Just as they were finishing up, Xiang Sijie and her roommate came into the cafeteria and spotted her. Xiang Sijie didn’t notice Gu Ruoling sitting opposite her, she was thrilled by the coincidence of meeting again and immediately pulled her roommate over to Zhu Qingjia’s side. “Senior, what a coincidence.”
“Oh, it’s you, Junior. Do you guys want to sit here? We just finished eating.” Zhu Qingjia cleared her tray and picked up Gu Ruoling’s as well, standing up to vacate the seats for them.
Only then did Xiang Sijie notice the person sitting opposite. Her roommate let out a soft gasp by her side. It wasn’t until Zhu Qingjia had walked far away that the roommate spoke up, “That couldn’t be her girlfriend, right? She’s so beautiful. It’s rare to see a couple with such matching, top-tier looks.”
“I feel like your chances aren’t looking good.” Her roommate pulled her down to sit, comforting her, “Let’s look for someone else, there’s no need to hang yourself on a single tree.”
Xiang Sijie offered a bitter smile. “I just wanted to be friends with her.”
The milk tea was very cold. Zhu Qingjia hadn’t intended to buy it originally, but there hadn’t been many options at the time. Gu Ruoling had only taken a few sips, and it would be a waste to leave the rest. She took a sip and swallowed it down, asking, “Was the food good? Did you eat enough?”
Gu Ruoling nodded. “It was quite delicious. Also, you seem to be very popular.” In just the span of a single meal, Gu Ruoling had seen quite a few unfamiliar faces taking the initiative to approach her.
“Being popular is a good thing, isn’t it?” Zhu Qingjia noted. Being in the same environment, socializing was inevitable. Knowing each other and occasionally helping out was perfectly normal.
“It’s good, but then again, it’s not that good.” Gu Ruoling stopped her steps beneath a willow tree. She said seriously, “So many people like you, Zhu Qingjia.”
Zhu Qingjia gazed at her tenderly. She finally noticed it; this moment was bound to come. Long before deciding to date her seriously, Zhu Qingjia had considered this issue.
If one day, Gu Ruoling realized that her reliance on her was simply because Zhu Qingjia happened to appear in her world at that time, that she would have relied on anyone else just the same, what should she do then? The narrowness of Gu Ruoling’s social circle had given Zhu Qingjia the perfect opportunity to step in. She had never ignored this factor and had always been worried about it.
“Maybe I’m just selfish,” Gu Ruoling said softly. “I wish no one else in the entire world liked you, and only I could.”
Zhu Qingjia burst out laughing. “Only you could what? You didn’t even finish your sentence, how insincere.”
“You haven’t said it either.” Gu Ruoling kept pace with her, saying reservedly, “I am absolutely not saying it first.”
“There will be plenty of people who like you, too.” Zhu Qingjia took her hand. “You’re so wonderful, you deserve to be liked by many people.”
Gu Ruoling squeezed her fingers. “But I don’t want other people’s affection. They aren’t good at all.”
Zhu Qingjia had forgotten that a proud young mistress would never put herself in a position to be chosen. Even if she wasn’t loved, she would choose to abandon those who didn’t love her first.
“What about your parents? Is there a possibility that there’s some kind of misunderstanding between you all?”
Gu Ruoling remained silent. It wasn’t until they sat inside the car that she spoke up. “Do you know why Gu Tinglan showed up with Lin Muen last time?”
Zhu Qingjia recalled the event and could roughly guess, “To make me look bad, thereby highlighting how excellent they are.”
Setting aside family background, Zhu Qingjia was wonderful in every aspect. However, deeply rooted wealthy individuals cared most about status and lineage, and someone like Lin Muen was a rare find that you couldn’t easily replicate. In comparison, Zhu Qingjia was someone who could be replaced at any moment; her substitutability was too high.
“Not entirely. She was terrified that I would truly steal our parents’ attention away, which is why she anxiously brought Lin Muen along.”
Zhu Qingjia didn’t quite understand. “Why would she do that? Your parents clearly favor her.” Someone who already received more than enough coddling from her family was actually still playing petty games for affection.
“During her summer graduation trip, she ran into an accident and went missing for a month. My parents thought she was dead, which is why they brought me back, purely to serve as her replacement.” And because of that, Zhu Qingjia had entered the picture, and their paths had crossed.
Everything in this world still revolved around the protagonist. The appearances and exits of the supporting characters would all shift along with the protagonist’s changes. This also explained Gu Tinglan’s sense of insecurity.
Gu Tinglan still ended up crossing paths with Lin Muen, and Gu Ruoling became a discarded piece left by the wayside.
“What about your adoptive parents?”
“They went abroad for work. They originally planned to take me with them, but my health was terrible. I didn’t want to cause trouble for them, so I chose to come back on my own.”
Zhu Qingjia listened to her with a furrowed brow. She had never known that Gu Ruoling had gone through such experiences, being repeatedly abandoned, yet still choosing to be considerate of others.
“Why do you look so downcast? Anyone would think you were the one who went through all this.” Gu Ruoling pinched the flesh of her cheek, the corners of her lips curving up. “You look so funny right now.”
Zhu Qingjia caught one of her hands and placed it against her own chest. “It feels very uncomfortable right here, can you feel it?”
Gu Ruoling spread her fingers, feeling the heartbeat beneath. The strong, powerful thumping connected to her own heart through her palm, almost like they were beating in sync.
“I learned a long time ago that love comes with a price. For parents, it’s a healthy body and a clever mind; for Gu Tinglan, it’s timely tolerance and yielding and for adoptive parents, it’s being well-behaved and sensible.”
“Zhu Qingjia, tell me, does unconditional love that demands no price really exist in this world?”
Zhu Qingjia’s eyes grew warm and misty. She stated with absolute certainty, “Of course it does. You will definitely receive it.”
A few days later, Gu Ruoling came to pick her up from school as agreed, but she ended up waiting at the school gate for nearly half an hour. She looked down at her phone. Zhu Qingjia had told her not to enter the campus, saying there were too many people and she wouldn’t be able to find her even if she went in.
Gu Ruoling could see why. The security guards were being extremely strict today, and the crowd was much larger than usual. While one could occasionally slip past without facial recognition on normal days, today required both facial scanning and a student ID. Even students from neighboring universities weren’t allowed in to audit classes.
A massive crowd of reporters with cameras and long lenses squatted outside the school gates, packed tightly together. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they had accidentally stumbled into a celebrity’s public appearance.
After another ten minutes, she received a text from Zhu Qingjia. “I’m almost at the gate.” It was a voice message, and Gu Ruoling could clearly hear the excitement and breathlessness in her tone, almost visualizing her sprinting toward her with all her might.
What could have happened at school to make her this happy?
Zhu Qingjia emerged from the school gates. The moment she sat in the car, she began rummaging through her backpack. Seeing her drenched in sweat, Gu Ruoling took a tissue to help wipe her face. “Why did you run so fast?”
She pulled out a rolled-up poster from her bag, presenting it like a prized treasure. “For you.”
“What is it?” Gu Ruoling unfurled the poster. Printed on it was a highly popular current singer, the photograph shot beautifully and professionally. Gu Ruoling admired it for a moment, assuming this was a celebrity Zhu Qingjia liked.
“Sun Xihan came to our school today, you didn’t know, right? She graduated from Peking University, and her singing is incredible.”
“I know she sings well and her albums are highly popular, but I don’t follow celebrities. Keeping this poster will only diminish its value.” Gu Ruoling wanted to give it back, knowing Zhu Qingjia liked her. Seeing how sweaty she was, she could easily guess how much effort went into fighting for this poster.
“How could it? Take a closer look.” Zhu Qingjia helped her unroll it completely. In the bottom right corner was a silver autograph, chic, artistic handwriting that took up the entire corner lavishly.
Aside from Sun Xihan’s signature, there was also a sentence written: May you possess love that demands no price.
“I thought it was such a beautiful coincidence. Her new album happens to be titled ‘Love Demands No Price.’ In a moment of impulsiveness, I went to line up.” Zhu Qingjia explained to her. She didn’t follow celebrities either, but she happened to hear the music, resulting in this perfect stroke of luck.
She had actually remembered her words all this time, delivering such a special gift as if it were just an ordinary daily occurrence.
“Ruoling, Sun Xihan was on a very tight schedule, and her assistant kept rushing her right when she was about to sign for me, but I was lucky enough to get it anyway. I think I might turn into a fan of hers now.”
“Then count me in too.” Gu Ruoling’s eyes curved into crescent shapes. “I suddenly feel like this poster is a priceless treasure.”
Taking advantage of Gu Ruoling’s good mood, Zhu Qingjia took her to the hospital for her follow-up exam as prescribed by the doctor.
The attending physician looked over the check-up report. “The number of R-type cells has dropped significantly. Quite a lot of them have been eradicated by the immune system.” After comparing the data, the doctor checked Gu Ruoling’s complexion and mental state. “Your color is looking a bit rosier. Make sure to pay attention to your diet, eat more and move more.” Otherwise, the cells in her body would try to work hard without any nutrients to sustain them, which would be quite pitiful.
“Keep up the good mood, there’s a lot of hope.” The doctor’s tone was rare and light as he tapped on the keyboard to prescribe her medicine.
Gu Ruoling held Zhu Qingjia’s hand without speaking. Zhu Qingjia, however, asked an extra question, “Doctor, you mentioned last time that the cell count had spiked dramatically, and now it’s dropping. Overall, is this a good or bad sign?”
“Didn’t I just say there’s hope? You must be silly with joy. Although it dropped this time, overall, the trajectory is an increase.” The doctor printed out the slip. “Take good care of her when you go back. Exercise some restraint, if she can’t control herself, you have to.”
Zhu Qingjia’s ears grew a bit warm as she defended herself, “We really haven’t done anything.”
“The data doesn’t lie. Alright, go pick up the medicine.”
Zhu Qingjia held her hand as they left the consultation room. After walking just a few steps, she turned her head, unable to hide the excitement in her voice, “Ruoling, the doctor said there’s hope! Pheromones really do work.”
Gu Ruoling hooked her fingernail against the back of Zhu Qingjia’s hand, causing a wave of itchiness and numbness. “I heard him. So… when do we start our next treatment?”
The deliberate pause and the feigned serious flirting caused Zhu Qingjia’s ears, which had just cooled down with great difficulty, to flare up with heat once again.
“The doctor just told us to exercise restraint, didn’t you hear him?” Zhu Qingjia pressed the elevator button, taking her to the first floor to fetch the medicine.
“It’s already been so many days, is even kissing not allowed?” Gu Ruoling swayed her hand, unsatisfied with just holding hands.
“Two more days.” Two more days, and it would finally be a full month.
“But I already came for the check-up today, and I didn’t want to come to the hospital at all originally.” She began bargaining again.
The moment Zhu Qingjia stepped onto the elevator, Gu Ruoling suddenly let go of her hand. Zhu Qingjia hurriedly reached out to block the closing doors and stepped back out.
She was unhappy.
Zhu Qingjia led her into the fire escape stairwell, asking patiently, “What’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood because I didn’t agree?”
Some emotions always hit incredibly suddenly, one second it was a gentle breeze and mild rain, and the next it was a raging thunderstorm.
Before she could even speak, Gu Ruoling’s eyes welled with tears. She choked out, “This month has gone by so slowly. We’ve either been arguing or separated. If only you didn’t have to go to school and could just stay with me all the time.”
Gu Ruoling knew exactly how morbid her thoughts were. She hadn’t stripped Zhu Qingjia of her right to study, nor did she have the right to restrict her personal freedom. Yet, every time she woke up and found her gone, her heart would panic, finding it even more agonizing than when she used to have no one by her side at all.
Every time Zhu Qingjia went to school, she would experience anticipatory anxiety just to force herself to adapt to these brief separations. Similarly, when Zhu Qingjia brought her along to school and integrated her into the campus environment, she would feel at ease. But occasionally, fear would strike, there were so many people at school who were healthier, more outstanding, and shared endless common topics with Zhu Qingjia, making her feel utterly worthless by comparison.
The “I miss you so much” from that night had been suppressed thousands of times before finally being voiced.
Now that the words were out, her emotions began to level off, and Gu Ruoling slowly calmed down. She let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Maybe I really do have a psychological illness to say things like this.”
Zhu Qingjia pulled her into her arms, wondering if she had fallen short somewhere. Even though she had been accompanying her, she had still left her feeling so insecure and full of doubts.
“I’m sorry, I made you feel uncomfortable.” Zhu Qingjia had always wanted her to experience the school environment more, but she had overlooked Gu Ruoling’s own desires. She was used to staying at home, used to remaining within her comfort zone. Once or twice was fine, but as the frequency increased, the volume of information she absorbed grew too large, and content she couldn’t accept would cause her pain.
It seemed her approach needed some adjustments.
“Do you want to see Sun Xihan’s concert?” Zhu Qingjia wrapped her arms around her shoulders to comfort her, softly shifting her attention.
“What are you doing? I literally just finished crying.” The young mistress wiped away her tears, completely abandoning her poised image.
“Alright, alright, I won’t say it. Don’t cry, don’t cry.”