Dew Turns White from This Night

Chapter 11

In the past, Gu Ye Bai would always say lightly, "Yan, you little fool."

Youyan wasn't foolish, and Chu Ke's intentions towards her were not benevolent.

Still, she agreed.

Chu Ke said, "How about Senior Lu joins us in the game later, okay?"

Unable to refuse such "enthusiasm," Youyan frowned but nodded in assent.

Chu Ke smiled and shouted towards the bar counter, "Brother Gu, Senior Zhou, are you ready? We're just waiting for you."

Gu Ye Bai was still chatting with Zhou Huaian and the men from earlier. Huaian laughed, "Only you're in such a hurry."

Youyan stole a glance and saw both of them smiling faintly. Behind them, Huaian's hand lightly pressed on Gu Ye Bai, a hint of mischief in the gesture, and Gu Ye Bai's hand moved slightly to envelop hers.

Her nails, hidden in her pocket, broke the skin, warm blood seeping into her palm.

Her cold hand, held by no one.

"Chu, what game are we playing? Let's play while we wait for the seniors," a handsome boy spoke up, his eyes on Chu Ke hot and unhidden.

Everyone also looked at Chu Ke with cheerful smiles.

Whether it's work or play, there's always a focal point in a group, and this young woman seemed to be it.

Chu Ke was smiling until her face suddenly turned cold, "Fang Minghui, what did you just call me?"

Fang Minghui was taken aback, "Chu—" his expression slightly displeased.

"Is 'Chu' something you can call me?" Chu Ke said indifferently.

Fang Minghui's face turned pale, and his friend patted him. He turned his head away, but not before casting a few more glances at Chu Ke.

There was a sudden silence.

Awkwardness upon awkwardness.

Youyan's curiosity about this girl grew.

Lin Ziyan, who had been joking around, suddenly chimed in with a bad pun, breaking the ice. The faint smile on Xu Qing's lips deepened.

Seeing Youyan looking at her, Xu Qing tilted her head back, took a sip of her drink, and said coldly, "Roses are beautiful, but they come with thorns."

Youyan asked, "Why doesn't this girl allow others to call her that?"

Before Xu Qing could answer, a gentle, calm voice came from behind, "What's wrong with our Chu?"

The girl sitting beside Fang Minghui said, "Senior Zhou, what did you just call Chu Ke?"

She elongated the last word, clearly unhappy with Chu Ke's behavior and intentionally dragging Huaian into the fray.

The conversation among the men seemed to have ended, and these elegantly dressed, handsome men stood by Gu Ye Bai and Huaian, chatting and laughing. Youyan didn't recognize them; they weren't from G University, but they were friends of the couple.

Huaian wore a light blue cocktail dress, beautiful yet reserved, full of charm and intelligence.

Gu Ye Bai stood behind her, their actions not particularly intimate, but his gaze was subtly fixed on Huaian.

Youyan's nails dug deeper into her palm. Vaguely, she thought she saw Huaian's eyes slightly shift in her direction.

Chu Ke glanced at the provocative girl, her smile blooming like a flower, "Senior Zhou is Brother Gu's housekeeper, so it's natural for her to call me that."

After all this time, if Youyan hadn't picked up on the implications in Chu Ke's words, then she truly wouldn't understand the social cues.

After all that commotion, if Youyan still hadn't caught the underlying meaning in Chu Ke's words, she would indeed be out of touch.

It was clearly said for the sake of Gu Ye Bai's reputation.

Youyan asked Xu Qing in a low voice, "Is there something special about the nickname 'Chu'?"

Xu Qing gave a cold laugh, "It's a name exclusive to Gu Ye Bai, though that girl considers it so. Whether others share this view is another matter."

Huaian was Gu Ye Bai's woman, and this Chu Ke was openly challenging her.

Youyan couldn't help but look at Chu Ke several times, and Chu Ke's eyes flashed, giving her an almost imperceptible glance.

"Chu." The voice was slightly faint, deep.

It was him.

Youyan's heart shook, and she quickly lowered her head. After four years, his voice, she had almost forgotten it.

During the time in Luojia with Chi Pu, they fought their own battles against nostalgia in their ways. They would sometimes mock each other lightheartedly, judging whose method was better.

She often lay on her desk, watching him chat anonymously with Senior Cheng Yuan.

Two years ago, Senior Cheng Yuan had married in America. Her husband was an American citizen, very Western in his thinking and behavior, but fortunately, not in his love for Cheng Yuan, treating her very well.

Halfway across the world, Chi Pu would monitor Cheng Yuan's happiness and sorrow through text and symbols on his computer.

She would watch them interact, sometimes joyfully showing Chi Pu things from Gu Ye Bai: old paintings, trinkets he had given her, and all the pictures of him she had cut out from magazines.

Chi Pu would stroke her hair, saying, "Little sister, be careful not to develop a collecting habit. This Gu Ye Bai is pretty lame; after all that time you spent together, he only gave you these few things. Look at this painting, you've worn it out from flipping through it so much."

Upon hearing this, she got angry and swatted his hand away, "What do you mean not short, it was not long at all, just two years—"

Chi Pu sighed and pulled her into his embrace.

She wrinkled her nose, rubbing against his shirt. His scent was clean and pleasant, but it wasn't his.

Chi Pu seemed not to have kept anything from Cheng Yuan, watching her happy life with her husband without apparent sadness.

But once, late at night, Youyan woke from a dream to find Chi Pu sitting alone in the dark living room, staring blankly at his phone.

In the empty hall, Cheng Yuan's slightly hoarse voice echoed, with the night outside as murky as steam, the light flowing tenderly.

"Chi Pu, I love you."

Just five words.

Who knows how many times Chi Pu had listened to it.

Youyan walked over and said softly, "You really have a way. Even someone as proud as Senior Cheng Yuan let you record this."

Chi Pu turned off the player, saying indifferently, "It took an entire bottle of baijiu. You could use this on your little white too."

Youyan laughed, tears streaming down her face.

"He can't get drunk even after a thousand cups."