Chapter 55, Section C and D: "You hate me, don't you?"

Perhaps because he had just been outside in the cold wind, his lips were very cold, and when they touched hers, the unusual temperature made the soft touch even more intense.

Liang Yizhi's eyes were wide open, so close that they were out of focus, and the familiar face she once knew became blurry and indistinguishable.

The subtle exchange of saliva completely awakened her brain, which had been shut down after the argument. Liang Yizhi tried to break free, but he grabbed her hands and clasped them behind her waist.

After struggling a few times, Liang Yizhi was completely exhausted. The skin on her wrists was painful from being gripped so tightly.

I'm so dizzy...

What is she doing right now...?

She actually kissed two different people in one night?

One of them was even her best friend. They used to be very close; she confided in him about everything, and he was incredibly attentive to her. But she never imagined that one day they would be so intimate that Gu Yinyan pinned her against the wall and kissed her passionately.

Because of the alcohol, she felt dizzy and her blood rushed to her brain, making her even more oxygen-deprived.

Her lips and tongue were completely dominated by Gu Yinyan's offensive. The few breaths of fresh air that managed to get in were blocked by him again.

The air was filled with the aroma of wine.

He must have been drinking too, Liang Yizhi thought.

A sober Gu Yinyan wouldn't act like this. He wouldn't lose his composure, wouldn't allow the original social distance to be broken even slightly, and certainly wouldn't let his desires run rampant like this, leaving no trace of dignity.

The feeling of kissing Gu Yinyan... perhaps it can't even be called a feeling, because she had no time to even think about it.

It was like playing a tune that was completely out of tune—absurd, bizarre, and utterly unethical.

Everything tonight felt like a hallucination caused by alcohol.

How wonderful it would be if I woke up tomorrow and it was all a lie.

...

The kiss lasted a long time, so long that Liang Yizhi's body gradually softened from its stiffness, and she lost the will to argue.

The room was quiet, with only the soft rise and fall of breath remaining.

Gu Yinyan released her, but looked down at her.

Liang Yizhi's bangs obscured her eyebrows and eyes, and glistening tear tracks at the corners of her eyes shimmered in the darkness. Gu Yinyan raised his hand and brushed them away with his thumb.

"Don't cry," he whispered.

"If you cry like this, you'll have a headache again tomorrow."

In his usual calm tone, he recounted everything he knew about her.

Seeing that her eyes were blurry, Gu Yinyan bent down, picked her up, and carried her back to the room.

He put Liang Yizhi on the bed, folded her pillow, took off her slippers, and covered her with a blanket.

Liang Yizhi probably didn't want to see him, so she turned over and faced away from him.

Knowing he was being disliked, Gu Yinyan didn't say much. After turning on the bedside lamp, he went to the kitchen to make a cup of honey water for Liang Yizhi.

As I passed through the living room, my phone on the table vibrated twice.

Gu Yinyan glanced at it and picked it up.

On Liang Yizhi's phone screen, a message just sent by He Xintu was displayed.

【How are you】

I saw you leave with your friend, so I didn't ask you right away.

[Has something happened?]

It had been almost an hour since they left the bar, and it seemed rather pretentious for the other party to send a message of concern only after they had been gone for so long.

Gu Yinyan lightly swiped his finger twice on the screen and cleared the message notifications without expression.

He deliberately stayed in the kitchen a little longer, and after a while, he took his phone and honey water back to his room.

Liang Yizhi remained in the same lying position with her back to him, her entire back curled inward.

She must have really fallen asleep; her brows were still slightly furrowed, and she was still immersed in the unease she had just felt.

Gu Yinyan put down his things, gently placed his hand under Liang Yizhi's neck, and made her turn over to lie flat.

He placed his hand under the pillow and behind her soft neck, leaning down to gaze at her face. Looking at her gentle sleeping face, the sting in his heart finally eased a little.

Her profile was illuminated by the soft yellow light, a distance from which her delicate skin and even the finest downy hairs were clearly visible. My gaze traced every inch of her face, finally settling on her lips.

--"do you like me?"

—"Have you liked it from a very long time ago?"

Gu Yinyan still remembers the expression on Liang Yizhi's face when she said those two sentences.

Whether it was because her tone was too gentle or the topic changed too quickly, he felt a deep pain in his heart.

What he found even harder to accept was that he realized he couldn't answer her in front of her.

Looking at her serene face and the soft light of the moon on her clothes, he knew better than anyone that her heart was now a thousand times harder than anything else.

It felt like there was something stuck in my throat, and I couldn't make a sound for a long time.

It was then that Gu Yinyan realized that facing the interrogation of the person he liked required immense courage. In the past, he had always hidden his true feelings, mistaking it for deep affection, but in the end, it was nothing but cowardice.

Looking back, he probably fell in love with her on that fiery red evening.

It was too late when he realized it. Gu Yinyan first realized his feelings when he heard that Liang Yizhi had her first boyfriend in college.

At first, Gu Yinyan thought it was just possessiveness between friends. The four of them had spent too much time together, so when an outsider suddenly entered their relationship, it was inevitable that they would develop a defensive mentality.

Liang Yizhi brought that person to meet them, and the four of them had dinner together.

Even Gu Yinyan himself didn't notice that his attitude was extremely bad. When Liang Yizhi asked him about it, he had no reason and could only use his bad mood as an excuse.

And yet, she still spoke well of that person:

"He's a really nice guy. Don't be prejudiced against him. Just get to know each other and you'll be fine. You'll see each other often in the future."

He could only suppress the feelings that had been building up in his heart for so long.

It's okay, it's just dating. It'll end eventually.

We just need to wait until that day.

But the longer he waited, the more he realized how difficult it was to reveal the secret hidden in his heart.

He knew that Liang Yizhi was sentimental, and he couldn't imagine how Liang Yizhi would treat him after he confessed his feelings.

On the day he learned of their breakup, Gu Yinyan finally swallowed the words he had prepared and simply told her over the phone, "If you're sad, I'll fly over to see you."

Over time, Gu Yinyan has become increasingly reliant on the label of "friends."

He was indulging in the hidden depths of this relationship, while selfishly believing that love always ends, but as long as he remained Liang Yizhi's friend for life, he would always hold a place in her heart.

That was a closer relationship than a regular romantic relationship.

He wanted to use this connection to keep her by his side. He forgot that he was actually a coward.

All the courage I had in my life was used up in that one moment.

She said He Xintu's kissing skills were very good.

When they were in that private room separated by a wall, were they also like this, with their bodies pressed together and their lips touching?

Comparing himself to others is petty, but Gu Yinyan couldn't help thinking that the experience of kissing him was probably much worse than being with He Xintu.

After tonight, she'll definitely hate him even more.

But so what?

"Yizhi," he called her name softly.

You hate me, don't you?

Gu Yinyan's voice was soft, like cold yet light snowflakes falling into her ear: "Only if you hate me can I drive him away from all of you."

He always knew that among the people around Liang Yizhi, he would always be ranked second.

He was her best friend, her eternal backup. He was someone she ranked after A and B, someone she never considered.

But he had known her the longest.

He is the one who understands Leung Yik-chi the most.

He had already had enough of the forbearance he had endured in the past. Since she wanted to try with someone else, why couldn't that person be him?

His hand, which was resting under her head, gently touched Liang Yizhi's earlobe with its fingertips. After passing behind her ear, his hand gently kneaded the back of her neck.

"No matter who it is, if you find one, I'll take one away."

Gu Yinyan tucked the blanket around her: "From now on, I will never give you to anyone else again."

—

Liang Yizhi was woken up by her phone alarm.

When I first woke up, a headache burst from my temples, feeling like my whole head was going to explode.

What surged up next were the chaotic memories of last night, images that were a mix of reality and illusion.

Liang Yizhi rubbed her temples; her throat was very dry. She reached for the water glass by the bed, picked it up, and drank.

Once her thirst was relieved, she realized that it was no coincidence that the glass of water had been so thoughtfully placed by her bedside.

And there's that night light that's still on.

Liang Yizhi stared at the bedside lamp for a while before reaching out to turn it off.

My head still hurts.

She wiped her face, trying to erase yesterday's memories along with her own.

If only the brain could be reset to factory settings with a single click.

She actually... she actually kissed Gu Yinyan.

Unwilling memories should not be dredged up and lashed out at too much, so Liang Yizhi decided to scroll through her phone for a while to distract herself.

There are several messages on WeChat that need a reply.

He Man asked her:

What happened to you? Gu Yinyan said he couldn't reach you.

[You two met up, right? How are you?]

He Man didn't ask any further questions, probably because Gu Yinyan had said he had already found her.

Similarly, there was He Xintu. She left without saying goodbye yesterday; I wonder if she was startled.

She opened the chat window:

I'm sorry, something urgent came up yesterday, and I had to leave without saying goodbye.

After explaining and returning to the chat interface, Liang Yizhi noticed a small red dot in the contact list. The bright color was striking, making it easy to identify the person without even opening the chat window.

As expected, you can dodge the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth. Her relationship with Gu Yinyan was too deep; it couldn't be severed so easily.

She was acting impulsively and needed to do something first to have the courage to make a decision. But even if she deleted Gu Yinyan's WeChat, it wouldn't fundamentally change anything.

Thinking about this made my head ache even more.

Liang Yizhi threw her phone away, wrapped herself in the blanket, and punched and kicked on the bed for a full five minutes before going to wash up.

She casually fried an egg and was just about to sit down to eat when her phone rang.

Liang Yizhi answered the phone: "Hello."

He Man asked, "Zhizhi, what did you do last night? Tell me the truth!"

She didn't say much to He Man on WeChat, only that Gu Yinyan had something urgent to discuss with her, and she didn't check her phone at the time.

Liang Yizhi hesitated before speaking, then said, "I'm fine. Last night... Gu Yinyan had something urgent to discuss with me."

He Man asked doubtfully, "Are you sure there's nothing else?"

Liang Yizhi held the phone to her ear and inexplicably felt that the screen was hot, so she moved it a little further away: "No, it's not."

Are you sure?

“Really, no. It’s just… Gu Yinyan came to my house, we chatted for a while, and then he left, that’s all.” She spoke concisely, giving herself a sense of certainty, “That’s it.”

"No, who asked you that?" He Man was confused. "I don't care about your business with Gu Yinyan. I'm asking you, what did you and Boss He do? You two drank, didn't anything happen?"

Liang Yizhi was completely speechless.

She was so guilty that her unnecessary explanation almost backfired, revealing that she had the wrong person in mind.

Liang Yizhi finally replied truthfully: "He Xintu said that his store has new products, so we made an appointment to have a couple of drinks last night."

"Don't try to fool me," He Man wasn't going to let her off so easily. "I saw it last night. The background of that photo of yours clearly shows it was taken in a private room. What would two people be doing in a private room drinking together?"

Liang Yizhi had forgotten about that. She also had no intention of hiding anything from He Man:

"It was just a quiet conversation, and besides drinking, we only shared a kiss..."

"You two kissed?" He Man was as excited as if she had just heard about her first kiss. "And then what happened? What happened next?"

"Well, later, Gu Yinyan came, and then that was it."

Hearing this, He Man's hopes were dashed, and she scoffed indignantly, "What's wrong with Gu Yinyan? He really ruins things! He scared away the meat that was practically in his mouth!"

Liang Yizhi was relieved that she and He Man were not talking face to face, otherwise her expression might not have been able to hide it.

She deliberately changed the subject, chatting about this and that for a while. Before ending the call, He Man reminded her:

"By the way, today is Gu Yinyan's birthday after midnight. Same as usual, I'll pick you up at six o'clock tonight."

Liang Yizhi then remembered.

—Gu Yinyan's birthday?! It's tomorrow?

How time flies!

Liang Yizhi's first reaction was to play the coward and said to the person on the other end of the phone, "Manman, I... I'm not feeling well today... You guys have fun, I won't go, please tell Gu Yinyan for me."

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Did you catch a cold?"

"I probably drank too much yesterday and was exposed to cold wind. Now my head hurts a bit, and I think I might have a fever. I want to rest at home."

In the past, Liang Yizhi had never missed a meaningful family gathering like her birthday, rain or shine. But even people encounter special circumstances, and although He Man had her doubts, she did not force Liang Yizhi.

He Man: "Are you feeling very unwell? Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Just rest at home. Call me if you need anything, don't worry about bothering me."

"Okay, I'll contact you if I need anything."

After hanging up the phone, Liang Yizhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Escaping is shameful but useful; the immediate trouble is resolved. As for what happens next... let's leave that for later.

Exhausted from mental exertion, Liang Yizhi decided to take a half-day break. After dinner, she lay in bed watching TV and fell asleep without realizing it.

I woke up again because of the doorbell.

Liang Yizhi glanced out the window and realized it was already dark. Had she slept for so long?

The urgent doorbell urged her to go open the door, where He Man was standing.

When He Man saw her, she asked, "Did you just wake up? I sent you messages and called you, but you didn't answer any of them. I was worried that something had happened to you, so I came to check on you."

Liang Yizhi smoothed her head: "I slept too soundly this afternoon and didn't hear it."

She invited people in, and just as she was about to close the door, she was stopped by an external force.

A hand with distinct knuckles gripped the door frame and slowly pulled it open.

Behind the door, Gu Yinyan's refined and handsome face was revealed.