My heart skipped a beat. I could no longer sit still. "What on earth has happened? Gu Yuan, tell me the truth."
Gu Yuan looked at me tenderly and handed me the bedside mirror. "Take a look at the mark on your collarbone."
I took the mirror and pulled down my collar. There used to be only a bean-sized red spot on my collarbone, but now it had turned into a long crescent shape.
"What is this?"
"The mark of the equinox flower. When all the petals of the equinox flower appear, I'm afraid I won't be able to save you. So we must take precautions."
As Gu Yuan said this, his eyes flickered. It was obvious that he was very sad at the moment.
"Why is there such a mark? Could that dream be real? Is the girl in the snow Man Yue? Is Man Yue's soul going to replace mine?"
Gu Yuan moved his chin and nodded slightly. "Yes. I was just afraid that you would worry, so I didn't dare to tell you. I specifically went to ask Fairy Dan Zhu for help. I hoped that she could help me lead Man Yue's soul out of your body and into hers. Only in this way can your life be saved."
I had already prepared myself mentally, but I still felt a little sad when I heard this bad news. However, I didn't cry or make a scene. Instead, I remained unusually calm.
"So what's the price?"
I didn't care about my own life. After all, my life was given to me by Gu Yuan. It was already a bonus to have lived this long.
I only cared about what price Gu Yuan would have to pay if he did this.
"You don't need to know this." Gu Yuan's tone was solemn and brooked no argument.
"Aren't we husband and wife? You said that husband and wife should share weal and woe and should not hide anything from each other. But you've been shouldering so many things on your own. It's really tiring for me to keep guessing."
"It's my fault. If I had known this would be the result, I would rather..." Gu Yuan stopped halfway. In the end, he didn't finish his sentence.
I knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say that if it meant using his life to exchange, he would rather we weren't husband and wife and didn't have to share weal and woe.
My eyes drooped. I felt even sadder than when I first found out that my soul was going to be replaced.
My eyes were hot. A burning tear dropped onto my hand with a plop and shattered into pieces, just like my heart at the moment.
"I can tell that Dan Zhu likes you. For my sake, will you really be with her and do what a husband and wife should do?"
Hearing this, Gu Yuan's eyes suddenly became extremely sharp and his brows knitted tightly.
"Is this how you think of me?"
"I don't think of you like that. I'm just afraid that you'll do something stupid for me. It would be better if I just died. But if you didn't promise to be with her day and night, you must have made an even more unequal agreement with her. The price must be even greater."
Gu Yuan lowered his eyes and didn't look into mine at all. He peeled a segment of an orange and stuffed it into my mouth.
"I'm really happy to see you jealous." Even at this moment, he still didn't tell me the truth.
The orange was extremely sour. My face wrinkled up like a dried plum.
Gu Yuan quickly took out a tissue and wiped the corner of my mouth. "There are no more tissues. I'll go and get you a pack."
"Tell me or not. If you don't, I'll find out on my own."
"I'll tell you. Wait a minute." Gu Yuan turned around and walked out. He was always like this, shouldering everything on his own no matter what.
After he left, Long Lin turned around and landed beside my bed.
"Don't bother to find out. I'll tell you."
"I don't want to hear it. I only believe what Gu Yuan says."
"I don't believe he'll tell you the truth." Long Lin had an unusually serious expression on his face.
He didn't look like he was lying at all.
"I'll wait for you at the school gate at eleven o'clock tomorrow noon." After saying this, he turned around and disappeared.
Just then, Gu Yuan walked in.
"Who came?" Gu Yuan asked.
"Long Lin. He asked me to talk to him at noon tomorrow." I didn't hide anything and didn't want to lie to him.
"Oh." Gu Yuan only replied with one word.
"I'm going to talk to him about the bead that day. You know him. He always mistakes me for Man Yue, so..."
Gu Yuan smiled and said, "You don't need to explain to me. I know exactly what kind of person you are."
"The same goes for me. So... can you tell me now?" I asked again.
Gu Yuan was silent for a few seconds and then said, "Dan Zhu asked me to give her something and swear allegiance to her from then on."
I bit my lower lip and asked, "You agreed?"
"Yes." Gu Yuan nodded.
"What is it?" Just as I asked this, there was a knock on the door. It was Li Hua.
"Master, Fairy Dan Zhu is here. She says she has something very important to discuss with you. If you don't want to see her, I'll turn her away."
Even Li Hua, who was so gentle and obedient, didn't have a good impression of Fairy Dan Zhu.
Gu Yuan stood up and gently kissed my forehead. "Go to bed early. Don't think too much. I'll definitely keep you safe."
Before I could say anything else, Gu Yuan had already left.
Thinking about the absurd things I did today, I felt very annoyed. In the end, it was still Gu Yuan who had to clean up my mess.
Bai Xiangjun was right. Gu Yuan's weakness was too obvious. Now, anyone who threatened me was hitting his soft spot.
And I couldn't help him at all.
That night, I was alone in the empty room again. Before, I didn't like Gu Yuan always sticking to me, so I chose to hide at school. Now, I wanted him to be by my side, but he wasn't.
Just thinking about this made me feel so sad.
I couldn't just sit around waiting for death. I couldn't just wait for Gu Yuan to save me all the time. I had to save myself.
Dan Zhu had found Gu Yuan's soft spot and was threatening him. Then I would find Dan Zhu's soft spot.
The man who appeared in the small bamboo building that day must be a breakthrough. As long as I could find him, I didn't believe that Dan Zhu wouldn't submit.
...
It snowed all night last night. At eleven o'clock this noon, the sun was shining brightly, making the snow on the ground glare.
Yan Lin and I walked out of the classroom with our books in our arms. To our surprise, Long Lin was already waiting for me at the entrance of the teaching building.
"Little lady, I'm here." Long Lin waved to me.
Yan Lin started to act like a fangirl again. She was so envious of me for being surrounded by handsome guys every day.
But I didn't think it was that great. I quickly handed my books to her and asked her to take them back to the dormitory for me. Then I went to a nearby restaurant with Long Lin.
It was obvious that he was much more serious today. He didn't have his usual frivolous look.
Maybe he knew that I wasn't the person he was looking for, so he had restrained himself a lot.
Moreover, he was very vigilant today. After the waiter had served all the dishes, he even set up a barrier.
"What did Gu Yuan tell you yesterday?" Long Lin got straight to the point. I didn't want to beat around the bush with him either. I told him everything I knew and then asked him in return.
"What on earth have you found out?"