Chapter 67: The Opening (Part 2)

  "Lin, are you confident about this match? If you win, you little brat will have to treat me!"

  "No way, if we win, you guys should be treating me."

  "Let's win first and talk later."

  "Hmm."

  "Wow, with so many pretty girls in the cheerleading squad, can't you find one that catches your eye?"

  "Go."

  "Hey, don't tease him, he's still young."

  Haha

  A group of boys who had just finished their fencing class walked by in front of the teaching building, frolicking about.

  Ye Qinglan saw that her shoelaces were loose, so she shouted, "You guys go ahead, I'll tie up my shoes and catch up with you."

  Those guys looked at him and laughed, saying, "We're not waiting for you, we have to go to the basketball court to reserve a spot. As for you, just running is enough as a warm-up."

  "Alright, alright!" Ye Qinglan glared at them with a hint of amusement, "You guys are so inhumane, you'd better hurry up, or else those girls will take the good spots and you'll have to admit defeat." As he spoke, he knelt down on the track and quickly tied his shoelaces. By the time he stood up again and looked towards the basketball team's training hall, the group of people had already rushed in with great enthusiasm.

  With an amused shake of her head, Ye Qinglan walked at a leisurely pace.

  Suddenly, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of something moving. He looked up and saw a figure climbing step by step along the external staircase of the sky corridor, seemingly wanting to get onto the rooftop. Thinking about how every few years someone in school would jump off the building due to too much pressure, he immediately chased after the person.

  This is the highest place in the whole school.

  Gu Huanli found a secluded corner that wouldn't be seen by people downstairs, and stood there, staring blankly into the distance. The sky was painted with soft white clouds, and the warm winter sun swayed gently in the quiet campus.

  "Hey," a worried voice suddenly came from behind.

  Who was calling her? The girl's hair, blown by the cold wind, crushed the white mist at the corner of her mouth. Gu Huanli turned around and quietly gazed at the handsome profile of the boy silhouetted against the rosy glow. Perhaps it was just a moment, perhaps it was after a long time, she said in astonishment, "Lan Gege? How are you here?"

  "Little girl?" Ye Qinglan took a few steps forward, seemingly sizing up Gu Huanli and also seeming to ponder the reason she had come here alone, "Why didn't you go to the basketball gym? Why did you run here by yourself?"

  "I just... " Gu Huan Lian hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "The last time I came here, I accidentally found that the stairs outside Tianqu Tai were not locked, so I came over to take a look with a try-it-out attitude."

  Ye Qinglan's smile inadvertently floated from the corner of his lips, gentle, comfortable and warm. His smile could make the stars lose their luster, it was truly captivating. "It's too cold here, and at such a high place, aren't you afraid?"

  "I just wanted to take a look at my brother's school from up high." Gu Huanlin's eyes sparkled with amusement, she didn't think she had done anything wrong, and with her journey approaching, this leisure time had a special meaning for her.

  The transparent and thin air gradually became a few shades shallower with a light yellowish color.

  Ye Qinglan smiled and shook her head, "Are you still used to living in Shanci City?"

  "If Lan Ge can get used to the food there, then what's wrong with me staying?" Gu Huanli's mind hastily flipped through her memories, recalling the pale and thin original, an existence akin to a nightmare. If possible, she hoped to distance herself from this painful torment.

  "I... was worried about you." Ye Qinglan slowly walked to the front of Gu Huanli, stopping within arm's reach, and smiled. "That day, were you hurt?"

  "No, Ye and his men protected me." The question was so straightforward that Gu Huanli was slightly caught off guard. She lowered her head and asked softly, "Lan Gege, what about you? Did you encounter any danger?"

  Ye Qing's heart was clear, and she couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth, saying with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, "Some things can be solved with money, so they're not important. Some people are too persistent, so it's better for you to be safe and sound." His tone was soft and gentle, filled with unknown tender feelings, paired with the shining water light in his black eyes, which was extremely moving.

  Gu Huanli hugged her head and squatted on the ground, extremely depressed. "You all only report good news but not bad news, I'm really worried, ahahah, is it that hard to tell me the truth?"

  "Aren't you the same?" Ye Qinglan said softly, looking at her annoyed expression. "We are used to maintaining a strong front in front of people we care about, because we want to share happiness and bear pain alone."

  "But who knows what kind of worries and troubles are hidden beneath the surface?" Gu Huanli stood up straight, gazing quietly at the distant sky. She had thought about doing this many times before, but this was her first time putting it into action.

  After all...

  This was also her alma mater...

  Time polishes, years change, chasing memories to see familiar things is not a kind of happiness, can be comforting, can be nostalgic, can sigh lightly, this change is placed in front of the eyes, and the things in memory have added a touch of gold.

  Many times, taking a small step requires courage. Moreover, with no one by your side, secretly doing something a little adventurous is actually very interesting. A different experience stays in memory.

  She suddenly let out a snort of laughter, and her eyes sparkled with a thin light behind her eyelids. "Brother and Yi Chen brother both chose to take equestrian lessons, but Lan brother chose to take fencing lessons. Is Lan brother's dream to be a knight-errant who 'deals with things and then departs, hiding one's body and name'?"

  Looking at Gu Huanli's expression, there was less alienation and confusion, but more cuteness and loveliness. Lan blinked her eyes, intentionally teasing her, "Right, if we can 'ride a white horse with a silver saddle, swift as a shooting star', it would be a wonderful thing."

  If it were night, the only thing that would satisfy him was the sentence "Ten steps to kill one person, a thousand miles without leaving a trace". He was originally in the business of killing people, and there was naturally a murderous aura in his eyes. The relationship between Yili Tian and the Pu Shi Medical Group may be obvious at first glance, but the entanglement between them is not exaggerated by describing it as "thousand threads and ten thousand strands". However, Gu Huanli has always been puzzled as to why Ye Qinglan would let her siblings understand this matter, and what he was after.

  Listening to his gentle and warm voice, looking at his kind and endearing smile, Gu Huanli didn't want to question him. Because he had saved her many times, whether it was her injured body or her shattered soul. She truly felt his warmth, so she hesitated and didn't dare ask, fearing that the truth would disappoint her again. She didn't dare think too much, nor did she want to know too much...

  "Brother Lan, why did you send me to Shanjian City?"

  Ye Qing's expression on her face changed, and after a while, she sighed slightly, "Tian Xi hopes someone can teach you martial arts, and among the people I know, Ye's kung fu is what I admire most. However, whether he is willing to accept you or not depends on your ability, and I am just a recommender."

  "So that's how it is." Gu Huanli let out a long sigh and muttered to herself, "I was thinking too much..."

  She raised her head, gazing at Ye Qinglan, her black eyes shining like water, and smiled softly, "Thank you, Brother Lan, for giving me the chance to learn martial arts, to learn how to protect myself."

  Ye Qinglan understood the underlying meaning of her words, but only smiled slightly. His smile really could splash into the air like grains. "But I heard that you're always being mischievous and bullying others in Shansen City?"

  "There's nothing, I'm just using my brain, trying to make everyone's life not too rigid and boring," Gu Huanli said with a chuckle, "Actually, it really has a bit of the flavor of me being young and reckless. So, Lan Gege, you absolutely can't tell my brother, otherwise he'll definitely throw me into the strictest church school and I'll be driven crazy by rules and discipline every day."

  She wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes with her fingers, laughing as she said, "Fortunately it's not the Tang Dynasty now, otherwise I'd become a nun and shave off my 3,000 worries to become a Bhikkhuni. I dare guarantee that as long as it's a place where I can become a good kid, my brother will definitely pack me up and send me there."

  Ye Qinglan looked at the tears on Gu Huanli's face and suddenly felt - after all these years, she must have cried countless times in her heart, and ridiculed herself countless times.

  Unable to bear it, she stretched out her hand and placed it on Gu Huanli's head. Ye Qinglan listened as she went from loud laughter to silent sobs, and could only comfort her in silence like this.

  "A long time ago, I realized that in my life, there was only brother. Although both parents were still alive, but I grew up under the care and education of my brother."

  "A long time ago, I knew that although my brother was very strict with me, deep down in his heart he loved me and even spoiled me."

  "A long time ago, I already knew that my brother's life was meant to inherit the family business and take it to new heights. This predetermined fate is no different from a wooden puppet."

  "A long time ago, I saw through it. Whether eating plain rice with pickled vegetables or having abalone and lobster with bird's nest, as long as I can live a happy life like my brother every day."

  "A long time ago, I decided to follow my brother's arrangements. Whatever he does for me is definitely the best choice. I can't do anything for him, but only be a reassuring sister."

  "A long time ago, I told myself to be strong." Two lines of tears quietly flowed across her cheeks, condensing the happy days they had spent together into a stream that flowed into her lips. Gu Huanli regretfully said, "But until this moment, I realized that I'm not strong at all." The final exam meant that this semester was about to come to an end, and it also meant that the days she spent with her brother were about to come to an end. As the time of separation approached, he couldn't help but wish that day would never come.

  Ye Qinglan knew she couldn't just stand there helplessly watching her tears. As if sensing Gu Huanli's heart aching with bitterness and sorrow due to their impending separation, he quietly closed the distance between them, warming her sorrow.

  After a long time, Ye Qinglan's voice floated faintly in the air.

  "Because we know it's not strong, so we understand the preciousness of happiness."

  Because I understand the preciousness of happiness, that's why I'll be waiting for the one and only person I've been thinking about.

  "It is because we are watching over the one and only person that we think of, that we fear tomorrow, fear the future."

  "Yesterday is already so distant, and tomorrow is even more bewildering. Only this moment is real and tangible."

  "Siblings connected at heart, for you, this is the most precious and reluctant to let go of a thread in this short life."

  "So, occasionally on a sunny afternoon, getting temporarily lost in direction is nothing to be afraid of, nor is it anything to be ashamed of."

  "As long as you remember, even if the world is desolate like this, in the end, there will still be someone who remembers you, misses you, and loves you without regret - at least there's still your brother."

  Listening to these words, which burst into her eardrums along with the beating of her heart, Gu Huanli suddenly laughed out loud, "Lan Gege just now was so anxious, I wonder if he thought I was going to jump off the building?"

  Feeling the girl return to her usual mischievous and lovely self, Ling slowly let go of his hand. "No way, there are too many rumors in school. Moreover, who can remain unmoved when they see someone sacrifice their life right in front of them?"

  "I just want to find a quiet place" Gu Huanli's heart warmed, and she smiled reproachfully, rubbing her red and swollen eyes. "Lan Gege is really too kind."

  "That's enough, let's go with me. You need to find a place to rest and apply some cold water to your eyes. Otherwise, anyone can tell you've had a big cry." Ye Qinglan smiled slightly and pushed Gu Huanli away from the rooftop.

  Looking at Ye Qinglan carefully supporting herself as she walked down the external stairs, Gu Huanli smiled and said, "Brother Lan is really gentle, but being this gentle to ordinary girls can easily lead to misunderstandings."

  Ye Qinglan accompanied her in the direction of the basketball hall, walking and saying, "You little girl, I treat you like a sister, but you tease me here, really heartless."

  "Not at all," Gu Huanli replied with a pout.

  Ye Qinglan took Gu Huanli through the side door into the basketball hall, avoiding the crowd of people who were laughing and preparing to watch the game, and directly brought her to a recording room on the side. Fortunately, Gu Tianxi and the others had not returned from the horse track yet. Ye Qinglan first went back to the locker room, took out a new towel from his cabinet, soaked it in cold water, and carefully applied it to her face. "You sit here and rest for a bit, don't move around, I'll be right back."

  "Uh-huh." Gu Huanli replied, wiping her sweat with a towel, "I'll wait for you here."

  After Ye Qinglan left, the entire room suddenly fell silent. The laughter and noise from the corridor seemed to come from a distant place, as if it were another world. Perhaps in a dream, the sky was a deep blue, the earth was a vibrant green that seemed to drip with dew, stretching out to the sea, where the horizon met the end of the sky, like an ivory palace on fire, with flames of green and blue, so close yet so far away.

  Reaching out to the sky with her hand, the towel on her face fell off at that moment. As she opened her eyes, they met a pair of eyes. It was an indescribable color, like amber soaked in clear water, crystal shattered into particles under light, and the faint yellow hue of smoke and rain at dusk. The colors were blurred, the shape disappeared, as if there was a charming spirit living in the amber, and just one glance would make part of her soul lost forever.