Chapter 23, Going Home
"How did you find this place?"
The man's voice was like an ice pick, chilling Su Muqing's excited heart to the core.
She gripped the bag in her hand, her voice hoarse, "I came to bring you hangover medicine. You're drunk."
"I don't need it," he scoffed, "Don't be so hypocritical in front of me, putting on an act."
Gu Hengzhi's eyes were sharp. All traces of drunkenness on his face vanished in that instant, he didn't look like he'd had a single drink.
Su Muqing, who had been thinking of doing something while he was drunk, instantly dismissed the idea. Yet, she had clearly seen Gu Hengzhi unable to walk steadily just moments ago...
Su Muqing whispered, "Aren't you drunk?"
Gu Hengzhi sneered.
He wasn't drunk, just a little dizzy from the alcohol.
His earlier actions were half-true, half-false, simply to achieve his own purpose.
He couldn't be bothered to waste more words with her and intended to close the door. Su Muqing quickly propped the door open, saying eagerly, "Wait, I still have something to say!"
Gu Hengzhi paused his door-closing motion. Just as she thought things might take a turn, the next second, Gu Hengzhi effortlessly pushed her hand away and threw her out the door, "I don't want to hear it."
The door slammed shut in front of her face. Su Muqing almost hit her nose on the door panel and couldn't help but grit her teeth, "Gu Hengzhi! You're despicable!"
She threw the bag containing the hangover medicine onto the ground and stormed off angrily.
From childhood until now, she had never suffered such humiliation!
It's just Gu Hengzhi! Sooner or later, she would make Gu Hengzhi love her unconditionally!
Su Muqing walked to the elevator entrance. Before she could press the button, the elevator doors suddenly opened in front of her.
Neither of them expected to encounter the other. They froze for a second, nodded at each other, then one came out and the other went in.
Su Muqing took the elevator downstairs. Watching the numbers steadily decrease, Ji Linxue had a bad feeling. Why would Su Muqing suddenly come to a hotel?
Her intentions were clear to everyone. Now that Gu Hengzhi was drunk, it was hard to say if his mind was clear.
But seeing Su Muqing's angry expression just now, it was clear she hadn't succeeded.
After figuring it out, Ji Linxue relaxed. He walked to the suite door and found a bag of medicine on the floor.
It was all hangover medicine, a box of each brand. Ji Linxue picked it up and dusted it off.
The room's power card and access card weren't the same. He used the key card from his pocket to open the room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Gu Hengzhi lying on the bed not far away, holding his forehead, looking very uncomfortable.
"What's wrong? Still feeling very unwell?" Ji Linxue walked over and gently massaged his temples. The pressure was very gentle. "I asked the hotel to make hangover soup. It'll be sent up shortly."
Gu Hengzhi seemed to have just woken up. His long arms spread out, and he instinctively pulled Ji Linxue into his embrace, rubbing against his chest.
Ji Linxue's movements paused. He reached out and pushed the person off him.
"Su Muqing just came?"
Gu Hengzhi opened his hazy eyes and gently hummed in affirmation.
"She's annoying. I drove her away."
Ji Linxue had no doubt about Gu Hengzhi's dislike for her. Su Muqing was unlikable in the original novel, not to mention he had learned about Su Muqing's campus bullying from Gu Hengzhi.
However, Su Muqing was easy to guard against. But what if Gu Hengzhi himself wanted to go to a club to find someone? What could he do about that?
As a friend, it was hard for him to offer advice.
Ji Linxue fell into contemplation, completely unaware that the person on the bed had quietly sat up and leaned closer.
Warm breath brushed against his ear, causing a tingling sensation. The strong scent of alcohol filled his nostrils.
Before Ji Linxue could react, he was suddenly pushed down onto the bed.
If it were anyone else making such a move, he would have already kicked them away. But before him was a confused drunkard.
Gu Hengzhi pressed down on him, slowly leaning in.
"Gu Hengzhi."
The voice, laced with coldness, instantly froze him in place, "Look clearly at who I am."
Gu Hengzhi tilted his head, his eyes gradually clearing, "Xiaoxue?"
Ji Linxue frowned, "Let go."
When he put on a cold face, he was quite intimidating. At least Gu Hengzhi didn't dare to cause any more trouble. He could only reluctantly release his hold, his tone slightly sour, "Are you starting to dislike me?"
The weight on him lightened. Ji Linxue sat up, feeling bewildered by his words, "Why would I dislike you?"
"Then why are you in such a hurry to go home?" Gu Hengzhi's throat moved, his eyes bloodshot.
He had a premonition that Ji Linxue wanted to distance himself from them.
His thoughts exposed, Ji Linxue's face showed a momentary awkwardness. He had indeed thought about going their separate ways after the college entrance exam and no longer keeping in touch.
After all, he had already helped Gu Hengzhi avoid the crucial turning point. He didn't want to get too involved in the matters between Gu Hengzhi and Bai Chutang. But Su Muqing's appearance today reminded him.
It wasn't something he could avoid just by not wanting to participate. The plot would always continue in unexpected ways. With Su Muqing interfering, Gu Hengzhi and Bai Chutang's relationship was destined to be rocky, and it might even affect him again.
"I miss my parents," Ji Linxue randomly made up an excuse. "You smell of alcohol right now, don't come near me."
Gu Hengzhi's movement to lean closer involuntarily stopped, "You really do dislike me."
Ji Linxue's eyes narrowed slightly, his thin lips parting, "Who told you to drink so much?"
Gu Hengzhi sniffed himself, his face looking disgusted, "I'm going to take a shower."
Ji Linxue stopped him, "You just drank alcohol, you can't shower."
Gu Hengzhi's face alternated between green and black, changing spectacularly.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Ji Linxue opened the door. The waiter brought in the hangover soup, keeping his gaze straight ahead the whole time.
He left after delivering the soup. Ji Linxue took off his jacket and draped it over the sofa.
"You obediently drink the hangover soup, and then go to sleep after you finish it."
Gu Hengzhi was unwilling, "I want to shower."
Ji Linxue gave him a look, and Gu Hengzhi immediately became docile, "Fine, I won't shower. Why are you so fierce?"
His wronged expression only appeared when he was drunk, making him much cuter than usual. Ji Linxue wanted to laugh but managed to hold it back, "You think I'm fierce?"
Gu Hengzhi didn't dare to speak.
Ji Linxue waited until he had finished the soup and fallen asleep on the bed before returning to his own room.
In the dorm WeChat group, Shen Shaoyan was going crazy.
[Silence is Golden : Where are you all? Why aren't you back in the dorm yet???]
[Silence is Golden : [video.gif]]
[Silence is Golde : I'm in a space by myself~ lonely, isolated, and cold~]
Ji Linxue felt he was too pathetic alone and typed a reply,
[X : Where's Lu Yu? Isn't he with you?]
[X : We won't be coming back tonight.]
After sending those two messages, he glanced into the adjacent room. Gu Hengzhi was already asleep on the bed, his lips curved in relaxation, sleeping very soundly.
Fatigue gradually washed over his body. Ji Linxue placed his phone on the bedside table and soon fell into a deep sleep.
***
After the college entrance exam, there was a long two-month summer vacation.
Ji Linxue returned to A City as planned. His parents didn't ask him how he performed on the exam, happily preparing a large table of dishes for him.
His mother pulled him close, looking him over, saying tenderly, "Finally, the exams are over. Look at our Linlin's face, he's gotten so thin."
Linlin was Ji Linxue's pet name. They used to call him that often when he was little, but rarely did so after he grew up.
Ji Linxue touched his face, "No way, Mom, that's just your imagination."
Although he was frugal, he never skimped on necessities. Not to mention, he had Shen Shaoyan, a food lover, in the dorm, who often took them out to eat all sorts of things.
"What imagination? Every day I worried you weren't eating well over there, and you wouldn't even take the living expenses we offered."
His mother tidied his clothes, thinking that having too sensible a son wasn't always good. She looked at other people's children, who were finding ways to get money from home, but her son, no matter what she said, wouldn't take the family's money.
"I have money," Ji Linxue said helplessly. "You should keep this money yourselves. Giving it to me is not as good as buying a few more clothes."
"You rascal," his mother chuckled, scolding him playfully. "Old Ji, come here and look, our son seems to have grown taller again. He's even taller than you now."
His father walked out of the study. He adjusted the glasses on his nose and sighed, "He is taller."
When he first entered high school, Ji Linxue was just about 1.8 meters tall. Now, he was already 1.85 meters.
His mother remembered something and said, "Before, there was a young man who came to ask where Linlin was. He was also very tall, about the same height as Linlin now, maybe even 1.9 meters now."
Ji Linxue was puzzled for a few seconds, "Who came looking for me?"
"Didn't I tell you?" His mother slapped her head, realizing. "It was so long ago, I forgot. It was when you first went to Deyin for school. That young man came to our house and asked me why you didn't report to No. 1 High School. I told him you went to study in another city, and he never came again."
Ji Linxue searched his memory and only found one person, but this didn't seem like something that person would do, "Did he have any obvious distinguishing features?"
His mother said, "That young man was quite tall and handsome. His skin wasn't fair, his eyebrows were very dark. Oh, and he had a long scar on his hand."
It really was him.
Ji Linxue felt a pang of emotion. In his first year of junior high, he and this person were in the same class.
At that time, he was the class monitor, and the other person was the class troublemaker, not only having poor grades but also loving to fight.
He tried to manage him a few times, but finding it useless, he stopped bothering. However, the other person always liked to cause him trouble.
They were all minor things. Ji Linxue chose to ignore them.
Seeing that he wouldn't react, the person finally quieted down. Near graduation, Ji Linxue heard others say that the troublemaker had started studying seriously. Everyone around was betting on how long he could last.
Ji Linxue didn't take the matter to heart. He went to Deyin for high school, only returning during winter and summer vacations.
Even when he returned, he stayed cooped up indoors, and he hadn't encountered a single junior high classmate in these past few years.
He didn't expect the other person to come looking for him at his home.
"What, is he a very good friend of yours?" His mother eagerly gossiped.
Ji Linxue said, "Mom, you're overthinking it. I'm not familiar with him."
"Not familiar, yet he knows where our house is? And comes to find you at home?" His mother pouted. That boy's face changed when he heard Linlin went to study in another city, he was clearly very sad. "He cares about you so much, you can't treat him like that."
Ji Linxue couldn't help but chuckle, "Okay, okay, I'll contact him right away."
In reality, he didn't even have the other person's contact information, not just for this person, but for other classmates from his junior high class either.
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