Chapter 20: Warmth (Part 2)

  At this moment, in the garden downstairs, the green trees here shade the sun, which is slightly poisonous. The warm light under the tree shadow shines on people's faces, as if exploring.

  Gu Huan Lian's fingers absently touched the tea cup with a spoon, stirring up the white mist rising from the water surface like soft silk threads. In her mind, she silently thought about today's conversation between her brother and Dr. Su, which might have decided whether she would be discharged or continue to stay in the hospital for observation.

  "Little girl, we'll be leaving in a few days, so today, apart from coming to watch your performance, there's also something important - I've come to bid you farewell." Ye Qinglan smiled warmly, and the black pupils shone with a light that outshone even the strongest sunlight at noon on a summer day. They were too dazzling, too scorching, making people involuntarily drawn in, and even bursting into smiles.

  If this sentence was said by Ruo Yu Chen, she would have politely replied with a single sentence of four words: "Have a safe journey." However, the person sitting next to her and talking to her at that moment was Ye Qing Lan. So, Gu Huan Li lightly said, "Thank you, Brother Lan, for coming to visit me in the hospital every day during this precious vacation, which has been delayed because of me. I'm sorry."

  Ye Qing's lips curled up, he thought Gu Huanli's tough mouth and soft heart were really cute, "Today I can see you playing the piano and hear you sing, it's already worth it. So, no need to thank me, nor do you need to say sorry."

  "No, it's Lan Ge's singing that gives me the courage." Gu Huanli looked at the sparkling spots on her hand and smiled sweetly, "I've never heard such a good voice before, bright and delicate, soft and gentle, very warm, yet as fresh and natural as morning dew..."

  "Really?" Ye Qinglan's smiling lips curved upwards even more, his bright eyes gazing at her like an eager child awaiting affirmation.

  "Really, so you're saying that if I said yes, Brother Shan would go participate in a singing competition and then debut as a singer?" Gu Huanli looked at him curiously for a moment before suddenly bursting out laughing. "So, on the day of your first concert, Brother Shan, be sure to tell your fans that the reason you decided to become a singer is because one summer, you sang a duet with a little girl whose name you can't remember. And when that day comes, you have to sing 'Fantasizing on the Stars' again!"

  "How could I forget the name?" Ye Qinglan stretched out her hand, gently stroking her hair, and murmured, "Besides, I'm just going to Saint-Tropez for a vacation. What gift does little girl want?"

  "Saint-Tropez?" Gu Huanli repeated, and the next second, Chu Lianyou pulled Ruo Yichen to sit down in front of them, smiling and saying, "Little Li, Little Li, do you know? Han Gege and Yi Chen Gege are going to Plage de la Ponche in Saint-Tropez this summer! It's said that there's a very famous nude beach there!"

  “Pfft——” Gu Huanli was just feeling thirsty, but who would have thought that Chu Lianyou's one sentence would make her directly spit the red tea in her mouth onto Luo Yichen's face. "Cough cough, cough cough, sorry, sorry, really too sorry." She said this while stealing a laugh and looking at Ye Qinglan with confusion, how could he not be interested in celestial bodies... Ah, she knew, it must be that scoundrel Luo Yichen! The scourge of society!

  "Xiao Li, are you uncomfortable with your throat?" Chu Lianyou gently patted Gu Huanli's back, but still muttered, "I heard Brother Lan say that the celestial beach is a beach where people exercise every day, and the people on it are either playing volleyball or kicking football!"

  "Cough, cough, cough...!" Gu Huanli's coughing got even worse. Oh my god, where did Ye Qinglan come up with these words? Is he an alien or something? And to think he's always doing sports on the beach! She was truly impressed by him!

  "I think she's getting worse, Lan. Hurry up and call the nurse to send her to the emergency ward." Ruo Yichen wiped the red tea off his face while gritting his teeth at Ye Qinglan, knowing that this little girl was absolutely doing it on purpose!

  Hmph, this matter is settled now!

  In the past, I was afraid of you. Could it be that I'm still afraid of you now? Gu Huanli's eyes were cast downward, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. Fear and apology lingered in her eyes, like tears welling up, as she pursed her lips, but didn't make a sound.

  "Yi Chen, Xiaoyao didn't do it on purpose. Just go wash your face and that's fine. Why make things difficult for a child?" Ye Qinglan's voice sank down, though displeased, the feeling only flashed by in an instant.

  Luo Yi Chen's handsome face revealed a profound and mysterious smile, he raised his chin and said loudly, "I'm making things difficult for her? Lan, why don't you ask Xiao Jie why she was talking to you and suddenly turned her head towards me?"

  Tears fell onto Ye Qinglan's hand, slowly spreading out into small wet dots, just like Gu Huanli's apologetic and gloomy eyes at this moment. "Sorry, if I could have predicted what you were going to say earlier, I would have sat quietly." Moreover, not only did it spray on your face, but also on your clothes. Aren't you a cleanliness freak? Humph, this pseudo-cleanliness is the most annoying. If she had her way, spiritual cleanliness would be true cleanliness, and you're just a wolf in sheep's clothing, more capable of pretending than anyone else, more ruthless than anyone else! When it comes to biting back, you'd rather gnaw through bones and suck out the marrow.

  "Ah-choo!" Ruo Yu Chen let out a stifled sneeze, he swore that the little girl in front of him was scolding him. She looked like a gentle little lamb, a brave little girl who had jumped down from such a high place, a little girl with the guts to escape alone at night, a little girl who could be ruthless enough to bully both himself and the psychologist into silence. How could she look so wronged, with eyes full of apology?

  Impossible!

  Gu Huanli blinked, looking at a girl behind Luo Yichen with a puzzled expression. The lovely short hair reflected fine, jade-like luster in the afternoon sun, and her bright eyes held deep anger, as well as what was in her hand...

  "Because... it seems... be careful!"

  Gu Huanli had not finished speaking, when suddenly a cup of ice water was poured directly from Luo Yichen's head, it was so refreshing, it was so thrilling, it was so exhilarating, everyone almost applauded and whistled.

  "What the hell!" Ruo Yu Chen stood up in anger, turned around and stared fiercely at the mysterious girl holding an empty cup.

  "What the hell?! Hmph! You know what you've done yourself!" The girl's right hand, clutching the cup, was trembling, but her small face was filled with uncontrollable anger. "You think it's impressive to have two boats at your feet? Ruo Yi Chen, I'm telling you, just because your family has some broken money doesn't mean you can bully girls at will. If you dare to do something, you must dare to take responsibility, otherwise, not only are you unscrupulous, but you're also gutless!"

  "Miss." After the initial anger had passed, Lu Yichen's naturally calm personality took over. He picked up a napkin and slowly wiped away the water from his head, face, and body, then looked calmly at the girl in front of him. "I've never seen you before, and I also don't understand what you're saying. If you can enlighten me, I'm willing to listen carefully."

  "Brother Yi Chen, should I go call the security guard?" Chu Lian looked at Luo Yi Chen's disheveled appearance and her face turned pale with fright.

  On the contrary, Gu Huanli's lips only had a faint smile, and her eyes showed a hint of boredom. She took over the fragrant and refreshing red tea that Ye Qinglan had just poured for her, and lightly took a sip.

  Luo Yi Chen waved his hand at Chu Lian You, "This little matter, no need to call security."

  "You look like a human being, but you're really incompetent. Lu Qi Chen, listen up, I'm here today to teach you a lesson on behalf of Ruo Xi. People like you... Ah, Ruo Xi, why have you been tugging at my clothes since earlier?" The girl's stern words were cut off by the long-haired girl behind her, who was pulling at her with a mixture of fear and anxiety.

  Everything that happened before his eyes was absurd and ridiculous, something that had never happened in his world. Lu Yichen narrowed his eyes slightly, he should be furious, but looking at his good friend sitting aside and the little girl drinking tea with a face of not being related to the matter, somehow it made his anger subside by half.

  Since he was young, his father had taught him to remain calm when angry and composed when puzzled. "Han Ruoxi, may I ask what's going on here?"

  The long-haired girl's face was full of shyness and embarrassment, she stuttered and said, "Because you never came to the oil painting club, and you also forgot about our date, so I... with Xiaowei... it turned out that you come to this hospital every day..."

  Luo Yi Chen's face instantly turned as stiff as stone, "You've been following me?"

  "No, no, it's Xiaowei who has seen you several times at the entrance of this hospital. She also said that every time she saw you, you were holding red tulips and gifts..."

  "So you think I'm playing both sides against each other." Lu Yichen's lips curled into a mocking smile as he said in a cold voice, "And then your friend stabbed you in the back, didn't they?"

  "Shouldn't I be furious!" A short-haired girl named Xiao Wei shook off Han Ruoxi's arm and shouted at Luo Yichen, "Who in school doesn't know you're a playboy, changing girlfriends more often than shirts? But we, Ruoxi and girls who only care about your looks and your family's wealth, are different. So if you wrong her, I, Qi Weiwei, will not forgive you!"

  "Oh?" Lü Yuechen's gaze fell on Han Ruoxi, who was behind her with a bright red face and still trembling. "This has piqued my interest. Han Ruoxi, what exactly do you like about me?"

  "I...” Han Ruoxi looked at the three people sitting across from her, then raised her head to glance at the crowd of onlookers in the distance. Finally, she looked at Luo Yichen in front of her and said softly, "I just like you, I don't have any reason for liking you. If... if you want to dump me, it's fine with me. It's just that before we break up, can I take a look at the person who won your heart? What do they look like?"

  Luo Yi Chen was such a sharp-minded person, so he used his thumb to point at Gu Huan Li behind him and said leisurely, "It's her."

  "What?" Qī Wēi Wēi and Hán Ruò Xī stared at Lù Yì Chén's gestures in shock, after a while, Qī Wēi Wēi muttered to herself, "So... so... the young master of the Lù family lacks motherly love!"

  "Wooo... it turns out... I was born thirty years too late!" Han Ruoxi threw out these words, covering her face and running away.

  "Ruoxi! Ruoxi!" Qī Wēiwēi chased after him for a few steps, then suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around to say to Luō Yīchén, "You have an Oedipus complex, so why harm the girls at school? They're clearly not up to your dream girl's standards!" After that, she ran off too.

  Oedipus complex?

  Luo Yichen slowly turned around, looking at the middle-aged woman smiling with a bouquet of red tulips under the banyan tree not far away, then looked at Gu Huanli who had just straightened up with an innocent face, "Little girl! What have you done!"

  "Huh?" Gu Huan Lian looked around in confusion, then raised the spoon in her hand and replied even more awkwardly, "The ladle fell to the ground, I just wanted to pick it up, isn't that right?"