Chapter 44. Late at night, moonlight streamed into the room through the window...

In the dead of night, moonlight streamed through the window, casting a silvery glow on the floor. The girl's steady breathing echoed in the room, but a dark shadow stood beside her bed.

Gu Xiaozhu on the bed stirred and opened her eyes groggily.

"Is it already evening..." she mumbled.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a dark figure that seemed to move slightly, as if in response to what she had said. She froze instantly.

What happened?

Who is this person next to my bed?

When did he come in?!

Once her eyes had adjusted to the surrounding darkness, she was able to make out the face of the uninvited guest.

"Jiang...Zhihe?"

She spoke with some suspicion, and the person standing by the bed shifted slightly before responding:

"Um……"

The voice is right, it really is him.

but?

Why would he come to her room in the middle of the night?

"You..." Before she could finish speaking, she felt a cool sensation on her cheek. She reached up to wipe it, startled, and touched something cold and wet... a water droplet.

Or rather—tears.

Is he...crying?

A sudden panic rose in her heart, along with a pang of heartache she hadn't even noticed. She quickly sat up, about to ask something, when someone pulled her into an embrace first.

The boy's arms were so tight that they held her firmly in place, even causing her some pain.

"Xiaozhu..."

The boy spoke again. Gu Xiaozhu couldn't see the boy's expression, but she could hear the broken sobs in his voice.

The words she was about to say to the boy to relax got stuck in her throat, and she swallowed them silently.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...really..."

Jiang Zhihe spoke through sobs, his usual cheerful and arrogant tone now replaced by deep fear.

"I was wrong... I shouldn't have kept it from you, I shouldn't have been so presumptuous... I... I..."

"I was wrong...please—"

"Don't ignore me, don't abandon me..."

Gu Xiaozhu felt a sharp pain in her heart, and boundless guilt surged up instantly, almost overwhelming her.

She hugged Jiang Zhihe back and gently patted his back, her tone very soft, as if she were coaxing a child: "How could that be? Why would you think that?"

“I’m not angry with you, and I didn’t mean to ignore you or abandon you. You don’t need to apologize; you did nothing wrong.”

She sighed softly, "I'm sorry... perhaps my approach was inappropriate, causing some kind of misunderstanding? Maybe this time—we can open our hearts and have a proper talk?"

She paused, then added, "Um... if you'd like."

After a long while, when Jiang Zhihe's body had stopped trembling and his voice was still a little hoarse, he finally spoke: "...Really?"

Jiang Zhihe released his grip, which relieved Gu Xiaozhu. After all, he had been holding her too tightly, and it was indeed a little painful and she could hardly breathe.

Only now, when she looked at Jiang Zhihe again, did she notice that his face was flushed an abnormally, and that he smelled of alcohol.

She was so busy comforting him that she didn't notice any of this.

Her expression turned slightly suspicious: "Um...you've been drinking?"

Jiang Zhihe stared blankly at her, and after a moment, he replied slowly, "What? Alcohol? No! I'm not drunk!"

Gu Xiaozhu: "..."

She sighed with a headache, and finally got out of bed. She had only taken one step when she felt her sleeve being pulled.

She turned her head, and sure enough, Jiang Zhihe was sitting pitifully on the edge of the bed, one hand still tugging at her sleeve: "Xiaozhu, you...you're...you're going to leave me, waaaaah!"

As he spoke, his eyes began to redden again, and finally he burst into tears.

Gu Xiaozhu gently patted his hand: "No, I told you, I won't leave you. I just wanted to turn on a light; it's too dark inside."

Upon hearing that he wasn't being asked to leave, Jiang Zhihe's tears instantly stopped, and she even smiled: "I can help you—"

"You can't." A gentle yet firm voice interrupted him. Gu Xiaozhu looked at Jiang Zhihe and gently patted his shoulder: "Ahe, be good. Sit here and wait for me obediently, okay?"

Jiang Zhihe's eyes lit up instantly, seemingly happy that Gu Xiaozhu called him "Ahe". He nodded hurriedly and placed his hands on his knees, sitting upright on the edge of the bed like a child.

Seeing this, Gu Xiaozhu couldn't help but smile.

So cute.

After she turned on the lights, the previously dim room was instantly illuminated by warm candlelight. Only then did Gu Xiaozhu realize that her door was not open; on the contrary, the window that she had previously closed was now wide open.

So he didn't come in through the door at all, but climbed in through the window?

Gu Xiaozhu tilted her head and finally decided not to pursue the matter.

As soon as she sat down next to Jiang Zhihe, the person next to her started tugging at her clothes again, whimpering in a very sad tone: "Waaaaah... Xiaozhu, don't leave me! Don't ignore me!"

Gu Xiaozhu: "..."

Perhaps, by opening up and discussing this matter openly, we can revisit it another day.

She replied somewhat helplessly, "No, I already said I won't leave you, and I won't ignore you. Besides, I'm not angry with you."

Jiang Zhihe looked at her, sobbing, "Really?"

Gu Xiaozhu nodded emphatically: "Really!"

"So you don't hate me?"

"I don't hate you."

"Do you like me?"

After saying that, Jiang Zhihe didn't give Gu Xiaozhu a time to reply and started saying to himself, "I like you, I really like you so much, Xiaozhu, sob sob..."

Gu Xiaozhu tilted her head and looked at him, feeling a little helpless: Why is he crying again?

Gu Xiaozhu: "Ahe, you've been drinking. You're drunk."

Jiang Zhihe blinked and immediately retorted, "No, I didn't drink! I'm not drunk!"

Gu Xiaozhu: "You drank it..."

"No! I'm perfectly sober right now!" Jiang Zhihe suddenly became anxious. He looked at Gu Xiaozhu, a faint red tinge appearing in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. "Xiaozhu, I'm... I'm perfectly sober right now! So you have to believe me, I'm—sincere! I really, really like—you!"

Gu Xiaozhu understood, and she nodded with a smile: "Yes, I believe you. I believe that what you said comes from the heart, that it is what you really want to express, and that it is not something you said while drunk and not thinking clearly."

Seeing Jiang Zhihe nod happily, she added, "But you did drink, and you got drunk."

The person next to him immediately widened his eyes, but before he could speak, Gu Xiaozhu smiled and said again, "Are you trying to lie to me?"

The boy looked at her for a long time, then deflated: "Okay...okay...I drank, I'm drunk...yes, I'm drunk..."

As he spoke, he began to mutter to himself again, but Gu Xiaozhu couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Xiaozhu".

"Um?"

"I..." Jiang Zhihe looked at her for a long time, then suddenly tears started streaming down her face again: "Waaaaah, Xiaozhu, please don't hate me, waaaaah!"

Gu Xiaozhu: "..."

She felt helpless and amused at the same time, and it was indeed rare to see people around her crying like children, or rather—she had never seen it before.

While I found it funny, I couldn't help but think—it's so cute.

Seeing that Gu Xiaozhu didn't answer, Jiang Zhihe became even more heartbroken. He hugged the girl's waist and continued to wail, "Xiaozhu, why didn't you answer me! Xiaozhu, do you hate me?! Xiaozhu, I was so wrong, waaaaah—"

Gu Xiaozhu could only pat his back and comfort him, "No, no, I told you, I won't hate you, and you didn't do anything wrong."

"But I really, really like you! Just thinking about you hating me or even leaving me makes me... I just... Waaaaaah—"

"Okay, okay, stop crying. If you keep crying like this, your voice will be hoarse tomorrow morning," she said softly.

"Waaaaah, I'm so sorry... but... but... I just can't stop waaaah..."

"Xiaozhu comforted me so gently, I'm so touched, waaaaaah..."

Gu Xiaozhu: "..."

So, she'll cry if you don't comfort her. She'll still cry even if you do comfort her.

Should she offer comfort or not?

After a while, the sobbing gradually stopped, and Jiang Zhihe raised his head again, his face serious:

"Xiaozhu, I like you."

"I know."

"Xiaozhu, you don't dislike me, right?"

"Of course I don't hate you, not now, and not in the future."

"Then—then do you like me?"

Gu Xiaozhu paused, looking at the boy, at his still flushed face, and at his red eyes from crying.

They're so cute.

She could feel her heart pounding, and it was getting faster and faster as she was about to say the words.

Memories of the past flooded her mind: the boy who encouraged, supported, and respected her, and who treated her with the same sincerity and genuine affection. It was truly hard not to like such a radiant person.

When did this feeling begin?

She didn't know, but it didn't matter anymore.

She took a deep breath, and finally, seeing the boy's nervous expression, she smiled.

Yes, I like you.

As soon as she said those words, she watched as the boy's already flushed face turned even redder, and even his neck and ears became bright red.

Jiang Zhihe froze, staring at her with his round eyes.

After a long pause, he finally found his voice: "Really...really?"

Gu Xiaozhu looked at him, then suddenly leaned forward and gently touched the boy's lips.

He then nodded, ignoring the discomfort of his cheeks rapidly burning up: "Really."

However, this time Jiang Zhihe crashed. A moment later, familiar tears welled up in his eyes again. He just looked at Gu Xiaozhu and the tears kept flowing.

Gu Xiaozhu couldn't help but laugh. She wiped the boy's cheek with her sleeve while suppressing her laughter: "How come I never noticed you were such a crybaby before?"

These words snapped Jiang Zhihe back to his senses. He abruptly turned his head, covered his face with his hands, and mumbled, "It's too embarrassing... Don't look at me..."

Gu Xiaozhu shrugged. To be honest, she herself did not expect that she could say those words so smoothly and even remain relatively calm!

Well, perhaps it's because there are even less composed people around; in comparison, she really does become much calmer.

"It's getting late, when are you planning to go to sleep?" Gu Xiaozhu asked, glancing out the window.

Jiang Zhihe paused, then immediately turned to look at her, his eyes sparkling: "Xiaozhu! You mean I can sleep here?!"

Gu Xiaozhu: "???"

Oh no, he's still drunk?!