Chapter 454 - 323: Is Everyone This Assertive?

Hedong City.

Gu Muxue was leaning against the windowsill, staring blankly at the empty grounds below and the fiery sunset on the horizon. Spread out before her were the gifts Xue Rui had once given her.

On the way home, she had made up her mind to throw them all away, but now that she was looking at them, she couldn’t bear to. This was her youth.

’Lin Ruoxi said she was coming to get her phone today. I wonder if Xue Rui will come too...’

In the past, whenever she heard Xue Rui was coming over, she would get all dressed up beforehand and wait upstairs for him to arrive...

But now, the thought of Xue Rui holding Lin Ruoxi so tightly last night made her heart ache. That kind of anxiety couldn’t be faked. ’Was Xue Rui really trembling with worry for Lin Ruoxi?’

’So that makes me the cruel, bullying woman?’

Either way, she and Xue Rui were completely over.

Suddenly, a KNOCK KNOCK sounded on her door, and she quickly composed herself.

"Xue’er, time for dinner," Gu Qingshan said gently.

His daughter had been in a terrible state last night, as if she had been deeply wronged, but she wouldn’t say a word no matter who asked. Today, she was putting on a smile for everyone, but how could he not see through it? His daughter just didn’t want anyone to worry.

At the dinner table.

"Sweetheart, if something’s wrong, you should tell your mom and dad. We can figure out a solution together," Gu Qingshan said tentatively.

Gu Muxue looked terrible. Her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks had thinned a little, but no matter how he asked, she always claimed it was just exhaustion from military training.

"Keeping things bottled up doesn’t mean you’re independent. It just means you’re not mature enough yet," Zhao Lizhen added.

Gu Muxue felt a sting in her nose. Her parents loved her so much, but...

’But how could I tell you something like this?’

’Am I supposed to say that Xue Rui is a bastard, a two-timing bastard?’

Xue Rui’s parents had always taken good care of her, and their two families were so close. The ties between their families couldn’t be severed because of her and Xue Rui. She wanted to handle this slowly, on her own.

"Mom, I’m not used to life at school. I want to go abroad..." Gu Muxue voiced her thoughts. The moment she said it, she suddenly felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

’Just need to get a little farther from Xue Rui... even farther...’

’Five years, ten years...’

Time would wash everything away. In the future, when they met during the New Year, perhaps they would be like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time, burying their youthful past deep in their hearts and exchanging a simple phrase:

"Hello, how have you been..."

An image formed in her mind: Xue Rui with another woman by his side, perhaps even holding a child in his arms, setting off fireworks with his family...

As she thought of this, her grip on her chopsticks suddenly tightened.

That was the future she had once envisioned, but now it had nothing to do with her.

’Xiaorui, I love you so much, but I hate you so much too!’

Perhaps this was the best possible ending for her and Xue Rui. They wouldn’t have to tear each other apart. In the future, because of their parents’ relationship, they could probably still be friends—familiar strangers.

"Go abroad?" Gu Qingshan’s chopsticks paused. Just last night, he had been delighted that his daughter was studying close to home and could come back whenever she wanted. And now she suddenly wanted to go abroad?

He had considered that Gu Muxue might not get used to the communal dormitories, but at the very least, wasn’t there the nanny and house her mother had arranged? There was even a dedicated driver.

"Is it because you had a fight with Xiaorui?" Gu Qingshan said lightly.

"Did Uncle Yang tell you?" Gu Muxue pouted. ’Yang Xing went back on his word. Didn’t he promise to keep it a secret for me?’

Gu Qingshan shook his head. "Every time you come back, it’s always ’Xiaorui this, Xiaorui that.’ You haven’t mentioned Xue Rui once since yesterday. I ought to ask him what’s going on."

’She’s still a child, after all, wearing her heart on her sleeve.’

"Don’t ask him!" Gu Muxue said hurriedly.

"Muxue!"

Just as she said this, she vaguely heard Xue Rui’s voice calling her name from outside the door.

She suddenly had a sense of déjà vu, as if Xue Rui always called out for her at the door whenever he came over. ’Am I back in that summer vacation again?’

It hadn’t even been that long, so why did it feel like a lifetime ago...?

"Xiaorui is here," Gu Qingshan muttered to himself.

Gu Muxue seemed to be in a daze for a moment, then quickly stood up and headed for the stairs. "It has nothing to do with me. I’m going upstairs to sleep."

She didn’t want to hear Xue Rui’s explanation—not just because she was angry, but also because she was scared.

Zhao Lizhen found it very strange. ’Wasn’t he just calling your name?’

She pulled Gu Muxue back. "If you have something to say, say it clearly. Xiaorui is a very reasonable person."

Of all the children she knew, Xue Rui was without a doubt the most mature one—independent and with his own opinions. In her heart, she actually believed the cause of the conflict lay with her own daughter.

Girls just liked to cause a bit of drama, after all.

Gu Muxue’s hands clenched into tight fists. ’Lin Ruoxi only said she was coming to get her phone. She never said she was bringing Xue Rui with her!’

...

Xue Rui stood nervously before the Gu family’s door. Lin Ruoxi had driven him here to apologize, and now he stood with his hands full of gifts, terrified that the second the door opened, he’d be met with Gu Qingshan’s foot.

’I hurt Gu Muxue so badly. Isn’t her dad going to want to kill me?’

Regardless of whether she had told them or not, he had to come today. He was already prepared to be kicked right out the door.

However, the nanny who opened the door welcomed him in just like usual and even helped him carry the things inside.

"Uncle Gu, Aunt Zhao, Happy Holidays," Xue Rui forced a smile.

"Xiaorui’s here! Come in, have a seat. Have you eaten yet?" Zhao Lizhen said enthusiastically, pulling Xue Rui inside.

A chill ran down Xue Rui’s spine. Gu Muxue kept her back to him the entire time, so he couldn’t see her expression, but he did meet Gu Qingshan’s gaze—it was sharp as a knife. ’Is he getting ready to beat me up?’