Chapter 26

The frost gathered on Fu Jing’s face instantly vanished. One moment ago, her brows had been furrowed and her eyes angry. The next second, she immediately ran over with a foolish smile all over her face, took Gu Qingci’s hand, and said, “You’re finally willing to call me by my nickname?”

“Fu Jing.” Guo Zikai followed them over, stopping half a meter away. His fairly handsome face wore an apologetic expression. “I don’t mean any harm. I just wanted to apologize to you. I didn’t know Fang Jing had come looking for you… As for the paper, Teacher recommended that I could come collaborate with you… That was when I realized you had already blocked me.”

“Mm, you didn’t know anything. You’re the most innocent.” Fu Jing did not buy this at all. She hid beside Gu Qingci and said to him, “I already made it very clear in the text message. Go find someone else.”

Guo Zikai still wanted to say something, but when he met Gu Qingci’s gaze, he suddenly felt that speaking had become very difficult.

So he muttered, “All right… I won’t bother you anymore.”

He turned and left.

Fu Jing’s mood was brilliantly bright. She naturally hooked her arm around Gu Qingci’s and tilted her face. “Sister, what kind of food do you want to eat? I’m very familiar with this whole area!”

“Anything is fine with me.” Gu Qingci nodded, having no objection. “Then you decide the place.”

—

Fu Jing sat in the passenger seat and pointed the way, bringing Gu Qingci to a Chinese restaurant near the school that had stolen content been open for many years. The big dishes at this restaurant were not things one could eat in the cafeteria, and the taste was excellent. It had long been very popular among students.

It was just that the location was a little remote.

Fu Jing looked around, still trying to find where they should park, but Gu Qingci had already turned the steering wheel right and driven into the underground parking lot.

“Wow, Sister, your eyes are so sharp. I never noticed there was parking here.”

“…”

Gu Qingci did not speak. She drove straight into the garage and parked the car.

There was still some time before the dinner rush, so the restaurant was quite empty.

Fu Jing looked around at the environment. When ordering, she whispered, “Oh my god, they actually installed air conditioning. I love this place even more now.”

Gu Qingci pressed her lips together and smiled. “Was the air conditioner only installed recently?”

“Mm.” Fu Jing nodded repeatedly, ordering dishes while asking what Gu Qingci wanted to eat.

The customers here were mainly starving students who pounced on food, so of course the dishes came very quickly. Not long after they finished ordering, everything [bailiantales.com]was served. The person bringing the dishes casually placed the receipt used for payment beside Gu Qingci’s hand.

Fu Jing did not pay attention at first. Only when they had almost finished eating did she reach out to take it.

Gu Qingci stretched out a hand and blocked her.

Fu Jing froze and explained, “Sister, here, you have to take this receipt to the front desk to pay.”

Gu Qingci: “…”

How could she possibly let a child pay?

Thinking that, Gu Qingci changed to a statement that could stop Fu Jing from heroically preparing to pay the bill. “I never let other people treat me to something this cheap.”

Fu Jing was stunned. Propping her chin in her hand, she calculated the price.

This meal did seem quite cheap.

She did not understand whether normal social interactions had such a rule. Since Gu Qingci had said so, she nodded in agreement, secretly planning that when she got home, she would ask her dad for a ranking list of the restaurants with the highest average spending in the city.

Fu Jing said, “All right. Then you pay this time.”

Seeing the way her eyes were turning around, Gu Qingci could roughly guess what she was thinking. She also estimated that from now on, every meal Fu Jing arranged would probably be at some place meant for entertaining honored guests.

“I was joking.” Gu Qingci leaned back and handed the receipt over, smiling faintly. “You should still pay.”

“Hm?” Fu Jing was a little confused, but obediently accepted the bill.

Gu Qingci added, “This restaurant is quite good. The dishes you ordered were all very nice.”

Fu Jing’s lips instantly lifted into a smile. Then she lowered her head and pressed her lips together, pretending to be reserved as she said, “This restaurant is just okay. Sister, soon we’ll be able to eat through all the big and small delicious places in the city. When that time comes, can we go to the neighboring city?”

“…”

It was only their first meal, and she was already thinking that far ahead.

Gu Qingci could only say, “We’ll see when the time comes.”

Fu Jing gave an “oh,” then stood up with the bill, smiling brightly.

Gu Qingci sat quietly, watching Fu Jing’s back as she went to the counter to pay. bailiantales.com Her high ponytail bounced with her steps, and her figure was slender. From the side, she looked very much like a quiet and pretty high school student.

And Gu Qingci had just eaten a meal paid for by this “high school student.”

Gu Qingci had a strange feeling.

Then, thinking of how Fu Jing’s mind was full of how to support her, she could not help lifting the corners of her lips and smiling helplessly.

—

When Tao Xian returned to the bar, she had not expected to see that Gu Qingci was actually there.

“Have you been pretty free lately?”

She walked over, poured herself a glass of wine, and asked, “You went to Songjiang University to pick her up today. Did you go in and look around?”

Gu Qingci’s face was calm. “There’s nothing worth seeing. I’m neither a great scientist who updates humanity’s knowledge nor someone who donated a building to the school. After graduating, graduating is all there is to it.”

Her words were quite indifferent.

Tao Xian helplessly tugged at the corners of her lips. “If you put it that way, then not many ​bailiantales.com​people are qualified to go back and visit their alma mater.”

“…”

Gu Qingci held her cup and drank from it now and then, looking as if she had nothing to do.

Tao Xian secretly clicked her tongue.

Originally, Gu Qingci had clearly been such a busy person that even while waiting at a red light, she had to make phone calls, reply to messages, and discuss work. But now, not only was she regularly coming to the bar every week to sit around and chat,

she had even agreed to accompany that little girl for meals two days a week.

And she was sitting in the bar spacing out.

Based on Tao Xian’s understanding of Gu Qingci, Gu Qingci had previously only not disliked Fu Jing and felt nothing toward her, so she had allowed Fu Jing to approach. But now, taking time out of her busy schedule to eat with the other party—this was simply something only people in love would do.

And President Gu actually still felt that it was nothing.

By the time she reacted and realized that there was something to it, wouldn’t the vines of the two people’s fates already be tightly wrapped together?

Tao Xian thought this in her heart but did not make a sound.

She was happy to see this happen, so of course she would not point out the ambiguity in these delicate changes.

Gu Qingci suddenly said, “I checked Fu Jing’s background information.”

Tao Xian’s heart thudded. Once again, she confirmed that Gu Qingci really had taken this child to heart. Otherwise, where would she bother doing such a troublesome thing?

“And then?”

“The result was a little… unexpected.”

“How was it unexpected? You said before that the way she looked at you was like she was looking through you at someone else. After checking, you found there was no such person, right? It was just your years of suspicion acting up!”

“…”

Tao Xian curled her long hair around her finger and played with it, smiling as she said, “Fu Jing’s interpersonal relationships are so simple. If she had a secret crush on that straight-girl best friend beside her, then she should’ve come to me as a substitute. She said I’m a little like Qin Zijin… though I don’t know where exactly we’re alike.”

Gu Qingci did not speak. Her gaze was fixed straight on the wineglass, pondering something.

In the dim light, her eyes shone like stars.

“In any case, Fu Jing absolutely cannot have a secret crush on that straight-girl best friend of hers.” Seeing Gu Qingci’s thoughtful expression, Tao Xian asked in confusion, “Don’t tell me you don’t trust my judgment? What exactly did you find?”

“I wasn’t thinking about that anymore.”

Gu Qingci shook her head, drank a sip of tea, and said calmly, “My father has a niece who married abroad. Only today did I learn that Fu Jing happens to have an uncle who settled abroad early on.”

Tao Xian’s eyes gradually widened. She hurriedly set down the wineglass in her hand and pricked up her ears to listen. “So they are… you two are?!”

The corner of Gu Qingci’s lips lifted, and she suddenly smiled. “So in name, I should be considered Fu Jing’s auntie.”

“…”