Chapter 77: Apology
Su Yu returned to the private room. Looking at the large room with only a few people left, he was stunned for a moment. The few remaining people also left. In the center of the room, only his sister, Gu Zhi, was left.
Gu Zhi looked at him with a bright and alluring smile, but it gave Su Yu a sense of detachment. He felt that the gentle warmth in her expression had faded a little.
“Where is everyone?”
“They said it was about to rain, so they all went back.”
Gu Zhi lowered her head and packed her bag, taking out her phone and handing it to Su Yu. “You left your phone just now, so I kept it for you.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Su Yu took his phone and scrolled through it. There was a message from An Zhi, saying she had left.
“Did you bring an umbrella?”
“No.” Su Yu shook his head, looking at the increasingly heavy rain outside. “I’ll just take a taxi back.”
“The rain is so heavy. Why don’t you take my car?”
Gu Zhi picked up her bag and slowly stood up, standing in front of Su Yu and smoothing his messy hair. She whispered in his ear, her breath hot.
“I still have something to tell you.”
…
The lights in the car were dim. The rain pattered against the window, shattering into droplets, then gathering together to form a blurry film of water on the window.
Su Yu looked out the window. The visibility was terrible. The rain, mixed with the dark night, made it impossible to see more than a few dozen meters ahead. All he could see was a white blur.
They had both gotten quite wet before getting into the car. The soaked clothes clung to their bodies, and the cold wind instantly stole their body heat, making them shiver.
As soon as Gu Zhi got into the car, she turned on the car heater. The warm air spread from the vents, and the temperature inside the car gradually warmed up. It didn’t feel so cold anymore, but a hazy mist formed in front of them.
“Are you still cold?”
“I’m fine, much warmer now.”
Gu Zhi glanced at Su Yu. The boy’s shirt was soaked from the rainwater dripping from his hair, clinging to his chest, revealing his slender collarbone under his pale neck, so fragile it seemed as if she could break it with a gentle squeeze.
“Is that so?” Gu Zhi untied her bun, her long hair falling down. “Xiao Yu, we haven’t really talked alone since that time.”
“Maybe I’ve been a bit busy with school. I didn’t know if you had anything important to do.”
“Yeah, but… I’ve really missed you these past few years. Really, really missed you.” Gu Zhi looked up, her gaze meeting Su Yu’s profile in the rearview mirror, which she had deliberately adjusted. A greedy murkiness stained her clear, black and white eyes. Darkness always allowed the desires hidden in one’s heart to grow without limit. She suddenly felt her mouth go dry.
“You left so suddenly that year. I was sad for a long time. I thought you would never come back. I didn’t expect to meet you here.”
Su Yu nodded. It was too dark in the car, he couldn’t even see Gu Zhi’s face clearly. Her wet hair fell in a cascade of shadows, and he could only vaguely make out her dark outline.
The car slowly stopped at a red light. The sound of car horns from outside momentarily drowned out the sound of the rain. Su Yu looked out the window and suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
Su Yu’s mind sharpened. He moistened his lips, which were prone to chapping in the autumn, with saliva. He stared out the window intently, but the more he tried to see clearly, the more unfamiliar it became. He hadn’t been in Qingchuan for long, but he should have been able to recognize the area around the school. This didn’t seem to be the way back to school. His nerves instantly tensed.
The neroli fragrance that lingered around his nose suddenly became stronger. A shadow, carrying a warmth, descended upon him. Su Yu instinctively leaned back, but his back was pressed against the car door, with nowhere to go.
“What’s wrong?”
A gentle voice fell on Su Yu’s ear, like a soft feather soothing his almost-snapping nerves. Su Yu’s wide eyes were still filled with fear. He stared blankly as Gu Zhi brushed past him and slightly lowered the air conditioner’s temperature.
“The temperature seems a bit too high. I’m feeling a little hot.”
Gu Zhi looked at him, her smile gentle, completely dispelling the bewildered fear in his heart.
“Are you scared? Xiao Yu is still as timid as before. I remember you used to get bullied all the time.”
“Maybe I have a nervous breakdown.” Su Yu laughed self-deprecatingly and asked about his earlier suspicion. “Sister, this shouldn’t be the way back to school, right?”
“No, this is the way back to my home.” Gu Zhi replied casually. The traffic light changed, and the car started again, speeding through the pouring rain.
Su Yu asked in surprise, “To your home, sister? Won’t I be a bother?”
“How could you be? I’m the only one at home. How could you bother anyone? And didn’t I say, I’ve missed you a lot these past few years…”
The neon lights of the night flickered in the glistening raindrops. Gu Zhi’s dark eyes were stained with a chaotic light, like her currently surging emotions. Her trembling body could barely hold the steering wheel. “After I left, I regretted it. I really regretted it.”
“Yeah, I know. I regret it too, for not being able to keep you.”
“Then when we get back, we’ll celebrate. By the way, Xiao Yu, do you drink?”
“A little, not very well.”
“Then have a little with me. It’s been a long time since… I’ve found someone I want to drink with.”
“Okay, as long as you don’t mind my poor tolerance, sister.”
Su Yu smiled and leaned against the car window, staring out at the dark night. His eyes were in the shadows. Gu Zhi’s words had triggered his memories. There were too many things to regret in a lifetime, like his inability to keep Gu Zhi back then. If it wasn’t for his rebirth, he would never have met this sister who had given him so much warmth.
…
You watched his frightened and terrified expression for a moment, like a small, injured, and frightened beast. You felt more and more that your reunion was a gift from heaven. The way his clear, pool-like eyes rippled was simply mesmerizing. For a moment, you wanted to slam on the gas pedal and take him back quickly, to hold a grand welcome party for him.
Time had not diminished your feelings for him at all. You had thought that hatred would be enough to replace everything, but it wasn’t. You still missed him, and your love had bounced back even stronger.
You would repay him with your gushing love and the regrets of these past few years, telling him that you shouldn’t have abandoned him back then. You were not a qualified master. You should apologize to him.
You wanted to mess up his thick, smooth black hair, your fingers brushing over his cheeks, and then… fiercely grip his neck, watching his cheeks slowly turn red, his clear eyes welling up with tears, looking at you pitifully. And just when he was about to run out of oxygen and suffocate, you would let go and give him a chance to live, while leaning in and telling him in his ear.
“I’m sorry, I love you.”
