Chapter 116: Self-Deception |
December 8th.
Saturday evening, 7 PM.
Xu Zhiruo sat back down on the sofa, drenched in sweat, panting like a little dog with her tongue out.
Singing was physical labor too. From arriving at this villa at 1 PM in the afternoon until now, a full six hours had passed, and they hadn't stopped for a moment.
You had to jump around while singing, so you couldn't just keep singing continuously. Forget about a group of fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls—even men of iron couldn't sustain such high-intensity activity.
So after singing a few songs, everyone went downstairs to look for movies. When they turned on the projector, they found A Chinese Odyssey still paused halfway through in the system.
Gu Qiumian closed A Chinese Odyssey and asked what they wanted to watch.
Xu Zhiruo just found it a bit strange that she would think to watch this film. Her best friend wasn't some artsy girl who would sit alone on the sofa clutching a tissue box, crying her eyes out. No matter how classic a tearjerker might be, after watching it once she'd never deign to watch it a second time.
It could only be chalked up to her being in a bad mood these past few days. When people are in a bad mood, they always like to watch sad things.
Not understanding was fine—an excellent audience knows to clap enthusiastically. In the applause, you could see her swan-like slender white neck, the young lady's delicate fingers gliding across the keys, radiating a dazzling and proud aura.
Besides the piano, the piano room also contained many model building blocks. One of Gu Qiumian's hobbies was assembling building blocks—the one that got smashed at school back then was just one of her countless collectibles, a European-style castle as big as a washbasin. Pretty exaggerated, right? But compared to the room full of blocks, it was just a drop in the ocean.
They started building blocks again.
The four blooming young girls didn't mind getting dirty or losing their dignity, sitting on the floor like little children. The four of them built a really long, long train track. When they were done, they placed the battery-powered train engine on it. They even lay on their stomachs, watching the train start with focused concentration, not daring to breathe too loudly. When the train circled around several times back to the starting point, they all cheered and high-fived together, pulling out their phones to take pictures commemorating their achievement.
At this point, Qiumian suggested they go back to singing since she hadn't had her fill earlier.
Hearing this, Xu Zhiruo just humphed, thinking of course—earlier she wouldn't sing when asked, just stared at her phone on the sofa.
Everyone went back downstairs. This time, Gu Qiumian found a silver hairpin and deftly swept up her hair, tying it into a noble hairstyle like a little princess—though no princess would roll up the sleeves of her shirt and face the song selection station with such eager anticipation.
But then she first sang "Fireworks Cool Easily," her voice once again becoming melancholic and lonely. Xu Zhiruo thought oh no, could her chicken soup have such a short shelf life that it couldn't even last one evening?
She was just preparing to rack her brains for a few more encouraging words when, as Gu Qiumian finished the last line of lyrics, the young lady let out a breath.
"I already told you I'm fine." Gu Qiumian glared with those beautiful eyes of hers. "Were you just talking bad about me in your head?"
Xu Zhiruo also relaxed, teasing that she wouldn't dare. Sure enough, as if to prove Gu Qiumian's words, as soon as she finished speaking, the screen switched to a new song. Just from the rhythm alone, you could tell this one was intense. Qiumian tapped the beat with her heel, then went all out.
When the song ended, a playful strand of Gu Qiumian's pinned-up hair had slipped down, sticking to her rosy lips. Her chest heaving, she went to the coffee table for water. Xu Zhiruo took over, and while selecting a song asked:
"I'll pick 'Simple Love' for you—you always like singing that one when we go to KTV."
"No thanks." She deliberately wrinkled her nose. "I don't want to sing lovey-dovey songs today. Plus, my house only has the Wu Bai version, and his love is too rough—not simple at all."
After drinking water, Gu Qiumian went back on stage. She sang the best, able to handle any genre. The atmosphere finally livened up. They sang from Jay Chou to Wang Leehom, from Cyndi Wang to Leslie Cheung, and eventually circled back to Wu Bai.
Everyone was exhausted, but the excitement hadn't faded yet. Nobody really wanted to leave, but it was already late—they had to call it a night eventually.
So someone first suggested they end tonight with Wu Bai's "Number One in the World."
The proposal passed unanimously. Everyone said yes, yes! When the intro ended, the girls deliberately strained their voices, playfully imitating a Minnan accent. The four of them sang at the top of their lungs, their clear singing voices completely distorted. They couldn't even get through a few lines before collapsing in laughter. The speakers buzzed as they collapsed in a heap on the sofa.
Absolute pandemonium.
In the end, Gu Qiumian had laughed herself hoarse. She put on her slippers and saw the three friends upstairs.
The driver was already waiting outside the villa.
"You're really not staying for dinner?" Gu Qiumian asked.
"Nah, didn't you say you had some things to do tonight? We won't stay. Besides, there's always tomorrow."
"Alright then."
Actually, there was a small incident while they were singing earlier. She'd thought Gu Qiumian would be completely focused on singing, but instead she'd grabbed her phone to reply to messages while drinking water. At the time, Xu Zhiruo was selecting songs up front. Seeing this, she got quite a shock, wondering what magic this wooden brother of hers possessed to keep luring away her young lady's soul.
She quickly called out: "Qiumian, Qiumian, it's your turn—"
Gu Qiumian hurriedly took the microphone, even forgetting her phone in the couch cushions.
Xu Zhiruo hesitated internally, unsure whether she should look. Then Gu Qiumian appeared in front of her and said irritably, "If you want to look, just look," before going back to sing.
Only then did she feel comfortable checking the chat history.
Sure enough, it was that brother.
But this time their conversation had changed again.
The time was around 6:30. Qiumian had initiated with:
"Have you eaten?"
The other party quickly replied, saying he had, and attached a photo of a restaurant storefront.
Gu Qiumian said again:
"That's pretty early."
"Didn't eat much at lunch, got hungry again."
"Didn't Teacher Song take you all out for a big meal at lunch?"
"I was too busy playing around to eat much. Thanks to your card."
"I should be the one saying thank you. You really helped yesterday."
"Be careful tonight."
"Mm, get some good rest."
The conversation ended there.
Compared to the previous question-and-answer style dialogue, this one had a few more lines about whether they'd eaten.
She understood now—Qiumian didn't want the other person to worry. Seeing that the boy was fine and even having fun, she didn't say anything more.
But it still didn't seem like a normal chat. Both of them had something weighing on their minds.
She felt that Qiumian had played really wildly downstairs earlier, but it wasn't genuine carefree joy—rather, she was trying to vent all her worries.
Sure enough, her heart still wasn't here.
Xu Zhiruo blinked:
"Although you sing beautifully, retreating and avoiding won't solve problems."
Gu Qiumian didn't speak, just rolled her eyes.
"Don't think that playing until you're exhausted and your throat is hoarse will make you forget your troubles. You're just retreating. Actually, today you wanted to go out..."
"No, you're so annoying."
"I haven't even said what it is yet, and you're already denying it. Got hit by my reverse psychology, didn't you? Right now you're just deceiving yourself, lying to yourself..."
Bickering all the way, they reached the first floor. The four came to the entrance and changed their shoes. As soon as they opened the front door, cold wind surged in, making Xu Zhiruo shrink her neck.
So cold.
She'd dressed pretty today in a cotton jacket. It was fine when she came over in the afternoon, but the temperature had dropped again tonight. Plus, she'd just worked up a sweat singing, so now she felt cold all over.
So she asked:
"Qiumian, where's that down jacket you don't wear anymore—the black one? Lend it to me, I'll return it tomorrow."
"I lent it to someone yesterday. I'll find you another one."
"Who'd you lend it to?"
Gu Qiumian didn't answer, instead standing on her tiptoes to open the wardrobe.
Xu Zhiruo looked at her back, able to see that Qiumian was retreating, hesitating. But she couldn't figure out why.
Related to that boy?
What exactly was going on?
...
Auntie Wu gently knocked on the study door.
"Come in."
A man's magnetic voice came from inside.
"Chairman Gu, dinner is ready."
The man nodded slightly, indicating he understood.
This real estate tycoon wasn't actually the nouveau riche boor outsiders imagined. Quite the opposite—this was a refined, cultured man.
In his forties, he still maintained himself well, handsome in appearance with fair skin. The girl's alabaster complexion was inherited from her father.
But don't underestimate him because of his looks. The man was casually giving orders on the phone:
"Use whatever methods you want. Send that student to juvenile detention. As for his family, I don't want to see them on the island anymore...
"I know he could be used as a bargaining chip. With the most difficult families settled, negotiating demolition will be much easier going forward. But I don't want to ruin my daughter's mood. Apologize? No need—just a fly. Director Yu, it's winter now. There shouldn't be flies in winter... Mm, good that you understand."
"You all eat first..." He hung up the phone, settling the fate of several families with just a few casual words. He started composing a text message on his phone but suddenly sighed. "Forget it, Mianmian will complain about me again later. Let's go together."
He rose from his executive chair, habitually tidying up the desk.
Auntie Wu stood quietly at the door waiting. She knew the man never liked others touching his things.
Gu Jianhong asked casually:
"Have Mianmian's little friends left?"
He could hear the living room from the study, so naturally he wouldn't personally see them off.
"They've left." Auntie Wu handed him a hot towel.
The man wiped his hands:
"How was it? Happier than yesterday?"
"Pretty good."
"She's a silly girl too," the man finally smiled. That commanding presence faded away, making him look like an office worker, like a financial elite, even like a writer—but nobody would associate him with a big boss. He chatted with the housekeeper like family. "How could she just believe whatever others tell her?"
"She's already very rational." Auntie Wu also smiled. "I was worried she'd go straight out with her friends, but in the end she didn't act on emotion. She knows staying home is safest. She must trust you, otherwise why would she have called you on her own initiative?"
"You thought she would go out then?"
"It was possible."
As they spoke, the two arrived at the dining table. The housekeeper pulled out a chair for the man, while Gu Qiumian had already taken her seat.
"Well, I can see it—she really is happy. Little glutton." Gu's father smiled at the housekeeper.
"Who told Auntie Wu's cooking to be so good?" Gu Qiumian lifted her eyes.
"You really mobilized the troops this time. Your friends mean well, but they made a bit too much of it... Don't rush to frown. Dad wants to discuss something with you. Tonight I'll keep two people on patrol, and the rest will go back to the villa. I'll have Old Wu set up cots for them in the living room, though it might be a bit noisy at night."
The man said in a gentle tone:
"You just hold out for two more days. Once this matter is handled, you can go play in the city or take a few days off—whatever you want. But don't go anywhere tonight. Just stay in your room and sleep early. Trust Dad, alright?"
Hearing this, Gu Qiumian instinctively glanced outside the window. It was already dark. The weather was nice tonight—the moon was out.
A solitary moon hung in the pitch-black sky.
She gently nodded her chin.
...
Zhang Shutong forcibly suppressed his dizziness and slowly sat down.
Being surrounded felt awful, but he didn't have the energy to deal with the stares from all directions either. A staff member came over and scolded him a few times. He ignored them, and seeing him impervious, they left.
On the boat, he'd explained Teacher Song's situation to his parents. At 6:20, the ferry docked.
Turned out twenty minutes could pass so quickly.
In just a distracted moment, he'd returned from the city to the small island.
But suddenly he didn't know where he should go.
Go home?
In the end, he still went to the hospital.
Though before reaching the hospital, he figured he should eat something first.
He wasn't hungry, but he felt like he was a car that needed to fill his body with fuel to keep running.
However, the smell of cooking oil made him want to vomit. Finally, he found someone selling steamed buns near the hospital entrance. Forcibly suppressing his nausea, he tore the bun apart bit by bit and stuffed it in his mouth, then clamped his mouth shut and stood for a long while, stopping the churning in his stomach.
Now he was back on the second floor of the hospital in the ward. It was noisy all around, but surprisingly there was an empty sofa. Zhang Shutong quickly went over to claim the seat, thinking he was pretty lucky after all.
He'd already checked in with the young nurse earlier. When she saw him, she just sighed, probably quite helpless—who told him this was his third time at the hospital?
As the adrenaline wore off, his condition seemed to worsen a bit. Giving yourself an explanation was the hardest thing—he hadn't understood the meaning of that phrase before, but now he had some insight.
His mind was a chaotic mess. He had no mental space to think about seven or eight things like some philosopher. He only knew that at least for tonight, from now until dawn, he didn't want to search for that "fake Lu Qinglian" anymore.
He seemed about ready to collapse from exhaustion too.
Not just him who was about to give out—the motorcycle too.
When he'd taken over the bike, it only had a quarter tank left. These past two days he'd ridden it to many places, and the fuel gauge was nearly bottomed out. The small island had no gas stations, and his only trip off the island hadn't allowed time for refueling. He estimated the remaining mileage—maybe from here to the villa and back would be its last journey.
He decided to save the remaining opportunity for the early morning hours.