Chapter 12, Just Friends
In March, the weather gradually warmed up. Grass grew, orioles flew, and spring was in full bloom.
Su Muqing didn't give up pestering Gu Hengzhi, but she had become smarter. She no longer tried to aggressively approach Gu Hengzhi, choosing instead a subtle, nurturing approach, first infiltrating their small group.
The breakthrough point was Shen Shaoyan. Shen Shaoyan looked like he had a bad temper, but in reality, he was very easy to talk to. Su Muqing only needed to sweet-talk him a little, and he would let go of past grievances and accept her.
Lu Yu even suggested he change his name to "Shen Simple."
With the good weather, more people were playing basketball. Ji Linxue didn't join the game but sat on the sidelines, helping them watch their belongings.
In the past, he would sit alone, but this time, Su Muqing was beside him.
Su Muqing bought a large bag of water, and as soon as halftime began, she enthusiastically went up to them, handing a bottle to everyone.
Everyone happily accepted, and some, not afraid of stirring trouble, teased, "Heng Ge, we're all benefiting from your presence."
Gu Hengzhi didn't respond, not even glancing at Su Muqing. He brushed her hand away and walked up to Ji Linxue.
"Where's my water?"
Ji Linxue, "?"
He honestly said, "I didn't buy your share."
Gu Hengzhi ignored him, took the mineral water bottle next to him, and effortlessly twisted open the cap.
"This is mine." Ji Linxue had just said this when he saw Gu Hengzhi take a sip from the bottle, so he had no choice but to swallow the rest of his words.
The smile on Su Muqing's face almost slipped. She tightly gripped the bottle in her hand, squeezing it until it was almost deformed.
"Here!"
Shen Shaoyan took the water Su Muqing shoved at him. He had initially wanted to say something sarcastic, but noticed her clenched jaw and ugly expression, and silently swallowed his words.
Ji Linxue inexplicably became Gu Hengzhi's shield. Whenever Su Muqing was present, Gu Hengzhi would automatically go to Ji Linxue, using him as an excuse.
This also led to Su Muqing's impression of Ji Linxue getting worse and worse. When she saw him, she almost never had a pleasant look on her face.
Ji Linxue didn't care about Su Muqing's opinion of him. These past few days, he had been recalling the plot from the original novel, because he suddenly remembered that the incident was not far off.
The book mentioned it happened on a certain day in the second semester of sophomore year. Although no specific date was given, it should be soon.
Days passed routinely. With the arrival of spring, the greenery outside the windows became lush. On Thursday, Teacher Chen announced good news in class, the school would organize a spring outing on the weekend, and everyone was asked to gather at the school gate on time.
Deyin organized such an event every spring, and everyone was very excited, eagerly packing their bags.
Ji Linxue watched Shen Shaoyan pack two entire suitcases. Noticing his puzzled look, Shen Shaoyan explained, "We're staying there for a whole weekend. We leave after class on Friday and come back Sunday afternoon, so we need to bring a change of clothes."
"I know," Ji Linxue still didn't understand, "But why are you bringing so many irrelevant things?"
Shen Shaoyan followed his pointed direction. It was a cute rabbit doll with large, innocent eyes.
He quickly flipped the clothes underneath to completely cover the doll, "You saw nothing."
"Looks familiar," Lu Yu interjected, "It should be from one of his ex-girlfriends. He sleeps with it every day, it's become a habit."
When the two left, Shen Shaoyan dug out the doll and pouted, "You were the one who won it for me."
"What are you muttering about?"
Shen Shaoyan quickly put his things away, "When did you come back?"
Gu Hengzhi leaned against the desk, "I've been in the dorm the whole time."
Seeing that he seemed to have something to say, Shen Shaoyan pulled out a stool and motioned for the other to sit down.
Gu Hengzhi said, "I have something I want to ask you."
Shen Shaoyan's eyes lit up, "About relationships?"
Gu Hengzhi narrowed his eyes, "Not what you're thinking."
"So boring," Shen Shaoyan sighed, "I thought this old tree of yours was finally going to bloom."
Gu Hengzhi didn't speak. Shen Shaoyan asked again, "About whom?"
"I came to ask you, not for you to pry into my privacy."
"Then just say it..." Shen Shaoyan felt quite miserable.
Gu Hengzhi didn't know how to describe it.
He recalled the boy's appearance, calm, composed, always with his back straight, like a lush, tall bamboo. Though seemingly aloof and proud, he was gentle and upright within.
Ji Linxue was a very special person.
After a long silence, Gu Hengzhi finally spoke, "What would be the reason for disliking someone right after meeting them?"
"Dislike?" Shen Shaoyan said earnestly, "Heng Ge, do you finally realize how punchable you are?"
Gu Hengzhi squeezed his knuckles, making a cracking sound.
Shen Shaoyan didn't dare to act up, and honestly said, "There are many reasons. Maybe the first impression wasn't good, or maybe they heard things about the person before and had an opinion of them."
Gu Hengzhi considered that he hadn't done anything heinous, and even his reputation outside wasn't irrevocably bad. Moreover, Ji Linxue usually only read books or did exercises, never compared himself to others, and treated everyone equally.
So, why would such a calm, gentle person, who could tolerate everything like water, dislike him at their first meeting?
What exactly was Ji Linxue's motive for approaching him?
Seeing him deep in thought, Shen Shaoyan patted his shoulder, "It's okay to be disliked. Be brave in pursuing love like me, and you'll win them over eventually!"
Gu Hengzhi's mouth twitched, "I don't like them."
Aside from Ji Linxue being a man, even if he were a woman, it would be impossible for him to fall for him.
At most, they were just ordinary roommates.
Shen Shaoyan had no idea if the "them" was male or female, and preemptively assumed it was a girl. He said enthusiastically, "How can one give up so easily! Let me give you some advice. I'm a professional love strategist... Hey, Heng Ge, don't leave!"
Friday afternoon arrived in a flash. After school, everyone gathered at the school gate, queuing up to board the bus to their destination.
Seats were arranged by class. Excluding those who were absent, the number of students in each class was small, so basically one bus could be filled.
Ji Linxue and Shen Shaoyan sat together, with Gu Hengzhi and Lu Yu in the row behind them. Because the journey was quite long, Shen Shaoyan initially had the energy to talk, but soon succumbed to drowsiness and fell asleep.
Ji Linxue turned his head to look out the window. The bus drove all the way to the suburbs. The surrounding high-rise buildings gradually turned into flat, desolate land. As night fell, they finally reached their destination.
The destination of the spring outing was a hot spring resort hotel in the suburbs, with good privacy and beautiful surroundings. Everyone would spend two days and two nights here.
Rooms were assigned according to dorm lists. It should have been two twin rooms, but the attendant led them to the door of a luxurious suite.
Ji Linxue looked at the room card and honestly said, "Did you give us the wrong room card?"
The attendant maintained a polite smile, "Hello, no mistake here."
Shen Shaoyan laughed and put his arm around his shoulder, "Don't you know this resort is owned by the Gu family?"
Ji Linxue looked at Gu Hengzhi, whose expression was calm. He opened the room door and said to Shen Shaoyan, "Want to stand in the hallway all night?"
Shen Shaoyan quickly pulled his two large suitcases and squeezed in, "No, no, the car ride wore me out."
Ji Linxue and Lu Yu followed him in.
The suite was very spacious. There were four bedrooms alone. The room was split into two floors. The first floor had a separate gym and a private cinema, with all facilities available. The second floor had a semi-open balcony, from which one could see the lighted garden not far away, the view was excellent.
Shen Shaoyan chose a room on the second floor, Lu Yu stayed next to him, and Ji Linxue and Gu Hengzhi stayed on the first floor.
After the rooms were assigned, some were washing up, others were organizing their luggage. As Ji Linxue left the second-floor balcony, he glanced outside. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt that the figure in the garden looked somewhat familiar.
He didn't think much about it, went back to his room, took a shower, and soon lay down in bed and fell asleep.
The next morning, the teacher notified them in the group to go to the cafeteria for breakfast. Breakfast was a typical fare of soy milk, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns. After breakfast, the school organized group activities.
The first round was a tug-of-war competition, the second was a three-legged race, and the third was a bit more novel, the teacher hid small treasure chests containing points throughout the garden, letting students search for them on a first-come, first-served basis.
Finally, the person with the most points would receive corresponding prizes based on their ranking.
Shen Shaoyan was eager to try. As soon as the teacher said "start," he rushed out, pulling Lu Yu along.
Ji Linxue stood still. He looked at the person next to him, "Aren't you going to look?"
Gu Hengzhi was wearing headphones, leaning against a tree, "Boring. Don't want to go."
Ji Linxue ignored him and leisurely entered the garden.
The garden was large, and the trees grew very lushly. It was hard to encounter other classmates once inside. Over two hundred people were like small drops of water merging into a river, untraceable.
Ji Linxue wandered around and found a treasure chest on the branch of a small tree. Just as he stood on his tiptoes to reach it, a soft, sweet voice came from behind him.
"Gege, what are you doing?"
Ji Linxue took down the treasure chest, turned his head, and saw Gu Zixi looking at him with his head tilted, his eyes full of confusion.
Last night's feeling was not an illusion, Gu Zixi was indeed here.
"Why are you here?"
Gu Zixi honestly said, "Mama brought me to play."
Ji Linxue's step, which had been about to walk over, paused, "Your mother is here too?"
"Mama went to soak in the hot springs and told me to play here."
The resort's security measures were very strict, only guests could enter, and there were surveillance cameras everywhere in the hotel, which is why Lin Muxin felt so at ease leaving Gu Zixi here.
"Gege, you still haven't answered me. What is this?" Gu Zixi pointed to the object in his hand.
Ji Linxue said, "This is a prop for a game. I'm looking for this box."
"Okay." Gu Zixi suddenly pulled out an identical box from behind him, smiling, "Actually, I found one too. Is my brother playing the game too? Why isn't he with you?"
Ji Linxue didn't say that Gu Hengzhi didn't want to play such a childish game, only saying, "He's resting outside."
Gu Zixi picked at the lid of the box, his expression forlorn, "Then can you give this to him for me? It's no use to me..."
Ji Linxue lowered his eyes, "If you want to give it to him, you can go yourself."
"He won't want to see me," Gu Zixi pouted, his fair little face puffed up, "I don't want to make Gege angry."
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