Jiang Shuxuan opened the car door. His clear eyes landed on the clothes Gu Xiqiao was wearing which made him furrow his brows.
Gu Xiqiao quickly got into the car, sitting down in the seat obediently after seeing the look on his face.
The temperature in November couldn’t be said to be too low, but when a cold wind blew, it could still make people shiver from the chill.
But she wasn’t feeling cold as she had a strong chi within her circling in her body that could dispel the chill, but there was a kind of chill in this world, called ‘The chills of Brother Jiang’. Normally, she would remember to bring out a coat, but the call from Yao Jiamu this morning was urgent, and she had forgotten.
“Let’s go, let’s go.” She just pretended that nothing was wrong.
Jiang Shuxuan felt some pain in his head starting, but he still stepped on the accelerator, the car pulling out slowly. He wasn’t aware of what she was busy with these days, but he had his guesses from the way the Imperial City was in an uproar, talking about the ‘Bai gang’ recently. The topic had reached the lower ranks of the regular people, and all the way to the upper ranks of the Imperial Capital.
When he sent someone to inquire about it, he found out that everything was done by her.
That was why he could feel the beginnings of a headache, and the stirring of a proudness in his heart. That’s right, who else besides her would be able to do this kind of thing?
The Qingyun gang was a big gang that had been around for a long time, and they also had an unknown amount of sources in the dark. The rampant drug lords inside the gang led the police force in the Imperial Capital on merry chases and were the cause of various headaches to them. Right now, it was as though the heavens had brought down judgment on them, leading them right into the hands of the police to be caught!
There were many people who tried to find out the person who had initiated the entire scene, but they couldn’t find any clues at all.
However, this didn’t prevent those people from celebrating.
This was something to be proud of, after all.
It looks like she was someone that likes to torment people like this all the time, her eyes were glittering with happiness nowadays.
“Brother Jiang, did you bring Xixi and Haha out?” Gu Xiqiao pulled out a bag of potato chips from one corner of the car, seeing the two pets in the back seat.
Xixi: … I thought you only had Big Jiang in your eyes!
Haha blinked, then slowly got down from the seat. Gu Xiqiao reached out, pulling Haha into her arms.
Jiang Shuxuan drove the car with a steady hand. “I happened to be walking them when I picked you, I’ll send them back in a while.”
“We’re going back?” Gu Xiqiao blinked.
Weren’t they going to the cinema?
Did he forget?
She didn’t manage to puzzle this out yet before seeing that they had reached the parking lot in their community area, and Jiang Shuxuan took the two pets. “I’ll just send these two up, wait a while.”
How could he let these two nasty things follow them?
Gu Xiqiao was too lazy to make the trip upstairs anyway, so she just nodded and watched him go.
Looks like he didn’t forget after all.
This was the first time Murong Feiye did this kind of stalking of other people. Although it slightly ruined his image of being lofty and mighty, he still did it without hesitation, mainly due to his insatiable curiosity.
Jiang Shuxuan had banished Jiang Tong’s family to the borders the last time he was angered, and this matter would definitely affect his reputation. What more, there would definitely be people who feel some resentment toward him due to it. Jiang Tong had done some hard work for the advancement of their ancient martial art world after all. Don’t look at how nobody dared to go against him at this moment, it wouldn’t be long before there would be many of them who would think of various ways to get Jiang Tong reinstated back to her original position.
In Murong Feiye’s eyes, Jiang Shuxuan was a very sensible person. He had matured earlier than an average person since he was a child, and this was the very first time that he had seen him do something that was so childish and irrational.
If he wasn’t wrong, the reason Jiang Shuxuan had done it was for the sake of the girl beside him.
That’s why it was even more curious.
Jiang Shuxuan had still yet to introduce Gu Xiqiao to them, but based on the other two, it looked like Baili Bin and Tang Qingqiu seemed to have come into close contact with her. He had also spoken to Tang Qingqiu before about this, and he would only answer him that she was an enigmatic and impossible to predict person. Baili Bin had not answered him, but his eyes had lit up when she was mentioned.
They were both friends who had an unperturbed friendship, and Murong Feiye felt something persistently clawing at his heart.
Especially when Jiang Shuxuan was keeping him away like he was keeping a wolf away!
Today he finally found a chance, he followed Jiang Shuxuan’s car from quite a distance, but he figured that the other would definitely have picked it up. He was being so blatant about it after all, and Jiang Shuxuan wasn’t called number one in the ancient martial arts world for nothing.
The car had stopped in the parking area of the community, Jiang Shuxuan left the car, but the girl was still inside.
Murong Feiye’s eyes lit up, he knew that this was his one chance, so he immediately found a place to stop the car, and then walked toward the black car, knocking on the window.
The glass lowered slowly, and he was able to see the face that he had been curious about close up for the first time.
He was a little dazed at the sight.
Every time he had seen her from afar, he could only tell that she was very pretty. But seeing it up close like this, it was more overwhelming to see her delicate features.
He had to admit, her complexion was excellent. There were no traces of makeup on her face, and her skin was white and flawless. There was a layer of glow under the sunlight, and her eyes were clear, sparkling, and bright. Looking closer, there was also a hint of coldness underneath the sparkle.
She didn’t seem surprised at seeing a complete stranger.
Murong Feiye was not a narcissistic person, but he was quite confident in his looks. There were many women in England who wouldn’t forget his face, and the rates of turned heads when he walked on the streets was 200%. However, it seemed that it’s a little off today.
His handsome face didn’t faze her, but he was fazed by her beauty instead.
Miss? Can you please give me some face at least?
“Hello, Miss Gu. My name is Murong Feiye, of course, you can also call me Murong.” Murong Feiye flashed her a smile, this was his confirmed killer tactic which had yet to fail to attract any girl that he had directed it to.
However, the other was calm and unaffected as she replied with an indifferent voice, “Hello.”
Hello? Just a hello?!
Murong Feiye’s mouth twitched as he continued, “I’m a friend of Shuxuan’s.”
There was a glint in her eyes at this mention, and Murong Feiye felt that he had found a breakthrough here, his eyes brightening immediately. “I know him quite well, we grew up together, but I went off to England after that. That didn’t affect our friendship though, and I heard about you from Qingqiu. When I heard that Shuxuan had a girl beside him, I always thought that it was the demon girl, I didn’t expect it to be you.”
When he spoke about this, he noticed a flash of something in her eyes.
“Come to think of it, do you know the little demon girl?” Murong Feiye dark eyes shifted. “In our place, the little demon girl is held in the highest regard. I’m sure you also know Shuxuan’s identity is not some regular common person, right? To be honest, I’m not optimistic about the two of you together.”
In his eyes, she looked very weak. He felt like he could snap that thin, delicate neck with little effort. How could such a soft girl like her hope to face the group of people from the ancient martial arts world in the future?
Murong Feiye got more anxious the more he thought about it.
“Mr. Murong, Brother Jiang is coming back soon. I think it’s best you leave,” Gu Xiqiao’s lips curled up, giving him a smile as she said.
She had been aware that their car had been followed all the way, but since she knew, she also assumed that Jiang Shuxuan obviously knew too, and so she ignored it. She didn’t expect it to be Jiang Shuxuan’s friend, and it seemed to be a good friend at that.
Even though he was a little rude, she didn’t feel any malice from him the entire time. On the contrary, the system notification had informed her that there were 50 points favorability from him.
So, this was probably a word of advice to her.
Little demon girl. Gu Xiqiao lowered her head, pondering over this matter.
Being taken aback by her gentle smile, Murong Feiye grew even more worried. The smile that he had practiced countless times in front of the mirror had not flustered her, but he had been flustered by hers instead. But then her words pierced through the haze in his mind, and he immediately returned to his car, driving away.
If Jiang Shuxuan were to hear the words that he had just said, he would definitely be dead!
***
Jiang Shuxuan sent the two obtrusive things back upstairs, and he didn’t linger once he was done. Taking Gu Xiqiao’s coat for her, he went downstairs, ignoring the resentful eyes of Xixi and Haha that were on him.
Jiang Shuxuan had already prepared the movie tickets, and while waiting for the show to start, he posted a Weibo.
A Flowing River: [JPEG]
There were comments that came in immediately after.
“Two movie tickets, you’re going to the movies with my Beauty Gu aren’t you!”
I love the jealousy in the tone of the comments.
“Which cinema are you going to meet at today! Tell us!”
Of course I won’t tell you.
“It’s not a high definition picture of the tickets, cheater!”
No way I’m going to show you guys.
“Ahhhh you glamorous asshole, you’ve abducted my Beauty Gu again!”
Sorry, she belongs to me.
After replying to some comments with a blank face, the movie they were waiting for had started, so Jiang Shuxuan led Gu Xiqiao inside.
Although the movie had been in the theaters for a few days, there were still many who came to watch it. He put on the holographic glasses, and he had his full attention on the screen the entire time, especially the scenes where Princess Qixia was in.
Because it was a holographic projection, Princess Qixia’s death scene was incredibly lifelike and real. The sound of crying and sobs could be heard faintly in the room. The snow-white figure blended into the white horizon, and slowly became covered with a fresh layer of whiteness.
He was well aware that it wasn’t really her, and he had watched the video on Weibo many times, but he still felt distressed every time he watched this scene.
His hand tightened suddenly, feeling his fingers trembling, and then he reached out to take hold of her hand instead.
“It’s all fake, Brother Jiang.” Gu Xiqiao said lightly in a soft voice.
Although, she did already die once.
In the dim cinema, his low voice replied to her, “Hm, it’s good that it is.” Only, no matter how many times he saw this scene, a stab of pain will still shoot through his chest, as if it had really happened before. “Your acting is just too real.”
If it was real, he didn’t dare to imagine how he would react to it.
Gu Xiqiao rubbed his palm, a smile on her lips. “Thank you for the compliment.”
Jiang Shuxuan didn’t reply to that, only holding her hand tighter.
After the movies, they had wanted to drop by the supermarket, but a call from Professor Jiang interrupted them.
“Professor Jiang, can I bring someone along to the lab?” Gu Xiqiao asked.
The fact that she was willing to come was already a godsend, Professor Jiang wouldn’t be picky with whatever condition she set. If it was anyone else, he’d probably be more concerned about hiding the secrets of the laboratory, but when it came to Gu Xiqiao, it wasn’t necessary at all. He was completely confident that nothing in the lab would catch Gu Xiqiao’s eyes!
Moreover, the majority of the things in the lab were things that she had taken part in.
If the students in the lab knew that he had forbidden her to enter the lab just because she wanted to bring someone with her, they would definitely beat him to death!
***
Although Jiang Shuxuan had come to A University before, this was the first time he had entered the lab. This was where the most elite future talents gathered, and some of them were also Gu Xiqiao’s coursemates. He suppressed his flaring aura, but even with just his face, it was hard to overlook his entire person.
When Professor Jiang saw Jiang Shuxuan, he was slightly shocked. He had assumed that Gu Xiqiao would be bringing with her an ordinary friend, someone like Xiao Yun, he didn’t expect her to bring someone who was completely not on the normal scale here.
“Hello, Mr. Jiang.” Professor Jiang immediately tempered his usual attitude.
Jiang Shuxuan greeted him with both hands, because the man was Gu Xiqiao’s teacher. Hearing the tone of call just now, he was able to tell that they had a good relationship, so he replied politely, “Professor Jiang.”
This person was naturally born of nobility, and Professor Jiang wasn’t expecting such a polite greeting back, and he was once again shocked.
The people in the lab were cautious with the appearance of Jiang Shuxuan in the beginning, but after a few minutes, they started to relax and act normally. They were all medical maniacs, and it was a rare chance for them to be able to meet Gu Xiqiao, since she rarely came. She was finally here, so it was natural that everyone wanted to sit down and discuss things properly.
“Beauty Gu, look at this. I discussed this once with Senior Zhu yesterday, but he went way too deep, and we weren’t able to follow at all…” One of the guys hurriedly took the opportunity and squeezed himself in.
Gu Xiqiao took the papers handed to her, and found that Zhu Yuan had brought Master Su’s case into the labs. She thought about it for a while, translating it into normal, human terms.
Zhu Yuan rushed over as soon as he got the word, and he was still wearing a white coat, looking glamorous and handsome as usual. But that image was completely ruined the moment he opened his mouth, “This bunch of villains, I was the obviously the one that called her here, why are you guys taking advantage of this!”
“Please wait in line, Senior Zhu.” One of the classmates smiled brightly as he said, and the other echoed his words.
Although they were in awe and admiration, and slightly intimidated by Zhu Yuan at the beginning, after working together in the lab for the past month, they had become familiar with each other. Zhu Yuan’s cold exterior no longer existed, as though he had been affected by Gu Xiqiao. He would answer everyone’s question and doubt with all his effort, and he would also bring in new materials to discuss with them.
Zhu Yuan spluttered, and then turned around after feeling that he had been aggrieved. He had wanted to sit down and wait for the others to finish their discussion, but then he was startled the next moment, falling flat on his trembling ass.
Wait! He knew that his eyes might be blurring due to the long hours he had been putting in, but why was Jiang Shuxuan here?
He blinked rapidly, and rubbed his eyes, blinking again. He was still here! Oh my god!
He was tempted to immediately browse through The Forum!
Jiang Shuxuan was leaning at the door, his eyes on Gu Xiqiao. She was surrounded by people, occasionally being handed a few pieces of paper. Her expression remained indifferent and calm, while the other research students around her were looking at her with admiration and excitement.
These people here were the cream of the crop, and the subject of admiration for countless people, and yet here they were, worshipping Gu Xiqiao.
Even Jiang Shuxuan was slightly surprised at the sight of Zhu Yuan was the disciple of the Divine Doctor Rong, and he didn’t learn any form of the ancient martial arts, but was a well-known genius doctor. Although he usually had smiles on his face, he wasn’t an easy person to approach, and he was also known to be a womanizer. The person in front of him was completely opposite to what he usually saw.
Moreover, Gu XIqiao seemed to be more popular among the students here, compared to Zhu Yuan.
Gu Xiqiao flipped open the papers that Zhu Yuan had brought, and started the experiment step by step as indicated on it.
She would also still answer the questions the other students asked while she was in the middle of it.
Twenty minutes later, she was done with the experiment. Asking if there were any other questions and getting a negative, she confirmed it again before leaving immediately with Jiang Shuxuan.
“She’s done, just like that?! Professor Jiang, I think my pride has seriously been hurt.” Zhu Yuan said with a deadpan expression.
Professor Jiang naturally knew what he was talking about. Zhu Yuan himself had done the experiment the previous night, and he had taken about an hour. There had been no mistakes during it either, and Professor Jiang was already in awe of Zhu Yuan, praising him for the speed. And today, he didn’t expect that Gu Xiqiao would top him so easily.
Patting Zhu Yuan’s shoulder, Professor Jiang said sympathetically, “After getting so many blows, you’ll eventually be used to it anyway.”
Zhu Yuan: … F*ck! Why did Professor Jiang’s words make so much sense?!
The painting exhibition in the Imperial City finally bore fruit, and the organizers had wanted to interview Gu Xiqiao, but she turned them down.
This was the first time he had met somebody who would refuse such interviews, and Mr. Wu was surprised and confused. Wasn’t the point of the exhibition to make a name for herself? But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out, and so he went to seek her out personally.
There was only one reason that Gu Xiqiao didn’t accept it, because she didn’t want any troublesome things to follow.
Up till the point where Mr. Wu came to talk to her personally, that she was finally persuaded to accept the interview.
***
Sima Jun stared at the painting hanging in the center of the study, and sighed lightly. “Yunfan, contract the international side tomorrow, and let them know that we’re letting this painting go.”
Previously when they would talk about this, Mu Yunfan would have a serious expression on his face, but today, it was a little dazed. Sima Jun was a little baffled. “What’s wrong with you lately?” Could it be that he had been affected by the happenings of the Meng family?
“I’m sorry, teacher. I’ll think about it when I get back.” Mu Yunfan said, coming back to himself.
“It’s fine, you’ve also been working very hard recently. Go back and take some time off for yourself.” Sima Jun patted his shoulder, leaving with another sigh.
Mu Yunfan took a deep breath, and proceeded to leave the room, heading to his car and driving home. On the way back, he saw that an interview was being displayed on the screen in the central square. When he caught sight of the person from the corner of his eye, he was taken aback.