Chapter 31

Sometimes, he wished that she was like her mother. This way, he would no doubt hate her and would stay far away from her. 

And it would not be like now, where he wanted to draw her into his embrace and hold on to her tightly. In addition, he wanted to have a taste of her lips and see if they were as sweet as the words she uttered.

The hand resting beside her head clenched into a fist as he tried desperately to suppress the urge induced by this alcoholic haze.

Tao Yi Xi did not seem to notice his abnormality. Awkwardly, she tilted her head, “But Ge-ge doesn’t seem to like this aptitude of yours. Sigh…”

The faint sigh tugged at his heartstrings.

He pursed his thin lips tightly, “I don’t dislike it.”

“Hmm?”

“I just don’t see what’s the point of working so hard.” His voice was low and his dark eyes looked momentarily blanked; like a child who had lost his way.

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“Me? For my independence.” She answered without hesitation.

He was momentarily stunned. He thought that she would say that she was working hard to enter the best school for her mother’s honor.

“That’s it?” He did not quite understand.

She chuckled, “Ge-ge won’t understand.”

Xia Yan’s holler came from outside the door, “Tao Yi Xi! You come out for me! Where is that girl?”

Hearing the tone, Tao Yi Xi knew that Xia Yan was furious.

The two of them froze. Tao Yi Xi sighed, “Ge-ge, please let me go out first.”

Gu Jing Yuan suddenly blurted, “If I want to study again, will you come back?”

“I’ve always been here. Whenever you have a question, you can take a snapshot and send it to me via WeChat. I’ll definitely reply when I see your message.”

“I don’t want your reply via WeChat. I want you to help me physically, by my side.” With the bit of alcohol in his system, he childishly held on to her.

Tao Yi Xi felt helpless, “Didn’t you say that it was enough?” 

“I regretted it.” And that was how he resoundingly slapped his own face. 

“…” He must be drunk. “Let’s discuss this again when you’re sober.”

“I’m very clearheaded now. I wouldn’t let you go until you agree.”

Her phone started vibrating in her pocket. Thankfully, she had the habit of having it on silent mode. She did not need to look at the screen to know who was calling her currently.

“Let’s discuss this tomorrow.”

“No.”

The phone continued ringing nonstop. If she dragged on any longer, her mother would really explode. 

“Then you have to be obedient and cannot constantly make me chase after you.”

“En,” he nodded, looking quite well-behaved.

“Fine, I agree.”

Gu Jing Yuan smiled contentedly before taking two steps back and opening the door for her to exit.

Before she left, she took another glance at him. She was sure that he would regret it.

As she turned to leave, she did not see the smile of success curving up his lips. 

He will not regret it.

**

Xia Yan angrily rushed into her room. Tao Yi Xi was currently reading a book, but if one were to take a closer look, one would notice that she barely turned a few pages. 

Xia Yan grabbed her book and threw it on the ground, she was infuriated.

“Why are you still reading? What’s the point of studying so much? Are you planning to become a female scientist? How much money do you think you can make from that profession? Did you think you’ll be able to live a good life like this?”

“Mom, the one who wants money is you, not me.” Tao Yi Xi calmly replied as she bent down to pick up the book. She tried to smooth out the crinkles on the corner of the book that had formed from being smashed to the ground with her fingers.

“How naive! Only children would say such a thing. Do you know how important it is to have money and power in this society?”

“I do. But are these things yours? If you didn’t have a man, you wouldn’t have either of them…” 

Word by word she exposed Xia Yan’s reality. But did Xia Yan not know this? It was just that she was already used to this and she did not know how to rely on herself anymore.

Her facade was ripped open by the person she deemed closest to her, revealing the ugliness that she did not want to face and admit.

“Pa-”

A crisp slap landed on Tao Yi Xi’s delicate face.

“You’re looking down on me too? If I didn’t bring you into the Gu household, do you think you’ll be able to attend such a prestigious school?!”

This time around, Tao Yi Xi did not cry. She did not even lift her hand to cover her reddening cheek. Her lips were pale as she stared blankly at Xia Yan, “If my grades were not as excellent, would I even be here?”  

From day one, she had already seen through this farce.

Frankly speaking, Gu Mu Yang did not hide his intentions from the get-go and directly showed her that she was just a tool to aid his son.

Xia Yan, as her mother, was not much better than he was.

“There’s also a reason why you wanted me to flatter Mrs. Xu too, right?” 

Xia Yan’s eyes flickered, “Am- am I not doing all this for your own good? Mrs. Xu’s husband is a hotel tycoon and they only have one child. In the future, everything would be inherited by her son. I placed such a wonderful opportunity in front of you but you don’t know how to cherish it.” 

“Mom, I won’t become a second you.”

Xia Yan scrutinized the stubborn look in her daughter’s eyes. As they have been separated for a long time, she no longer seemed to understand what kind of person her daughter had become. 

What she deemed as a grand plan was something her daughter thoroughly despised. 

“Tao. Yi. Xi!” Everyone looked down on her, even her daughter looked down on her. She grabbed her hands tightly and said with red eyes, “Fine, I’ll see what you can achieve on your own!”

Xia Yan stormed out in a fit of rage.

“Mom.”

Xia Yan stopped in front of the door, waiting for Tao Yi Xi to soften her stance. After all, people did say that daughters were like little cotton-padded jackets¹Daughters are said to be more considerate and heartwarming; therefore are compared to being a ‘padded jacket’ in winter., no?

“Since you’ve decided to rely on Gu Family then next time you should refrain from speaking ill of Ge-ge outside. You know that Ge-ge is Uncle Gu’s beloved son. Don’t pick up sesame seeds only to throw away the watermelon.”

Xia Yan turned her head in disbelief. Was her daughter educating her?

“Good, I see what this is about.”

She no longer cared if what Tao Yi Xi said made sense. She only knew that her daughter tore her face down and refuted her. How absurd! Just who was the mother here? 

Xia Yan was choked with anger, but one could also hear sporadic sniveling.

Tao Yi Xi bit her lower lip. She chased after Xia Yan but as soon as she reached out for her hand, she was flung away.

“Mom…”

Xia Yan did not want to listen to what she wanted to say. She slammed the door on her way out. The loud bang was very jarring. 

Tao Yi Xi blankly froze in her spot. For that split second, she wondered if she had done something really wrong.

Like she lost her soul, she sat back down in front of her desk. Her phone suddenly vibrated and her screen lit up with an incoming WeChat message.

It was from Gu Jing Yuan.

[Did your mother find trouble with you?]

[It’s nothing.]

[Don’t worry, I’ll protect you in the future.]

[Then I’ll thank Ge-ge in advance. I’m currently a little tired, I’ll be resting first.]

End the topic.

Gu Jing Yuan heard the loud slamming of the door. He never expected that she would have such a big argument with Xia Yan over him.

It was just like today as he watched on indifferently from the balcony as that woman talked behind his back. He also did not expect her to offend that woman because of him.

Why was she so protective of him?

An idea suddenly flashed into his mind.

Did she, like him?!

Otherwise, how else could he explain this? 

She defended him. Previously, she had diligently tutored him on his studies as well. Naturally, with what he was currently getting, it would have been enough already. Did she want him to improve more so that he could get admitted into the same university?

Her personality was one that did not like to meddle with troublesome things, but when he was in danger, she rescued him. 

Furthermore, she always initiated skinship with him. 

A lot of things she did, did not make sense. But if he were to put it in the perspective of her secretly admiring him, then it would make sense. 

For the first time, from the reflective screen of his phone, he carefully analyzed his facial features, turning left to right. 

If he remembered correctly, people did say that his face was pretty good-looking.  

The corners of his mouth rose slightly. In a good mood, he clicked into the posts that he previously bookmarked.

The things that others said before, it was not completely impossible as well.    

To share the same house with different dreams.

The person next door was unable to continue with her self-study but did not get a good night of rest either. 

The next morning, upon seeing Tao Yi Xi, Xia Yan did not greet her as per usual. Xia Yan treated her as indifferently as she would a stranger.

However, on the dining table, there was still breakfast left for her.

Tao Yi Xi fell into a conundrum and started to feel faintly guilty.

It was not her intention to contradict her mother for someone of little relevance.

She reflected on her actions throughout the night. She admitted that she was somewhat influenced by him. But she also did it for the sake of her mother. 

Just like yesterday, if no one had stopped Xia Yan, Gu Jing Yuan would have seen it all.

They all felt that Gu Jing Yuan was a wastrel. But people that interacted with him before would have known how much potential he had. 

He was definitely not the ‘prodigal son’ of their words. 

The person, Gu Jing Yuan, sluggishly made his way downstairs. She glanced at the clock, it was only half past seven. Usually, he would not be up before eleven or even twelve.

“Good morning, Ge-ge.”

He yawned, “What’s your plan for today?”

“Huh? I’m going to the library.”

“Then let’s go together.”

“You also want to go to the library?” 

“En.”

She repeated her question in surprise, “Are you sure you want to go to the library, to study?”

Gu Jing Yuan raised his head and asked her solemnly, “Didn’t we agree on it yesterday?”

Otherwise, why else would he get up so early? He needed to catch her before she left.

Lest she sneaks away again.

She was a little taken aback. It turned out that he really was not joking yesterday. After he sobered up, he still remembered what he said.

“Then pack up some study supplies, we’ll be leaving in half an hour.” Her attitude was colder than yesterday.

“Tao Yi Xi, you haven’t eaten your breakfast yet.” He stopped her.

She frowned in doubt, “I’ll eat it later.”

“It would’ve been cold later.”

“?” He was acting a little strange today.

As soon as Gu Jing Yuan came downstairs, Nanny Yang was already prepared with his favorite dumpling soup. It was piping hot, right out of the pot. 

“Xiao Yuan, here’s a bowl of dumplings.”

He offered, “Tao Yi Xi, do you want a bowl as well?”

Nanny Yang glanced at her in dissatisfaction.

“No, thank you.”

She took two slices of toast before leaving. The whole time, she did not pay him the slightest bit of attention. 

Staring at her retreating back, the dumplings that he loved to eat had lost its appeal.

Why was she always like this; constantly changing between hot and cold?

**

This was the first time Gu Jing Yuan visited a library. The quiet environment was only filled with the sounds of rustling pages and the scratching of pen tips against paper. It caused people to involuntarily keep their mouths shut for fear of destroying this tranquility.

The desk was larger than he expected. So it seemed that they were not seated as closely to each other as he had thought yesterday.

Tao Yi Xi gestured at him and Gu Jing Yuan bent down to her level.

She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “You do a set of mock test papers first, I’ll check through them when you’re done.” 

Her warm breath blew against his ear creating a ticklish sensation. Unconsciously, his ears started to turn red.  

Gu Jing Yuan nodded. As he looked through the increasingly familiar topics, it helped calm his state of mind.

During her short break, Tao Yi Xi glanced at him. Gu Jing Yuan was completely engrossed in his work that even with his phone screen lighting up, it did not distract him. 

Compared to them, he actually did not fall short at all.

Just looking at his endurance when it came to studying, it was not something a mediocre student would have.  

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Though previously I said there was progress, our Jing Yuan is also a bit delusional… but love him all the same LOL

(´•ω•`)ゞ