Chapter 42 Us [VIP]
Chapter Summary: Fu Xianyin, I'll cover for you.
During lunch break, the number of people on the playground was not much less.
Noon is usually the time when the sun is at its strongest, but today it was fortunate that thick clouds blocked the sun, so it wasn't so hot that people couldn't open their eyes, and even the wind was cool.
The weather had already started to get colder in late October. Just a few days ago, she was still wearing short sleeves, but now Fu Xianyin had started wearing a thin sweater.
The mango pomelo sago dessert was served with ice, and with the chilly wind blowing, Fu Xianyin's fingers were freezing cold.
She stretched out her sleeves, switched the cup to her other hand, and placed her other hand on her warm neck to cool it down.
"Will I buy you room temperature food next time?"
Gu Linzhao's voice suddenly broke in from the side, and Fu Xianyin shook her head vigorously:
"No, you can't drink mango pomelo sago at room temperature."
She turned her head and looked at Gu Linzhao suspiciously: "Don't tell me you drink hot water in autumn and winter, I don't believe you."
Gu Linzhao smiled lazily: "Why don't you believe me? My lifestyle is much healthier than yours, okay?"
Fu Xianyin pursed her lips and secretly rolled her eyes.
The schoolbags were placed under the shade of the trees, and groups of two or three people were walking around the playground from time to time.
Fu Xianyin looked up at the sky and suddenly sighed.
Gu Linzhao: "Why are you sighing for no reason?"
Fu Xianyin: "Because I'm not good at being proper."
Gu Linzhao was already used to her rambling, incoherent speech. He skillfully picked out the key points in Fu Xianyin's words and asked:
Are you afraid of not doing well on the exam?
"I'm scared," Fu Xianyin said. "I'm really scared to death."
Her tone was somewhat exaggerated, in her usual way of speaking in a way that was not human.
But Gu Linzhao could tell that she was telling the truth.
He asked, "What would make you happier?"
Fu Xianyin paused in her action of drinking the mango pomelo sago.
She stopped and slowly turned around. The person next to her noticed her movement and stopped in place as well.
"It's like the sun has risen in the west," Fu Xianyin said. "You usually just take me to do this and that, this is the first time you've asked me what I want to do."
Fu Xianyin held up a finger and waved it in front of Gu Linzhao's eyes. She emphasized, "First time."
Gu Linzhao laughed: "Alright, stop making it sound like I'm bullying you."
He looked at Fu Xianyin, waiting for her to continue.
Having known Fu Xianyin for so long, he was already very familiar with Fu Xianyin's way of speaking.
For example, right now.
He sensed that Fu Xianyin wanted to say something to him.
It's neither a joke nor a rambling piece.
It's the kind of talk that's a little bit sincere, a little bit heartfelt.
That's really impressive, Gu Linzhao.
He said to himself.
I've made it this far for you.
She no longer hid everything, and no longer deliberately avoided him.
She would want to say something to him, or even want to do something with him.
Although, given Fu Xianyin's personality, she might not actually say it, nor might she actually do it.
But at least at this moment, Gu Linzhao sensed her not-so-weak inclination and tendency.
That's enough.
He thought.
He is actually very easy to please.
Habits are formed gradually.
Gu Linzhao was already very grateful that she could even have this thought and stop pushing him away.
However, Heaven favored him in more ways than just a little.
He heard Fu Xianyin ask softly, "Why?"
Why is this time different?
Gu Linzhao slowly spoke: "Because in the past, you wouldn't have considered me."
Fu Xianyin was taken aback.
He continued, "Perhaps you don't want to do anything with me, or perhaps you're often unhappy, but you've never thought about how to resolve your unhappiness."
"This isn't a problem for you; it's just normal. There's no need to solve it."
Fu Xianyin's lips curled up slightly.
What Master Gu said was...
That's really accurate.
Fu Xianyin never wanted to actively expose her emotions to others.
It's one thing for you to say it, and another thing for the other person to feel it.
Chen Huimei, Fu Dongyuan, arguments, pressure...
She seemed to have gotten used to it, or perhaps she had become numb to it.
We've become so numb that we've taken it for granted, so numb that we don't need to address it anymore.
She said, "Then why do you..."
Fu Xianyin spoke in a low voice, as if talking to herself, but Gu Linzhao heard her clearly.
He shrugged, his voice even more cheerful than the autumn wind: "Because I want to make you happy."
For some reason, Fu Xianyin suddenly felt her heart skip a beat.
She inexplicably recalled that last Saturday, in the coffee shop, she had asked Gu Linzhao why in the same dishonest manner.
What did Gu Linzhao say back then?
He said:
"I'll worry about you."
"Because you are important to me."
Fu Xianyin felt as if there was a tiny fuse in her heart, and someone had lit a spark at the end of it. The spark burned with a crackling sound, and the fuse grew shorter and shorter.
And what is at the other end of the lead wire?
Explosives, firecrackers, a shower of gold paper, or even a super big gift package.
Fu Xianyin didn't know.
The other half of her heart was obscured by a thick fog; all that could be seen was this short, thin thread.
The fire should be extinguished as soon as it starts to ignite.
Let the fuse burn completely and gamble on what's on the other end.
Fu Xianyin has always referred to herself as a gambling addict.
But now, the usually bold gambler has suddenly become timid.
She suddenly wondered if she had enough chips to gamble on this one.
Neither a penniless pauper nor a wealthy tycoon would care about these chips.
Because they either have nothing to lose, or nothing to fear losing.
Fu Xianyin has always been the former.
She dared to gamble because even if she lost, it wouldn't matter; things were already bad enough, so it wouldn't matter if they got any worse.
But that's in the past.
Now, she suddenly has some chips in her hand.
Even though she was no longer penniless, she became even more timid.
She didn't want to lose these chips, but the feeling of holding them was so good that she couldn't help but want more.
The gentle music entered his ears, and Fu Xianyin finally came back to his senses.
Gu Linzhao: "The lunch break bell rang. Time to go, off to the exam."
People on the playground gradually returned to the teaching building, and Fu Xianyin walked side by side with him.
She didn't say a word the whole way.
Once inside the teaching building, in the corridor outside the classroom, Fu Xianyin suddenly spoke:
"If, and I mean if, you've always walked, and suddenly one day you get a bicycle, you have two choices in front of you. One is to keep the bicycle, even though you're not sure how long it will last or if it will break down. The other is to take a gamble; if you win, you can turn the bicycle into a motorcycle, and if you lose, you won't have the bicycle at all."
She paused, looked up at Gu Linzhao, and asked:
"If it were you, what would you choose?"
Do you gamble?
Gu Linzhao put down his schoolbag and looked down to meet her gaze.
He said, "That depends on how important this bicycle is to me."
Fu Xianyin: "You don't want to take any risks."
He's such a cautious person, he wouldn't gamble.
Gu Linzhao didn't deny it, but instead asked her, "What about you?"
Fu Xianyin said, "I want more, but I'm afraid that in the end I won't even have a bicycle."
Gu Linzhao nodded and said, "So you want to take the risk."
Fu Xianyin was stunned by what he said.
Has Gu Bansian really unleashed his ultimate move?
How come she can read minds even more accurately than herself?
"Then let's gamble," said Gu Bansian.
Fu Xianyin asked, "So your advice to me is to gamble."
"No," Gu Linzhao denied. "My advice to you is not to gamble. My advice to you is to do what you want to do."
"If you want a motorcycle, then go for it."
Fu Xianyin asked, "But what if there are no bicycles left in the end?"
"There will be plenty of bicycles," Gu Linzhao said earnestly, looking at her.
"Fu Xianyin, I'll cover for you."
The exam time went by very quickly.
Fu Xianyin and Gu Linzhao were seated next to each other, one in front of the other. Gu Linzhao noticed she seemed preoccupied, and before handing out the exam papers, he patted her shoulder and whispered:
Good luck on your exam.
But as it turned out, Gu Linzhao had worried unnecessarily.
The complicated thoughts in her mind vanished the moment she received the exam paper, and had no effect on Fu Xianyin whatsoever.
Objectively speaking, the overall difficulty of this monthly exam was higher than that of the last monthly exam.
The other subjects were fine, but Fu Xianyin was relatively easy for her.
Chemistry is the only exception.
Originally, I wanted to use this monthly exam to test whether my studies over the past two weeks had been effective. Unexpectedly, the difficulty of chemistry suddenly increased. Fu Xianyin not only struggled with the exam, but she also almost didn't finish it.
The good news is that, apart from chemistry, my performance in the other subjects was very stable.
Fu Xianyin even had a feeling that this time the biology score might reach 90.
While in Linlan, biology was always Fu Xianyin's most troublesome subject. Compared to other subjects, her biology score was always the lowest, even a few points lower than geography.
Fu Xianyin's biology score hovered around 85 throughout her senior year of high school, sometimes reaching 87 or 88, and sometimes 82 or 83.
For Fu Xianyin, 90 is a hurdle; he has never scored above 90 on even the simplest test papers.
The biology teacher at Linlan No. 1 Middle School also said that her biology scores were incredibly stable. No matter how difficult or easy the questions were, she could always maintain a score of around 85, without fail.
This time, Fu Xianyin felt it might be different.
After finishing their last exam, Fu Xianyin and Gu Linzhao packed up their things. Gu Linzhao went to Gao Ying's office, while Fu Xianyin returned to the classroom.
Because of the exam room setup, all the books were placed in the activity room opposite. Fu Xianyin and Chen Nianke looked at their two thick stacks of books, exchanged a glance, and sighed in unison.
What can we do?
Let's move it.
The two rolled up their sleeves and bumped into Lin Anxu as he entered. Lin Anxu's eyes lit up when he saw them and he asked, "Sis, Cheng Zhaozhao's book is with you, right?"
Fu Xianyin nodded and pointed: "Here."
Lin Anxu picked it up deftly, saying as she did so, "Sister, let me tell you, Cheng Zhaozhao really knows how to order people around. She said she needed to go to the bathroom and asked me to move the books over for her."
Chen Nianke and Fu Xianyin consciously made way for him.
As Lin Anxu walked out, he called out, "Sister, you and Chen Nian can leave the books there. I'll help you move them later."
Chen Nianke and Fu Xianyin exchanged a glance and said helplessly, "Forget it, this is not how you treat black slaves. We can carry it ourselves."
After they finished speaking, they began packing. Fu Xianyin rehearsed several times how to transport all the books in the fewest trips. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from beside her:
"I've packed my things, let me help you move them."
It's Yin Zexuan.
Fu Xianyin hesitated for a moment, then divided the books into two stacks and said, "Why don't you help me move this stack?"
Yin Zexuan nodded and said, "Okay."
Fu Xianyin bent down to move the books, when suddenly Yin Zexuan reached out and took several books from the top of her stack, placing them on the stack he was about to move.
Then he carried most of the books and walked towards the classroom.
Fu Xianyin hesitated for a moment, then picked up the book. Before leaving, she told Chen Nianke, "Wait for me, I'll help you carry it after I'm done."
People came and went in the corridor. Although Yin Zexuan had taken most of the books from Fu Xianyin's hands, there were still quite a few.
Yin Zexuan walked a few steps faster than her and had already crossed the corridor into the classroom.
Fu Xianyin was afraid that someone would bump into her and spill her books all over the ground, so she waited for the crowd to pass. She leaned against the wall, holding the thick book in her hands, but her arm was getting more and more sore.
She stared blankly down the corridor, hesitating whether to put the book on the windowsill to rest for a while, when suddenly a warm substance covered the back of her hand.
Before the sound, what I perceived was the familiar smell of laundry detergent that filled my nostrils.
A large hand stopped her hand, lifting up a thick stack of books.
Amidst the cacophony of voices, a strange thought suddenly popped into Fu Xianyin's mind.
Gu Linzhao does not wear perfume.
But he smelled very nice.
It should have smelled like laundry detergent, but Fu Xianyin felt it wasn't.
The laundry detergent shouldn't smell so good, nor should it smell so...pleasant.
It has a light fragrance with a hint of fresh, crisp moisture, clean and refreshing, like a mountain spring, or like the dew that condenses on the tenderest leaves when willow branches sprout in spring.
It's a stream of consciousness, indescribable.
But it smells very nice.
When she felt the weight disappear from her palm, Fu Xianyin shook her hand. She found it much easier to order Gu Linzhao around than to order Lin Anxu and Yin Zexuan around.
She said, "Could you put my book on my seat for me? Nianke hasn't moved her book yet; I'll go help her move it."
Gu Linzhao nodded and casually asked, "Have you finished moving everything? How many trips did you make?"
Fu Xianyin pointed to the books in his hand and said, "On this trip, Yin Zexuan helped me move the other half over."
Gu Linzhao paused.
Fu Xianyin seemed to see him sigh softly.
My heart skipped a beat for no reason.
Fu Xianyin didn't know why her heart was shrinking so uncontrollably.
Fortunately, Gu Linzhao didn't say anything. He said to Fu Xianyin, "Come here."
Fu Xianyin glanced at Chen Nianke in the activity room, and followed her without understanding why.
The two walked through the corridor to Gu Linzhao's seat. Fu Xianyin said anxiously, "What's wrong? Nianke is still across from us..."
"I'll help her move them," Gu Linzhao said helplessly. "You should rest. She has a lot of books too. Can the two of you move them all in one trip?"
Fu Xianyin honestly replied, "It's unlikely."
She looked at the book in Gu Linzhao's hand and said, "Then you can put it here. I can carry it back myself. I was just worried that the corridor would be crowded and my books would spill all over the floor. I can carry them back to the classroom myself."
She didn't give Gu Linzhao any time to react and directly took it from his hand.
Her delicate fingertips pressed against Gu Linzhao's palm without any hesitation, and the small callus on her knuckles, worn down by the pen, rubbed against the inside of Gu Linzhao's fingers, like an electric current, straight to his heart.
Gu Linzhao almost dropped the book he was holding.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he looked down at Fu Xianyin.
The girl was completely unaware that her actions were inappropriate. She held the book and rubbed the back of her hand against Gu Linzhao's palm.
Gu Linzhao could even feel her icy hands gradually warming up with his own.
He coughed somewhat awkwardly, but his gaze remained fixed on Fu Xianyin.
He didn't let go of her hand until all the books were in Fu Xianyin's hands.
Fu Xianyin took the book and turned to leave.
Gu Linzhao watched her walk up to the podium, then down to her seat, exchange a few words with Yin Zexuan, and then suddenly point to his own side.
It seemed as if a trace of the coolness of her hand still lingered in her palm.
Gu Linzhao looked back one last time before walking out of the classroom.
Chen Nianke has fewer books than Fu Xianyin.
After Gu Linzhao picked up one stack, only a few books were left for Chen Nianke.
The two of them ran into Cheng Zhaozhao as they entered.
Chen Nianke said, "Why don't you give the book to Zhaozhao? Yours hasn't been moved yet."
Cheng Zhaozhao glanced at it, realized what was going on, and said, "Give it to me, you go and move yours."
Gu Linzhao didn't even stop walking. He said, "It's quite heavy. Don't bother. It's not much of a walk to your seat anyway."
Chen Nianke suddenly burst out laughing.
Gu Linzhao was puzzled by her laughter.
Chen Nianke teased, "The tone you're using... sounds just like Yin Yin's!"
Gu Linzhao: ...
He glanced at Chen Nianke, who raised an eyebrow with a playful expression.
Gu Linzhao suddenly felt as if he had been completely seen through.
He sighed, placed the book on Chen Nianke's spot, and turned to leave.
Just as Fu Xianyin finished tidying up the table, Xu Xinyu came over.
Xu Xinyu: "The monthly exam is over. Shall we train tonight? Our event is on Friday, so we can train for four more days."
Fu Xianyin nodded and said, "Lian, wait for me a moment, I'll tidy up."
Xu Xinyu said with a smile, "It's okay, no rush. We'll go down first. You and Gu Linzhao can come find me on the playground when you're ready."
Fu Xianyin responded without even looking up.
Only after saying that did I belatedly realize that something was wrong.
You and Gu Linzhao.
you.
Xu Xinyu seems to be tacitly acknowledging that she and Gu Linzhao will be together.
Although Fu Xianyin was indeed always with Gu Linzhao, once this situation was described by someone else, and so casually, it still...
That's a bit strange.
Yin Zexuan was unaware of her thoughts and chatted with her casually from the side.
He said, "I don't need to study tonight. I finally finished the exam, so I'll rest for a day and study again tomorrow."
Fu Xianyin replied, "You don't need to do the practice questions, but you should still review your notes and key points. The midterm exams aren't far away."
Yin Zexuan exclaimed, "If I had your attitude towards learning, my grades might have improved by another 10 or 20 points."
Yin Zexuan's grades were consistently around 630 to 640, ranking him around 50th in his grade. At best, he would be at the bottom of the first exam hall, and at worst, he would be among the top students in the second exam hall.
Generally, once a score reaches 630 or 640, it becomes very difficult to improve significantly.
Fu Xianyin said, "I've noticed that you and my deskmate have been studying really hard these past few weeks. Maybe you'll get 650 on the test this time?"
Yin Zexuan was quite objective: "650 is impossible. I got 632 last time. This time the questions were even harder than last time. It's a question whether I can even get 630. I just hope my ranking in the grade can improve."
He said, "It would be best if I could go directly to the first examination room and take the exam with you."
Fu Xianyin said, "Okay, you yourself said you've been working harder, so there's bound to be some progress, at least some."
She said, "I don't know how the seating arrangement will be next time, and I don't know where Sister Gao will put me."
Yin Zexuan asked, "Would you like to switch seats?"
Fu Xianyin: "Whether I change it or not makes no difference to me."
Yin Zexuan said softly, "I don't want to change."
He spoke very softly, and Fu Xianyin didn't hear him clearly. She asked, "What did you say?"
"It's nothing," Yin Zexuan said. He looked up and saw Gu Linzhao walking towards them with a backpack slung over one shoulder.
The two nodded, which was considered a greeting.
Gu Linzhao walked over and asked, "Are you all packed?"
"It's all packed away." Fu Xianyin held the water bottle in her hands, and Gu Linzhao took her schoolbag and asked, "Xu Xinyu told us to go directly to the playground to find her?"
Fu Xianyin stopped in her tracks just as she was about to take a step.
The thoughts that had been suppressed because of chatting with Yin Zexuan resurfaced.
Xu Xinyu referred to "you all".
Gu Linzhao also said "we".
My heart seemed to be beating a little faster, accompanied by a strange feeling.
Fu Xianyin heard herself say:
"Yes, she told us to go directly to her."
us.
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