Chapter 101: The Dance Party (Part 2)

  However, at the dance party, Ruo Yu Chen was still surrounded by everyone.

  Gu Huanlin sat on the side, indifferently watching a group of girls surround Luo Yichen to give him chocolates, completely ignoring that he was attending the dance with his girlfriend today. However, Gu Huanlin no longer cared about it now, after being apart for five years, he was not the same person anymore, and she was no longer the weak and helpless foolish woman she used to be. So, if someone thought that Luo Yichen's invitation didn't have any special meaning, purely just a kind gesture towards his junior, Gu Huanlin would be very happy about it.

  "Sorry, I have a schoolmate from the club calling me over there, I'll be right back." Lu Diqiu asked her to sit down beside him and handed her a glass of fruit juice.

  "Okay."

  She was left alone by the dance floor. Gu Huanli silently watched the men and women in the dance floor crazily shaking their bodies, this was a dance she wasn't familiar with, perhaps sitting like this to avoid embarrassment was the most correct choice. Occasionally, there were also a few boys who came over to invite her to dance, but they were all politely declined by Gu Huanli.

  After Gu Huanli continuously rejected the three of them, Kou Yichen finally returned to her side, carrying a large bag of drinks in his hand.

  "Sorry, I've finished drinking. A colleague asked me to help buy some more, so that's why it took so long..."

  Luo Yi Chen's hands looked quite heavy, Gu Huan Li hastily stood up, "I'll help"

  "No need, no need, just sit and rest, besides, where can a girl be troubled?" Luo Yichen smiled apologetically at her, "I'll take it in for them."

  Gu Huanli looked at the group of girls' smug smiles, she lowered her head uncomfortably, her eyelashes fluttering lightly, "Senior, if you have student council matters to attend to... I'll just go back..."

  "No, you sit down and wait for me for a while."

  This time, it was another thirty minutes. Lu Yichen went in and out of the staff area, arranging drinks and snacks, back and forth to deal with miscellaneous things. Gu Huanli, on the other hand, sat quietly in the corner, playing with the candy box in her hand.

  "Are you waiting for Yi Chen?" A senior sister passed by and saw Gu Huanli sitting aside, so she came over to ask kindly.

  Gu Huanli nodded.

  "Shall I go and call him?"

  "Senior... is busy... let's not disturb him."

  "What's the hurry? Wait a moment, I'll go and call him over."

  Luo Yi Chen was quickly brought over, and the senior sister smiled and teased her, "Brought your little girlfriend here, why did you abandon her here without taking care of her? Don't even know how to take good care of her, really silly"

  "I have no choice either, there are many things to attend to in the student union..."

  "Without you, the sky would collapse? Your girlfriend is more important, hurry up and accompany her." The enthusiastic senior sister patted Luo Di's shoulder a few times.

  "Not even a girlfriend..."

  "Even if she's just a female companion, you should be more considerate. After all, you're a man, aren't you? Otherwise, I can introduce those eager and lonely people to her."

  "Let's just be girlfriends then."

  "In the end, you still decided to abduct underage girls?"

  Two people seemed to be familiar with each other for ten years, chatting and laughing in front of Gu Huanli, discussing her as if she didn't exist. More and more people joined the conversation, Lu Yuechen responded one by one with a faint smile.

  Gu Huanli glanced at the homemade sour plum soup brought by her senior, a gentle smile appeared on her lips, and she kindly gave up the position close to Luo Yichen, slowly retreating to the outside of the crowd, once again becoming a spectator.

  What's most impressive about Ruo Yu Chen now is that he can get along with anyone, Gu Huan Lian doesn't dislike this slightly too smooth personality, on the contrary, she envies his attitude of putting on a mask for 24 hours without getting tired in order to achieve his goals.

  Even if she's admired, there's no need for her to be watched at such close range.

  The more boisterous the crowd, the lonelier she felt; the more fervent the laughter, the more bored she became. She lowered her head and gazed at the small dress her brother had specially chosen for her. The delicate folds on the hem were like the petals of a white peony unfolding in profusion. Yet such beauty now seemed to mock her, or perhaps it was just a form of irony.

  Gu Huanli originally just wanted to be a passerby, and the so-called entanglement had long been a fleeting cloud. But Ruo Yichen repeatedly harassed her, if not for fear of letting the head of the Ruo family think that she had ruined his good son's face, thereby affecting the cooperation between the Gu and Ruo families, she would never have accompanied Ruo Yichen in this game of senior and junior fellow students.

  Her eyes cooled, her heart chilled, Gu Huanli once again hung a quiet smile on her face. She continued to sit there, just looking, listening and smiling. Seeing some people turn pale, hastily retreating in disarray, it would be a long time before they came back. Unfortunately, the conversation hadn't even reached two sentences when they fled again. Gu Huanli held the glass cup in her hand, gently swaying the ice water inside, colorless and tasteless, able to penetrate everything, also able to reflect all things.

  When the crowd dispersed, Ruo Yi Chen finally looked at Gu Huan Li and found that her smile was even more distant. He placed a glass of juice in front of her and said softly, "Sorry, I had too many things on my mind and didn't expect it to turn out like this..."

  "It's okay, the senior wasn't being malicious." Gu Huanli stood up, smiled warmly and said, "I should head home now. I'm glad I could attend this dance party today, I had a lot of fun."

  "We haven't even danced yet"

  Gu Huanli glanced at the girls waiting with bated breath not far away, smiled and said, "There are still many people waiting for Senpai's invitation, so I won't disturb them."

  "Why must you say that I'm bothering others? Today, you're my dance partner." Holding onto Gu Huanli's wrist, Luo Yichen wouldn't let go. He lowered his face, revealing displeasure for the first time. "This Valentine's Day, I only want to spend it with you."

  Should this be called "old habits die hard" or should it be called "ugly truth revealed"?

  What qualifications does the person who left his girlfriend here for a whole night have to say such things? Does he really think he's the center of the universe and everyone should revolve around him? Gu Huanli didn't want to complain or blame, since her brother had taught her not to be emotional, so she just smiled lightly.

  "Thank you for the invitation from senior fellow, I should head home now."

  "Don't you understand? I'm inviting you to spend Valentine's Day with its true meaning..."

  Meaning?

  The flickering light in the ballroom cast a glow on Ruo Yu's face, but Gu Huanli couldn't see his expression clearly even though she was looking up at him, nor could she hear his voice.

  "Sorry......" Gu Huan Lian struggled to pull her hand out of Ruo Yi Chen's palm.

  "You dislike me that much?" In an instant, a hurt expression appeared on Lu Yichen's face.

  "No." Gu Huanli shook her head, sometimes kind lies weren't deception.

  Luo Yi Chen didn't try to persuade her, but instead looked at her with a serious expression, silent and unspoken.

  "Goodbye." Gu Huanli smiled and bid him farewell, turning around and leaving the venue.

  Don't want to see that face which is seemingly gentle but actually full of dark clouds, as if two completely different souls are living in one person's body. Does he not know or does she not know the true meaning of Valentine's Day?

  She still remembers that person, the truly warm-hearted one. When she was in America, she would often receive his emails. The frequency of their contact was only second to her daily phone calls with her brother.

  She also remembered that she had found Bai Juyi's poem from the study, and when she saw one of them, she couldn't help but make a long-distance call, without even noticing whether it was day or night in her home country.

  "Leaves of blue-green silk are torn, the stem stretches to the jade hook. A few clear and crisp sounds, a cluster of green sandalwood. Before night, the dark mist enters, before autumn, the white dew condenses. Brushing shoulders with emerald, stroking the agate. The rhyme penetrates through the window wind, the shadow spreads on the moonlit courtyard."

  When she finished reciting the poem, the next second, that person chuckled softly in her ear and said gently, "This is Bai Juyi's 'Twenty Rhymes of Newly Planted Bamboo on a Summer Day'. Little girl, where did you guess that it was the origin of my name?"

  She likes him calling her Xiao Yu Tou.

  In a foreign land, she often misses her hometown, but doesn't dare to pour out her heart to her brother. That person became her only confidant, comforting her, encouraging her, and being her strong backing.

  She also remembered that before going abroad, she once went to her brother's school to watch a game. After the end, her brother had something urgent and entrusted the task of sending her home to that person.

  Lan Gege, how long ago was that?

  Gu Huanli sat quietly on the viewing platform, waiting silently.

  Ye Qinglan rushed into the bathroom to take a quick shower, changed back into her school uniform, and locked the locker room door. She then slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed to the viewing platform to meet Gu Huanli.

  "Come on, little girl," Water droplets trickled down his coffee-colored hair.

  "Hey, going out like that will definitely catch a cold." Gu Huanli looked at the Leng in front of her and couldn't help but scold.

  "It's also, at this time, can't afford to get sick." Ye Qinglan nodded, he turned around and walked a little further, shaking the water off his head, "After all, it's my first time leading the team in the high school intramural tournament. As the captain, I should set an example."

  "Wah, Leng Gege looks like a Golden Retriever!" Gu Huanli exclaimed.

  Ye Qinglan sighed helplessly, "This kind of praise wouldn't make anyone happy if they heard it."

  "Siberian Husky? Sled dog? Samoyed..."

  "Ha......" Ye Qinglan couldn't help but smile wryly, "Little girl, I should really thank you. Fortunately, you didn't compare me to a Barbie doll or a Teddy bear."

  "Brother Qinglan is so tall" Gu Huanli walked to Ye Qinglan's side, tapping her foot and drawing a comparison, "How can it be like a bean-sized Chihuahua?"

  A sweet scent wafted past Ye Qinglan's nose, and unexpectedly, his heart began to beat strangely fast. He somewhat bashfully turned his face to the other side, "It's getting late, I...I'll send you home."

  "Huh?" Gu Huanli looked at Lan Weihuo's ear tips and inexplicably felt her cheeks burning.

  Ye Qinglan calmed down and smiled lightly, "This 'hmm', should I take it as acceptance or rejection?"

  "Brother Lan is really cunning!" Gu Huanli pouted and said, "I should have moved to Lhasa earlier."

  "Huh?"

  "Unfortunately, the school is at most an hour's journey from the Gu family's old house."

  "You're really a little girl who speaks in a roundabout way. Since I promised Tianxi to send you home, it doesn't matter whether you live in Lhasa or Vienna, or the old Gu residence, I will ensure your safe arrival." Ye Qinglan couldn't help but shake her head and said with a doting tone, "You oh"

  Gu Huanli put her hands behind her back, backing away while imitating Ye Qinglan's tone and said, "This 'oh', should I take it as disappointment or consider it a relief?"

  "Be careful!" Ye Qinglan watched as Gu Huanli's foot slipped, and she quickly reached out to catch her. "Hey, the floor has just been waxed, aren't you afraid of cracking your head open?"

  Gu Huanli felt his body go limp, as if an electric current was flowing from the place where their palms were connected, all the way to his limbs and bones.

  He hadn't realized that his arms had naturally wrapped around Gu Huan's slender waist, and Ye Qinglan's deep eyes were fixed tightly on her. Feeling the girl in his arms tremble slightly, he quickly let go of his hands, scratching his hair awkwardly, "......Are you okay?"

  Gu Huanli felt her heart racing wildly, but she didn't know how to control it, so she could only silently shake her head.

  "Actually, as long as you walk along the outer edge of the rink, you won't slip."

  "Brother Lan, why didn't you say so earlier?" Gu Huanli muttered discontentedly.

  "This is common sense."

  "Huh? Don't you know that I'm a Martian who doesn't know this common sense?"

  "It's actually not that slippery, look I'm standing just fine."

  "Ugh... That's really a blow."

  "Uh, sorry."

  "Huh? Actually, I should be the one saying thank you."

  "You're welcome." The corners of Ye Qinglan's lips slightly curved upwards.

  "Hmph" Gu Huanli turned around and walked towards the door, but after only three steps, her foot slipped again and she almost fell.

  She was still caught in the warm embrace behind her, and for a moment, Gu Huan Lian seemed to see a soft yellow glow like streetlights flickering on Ye Qing Lan's head, everything became hazy. Then, she remembered that faint, special scent on his body. It wasn't the same as the one on Ye Ye's body, which was composed of musk, cloves, agarwood, and sandalwood, nor was it the elegant and calm scent on her brother's body, which was made up of angelica, amber, iris, and frankincense. Instead, it smelled like the warm sunshine on the quilt that her aunt had dried in the sun when she was a child.

  Ye Qinglan looked at Gu Huanli who had solidified into a stone statue, and once again felt like crying and laughing at the same time. She really didn't know whether to thank God or curse Satan. He helplessly picked her up and carried her all the way to the entrance of the basketball gym, where he carefully put her down.

  Looking at Gu Huanli, whose face was pale and clearly still in shock, Ye Qinglan chuckled and patted her head, "Little girl?"

  When Gu Huanli came back to her senses, she didn't know if it was because of excessive anger or embarrassment, but her pale face suddenly turned crimson. Fortunately, the sunset was still there, covering up her blush...

  A sip, a peck... nothing is not predestined.

  Every leaf and every flower, all have their destined connections...

  It may be a romantic relationship, a fateful encounter, a karmic debt, or an unjust grievance, but there will always be someone who is greedy, angry, foolish, slow, or doubtful, and how can ordinary people possibly calculate the causes and effects?

  She had also walked side by side with him under the wutong tree, the two of them exchanging soft and warm smiles like a gentle breeze. The vibrant green leaves swayed in the wind, humming a soft melody, as if to calm down the lingering noise and disturbance.

  At dusk, light and shadow danced across their faces, and the world was full of dazzling red everywhere.