Chapter 105: Leaving

Gu Liuguang met Lin Zhenshuang’s gaze and suspiciously scanned her. She wore a black-and-white casual suit and had frameless glasses perched on her face, as if she had come straight from work.

Before this, Lin Zhenshuang had never visited this apartment.

Gu Liuguang had previously thought Lin Zhenshuang didn’t know about this apartment. Now that she had suddenly shown up, it made her instinctively think of Lin Shixia.

Her fingers twitched slightly on her phone as Gu Liuguang flashed a bashful smile. “Yeah, I’m hungry, so I wanted to go out and buy something to eat.”

Lin Zhenshuang stepped out of the elevator. Gu Liuguang could only watch helplessly as the elevator doors closed again. She stood at the door, unwilling to leave.

Lin Zhenshuang walked a few steps toward the main door. When she noticed Gu Liuguang wasn’t following, she turned back to look at her, her tone calm. “Can’t you just order delivery?”

“I’ll treat.”

Gu Liuguang still didn’t really want to leave. She hesitated in place for a moment before saying, “I’m going down to buy some other things.”

Lin Zhenshuang also stood still, her expression calm and betraying no abnormalities. “You could have someone run the errand.”

“It’s just a few steps away. The supermarket is very close.”

The elevator had been waiting on this floor the whole time. After Gu Liuguang pressed the button, the doors opened right away. Lin Zhenshuang’s voice rang out from behind her.

“Come open the door first. I don’t know the password for your apartment.” Lin Zhenshuang interrupted Gu Liuguang’s attempt to step into the elevator. “Or do you want me to go shopping with you?”

Gu Liuguang hesitated. Between telling Lin Zhenshuang the password directly or going to open the door herself, she chose the latter. She didn’t want Lin Zhenshuang to see how desperate she was.

She turned around and unlocked the password lock, entering the code she knew by heart. As she did, Gu Liuguang’s eyes darted around, trying to come up with other excuses to persuade Lin Zhenshuang.

The lock gave a “ding” as it unlocked, and the door cracked open.

“Let’s talk about your breakup with Shixia. Is that okay?”

Lin Zhenshuang said.

Gu Liuguang froze in place and looked at Lin Zhenshuang in shock. She grew unnaturally stiff all over, her fingers twisting around her phone as she tried to struggle out of it. “Auntie, what are you talking about?”

Lin Zhenshuang stood at the doorway and pushed the door open wider, revealing the pitch-black apartment inside—like an empty black hole.

Lin Zhenshuang’s voice seemed to echo as she spoke, her tone very calm, even a bit gentle. “You blocked all of us. Shixia couldn’t reach you and got really anxious. She called me and asked me to come over.”

Gu Liuguang’s heart tightened. Her toes instinctively pointed toward the elevator as she gave an awkward laugh. “Is there some kind of misunderstanding?”

Lin Zhenshuang looked over at her. “You’re leaving without taking anything. You’re planning to leave C City directly, right? Because you’re mad at Shixia?”

Gu Liuguang carefully observed her expression and saw no sign of anger. Her impulse to bolt eased, and she racked her brain for how to respond.

Lin Zhenshuang was a character not mentioned in the original plot. She had to think carefully about what to say to leave the right impression.

This hesitation made Lin Zhenshuang assume she was willing to sit down and talk properly. She walked into the apartment and turned on the light nearby.

The bright light instantly illuminated the living room, making them seem like they had been standing in the darkness.

“Come in and talk first.” Lin Zhenshuang glanced at Gu Liuguang again, her tone flat. “You don’t think someone’s going to lock you in the little black room, do you?”

It sounded like a joke. Gu Liuguang instinctively retorted, “No.”

She was just worried that staying in C City meant she wouldn’t be able to leave—that Lin Shixia might do something extreme. But now, it seemed staying in C City might still be a good choice.

She could keep provoking Lin Shixia, transferring the hatred from those who liked Lin Shixia onto herself, achieving her goal of logging off quickly.

If she stayed in C City, Lin Shixia’s fans might even drive her out voluntarily, without causing trouble for her family in A City.

With that in mind, Gu Liuguang gave Lin Zhenshuang a slight smile. “I really was just going downstairs to buy something. I didn’t say I was leaving.”

Gu Liuguang returned to the apartment. Lin Zhenshuang leisurely closed the door and gestured for Gu Liuguang to sit on the living room sofa. The two took opposite ends.

Lin Zhenshuang asked her, “Why the sudden breakup?”

Gu Liuguang said, “It wasn’t sudden. I just felt we weren’t right for each other, so we broke up.”

“Like with me?”

Gu Liuguang nodded awkwardly, her hands unconsciously fiddling with the hem of her clothes. “Something like that.”

“Do you like someone else now?”

“No.” Gu Liuguang stared at Lin Zhenshuang earnestly. “I just don’t want to date anymore, so that’s why we broke up.”

“No other reasons?”

“None.” Gu Liuguang repeated.

Lin Zhenshuang stared at Gu Liuguang for a while longer before asking, “What would it take for you not to break up?”

Gu Liuguang was momentarily confused as to whether Lin Zhenshuang was asking for herself or for Lin Shixia. It took her a good while to find her voice again, and she sounded a bit impatient. “It’s normal to want to be together when you like someone, and not want to when you don’t. Is that so hard to understand?”

“I haven’t fallen for anyone else, and I don’t want to keep dating. I just feel this relationship is a bit tiring, so I don’t want to continue. Is that not okay?”

Lin Zhenshuang nodded. “I understand.”

Gu Liuguang let out a breath of relief and relaxed all over. She naturally said to Lin Zhenshuang, “I’ll move out of here tomorrow. Whatever stuff I leave behind in the apartment, Lin Shixia can deal with it however she wants.”

Lin Zhenshuang didn’t respond. Gu Liuguang waited a moment before speaking again. “Is there anything else?”

Lin Zhenshuang said, “Shixia might want you to talk to her face-to-face again.”

Gu Liuguang frowned, instinctively wanting to avoid it. “I have nothing left to say to her.”

“Breaking up just over WeChat—doesn’t that feel a bit perfunctory for this relationship?”

“If I don’t like her anymore, even meeting once more feels like a waste of time. Isn’t that normal?”

“Last night, you were still together. She definitely didn’t think that would be your last meeting before the breakup.”

Lin Zhenshuang’s tone held no strong emotions as she said this—like she was standing up for Lin Shixia, or perhaps sighing.

Gu Liuguang frowned and asked her, “So what do you want me to do?”

As she asked, Gu Liuguang thought to herself that if Lin Zhenshuang wanted revenge, it would be best if she started now. That way, she could leave this world sooner and not have to face Lin Shixia anymore.

Lin Zhenshuang suddenly smiled faintly—something Gu Liuguang rarely saw. She drawled, “I just want to ask if you still want to see Shixia.”

Gu Liuguang thought about it seriously. She said, “No.”

Lin Zhenshuang looked at her, her tone gentle as she nodded slightly. “Shixia likes you a lot. After she found out you blocked her, she cried and begged me to come find you, asking me to figure out a way to keep you there. She kept saying she’d be back soon.”

“You know she’s recording a show. She was willing to break the contract midway and get called arrogant for it, just to come back.”

“She really wants to see you. She really wants to keep you.”

Gu Liuguang’s expression changed slightly. Thinking of Lin Shixia’s tears, it quickly showed on her face. Her hands fidgeted restlessly, and she almost wanted to jump up and run out of there right away.

But Lin Zhenshuang was there, so she forced herself to stay on the sofa. She asked Lin Zhenshuang, “And then?”

Lin Zhenshuang’s tone remained flat. The look in her eyes as she gazed at Gu Liuguang was like a deep, serene lake. “Both of you are very important to me. I don’t want either of you to be sad, and I don’t want to use other means to force you.”

Gu Liuguang looked at Lin Zhenshuang with complex emotions. She and Lin Zhenshuang had indeed had an online romance, and Lin Zhenshuang sometimes mentioned liking her, but Gu Liuguang had never taken it too seriously.

Compared to anyone else, Lin Zhenshuang didn’t seem like someone who liked her.

Hearing her say it so directly now still surprised her a bit, and she didn’t understand what her emphasis meant.

“I won’t interfere in your affairs. You can unblock me,” Lin Zhenshuang said to Gu Liuguang, her tone always calm. “If you need anything, you can come to me.”

Lin Zhenshuang stood up and walked over to Gu Liuguang. She bent down slightly and pressed her hand firmly onto the back of Gu Liuguang’s—like a form of protection and promise.

Her palm was cool and dry, her fingers long. It covered more than the back of Gu Liuguang’s hand.

Lin Zhenshuang straightened up. Though she should have been looking down at her, her gaze held an indescribable gentleness.

“Shixia begged me to come keep you here, so I did. Whether you want to see her is up to you.”

Gu Liuguang sat unmoving on the sofa. The coolness of Lin Zhenshuang’s palm seemed to linger on the back of her hand. After a moment, she asked, “Even if I leave right now, you won’t stop me?”

Lin Zhenshuang nodded. “But I’ll tell Shixia that you left.”

Even if she told her, it wouldn’t matter. Lin Shixia was still on the plane with no signal and no internet. She wouldn’t know until later.

Gu Liuguang stood up as if to leave, staring straight at Lin Zhenshuang. “Then I’m really leaving?”

Lin Zhenshuang stepped aside, saying nothing. Her meaning was clear: she could leave anytime.

Gu Liuguang stood there, her expression inscrutable. Finally, she walked to the door, opened it, closed it without a backward glance, and called the elevator.

She reached the first floor smoothly, walked to the entrance of the complex, and took out her phone to agonize over where to go next.

System: 【Don’t you think Lin Zhenshuang is acting weird?】

Gu Liuguang: 【Is anyone not weird in your eyes right now?】

She had money, but no property in C City. For the night, she could only book a random hotel temporarily.

After booking a hotel, Gu Liuguang called a car on the ride-hailing app and soon left the complex.

She closed her eyes in the back seat of the car. The System wouldn’t stay quiet and curiously asked her: 【What do you think Lin Zhenshuang’s deal is? I thought you’d ask her for help.】

Anyone seeing her stand on their side would instinctively ask for help, but Gu Liuguang had left without looking back. Even the System couldn’t figure it out.

【Should we unblock Lin Zhenshuang?】

Gu Liuguang opened her eyes and refused outright: 【No.】

Even if it was a fake world, she didn’t want to keep owing anyone anything.