You Must Be Good 75p2

Chapter 75 p2

Chu Xinrou had gotten home at a little past five.

She hadn’t told Qiao Xiaoxiao in advance and had dragged her suitcase alone, quietly pushing open the door. After only four days, she had lost a whole size. Her already slender figure was now even thinner, and the knuckles of her hand holding the handle were so prominent and pale that they looked as if they would break with a little force.

Just as she reached the door, her footsteps suddenly paused. Chu Ge was curled up by the door, her head down, sobbing silently. She didn’t know how long she had been waiting there. She was drenched, her long hair messily stuck to her cheeks. She, who was usually so exquisite and flamboyant, was now without makeup, her eyes red, and she was reeking of alcohol.

Chu Xinrou was stunned for a moment. Before she could speak, Chu Ge had already looked up, her red and swollen eyes looking straight at her, and she had called out in a hoarse voice, “Teacher…”

Chu Xinrou stared at her silently for a moment and didn’t ask much, just gently pushed open the door and said in a low voice, “Come in.”

The lights in the house were soft. She made a steaming hot bowl of ginger soup for Chu Ge and wrapped her cold, trembling body in a blanket.

Chu Ge took small sips of the ginger soup. The warmth gradually dispelled the cold in her body, and the churning in her stomach also subsided. She said a soft “thank you,” her long eyelashes casting a shadow under her eyes. The once-proud and beautiful girl was now like a phoenix with a broken wing, even her voice had lost its usual flamboyance.

Chu Xinrou stood up and walked into Qiao Xiaoxiao’s room, taking out a box of mint-flavored chewing gum. She remembered that Chu Ge had this habit. When she was resting in the art studio, she would always see her chewing gum nonchalantly.

“Here,” she handed the box over.

Chu Ge was stunned for a moment, her fingertips lingering on the box for a moment before she took it. She took one out and put it in her mouth. The familiar sweet taste spread on her tongue, bringing a long-lost sense of peace. This small habit was one of the few ways she could relax.

The room was very quiet, with only the faint sound of the chewing gum wrapper being crumpled. Chu Xinrou didn’t ask anything, just silently packed her luggage. Her gaze swept over the dusty floor, and her heart tightened slightly. It seemed that these past few days, Xiaoxiao had not come back.

Her fingertips unconsciously stroked the dressing table, where the hair ties they had bought together last time were still there. Chu Xinrou lowered her eyes, a sourness rising in her chest.

By leaving so suddenly like this, how sad must Xiaoxiao have been…

“I shouldn’t have fallen in love with her.”

Chu Ge suddenly spoke, her voice so soft it almost dissipated in the air. Chu Xinrou’s packing motion paused, and she turned to look at her.

The girl was mechanically chewing her gum, her eyes staring blankly into the distance. “She was right… knowing that there would be no result, why did I still insist…”

Everything was her own fault.

Lu Chen was getting engaged.

The wedding was set for the fourth of next month.

Lu Chen had not hidden this from Chu Ge. In fact, she had been the first to receive the gilded invitation.

They had met on the street that day. Chu Ge had been busy forming a band recently, and her career was booming. Lu Chen, on the other hand, was busy with the new students and was at her wit’s end every day.

Chu Ge had excitedly stuffed a bouquet of blue enchantress roses into Lu Chen’s arms. The petals were still dotted with morning dew, glowing with a velvety luster in the sun. This was a rare item she had specially reserved from the flower shop and had had air-freighted over.

She had thought that Lu Chen would be happy.

But the other party had just looked around alertly. After noticing the gazes of the passersby, she had lowered her voice and had said, “Next time… don’t buy them.”

Chu Ge’s smile had frozen on her face.

She had been silent for a long time and had finally just nodded lightly.

Chu Ge had felt as if all her enthusiasm had been forcefully blocked. She had stared at Lu Chen’s evasive gaze and had asked softly, “Don’t you like them?”

Lu Chen had pressed her lips together and had finally shaken her head. How could she not like them? It was just… two girls walking so openly on the street, and Chu Ge was always dressed in a neutral style. It was too eye-catching.

Last month, when they were watching a movie, in the dim theater, Chu Ge, in the heat of the moment, had couldn’t help but kiss her on the neck. But this scene had been seen by her colleague’s child, who had even secretly taken a picture.

Fortunately, the theater was dimly lit. Afterwards, that colleague had even laughed and had smoothed things over. “Our Teacher Lu has a boyfriend. Kids, don’t talk nonsense.”

A fine rain began to fall from the gray sky, weaving a hazy curtain between them. One was empty-handed, the other was holding a bouquet of flowers. They walked side by side in silence.

The rain grew heavier. Chu Ge had taken off her coat to shield the two of them from the rain, but she had been sensitively avoided by Lu Chen. “No need, it’s fine.” This sentence was like a thorn, stabbing deep into Chu Ge’s heart. She had frozen on the spot, her burning gaze almost burning a hole in Lu Chen’s face. But when she had seen the dark circles under the other’s eyes, her anger had been suppressed, and she had just held out the clothes. “Then you wear it yourself.”

That should be fine, right?

Lu Chen’s hesitant look had completely ignited Chu Ge’s suppressed emotions. She had suddenly thrown the clothes to the ground and had snatched the bouquet of blue enchantress roses, smashing it down heavily. The petals had scattered, mixed with the rain, and had been stained with mud.

“Are you wronged to be with me?” Chu Ge’s voice was trembling, her red eyes fixed on Lu Chen. “Am I some kind of shameful thing? Even if we’re friends, it’s fine to take shelter from the rain together, right?” Tears had mixed with the rain and had rolled down. The person who had never shed a tear in her three years of high school was now crying for her again and again.

Lu Chen had slowly squatted down and had picked up the broken bouquet and the dirty coat one by one. When she had looked up, the tears in her eyes had made Chu Ge’s heart tremble. Just as Chu Ge had reached out to wipe her tears, Lu Chen had turned her face away. “Chuchu, let’s end it.”

The sound of the rain had suddenly become very distant. Chu Ge had been in a daze, thinking she had misheard. “What did you say?”

“I’m getting engaged,” Lu Chen had looked at the scattered petals on the ground, her voice as soft as a sigh. “I’m sorry…”

…

After Chu Ge had finished speaking, she had buried her head deep in her arms and had cried silently.

Her mouth still had the sweet taste of candy, but her heart had fallen into an endless abyss.

“I know… she had no choice… her mother’s heart surgery was very serious… she was afraid of upsetting her… but, but…”

Even at this moment, Chu Ge couldn’t hate Lu Chen.

“It was my one-sided wish to begin with… from beginning to end, I was the one who forced her…”

She had cried.

Like the scattered petals on the ground, she was broken.

“She knows me… she knows how to make me give up completely.”

“Heh…”

Chu Xinrou had watched her from the side, with no words to comfort her. Her red-rimmed eyes were a resonance from a certain part of her heart.

“Teacher, thank you for taking me in today.”

After crying, Chu Ge had put on that carefree smile again. She had looked at Chu Xinrou, as if she were talking to her, and also to herself. “I’ll be fine.”

She had stood up and had looked at the misty sky outside the window. “I should go too.”

The last sentence Chu Ge had left behind had splattered on Chu Xinrou’s heart.

“If I had known it would be like this, I would rather have never met.”

About half an hour after Chu Ge had left, Qiao Xiaoxiao had returned with an umbrella. The umbrella with the little yellow duck print was one that Chu Xinrou had bought for her in her first year of high school. Now that she had grown so tall, it looked particularly comical when she held it up.

“Why aren’t the lights on?” Her cheerful voice had sounded in the entryway. Although it was only a little past five, the rainy day had made the house particularly dim. The moment the lights came on, she had seen her sister sitting on the sofa at a glance.

Chu Xinrou had been sitting there ever since Chu Ge had left. She didn’t know how long it had been.

“How did you get so thin?” Qiao Xiaoxiao had frowned with heartache. She had propped up the wet umbrella to dry on the side and had shaken the shopping bag in her hand. “I’ll make you Western food tonight, Jiejie.”

She had washed her hands and had squatted down in front of Chu Xinrou, studying her carefully. “You’ve gotten a little tanned.” Chu Xinrou had smiled at her, her eyes misty, and had stared at her without blinking.

Qiao Xiaoxiao had stared at her for a long time and had slowly lowered her head. “I’ll go cook.”

As she spoke, she had stood up and had walked to the kitchen as if she were fleeing, and had started to get busy.

But her trembling hands had revealed the panic in her heart. Qiao Xiaoxiao’s heart had never hurt so much. Her strength had been as if stripped away. Her hand, which was holding the pot lid, had trembled, and it had fallen to the ground with a clang. She had frozen, unable to react.

Chu Xinrou had stood up and had followed her. She had bent down, had picked up the pot lid, and had handed it to Qiao Xiaoxiao.

Qiao Xiaoxiao had hastily said, “Thank you,” and had started to get a knife to cut the beef, not looking up.

But Chu Xinrou had held her arm and had said, “Xiaoxiao, I have something to tell you.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s hand had paused. After a moment, she had shaken her head, not looking at her sister. “I… I’ll cook first. We can talk about whatever it is tomorrow.”

Seeing her like this, Chu Xinrou’s heart had been as if cut by a knife. “Xiaoxiao…”

These past few days, her sister’s sudden disappearance had already made her vaguely guess something.

Now, Chu Xinrou’s serious look was making Qiao Xiaoxiao even more upset. The confusion and panic that had once been buried deep in her heart had all surged up. She had shaken her head vigorously. “Jiejie, I’ll cook first, I’ll cook first…”

“Xiaoxiao…”

She had shaken her head desperately. “Don’t say it, I’m begging you…”

Tears had fallen down her face with her shaking head and had landed on the back of Chu Xinrou’s hand.