“Exquisite.” They packed their luggage and headed to the restaurant to eat.
It was a French restaurant that Zhu Qingjia had never been to before. The decor was elegant, and the uniformed servers were extremely courteous, reflecting excellent breeding.
Zhu Qingjia watched Gu Ruoling order naturally and copied her manner, spreading the napkin out to place on her lap.
They didn’t ask for pre-dinner wine, replacing it with other beverages. The meals were very delicate and beautifully presented.
Zhu Qingjia tasted them dish by dish. Unfamiliar and novel flavors invaded her taste buds, yet she couldn’t taste much of the savor.
As they neared the end, Gu Ruoling asked her, “Is it delicious?”
Zhu Qingjia nodded. “Not bad, very unique.”
When the server came to settle the bill, Zhu Qingjia heard that astounding string of numbers, it was actually three or four times more expensive than the paints she bought for Gu Ruoling last time.
“Which of you two will settle the bill?” the server asked.
“I will.” Gu Ruoling picked up her phone, scanned the code, and paid.
After settling the bill, the restaurant presented them with a parting gift, a few pieces of exquisite specialty pastries. After seeing them into the car, they welcomed them to visit next time.
Gu Ruoling was visibly in a good mood, pulling her from time to time on the way home to look at the scenery outside the window.
“The lighting is so good, take a picture for me.”
Zhu Qingjia picked up her phone, found a good angle for her, and took a few pictures, then handed them over for her to see.
The eldest miss picked and chose, keeping two. Seeing Zhu Qingjia lacking enthusiasm, she asked, “What’s wrong, are you uncomfortable?”
“No.” Zhu Qingjia squeezed out a smile. “Probably just tired, a bit sleepy.”
“Then lean on my shoulder and sleep for a bit.” Gu Ruoling sat up straight, reaching out to pull her head over to let her lean against her.
Zhu Qingjia smiled and closed her eyes.
The night they returned home, Zhu Qingjia was visibly more eager than usual, pressing against Gu Ruoling’s shoulder while breathing warmly. The eldest miss’s neck felt both sore and itchy, suffering through the torment. Held halfway in her arms while standing by the window, her calves were trembling.
When the eldest miss reached her limit, she would show very obvious signs, her breathing would quicken, her gasps would grow heavier, and she would unconsciously pinch Zhu Qingjia.
The position of holding her from behind was both stimulating and novel, but she couldn’t really say how she felt about the heavy milk. Experiencing it for the first time, she couldn’t talk about liking it much.
Yet for some reason, Zhu Qingjia was working much harder than usual, even releasing more pheromones. However, her marking was very restrained, only exerting deep effort into giving pleasure.
Even when her underwear was torn, the eldest miss only got angry for a brief moment before clutching the blanket wanting to sleep.
But before she could close her eyes, she saw Zhu Qingjia tying up her hair, this was the preparation before doing it.
“What else are you going to do?” The eldest miss curled her legs, not letting her ankles fall into her hands.
“Drink peach juice.”
The eldest miss watched her lean down, her eyes widening, and later uncontrollably opening her mouth wide.
She felt her entire body was covered in agarwood scented pheromones, it smelled nice, just a bit sticky.
Before falling asleep, she was still thinking about what exactly Zhu Qingjia had learned on the forum, why did she always know things she didn’t, making it unbearable.
Autumn passed and winter came, the temperature dropping lower and lower. When Zhu Qingjia left the library, the first snow of this year began to drift from the sky.
She wasn’t the first to notice the first snow, quite a few people on campus were holding up their phones to take pictures. Even though they saw it every year, seeing it again still felt fresh and beautiful.
It seemed that at this moment, the busy schoolwork and the questions she couldn’t answer all drifted away temporarily with the snowflakes.
She wore a white, short down jacket, walking out against the wind and snow.
After just a few steps, an umbrella appeared over her head, blocking the scattering snowflakes.
Zhu Qingjia turned her head, it was a familiar face.
Xiang Sijie proactively held the umbrella for her. Seeing her notice, she smiled and greeted, “Senior, what a coincidence. Are you going back to the dorm? I’ll see you there.”
“No need, I’m not going back to the dorm.” Zhu Qingjia thanked her for her kindness. “It’s just snowing.”
Yet Xiang Sijie still followed her as she walked. “Are you studying in the library too, Senior? I didn’t see you in the study room.”
The library had more than one study room, not seeing her was entirely normal.
“Group assignments are so hard to deal with, everyone’s opinions are always inconsistent,” Xiang Sijie mentioned her recent troubles.
“You can take a vote and choose the one that the majority agrees on,” Zhu Qingjia offered advice.
“That’s a good idea, I… ah… ”
The ground was slippery, and Xiang Sijie lost her footing, about to fall over.
Zhu Qingjia subconsciously reached out to support her, catching her arm first, then lightly supporting her waist. Once she had fully stabilized, she released her grip.
“That scared me to death. Thanks to you being here, Senior, otherwise I definitely would have taken a nasty spill.” Xiang Sijie clutched her chest, still having some lingering fear.
Zhu Qingjia picked up the umbrella and handed it to her, but Xiang Sijie caught her wrist and caught her off guard by hugging her briefly. “Thank you, Senior.”
The snow was still falling, seemingly heavier than just now. Snowflakes swirled and danced, drifting into the lover’s eyes, turning into mist to feign tears.
“Zhu Qingjia!”
Someone was calling her.
Zhu Qingjia pushed Xiang Sijie away and looked towards the sound. A few meters away, Gu Tinglan was holding an umbrella, looking at her angrily.
Standing beside her was none other than Gu Ruoling.
She wore a cream colored cashmere coat, wrapped in a thick scarf, and even wore a black beret. She looked exquisite and delicate, only her face lacked color.
Looking at their position, they had just come around the corner and had definitely misunderstood.
Gu Tinglan seemed to say something to her sister. After handing the umbrella to her, she ran over towards Zhu Qingjia.
It didn’t matter how angry she got at home, but outside, Gu Tinglan was definitely going to stand up for her sister.
She walked up to the two. Seeing them standing so close, she shouted at Zhu Qingjia, “Get over here right now.”
Zhu Qingjia pulled away from Xiang Sijie almost immediately.
Xiang Sijie looked at Gu Tinglan. She had seen her before and knew she was from the neighboring class, and also knew a lot of gossip about her, nothing more than how amazing the person she was dating was and how much they loved her.
“Senior.” Xiang Sijie called out, wanting to explain. “I…”
Gu Tinglan pulled Zhu Qingjia directly to one side, her lowered tone carrying anger. “My sister is serious about you, and this is how you treat her? Do you have any idea how cold it is today? Yet she still wanted to come to school to pick you up. Because she couldn’t get in, she even proactively contacted me just to give you a surprise, but what are you doing?”
“You’ve misunderstood, she almost fell, I just happened to support her.” The words were directed at Gu Tinglan, but Zhu Qingjia’s gaze had never left Gu Ruoling.
Gu Tinglan glanced at Xiang Sijie. “Go over there quickly, don’t keep my sister waiting. I’ll handle the rest.”
Zhu Qingjia ran towards Gu Ruoling’s direction in three steps made into two, but Gu Ruoling turned around and left without any hesitation.
Zhu Qingjia instantly panicked, hurriedly catching up to her and reaching out for the umbrella. “Let me hold the umbrella for you.”
Gu Ruoling didn’t argue with her either, stepping out from under the umbrella directly, preferring to be rained on by the snow rather than have her hold it.
“Ruoling, there is nothing between me and her. She almost fell, I supported her, and she hugged me because she didn’t stand firmly,” Zhu Qingjia explained anxiously. “How about this, I’ll go to the logistics department to pull the surveillance footage. Once you watch it, you’ll know everything I said is entirely true.”
Gu Ruoling suddenly stopped her footsteps. Zhu Qingjia hurriedly held up the umbrella to shield her from the snow.
The eldest miss’s eyes turned red, suppressing herself heavily before tears could fall. “Do you think I’m angry because I misunderstood you?”
Zhu Qingjia choked for a moment. Gu Ruoling was not an unreasonable person, but in this situation right now, she couldn’t find a better reason.
Zhu Qingjia took a step closer to her, wanting to hug her.
But she was barked at. “Don’t come over!”
“A very long time ago, I told you that I hope nobody likes you except me.” Scorching tears fell from her eyes, landing on her skin, quickly turning cold and stinging when blown by the wind.
When this pathological desire for possession had started, Gu Ruoling couldn’t remember clearly either.
She only felt so angry and miserable. Even though she was clear about Zhu Qingjia’s character and knew that wasn’t her intention, it still felt like a stone was wedged in her heart.
“Stop crying, okay? The wind is heavy, your face will hurt.” Zhu Qingjia raised her hand wanting to touch her face, but she was dodged as well. She said urgently, “I promise you, this kind of situation will never happen a second time.”
The eldest miss’s tears instantly fell even faster. She cried and shouted at her, “Don’t ever wear this jacket again!”
She minded the touch of others, as if it had dirtied her precious possession.
Zhu Qingjia instantly reacted. Without another word, she dropped the umbrella and backpack. Disregarding the cold, she took off her jacket directly.
She had no hesitation, executing it immediately once she figured out the cause and effect, because Gu Ruoling’s crying was truly too heartbreaking.