"He Zhilan, I heard about what happened over the winter break, how’s your hand?" The first thing Zhou Chenyue did after pulling He Zhilan out of the library was ask about her hand. It was then that He Zhilan realized that Chenyue had been deliberately avoiding her hand because she was worried about her injury.
He Zhilan took her hand out of her pocket and showed it to her with a smile, "It’s healed! There’s just a small scar. It faded quite a bit after I applied some ointment my roommate gave me."
"Every scar has its story, and God sees it all," Zhou Chenyue said, "Did Gu En come to school today? I saw the Gu Family’s car just now. Did you see the black rose tattoo she got on her foot? That’s the scar she got from her car accident. She got it tattooed as soon as she left the hospital. Talk about bravery, she wasn’t even afraid of infection!"
"I saw it," He Zhilan nodded.
"She had a rough time this time, stayed in the hospital for almost twenty days, lost her hair, lost weight, she hasn’t spent a single day at home this year! Although, knowing about Gu En’s accident did make me feel a bit relieved, especially seeing how unhappy my sister was making me feel even better!"
"Your sister isn’t doing well?" He Zhilan sighed.
"She’s not getting along with Ding Long, putting on an act in front of family but not so much in private. She doesn’t even smile. And poor Ding Long never gets mad at my sister even when she embarrasses him in front of his friends. Thinking about it, Ding Long is good to my sister, it’s just that she doesn’t like him," Zhou Chenyue shook her head, "better not talk about my sister anymore. If I talk about her, I just feel bad, so guilty! If it wasn’t for her stepping in and marrying Ding Long, I would have been the one living that life, a life I can’t even bear to imagine."
Then, Zhou Chenyue changed the subject herself, "Do you know why Gu En came back to school so soon? Her grandparents didn’t know about her car accident and hospital stay. Gu En’s aunt and uncle were worried that if the old folks found out it would be too much for them, considering that Gu’s grandfather isn’t in very good health and they were afraid he wouldn’t be able to take the shock. During the winter break, they told the old folks that Gu En had gone to Lan Li’s troop to have some fun, after the break was over they said Gu En had settled down to study properly."
"What happened next?" He Zhilan asked, a giant question mark floating on her head.
"It’s Gu’s grandpa’s birthday tomorrow, so of course Gu En must return to the Gu Mansion. She had to show up at school to create an impression that she had been studying diligently. She needed to pick up a few things she usually leaves at school to put on a little performance, right?" Zhou Chenyue said, "Just thinking about having to go to the Gu Mansion for the birthday celebration and seeing Gu En’s face makes me angry!"
At this point, Zhou Chenyue stamped her foot, "Actually, I didn’t hate Gu En so much initially! But now seeing my sister’s unhappy marriage and hearing how you’re being treated by her, I really can’t help but start disliking her!"
"Gu’s grandpa’s birthday? So are a lot of people going to congratulate him?" He Zhilan asked spontaneously.
Zhou Chenyue nodded, "Of course! Everyone related to the Gu and Lan families will be there. Basically, it’s just a political gathering. People are falling over themselves to curry favor with the Gu Family. Those distant relatives have already arrived in the capital to wait! The reason I came here today was to deliver my cousin’s dress clothes. He’s going straight to the Gu Mansion from school tomorrow, so he asked me to bring his formal wear here, making me run his errands!"