Chapter 37 Suffocation [VIP]

Chapter Summary: I'm the one who called Fu Xianyin out, please don't blame her.

With exams approaching, the workload for studying has increased.

Fu Xianyin skipped dinner again during evening self-study.

There were only a few people in the classroom. Fu Xianyin was flipping through the chemistry notes she had copied from Gu Linzhao, and she was working through the exercises bit by bit.

It seems to be this week.

Perhaps it was because her efforts over the past two years had finally paid off, but Fu Xianyin suddenly had a breakthrough in biology.

She scored over 90 points on several practice tests of medium difficulty in a row, something Fu Xianyin would never have dared to dream of before.

If I can maintain this score in the monthly exam, then chemistry will be a bit easier.

Speaking of chemistry, Fu Xianyin looked at the exercise notes in front of her and felt somewhat discouraged.

After studying chemistry for almost a month and a half, everything is still very difficult for Fu Xianyin.

The scores from the last mock exams at the affiliated high school, graded by all the teachers, have been released. The scores for the other subjects were as Fu Xianyin had predicted, except for Chemistry, which was ridiculously low.

Fortunately, Chen Huimei was busy with something during this time, perhaps arguing with Fu Dongyuan, or perhaps fighting wits with some mistress, so she didn't press her for her score on the high school exam, giving her some breathing room.

For some reason, an ominous premonition exploded in Fu Xianyin's heart.

She sighed heavily, then slumped onto the table.

After an unknown amount of time, a crisp tapping sound suddenly rang out on her desk.

Fu Xianyin looked up.

Gu Linzhao was standing in front of her table, carrying a steaming cup of soy milk and a meal.

“I need to go for a run tonight,” Gu Linzhao said, opening the lunchbox lid and casually tidying up the scattered test papers and materials on her table. He then pushed the roast meat rice towards her and gestured with his chin.

"You can't go without eating."

"oh."

Fu Xianyin took apart the spoon, ate a few bites of rice, and suddenly looked up.

"You always buy me food, so I'll transfer the money to you."

Gu Linzhao's family is not short of money; you can tell from the young master's clothes and temperament.

But even though she's not short of money, she can't just sit back and eat and drink for free without feeling guilty.

Cheng Zhaozhao would transfer a few hundred yuan to him every few weeks, and Gu Linzhao would buy her food many times. She couldn't be so shameless.

Young Master Gu didn't care about this small amount of money at all.

He shook his head and said, "No need, it's not much."

Fu Xianyin insisted: "One thing at a time."

Young Master Gu couldn't persuade him otherwise. Just as Fu Xianyin took out her phone to transfer the money, the screen was suddenly turned off.

Fu Xianyin looked up with a puzzled expression, only to see Gu Linzhao tap the table and say, "Transferring money is too much trouble. If you have time on weekends, you can treat me to a meal."

Is transferring money troublesome?

It's just a matter of tapping the screen, what's so troublesome about that?

In comparison, isn't inviting someone to dinner more troublesome?

However, Fu Xianyin swallowed those words.

The one who pays the money is the master.

Whatever the master says, the servant will do.

She was eating her meal when Gu Linzhao sat opposite her, casually flipping through her chemistry worksheets.

As she looked at the questions, the man even took out a pencil from her pencil case and patiently wrote annotations after the questions that Fu Xianyin had gotten wrong.

Yin Zexuan, who had just finished eating and was doing his homework, was stunned by this scene for a second.

Fu Xianyin didn't like others writing on her workbook. Yin Zexuan explained the problems to her several times, writing on draft paper, which Fu Xianyin then copied onto the paper.

Although Fu Xianyin said that writing it down herself would help her remember it better, Yin Zexuan still felt that Fu Xianyin didn't really like letting others touch her things.

It now appears that this rule does not apply to everyone.

After writing a few questions, Fu Xianyin suddenly poked Gu Linzhao's shoe tip with her toe.

"Write it in red pen."

Holding the soy milk in one hand and the spoon in the other, she didn't have a free hand, so she nodded her chin towards her pencil case.

Gu Linzhao chuckled: "You're quite good at ordering people around."

Fu Xianyin gave a soft "humph".

While she was eating, Gu Linzhao was writing on the test paper he had given her, sitting opposite her. By the time she finished eating, Gu Linzhao had almost finished writing as well.

So Yin Zexuan watched as Gu Linzhao put away the lunchbox and soy milk cup on the table, put the things in a plastic bag, and then naturally took two tissues from the tissue pack on Fu Xianyin's table to protect himself from the oil that had accidentally gotten on the plastic bag handle.

"Young Master is so extravagant."

Fu Xianyin sighed, "Using tissues to wipe things."

"Alright, that's enough," Gu Linzhao said with a laugh, "Fu Xianyin, you're pushing your luck."

After he finished speaking, he picked up Fu Xianyin's trash and left.

Yin Zexuan glanced at Gu Linzhao's back, then at his deskmate.

Although he doesn't pay much attention to anything other than studying, he doesn't consider himself to be a slow learner.

These two seem to be...

Is there anything you need?

Suppressing his inappropriate curiosity, Yin Zexuan continued to focus his attention on the questions at hand.

After three evening self-study sessions, Yin Zexuan had just finished this problem.

The noisy atmosphere in the classroom wasn't conducive to continuing to study, so Yin Zexuan packed up his things and prepared to go back to his dormitory to write.

While tidying up, he suddenly couldn't help but glance in Gu Linzhao's direction.

Gu Linzhao appeared to have just finished a problem, capped his pen, casually gathered two books, and walked towards them with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

Yin Zexuan slowed down his packing pace.

So he watched as Gu Linzhao leaned against the window, his eyes lowered, quietly waiting for his deskmate to finish the last question.

After finishing writing, Fu Xianyin put down her pen and packed her schoolbag. Gu Linzhao reminded her, "Don't forget to go for a run."

"knew"

Fu Xianyin didn't even look up, and replied in a drawn-out tone, then muttered under her breath, "I didn't agree to it."

Her voice was very soft, and Yin Zexuan could only make out the gist of it. He figured that Gu Linzhao probably couldn't hear her at all.

So he glanced in Gu Linzhao's direction.

The other person raised an eyebrow, a half-smile on their face, and asked, "What did you say?"

Fu Xianyin immediately changed her tune, smiling sweetly: "I said thank you, class monitor, for running with me. Thank you, class monitor, for all the hard work and contributions you've made for the Class 15 women's 4100 relay. On behalf of the entire Class 15, I sincerely thank you, class monitor."

Gu Linzhao scoffed, "You're so cheeky."

Fu Xianyin didn't say anything, but stuck out her tongue.

After packing up, Fu Xianyin was about to sling her schoolbag over her shoulder when Gu Linzhao stretched out his long arm and hooked his fingers around the strap.

"Take this and go find Tian Tian and the others."

A stopwatch lay in his palm. Fu Xianyin took it, put the stopwatch's strap on her wrist, and then glanced uncertainly at her schoolbag.

"I'll put your schoolbag in there so you don't just throw it around again."

Gu Linzhao's tone was very natural, but it seemed a little off to talk about something like this in such a natural tone.

Fu Xianyin said goodbye to Yin Zexuan and left, while Gu Linzhao took Fu Xianyin's schoolbag and walked out of the classroom with Lin Anxu.

Yin Zexuan suddenly realized that he had discovered something incredible.

"14.07 seconds".

Tian Tian looked at the person lying on the ground and said, "Take another test after you finish running, don't forget."

Fu Xianyin raised her hand shakily and gave an OK sign.

Footsteps came and went around her, and a hand pulled her up from the ground.

"Once you've rested enough, get up and go for a run or a walk; it's better than lying down."

Gu Linzhao said.

Fu Xianyin followed him with heavy steps, extremely reluctant.

My jaw is about to drop to the ground.

Gu Linzhao smiled and raised his hand in a gesture of hesitation, saying, "Why is your face so long, Fu?"

Fu Xianyin was too tired to say anything.

The two walked about half a lap around the playground. Gu Linzhao noticed that her breathing had become more even, and said, "Alright, come on, let's run for a bit."

Fu Xianyin felt like her lungs were filled with a bellows, while Gu Linzhao handled things with such ease that it made her jealous.

As he ran, he asked, "Don't you have a physical education test in your high school entrance exam? How many meters did you run in the 800 meters?"

Fu Xianyin panted, "It's been several years since the high school entrance exam, brother. I'm a senior in high school, not a freshman."

She would catch her breath after saying just one sentence before saying the next: "I think I ran the 800 in 3 minutes and 50 seconds, or maybe 4 minutes, I don't remember."

Gu Linzhao kept laughing.

Fu Xianyin didn't even have the strength to retort.

After two laps, if Gu Linzhao hadn't been holding her back, Fu Xianyin felt she would have been lying on the playground like a corpse.

Gu Linzhao said, "Walk two laps, take a break, and then test again."

He asked, "Compared to yesterday, was today any easier?"

Fu Xianyin shook her head: "No, I'm even more tired."

Gu Linzhao: "Normal."

Fu Xianyin: "What if I said it's easier?"

Gu Linzhao: "That's normal."

Fu Xianyin gritted her teeth: "You son of a bitch!"

Gu Linzhao let out a low laugh.

He said, "When you go for your run tomorrow, you can wear headphones and play some music to distract yourself."

Fu Xianyin: "No need."

Gu Linzhao: "Why don't you need it anymore?"

Fu Xianyin: "Can't you talk to me?"

A smile spread across Gu Linzhao's face.

He looked up, and the stars in the night sky were scattered haphazardly.

He suddenly couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?"

Fu Xianyin's voice was inexplicable.

Gu Linzhao looked at her and said, "I'm happy."

He then asked, "Are you happy?"

Fu Xianyin glanced at him somewhat absurdly, sighed, and mimicked the tone Gu Linzhao used when he indulged her before, saying, "Happy, so happy! Your happiness is my happiness. Are you satisfied now?"

Very satisfied.

Very satisfied.

Fu Xianyin is a stubborn person who won't listen to reason when she's not familiar with someone. She's polite but doesn't show her true feelings when you're not familiar with her, but she becomes awkward once you get to know her.

She was awkward, and her personality was awkward too. Perhaps it was because she had never been familiar with anyone before, and even she herself seemed not to know how to get along with this awkwardness within herself.

But Gu Linzhao found out.

Nobody dislikes being pampered.

No matter how detached Fu Xianyin may be, there's always a soft spot in a teenage girl's heart.

Go along with her temper. If she wants to throw a tantrum, let her. If she's feeling down, comfort her. If she doesn't want to show it, just pretend you don't know.

This is the experience Gu Linzhao has gained from spending more than a month with her.

This experience proved to be very useful.

It's been used, but it seems even Fu Xianyin herself doesn't realize it; she's slowly getting used to Gu Linzhao treating her this way.

Is this habit considered a good habit according to Fu Xianyin's definition?

Gu Linzhao didn't know.

He wasn't sure, but he also didn't want to deny it.

He simply hoped that, for better or worse, this habit could quietly sprout and grow in a vacant lot beyond Fu Xianyin's control.

Humans are inherently selfish.

That's all the selfishness he has.

It wouldn't be a big deal if it came true just once.

After several days of continuous exercise, Fu Xianyin finally found some benefits from this torture.

That is, her sleep is better than before.

Fu Xianyin has very poor sleep, so poor that she has to take melatonin every few days. After taking it for so many years, she is almost developing a drug resistance.

Most people would fall into a deep sleep after taking just two pills, but Fu Xianyin, who suffers from insomnia, could only manage a few hours of light sleep even after taking three pills.

My sleep quality is also poor.

After exercising these past few days, Fu Xianyin would go back to her dorm, take a shower, and dry her hair while completing her studies. By the time her hair was about 70-80% dry, she would start to feel sleepy.

I lay down on the bed, feeling sleepy, and fell asleep within minutes. When I opened my eyes again, it was just dawn.

Although she wouldn't sleep until late morning, with the monthly exams next Monday and Tuesday, Fu Xianyin was already quite satisfied that she could fall asleep without melatonin under such high pressure.

She got up, tidied herself up, and went to study.

On the desk were steamed buns that Cheng Zhaozhao had brought for her because she knew she didn't eat breakfast.

Fu Xianyin ate them one after another, the thin outer skin filled with piping hot broth, the tender meat filling spreading out in her mouth wrapped in the broth.

She bit the straw of her purple rice porridge, while the tip of her disposable chopsticks poked at the last steamed bun.

This Saturday is a short break; I still have to study in the morning.

Last night, Fu Xianyin and Cheng Zhaozhao agreed to go check out places to rent dresses this afternoon.

Sister Gao said that the class fee for renting dresses could be subsidized by 500 yuan. Fu Xianyin didn't plan to stick to the 500 yuan limit. If she came across a pretty dress, she could just put some money out of her own pocket.

Originally, only Fu Xianyin, Cheng Zhaozhao, and Chen Nianke went to look at the dresses, but Lin Anxu insisted on joining in and even dragged Gu Linzhao along.

Cheng Zhaozhao had a great idea: "Then we can rent dresses after lunch, study at the library or a coffee shop in the afternoon, and go out for dinner and a movie if we have time in the evening!"

“Okay.” Chen Nianke raised her hand: “After watching the movie, I’ll go home and sleep. I’ve already told my parents that I’ll ask to skip morning self-study tomorrow and sleep in a little longer.”

The two turned to look at Fu Xianyin: "Yinyin, what do you think?"

Fu Xianyin nodded: "I can."

In the afternoon, she could also have Gu Linzhao explain a few chemistry concepts to her.

Cheng Zhaozhao was already excited when school ended at noon.

Fu Xianyin collected the basic chemistry workbook and test papers, and after thinking for a moment, she also took the biology materials.

The restaurant was chosen by Chen Nianke; it was a newly opened Cantonese restaurant that was very popular, with a long queue outside.

Looking at the long queue, Fu Xianyin felt a little apprehensive. She asked Chen Nianke, "Do we have to wait this long?"

Chen Nianke replied, "No need, I secretly reserved a seat on my phone during class."

"Wow!" Fu Xianyin praised her in a low voice, "You had foresight!"

She whispered, "Don't let Gu Linzhao hear this or he'll deduct points from your score."

Chen Nianke also pretended to be serious and whispered, "But he ate with us. The reservation was made in my name. How could we hide it from him?"

Fu Xianyin: "Why don't we just send him away?"

Chen Nianke: "It's not that it's impossible."

The two chatted and laughed together.

Gu Linzhao felt a chill run down his spine. He turned to look at the two people behind him, their eyes met, and they laughed again.

"Stop laughing," Gu Linzhao said helplessly. "They're asking for your name. Keep laughing when you go inside."

"Oh." Chen Nianke stopped smiling and gave her name and phone number.

Chen Nian is known for her excellent taste in ordering food; she usually decides the menu when we eat out.

When they got to their seats, Chen Nianke specifically chose a seat inside, and then whispered in Fu Xianyin's ear, "I don't want to sit next to Gu Linzhao, I'm afraid he'll deduct points from my score."

After saying that, the two of them couldn't help but smile again.

The restaurant was very popular, and the food was served quite quickly.

As the dishes were served one by one, Gu Linzhao first used serving chopsticks to pick one for Fu Xianyin.

"Thank you, class monitor."

Fu Xianyin didn't stand on ceremony and picked up her chopsticks to start eating.

Now that things have come to this, the point deduction system of Class 15 is no longer something that Fu Xianyin needs to worry about.

Firstly, the heavy academic pressure left her with no time to do anything that violated school rules or regulations. Since transferring here, apart from climbing over the wall and skipping evening self-study at the beginning, the most outrageous thing she has done in the past month and a half is beating up Wu Jiacheng.

Fu Xianyin was both shocked and satisfied with the changes in herself.

Look, look!

She is now a truly excellent student.

She ranked first in her grade academically, strictly abided by school rules and regulations, and even participated in sports activities. While actively integrating into the class, she also made sure to bring honor to the class.

Secondly, the point deduction system for Class 15 is not actually that strict.

Thinking of this, Fu Xianyin gave Gu Linzhao a resentful look.

If he hadn't scared her back then, would she have lived in fear and anxiety for so long?

Points are deducted for this and that, and parents have to be called in every few days.

Gu Linzhao felt her gaze, glanced at the beef in her bowl, and said, "I picked out all the cilantro for you, but it still tastes like cilantro?"

Fu Xianyin: ...?

No, what is all this about?

How did we suddenly get onto the topic of cilantro?

She picked up a piece of beef and said sincerely to Gu Linzhao, "There's a real reason why you couldn't get 139 in Chinese."

After dinner, the group took a taxi to a shop that specializes in renting and selling formal wear.

As soon as they entered, Cheng Zhaozhao and Chen Nian let out a small "wow".

The sales assistant thoughtfully inquired about Fu Xianyin's requirements and then selected several dresses.

Chen Nianke and Cheng Zhaozhao pointed to the same dress in perfect unison and said, "This one looks good!"

It was a strapless dress, the sheer fabric at the chest resembling a butterfly in flight, and the shimmering skirt sparkling under the lights.

Fu Xianyin pursed her lips and said, "A bit...too flashy."

The sales assistant immediately understood her thoughts and said, "Miss, you'd like something a bit more understated? Here are a few dresses for you to see if they suit you."

Cheng Zhaozhao and Chen Nianke had never been surrounded by so many beautiful and high-class dresses before. They looked at them one by one and felt that every single one would suit Fu Xianyin.

Cheng Zhaozhao sighed, "I wish Yinyin could try on all the dresses."

Chen Nianke: "It feels like playing a real-life version of Miracle Nikki."

Fu Xianyin is tall and thin, and with her bright face, any dress looks good on her.

The two said goodbye to Fu Xianyin and walked deeper into the dress room.

Lin Anxu stared at Gu Linzhao, wide-eyed: "Aren't we... a bit redundant?"

He scratched his head: "No, this is not what I imagined."

They couldn't help Chen Nianke and Cheng Zhaozhao pick out dresses, and they couldn't help Fu Xianyin try on dresses either.

Gu Linzhao chuckled, waved his phone, and said, "Then go and lend a hand."

When the two returned after buying milk tea, Fu Xianyin had already tried on two dresses.

"So, has it been decided yet?"

Lin Anxu asked excitedly?

Cheng Zhaozhao pouted: "It's not that fast. We need to try a few more to choose the best one."

Fu Xianyin had already changed into her school uniform and was waiting for the sales assistant to get her skirt. She pursed her lips and looked at Gu Linzhao.

The latter immediately understood, walked to her side, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Fu Xianyin's expression was rather unpleasant. She opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then clenched his fist and then released it, his fingernails digging into his palm again.

Chen Nianke was still immersed in the sea of ​​dresses when Cheng Zhaozhao showed Lin Anxu the dresses they had just picked out.

For a moment, only the two of them remained outside the locker room.

Fu Xianyin was internally conflicted, but Gu Linzhao didn't urge her. He just stood quietly beside her, waiting for her and keeping her company.

A few minutes later, Fu Xianyin held up her phone screen right in front of Gu Linzhao's eyes.

On the screen was her chat history with Chen Huimei.

Chen Huimei: [Where are you?]

Chen Huimei: [I asked your teacher, you weren't in the dormitory, where did you go gallivanting around again?]

Fu Xianyin: [I'm outside, studying with my classmates.]

Chen Huimei: [Which classmate? Your class monitor? Have him call me.]

Chen Huimei: [The monthly exam is next week, Fu Xianyin, have you thought about yourself? Have you thought about me?]

Chen Huimei: [Have your classmate call me, quickly.]

It was an overwhelming feeling of suffocation.

Gu Linzhao was not unaware of Fu Xianyin's family, nor had he been completely unaware of her mother's situation.

But last time, he took the phone from Fu Xianyin's hand to help her out of a predicament.

This time, it was the first time that Fu Xianyin had taken the initiative to expose herself, laying bare her true self to him.

"I'm sorry," Fu Xianyin said in a low voice, "I don't know how to talk to Zhaozhao and Nianke about this. You're the only one who knows, so I can only..."

She didn't know how to continue.

She couldn't even bring herself to say "help me" to Gu Linzhao.

This is her family, Chen Huimei is her mother, all the troubles are hers, and she should be the one to solve everything, it has nothing to do with Gu Linzhao.

But what did she do?

She avoided Chen Huimei's anger and her crazy behavior, pushing all of this onto Gu Linzhao, who shouldn't have had to bear it all.

This is not the first time Fu Xianyin has realized how selfish she is.

But this was the first time Fu Xianyin felt guilty for her selfishness.

She bit her lower lip tightly with her pearly teeth.

Fu Xianyin didn't even dare to look up and meet Gu Linzhao's gaze.

As the torment in her heart intensified, Fu Xianyin's breathing became slightly rapid.

here we go again.

It's always like this.

The world became quiet; the music in the shop and the conversation between Cheng Zhaozhao and Lin Anxu seemed to have been blown away by the wind.

It was as if she had stepped out of another world. On the vast ocean, she was the only one in her boat. The calm sea stretched as far as the eye could see, without waves, without direction.

It was as if she were the only person in the entire world.

She was isolated and helpless, cut off from the world.

Suddenly, a clear and soft sigh reached my ears.

Fu Xianyin gasped for breath.

However, the next second, she felt a lightness in her hand as her phone was taken away. Gu Linzhao's clear voice seemed to be a spell, pulling her away from this other world.

She seemed to wake from a dream, and looked up in surprise.

The boy held her phone, his gaze gently falling on her.

He said:

"Hello, Auntie, I am Gu Linzhao."

“I called Fu Xianyin out, please don’t blame her.”