Chapter 51

　　Tao Ruan sat on the bed for a long time.

　　Gu Zhizhou was on her mind, but she didn’t know what to do.

　　Fortunately, Ji Xia is back now, so there’s someone who can give her advice and suggestions.

　　but……

　　Thinking about Ji Xia’s phone call earlier, it seemed that she did not approve of her relationship with Gu Zhizhou.

　　”well……”

　　Tao Ruan let out a long sigh.

　　I wonder how Gu Zhizhou is doing. Is he alright now?

　　Although the scene just now made her quite embarrassed, her worry for Gu Zhizhou outweighed everything, and she still went out to find Gu Zhizhou.

　　It was the same balcony as last time, and Gu Zhizhou was still smoking with his back to her.

　　Looking at the man’s broad shoulders and narrow waist, watching his lonely figure smoking there, Tao Ruan felt a lump in her throat again.

　　She tiptoed behind Gu Zhizhou and wrapped her arms around his lean waist.

　　Gu Zhizhou’s back stiffened noticeably, but he still placed his free hand in Tao Ruan’s hand and called her, “Ruan Ruan?”

　　”I’m sorry…” Tao Ruan gently rubbed her cheek against his back and whispered, “Did I upset you just now?”

　　Gu Zhizhou turned around, rubbed her head, and stroked her face.

　　Gu Zhizhou said in a hoarse voice, “I’m the one who should apologize.”

　　The cigarette he was holding in his other hand was almost burning to his fingertips when Tao Ruan happened to see it and quickly snatched it away and threw it away.

　　”Why don’t you pay attention?” Tao Ruan’s eyes reddened.

　　Gu Zhizhou hugged her, buried his face in her neck and said, “I’m sorry.”

　　Tao Ruan tentatively asked, “Can you tell me what’s wrong with you?”

　　Gu Zhizhou’s expression flashed with a struggle that made Tao Ruan’s heart ache.

　　”Fine, if you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t.” Tao Ruan couldn’t bear to see him like this, so she quickly reached out to smooth his brow.

　　Gu Zhizhou ran a hand through his hair, pressed his fingers to his forehead for a long time, and finally made up his mind and said, “I’ll go take a shower first, and then I’ll tell you when I come out, okay?”

　　Tao Ruan naturally agreed.

　　However, Gu Zhizhou took too long in the bath, and before he could come out, Ji Xia called again.

　　”I’m at the door, Ruanruan, open the door for me.”

　　Tao Ruan felt something was wrong, but she didn’t think about it carefully and went to open the door for Ji Xia first.

　　The girl at the door had a neat short haircut, a cold face, and exquisite makeup, but her expression was terribly sour.

　　Tao Ruan went over and hugged her arm, asking softly, “Why did you suddenly come back? And what’s with that expression? Who upset you?”

　　Ji Xia pulled her hand away, straightened herself up, and asked coldly, “How did Gu Zhizhou pursue you? Do you even know him? And how much do you know about him before you got together with him?”

　　Tao Ruan felt a little guilty: “I don’t know him very well…”

　　Ji Xia said directly, “Where is Gu Zhizhou? Call him out here.”

　　Tao Ruan pulled her inside and poured her some water, saying, “Please sit down first, Gu Zhizhou is taking a shower…”

　　As Tao Ruan was speaking, Gu Zhizhou came out of the bathroom. Seemingly not expecting Ji Xia to come, he narrowed his eyes and his voice turned cold: “Why are you here?”

　　Ji Xia gave a mocking smile: “What, can you see that I’m feeling guilty?”

　　Tao Ruan looked at Gu Zhizhou, then at Ji Xia, feeling a little dizzy.

　　What’s going on?

　　Could it be that Ji Xia and Gu Zhizhou had something going on?

　　Come to think of it, she didn’t tell Ji Xia where Gu Zhizhou lived, so how did Ji Xia come over on her own?

　　Could it be… that Ji Xia is Gu Zhizhou’s ex-girlfriend? But she’s known Ji Xia for almost two years, how come she didn’t know?

　　”Ruanruan,” Gu Zhizhou came over and patted her head gently, “I’m a little thirsty, could you make me a cup of tea?”

　　Even if Tao Ruan was stupid, she could tell that Gu Zhizhou was trying to get rid of her.

　　She suddenly felt a pang of indescribable sadness.

　　”Don’t overthink it,” Gu Zhizhou came over, put his arm around Tao Ruan’s waist, kissed her forehead, and confessed to her, “Ji Xia is my sister. There is no ambiguous relationship between us. We just have some personal grudges that need to be resolved.”

　　Tao Ruan: “Huh?”

　　Tao Ruan was completely bewildered.

　　“She is my uncle’s daughter, and I am her aunt’s son. She was born a few days before me, so she became my older sister,” Gu Zhizhou explained clearly.

　　But Tao Ruan was even more confused.

　　Gu Zhizhou made himself very clear; she wasn’t unaware of what he meant…

　　But why are all the people around her related to Gu Zhizhou? Gu Xiao is like that, Ji Xia is like that, and more importantly, she is kept in the dark and has no idea about it.

　　”I…I’ll make you some tea, you can chat slowly.” Tao Ruan felt she needed to be alone to calm down.

　　Only Gu Zhizhou and Ji Xia remained in the living room. They were at odds, giving each other cold looks, and the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.

　　Ji Xia spoke up at this moment, her voice full of sarcasm: “Little brother, you dare to pursue Ruan Ruan now that you’re better? You tricked Ruan Ruan into your hands, didn’t you? Does she even know you’re sick?”

　　Gu Zhizhou’s voice was even colder: “I will be honest with her.”

　　”Confess? So Ruan Ruan was really tricked into marrying you, right?”

　　Ji Xia smashed the cup at Gu Zhizhou’s feet, her anger almost bursting forth: “What did you promise me before I went on my exchange program? You said you wouldn’t lay a hand on Ruan Ruan while I was gone, but that promise of yours was just a load of bull, wasn’t it?”

　　Gu Zhizhou lowered his eyes, but his voice was firm: “I like her.”

　　Ji Xia laughed in anger: “Just because you like her, you can do whatever you want? Let me ask you, does Ruan Ruan know about all your problems? Does Ruan Ruan know what you’ve done to her these past two years?”

　　Tao Ruan was completely drawn over by the sound of the glass being smashed, and that’s when she heard that last sentence.

　　She was stunned again.

　　”Xiaxia,” she asked, genuinely confused, “what has my senior done to me in the past two years?”