Rebirth of an Idle Noblewoman

With what had happened, the only thing left was the matter of moving out. Gu Xiqiao rubbed Haha’s head as she thought about where to move to. Haha was clearly enjoying the attention she was giving him, a bright pair of big eyes looking up at her from her embrace. "About moving out, if you agree with me, bark once. Come on, bark once."

Haha: "Woof woof~"

Gu Xiqiao picked him up so that Haha’s eyes were on the same level as hers as she stared intently into his eyes. "I said, bark once."

Haha: "...Woof."

"Looks like you also agree about moving out, but where should we move to?" Gu Xiqiao returned Haha back to her arms, and continued to ponder.

Her phone rang and Gu Xiqiao picked it up, finding an unknown local number flashing on the screen. There weren’t many people who knew her number, and those who could call her were only people that she was close to.

She had guessed it to be a lot of other people, but she didn’t expect the one to have called her was Luo Wenlang. He was inviting her to his house, today was Luo Wenlin’s birthday.

"If you’ll give me the address, I’ll go over there myself," Gu Xiqiao said, hanging up the call soon after, and Luo Wenlang sent over the address with a message that since the place was difficult to find, to give him a call if she couldn’t find it.

Gu Xiqiao looked at the address, and found that his house was actually in the small alley beside First High.

Because it was Luo Wenlin’s birthday, Gu Xiqiao first went to the mall to buy a gift. She settled on a Transformer toy that the salesperson had assured her that boys generally liked.

The alleyways in First High were numerous and chaotic. When she got off the bus, she saw Luo Wenlin waiting for her at the mouth of the alley. He was wearing a face mask, and only the pair of dark eyes was visible on his face. When he caught sight of Gu Xiqiao, his eyes brightened.

"Sister Gu!" He waved at Gu Xiqiao.

Gu Xiqiao walked to stand in front of him, rubbing the top of his head gently, handing the gift in her hands to him. "Happy birthday, Dalin."

Luo Wenlin didn’t rush to open his gift, but pointed to the boy standing next to him. "Sister Gu, this is Yao Jiamu, my brother’s friend. Brother Yao, hurry up and greet people."

The tall, thin boy beside him lifted a hand to adjust the cap on his head, a bright smile appearing on his face as he looked up. "Hey, we meet again."

The girl in front of him was dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt, exposing the beautiful curve of her neck, a pair of crystal clear eyes, a healthy flushed face as well as a faint, warm smile on her lips. Yao Jiamu struggled to pull his gaze away, taking what felt like half a day to react.

"You know each other?" Luo Wenlin asked in surprise.

"Less talk, let’s go." Yao Jiamu was clearly in a good mood, leading the two of them into the alley with a ridiculous grin spreading from ear to ear on his face.

The corner of Gu Xiqiao’s lips twitched upwards, turning to explain to Luo Wenlin. "Yes, I was sitting behind him during the national finals. He wore slippers to the exam, so it left a deep impression on me."

She wasn’t saying anything about the first time they had met, Yao Jiamu noted as his smile stretched wider. Even though their first meeting had been far from friendly, the impression he had left on her was deep. Seeing that she didn’t bring it up, he also didn’t mention it.

The Luo family house was quite remote, and they walked quite a few twists and turns before finally reaching a courtyard.

As soon as they reached home, Luo Wenlin ran to his room to secretly open the gift that Gu Xiqiao had gotten for him. When he had first caught sight of the packaging, he had been holding in urge to open it immediately. It was an expensive brand in the stores, and he would see it almost every day, but he never thought that he would ever get a gift from there.

Yao Jiamu had navigated through the kitchen with easy familiarity as he took out a decent looking paper cup on top of the fridge to serve Gu Xiqiao.

"I’ve been really curious for a while, at that time, what made you take the money from that woman?" Gu Xiqiao asked as she watched him make tea.

Having met a few times, Gu Xiqiao found that Yao Jiamu wasn’t a bad person. He was a very loyal person, open and honest, and he wasn’t the kind to go around stealing.

"It was nothing, really. At that time, Wenlin’s condition wasn’t stable, and he needed chemotherapy, which meant more money that we didn’t have. In the beginning, I borrowed money from my aunt, promising to pay it back. Her family has the money, but once they had money, their attitude also changed for the worse, not acknowledging my dad, who was a dirt poor relative. At that time, I was really angry, and so I took the money from her bag," Yao Jiamu explained, finding the situation hilarious when he recalled, and at the same time rejoicing from the memory of it.

Gu Xiqiao didn’t know that there was such a backstory, feeling a little loss for words at the revelation. She remembered the lecture she had given Yao Jiamu, and scratched her nose. "Did I misunderstand you again?"

"No, you saved a youth," Yao Jiamu said, shaking his head. At that time, he was so cynical in his thoughts, thinking that the good people always suffered a lot, while the bad people were always carefree and happy, that the heavens were really unfair. It wasn’t until she appeared and made him understand that there was still hope in this world.

While he was talking, Luo Wenlang came back carrying the groceries. He didn’t say much, just greeted Gu Xiqiao with a few words before heading into the kitchen. It looked like he was going to be the chef for the night.

Luo Wenlin carried the Transformer toy that he had just received, thanking Gu Xiqiao for the present, before heading into the kitchen too.

In the kitchen, Luo Wenlang watched as Luo Wenlin sat on a stool and played with the Transformer toy in his hands, a childish smile on his face. Compared to the normal expression he had on usual days, there was an air of vitality and youthfulness that was usually absent in him today.

Luo Wenlang watched him a little longer before turning back to chop the vegetables, his eyes clouding over slightly.

How many years has it been since he had seen such an expression on Luo Wenlin’s face? It had been so long that he had thought there would never be a day in this life when Luo Wenlin would get better, and his desire to travel to every corner of the world didn’t seem like a dream that was too far off now.

The kitchen door was not closed fully, and by turning his head slightly, Luo Wenlang could see Gu Xiqiao who was in the living room. She was standing in the middle, staring at the awards and trophies adorning the wall. It belonged to both Luo Wenlang and Luo Wenlin, but naturally, there were more of Luo Wenlang’s.

"Entertain yourself for a moment, I need to go out to pick up someone," Yao Jiamu said, his eyes on his phone as he informed Gu Xiqiao.

Gu Xiqiao turned her gaze on him suddenly, narrowing her eyes. "It’s better for you not to go out, I see that you have the scent of death hanging over you."

Yao Jiamu laughed, looking straight at her with a serious expression after a while. "Don’t tell me, you’ve predicted it through finger divination?"

"More or less." Gu Xiqiao nodded her head, turning back to look at the certificates and awards on the wall, looking like she wasn’t bothered whether he listened to her words or not.

Yao Jiamu left, and didn’t return until it was time for dinner. He was being supported by a girl when he returned, and when Luo Wenlin saw the way he returned, he immediately went to retrieve the first aid kit from the room. Luo Wenlang proceeded to bandage his wounds with practised ease, though the expression on his face was pale. "Yao Jiamu, how many times have I told you. Don’t mix with that group of people, they’re all good for nothing, and they’re not good people!"

"It’s fine, don’t worry so much, holy shit, can you be gentler!" Yao Jiamu hissed. He took a deep breath, looking at Gu Xiqiao whose eyes were also on him. He immediately turned grim. "You said that today, I would..."

"It was just a guess," Gu Xiqiao said, raising an eyebrow. She glanced over his injuries, "It looks fine, you won’t be dying from it."

Take it as a lesson.

Yao Jiamu: "..."

"One day, you’re going to die from all this fooling around!" Shen Nianzhi scolded as she placed the gift in her hands on the table. "Please, and you said I needed to be picked up? If it wasn’t for me making a police report, you would have said goodbye to your life!"

Shen Nianzhi’s attention finally turned from Yao Jiamu’s person to Gu Xiqiao, who was standing to the side. When she saw her face, she froze.

After struggling for so long, and it seemed like all hope was lost, the person that they had been looking for suddenly appeared in front of her. Excitement was not enough of a word to describe her feelings right now, and she could only stand in shock, spluttering, "You, you!"

"Hello." The corner of her pink lips lifted up as Gu Xiqiao greeted, not giving Shen Nianzhi an opportunity to continue her own line of thoughts.

"Hello," Shen Nianzhi finally said, after opening her mouth a few times, but ending up swallowing whatever she was trying to say. She couldn’t calm the turmoil inside her heart though, and was dumbstruck. Fortunately, everyone was more focused on Yao Jiamu’s injuries, and didn’t pay much attention to the lapse of control from her.

"Wenlang, where did you get this medicine? The effect is really good. I don’t think I’ll need to go to the hospital, I’ll be as good as new tomorrow." Yao Jiamu’s injury was on his back, it was a large cut and the blood from it had stained the back half of his shirt. Luo Wenlang had given him a change of clothes.

Luo Wenlang glanced at him but didn’t say a word. Yao Jiamu knew that he had screwed up this time. He bowed his head, admitting his fault.

Gu Xiqiao took advantage of the down time, preparing to draw something to give to Luo Wenlang. She stood at the study desk, slender fingers as white as snow holding the brush, with her brows furrowed in concentration. Her entire figure was in contrast with the narrow and rundown room that she was standing in.

This was the first time Gu Xiqiao was painting in front of Luo Wenlin, and he found that she looked very serious, his own face full of awe and admiration. He had seen Shen Nianzhi paint in front of him before, and at that time, he only felt that it was good and mystical. And today, he was seeing Gu Xiqiao outline himself and Luo Wenlang in just a short ten minutes, the painting as vivid as life...

He finally believed the words that Luo Wenlang had said, "Sister Gu, you’re amazing!"

"What do children know!" Gu Xiqiao teased as she laughed, and then she changed to another brush, writing a poem in the blank space of the paper.

Say nothing on old homes to old friends,

but start a new fire to brew fresh tea.[1]

Her calligraphy was clean and concise, the strokes were bold and graceful, imitating a soaring dragon and dignified like it was written by a true professional.

"Sister Gu, I’m not a child." Luo Wenlin pouted, he was sure that line was just teasing him.

Seeing that she was done, he cheerfully took the painting to show Luo Wenlang.

"You paint really well," Yao Jiamu said, walking over to her as surprise appeared on his face. Even an outsider like him could tell that the painting was an amazing job, "Very amazing."

Gu Xiqiao glanced at him, thinking for a while, "Do you want to learn how to fight?"

The system in the void suddenly raised its head at that, [Beauty Qiao, do you intend to take him in as a disciple?]

’No.’ Gu Xiqiao didn’t elaborate further.

"Do I look like I need to learn how to fight?" Yao Jiamu said, raising an eyebrow in challenge. "I’m telling you, I’ve never lost a fight from the time I was young!"

Gu Xiqiao glanced at the knife wound on his back. "I can tell."

Yao Jiamu: "...this was a one-time accident."

They didn’t continue the discussion on this matter, but Gu Xiqiao was already turning over the plans she had made in her mind.

Shen Nianzhi managed to get the opportunity to talk to Gu Xiqiao after that, her voice trembling with excitement as she looked at her, but she was also careful not to let her voice go too loud, "Miss Gu, your painting has already been entered into the National Art Exhibition. Mr. Sima has also wanted to contact you through the dean, wanting to accept you as one of theirs!"

Everyone in the art world knows the person who is called Sima Jun, he was undoubtedly the top artist in the art world. His apprentice, Mu Yunfan was also a well-known genius in oil painting. Even having money was sometimes not enough to obtain a piece of his artwork.

Mu Yunfan has received numerous international awards, playing on international stages ever since he was ten years old. And now, he has left the older generation in dust, everyone in the circle regarding him as a legend. He was very temperamental, spoke bluntly to everyone and would not listen to anyone but Sima Jun. He was also known to have big mood swings.

Even so, it didn’t affect the admiration of everyone.

He was the first Chinese to conquer overseas artists with his own paintings, and due to that, his reputation in China had soared to great heights.

And for people from the Academy of Fine Arts like Shen Nianzhi could only look up to people like Sima Jun and Mu Yunfan. If you wanted to see them in person, it would take even someone with talent like Shen Nianzhi at least ten years worth of effort before they would have the chance to stand on the same stage as them. And who knows what greater heights Mu Yunfan would have reached in those ten years?

And that was why, when the Academy of Fine Arts had received the call from Sima Jun, the entire academy went into an uproar again, the other people in the academy had always looked down on the Chinese painting department after all. They adored Mu Yunfan, hence there were a lot of people who were learning oil painting, but because of that one call, there was a sudden surge of enthusiasm for Chinese painting all of a sudden, one that was unprecedented in all the years.

Once Shen Nianzhi had explained everything, she looked at Gu Xiqiao, expecting her to also be excited about the news she had just learned.

However, Gu Xiqiao was not a bit excited about it at all. She was surprised and stunned for the moment, and started to recall what she could remember of Sima Jun. Come to think of it, he was also a familiar person in her previous life. Without her, he had been Gu Xijin’s teacher the last time.

When she recalled the matter, her mood plummeted. She pressed her fingers to her temple, trying to ward off the bad memories as she smiled lightly at Shen Nianzhi. "Consider that painting a gift to you, and I hope you won’t tell anyone else about this. Thank you."

Shen Nianzhi was astonished once again, she had thought of various possibilities, but she didn’t expect this conversation to turn out this way.

She refused?

She’s actually refusing Sima Jun?

Did she know what the three syllables ’Sima Jun’ represented?

As long as you were under Sima Jun, you needn’t fight so hard in the remainder of your life, not to mention the countless prestige and fame that awaited you!

Did she really not know, or did she not care at all?

"You...really?" Shen Nianzhi uttered, not able to react for a long moment.

A golden needle appeared in Gu Xiqiao’s hand suddenly, and her clear eyes gazed into Shen Nianzhi’s own before a more sedate and secretive smile graced her face. Her eyes curved in a beautiful arc. "My ambition is to be a good doctor. That’s why, you have to keep this secret for me."

She had such an amazing talent for painting, and yet she wanted to study medicine!

Shen Nianzhi could only nod her head hurriedly, still wide-eyed and dumbstruck by what she had just heard.

By the time she recovered, Gu Xiqiao was already in the midst of talking to Yao Jiamu.

But what in the world was going on here? How could there be such a person that existed?

Shen Nianzhi could feel a headache coming on, one that would want to make her pull her hair out in frustration. Such a talent but won’t go into painting, but instead choose to wrestle for jobs with those science students!

[1] Translator note: ’休对故人思故国,且将新火试新茶’ are lines extracted from"望江南·超然台作" which is a poem written by Su Shi from the Song Dynasty.