Chapter 304: Plain Young Master Li
Or rather, s.h.i.+ Xuexin had gone to the school to get Gu Jingyuan’s contact number. She did not know how to begin repairing their relations.h.i.+p, so she might as well make a trip down personally.
“I’m here to visit you. You’ve been back in the capital for so long, but I haven’t been to visit you yet.” s.h.i.+ Xuexin’s voice was deliberately lighthearted.
“I also wanted to know more about your work environment,” she said.
In the past, Gu Jingyuan might really have done his duty as an elder brother to her. However, it was impossible now. Knowing what s.h.i.+ Jin’s life was like in the s.h.i.+ family, Gu Jingyuan’s impression of s.h.i.+ Xuexin was that she was just an ordinary person. Their sibling relations.h.i.+p was long gone.
“Can’t you see that I’m in the middle of a consultation right now? The time that patients and doctors have is very precious. Next!”
An old woman walked in, trembling. “Doctor Gu…”
s.h.i.+ Xuexin looked disinterested in her plight. However, Gu Jingyuan was already engrossed in his work. He got the old lady to sit down and began his consultation.
It seemed that he was only interested in his work and would not be deliberately making things difficult for himself.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin said, “Sorry, I’ll wait for you to get off work.”
She turned around and walked out. Chen Jierou was still smitten, so s.h.i.+ Xuexin reached over and pulled her away.
Finally, it was six o’clock. Gu Jingyuan took off his white coat and changed into his casual clothes. He even smelled like disinfectant.
“Brother.” s.h.i.+ Xuexin ran over.
“What’s the matter?” Gu Jingyuan did not even bat an eyelid at her. With the treatment book in his hands, he strode forward.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin followed him and said, “My birthday is coming up soon. In the past, I used to celebrate my birthday with s.h.i.+ Jin. This year, I want to invite her again. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
In order to ease her relations.h.i.+p with Gu Jingyuan, she was willing to bow her head to s.h.i.+ Jin.
“Not really.” Gu Jingyuan stopped in his tracks. “We’ve already parted, so let’s go our separate ways.”
“Big Brother, my mom was indeed not very nice to s.h.i.+ Jin in the past. I only found out later. If I had known earlier, I would have gotten her to change long ago. This time, I want to celebrate s.h.i.+ Jin’s birthday with her. I also want to resolve our misunderstandings. After all, s.h.i.+ Jin and I have been sisters for eight years.”
Gu Jingyuan said calmly, “Is that so?”
“You can trust me, Brother.”
“I only believe in the truth.”
“Brother! Seeing is believing!” s.h.i.+ Xuexin emphasized.
The past was already in the past. She did not believe that Gu Jingyuan would be able to make comparisons like this forever. As long as she performed well now, she could definitely dispel his worries.
Only then did Gu Jingyuan raise his eyes and look at her calmly for a few seconds. He said, “In the past, the Li family was wrong and didn’t come to pick up s.h.i.+ Jin in time. Now, the Li family is reforming and making up for this mistake. In that case, I hope that the relations.h.i.+p between the Li and s.h.i.+ families will just end peacefully here.”
“Big Brother!”
Gu Jingyuan’s strides were big. After he finished speaking, he turned around and left.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin clenched her fists tightly as regret surfaced in her heart. If she had known… if she had known that Gu Jingyuan would accomplish such achievements, she would not have been so brazen towards s.h.i.+ Jin before.
She also regretted avoiding Gu Jingyuan and Old Master Li when they came to visit her.
“Xuexin, Xuexin?”
s.h.i.+ Xuexin was stunned and realized that Chen Jierou was still beside her. She had seen everything.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin said in a low voice, “Big Brother and I had a misunderstanding. s.h.i.+ Jin slandered me in front of him. I wanted to resolve this misunderstanding today…”
“s.h.i.+ Jin is too much! What right does she have to slander you!” Chen Jierou was indignant.
“It’s not her fault. After all, Big Brother is her biological brother. Big Brother should believe her.”
Chen Jierou said angrily, “s.h.i.+ Jin is a troublemaker. Why is she always causing problems everywhere?”
“Forget it, it’s fine. I believe my brother will wake up soon.”
“By the way, you said that we should dress more plainly when meeting Big Brother. Why?”
“He has always dressed very plainly. He doesn’t like others to dress too gorgeously,” explained s.h.i.+ Xuexin.
“That’s not true. Can’t you see that his s.h.i.+rt is a limited edition? The fabric of the jacket he changed into at the back is also very unique. His entire outfit is custom-made.”
Chen Jierou’s family was in the clothing business, so she was relatively knowledgeable.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin was stunned. “What did you say?”
“I said he’s wearing custom-made clothes! They’re expensive. How could an ordinary person afford them? What part of him can be said to have anything to do with simplicity?”
s.h.i.+ Xuexin could not believe it. On the way home, she was in a daze. After returning home, she asked the servant, “Where are the clothes I wore when I was young?”
“I think they were all thrown out.”
“Is there nothing left?”
“Miss, you are the one who said to throw everything away. You thought they were eyesores.”
s.h.i.+ Xuexin’s expression turned extremely ugly. One of the servants seemed to have thought of something and said, “I saw a few pieces of good quality clothing. I saved them for my granddaughter to wear. Miss, if you want, I’ll bring them back for you.”
“Get them.”
Soon, the servant brought over a small bag with a dozen sets of clothes inside. They were all clothes that s.h.i.+ Xuexin had worn back in that small town.
So many years had pa.s.sed, and the maid’s granddaughter had worn them many times. However, the colors were still bright and hadn’t faded.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin grabbed a handful of clothing. There were no labels on them. The designs were simple and mainly consisted of plain colors, black, white, and gray. At first glance, everything looked inconspicuous. Upon closer inspection, every part of the needlework was fine and uniform.
And in fact, just based on the fact that it had remained the same even after so many years, one could tell the value of the material and workmans.h.i.+p.
s.h.i.+ Xuexin was shocked. What kind of family was the Li family?
How was she able to wear handmade, high-end clothes while living in a small town!
***
After s.h.i.+ Jin’s college entrance examination results were announced, Second High hung up a banner and held a celebration party for the entire Year Three cla.s.s.
At the banquet, Princ.i.p.al Lu specially invited the teachers from First High School over. He showed them s.h.i.+ Jin’s marks one by one.
The faces of the teachers and princ.i.p.al of First High School turned red and white.
They couldn’t blame Princ.i.p.al Lu for being arrogant. Back then, when Wen Yongwei had been the first prize winner of the domestic Mathematical Olympiad, First High School had almost hung a banner at the entrance of Second High School.
Right now, Princ.i.p.al Lu was just trying to get back at them. It was nothing special. Moreover, when the teacher from First High School mentioned the bet he had made, his voice was especially loud.
s.h.i.+ Jin did not stay for long and walked out.
The others were still busy, and only she appeared at the entrance of Second High School.
It was already summer vacation and there were not many people at school. She strolled out and heard s.h.i.+ Xuexin calling out to her, “s.h.i.+ Jin!”