Revelation of the Way of Heaven

Chapter 277 Guo Shiyi's Choice

Holding the phone in my hand, I saw the WeChat chat interface open, and the last message on the chat was from Qin Xiaochuan.

"When are you going back to school?" came the question, followed by a grinning expression.

The message was sent half an hour ago. Guo Shiyi saw it the moment it arrived, but she hasn't replied yet because she doesn't know how to face Qin Xiaochuan.

To others, she has always been an optimistic, cheerful, brave, and strong girl. But what no one knows is that it's just a protective shell. In reality, she feels that she is an extremely sensitive and insecure girl.

She recalled that when she was five years old, her parents divorced. When she was six, Jiang Qingxue had to send her to Wudang Mountain to be cared for by her aunt.

Although her aunt took good care of her, as a 6-year-old girl, she always felt like she was living under someone else's roof. Because of this, she was always careful and tried her best to show a well-behaved and sensible side, and try not to cause trouble for others. It was precisely because of this that she developed a brave and strong character.

When other children first came to the mountain, they cried and made a fuss, asking for their parents. But she was the only one who not only didn't make a fuss, but also very considerately took care of the adults' feelings, so that they wouldn't have to worry about her too much.

She remembered that when she first arrived in Wudang Mountain, her mother specially sent her a box of local specialties from her workplace. It was a box of beautifully designed pastries, and each pastry was packaged in a pretty individual box.

Because it was sent by her mother, she cherished it very much and was even reluctant to eat it. However, the next day, some of her fellow apprentices who came to play saw it. Seeing her junior brother looking at her pastries with longing, she quickly took out the pastries and shared them with everyone. After everyone left, she secretly collected all the packaging boxes and hid them in her secret base.

She considers herself a perfectionist, so she tries her best to present a perfect image of herself, and the same goes for relationships. In her heart, love is extremely sacred, and once she chooses to love, she will love wholeheartedly and never let go no matter what happens.

That's why she's never dared to open her heart easily. Countless boys have liked her since she was a child. Starting from junior high, the love letters she received could fill an entire drawer. Although she is optimistic and cheerful and gets along well with everyone, she knows that's just the image she wants others to see. In reality, she always maintains an invisible distance from everyone.

Because she is too kind, she is afraid of hurting others. This distance is both to protect herself and to protect others. It is precisely for this reason that, from childhood to adulthood, she has not had many real friends, let alone interacting with others.

Her only best friend is Lin Qingya, her childhood friend from Wudang Mountain.

As a girl, she wasn't without fantasies about love, but she remained clear-headed. She understood that she needed to find a lover who was her equal, someone who shared the same beliefs, so that she would have the courage to bravely walk side by side with him into an uncertain future.

So when Qin Xiaochuan confessed his feelings to her for the first time, her first reaction was hesitation and fear, even though she had already been through so many life-and-death trials with Qin Xiaochuan and she did indeed like him.

But she was still afraid. She was afraid that he wouldn't accept the real her, afraid that she couldn't play the role of a perfect girlfriend, afraid that she would mess things up and end up losing Qin Xiaochuan, her rare good friend.

That's why she subconsciously backed down and chose to refuse. But what Qin Xiaochuan didn't know was that she tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, feeling both fear of the uncertainty of the future and the fear of losing him completely because of her refusal.

So early the next morning, she sent that text message to Qin Xiaochuan.

She understood that doing this was unfair to Qin Xiaochuan, especially after he had done so much for her. It would be too selfish for her to continue dragging him along. After spending so much time together, she had been quietly changing her role. She felt that she could play the role of a perfect girlfriend, so she boldly took that step and officially agreed to become Qin Xiaochuan's girlfriend.

But when her father told her that Qin Xiaochuan was destined to become a blood witch, she was a little at a loss. Although she didn't care that Han Kexin and the others were blood witches, if Qin Xiaochuan was also going to become a blood witch, would she also have to become a blood witch?

That's so unconventional; she could never do something like that because she's the kind of person who, even if she's wronged, will act obedient and sensible so as not to cause others any trouble.

She is not a completely emotional person; she is even somewhat rational. Acting on her own whims without considering the consequences has never been her style.

Does she really have to do as her father says and cut all ties with Qin Xiaochuan, never to have any contact with him again?

If she were the only one who would be hurt by this, she might actually have done it, because that's just her personality.

But Qin Xiaochuan, she had just agreed to be his girlfriend, and now she was going back on her word. He must be feeling really, really upset.

Every time she thought about this, she felt as if her heart was bleeding, a feeling far more painful than the injustice she had suffered.

No one knows how she spent that summer vacation. Every day she was filled with heartache, and at her most difficult times she was so painful that she couldn't breathe. She would lie in bed alone and cry silently. By the end of the summer vacation, she had lost a lot of weight.

Han Kexin once told Qin Xiaochuan that she was quirky and clever, and very good at pleasing others. This was a very accurate description, because she could understand the feelings of adults from a very young age, and even those unspoken emotions. Sometimes, even adults did not notice their own underlying emotional needs, but she could easily capture them. Sometimes she would deliberately act coquettishly towards her aunt and pester her to cook delicious food for her, actually to satisfy her aunt's desire for maternal love.

It can be said that she learned at a very young age how to make others feel comfortable around her. This is her talent, but also her constraint.

It was precisely because of these conflicting and complex feelings that she didn't know how to face Qin Xiaochuan throughout the summer vacation. Qin Xiaochuan also seemed to have a tacit understanding and rarely sent her messages. The two only occasionally exchanged some everyday words of concern, which seemed like some kind of deliberate connection.

Today's message was also like that—neither too heavy nor too light, neither too painful nor too insignificant, neither too close nor too distant, like a casual greeting sent at random. Yet, the emotions contained within it deeply pierced her heart.

Perhaps what his father said to him that night made him hesitate.

Perhaps it was her coldness that made him sense her inner turmoil, which is why he was so cautious, afraid of putting himself in a difficult position.

She guessed to herself that she had always been sensitive and could easily sense other people's emotions, let alone those she cared about.

Finally, she picked up her phone and replied in a similar tone to his, "Yes, I've arrived at school today."

"Then I'll treat you to lunch to welcome you home, hehe."

As soon as she sent her message, the other party replied immediately, as if they had been waiting for her message.

Qin Xiaochuan's emotions progressed gradually, showing a subtle warmth without appearing intimate, cautious as if afraid of startling some timid little animal.