Chapter 45: Rejection

After seeing Gu Chuanzhou’s secret room, Yu Xi fell into an even deeper state of confusion.

He pondered for a very long time but still couldn’t figure out exactly when this good friend of his had developed such bizarre thoughts toward him.

Worse yet, no one had ever taught him how to handle this kind of situation.

Unable to contain it any longer, he sought out a quiet spot during his evening phone call with his mother and whispered the matter to her.

Over the line, Qi Qingyun let out a gentle laugh: “Our Xiao Xi is still as endearingly liked by everyone as always.”

A flush of crimson spread across Yu Xi’s face, and he called out with a drawn-out tone, “Mom—”

Qi Qingyun continued with a smile in her voice, “Is it not true? From childhood to adulthood, wherever our Xiao Xi goes, he is adored by the people there. I remember a middle school classmate who chased you all the way down to our building just to give you folded paper cranes. And when you were in your senior year of high school, a male classmate took his own saved pocket money and secretly stuffed it to me, asking me not to let you work so hard at your part-time jobs… The ones I caught sight of were already this exaggerated, let alone…”

“Mom, stop talking.” Yu Xi’s face was already red enough to burn. He pressed the slightly cool back of his hand against his cheek. “They… they are different from those people before… They are friends I want to cherish properly.”

Qi Qingyun retracted her teasing tone and grew serious as well: “Yes, Mom knows. They are very important to you.”

“Otherwise, given your trait of being absolutely terrified of troubling others, you wouldn’t have been persuaded by your Aunt Pei in just a few words to move over there in the first place.”

“Even if you’ve been very sensible over the years and haven’t actively brought them up, I know full well that you’ve never forgotten them and that you miss them.”

Yu Xi crouched in the corner of the stairwell against the wall, listening quietly as a layer of tears silently welled up in his eyes.

The helplessness and panic of this recent period had been bottled up for too long. Finally finding an outlet, it became somewhat uncontrollable under his mother’s warm, soft words.

Qi Qingyun continued, “But baby, this isn’t some insurmountable dilemma.”

“I believe that with the relationship between you all, even if feelings have undergone a change, your bond won’t be severed so easily.”

“They must care about you just as much as you care about them.”

“So, don’t be afraid. Just choose according to your own heart.”

Yu Xi’s eyes brightened up bit by bit. After listening, he nodded firmly: “I understand, Mom.”

That night, Yu Xi had a good night’s sleep.

The next day, he no longer felt anxious when new messages appeared on his phone. Upon receiving another date invitation from Zhang Xingkuo, he chose to reject it.

Zhang Xingkuo asked: 【Why? Did someone beat me to it?】

Yu Xi: 【No, it’s not because of that.】

Zhang Xingkuo: 【Then why won’t you go with me?】 【I went through so much trouble to reserve the couple’s seats at this restaurant. The night view by the window is beautiful, and the berry mousse is very famous. You will definitely like it.】 【Puppy staring at you pitifully.jpg】

Yu Xi: 【Xingxing, I prefer that we remain friends.】

Once Yu Xi sent this sentence, Zhang Xingkuo’s side fell silent for a good while. But Zhang Xingkuo was never one to evade things. Once he recovered, he asked directly: 【Have I been rejected?】

Faced with the straightforward Zhang Xingkuo, Yu Xi didn’t want to continue being coy either, stating bluntly: 【Yes, I’m sorry.】

Zhang Xingkuo: 【Stop stop stop, don’t apologize to me first!】 【Alright, I think you can! Consider! This! Again! Prudently!】 【I’ll pretend you didn’t say anything.】

After this, no matter what Yu Xi said, Zhang Xingkuo acted shamelessly, pretending it didn’t count.

Yu Xi: 【But I really have already thought it through clearly.】

Zhang Xingkuo: 【I think you’re still not quite clear enough, you can think about it for a while longer! Ten days or half a month is too short, it’s perfectly fine to think about such a major life event for a year or half a year!】 【I’m begging you.】 【[Crying][Crying][Kneeling]】

Yu Xi continued typing. But when he sent it, he saw a red exclamation mark indicating he had been blocked. He froze for a moment, suddenly finding it both funny and annoying.

Yet within a mere half a minute, Zhang Xingkuo pulled him out of the blacklist again.

Zhang Xingkuo: 【I’m sorry Xiao Xi, I got too anxious and blocked you.】 【I’m just really afraid of you rejecting me.】 【My brain twitched, I’m sick, I didn’t block you on purpose.】

Another string of various crying and begging emojis left Yu Xi completely stripped of his temper.

He made a temporary compromise. Fortunately, after receiving such a scare, Zhang Xingkuo restrained himself a lot, no longer daring to seek him out frequently.

With one less noisy character like Zhang Xingkuo, Yu Xi’s days became much lighter. Lin Shuhuai was already very adept at grasping boundaries, and Meng Shen possessed a quiet, reserved temperament as well.

As for Gu Chuanzhou…

Ever since the events of that night transpired, Yu Xi would still receive morning and evening greetings from Gu Chuanzhou. Even if he didn’t reply, Gu Chuanzhou would send them to him as usual, yet he wouldn’t disturb him excessively either.

Once, when Yu Xi got off work from the cat café, he spotted a familiar car parked by the roadside.

He knew Gu Chuanzhou was sitting inside, and he knew this was a probe from Gu Chuanzhou. But while he could currently face the other three calmly, he uniquely harbored no idea how to face Gu Chuanzhou. Ultimately, he chose to pretend he hadn’t seen anything, lowering his head as he bypassed it.

Gu Chuanzhou understood his meaning as well, refusing to step out of the car and make things difficult for him.

Winter Solstice. The first snow.

Yu Xi stepped out of the classroom after finishing his lecture, staring somewhat blankly as pure white flakes drifted down from the sky.

The memories of snow were either from twelve years ago…

He and the others would play until their noses turned bright red, only to be dragged back indoors by the adults of their respective families. More of his memories regarding snow involved him evading the adults’ gazes, dressing himself up in warm clothes and gloves, braving the snow to secretly see Gu Chuanzhou—who had been placed in solitary confinement for fighting for him—time and time again.

Nearby, several students were excitedly recording videos to share with their friends and family, cheerfully sending voice messages. Snapping back to reality, Yu Xi also retrieved his phone, recording a brief video to send to his mother. Instinctively, he was about to forward it to the small group chat with his friends, but he paused.

After hesitating for a long moment, he canceled the transmission.

Just then, a new message popped up on his screen.

Sheng Yunjuan: 【Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi!】 【Did you happen to just finish class~ My sister and I came together to bring you dumplings!】 【We are right here! [Photo]】

Beholding the photo of Sheng Yunjuan and Sheng Yunshu with their heads huddled together inside the café, Yu Xi couldn’t help but break into a smile, immediately rushing over in that direction.

The weather was freezing, but the café at Jingcheng University featured heating, gathering quite a number of students who were chatting or studying.

When the door was pushed open and the bell let out a crisp chime, the café fell into a subtle silence for a few seconds.

Anyone who lifted their head could hardly avoid being stunned by the person entering.

The youth wore a cream-white down jacket and jeans, a bag slung over his shoulder—a very ordinary college student attire, yet he possessed a face that was staggeringly beautiful.

He brushed off the snow clinging to his black hair, failing to notice that a few flakes had also landed on his eyelashes, contrasting against his frozen-red, snow-like skin. He looked like a little glazed doll refined straight out of a snowy landscape.

He swept his gaze left and right. The moment he located his targets, his dark irises lit up, their color intensifying by three fractions, instantly brightening the entire space. It made people look on with involuntary envy at the individuals he was gazing toward.

“Xiao Xi, sit on the absolute inside.”

The two Sheng sisters had already scouted out the seats beforehand, letting Yu Xi sit in the corner. Positioned on his left and right, they happened to shield him tightly from view, preventing Yu Xi from feeling uncomfortable under too many stares while eliminating the trouble of random people constantly approaching to strike up conversations.

Out in public, Yu Xi was frequently cared for in this manner; he simply hadn’t detected his friends’ underlying intentions before.

“The dumplings were wrapped by your Aunt Wan. Aunt Pei was too busy with work to make it over, so we helped her deliver them. We already ate a bowl back at the Pei residence ahead of time, they are incredibly fragrant!” Sheng Yunjuan opened the insulated container. To preserve the heat better, they were soup dumplings, each one crystal clear with thin wrappers and generous fillings.

Yu Xi ate while they were hot, devouring them one by one. He had also missed the dumplings wrapped by Aunt Wan, eating until his cheeks puffed out, his face brimming with happiness.

Sheng Yunjuan and Sheng Yunshu simultaneously cupped their faces, watching him with beaming smiles: “Delicious, right?”

Yu Xi nodded forcefully, too occupied to speak.

Sheng Yunjuan snapped a photo to report back to Pei Lexin. Once Yu Xi had eaten his fill, she retrieved other items: “There are also some warm items and snacks. Your Aunt Pei prepared a portion, and we prepared a portion as well. Take them all back to your dorm.”

She explained each item to Yu Xi one by one. Her usually flighty nature actually appeared quite steady at this moment. Yet when she opened a certain paper bag, her tone shifted back to being childish.

“Tsk, as for this one, a certain guy surnamed Gu asked us to bring it to you. Truly speechless. He won’t deliver it himself but insists we do it, as though we are his personal runners.”

Yu Xi spotted a scarf resting right inside the paper bag, and the tips of his ears began to heat up.

Of all things to gift, it just had to be a scarf. Does this count as… compensation?

That scarf that had been sniffed by Gu Chuanzhou an unknown number of times—he had washed and dried it after bringing it back, yet he had never worn it again. Every time he opened the wardrobe and saw it, he would think of that night. He couldn’t bring himself to throw it away, yet wearing it made his entire body uncomfortable; it truly made him feel awkward to death.

Knowing that Gu Chuanzhou didn’t dare to come see him, he joined Sheng Yunjuan in criticizing him: “He’s bad.”

Sheng Yunjuan froze for a moment before bursting into laughter: “Right, right, right, he’s bad!”

Then Sheng Yunjuan coaxed him, telling him not to wear the one Gu Chuanzhou gifted and to wear hers instead. Yu Xi had indeed received quite a lot—hats, gloves, scarves, all made of very warm wool materials, more than he could even manage to wear.

Sheng Yunjuan spoke with laughter and chatter. Listening along, Yu Xi was amused from time to time.

Right at this moment, his phone resting on the table began to ring, displaying the incoming call “Xingxing.”

Before he could move, Sheng Yunjuan beat him to it, hanging up the call for him with a sharp clack.

“He’s always coming to disturb us, ignore him for now. Continue listening to me—”

Before she could utter more than two sentences, another phone ringtone chimed.

Sheng Yunjuan glanced at the incoming call from “Dog Zhang” on her phone and was amused again, pointing at the screen as she remarked, “Didn’t I say he’s a dog? His sense of smell is truly sharp. Even though he isn’t here, he knows instantly that I was the one who hung up the call, coming to question me right away.”

As she spoke, she casually picked up the call, launching a preemptive strike: “What? So what if I was the one who hung up the phone? Can you please cut down on—”

Uncertain of what was uttered over the other end, Sheng Yunjuan suddenly jammed up, her expression freezing flush across her face.

This was the first time Yu Xi had ever seen Sheng Yunjuan display such an expression because of Zhang Xingkuo. Even Sheng Yunshu detected that something was amiss.

Sheng Yunshu inquired, “What’s wrong?”

Pointing at her phone, Sheng Yunjuan spoke in an incoherent manner: “Zhang Xingkuo, he, he, he, he… got into… a car accident.”

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