Chapter Eighty-Seven: Safety and Danger (Part 2)

  In the following days, on one hand, Vanessa and Antonio were gradually recovering; on the other hand, Gu Huanli and Mai De were improving their combat effectiveness through hard training due to Antonio's departure.

  Perhaps, as Cassidy said, the church can calm one's soul, while companions can warm it. This was the first time that Gu Huanli truly experienced a life of freedom. Although this kind of freedom might seem insignificant to some people, for Gu Huanli, it was a precious experience.

  Although the days went by one after another, Gu Tianxi's promised trip to the amusement park still hadn't come true, but for Gu Huanli, her busy and happy life had already made her gradually forget the grievances and resentment in her heart. Moreover, after her rebirth, she had finally found a corner of the memories that she had forgotten.

  Memories of Antonio are now complete... and a new chapter is about to unfold...

  In her free time, Gu Huanli would follow Mai De and the others or the community's church members to visit Vanessa and Antonio in the hospital. She walked slowly behind the crowd in the slightly chilly wind, not trying to stand out. She just wanted to go to the hospital and see if her friends were recovering gradually. Although the hospital room was filled with gifts, cards, and flowers from visitors, Gu Huanli would still bring some pastries made by Cassidy or buy a bouquet of fresh flowers full of life.

  After the gloomy weather, there were no clouds in the sky. The warm and gentle sunlight made Gu Huanli think that tonight would be a beautiful moonlit night. If she were at her old home, she would curl up on the sofa on the balcony to bask in the moonlight. Waiting for her brother to finish his busy day, he would return to their room and coax her into a dreamland. Although they were now in a foreign land, the moon above them was still the same one.

  Miss you, but not painful.

  Is this the life her brother wanted for her?

  The corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile as Gu Huanli watched Antonio and Maide play cards at the head of the bed, watching the purple wisteria flowers scattered on the wheat-colored curtains, with a joyful sparkle. The pale white sunlight came in, casting a slanting shadow on the marble floor, jumping lightly.

  Suddenly, the familiar music softly rang out, it was Gu Huanli's favorite "Fantasizing on the Stars", she hurriedly pressed the call button. The other end of the phone said something unknown, her eyes immediately became gentle. "Lan Gege, how did you think to call me?"

  "I'm worried about you, so young and going abroad for studies, and Tian Xi won't say where he's hiding you..."

  Ye Qinglan's warm voice slowly came, melting Gu Huanli's heart bit by bit, and every ray of sunshine seemed to be her gentle gaze. "Brother Lan, don't worry, I guarantee that you are absolutely communicating with an Earthling now."

  "Still so mischievous..." Ye Qinglan's voice had a hint of sigh, he said in a low tone, "This semester, we're going to the school-level tournament, unfortunately, our Victory Goddess is far away in a foreign land."

  "Lang Gege——" Gu Huanli's face turned red with shame, and she called out his name in a pleading manner. Her eyes, like black onyx, shone with a brilliant light, piercing through the dust dancing in the sunlight. Her pure and innocent face lost a bit of its coldness, replaced by a hint of coquettish charm.

  Antonio glanced at her sideways, unable to help but smile lightly. Originally engrossed in the card game, Ma De, Rui Ji and Sally found that Antonio hadn't played a card for a long time, and couldn't help but curiously lift their heads, then followed his line of sight to look towards Gu Huan Lü.

  "At this moment, I really resent my foreign language class. Why did the electives include Spanish, Italian, French, German, and even Japanese and Korean, but not Chinese?" Antonio sighed exaggeratedly, saying in a hushed tone, "Mysterious Eastern ancient country, elegant language, lovely..."

  "Hey" Reggie patted Antonio's shoulder with his hand and said seriously, "Brother, the road is long and heavy."

  "To be honest, don't you think Lian looks really petite? Although she's about the same height as me, somehow...” Lisa supported her chin and scrutinized Gu Huanlian carefully, after a long while, she let out a soft sigh. “Anton, I think you're just like the fox in Oscar Wilde's story.”

  "What did you say?"

  "Wait for the one you love, slowly... slowly... growing up." Lisa said with a smile, covering her stomach and laughing "Ah yo ah yo", she said, "I'm going to die from laughter."

  Mai De raised the corner of his mouth and added fuel to the fire, saying, "I heard from Lian's maid that Lian's older brother is very strict and doesn't allow her to fall in love before returning home. Given Lian's obedience and cleverness, I'm afraid your wish will be in vain."

  "Emotions, if they can be controlled, are not emotions at all." Antonio said with a smile, spreading the remaining cards on the table, "Sorry about that, I won again this round."

  On the other hand, Gu Huanli's eyes sparkled with a sweet smile. "I'm now part of the community volleyball team and train every day. Of course, a soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier, and an athlete who doesn't want to come in first isn't a good athlete. Those who say 'friendship comes first, competition second' are just trying to fool people - only the winners would say something as pompous and empty as that."

  "Are you saying that the award-winning speeches I made on behalf of the team were all empty and pretentious?" Ye Qinglan made a slight gesture to the person beside her, continuing, "Little girl, don't capsize the boat with one pole, okay." Her light and steady voice was like rain sliding down a zither string, slightly bringing out a hint of icy elegance.

  "There wasn't" a faint smile appeared on Gu Huanli's lips. She thought of the wind chime that had followed her to this foreign land, still hanging in the window frame of her bedroom. When night fell, it swayed gently, making a soft and crisp sound. Whether it was the old mansion of the Gu family or in a distant foreign land, there was always the crisp sound of the wind chime in her dreams, with that warm and fuzzy yellow light shining softly in the deepest and farthest reaches of her dreams.

  Perhaps it can't illuminate the entire world like its brother, perhaps that faint light in the brightness is easily overlooked by people. However, in loneliness or sorrow, on days when she has to part with her brother, that faint light is like friends accompanying her at this moment, warming her heart.

  Gu Huanli was chatting with Ye Qinglan, and Ruo Yichen's figure had flashed in her mind, but it was just a flash. Compared to him, Gu Huanli wanted to know more about Ye Qinglan's affairs. However, talking on the phone in the hospital room wasn't quite right, so she made an appointment with Ye Qinglan to chat online next time, and also practice her typing speed at the same time.

  "Lier, come and save us quickly!" Lisa cried out in a sorrowful voice as she saw Gu Huan Lier finish her phone call. "Anton has already won over ten rounds against us, if we keep losing like this, I'm afraid before high school graduation, he'll have our lunch money."

  Gu Huanli innocently blinked her eyes, then said seriously, "This is easy, as long as you keep treating him to Mexican BBQ burgers and Mexican chili ice cream floats."

  "Huh?" Antonio looked at Gu Huanlin with some surprise.

  "After all, it's just losing lunch, so naturally they buy what you eat."

  Antonio stared at her in astonishment, "Ah"

  "Who allowed you to do so without prior agreement."

  "Really?" Antonio's shoulders slumped completely, he leaned back against the cushion and said helplessly, "Can I refuse..."

  "Hey, old buddy, may the best man win!" Gu Huanli sat down by the window, took out a piece of white chocolate from the candy box and put it in his mouth. After a while, he continued, "Otherwise, how would people understand the bitterness of gambling?"

  "If I had known earlier, I'd rather lose." Antonio sighed helplessly, but suddenly his eyes lit up and he said to Maide, "Let's continue playing, let's go on."

  "Good grief!" Gu Huanli glanced at the watch on her wrist, intentionally exaggerating her expression. "We should head back to training, otherwise, Old Man Riede will use his shotgun to blow our heads off one by one."

  "Ugh......" Antonio watched as those people put on their coats and followed Gu Huanli with a smile, and couldn't help but hold his head in distress, saying "Who told Lian that I couldn't eat spicy food?"

  By the way, Antonio is not someone who can't eat spicy food, but rather he can't handle even a hint of spiciness. If he does, his face and entire body will turn bright red like a freshly steamed shrimp.

  When such a secret was known to the girl who had been on his mind, the pain was even more unbearable than the wound on his leg, and it was even more torturous than waiting for rescue in the cave. However, no matter how Antonio interrogated the servants at home, he couldn't find out who leaked the secret, so he could only wait for an opportunity to secretly ask Gu Huanli about the truth.

  Anyway, he's already dead, at least let him know who killed him.

  She looked at him with a sincere face, hesitated for a moment, but eventually frowned, picked up her coat and walked out. The door closed with a soft "thud", like someone's sigh in the wind.

  The next day after practice, Gu Huanlin didn't go to the donut shop with Mai De and the others for a short break, but instead walked slowly alone on the street.

  "Glass."

  The familiar call made her turn back, but the scene in front of her was astonishing. She stared at Antonio sitting in a wheelchair and smiling at her, and exclaimed, "You look like this... it's not... how did you come out so soon? Do the doctors and nurses know?"

  "Relax, I'm just out for a stroll. Although it's a bit far, as long as I make it back within the allotted time, that's all that matters." Antonio attempted to ease the tension with a joke, "Besides, I used to be an assistant coach on the team, so worrying about the team is normal, right?"

  "It must be because I didn't perform well during practice today." Gu Huan's first reaction was her volleyball skills.

  "Not at all. Ruri, you're learning fast and making progress. To use Reggie's words, you're gradually becoming an 'awesome' teammate. This kid seems to have a lot of respect for your talent." Antonio crossed his arms over his chest, a hint of a smile appearing on the corner of his mouth. "I came today because I wanted to talk to you about something else."

  Gu Huanli lowered her eyebrows and asked, "What's going on?"

  "I've thought about it for a long time, if not for my servant telling you that little secret, then how would you have known? Antonio's eyes sparkled and he said in a low voice, "The only possibility is that you care about me, care about my every move. Just like the cave we talked about with everyone, only you remembered."

  "That can only mean my memory is very good." Gu Huan Lian fell silent for a moment, her eyes flickering.

  Antonio hesitated for a moment, furrowing his brow. "I've heard that your brother is very strict with you... but that doesn't prevent us from being friends."

  Gu Huanli looked at him deeply and asked back, "Aren't we friends now?"