Gu Nianzhi softly said, “Oh,” and relaxed instantly.
With Chen Lie she didn’t have to worry because she truly didn’t want Huo Shao to know that she had gotten into a situation that was beyond humiliating.
“That’s my Brother Chen.” Gu Nianzhi giggled as she explained. “Where is he?’
“He said he had something to do and just left.” Mei Xiawen rose to pour her a glass of water and brought it over. “Thirsty?”
Gu Nianzhi licked her chapped lips and took the glass with both hands. Before she took a sip, she thanked him, smiling. “Please sit, Class Rep. You are a guest, how could I be so rude to ask you to serve me a drink?”
Mei Xiawen pursed his lips in a smile. His elegant face was gentle. He asked delicately, “Nianzhi, so you live here? We all thought…”
Everyone in the faculty knew Gu Nianzhi was an orphan and had an uncle with an average background as a guardian. She normally dressed plainly. Although she was beautiful, the sharp eyed Faculty of Law students at the C University looked at the external things first and foremost, like what she wore, the brands of her shoes and bags, as well as where she lived. Gu Nianzhi had always stayed in the dorms. Gu Nianzhi had no brand name items and didn’t stay in the dorms on the weekend. It was said that she was working part-time to support her studies. Everybody thought she was struggling financially and pitied her.
Mei Xiawen was the son of a wealthy family and their status was higher than the Feng’s. He could tell that Gu Nianzhi’s apartment in the Fengya Precinct was not cheap.If she was truly an orphan with an average background, she wouldn’t be able to afford such a home. The furnishings were elegant and subtle. To someone who had an discerning eye, all the items in the home were exquisite. Even Mei Xiawen could not determine where they were from, but that didn’t stop him from estimating their value.
Gu Ninazhi tilted her head and smiled. She was unabashed and said crisply, “Ah, you’re talking about this home? It’s not mine, I’m helping to look after it. You knew that, right?”
“Look after it?” Mei Xiawen didn’t quite understand. “This is not yours, or your relative’s home?”
If Gu Nianzhi’s relative could afford such a house, she should be relatively well off, he thought.
Gu Nianzhi waved her hand. “No, no, it’s not my relatives’ house either. I’ll be honest, this house is someone else’s and they’re abroad right now. They didn’t want to leave the home empty or rent it out, so they found someone they trusted to look after it. I actually met them when I was working, so they had me live here on the weekends to help clean, check the mail, pay property management fees, and the utility bills. See, the master bedroom over there is locked: that’s their room. I can’t go in and can only stay in the smallest bedroom. Also, I’m not permitted upstairs.”
Gu Nianzhi didn’t want anyone to know about Huo Shaoheng’s true identity. She didn’t want his esteemed reputation to follow her, nor did she want to get used to all of this luxury. She had always felt that this place didn’t belong to her. Once she regained her memories, she would leave Huo Shaoheng and return to the normal circle of people she belonged to.
The apartment was under Huo Shaoheng’s name and the master bedroom was also his. But he was very busy and spent most of his time living at the Special Operations Forces base. He would only live in the apartment on the weekends when Gu Nianzhi came back, because he was worried about her living alone. As for the second floor, that was housed Huo Shaoheng’s studio, shooting range, and gym. Gu Nianzhi despised the shooting range and the gym. Since moving here for university two years ago, he had been making her practice shooting and kept a keen eye on the stopwatch to supervise her training.
For someone who hated long distance running, seeing a treadmill in the gym was like seeing her worst enemy.
“Is that so… no wonder you don’t live here everyday.” Mei Xiawen smiled and nodded, believing Gu Nianzhi’s words.
It was because they all knew that Gu Nianzhi lived in the C University Faculty of Law women’s dormitory. She only left on the weekends and it was said that she worked. She had made sure that her cover story corresponded to the rumors about her personal life.
Gu Nianzhi nodded her head and smiled. “That’s right.”
She lowered her head to look at herself and saw that she was not wearing the evening gown. Instead, she was in her cherry blossom patterned, pink-striped Egyptian cotton pajamas, with full length sleeves and pants, and a neat collar. She immediately lifted the thin blanket away to get off the bed and changed the topic without batting an eyelash. “Class Rep, I’m all better now. Thanks for coming to see me.”
Seeing that Gu Nianzhi intended to send him off, Mei Xiawen finally remembered the reason why he came. He tilted his head in concern to look at Gu Nianzhi’s beaming face, “Nianzhi, your final interview for post-grad admissions…”
“Post-grad final interview? Cr*p, cr*p, how could I have forgotten about it?!” Gu Nianzhi had a sudden revelation. She slapped her forehead worriedly, her face twisted into immense pain, “What should I do, what should I do? My interview…”
A week had passed. She had long missed the interview!
Just before she finished her sentence, she heard the click of the door lock. Chen Lie’s round head poked in the room and he smiled. “Nianzhi, you’ve finally awakened!” He was shocked that Gu Nianzhi was bouncing around the room. She was smiling, fussing, shocked, worried—this was unusual in a patient who had just awaken from a week long coma.
If Chen Lie hadn’t personally cared for Gu Nianzhi for a week, he would have never believed that Gu Nianzhi had been a patient who had lapsed into a week long coma.
“Brother Chen! Has it really been a week?” Gu Nianzhi was a little nervous as she crept closer to him. ” My…my interview…”
Chen Lie wanted to reassure her, but turning around and seeing Mei Xiawen look at them with interest as they talked displeased him. He coughed. “Class Rep Mei, right? Thanks for coming to see our Nianzhi. She has just recovered from a serious illness, so I want to take her to the hospital for a check up. Did you want to…?” Chen Lie deliberately trailed off, hoping that Mei Xianwen would take the hint.
Mei Xianwen understood him and he quickly said, “I just came by to see Nianzhi. I’m glad to know she’s better.” As he spoke, he took out the gift box he had brought. “This was the gift I had wanted to give you at Feng Yixi’s birthday party. I bought this just for you. Please keep it and use it later when the occasion arises.”
Gu Nianzhi felt uneasy when she recalled that incident, but it had nothing to do with Mei Xiawen and she couldn’t be upset at him. She smiled as she accepted it with both hands. “Class Rep is too kind. I’ll have to thank you when I go back.”
Mei Xiawen looked at her and remembered Feng Yixi’s birthday party last Saturday. Everyone was still chatting and laughing, but they were now no longer people from the same world. His heart felt a pang as he sighed and said, “Ah, you still don’t know right? Our class has gone viral online recently.”
“Viral online?” Gu Nianzhi asked as she opened Mei Xiawen’s gift. “You’re saying our class is famous now?”
“Yes, famous. It’s because your best friend, Feng Yixi, got famous.”
Gu Nianzhi paused, her hands hovering over he partially opened gift box. She said dryly, “Is that so? I’ll have to congratulate her. But, how am I her best friend? Please don’t misunderstand, Class Rep, she’s out of my league.”