dilemma
“His family is spending the Spring Festival in northern Beijing this year. So today, the first day of the Lunar New Year, he came to my house with some gifts.”
"ah?"
Lin Tingyue was somewhat surprised, "He actually knows your home address?"
“Yes, when I helped you with Jiang Shaoyang’s matter before, we kept in touch, and I told him about it later. But I didn’t expect him to come directly today, and my parents even asked him to stay and hang out with us.”
Lin Tingyue blinked. "Do your parents... know about you and Qin?"
Xia Xiaoran shook her head. "I don't know. I didn't dare tell them I had an 18-year-old boyfriend. They would probably want to kill me! Besides, the problem is complicated. My mom thinks Gu Yanzhi has a decent job, is good-looking, and can even... play cards. She's trying to set us up."
Lin Tingyue gasped on the other end of the phone, "So what are your plans? What about Qin Yuchen...?"
"I'm going crazy!" Xia Xiaoran scratched her hair in frustration. "I just messaged him saying that relatives came to visit and we might not be able to video chat today. He hasn't replied yet, probably busy. I feel so uneasy, like I've done something wrong."
"You've not brought a relative, you've brought a time bomb!"
Lin Tingyue hit the nail on the head, "What exactly does Gu Yanzhi mean? Knowing your address, he still chose to come to your door on the first day of the Lunar New Year. This move doesn't seem simple at all."
"I don't know either," Xia Xiaoran said, on the verge of tears. "He acted so naturally, just like a normal New Year's greeting, and he even brought a lot of New Year's gifts. But I just felt something was off..."
"Doesn't he know that you and Qin Yuchen are in a relationship?"
“I told him, but he didn’t quite believe me at the time…”
Lin Tingyue suddenly remembered, "Oh, right, I saw him once before the New Year. He came to ask me about you then, and he said he knew there was no chance for you. What's with this today..."
Just then, Xia's mother's loud voice came from outside the door: "Xiao Ran! What are you doing hiding in your room? Come out and have some fruit, the cherries Xiao Gu brought are so sweet!"
"Coming, coming!" Xia Xiaoran quickly responded, then hurriedly said into the microphone, "I have to go now, my mom called, I have to go out."
After hanging up the phone, Xia Xiaoran took a deep breath and composed herself before opening the door.
The atmosphere in the living room was just right.
Gu Yanzhi was sitting on the sofa, chatting with her father about a recent news event. When they talked about the relevant legal knowledge, she was neither pretentious nor superficial, and she handled the situation with great tact.
Mr. Xia nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
When she came out, Gu Yanzhi naturally looked up, smiled at her slightly, his gaze gentle, showing no sign of anything amiss.
Mrs. Xia came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of washed cherries and scolded, "You child, the guests are still here. What kind of behavior is it to hide in your room and make a phone call?"
As she spoke, she pushed the fruit plate toward Gu Yanzhi, saying, "Little Gu, don't be shy, have some more."
"Thank you, Auntie." Gu Yanzhi thanked her politely, but did not take a bite first. Instead, he waited for Xia Xiaoran to come over and sit down before taking one as a token gesture.
While peeling an apple, Xia's mother casually asked, "Who were you talking to on the phone just now? You talked for so long."
Xia Xiaoran was somewhat absent-minded. She picked up a cherry, but it tasted bland.
"It's Yueyue, long time no see, wish her a Happy New Year."
"Oh, that girl married well. I heard she went to a wealthy family. That's incredible."
"Mom..." Xia Xiaoran gestured to her mother not to say too much about this.
"Alright, alright, look at me, I always forget. Let's not talk about other people's families. Let me ask Xiao Gu, are you usually busy with work?"
Gu Yanzhi naturally took over the conversation, "Auntie isn't busy. It's just that sometimes when there's a more urgent case, she might have to work overtime non-stop. Like when I helped Xiao Ran with her friend's matter before, but it's not too troublesome."
Hearing that the two had been in contact privately, Xia's mother was overjoyed.
"Oh, I see. Well, Xiao Gu, thank you for your trouble."
Gu Yanzhi smiled, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over Xia Xiaoran's slightly tense profile, and said in a frank tone, "Auntie, it's nothing. Anyway, Xiaoran's friend is also my friend. It's only right for friends to help each other out."
Xia Xiaoran unconsciously clenched her hands on her knees. He was too at ease; every word he uttered was flawless, which only made her more uneasy.
“It’s good for young people to communicate more.” Mr. Xia nodded in satisfaction, then asked, “Xiao Gu, judging from your accent, you don’t seem to be a native of northern Beijing?”
"Uncle, you have such good hearing. My family is from Suzhou, and we only came to northern Beijing for the Spring Festival this year."
“Suzhou is wonderful, a water town in Jiangnan, a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery…” Mr. Xia was clearly very interested in this topic.
While they were engrossed in their conversation, Xia Xiaoran secretly took out her phone to check, but Qin Yu still hadn't replied. This feeling of being suspended in mid-air made her restless.
Somehow the conversation shifted from hometown back to the card table.
Xia's mother enthusiastically suggested, "Old Xia, Little Gu, shall we play a few more rounds? Little Ran, come too!"
"Mom, I..." Xia Xiaoran wanted to refuse.
“Come on, Xiao Ran,” Gu Yanzhi looked at her with a faint smile on his lips, but his eyes seemed to see into her heart. “You seemed distracted just now. Were you afraid of losing? Don’t worry, I’ll let you win this round.”
His tone was joking, and his parents laughed.
Xia Xiaoran kept giving Gu Yanzhi meaningful glances, but he seemed oblivious and completely ignored them.
What does this mean? Is it meant to make her panic?
"Who asked you to let me win?" She straightened her back, trying to make her expression look natural. "Let's do it again, I wasn't serious just now."
The four of them sat down again at the mahjong table.
Amidst the clattering of the shuffling and stacking of cards, Xia Xiaoran tried to concentrate, but she always felt a gaze, seemingly imperceptible, falling upon her from across the room.
Halfway through the game, Xia Xiaoran had just played a card when her phone screen suddenly lit up and vibrated slightly on the table.
It's a video call request from Qin Yuchen!
Her heart skipped a beat, and she almost reflexively tried to turn it off.
However, Gu Yanzhi, who was sitting opposite her, looked up as if by accident, and his gaze fell precisely on her lit-up phone screen.
Xia Xiaoran's fingers froze in mid-air.
Gu Yanzhi's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then he said nothing, simply lowered his eyes nonchalantly, and with his slender fingers, touched the wall of cards, calmly playing a card.
“Three.” His voice was calm and even.
The phone kept vibrating on the table.
She could feel Gu Yanzhi's gaze across from her; it was calm, yet carried an invisible pressure. Her parents also stopped playing cards and looked at her.
"Why didn't you answer the phone?" Xia's mother asked, puzzled.
In a flash, Xia Xiaoran pressed the lock screen button.
The vibration stopped abruptly, and the screen went black instantly.
"Salespeople, so annoying." She tried to sound natural, placing her phone screen-down on the table, her heart pounding in her chest. "Whose turn is it?"
Mr. Xia said "Oh," and played a card. The game continued, but the atmosphere became noticeably more subtle.
Xia Xiaoran dared not look at Gu Yanzhi again, focusing all her attention on fighting the turmoil of emotions churning within her.
She just hung up on Qin Yuchen's video call; he's bound to overthink it.
But now, she has no other choice.
After a few rounds of cards, Xia Xiaoran excused herself to go to the restroom and practically fled the card table.
As soon as she entered the bathroom and locked the door, she immediately took out her phone. Sure enough, Qin Yuchen had sent her two messages:
"Busy?"
"inconvenient?"
Her words betrayed a cautiousness. Xia Xiaoran felt a pang of sadness and quickly replied, "We had guests over earlier, so it wasn't convenient to video chat. Have you eaten?"
The message was sent out, but it disappeared without a trace.
She leaned against the cold tile wall, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her racing heart.
We must get Gu Yanzhi out as soon as possible.
After composing myself and returning to the living room, I found that the card game had just ended.
Xia's mother was praising Gu Yanzhi for playing cards well.
Xia Xiaoran walked over, but instead of sitting down, she stood next to Gu Yanzhi, her tone carrying a deliberate familiarity and reminder: "Brother Yanzhi, isn't it getting late? Didn't you say you had other things to take care of this afternoon?"
Gu Yanzhi looked up at her, his gaze deep, as if he could see through her feigned composure.
He twitched his lips almost imperceptibly, then readily raised his wrist to check his watch: "Yes, I almost forgot. Uncle and Aunt, I do have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. I'm sorry to have bothered you for so long."
Although Xia's parents were still reluctant to leave, they understood and stood up.
"Oh, you're so busy, yet you still took the time to come see us. That's so thoughtful of you!" Mrs. Xia warmly saw them off. "Come visit often!"
"Definitely. Uncle and Aunt, please wait a moment." Gu Yanzhi said goodbye politely, then turned to Xia Xiaoran, his tone natural, "Xiaoran, would you like to see me off?"
His request was reasonable, and Xia Xiaoran simply couldn't refuse.
The two walked to the entrance hall one after the other. Gu Yanzhi slowly put on his coat, while Xia Xiaoran felt like every second was an eternity, wishing he would disappear quickly.
Just as he reached for the doorknob, his movement froze.
He turned around, his gaze calmly landing on Xia Xiaoran's face.
"Xiao Ran," he said, his voice low but clear enough to reach her ears, "what, do you want me to leave quickly?"
Xia Xiaoran's heart tightened; her thoughts had been seen through.
"No, thank you for coming today," she said dryly, avoiding his gaze.
Gu Yanzhi chuckled lightly, with a hint of something ambiguous in his voice: "You're welcome. It seems I've come at the wrong time; perhaps... I've disturbed you?"
His words were pointed, and Xia Xiaoran's nerves instantly tensed up.
"No, it's just... a bit sudden." She managed to maintain her composure.
"That's good." Gu Yanzhi nodded, his hand resting on the doorknob again, as if he were really about to leave.
Xia Xiaoran had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard him ask another question, seemingly casually, his voice as light as a feather yet carrying a thousand pounds of weight:
"By the way, was that your boyfriend's call just now?"
Xia Xiaoran suddenly looked up and met his unfathomable eyes.
He did see it! But what did he mean by saying that?
Shock and panic left her speechless for a moment, and her cheeks began to burn uncontrollably.
Seeing her expression change instantly, a hint of understanding flashed in Gu Yanzhi's eyes, before he returned to calm.
He didn't press her further, nor did he wait for her answer. He simply smiled faintly, with an air of knowing everything.
"It's cold outside, don't bother seeing me off." He opened the door, and a blast of cold wind rushed in.
"Goodbye." He stepped out, his voice fading into the wind.
The door slowly closed in front of Xia Xiaoran, shutting her out of the cold world outside, and seemingly shutting out her barely held-up courage as well.
But she shouldn't be so guilty, why?
She always seemed a little guilty in front of Gu Yanzhi, but there was simply no possibility between them...
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