Chapter 49 Embrace [VIP]
Chapter Summary: In the very end, a somewhat familiar embrace caught her.
Because of the sports meet, the teachers turned a blind eye to the evening self-study sessions.
Fu Xianyin only flipped through her collection of wrong questions to keep her mind active before preparing to go down for training.
Chen Nianke finished her project today and was going to catch up on sleep during evening self-study. Fu Xianyin, holding her water cup, stood up, her eyes involuntarily glancing in Gu Linzhao's direction.
My heart was beating so fast this morning.
Even now, when Fu Xianyin recalls that scene, she still can't calm down.
The impact of the boy rushing towards her was simply too great.
Fu Xianyin thought to herself, no one could withstand such a scene.
Her reaction was quite normal.
This was the result of Fu Xianyin convincing herself after an afternoon of work.
Gu Linzhao was hunched over his desk, seemingly studying. If Fu Xianyin were to leave through the back door at this moment and be asked why, she could say that she saw him doing his homework and didn't want to disturb him, so she didn't go looking for him.
A month ago, Fu Xianyin would have done so without hesitation.
But things are different now.
Fu Xianyin sighed and finally walked to the front door.
She tapped on Gu Linzhao's desk, looked up at him, and then said, "Xu Xinyu told me to go down for training, I'm leaving now."
Gu Linzhao said, "Wait for me a moment."
Fu Xianyin was somewhat surprised: "You want to come down with me? You ran three thousand today, are you still going to run?"
She muttered to herself, "You'll run yourself ragged."
"I'm not so old that I'm hard of hearing." Gu Linzhao raised his chin and said, "You're competing tomorrow, so you won't be running for too long today."
This means he'll run alongside her.
Since he wasn't afraid of running himself to death, Fu Xianyin naturally had no more reason to dissuade him.
She naturally pulled out the chair next to her and said, "Call me when you're done."
After discussing the class transfer with Sister Gao this morning, Song Yaoge packed her things and transferred to Class 5 this afternoon. Class 5 is for history, geography, and biology students, and most of them are art students.
This table is now almost empty.
Fu Xianyin was lying on the table playing on her phone.
She really has no intention of learning anything more.
Just keep your mind active. We agreed to relax, so relax.
Fu Xianyin is a very principled person, both in her studies and in her rest.
While playing on her phone, Fu Xianyin was suddenly called out:
"Fu Xianyin".
Fu Xianyin looked up and met Song Yaoge's gaze.
She was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and quickly stood up: "I'm sorry, I didn't notice you coming over."
Perhaps because they had talked about it that morning, Song Yaoge didn't hold it against her at all. She shook her head and said, "It's okay, I've changed classes too, you can sit here."
She pointed to the table and said, "I have a few notebooks in my desk drawer. I left them behind when I was tidying up this afternoon. Could you hand them to me?"
Fu Xianyin handed her everything from the drawer of the table, and Song Yaoge smiled and said, "Thank you."
She held the books, lifted her foot to leave, but suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Fu Xianyin guessed what she was going to do at a glance. She simply kept her eyes down and lowered her head as if she couldn't see, but she couldn't help but look to the side with her peripheral vision and attention.
After hesitating for a long time, Song Yaoge finally spoke hesitantly.
She said, "Gu Linzhao."
Gu Linzhao put down his pen, looked up at her and asked, "Is there something you need?"
Song Yaoge said, "I talked to Sister Gao about transferring classes today, and I've transferred to Class 5 now. Thank you for your advice back then."
Gu Linzhao smiled and said, "You're welcome."
Song Yaoge didn't say anything more.
Gu Linzhao also closed the pen cap.
Looking at the young man in front of her, Song Yaoge suddenly felt a surge of emotion.
She had liked him for over two years, studied subjects she wasn't good at for him, and harbored some dark jealousy towards him.
But Song Yaoge felt that liking someone shouldn't be like this.
She can chase after Gu Linzhao, but she can't go down a completely opposite path because of him.
Fortunately, she pulled back from the brink and minimized the damage.
Fortunately, the person she liked was a very good person.
That's enough.
"Yinyin, are you nervous?"
"Sis, it's okay. If all else fails, I'll give you my medal."
"Don't be nervous, Yinyin, relax and run well."
Fu Xianyin touched the number tag pinned to her back and looked at the people around her with a helpless expression, saying, "I'm really not nervous."
“But I’m nervous.” Cheng Zhaozhao grabbed Fu Xianyin’s arm and said, “I’m more nervous than if I were competing on my own.”
Cheng Zhaozhao had just finished her 200-meter race when she performed exceptionally well in the final, winning a bronze medal.
Lin Anxu also distinguished himself among several sports students, winning a bronze medal just like Cheng Zhaozhao.
Now all that's missing is Fu Xianyin to take over.
The loudspeaker on the other end of the broadcast had already announced that the athletes should check in. Fu Xianyin patted Cheng Zhaozhao's head and said with a smile, "I'm going to check in now."
Cheng Zhaozhao insisted on taking her to the check-in point before she would stop.
At the check-in point, Cheng Zhaozhao held Fu Xianyin's coat and watched Fu Xianyin walk into the playground, feeling a mix of emotions: "It feels like I'm sending my child off to get married."
Chen Nianke: "Moms should prepare more dowry."
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Gu Linzhao with a half-smile and said casually, "I wonder if the betrothal gifts have been prepared yet."
Cheng Zhaozhao picked up her phone to take some photos of Fu Xianyin on the playground, but as soon as she unlocked it, she couldn't help but swear:
"Holy shit."
Lin Anxu chided her from the side, "Have some manners. We should strive to be civilized high school students."
Cheng Zhaozhao cursed loudly: "My God, go to hell! Who the hell is this idiot spouting nonsense here?"
Lin Anxu was stunned by the scolding. After a couple of seconds, he inexplicably leaned over to look.
"No way, you got so angry from eating firecrackers? What the hell happened? What the hell was that idiot who posted this?"
He reached out and tugged at Gu Linzhao: "Brother Zhao, look quickly."
Cheng Zhaozhao handed over her phone and urged Chen Nianke to quickly open it and look at it.
Gu Linzhao took the phone, puzzled, and his face grew darker as he scrolled down.
Ten minutes ago, an anonymous post about Fu Xianyin was submitted to the confession wall. The post claimed that Fu Xianyin was being kept by an older man and that she went to hotels with him every few days. The post even included several photos of Fu Xianyin in hotels, which were clearly taken secretly.
There are already dozens of comments below, all of them saying "Holy crap!"
Cheng Zhaozhao was furious: "What are these idiots saying? Which idiot spread this rumor? I'll tear him apart!"
Chen Nianke calmed down a bit. She clicked on a picture and said, "Look, these pictures were probably taken before now. Yinyin looks a bit younger in the photos."
In the photo, the girl's hair is disheveled, and there are tear stains on her face. Although the image is blurry, you can still vaguely see that the girl's face was more youthful than it is now.
Chen Nianke frowned: "It feels like it was at least two or three years ago."
She scrolled through the photos to one of Fu Xianyin sitting at the hotel entrance. In the picture, Fu Xianyin was hugging her knees and curled up into a small ball on the hotel steps.
“Not now,” Gu Linzhao said. “Fu Xianyin is 1.7 meters tall now, and she is obviously shorter than that at this time.”
He said, "The fact that it wasn't taken now means that the photos were most likely not taken in Beichuan, but in Linlan. Linlan and Beichuan are so far apart, either the person who took the photos in Linlan sent them over, or the person who took the photos in Linlan also came to Beichuan."
He paused, his voice indifferent: "I prefer the second one."
Chen Nianke nodded: "Me too. Not to mention how difficult it is for people from our school to get photos in Linlan and how low the probability is, Yinyin has only been here for less than two months. In such a short time, she has to go to great lengths to contact the photographer in Linlan, which is not a simple matter."
Gu Linzhao said, "Or it might be more than one person."
Cheng Zhaozhao was both anxious and angry. She took the phone from Gu Linzhao and started cursing at the confession wall, and no one could stop her.
Chen Nianke quickly tried to soothe her: "Calm down first. Yinyin is in the competition now. We'll talk about it after the competition."
Cheng Zhaozhao said worriedly, "But just because she didn't bring her phone during check-in doesn't mean others won't. What if someone says something to her before the competition to mess with her mentality and make her underperform? Underperforming isn't a big deal, but I'm mainly worried that she might fall on the playground."
"She won't." Gu Linzhao's voice was still cold and hard, but his words were full of certainty.
"Fu Xianyin's mentality won't be a problem; her mentality is better than any of ours."
Chen Nianke said, "That's right, calm down first. Yinyin's mentality won't be a problem. Let's think about how to solve this. Is there any way to find out who posted it on the confession wall?"
Gu Linzhao suddenly looked at Lin Anxu and asked, "Last time you played basketball with the affiliated high school, you invited someone from the next class. Was he also transferred from Linlan?"
Lin Anxu thought for a moment and said, "Let me think, Wu Jiacheng, right? I think he transferred from somewhere else. I can't remember if it was Linlan or not."
He slapped his forehead: "Yeah, do you guys remember the last time we ran into Sister and Wu Jiacheng together in the back street? I felt something was off, but I didn't know why."
Cheng Zhaozhao said, "So you think it was done by that guy named Wu Jiacheng?"
Chen Nianke said, "It's probably him. Last time in the backstreet, Yinyin must have given him a beating."
"ah?"
"ah?"
Cheng Zhaozhao and Lin Anxu both exclaimed in shock, glancing at Chen Nianke and then at Gu Linzhao.
Lin Anxu asked in confusion, "No, damn it, how did you know?"
Chen Nianke was also puzzled: "No, do you really think that idiot and Yinyin seem to have a good relationship? The way they acted back then clearly indicated that they had a grudge."
Cheng Zhaozhao and Lin Anxu exchanged a glance and then shut their mouths.
They genuinely didn't realize it.
Chen Nian was exasperated: "I even suspect that if we had arrived any later, the ambulance might have been able to take Wu Jiacheng away before us. Didn't you see that Yinyin was holding a brick in her hand?"
Cheng Zhaozhao said, "No way, Yinyin isn't like that."
Lin Anxu: "Yeah, I think so too, sister..." He agreed for a moment, then suddenly remembered the scene of his first meeting with Fu Xianyin.
The girl had a bright, beautiful face, a lit cigarette dangling from her lips, and she whistled at Gu Linzhao with a cocky air.
Lin Anxu fell silent.
Before Cheng Zhaozhao could react, she tugged at Lin Anxu's sleeve: "Say something! Why aren't you saying anything?"
Lin Anxu cleared his throat and said somewhat awkwardly, "It's nothing, it's just that some ancient memories suddenly came to mind. I realized that the rebellious girl spirit in my bones has never been extinguished."
Cheng Zhaozhao got angry again.
She looked at the three of them and said, "So you all know, but I don't?"
Chen Nianke patted her head and said, "It's not your fault. Your extraordinary insensitivity is also a talent of yours."
She glanced at her watch and said, "Let's go in and cheer for Yinyin first, then we'll talk about the rest after the competition."
Fu Xianyin doesn't have Cheng Zhaozhao's strong sensitivity.
Before the check-in, Fu Xianyin could feel the slightly probing gazes of those around her.
Xu Xinyu is giving them a final pre-match pep talk.
The moment their eyes met, Fu Xianyin understood everything.
She sighed, suddenly feeling utterly listless.
It's the same routine over and over again. Fu Xianyin even has the leisure to guess whether Wu Jiacheng's photo library has been updated.
She guessed that there probably wasn't.
The relay athletes were already in their positions, and Fu Xianyin saw Gu Linzhao and the others standing at the finish line.
She tossed her hem and waved to the four of them.
Seeing that Fu Xianyin showed no signs of distress, Cheng Zhaozhao said with relief, "It's good that Yinyin seems to know nothing yet."
Gu Linzhao's voice suddenly rang out: "She knows everything."
Cheng Zhaozhao's eyes widened: "How did you know that?"
Gu Linzhao: "I guessed."
She was about to say something more when Gu Linzhao pointed to the starting line and interrupted her, saying, "We'll talk about it later, the race is about to start."
The words had barely left his mouth when the starting gun fired.
The pressure in the group stage was not too great. The four players cooperated well and made no mistakes, winning first place in the group with a time of one minute and three seconds.
The training during this period has had some effect. Fu Xianyin is no longer like she was at the beginning, when she would be out of breath and unable to stand up after running 100 meters.
She ran to the finish line with the baton, handed it to a staff member, and then excitedly jogged over to show off her achievement.
"How is it? Not bad, right?"
Chen Nianke and Gu Linzhao could still praise her as if nothing was wrong, but Cheng Zhaozhao's inner thoughts were written all over her face, and she couldn't control her expressions at all.
She said helplessly, "Come on, it's not a big deal, why are you making such a long face?"
Cheng Zhaozhao said, "You knew everything? You..."
She couldn't continue.
Fu Xianyin found it amusing to see her looking so upset.
Actually, she wasn't completely unaffected. Before the competition, she genuinely worried for a moment about their reaction after finding out about it.
But now, seeing how worried the four of them were about her, Fu Xianyin felt much relieved.
The finals will not be held until all the group matches are completed. Fu Xianyin was thirsty after running. The four of them had their plans disrupted by that incident. Only Gu Linzhao thought of grabbing a bottle of water for Fu Xianyin before he came over.
Fu Xianyin took a sip of water, but it wasn't enough. She said, "I want to drink mango pomelo sago."
Gu Linzhao raised his chin: "I'll buy it for you."
Chen Nianke said, "Bring me a cup of milk green tea." Then, with quick reflexes, she grabbed Cheng Zhaozhao with one hand and Lin Anxu with the other, and started walking away with the two of them.
After taking two steps, Chen Nianke finally let go of her hand.
Cheng Zhaozhao hadn't reacted yet: "Why are you pulling me?"
"What else could you be doing?" Lin Anxu said, "You're disturbing my sister and Brother Zhao's time together."
Chen Nianke was speechless: "You do have some sense, but not much. What do you mean by 'a world for two'? Your mind is always filled with this little bit of stuff."
Lin Anxu shrank back and remained silent after being scolded.
Chen Nianke said, "Gu Linzhao spends more time with Yinyin. He knows how to get along with Yinyin better than the two of you, and he also knows how to handle things better than the two of you."
"There are some things that Yinyin doesn't want to tell others, so you shouldn't get involved."
Cheng Zhaozhao pouted: "In Yinyin's heart, am I not as important as Gu Linzhao?"
Chen Nianke patiently explained to her, "It's because Gu Linzhao spends more time with her. Think about it, after Yinyin transferred schools, Gu Linzhao was the first to sit next to her and the first to become familiar with her. It's normal that Gu Linzhao knows more than you when they sit together."
"Relationships between people are all about chance and coincidence. Besides, Gu Linzhao is more perceptive and shrewd than you. He can understand ten sentences from just two sentences from Yinyin..."
The road to the cafeteria was unusually quiet.
Fu Xianyin stomped on a fallen leaf, finally unable to bear the atmosphere any longer. She pulled her coat tighter, took a big step in front of Gu Linzhao, and blocked his way.
Just as she was about to speak, Fu Xianyin was pulled inside by Gu Linzhao.
His voice was clear and crisp: "If you're not dressed warmly, don't stand in the wind."
For the competition, Fu Xianyin changed into a sports short-sleeved shirt and shorts. At this moment, her fair legs were faintly visible under her coat, with a slender ankle exposed, slightly red from the cold.
She paused for two seconds.
When he tried to speak again, his momentum had already weakened.
Fu Xianyin walked inside, with Gu Linzhao shielding her from most of the wind. She sighed and said:
"Say something, it's too quiet and I'm getting annoyed."
Gu Linzhao countered with, "What do you want to hear me say?"
Fu Xianyin said, "I don't know, I'm just saying whatever comes to mind."
Gu Linzhao paused for a moment and said, "So that day, in the back street, if we had arrived a little later, that brick in your hand would have hit Wu Jiacheng directly on the head, right?"
Fu Xianyin stopped in her tracks.
She slowly turned her head to look at Gu Linzhao and asked, "You all know?"
The question was phrased as a question, but the tone was very certain.
Gu Linzhao said, "Chen Nian and I could tell, but Cheng Zhaozhao and Lin Anxu couldn't, but now we know that too."
He sighed: "Your disguise isn't actually that good."
Even though she knew Gu Linzhao didn't mean anything by it, those words still touched a small sore spot in Fu Xianyin's heart.
The pain points gradually expanded, enveloping the entire heart.
It was that strange feeling again.
I felt numbness in my limbs, and it felt like my whole body was wrapped in cloth and then submerged by the tide.
Fu Xianyin stood still, quietly waiting for the numbness and suffocation to pass.
Gu Linzhao stood beside her, silent, keeping her company.
After an unknown amount of time, Fu Xianyin felt as if she was slowly regaining some vitality. Her voice was a little hoarse, but her tone was extremely calm.
She said, "But you didn't expose me."
"Because I want to hear you tell me yourself."
Gu Linzhao said, "If it wasn't you who said it, then I'd rather pretend I was fooled by your pretense."
Fu Xianyin suddenly smiled.
She said, "Class monitor, that doesn't sound like you."
Fu Xianyin hadn't called him class monitor for a long time.
Gu Linzhao didn't actually like this somewhat unfamiliar form of address.
However, when Fu Xianyin uttered those two words, they somehow carried a different flavor.
He heard Fu Xianyin say, "I thought someone as kind as you would say, 'Since you don't want me to know, I'll just pretend I don't know.'"
She paused, her tone seemingly reproachful yet gentle, and said, "I didn't expect you would still want to know."
Gu Linzhao simply said, "People change."
He was indeed as Fu Xianyin described, not out of line. If she wanted to hide it, he could just pretend he didn't know.
When did you start to become greedy, wanting to know more, understand more, and integrate more into Fu Xianyin's life?
There doesn't seem to be a specific point in time.
The two remained silent for a while.
Fu Xianyin suddenly spoke up, saying, "Last time, I did beat up Wu Jiacheng. The whole thing about climbing over the wall was made up by me. I beat him up because he did the same thing in Linlan, and he still tried to annoy me when I came to Beichuan."
She said expressionlessly, "I can't control what he does or doesn't do, but I can control myself. If he piss me off, I'll beat him up to vent my anger."
She did the math carefully and said, "So, actually, I'm the one who lost out."
Gu Linzhao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked, "So last time, in Linlan, when you suddenly felt down, was it because you ran into Wu Jiacheng?"
Fu Xianyin: "Yes, it's Master Gu."
You could have guessed that.
It's a pity that Gu Banxian isn't a spy chief.
Gu Linzhao then asked, "So you beat him up when you were in Linlan?"
Fu Xianyin proudly raised her chin: "Of course, you look down on me?"
She said, "Although I'm a girl, I'm actually pretty good at fighting. Really, someone like Wu Jiacheng is no problem for me to beat up."
She spoke smugly, only belatedly realizing what was happening.
Fighting is considered a serious offense in Beichuan.
That's it.
The proud expression froze on Fu Xianyin's face. She opened her mouth, then quickly tried to explain, "What I meant was, I'm physically fit, haha, I like sports and stuff like that."
Gu Linzhao said helplessly, "I won't deduct points from your score."
Fu Xianyin immediately changed her tune: "I'm going to beat him up again in a couple of days. If I don't beat him until he calls me 'Dad,' I'm not a Fu!"
After saying this, Fu Xianyin paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "I could tell when I was checking in. It's not the first time, so I could have guessed. Proving it yourself is useless. Those who will believe will believe, and those who won't won't believe no matter how much you prove it. I don't really care whether others believe it or not; that's their business, it has nothing to do with me. I just feel..."
Her shoulders slumped, and her voice softened.
"This is so boring."
Gu Linzhao suddenly felt his heart being squeezed tightly.
Almost the instant Fu Xianyin finished speaking, her phone rang. She glanced at it and said, "The group stage seems to be almost over. The finals are coming up soon. Xu Xinyu wants us to go and prepare."
She spoke with a natural expression, showing no trace of dejection.
It seemed that the momentary gloom that had just appeared was merely Gu Linzhao's illusion.
Before he could say anything more, Fu Xianyin blinked and said slyly, "Go buy me a cup of mango pomelo sago. I'll go prepare it first."
She didn't give Gu Linzhao a chance to refuse and turned to leave.
Even inside her thick coat, Fu Xianyin's steps seemed lighter.
Gu Linzhao watched her retreating figure, chuckled softly, and resignedly went to buy milk tea.
The interval between the preliminary and final rounds was much shorter than Fu Xianyin had imagined.
On her way back, she was still thinking that she and Gu Linzhao had gone to the cafeteria together. Before leaving, Chen Nianke had asked her to bring back a cup of milk tea. Now she was empty-handed and alone. What should she do if she ran into Chen Nianke?
But Chen Nian didn't ask any questions.
She simply came up and gave Fu Xianyin a big hug, very tight and forceful. The girl's body was soft, and she hugged Fu Xianyin's back, holding her close, and then whispered something in her ear:
Good luck in the game!
Fu Xianyin's eyes stung, and she almost burst into tears on the spot.
She doesn't cry easily, and she's not easily moved to tears.
But Jingying's eyes were swirling with tears.
Xu Xinyu called to her from not far away. Chen Nianke let go of her arm, pinched Fu Xianyin's cheek, and said, "Go on, we'll wait for you at the finish line."
Fu Xianyin nodded and jogged over to Xu Xinyu.
Xu Xinyu held the relay baton in her hand. When Fu Xianyin ran closer, she grabbed Fu Xianyin's arm and said, "Don't be nervous during the race. Just relax and run normally. We've already made it to the finals, which is already very impressive. Results don't matter. Don't worry."
Fu Xianyin nodded.
Xu Xinyu seemed to hesitate for a moment, but still said, "Don't take the confession wall stuff to heart. I just told my classmates from other classes that it was all fake, that you're not that kind of person, and that it was all a rumor."
She looked at Fu Xianyin and said, "Don't worry, we all believe in you."
Fu Xianyin said softly, "Thank you."
Xu Xinyu smiled and said, "No need to thank me."
After the athletes' information was verified, everyone took their places.
Many inquisitive eyes were still fixed on her.
The fragmented words still managed to reach Fu Xianyin's ears.
But Fu Xianyin suddenly felt that perhaps the best decision Chen Huimei had ever made in her life was to let Fu Dongyuan transfer her to Beichuan No. 1 Middle School.
This allowed her to meet such a group of kind and warm-hearted people.
The starting gun fired.
Fu Xianyin quickly got into character, her nerves taut.
Xu Xinyu's aim was as sharp as ever, but she made a slight mistake when handing the baton to Ji Zhumiao.
When Ji Zhumiao ran again, she was already in the last position.
She tried her best to catch up, but could only narrow the gap with others.
The baton was successfully passed to Tian Tian, who dashed off like an arrow and overtook two classmates on the curve.
Tian Tian's figure drew closer and closer.
The white baton kept getting bigger in Fu Xianyin's sight.
As her fingers gripped the already warm baton, Fu Xianyin's legs had already accelerated and she was sprinting ahead.
The soreness lingering from the previous run gradually amplified in Fu Xianyin's thighs as she ran.
Her legs were already feeling a little weak, but Fu Xianyin did not slow down at all.
Holding the baton, she gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, swung her arms forcefully, and raced across the brick-red playground.
In the distance came Cheng Zhaozhao's almost broken voice shouting:
"Yinyin, you can do it!"
No, it's not just Cheng Zhaozhao.
It seemed as if many people were calling her name, and many voices were shouting for her:
"Fu Xianyin, keep going! Fu Xianyin, keep going!"
Thirty meters, twenty meters, the last ten meters
Just as she was about to cross the red line, Fu Xianyin successfully overtook the person next to her by half a body length.
I could almost hear Cheng Zhaozhao's excited, incoherent voice in my ears:
"Did Yinyin win? Was she faster? Are we in first place?"
Xu Xinyu was also extremely excited: "It seems so! From my angle, Yinyin is almost half a body length ahead. We are the champions!"
The sound was so faint it seemed to disappear into the distance. Fu Xianyin felt weak all over and wanted to fall down, her ears ringing.
In the very end, she was caught in a somewhat familiar embrace.
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