Chapter 42: Could It Be an Allergy to Something?

Ye Lanzhou was checking documents on his phone. When he heard her words, the corner of his mouth twitched. “A blue-and-white porcelain worth millions, and in Miss Zhao’s mouth, it’s just a bottle.” Just saying that somehow devalued it on the spot.

Zhao Fuhe pressed her lips together, realizing she’d misspoken. “Senior, I didn’t mean it like that. I just really like this porcelain.”

To say you like something placed right in front of you, when you can’t even see its true value, how credible could that be? Still, for Ye Lanzhou, raised with strict manners, even making that one sarcastic remark was already a break from convention; he wouldn’t say more.

But as he looked her up and down, this woman before him, compared to Wen Zhixia, was like a clay pot beside fine porcelain—not a hint of beauty to be found. Of course, this sense of beauty wasn’t just about looks; it was more about an impression she gave off—a sense of cheapness without reason.

Many people’s eyes kept drifting toward Gu Pingsheng, eager to see if President Gu would raise his bid again. But Gu Pingsheng’s gaze was fixed on Wen Zhixia’s back, idly rubbing the wedding ring on his finger, making it clear he wouldn’t speak again.

Seeing this, the auctioneer announced, “…Six million, third call—sold!” The gavel fell, the deal was made.

The final price was two million higher than Wen Zhixia had estimated. After an auction, contracts were signed on the spot to prevent people from bidding recklessly only to renege later, which could cause irreparable loss.

Wen Zhixia glanced at the contract brought by the staff, but made no move to sign. Instead, Miss Hua at her side, ever eager, picked up the pen, ready to sign her own name without a second thought.

Wen Zhixia caught her wrist, and, under Hua Qianjiao’s puzzled gaze, said in her cool, clear voice, “Give it to President Gu to sign. He has plenty of money.”

The audience was quiet, waiting for the contract to be signed, and now, with half the eyes on her, her words stunned many. Had she pushed the price up without any intention of paying herself?

Who exactly was this woman?

The two staff members holding the contract hadn’t expected things to turn out like this. “Um…”

Ye Lanzhou curled his lips in amusement. “Well, today wasn’t a wasted trip.” This was getting interesting.

Zhao Fuhe clenched her hands. On the one hand, she felt Wen Zhixia was too arrogant, daring to ask Gu Pingsheng to sign after bidding against him; on the other, she wasn’t at all sure if Gu Pingsheng would actually do it.

“I’ll sign,” Zhang Zhiyan said, getting to his feet and reaching out. As long as someone signed, it didn’t matter to the staff who it was. But just as he was about to take the contract, a slender arm reached out and took it away, briskly scrawling a signature.

It was Gu Pingsheng, who had already left his seat before Zhang Zhiyan stood up.

“Of course I’ll sign for Mrs. Gu’s purchases, no matter the amount,” he said.

Only then did people realize that the woman sitting in the center of the front row was Wen Zhixia. But why were this couple driving up the price against each other? What was their purpose?

The answer came quickly.

“Miss Hua, Lanzhou is here too—why don’t you go talk to him?” Gu Pingsheng turned to Hua Qianjiao.

Instinctively, Hua Qianjiao started to get up, but after a moment’s thought, she sat back down. “No, you made Sister Wen angry.”

She wanted to stay and protect Sister Wen, not let anyone bully her.

Ye Lanzhou reached out his long arm and swept her away. “Little one, don’t meddle in other people’s family affairs.”

A change of seats happened in full view of everyone. Gu Pingsheng sat where Hua Qianjiao had been, very close to Wen Zhixia, but she remained expressionless.

During the intermission, when Wen Zhixia tried to leave, Gu Pingsheng pressed her hand down. “I thought you asked me to sign as a way to give me a chance to apologize.”

Wen Zhixia raised her brows, her gaze cool as ice. “President Gu raised the price of my bid for nothing—did you expect me to pay for it?”

He rubbed her hand bones in his big palm. “Of course I’ll pay.”

Wen Zhixia withdrew her hand, gave him a sidelong glance, and continued reading the auction catalog.

Zhao Fuhe looked at the two in the front row, and in a flash, the present scene overlapped with memories from the past.

It was during freshman military training. Boys and girls trained together in the morning, then split up in the afternoon. The instructor that year was rumored to be the strictest yet. As a sophomore, Zhao Fuhe and her classmates toured the campus with their teacher—a daily routine to inspire students by showing them the city’s best university.

But that day, the weather was terrible. Halfway through, a downpour started. Training continued in the rain for about half an hour before a girl suddenly collapsed on the field.

Sheltering under a building with her teacher and classmates, Zhao Fuhe could see everything happening on the field. The teacher cried out in alarm, but before anyone else could react, a boy from the ranks dashed out. Despite the heavy rain, he ran so fast that water splashed up around him.

From a distance, with the roar of rain, Zhao Fuhe couldn’t hear what was happening. She only saw the boy get into a conflict with the instructor when he tried to pick up the fallen girl. Words were exchanged, but quickly, things turned physical.

Such a scene was unheard of. In military training, instructors were as authoritative as teachers, commanding absolute respect. Faced with a strict, unfamiliar instructor, most freshmen wouldn’t dare utter a word, let alone fight back.

All the camo-clad freshmen stared in shock, even the other instructors looked surprised. They’d seen troublemakers before, but never anyone bold enough to raise a hand to an instructor—and fighting on even terms, at that.

“Gu Pingsheng, stop fighting!” The girl on the ground, pale as a sheet and supported by her classmates, watched in fear.

One look from her, and Gu Pingsheng, still brimming with fury a moment before, lowered his fists. Without a word, he picked up the pale girl and carried her toward the campus hospital, heedless of everything else.

“So cool. That guy is amazing.”

At that age, such boldness left a deep impression—not only on visiting high school girls, but even on the freshmen boys in training.

The fastest route to the hospital took Gu Pingsheng right under the corridor where Zhao Fuhe was sheltering. She saw his sharp, deep-set eyes; the fierceness from before was gone. Now he looked down at the girl in his arms with a kind of focused tenderness, as if protecting a fragile porcelain doll.

The impact of openly defying an instructor during military training was easy to imagine. Zhao Fuhe never learned the details of how it was handled. An hour later, as the rain still hadn’t let up and the bus arrived to take them back, she saw two figures on the now-empty field: a boy running laps and an instructor standing with an umbrella. The boy was clearly the same one who had fought the instructor, and the girl had presumably been taken to the hospital.

Gossip is perhaps human nature. By the next morning, fresh news was circulating in class. A classmate’s older brother had been among the freshmen and delivered the scoop.

“Did you see him? That’s the guy who fought the instructor yesterday—his name is Gu Pingsheng. I heard he was a notorious troublemaker at No. 2 High, never cared about the rules. The girl he carried off, I think her name is Wen… right, Wen Zhixia. Apparently, Gu Pingsheng was already chasing her back in high school. The girl fainted yesterday because she was unwell, but since earlier that day another girl had faked illness and been exposed, the instructor didn’t take her complaints seriously. The rest you saw yourselves…”

“So what happened next? Was he punished? I saw him running laps yesterday.”

“Running laps was the lightest punishment. I heard he ran from the start of the rain until it stopped. The instructor said as long as he finished, it wouldn’t go on record. And the rain? After we left, it poured for another hour at least.”

Zhao Fuhe listened, the scene under the corridor replaying in her mind again and again. That focused gaze was imprinted in her memory, just as vivid as it was now.

Wherever Wen Zhixia was, would Gu Pingsheng’s eyes ever see anyone else?

Memory faded. Zhao Fuhe looked at the pair in the front row. He was Gu Pingsheng—the president, the rising star of the business world—yet Wen Zhixia remained cold-faced throughout, as if determined to set herself apart by doing so.

“Brother Lanzhou, why did you carry me over? What if President Gu bullies Sister Wen? Are you on his side?” The young Miss Hua puffed out her cheeks in protest, glaring at Ye Lanzhou with accusing eyes.

Ye Lanzhou pinched her soft cheek. “I’m on your side.”

“But you—!”

Ye Lanzhou chuckled. “Little one, they’re husband and wife. Quarrels at the head of the bed, peace at the foot—that’s their business to work out.”

Hua Qianjiao lowered her head and, glancing sideways at Zhao Fuhe, whispered into Ye Lanzhou’s ear, “Why is the woman next to you glaring so fiercely at Sister Wen and President Gu?”

Ye Lanzhou didn’t answer, instead steering the topic to her. “How about we go to the amusement park after this?”

“I’m not a child anymore,” she retorted. She’d been an adult for years.

He played along. “Of course. Our little one’s all grown up. So what do you want to do?”

“…Ride the carousel!”

Ye Lanzhou’s lips curled as he stroked her hair. “Alright.”

When the auction ended, Wen Zhixia got the two lots she wanted, both signed for by Gu Pingsheng. Hua Qianjiao was led away by Ye Lanzhou, while Zhao Fuhe automatically walked up to Gu Pingsheng. “Senior.”

He had almost forgotten about her, and when she spoke, his brow furrowed. He considered asking Ye Lanzhou to see her home, but Lanzhou was already gone.

While he hesitated, about to have someone else take her home, Wen Zhixia had already turned to leave.

“Come home with me, Xiaxia.” He stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

“If you have time, President Gu, you should attend to your junior.”

What was supposed to be a gesture to smooth things over ended up for nothing. That night, Wen Zhixia still went to the hotel.

The antique bought at such high price was not suitable to be kept in a hotel for long, so Wen Zhixia sent it ahead to Professor Wang.

“You’re here, but why not bring him along? Xiao Gu gets more handsome every year,” the professor’s wife called out as Wen Zhixia studied the porcelain through a magnifying glass.

The old professor glanced at Wen Zhixia. “Has that kid been bothering you again?”

Perhaps his impression of Gu Pingsheng had always been too deep and never favorable, so he was always worried his former student was being mistreated.

In the past, Wen Zhixia would have spoken up for him, but today she only shook her head lightly.

The professor had grown more irritable these past two years. When Gu Pingsheng entered, he regarded him with clear displeasure.

“Professor,” Gu Pingsheng greeted with a smile and a nod.

“Don’t ‘professor’ me. What are you here for?” His face was written all over with annoyance.

The professor’s wife came in and set down a fruit platter. “What are you doing, giving Xiao Gu the cold shoulder? He finally visits. Come, Xiao Gu, Xiaxia, have some fruit. If it’s not enough, I’ll cut more.”

At the table, the professor chatted warmly with his beloved student, all but ignoring Gu Pingsheng—though the latter’s broad knowledge allowed him to join in the conversation now and then.

But for a while, he fell silent.

The professor’s wife rose to serve soup, then, catching sight of Gu Pingsheng, her eyes widened. “Xiao Gu, what happened to your neck and face? And your hands, too?”

Her words drew Wen Zhixia’s and the professor’s attention. They saw that Gu Pingsheng’s exposed skin was covered in red rashes, and one patch on his arm was scratched raw.

Wen Zhixia hurriedly stood and lifted his collar for a better look. “What happened?”

“Everything was fine just now… This looks like an allergic reaction. These are just home-cooked dishes, Xiao Gu—are you allergic to anything?” the professor’s wife asked.

Allergic?

Wen Zhixia’s gaze shot to the dishes on the table, spotting a small plate of stir-fried celery with pork.

Gu Pingsheng was allergic to celery.

“Don’t scratch! Do you want to scar your face?!” Wen Zhixia grabbed his hand, angered. “How old are you? Don’t you know what you’re allergic to? There’s so much celery, and you still ate it!”

“Let’s not waste time. Allergic reactions can be serious. Xiao Gu’s case looks bad—we should take him to the hospital,” the professor’s wife urged.

Wen Zhixia nodded, taking his hand and heading out. “I’ll take him. Don’t miss your meal on our account.”

“If anything happens, call us. Even if nothing does, let us know you’re safe,” the professor’s wife replied.

Wen Zhixia agreed.

After they left in haste, the professor eyed the celery on the table. “I don’t remember buying that yesterday.”

“It was Xiao Gu who brought it. That child… He knows he’s allergic and still didn’t avoid it. Who knows if it’s serious…”