Gu Ruoling glared at her, but unable to refute, she could only take tiny sips of her own small portion of beer.
“Sister, have some peanuts. These fried peanuts are incredibly fragrant, the perfect snack to go with alcohol,” Yinzi said, pushing the side dish across the table.
Before Gu Ruoling could react, Zhu Qingjia pushed the dish right back. “Don’t give them to her. She’s allergic to nuts.”
Everyone at the table paused. That was indeed a pretty serious allergy.
But how did Zhu Qingjia know that?
“You two have a really good relationship, don’t you?” Xiaotong felt more and more that this was the case. “How about this? Let me add you on WeChat, Little Sister. That way, whenever our dorm has a gathering or something, we can invite you along.”
Having more friends meant more avenues in life, and besides, Gu Ruoling was very quiet and looked quite endearing.
Without thinking too much, Gu Ruoling pulled out her phone. Immediately, the three people opposite her all prepared to scan her QR code at the same time.
Zhu Qingjia: ?
After scanning the codes, Gu Ruoling accepted the friend requests and then looked at Zhu Qingjia. “Let’s add each other too.”
This time, it was Xiaotong’s turn to choke on her drink. “Cough, cough… What’s the situation here? You two are supposedly so close, yet you don’t even have each other on WeChat?”
“It really is a bit hilarious,” Jingjing added, cutting deep. “Qingjia’s friend, yet we were the ones to add her on WeChat first.”
“Are you two actually close or not?”
No one paid attention to her, the two of them were busy adding each other on WeChat.
In the friend requests, Zhu Qingjia’s profile picture was a rich, deep shade of blue, and her nickname was very simple: Jia.
It looked a bit like an English name, but it was actually just the pinyin of the last character of her name.
Jia , (home)
Gu Ruoling stole a glance at her. She also wanted to be like Zhu Qingjia’s roommates, to call her by just the last character of her name, or just two characters.
But she didn’t dare to.
She also found it a bit hard to voice aloud.
After adding her on WeChat, Zhu Qingjia put her phone down. Occasionally, she would join her roommates in complaining about their major courses or listen to them gossip about school.
Having eaten and drunk their fill, it was time to pack up and leave.
Yinzi suddenly thought of a very serious question. She mysteriously crept over to Gu Ruoling’s side and asked, “By the way, Little Sister, your wife won’t be angry that we added your contact info, right?”
Hindsight made Yinzi realize that this way of speaking sounded a bit manipulative, like a ‘green tea’ girl. “I didn’t mean anything else by it! It’s entirely because you’re Jiajia’s friend that I wanted to be friends with you too.”
Gu Ruoling looked toward Zhu Qingjia. “I don’t know. Do you think she’ll be angry?”
“Hey, Little Sister, why do you keep looking at her? She’s not your wife.”
The shift in the topic was somewhat vague, making people wonder if she was really married.
“True,” Gu Ruoling nodded. “She doesn’t really care, so she shouldn’t be angry. Don’t worry.”
The hand Zhu Qingjia had intended to use to help her carry her bag was pulled back.
Carry it yourself, then.
The group started walking back. After only a few steps, Gu Ruoling began to sway unsteadily.
Zhu Qingjia noticed quickly and promptly supported her by the arm to give her leverage.
Gu Ruoling looked somewhat weak, her face even paler than before. She clutched the fabric at the side of Zhu Qingjia’s waist, her very voice trembling. “I’m a little tired.”
“I’ve got you.”
She had been out for quite a while and had been chatting the whole time, making it easy for her to run out of energy.
Xiaotong turned her head, only to see the intimate sight of Zhu Qingjia supporting Gu Ruoling.
She immediately rushed over, wanting to pull Zhu Qingjia away. “What are you doing? You need to keep your distance.”
“She’s unwell.”
Only then did Xiaotong notice that something was wrong with Gu Ruoling.
“Then let’s hurry to the hospital. We’ll all go together.” Jingjing noticed it too and took out her phone, preparing to hail a cab.
“I’m not going to the hospital.” Gu Ruoling caught her breath and looked at Zhu Qingjia. “Take me home. There’s medicine at home.”
“Oh, right, Jiajia. You should know where her house is. No time to lose, hurry up and take her back.” Seeing that she insisted on not going to the hospital, Yinzi couldn’t care less about anything else.
“Alright then. You guys stay safe on your way back to school. I’ll take her home.”
The street was heavily crowded, and not long after they split up, they lost sight of each other.
Once Zhu Qingjia confirmed that her roommates had left, she lifted Gu Ruoling directly into a bridal carry and walked with large strides toward the business van.
Gu Ruoling leaned against her shoulder. In her line of sight was Zhu Qingjia’s fair neck; she desperately wanted to touch it with her hand.
She desperately wanted to know if the temperature on the side of her neck was just as burning hot as the temperature of her palm.
When Auntie Zhang saw them approaching, she immediately opened the car door and stepped down to greet them.
Zhu Qingjia placed her onto the seat. “Did you bring her medicine? She doesn’t look good.”
“I brought it, I brought it.” Auntie Zhang immediately rummaged through a bag nearby, finding the tablets and a thermos.
Only after a good deal of tossing and turning did Gu Ruoling’s complexion ease up a bit.
“She’s fine now. You guys take her back,” Zhu Qingjia said, wanting her to go back and rest early now that she had recovered.
Gu Ruoling knit her brows. “You!” Aren’t you coming back with me?
She had already gone to such lengths, yet Zhu Qingjia still refused to forgive her.
“Isn’t Miss Zhu coming back with us? Your room has always been kept clean, and fresh flowers were even put out today,” Auntie Zhang said.
“I won’t be of much help even if I go back. Now that she’s taken her medicine, she should be fine after a night’s sleep.” Zhu Qingjia smoothed out the fabric around her waist that had been crumpled by the other girl, smiling as she said, “I’m not a doctor. I can’t cure illnesses.”
Gu Ruoling understood.
She was subtly prodding her to go to the hospital.
But at this very moment, she wanted Zhu Qingjia’s company.
And so, the young mistress made a concession. She spoke slowly, “If you stay with me tonight, I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow.”
Zhu Qingjia looked at her, and then she smiled.
“Where do I sit?”
Auntie Zhang went to sit in the passenger seat, while Zhu Qingjia sat beside Gu Ruoling.
She kept her head down the whole time, chatting in her dorm group chat. The general idea was that it was too late to return to the dorm, so she would stay outside for an all-nighter.
After showing their concern, her roommates all told her to stay safe. Yinzi even asked in the group chat if Gu Ruoling had taken a liking to her, which was why she claimed to be married just to dispel any ideas of them introducing her to potential dates.
Zhu Qingjia chuckled softly and replied in the group chat: I’m not too sure.
Seeing the curl of her lips, Gu Ruoling guessed she was in a good mood and said slowly, “They just said, ‘our Jiajia’…”
“Hmm? What about it.” Zhu Qingjia didn’t think there was any problem with it. In the dorm, they would occasionally tease each other, her roommates would even call her ‘Jia Bao’ (Baby Jia). As the number of times increased, it turned into ‘Jia Duo Bao’.
Such a form of address was so intimate.
And she didn’t seem to reject it in the slightest.
What if she herself were to call her that too?
Gu Ruoling skipped over the topic. “So this is the important matter you mentioned for tonight, having dinner with your roommates?”
“Yes. Why, is that not important?”
Any matter that required a large chunk of Zhu Qingjia’s time was important.
Yet Gu Ruoling felt that this was just an ordinary, commonplace thing that absolutely did not need to be described with the word ‘important’.
Upon arriving home, Zhu Qingjia went back to her own room first.
Only after a while did she come to see Gu Ruoling. The latter had already washed up and changed into a nightgown, sitting by the edge of the bed, except she wasn’t the least bit sleepy.
Without the effect of the medication, falling asleep began to become difficult.
In the past, Gu Ruoling would have become irritable at this time, but today she was merely groggy.
She vaguely remembered that Zhu Qingjia sat by the bedside and kept her company for a very long time.
She couldn’t even remember when she fell asleep, much less whether the other woman had left.
Because the moment Gu Ruoling woke up, she felt her forehead was very heavy, weighed down by something.
Seeing her wake up, Zhu Qingjia said in a warm voice, “You might still have a headache. Bear with it for a bit.”
She placed a cold towel wrung dry of water onto Gu Ruoling’s forehead to help provide physical relief.
Gu Ruoling blinked her eyes as she looked at her, remaining silent.
Her forehead really hurt, throbbing in waves. Her thoughts felt like cooked starch paste, bubbling in a chaotic mess.
Perhaps closing her eyes would make her feel more comfortable, but Gu Ruoling didn’t want to do that.
Because when she looked at her, her attention was distracted, and it didn’t seem to hurt as much.
Was she always this gentle when taking care of people?
Had she taken care of others this way too?
Gu Ruoling discovered that she was growing more curious about her, wanting to understand more.
She had never thought this way before. Her life had always been closed off, with very few connections to the outside world.
Even the relatives and friends of the Gu family didn’t necessarily know of Gu Ruoling’s existence.
She lived like a transparent person.
A transparent shell carrying emotions, carrying illness and pain.
Now, she wanted to carry a care and affection that belonged exclusively to her.
The towel was no longer cool. Zhu Qingjia took it off and touched Gu Ruoling’s forehead with the pad of her finger. “Does it still hurt? Let’s apply it one more time.”
Zhu Qingjia went into the bathroom. Gu Ruoling blinked, and a tear slid down from the corner of her eye, disappearing into her hair.
If only things could be a bit more pure.
That way, one could die without regrets.
The newly wrung cold towel was applied to her forehead again. Gu Ruoling shifted her body to the side. “Have you been here the whole time?”
Zhu Qingjia pulled up the towel that was about to fall off for her.
“Didn’t you say you wanted me to keep you company tonight?”
She had said so, but she only wanted Zhu Qingjia to come back, she hadn’t expected her to actually stay awake all night and guard her the entire time.
“The water you drank with your medicine at night previously had sedatives added to it. Halting it suddenly carries a high probability of withdrawal reactions.”
The meaning behind her words was: Even if you hadn’t come to find me, I would still worry about you because of this.
Yes, worry.
Other people’s worry was expressed through words.
Zhu Qingjia’s worry was expressed through physical action.
After daybreak, Gu Ruoling’s discomfort became more pronounced, so Zhu Qingjia accompanied her to the hospital.
They went through many examinations back and forth. Considering her physical condition, many medications had to be handled with extreme caution.
What the doctor said the most was for her to strive to overcome it and maintain a good mindset.
Gu Ruoling listened expressionlessly, finding it very annoying, and asked Auntie Zhang to wheel her out.
Only Zhu Qingjia remained inside to listen to the doctor’s orders.
“Miss, Miss Zhu truly cares about you a lot,” Auntie Zhang suddenly remarked.
The door to the consultation room was left half-open. Zhu Qingjia had been communicating with the doctor the entire time, occasionally writing down precautions with a pen, and even proactively asking quite a few questions.
Carrying the newly prescribed medicine back, they only then discovered that a guest had arrived at home.
Gu Tinglan was sitting on the living room sofa drinking coffee. Catching sight of them returning, she immediately stood up.
“Sister, Mom told me… ” Her cheerful tone ground to a screeching halt. The beautiful girl, dressed in a red dress and wearing a pearl necklace, said in surprise, “Senior?”
Gu Tinglan was very surprised to see Zhu Qingjia here. They had known each other very early on; before Gu Tinglan placed into Peking University, Zhu Qingjia had even tutored her.
Now, one was a junior senior and the other was a freshman junior, and they were both in the Finance Department.
Zhu Qingjia’s mood was a bit complex. To be honest, she didn’t particularly want to have any contact with Gu Tinglan, but their past, combined with Gu Tinglan’s status as Gu Ruoling’s sister, meant they were bound to meet sooner or later.
Gu Ruoling frowned. “What did you come here for?”
Gu Tinglan bit her lip. “It’s been a long time since I last saw you, so I came to visit. Mom said you got married, and I was a bit curious. I never expected it would actually be Senior.”