Chapter 457 - 324: You Came Empty-Handed?

"See? I told you they were just having a fight. Muxue kicked Xiaorui just now, so she should have let off some steam."

Zhao Lizhen waved at the departing car. Xue Rui had just waved to her from the window.

Her daughter only truly let loose around Xue Rui, which in her opinion, was a good thing. Her girl was bound by too many rigid rules. Life would be too suffocating if she didn’t have anyone she could reveal her "true nature" to. Xue Rui, with his roguish and shameless personality, was the perfect candidate for that.

"The girl driving looks a bit familiar," Gu Qingshan mused. He vaguely remembered seeing her somewhere before. ’Was it at dinner with Xue Rui two years ago?’

"She’s so tall, half a head taller than our Xue’er." As Zhao Lizhen spoke, she noticed Gu Muxue was still standing downstairs, playing on her phone. She called out to her, "Xue’er, hurry back inside! There are more mosquitoes now that autumn’s here."

"Okay." Gu Muxue put her phone away and walked dazedly toward the house. In the end, she still couldn’t bring herself to delete Xue Rui.

’Even if... it’s just to look at the chat history?’

’The Xue Rui she loved was the one from before, who used to dote on her all day... even if he did occasionally tease her...’

’Was the Xue Rui of today still the person she remembered?’

’It seemed he was, but she was no longer the only one in his heart.’

’If she could only get half his love by sacrificing her dignity, she would rather go without.’

"Xue’er, was that girl just now one of your classmates? I’ve seen Xiaorui take her to dinner before. I believe she’s a technical staffer," Gu Qingshan asked.

"Yes, her name is Lin Ruoxi. We’re on good terms." Gu Muxue’s expression didn’t falter, but a sharp pang in her heart made her subconsciously clench her fists.

’But how was she supposed to tell her parents about breaking up with Xue Rui?’

"Mom, can you help me find a therapist in Chang’an? I haven’t been doing well lately and want to talk to someone," Gu Muxue said.

’Her situation with Xue Rui needed a buffer. When the New Year came, she would just tell her family their personalities weren’t a match and that they had mutually agreed to part ways. That way, it wouldn’t affect the relationship between the two families...’

But as she thought this, the tip of her nose suddenly tingled. Afraid her parents would notice something was wrong, she quickly fled to her room.

"If something’s bothering you, you can tell Dad. Why find an outsider to talk to?"

Gu Qingshan started to step forward to put an arm around Gu Muxue’s shoulder, but she dodged aside, leaving him to embrace empty air.

"So you’re not going abroad anymore?" Zhao Lizhen pressed.

"I’m not going." With that, Gu Muxue closed her bedroom door.

Gu Qingshan sighed. "A rebellious phase? Isn’t it a little late for that?"

"Xue’er is very good at regulating her own emotions. Didn’t she just ask about a therapist? Some things are hard to say to people you’re close to, whereas there’s no pressure with a stranger. We should give her more space."

Zhao Lizhen said, shaking her head. She trusted her daughter.

"Xue’er, if it gets to be too much, you have to tell Mom and Dad!" Zhao Lizhen called toward the door.

"Don’t worry, Mom, I know."

...

Inside her room, Gu Muxue hugged the teddy bear from Xue Rui tightly, her glistening teeth clamped down hard on its ear. Her face was streaked with tears.

’She really, really wanted to bite Xue Rui, but she couldn’t. So now she was just taking it out on the bear, pretending it was him...’

After venting her emotions, she opened her phone and searched: *Post-traumatic stress disorder*.

When she had asked her mother about finding a therapist, she had actually been asking for Xue Rui.

’Hearing Xue Rui’s explanation, her first thought had been: Is Xue Rui using a mental illness as an excuse?’

’Xue Rui was a liar and a bastard; she couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth.’

’But this was about his well-being, both mental and physical. She wasn’t willing to gamble on it.’

’So what if she got tricked one more time? She almost hoped he *was* lying to her this time.’

’She hated Xue Rui, but deep down, she still wanted him to be okay.’

...

Meanwhile, Xue Rui sat in the passenger seat, the cool, post-rain night breeze washing over his face and clearing his head.

"Xixi, slow down a bit. I want to feel the breeze," Xue Rui said, watching the scenery outside the window. He felt hollow inside.

’In truth, he’d long predicted this day would come; he knew Gu Muxue far too well.’

’Using the ’nightmare’ as a cover, he had told Gu Muxue about his experiences from his past life.’

’The good news was that Gu Muxue had agreed not to go abroad. She would return to her classes at Jiao University after the holiday, preventing a repeat of the last life, where she’d gone abroad and vanished without a trace.’

’The bad news was that Gu Muxue had forbidden him from showing his face again. Though she hadn’t threatened him, Xue Rui could sense her despair. Her beautiful figure had stood there, stunned, in the rearview mirror for a long while, completely oblivious to the fact that he could see her...’

’She’d grown less sharp, he realized.’

’He would rather have Gu Muxue tell everyone the truth—that he was a scumbag, a bastard—and get beaten to a pulp by their parents than have her keep everything bottled up inside.’

’In his heart, she was still just a young girl. She hadn’t even had her eighteenth birthday yet. She shouldn’t have to bear all this alone. He wanted to make it up to her...’

"Okay, let’s just sit here for a bit then." Lin Ruoxi stopped the car on a bridge. She rolled down all the windows and sat with Xue Rui, letting the breeze wash over them.

The melodious chirping of insects and croaking of frogs rose from the riverbanks, and her own heart gradually grew calm.

"Rui, you... from now on, don’t go see Gu Muxue, o—"

Lin Ruoxi had meant to ask, "okay?" But she felt she needed to be firmer.

So, in a soft, deliberate voice, she enunciated each word: "No. You’re forbidden."

She wasn’t saying this because of Gu Muxue’s threat earlier, but because she could sense the other girl’s internal conflict and the pressure she was under.