novelThe Only Thing Left in Yun Liuli's World… Was Gu Qingcheng
| ← Ch.1078 | Ch.1080 → |
Holding the small and exquisite gift box in her palms, she pulled out a chair to sit down, then carefully opened it...
Inside was an exquisite necklace with a teddy bear pendant, very pretty.
Yun Liuli took out the necklace and admired it for a long time, then bounced into the bathroom and wore it around her neck. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, clearly in an excellent mood.
Later, Yun Liuli kept wearing the necklace.
However, after that weekend at Gu Qingcheng's place, when Yun Liuli returned to her own home, she didn't get to see Gu Qingcheng again for quite a while.
It was only when Yun Liuli's parents passed away that she saw him again. After they passed, Yun Liuli went home as per normal. Facing an empty home, she cooked herself some instant noodles. But, before she got to eat them, she heard the doorbell ring.
When she opened the door, she saw a chilly-looking Gu Qingcheng. Yun Liuli's lips slightly parted, and she felt her heart pound again.
Gu Qingcheng entered and saw the instant noodles. He removed his gloves and said to Yun Liuli, "Go pack up, you're staying at my place from now on."
Without asking for the reason, Yun Liuli obediently nodded, then went back to her room to pack up.
Gu Qingcheng couldn't bring himself to talk about the death of Yun Liuli's parents, but he had to say it...
He didn't change into slippers, simply walking across the clean floor to Yun Liuli's bedroom door in his well-polished leather shoes. Seeing the young lady who was dressed in denim overalls squatting on the floor and placing things into her suitcase, he said, "Your parents... have passed away."
Before coming to see Yun Liuli, Gu Qingcheng had thought of thousands of ways to raise this cruel matter with the child.
In fact, he was even prepared for Yun Liuli to ask him why when he told her to stay at his place from now on.
But the young lady had said nothing. It was as if she was used to being placed in other people's homes...
Yun Liuli's back view froze, and she heard Gu Qingcheng's deep voice from behind."They did it to save me, I'm very sorry! From today onwards... you're my daughter. I'll take good care of you!"
Hearing the news that her parents had died, Yun Liuli had no idea if it was because her heart had been hardened, but she forced herself not to cry and simply nodded before continuing to pack things into her luggage. Though, she felt something gnawing at her heart.
Although she hadn't spoken all that much to her father and stepmother all these years, she still felt a sense of kinship towards them.
Especially her father, whom she was related to by blood...
She was just a child who was inept at expressing her own emotions. Even as her palms started hurting from gripping them too hard as she stuffed clothes into her luggage, she forced herself to hold it back and not make a sound.
After packing all her stuff, she lowered her head and pulled her luggage into a vertical position. Gu Qingcheng said he'd be waiting for her at the door, and only then did Yun Liuli squat beside her luggage and sob in a restrained manner, holding her knees to her chest.
Only Yun Liuli knew how sorrowful that felt.
Gu Qingcheng had finished smoking a pack of cigarettes at the entrance of Yun Liuli's house by the time she came out. The sight of the frail and thin lady dragging her luggage gave off an indescribable sad and lonely vibe.
From then on, the only thing left in Yun Liuli's world... was Gu Qingcheng.
Her phone vibrated again. Yun Liuli retracted her gaze from the window, and her vision fell upon the screen of her phone. It was Zhong Qingfei again.
Zhong Qingfei had already called three times.
She put the call through and placed the phone by her ears, speaking as she held back the uncomfortable sensation in her throat."Zhong Qingfei, I appreciate your kind intentions, but I'm really not planning on going back to the hostel today..."
Yun Liuli's voice sounded as soft and gentle as ever.
"I know. I saw the weather forecast for tomorrow, and it will be raining, so I'm thinking of picking you up. What time are you planning to come to school?" Zhong Qingfei asked very gently.
Yun Liuli sniffled and lowered her long eyelashes."Zhong Qingfei..."
"Don't reject me. We're friends, aren't we? Don't feel pressured..." Zhong Qingfei said, feigning casualness.
"Honestly speaking, I can't feign ignorance and continue to be friends with you while clearly knowing you have feelings for me. I feel pressured, immensely pressured."
Yun Liuli lived in a black-and-white world.
She wasn't the sort who, clearly knowing that he liked her, would carry on being friends with him while taking it for granted as he did things for her that a boyfriend would do for her.
She couldn't force herself to like him if she truly didn't like him, but she didn't want to give him hope either! This was why Yun Liuli felt guilty while making use of Zhong Qingfei, then apologized to him over the phone later. However, she was still unwilling to accept Zhong Qingfei's offers to pick her up with the identity of a friend, so she chose not to go back to her hostel and stayed there for the night instead.
It was one thing to make use of someone to deceive Gu Qingcheng, but she couldn't in good conscience accept his kind intentions while taking it for granted.
There was silence on the other end of the line...
Yun Liuli rejected him thoroughly."I'm sorry, Zhong Qingfei. I'm very sorry, but I really can't be friends with you!"
After a long time, Zhong Qingfei said, "Okay... I got it. I'm sorry to have made you feel troubled."
"You didn't make me feel troubled. You're great, it's my problem. I'm so sorry!"
After hanging up the phone, while listening to the pitter-pattering of the rain outside, Yun Liuli squirmed into her blankets again.
It was clearly summer, and the air-conditioning was at 73 degrees Fahrenheit, but Yun Liuli felt very cold. She wrapped herself up firmly and closed her eyes, forcing herself to fall back asleep.
Although her stomach was feeling empty and hurting, Yun Liuli didn't have an appetite at all, only wishing to sleep.
When she woke up again, it would be a brand new day. She told herself that everything would get better.
At 3 am, Yun Liuli started feeling thirsty and felt dryness in her mouth. From her many years of experience in taking care of herself, Yun Liuli knew that she was running a fever.
Hearing the sound of the rain outside, Yun Liuli flipped around and shivered. She got up with much difficulty and turned off the air-conditioning. Although she didn't take her temperature with a thermometer, Yun Liuli was sure that her body temperature was rather high. On top of that, she was feeling cold, so it meant her temperature would go up some more.
After leaving her room, Yun Liuli wrapped herself firmly with her clothes and walked to the fridge to retrieve a bottle of cold water. She twisted open the bottle and took two sips.
As the cold liquid glided down her throat, Yun Liuli felt increasingly cold.
She walked to the sofa and sat down, then laid down. It was as if all strength had been drawn from her body. She clearly knew that she ought to be lying down in bed to rest, but she didn't have the energy to move even a step. Her body felt sore and soft like strands of noodles.
She didn't get drenched in the rain yesterday, so how did she catch a fever?
Hugging the cold bottle of water to her chest only made her feel colder. She wanted to place the bottle on the coffee table, so she struggled to prop up her body. But before she could place the water bottle on the table, she fell off the sofa, and her head bumped against something, making her wince in pain.
Gu Qingcheng, who was still working, heard the sound in the living room, so he put out his cigarette. When he walked out of his bedroom, he saw Yun Liuli holding a hand to her head and struggling to crawl onto the sofa.
Gu Qingcheng's gaze grew dark."You drank alcohol?"
Yun Liuli turned around upon hearing Gu Qingcheng's voice. Their gazes met, both parties frozen in place.
Was she hallucinating?
| ← Ch. 1078 | Ch. 1080 → |