Chapter 46 - Take a Good Look
Ji Linxue slept on the plane. When he opened his eyes again, it was still dark, but the scenery outside the window indicated that he had arrived in another country.
Two hours later, the plane landed successfully at the airport. Ji Linxue was unfamiliar with the place, so he could only choose to take a taxi to the school. He had applied for a dormitory in advance. After completing the procedures, he pulled his suitcase and walked towards the accommodation area.
The streets were a completely different scene from back home. The people coming and going had blonde hair and blue eyes, all unfamiliar faces.
Ji Linxue's chest felt empty. Thinking of his friends and family back home, the feeling of longing instantly reached its peak.
But he didn't regret it. Gains come with a price. If he wanted to experience a new life and a new environment, he had to spend time adapting.
After tidying up everything, Ji Linxue finally mustered the courage to turn on his phone.
He hadn't told Shen Shaoyan and the others about the exchange student program until he was about to leave, when he left a letter at home. At the time, he hadn't thought too much, purely not wanting to see a sad parting scene, and it wasn't like they wouldn't see each other again.
Thinking of this, Ji Linxue turned on his phone screen. Instantly, countless messages flooded in, accompanied by message notification sounds, ringing non-stop, almost causing his phone to freeze.
Ji Linxue looked at the hundreds of missed calls on his phone in surprise. Some were from Gu Hengzhi, some were from Shen Shaoyan and Lu Yu, but most were from Gu Hengzhi.
He had specifically left them a letter, precisely to avoid this kind of thing. Did they not see it and think he had disappeared?
Thinking of this, he quickly called back, but got the notification that the other party's phone was busy. Shen Shaoyan's phone was also turned off.
Ji Linxue's brow twitched slightly. He opened WeChat, and likewise, there was a pile of messages, all asking why he had suddenly gone abroad.
After hesitating for a moment, he composed a message and sent it.
【x: Sorry, I didn't tell you in advance. Don't worry about me, I'm doing well here.】
After sending the message, he waited by his phone for a while, but none of them replied. It wasn't until noon that Shen Shaoyan finally replied slowly.
【SilenceisGolden : It's okay, I just felt it was too sudden. You should talk properly to Heng ge, he's the one who misses you the most.】
After sending this message, Shen Shaoyan silently glanced at the closed office, his heart filled with worry.
This time, even he, an outsider, couldn't stand it. Both parties clearly had feelings, but they insisted on being so awkward, hesitating even to confess.
If it were him, he would have two kids by now.
The phone chimed, receiving a new message. Shen Shaoyan opened it and saw that Ji Linxue had replied.
【x: I understand, thank you.】
Click—
The sound of a door opening came from not far away. Shen Shaoyan looked up and said hesitantly: "Heng ge..."
Gu Hengzhi draped his suit jacket over his arm, his hair slightly messy. Noticing Shen Shaoyan's pitiful gaze, his voice was slightly cold: "Don't look at me with that expression. I'm not dead yet."
“I’m just worried you’d do something drastic.”
The confession ceremony he had meticulously prepared all day had gone to waste. Who wouldn't take it hard? If he encountered such a thing, Shen Shaoyan felt he might jump up and down in anger.
“I’m not thinking about doing anything drastic.”
The second his words fell, his phone rang from his pocket.
Shen Shaoyan watched as his face almost instantly froze. Gu Hengzhi pursed his lower lip, took out his phone, looked at the name on the screen, his eyes complex.
"Who is it?" Shen Shaoyan leaned over curiously, guessing, "It wouldn't be Xiao Xue, would it?"
Indeed, the familiar name was on the screen.
Shen Shaoyan rubbed his nose. Before he could say a few words of persuasion, Gu Hengzhi had already walked to the side and pressed the answer button.
"I'm fine, yes, don't worry... Okay, I'll wait for you to come back."
"How are you doing over there? Can you adapt?"
"..."
If it weren't for the lack of expression on his face, listening to his gentle tone, it was as if nothing had happened.
Shen Shaoyan couldn't help but marvel at his good acting.
A few minutes later, the call ended. Gu Hengzhi looked at the darkened phone screen, his eyes dark and unreadable.
"How was it?" Shen Shaoyan walked over, "What did Xiao Xue say to you?"
"He didn't say anything," Gu Hengzhi lowered his eyelids and chuckled softly, "I'll wait for him to come back."
Hearing that chuckle, Shen Shaoyan felt chills all over. It didn't feel like a good sign at all.
***
Time flew by. A year later, at C City Airport, a plane slowly landed.
Ji Linxue adjusted his cap brim, pulled his suitcase, and walked out of the arrival gate. He hadn't walked two steps when a young man in a suit and tie quickly walked up to him.
"Hello, may I ask if you are Mr. Ji Linxue?"
He was well-mannered, and his suit was made of quality material. Ji Linxue looked him up and down a few times and nodded: "I am. May I ask who you are?"
The young man showed a relieved expression: "I am Chairman Gu's assistant. You can just call me Xiao Liu. He sent me to pick you up. Please come with me."
"Gu Hengzhi?"
The young man nodded: "Chairman Gu is in a very important meeting and can't leave, so he couldn't come personally."
Looking at the other person's cautious expression, Ji Linxue smiled lightly: "You don't need to look at me like that. I won't blame him for something so small. Besides, we should be only a few years apart in age. Using honorifics is awkward. You can just call me Linxue."
Xiao Liu's expression relaxed slightly, but he still didn't call him by his given name directly: "Okay, Mr. Ji, please come with me. The car is outside."
The black business car drove on the flat and wide road. The scenery outside the window rapidly receded. Ji Linxue stared intently outside, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.
He’d been so busy with studies abroad that he barely had time to think about anything else. He stayed in touch with Gu Hengzhi and the others mainly through WeChat, with an occasional phone call.
They are adult now and had their own goals and dreams. No one would stay in the same place forever. Gu Hengzhi was so busy, and yet he still remembered the day Ji Linxue would return and sent someone to pick him up. That was already a rare kind of friendship.
"Where are we going now?"
Hearing his voice, Xiao Liu turned his head, "Chairman Gu asked me to take you home. Is there somewhere you would like to go, Mr. Ji?"
"No, I was just asking," Ji Linxue breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps it was the shyness of being back, he isn't quite ready to see Gu Hengzhi right now.
The fatigue from the journey made him a little tired. Ji Linxue originally only intended to close his eyes and rest, but he gradually fell asleep.
He was woken up again by someone calling him. Ji Linxue rubbed his eyes. Xiao Liu said softly, "Mr. Ji, we've arrived."
The driver had already taken his luggage upstairs. Ji Linxue said thank you. After getting out of the car, he politely declined Xiao Liu's offer to see him upstairs and took the elevator back to the apartment by himself.
The apartment hadn't changed much since he left. The large house was empty, not a single person inside.
He opened his phone and checked his messages, only then realizing that Shen Shaoyan and Lu Yu had gone traveling. As for why Gu Hengzhi didn't go, of course, it was because he was a workaholic.
Ever since Ji Linxue left, he had become even busier, almost working overtime every day. But also because of this drive, Hengchuan Technology had reached a new height, becoming the industry's recognized leading enterprise.
Gu Hengzhi's worth had also risen accordingly, becoming a well-known new financial elite, a new generation of young entrepreneurs.
Ji Linxue packed up his things and planned to catch up on sleep. He pushed open the bedroom door and found the quilt was still clean and had a fluffy scent. It must have been cleaned regularly.
Without time to think too much, he felt sleepiness gradually surge over him. He threw himself onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
He didn't know how long had passed, but the piercing sunlight woke him up.
Ji Linxue sat up, rubbed his messy hair, and used his fingers to block the sunlight, slowly remembering that he had forgotten to close the curtains before going to bed yesterday afternoon.
He had actually slept for over ten hours.
After a simple wash-up, he ordered takeout. He didn't know when Shen Shaoyan and Lu Yu had left. The refrigerator was empty, containing nothing but beer and drinks, not a single fresh vegetable or meat. It was clear that after he left, none of these people had cooked.
The takeout was a simple stir-fry. After eating, Ji Linxue went to the supermarket downstairs and bought a lot of ingredients. For lunch, he casually made minced meat with eggplant.
He originally thought he would just casually get by for dinner as well. However, Xiao Liu came over in the afternoon and said that Gu Hengzhi was free in the evening and would pick him up for dinner together.
Ji Linxue was startled, then agreed.
Even after getting into the car, he hadn't quite fully recovered.
He was about to see Gu Hengzhi soon. He couldn't quite say whether he was more excited or nervous.
Ever since realizing his feelings, Ji Linxue had been in a state of self-doubt. It wasn't until this year abroad that the longing gradually intensified, and he became certain that he had genuinely fallen for Gu Hengzhi.
But the uncertainty of the plot and what Gu Hengzhi had said made him hesitant to express his feelings.
The company building was reached quickly. The car stopped in the underground parking lot. Just as Ji Linxue was about to get out, he heard Xiao Liu say: "No need to get out, Chairman Gu will be here soon."
The second after he finished speaking, the elevator door not far away slowly opened. A tall figure slowly walked out. Gu Hengzhi was wearing a black suit, his hair combed back. He had wide shoulders and a narrow waist, his posture outstanding. He exuded a steady and stern aura. Compared to the clingy young man before, he had become more mature and composed, without a trace of his former self.
He now looked more like the original novel’s moody, domineering CEO.
Ji Linxue's heart tightened. He watched him walk over.
The sound of quality leather shoes echoed in the parking lot. Gu Hengzhi opened the car door with one hand, his gaze fixed on him, showing no discernible emotion. His voice was elegant and low,
"Long time no see."
Looking at his handsome face, Ji Linxue felt frozen. His throat was terribly dry. After a long while, he finally spoke,
"...Long time no see."
Gu Hengzhi got into the car and sat beside him. Though they weren’t far apart, Ji Linxue felt a vast distance between them.
Even though they had chatted normally online this past year, when he saw Gu Hengzhi in person, he didn't know how to speak.
Gu Hengzhi had changed too much, too quickly. Before, he could still discern the other person's thoughts, but now he couldn't. Gu Hengzhi had learned to conceal his emotions. Every expression made him unpredictable.
The car was as quiet as stagnant water, eerily silent, but no one dared to speak.
Xiao Liu kept his eyes down, pretending to be invisible.
At this moment, there was the sound of fabric rubbing from the back seat. Gu Hengzhi crossed one leg over the other, his posture casual.
His tone was also relaxed.
"Just because you went away for a year, you won't even talk to me anymore?"
This sentence was like flipping a switch, immediately breaking the ice in the car. Ji Linxue secretly sighed in relief and smiled.
"Of course not. I just didn't know what to say."
After speaking, he looked up at the person beside him and saw that Gu Hengzhi was looking at him sideways, silently.
His ink-black pupils were like countless stars, hiding countless complex emotions.
Ji Linxue couldn't tell what he meant by this. He touched his own face.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Did I get tanned?"
"You got paler," Gu Hengzhi reached out and gently touched his face with his fingertip, then immediately withdrew.
“It’s been so long. I wanted to look a little longer.”
His words successfully narrowed the distance between them a bit. The unfamiliarity from being apart for a long time completely vanished.
Ji Linxue touched the spot where Gu Hengzhi had just touch and smiled.
“You can look as much as you want.”
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