When did he say he didn’t like Gu Jiqing?!
He just told Gu Jiqing not to like him.
……
F*ck.
Realizing that there might not be a fundamental difference between these two points for Gu Jiqing, Zhou Cibai couldn’t help but angrily stroke his hair.
Did he get kicked in the head by a donkey before? How could he come up with something like that to say?
The thought of Gu Jiqing moving out would surely attract Pei Yiming or Pei Erming, it made Zhou Cibai feel extremely annoyed.
But if he tell Gu Jiqing not to move now, he will expose himself as Bai Zhou.
But he can’t be exposed yet, because if it weren’t for Bai Zhou’s WeChat account, he wouldn’t even know that Gu Jiqing was thinking about moving out.
So why is this person holding back any sad or aggrieved words in their hearts?
Zhou Cibai blamed himself while also feeling a little heartbroken and angry.
How could Gu Jiqing think that there’s someone who would not like him?
He was living so happily in the dormitory, and Lu Ping and Wang Quan both liked him so much. He said, moving and then moving, won’t he be sad to part with them?
Does it mean that if someone doesn’t like him, he has to sacrifice his own thoughts and consider the feelings of others first?
Zhou Cibai didn’t understand why Gu Jiqing thought so.
Why does he always feel wronged when he has done nothing wrong?
Before he could come up with an answer, a gentle voice came from behind: “Are you here to find Zhi Zhi?”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Cibai lifted his head.
He saw a beautifully dressed, gentle, and elegant woman standing in front of him, with a hint of innocent charm between her eyes that was very similar to Gu Jiqing’s.
Just beneath Gu Jiqing’s innocent and charming demeanor, there is a calm and gentle tone that makes people feel that his essence is clear, light, and full of rational wisdom.
However, beneath this lady’s naivety and allure lies a vine-like softness, which makes her naivety and softness appear complete.
Their temperament is therefore vastly different.
But it is not difficult to see the similarity of the skin follicles.
Thinking of the fact that Gu Jiqing had once referred to himself as Zhi Zhi in his dream talk, Zhou Cibai immediately reacted and stood up straight, nervously calling. “Hello Auntie.”
What makes such a tall and handsome child nervous when he sees her?
Yin Lan thinks he’s a bit cute and asks with a smile, “Are you here to find Zhi Zhi? I just called him, but he didn’t answer, so I came down to find him. Do you want to go in together?”
Thinking of the condoms and lubricant in the room that had not been cleaned yet, as well as the mottled marks on Gu Jiqing’s body and the scattered clothes in the bathroom, Zhou Cibai hurriedly said, “There’s no need, he should be asleep. Let’s not go in and disturb him!”
Yin Lan looked at Zhou Cibai’s overly nervous and agitated reaction, which was somewhat strange.
She glanced at the medicine bag and room card that Zhou Cibai was carrying in his hand once again and roughly understood something. She asked in a warm voice, “Are you the friend who took Zhi Zhi yesterday?”
Zhou Cibai’s heart tightened instantly.
Does Gu Jiqing’s mother already know?
Fortunately, the next second, Yin Lan smiled lightly and said, “Last night, Zhi Zhi and his brother didn’t contact me. I was worried to death. Later, it was his brother’s friend who told me that he had drunk too much and was taken away by a classmate. That’s how I felt at ease. Are you that classmate, right? You’re called Zhou Cibai?”
It turned out she believed he had drunk too much.
Zhou Cibai breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. “En, I am Zhou Cibai.”
“As expected, it’s just as Zhi Zhi said. I can tell that you’re a child from a good family at first glance. It’s really thanks to you last night. Since Zhi Zhi hasn’t woken up yet, can Auntie treat you to an afternoon tea as a token of gratitude?” Yin Lan looked at him with a sincere and gentle smile.
Zhou Cibai pursed his lips and said, “Okay.”
Yin Lan chose the address for afternoon tea on the terrace of the hotel.
She ordered a pot of black tea, a tower of dim sum, and a plate of macaron, then smiled and said, “Our Zhi Zhi like sweet food. When he was young, he had toothaches because he ate sweets secretly, so he didn’t dare to tell me and just hid on his own with teary eyes. Later, when I found out, I couldn’t scold him even if I wanted to.”
Originally, Gu Jiqing liked to eat candy.
Zhou Cibai silently noted it down.
“But why is Gu Jiqing called Zhi Zhi?” Zhou Cibai couldn’t help but ask this curious question.
Because he thinks the name is cute and he also wants to call him that, but he is afraid that he shouldn’t call him that.
And when she heard this question, the smile at the bottom of Yin Lan’s eyes was one of undisguised tenderness and fondness: “When he was a child, he learned to speak late and had a milky voice, making it difficult to distinguish between zhi and ji. Every time he introduced himself in kindergarten, he would say his name was Ji Ji, a puppy is also a few puppies, and a kitten is also a few kittens1This has something to do with the pronunciation, a puppy is called 一只小狗 (Yi Zhi Xiao Guo), but Gu Jiqing couldn’t pronounce the word ‘Zhi’ and said 一几小狗 (Yi Ji Xiao Guo) instead. So in order to help him pronounce the word correctly, his mom called him Zhi Zhi so that he could distinguish it.. In order to help him distinguish, I called him Zhi Zhi.”
So it’s like this.
Thinking of Gu Jiqing’s white, tender, soft, and beautiful little face saying “a few little puppies” seriously and with a milky voice, Zhou Cibai couldn’t help but bow his head and bend his lips.
Yin Lan asked somewhat puzzledly, “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Cibai said, “It’s nothing, I just think he’s very cute.”
“Right.” Yin Lan also smiled a little. “Our Zhi Zhi has been very cute since he was young, and he’s very sensible. He was actually very sick as a child and had to be in the hospital every day with many tubes inserted. In order to make money, I couldn’t be with him all the time. He told me, ‘Mom, it’s okay, I’m not hurt.’ But how could I be willing to see him in pain? Later, I married one of my clients, Gu Jue’s father. He paid to send Zhi Zhi to the United States for surgery, and everything just got better.”
At the end of Yin Lan’s words, there was a hint of unconsciousness in her tone.
Zhou Cibai also sat up straight.
He felt that Yin Lan would not say these things to him for no reason.
Sure enough, the next second, Yin Lan looked at him gently and said, “So, last night’s incident, Auntie really thanks you. If anything really happens to Zhi Zhi, Auntie really doesn’t know what to do. You must be Zhi Zhi’s trusted friend, right?”
Zhou Cibai thought of what Gu Jiqing had said, “Zhi Zhi only has you,” and did not deny it.
Yin Lan lowered her eyelashes, covering the sadness at the bottom of her eyes, and her tone seemed comforting: “It’s really good. Our Zhi Zhi can meet a friend like you, it’s his blessing. Otherwise, I really don’t know how to explain to Gu Jue’s father about Li Wang and his brother this time.”
Explain?
Why did she have to explain to Gu Jiqing’s stepfather?
Isn’t it that Li Wang and Gu Jue that need to give Gu Jiqing an explanation?
Zhou Cibai couldn’t help but say, “Sorry, Auntie, I don’t quite understand.”
Yin Lan thought he didn’t understand what was going on this time, and after some thought, for the sake of Gu Jiqing’s future support, she continued, “You also know, at that time, without Jue Gu’s father, I was just an ordinary bank teller, and there was no way I could have cured Zhi Zhi’s illness with my abilities, nor could I provide him with food and clothing, all the way to get into such a good university. So this is what I owe their family, and often I have to settle for less. If something does happen this time, or if the police are noticed, his brother’s project will definitely not get done, and both families will lose face……”
“So?”
Zhou Cibai was taught from a young age to respect elders and women, but he couldn’t help but clench his fists and ask this question.
“So you don’t care what kind of injustice Gu Jiqing suffered last night or what kind of harm he may have suffered. If he feels sad in his heart or not, if he feels aggrieved or not, you just want to comfort him with a few words now that the matter has been successfully resolved, and then stop holding those who tried to harm him accountable?”
Zhou Cibai suppressed his anger and calmly and sharply looked at Yin Lan, like an equal conversation and question between adults.
Yin Lan was slightly stunned.
Zhou Cibai continued. “I can feel that you love him, and I know what you’re going through, but I think if my mother knew I was getting drunk or even bullied in a bar, her first reaction would always be to think of how to protect me and how to prevent me from being bullied in the future, rather than celebrating that fortunately there was no accident this time. So do you know why Gu Jiqing won’t say anything to anyone now, no matter what grievances he suffers, and just chooses to back off on his own?”
“I…” Yin Lan seemed surprised, but she didn’t know what to say, so she could only be hesitant to speak.
Zhou Cibai then said, “Actually, before talking to you, I was also curious about this question. But after talking to you, I understood. Because the only person in the world he can depend on is always thinking about how to make him compromise. But do you know why I didn’t report it to the police last night?”
Yin Lan opened her mouth, but ultimately she still didn’t know the answer.
Zhou Cibai endured the lingering pain in his heart and said, “Because Gu Jiqing said this is his only bargaining chip. If he doesn’t call the police, that’s what Gu Jue owes him, and you’ll be much better off in the Gu family. So you might think you’re doing all this because you love him, but in my eyes, he loves you far more than you love him.”
“I know it’s probably rude of me to say this as an outsider, but I still take the liberty of hoping that you’ll think it over before you go to him. Otherwise, you may say something that makes him very sad, but he still only thinks about what to do to make you happier. This is too unfair to him.”
Zhou Cibai has never treated an elder so aggressively before. Although his tone was as restrained and cultured as possible, he still left Yin Lan stunned on the spot.
After he finished speaking, he was afraid that he couldn’t help but say something more outrageous, so he stood up with the medicine bag and politely said, “Gu Jiqing may still need to have dinner and medicine after he wakes up. I’ll go back to the room to take care of him first. I hope you have a pleasant afternoon tea.”
After finishing speaking, he walked on his two long legs without looking back.
Yin Lan was left in a daze and didn’t react until much later. Then she turned her head and looked out the window, gently wiping the corners of her eyes with her fingertips.
.
But Zhou Cibai couldn’t control himself as he finished that long string of words. After returning to the doorway of Gu Jiqing’s room, he grabbed his own hair fiercely a few times.
He couldn’t resist speaking so harshly just now.
The other party is Gu Jiqing’s mother.
If he is really with Gu Jiqing in the future, then she will be considered his mother-in-law.
What if she opposes them being together?
But forget it, he has said everything already. What else can he do?
The most important thing now is to let Gu Jiqing know that he doesn’t dislike him and not to rush about moving out.
Thinking about it, Zhou Cibai took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Zhou Zhenbai: [Ge, I need your help with something, it’s about Li Wang]
Then he opened the door.
What directly caught his eyes was the large bed in the center of the room, with Gu Jiqing lying beside the bed, his arms naturally hanging down from the edge of the bed along the blanket, his phone resting on the carpet, and his eyelashes hanging quietly.
It looks like he fell asleep while sending WeChat due to extreme fatigue and exhaustion.
Remembering how he had tossed Gu Jiqing last night, Zhou Cibai avoided his gaze with a guilty heart.
He softly brought the door closed and walked over, setting Gu Jiqing upright on the bed, ready to tuck him inside the blanket. Just as he was about to do so, he saw the red, swollen, and skin-torn area on Gu Jiqing’s chest from the open neckline of his nightgown.
His face instantly turned red, and he quickly lowered his head. He took out the newly purchased rubbing ointment, dipped it into his finger, tightened his lips, and his ears reddened. He applied it as meticulously as possible to the two areas that had already turned red.
However, in the end, he was someone who was used to playing basketball and was big, so he looked a bit clumsy doing such things, so much so that as soon as he thought he was touching it gently, the sleeping Gu Jiqing frowned lightly and let out a low grunt of dissatisfaction.
Startled, Zhou Cibai quickly decreased his strength.
After he finally finished, a layer of fine sweat had already seeped out of his forehead, and his ears were as red as if they were about to ripen.
Then he carefully straightened Gu Jiqing’s nightgown collar and pulled the blanket to his chin before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Counting the time, when Gu Jiqing wakes up, he will probably also be hungry.
Zhou Cibai asked the hotel to send up the ingredients, and he went to the kitchen to make a pot of sweet and sour small pork ribs and a squirrel mandarin fish. This way, when Gu Jiqing woke up, it would be just right to eat with the porridge.
After finishing, he went to the bathroom again and picked up the clothes he had rudely torn off yesterday with his own hands, blushing, and threw them into the sink.
Actually, it’s not impossible to send those clothes to the hotel for washing.
But there were also Gu Jiqing’s personal clothes inside, and whenever Zhou Cibai thought about having someone else wash them, he always felt uncomfortable.
Besides, there is also underwear.
Zhou Cibai, a 1.9-meter-tall man, stood in the relatively spacious hotel’s bathroom, holding onto a sink, pursing his lips, and earnestly rubbing the small piece of cotton fabric.
Anyway, it was also him who dirtied it, so he should have washed it.
Otherwise, he can’t let Gu Jiqing, who was tired all night, still have to do his own laundry the next day.
Zhou Cibai thought of washing more diligently and seriously, not even letting go of the most difficult-to-wash white shirt’s collar.
After washing them, he carefully dried, ironed, and neatly stacked them at the head of the bed.
So when Gu Jiqing woke up, he found that the sky outside the window had already completely darkened.
The night was deep and dark, and the room was not lit. Only the living room was dimly lit with warm yellow light, and there came the sound of pots and bowls clashing and the sweet and sour aroma of food.
Gu Jiqing’s stomach let out a growl, and with some disbelief, he tentatively called out, “Zhou Cibai?”
Then, the next second, Zhou Cibai appeared at the door of the room like a dog summoned by its owner. “Are you awake? I just heated up the food.”
Gu Jiqing looked at the way he rolled up his sleeves and held a bowl of small pork ribs. He was a little speechless for a moment.
Because Yin Lan likes to cook, the suites that Gu Jue booked for him and Yin Lan this time all come with kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms, but he never thought they would really come in handy.
After all, on the 36th floor is the Michelin chef’s restaurant, and who, except for a few noblewomen who love to bake, would have nothing better to do than to cook in a hotel?
At that moment, Gu Jiqing felt both a headache and found it a bit funny.
He asked softly, “Why haven’t you left yet?”
“Ah? Oh, that……”
Zhou Cibai didn’t know how to explain for a moment.
Before he could think of a suitable explanation, Gu Jiqing turned his head and saw the bedside. He paused slightly and asked, somewhat surprised, “You help me wash my underwear too?”
Zhou Cibai blushed instantly and said, “I didn’t mean to help you wash that, it happened to be sandwiched between your clothes…”
He was in a panic and stumbling, and before he could finish explaining, Gu Jiqing’s phone rang.
Gu Jiqing picked up and whispered, “Hello, Mom?”
The redness at the base of Zhou Cibai’s ears instantly faded, and his expression became calm and alert.
Then he heard Gu Jiqing say: “En, okay, I’ll pack up and come out right away.”
After he hung up the phone, Zhou Cibai asked, “What does your mother look for you for?”
Gu Jiqing picked up his clothes and said, “She said it was Christmas day and there was one last hour left, so she asked me to accompany her to the rooftop to watch the Christmas show.”
“But now that it’s so cold outside and you’re not feeling well, must she call you now?” Zhou Cibai’s voice was calm and composed.
Gu Jiqing didn’t look at him and just said, “En, because it’s a holiday today, she, I, and Gu Jue need to have a video call with our family.”
Otherwise, it wouldn’t fit the festive atmosphere of their big family reunion.
He didn’t finish saying the rest, but Zhou Cibai had already guessed. He looked at Gu Jiqing’s pale face and couldn’t help but ask, “Then, do you want to go?”
Of course, he doesn’t want to.
He doesn’t like that kind of sensational show, nor does he like the harmonious and hypocritical atmosphere of a large group of people carrying guns and sticks.
But after all, he hasn’t formally proposed his idea of independence to Gu Jue’s father, so it’s not good to make it difficult for Yin Lan now.
So Gu Jiqing just casually replied, “Whether I want to or not, it’s not that important.”
“Why isn’t it important?” Zhou Cibai held the small pork ribs with a serious expression. “Just do what you want to do. Why can’t you refuse what you don’t want to do? Why do you have to aggrieve yourself?”
He is indeed a child who grew up in a happy family.
That’s why all of his rational was taken for granted so much.
Gu Jiqing lowered his head, untied the straps of his nightgown, and said gently and casually, “Not everyone in this world has the right to refuse. I grew up as a foster child, my clothing, food, housing, and transportation are all dependent on others. If I cannot be accepted and liked by others, I may become homeless. So, what right do you think I have to refuse?”
“But what makes you think you won’t be liked if you refused?” Zhou Cibai’s tone became even more urgent.
Gu Jiqing remained indifferent and said, “Then what makes you thinking that I’ll be liked even if I refuse?”
“Because you are already worth being liked!”
The moment this sentence was blurted out, Zhou Cibai paused.
Gu Jiqing’s hands that were untying his nightgown strap also paused. He lifted his head and looked at him with some confusion.
There was a brief and awkward silence.
Zhou Cibai held the small pork ribs and shifted his gaze somewhat uncomfortable, but he still didn’t retract his words. He just pursed his lips and whispered, “Anyway, I won’t think that I don’t like you just because you rejected my request, that kind of liking isn’t really liking in the first place.”
After a pause, he said, “And it’s already past 11 pm. There’s no going back to the dormitory. You can’t just leave me alone in the room, can you?”
After finished speaking, he turned his head awkwardly, his ears red, and he completely pursed the corners of his lips, not daring to look at Gu Jiqing again.
