Chapter 40: Why Is It So Hard!
In the next room, after putting away his luggage, Gu Zhiren pulled open the floor-to-ceiling curtains. He looked out carefully into the distance.
A gentle sea breeze was blowing across the water, creating wave patterns like ribs across the surface. Two fat seagulls flew in with the wind, then landed on the dock.
Watching them, Gu Zhiren suddenly thought of a memory from the past.
It was also a moment when he was looking at two seagulls on a dock.
The seagulls seemed to be talking to each other, while he and Mu Yi were lying quietly on a railing not far away.
After a while, Mu Yi suddenly asked, “What do you think they’re talking about?”
He thought for a moment and honestly replied with three words.
“I don’t know.”
Then Mu Yi smiled, sat up on the railing with her arms, pointed at the seagulls, and said loudly, “They’re talking about how many fries they ate today!”
Leaving aside whether she could even understand seagull language, they were too far away to hear anything anyway.
Knowing she was joking, Gu Zhiren said “boring,” but the corner of his mouth never stopped smiling.
Even now, he still thinks that joke is boring. But his lips still curled up slightly without him noticing.
He turned back, sat on the bed, and took out his phone to check the website rankings. At first glance, he saw Mu Yi’s novel.
She even updated yesterday, although it was only 2,000 words.
It looked like she was really trying to prove herself to him. But his business instincts told him it was not that simple. She might just be using this to distract him.
Mu Yi might still be hiding some kind of trick, thinking about how to get him to leave.
At times, he even wondered if he should be stricter with her.
Something like…
Locking her in a room and not letting her out until she finishes writing.
If possible, Gu Zhiren still didn’t want to use such extreme methods on his childhood friend, even though her personality had become really difficult to deal with.
Just as he was about to exit the website, Mu Yi suddenly called him.
“Hello… Can you come to my room?”
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren frowned slightly. He instinctively felt she might already have something prepared for him. Going there now felt like walking into a trap.
His eyes showed caution, but he still agreed easily, with a faint smile on his lips.
He opened the door and walked over to knock on Mu Yi’s room.
When the door opened, he saw Mu Yi looking down slightly, biting her lip.
He immediately noticed something was wrong. His expression changed a little, but he stayed silent and looked at her face.
After entering the room, he finally spoke while looking at her back.
“Why couldn’t you say it on the phone? Why did you need me to come here?”
Mu Yi shrugged slightly, turned around, raised her head with a strong expression, and said firmly,
“Gu Zhiren, I want you to comfort me.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren fell silent. He found it strange and raised his eyebrow slightly.
“If I’m in a bad mood, I can’t collect ideas. If I can’t collect ideas, I can’t write properly. And then I’ll miss my updates.”
She spoke with reason and confidence, lifting her chest slightly. Her bright eyes reflected his figure.
“Hmm~~~ No? Too troublesome? You already think this is troublesome?”
She lowered her voice and shrank her neck a little, gently twisting her body. Her exaggerated “strong man acting cute” behavior made Gu Zhiren feel a bit dizzy, and the corner of his lips twitched.
When he saw she was about to say more, he narrowed his eyes and suddenly reached out to pull her head into his arms.
Mu Yi’s head was pressed right against his chest. Under his fingers, he could feel soft snow-white hair, and a faint, sweet girl scent quickly entered his nose.
For a moment, it was hard not to feel distracted.
He tried to ignore it and awkwardly patted her head.
“You… what are you doing?”
Mu Yi’s whole body shook. She tried to pull away, but slipped and fell back into him again.
“Ow… hiss, that hurts. Hey, is your body made of stone? Why is it so hard!”
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren held back the urge to complain, rolled his eyes, and gently patted her head again. Then he said in a calm, lazy voice.
“I’m comforting you. Isn’t this how it works in romance novels? The male lead comforts the female lead like this. And didn’t you forget? You were the one who asked me to comfort you.”
After he said that, Mu Yi suddenly lifted her head, her chin resting on his chest.
“I… I didn’t mean you should… ugh, so annoying. Your heartbeat is too loud!”
She pushed him lightly, snorted, and walked back to the bed, sitting down hard.
Even though the distance increased, the “noise” still felt loud.
But it wasn’t his heartbeat, it was hers.
Why is it so loud? Stop it. Just stop beating. So annoying. Stop already!
“So, what happened to you?”
Gu Zhiren looked at her puffed-up, sulking face. His left hand still carried her faint scent. He calmly sat down beside her.
After a long silence, she still didn’t speak. He just looked at her a few times and didn’t rush her.
After a while, Mu Yi lowered her head and let out a soft sigh.
“Have you ever worked hard for someone you really care about?”
“……”
Gu Zhiren said nothing when she suddenly turned to look at him. He swallowed slightly.
“And have you ever thought about hurting one person you care about, just for another person you care about?”
Her eyes widened slightly. A faint mist formed in her eyes. She looked emotional but forced herself to stay calm, and continued slowly,
“And after thinking for a long time… you finally make a choice and decide on one person.”
“But then that person tells you they don’t need you anymore. Do you know what that means?”
She pulled her neck in slightly, took a breath through her nose. Her voice was calm, without shaking or crying.
“It means my time was wasted. Why did I think about it for so long? My brain cells I lost… and… how am I going to make up for that?”
She couldn’t even say the words of guilt toward “Little Chubby.”
Gu Zhiren didn’t know who the two people she was talking about were. But as he listened, a memory suddenly appeared in his mind.
It was a conversation with Mu Yi after she had been punished by her mother.
“You like reading books, so why work so hard learning piano? You could just tell your mother you like reading more.”
“Have you ever worked hard for someone you care about? That kind of effort doesn’t need any reward. I like my mom. She wants me to become a pianist, so I will try my best to become what she wants me to be.”
Back then, even when she was injured, she was still positive and strong.
As if even if the sky fell, she would not collapse.
“You’re really strange. We’re just strangers, right? Why are you doing so much for me? Wouldn’t it be better to just let me handle things myself?”
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren’s thoughts came back. He raised his eyes. Confusion slowly turned into sadness and concern, but he still said nothing.
“…Can you just stop caring about me? Wouldn’t it be better to use the time you waste on someone like me… on something more meaningful?”