Chapter 42 - Storm
"Nothing."
Gu Hengzhi lowered his eyes, gripping the box in his hand.
"The fish should have been sent back. If it's hard to handle, you can let the auntie do it."
Shen Shaoyan had hired a cleaning auntie for their home, who basically came to clean once a day.
"It's okay, I'll handle it." Ji Linxue felt somewhat baffled. He had a feeling that what Gu Hengzhi wanted to say wasn't this.
He waved at Gu Hengzhi, "Drive carefully on your way."
Watching the car drive away, Ji Linxue entered the elevator. His thoughts couldn't help but fall on the matter of Bai Chutang and Bai Chuyun.
In the original novel, Bai Chuyun had a terrible personality and was vain. After spending time with her today, Ji Linxue found that she seemed not to have changed much, showing no gratitude or respect towards her sister, Bai Chutang.
If the situation were allowed to develop like this, it would be hard not to repeat the same mistakes.
He must talk to Bai Chutang about this properly.
Lost in thought, Ji Linxue arrived at the apartment door. He pressed the fingerprint lock, pushed the door open, and startled Shen Shaoyan, who had come over hearing the noise.
"Why are you back so early!"
Ji Linxue, "?"
He looked at his watch, "It's almost ten now."
The subtext is – early?
"I thought you guys would stay out overnight," Shen Shaoyan muttered, "How was it today? Where did you go?"
In Shen Shaoyan's imagination, the two of them must have had a perfect date, like watching a movie, giving flowers, holding hands, kissing on the lips...
"It was fun, we went fishing."
Shen Shaoyan, "..."
Shen Shaoyan, "............?"
A mouthful of old blood was stuck in his throat. He doubted if he had heard wrong, "Fishing?"
Ji Linxue nodded, "Our fish should have been sent back, right?"
He went into the kitchen to look and indeed saw the familiar large basket. His tone was full of pride, "We caught over a hundred pounds in total."
Shen Shaoyan, "..."
He gave a thumbs-up. As expected of you guys, straight gay bros.
With such straight thinking, who would believe these two were gay?
Over the next few days, Shen Shaoyan finally experienced the terror of being dominated by fish. In the morning, it was crucian carp soup, chopped chili fish head.
In the afternoon, steamed fish, fried fish fillets. Ji Linxue tried out all the recipes related to fish, almost making Shen Shaoyan and Lu Yu throw up from eating too much fish.
In the end, Shen Shaoyan even reached the point where he would reflexively feel like throwing up just by hearing Lu Yu's name.
Because Lu Yu's name contained the character for "fish" (yu).
To not let Ji Linxue's efforts go to waste, Shen Shaoyan said that Gu Hengzhi hadn't tasted such deliciousness yet and volunteered to deliver food to him.
Carrying a large lunchbox, Shen Shaoyan went to Everlasting Creation Technology feeling refreshed. It was lunchtime, so there were very few people in the company. He strolled to Gu Hengzhi's office and placed the lunchbox on his desk.
"I've brought you a love lunch, aren't you going to thank me?"
Gu Hengzhi glanced at him, "What trap are you setting for me again?"
Being exposed instantly, Shen Shaoyan stomped his foot in exasperation, "What trap? This was made by Xiao Xue himself! If you don't believe me, fine, but don't you believe Xiao Xue?"
Gu Hengzhi signed his name on a document, his tone indifferent, "I believe him, but I don't believe you."
"To be honest, I really didn't set any trap for you, it's just that we can't eat anymore," Shen Shaoyan said tearfully, "Do you understand the feeling of having nothing but fish on the dinner table these past few days?"
"Now I feel like throwing up just seeing Lu Yu's name!"
Gu Hengzhi curled the corner of his lips. He opened the lunchbox. Ji Linxue made crucian carp soup for lunch. A few pieces of tender white fish floated in the milky white soup, garnished with red goji berries and tender green scallions, emitting a rich aroma that whetted the appetite.
Gu Hengzhi scooped a spoonful and put it in his mouth. The soup was fresh, fragrant, and rich, not fishy at all, with a hint of sweetness.
"It's delicious."
Shen Shaoyan covered his nose and mouth, saying with difficulty, "Don't say anymore, the more you talk, the more I feel like throwing up."
Gu Hengzhi ignored him, slowly finished the fish soup spoon by spoon.
Shen Shaoyan had already retreated outside the office door and only walked in after he finished eating, feeling relieved.
"I still need to take the thermal container back. How about I continue delivering food to you tonight?"
Originally, all this was his share. Ji Linxue said that if he dared to waste it, he wouldn't cook for him anymore. Fortunately, he was quick-witted and remembered Gu Hengzhi, so he volunteered to deliver food to him, thus escaping a disaster.
Gu Hengzhi wiped the corners of his lips with a napkin, "Okay."
Shen Shaoyan wanted to run off with the box but was called back by Gu Hengzhi, "Wait, I need your help with something else."
Shen Shaoyan became interested, "What is it?"
Gu Hengzhi cleared his throat, his tone cold and serious, "Can you help me see how to write this?"
Shen Shaoyan waved his hand, "You're asking me? That's like asking a monk to borrow a comb—you've asked the wrong person. I'm just a layabout who knows how to eat, drink, and play. How would I know about your work matters?"
"It's not a work matter."
"What is it then?" Shen Shaoyan became interested as soon as he heard this and leaned over to take a look—
On a pure white piece of paper, at the top was a line of flowing large characters, "A Letter to Ji Linxue".
Shen Shaoyan, "...?"
"Seriously, what era is it now? You're still writing this stuff? Isn't that tacky?"
While speechless, Shen Shaoyan also found it somewhat amusing. Gu Hengzhi writing a love letter! Combining these words together was absolutely hilarious!
Gu Hengzhi snatched the paper back, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can. He waited for him to finish laughing with a cold face, and said darkly, "Is it that funny?"
"Yeah! Isn't it funny? Hahahahaha—" Under his death stare, Shen Shaoyan gradually stopped laughing, "Ahem, actually, if you ask me, this method of yours is really too outdated. Xiao Xue definitely won't like it."
Gu Hengzhi didn't ask how Shen Shaoyan knew it was written to him, after all, he had never hidden his feelings for Ji Linxue.
He massaged his temples, feeling a bit resigned, "Then tell me what to do."
He had mocked Zhao Xinyuan for writing love letters back then. Now that the same thing was happening to him, Gu Hengzhi knew how difficult it was.
He could say anything else, but those four words (I like you or I love you), he just couldn't utter them.
"Of course, you should hold a grand party full of ceremony on an important day!" Shen Shaoyan said, "Ideally, there should also be a bouquet of flowers and a reliable helper."
He patted his chest, "Like me."
Gu Hengzhi expressed his speechlessness at his self-praise, but this suggestion was worth considering.
Ji Linxue's birthday was just around the corner.
Shen Shaoyan volunteered to help book the venue and prepare the flowers, being reliable for once.
Gu Hengzhi entrusted this matter entirely to him. Shen Shaoyan changed his usual flashy style and did it properly.
Soon it was time for the summer vacation. Ji Linxue went back to A City and discussed the exchange student program with his parents. This was an opportunity to broaden his horizons. After seeing the announcement posted on the school's official website, he filled out the application materials and submitted them.
Some time ago, he received a reply from the school saying his application was approved, and he would go to Country A for exchange study next semester. This was something he definitely had to tell his parents.
Ji Linxue's parents supported his decision as always. After packing his things, Ji Linxue returned to C City.
He didn't know if he was too sensitive, but after returning, he felt that Shen Shaoyan looked at him strangely, with an unusually enthusiastic gaze.
One day he finally couldn't help but ask Shen Shaoyan, but the other party covered his mouth tightly and refused to say anything.
Ji Linxue had to ask Lu Yu, but Lu Yu was also confused. He spent every day in the library and had no idea what was happening.
A shocking major event also happened during this time.
Su Muqing became famous online.
By the time Ji Linxue knew about it, the matter had reached a heated stage. He rarely went online. It was when Shen Shaoyan casually mentioned it during dinner, saying Su Muqing was finished this time.
"What happened to Su Muqing?" he asked, puzzled.
Shen Shaoyan was very surprised, "Didn't you check the high school group chat?"
Ji Linxue shook his head. He had forgotten about this group chat. When his classmates pulled him in back then, the group was very lively and kept sending messages, so he had set the notifications to do not disturb.
"Then you really missed a big event," Shen Shaoyan said in a heavy tone, "Didn't Su Muqing go to No. 1 High School before transferring? Her former classmates exposed her online with their real names, saying she had been leading bullying against a girl. Later, that girl jumped off a building and died. The school suppressed the matter, which is why Su Muqing transferred to Deyin."
Ji Linxue had already heard about this from Gu Hengzhi, his expression unable to hide his surprise.
This incident never happened in the original novel. This was the only variable that was not under his control since he transmigrated.
He quickly asked, "And then?"
"Then the internet exploded, of course. Now on social media platforms, like Weibo and such, they're all discussing this matter. The high school group chat is also talking about it. It's been lively for several days. I thought you knew," Shen Shaoyan said.
Ji Linxue quickly took out his phone, downloaded Weibo, and clicked in at the fastest speed. He wasn't very familiar with this app, so he had to ask Shen Shaoyan to find the entry point.
On the hot search list, the first entry was indeed a hashtag related to this matter.
【S City High School Girl Jumps Off Building After Being Bullied】
He clicked on this hashtag. The top was a trending Weibo post detailing the entire process of the incident, but Su Muqing's name was replaced with "Ms. Su".
The comments were completely one-sided, cursing Su Muqing.
【Seriously disgusting. After watching that video, I feel this girl is so pitiful. She was beaten and verbally abused every day, even stripped naked, and no one helped her】
【Reply to the above, no one dared to help at all. I'm from this school. The Su family is particularly rich. If she targets you, you're finished】
【A few days ago, all the hot searches were removed, and posts were deleted. Now they're finally reaping what they sow, let's see if you can delete all of these :)】
【I speak out for XXX, when the matter first came out, there were still many paid commenters helping the bullies speak up. It's truly sickening. Why does the victim have to be perfect while the bully can gain everyone's favor over a small matter?】
After reading these comments, Ji Linxue finally straightened out the entire sequence of events.
Initially, someone came forward with their real name to expose it, but it wasn't widely spread. And the Su family had well-informed connections, so they immediately started public relations, first suppressing hot searches and removing them, then deleting posts and censoring.
Who knew it had the opposite effect? Not only did it fail to block the news, but it also gained greater attention for the matter, to the point where it was almost universally known now.
With the Su family's capabilities, it was impossible for them not to be able to suppress such a small matter, unless someone was pushing it from behind.
If it were the Su family's rivals, they wouldn't use this move. The person who got into trouble was Su Muqing. While it would affect the Su family's foundation, it wouldn't be significant, at most causing a small splash.
Ji Linxue carefully analyzed it and found that the person behind the scenes clearly wanted to target Su Muqing personally.
Su Muqing was arrogant and spoiled, but she understood the stakes in the business world. If it were someone she couldn't afford to offend, she would put on a well-behaved and sensible facade. Even if others didn't like her, they wouldn't resort to such deadly measures.
Unless this person was...
The name in his heart was about to be spoken. Ji Linxue lowered his eyes and took a sip of the water cup in front of him.
Shen Shaoyan tutted next to him, "It's truly satisfying! I couldn't stand her for a long time. She used to keep pestering me, asking me to set her up with Heng ge. It was so annoying."
Ji Linxue paused in drinking his water.
The matter of Su Muqing would definitely not be resolved so easily. The criminal law in this world was very strict. If the charges were established, she would definitely go to prison for a few years. Without the meddling of the villainess, the romance plotline would likely not have any major twists and turns.
Then, his role as a supporting male character could be considered successfully completed.
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