Too Much Talk Leads to Trouble

The aroma of tea filled the room as the two quietly savored their drinks.

The pastries on the table had also been half-eaten by them.

"Haa~" Li Guanqi held the cup with one hand, supporting its bottom with the other. She gently blew on the tea to lower its surface temperature before raising the cup to first smell and then take a small sip.

She closed her eyes, carefully savoring it, and realized this was just the most common green tea on the market. Whether judged by the tea leaves, color, or aroma, it fell into the category of what people would call coarse tea.

However, she didn't disdain it. On the contrary, she was quite satisfied with this ordinary taste and took several more sips.

She sighed inwardly. Gu Ruoxue truly was someone who didn't pursue luxury. Even as the daughter of a high-ranking official, she wasn't particular about having only the finest, most exquisite food and drink.

If it were any other student from their school, without knowing the origin of this tea, they probably wouldn't even try it.

"I need to attend to some matters. Make yourself at home." Putting down her teacup, Gu Ruoxue stood up, offered this instruction, and then turned to walk to her desk, opening the laptop on it.

"Alright." Li Guanqi nodded, cradling her teacup, and watched as Gu Ruoxue prepared to work. This sight, however, involuntarily drew a look of confusion from Li Guanqi, because she noticed Gu Ruoxue taking out a pair of glasses.

While waiting for the computer to boot up, she produced a glasses case from her ring, took out the glasses, and silently put them on.

In Li Guanqi's understanding, Gu Ruoxue was not nearsighted.

"Hmm?" Seeming to sense her gaze, Gu Ruoxue adjusted her glasses and then looked up at her. Their eyes met, and Li Guanqi felt a twinge of awkwardness, quickly averting her gaze and pretending nothing was wrong as she took a sip of tea.

"Senior, have you worn glasses before?"

After a moment, Li Guanqi couldn't hold back any longer and broke the silence first, cautiously inquiring.

"No." Hearing her question, Gu Ruoxue replied, "There's been a lot to handle recently. I happened to discover these glasses have blue light filtering lenses, so I started using them."

"Happened to discover..." Li Guanqi caught a hint of information in her words, her eyes gaining a flicker of interest and suspicion.

Because these glasses weren't something she had bought herself.

"Did... did Su Cheng give them to you?" Li Guanqi hesitated for a moment, mustered her courage, and tentatively asked.

A pang of sourness welled up in her heart. Although she was still somewhat confused, she vaguely guessed this was a reaction from her dormant memories—she felt displeased that Su Cheng had given a gift to someone else.

"Mhm." Gu Ruoxue nodded, then focused all her attention on the now-booted computer, responding offhandedly, "These glasses are a prop with some special effects. Using them just for eye protection is a bit of a waste of their potential."

"Is that so...?" Li Guanqi's eyes dimmed, and she murmured, "He really does trust you, entrusting you with so many valuable things."

"Your statement is incorrect."

Gu Ruoxue took off her glasses, pressed her temples lightly, and sighed with a hint of resignation before continuing, "It's because he lacks confidence that he merely delegated the right of use to me."

"Is that how it is..." Li Guanqi picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and said without looking away, "Actually, there's one thing I'm really curious about." Gathering her courage, she decided to ask Gu Ruoxue the question that had been troubling her for a long time.

Gu Ruoxue put her glasses back on and pushed the frame. "Go ahead."

"Why does senior always seem so indifferent?" Li Guanqi got straight to the point. "If that day truly arrives, will senior still maintain this current mindset? Will you still be as calm as you are today?"

She stared intently at Gu Ruoxue, awaiting her answer.

"Everything in the world will reach its conclusion at some moment, in some place. That is the natural order of things. And we have already done all we can..." Gu Ruoxue shook her head, her tone as flat as if she were recounting someone else's story. She paused, then slowly uttered, "Rather than wasting energy worrying about an unknown future, why not shift your mood to welcome tomorrow's arrival? You might even gain something."

Li Guanqi's heart tightened. She naturally knew what Gu Ruoxue specifically meant by 'tomorrow'—it was undoubtedly the content from the book "Web Novel Heroine."

However, this kind of vague, ambiguous, utterly perfunctory way of answering left her deeply dissatisfied!

"But what if there's no gain?" Li Guanqi pressed again, her voice serious. "And, I'm asking, when that day comes, will you still have this same calm state of mind?"

She wanted to hear Gu Ruoxue admit whether she had considered this aspect, to get a sense of her stance, so she could have some clarity in her own mind.

"Do you know why I chose to talk with you so much today?" Gu Ruoxue remained as she was, her expression not changing in the slightest. Only her voice clearly reached Li Guanqi's ears, making her hear every word.

"...I don't know." Li Guanqi shook her head. Gu Ruoxue was usually a woman of few words; today's behavior was, in her view, utterly unprecedented.

"First, I was attacking you with memories. You've caused me quite a bit of trouble lately, and I wanted to complain a little too."

Gu Ruoxue picked up her teacup and took a gentle sip. Then she continued, "Second, regarding your question, my attitude is this: everyone has nostalgic feelings for the past. But no matter how nostalgic I am, I will not walk back into the past. If he can keep up, that's naturally good. If he can't, then he will only become a memory for me."

"In that case, I won't disturb senior's work any further." Li Guanqi fell silent for an instant but ultimately didn't insist on pressing further. She stood up to take her leave.

Though her expressionless face showed no emotion, her inner world was in turmoil. She took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and strode away.

After leaving the special building, her footsteps felt unusually heavy.

Without realizing it, she arrived at a quiet path. She hadn't intended to go anywhere specific, but as she walked, she came to a stop because she had reached the Archery Club.

Unlike the cozy, comfortable atmosphere of other clubs, every member of the Archery Club seemed exceptionally rigorous and solemn. Even from outside the door, one could hear the various reprimands during training sessions, along with the rhythmic sounds of arrows hitting targets and unified shouts.

There were also banners at the archery club entrance, mostly declarations welcoming competitions and some teachings about training.

"The competition is getting closer and closer." Li Guanqi took a deep breath, adjusted her mindset, and circled the dojo a few times before finally finding a concealed section of wall. After a moment's hesitation, she still activated the mechanism and pushed the door open.

This was a secret passage that Liu Qingyue used to enter Ji Qingyi's private dojo. Liu Qingyue had once taken her in silently before, and she had secretly memorized the location.

Entering the passage, the air carried a faint scent of sandalwood. Li Guanqi walked along a long corridor for over ten meters before reaching the exit—an office. However, Ji Qingyi wasn't here; she was in the dojo outside the office.

Just as she was about to knock on the door to alert Ji Qingyi outside, she noticed a photo frame on the desk. Inside was a picture, clearly showing Gu Ruoxue, Su Cheng, and Ji Qingyi in a cozy group photo taken somewhere. Seeing these three together in the frame filled her with profound surprise.

Li Guanqi stared, stunned, for a good ten seconds.

"Why are those three together?" She couldn't help but bite her lip, trying hard to calm the turmoil within.

Just as she was lost in these complicated emotions, the door was pulled open by someone. Li Guanqi jolted back to awareness and immediately turned to face the entrance.

It was Liu Qingyue.

"You could have called ahead if you were coming, junior." Liu Qingyue was dressed in athletic wear, hands in her pockets, leaning casually against the doorframe. A flicker of slyness passed through her eyes. "You seem quite interested in that photo, junior?"

As she spoke, she walked nonchalantly to the desk and laid the frame face down. "Some things... it's not good for you to know too much."

Through the open door, Ji Qingyi could be seen drinking tea at the tea table. Li Guanqi lowered her voice. "Sorry for the intrusion. I... I just came in on my own accord."

Her tone betrayed a hint of guilt.

"Hmm. You went to see Gu Ruoxue earlier, didn't you?"

Liu Qingyue raised an eyebrow, putting on a thoughtful expression as if trying to figure out the real reason for this intrusion into the archery club. "Could it be you're here for confession or to seek absolution?"

"Of course not," Li Guanqi denied flatly. "I just wanted to visit, to see how you all are doing... to understand your feelings and state of mind."

"A guest is a guest. Please, have a seat."