Chapter 13
1142 Words
Amidst the crowd's laughter and applause, Gu Ye Bai raised the glass and drank the wine, the color draining from Chu Ke's face.
The second round of the game started with the atmosphere heightened. The next in line was Lin Ziyan.
When the bottle stopped, pointing directly at Youyan, she looked at it with resentment and then at Lin Ziyan, who wiped his forehead, saying, "My bad, my bad."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at Gu Ye Bai.
Back when those two were together, he loved to tease Youyan. Gu Ye Bai wasn't one to get angry easily, always maintaining an air of calm, but once, when he made Youyan cry, Gu Ye Bai got furious and deleted all the files on his computer, leaving him howling.
Gu Ye Bai had said, "My girl, only I can bully her, no one else can."
This terrifying habit followed him to the present, though now his boss seemed unruffled, not even raising an eyebrow.
The woman next to Lin Ziyan laughed, "Senior, why don't you let me have this question?"
Lin Ziyan's face lit up with joy, almost jumping up, "Alright, alright, take it, take it, don't mention it."
As if it were a hot potato.
The woman chuckled, but Youyan felt a tingling sensation on her scalp.
"Senior Lu, I think everyone is curious. Who do you really like, President Gu or Senior Chi? And why did you cheat back then?"
This question was even more enticing than Chu Ke's earlier one, and within moments, the room fell silent.
Youyan was stunned, her heart aching, she bit her lip, instinctively wanting to look at him but hesitated.
Huaian, Chu Ke, and even Xu Qing's gazes either boldly or subtly fell on her.
Gu Ye Bai, however, played with his cup nonchalantly, a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips.
Youyan knew her face must have paled again, for her heart was stiflingly tight.
She looked at the central bottle on the table with clenched teeth. The red wine had been replaced with high-proof liquor. Someone suggested escalating the game for excitement.
Lin Ziyan, feeling somewhat guilty after glancing at Youyan, noticed Gu Ye Bai's gaze seemingly passing over him.
His heart moved, and before he could think, he spoke, "Youyan, if you won't tell the truth, how about a big dare? Everyone drinking would make this game lose its fun, as Chu Ke said earlier."
Youyan was still dazed.
Lin Ziyan quickly turned to the woman beside him, "Junior, I'll take back the right to choose the dare, okay?"
Without waiting for a response, he continued, "Since there are no objections, that's settled. Youyan, what do you say?"
Youyan thought for a moment, then said softly, "I'll take the dare."
Everyone perked up, looking at Lin Ziyan.
Lin Ziyan's eyes flickered, he nodded towards the table, Xu Qing snorted, and everyone followed his gaze. It was a small plate of tiramisu.
Picking up a piece of ladyfinger, Lin Ziyan smiled cunningly, "Youyan, cover your eyes with a cloth and share this tiramisu with someone here. How about it?"
"The person, you choose. Of course, they must cooperate. It's not easy for our girl, right?" Lin Ziyan finished in one breath, not daring to look at his boss.
Everyone now understood Vice President Lin's intentions, whether they sneered or watched the show, their gazes drifted between Gu Ye Bai and Youyan.
Chu Ke's face darkened slightly, but Huaian remained composed, except for her clenched fist under the table.
Youyan seemed not to notice, yet finally looked at Gu Ye Bai. She stared, dumbfounded, the first direct gaze of the evening.
Sneers echoed around; past classmates, current juniors.
"How foolish," Chu Ke thought coldly.
Xu Qing, with complex feelings for Gu Ye Bai, was also somewhat irritated with Youyan, but now she felt a pang of sympathy.
Suddenly, someone brought up the legend of tiramisu.
Tiramisu has many legends.
The most popular one states that during wartime, an Italian soldier was about to go to battle, and his loving wife, with little at home, made a cake from whatever ingredients they had to give to her husband.
Through heaven and earth, what fear of worldly changes? Whether it's chaos or life and death, what does it matter?
The tiny dessert thus gained a legendary meaning: "Take me with you."
Huaian, nestled in Gu Ye Bai's arms, recounted this story under the charming lights, her face glowing with happiness.
"So beautiful. Isn't it just like President Gu and Senior Zhou?" someone started, and the crowd responded with enthusiasm.
The women around Huaian looked at her with envy and jealousy.
But Xu Qing suddenly said, "Youyan, you can make tiramisu, is that how the legend goes?"
The chatter ceased, and all eyes turned back to Youyan.
Youyan bit her lip, thought for a moment, then whispered, "I think, actually, tiramisu has another meaning."
"To come back. That's what the wife didn't say. If you can't take me with you, then please come back."
The room fell silent again, some looking at Youyan with even more disdain.
"Come back for what? To come back just because it's convenient? That's too easy," someone sneered, and several women began to gossip about Youyan. Lin Ziyan sighed.
Youyan lowered her head.
Yes, to come back.
But four years ago, she left, unable to take him with her. She had a thousand reasons to take him, yet a thousand and one reasons not to.
Four years later, unable to resist the gnawing longing, after dealing with Chi Pu's matters, she returned.
However, he no longer expected her to come back. He had a wonderful woman by his side now. Huaian was the right person for him, equally intelligent. She knew Huaian loved him deeply.
So she hoped for his happiness.
To come back, just to see him, that was enough. Knowing he was well was enough. Then her heart would be at peace. In this life, what she couldn't give him, she hoped someone else could.
She just wanted him to be well.
Numbers are the beauty of rationality, the foundation of this world.
If love were to be quantified, it certainly wouldn't be 1 + 1 = 2. Since the equation can't be constant, love is destined never to be perfect; where there is completeness, there is also imperfection.
Imperfection is not without beauty. It all depends on the journey.
"Xiaobai, Xiaobai." Youyan called this name in her heart.
Once a boundless sea, now a changed field.
Gu Ye Bai did not avoid her gaze. He gave her a formal, distant look, as cold as their first meeting years ago.
Those four years in between seemed to have been erased. As if he had never kissed her, as if she had never cried or laughed in his arms.
- Writer
