Chapter 10 The Pursuer Appears

Early the next morning, Aunt Mei stood at the door of the guest room on the second floor, knocking on the door. "Miss Qiao, breakfast is ready, it’s time to get up." Gu Yanjing returned from his workout and saw Aunt Mei planning to leave the guest room door: "Not up yet?" "Sir." Aunt Mei said, "Miss Qiao said she won’t have breakfast and will sleep a bit more." "Does she have class?" Gu Yanjing asked. Aunt Mei shook her head: "I don’t know about that." Gu Yanjing called downstairs: "Meng Yan, check Qiao Yuxian’s class schedule." "Yes." Meng Yan responded. In less than a minute, Meng Yan brought Qiao Yuxian’s class schedule upstairs to Gu Yanjing. Gu Yanjing took a look, and except for Saturday and Sunday, there were no classes only on Friday mornings. After reading the schedule, Gu Yanjing unhesitatingly knocked on the guest room door, his voice cool and indifferent: "Qiao Yuxian, get up and have breakfast." Meng Yan and Aunt Mei went downstairs together. Inside the room, Qiao Yuxian heard the heavier knock than before, frowned, and shouted: "I’m not eating." "Get up, you still have classes to attend." Qiao Yuxian covered her head with the blanket, unwilling to speak. Gu Yanjing, not hearing any response, continued knocking on the door: "Qiao Yuxian." "I’m not going to class." Qiao Yuxian muttered. Gu Yanjing could only faintly hear her voice from outside the door, he said deeply, "Ten minutes, I’ll wait for you downstairs." After saying that, he went back to his room to shower and change clothes. A few seconds later, Qiao Yuxian threw off the blanket and sat up. Sitting with her eyes closed for a while, she suddenly raised her hand to rub her hair and shouted: "Ah————" ... Ten minutes later, Qiao Yuxian came out of the room and went downstairs. Gu Yanjing was already sitting downstairs, having changed into a suit, looking stern and composed. In contrast, Qiao Yuxian... wore loungewear, her bangs curled with hair rollers, and eye masks on her eyes. She looked listless, from her hair to her toes, screaming: I’m not awake!!! Meng Yan’s mouth twitched as he looked at her appearance. Shang Chen faced her messy look with a stern face, feeling even more disgusted. Gu Yanjing showed no particular reaction, just glanced at her a bit longer. Qiao Yuxian slumped directly into a single sofa downstairs, closing her eyes: "So sleepy." "What time did you sleep?" Gu Yanjing asked. Qiao Yuxian opened her eyes, rolled her eyes, looked at Gu Yanjing, and closed her mouth without saying a word. She returned to her room past midnight last night. After removing makeup, washing up, and skincare... it was already past one when she got into bed. Then she opened the novel she hadn’t finished reading. When she fell asleep, she didn’t check the time, but vaguely saw outside... the sky was starting to brighten. "I’m hungry, I want to eat." After saying that, Qiao Yuxian quickly got up and fled the living room. Gu Yanjing’s gaze was too daunting, more terrifying than the high school dean, so she had to run. ... After breakfast, Meng Yan took Gu Yanjing to the company, and Shang Chen took Qiao Yuxian to school. Before getting in the car, Qiao Yuxian bumped Gu Yanjing’s arm with her shoulder, in a brotherly manner: "Mr. Gu... shall we switch?" Gu Yanjing lowered his eyes to look at her. Qiao Yuxian still wore casual clothes, her dark hair down, the bangs in front were parted three-seven, curled at the cheekbone, flattering her face shape. Barefaced, her skin very tender, almost translucent and glowing in the sunlight. Her fox-like eyes were lively and pretty, eyelashes long and curled, lips bright red and moist. "Well? Is my proposal great or what?" Qiao Yuxian looked up at him, full of expectation when he didn’t speak. Gu Yanjing moved his gaze from her face, looked ahead, and said mercilessly: "Not really." Qiao Yuxian: "......" "You’re going to be late." Gu Yanjing added. "Hmph." Seeing his refusal, Qiao Yuxian snorted and got into Shang Chen’s car. Sitting in the car, she deliberately turned her head away, ignoring him. Gu Yanjing stood outside the car, only getting in after watching Shang Chen drive away. As the car started, Meng Yan asked: "Mr. Gu, to the Sixth Hospital?" "Mm." Gu Yanjing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, "First to Wufang Restaurant." "Yes." ... Shang Chen and Qiao Yuxian didn’t exchange a single word the whole way. Only when Qiao Yuxian got out of the car did she say: "No need to trouble Mr. Shang to pick me up this afternoon, I’ll go back myself." With that, she closed the car door and left. Shang Chen didn’t delay a second, swiftly drove away. Qiao Yuxian had two classes in the morning. After class, as no one was using the classroom for the next two periods, she stayed in her seat continuing to read her novel. During class, she was feeling drowsy and almost fell asleep, but as soon as she picked up a novel, she instantly felt energized. However, she had only been quietly reading for less than half an hour before she was interrupted. "Yu Xian, I knew you’d be in the classroom and haven’t left." Upon hearing the voice, Qiao Yuxian turned off her phone. She looked up and saw Jiang Shouzhuo approaching with a bouquet of roses and a small gift box. Qiao Yuxian gently frowned. Jiang Shouzhuo was a student in the law school and also a senior this year. He was the same guy that Qiao Shuning and Qiao Lech talked about with the surname Jiang when Qiao Yuxian last went home. Qiao Yuxian heard that this guy had a long ambiguous period with Qiao Lech when she first started university. People often saw them walking together on campus, but they always claimed they were just friends. Anyone with eyes could see that Qiao Lech liked Jiang Shouzhuo. But Jiang Shouzhuo always maintained an ambiguous status with her. When Qiao Lech started university, Qiao Yuxian also finished her leave and returned to classes. However, upon returning, Qiao Yuxian was busy and did not know about the situation between Qiao Lech and Jiang Shouzhuo. She became aware of this matter because Jiang Shouzhuo suddenly started pursuing her in the second semester of his junior year. That’s when she learned about Jiang Shouzhuo, and subsequently heard about his history with Qiao Lech. Qiao Yuxian had also rejected Jiang Shouzhuo many times, yet he never gave up. His persistence led to rumors that Qiao Yuxian was leading Jiang Shouzhuo on. Some even believed that since she never outright refused him, it encouraged him to keep pursuing her over and over. After all... in many people’s eyes, the Qiao Family being able to get involved with the Jiang Family was a tremendous honor, like striking an unexpected fortune. She had no reason to refuse. At this moment, there were some students studying in the classroom, and Jiang Shouzhuo’s arrival quickly grabbed attention. "Yu Xian." Jiang Shouzhuo stood in front of her desk, smiling at her. He was dressed in high-end brands, with short hair, handsome features, but his attire and demeanor gave off a bit of a roguish vibe. Qiao Yuxian stood up and took a step back. Jiang Shouzhuo noted her reaction, smiled slightly, and handed the gift box to her. Qiao Yuxian glanced down at it briefly but did not accept it. Jiang Shouzhuo said: "It’s a Porsche car key. Didn’t I tell you before the summer break that you shouldn’t take taxis or ride to school anymore?" His words immediately caused an uproar among the onlookers. Surprise, envy, jeers... Qiao Yuxian indeed was not often at school, and when she went out, she would take a taxi if it were far or rent an electric bike from the entrance if it were close. "Young Master Jiang, the gift is too heavy, take it back." After saying this, Qiao Yuxian picked up her phone and books, nodded politely to Jiang Shouzhuo, and turned to leave. As she was leaving, Jiang Shouzhuo loudly called her name: "Yu Xian!" The shout was so loud that it annoyed those studying, prompting a complaint: "Could you resolve your personal matters somewhere other than in public spaces?" Seniors, especially those preparing for exams, often study in classrooms if they can’t find space in the library. Qiao Yuxian stopped and looked at Jiang Shouzhuo, saying, "Young Master Jiang, let’s talk outside." Jiang Shouzhuo smiled and said, "Sure." Qiao Yuxian quickened her pace and headed out, turning right after reaching the doorway when she suddenly saw Qiao Lech standing there. Qiao Lech stood there with slightly red eyes, looking somewhat zoned out. When she suddenly met Qiao Yuxian’s eyes, her pupils shrank and she gripped her gift bag tightly. "Le Chu is here too." Jiang Shouzhuo greeted her with a smile as he came out of the classroom. Qiao Lech glanced at him and forced a smile harder to muster than tears: "Senior." Jiang Shouzhuo, looking oblivious, responded with a smile. Qiao Yuxian turned her head to look at him, her eyes carrying a cold glint. Receiving her gaze, Jiang Shouzhuo said: "You two chat first, I’ll wait for you up ahead." Qiao Yuxian ignored him. Once he was gone, Qiao Lech lowered her head and called out somewhat helplessly: "Sister." Looking at her, Qiao Yuxian paused and asked, "Came to find me?" "Mm." Qiao Lech whispered, "I checked your schedule and knew you had class here today, so I came to see you." "Is there something?" Qiao Lech handed her the gift bag: "Dad bought us gifts while on a business trip. He wasn’t sure when you’d come back, and perhaps felt a bit shy giving them to you. So he asked me to deliver them." Qiao Yuxian accepted the bag, took out the gift box, and opened it to have a look. It was a pair of very beautiful earrings. The warmth shone in her eyes as she put the gift away, saying: "His birthday is on Saturday, I’ll be back." Qiao Lech looked up at her, with some joy shining in her eyes, and nodded happily. What a pretense of gift-giving, this was just a roundabout way of asking if she would come back for his birthday on Saturday. "Thank you." Qiao Yuxian said. "It’s nothing." Qiao Lech shook her head and smiled gently, "I’ll head off now." "Mm." ...