Chapter 94: Cold Reception (Part 1)
"But..." Gu Huanli shook her head, her actions were indeed reckless. If her brother found out, he would probably throw her on a plane immediately.
"Standing here, you can see the rain without worrying about getting sick tomorrow. How's that? It feels pretty good, doesn't it?"
The man's palm was very cold, as cold as his eyes. Gu Huanli struggled to shake off his hand, but felt that such behavior was too arrogant and rude, so she had to let him settle herself under the eaves. The raindrops falling from the eaves formed a row of dense bead curtains, shining with crystal light in the dim yellow lamp light. Perhaps because the dark clouds were too thick, it was still early, but the streetlights lit up quietly.
Although they could have walked into the teaching building, the two of them stood there, listening to the sound of raindrops hitting the roof, staring blankly at the hazy rainy scene, neither of them taking a step.
After a long time, Gu Huanli turned her head and stole a glance at the man beside her. His face was handsome and cold, each feature perfect like a marble statue, but also too cold and unfeeling. Gu Huanli knew she shouldn't be doing this, yet she couldn't help but admire him, only to be caught by his gaze as he turned around.
"What have you been looking at?" The man's icy black eyes gazed at her with abandon, his lips seeming to curve into a sly smile.
Don't turn your head away, Gu Huanli was a bit sulky, "see if you're a bad person"
The man leaned in slightly, his face close to hers. For a moment, he isolated her from the world. He looked at her face, her cheeks were pale, her eyes were dazed, and there was a hint of fear in them. She looked like a frightened little rabbit, making people feel pity for her. "Then you should lean in closer, so I can see clearly."
Gu Huanli was not surprised to hear the sound of her own heartbeat, which seemed to be about to shatter her eardrums. Unfortunately, for the angel-faced Satan, she really didn't have any interest in him at all. Gu Huanli took a step back, but bumped into the wall behind her. If there was no way to retreat, what should she do?
"Sorry, did I scare you? I didn't mean to." The man looked at the black hair that fell down and covered half of Gu Huan's snow-white face, her long eyelashes fluttering lightly like butterfly wings, while the skin around her eyes was smooth like fine white jade. He took a slight step back, his icy and indifferent black eyes fixed on her face, like an icicle or low air pressure. "I just wanted to make a joke to ease the atmosphere."
"I know." Gu Huanli lowered her head, if it were in the past, anyone who was with her would feel suffocated. To put it bluntly, she was just a socially awkward bookworm. Unfortunately, she was no longer that clumsy child with social anxiety disorder.
The man carefully sized her up, his piercing yet beautiful deep eyes flashing with a bewildered silver light, and slowly said, "You're a high school student?"
Gu Huanli nodded.
"Want to visit our school?"
Gu Huanli nodded again.
"What do you like about Peking University?"
Gu Huanli raised her head and looked at the campus in the rain. It was lush, quiet, peaceful, with a scent of mud and rainwater, gardens were dense, there was a lake in the garden, and many ponds outside, fields planted with fragrant rice, like a Jiangnan water town...
"Some people love the antiquity here, some like the warmth, and some care about the academic atmosphere. Of course, it's also because this is the gathering place of the top students from all provinces and cities." The man's lips were pursed into a line, his expression was unusually cold, but in those desert-like desolate eyes, there seemed to be something she didn't dare to explore.
"What about you?" Gu Huan Lian spoke up, asking softly. She was rarely curious, but towards this person, she suddenly wanted to know an answer. Perhaps, this answer could help her find the real answer that belonged to her, and not just follow in her brother's footsteps. As for the rest...
In these years in America, what she has seen, heard and felt have long made her let go of some unpleasant things.
"I like the freedom here. Academic freedom, freedom of thought, campus freedom." The man pointed to the business school in front of him and actually gave her a smile, that smile mixed with evil poison but was beautiful to the extreme. "If one can't do what they want to do, what's the difference between them and a puppet?"
The pain of being forced to open up old wounds was indescribable, Gu Huanli clenched her teeth secretly, but her face smiled even more warmly, "I think, when I get accepted here, I'll definitely have my own answers too."
"Which department of which college are you planning to apply for?" A low and magnetic voice, but with a radiant glow in his eyes.
Gu Huanli couldn't help but think of her brother, those amber-colored deep eyes, like a dark night. But the eyes of the person in front of her were mostly like an iceberg, only making people feel numb and painful. "I want to major in business school."
"This is a good choice. However, it's not easy to take the exam after all, Peking University is one of the top schools in the country." The man looked at her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, and his focused expression suddenly slowly darkened, "So, don't skip class and sneak into the university again next time."
Gu Huanli wanted to explain awkwardly, but she didn't know where to start, so she just smiled and said "Okay".
"I'm a student at the Business School. If you come to study at the Business School, as an upperclassman, I'll definitely take good care of you." The corners of his mouth curved into a wickedly beautiful arc, and the man's unreserved smile had a voice that sounded icy cold, like a spring.
"Really? Will you really take care of me?" Gu Huanli softly repeated this promise.
"Definitely."
Gu Huan Lian stared at him in a daze, as if her thoughts had been extracted.
If she could really get in, if she could really become his junior, she firmly believed that the tragedy would not be repeated. She would never let herself fall into trouble again.
Luo Yi Chen, I didn't expect that on the third day after returning to our country, the first acquaintance I ran into would be you.
So, even if she ran back to the car in a sorry state, returned to the Gu family's old mansion in a sorry state, and stood in the living room in a sorry state, she still had a smile on her face. It was just that the owner of those deep, cold eyes made her involuntarily calm down.
Gu Huanli stood there in a daze, hesitating whether to go over and apologize or to return to her room to freshen up first before apologizing. She had imagined this moment thousands of times, but never thought it would be under such circumstances that they would reunite.
At this moment, she was extremely timid.
Gu Tianxi held the original book in her hand, coldly staring at her sister who was drenched from head to toe. She trembled with fear and even took a step back, then another. Water droplets hung on her hair ends and eyelashes, her sweet dress clung tightly to her slender body, if not for that strange and annoying jacket on her shoulders...
Gu Tianxi sat on the sofa, looking at her with a condescending attitude as if she was about to suffocate.
"What's going on?"
"Sorry."
"Reason."
"When visiting Peking University, I coincidentally encountered a sudden rain shower."
"Doesn't the bodyguard have an umbrella?"
"I'm sorry." Gu Huanli listened to her brother's emotionless and cold inquiry, her lips trembling lightly, her complexion pale as paper, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
She stood up, and Gu Tian Xi walked past her with a polite but overly cold attitude, leaving her alone in the living room. The longing that had accumulated over a long time, as well as the strength she had built up, was instantly cracked open by him. Although she tried to suppress it desperately, she couldn't help but redden her eyes.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she could only lower her head, covering up her embarrassment and awkwardness.
"Miss, go upstairs and change your clothes." It was He Muyang's voice that broke the silence.
The cold wind blowing in from the open window made Gu Huanli shrink her body, she looked up at the study at the end of the corridor, her pale fingers tightly grasping the hem of her clothes. She knew that her improper behavior had angered her brother. Compared to sarcasm and blame, she feared this estrangement and indifference more.
If she loses her brother, if even her brother wants to abandon her, apart from accepting fate, she really has no other way out.
Taking a bath, changing clothes, and becoming the flawless Gu Huanlin once again. Apart from her brother, yes, in this world, apart from her brother, she didn't need anyone else. Only in front of her brother could she truly feel alive and experience true warmth.
However, sitting at the dinner table, facing her expressionless brother, she couldn't swallow her food. Gu Huanlin didn't know what kind of expression was on his face at this moment. Regret? Bitterness? Longing? Or eternal sorrow?
"Your current grades are enough to get you into those two private universities through principal's recommendation."
I want to take the college entrance exam in June and apply for Tsinghua University. Because that's also my brother's alma mater.
"The current results are not enough."
I will try my best.
"Don't go out before the exam. Study hard, got it?"
"I know."
After dinner, Gu Tianxi instructed the butler to inform the driver to take him to the airport in two hours. Before returning to the study, Gu Huanli finally couldn't help but grab her brother's sleeve, bowing her head humbly, her eyelashes fluttering nonstop, "Brother, I'm sorry. Today was my fault." Her lips trembled lightly, her words like autumn leaves trembling in the autumn wind, falling, falling, as if shattering on one's heart.
"Focus on your studies." To Gu Tian Xi, at this moment, Gu Huan Lian seemed as lonely and helpless as a crystal doll with tears streaming down her face, but he still ordered her emotionlessly.
"Yes." Gu Huanli released his hand and stepped back from him, lowering his head in response.
"Come here." Gu Tianxi suddenly smiled, opening his arms and saying, "Finally willing to call me? How come you've been ignoring me all this time?"
"Brother", Gu Huanli flew into his arms, tightly hugging the only relative who cared about her, just like holding onto the last straw.
Brother didn't abandon her, did he?
Is brother still willing to make up with her?
She can also stay by her brother's side, right?
Innumerable questions, Gu Huan Lian dared not ask aloud. She simply buried her face in Gu Tian Xi's embrace, drawing warmth and strength. This was the only support for her life, this was the only meaning of her efforts, this was the only happy memory that she could repeatedly savor whenever she parted with her brother.
If she raised her head, perhaps she could see her brother's gentle smile and eyes that were no longer cold but full of tender love and care.
"Older brother"
He reached out and rubbed his sister's hair, Gu Tianxi said in a spoiled tone, "Welcome home."
With a smile, she lifted her head, and Gu Huanli's face was as lovely as the peach blossoms in the mountains in April. "I'm back."