pingping. Fang Pingping was confused. “Why are you giving this to me?”
Gu Xi looked at her sympathetically. “Go buy some food to calm your nerves. I’m fine—I can just throw away my stuff. But you probably won’t be able to rest well for a while.”
In truth, she thought that 5,000 yuan would be a nice bonus for her, but for Fang Pingping—who lived frugally—it would go a long way.
Fang Pingping, upon hearing this, snatched the cash from her hand with mock anger, gritting her teeth. “You’re the one who insisted on giving it to me—don’t regret it.”
But she knew perfectly well Gu Xi had said that on purpose to help her.
Gu Xi shook her head. “No regrets. But the money isn’t free—you have to help me look for an apartment these next two days.”
“What’s wrong? Not staying with your relatives anymore?”
“Staying at someone else’s place is a bit awkward. I’m planning to sell this apartment and buy two older places near Ninghu. The location is good—when City C develops, that area will definitely be redeveloped, and I’ll be a demolition beneficiary. You should save up and buy one too. The prices there are really cheap right now—it’s a great deal.”