“Don’t worry about anyone else. If you want to be with me, the first thing you need to do is care about me. By the same token, I will care about you too.”
Gu Ruoling looked into her bright eyes. She realized that interpersonal relationships weren’t simply about needing and being needed.
There was also caring.
There was no need to rack one’s brains to provide the practical value the other person required; it existed purely on an emotional, psychological level.
Sometimes, the other person didn’t even need to know.
It was truly magical.
“So, do you agree?” The young mistress clasped her hand back, absorbing the warmth from her skin, desperately eager to know her answer.
Zhu Qingjia’s gaze shifted slightly, landing on the fresh flowers resting on the table. “There are still five days left. If I’ve thought it through by then, I’ll give you a bouquet of flowers, okay?”
Gu Ruoling began to look forward to it. In her short life, she had received flowers from others a few times before, but she had already forgotten how she disposed of them. Those bouquets had arrived too unexpectedly and abruptly, leaving her more unhappy than anything.
Over the next few days, every time Gu Ruoling woke up, a piece of origami would appear on her nightstand. On the fourth day, it was an origami lily, on the fifth day, an origami rose but on the sixth day, it reverted back to the origami star from the very beginning.
She picked up the origami star and slowly pulled open her drawer, pulling out an identical one from inside.
Did it really change from a flower back to a star in the end?
Gu Ruoling didn’t know if this counted as pursuing someone, but it was certainly the period in her life where she had shown the most goodwill toward another person.
If she ended up being rejected, she would definitely hate Zhu Qingjia, and she would never interact with her again.
On the seventh day, Zhu Qingjia returned to campus after finishing a research project with her roommates. Planning to grab a quick bite outside the school gates, she glanced to the side as she passed a flower shop. Today, they had fresh cut roses on sale.
While they were eating, Yinzi caught sight of a figure walking past the front of the shop. Her gaze shifted back to Zhu Qingjia, who was busy mixing her noodles, and she couldn’t help but say, “Jiajia, do you know what’s been going on the school forum lately?”
Xiaotong set down the chili oil. “It’s been an absolute bloodbath, honestly. Too bad the person at the center of it is completely clueless.”
Jingjing nudged Zhu Qingjia with her arm. “They’re talking about you, Ms. Main Character.”
Zhu Qingjia lifted her head, quickly pulling back the noodles that were about to enter her mouth. “What’s wrong?”
The other three exchanged looks. She really didn’t know.
There was a massive trending thread about Zhu Qingjia on the campus forum, with page after page of replies. Some busybodies had even uploaded recent photos of her on campus.
“It’s a good thing you’ve been staying off campus lately. You have no idea, two freshmen girls have been fighting tooth and nail over you, both scrambling to date you. Word is they’re planning to confess to you next week.” By the last sentence, Yinzi covered her mouth and lowered her voice.
Zhu Qingjia’s image at school was simply that of a brilliant, top-tier student with striking looks. Because she didn’t participate in the student union or club activities, she missed out on a lot of opportunities to show off, but she didn’t care about that at all, nor did she ever mind her own popularity.
“Don’t play jokes like that. I haven’t even met them,” Zhu Qingjia said, finally managing her first bite of the mixed noodles.
Xiaotong let out an aiyo. “This Wednesday, remember when you were getting hot water and helped the girl next to you turn off the water valve? That was one of them. And in the library, didn’t you lend someone a wet wipe? That was the other one.”
Zhu Qingjia looked up. Those things had indeed happened, but how did they know about it?
“I remember, but I didn’t tell you guys. Besides, I don’t even remember what they look like.”
“The forum has already gone completely wild over it. The descriptions are incredibly detailed, talking about your ‘gentle gaze’ and ‘attentive gestures.’ I had to read it several times before it clicked that they were talking about you,” Jingjing said, pulling up the forum interface to show her.
Zhu Qingjia skimmed through a few pages. “Can we request to have this thread deleted?”
“Hard to say. You’d have to find the administrator.”
Zhu Qingjia quickly put the matter out of her mind. That evening, she stepped out ten minutes early. When Master Li picked her up, she was coming from the west, clearly arriving from outside the campus.
Carrying her backpack, Zhu Qingjia held a textbook in her left hand and a white paper bag in her right. The logo on the bag was very faint; you wouldn’t notice it unless you looked closely.
Gu Ruoling sat inside the car, quietly watching her walk over.
From the looks of it, she hadn’t reached a good decision.
With only a few hours left in their one week agreement, she hadn’t shown any initiative today. She hadn’t even put much effort into the origami recently.
The car door opened. Zhu Qingjia didn’t notice the low pressure radiating inside the vehicle, her eyes only registered how beautifully Gu Ruoling was dressed.
She wore a red dress with a tightly cinched waist that only covered half of her thighs while seated. Her hair was styled in a half-up princess downdo adorned with a pearl hairpin. She leaned back against the wide seat, staring straight at her.
She smelled wonderful, but it wasn’t the scent of the room diffuser.
“You’re late.” Gu Ruoling glanced at her wristwatch.
They had agreed to meet at the school gate at seven o’clock.
It was now 7:03 PM.
“My apologies. Hold this for me for a second.” Zhu Qingjia let out a soft laugh, placing the feather light paper bag onto her lap before climbing into the car and closing the door.
“I told you before, don’t put things on my lap,” Gu Ruoling complained, picking up the bag. Even though it wasn’t heavy, just knowing it belonged to Zhu Qingjia made her feel irritated.
They were heading home now, it was impossible to magically conjure a bouquet of flowers halfway through the drive.
“Is that so? Well, if you don’t want it, you can just throw it away,” Zhu Qingjia spoke unhurriedly, watching her movements.
This was the first time Gu Ruoling had come to pick her up during their one week agreement. In the beginning, she had held some expectations, using various reasons to convince herself. Her heart had been wavering, in dire need of a reassuring boost.
Yet Gu Ruoling was stingy, unwilling to offer that reassurance. But at the same time, she was incredibly generous, appearing suddenly like a fairy with magic powers right after a decision had been made.
Sometimes, competing silently like this was rather meaningless, but once you succeeded, it became addictive.
The paper bag was opened, releasing a faint floral fragrance. Inside was a single, freshly bloomed pink tulip, wrapped carefully in pristine tissue paper and milk cotton. The stem where one would hold it was tied into a neat bow with a ribbon.
Gu Ruoling had gotten her wish. Forgetting all her anger, she said in a softened voice, “I thought you would give me roses.”
The romantic symbolism of roses had been overused to death. Whether sincere or not, they always represented love.
The fresh cut roses at the flower shop were very cheap and even on sale, the money spent on this single tulip could have bought a whole bundle of red roses.
Gu Ruoling didn’t lack red roses, and perhaps she didn’t lack pink tulips either.
But Zhu Qingjia was unwilling to give her roses, it would make the beginning of this relationship feel too casual.
“So, you don’t like it?” Zhu Qingjia feigned reaching out to take the tulip back, prompting the young mistress to quickly hide it behind her back.
“I didn’t say that.”
She clearly liked it.
“Roses are too cliché. They don’t suit you.”
Gu Ruoling was visibly pleased by those words. She took a breath of the flower’s fragrance. “I think so too.”
Neither of them questioned why there was only a single flower, or why the decision had been made so late. They simply immersed themselves in the beautiful realization that their agreement had been fulfilled.
“Why did you dress up so beautifully today? You even applied lipstick.” Zhu Qingjia leaned closer to examine the shade on her lips, confirming it was redder than her usual natural lip color.
Gu Ruoling touched her lips. She couldn’t possibly admit that she had fully prepared herself to fiercely humiliate Zhu Qingjia if she were rejected, just to vent the resentment in her heart.
“It’s a new dress that just arrived today. I thought it looked nice, so I wore it.” Gu Ruoling hugged the flower tightly, arguing, “I dressed up exactly the same as before!”
When people fear an unknown outcome, they always look to external things to give them courage, whether it’s through their clothes or their choice of companion.
“Is that so? But I think you look exceptionally beautiful today, and there’s a… hard to describe fragrance on you.”
“What do you mean by that? Was I not beautiful before?” Being praised so suddenly made Gu Ruoling a little self-conscious.
“You were beautiful before too, but today it’s a bit over the top.”
They weren’t arguing, they were merely having a very gentle discussion about the topic of beauty.
When it was time to step out of the vehicle, Zhu Qingjia got down first. Before Gu Ruoling could even emerge, Zhu Qingjia proactively extended her hand.
Gu Ruoling gently placed her free hand into her palm. Warmth surged like crashing ocean waves, sending ripples through the depths of her heart.
Once the agreement was reached, the relationship between the two grew noticeably closer, so much so that even the servants could tell.
The young mistress no longer abandoned Miss Zhu to head upstairs alone right after dinner. When she went to paint, she would ask Miss Zhu if she wanted to join her.
With the atmosphere at home becoming so harmonious, Aunt Zhang felt a significant weight lift from her chest.
At night, Zhu Qingjia routinely prepared her bedding on the floor. But just as she finished laying down the moisture-proof mat and was about to grab her pillow, she stood back up.
Suddenly finding herself under Zhu Qingjia’s gaze, Gu Ruoling felt uncomfortable. “What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Without saying a word, Zhu Qingjia massaged her lower back, frowning. “My back has been hurting a bit lately. Even stretching doesn’t help. I’ve been thinking about it, and it must be from sleeping on the floor.”
“How is that possible? I already had Aunt Zhang find the softest mats for you.” Gu Ruoling looked at the thick layers of bedding on the floor, growing skeptical.
“You’ve never slept on the floor before. The cold draft seeps right into your body, and sleeping on the ground doesn’t truly relieve fatigue. It makes you drowsy during the day.” Zhu Qingjia nudged the moisture proof mat with her foot, clearly indicating she had no intention of sleeping there tonight.
She rubbed her neck. “I have a very mentally draining exam coming up in two days, and I need to conserve my energy. Once the exam is over, I’ll come back to the floor.” With that, she picked up her pillow and made a move to head out, leaving absolutely no time for the other to react.
“Don’t leave just yet.” Gu Ruoling jumped out of bed to block her path, looking quite conflicted. Over the past few days, she had grown accustomed to the comfort of having someone answer the moment she called out at night.
If Zhu Qingjia left, what would she do if she couldn’t sleep?
“Then, how about… you squeeze in with me?” Gu Ruoling snatched the pillow from her arms and tossed it onto the bed, making the decision for her in a matter of seconds.
Zhu Qingjia rubbed the back of her neck, looking at the two meters wide, luxurious soft bed. It was nowhere near the territory of having to “squeeze in.”
“I suppose that works.” Zhu Qingjia feigned a reluctant expression. “Let’s sleep like this then.”
That night, they forgot to light the scented candle. Each occupied one side of the bed, leaving a gap between them that felt as vast as the Pacific Ocean.
Zhu Qingjia lay on her side. Her nose caught the sweet, crisp scent on the duvet, which seemed to emanate directly from beneath Gu Ruoling’s skin.
Reason told her it was a residual trace of pheromones, but her consciousness urged her to breathe in a little more, her body deeply craved it.
In the middle of the night, Zhu Qingjia distinctly felt something pressing against her back. Turning around to look, she found that Gu Ruoling had drifted over at some point, sleeping very close to her.
She had clearly migrated over in search of warmth, yet her body temperature wasn’t particularly warm.
Despite it being summer, her body temperature felt unusual.
Zhu Qingjia adjusted the air conditioning to a higher setting in the dark. Before long, the room grew warmer and her body began to perspire. Sweat started breaking out across her nose, neck, and waist. Even after kicking off the duvet, she still felt incredibly hot.
Moreover, she discovered an even worse dilemma.
Gu Ruoling rolled over, beginning to drift away from her again.
Zhu Qingjia got up once more to lower the temperature back down, standing directly in front of the AC vent for a good while until her body cooled down.
The moment she lay back down, a fluffy head snuggled right against her chest, and this time an arm even draped over her.
The sound of breathing by her ear was incredibly soft, almost negligible. Zhu Qingjia turned onto her side, gently resting her stiffened arm over Gu Ruoling’s back, lightly patting her a few times through the comforter.
She caught that sweet fragrance again, carrying a thin layer of moisture, like a fresh peach that had just been chilled in water.
Zhu Qingjia leaned closer to inhale, it was definitely emanating from the back of her neck, the scent of pheromones.
It smelled so good. She wanted so badly to take a bite.
Zhu Qingjia silently bit her lower lip.
In the morning, Gu Ruoling woke up before Zhu Qingjia did. A beam of light pierced through the unclosed slit of the curtains, casting directly over Zhu Qingjia’s form.
A slender arm rested over the duvet, and beneath that duvet lay Gu Ruoling’s waist.
It took her several seconds to realize just how incredibly close she was to Zhu Qingjia, close enough to clearly see the fine, soft hairs on her face.
Gu Ruoling didn’t move. Instead, she observed her meticulously. The clothes Zhu Qingjia was wearing seemed to have changed, it wasn’t the pajamas from last night, but a white tank top. Her pronounced collarbones and pale, pinkish shoulders were exposed, and further down, the distinct contours of her form were visible.
The duvet was almost entirely draped over Gu Ruoling, with only a messy corner resting over Zhu Qingjia’s abdomen.
Gu Ruoling leaned back slightly, startled to discover that her pajama pants had been changed too, replaced by a pair of loose shorts.
The span of a single night wasn’t short, but it wasn’t long either. She couldn’t have secretly done something behind my back, could she?
Who on earth changes their clothes in the middle of the night for no reason?
Gu Ruoling pushed her arm away, quickly checking her own body. Only after finding everything perfectly intact did she breathe a sigh of relief.
“What are you doing?” Zhu Qingjia opened her eyes, still somewhat dazed as she watched Gu Ruoling’s bizarre movements with the duvet.
With a slight shift of her toned arm, she easily pulled the girl back into her embrace, her warm palm resting right against Gu Ruoling’s shoulder.
“Y-Y-Why did you suddenly change your clothes last night?” Gu Ruoling stammered, glancing at her tank top. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to escape the radiating body heat.
Zhu Qingjia let out a soft laugh, her tone incredibly gentle. She shifted her head close to the crook of Gu Ruoling’s neck. Although she didn’t speak, the breath she exhaled caused the young mistress’s neck to instantly flush a fiery red.