Chapter 58: Surprise

At ten o’clock that night, Jiang Bomu received a WeChat message from Bo Shiyue.

[Aren’t you supposed to be heading off to film soon?]

Jiang Bomu was a little surprised. Her cousin had never asked about such things before. Still, she replied quickly: [Half a month.]

It took ten minutes for Bo Shiyue’s next message to arrive.

[Did that girl go back to school already?]

What random, disconnected questions. Jiang Bomu was baffled. She tried hard not to think about Gu Yu but lowering her eyes, she typed: [I suppose so.]

Bo Shiyue mulled over the word “suppose.” She called Jiang Bomu directly.

“Haven’t you two been in contact at all?”

Jiang Bomu didn’t respond for a very long time. Finally, with difficulty, she spoke. “No.”

Beyond the two of them, no one knew they had become strangers. But to her cousin, she admitted the truth.

Bo Shiyue let out a deep sigh. “Xiao Mu, do you love her?”

On the other end of the line, only the slightly heavier sound of breathing could be heard.

“Yes.”

“Then why…” Bo Shiyue’s brow furrowed deeply. “I told you to seize the moment. Why didn’t you listen?”

“Because I was afraid.”

Every time Jiang Bomu looked at Gu Yu, she was reminded of Grandma Qiao. It even haunted her dreams—Grandma Qiao accusing her of corrupting her granddaughter, looking at her with utter disappointment, while she could only stand there, tears streaming down her face, completely unable to defend herself.

To her, Grandma Qiao wasn’t just family, she was a lifesaver. She couldn’t bear to cause an elderly woman such grief.

Bo Shiyue didn’t press the matter further. Instead, she said, “That girl goes to university in Yiqing?”

“How did you know?” Jiang Bomu asked blankly.

She didn’t even know Gu Yu’s name! How could she possibly know where she went to school?

“Seems I wasn’t mistaken,” Bo Shiyue sent her a photo. “I saw this on someone’s Moments.”

Jiang Bomu opened the WeChat image. The twenty-year-old girl was sitting cross-legged on the floor. In one hand, she held a half-empty water bottle. Her other hand was held up in a cheerful peace sign. A few smudges of dirt marked her face, but she was overflowing with vibrant, youthful energy, an irresistible charm of youth.

It had been so long since she’d seen Gu Yu smile this happily.

A faint smile touched Jiang Bomu’s own lips. She traced the image of Gu Yu’s face gently through the screen.

She zoomed in, examining the corner of the photo. It seemed to be a bedroom. A quarter of a bed was visible, made neatly with a spotless green checkered blanket.

Gu Yu’s blanket at home wasn’t like that. So, she must be at her school now.

But who had taken this photo?

Bo Shiyue provided the answer for her. “This is a classmate of mine from when I was studying in the U.S.—Xia Li. I hadn’t realized the two of them knew each other.”

It truly was a small world.

Jiang Bomu lowered her eyes, silent. An indescribable feeling of sour swelling filled her heart. The person keeping Gu Yu company right now wasn’t her. It was someone else.

“There’s something else I should tell you,” Bo Shiyue’s voice was flat. “Every time Xia Li returned to China for a visit, she’d tell me the girl she liked had gotten even prettier. As for whether that girl was the same one, I never cared enough to ask.”

She stated this fact concisely, then hung up the phone with direct finality.

Putting her phone down, Jiang Bomu rested her chin on her hand and gazed out the window. The Yuning nightscape was truly captivating, impossible to look away from—thousands of glittering lights, like a dreamlike illusion.

But she had no heart to appreciate it. Her eyes stared fixedly at a single spot, a heavy, stifled feeling pressing on her chest.

She had long accepted it rationally: Gu Yu would eventually be with someone else. This situation right now was exactly what she had wished for. So why did it hurt so much?

It had to be because everything was happening too fast. She hadn’t had time to mentally prepare. Another month… no, just half a month, and she’d be fine.

Jiang Bomu tried to comfort herself but ended up enduring another sleepless night.

When she finally drifted into a restless sleep, Gu Yu appeared in her dream.

Smiling, she stepped forward to greet her. Gu Yu’s smile was equally radiant. “Sister!” she called out sweetly.

Jiang Bomu opened her arms to welcome her, but Gu Yu walked straight past her, rushing without any hesitation into the arms of the woman standing behind.

She watched them embrace, kiss, meet the parents, get married. Everything progressed with an impossible, dreamlike smoothness.

Jiang Bomu found herself as a spectator, weeping tears that wouldn’t stop, witnessing the entirety of Gu Yu’s happy future. Cursing herself for not being braver back then.

When she woke, she was still drowning in the emotions of regret and sorrow the dream had left. Her pillow, soaked with tears, felt impossibly heavy, the weight pressing down on her heart, seeping into her very limbs and bones, tormenting her relentlessly.

From that day on, she had the exact same dream for two whole weeks.

Meanwhile, Gu Yu also had a busy fortnight.

Once the semester started, junior year was far less leisurely than sophomore year. The coursework increased. Gu Yu never skipped class, diligently attending her lectures while simultaneously preparing for her campaign to become the Drama Club president.

She’d joined the Drama Club in the first place because of Jiang Bomu—she’d wanted to understand the profession of acting. She never expected the club to be so inactive. Organizing a drama production was time-consuming and energy-draining, making it hard to gather enough people. Many passionate drama lovers had quit in disappointment.

Although Gu Yu herself didn’t have any real acting talent, driven by pure enthusiasm, she’d managed to rise to a core member position and was a strong candidate for president.

However, her former roommates couldn’t quite understand it. Why take on the burden of salvaging such a mess when she was already so busy?

Gu Yu replied, half-joking, “Because I’m not busy enough.”

It was actually the truth.

Only by keeping herself occupied every waking moment could she avoid thinking about Jiang Bomu.

A person like Jiang Bomu was like an old oil painting. She had left bold, heavy brushstrokes across the canvas of Gu Yu’s life—indelible marks that could never truly be erased. They would only gather dust over time. Carefully cleaned with a mixture of memories and longing, they would appear as vivid as new again.

There would never be another person like her.

So, let her just become that colorful oil painting, forever suspended within her heart.

After class, there were still four hours until the club election. Gu Yu didn’t feel like staying on campus, so she headed home.

Barely entering the residential complex, she heard someone call her name. She turned, surprised, and smiled at Xia Li sitting in her car.

“Xunxun, no more classes today?”

Getting into the passenger seat, Gu Yu buckled her seatbelt, answering ‘yes’ and asking curiously, “Isn’t today a regular workday? How come you’re home so early?”

“Such an obedient child, buckling up right away,” Xia Li’s eyes smiled as she watched her, not answering until they were almost at the parking garage. “I’m the boss, remember? Who’s going to dare criticize me for skipping out early?”

“But isn’t your startup company super busy?”

Xia Li ran a fashion design company. She frequently brought little dresses for Gu Yu to try on, and if they looked good, she’d just gift them to her. Gu Yu had felt very embarrassed about this, but unable to sway Xia Li, she just accepted them and found chances to give small gifts in return.

“We just powered through a big rush. Let the employees rest a bit—balance work and rest, right?” Xia Li drove into the underground parking lot and elaborated a little. “It was that Zhenyan Jewelry event. Director Bo and I are old classmates, so she gave me face. A lot of the celebrities wore my designs, which brought a nice wave of publicity. That led to another two weeks of insanity.”

Gu Yu’s breath hitched slightly. A lot of celebrities. Including Jiang Bomu?

She pressed her lips together. “Who were some of them?” she asked quietly.

“Most of the attendees, honestly. The most famous was Jiang Bomu. She left the strongest impression on me,” Xia Li laughed. “Director Bo told me Jiang Bomu’s gown had a tear. She felt so bad about it, she paid full price for it out of pocket, even though they could have easily given her a discount…”

The moment the name “Jiang Bomu” left her lips, all other noise faded into indistinguishable background hum.

For two weeks, Gu Yu had subconsciously avoided that name. No Weibo. No dramas. No celebrity gossip. She had thought she was slowly forgetting. But hearing the name spoken aloud two weeks later, she realized how pathetically wrong she was.

She knew she shouldn’t have asked. She’d brought this on herself.

“Xunxun, what’s wrong?”

Xia Li’s sudden question jolted her back. Gu Yu realized the car had been parked for a while. Hurriedly, she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out.

“Are you feeling unwell?” Xia Li considerately pressed the back of her hand to Gu Yu’s forehead to check her temperature.

“I’m fine,” Gu Yu made up an excuse. “Just a little nervous. I’m running for Drama Club president tonight.”

“University life really is colorful, isn’t it?” Xia Li remarked with a sigh, putting her arm around Gu Yu’s shoulders as they headed toward the elevator. “Feeling confident?”

“A bit confident,” Gu Yu smiled.

“Bit as in a little, or bit as in totally?”

“I guess it’s not entirely out of the question.”

The two joked and laughed as they stepped out of the elevator.

Just as they were about to part ways, Xia Li suddenly asked, “Xunxun, could I perhaps audit the future Drama Club president’s inauguration speech?”

Gu Yu blinked, then smiled. “Of course. And if I win, dinner’s on me!”

“Even though I’m supposed to be on a diet,” Xia Li touched her stomach, then winked, “Consider your offer… humbly accepted.”

Gu Yu stayed home until six-thirty. Then she and Xia Li headed to the campus.

On the way, Gu Yu felt her nerves kicking in. She kept silently rehearsing her speech.

The election required speaking without notes. She had it memorized, but worried about her nerves. Any slip-up would be so embarrassing in front of the underclassmen.

Xia Li encouraged her. “Speak up loud. Try giving it to me first. That’ll calm your nerves.”

That was a good idea. Gu Yu glanced over the script one more time, then started delivering it.

The first run-through was halting and awkward. Xia Li handed her a bottle of water, and she started the second attempt.

Three attempts later, Gu Yu finally felt she had at least a bit of confidence.

When her turn came, she walked onto the stage with poise. Xia Li mouthed “Good luck” from the audience. Gu Yu gave a small smile and launched into her speech, passionately presenting alongside her well-crafted PowerPoint.

There was a Q&A session afterward. Gu Yu was well-prepared. Though there were occasional pauses, her overall responses were well-received.

Stepping off the stage, Xia Li secretly informed her that several judges seemed impressed with her performance.

An hour later, it was time for the vote.

Surprisingly, Gu Yu’s initially racing heart had calmed. She’d done her best; the rest was up to fate. Although her luck had consistently been terrible, surely a failure in love meant success elsewhere, right?

As Gu Yu had hoped, the final result was her election as the Drama Club president.

After a slew of obligatory platitudes and socializing, Gu Yu was finally free to leave.

“Our Xunxun is incredible,” Xia Li said, beaming with pride. “When you finally put on a play, promise you’ll invite me to see it.”

“Absolutely!” Gu Yu grinned. “But now, more importantly, what kind of feast do you want?”

Right then, her WeChat notification sounded.

Gu Yu sighed, figuring it was just another congratulations message from a junior member. Absentmindedly, she opened WeChat, only to find it was a voice message from Tao Tao.

“Teacher Gu, where are you? I’m at your school gate!”

Gu Yu’s first thought was that this was a joke. But then, another message came from Tao Tao—a short video.

She stared at it for a few seconds before slowly typing: [What’s up?]

Tao Tao sent another voice message, her voice full of bubbly excitement. “You’ll know when you get here! I guarantee it’ll be a surprise!”