“The past is the past.” Gu Ming muttered softly.
“What?” Xiao Xiaoran didn’t hear it clearly.
“Nothing, nothing.”
“Then I’ll go take a shower first.” With that, she went into the room to grab a change of clothes, and gracefully headed off to the bathroom.
Gu Ming had no choice but to let it go. Since the young lady wanted to sleep here, what else could she possibly do? She couldn’t just kick her out! Thinking about it to no avail, she had no option but to sullenly grab her pajamas and head to the bedroom’s en-suite bathroom to shower.
When Gu Ming finished washing and came out, Xiao Xiaoran was already lying on the bed watching television. Gu Ming suddenly shivered. It was still spring, but the temperature in the room was way too low! She lifted the blanket and quickly burrowed in. Because of the lingering chill, Gu Ming instinctively moved closer to Xiao Xiaoran. The person who had been intently watching TV suddenly turned her head, and the two of them were so close their faces almost touched. They remained frozen in that position, neither of them moving first. The ambiguous temperature rose higher and higher until Xiao Xiaoran suddenly curved her lips in a charming smile and gently pressed a sweet kiss onto Gu Ming’s cheek.
Did I just get hit on? That was the only thought running through Gu Ming’s mind right now.
Because of Love
“Gu Ming, why are you so absent-minded today?”
“Am I?” Gu Ming said with a hint of fatigue.
“It’s written all over your face, and you say you aren’t? Could it be that you’ve taken a fancy to some young master from a wealthy family?” Ye Zi exclaimed excitedly. “I’ve known you for so many years, and I’ve never seen you care about anyone. Bring him over for me to see. I really want to see who has the incredible ability to finally melt your ice-cold heart.”
Melt my ice-cold heart? Was she treating her like a nun or a monk? Gu Ming looked at Ye Zi speechlessly.
Ye Zi was her college roommate. Throughout their four years in college, the two partners-in-crime had been inseparable: they ate together, went to class together, slept together, and took exams together. Their counselor used to say that they might as well just date each other so she wouldn’t have to look at them every day and feel annoyed.
After graduation, Ye Zi originally planned to go abroad. But when she saw Gu Ming sending her off to the airport with teary eyes, her heart softened instantly, and she immediately turned her car around and drove right back.
Because of this incident, Ye Zi’s father was furious. Ye Kailai had planned to send Ye Zi abroad so that she could take over the company upon returning with an advanced degree. Well, now look at how that turned out! Ye Kailai felt that the hard work of his entire lifetime was about to be ruined by this unfilial daughter. To prevent Ye Zi from living off her savings and doing nothing, he publicly drove her out of the Ye family. No matter how anyone tried to persuade him, Ye Kailai remained completely stubborn and refused to let Ye Zi back in. Fortunately, relying on their top-ten rankings in A University’s journalism program, the two of them successfully entered Yanying International. Only then did Ye Zi’s father forgive her, though he still refused to let her move back into the Ye family estate. Instead, she had to make it on her own out in the world for a few years, and she would only earn the qualification to return home once she achieved real success.
This thrilled Ye Zi to no end. She had long wanted to move out of the Ye family house, where she was always restricted and tied down by rules. It was just that old man Ye wouldn’t let her move out to live on her own back then. Ye Zi was naturally playful and fond of fun, so this arrangement suited her even better. With no one to manage her, Ye Zi let loose completely. Often, Gu Ming would have already gone to sleep only to receive a call from Ye Zi asking her to go out and play. If Gu Ming suffered from sleep deprivation the next day, half of the blame belonged to Ye Zi tricking her into going out the night before.
“Gu Ming, look at that beauty! That look, that temperament. I wonder whose lucky day it is!” Ye Zi stared fixedly outside, clicking her tongue in admiration.
Gu Ming followed Ye Zi’s gaze outside. A head of long, dark, and straight hair fell loosely over her shoulders, and a white dress hugged her well-proportioned, curvaceous figure. Standing at around 1.7 meters tall with an elegant posture, she truly had the body of a real beauty! It made Gu Ming want to drool. Wait, hold on a second. Isn’t that Xiao Xiaoran? What is she doing here?
Gu Ming hurried outside. “Xiaoran, why are you here?”
“I was passing by after finishing some errands, and I heard from Uncle Jiang that you work here, so I stopped by to take you out for dinner.” Xiao Xiaoran turned around and gave Gu Ming a lukewarm smile.
“Oh! Then wait for me a moment. I’m almost done here.”
“En. That’s your friend, right? Why don’t you invite her along as well?” Xiao Xiaoran said, gesturing toward Ye Zi.
Gu Ming turned back and, predictably, met Ye Zi’s burning, curious gaze.
“You must be Gu Ming’s friend, right? How come I’ve never seen you before?” As soon as they sat down at the dining table, Ye Zi started striking up a conversation with Xiao Xiaoran. In her eyes, such a gorgeous beauty was definitely someone she couldn’t let slip away.
“I went to university abroad and just returned to the country yesterday,” Xiao Xiaoran answered calmly.
“You came to look for Gu Ming right after returning to the country? You guys must be close! Hey, Gu Ming is really something else. I’ve been with her every single day for the past few years, and she never once mentioned you. She must have thought you were too outstanding and felt embarrassed to bring you up in front of me!” Ye Zi completely sold Gu Ming out without any self-awareness.
Xiao Xiaoran cast a meaningful glance at Gu Ming. “Oh, is that so?”
Gu Ming laughed awkwardly at Xiao Xiaoran’s unreadable gaze, too embarrassed to speak.
“Then your boyfriend must be from abroad, too!” In Ye Zi’s mind, someone this pretty must have a whole pile of boyfriends. Oh, I really want to hook up with a cute foreign guy with small eyes and a high nose bridge.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Gu Ming immediately directed her gaze toward Xiao Xiaoran. Xiao Xiaoran was also slightly stunned. After a long moment, she slowly spoke, “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Phew. Gu Ming let out a massive sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
Watching Gu Ming’s relaxed expression, Xiao Xiaoran gently curved the corners of her lips. This person is still the same—all her joy, anger, sorrow, and delight are written right on her face. Anyone with eyes can see right through her.
Ye Zi watched their tacit, synchronized movements and felt an indescribable sensation lingering in her heart. Still, she didn’t think too much of it; after all, ordinary people generally wouldn’t deliberately look at things from that kind of angle.
After a hearty meal and plenty of drinks, Gu Ming originally wanted to go back and get a good night’s sleep. Little did she know that Ye Zi would start shouting about throwing a welcome-home celebration for Xiao Xiaoran, dragging them both by force toward a bar. Seeing that Xiao Xiaoran didn’t object, Gu Ming simply went along with Ye Zi’s wishes.
There was a bar named “Passing By” located in the West District of City A. When the three of them arrived, the bar was already packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people. However, relying on her SVIP card, Ye Zi easily secured the very center table of the bar.
Gu Ming looked contemptuously at Ye Zi waving her SVIP card around in a show of arrogance.
“Gu Ming, don’t look so unconvinced. Didn’t Chen Fei get you an SVIP card too?”
“I disdain using this kind of thing to ride on someone else’s coattails.”
“Gu Ming, make yourself clear. Who is riding on coattails?” Refusing to lose, Ye Zi pounced and pinned Gu Ming onto the sofa.
“Whoever admits it is the dog!” Gu Ming cried out in an exaggerated expression of pain.
“Gu Ming, let’s see if I can’t get you to submit today.” Ye Zi relentlessly pinched Gu Ming’s waist.
“Ah! It hurts, hurts, hurts! Let me go quickly!”
“Hehe, let’s see if you dare to go against me again.”
With great difficulty, Gu Ming managed to poke her head out and caught sight of a familiar figure. Spotting a savior, she called out, “Chen Fei, hurry up and save me!”
Chen Fei was currently in the middle of flirting with a beauty, but upon hearing the cries, he abandoned the beauty completely and hurried over.
“What on earth are you two doing now?! I swear, this bar of mine is going to be torn apart by you two sooner or later,” Chen Fei said, supporting his head with a heartbroken expression. The two of them had caused a scene here more than once or twice, and every time it ended with him standing on the wrong side and getting verbally shredded to pieces. My heart hurts so much!
“Chen Fei, don’t stand there wasting your breath today. Your big sis here brought a beauty along!”
“A beauty? Where?” Chen Fei looked around curiously.
“Eh, isn’t this Xiaoran? When did you get back? Why didn’t you give me a heads-up so I could go pick you up?” Catching sight of Xiao Xiaoran as if he had discovered a new continent, Chen Fei scurried over like an eager flatterer.
“You two know each other?” Ye Zi scrambled off Gu Ming in confusion.
“Ah! The few of us grew up together. Didn’t I ever mention it to you?” Chen Fei said matter-of-factly.
“Damn it, so I’m the only one who didn’t know. Gu Ming, do you still consider me a friend or not? You didn’t even mention any of this to me.” Ye Zi took a somewhat gloomy sip of her drink.
Gu Ming felt rather awkward too. Ye Zi genuinely treated her as a friend, but for the past five years, she hadn’t uttered a single word about Xiao Xiaoran to anyone. How was she supposed to bring this up? Weepingly tell Ye Zi that she had a girlfriend who inexplicably dumped her and went abroad right before college?
“Ye Zi,” Gu Ming called out, picking the absolute worst time to use her name.
“Hey! Fine, fine, I won’t bicker with you this time. You don’t have any other secrets hiding from me, do you?”
Gu Ming glanced sideways at Xiao Xiaoran, wearing an expression of complete helplessness.
“Gu Ming, you actually still have things hiding from me!” Ye Zi slammed her cup down onto the table with a loud crash.
“Don’t get angry, don’t get angry.” Gu Ming and Chen Fei offered non-stop apologies with ingratiating smiles. They knew that if Ye Zi caught fire, not even the Jade Emperor could stop her. Gu Ming was worried for her own frail physique, while Chen Fei was worried about his hard-earned bar.
“Hmph, looking at your face just makes me mad. Get lost.”
At this moment, Gu Ming didn’t dare fight back at all. She obediently shuffled over to sit on Xiao Xiaoran’s other side, not daring to say another word.
“Ye Zi, don’t be mad. Gu Ming is just that kind of person: she forgets the old once she gets the new. She probably wiped me completely out of her memory years ago,” Xiao Xiaoran said, taking a sip of the drink left on the table with an expression of heartbreaking grievance.
The moment someone complained about Gu Ming, Ye Zi immediately perked up. She scooted over, grabbed Xiao Xiaoran’s hand, and began endlessly listing all the ways Gu Ming was wrong here and faulty there.
As she grew more spirited, she ordered the waiter to bring over several more bottles of alcohol. Ye Zi deliberately picked the most expensive ones, causing Chen Fei’s face to twitch in agony.
“Let me tell you, Gu Ming really isn’t a good person.”
Xiao Xiaoran listened with rapt attention on the side, chiming in with agreement from time to time. With Xiao Xiaoran echoing her sentiments, Ye Zi got more and more fired up, until even Gu Ming started to feel like she truly was a conscience-less villain.
By the time Gu Ming finally dragged Ye Zi out of the bar, it was well past midnight.
“Well, I’ll take Ye Zi back first. You two be careful on your way home!” Chen Fei shouted as he sped off in his little Benz.
Nobody even asked you to take us. Why are you running away so fast? Honestly.