Chapter 4

After lunch, Gu Chuqi followed the class monitor to collect her textbooks and school uniform. The afternoon was packed with classes as well. By the end of the day, Gu Chuqi was exhausted. After all, Jiangcheng had better educational resources than Nancheng, and the curriculum was much more advanced. Although Gu Chuqi's grades were good, she still found it somewhat difficult to keep up. After school, Gu Chuqi walked alone toward the bus stop. Her schedule didn't match up with her uncle Gu Changming's, so she had to make her own way home. Fortunately, her uncle's house wasn't far from the school, and it only took a few bus stops to get there. Gu Chuqi wore a short cream-colored padded jacket over a plaid turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, and a pair of brown ankle boots. A backpack hung from her shoulders. Despite the thick winter clothes, her graceful figure kept her from looking bulky. Instead, she looked pure and elegant. Just after walking out of the school gates, she saw her back-row deskmate—the infamous school bully—getting into a black Maybach parked by the roadside. “...” _Why is the gap between people so huge?_ The sun had come out today, and there wasn't the bone-chilling wind that had greeted her when she first arrived in Jiangcheng. But Gu Chuqi had lived in the south since she was little, so she still felt rather cold. While waiting for the bus, the phone in her coat pocket suddenly rang. She took it out and saw three words displayed on the screen: **Mrs. Gu.** Her brows furrowed. She waited for a while before finally swiping to answer just as the ringing was about to stop. Neither side spoke immediately. Only a faint crackling sound came through the phone. “Qiqi.” Her mother, Gu Yan, finally spoke. Gu Chuqi answered quietly, “Mm.” Perhaps growing impatient with her mother's hesitant manner, Gu Chuqi finally said, “If there's nothing else, I'll hang up.” “Qiqi, Mom has her reasons...” Gu Chuqi didn't give her mother a chance to continue explaining. She simply ended the call. She remembered how, just two days ago, Mrs. Gu had personally taken her to the airport and seen her off on her flight from Nancheng to Jiangcheng. While they were waiting to board, Gu Chuqi had tentatively asked, “Can I not go? I can move out and live by myself.” And what had Gu Yan said? “Qiqi, your uncle doesn't want other people to know about this. Mom has no choice. I've already made arrangements with your uncle. You'll stay at his house throughout high school. I'll come visit you whenever I get the chance. I'll keep sending your living expenses to the bank card you already have...” She hadn't received the answer she wanted. So Gu Chuqi had simply turned around and walked away without the slightest hesitation. A honk pulled Gu Chuqi out of her memories. She shook her head and walked toward the bus that had stopped by the roadside. She boarded and went straight to a window seat toward the back. Perhaps because of that phone call, Gu Chuqi was feeling particularly down. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice when someone sat down beside her. Mo Xun looked at the distracted girl beside him. He had already gotten into his family's car and had been driven quite a distance away. But when they passed the bus stop, he happened to glance out the window and saw the little girl standing there alone, looking utterly dejected. He hadn't even cared that the car had already traveled several hundred meters. He immediately ordered the driver to stop, opened the door, and ran toward the bus. He managed to board just as the doors were about to close. As it turned out, his instincts had been right. The little girl must have been upset about something. He had already been sitting beside her for several minutes, yet she hadn't even noticed him. After thinking for a moment, Mo Xun took out his phone, connected it to his Bluetooth earphones, and opened a music app. He selected a song called _Cry on My Shoulder_ and pressed play. Then he gently placed one of the earbuds into the girl's ear. Gu Chuqi froze for a moment. She couldn't understand why he had suddenly appeared here. After all, she'd watched him leave in his car earlier. “Don't think about anything. Just listen.” Gu Chuqi said nothing. She leaned against the window, closed her eyes, and quietly listened to the melody flowing through the earbud. Suddenly, she really wanted a warm hug. The song played three times in a row. When the bus stopped at the next station, Gu Chuqi removed the earbud and handed it back to Mo Xun before standing up to get off. Mo Xun followed her. Only after getting off the bus did Mo Xun realize that his own home was also nearby. Remembering their first encounter in the alley two days earlier, he figured that her home must be somewhere inside the alley. Gu Chuqi looked at Mo Xun, who had followed her off the bus. “Thank you for today.” Deep down, she added: _Thank you for keeping me company._ Mo Xun didn't say anything. He didn't know how to comfort people. Then he spotted a convenience store nearby. “Wait here.” With that, he walked away. A few minutes later, he returned with two strawberry-flavored ice creams. He handed one to Gu Chuqi. “Eat this.” Gu Chuqi accepted it, unwrapped it, and took a bite. The cold sweetness went straight to her heart, yet somehow made her feel a little better. No wonder people always said that eating something sweet could cheer you up when you were feeling down. Mo Xun didn't ask what had happened, and Gu Chuqi didn't tell him. The two of them simply stood by the roadside and finished their ice creams. It was Mo Xun's first time eating this stuff. _Way too sweet._ He really couldn't understand why girls liked eating it so much. When he'd bought them earlier, he'd hesitated for a moment. Worried that the girl might feel awkward, he had decided to get two. Now, seeing the tension gradually disappear from her face, he felt that everything he'd done today had been worth it. “Going home?” Mo Xun asked after she finished her ice cream. Gu Chuqi nodded. “Let's go. I'll walk you downstairs.” Gu Chuqi wanted to say there was no need, but after he'd accompanied her all this way, she couldn't bring herself to refuse. The two walked toward the narrow alley together. As they drew closer, they couldn't help remembering the scene of their first encounter. Gu Chuqi broke the silence. “Why were you here yesterday?” What she really wanted to ask was, _Why were you surrounded by all those people yesterday?_ But she was afraid it might be difficult for him to answer, so she changed the question. Mo Xun pointed toward Jieyou Internet Cafe. “That place belongs to a friend of mine. My family lives over in Jinxiu City. Whenever I have nothing to do, I come here to hang out with him.” “Yesterday, I happened to run into some people I'd had a grudge against before. Then you saw what happened.” Gu Chuqi knew about Jinxiu City. It was the wealthiest area in Jiangcheng and one of the city's most iconic landmarks. A single home there could easily cost over a hundred million yuan. _So he really is a rich young master._