Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 531 Leaving it behind

This is Gu Juncheng and Lin Qingping's room; the second sister knows.

However, the second sister genuinely didn't want to leave this position to him.

She remained seated next to her sister, waiting for her sister's instructions.

Lin Qingping shook her head wearily.

The second sister understood and stood up in front of Gu Juncheng. "Eldest sister is tired. Let her rest well."

Gu Juncheng looked over his second sister's shoulder at Lin Qingping, who was lying weakly on the bed, and hesitated to speak.

The second sister placed her hand on the door frame, clearly indicating that she wanted him to leave.

Gu Juncheng had no choice but to say, "Then I'll go down and keep Zhangzhu company."

Zhangzhu's small bed is in this room. In the past, Gu Juncheng and Zhangzhu would share it, but now, she really can't get close to Gu Juncheng.

It's not just what she wants to see, it's what she can't see.

For some reason, she reacted strongly whenever Gu Juncheng got close.

After Zhangzhu fell asleep, Gu Juncheng brought the child in.

Lin Qingping was already asleep, but the second sister couldn't stop Zhangzhu from coming in. However, as soon as he entered, Lin Qingping woke up. When she saw him, she immediately felt uncomfortable, and a feeling of nausea rose in her throat.

Her second sister helped her up and she went to the bathroom to vomit for a while, but nothing came out.

She didn't eat lunch and went to rest, so how could she have vomited?

When her second sister helped her back to her room, he was still there with Zhangzhu, who was fast asleep and wouldn't wake up for a while.

Lin Qingping waved her hand, and had someone help her to the room next door where her second sister used to live, which was now mostly empty.

The second sister was sad, but didn't know how to comfort her older sister, so she could only stay by her side.

Gu Juncheng watched Lin Qingping's retreating figure, his brows furrowed.

The door to the next room closed softly, but the click sounded like a muffled thunderclap, striking Gu Juncheng's chest heavily.

He covered Zhangzhu's belly with the small blanket and went downstairs.

Zhiyuan was playing downstairs when he saw him come down and was about to go back to his room.

"Stop! Where are you going?" Gu Juncheng shouted.

"Take a nap." Zhiyuan stopped.

"Come sit down." He gestured to the sofa.

Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment, but then sat down.

Gu Juncheng looked at Zhiyuan and said, "I was just here to attend your second aunt's wedding and was going to go back in a few days, but now it seems that I won't be able to go back anytime soon. More than half of the summer vacation has passed, and we need to think about your schooling."

"I want to stay with my mom," Zhiyuan blurted out without thinking.

Gu Juncheng pondered for a moment, then said, "That's what I was thinking too. I'll send a telegram to Xiaotian tomorrow and ask him to handle the formalities for you over there. Then I'll contact a school here for you to go back to your original school and class, and be with Xiaomai and the others."

I'm in my final year of elementary school and will soon be graduating for junior high.

Gu Juncheng seemed to have more to say, but hesitated before continuing to ask about his studies, "When you were with Xiaomai and the others, did you do any practice problems? Are you lagging behind them?"

Zhiyuan only glanced at him and didn't say anything.

"What do you mean? I'm worried that since it's a small county town, the learning pace is different from that in the capital." Gu Juncheng saw something reproachful in his eyes.

Zhiyuan simply said, "You only know that the pace is different here, but my mom not only knows that, she also taught me a lot of advanced material after class!"

Gu Juncheng: ...

This child has always been extremely protective of Lin Qingping, Gu Juncheng knows that, but now, with Lin Qingping's illness... he wonders how much the child actually knows...

"Zhiyuan," he whispered, "if we can never go back to the island, you..."

“I know you’ll have to go back sooner or later.” Zhiyuan’s tone was mature beyond his years. “I’m going to stay with my mom anyway.”

Gu Juncheng pondered for a long time before saying, "If..."

“There are no ifs!” Zhiyuan interrupted him urgently, but quickly became dejected again. “I just want to be with my mom. Wherever she is, I will be there. If…”

Zhiyuan's eyes hurt. "If I'm the only one left, then... I'll be all alone."

I'm definitely not going to follow him anymore...

Gu Juncheng felt an unbearable pang of sorrow.

Neither he nor Zhiyuan mentioned what would happen in this conversation, but it was as good as saying it.

If Lin Qingping really abandons them, Zhiyuan will no longer follow him around; he will stay with his mother...

"Your mother... didn't raise you for nothing all these years," he said in a low voice.

Zhiyuan thought that such a day would never come, but what if it did… Regardless of whether such a day came or not, he wanted to think things through for the future, just like his mother—he wanted to stay not only himself but also his younger sister! He had heard far too many stories about stepmothers!

Gu Juncheng was unaware of what he was thinking. After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked the question he wanted to ask, "Zhiyuan, where has your mother gone these past two days? Who has she met?"

"I don't know, I'm going to take a nap." Zhiyuan stood up and went back to his room.

Zhiyuan noticed his unusually cold reaction.

If Zhiyuan's attitude was already abnormal, Lin Qingping's reaction was even more unbelievable.

Lin Qingping almost felt like vomiting just looking at him.

He thought she was unwell and was going to persuade her to go to the hospital for a checkup no matter what. But when Gu Youlian made Lin Qingping's favorite dishes for dinner, even though Lin Qingping had little appetite while she was hospitalized, she would force herself to eat a little. She rarely vomited after eating a lot or a little. But when he appeared at the dinner table, Lin Qingping covered her mouth again, looking uncomfortable.

"Sister!" the second sister exclaimed anxiously.

Lin Qingping said nothing and, holding onto the chair, headed towards the bathroom.

The second sister quickly followed, and finally understood something. "Sister, you don't feel like throwing up when you see him, do you?" Lin Qingping didn't throw up anything as usual, she just nodded.

When Lin Qingping felt better and went out again, Gu Juncheng was gone. Gu Youlian supported her on the other side and helped her sit down.

Lin Qingping smiled and said, "I haven't eaten yet, please continue eating."

No one mentioned Gu Juncheng anymore. Zhangzhu blinked, pointed her little hand outwards, and was about to speak when Zhiyuan stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth. "Zhangzhu, eat meat. Brother will feed you."

The girl was chewing on meat and didn't have time to talk.

That evening, the second sister stayed with Lin Qingping, while Gu Youlian and Zhiyuan played with Zhangzhu until she was so sleepy that she slumped on the sofa and fell asleep.

After all the lights in Lin Qingping's house were turned off and it was completely dark, Gu Juncheng returned when the door lock clicked.

However, when Lin Qingping woke up the next day, Gu Juncheng was still nowhere to be seen at home.

Her second sister accompanied her to wash up and go downstairs for breakfast.

Lin Qingping suddenly realized that the door to her house was open, but Gu Youlian was in the kitchen and Zhangzhu was not at home.

Listening more closely, she heard Zhangzhu's voice coming from the front yard. She thought Zhangzhu and Zhiyuan were playing in the yard, but when she went out to check, she froze.

"Zhuzhu, do you still recognize me? How about I give you some candy? Call me 'Mommy' and I'll give you candy!"