Chapter 95: Cold Reception (Part 2)

  In the following days, it was hard to say who was busier between the brother and sister.

  Gu Tianxi put all his energy into the project in Hangzhou and was on business trips every other day.

  Gu Huanli was like a spinning top, from dawn till night, constantly previewing, reviewing, doing homework and answering test papers. Only with such busyness could she digest the progress her brother had arranged for her. Gu Huanli, who was used to reading books, quietly kept still. She never complained, never escaped, never slacked off, but only buried herself in hard study.

  Although she didn't have the experience of going to school with her brother, at least they could attend the same school, which was also what she had been longing for. Breathing the same air, looking at the same trees, admiring the same flowers... Every time she thought about it during her free time, she couldn't help but feel that being able to return to her hometown and be with her brother again was truly the happiest thing for her in the past fifteen years.

  Even the strictest teachers couldn't help but be amazed by her diligence. With her ability and grades, Tsinghua School of Economics is absolutely no problem. This hardworking young lady, could she be aiming to be the top scorer in Beijing?

  Yes, she indeed had such an intention. Whether it was to gain recognition for her brother or pride in being a good daughter, anyway, if she didn't work hard, it wouldn't do.

  Occasionally, Gu Tianxi would come to check on her progress after returning from a business trip. He would point at the mistakes on the test paper and say coldly, "This is wrong." Then he would walk away, leaving Gu Huanli holding the test paper, bitterly chewing on her mistakes and regrets. She knew that in order to gain her brother's approval, she had to be flawless. She didn't ask for herself to catch up with her brother's footsteps, but only hoped that she wouldn't be discarded like a burden without any emotional attachment.

  Thank God, she had spent a lot of time in the library reading obscure Chinese books. Although at that time, she always told Cassidy that she just wanted to understand the letters her brother occasionally sent, so that she could speak the same language as her brother and read the same texts.

  But whether it was Cassidy or her, they both understood that only by doing so would Gu Huanli feel that the distance between her and her brother seemed to be not so far away.

  On the eve of the college entrance examination, Gu Huanli was summoned by Gu Tianxi.

  "Sit down."

  "Brother, are you looking for me about something?" Gu Huanli's cautious tone was unmistakable to Gu Tianxi.

  "Tomorrow I'm going abroad to attend an international conference for two weeks. You're very used to living alone, so you shouldn't need me to worry about you."

  "Yes." Gu Huanli nodded, she was used to being alone, there was nothing to complain about. Because, at least in this place, she could still wait, waiting for her brother to come back. No matter where he went, no matter how long he stayed, in the end, her brother would always return here.

  "The exam shouldn't require an escort either? Cassidy is on vacation, but I can assign someone else to take care of you." After glancing at his sister, Gu Tianxi's eyes didn't show any warmth, instead, his repressed tone and awkward attitude made him furrow his brow. "If there's anything you need, just say it out loud."

  "No." Gu Huanli hastily shook her head and softly said, "We'll wait for brother to come home."

  Gu Tianxi raised her eyes and looked at her sister, giving an imperceptible smile. "Don't be careless about the exam."

  "Yes." Gu Huanli straightened her back and replied seriously to her brother.

  "Don't disappoint me." Gu Tianxi smiled faintly. "The Gu family doesn't need weak losers. You must remember this sentence."

  A casual command, heard in Gu Huan Lian's ears, was nothing out of the ordinary. She nodded quietly, "Yes, brother."

  "Go rest. Today, you can sleep half an hour earlier." Gu Tianxi slightly bent down and gently kissed Gu Huanli's forehead, "Goodnight."

  "Goodnight, brother."

  Gu Tianxi left in the dead of night, and he didn't come to say goodbye to Gu Huanlin. So she just stood quietly by the window with the lights off, gazing through the gap in the curtains at the car's taillights disappearing into the distance.

  Even when she returned to her brother's side, she still didn't have a real sense of living with him.

  They are no longer as close as they were before going abroad, nor will they chat, laugh, or quarrel like other siblings. Only the hug when they meet again makes her feel that she is still Gu Tianxi's sister. She doesn't understand when the invisible high wall between her and her brother quietly rose. She can't enter her brother's world, let alone understand the depth and coldness in his eyes.

  The more anxious, the farther away; The more you want to get close, the more distant the relationship becomes. Dian Gu Huanli just wanted to repay her brother's kindness, she just wanted to be a well-behaved and sensible younger sister, she just wanted to make her brother proud of her.

  Open diary, silently counting the days they get together, then striking out the time they must be apart.

  Wait.

  All she can do is wait.

  Standing at the noisy entrance of the examination hall, Gu Huanli remained indifferent to the overly noisy and somewhat tense examinees, as well as their accompanying family members and friends.

  Envy?

  No, at this moment, there was only one thought in Gu Huan Lian's mind. The Gu family had no weak losers. So, she wanted to defeat everyone standing here, and make her brother proud of her.

  "Sister, your admission ticket!" a worried voice came from afar.

  "Haha, Luo Yun, you're really confused." Behind her was a man covering his mouth and laughing.

  "Xiao Da Ge I'm really nervous", the girl's sweet voice was tinged with a hint of despair, "Little brother, I'm over here".

  "Saying I'm nervous, but actually not nervous at all."

  "No way"

  "Sister, your admission ticket. Also, good luck!"

  For some reason, Gu Huanli lowered her head and glanced at her pen bag, then felt annoyed that she shouldn't be affected by others' emotions.

  The gate suddenly opened, and the examinees poured into the campus like a tide. Someone bumped against Gu Huan's shoulder, she retreated several steps, but found herself stepping on someone else's foot.

  "Sorry." The two people apologized in unison, then couldn't help but laugh.

  "Add oil" girl clenched her fist in encouragement.

  "Mm." Gu Huanli nodded and suddenly smiled brightly, "You too."

  The days just continue to pass by in tranquility.

  In the heat wave of July, Gu Huanli welcomed the day of posting results. Although it is possible to check the rankings synchronously on the Internet, the housekeeper still personally went from the old mansion of the Gu family to Linyin Middle School where Gu Huanli was enrolled to check the rankings.

  A huge red paper unfolded, with dense names written on it.

  Luo Yi Chen walked forward step by step, searching for the name in his memory from the end. Due to the large number of people, he also had to worry about being squeezed out by the crowd from time to time. A figure bumped into his shoulder heavily, and he slightly frowned, turning his head to take a closer look, but it was a mischievous girl. She pouted, staring at him with fiery eyes.

  Luo Yi Chen was taken aback and lost his smile, begging of you, shouldn't he be the one who's angry instead?

  Just then, the girl suddenly jumped up, shouting loudly, "Brother Xiao with 603 points, I must get into Tsinghua School of Economics and Management, do you believe it or not?"

  Oh?

  Lu Yichen turned his head again to stare at the red paper, could it be that he didn't pass? Could it be that his score wasn't ideal? He stared all the way to the top, and just when he was about to lose hope, he suddenly saw the three words "Gu Huanli" standing quietly in first place, with a score behind it that was astonishingly high - 665.

  "Hey, who is this Gu Huanli? He's only been transferred here for a little over a month and he can already score such high marks?"

  "I don't know, everyone was busy reviewing before the college entrance exam, who had the leisure to pay attention to her?"

  "Is he a genius returning from abroad?"

  "Don't even mention it, those who returned from abroad, can get such good scores in the entrance exams for education?"

  ……

  What followed didn't faze Ruo Yu Chen much; he just smiled to himself. He then stuck his hands in his pockets and turned around to leave.

  On the other side of the city.

  "President, Miss's overall score has been released and she is ranked first in the liberal arts category in the city." Jiang Chengying reported to Gu Tianxi after answering the phone call from Guan's family.

  "How's the preparation for the dance party?" Gu Tianxi handed him the signed document with a expressionless face.

  "This is the list of invited guests." Jiang Chengying picked up a black file folder from beside him and placed it on Gu Tianxi's office desk.

  Gu Tianxi briefly scanned it and casually crossed out a few names. "Send out invitations according to this list."

  Jiang Chengying took over the name list and looked at it, saying seriously, "Fang Zhanshu is the beloved son of Police Chief Fang, do you want..."

  "This person will be removed soon and is already useless." Gu Tianxi's expression turned cold, his tone also became ruthless.

  Jiang Chengying estimated in her heart and suggested, "Why don't we replace his position with that young master from the An family's estate?"

  "The family background is indeed prominent enough..." Gu Tianxi cast his gaze on the documents in his hand, which detailed the sales performance of the resorts and hotels under Fengyun International. "Although the hotel's sales performance has remained stable, it is still not enough for the overall trend of the group's business transformation. We need professional consultants to guide the connection and coordination of various service work."

  "Is it possible for the president to accept a delegated management model? It can save investment costs and achieve the best economic and social benefits locally."

  "Are you drawing on the experience of Continental Hotel Group?" Gu Tianxi, who was seriously considering whether to go to the hotel for a surprise inspection, suddenly had a look with deep meaning on his face. "How is the acquisition of the website going?"

  "As per the president's request, it is proceeding as scheduled." Jiang Chengying said this while writing something on a document.

  "You continue to follow up on this matter, pay attention to the fluctuations in endogenous growth space." Gu Tianxi stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the sunset glow, "Inform the butler to pack up Xiaoli's personal belongings and send her directly to the airport."

  Jiang Chengying pushed his glasses up and said thoughtfully, "Didn't you tell Big Sister beforehand?"

  Gu Tianxi glanced at him and continued to review the documents on his desk with his head down.