Chapter 44 - Are you gay?
The next day, when Ji Linxue and Gu Hengzhi went over, Grandma Bai's condition was already stable, and she had been transferred to a regular ward.
As they walked to the ward door, a sharp cry entered their ears.
Ji Linxue glanced at Gu Hengzhi. Seeing him nod, he reached out and knocked on the door. The sound inside immediately stopped. After a moment, a clear young female voice said, "Come in."
Only then did the two walk in. Hospital beds were tight, and there were three people living in one ward. At this time, the other two beds were empty, but their belongings were still there, so they should have gone out.
Bai Chutang was sitting on a stool next to the bed, tightly holding Grandma Bai's hand. Both of their eyes were red, showing signs of having cried.
Bai Chutang forced a smile, "Linxue ge, Hengzhi ge, you're here."
Grandma Bai was half-lying on the bed, her face weak, "I've wasted your time again. This old body of mine is always causing you trouble. I'd rather be dead."
"Grandma!" Tears welled up in Bai Chutang's eyes, "Didn't I just say not to say things like that? You still have me and Chuyun. What would we do without you? This time will definitely be like last time, you'll get better soon."
Ji Linxue also felt uncomfortable, "Grandma Bai, don't say that. We didn't have anything else to do anyway. You just focus on your treatment in the hospital, and we'll figure out the rest."
Grandma Bai shook her head, saying dejectedly, "The medical expenses are too expensive. Chutang and Chuyun still have to go to school. I absolutely cannot be a burden to them. I don't want to stay here, I'd better go home."
Saying this, she propped herself up to sit on the bed.
However, the next second, her hand was pressed down by Bai Chutang, "Grandma! I have a way to handle the medical expenses, don't move anymore, just rest here."
"Where did you get so much money?" A bad guess surfaced in Grandma Bai's heart. She said fiercely, "You are not allowed to do anything illegal, or I won't live."
"Don't worry, Grandma, it's absolutely from a legitimate source."
She coaxed her a few more times, and only then did Grandma Bai believe her words. Bai Chutang had always been sensible and had never lied before.
It was Ji Linxue, instead, who kept looking at Bai Chutang stealthily. Grandma Bai's illness was very serious, basically a bottomless pit, costing at least hundreds of thousands. Bai Chutang was a high school student in her first year, usually only earning money through part-time jobs. Where would she get so much money?
If it weren't for this, how could the proud and arrogant her in the original novel have agreed to Gu Hengzhi's unreasonable demands?
The more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong. After Grandma Bai fell asleep, Ji Linxue pulled her to the corridor and asked in a low voice,
"Tell me honestly, where did the money come from?"
Bai Chutang subconsciously glanced towards the opposite side. After realizing what she was doing, she immediately withdrew her gaze, "Linxue ge, why don't you believe me? To tell you the truth, there's actually a foundation that learned about our family's situation and is willing to sponsor us. Otherwise, where would I, a student, get so much money?"
Ji Linxue noticed her glance just now, clearly looking in Gu Hengzhi's direction, but he pretended not to see it, as if he accepted Bai Chutang's explanation.
On the way back from the hospital, the car was very quiet. Ji Linxue sat in the passenger seat, lost in thought.
It wasn't until they encountered a red light and the car stopped that he spoke, "The medical expenses for Grandma Bai, did you sponsor them?"
Gu Hengzhi seemed to have expected this. There was no hint of guilt in his expression, "No."
Actually, it wasn't completely his help. The company recently established a public welfare foundation, and one of its projects was to sponsor impoverished students. At most, he helped Bai Chutang secure a spot and provided some extra subsidies.
Ji Linxue didn't speak.
Gu Hengzhi glanced to the side and added the next sentence, "It was sponsored by Hengchuan Technology's public welfare foundation."
Ji Linxue raised an eyebrow in surprise. This foundation was not mentioned in the original novel.
Gu Hengzhi explained the whole matter in detail, adding, "And Bai Chutang's future university expenses will also be covered by the foundation, of course, if she gets accepted."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
The green light turned on, and Gu Hengzhi stepped on the accelerator, "I didn't want you to thank me for other people's business."
His tone was clearly very plain, but Ji Linxue somehow sensed a strange feeling from it.
Like... jealousy?
But Ji Linxue quickly dismissed this idea. Gu Hengzhi was always bold. He even dared to say such shameless things last time. If he liked him, how could he not actively pursue him?
"Bai Chutang doesn't know about my relationship with Hengchuan, I told her not to tell you about this," Gu Hengzhi said.
Ji Linxue thought, no wonder Bai Chutang reacted like that. It's just that her acting was really poor, her eyes were so obvious, it was hard for him to pretend not to see it.
He didn't know if this counted as another point where the plot changed, but overall, the current situation had been moving in a good direction.
Over the next few days, Gu Hengzhi rarely went to the company. Ji Linxue asked him about it, and his explanation was that he had worked too hard this year and deserved a few days off.
Every morning, he would come to Ji Linxue's room like a big puppy, on time, calling him to get up and exercise together.
After coming back, Ji Linxue started making breakfast, and Gu Hengzhi would help him as his assistant.
The kitchen was filled with the aroma of food. Ji Linxue took a bite of freshly fried pumpkin fritter. The crispy, sweet shell and the soft, sweet filling inside were perfectly done.
He took the rest of the fritters out of the pan and placed them on a plate, then instinctively handed the one he had bitten to Gu Hengzhi to hold.
Originally, he wanted Gu Hengzhi to help him hold it, but who knew the other party didn't avoid it at all and directly took a bite from where he had bitten, saying sweetly, "Delicious."
Ji Linxue's eyes widened in surprise, watching as that piece of pumpkin pie was eaten cleanly by Gu Hengzhi.
"What's wrong?" Seeing his expression, Gu Hengzhi looked puzzled, as if completely unaware of his overstepping.
Ji Linxue felt somewhat indescribable in his heart. Whenever he felt Gu Hengzhi was very straight, Gu Hengzhi would use this intimate way. Whenever he felt it was ambiguous, Gu Hengzhi would resume his usual straight male appearance.
Besides pumpkin fritter, there was also soy milk, steamed buns, and filled buns for breakfast. The pumpkin fritters received unanimous praise, and even Lu Yu couldn't help but eat several.
After breakfast, Shen Shaoyan went back to his room and fell asleep immediately. If it weren't for wanting to eat breakfast, he would definitely have slept until noon. Lu Yu also returned to his room, apparently to continue reading.
For a while, only Ji Linxue and Gu Hengzhi were left in the living room. Just then, his phone rang. Ji Linxue returned to his room to answer the call and found it was Bai Chutang calling.
But when he answered, the voice was Bai Chuyun's.
"What's wrong?"
Bai Chuyun spoke in a hushed voice, trying hard to sound more mature, "Linxue ge, can you send me Hengzhi ge's WeChat? I have something I want to tell him."
Ji Linxue, "?"
What the hell is she scheming now?
He didn't expose her, intending to continue the conversation by following her lead, "What do you want his WeChat number for?"
"Didn't he help find the foundation for Grandma's medical expenses? I want to thank him properly later," Bai Chuyun's tone became anxious, occasionally glancing outside the door.
If her sister's WeChat wasn't locked, how would she do something so risky? Sending a message was safer than calling.
"Grandma hasn't recovered yet, the thanking can wait until later," Ji Linxue guessed Bai Chuyun's intention, then sent over his small WeChat account number, "This is his account."
Bai Chuyun was overjoyed, forgetting to even thank him, and hung up the phone in a hurry.
Ji Linxue shook his head. She still wanted to deceive people like this.
Half a minute later, a new message came on his small account. It was indeed a friend request from Bai Chuyun. She used her own account and immediately stated her identity—
【Bite of a Sweet Donut : Hello Hengzhi ge, I'm Bai Chuyun. Thank you for saving my grandma. I have something I want to tell you. Can you accept?】
Ji Linxue hadn't expected this side of her. She looked completely different from her appearance in reality.
Ji Linxue clicked accept, and the two successfully became friends. The next second, a new message popped up.
【Bite of a Sweet Donut : Good morning, Hengzhi ge!】
Ji Linxue didn't reply. He looked at the "Typing..." status opposite. Half a minute later, a message popped up again—
【Bite of a Sweet Donut : Actually, there's something I want to tell you】
【Bite of a Sweet Donut: My sister really likes you, but she's quite shy and doesn't dare to tell you [shy][shy]】
【Bite of a Sweet Donut : So I have to be the one to tell you! [excited][happy][spinning] Brother, what do you think of my sister? She's very diligent, has good grades, and is very smart too!】
Ji Linxue couldn't describe his feeling. He clearly knew that Bai Chutang was extremely busy right now and didn't have the mind for such things. This was definitely Bai Chuyun acting on her own, wanting to set up Bai Chutang and Gu Hengzhi.
But the plot in the original novel wouldn't lie.
Those two were originally the official couple. He was the one who didn't belong in this world.
Ji Linxue's lips tightened. He lightly tapped on the screen with his finger, typing and sending—
【x : I am Ji Linxue.】
There was no reply for a long time after the message was sent. Ji Linxue sent another one over and only then realized that he had been deleted.
Because of this little incident, he wasn't in a very good mood all morning. Gu Hengzhi clearly noticed his unusual state and kept trying to make him laugh.
"You don't need to bother with me like this," Ji Linxue looked at him helplessly, "It's rare for you to have a holiday, you should relax properly."
Gu Hengzhi shamelessly leaned over, saying eagerly, "If you're happy, I can relax too."
"Alright," Ji Linxue gave him a smile, "Is this okay?"
"Too fake."
Gu Hengzhi handed over the freshly brewed tea, "Be careful, it's hot."
Ji Linxue took it and took a small sip, "But people always have unhappy times. Do they need someone to coax them every time?"
"The point isn't whether you need it, but whether you are valued. How could someone who likes you not even have time for this?"
Ji Linxue was startled and looked up. Gu Hengzhi was holding the teapot, the tea pouring out in a smooth curve in the air, perfectly landing in the cup.
"Want more?"
Ji Linxue placed the cup on the table and shook his head, "No more."
Only then did Gu Hengzhi put down the teapot and begin to play with a jade porcelain teacup. Mist enveloped his features.
Looking at his superior profile, Ji Linxue's lips moved, and the words he had held back for a long time just came out like that.
"Gu Hengzhi, are you gay?"
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