Forbidden to Flirt and Run 41p2

Chapter 41p2

In the evening, Xu Qingtang and Tang Gui met at a Yunnan-style hotpot restaurant. As they were ordering, Jiang Wan walked in from the entrance, first saying what a coincidence, and then asking if they wanted to share a table.

So the old friends’ meeting became a three-person hotpot gathering. The topic started with Tang Gui mentioning the New Year’s holiday. Xu Qingtang asked, “Isn’t it good to have a holiday? Why are you so worried?”

Tang Gui said, “My mom said she’s coming to see me. I’m guessing she’s here to pressure me to get married again.”

Pressuring to get married was a staple of the holidays. Xu Qingtang deeply understood and gave her a sympathetic look.

Jiang Wan, on the other hand, said, “Oh. Then do you have any plans for that?”

Tang Gui shook her head.

The atmosphere fell silent, then was broken by a phone ringing. Xu Qingtang turned her head to look. It was a call from Teacher Qi. She answered, “Mom?”

Teacher Qi hummed in agreement and asked if she was free.

Xu Qingtang said, “I’m out for dinner.”

Teacher Qi: “Then come back in two days. I have something to tell you.”

It was probably about her and Gu Yizhi again.

Xu Qingtang nodded. “Yes, alright.”

Even if Teacher Qi didn’t look for her, Xu Qingtang was planning to go home and discuss it with her in a few days when she had calmed down.

Tang Gui’s eyes darted around. “Your mom?”

Xu Qingtang hummed in agreement.

Tang Gui: “Is it alright?”

Xu Qingtang: “It’s fine. What could be wrong?”

Although she was already prepared, Xu Qingtang couldn’t help but feel nervous. She sent a message to Gu Yizhi, but didn’t receive a reply.

During this time, Teacher Qi didn’t mention her breaking up with Gu Yizhi again, but just shared many reports about how unmarried and childless people would have a miserable old age, and how childless people would have no blessings in their lives.

Xu Qingtang was silent for a while.

She held back for a long time before she could resist the urge to reply to Teacher Qi with some reports about how unfilial children and grandchildren, and how lonely and widowed people in empty nests.

Jiang Wan went back to the bar. Tang Gui accompanied her to wait for the car, patted her on the shoulder, and said earnestly, “Qingtang, solve it properly. And, have a good talk with Gu Yizhi. Don’t keep things to yourself. It’s easy to bottle things up and cause problems.”

Xu Qingtang put down her phone and shrugged. “What problems could we have?”

Jiang Wan was not around, so Tang Gui spoke more boldly. She glanced at Xu Qingtang. “You don’t understand now. Are there any couples who don’t have problems? It’s just that the problems haven’t appeared yet.”

When they really appeared, a single sentence, a single matter, even a leaf on the roadside was worth arguing about.

As they argued, their feelings would fade and they would break up.

Tang Gui’s expression became a little lonely. She said, “Didn’t I tell you before that my first love is back? I met her a while ago and we talked about the past.”

Tang Gui’s first love was a painter. The reason they had broken up was because her family had found out about them. At first, her first love had struggled and resisted, but all of this was done behind Tang Gui’s back. Tang Gui knew nothing of her troubles.

In the end, the problem erupted when Tang Gui was invited to a classmate’s birthday party. That classmate had always liked Tang Gui, but only she herself didn’t know.

In her first love’s eyes, it was that she had no sense of propriety, didn’t know how to refuse, and didn’t cherish their relationship, so she became disheartened and left the country in a huff.

They had been abroad for two years, and they had originally had a chance. Because in the second year, her first love had encountered a major earthquake. When the tremors were at their strongest, she had sent a message to Tang Gui, asking if she was willing to wait for her to come back.

Even though it was an unknown number, Tang Gui knew it was her, so she had waited for her for many years based on that one text message. But in the end, she had only received a photo of her first love’s family sending her a picture of her engagement to a man.

And in her first love’s eyes, her message had sunk like a stone into the sea, with no reply. She was just a passing cloud in Tang Gui’s eyes.

Tang Gui didn’t know what to feel when she talked about these things. She just glanced at Xu Qingtang and said, “Look at you. You don’t tell Gu Yizhi anything. Do you know what she’s thinking?”

Xu Qingtang pursed her lips and blurted out the truth. “I don’t want to make things difficult for her. She’s already been so accommodating and has taken care of me. I want to solve things myself.”

Tang Gui blinked and said, “As you wish. When your wife is gone, don’t regret it.”

Xu Qingtang teased, “Who said couples have to argue? Our Gu Yizhi is so good. She wouldn’t bear to argue with me.”

One shouldn’t speak too soon. Too much leads to loss. Xu Qingtang finally knew that the experience summarized by countless couples was not without reason.

Xu Qingtang was already annoyed by Teacher Qi. Recently, Gu Yizhi had been busy with work at the end of the year and was always working overtime. It was said that she would be on a business trip again in a while, and their dates would always be delayed by ten minutes or so.

It happened to be her period. Xu Qingtang had originally planned to stay at home for a day, but in the daytime, she was asked out for a meal by a certain junior leader from her previous business trip, along with a few colleagues. During the meal, the leader and a few older seniors mentioned the matter of marriage, urging Xu Qingtang to get married, and even opened WeChat to say they would introduce her to some damn young talent.

Even the various arguments about what would happen if you didn’t get married were exactly the same as Teacher Qi’s.

Xu Qingtang was very angry.

The leader said, “If you don’t get married, no one will know when you’re old and dead. Didn’t you see the report a while ago? It’s so tragic.”

Xu Qingtang: “Can you be resurrected if they know?”

The leader was silent. “Let’s not talk about this. Anyway, there are definitely many benefits to getting married. Qingtang, although this is not pleasant to hear, a woman is not worth much after thirty. If you keep being picky, you’ll be the only one left in the end, and you won’t even have a place to complain.”

Xu Qingtang was about to open her mouth again, but her senior apprentice-sister stopped her and looked at the leader with a smile. “Isn’t that right? That’s the only good thing about getting married. Didn’t Sister-in-law cry to us every day a while ago? She said her married life was not harmonious, and there were mistresses, and mistresses of mistresses. If you don’t get married, you really don’t have to suffer this kind of hardship.”

Everyone held back their laughter, and the leader’s face immediately became embarrassed.

After the meal, Xu Qingtang went to Gu Yizhi’s company as usual. Tonight, they had planned to watch a newly released movie together, which they had planned when they were still in City C.

But she waited and waited, only to receive a message from Gu Yizhi saying that she had to work for another twenty minutes and that she should come up.

Xu Qingtang didn’t know where her stubbornness came from. She said no, she hadn’t arrived yet.

Twenty minutes later, Gu Yizhi came out of the company entrance and saw Xu Qingtang standing under a tree by the roadside, her face flushed red from the cold.

Gu Yizhi walked closer and said softly, “Have you been standing for a long time? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

Xu Qingtang’s tone was not good. “Do you think I want to stand here?”

Gu Yizhi’s movements paused for a moment. She put her hand in her palm and closed it. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault. It won’t be like this after this busy period is over.”

Xu Qingtang pulled her hand away and sneered. “You’re busy. I wouldn’t dare to disturb you.”

Gu Yizhi frowned. “Tangtang, what’s wrong with you?”

Xu Qingtang: “Nothing.”

Gu Yizhi: “A work problem?”

Xu Qingtang: “No.”

Gu Yizhi: “Not feeling well?”

Xu Qingtang still said no.

Gu Yizhi glanced at her. “Xu Qingtang, don’t bring your emotions into your life.”

Xu Qingtang retorted unceremoniously, “I wasn’t late. What did I bring into my life?”

In the end, Gu Yizhi simply stopped talking.

The two of them went to the cinema in silence. In the end, they missed the show and went back to Gu Yizhi’s home in silence.

When the car was parked downstairs, Xu Qingtang actually felt a little regretful for talking to Gu Yizhi in that tone. But just now, it was as if she had been possessed, and she couldn’t control it at all.

Xu Qingtang regretted it, but she couldn’t bring herself to apologize at the moment. She could only look out the window and ask, pretending, “Is it raining outside?”

“No.”

Gu Yizhi replied coldly. Just as Xu Qingtang was about to continue to play dumb and ask, she had already opened the door and gotten out of the car.

From going upstairs to entering the door, the two of them were very close. The previously warm and intimate atmosphere was now only filled with anxiety and torment. Xu Qingtang wanted to speak several times, but seeing Gu Yizhi’s expressionless face, she couldn’t make a sound.

After entering the door, Xu Qingtang felt a pain in her abdomen.

She rushed into the bathroom and finally came out with a pale face. Gu Yizhi was opening the refrigerator to check the ingredients. Usually at this time, Gu Yizhi would have prepared brown sugar water for her, put a hot water bottle on her, and rubbed her stomach. When Xu Qingtang was pouting, she would even tell her stories to coax her.

Now she closed the refrigerator door, but then opened the study door and went in without a sound, not even looking at her the whole time. Xu Qingtang felt a surge of grievance and regret.

Squeak.

The door opened.

Xu Qingtang, who was curled up on the sofa, quietly lifted her eyelids. Gu Yizhi walked from the bedroom to the main door, took a takeout from outside, and the portion of the takeout didn’t look big. It was probably for one person.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingtang felt even more aggrieved.

She wasn’t even willing to eat with her now.

The more Xu Qingtang thought about it, the more aggrieved she became, and she shed two drops of tears without any dignity. She lowered her head. Just as she was about to wipe them away and hide them, Gu Yizhi’s voice came. “What are you crying for? Weren’t you quite fierce just now?”

Hearing her voice, Xu Qingtang’s tears couldn’t be stopped. She denied it. “No.” She added, “I’m not crying.”

“You dare to be so fierce with me,” Gu Yizhi pinched her chin. The tear tracks fell from her cheeks to her fingertips. She said helplessly, “Miss Xu, how can I still be angry with you like this?”

Xu Qingtang cried even harder, her tears falling like they were free. She threw herself into Gu Yizhi’s arms, her large tears drilling into her collar. “Let’s not argue, okay? Don’t ignore me.”

Gu Yizhi laughed. “Who’s ignoring you?”

“You,” Xu Qingtang looked up aggrievedly. “You’re even eating at separate tables now. Are you going to sleep in separate rooms later?”

Gu Yizhi didn’t deny it. “I was thinking about it just now, but seeing a certain Miss Xu looking like she’s about to die of pain, I’m not very willing.”

Xu Qingtang: “…I wasn’t.”

Gu Yizhi: “You weren’t. I was.”

Xu Qingtang: “I was wrong…”

Then Xu Qingtang watched as Gu Yizhi took out ginger, brown sugar, and other ingredients from the bag and couldn’t help but blink. “Ah… are these all for me…”

Gu Yizhi said, “They’re for Miss Xu, not for you.”

In the end, Xu Qingtang thought that a storm had passed. But after watching her drink the brown sugar water, Gu Yizhi went back to the study without a word and only returned to the bedroom after taking a shower at night.

The two of them still had zero communication.

Xu Qingtang also deserved it. She had started the matter and couldn’t hold back her words. When Gu Yizhi lay down, she gently moved closer. Gu Yizhi didn’t say anything.

So she took an inch and hugged her.

“Gu Zhizhi, are you still angry?”

Gu Yizhi: “I’m even angrier now that you’re asking.”

Xu Qingtang: “I was wrong.”

Gu Yizhi: “Tell me.”

Xu Qingtang: “I shouldn’t have been fierce with you.”

Gu Yizhi: “Not sincere enough.”

Xu Qingtang: “I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you.”

Gu Yizhi: “That’s it?”

Xu Qingtang: “I’m sorry.”

Gu Yizhi turned around, her voice emotionless. “Go to sleep.”

Xu Qingtang moved closer again, took Gu Yizhi’s hand, and really, really wanted to shed two drops of tears to make her feel sorry for her. But when her emotions were in place, the tears that couldn’t be stopped at all wouldn’t come out now. She said aggrievedly, “Don’t ignore me.”

She hugged Gu Yizhi’s waist and started to chatter about what had happened at the dinner party today. In the end, she said, “I wasn’t angry at you, or at anyone. I was angry at myself.”

“I can’t give you anything, and I haven’t even settled things with my family.”

Then, she mentioned Teacher Qi again and said, “I’m also afraid, afraid that in the end, I won’t be able to give you a good answer.”

She had thought of many possibilities during this time. Even if she had strengthened her beliefs, she couldn’t help but think in all sorts of bad directions. When she thought about it, she would get annoyed, and when she thought about it, she would be afraid.

Gu Yizhi finally moved. Her hand landed on Xu Qingtang’s head, and she pulled her into her arms, her tone very gentle. “Tangtang, that night you went back to Teacher’s house, I was actually very afraid that you wouldn’t come out again.”

“But you did. That’s enough.”

In fact, Gu Yizhi knew everything.

She didn’t mention it, and she didn’t ask or say anything.

Xu Qingtang thought that when she was lost and hesitant, perhaps Gu Yizhi was also struggling with the same emotions. Her heart soured, and she buried her head and started to cry again. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I made you worry.”

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You’ve already done very well.”

Xu Qingtang looked up in the darkness, her moist eyes staring straight at Gu Yizhi. “It’s because I didn’t do well enough that you haven’t gotten what you should have.”

The two of them confided in each other, and in the end, they were surprisingly relaxed. Gu Yizhi gently wiped the corners of her eyes and smiled again. “You’ve really become a little crybaby.”

Xu Qingtang also smiled, her voice thick with a nasal tone. “Then you’re not angry anymore, right?”

Gu Yizhi kissed her on the nose. “I won’t let you off so easily next time, Miss Xu. Don’t make the same mistake again.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

They say a short separation is better than a new marriage, but in fact, a small argument can also enhance a relationship. The next day, after the rain, Lin City was clear. Xu Qingtang and Gu Yizhi returned to their usual sweet and clingy state.

After New Year’s Day, Tang Gui saw how lovey-dovey they were and remembered the wronged message she had received not long ago: I’ve driven Gu Yizhi away, wuwuwu…

She almost thought she had been blind at that time.

Xu Qingtang held her phone and laughed for a long time, but soon she couldn’t laugh anymore. Tang Gui asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s time to go and see my mom.”

Tang Gui couldn’t help much either and could only sigh. “You have to face it sooner or later.”

Yes, she had to face it sooner or later.

Xu Qingtang took a taxi to Teacher Qi’s house. Just as she got out of the car, she received a message from Gu Yizhi, asking if she was coming back for dinner, and also saying that if she wasn’t, she should remember to eat something light and not spicy or cold.

Seeing her message, Xu Qingtang felt much more at ease. She had originally wanted to type, but after a moment’s thought, she sent a voice message instead: “Don’t worry, I’ll eat well. Remember to miss me.”

There was no one around. She held her phone closer and called out, “Baby: muah~”

Just as the words fell.

Teacher Qi’s voice suddenly sounded from behind her. “Qingtang, what are you doing?”

Xu Qingtang was so scared she almost dropped her phone. She turned around and felt both embarrassed and her scalp tingled. She stammered for a long time. “I… I’m giving my phone a facial massage.”

After saying that, Xu Qingtang herself was speechless.