MNL Chapter 94

Chapter 94: Winter Night, I Want to Spend the New Year with You.

The continuous heavy snow had frozen almost all the roads in Linhe City, so the final exam schedule for this semester was moved up by a week. When the last math exam ended, Shen Yan and Xu Jing were about to leave, but the boys surrounded them one after another, completely blocking them in a corner.

Because the results were related to the quota for the key class next semester, every student paid special attention to this final exam. And for any exam, what these two wrote on their papers was almost the same as the standard answer. They could tell how well they did with a little comparison.

“Is the fixed point for the last question (3, √5)? I calculated it four times,” Liang Ge said excitedly after looking at Shen Yan’s test paper. “Damn, I knew it was this answer!”

“No way, Brother Jing’s answer is (3, √10), mine too,” said another math expert in the grade.

Liang Ge was stunned and looked at Shen Yan and Xu Jing for help.

Xu Jing was obviously too lazy to participate in the discussion, with an expression that said, “I’ve already given you my paper, what else do you want?”

Shen Yan did answer, but his words dealt a heavy blow to Liang Ge.

“My deskmate is definitely right.”

Liang Ge almost vomited blood after hearing this, “…then what about you?”

Shen Yan said, “I can’t be wrong either.”

Liang Ge was confused, “Is this a tongue twister?”

“Stupid,” Cha Fei’ang said, “This means that there are two answers to the last question.”

Liang Ge breathed a sigh of relief, “I’m relieved now.”

Five minutes later, those who had similar answers to those two test papers had left contentedly, while the remaining group had two words written on their faces: screwed.

It was getting dark outside. As soon as they left the classroom, Shen Yan put his scarf on Xu Jing.

Xu Jing reached out to take it off, but the person beside him had expected it and preemptively put that hand into his own pocket.

Most of his face was wrapped up tightly again, and the exposed eyebrows and eyes were cold and handsome, looking a little unhappy.

Shen Yan chuckled and asked, “Why don’t you like wearing it?”

Xu Jing’s answer was the same as his voice, “Stuffiness.”

Shen Yan glanced at the person beside him, and then said from the bottom of his heart, “So cute.”

“…”

From childhood to adulthood, Xu Jing had heard others say that he was indifferent and emotionless, that he was unapproachable and had a terrible complexion. Even Qin Xin said that he was a little old man, rigid and stiff. Only “cute,” Xu Jing felt that apart from Shen Yan, no one else would describe him like that in this lifetime.

“Do you want to go home with me for the New Year this year?” Xu Jing paused, and added, “The Jiaqing City you went to last time.”

Shen Yan refused quickly, as if he blurted it out without thinking, “Probably not.”

Xu Jing frowned, “Do you have other plans?”

Shen Yan didn’t speak. Because they were still at school, they had let go of each other’s hands after holding them for only a few seconds. At this moment, Xu Jing silently put his hand into Shen Yan’s pocket again.

A low voice came, “I want to spend the New Year with you.”

Shen Yan’s expression changed slightly.

Immediately after, another sentence, “Don’t you want to?”

Shen Yan chuckled, “Where did you learn this trick?”

Xu Jing said honestly, “I learned it from you.”

Facts proved that this trick was really useful.

Shen Yan couldn’t help but relent and said, “Then let me think about it.”

Xu Jing hummed, raised his head to look at the person beside him, his expression gentle, his eyes bright, “Then think about it carefully.”

Shen Yan: “…”

The series of actions and expressions that had just appeared on Xu Jing were not actually out of place. His appearance already gave people a feeling of being refined and gentle, but it formed a sharp contrast with his personality.

Not long after leaving the school, Shen Yan had secretly kissed Xu Jing’s cheek several times. Later, taking advantage of the fact that there were few people and the place was remote, they began to kiss again.

This kiss was not as fleeting as before. They were quiet and focused on being immersed in it, no longer hiding it.

It was like tacitly resisting something.

The worldly views, the pressure from parents, the contempt from friends, all the troubles they were facing or might face in the future were thrown to the back of their minds.

They liked each other, was there anything wrong with that?

Xu Jing thought, if liking Shen Yan was also a mistake, then he would willingly make the same mistake again and again. Even if the whole world was on the opposite side, preventing him, he would overcome all obstacles and appear in front of Shen Yan, just like now, embracing him, kissing him, adoring him.

Xu Jing opened his slightly moist eyes and saw a shadowy figure vaguely flashing past the corner of the alley in a blur. It was just fleeting, so fast that he thought it was his hallucination.

Sensing Xu Jing’s absent-mindedness, Shen Yan stopped, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Jing looked solemn, shook his head, and said, “It’s nothing, just a little cold.”

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

When leaving, Xu Jing turned his head and looked again, but the corner was already dark, with only the cold wind blowing, rustling.

·

Tonight was the last time Liang Ge would act as Gu Qianqian’s personal bodyguard this semester.

Now he was humming the Errenzhuan tune he danced at the nursing home last time next to Gu Qianqian.

As expected, it was a proper and rounded off-key performance.

Gu Qianqian couldn’t help but laugh.

This person was always the kind of person who felt that even if the sky fell, there would be taller people to hold it up. He was always so happy and full of energy. Even Gu Qianqian was very curious about where he got so many happy things from all day long.

Seeing Gu Qianqian laughing, Liang Ge also laughed, “I like to sing when I walk.”

Gu Qianqian suppressed the corners of her mouth, “Not bad.”

People who are musically challenged are actually difficult to realize that they are singing off-key. Liang Ge was one of them. He even thought he was a heavenly voice. At this moment, he didn’t doubt the authenticity of this evaluation at all, but instead felt a little embarrassed.

Later, he remembered an important thing and asked, “By the way, when will your grandma have the surgery? Is the money ready?”

“Yes, the surgery is in ten days.”

Although she borrowed the money for a whole month, during which she suffered a lot of sarcasm from her relatives, as long as she could save her grandma, these grievances were nothing.

Liang Ge said seriously, “If you need my help, you must tell me, I’ll be there whenever you call.”

Gu Qianqian was a little puzzled, “Aren’t you going back to the North for the New Year?”

Liang Ge shook his head and explained, “My grandpa and grandma died early, and there are no relatives in my hometown, so I always spend the New Year here.”

Gu Qianqian was silent for a while, and said, “Liang Ge, you always seem to be very happy.”

Liang Ge was stunned when he heard this sentence. Then, his brain turned faster than when he was writing the last question on the math final exam. He combined Gu Qianqian’s calm voice and finally came to this conclusion.

“I shouldn’t be so happy, right?”

In a very pitiful tone.

Gu Qianqian: “…What?”

“Then I won’t be so happy in the future.”

Gu Qianqian felt that what she heard didn’t seem to be Chinese. She really had a hard time understanding Liang Ge’s thought process sometimes. Which word of hers expressed this meaning?

“What I mean is, why can you always be so happy.” Afraid that Liang Ge wouldn’t understand, Gu Qianqian added, “This is a question, not a request.”

Liang Ge understood this time. He thought about this question seriously in embarrassment and replied, “Maybe it’s because I don’t have such high demands on myself. I think the most important thing is to be happy when you’re alive, and nothing else matters.”

Gu Qianqian was a little lost in thought after hearing this. From the first time they met, this teenager brought a sun-like feeling to the people around him, hot, bright, and warm. And this light was also shining on her all the time, but she was like the heroine in a bitter drama, with a melancholy look between her eyebrows, always looking half-dead.

“Qianqian, Happy New Year in advance.”

Gu Qianqian turned her head when she heard the sound and saw that Liang Ge suddenly had a scarf in his hand. He never concealed his emotions, and his face was full of nervousness and anticipation at this moment.

But Gu Qianqian’s expression became a little difficult to describe.

The main color of this scarf was the pink that straight men loved, and there were two crooked bears on it. What was more obvious was that there were even a few places where the stitches had been missed.

Gu Qianqian asked, “Did you pick it up from the trash can?”

“No! I knitted it myself.” He had learned from Cha Fei’ang for a whole two weeks, and then operated it himself for a month before finishing it. Seeing Gu Qianqian’s reaction, Liang Ge suddenly felt like he had been hit hard.

Was it that ugly? Liang Ge carefully observed it again. Didn’t that guy Cha Fei’ang say that no girl could refuse this kind of pink?

Perhaps it was because Gu Qianqian herself was not an ordinary girl.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll take it back–”

Before the two words “modify” could be said, the scarf had already been taken away. Gu Qianqian snorted softly and said, “Is there any reason to take back something that has been sent out? Who said I don’t like it.”

“Really?!” Liang Ge’s eyes suddenly lit up and asked, “Then what do you like about it?”

Gu Qianqian looked at it again and finally commented, “Low-key.”

Liang Ge asked with a puzzled “ah,” “What do you mean?”

“It’s not obviously beautiful, but it’s uniquely ugly. I like this kind of low-key.”

Liang Ge: “…”

Was this a compliment? Why did it sound so strange? No, he had to ask Xu Jing about it later.

When the two separated later, Gu Qianqian asked, “What do you want for a New Year’s gift?”

A serious answer came from the quiet alley.

“I want Gu Qianqian to be happy every day.”

Gu Qianqian’s lips moved, and she was speechless for a moment. Finally, she said softly, “Thank you,” and turned around and left.

Liang Ge shouted at the departing figure, “Gu Qianqian must be happy every day!”

When Gu Qianqian got home, the smile completely disappeared the moment she saw the man at the door. Since Wang Foguo’s incident, she hadn’t seen Gu Rui for almost two months. At this moment, in front of the dilapidated short door, the thin man was hunched over, staring at her with a gloomy expression.

“You still know to come back.”

Gu Qianqian didn’t answer and walked forward silently. When she passed Gu Rui, the pungent smell of alcohol hit her face. She subconsciously wanted to escape, but the man grabbed her hair and dragged her all the way back to the room.

That strength was almost tearing her scalp. After entering the room, Gu Rui let go, and Gu Qianqian fell to the ground violently. Rude and unbearable roars came like a landslide.

“You’re so capable, Gu Qianqian. I spent money to feed you, clothe you, and send you to school. You’re hooking up with men for me at school? This cheap look is exactly the same as your mother.” Gu Rui pinched Gu Qianqian’s chin, his face sinister, as if he wanted to swallow her alive, “I asked you to meet President Wang, but you were so pretentious and refused. You pretended to be a chaste virgin, but you’ve already been screwed by that kid in private, right?”

“Enough!” Hearing these unbearable words, Gu Qianqian trembled with anger. Her scarlet eyes stared at Gu Rui, and she gritted her teeth and said, “You don’t deserve to be a person at all. You’re a beast!”

“I’m a beast? Hahahaha, I’m a beast. Could you have survived until now without me, this beast, raising you? If I had known that I would raise a white-eyed wolf like you, I should have strangled you to death when that stinky bitch ran away with another man.”

“Grandma has been raising me since I was a child. It has nothing to do with you!” A look of incomparable despair and indifference appeared on Gu Qianqian’s pale face. She said word by word, “I wish you would die, preferably without a burial place, preferably go to hell forever!”

After the words fell, Gu Rui immediately reached out and Pinch Gu Qianqian’s slender neck, laughing wildly like crazy, “Before I go to hell, the first thing I’ll do is kill you, this bastard!”

In an instant, Gu Qianqian lost her chance to breathe. She grabbed Gu Rui’s hand hard, trying to resist, but her strength was still no match for an adult man.

Gu Qianqian’s breathing was rapid and weak, her brain was becoming more and more blank, and the vision in front of her was becoming more and more blurred.

She hadn’t had time to save her grandma, hadn’t had time to go to the North, and hadn’t had time to realize her dream. She couldn’t just die like this, she couldn’t die like this, she was not reconciled.

Just as she was about to be strangled to death by Gu Rui, Gu Qianqian felt a pen in her pocket. She clenched it tightly and used her last strength to stab Gu Rui’s neck without hesitation. However, at this moment, she heard a “bang” in her ear. She saw Gu Rui’s expression twisted, his pupils still in a state of frightened enlargement, and he fell straight back like that.

Gu Qianqian collapsed on the ground and coughed violently. Gu Rui’s back of the head was bloody and fleshy, and his ferocious expression was frozen on his face. He was lying there motionless. Gu Qianqian raised her head incredulously and saw the bloody crutch in her grandma’s hand and that withered face.

All the emotions erupted at this moment like a flood that had been unleashed. Gu Qianqian crawled over and hugged her grandma’s thigh, crying like she was collapsing.

The old woman closed her eyes in pain, her voice old and powerful, “Don’t be afraid, Qianqian, with grandma here, don’t be afraid of anything.”

Gu Rui didn’t know until his death that his life would end in the hands of the person who gave him life.

On that winter night, in the simple and dim room, the grandmother and granddaughter snuggled together and cried bitterly, not for the heartless man, but for the injustice of such a dramatic fate, but there was nothing they could do.