CG - Chapter 37
Chapter 37
When Wu Gu woke up, Wei Jinzhi was still sleeping soundly beside her. She turned onto her side, her gaze resting on Wei Jinzhi's brow and eyes. Master was gone, and she was heartbroken, but fortunately, she still had Wei Jinzhi. She rejoiced in her decision to attend university in North City, and even more so in that first encounter at the coffee shop where she had chosen to meddle in others' business. Otherwise, how lonely would she be now?
Wei Jinzhi was awakened by the disturbance. In her groggy state, she felt a furry little thing drilling into her embrace. She sobered up instantly, tightening her arms to encircle the person in her hold. "Awake?"
"En."
"Any discomfort anywhere?"
"No, just that I expended a lot of spiritual energy. I'll be fine after some proper cultivation."
"That's good."
"Sister Wei." Hearing Wei Jinzhi respond, Wu Gu spoke, "I keep feeling that Master hid something from me. I'm very afraid that the early end of his lifespan had something to do with me."
Wei Jinzhi didn't know what to say, so she could only offer some comforting words. "Master Wu had his own reasons. Don't overthink it. Just cultivate well in the future and don't let down his expectations."
"Master also told me to revitalize the sect, but I'm all alone. How am I supposed to do that?"
After thinking seriously, Wei Jinzhi said, "Sun Ting mentioned that the founder of Huaishang Palace was once an outer disciple of the Xuanqing Sect. You could start by looking for talented people within Huaishang Palace to learn your Xuanqing Sect's techniques. Or we could emulate the metaphysical clans of North City—first gain a firm foothold in the Tianshi Association, and then slowly develop and expand."
Buried in Wei Jinzhi's embrace, the corners of Wu Gu's mouth couldn't stop rising. She was actually just feeling sad and making conversation; she wasn't really looking for a solution. She had never thought about propagating the Xuanqing Sect—that sort of thing wasn't something she could accomplish alone anyway. However, the method Wei Jinzhi proposed wasn't bad. Since it was Master's dying wish, she might as well give it a try.
"Wu Gu," Wei Jinzhi called her. "I am here. I will accompany you. Don't be sad anymore, okay?"
The corners of Wu Gu's mouth, which had been turned up, drooped again. Tears filled her eyes, and she drilled further into Wei Jinzhi's arms, looking exactly like she was acting spoiled.
Wei Jinzhi rested her chin on the top of Wu Gu's head, stroking her back to soothe her breath. Only when she felt Wu Gu's mood calm down did she speak again. "Whatever you want, whatever you want to do, you can tell me. I will help you achieve it together."
Surrounded by Wei Jinzhi's love, Wu Gu's heart felt as sweet as if it had been dipped in honey. It was just like the watermelons Master used to soak in well water when she was little—eating them made one feel sweet and joyous. At this thought, she couldn't help but compare Wei Jinzhi to Lao Wu. Phrases commonly found in elementary school essays, like "father's love is like a mountain, mother's love is like water," suddenly popped into her head. The more she thought about it, the funnier it seemed.
Wei Jinzhi, suddenly hearing laughter right by her ear, couldn't figure out what Wu Gu was thinking, but that didn't stop her from smacking Wu Gu's bottom. She threatened, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."
Wu Gu was genuinely bluffed. She said, "I just thought of a sentence: I treat you as family, yet you're dead set on sleeping with me."
Wei Jinzhi knew nothing good could come from her sudden laughter. She flipped over, pressing Wu Gu beneath her, and bit down on Wu Gu's lips, kissing her until her face was flushed and her heart raced. When it was over, she got out of bed as if nothing had happened. Wu Gu stared at the ceiling, blinking to calm her rapid heartbeat. After waiting a long time without seeing Wei Jinzhi return, she hit the bed in anger and shouted out of embarrassment, "How can you just run away after kissing like that?"
Wei Jinzhi looked down at her and laughed. "I just wanted to tell you that there is a relationship called husband and wife—you can be family and still sleep together." She pulled Wu Gu up to a sitting position. "Go brush your teeth and wash your face. You've been sleeping for two days; get up and eat something first."
Wu Gu recovered quickly this time. By the day they were set to return to North City, her body had recovered eighty percent. Wei Jinzhi had scheduled their departure for a very late date, giving her ample time to say her goodbyes. Wu Gu got up early in the morning and busied herself, sweeping the yard and then wiping down Lao Wu's room. When she started the fire to cook lunch at noon, she even made two large bowls of egg yolk stir-fried millet for Pang Diao, which made the bird incredibly happy.
Before leaving, Wu Gu patted Pang Diao's head and said, "Cultivate well. Next time I come back, I'll take you to North City to play." After that, she put on the airs of an eldest sister and spoke to Monkey. "You're in your third year of high school now, so don't go working part-time during the winter and summer breaks. Haven't I been sending you money for tuition and living expenses? Study hard for your exams and strive to get into a school in North City."
Monkey nodded vigorously. "I know. I'll work hard."
Finally, Wu Gu walked under the tree and squatted beside Granny She. "Granny, I'm leaving. I'll come back to see you during the holidays."
Granny She closed her eyes, waved her hand, and said only one sentence: "Be safe on the road."
The return trip went smoothly this time, and everyone was in a fairly good mood. After the car drove into North City, they didn't go to Changshan Villa or return to Yujing Huating. Wei Jinzhi took Wu Gu to a new apartment near the university.
The new apartment was beautifully renovated. Wu Gu found it incredibly novel, wandering around the living room and then checking out the kitchen. When she entered the bedroom, her already large eyes widened even further. Half of the walk-in closet attached to the bedroom was filled with clothes suitable for her. She turned back and smiled at Wei Jinzhi in the doorway, her expression as radiant as the stars.
Wei Jinzhi walked over and asked her, "Do you like it?"
Wu Gu kissed Wei Jinzhi and answered, "I like it."
Having returned to North City, Mrs. Wei, missing her daughter dearly, rushed to Changshan Villa immediately, only to find no one there. She then ordered the driver to go to Yujing Huating. On the way, she called Wei Jinzhi, unexpectedly learning that Wei Jinzhi wasn't at Yujing Huating either. She asked, "You're back, so why aren't you going home?"
Wei Jinzhi said, "I've changed places temporarily." She gave the new address and added, "I called Dad. Let's have dinner together tonight."
"Why change places when everything is fine? Did you have the Hu or Han family check the house?"
Wei Jinzhi sounded casual. "It's close to North City University here. It's convenient for me to take care of Wu Gu."
On the other end of the phone, Mrs. Wei frowned in dissatisfaction. "Isn't her foot injury long healed? Why is she still pestering you?"
"Mom, she's not pestering me." Wei Jinzhi rubbed her forehead. "It's a long story. Let's talk when you and Dad get here." Hanging up the phone, she looked toward Wu Gu on the sofa.
Wu Gu was holding her phone, playing a game. Sensing her gaze, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Having dinner with my parents tonight. I plan to tell them about us."
Wu Gu's hand trembled. Failing to dodge the opponent's ultimate move, her health bar emptied, sending her back to base. She looked up at Wei Jinzhi and said, "Isn't that a bit too rash?"
Wei Jinzhi chuckled softly, asking, "Are you not ready to meet the parents yet?"
Wu Gu nodded, speaking honestly, "I haven't graduated university, and I'm a girl. They definitely won't think I'm good enough. You'll end up stuck in the middle, in a difficult position. I don't want that."
Sometimes Wei Jinzhi wished Wu Gu wasn't so backbone-strong; it would be fine if she just stayed obediently by her side. But she knew that only a doll would be like that. Caught between not wanting to force Wu Gu and wanting to share her romance with her family, she raised her hand and ruffled Wu Gu's hair. Wu Gu blinked, letting her do as she pleased.
Wei Jinzhi used her fingers to comb through Wu Gu's hair bit by bit. She decided to follow Wu Gu's wishes for now and give Mrs. Wei a couple of days' buffer. During the motion, her gaze swept over the phone screen, and she laughed. "About to die again."
Wu Gu looked down. In just two sentences' time, she had given away two kills. She was probably going to get reported after this match. She shook her head, escaping Wei Jinzhi's hand. "All your fault." After saying that, she hugged her phone and began frantically harvesting kills.
At dinner that night, Mrs. Wei indeed didn't give Wu Gu a pleasant expression. However, Mrs. Wei was not a mean person; no matter how much she disliked her inwardly, she wouldn't target her with words. Mr. Wei, although he knew Wei Jinzhi's intentions in advance, still reserved his opinion on Wu Gu. Just as Wu Gu had said herself, she hadn't even graduated university yet—it was too early to talk about the future.
School started the next day. Wei Jinzhi dropped her off at the university. In the dormitory, she was the only one to return on the first day again. Liu Ningyu, after greeting her enthusiastically, couldn't get another word in, so she sat to the side, stroking her chin and observing the interaction between the two. When Wu Gu came back after seeing Wei Jinzhi off, Liu Ningyu grabbed her and whispered, "Are you two together now?"
Wu Gu smiled with a face full of spring radiance, her voice light. "En."
Liu Ningyu was shocked, her face full of excitement. "Please teach me."
Wu Gu said, "There's nothing to teach. She likes me and I like her."
Liu Ningyu rolled her eyes at Wu Gu and let go of her hand. Wu Gu had a sudden inspiration and pulled her back. "Let me ask you a question. Are there any important things to note when meeting the parents?"
Liu Ningyu said, "I haven't met any parents yet. Search it up online yourself."
Lying in bed that night, Wu Gu typed "important notes for meeting parents" into the search bar and clicked on a guide for meeting the girlfriend's parents. After reading through each point, she seriously considered her own advantages. After thinking it over and over, she concluded that her greatest advantage was probably warding off evil and keeping the house safe. It sounded a bit nonsensical at first, but it was the most suitable thing for Wei Jinzhi.
For the first month of school, Wu Gu only went to stay at Wei Jinzhi's place on weekends. During the following month, whenever she didn't have classes, she would nest on the sofa in the apartment playing games. By the time the semester was nearing its end, she would only appear at school during class times. On this day, just as she arrived in the classroom, Liu Ningyu delivered some good news.
"Congratulations. You've been promoted to first place in this semester's School Beauty evaluation." Liu Ningyu took the opportunity to take advantage, touching Wu Gu's small face. "So tender. Sister Wei is raising you more and more like a greenhouse flower."
Wu Gu buried her head in taking notes and said, "I'm not living in the dorms, yet the counselor hasn't called me in for a talk."
"I'm guessing your Sister Wei greeted the school in advance. Sister Wei, hey, the Eldest Miss of Qianwei Group, hey. Your dog-shit luck is simply too good."
Wu Gu wondered whose luck was better, hers or Wei Jinzhi's. But regardless, her heart felt sweet whenever Wei Jinzhi was mentioned. Yet her mouth said, "It's been so boring recently."
"You're in a relationship, how can you be bored?"
Wu Gu looked up at Liu Ningyu, not knowing how to explain. Being in love was sweet and interesting, definitely not boring, but as a Tianshi, she hadn't engaged in catching ghosts or exorcising evil for nearly half a year. Especially recently, her whole body felt weak and limp, and her hands were itching terribly. Just two days ago, the Soul-Piercing Bell had protested to her, clanging inexplicably in her bag for half an hour.
At lunch in the cafeteria, since Wu Gu herself had successfully ascended to the top of the School Beauty rankings, the number of students secretly looking at her or coming over to strike up a conversation had increased significantly compared to last year. Today was no exception. After politely rejecting a junior male student's request for her contact information, Wu Gu sighed deeply, feigning sorrow. "My Sister Wei would definitely be jealous if she knew."
Liu Ningyu, Cao Zhenzhen, and another roommate collectively rolled their eyes at her. After rolling her eyes, Cao Zhenzhen asked her, "Gaming this afternoon?"
Wu Gu said, "Sure." As soon as the words landed, her phone received a text message. In this day and age, the only ones sending texts were advertisers or service providers. She unlocked her phone and saw a string of unfamiliar numbers. The message header read "Tianshi Association." Her interest was instantly piqued. She read through it quickly; the Tianshi Association wanted her to clear her schedule from the first to the tenth of next month to participate in this year's Tianshi qualification audit.
Today was only the twentieth. She had ten days to prepare for this audit. When she went to get her qualification certificate, Wei Jinzhi had asked on her behalf, and the Tianshi qualification certificate was subject to a review every two years. But she had held this certificate for less than a year—why was it being audited now? But it didn't matter; it was a rare opportunity to practice, one she wouldn't let slip by. Because good news had arrived, she happily harvested quite a few heads in the game that afternoon.
When she returned home that evening, Wei Jinzhi noticed her good mood at a glance and asked, "What happened to make you so happy?"
Wu Gu said, "The Tianshi Association is holding a qualification audit next month. The notice says we're going to the desert region to catch Sand Ghosts."
"The desert? That far?" Wei Jinzhi furrowed her brows. "Isn't it reviewed every two years? Why are they making you go this year?" She casually sent a message to Han Tianyang. Han Tianyang replied quickly: it turned out that recommended Tianshi had to be audited in the first year. So that was why Wu Gu received the notice. Seeing how happy Wu Gu looked, Wei Jinzhi asked an extra question, "Do you want me to accompany you there?"
Wu Gu said carelessly, "No need. There's no danger."
Wei Jinzhi lowered her eyes, a sentence slipping faintly from between her lips. "Alright, then be careful yourself."
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