Chapter 8. So you really had nothing to say to me. ...

Jiang Luo came to the birthday party today dressed casually in a white sweatshirt and loose jeans. He wasn't wearing a cosplay outfit or makeup. This was the first time Gu Shiyue had seen him under his clothes. He wasn't wearing a wig and was dressed casually with no makeup.

Jiang Luo's appearance and temperament are not similar to the two characters he cosplayed before. His facial features are still the same, delicate and three-dimensional, but his completely bare face makes him look younger.

His hair is naturally straight, giving him a well-behaved appearance. Without makeup, his skin is even fairer, and his natural eye and hair colors are both light, giving his face a slightly mixed-race look.

The room was filled with colorful lights, which flickered and swept across Jiang Luo's face.

This is Jiang Luo's first encounter with Gu Shiyue.

Jiang Luo was a bit slow to react today; after calling out "senior," he stared blankly at Gu Shiyue. Gu Shiyue had been drinking, his cheeks were flushed, and his nose was red from the impact.

Gu Shiyue looked down at him: "Did it hurt?"

Jiang Luo snapped out of her daze and shook her head: "No, no, I'm sorry, I was talking to someone and didn't see you."

As he spoke, he took half a meter back, having been so stunned that he hadn't realized he was practically touching Gu Shiyue.

Gu Shiyue glanced around the room; everyone was looking in his direction, curious about the new face. After looking around and not seeing Qi Xueying, he asked Jiang Luo, "Where's Qi Xueying?"

Jiang Luo looked back and remembered, saying, "She just went out and hasn't come back yet."

One of the girls inside said, "She went to the restroom."

"It took so long." Jiang Luo muttered, then peeked out the door and saw a girl walking towards them, swinging her arms. She looked like she had just come from the restroom.

Jiang Luo asked her, "Xiao Tao, have you seen President Ying? Is she in the restroom?"

The girl walked over and said, "No, I didn't see her."

Gu Shiyue didn't linger any longer and turned to look for someone. Jiang Luo asked him, "Senior, did you call her?"

Gu Shiyue said, "No one answered."

Jiang Luo lowered his head and pondered for a moment, guessing, "Maybe she's curled up somewhere and fallen asleep."

There were rooms for people to rest on the second and third floors. Jiang Luo went to the room next to the bathroom and took a look. The door was half open and the light was on. He went up and knocked on the door: "Is anyone home?"

No one answered from inside. Jiang Luo pushed open the door and peeked inside—sure enough, Qi Xueying had indeed found a place to curl up and sleep.

Qi Xueying lay on her side on the edge of the bed, without a blanket, sleeping soundly. She had probably gone into the room and lay down as soon as she entered; the light was on and the door was open.

Jiang Luo walked over and poked her shoulder, whispering, "President Ying, wake up."

Qi Xueying frowned, but didn't wake up.

Gu Shiyue didn't have that patience and went straight to the bedside to call her name: "Qi Xueying".

Gu Shiyue's voice was at a normal volume, but it was definitely louder than Jiang Luo's. Qi Xueying was startled awake by the sound of "Qi Xueying" and opened her eyes abruptly. She looked at Jiang Luo and Gu Shiyue groggily, her expression a little bewildered.

Qi Xueying was stunned for a while before she came to her senses: "...Brother? What are you doing here?"

"Are you awake?" Gu Shiyue said. "If you are, call your mother."

“…Oh my god.” Qi Xueying hurriedly took out her phone and saw that it was already eleven o’clock. There were several missed calls on the screen.

Qi Xueying immediately called her mother back. After explaining the situation and calming her mother down, Qi Xueying hung up the phone and let out a long sigh of relief.

She drank quite a bit today and was feeling drowsy. She was too weak to walk after coming out of the bathroom, so she just wanted to find a place to lie down. As a result, she fell asleep as soon as she lay down and has been sleeping ever since.

Having found the person, Gu Shiyue was about to leave. As he turned to walk out, Qi Xueying quickly called out to him, "Since you're already here, have a piece of cake before you go. I'm just about to go back and cut the cake."

"I won't eat it," Gu Shiyue said.

Qi Xueying had already guessed that she couldn't keep him, and asked, "Brother, how did you get here?"

"drive."

"Then you can wait a bit before you leave." Qi Xueying had already told her mother that she would be back at midnight. "Anyway, it'll be over in half an hour."

Gu Shiyue glanced at her: "You've already wasted an hour of my time."

Qi Xueying smiled sheepishly: "Well, it won't make a difference if it's just a little while. I mainly wanted to ask you to give two people a ride home on your way—two of your junior classmates."

Jiang Luo was taken aback, and Qi Xueying's gaze had already turned to them: "They've both been drinking today, and it's not convenient for them to get a taxi this late."

Gu Shiyue glanced at Jiang Luo, who stared at him blankly and blinked. Before Qi Xueying could finish speaking, Gu Shiyue replied, "I understand."

Qi Xueying was a little surprised. She knew that Gu Shiyue probably wouldn't refuse, but she didn't expect him to agree so readily, before she had even finished speaking.

Jiang Luo quickly refused, "No need, no need, we can go back on our own."

Qi Xueying said, "Da Shu must have had quite a bit to drink. He's slurring his words. I'm worried about the two of you going back together."

Jiang Luo laughed and said, "You don't trust him, but you don't trust me? I'm perfectly sober. Besides, we're not girls..."

"Don't worry about it, it's fine as it is. Senior Gu will take you two back in a bit. He lives near your school, so it's on his way. It's so late now, you two might not be able to get a taxi."

Qi Xueying went back to greet her friends. Since it was time to cut the cake, she asked Gu Shiyue to come over with her and said to him, "I don't have to eat the cake, but you have to give me your blessings. I haven't blown out the candles and made a wish yet."

This reason was impossible to refuse. Gu Shiyue originally planned to wait in the car, but in the end he went with her anyway.

The three of them returned to the large karaoke room together. Qi Xueying contacted the villa's housekeeper to send a cake. As soon as she sat down, a classmate pulled her to her side. Looking in Gu Shiyue's direction, the classmate whispered in Qi Xueying's ear, "Hey Xue'er, who's that? Your friend? Your boyfriend?"

Qi Xueying laughed: "Don't make wild guesses, that's my cousin."

"Oh my god, you have such a handsome cousin? How come I didn't know?" Her classmate grabbed her arm. "Um, does he have a girlfriend?"

"Probably not."

"What do you mean 'shouldn't be'..."

"Even if he had it, he might not have told me. I wouldn't ask him about that for no reason."

"You really are..." Her classmate shook her arm, "Why don't you go ask her now?"

Qi Xueying smiled and shook her head: "Go by yourself. Self-reliance leads to abundance."

"Oh no, how can I ask? Please just ask for me, okay? Please, please, please..."

Qi Xueying had no choice but to give Gu Shiyue a drink and inquire about the situation.

Gu Shiyue said, "I won't drink."

Qi Xueying smiled helplessly: "I mainly came here to gather intelligence."

Gu Shiyue glanced at her.

"My classmate asked me to ask you if you have a girlfriend."

Gu Shiyue's face remained expressionless. Instead of answering, he asked, "You do the work of the matchmaker too?"

It was obvious from those words that there was no chance; whether she had a girlfriend or not, it was hopeless. Qi Xueying already knew this, but she couldn't resist her classmate's persistent pleading.

Qi Xueying chuckled: "I wouldn't do that. It's just that if I don't come, she can keep nagging in my ear, and I can't stand it."

Qi Xueying went back to report, saying in a very tactful way: "He has no plans to date at the moment."

The classmate sighed, "Sigh, I knew it. Your cousin looks like the kind of person who's hard to pursue..." Then he exclaimed, "Wow, he's so handsome... really so handsome."

Qi Xueying chuckled: "Then why did you make me go and ask?"

"Just asking." Her classmate put her arm around her and leaned on her shoulder.

Jiang Luo had barely sat down after getting back when Cheng Jiashu dragged him over to play games. He didn't want to play, so he just sat to the side scrolling through his phone. One of his friends had lost badly earlier and had drunk quite a bit; he was clearly drunk, sitting there with a microphone in hand, belting out a duet, completely absorbed in his performance. Jiang Luo was right next to him when this guy suddenly shoved a microphone into his hand: "Come on, Luo Luo, let's sing together!"

"I don't know this song, Qi-ge," Jiang Luo said with a smile. "You can sing it solo."

"Tsk, I'll lead you in singing. Come on, you sing the male part, and I'll sing the female part." After saying that, the person sang a line of lyrics in a high-pitched voice.

The singing wasn't bad, but the scene was a bit comical. Someone next to me laughed and said, "Please, spare my ears!"

Jiang Luo wasn't stage-frightened. He didn't sing because he genuinely couldn't sing; he didn't even know the tune. Besides, he was already tired and didn't want to do anything; he just wanted to sit.

"Why aren't you singing? Are you embarrassed?" The man held the microphone to Jiang Luo's mouth.

"I really can't sing, Qi-ge. Please let me go."

"No, I won't let go." People get stronger when they drink too much, and Jiang Luo couldn't break free from his grip on her neck. "You have to give me a reason if you don't want to sing."

Jiang Luo smiled helplessly: "The reason is simply that I can't sing."

That's how drunk people are; they say whatever comes to mind, their words incoherent and nonsensical.

They were all good friends, and arguing could easily damage their relationship. Jiang Luo could only go along with him, and after a lot of effort, she pried his arm off, but he threw a tantrum again: "Don't you want to sing with me, Luo Luo?"

Someone next to him patted him on the shoulder and said, "What are you doing, acting crazy? He already said he can't sing. Are you out of your mind?"

He ignored her and stared straight at Jiang Luo: "You just don't want to sing with me."

"I..." Jiang Luo was at a loss for words. You really can't reason with a drunkard. He was a little unsure how to handle the current situation. If you don't go along with someone who's drunk, they'll most likely cause trouble. Jiang Luo has a good temper and is tolerant of his friends. His way of doing things isn't the forceful type.

"Jiang Luo." A voice suddenly came from the side.

Jiang Luo was startled by the familiar deep voice and then turned her head.

Gu Shiyue sat to the side in a corner where there were few people around, and looked at him, saying, "Come here."

Jiang Luo stood up instinctively: "...What's wrong, senior?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Huh?" Jiang Luo was a little confused. "Oh, okay."

Jiang Luo had just taken a step when Qi Ge grabbed his arm: "Where are you going? The song isn't finished yet."

Gu Shiyue glanced over, his eyes and tone indifferent: "I said, I have something to say to him."

Gu Shiyue provided Jiang Luo with an opportunity to escape, and Jiang Luo took the opportunity to say to Qi Ge, "Qi Ge, someone wants to talk to me. I'll go over there, you keep singing for now."

Drunkards have rather strange thought processes. After hearing this, Brother Qi actually calmed down, let go of him, nodded, and said, "Go ahead, don't delay your business. Come back when you're done."

Jiang Luo walked to Gu Shiyue's side: "Senior, what... do you want to tell me?"

"It's nothing." Gu Shiyue picked up the unopened bottle of mineral water on the table, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, paused for a moment, and looked up at him. "Just trying to find an excuse for you."

Jiang Luo suddenly smiled: "I knew it."

He had already guessed it; Gu Shiyue's sudden call to him was probably to help him out of a predicament.

"Thank you, senior," Jiang Luo said with a smile.

Jiang Luo was still standing there when Gu Shiyue tilted his head to his right, gesturing for him to sit there.

"Okay." Jiang Luo obediently sat down next to him, placing her hands on her knees. This spot was quite far from Qi Ge, and with Gu Shiyue in between, it was a safe and quiet area.

In the brief silence, the atmosphere became inexplicably awkward, and Gu Shiyue truly had nothing to say. Jiang Luo, for some reason, smiled slightly, poked her knee with her finger, and said, "So you really have nothing to say to me."

"Yes," Gu Shiyue suddenly said, "not something nice. Do you want to hear it?"

"Huh?" Jiang Luo blinked, then suddenly laughed. "You can say whatever you want, good or bad, I'll listen."

Gu Shiyue said, "Why waste so much time talking to a drunkard?"

Jiang Luo was taken aback at first, then smiled and her eyes crinkled: "If we hadn't wasted so much time talking, things would probably have gotten out of hand, which wouldn't have been good. But if he hadn't let me come over just now, I probably wouldn't have wasted any more time talking to him. I would have just done this and that."

Gu Shiyue said calmly, "Is that so?"

“Yeah, I’m not without a temper.” Jiang Luo smiled. “Besides, how could I not come over when my senior asked me to talk to him?”

Gu Shiyue turned his head and glanced at him.

Jiang Luo tilted her head and looked at Gu Shiyue: "Senior, how do you know my name?"

"Xiang Qin said that."

"May I know your name?"

Gu Shiyue was silent for a moment, then said, "Gu Shiyue."

A note from the author:

----------------------