Chapter Thirty: Wind Chimes (Part 2)

  When Gu Huanli woke up, it was already near dusk. [Ye Zi] [You You] Since returning to her brother's side and no longer considering the piano as her entire dream, her life had suddenly become much more relaxed. However, if you put it nicely, it was just relaxation; if not, it was actually just laziness. Adding on her brother's indulgence and Cassidy's carelessness, Gu Huanli realized that she really was becoming more and more like a spoiled little girl.

  She sat on the bed with her chin in her hands, staring blankly into space, so absorbed in her deep worries about recent events that she didn't even notice when Gu Tianxi entered.

  "Xiao Li, are you awake?"

  Gu Huanli turned her head, the shallow sunset filtering through the intricate leaves and flowing into her dazed eyes. Reflected in her gaze were her brother's amber-colored and warm eyes, a faint smile lingering on his handsome face. Time seemed to have stopped at this moment. The past sorrows and future anxieties all solidified in this deep and profound gaze.

  Not for no reason, but a reason that cannot be spoken, bursting through the heart's pain, tears finally flowed down, sticking to her cheek, sliding into the fading dusk, disappearing without a trace.

  Gu Tianxi shook his head and walked to Gu Huanli's side, gently wrapping his arm around her. "I'm just leaving for a while, did I have another nightmare?"

  Gu Huanli stretched out her hands, placing them side by side like cups. A sunbeam flowed into her palms like a golden spring, with occasional intersecting shadows cast on her hands, mottled like the black wings of a beautiful butterfly trembling. However, as her fingers slowly parted, the sunlight poured down from her fingertips like flowing sand, disappearing into the air.

  The moment is eternity.

  But whether it's an instant or eternity, neither can be grasped nor held onto, just like this sunlight and the flowing sand.

  A teardrop rolled down my cheek, and Gu Tianxi stretched out a finger to gently catch the drop. "I heard from Cassidy that you said something to your aunt at school today, something that moved him deeply."

  Gu Huanli's face flushed, and she muttered to herself, "I just didn't want to see Auntie cry so miserably in front of outsiders, didn't want to see her walk towards defeat weakly without even putting up a fight in front of the enemy."

  "Xiao Li." Gu Tian Xi used his hand to lift her chin, saying slowly, "Except in front of me, don't cry in front of anyone else. No matter how wronged or humiliated you are, you must endure it. Do you understand?"

  "I... I'm not that much of a crybaby." Gu Huanli wanted to argue a few words, but Gu Tianxi's gaze made her obediently lower her head, "I understand."

  "Although, I don't like you getting too close to...". Gu Tianxi inadvertently glanced out the window, a gloomy expression floating between his eyebrows. "However, one must still express gratitude for others' kind actions, understand?"

  Gu Huan looked at him dazedly, the warm sunlight pouring down from the pale yellow sky enveloped his outline, but she still nodded slowly, this was her vow, also her promise, and it was where she would never hesitate.

  It wasn't until she slowly walked down the stairs, looking at the boy standing still on the steps, looking at the warm smile on his face, that she involuntarily called out softly, "Xiao Gege."

  "Little girl." Ye Qinglan's eyes sparkled with a star-like luster under the crystal lamp, giving him an inexplicable gentle aura. The smile at the corner of his lips was absolutely doting. "Two months haven't seen you, your feet are much better."

  Gu Huanli tilted her head, sizing up Ye Qinglan, and after a while, she also smiled, "Two months haven't seen, Brother Lan's hair is so short?" The gentleness was still there, but the refreshing and neat short hair made him look even more sunny than before.

  "You're talking about hair." Ye Qinglan smiled brightly, "Because we have to play in the school basketball league, long hair will block our vision, so I cut it short."

  " Basketball league?" Gu Huanli repeated in a low voice. To be honest, she had heard of such a competition, but had never experienced it personally. "Is it fun?"

  Ye Qinglan took over the red tea handed by the servant and smiled at her, "Want to go see?"

  "I don't want to go at all." Gu Huanli replied quickly, but she added another sentence, "Unless Brother Lan's team can make it to the finals, otherwise, I'm not interested at all."

  "The mouth is false and the heart is different, little girl." Ye Qinglan thought that before he came to take care of the house, he specially went to the hospital to visit Gu Huanli's psychologist - Su Jinghua.

  Of course, Su Jinghua adhered to the code of conduct as a doctor, but for Ye Qinglan, she suggested, "If possible, it's best to take that awkward little girl out more often and show her around. On the one hand, it can help her integrate into the crowd and reduce her fear; on the other hand, appropriate physical activity can make her mood more cheerful."

  "These things, Gu Tianxi, oh, can't Xiao Yatou's brother do it too?" Ye Qinglan looked at Su Jinghua in confusion as she held a cake and was eating with relish.

  Su Jinghua raised her head and asked, "I'm asking Young Master Ye, have you ever kept a pet?"

  "I've raised one."

  Su Jinghua put down the cake and said slowly, "So, have you ever noticed that in a family, but in the mind of a pet, the status is different. Some people provide food, some people play with him, some people are friends, and the owner, there is only one."

  Ye Qinglan bowed her head in thought for a moment, and after a while, he raised his head. "I and Xiao Yatou still have an age gap. If we say we are friends, Dr. Su should suggest that she look for someone in her classmates' circle."

  "Do you think that little girl's maturity is on par with people of the same age?" Su Jinghua asked back with a calm demeanor, and couldn't help but sigh, "Every time I go see that little girl, she tortures me. Honestly, after a long time, I've even started to suspect if I have some kind of masochistic tendencies."

  “……”

  "Don't worry." Su Jinghua stood up, patted Ye Qinglan's shoulder hard and laughed loudly, "This disease is not contagious, but with the way you spoil that little girl, I think this disease is not far from you either."

  "Why does hearing this make me feel unhappy?" Ye Qinglan sighed and shook her head, saying slowly, "I'm not spoiling the little girl, it's just... I pity her stubbornness and resilience."

  "Alright, alright, spoil her, indulge her, what's the difference?! Anyway, you should treat Xiaoyi as a peer. Besides, isn't it normal for a group of kids to play and have fun?"

  Ye Qinglan hesitated slightly in her heart, "After all, Xiao Yatou had just gone through that incident and was still shaken. It might not be quite appropriate to suddenly suggest going on an autumn outing or something else with her brother."

  Please, she's just a psychologist, not a BFF or a dating planner! Su Jinghua thought to herself, but her mouth was smiling as she said, "Isn't that young master from the Gu family transferring to your school? I heard he and that young master from the Luo family are in the same class."

  Ye Qinglan nodded slightly, which was her way of responding.

  "It's not that simple!" Su Jinghua pushed her hands against the office desk behind her, smiling and saying, "I'm your senior, after all, so I still know about those traditional school projects. So, you just need to make a little use of it and you'll be fine."

  "Is that the school basketball league?" Ye Qinglan slightly furrowed her brow, "Indeed, Gu Tianxi's basketball skills are not bad. As long as they do some joint training, he can definitely be a starter. But for those siblings, as long as Gu Tianxi suggests it, Xiao Yatou won't refuse to go watch the game, right?"

  "She certainly wouldn't refuse, but don't forget the premise." Su Jinghua looked at Ye Qinglan's contemplative expression and curled up a hint of an ambiguous smile. "If you add insurance to this matter, then Little Ye will have to go."

  Ye Qinglan looked puzzled and asked, "Why does it have to be Xiaoyu who goes to watch the match?"

  "Do you want to see Xiao Ya's genuine smile?" Su Jinghua asked back.

  "I want."

  ……

  "Lan Ge? Lan Ge?" Gu Huanli stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Ye Qinglan's eyes, finding it quite amusing that he had spaced out while talking.

  Ye Qinglan came back to his senses and happened to see the faint smile in Gu Huanli's eyes. He silently said to himself: I want to see Xiao Yatou truly happy, only then can I completely put my mind at ease.

  "I knew you didn't want to see me, so I wouldn't have said anything." Ye Qinglan said naturally, and casually threw a package to Gu Tianxi who had just walked down the stairs. "This is your team uniform, remember to wear it tomorrow."

  "Eh?!" Gu Huanli's eyes suddenly lit up, and she jumped off the sofa and rushed into Gu Tianxi's arms. "Brother, brother, why didn't you tell me that you're also going to compete in the tournament!!!"

  "What's so good about this?" Gu Tianxi hugged her sister, handing the team uniform to the servant, a playful smile rising on her lips. "Want to go see?"

  "Of course! Of course!" Gu Huanli nodded vigorously, she had never caught up with this kind of thing in her past life, and now that she had been reborn, she wouldn't let it slip away again!

  Gu Tianxi gazed at the moonlight flowing in from the window frame and said slowly, "If you can pass the English test given by Cassidy, I'll agree to let you go."

  What if Cassidy deliberately made the test questions more difficult for her?

  Forget it, this isn't something that can be bargained for. No matter how difficult it is, she will definitely make that foolish angel satisfied, one that will make her brother proud of her. So, Gu Huanli stretched out her hand and said to Gu Tianxi, "Let's shake on it."

  "How old are you, still pulling hooks, and not afraid of being laughed at?" Gu Tianxi gently tapped Gu Huanli's forehead with his finger, then said to Ye Qinglan, "The sky is already late, stay for dinner at my humble abode tonight."

  Ye Qinglan hesitated for a while before finally agreeing.

  After dinner, the dark night had already shrouded the entire city, with a vast expanse of stars in the sky and the moon hidden behind clouds. Ye Qinglan stood up to bid farewell, but Gu Huanli thought that although he was just a brother coming to deliver the team uniform, it was just an excuse, so she took the initiative to offer to send him to the door.

  Gu Tianxi silently looked at her, neither approving nor objecting.

  "Brother, I'll go to the study room as soon as I get back. Hehe, I haven't finished reading that book from last time yet." Gu Huanli said this and left the main building with Ye Qinglan.

  The two walked along the cobblestone path for a while, and Ye Qinglan suddenly stopped in his tracks. Gu Huan looked at him dazedly, had he dropped something?

  "Little girl, this is a gift to celebrate your recovery." Ye Qinglan took out an exquisite gift box from her backpack and handed it to her, looking somewhat embarrassed as she turned her head away and said in a low voice, "I had wanted to come see you after returning to the country, but I heard that you've been staying at home resting, so I didn't want to disturb you. Please forgive me for putting it off until today."

  "Why say forgive?" Gu Huanli stretched out her hands carefully to receive the gift, and smiled shallowly, "Lan Gege still remembers me, and can come see me, I'm already very happy. And also give me a gift..."

  "Ah!" Ye Qinglan stretched out her hand and rubbed the top of her head, saying with a spoiled tone, "Hurry up and open it to see if you like it. I was worried for over a month, after all, it's the first time..."

  "Huh?"

  "It's nothing, just take a look."

  She carefully untied the pale pink ribbon and placed the gift box on a wooden chair beside her, and as she opened the lid, soft splendor burst forth before her eyes.

  "This is..." Gu Huanli put down the lid of the box, and slowly picked up the glass wind chime that lay quietly on a pile of colored tissue paper. On the crystal clear glass, it seemed as if red tulips had been delicately painted with colored pencils, forming large and small flower rings, like the fiery clouds at sunset that seemed to be opening but not yet open, with glass tubes scattered below, resembling the dense rain threads under the clouds.

  The wind blew, and the glass pipes swayed back and forth, colliding with each other to produce a crisp sound. The crisp sound of the wind chimes spread in the wind, causing ripples in Gu Huan's heart. She slowly closed her eyes in the gentle breeze, tilting her head to listen to the clear sound emitted by the glass wind chimes.

  A faint smile floated from the corner of her lips, serene, comfortable and gentle. After a long while, Gu Huanli opened her eyes and smiled brightly at Ye Qinglan, "Gege, thank you, I really like this glass wind chime."

  Looking at the innocent smile on Gu Huanli's face, Ye Qinglan's long-suspended heart finally put down, and a faint smile spread across his lips. He said softly, "As long as you like it."

  Reorganizing the wind chime, Gu Huanli smiled all the way as he escorted Ye Qinglan to the door.

  Before parting ways, Ye Qinglan hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "Yi Chen originally also said he'd come see you, it's just that he got injured during training this afternoon, so..."

  Gu Huanli's heart suddenly tightened, but she quickly let go, "I said, Lan Gege and Yi Chen Gege, Jiao Bu Li Mengmeng Bu Li Jiao's, how today suddenly became one person? It turns out that Yi Chen Gege was injured. Hmm, then replace me to wish him a speedy recovery."

  "Besides..." Ye Qinglan turned around and looked at the surroundings, seemingly searching for something. After a moment, he shook his head and said to Gu Huanli, "Get some good rest, don't overexert yourself. I'll head home first, we'll meet up at the stadium later."

  "Uh-huh! Goodbye, Brother Lan." Gu Huanli waved goodbye to Ye Qinglan. In the instant she turned and left, a flash of white suddenly appeared in the darkness, but disappeared without a trace in an instant.