OCY - Chapter 7

Chapter 7, Family

The snow started falling at noon. The snow layer on the ground wasn't deep, stepping on it, one could see a complete shoe print.

White snowflakes fluttered down from the sky. Ji Linxue stretched out his hand, catching a few flakes, which quickly melted into a puddle in his palm.

Although his face showed no particular expression, Gu Hengzhi felt that he was very happy.

"You really like snow?"

Ji Linxue pursed his lips, the corners curving into a soft arc, "Yes, I'm from the south, and it rarely snows in my hometown."

Both his hometown in his previous life and A City in this life were southern cities where it hardly ever snowed. Ji Linxue had only seen snow once in his hometown. Winter left him with impressions of biting cold winds and icy rain. Snow was what the children there longed for most.

Perhaps the discomfort in his body receded, and Gu Hengzhi felt an unprecedented sense of ease and relaxation in his heart. He raised his lips, his voice gentle, "It is indeed beautiful."

The two watched for a while, then Gu Hengzhi was pulled away by Ji Linxue.

He asked Ji Linxue, "Not looking anymore?"

Ji Linxue shook his head seriously, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. You're still sick and can't catch a cold."

Gu Hengzhi couldn't help but lift his lips. Just as the two were about to leave, there was a sudden movement from behind them.

"Wow! It's snowing!"

A clear, lively child's voice rang out in the pure white world, disturbing the tranquility.

A gentle female voice followed closely, "Xiao Xi, slow down! Your leg has just healed!"

The man said, "It's okay, it's rare for it to snow, let him play a little longer."

"You always spoil him." Though she said this, the woman's voice contained an undisguised indulgence.

The smile on Gu Hengzhi's face froze. He turned to look at the entrance of the inpatient department. Ji Linxue also followed his gaze.

It was a family of three. The child was about six or seven years old, hopping lively in the snow. The woman behind him was likely his mother, wearing a red woolen coat, young, beautiful, and sweetly smiling.

Behind them stood a middle-aged man. He had a gentle temperament, handsome and refined. If not for the fine lines at the corners of his eyes betraying his age, people would believe him to be thirty. The man silently watched his family from the side, a doting smile on his face.

Anyone who saw them would envy such a happy and complete family.

Ji Linxue stared at the man's extremely familiar face, then turned to glance at Gu Hengzhi.

Gu Hengzhi admitted openly, "No need to look, that's my father."

Ji Linxue didn't know what to say.

His son had a high fever and was sick, but his father didn't come to see him. If it was just coldness by nature, that would be one thing, but towards his other son, his attitude was completely opposite.

At the same time, the man also noticed their presence, his brow slightly furrowed, and he strode over.

The woman noticed his direction, her expression changing, and she picked up the still playful child, cautiously saying, "Fengyan..."

Gu Fengyan patted her shoulder, gently comforting her, "You get in the car first."

The little boy secretly peeked his head out from the woman's arms, looking at them with a pair of dark, round eyes. After only a few seconds, he was carried away by the woman. The woman's movements were swift, as if a demon was chasing her from behind.

After they got into the car, Gu Fengyan walked up to them and said to Gu Hengzhi, "Your brother has been hospitalized for so long, and you haven't come to see him."

Gu Hengzhi's face was cold, "What does that have to do with me?"

"Stop messing around and go home. What kind of behavior is it not to come back for months?" Gu Fengyan looked at the face that was extremely similar to his own, his tone serious, "Your mother has already forgiven you for this matter, don't push your luck."

Gu Hengzhi merely sneered.

"I haven't made any mistakes, what does she need to forgive me for?"

Gu Fengyan's face darkened, "You still dare to talk back!"

Perhaps out of consideration for the presence of outsiders, he said no more, giving Gu Hengzhi a deep look before leaving.

The car drove on the icy road, quickly disappearing from sight.

Ji Linxue turned his head. Gu Hengzhi's eyes held no emotion. If not for the occasional blinking of his eyelids, they would have looked like a pair of inorganic glass beads.

More than tears, this quietly flowing sadness was more heart-wrenching.

Ji Linxue wasn't good at comforting people, so he could only clumsily ask, "Are you okay?"

Gu Hengzhi remained silent for a long time.

They both tacitly avoided mentioning getting a taxi. The two walked side by side in the snow, listening to the crunching snow beneath their feet, watching the city gradually covered in white.

As they neared the school, Gu Hengzhi finally spoke, his tone even a little nonchalant, "I've long been used to this kind of thing."

"And I've never lacked for food or clothing since I was young. This is already luckier than most people. You don't need to pity me."

The words Ji Linxue had been about to say were all blocked by him.

When they returned to the dorm, Shen Shaoyan and Lu Yu were both there. As soon as they saw Gu Hengzhi, both jumped out of bed, "Why are you back so soon?"

Gu Hengzhi's complexion had already recovered its healthy flush. Hearing them, he raised an eyebrow, "What, do you want me to be sick for a few more days?"

"Damn it! You're twisting my words again." Shen Shaoyan was fuming, but still couldn't help but ask, "Did your fever go down?"

"Of course." He was usually very healthy, this illness was just an accident.

Gu Hengzhi smoothed his slightly damp forehead hair. Because of the fever, he had sweated a lot. Although Ji Linxue had wiped him down, he still felt a bit sticky, so he decided to take a shower first.

Ji Linxue said he would help him buy food. Shen Shaoyan and Lu Yu hadn't eaten either, so Ji Linxue went to the cafeteria with Lu Yu.

On the way, the two remained silent. He and Lu Yu didn't interact much and rarely had opportunities to be alone like this.

In the original novel, Lu Yu could only be considered a supporting character (no.5 male lead). He majored in medicine in university and appeared infrequently in the novel, almost every time it was because Gu Hengzhi called him to help Bai Chutang with a medical issue.

Who knew that on the way back after buying food, Lu Yu would initiate the conversation, "What do you want to ask?"

Compared to the carefree Shen Shaoyan, Lu Yu was clearly more perceptive.

Ji Linxue didn't beat around the bush with him either and directly asked, "Although it might be rude to ask this, I want to know if something happened with Gu Hengzhi's family?"

The original novel mentioned that Lu Yu and Gu Hengzhi had known each other even longer than Shen Shaoyan.

He just wasn't sure if the other person would tell him.

Lu Yu glanced at him, "You want to know?"

Ji Linxue nodded.

"If someone else asked, I wouldn't answer," Lu Yu looked at him and smiled, "But since you asked, I'll tell you."

Ji Linxue was puzzled, "Why?"

Lu Yu didn't answer his question. His gaze was unfocused, as if recalling something, "Hengzhi's mother is my aunt. I don't have many impressions of her, I only remember she was a very beautiful woman. She had many admirers, but in the end, she was arranged by her family to marry Gu Fengyan. Because it was a commercial marriage, they didn't develop any affection after marriage. Not long after giving birth to Hengzhi, she passed away."

Ji Linxue was startled, momentarily unsure whether to be surprised by Lu Yu and Gu Hengzhi's cousin relationship or by the fact that the woman in red was not Gu Hengzhi's biological mother.

"Gu Fengyan was very busy with work and rarely came home. Hengzhi could only contact him through the butler. When he was little, he was only happy when he came to play at my house. Other times, he stayed in that lifeless villa, only reading and reading."

Ji Linxue pursed his lips, as if he could picture the young Gu Hengzhi in his mind, staying in the quiet study, his dark eyes watching the sun rise and set, day after day.

The faint voice continued, "Later, his father married a young wife, his secretary Lin Muxin. Three years later, Lin Muxin's child was born, named Gu Zixi, and Hengzhi's relationship with them also became increasingly strained."

Lu Yu sighed. This was actually not a secret in high society, it was just that Ji Linxue's social circle was not high enough to inquire about it.

"This is all I can tell you. The rest, only he can tell you."

---

The first snow in S City only lasted for one day, and soon it melted, with temperatures briefly rising again.

Everyone's mood improved with the weather. The boys in the class agreed to play basketball with each other. After school, a group of them went to the gymnasium. Almost all the boys in Class 1 came.

Shen Shaoyan naturally wouldn't miss out. He dragged Gu Hengzhi and Lu Yu along too. Gu Hengzhi was a key player on the team and was highly sought after when dividing teams.

Gu Hengzhi, however, seemed a little absent-minded, occasionally looking outside the court, searching for a certain figure.

Shen Shaoyan followed his gaze. Many girls stood outside watching. Seeing them look over, they blushed and averted their eyes.

He bumped Gu Hengzhi's arm, "What are you looking at?"

Gu Hengzhi retracted his gaze, "Nothing."

The teams were divided. Gu Hengzhi and Lu Yu were on one team, and Shen Shaoyan was on the other.

The game quickly began. With the sound of the whistle, Gu Hengzhi jumped high, firmly controlling the ball in his palm. After landing, he immediately threw it to Lu Yu. Lu Yu dribbled the ball, broke out of the encirclement, and then immediately passed it to a teammate.

The basketball was passed back and forth between everyone's hands, so fast it was almost dazzling. Sneakers scuffed on the court, making sharp noises.

Until the end, Lu Yu passed the ball to Gu Hengzhi. The latter fended off Shen Shaoyan's defense, made a three-step layup, and neatly put the ball into the hoop.

Lu Yu high-fived him, "What are you thinking about? You seem a little distracted."

When he threw the ball over earlier, Gu Hengzhi was clearly stunned for a moment. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and caught it in time.

Gu Hengzhi's face was sullen, "Nothing."

Lu Yu glanced at Shen Shaoyan, who was eavesdropping with his ears perked, and shrugged.

Accompanied by cheers from outside the court, the scores of the two teams were tightly tied, neck and neck. Usually, Gu Hengzhi's team would be far ahead of the other team, but today was clearly different.

Shen Shaoyan propped himself on his knees, panting, "Heng Ge, what's wrong with you today? You're playing so sluggishly. Are you still sick?"

"I'm fine now," Gu Hengzhi glanced outside the court, "Maybe I'm hungry."

When Ji Linxue entered, the spectator stands outside were already full. He sat in the back row. The girl next to him turned her head, her tone familiar, "Why aren't you playing? You're so good at archery, you should be good at basketball too, right?"

Ji Linxue recognized her as a classmate from Class 1. Since her tone was kind, she was probably just asking out of curiosity. He honestly replied, "I'm not good at basketball."

Just as he finished speaking, Gu Hengzhi seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up.

Upon seeing a certain person in the crowd, the expression on his face immediately relaxed. He dodged the defense of several opponents, bent his knees slightly, and jumped high.

*Thud—*

The ball went in.

This shot seemed to open a switch. For the rest of the game, Shen Shaoyan barely touched the ball. Gu Hengzhi's offense became significantly fiercer, sweeping across the entire court like a tornado.

After the last three-point swish in the first half, Shen Shaoyan truly wanted to slap himself twice, *That's what you get for running your mouth!*

"Heng Ge, please stop showing off. The roof of the gym is about to be blown off by their screams."

Other teammates also laughed in agreement,

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Give us a break!"

"You're already so handsome, just let us have a chance to show off!"

Gu Hengzhi laughed, "Alright, we'll switch players in the second half. I'm not playing."

"Now that's more like it."

During halftime, the team members dispersed. Some drank water, some wiped sweat. Shen Shaoyan happily took the bottled water his girlfriend gave him. Just as he took a sip, he saw Gu Hengzhi walking directly towards the back row of the spectator stands.

Following that direction, he saw Ji Linxue sitting among a group of girls and understood.

No wonder he suddenly played so fiercely just now. It's a man's competitive spirit, he understood.

While Shen Shaoyan was lost in thought, Gu Hengzhi had already walked over and sat next to Ji Linxue, "Want to play a game?"

Ji Linxue shook his head, "I can't."

"You can't even play basketball?" Gu Hengzhi frowned, then quickly relaxed, "I can teach you."

Ji Linxue's eyes were clear, "But I don't want to learn."

Gu Hengzhi was speechless, his words blocked. After a moment, he sneered, "A big man being so delicate."

Ji Linxue said, "I just don't like this kind of sport."

Gu Hengzhi looked at him puzzled.

"I don't like this kind," Ji Linxue lightly touched his arm, "sports that require physical contact."

He hated having intimate physical contact with people he wasn't familiar with, it made him feel very uncomfortable.

Perhaps because of this, others found him hard to approach. In his previous life, his classmates even gave him the nickname "High Mountain Flower."

Gu Hengzhi seemed to have finally unearthed his little secret, and he laughed with his arms crossed, "No wonder you like archery." Then he suddenly remembered, "Didn't you say you don't like physical contact with others? Why did you touch me just now?"

He deliberately used a very annoying tone, just to see how Ji Linxue would respond.

But Ji Linxue glanced at him, his expression serious, "With friends, I won't resist." The subtext was, *I thought we were already friends.*

Gu Hengzhi's casual smile instantly vanished. The chair beneath his butt felt not like a solid material, but uneven pebbles, making him feel a little restless. His heart also pounded in his chest, suspended in the air because of that sentence.

He placed his fist to his lips and coughed lightly, then his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, "...Oh."

Chapter List:

Comments Box