Chapter 72: Goodbye
“Are you leaving already? So fast. How did it get to be this time in the blink of an eye?”
“Really… you’re crying again. It’s not like you’re never coming back. You’ll still come back for the graduation photo.”
Xia Qiange took the suitcase from Xu Dan. The girl, who was usually so fiery, was in tears, holding on to her and not wanting her to leave. She smiled and comforted her, “You guys study hard for the graduate school entrance exam. I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
“I’m going to miss you. You’ll be alone outside in the future. Sigh, if it wasn’t for the accident back then…”, Xu Dan suddenly realized she had said the wrong thing and covered her mouth, shaking her head and stammering, “I won’t say any more. Be careful on the way.”
“Alright, alright. Go back quickly. I’ll say hello to you guys before I go back to school.”
“Okay, goodbye.”
“Goodbye…”
In the fourth year of university, the first semester was a desolate and cold late autumn. The partings in the early morning and late evening were unavoidable, like the branches that had been dyed a desolate and deep yellow by the bleak autumn wind. No matter how the branches and leaves struggled, they could not hold on to the green vitality of midsummer. With a gust of wind, the body would weakly fall off the stem, and the wrinkled leaves would sway in the wind, but they could not find a home for the fallen leaves for a long time.
Xia Qiange dragged her heavy suitcase and stood on the stone bridge at the main entrance of Qingchuan University, looking at the forest path behind her, which she had walked countless times. The originally long and narrow, deep forest path was now bare under the bleak sunlight, with a mess of tangled roots and branches. The yellow and wrinkled leaves were like the withered and dying butterflies of late autumn, withering and scattering in the wind.
She had no home anymore. Her mother had committed suicide, and she had personally sent her father to prison. She was like a fierce and outstanding wolf, with the blood of a lonely life flowing in her veins.
She would often think, was she the one who had killed her own blood relative? Was it the cold-bloodedness and fierceness that had been ingrained in her bones since she was born? She had been chasing in the vast grassland until she was exhausted, but she could not find the light that had fallen into the mountain stream in the end.
The vigorous and powerful nomination on the huge stone at the school gate was vivid in her mind. The memory of her first time walking over this small bridge was as if it had just happened yesterday. So many things had happened in these few years, but they had not been able to leave a trace in her heart.
But from beginning to end, she had only been thinking of one thing. Her fingertips, which had been smeared with blood, were covered with blood-stained characters in her heart. From then on, there was no room for anything else.
Xia Qiange raised her cold and clear eyes, and her dark pupils reflected the sparkling river under the stone bridge. The clear water was flowing quietly for three years, and everything seemed to have not changed.
She did not stay for too long. A person like her seemed to be naturally unfeeling. It was as if these three years had been thrown into the mud like withered and fallen leaves, to become the nourishment for love. Her slender and frail back turned and left, and she slowly disappeared from sight.
…
“Just pack up your things these few days. There’s a case before you go to the capital for an internship. Follow Lawyer Mo to Lin’an. It’s a developer’s case. Lawyer Mo is an authority in this area, and he’s much better than me. Follow him and learn well.”
“Thank you, teacher. I will definitely not let you down.”
“Alright then. I’ll go back and get a beauty sleep. I’ve been so tired these past few days, busy with your internship. By the way… there’s a dinner party tonight. Just consider it a farewell for you. I’ve also picked out a dress for you. I don’t know if it’s to your liking.”
“Okay. Of course I trust your taste, sister. I’ll go and pick you up later and ask you to do my makeup.”
The relationship between the two of them was very clear. Most of the time, they would address each other as sisters. Xia Qiange’s voice was sweet and greasy. Yun Meiman on the other end of the phone yawned, as if she were really very tired.
Xia Qiange hung up the phone. The faucet by her hand was running with a trickling sound. She leaned over and washed her hands, shaking off the cold water. She looked up at her expressionless self in the mirror and brushed aside the dark and slightly curled hair that was draped over the side of her neck, revealing a faint blush on both sides of her cheeks.
Her cool fingertips gently brushed over her cheeks, completely wiping away the proof of her excitement that was hard to control. The sound of the water slowly stopped, and only then did she leave the bathroom.
Two whole years, really… so long. It was like a dream.
…
“Hello, here’s your coffee. Hmm?”
“Oh… oh, okay. Thank you.”
The man suddenly came back to his senses. He subconsciously reached out to take the coffee the other party was holding. His flustered movements startled the waiter. His movements trembled, and a little bit of dark liquid splashed onto the man’s palm.
The hot coffee burned his skin. He was in pain and frowned his already very deep eyebrows. The waiter on the side repeatedly apologized. He waved his hand, indicating that he was fine. The other party was relieved and retreated with the tray.
It had been too long. He had almost mistaken her at first glance. The frail and youthful girl from back then had turned into the ruthless and decisive, strange appearance he had just witnessed in the blink of an eye.
Her narrow-soled, thin-heeled high heels landed gracefully and calmly, making a crisp sound in his ear. His gaze, which was on the ground, slowly moved up. Her slender, porcelain-white calves under her half-skirt were tensed into a beautiful muscle curve. Her small and exquisite ankles were in her shoes, and her almost-transparent instep was exposed. The fine blue veins were faintly visible as she moved.
Her well-fitting dress perfectly outlined the graceful figure that was always hidden under her loose clothes. She had just come out of the bathroom in the distance and had seen the scene just now. Her mature, dark eyeliner was drawn up at the corners of her eyes. She pursed her bright red and alluring lips, as if she were smiling. In an instant, she was full of charm, like a fresh flower bud that had suddenly bloomed with a beautiful and charming branch.
“I’m sorry. The internship company had something urgent.”
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
Gu Chuan’s dry and sticky lips were pulled into a smile, and he shook his head. He opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say as he stared at the girl’s only unchanged eyes. He was a little confused about whether the person in front of him was the same Xia Qiange he had known before.
“Since I’m the one who asked you out, I’ll go first.”
Xia Qiange had no intention of reminiscing. A gentle smile was on her lips, but it was as if she were holding a sharp knife, and she went straight to the point, piercing the unnecessary cover between them.
“I saw the news a few days ago. Su Yu should be back in Qingchuan, right?”
“Yeah. Are you trying to save…”
Gu Chuan suddenly stopped. He realized that this was not about saving him at all. It was just falling from one abyss into another.
“I think… it’s about time.”
Xia Qiange smiled, her gaze plain, her dark pupils quietly staring at the other party, and her thoughts were completely unreadable.
“Why? What do you want, Xia Qiange?”
“I love him. Is there a problem with holding the person I like in my palm?”
Gu Chuan was stunned for a moment. The girl’s directness had caught him off guard. That aggressive tone was no longer the frail and gentle girl of the past.
“Then what’s the difference? You and Gu Zhi are just the same kind of people.”
“No. I’ll love him more. He’ll be very happy, and he’ll also love me. His love for me will be bone-deep, not like the suffering he’s going through now.” Xia Qiange answered almost without thinking, leaving no room for argument.
Gu Chuan squinted his eyes, his tone a little cold. “What if… I say no?”
“Haha… you might have misunderstood something. I’m not here to bargain with you. There have been some cases about the Gu family in the firm recently. I’ve found some interesting things. Gu Lei… that is, your father, has been secretly transferring the assets of the Gu family in private these past few years. He’s made two-handed preparations early on. He probably thinks that his son, who has gained power by betraying his friends, is not very reliable.”
“What do you think will happen if this gets out? It’s not good to send your own university classmate’s father to prison, right?”
Xia Qiange tilted her head, her eyes curved, a faint smile on her face. She asked Gu Chuan sincerely, as if she were really asking for his opinion.
Gu Chuan lowered his head slightly. His already pale face suddenly lost its color. His two arms were hanging by his sides, and his fingers were half-clenched in the air, stiff. His hair, which had not been trimmed for a long time, was messy and curled. His bangs were messy and drooping, covering his light blue eyes. His jawbone was tensed even more, as if it would break in the next second.
“By the way, there’s also this.”
Xia Qiange did not care about Gu Chuan’s silence. She took out her phone from her bag and opened a video and placed it in front of Gu Chuan. The camera was a little shaky in the chaotic scene.
There was no sound, but the shaking picture quickly attracted Gu Chuan’s attention. He was too familiar with those pictures. They had been like a nightmare that he couldn’t get rid of for the past two years, wailing and crying in his ear day and night, almost torturing him to the point of a nervous breakdown, and he couldn’t find himself.
He hadn’t gone to school later either. The two beds in that dorm in Qingchuan University had always been empty. Everything had ended so abruptly and hastily.
“You really shouldn’t have let me go back then. Did you think I was scared out of my wits? But I just happened to have taken this video before you found me. I knew you guys would investigate the nearby cameras afterwards. Instead of being exposed afterwards… it would be better to let you find out in advance. And in the end, your performance was as I had expected.”
“You, you’re really too soft-hearted. No wonder your father is ready to abandon you and your sister, who is being held hostage. To have fallen to this point, it’s just your…”
“own fault.” Xia Qiange chuckled and looked down, stirring the gradually cooling coffee. She said the harsh words lightly and took in the other party’s pitiful struggle in her dark eyes.
“I… I’ll help you.”
The last bit of defense was shattered the moment his family was involved. Gu Chuan let go of his clenched fist and said with a hoarse voice, “But before… I clearly asked you then.”
“Why should I have believed you then? I still prefer a more obedient pawn, just like now. And besides, haven’t you been secretly inquiring about Su Yu’s news? Now I’ll give you the courage. A person as conceited and arrogant as Gu Zhi, you’ve been so obedient for so long. It should be easy to deal with her now, right?”
Xia Qiange pursed her lips, which were stained with coffee. The tip of her tongue was a little bitter, but she could barely suppress the throbbing in her heart. Her heart was so tight in her thin frame that it was shaking violently.
“But what about the people related to Su Xi? Gu Zhi is a madwoman. She won’t let it go then.”
“Oh…”, Xia Qiange was replying to a message from Lawyer Mo about going to Lin’an for a case on her phone. She didn’t even look up at Gu Chuan, like a willful child, and answered casually, “I just want him. The others… do they have anything to do with me?”
“I’m out of time. There’s a dinner party tonight. I’ll treat you to coffee.”
Xia Qiange put down her coffee, smoothed the messy hair by her ear, and hurriedly stood up and picked up her bag. She threw a final sentence at the silent man with his head down and left the coffee shop directly.
“I’m going on a business trip to Lin’an in a few days. I hope I can see the person I want then. Otherwise… haha, I believe you’re a smart person.”
