After feeding her the medicine, Zhu Qingjia went to wash her hands, otherwise she would keep thinking about the sensation of being touched, preventing her from concentrating.
Deep down, the young lady harbored a pessimistic side, but she never opened it up to outsiders, keeping it to chew over repeatedly by herself.
But now, she wanted another person to know her pain. Whether they were frightened or felt pity, as long as it was deeply remembered.
The medicine hadn’t kicked in yet. Gu Ruoling’s gaze followed Zhu Qingjia as she moved back and forth. Suddenly, she asked, “How many years did Gu Ci contract with you for?”
Zhu Qingjia’s hand holding an orange froze.
The young lady continued, “People like them are best at buying other people’s time, using the least amount of money to gain the maximum profit.”
Gu Ruoling had resented her parents, just as her parents resented her. A daughter who couldn’t be groomed for success and only brought trouble could only bring them embarrassment.
“There are no years, no time limit.” Zhu Qingjia straightened her back, her breathing seemingly a bit congested.
Gu Ruoling looked at her, her tone sounding rather detached. “Then you’re going to lose out, because I don’t really want to die right now.”
“That’s a good thing.” Zhu Qingjia sat on the edge of the bed and began to peel the orange, the fragrance of citrus instantly filling the space.
The fruity scent dispelled the strange gloom in her heart.
Gu Ruoling kept watching her expression, noting the subtle change, even a trace of relief.
“Then how long will you stay with me?” Gu Ruoling grabbed the hand she was using to eat the orange, demanding she focus on answering this question.
Time was a difficult concept to bound for Gu Ruoling, one could only say every day was precious. But for Zhu Qingjia, it was different. As the person who knew the endpoint of her life, such a question was cruel.
Zhu Qingjia chuckled softly, stuffing a segment of the orange into her mouth. “I will stay with you until the end of your life.”
The young lady chewed the orange. Why is it exceptionally sweet?
“And then inherit your estate.”
The orange in her mouth suddenly turned sour. Gu Ruoling chewed forcefully, saying through gritted teeth, “You really are greedy.”
“I’ve always been a greedy person. I’ve never denied it.” Zhu Qingjia pulled out a tissue for her to spit out the pulp, her movements gentle and her tone warm. “If possible, I still hope you can live to a hundred.”
Gu Ruoling licked her lips, tasting the very sweet fruit flavor. She wiped her mouth with the tissue. “You’re still so young, why do you always think about getting something for nothing? And you’re a top student from a prestigious university, no matter what you do in the future, you’ll have a bright prospect. Don’t always fixate on my wealth.” She tossed the tissue aside, finding Zhu Qingjia looking at her with a knowing smile.
The young lady faltered. “Though… it will be yours in the future anyway.”
“You’re quite generous to me. I’ve heard that wealthy people empty out their assets before a divorce, leaving the other party with only a few coins, making even the judge laugh.” Zhu Qingjia recalled a trending post she had read online.
Gu Ruoling suddenly went quiet. After a moment of thought, she said, “Stop smiling. You can only get some of my cash. The stocks, funds, and other investments are managed by professionals, and they will definitely find another way to flow back to the Gu family. What you can get won’t be much.”
“Why so serious, like you’re arranging your funeral affairs.” Zhu Qingjia pinched her face, then leaned down to press against her forehead. “It’s not as hot anymore. Is your head still spinning?”
Gu Ruoling looked at her as the other woman pulled out a thermometer to measure her temperature.
“Let me write a will for you.” The young lady grabbed her hand again. “This can be altered at any time and carries legal validity.”
Zhu Qingjia didn’t understand what she was playing at today. The relationship between the two of them had only just begun, with so many unstable factors present, yet she kept bringing up death.
“You’re sick right now, so your mood will naturally turn pessimistic. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear today’s words, and don’t say such things carelessly in the future.” Zhu Qingjia rarely showed a cold face, looking quite stern.
Before she could turn around to stand up, Gu Ruoling snapped angrily, “Zhu Qingjia, when I give it to you, you should take it! I don’t feel this way all the time. If you were truly greedy, you should be demanding even more from me.”
Miss Zhu moved back to school again.
Aunt Zhang looked at her phone, which displayed the message sent by Miss Zhu. Aside from asking about the young lady’s three meals a day, it reminded her to dress the young lady warmly as the weather cooled.
Old Li stood beside her, anxious. “Are we picking her up today or not? It’s already been a week.” The atmosphere at home had also been gloomy for a week.
“Pick up, pick up, all you know is picking up! Miss Zhu isn’t leaving the campus, how are you going to pick her up?” Aunt Zhang scolded Old Li, then recalled something. “Didn’t the young lady say yesterday that she wanted paints? Did you buy them?”
“Bought them,” Old Li said. “You mentioning it reminds me. I’ll go bring them up to the young lady right now.”
“Bring what up? You didn’t buy them!” Aunt Zhang dragged him back and sent a text to Zhu Qingjia. [Miss Zhu, we need to buy something for the house. I haven’t seen this brand before and I’m afraid of getting cheated with a fake. Could I trouble you to help me out?]
Thinking Aunt Zhang needed help, Zhu Qingjia naturally agreed.
But the brand sent over was an English name. A quick search online revealed it was paint. Seeing the four digits price tag, there was no need to guess who actually needed it.
But since she had already agreed, she had to make the trip.
After class, Zhu Qingjia went to a very famous art supply store. With three storefronts, it was a frequent check-in spot for art students. The shelves were packed with paints, water colors, plaster casts, and brushes. After browsing around the store without finding the brand she wanted, she went to ask the owner.
Seeing the brand, the owner slapped his thigh, his face practically twisting with joy. “A rare item! I only imported three boxes, and one was sold just yesterday. Wait here, I’ll go fetch it from the back warehouse for you.”
During the wait, someone approached the counter, seemingly intending to check out. With the owner absent, Zhu Qingjia didn’t want to take up the space, so she shifted two steps to the right.
The person beside her also shifted two steps closer. Just as she frowned, intending to walk away, the person beside her suddenly smiled. “Senior!”
Only then did Zhu Qingjia lift her head, recognizing a somewhat familiar face. “Ah, hello.” She offered a polite greeting.
“Did you forget me, Senior? You rejected me not long ago.” The underclassman had round eyes, a bright smile on her face, long wavy hair, and was dressed in a youthful, vibrant style.
It was the underclassman who had confessed on the forum last time. She hadn’t expected to run into her here.
“I came with a friend to buy some things. Are you alone, Senior?”
“Yes, alone.” After saying that, Zhu Qingjia added, “I’ve already made my selection, the owner went to the back to get the stock.”
“I see. Senior, you don’t know my name yet, right? I’m Xiang Sijie.” Xiang Sijie’s enthusiasm was very apparent, to the point where she didn’t even notice her friend approaching. She pulled out her phone and said, “Why don’t we add each other’s…”
“Come over here to check out.” The male owner called out, carrying several boxes of goods. The counter, which had been empty moments ago, now had quite a few people lining up.
The owner had returned, pushing a walnut-wood square box across the counter to Zhu Qingjia. “Inspect the goods. This is imported paint, master grade, with a complete range of colors and long-lasting retention.”
Xiang Sijie was called away by her friend who had finished checking out. Since Zhu Qingjia was communicating with the owner, she could only offer a hurried goodbye.
Zhu Qingjia didn’t understand paints, but the high-end packaging was indeed impressive. The moment it opened, it put all the paints on the outer shelves to shame. The store price wasn’t much higher than online, fitting her budget.
She nodded, letting the owner pack it up.
Having bought the item, Zhu Qingjia sent a WeChat message to Aunt Zhang. The response came quickly, stating that Old Li was already waiting outside the school gates.
Zhu Qingjia clicked into her pinned chat. The message she had sent to Gu Ruoling six days ago remained unanswered. Maybe I should go back and take a look.
A week’s time was enough for both of them to calm down.
The moment she arrived home, Aunt Zhang greeted her with a smile. After exchanging pleasantries, Aunt Zhang called out exaggeratingly toward the inside. “Oh, Miss Zhu, why did you specifically buy the paints the young lady likes most? That’s so thoughtful of you.”
Stepping into the living room, she found Gu Ruoling curled up on the sofa eating fruit. The plate was filled with plenty of cut fruits, and several kinds of pastries were prepared, clearly she had been called down by Aunt Zhang.
The paints were taken by Aunt Zhang and placed right by Gu Ruoling’s hand, who then ushered Zhu Qingjia to sit down while she went to brew a fresh pot of tea.
In the massive living room, Aunt Zhang was the busiest person.
Zhu Qingjia sat down on a corner of the sofa, casting several glances at Gu Ruoling. She seemed to have lost some weight compared to a few days ago, her face lacking flesh, a clear sign she hadn’t been eating properly.
Gu Ruoling ignored her entirely, crunching loudly on a small kumquat.
By the time she reached the third one, her expression changed drastically, her eyes squeezing shut from the sourness.
“Spit it out.” A slender, fair hand suddenly appeared by her lips, carrying a faint scent of agarwood mixed with a light trace of paint.
Gu Ruoling’s lips twitched. Just as she was intending to let herself sour to death, her cheeks were pinched. Her mouth parted, and the fruit pulp inside was scooped out.
Most of the sourness faded, and water was handed over. Gu Ruoling took a few sips to wash away the residual sour taste, finally feeling much better.
“What did you come back for today?” The young lady held her cup, acting coy.
“Then I’ll leave,” Zhu Qingjia said, making a motion to stand up.
“Hey!” Before the young lady could speak her words of restraint, Zhu Qingjia sat right back down, revealing it to be a fake move.
She had fallen for it.
Looking at the hand that had appeared on her arm, Zhu Qingjia couldn’t help but smile. “If you want me to stay, you can just say so.”
“Who wants you to stay!” The young lady retracted her hand, accidentally knocking over the cup in the process. The warm water instantly soaked her long pants and thin sweater.
Zhu Qingjia immediately took the cup away and scooped her up. After a brief flurry of chaos, Gu Ruoling was left clinging to her, her arms wrapped around her waist, her bare feet stepping directly onto Zhu Qingjia’s shoes.
The wet fabric against her waist felt highly uncomfortable. Gu Ruoling gave her a nudge. “Let Aunt Zhang clean it up, I want to change clothes.”
“Can you walk?” Zhu Qingjia wanted to set her down.
But the young lady went completely limp against her. “Can’t walk, no energy, so tired.”
Zhu Qingjia had no choice but to carry her up, the water from the clothes seeping through to soak her own.
Returning to the room, she set Gu Ruoling onto the bed and went to the walk-in closet to find a change of clothes for her. When she came out, Gu Ruoling had already shed her sweater and pants, tossing them carelessly beneath the bed.
Her fair legs and waist were exposed just like that, completely unbothered by the cold.
Zhu Qingjia placed the clothes by her hand, her tone carrying an involuntary urgency, “Hurry up and change.”
Gu Ruoling gave her a resentful look, slowly pulling on her pants. When putting on her top, her torso twisted, revealing a large area of purplish-blue bruising on her flank that looked exceptionally alarming.
“What happened here?” Zhu Qingjia stepped closer to pull her clothes open, and sure enough, it was a massive bruise.
It’s only been a few days, and she managed to get such a large injury.
Gu Ruoling pushed her hand away. “Accidentally bumped it.”
Detecting her resistance, Zhu Qingjia caught her hands, pulling open the clothing on her lower back to look without another word. Including beneath her underwear strap, she indeed discovered several small blue marks, clearly resulting from a fall.
“Why didn’t Aunt Zhang tell me? How did this happen?” Zhu Qingjia let go of her top, intending to pull her pants down next. She had felt something was off while she was changing earlier; her posture had been evasive, exposing some areas while concealing others.
She had initially thought it was just a tease, but now it appeared she was trying to hide her injuries.
“None of your business!” Gu Ruoling slapped at her hands, but the bruising developing over her knees couldn’t escape her sight.
Zhu Qingjia suppressed her anger, calculating the timeline. It matched exactly with the first two days she had gone back to live at school.
She had initially thought that with people taking care of her at home, she would be fine, but she had still managed to cover herself in injuries.
Gu Ruoling adjusted her clothes to cover the marks.
“I couldn’t sleep at night, and when I got out of bed, I felt dizzy and accidentally fell,” the young lady explained, her resentment flaring up as a sense of grievance took hold, her eyes turning red. “It’s all your fault. If you were here, I wouldn’t have fallen.”