Chapter 7

"You..."

For a moment, Gu Nianxi was at a loss for words.

"Let go first," she said, shaking the hand he held.

Bai Jin stared at her for a moment, then slowly released her grip.

Gu Nianxi shook her hand, let out a soft sigh, and complained, "Next time, don't touch my hand without permission!"

Really, in her past life, Bai Jin hadn't been this rude. Was she really the type to push her luck once given an inch?

"Sorry, sister."

Bai Jin apologized obediently.

Gu Nianxi sighed.

Fine.

"Being friends is okay. But no deadlines. A one-month friendship—what do you take me for? Do you think my friendship is some merchandise to be traded?"

"So, sister agrees?"

Bai Jin's eyes lit up.

"Wh-What? I'm not done talking!" Gu Nianxi felt flustered under her gaze and turned her head away. "You're too rude, not like a proper young lady at all. If I don't teach you, and you... you go out and embarrass the Gu family, what then?"

As she spoke, she felt a warmth on her hand—Bai Jin had taken her hand again.

"I'm sorry... there are many things I don't know. Please teach me, sister."

"...First, you can't suddenly grab my hand! Your hands are too rough, with calluses. I don't like it!"

"Okay."

"Second, don't get so close to me in front of others! You're the younger sister, I'm the elder. Do you want everyone to know the younger sister is taller than the elder one?"

"I'm truly sorry, sister," Bai Jin sighed. "It's my fault I grew too tall."

"..." Gu Nianxi shot her a glare. "And also, stop apologizing all the time. You keep saying sorry, sorry, but I don't see you actually changing, do I?"

She was still holding her hand right now!

"Okay. Does sister have any other demands?"

Gu Nianxi thought for a moment. "Not for now. I'll tell you when I think of more."

"Alright," Bai Jin said. "Now it's my turn."

"?"

"Sister." Bai Jin gently stroked Gu Nianxi's hand. "That day at 'Drifting Emerald,' you abandoned me, leaving me with lasting trauma."

Gu Nianxi: "Wh-What?"

Why did Bai Jin keep digging up old grudges?

"I'm very insecure now, especially afraid of being left behind by sister again. Sister should understand, right? That feeling of being left alone by someone." Bai Jin kept her eyes lowered and her expression submissive, but her words were utterly audacious. "So sister has to promise me—tell me everywhere you go, take me with you, and never leave without saying goodbye."

Gu Nianxi's eyes widened. "You—Bai Jin, are you a baby who hasn't been weaned yet?"

"I wasn't before. But sister made me this way. Sister owes me this."

Bai Jin looked at Gu Nianxi's round eyes and suppressed the urge to kiss her. "Sister must take responsibility for me."

Bai Jin thought, Gu Nianxi really did need to take responsibility for her.

She had made her sick, an illness that was hard to cure, a mix of acute and chronic—sometimes agonizing, sometimes burning with thirst, sometimes manic. Touching Gu Nianxi was the only antidote to alleviate the symptoms.

Perhaps one day the illness would suddenly disappear—she would no longer get excited from touch, no longer be tormented by fragrant, damp dreams, no longer react to Gu Nianxi. Only then would she allow Gu Nianxi to leave her.

As for now, they could be friends.

A relationship neither too close nor too far, safe and stable—for her, it was a lasting and steady source of medicine.

When she recovered, she would never cling to Gu Nianxi again.

Never.

*

Butler Ye noticed that the relationship between the eldest and second young ladies of the household seemed to have improved.

In the past, the eldest young lady never had a good expression for the second young lady—either she mocked her or ignored her. And the second young lady always kept her head down, never retorting, looking like she meekly endured everything.

But now, the eldest and second young ladies were almost inseparable, spending all day together—eating, going to school, going out to play, always glued to each other. They had even gotten the key to the attic and built a "secret base" there that he and the servants weren't allowed to enter.

Butler Ye felt very gratified by this change.

He had worked in the Gu household for thirty years; his family had been serving the Gus since his grandfather's generation. He was loyal to the family, so naturally he hoped the sisters could get along harmoniously.

He smiled as he directed the servants to place the vase sent by the Cheng family in the corner.

"There will be guests today, so we need to be careful," he reminded them.

Meanwhile, up in the attic.

A record player was playing classical music. Gu Nianxi lounged lazily on the sofa, sketching swiftly on her drawing pad.

After returning from Hongsheng, she had met with Cui Rou and expressed her wish to start painting again.

Back then, she had given up painting without a word and never told Cui Rou the reason, which made Gu Nianxi feel embarrassed when facing her now.

In her past life, Cui Rou had shown her kindness, helping her when she was at her lowest. Gu Nianxi couldn't forget that.

Cui Rou was delighted, though, and told Gu Nianxi to come to Cui Xiaoyue's gallery, where she taught students. During the summer break, Gu Nianxi could join as a transfer student.

Coincidentally, in September, there was an art exhibition in the capital. It wasn't highly exclusive, but it carried real weight, and its style and themes matched Gu Nianxi's painting style. Cui Rou told Gu Nianxi to prepare well—even if she didn't compete for an award, making the shortlist would be a brilliant addition to her resume.

They met at a café.

Cui Rou took a sip of coffee and asked Gu Nianxi the same question she had asked in the past life: "Nianxi, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"

"I've decided, teacher," Gu Nianxi replied. "I'm going to..."

The girl spoke calmly about her future vision, her words clear and her gaze resolute—clearly she had thought it through thoroughly.

This brought Cui Rou great relief. Three years ago, when Gu Nianxi had been learning painting with her, she had been a naive, sensitive, overly spoiled child, and Cui Rou had often worried about her future. Now she had matured enough to put Cui Rou's mind at ease.

She glanced at Bai Jin, who was sitting across the café with her back to them, and thought—maybe it was the appearance of the Gu family's second daughter that had changed Gu Nianxi?

After bidding farewell to Cui Rou, Gu Nianxi twirled the hem of her skirt and sat down across from Bai Jin. Bai Jin's expression was calm, her tone indifferent. "Studying domestically won't work?"

"The national unified exam date has already passed. Besides, the London College of Art's style suits me better... Also, don't tell Gu Hongzhuo and Jiang Man! They definitely won't agree to let me go abroad. We turn eighteen at the end of August, so I'll have just enough time to handle the formalities myself!"

Bai Jin didn't agree right away. She spun the paper cup sleeve of her coffee. "If Mom and Dad don't agree, you'll still go?"

Gu Nianxi snorted. "They're your parents, not mine."

Seeing Bai Jin lower her eyes, seemingly in a low mood, she quickly grabbed her hand and naturally acted cute: "Oh, Bai Jin, don't be like that. If you miss me, just come find me abroad, or I'll come back to see you. Plane tickets aren't that expensive!"

Bai Jin said nothing.

Studying abroad—she said she'd come back when she had the chance, but living beyond distant borders, who could find time amid their busy schedule?

The thought of Gu Nianxi living somewhere she couldn't see or touch, possibly smiling at others, making new friends, or even... a boyfriend...

Bai Jin lowered her eyes, her gaze dark.

...She wished she could lock Gu Nianxi up, in a place no one could find, in a place only she knew.

But that was just a thought. Like her sexual fantasies about Gu Nianxi—intense, overwhelming, hard to suppress—but equally impossible to ever put into action.

That day, she was silent for a long time. Finally, she let out a soft breath, suppressing her thick, dark desire, and said hoarsely, "This is what sister promised herself—you must come back to see me often."

She had no standing to stop Gu Nianxi.

Moreover, she knew Gu Nianxi loved painting.

That day at Hongsheng, when she had stared at that painting, her eyes had clearly sparkled. She was like a tightly packed hay bale on a farm, finally ignited by a drifting spark one day, instantly bursting into bright, scorching flames—dazzling and unstoppable.

Gu Nianxi held immense passion for creation. Whenever she talked about it, she seemed to fall into another world—a world of dazzling wonders, with countless emotions and ideas waiting for her to express.

That was the world of an artist, a world Bai Jin could not fathom.

Bai Jin looked down at the screen of her laptop.

Beside her, Gu Nianxi was sketching on her drawing board, the scratch-scratch of pencil against paper mingling with the elegant classical music, composing Bai Jin's peaceful afternoon.

The attic was small; Gu Nianxi only used it for line drawings and sketches, while Bai Jin also worked there. Bai Jin had agreed to help Gu Nianxi keep it secret from her parents—not telling them she was painting again. That couple couldn't care less about Gu Nianxi, so as long as Bai Jin didn't mention it, they would never know.

Bai Jin glanced at the screen and moved the mouse, closing the dialogue box from her agent.

This project was progressing steadily with promising returns; she just needed to keep following up.

Bai Jin adjusted the angle of her laptop.

At this angle, she could see Gu Nianxi from the corner of her eye.

Gu Nianxi was slightly nearsighted. Today she was wearing glasses, her gaze focused, already in her creative zone. Her nose bridge was straight, the tip delicate, her face an oval, her skin like smooth jade. Her jet-black hair, once permed, fell in soft waves over her shoulders.

The drawing board blocked her mouth. From Bai Jin's angle, she could only catch a glimpse of two tender pink lips. When she wore no lipstick, her lips were pale. In Bai Jin's dreams, those lips, after being sucked, would take on an incomparably vivid color.

There was a small smudge of pencil lead on her nose, and she was oblivious, still focused on her drawing. Bai Jin's fingers itched—she wanted to wipe it off for her.

Just then, Gu Nianxi put down her drawing board and yawned.

After yawning, she unconsciously smacked her lips. Bai Jin glanced at her slightly reddened eyes. "Want some coffee?"

"Mm..."

Gu Nianxi answered drowsily and lay back on the sofa chair. Bai Jin closed her laptop, went out, and quickly returned with a hot cup of coffee for her.

Gu Nianxi took a sip—sugar, no milk, a light sourness and bitterness, just the flavor she liked.

She set the coffee aside, grabbed Bai Jin's hand, and swung it back and forth, eyes half-closed—an unconscious gesture of affection, like a kitten expressing gratitude by brushing its tail against its keeper.

Bai Jin felt half her body go numb. The sensation started where her skin touched Gu Nianxi's and spread through her entire body.

Three months had passed, and the vexing dreams hadn't subsided; they had only grown more intense. Countless positions played out one after another—things Bai Jin dared not think about during the day, things she was ashamed to do—all happened in her dreams.

The her in dreams was outrageous, ruthless and cruel. Gu Nianxi was like dough on a cutting board, kneaded and shaped at will. Her tears were licked away, the whimpers spilling from her throat swallowed up.

Gu Nianxi's hands clutched weakly at her, fingertips trembling, yet she could only depend on her, seek refuge from her—like a cold person willingly drawing close to a fire, completely ignoring that her dire situation was caused by none other than her.

Sometimes, those hands were bound, blue silk ribbons like decorative sashes on a cream cake, slender fingers trembling like butterfly wings, tempting her to slip her fingers between them and pin the dying butterfly deeper into the specimen board.

On the surface she remained perfectly calm: "Butler Ye is tidying things up. There might be guests today. Mom and Dad seem to be coming back tonight."

Hearing that, Gu Nianxi snapped awake and stopped shaking her hand.

"Guests?"

In her past life, this hadn't happened.

It was July now. In her past life, through the whole of July, the Gu household had received no guests. Gu Hongzhuo and Jiang Man had been preparing for Bai Jin's coming-of-age ceremony at the end of August.

But before that ceremony, Gu Hongzhuo had indeed invited some family to stay...

At the thought of that person, Gu Nianxi's face turned cold.

That family—it was the marriage her dear father had arranged for her in her past life—that middle-aged man fifteen years her senior, divorced with a child—Cheng Qihang.