CG - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Wu Yong was ex-special forces. He was tall, powerfully built, and his trained arms were thicker than Wu Gu's thighs. Through the fabric, Wei Jinzhi could see Wu Yong's tensed bicep muscles, and she couldn't help but worry if Wu Gu, caught in his grip, was in pain. She placed a hand on Wu Yong's arm, her voice turning a few degrees colder. "Let go."

Wu Yong obediently released his hold on Wu Gu. Blood rushed back into her arm, and only then could Wu Gu feel its existence again. For a moment, she had thought Wu Yong was going to crush her bones. She bit her lip, stifling the cry of pain in her throat, and offered no explanation. As for the current awkward situation, it had all started a few minutes ago.

At that moment, the coffee had been packed up, and for a few seconds, she hadn't been paying attention to Wei Jinzhi. When she turned back, she saw Wei Feng holding a piece of jade radiating extremely heavy baleful qi, about to place it around Wei Jinzhi's neck. This was practically an attempt on Wei Jinzhi's life. Her legs moved faster than her brain. Forgetting the coffee, she ran over and grabbed Wei Feng's arm, watching the Peace Jade dangle precariously in front of Wei Jinzhi's forehead. It was a good thing she was a fast sprinter.

Wei Feng shook off Wu Gu's hand with a flick of his arm, questioning and scolding her nonstop. She could only brace herself and say to Wei Jinzhi, "You can't wear it."

Wei Feng seemed extremely impatient and cursed, "What the hell do you know?"

Wu Gu's hands hung at her sides, clenching and unclenching. She repeated, "You can't wear it."

Wei Jinzhi was assessing the weight and credibility of Wu Gu's words. Her expression was calm, but she didn't speak. Wei Feng, hiding the urgency in his eyes, coaxed her, "Sis, let's just ignore this lunatic. Let me put it on for you properly."

Wei Jinzhi frowned and raised a hand to stop Wei Feng's movement. Wei Feng froze, then tried to persuade her again. "Sis, she's just some psycho with bad intentions trying to scam us. Wu Yong, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and kick her out."

Wu Yong didn't move. Wei Jinzhi, however, smiled. "I appreciate the thought, but I have a cocktail party this afternoon, and this jade doesn't go with my gown. I'd have to take it off later anyway, which is inconvenient. I'll wear it tomorrow." Although she spoke tactfully, her tone clearly brooked no argument. Then she said to Wu Yong, "The young lady must be in pain from your grip. I apologize to her on your behalf."

Wei Jinzhi was right. Wu Gu's forearm was still aching. And because she had rolled up her sleeves due to the heat, two glaringly red marks were now visible on her tender white skin. Wei Jinzhi naturally saw them too. She stood up and apologized again, more formally this time. "I'm sorry. You came over so suddenly, Xiao Wu thought you were going to harm me. That's why he hurt you."

"It's okay, it's not his fault." Wu Gu awkwardly rubbed her arm to get the blood flowing and reduce the bruising. She caught Wei Feng's hostile glare and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look him in the eye. She had a sharp mind that worked quickly, and she could now see that this man who called Wei Jinzhi "sister" was not a good person.

At that thought, she sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively shrank back. Although her master had taught her the duties of a Tianshi since she was young, he had more often drilled into her not to stick her neck out or try to be a hero. He would always go on about how cunning city people were and tell her to avoid provoking them as much as possible. Well, this was just great. Not only had she stuck her neck out, but the person she had provoked was a rich city person.

Wei Jinzhi was surprised to see her suddenly become so timid and meek, and thinking back to the righteous air she had when stopping Wei Feng, the corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously. She said, "Wei Feng, put the jade away for now."

Wei Feng had no other choice but to reluctantly put the jade away. As he closed the lid, he added resentfully, "Sis, you have to remember to wear it."

"Alright." Wei Jinzhi, concerned about Wu Gu, began to dismiss him. "If you see anything you like, let me know. I'll get it for you as a return gift for this jade. It's getting late, you should get back to work."

"Okay, Sis, I'll head back to work now." Wei Feng had returned to normal by now, but before leaving, he didn't forget to shoot a few more glares at Wu Gu, the blatant ferocity in his eyes exceptionally undisguised.

Wu Gu remained standing where she was, her eyes lowered in a docile posture, so she didn't see Wei Feng's parting glare. She was still immersed in her regret, annoyed that her sympathy had overflowed just because Wei Jinzhi seemed so pitiful. Most importantly, she had no idea how to resolve this situation.

Seeing her standing there with her head down in silence, Wei Jinzhi broke the quiet. "Is there something wrong with this jade?"

Wu Gu looked up, unsure of her meaning, and asked in return, "What do you think?"

Wei Jinzhi invited her to sit down first, smiling. "You owe me an explanation for your rather baffling actions."

Wu Gu hesitated, her gaze fixed on the space above Wei Jinzhi's head. The dense black qi was slightly lighter at its outermost layer, with thin wisps occasionally breaking off and drifting away. This unignorable, thick yin qi made Wei Jinzhi look as if she were about to collapse. Wu Gu tilted her head, deep in thought, and after a moment of hesitation, sat down opposite Wei Jinzhi.

She didn't dare to speak rashly, asking tentatively, "How much do you know about your own condition?"

Wei Jinzhi was taken aback. She lowered her eyes in thought. Clearly, this girl was no ordinary person. Since the age of fourteen, she had been constantly seeking out all sorts of masters, some who could help a little, and some who were charlatans. She had been told she wouldn't live past twenty, yet she had somehow survived to thirty. Perhaps it was driven by her own strong will to live, but she would rather believe anyone who could see a problem with her, always fantasizing that one day this strange affliction of being plagued by yin qi would be resolved.

And Wu Gu gave her a very strange feeling. She could clearly sense a strong pressure from the other girl, which made her uncomfortable, yet the girl's exceptionally demure features gave her a very favorable impression. Her gaze fell on the brocade box from Wei Feng. She believed that although the girl's behavior was odd, it was not without reason.

The longer Wu Gu sat there, the tighter Wei Jinzhi's brow furrowed. The unbearable feeling she had been suppressing in her heart seemed about to break free. Her usually calm emotions were shifting toward agitation. Suddenly, a faint fragrance wafted into her nose. She looked up to see the girl earnestly holding a small pill to her lips, while Wu Yong's hand had once again clamped down on the girl's wrist.

She quickly spoke up. "Xiao Wu, let go." She still remembered the red marks on the girl's fair skin. With Wu Yong's strength, it would probably be bruised purple or blue by tomorrow.

Wu Yong's hand loosened. Wu Gu winced and sucked in a breath. She glared at Wu Yong. "Can't you be a little gentler? You're going to break my hand." But the hand holding the pill didn't move. It wasn't that she was being reckless; she had just seen Wei Jinzhi's face growing paler and had acted too quickly to explain.

She said, "You have extremely heavy yin qi, and I cultivate pure yang qi. My proximity is what's making you uncomfortable. This is my master's exclusive medicinal pill. It can provide some relief."

For some reason, Wei Jinzhi, who had never been one to get close to people, trusted her again. She even took the pill directly from Wu Gu's hand. Wu Gu was right. The pill did indeed relieve her discomfort, even bringing a peculiar sense of relaxation, like a steel band that had been constricting her for years had suddenly loosened a few notches. She hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.

Seeing her brow smooth out, Wu Gu was quite pleased. "Feeling much better, right? It's very effective, isn't it?"

Her expression was adorable. Wei Jinzhi smiled warmly and answered, "Yes."

Wei Jinzhi's friendly attitude made Wu Gu decide she was a good person, and she felt an instant kinship with her. For a moment, she let her guard down, and the blunt words tumbled out. "This yin qi around you isn't from a vengeful ghost, nor does it seem like something you were born with. Haven't you ever found a Tianshi to dispel it and cure the root cause?"

Wei Jinzhi was a little surprised. "You can see it?" Her gaze was serious as she re-examined the girl opposite her. She wasn't old, but her eyes were very large. When she looked at her with wide eyes, she appeared innocent. She could see the girl's long eyelashes, which trembled slightly when she blinked, and she could also see the fine peach fuzz on the girl's cheeks, made more obvious by the sunlight streaming in.

She asked, "Do you have yin-yang eyes?"

Wu Gu said, "Do I even need yin-yang eyes? The space between your eyebrows is blacker than the bottom of a wok."

"So that's why you were staring at me the moment you came in?"

"Yeah." After replying, Wu Gu explained with a hint of embarrassment, "The moment I walked in, the yin qi on you gave me goosebumps all over. I thought I'd run into a vengeful ghost in broad daylight."

As she was speaking, she heard the barista call out to her. "Wu Gu, your coffee is getting cold." She responded, "Okay," then grinned at Wei Jinzhi. "I'm going to get my things."

Wei Jinzhi nodded with a smile. "Go ahead."

Wu Gu scurried over to the pickup counter. The young barista asked her, "What was that all about just now? I thought they were going to hit you. Do you know them?"

"Just met them."

"You just met them and you're sitting across from them chatting? Be careful you don't get scammed."

"Pfft." She dismissed it, then said fiercely, "Who could possibly scam me?"

Wei Jinzhi hadn't expected the girl to return with seven or eight cups of coffee in her hands. Her eyes showed her surprise. "What's all this?"

Only after getting the coffee did Wu Gu remember what she was supposed to be doing. She said to Wei Jinzhi apologetically, "I was originally planning to see if I could help you, but I have to hurry and deliver this coffee to a client now. I'm really sorry."

Wei Jinzhi saw that she could barely carry all the coffee and heard her mention a "client." She shouldn't have pried, but she couldn't help asking, "A work-study job?"

Wu Gu nodded emphatically. "My name is Wu Gu, Gu as in mushroom. I'm a sophomore at North City University. If you trust me, meet me at the west gate this Saturday at one in the afternoon. Also," she jutted her chin toward the brocade box containing the jade, "whatever you do, don't wear it." After speaking, without waiting for Wei Jinzhi's reply, she added, "If the coffee gets cold, the client will complain. I have to go. Bye."

Wei Jinzhi raised her hand to wave goodbye. In just a few short minutes, her good impression of Wu Gu had grown stronger and stronger. It was rare in her life to meet someone she liked so instantly. Perhaps it was because the girl's appearance was so pleasing to her eye, or perhaps it was the youthful energy she possessed, something Wei Jinzhi had never had. In any case, the girl made a person as steeped in twilight as herself want to draw closer.

"Have her looked into."

Wu Yong nodded and asked her, "Eldest Miss, are you going to trust her?"

"There's no harm in trying." Wei Jinzhi glanced at the sky outside, and what came to mind was the image of Wu Gu's sun-flushed cheeks.

She wasn't wrong. Wu Gu had been delayed at the coffee shop and had to make up for lost time on her delivery route, racing down the main road on her second-hand electric scooter. Luckily, she hit all green lights and made it on time. After the delivery, her cheeks were indeed flushed a very becoming red.

The trip had been so rushed that after she was done, Wu Gu felt like her whole body was falling apart. She ate lunch at a nearby restaurant under the office building, and the bill was five yuan more than usual. She couldn't help but sigh over the five yuan. Here she was, a sophomore in college, at an age when she should be enjoying the wonderful life on campus, yet she was toiling away just to get by. Suddenly, she felt that even the Wei Jinzhi she had just met wasn't as pitiful as she was.

That evening, Wu Yong delivered Wu Gu's background information to Wei Jinzhi. Wei Jinzhi was surprised to learn that a girl of such a tender age was an orphan. She had been abandoned on the roadside right after birth, luckily found by her adoptive father. After living with him for sixteen years, her adoptive father passed away, and she had been living alone ever since.

Wu Yong had naturally read Wu Gu's file first. He couldn't help but speculate about Wu Gu's intentions. "Perhaps she just recognized the Eldest Miss's identity and is deliberately making things mysterious to try and get some benefit from you."

He wasn't being subtle, and Wei Jinzhi disliked it, but she couldn't find a reason to refute him. So she said, "If she just wants to get some money from me to ease her financial burden, it doesn't matter." She gave a light laugh, unconcerned. "There are plenty of people in the Wei family who want me to die quickly so they can seize the family assets. If she's trying to scam me, I actually don't mind."

The brocade box from Wei Feng sat on her desk. Her gaze deepened slightly as she added, "Bring this jade with us on Saturday."

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