A little past six in the morning, Gu Yanjing woke up.
He sat up and looked at Qiao Yuxian on the bed.
Last night, Qiao Yuxian had placed the pillow at the foot of the bed, laying flat on her back with her hands folded over her body, her sleeping posture very proper.
But now... she was sprawled across the bed.
One leg straight, the other bent, she lay on her stomach with one arm hanging off the bed, the other hugging the pillow, her hair draping over the edge of the bed, barely not touching the floor.
The quilt was only covering a corner of her body, with most of it having fallen to the ground.
Gu Yanjing sat on the sofa, watching her.
He had heard the person on the bed stir from time to time throughout the night.
Although he slept through the night, the sounds never ceased.
After sitting on the sofa for a while longer, he got up, pulled the quilt that was not touching the floor over Qiao Yuxian, then grabbed some clothes from the wardrobe and left the room.
The old house was close to the Gu Group, but quite far from Kyoto University.
Gu Yanjing went out for a run, returning in less than half an hour.
He went to the guest room to freshen up, changed into a suit, then returned to the bedroom to wake Qiao Yuxian.
Qiao Yuxian was still sleeping soundly, having changed positions again and now curled up diagonally on the bed, with the quilt entirely kicked onto the floor.
She was wearing Gu Yanjing’s loungewear, oversized and loose.
The clothes rode up her waist, revealing a slender, fair waist.
Gu Yanjing walked to the bedside, his first glance catching sight of her exposed waist. Lying on her side, her waistline was distinct, and stark white almost blindingly so.
He glanced at it, then immediately shifted his gaze, looking at her face covered by hair: "Qiao Yuxian."
Qiao Yuxian didn’t respond.
Gu Yanjing called out again, and Qiao Yuxian stirred, hugging the pillow tighter, then after a moment asked, "What time is it?"
"Six forty," Gu Yanjing replied.
"So early..." Qiao Yuxian mumbled, then after a few seconds added, "I’ll sleep a bit more."
Gu Yanjing’s eyes involuntarily glanced at her waist again, his voice turning frosty: "Get up now, hurry."
With that, he directly left the room.
Qiao Yuxian initially wanted to sleep a little longer but couldn’t.
She abruptly sat up, her hair hanging messily over her forehead, and waved her fists randomly in the direction Gu Yanjing had left, puffing out her cheeks and blowing at the hair hanging in front of her forehead.
As she vented her morning grumpiness towards his leaving direction, Gu Yanjing suddenly returned.
He was carrying clothes just sent back from Jinxia Building.
Catching each other’s eyes, Qiao Yuxian’s angry little expression went blank for a moment. A second later, just as she was about to show how angry she was, Gu Yanjing put down the clothes and turned away again.
Qiao Yuxian hesitated for a couple of seconds, got out of bed, and stood at the door with her hands on her hips.
What was that look just now, was he looking at a fool?!
After quickly tidying up the room, Qiao Yuxian went to freshen up.
While brushing her teeth, she picked up her phone to check her messages.
Her roommate Zhao Meng had shared a post with her at a bit past six.
Qiao Yuxian opened it and looked; the post roughly talked about her having a chaotic private life, dating three men in two days, being picked up and dropped off in a luxury car. During this period, Young Master Jiang also presented a luxury car as a gift.
It didn’t mention her name, only referred to her as the "Jing University Beauty."
But the Jing University Beauty pursued by Young Master Jiang was only her, Qiao Yuxian.
The post also claimed to have photos as evidence, threatening to post them if it gained enough traction.
However, the post had sunk, garnering little attention.
Qiao Yuxian wondered in which nook Zhao Meng even found it.
With a dead-ended post, Qiao Yuxian didn’t care much, closed it after a glance, and replied to Zhao Meng.
[Is gossip so intense now? Up this early?]
Zhao Meng: [Just checking gossip, to wake up the mind. This young lady is already in the library.]
Qiao Yuxian looked at the toothbrush in her mouth through the mirror.
Suddenly she felt that brushing teeth at this hour was a crime.
After freshening up, Qiao Yuxian changed clothes and headed out.
Not seeing Gu Yanjing in the front hall, she walked straight outside.
Gu Yanjing was standing under the corridor making a phone call, dressed in a finely tailored suit, his figure upright, proportioned excellently, with long and straight legs.
Though the aura was intimidating, and his voice cold enough to be chilling, it was clear he was in a foul mood at that moment.
Upon hearing him on the phone, Qiao Yuxian reconsidered stepping out of the threshold, one foot hesitating to withdraw, the other caught halfway from stepping forward.
Gu Yanjing was usually cold too, but at this moment, it was like clouds obscured the sun and a storm was raging: "It’s your fault for sending your son back domestically. Don’t just talk about hitting him, even if his life were at stake, you’d have to tolerate it."
Qiao Yuxian watched his back.
His voice was light, light enough to sound lethal.
Uncertain of what the person on the other end said, they seemed infuriated to the extreme. Even from a distance, Qiao Yuxian could faintly hear them shouting.
And yet Gu Yanjing’s voice remained light, making the other’s outrage seem like a joke.
"This time Gu Shuluo was lucky to retain a breath. Next time, who knows? Be prepared."
Qiao Yuxian’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
There were rumors about Shang Chen and his group acting that night, nearly wiping out every bit of influence Gu Shuluo had slowly built.
But that night, Gu Shuluo happened to not be in the Capital City, so only his influence was eliminated, leaving him otherwise unharmed.
Now, it seemed he wasn’t beaten that night but was last night instead.
Finishing, Gu Yanjing hung up the phone and turned to look at Qiao Yuxian standing at the door.
When their eyes met his lingering anger hadn’t fully dissipated, Qiao Yuxian forced a smile and said, "Pretend I’m invisible, you didn’t see me."
Saying that, she stepped over the threshold, sticking close to the wall as she prepared to leave.
Gu Yanjing watched her for two seconds, then said flatly, "You’re going the wrong way."
Qiao Yuxian paused: "......"
She retraced her steps, standing next to Gu Yanjing, pursing her lips, not very happy as she glanced at him.
Gu Yanjing glanced at her too, then walked toward the front hall. Qiao Yuxian followed beside him.
After walking for a bit, Qiao Yuxian gently nudged Gu Yanjing’s arm with her shoulder.
Gu Yanjing looked down at her.
Qiao Yuxian tilted her head and smiled up at him.
Her rosy shallow lips curved upwards, her smile obedient, eyes curved and bright.
Gu Yanjing felt as if her eyes contained stars that settled in his heart.
"When can I come here again?" casually finding a topic, Qiao Yuxian asked.
Gu Yanjing withdrew his gaze, looked forward, paused, and said, "Anytime."
"Really?" Qiao Yuxian looked at him.
"Mm." Gu Yanjing responded lightly.
"And you’ll be with me?"
Gu Yanjing didn’t say anything.
Qiao Yuxian drew closer, her arm brushing his, watching him, and asked again, "Can we be together?"
Qiao Yuxian smiled: "Then I’ll come next weekend, and you can show me around."
Gu Yanjing said nothing.
Knowing he had agreed, Qiao Yuxian continued, "The old house is beautiful. In a few days, I’ll spruce up Fenglin Villa to be as beautiful as the old house."
Listening to her talk, little by little, Gu Yanjing’s hostility... faded.