I spoke inside the barrier set up by Bai Qi, but he seemed unable to hear me.
In my panic, I didn't care about anything else. Without a second thought, I stepped out of the barrier. Bai Qi grabbed my hand, trying to stop me, but I shook him off.
After rushing out of the barrier, Gu Yuan and Dan Zhu finally noticed my presence. I didn't even bother to explain to Gu Yuan. I pushed hard with both hands and quickly shoved Dan Zhu away from Gu Yuan's embrace.
Dan Zhu was wearing high - heels. She lost her balance, her head hitting the doorframe with a thud, and her butt landing heavily on the ground.
I had no time to care whether she was injured or not. I grabbed her right hand and forcefully pried it open.
Her palm was empty. There was nothing there.
"How could this be?" I wondered and slumped to the ground.
"Gu Yuan, just now there was clearly a silver needle in her palm. She was going to stab your neck." I looked up at Gu Yuan pitifully, my eyes full of anxiety.
"I didn't. Sister Lan Lan, I just accidentally slipped, so I grabbed Third Master's shoulder. Even if you're angry, you can't slander me for trying to hurt Third Master. Third Master is so capable. How could I hurt him even if I wanted to?"
The one speaking was Dan Zhu. Her face was full of sincerity. Her body seemed to be unconsciously controlled by Man Yue, and she seemed unaware of what she had done.
I turned to look at her. I had pushed her too hard just now. The back of her head had hit the doorframe, and there was blood oozing out.
Actually, what I wanted to push was not her, but Man Yue.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you." I wanted to step forward to check Dan Zhu's injury, but she clearly had a grudge against me and leaned back.
"Enough." Gu Yuan's expression was solemn. His inky eyes glared at me.
It made my heart skip a beat.
"Bai Qi, take Dan Zhu back." Gu Yuan's voice was cold, with an irresistible order.
Bai Qi wanted to say something, but was silenced by a look from Gu Yuan.
He turned to look at me. I motioned for him to leave first. It was okay.
Bai Qi frowned, helped Dan Zhu up, and left.
Then, Gu Yuan grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the door. His hands were incredibly strong, and it hurt my wrists.
He dragged me all the way to the lake in the community without saying a word.
"Let go of me. It hurts." I frowned in pain and shook off his hand, rubbing my wrist constantly.
Gu Yuan saw the red mark on my wrist and frowned slightly, then quickly regained his calm expression. "What are you doing here?"
"I... I was worried about you, so I came."
"Are you worried about me, or are you spying on me?" His voice was cold, freezing cold. It had been a long time since he had gotten angry with me like this.
He actually said I was spying on him. I was so wronged. Why would I spy on him?
"Why would I spy on you? I was really worried that something might happen to you. I didn't push Dan Zhu out of jealousy. There really was a needle in her hand just now. I saw it with my own eyes."
"We've been together for so long. Use your head and think. Can an ordinary person hurt me?" Gu Yuan's eyes were ablaze, making me feel uncomfortable all over.
"Others can't, but Man Yue can."
This sentence completely enraged him. He roared angrily, "You still say you're not jealous. Your words show that you don't trust me at all. Lan Chiyu, you're paying less and less attention to what I say."
With each word he said, he took a step forward. His angry look looking down at me made me take several steps back.
"I didn't. I don't distrust you. I distrust Man Yue."
"What's the difference? I told you to rest at home, but you didn't listen. I also told you to relax and trust me, but you ignored me. If you had just trusted me, you wouldn't have been here today."
Gu Yuan was furious, but that wasn't what I meant at all. I just missed him so much and wanted to be with him all the time.
However, whatever I said now seemed like a useless excuse.
I didn't want to argue with him anymore. I'd talk to him when we were both calm.
"If I did something wrong and hurt you, I'm sorry. But I don't think I did anything wrong. Let's calm down for a while. Please take care of the instructor's matter. I'll leave first."
When I turned around to leave, I seemed to hear his angry breath. My words seemed to hurt him even more.
With my back to him, there was a loud "bang" behind me. The snow by the river exploded. I didn't know what he was using to vent his anger.
I shuddered in fright but didn't dare to turn back and kept walking.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I tried my best to open my eyes wide and held them back.
I didn't go home. If I went back at this time, his anger probably wouldn't have subsided yet, and I didn't know what would happen. So I took a taxi back to the dormitory.
In the dormitory, Yan Lin and the others were gossiping about something. When they saw me coming back, they immediately pulled me over to join them.
I wasn't interested at all. I just perfunctorily responded and then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
I didn't sleep well. Man Yue's face kept appearing in my mind as I tossed and turned.
Yan Lin saw that I was sweating profusely in my sleep and thought I was sick. She patted my face to wake me up.
"Lan Lan, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare or are you feeling unwell?"
I felt so thirsty that I asked Yan Lin for a glass of water and gulped it down.
I drank too fast and choked, coughing continuously.
"Cough, cough, cough. I'm okay. I'm just a bit weak. I'll be fine after a few days of rest."
Yan Lin took the glass under the bed, sighed, and asked, "Did you quarrel with your boyfriend again?"
"How do you know?" I seriously suspected that Yan Lin was like a worm in my stomach. She knew everything I was thinking.
"If you weren't angry, you wouldn't have come back." Yan Lin said as she threw a piece of clothing at me.
"Come on. Let's go downstairs for a walk. You'll feel better if you talk about it."
I got up from the bed and looked at my phone. It was already past eight o'clock in the evening. Gu Yuan hadn't contacted me. He was probably still angry.
I ignored him. My stomach was growling with hunger. I got out of bed and planned to go for a meal with Yan Lin.
Just as we were going downstairs, this girl felt in her pocket and said,
"Oops, wait a minute. I'll go upstairs to get my phone."
"Don't bother. I'll treat you. We could be at the restaurant by the time you go up and come down." I helplessly put my hands in my pockets. It was freezing outside, and it was snowing. Even our breaths were visible. She was notoriously slow. God knows when she'd come back down.
"That won't do. What if someone needs to reach me? It's not convenient without my phone. It'll only take two minutes."
After saying that, she "clomped" up the stairs.
I stood under the streetlight for a while. The dim yellow light shone on the glistening snowflakes. I squinted my eyes and actually saw colorful starlight.
I tilted my head back, feeling the coldness of the snowflakes on my face. I always felt that my story with Gu Yuan was so unreal.
"Sob, sob." A crying sound pulled me back to reality. I followed the sound and looked over.
I don't know when a girl had appeared across from me. She was wearing thin clothes and was squatting on the ground crying.
I didn't really pay much attention at first. After a while, the girl stopped crying and slowly walked towards me.
As she got closer, her face became clearer. Her face was all streaked with tears. The black eye - shadow mixed with tears was running down her lower eyelids in a zig - zag pattern, and her lipstick was smeared all over her face.
Her whole face was like an oil - paint palette, but I still managed to recognize who she was.
"Zhang Man. Why is it you? You're not..." I wanted to say: Aren't you dead?