Chapter 20 Snow Pear Soup He's always been so arrogant.
I opened my eyes again.
The room was dimly lit, with the curtains carefully drawn, leaving only a sliver of sunlight filtering through the heavy curtains.
Liang Yizhi sat up. She had recovered well overnight. After the dizziness from the high fever subsided, she felt as clear-headed as a computer rebooting.
She got out of bed, ran barefoot to the window, and pulled back the curtains.
In the early morning, the sunlight streaming into the room felt like a wonderful gift after recovering from her illness. She accepted this generous present, stretched out her arms and legs by the window, and felt her body and mind brimming with energy.
I put on my slippers and went downstairs. It was already past ten o'clock, and the nanny was preparing lunch.
Liang Yizhi came to the kitchen and asked, "Aunt Liu, where's Gu Yinyan? Have you seen him?"
"When I arrived, Young Master Gu had just left, saying he was going home for a visit."
Aunt Liu brought her some freshly cooked pear soup: "Yizhi, I heard from Young Master Gu that you were sick and had a fever last night. I wonder if your throat still hurts. Drink some of this quickly. I also cooked monk fruit and water chestnuts in it, which are good for moisturizing the lungs and nourishing yin."
Aunt Liu looked apologetic: "I'm so sorry. My daughter brought my granddaughter home yesterday, so I went home a little early. I didn't realize you were sick. I should have stayed longer to take care of you."
The nanny, Aunt Liu, was quite old and had worked for the Liang family for a long time. Liang Yizhi always treated her like an elder, so hearing Aunt Liu say that made her feel uneasy.
"Aunt Liu, you don't need to be so polite. I'm a grown adult, of course I can take care of myself."
As soon as she finished speaking, Liang Yizhi recalled her conversation with Gu Yinyan last night before going to bed, specifically their discussion about adult patients.
Along with it came the damp, unanalyzable dialogues from her layers of dreams.
"Hurry up and drink this. Young Master Gu bought these pears himself at the market this morning. They're very sweet." Aunt Liu put the spoon into the porcelain bowl, making a sound.
Liang Yizhi snapped out of her daze and took it, saying, "Okay, thank you."
She recovered quickly.
The next day, the only symptom left was a sore throat.
Liang Yizhi boasted to Gu Yinyan about her good health, saying that she could recover from any illness in just two or three days since she was a child.
Gu Yinyan simply nodded slightly in response and extended an invitation to her in return:
"Then come down and go for a morning run with me at six o'clock tomorrow morning."
Liang Yizhi looked at him warily and waved her hand: "No, no, I'll catch a cold again. I think it's safer for me to stay under the covers."
"..."
I spent a few uneventful days at home.
The day before returning to Yucheng, Liang Yizhi and Gu Yinyan went out together to eat at a barbecue restaurant they used to frequent when they were in school.
The two sat facing each other.
Liang Yizhi's location is directly opposite the shop's main entrance, and across from the main entrance is a key municipal middle school.
It is also Gu Yinyan's alma mater.
Liang Yizhi held the skewer, biting into it, and gazed ahead.
Liang Yizhi said, "I remember your school uniforms seem to have changed this year."
"They changed it to red and black."
Liang Yizhi shook her head: "Not as good-looking as you were back then."
When they were in school, Gu Yinyan's school uniform was black and white, clean and refreshing.
Back then, the most beautiful sights on this road every day were two groups of middle school students in black and white tracksuits and students from a music academy, dressed in shirts and trousers, just across the street.
A tracksuit and a white shirt.
These two styles may represent two different life trajectories. Yet, what they share is a vibrant and energetic spirit.
Liang Yizhi raised an eyebrow at the person opposite her: "You didn't know, did you? You were quite famous at our school back then."
Gu Yinyan remained calm: "Is this something so hard to know?"
"..."
Caught off guard by his trickery, Liang Yizhi twitched her lips, took a bite of the last piece of mutton on the skewer, and threw the skewer into the container.
After finishing their meal, they strolled slowly along the street to digest their food.
As Liang Yizhi was crossing a traffic light, she had just taken a step when her sleeve was suddenly grabbed.
She turned around and saw a girl wearing the uniform of a nearby bubble tea shop. She had an apron tied around her waist, and her hair was tied back and covered with a disposable wig, as if she had hurriedly caught up with her.
The girl was bent over, propping herself up on her thighs, panting heavily.
Liang Yizhi asked in confusion, "Who are you...?"
The girl pulled down her mask, revealing her face: "Yizhi...it's me...do you still recognize me?"
Looking at the familiar face, Liang Yizhi immediately called out the person's name: "Lin You?"
She was both surprised and delighted: "It's you?"
Seeing that she still remembered her, Lin You couldn't help but smile: "That's great. I thought... you might have forgotten me."
How could that be?
Lin You was Liang Yizhi's high school classmate. They were both majoring in cello and sat in front of and behind each other when they first entered the school. They had a pretty good relationship. But later... I heard that something happened to Lin You's family. Her parents' company went bankrupt and they no longer had the financial means to support her music studies. So, after only one year, Lin You dropped out of school.
Their current interactions are limited to their social circles on WeChat Moments.
Lin You liked every single one of Liang Yizhi's posts on WeChat Moments and would often comment, such as: "So beautiful," "So pretty," "This dress suits you perfectly," and so on. Liang Yizhi would always reply politely when she saw them.
Although they had gradually faded out of each other's lives, Liang Yizhi was quite emotional to meet her old classmate, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, near the campus at such a special juncture.
The green light turned on, and pedestrians crossed the street, but the group of people remained where they were.
Liang Yizhi introduced Gu Yinyan: "This is my high school classmate, Lin You. This is my friend, Gu Yinyan."
Gu Yinyan simply nodded politely: "Hello."
Lin You nodded in response.
Liang Yizhi glanced at her work clothes and asked, "Are you at work? Is it okay for you to come out like this?"
"Oh, it's okay. I've already told my colleague. I'll be back soon."
Perhaps because Gu Yinyan was nearby, Liang Yizhi noticed that Lin You seemed a little uncomfortable. She looked at the person next to her and said, "Why don't you go back first? I'll chat with Lin You here for a while."
Gu Yinyan didn't say much, simply said goodbye, and gave them space to catch up.
Once the figure had disappeared into the distance, Lin You spoke again, smiling slightly, "I never expected to see such a famous person from back then after all these years. What a coincidence!"
She glanced at Gu Yinyan's back, leaned closer to Liang Yizhi, and asked gossipily, "Yizhi, you and Gu Yinyan... are you together?"
Leung Yik-chi immediately clarified: "That's not true. We're just friends. We just had a meal together and are just strolling around here."
"I never expected that after all these years, you guys would still be getting along so well," Lin You said with a laugh. "It's also my fault for having bad taste; I automatically pair up good-looking people."
Standing on the street like this isn't really the best place to chat, so Liang Yizhi pointed to the coffee shop behind them: "How long can you stay out here? If you're not in a hurry to go back, I'll buy you a coffee."
"Logically, I should patronize your store, but I'm also worried that your colleague might be unhappy if she comes to work, so I'd better go and support someone else's business instead!"
The two entered the coffee shop, and Lin You took off the apron and hat from the milk tea shop. They found a random place to sit down.
After thanking Liang Yizhi, Lin You took a sip of her coffee and exclaimed, "I really didn't expect to run into you again. I recognized you as soon as I saw you pass by, and I was afraid I would miss you again, so I excitedly chased after you. I hope I didn't scare you?"
"Of course not." Liang Yizhi looked at the girl in front of her. Several years had passed, and she had changed a lot. Her features were still as delicate as before, but her spirit and energy were no longer what they used to be.
Liang Yizhi frankly said, "Actually, after you dropped out of school, I sent you a message. But you didn't reply to any of my messages, so I didn't dare to ask any more questions."
Her eyes were sincere as she asked cautiously, "Are you doing well now?"
Lin You smiled and said, "I'm fine. Those things are all in the past."
"And... what about the cello?"
Lin You paused for a few seconds, clutching the cup in her hand, and lowered her eyelashes: "I haven't touched it since then."
Her gaze fell on Liang Yizhi's hands across from her.
Those hands were clean, warm, and soft, yet also showed signs of wear and tear.
Those were the hands of a cellist.
Lin You said, "Actually, I thought about picking up the cello again, but maybe God wouldn't allow it. Right after I had this idea, I was in a car accident and broke my wrist."
"Both the median and ulnar nerves were damaged, leaving sequelae. Now I can't exert force in my hands for long periods of time, and I can't even open a mineral water bottle. From then on, I knew that I was probably completely cut off from any musical instrument."
Liang Yizhi was incredulous and stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to turn out like this..."
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the apron and hat lying to the side and asked with concern, "Then why are you working at a bubble tea shop? Shaking bubble tea is so hard work, why don't you find an easier job?"
Lin You shook her head, her smile weak: "I dropped out of high school, and my academic performance wasn't good. At first, I could barely make ends meet thanks to my family's savings. But recently..."
She hesitated, as if she didn't want to reveal the hardships of her life to outsiders: "My dad... he has some health problems. I can't keep being so depressed. I have to go out and work to earn money. My dad is waiting for the surgery fees, and I'm waiting to take him on a trip after he recovers."
Upon hearing this, Liang Yizhi felt a dull ache in her heart.
The rope always breaks at its thinnest point. She wasn't unaware of how unfair life was, but she never expected such a thing to happen to someone close to her.
Lin You is just a girl in her early twenties. It's really too much to ask her, who is so weak, to shoulder the responsibility of the whole family.
Liang Yizhi asked, "What illness does your father have?"
"Brain tumor. He's currently hospitalized for observation."
Liang Yizhi blurted out almost immediately, "How much will it cost to cure it?"
Lin You was taken aback, and realizing her intention, she immediately waved her hand in refusal: "No, Yizhi, don't do this. This is my own family matter and has nothing to do with you."
"Because there's no connection, you don't need to be so sensitive about my help."
Liang Yizhi grasped the hand that was resting on the table. It was trembling slightly due to the aftereffects and emotional fluctuations.
Liang Yizhi wanted to pass on her strength through her own hands. Her expression was serious: "Lin You, you can tell me, it's okay. Consider this money a loan from me. You don't have to rush to pay it back. Work slowly, and once your father is out of danger or your life is stable, you can save up money to pay me back, no problem."
Lin You firmly declined, saying, "It's not just about money. We're just old classmates, and I can't owe you a favor."
"Can you think of any other ways to raise money? Do you think you can keep making milk tea with your injured wrist like this?"
"I...I..." Lin You finally couldn't hold back anymore, grabbed Liang Yizhi's hand, and buried her face in the table, bursting into tears.
Finally, Lin You couldn't resist Liang Yizhi's persuasion and nodded, thanking her repeatedly and saying that if her father recovered, her whole family would definitely visit to express their gratitude.
Upon returning, Liang Yizhi acted swiftly, transferring the 300,000 yuan that Lin You needed to her. She also reminded Lin You to keep her informed about her father's situation and to let her know if she needed any other assistance.
The next day, on the way back to Yucheng, Liang Yizhi told Gu Yinyan about it.
She said, "When I get back, I plan to help her see if there's a decent-paying job that's also relatively easy. I'll also look for a reliable doctor so her father can be transferred to a better hospital."
Looking out the window, Liang Yizhi said sadly, "Everyone's life used to be so good, how could such a misfortune have happened?"
After hearing this, Gu Yinyan frowned slightly: "So, you didn't even check her father's situation before transferring the money to her?"
Liang Yizhi turned around and looked at him.
She found his coldness and aloofness utterly unbelievable; she couldn't understand why Gu Yinyan's first reaction upon hearing about this was to ask that question.
"You mean I have to ask them for a photo of my father lying in bed first?"
"……I did not mean that."
Gu Yinyan noticed her sudden change in attitude, softened his tone, and patiently explained, "I just think that 300,000 is not a small amount, and you should be more cautious."
“Three hundred thousand is indeed not a small amount. It represents a living person, his father’s life. I don’t want to stand idly by and do nothing while my friend is in trouble.”
The atmosphere of the conversation inexplicably became heavy.
Sunlight streaming through the windshield is annoying.
Liang Yizhi was unhappy, but Gu Yinyan seemed determined to fight her to the end.
“Your father is sick, that’s her responsibility, not yours. You don’t need to take everything on yourself, that will only cause trouble.”
“Gu Yinyan, I don’t understand.” She turned to sit in the passenger seat, almost facing him. “Three hundred thousand is nothing to you. The watch you’re wearing, any antique in your house, any of those items are worth more than that. Why can’t you be a little more forgiving towards others?”
"I was just analyzing from an objective perspective; I didn't say I wouldn't help her."
Gu Yinyan said coldly, "Besides, if she wanted to raise money, she shouldn't have just found a job at a milk tea shop and then sneaked out during work hours."
Liang Yizhi stared at the sharp profile of the person in front of her, remaining silent.
She knew that Gu Yinyan was not like her.
He's not promiscuous, not easily swayed, doesn't act impulsively, and won't make a hasty decision based on emotions.
Gu Yinyan never does anything without being certain of success, nor does he act rashly without rational analysis.
But she never expected that he could be so cold and indifferent in the face of humanity, using the attitude of a superior and the perspective of omniscience to criticize those who were swept up by fate.
The sudden surge of knowledge felt somewhat unfamiliar and disjointed, leaving her speechless for a moment.
She should have expected him to react this way.
After all, he treated Xie Yun and Gary the same way back then.
Liang Yizhi softly uttered a sentence:
"Gu Yinyan, you are too arrogant."
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