At the funeral, Lin Xiazhu stayed by Xiao An's side the whole time. Three days after Grandpa Bai passed away, he was buried. When she returned from the cemetery, Lin Xiazhu prepared to go back to school. She had already asked for three days off.
If it weren't for seeing Xiao An's depressed and gloomy state, she wouldn't have stayed at the Bai family's house for the past two nights. It's because she was worried about Xiao An. Now that Old Master Bai has been buried, Xiao An's emotions have stabilized a lot.
"Brother Mingxuan, don't be sad. I'm worried about you." Gu Yan felt bad seeing Xiao An staring in the direction Lin Xiazhu left.
These past few days, she hasn't been able to find a chance to talk to Brother Mingxuan. She wanted to say a few words to comfort him, but she couldn't. It was all because of Lin Xiazhu who had been monopolizing his side. Now that she's finally gone, Brother Mingxuan still looks very reluctant to let her go.
"I'm fine, you should go back and rest too." Xiao An turned around, her face calm, cold and aloof, but showing no signs of sadness.
It wasn't that Xiao An wasn't sad, but for the past few years, Old Master Bai had been hovering on the edge of death. Doctors had issued death notices more than three times. Everyone in the Bai family thought that Old Master Bai wouldn't last more than a few days, but unexpectedly, he managed to live for several more years.
The Bai family's hearts rose and fell several times, like riding a roller coaster. They were mentally prepared and had been saddened many times. When Old Master Bai really passed away, they were not greatly affected by the emotions.
Xiao An was the same. He was naturally cold-hearted and didn't easily show his emotions. This time, he acted so sad purely to make Lin Xiazhu feel sorry for him, and he succeeded.
Xiaozhu agreed to come see him as soon as she got off work. He was very satisfied. As long as they spent more time together, they could return to their previous close relationship.
"Brother Mingxuan, I'd better stay here with you." Gu Yan's big eyes were glistening with tears, and her gaze was filled with timidity.
"No need, I want to be alone." Xiao An glanced at her indifferently and went inside.
Gu Qiao'er was watching from a distance. Seeing Xiao An leave, she immediately came over. "Yan Yan, what's wrong? Your brother..."
"I feel he's so cold, as if he's deliberately distancing himself from me. Qiao'er, after all these years, it seems like he doesn't feel any brotherly affection for me anymore." Gu Yan's eyes widened, her expression somewhat bewildered.
"Don't overthink it. Mingxuan is just in a bad mood, that's why he doesn't want to talk to anyone. It has nothing to do with you. He'll definitely remember you after this period of time," Gu Qiao'er comforted her gently, but she was worried inside.
She came to Beijing five years ago when Bai Ruan went abroad, ostensibly to take care of Gu Yan and keep her company. After Bai Ruan left the country, Gu Yan had no acquaintances in Beijing. Gu Yan was timid, and without familiar people by her side, how could she survive?
Of course, all of this was taught to her by Gu Qiao'er. She asked Gu Yan to beg Bai Ru'an to bring Gu Qiao'er to the capital to live with her, otherwise she would be very lonely and scared.
For the Bai family, it was just one more person to support, which was not a problem at all. At that time, Old Master Bai's condition was urgent, and the Bai family was in a hurry to send Old Master Bai abroad. Bai Ru'an had to go abroad with him, so she agreed to Gu Yan's request.
Gu Qiao'er has been living a very good life these past few years, more than a hundred times better than her life in Fengcheng. She eats and dresses the best, and has a driver to pick her up and drop her off at school. She attends a prestigious private school, and she will be taking the college entrance examination in the second half of the year. She hopes to attend a prestigious university.
If she were to take the exam on her own, she would probably only be able to get into a third-rate university. There's no way around it; she really doesn't have any talent when it comes to studying. Gu Yan, on the other hand, has good grades, but she has to encourage her to go to a prestigious university so that she can take her with her.
Gu Yan has always relied on her and listened to her, but Bai Ru'an's current attitude is making her very worried. Before, when Bai Ru'an was abroad, the Bai family was afraid that he would be distracted, so they took good care of Gu Yan and her, and immediately satisfied whatever they wanted.
Bai Ru'an is back. It's estimated that the Bai family will no longer take care of their lives, so how they live will depend entirely on how Bai Ru'an treats them.
Thinking about all the times Bai Ru'an and Lin Xiazhu had spent together these past few days, Gu Qiao'er frowned. Gu Yan was so disappointing. They were both younger sisters who had grown up together, yet Lin Xiazhu received all of Bai Ru'an's attention and could stay with him the whole time.
Gu Yan could only watch from afar, struggling to even utter a few words. This situation was not good.
For the next period of time, Lin Xiazhu would come to the Bai family home as soon as she got off work, so she ate and slept there for days. Every morning, the Bai family's driver would take her to work. She said she didn't need it, but Xiao An insisted.
Half a month later, Lin Xiazhu came to the Bai family again, no longer caring how depressed Xiao An seemed.
“You’re a grown man, not a child. Even if you’re heartbroken, you should have recovered by now. If you can’t even get over this little setback, then you might as well just give up. Anyway, the Bai family has plenty of money. You won’t starve if you do nothing for the rest of your life.”
Lin Ru'an: "..." It seems he really can't keep up the act any longer; Xiao Zhu has already started to think he's too incompetent.
However, if Xiaozhu doesn't come to him, it's the same if he goes to her instead. In any case, they have returned to how they were before, as harmonious as family.
But being family isn't enough.
That day, Yan Xin came to pick up Lin Xiazhu from get off work. As soon as the latter got into the car, Yan Xin teased, "I heard you've hooked up with a rich guy. For the past month or so, you've been chauffeured to and from get off work in luxury cars every day. You haven't even moved out of the dormitory."
She said this because she was bored while waiting for someone, so she got out of the car and wandered around the school gate. Then she saw a young female teacher come out and chat with the security guard.
"Why do I see sports cars waiting here today? Could it be that they broke up so quickly?" The female teacher was pretty, but the sourness in her voice was hard to hide.
The security guard chuckled, "This Ms. Lin is quite charming. I caught a glimpse of her from afar yesterday, and the young man driving the car was really handsome, rich and good-looking, a rare find."
"Hmph, Lin Xiazhu came from the countryside. I've inquired about it. She didn't date at all in college. Now that she's doing an internship, she's suddenly being picked up by luxury cars. She must have hooked up with a rich guy. I bet there's more than one. Wasn't the person who picked her up before a middle-aged man?"
"That makes sense. Oh dear, I never would have guessed that Teacher Lin was such a person, all of them are greedy for money." The security guard shook his head regretfully.
Hearing Yan Xin say this, Lin Xiazhu guessed what was going on. She raised her eyebrows and said irritably, "These people are just envious and jealous. They think I've hooked up with someone, so they're so sour. That's probably what they're really planning, but they want to climb up to rich people and can't find an opportunity right now. Unlike me, I'm picked up and dropped off in luxury cars every day. I don't even believe it myself if someone says they're not keeping me."
"Haha, stop showing off. I've never seen such a shameless guy like you." Yan Xin laughed.
"If I weren't thick-skinned, I would be so ashamed and embarrassed to hear those people talking that I would want to jump off a building and commit suicide. My internship will end in another month, and then I will go back to Yenching University to prepare my graduation thesis." She doesn't plan to teach after graduation.
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