IP Chapter 35.1
Incurable Pain | Chapter 35.1
Gu Yuan finished processing today’s experiments in the office before sunset and then endured the sudden throbbing in her temples, driving to Sanzhong (Third High School).
She had received a call from Yu Shen this afternoon, and ever since hearing that Yu Luoyin had declined Lan University’s scholarship invitation, she had been somewhat restless.
Although incredibly busy, the matter of Yu Luoyin’s further education remained the utmost priority at home, so Gu Yuan personally made a trip to the school.
During the break before evening self-study, Yu Shen was waiting in the office. When he saw Gu Yuan entering in high heels, he quickly stood up and poured her a cup of tea in a disposable cup.
“Director Gu seems very busy,” Yu Shen remarked, observing the woman’s striking yet pallid face with faint dark shadows under her eyes. He awkwardly cleared his throat and hinted, “But even amidst busyness, especially at this stage of senior year… we cannot neglect the education of our children, can we?”
“Teacher Yu, I know you’re a good teacher,” Gu Yuan, valuing every minute as gold and not one to frivolously spend money, smiled and said frankly, “Let’s cut to the chase. I came today because I wanted to understand Luoyin’s recent activities at school.”
“He’s been attending classes diligently and seems to be in good spirits.”
“But that’s what’s odd,” Gu Yuan’s brow furrowed lightly. “Then why would he refuse Lan University’s scholarship? It doesn’t make sense.”
Lan University, ranked in the top ten domestically, particularly excelled in science and engineering fields, aligning perfectly with Yu Luoyin’s ambitions.
With Luoyin’s grades, aiming for the top three domestic universities was feasible, but Gu Yuan knew Lan University was Luoyin’s aspiration; he had mentioned it before.
Lan University was in a first-tier city, and being local had numerous conveniences, beneficial for future work arrangements or networking.
The crux was that Luoyin himself neither opposed nor deviated from his goal of Lan University, so why reject it?
From any perspective, this was a perplexing situation.
Unless… something recent had occurred that altered his mindset, causing him to behave so unusually.
Gu Yuan’s slender fingers idly turned the light paper cup on the table as she pondered for a moment before carefully asking, “Teacher Yu, has Luoyin exhibited any unusual behavior at school recently?”
“Unusual behavior?” Yu Shen paused, thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, his academic performance has been excellent. He ranked second in the recent mock exam, he’s punctual to class, never late or absent… Oh, but he did take a day off recently.”
As Yu Shen spoke, he recalled the chaotic morning of the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year and hurriedly added, “It was on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year when the school let students off early due to bad weather. Luoyin caught a cold after going home in the heavy rain and wind. He didn’t come to school the next day, and coincidentally, there was a physics lecture that day. At noon, I had some students bring him notes.”
Gu Yuan was taken aback.
The fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, catching a cold? How did she not know anything about this?
Gu Yuan remembered those days were the busiest for experiments at the technology park. She didn’t go home, but… if Yu Luoyin was sick and had a cold, Yu Yuan should have told her.
Even if Yu Yuan was too busy to come home, the housekeeper, Liu Jie, whom she personally promoted and had been serving at the Yu family for over a decade, should have called her, shouldn’t she?
If Yu Luoyin was so sick that he had to take time off school, it must have been a serious situation. They wouldn’t have kept it from her.
Unless Yu Luoyin lied, or perhaps he was actually sick but never came home those days.
Yu Shen looked at Gu Yuan’s fluctuating expression, then seemed to understand something after a moment of hesitation. He asked cautiously, “You didn’t know about this?”
…
Gu Yuan’s fingers tightened imperceptibly around her handbag. She suddenly felt extremely embarrassed—apparently, no teacher knew clearly or cared promptly about her son’s affairs.
Taking a deep breath, the woman forced a smile. “No, I knew. Besides this incident, is there anything else unusual?”
“No, nothing else. Although he can be a bit mischievous in front of me, he has always performed well at school,” Yu Shen sighed. “So I don’t understand why he would refuse this opportunity so resolutely.”
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, Gu Yuan thought silently for a moment before asking again, “Who is Luoyin close to at school?”
Yu Shen replied casually, “Just a few troublemakers he hangs out with, especially Zhou Xin.”
Gu Yuan knew Zhou Xin, but that wasn’t the answer she was looking for.
“Are there any female classmates he’s close to?” Gu Yuan inquired.
Yu Shen was momentarily taken aback.
“Teacher Yu, we’ve both been teachers for many years.” Gu Yuan smiled faintly. “We should understand that one of the most common factors that can cause fluctuating or abnormal behavior in adolescent boys is girls.”
“This…” Yu Shen frowned deeply, feeling a thin layer of sweat on his spine under Gu Yuan’s intimidating gaze.
His mind quickly sifted through the female students associated with Yu Luoyin—there was a moment when Yu Shen actually thought of Bai Xunyin, but then he remembered Bai Xunyin’s cold and distant demeanor towards Yu Luoyin in the office, their exchanges sharp and frosty.
Yu Shen shook his head helplessly. “There really isn’t anything, Director Gu. Are you concerned…”
“Hmm.” Gu Yuan saw him struggling to speak and decided to cut in frankly. “I’m worried he might be in a premature relationship.”
In Gu Yuan’s composed, precise mind that was always making ‘accurate decisions’, early romance was undoubtedly absurd.
It was a mindless, indulgent behavior she would never allow.
“Don’t worry about that. These students practically spend more than ten hours a day in school under my watchful eye. If anything were really going on, would I not know?” Yu Shen laughed confidently. “Early romance is out of the question, and Yu Luoyin is not that kind of child.”
A hint of hidden melancholy lingered in Gu Yuan’s eyes, but she smiled politely. “Thank you for your concern, Teacher.”
She left the school in the fading sunlight of dusk, and her first action was to call her assistant, her voice deep and serious. “Help me check Luoyin’s recent spending records—bank cards, credit cards, check everything.”
Amo found Bai Xunyin’s behavior a bit strange.
From after school until evening self-study, Bai Xunyin seemed distant, whether they were buying food or discussing questions. Bai Xunyin always seemed preoccupied, her beautiful eyes empty, mechanically eating her boxed meal.
“Hey, hey, hey.” After evening self-study ended, Amo couldn’t help but pull Bai Xunyin aside into a corner and ask softly, “What’s wrong with you tonight? You seem off.”
Bai Xunyin’s thin school uniform jacket was no match for Lin Lan’s March chill. As soon as she stepped outside, she shivered all over, her face turning pale, her nose red. She looked pitiful.
She waved her hand to reassure Amo that everything was fine, then took the girl with her to the bike shed to retrieve her bicycle.
It had been like this for a while—after school, Amo would accompany her to get her bicycle, and they would part reluctantly at the school gate…
Except today, it seemed that wouldn’t happen again.
When Bai Xunyin and Amo arrived, they coincidentally encountered Yu Luoyin also coming to retrieve his bike. In a moment of eye contact, both of them instinctively turned their heads away.
Yu Luoyin expressionlessly pushed out his bike, mounted it with his long legs as the bell rang, and swiftly rode off without a word, not even glancing back once throughout the entire process.
As their paths crossed, a gust of wind swept up, reminding Bai Xunyin of when she first met Yu Luoyin—yes, he should be like this.
Cold, unapproachable—that was him.
So all those polite and gentle interactions in the past seemed truly false to Bai Xunyin, who smiled with a hint of relief at the corner of her lips.
“Ugh, why is Yu Luoyin acting so arrogant? His attitude is like we owe him money!” Amo couldn’t stand Yu Luoyin’s insolent behavior and couldn’t help but complain, “He shamelessly follows you around every day like it’s nothing—oh, by the way, why isn’t he following you today?”
Amo vented her frustration before belatedly realizing this.
Bai Xunyin remained silent for a moment, then took out her freezing cold phone from her pocket and typed a message for Amo to read: “Amo, I’ve talked to him.”
“I hope we can really break free this time, without interfering with each other.”
With that said, she had said everything she needed to.
Bai Xunyin laid the harsh truth before Yu Luoyin—she was destined to pursue her ideals, and she feared him.
Yu Luoyin didn’t know if some things could only be experienced once in a lifetime, and if missed, would be gone forever.
Because his life had always been smooth sailing, he had no idea how to handle ‘setbacks’ like this, feeling utterly lost and bewildered.
His mind numb, Yu Luoyin mechanically rode back and forth as usual in the cold winter night, pedaling his bike for nearly forty minutes until he reached his rented house.
After flexing his frozen, slender fingers a few times, Yu Luoyin entered the passcode. In the unexpected brightness of the room, he saw Gu Yuan sitting on the sofa in the living room, and his eyebrows twitched instinctively.
“Why are you just getting back?” Gu Yuan wasn’t surprised to see him back here. In fact, she had received Yu Luoyin’s recent spending records two hours ago, learning that he had rented a house privately and hadn’t been home for half a month. Gu Yuan knew he would return here.
That’s why she chose to wait here.
“Evening self-study ends at 9:30. From your school to this house—you have good taste, son.” Gu Yuan smiled slyly, continuing, “It only takes you ten minutes to ride your bike from school to this house. It’s been an hour. Where have you been?”
Yu Luoyin furrowed his brow. He had always detested Gu Yuan’s ‘businesslike’ demeanor, always lecturing him as if he needed to report to her. Every time they met, Yu Luoyin couldn’t resist rebelling, speaking with sharpness.
“No news is good news. What are you here for?” This time, it was no surprise. Enduring Gu Yuan’s ‘careful guidance’ since childhood, Yu Luoyin knew how to maintain composure like her, appearing refined while saying the most cutting remarks. “You remembered you have a son, and just now realized I’ve rented a place outside.”
Gu Yuan fell silent, and the room fell into an eerie silence.
Yu Luoyin chuckled lightly, walked over, and casually grabbed a bottle of ice water from the refrigerator, drinking half of it in one go.
Gu Yuan stared at him steadily.
Instead of saying the typical ‘don’t drink cold things, it’s bad for your stomach,’ she asked bluntly, “Why did you refuse Lan University’s scholarship?”
“Oh, you came over because of this?”
Yu Luoyin walked over and half-leaned on the soft leather sofa, indifferent.
“Maybe I just don’t want to go to Lan University.”
“Nonsense.”
Gu Yuan’s face was stern, speaking rigidly and methodically as if in a meeting room, analyzing pros and cons, “Lan University ranks in the top three nationally for chemical engineering, which was the major you wanted to pursue, right?”
“Moreover, Lan University is a local one, which would make everything from your daily life more convenient.”
“There’s also the fact that going to Lan University was your own previous idea, and if a person’s words and actions don’t align…”
“Mom, could you stop for a moment? I’d like some quiet time.”
Yu Luoyin looked up at the pure white ceiling, dazedly saying, “I’m very tired today.”
Whether it was the confidence completely shattered by Bai Xunyin in the afternoon, or the inexplicable act of escorting her home and standing cluelessly outside her building for half an hour, physically and mentally, he was exhausted.
“Yu Luoyin, what’s gotten into you?” Seeing his lazy and dispirited appearance, Gu Yuan stood up in anger.
She tightly grasped her bag, frustrated, “What kind of state is this? Is this the state a senior high school student should have?”
Yu Luoyin chuckled wryly, “What state should I be in then?”
Should he always remain rational, composed, wearing a vacuum mask that keeps everyone at a distance?
Isn’t it normal for anyone to feel lost and weak at times?
“Of course, you should be accepting the scholarship from Lan University and preparing for university!”
However, Gu Yuan wouldn’t allow it. Her incessant voice sought to decide everything for him.
“Instead of being like this, clueless about what you’re doing and feeling half-dead. Yu Luoyin, are you sulking at me?”
Yu Luoyin remained silent.
“…Your father and I are busy with work, and there has indeed been negligence in showing concern for you.”
Seeing his uncooperative attitude, Gu Yuan sighed softly, her tone slightly softened.
“But this isn’t a reason for you to act recklessly, Luoyin. Don’t you remember what I’ve told you? Indulgence is the beginning of a person’s moral decay. In any case, I won’t allow you to be irresponsible to yourself.”
“Mom, please stop.”
Yu Luoyin’s face was expressionless, with a hint of coldness in his eyes and at the corners of his mouth, “I’m tired. Please leave.”
Gu Yuan frowned, sitting still.
“Are you still going to talk about the scholarship?” Yu Luoyin raised an eyebrow lightly, mocking.
“I don’t want it. Do you think I can’t pass the entrance exams?”
“You…” Gu Yuan was stunned, murmuring, “Isn’t this unnecessary?”
“I’m willing.”
Yu Luoyin waved his hand dismissively, “Please leave.”
Sleepyblue’s Corner:
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