SYLM Chapter 78

Chapter 78 “Rival in Love”

The spotless white paint shimmered dazzlingly in the sunlight as the Benz sped smoothly down the highway.

The car was silent, save for the occasional voice of the GPS. Chen Lu gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead, as if the person in the back seat didn’t exist.

In the back seat, Gu Wan Jun leaned back, her expression unreadable as she watched the scenery flash by outside the window, her heart far from as calm as she appeared.

She had gotten in the car and seen the person, but Gu Wan Jun had no idea what to do next.

She knew that Chen Lu hated her and was angry with her. The rainy night five years ago was like a thorn, deeply embedded between them, impossible to remove overnight. She was willing to spend all her time making up for her mistakes, but would the girl give her the chance?

Thinking of this, Gu Wan Jun sighed softly, the sound barely audible, but Chen Lu’s ears caught it.

Sighing?

She was the one whose plan had succeeded. What did she have to sigh about?

The hand holding the steering wheel paused slightly, and Chen Lu frowned, the restlessness in her heart growing stronger.

Noticing the awkward atmosphere in the car, Li Wen Qi, in the passenger seat, tried to break the silence, reading the room:

“Gu Teacher, will you be giving a speech tonight too?”

Gu Wan Jun’s wandering thoughts gradually returned, and she replied with a smile, “I’m not giving a speech. I mainly want to learn something this time.”

“Ah… I see.”

Li Wen Qi nodded in agreement, but couldn’t help but wonder in her heart.

Learn something? Learn what? Learn from where? From their graduates’ speeches? Did Gu Teacher really know what she was saying?

Besides, why was the atmosphere between Gu Teacher and Chen Lu so tense? She remembered that the two of them had a good relationship when they were in school. What had turned them into such adversaries?

Li Wen Qi fell into thought.

The others in the car were each lost in their own thoughts, and the atmosphere became silent again.

The car drove on, and the sunlight outside the window gradually softened.

Chen Lu hadn’t eaten, and her stomach was empty. As time went on, the feeling of motion sickness grew stronger. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her smooth forehead, and her face began to pale. She looked unwell.

Gu Wan Jun, who was always paying attention to Chen Lu, was the first to notice the change. Her originally relaxed eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she leaned closer to the driver’s seat, her tone concerned:

“Chen Lu, are you feeling unwell? Do you want to take a break?”

Chen Lu pursed her lips, subtly moving away from the back of the seat, and said coldly, “No need.”

“But you look very pale.”

“I said, no need.”

Chen Lu still refused to stop, and Gu Wan Jun couldn’t just watch her wear herself out in anger. She turned to Li Wen Qi, who hadn’t dared to speak, and said directly:

“Wen Qi, there’s a service area ahead. Let’s stop. Chen Lu needs to rest.”

“…”

Li Wen Qi’s face froze as she was suddenly called out, her helpless eyes darting back and forth between Gu Wan Jun and Chen Lu.

Oh my god, dear teacher! Why did she have to be roped into this? Could she possibly tell Chen Lu what to do?!

Li Wen Qi was starting to regret hitching a ride with Chen Lu.

But now wasn’t the time for regrets.

Seeing that Chen Lu’s face was indeed quite pale, Li Wen Qi hesitated for a moment and then made up her mind, standing on Gu Wan Jun’s side with a stiff upper lip:

“Gu Teacher is right, Chen Lu. You really don’t look well. Let’s stop.”

Chen Lu frowned and wanted to refuse, but the churning in her stomach made it impossible for her to persist. She nodded and slowly drove the car into the service area.

After the car came to a stop, Chen Lu opened the door, got out, and walked quickly towards the restroom.

Gu Wan Jun watched her back, her eyebrows knitted together. She turned and asked Li Wen Qi to buy some water and food, then took a small bottle of medicated oil and a few motion sickness patches from her bag and quickly followed Chen Lu in the direction she had gone.

Inside the restroom.

Chen Lu splashed cold water on her face, trying to clear her head. She looked at herself in the mirror, her face pale, her eyes tired. The churning discomfort in her stomach seemed to have subsided a little, but she still felt nauseous.

“Chen Lu.” Gu Wan Jun’s voice came from behind, gentle and concerned.

Chen Lu’s body stiffened slightly, and the restlessness in her heart intensified. She didn’t turn around, and her tone was cold: “What are you doing here?”

Gu Wan Jun walked to her side and handed her the medicated oil and motion sickness patches:

“Rub some of this on your temples. It’ll make you feel better. Here are some motion sickness patches too. Put them on before we get back in the car. They might help.”

Chen Lu didn’t take them, still looking coldly in the mirror: “I don’t need your help.”

Gu Wan Jun sighed, her voice tinged with helplessness: “Chen Lu, don’t be stubborn. You’ve always been like this. You always try to endure it when you’re not feeling well.”

Chen Lu’s fingers tightened slightly, and the repressed emotions in her heart suddenly erupted. She turned around abruptly, looking directly at Gu Wan Jun, her voice trembling slightly:

“Gu Wan Jun, what do you want?”

“…”

Gu Wan Jun was stunned by the sudden question, and a hint of pain flashed in her beautiful eyes. She lowered her head, her voice barely audible:

“I… I just don’t want to see you uncomfortable.”

Hearing this, Chen Lu gave a cold laugh, her voice full of sarcasm: “Gu Wan Jun, you’re the one who hurt me the most. Don’t you think it’s ridiculous for you to say these things?”

“Lu Lu, I…”

“If you really don’t want to see me uncomfortable, you shouldn’t have reappeared in my life.”

“…”

The last bit of pretense between them was shattered by this sentence. After speaking, Chen Lu walked past Gu Wan Jun and left the restroom without looking back.

Her long eyelashes trembled, and Gu Wan Jun blinked desperately, barely holding back the urge to cry.

On the other side, Chen Lu, walking quickly out of the restroom, stumbled slightly. The cold wind rushed towards her, blowing away the stray hairs on her forehead and making her feel a little clearer. She took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil in her heart, but her chest still felt like it was weighed down by a heavy stone, making it hard to breathe.

Chen Lu walked to the car, opened the door, and got in.

As she leaned back in the seat with her eyes closed, her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes. Gu Wan Jun’s words kept echoing in her mind—

I just don’t want to see you uncomfortable.

Gu Wan Jun’s words were like a thorn, piercing Chen Lu’s heart.

Why was she still able to care about her so nonchalantly?

She was the one who had caused her endless pain and struggle. Now, why was she barging back into her life with such a gentle and understanding attitude?

Why.

Chen Lu’s eyes were burning, her fingertips trembling slightly. The sourness and anger welling up from the bottom of her heart were intertwined, almost drowning her.

After a while, the car door was gently opened. Gu Wan Jun, returning from the restroom, got into the passenger seat. She glanced at Chen Lu, and seeing the girl’s eyes closed and her face still pale, her heart tightened involuntarily. Her voice was filled with unconcealed concern and helplessness:

“I know you don’t want to see me, but motion sickness is no small matter. I’ve left the motion sickness patches and medicated oil here for you. Use them if you feel uncomfortable.”

After Gu Wan Jun finished speaking, Chen Lu didn’t respond, not even opening her eyes, as if she hadn’t heard her at all.

After a moment of silence, Chen Lu heard a sigh, followed by the sound of a door opening. Gu Wan Jun opened the car door, got out, and returned to the back seat.

Soon, Li Wen Qi returned with the things she had bought.

Apart from Li Wen Qi opening a bottle of mineral water and taking a few sips to moisten her throat, no one touched anything else.

After everyone was back, the car slowly pulled out of the service area and back onto the highway.

The car was silent, save for the mechanical, cold voice of the GPS and the low rumble of the engine, creating an especially oppressive atmosphere.

As dusk approached, Chen Lu and her group arrived in Ningcheng.

The twilight was like a gentle oil painting, the afterglow of the setting sun tinting the sky, the faint orange-red outlining the hazy contours of the clouds.

Principal Xu Rongfeng and Academic Dean Lü Jianghong, along with some other school leaders, were already waiting at the school gate. As soon as Chen Lu and the others got out of the car, they were greeted with enthusiasm.

The stern Xu Rongfeng and the seemingly amiable Lü Jianghong were no different from Chen Lu’s memories of them as students, except that five years had left their mark on them, making them both look much older.

Meeting with the old leaders inevitably involved some small talk. Gu Wan Jun spoke to them with a smile, but her gaze kept falling on Chen Lu, who was clearly trying to avoid her eyes. There seemed to be an invisible wall between them.

During evening self-study, the auditorium was packed.

Students entered one after another, chatting in low voices, creating a lively and orderly atmosphere.

Gu Wan Jun sat in the teachers’ seats, chatting with several familiar colleagues, but her eyes never left the direction of the backstage. After a while, she heard several students sitting behind her excitedly discussing:

“Great! We don’t have to do math papers if we come to listen to the speech! Yes!”

“It’s really a first! How could our principal be willing to sacrifice evening self-study time to let us come to listen to a speech? Is the sun rising in the west?”

“Hey, I heard that the two alumnae who are invited today were top students in their year in liberal arts. Principal Xu specially invited them back to give us a speech!”

“Oh ho, so our little school produces talent?”

“What do you think? Don’t underestimate our small town. There are quite a few alumni from our school who have been admitted to 985/211 universities!”

“Hey, hey, speaking of which, that aloof sister I ran into in the bathroom earlier, is she one of the alumnae who will be giving the speech later?”

“Wait, you ran into an alumna earlier?”

“Yeah, when I went, that sister was washing her hands. I saw that she was unfamiliar, and I thought she was a new teacher recruited by our school. I was thinking, how could this new teacher be so young, like a little girl? I never thought she was an alumna! Oh my god! She’s so beautiful! I was so busy stealing glances at her that my school uniform sleeves got wet!”

“Ah? Where, where? Which bathroom did you run into her in?”

“It’s the bathroom on the east side of the second floor. That alumna is tall and fair, with watery eyes, and she dresses very smartly and has a lot of presence. Most importantly! She smells so good! A hint of grapefruit wine, so good! I took a few deep breaths!”

“Grapefruit wine! Oh my god, it sounds so good! I want to run into her too! Why didn’t I go when you asked me to go to the bathroom earlier! I’m so mad at myself!”

“I wonder if we can ask this alumna for her contact information after the speech ends!”

“Me too, me too, count me in!”

“…”

Listening to the young female students whispering, Gu Wan Jun couldn’t help but raise the corners of her mouth, a secret sense of pride rising in her heart. She knew that the beautiful and good-smelling aloof alumna that the students were talking about must be Chen Lu.

Her girl was a dazzling presence that everyone loved, no matter where she went.

Backstage of the conference hall.

Before the speech began, Chen Lu sneezed several times, she didn’t know if it was from the cold. She looked down at her phone; Fu Yi Wen hadn’t replied to her yet.

She had sent Fu Yi Wen a message to let her know she was safe when she first arrived in Ningcheng. Usually, she always had her phone in her hand and would reply to messages immediately. What was wrong this time?

Could something have happened?

Chen Lu frowned, feeling vaguely uneasy. Just then, Li Wen Qi reminded her from the side that the students were all there and it was time to go on stage. Chen Lu had no choice but to put her phone back in her pocket, take a deep breath, adjust her mood, and prepare to go on stage.

The speech officially began.

In the teachers’ seats, Gu Wan Jun watched Chen Lu walk onto the stage, and a sense of pride welled up in her heart that was hard to describe.

Chen Lu spoke eloquently on the stage, her voice clear and firm, as if she was glowing. Her speech was not high-minded preaching, but more like a sharing of experiences between peers. The students in the audience listened intently, bursting into enthusiastic applause from time to time.

Gu Wan Jun’s eyes never left Chen Lu. She watched the little girl who used to listen attentively in her class now grown into such an excellent person, feeling both gratified and somewhat bitter.

Who could not love Chen Lu like this?

Gu Wan Jun’s eyes deepened, and she unknowingly fell into memories.

And this speech moved not only Gu Wan Jun.

Halfway through the speech, it came to the interactive part. Chen Lu on the stage interacted with the students in the audience. At this time, Gu Wan Jun heard a young male teacher next to her whisper to his colleague:

“This girl named Chen Lu is really amazing. I have to find a chance to get to know her later.”

Get to know her? How to get to know her?

Gu Wan Jun’s heart tightened suddenly. She glanced sideways, and the male teacher who said he wanted to get to know Chen Lu didn’t look very old. He was wearing a neat shirt, and his face had a hint of youthfulness.

She heard his colleagues call him “Jiang Pengfei.”

Jiang Pengfei looked directly at Chen Lu on the stage like everyone else, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration, even a little eager to try.

Gu Wan Jun couldn’t help but feel a burst of irritability in her heart at this overly direct gaze, as if a hand was stirring in her heart.

Didn’t she know herself better than anyone else? Wasn’t that how she looked at Chen Lu?

For the rest of the speech, Gu Wan Jun’s mind was no longer on the stage. She kept watching Jiang Pengfei out of the corner of her eye, while planning in her mind how to stop him from approaching Chen Lu.

She knew that this idea of hers was extremely childish, even despicable, but she couldn’t calm down at the thought that Chen Lu might be taken away by someone else.

After the speech, Chen Lu stepped down, and the next one to go on stage was Li Wen Qi.

During the short intermission, Gu Wan Jun noticed Jiang Pengfei standing up, seemingly preparing to go backstage to find Chen Lu. She immediately turned sideways, smiling and saying, “You must be Teacher Jiang Pengfei?”

Obviously not expecting to be approached by Gu Wan Jun, Jiang Pengfei, who had just stood up, was stunned for a moment and scratched his head a little awkwardly, smiling:

“Yes, I am Jiang Pengfei, and you are?”

“My name is Gu Wan Jun.”

“Ah, so you’re Teacher Gu. Principal Lü mentioned you several times at the conference. I didn’t expect to see you here today. Nice to meet you.”

It was an honor to be approached by a beautiful woman, not to mention that this beautiful woman was a prominent figure mentioned by the school leaders at the conference many times. Jiang Pengfei sat down and started chatting with Gu Wan Jun.

After a few words, Gu Wan Jun skillfully steered the topic to Jiang Pengfei’s work and life.

In a few words, Jiang Pengfei’s family background, hobbies, and even relationship status were all known to Gu Wan Jun.

He graduated from Tsinghua University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree, is 26 years old this year, and looks like the type that young girls would like at first glance. He is an only child, and his parents are in business, so he is a small second-generation rich person. Most importantly, through the conversation, it was clear that this person did not have the “floating” air of a wealthy family, but was humble, polite, and down-to-earth.

Tang Ying’s sentence “A beautiful young girl like Chen Lu won’t be single for too long” kept echoing in her ears. After chatting with Jiang Pengfei, Gu Wan Jun felt an unprecedented sense of crisis in her heart.

This man seemed to be excellent in all aspects. If he really intended to pursue her, would Chen Lu like him?

No. Absolutely not.

Gu Wan Jun shook her head desperately. She felt like a knife was being twisted in her heart at the thought that Chen Lu might like someone else, and she couldn’t wait to find a way to hide the girl.

“Teacher Gu? Teacher Gu? What’s wrong?”

The fingertips digging into the armrest of the seat suddenly loosened with the question of the person in front of her. Meeting Jiang Pengfei’s questioning gaze, Gu Wan Jun came back to her senses, pulled at the corners of her lips, and tried to make her tone sound gentle:

“It’s nothing. My neck was a little uncomfortable just now, so I moved around a bit. Sorry to interrupt you. Where were you? Please continue.”

“…”

On the other side, Chen Lu came out from backstage and was about to take her seat in the guest seats when she saw Gu Wan Jun talking and laughing with a young man from afar.

Saying she came to learn, but couldn’t find a “learning object” in Yunjiang City, but found one as soon as she ran to a small county?

Her face, which already had little expression, suddenly turned cold. Chen Lu turned her head and stopped looking in the direction of the teachers’ seats. She frowned and sat down in the guest seats, her eyes, as cold as if they were about to drop ice, staring straight ahead. This aura of “no one should approach” directly stifled the desire of several students around her to ask for her contact information.

This alumna was aloof and cold on the stage just now, but her face wasn’t so cold that it looked like she wanted to kill someone. What happened after she came off the stage?

But I have to say, this alumna smells really good!

…

The students had a very good response to the speech.

After it was over, it was just past 8 o’clock, and the students had to go back to their classes for evening self-study.

Before leaving the auditorium, several girls mustered up the courage to ask Chen Lu for her WeChat when they passed by the guest seats. Gu Wan Jun, witnessing this scene, glanced at those female students without showing any expression.

After leaving the auditorium, Principal Xu Rongfeng said he wanted to treat Chen Lu and her group to dinner.

Li Wen Qi politely declined because she was a local of Ningcheng and her family had already prepared dinner. Gu Wan Jun, who was not a local, and Chen Lu, who had no relatives in Ningcheng, couldn’t refuse, so they had to accept.

When Jiang Pengfei heard that there was a dinner, he originally wanted to follow, but Gu Wan Jun stopped him with a smile, saying, “It’s a reunion dinner, let’s make another appointment next time.” In the end, the man had no choice but to give up.

Watching the backs of the group leaving, Jiang Pengfei scratched his head, his eyes full of doubt.

He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that when he said he wanted to go to dinner with everyone just now, the way Gu Wan Jun and Chen Lu looked at him seemed a little wrong.

That shouldn’t be. He and these two people were meeting for the first time. They had no grudges before, and he and Teacher Gu had a very pleasant chat just now.

At this moment, Jiang Pengfei couldn’t figure out how he had offended these two people.