After Chen Yishu left, Gu Qili opened the French book she had been searching for a long time. It was brand new.
Tucked within the title page was a bookmark, with a line of neat script: Qili’s book.
Seeing this familiar handwriting, Gu Qili suddenly remembered the note she had seen in the cafeteria; indeed, it was written by Chen Yishu. Find the newest release on novel✦fire.net
Watching Chen Yishu’s handsome figure walking away, Mickey pinched Gu Qili lightly and chuckled: "Are you and Chen Yishu an item now?"
Gu Qili snapped out of her thoughts, closed the book, and took the opportunity to slap Mickey’s hand, making her retract it in pain.
"There’s nothing between Chen Yishu and me, don’t overthink things, gossip-monger."
"You may have nothing for him, but he’s made his feelings very obvious. Anyone with eyes can see he is deeply in love with you," Mickey intertwined her arm with hers as they walked down the shaded path, the sun blazing overhead at its hottest time of the day, "Maybe he’s going to confess to you tonight."
"Maybe." If that note really was written by Chen Yishu, then the purpose of today’s meeting was clear.
They had known each other for over three years and had always remained friends, carefully not crossing the line. Gu Qili understood Chen Yishu’s thoughts; while she felt pure friendship for him, his feelings were romantic.
She thought they would always maintain this balance without breaking it, but now it seemed Chen Yishu was going to tip the scales.
She was a fallen heiress, so naturally, her family background did not match his, and besides, she had a two-year marriage arrangement with Mu Shuoqian, even though there were no feelings involved and she was previously married. With Chen Yishu’s looks, character, and family, he wouldn’t marry someone already married.
The most important fact was that her feelings toward Chen Yishu were not of romantic love.
Therefore, she needed to clarify things with him before he could confess, to avoid embarrassment and potentially losing their friendship.
"So are you going to agree?" Mickey asked eagerly, quite optimistic about their pairing.
There were some things she couldn’t explain to Mickey, like her own marriage, which was already hard for her to talk about. Mickey was her best friend, and she truly feared losing her as well.
"You can’t agree." Hu Jiaojiao suddenly burst out, nervously blocking their path, her face flushed red.
"So annoying, now a tail has followed us," Mickey huffed, unaware when Hu Jiaojiao had started stealthily following them, having overheard their conversation.
Gu Qili coldly looked at the infuriated, blushing Hu Jiaojiao, not worried about her eavesdropping, but rather startled by her appearance as someone aggrieved by a stolen lover.
"Qiqi, I truly treat you like a sister, how could you steal my Yishu brother away?"
Hu Jiaojiao’s loud voice immediately attracted passersby’s attention, and because of Gu Qili’s ’previous record,’ Jiaojiao’s statement thrust her into the limelight.
Hu Jiaojiao’s fragile demeanor appeared very much like a victim, tears streaming down her face.
"Qiqi, did you forget what Uncle Chen said that day? He doesn’t like you, in fact, he despises and is annoyed by you. It’s because of you his son was hurt, and just for that, you could never marry into the Chen Family." Hu Jiaojiao grew more agitated as she spoke, wiped her tears and continued softly, "These days I have been taking care of Yishu, attending to him at his bedside, while you, having no ounce of responsibility for what happened, disappeared to enjoy yourself. If I were you, I wouldn’t meet Yishu brother again, let alone accept his confession. I wouldn’t have the face for it."
Gu Qili kept watching her coldly, then suddenly said: "You still know there’s something called ’face’?"