Chapter 38: Losing My Love Forever, Everything Looks Ruined
After patiently waiting for Gu Zhiren to finish his call, Mu Yi cleared her throat. Then she grabbed a piece of popcorn and, when he wasn’t paying attention, tossed it into his mouth.
For a moment, Gu Zhiren’s mind went blank. A trace of surprise, and something hard to describe, appeared in his eyes.
But remembering that he was driving, he quickly came back to his senses. His gaze lowered slightly, and he hid that earlier reaction behind a look of indifference and confusion, focusing back on the road ahead.
“Since you’re so busy, you should just go take care of your work. I’m an adult too, you don’t need to keep watching me all the time. About my writer’s block, I’ll work hard to solve it myself!”
Mu Yi smiled warmly, her voice full of energy. She tilted her head slightly and kept eating popcorn on her own.
“……”
Gu Zhiren frowned faintly and chewed the popcorn in his mouth.
After swallowing, he reached into the nearest bucket, picked up another piece, and steered the car with one hand while keeping an eye on the road.
“Can I trust you?”
He raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled.
Hearing this, Mu Yi swallowed nervously. Her eyes widened a bit with guilt.
After thinking for a moment, she said confidently, “Of course you can! But if you really want to stay, I won’t chase you away anymore. I’ve thought about it seriously. You staying actually helps me a lot, so… I kind of hope you’ll stay now.”
Hearing her answer, Gu Zhiren showed a knowing expression again. He narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at the popcorn in his hand, and a faint, slightly mischievous but cautious smile appeared on his handsome face.
“This afternoon, the renovation workers called me. They said I can move in now.”
He noticed her smile slowly fading, so he also put away his own smile and continued,
“I’ll pick a time the week after next to move in. When that happens, we’ll be neighbors.”
His voice was gentle, and his eyes weren’t sharp, but those words almost made Mu Yi lose control.
The week after next…
How many days is that…
You say “pick a time”, don’t tell me you’ll just show up the next day, you jerk!
Thinking this, Mu Yi forced out a laugh. Her long eyes curved into crescents.
“Okay! When that time comes, I’ll take good care of you.”
“Shouldn’t it be me taking care of you?”
Noticing the traffic light had turned red, Gu Zhiren stopped the car. He rested his arms on the steering wheel, leaning on them in a relaxed way. He raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression casual but playful.
“You look like someone who never leaves the house, can’t cook, only orders takeout, and lets trash pile up before throwing it all out at once. Maybe there are even rats or cockroaches in your home. If I live next door, they might come over.”
Hearing this, Mu Yi took a sharp breath and pressed her lips together.
But it wasn’t that she had nothing to say.
“No! I clean a little every day. There are definitely no cockroaches.”
At this point, she paused, remembered something, and added,
“At most, there’s just one mouse, but it’s definitely not mine!”
“And I can cook, okay? I’m just too lazy to cook when I’m eating alone. Hey, you don’t even know anything, can you not just make things up?”
Seeing Gu Zhiren’s “I see” expression, Mu Yi’s face slowly became strange as she realized something was off.
It felt like…
She had been tricked.
After finally realizing it, Mu Yi got so angry that she bit her lip, her neck turning red. She glared at him and could only stammer out a broken “You…”
Seeing her so angry, Gu Zhiren simply looked at her. Then, without showing much reaction, he leaned back against his seat and placed both hands on the steering wheel, lightly rubbing them together.
She didn’t stop until Mu Yi looked away. With her left hand, she grabbed a handful of popcorn and started eating it angrily. Before finishing what was in her hand, she grabbed another handful. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, and her shoulders trembled with anger.
If they weren’t in the middle of the road, she might have already demanded to get out of the car.
“Alright, don’t be mad. I was just trying to understand my neighbor’s living habits so it’ll be easier to get along in the future.”
Hearing this, Mu Yi glanced at him, then said nothing and kept eating.
Even more fiercely than before.
But it had no real threat at all. It was more like an angry little cat burying its head while eating, occasionally making soft “angry” sounds to scare its owner.
Honestly, it was kind of cute.
When other people got angry, even if Gu Zhiren noticed, he usually didn’t care. He felt there was no need.
Even if he ignored it, nothing would really happen.
After some time, they would calm down on their own. He didn’t need to do anything.
But now, facing this completely changed childhood friend, Gu Zhiren felt something was different about himself. Even he couldn’t quite describe his mood.
It was complicated. But mostly, it felt pleasant.
“Staying at home all the time isn’t good. You should go out and get some fresh air once in a while.”
As he spoke, Gu Zhiren subconsciously reached out to grab some popcorn. But halfway through, he hesitated and quietly pulled his hand back. Then he met Mu Yi’s confused gaze.
He swallowed and slowly continued, “Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll go back—”
“Mm… I’ll take you to a seaside tourist village. They’re holding a four-day anniversary event. You can relax and also get ideas for your novel.”
“The seaside village you’re talking about… is it a place called Ruolan Town?”
Not paying much attention to his sudden change of words, Mu Yi thought for a moment and asked while chewing popcorn.
“Yes. So… will you go?”
Gu Zhiren nodded slightly.
“…”
Mu Yi slowly chewed the popcorn in her mouth, then swallowed it.
After thinking for a moment…
“Of course I’ll go! But I have something very important on Thursday. You have to take me back.”
That Thursday was Little Chubby’s birthday.
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren paused briefly, his expression changing slightly.
“Something very important? I think I should understand just how important it is.”
“It’s really very important. It’s my—”
She suddenly stopped, then lifted her chin and let out a small huff.
“You’re so strange. Why should I tell you everything? You just need to know it’s very important to me.”
“Anyway, remember to take me back. Otherwise, I won’t go to your tourist village.”
After saying that, she grabbed another handful of popcorn, but this time she only looked at it and put it back without eating.
Gu Zhiren tilted his head slightly and looked at her. He adjusted his sitting position a bit, a faint smile appearing on his face, his head unconsciously tilting a little.
Even if she didn’t say it, he already knew the answer.
………………………
Although she said she couldn’t write, after going home, Mu Yi still honestly wrote for quite a while, adding more to her saved chapters.
Since they would leave in the afternoon, she planned to sleep comfortably first, then wake up and play some games.
Stay away from writing for now and save her energy for the trip.
However, in the middle of the night, a sudden deep pain twisted in her lower abdomen. There was also a strong heavy feeling, and she could feel a strange warmth somewhere in her body.
The pain woke her up immediately. The white-haired girl held her stomach.
The memory of Gu Anran having stomach pain flashed in her mind.
She quickly realized what might be happening to her. She turned on the light and lifted the blanket.
When she saw the bright red blood under her, her mind went completely blank.
At that moment, she understood…
Some things cannot be avoided.
What’s lost is already lost.
She really had become a girl.