Chapter 38: Get a Room? Gu Yifan’s Shock
"Huh?"
Chen Dongmei paused for a moment, but then didn’t give it much thought.
"Oh, oh."
She nodded. "Alright, you two be careful on your way!"
After speaking, she turned to Su Qinghe and said with a smile, "Qinghe, come over for dinner whenever you have time, okay?"
"O...Okay."
Su Qinghe nodded and replied softly.
"Alright!"
"Well... Mom, Aunt Qing, we’ll be heading out now!"
"You two take your time and chat!"
Gu Yifan said to his mom and Ye Wanqing.
He then turned to Su Qinghe. "So... Qinghe, shall we go?"
"Mhm."
Su Qinghe nodded, then stood up with Gu Yifan, ready to head for the door.
Han Ning watched them, her eyes flickering. Her lips parted slightly, but she seemed hesitant to speak.
Ye Wanqing took in her expression and spoke up. "You know, Xiaoning’er, it’s getting late. Why don’t you go with Yifan to see Qinghe home? That way, you two can look out for each other on the way back!"
"Huh?"
Gu Yifan’s movements paused slightly.
But when Han Ning heard her mother’s words, her eyes lit up slightly.
Her lips parted, about to speak, when she saw Gu Yifan say, "Uh..."
"That won’t be necessary, Aunt Qing!"
"I can take Qinghe home by myself. It’ll save Han Ning the trouble of running around!"
Hearing Gu Yifan say this, Han Ning, who had been about to speak, fell silent again.
Just then, Chen Dongmei, who was standing to the side, finally noticed that the atmosphere seemed a little off.
She glanced at her son, then at Han Ning, who was pressing her lips together at the side. After a moment of thought, she said, "That’s right, Wanqing. Just let Yifan take Qinghe home by himself! It’s late at night, and it’ll save Xiaoning’er the trouble of running around!"
"Well..."
Seeing that even Chen Dongmei had said so, and with her own daughter staying quiet, Ye Wanqing could only nod helplessly. "Alright then! Forget it. Yifan, Qinghe, be careful on the road!"
"Okay, I will."
"Then Mom, Aunt Qing, we’re leaving!"
With that, he grabbed Su Qinghe’s hand and quickly walked toward the door.
Suddenly having her hand grabbed by Gu Yifan, Su Qinghe froze for a second. The next moment, a faint blush spread across her face!
After the two of them changed their shoes, they quickly left.
...
"Can... can you let go of me first?"
In the residential complex’s garden, Su Qinghe spoke softly to Gu Yifan, who was walking ahead of her.
"Ah? Oh, oh..."
Only then did Gu Yifan realize he was still holding Su Qinghe’s hand.
He scratched the back of his head and explained sheepishly, "I was in a hurry just now. Sorry about that!"
"Mm... It’s fine."
Su Qinghe didn’t say much, just nodded gently.
"Let’s go. We’ll grab a cab at the complex entrance."
"Okay!"
Qinghe nodded, and the two of them walked side by side toward the entrance of the complex.
...
「Ten-thirty at night.」
The temperature tonight was cooler than before. A north wind was blowing, occasionally kicking up clouds of dust from the road.
The two of them had been standing on the curb for a while, but no empty taxis had come by.
Gu Yifan jiggled his leg, growing impatient from the wait.
Meanwhile, Su Qinghe stood quietly under a streetlight, not saying a word. It was unclear what she was thinking.
Seeing her like this, Gu Yifan didn’t know what to say for a moment.
And so, the two of them stood in silence.
After a long silence, the sky suddenly began to fill with thin flakes of snow.
As if sensing something, they both looked up at the sky at the same time.
"It’s snowing."
Su Qinghe said softly.
"Yeah, it’s snowing."
Gu Yifan replied quietly.
Su Qinghe glanced at him, then looked away.
She held out her hand, trying to catch the falling snowflakes.
But the snow was too light; it melted before it could even land on her hand.
A flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came.
Gu Yifan didn’t notice her strange mood. He glanced at the cars hurrying by on the road and said, "Snow in March... Looks like we’re not going to be able to hail a cab!"
"How about this? I’ll call my dad and ask him to drive back and take you to school."
After saying this, he finally turned to look at Su Qinghe.
"N-No, that’s okay."
Su Qinghe shook her head gently. "Doesn’t your father have things to do? It would be too much trouble for him!"
"Uh..."
Gu Yifan frowned. "But we can’t get a cab like this!"
"Let’s walk!"
"I’m not going back to my dorm tonight."
Su Qinghe said suddenly.
"Huh?"
Gu Yifan was momentarily stunned by her words.
’Not going back to her dorm?’
’So where is she going to stay?’
’Get a hotel room???’
’No way!’
’This is so intense!?’
’But... isn’t this plot developing a little too fast?’
’Oh, right!’
’I don’t have my ID!’
Seeing Gu Yifan just say "Huh?" and then go silent, Su Qinghe found it a bit strange.
Just as she was about to speak, she heard Gu Yifan say with a bashful look, "Um... I don’t have my ID with me!"
"???"
Su Qinghe was completely baffled.
"Why... do you need an ID?" she asked, confused.
"Huh?"
"Didn’t you just say..."
Gu Yifan almost blurted out instinctively.
"Wait! What did you mean just now when you said you weren’t going back to the dorm?" he asked, frowning at Su Qinghe.
Su Qinghe found Gu Yifan’s words strange, and she furrowed her little brows.
But even though she didn’t quite understand what he meant, she still explained, "My family’s home isn’t too far from here. It should be about a twenty-minute walk."
Gu Yifan: "...-_-||"
"Uh, no... I mean, were you talking about going to your own home?"
Realizing he’d gotten the wrong idea, Gu Yifan’s face flushed slightly in embarrassment.
"Mhm."
Su Qinghe nodded.
After thinking for a moment, she added, "Although I don’t live there often now, there’s still a place to sleep inside."
"Oh, I see!"
"In that case, alright, let’s go to your place!"
Gu Yifan nodded, his expression returning to a serious one.
"How about... I just go back by myself?"
"I’m worried the snow will get heavier, and you won’t have a way to get back."
Su Qinghe said after some thought.
"No!"
"It’s so late. It’s not safe for you to go back alone!"
Gu Yifan refused flatly without a second thought.
"Well... okay, then!"
Hearing this, Su Qinghe could only nod obediently.
They set off at once!
With Su Qinghe leading the way, the two of them walked toward her home under the gently falling snow.
Suddenly!
Su Qinghe seemed to have thought of something.
She rummaged through her backpack for a moment, then took something out and handed it to Gu Yifan. "Th-This is for you..."