Chapter 139: Gu Shiyan, I'm a Little Disappointed.

Lo Zhou was at a loss facing the stubborn Luo Xing and helplessly said, “Y-you can adapt…”

“I can’t let you give up on your dream again. I know you’ve been preparing for the exhibition these past few months, flying back and forth between Beicheng and Jingshi all the time. Isn’t it all for your dream? When Dad lost his job, and Grandma fell seriously ill, you had to give up your dream and opened a dessert shop instead. But whenever you have free time, you spend almost all of it painting. Are you really going to wait another whole year? Even if you’re willing to wait, will the opportunity wait for you?”

Lo Zhou turned away, his lowered eyelids moist but his voice calm, “Xing, this is something I have to consider myself. Right now, your main focus should be…”

“I’m not a child anymore. I can also contribute to Dad, Mom, and you.”

Luo Xing spoke softly, “Besides, for me, it makes no difference where I complete my studies.”

Only the distance between them had grown greater.

Lo Zhou sighed. “I don’t want you to give in.”

“I’m not giving in; this is a step forward I’m willing to take.”

Gu Shiyan answered his phone.

“Miss Luo and her mother and brother are currently on a flight to Country A. Her mother needs surgery due to a car accident. The only option is to find a doctor in Country A for the operation. They should arrive in about two hours. I’ve arranged a private jet for you. You can stay in Country A for two days and then return, just in time for the press conference.”

Gu Shiyan knew that Assistant Song could only arrange so much; he had already squeezed out two days for him with great effort.

After issuing some instructions, he hung up and set off swiftly.

Before boarding the plane, Gu Shiyan received a screenshot from Li Zhao showing him in a disheveled state, kneeling on the ground, someone carrying him down a mountain, and then lying in the hospital receiving intravenous fluids all day.

He turned off his phone. Seeing those images stirred no emotion in him.

Perhaps it was what he deserved.

Luo Xing hadn’t expected to see Gu Shiyan in a foreign land.

They met in a hospital corridor.

As their eyes met, the surrounding people and buildings seemed to sink beneath the sea, leaving only the two of them standing on the surface.

“You…” Luo Xing parted her lips. She had just turned on her phone and saw missed calls from Gu Shiyan from two days ago, which she hadn’t answered.

Gu Shiyan stood under the light, his face pale. The person he longed to see was right in front of him, yet he didn’t know what to say.

He slowly walked over. “Has your aunt woken up?”

Luo Xing pressed her lips together. “Not yet. Why are you here?”

Gu Shiyan paused. “To see a friend.”

“Oh.” Luo Xing lowered her gaze. “I should go now.”

“Wait,” Gu Shiyan called after her. “Here, take this.”

Luo Xing didn’t take it at first; she looked at him.

Only when Gu Shiyan explained, “My friend wanted some home-cooked food, so I brought extra,” did she hesitate and accept it.

Gu Shiyan said nothing more and turned to leave.

It really seemed like a chance encounter, and the food in his hand was indeed just some leftovers.

Luo Xing watched his figure disappear around the corridor’s corner, then took out her phone and tapped a few times.

A ringtone sounded nearby but was quickly silenced.

Gu Shiyan saw the incoming call on his phone, leaned against the wall, and answered.

“Hello…”

“Gu Shiyan,” a faint voice sounded in his ear and through the receiver as he turned his head.

Luo Xing stood before him, holding her phone.

“How long will you stay?” she asked.

“...Two days.”

“Why did you come?” Luo Xing knew his current situation; he shouldn’t have appeared before her now.

“Don’t say it’s for a friend.” Her voice was steady.

“I came for you.”

Almost as Gu Shiyan spoke, Luo Xing embraced him.

He seemed momentarily stunned, his raised hand gently patting her back.

In a quiet corner by the bend, the two held each other.

Gu Shiyan held the person he had long missed and regained, his palm’s grip slowly tightening.

But in the next moment, he was pushed away.

Luo Xing lifted her hand, and between their gazes, her slender wrist caught the light, a delicate silver chain shimmering under the incandescent bulb, adorned with a small silver star hanging from the protruding bone.

Gu Shiyan’s eyes glazed over, fixated on that tiny spark.

He had persuaded himself for a long time before making his decision.

Not to stand beside her and scare her away; just to see her was enough, whether in shadows or in a corner.

But she had come after him, sharing the same secluded space, raising her hand to reveal the love they once shared.

“You gave me this, remember?”

Almost as Luo Xing lowered her hand, Gu Shiyan stepped forward, pulling her close and holding her tightly.

“I remember. I remember,” he said, his right fingertip tracing her wrist, the thin chain rubbing between his fingers. The slight tickle traveled up his arm, crawling to his heart.

Love is addictive.

Even after deciding to give up, after countless mental meetings agreeing never to let that feeling resurface.

But as soon as it poked out its tip, the unbreakable walls crumbled instantly, and through the cracks, the sharp point pierced fiercely and wildly, occupying and filling every space.

Yet it brought no oppression, only a sense of mercy.

“I had Qi Zhi tell you,” Luo Xing murmured in his arms.

Gu Shiyan’s eyes showed surprise, but before he could ask, she continued, “I thought after you saw, you’d be braver, but you still shrink away. Gu Shiyan, I’m a little disappointed.”

Luo Xing looked up, seeing a flicker of helplessness in Gu Shiyan’s discolored pupils.

“That day, a moment before, I was still messaging Mom. The next moment, I heard about the incident on Nanhua Road. At that time, I felt nothing—just that there were so many things I hadn’t told her. Only now do I feel grateful that once she wakes up, I can still talk to her again.”

“I’m sorry,” Gu Shiyan lowered his gaze.

“During that winter break in senior year, I carried my phone and ID card alone and went looking for you. Jingshi was on daylight saving time then, the wind was strong and cold, the nights very dark, but I was happy every day.”

“Do you know why I was happy?”

The glass window was pitch black; branches swayed in the cold wind, the rustling sound masking the rapid beats of two hearts.

“Because of you.”

Gu Shiyan’s heart felt as if placed on a furnace, about to melt. He tried to remain calm. “Luo Xing, I…”

“I applied for a graduate spot at the United Nations University in Country A. I will stay here.”

“Xing?” Lo Zhou, holding a lunchbox, stared blankly at the two standing intimately together.

“How did you get here?” Gu Shiyan looked at the familiar face, realizing why the dessert shop was deserted; she had followed Luo Xing here.