On Sunday, Qiao Yuxian didn’t go out at all from Fenglin Villa and spent the day unboxing half a living room’s worth of deliveries.
When Gu Yanjing went out in the morning, Shang Chen was helping her move the parcels.
Shang Chen moved them to the living room, and she unboxed them in the living room.
By the time Gu Yanjing came back in the evening, there were still some unopened parcels in the living room, while Shang Chen was moving the delivery boxes outside.
Apart from that, the living room had many more new items.
Green plants, ornaments, and the side hall had a small night lamp hanging, with an empty fish tank set up.
As Gu Yanjing walked into the living room, Qiao Yuxian was casually holding a large potted plant with one hand, seemingly trying to figure out where it would look best.
She was dressed in loose loungewear, her hair loosely tied up with a hairpin, looking relaxed and carefree.
Hearing the sound, she turned around and smiled. She took a few steps toward him, then stopped, put the plant down, and walked up to him: "You’re back?"
Gu Yanjing glanced at her slightly swollen earlobe: "Yeah."
"What do you think? Have a look." Qiao Yuxian tugged at his sleeve, leading him to look around the living room, "Is it alright?"
Not too many complicated items.
But it felt more lively, with warmth.
"Yeah." Gu Yanjing responded.
Qiao Yuxian smiled happily: "Are you heading back to the bedroom?"
Gu Yanjing looked at her and noticed a strand of her hair had fallen loose from the bun. He lightly rubbed it with his fingers.
"I want to put some things in your room." Qiao Yuxian looked at him and asked, "Is that okay?"
Gu Yanjing shifted his gaze, paused for a moment, and said: "As you please."
With permission granted, Qiao Yuxian quickly went upstairs.
When she was unpacking the parcels today, she had already moved everything upstairs, just waiting for Gu Yanjing’s approval.
Arriving at the bedroom door, she opened it and dragged the items one by one inside.
It took nearly an hour before she came out of his room.
Gu Yanjing had been in the study, and by the time he returned to the bedroom, it was already somewhat late.
As he reached the bedroom door, he took off a note stuck to the door and looked at it.
The handwriting was delicate: [Everything is set up. If there’s something you don’t like, you can take it out.]
There was also a cute smiley face at the end.
Gu Yanjing looked at it for a while before putting the note away and entering the bedroom.
The first thing that caught his eye was the Transformer on the bedside table, its reflective surface glinting under the light.
Gu Yanjing squinted subtly.
Did he... look like someone who liked Transformers?
Next to that was a row of plush pandas at the bedside.
Gu Yanjing counted them, exactly ten, all sitting in a row.
On the single sofa in the room was also a large plush pig. This pig... was about 1.2 to 1.3 meters long.
The black, white, and cool-colored items were still okay. But this pink pig was way too conspicuous in his room.
Completely incompatible with everything around it.
There were small night lamps hanging on the terrace, twinkling like stars. The warm yellow light bathed the entire room in a soft glow, adding a layer of warmth.
Gu Yanjing stood still for a while, then went to the terrace.
There were many mountain roses on the terrace, in gray-green, dark green, pink-green, and pink-purple colors.
A circle around the terrace.
It brought vitality to the cold, dark terrace.
Gu Yanjing stood watching for a while before turning back to the bedroom.
Looking at the pink pig and the Transformer, he pressed his brows, sighed, then his lips curved slightly.
Like a place frozen for a thousand years, that had never seen the light, now suddenly illuminated by a beam of sunlight. Although fleeting, it was dazzlingly bright.
The next day, the first thing Qiao Yuxian did when she came out of her room was to check Gu Yanjing’s room door and then went to ask Aunt Mei.
Knowing that he hadn’t thrown anything out of the room, Qiao Yuxian’s mood suddenly improved in the morning.
She even ate two more buns for breakfast.
After breakfast, she hummed a little tune.
In the past, wherever Gu Yanjing was, it was always very quiet. Because he liked silence, everyone was very cautious and careful in whatever they did.
Now... there were indeed few truly quiet moments.
Gu Yanjing suddenly thought that maybe he didn’t like silence that much after all.
Qiao Yuxian hummed a tune and went out with Gu Yanjing, waiting for the car in the yard.
Gu Yanjing looked at her: "Where are you going?"
"To school." Qiao Yuxian sensed from his question that he seemed to know something. She scrutinized Gu Yanjing with a probing look.
Gu Yanjing maintained his composure, his expression unchanged, and said blandly, "I have some business at Jing University, I can give you a lift."
Qiao Yuxian’s eyes lit up: "You’re giving me a ride?"
Gu Yanjing didn’t answer.
Just at that moment, Meng Yan pulled the car up.
Qiao Yuxian grabbed Gu Yanjing’s sleeve, dragging him towards the car: "Quick, quick, take me to school, take me to school..."
On the way, Qiao Yuxian was very cheerful.
Like a child who’s gotten their candy, she chatted with Gu Yanjing all the way.
Although Gu Yanjing didn’t have much to say, he responded to almost everything she said.
Because if he didn’t, Qiao Yuxian would stare at him, waiting for his reply.
For the first time, Meng Yan realized that Mr. Gu could be this patient. Although... there was never much expression on his face, nor could he sense any emotion, he was incredibly patient.
Upon arriving at the school, Meng Yan got out to open the door.
Qiao Yuxian got out of the car, waved goodbye to Gu Yanjing nonchalantly, without caring about others’ looks, and walked straight into school.
After her figure disappeared, Meng Yan drove the car into the school.
Qiao Yuxian was still suspended from classes, so she didn’t attend any classes but casually wandered to the cafeteria.
By the time she arrived at the cafeteria, the class bell rang.
She leisurely bought three servings of breakfast and carried them back to the dormitory.
Last night, she mentioned in the group chat that she would bring breakfast in the morning, so the three in the dormitory were lazy and didn’t get up early.
At this time, people were either in class, early in the library, or still sleeping. The school was relatively empty and somewhat quiet.
Qiao Yuxian carried the breakfast back to the dormitory.
As she passed by the Foreign Languages College building, she glanced inside and coincidentally met the exiting counselor’s gaze.
The counselor’s expression turned cold when he saw her.
Qiao Yuxian raised an eyebrow, completely disregarding his demeanor.
They were walking in opposite directions, and as they got closer, they both stopped facing each other about a meter apart.
"During suspension, who allowed you to come to the school?" The counselor said with disgust, lowering his voice, "Haven’t you caused enough trouble to the college?"
"Can’t I come to school during suspension?" Qiao Yuxian’s tone had a bit of a flippant edge.
"Look at your attitude; is making a mistake not worth any remorse, you find it glorious instead?" The counselor chastised.
"Since I didn’t make any mistake, I naturally feel glorious." Qiao Yuxian spoke calmly, "Using tutoring agencies colluding with school teachers for profit... seems you find such actions quite glorious."
The counselor squinted his eyes slightly, his expression turning even colder: "What do you want to do?"
"To report it, of course." Qiao Yuxian looked at him and said.
The counselor stared at her for a few seconds, then smirked. His eyes held a hint of intimidation: "My tutoring agency is always clean, can withstand scrutiny. Go ahead and report it, let’s see what comes out."
"Indeed." Qiao Yuxian nodded, "With your relatives above, naturally nothing will be found."
The counselor’s pupils constricted, speaking in warning: "Qiao Yuxian, watch your mouth, or else."
"What? Are you looking to pin another accusation on me, to expel me?" Qiao Yuxian laughed, but there was frost in her eyes, "To eliminate future troubles?"
The counselor said nothing, but his expression seemed to say: you understand well, or else I could end you in no time.
Qiao Yuxian looked at him mockingly, unperturbed by his threats, and said, "Then I should also remind you, counselor, those who often walk by the river, eventually get wet. Let’s see how long your relative can keep you safe."
She said, then provocatively raised her eyebrows and said softly: "I’ll be watching."