Chapter 1599: Excluded

"Lin Xiao, are you really moving out?"

In the apartment, Tang Wanru leaned against the doorframe, watching Lin Xiao busily packing in the room, feeling quite reluctant. Her weak tone made her seem like a small, unwanted animal.

"Didn't I say? The place where I work is too far. This past while, running back and forth has been a hassle—an hour to get to work, an hour to get back; all my time is spent on the road. If I move to a place closer, I can sleep a bit more in the morning."

"But your assistant job isn't even that busy, you're just an intern..."

Lin Xiao didn't stop moving as she said, "I'll be graduating in another half year. By then, I'll be working for real, and I'll have to move anyway. I'll go out now to adapt to living alone, so I won't feel so bad when the time comes."

"Then I'll help you," Tang Wanru said. "In a while, Gu Li and I will go with you to your new rented place and help you set things up."

"Oh, no need, I can do it myself. For so many years, I haven't really done anything on my own; I feel like I'm becoming a useless person who can't do anything, not even take care of myself."

The two chatted and laughed as they finished packing. Lin Xiao dragged two large suitcases out of the room.

At this moment, Gu Li was sitting on the living room sofa, holding a fashion magazine, looking as if she were indifferent to everything else.

Hesitating for a moment, Lin Xiao said slowly, "Gu Li, I'm leaving."

Gu Li took down the magazine covering her face and looked at Lin Xiao expressionlessly: "Living alone, be careful. If anything happens, find me anytime."

"Okay, then I'm leaving..."

Watching Gu Li lift the magazine to cover her face again after speaking, Lin Xiao let out a long sigh after saying words that sounded relaxed, then hurriedly opened the door and laboriously dragged the heavy suitcases out.

She had long felt that there was a rift between her and Gu Li, yet they had managed to maintain things. But ever since Gu Li had dinner with Wang Yan a few days ago and was sent back by Wang Yan while drunk, everything seemed to have been laid bare.

She wanted to care about Gu Li, and Tang Wanru had also asked Gu Li what happened, but Gu Li only told the two of them that nothing was wrong, while looking at her deeply, as if she were certain that she already knew the situation from Wang Yan, yet was still pretending to be ignorant here, joining Tang Wanru in mocking Gu Li.

Of course, that was Gu Li's first reaction at the time; later, Gu Li seemed to have realized something and confirmed that she really didn't know. But so what? Gu Li's look at that time really made her feel cold...

Lin Xiao and Tang Wanru dragged the large suitcases out the door. With a *bang*, the door closed, and Gu Li also put down the fashion magazine she was holding.

It was just that she didn't put the magazine down gently; she slammed it onto the sofa with great force.

At this moment, Gu Li was already streaming with tears.

Lin Xiao was her best friend, but now, even her best friend had left her. Thus, all the past surged into her mind once again. Her cancer diagnosis left her helpless, and the happiness of others, compared to her current situation, made her feel like she had become a rat in a gutter that no one cared about...

After a while, Tang Wanru opened the door and trotted in. By this time, Gu Li had already returned to normal.

Tang Wanru brought some excitement from truly catching a piece of gossip: "Gu Li, guess what I saw? It was Wang Yan; he drove to pick up Nan Xiang. So, they might really be together. That hateful Nan Xiang, when I asked her before, she insisted on denying it."

Gu Li gave a hum: "You can't say it so absolutely; maybe they're just friends, that's not certain."

Lin Xiao was her good friend, and she still didn't want Tang Wanru, that big mouth, to know more detailed things. After all, being with Wang Yan wasn't something glorious that could be talked about; it would inevitably suffer people's criticism.

This was also something Gu Li didn't understand. She really wanted to crack open Lin Xiao's head to see what exactly she was thinking...

"It's impossible that there's nothing! I felt long ago that Lin Xiao liked Wang Yan. Seriously, I don't know how the two of them got together. They clearly hadn't met many times, so how did they suddenly get together?"

Tang Wanru looked at Gu Li and sighed with emotion: "It has to be you, Gu Li, you're simply too generous. You actually kept your word and didn't say anything about Lin Xiao and Wang Yan associating. Although you're very flat, you're truly broad-minded, Gu Li! You're really a great person."

Gu Li took a deep breath: "I thank your whole family."

"Hey... Wang Yan already has Nan Xiang and that Lin Quan. Gu Li, what do you think Lin Xiao is actually thinking? I didn't see before that Lin Xiao was such an... open person? Do you remember, Gu Li, before, when Jian Xi talked a few more words with a female classmate, Lin Xiao would have to argue with Jian Xi, although in the end, it was always her who begged to make up..."

Tang Wanru chattered on, and Gu Li responded half-heartedly.

After a while, Gu Li returned to her room. Only Tang Wanru remained in the living room with the TV on, fiddling with her phone, typing *da-da-da*...

Because it was already morning, the streets after the morning rush hour still had many cars, but it couldn't be called congested.

A black S8 drove smoothly on the road at a speed that did a disservice to the V8 engine it possessed, with soft, soothing music playing inside the car.

Lin Xiao, sitting in the passenger seat, crossed her arms, her head leaning against the car window; her mood was visibly not very good.

Suddenly, she moved and raised her hand to punch Wang Yan, then glared at him angrily.

"If you're feeling bad, feel bad on your own. Why are you hitting me?"

"Isn't it all because of you? I haven't spoken for such a long time, and you don't even know how to care about me? Just driving so comfortably, and humming a song? Huh?"

"It's not because of me, it's because of love; the two of us together is true love. Besides, you weren't speaking for a long time, brewing emotions for me to see? I thought you were mourning the lost sisterhood."

What Wang Yan said made Lin Xiao even angrier, and she gave him another set of little punches with bad grace.

"What do you think will happen in the future? I feel like it will be hard to see Gu Li in the future. Sigh..."

"That's because Gu Li is too narrow-minded."

Lin Xiao was stunned by Wang Yan's thick skin: "You've already caused Gu Li to be so miserable..."

"You say it like that, as if you acknowledge that you were also snatched away by me from Gu Li's side," Wang Yan shook his head. "What do you think?"

"I think it's true! From the first time we met, you didn't have good intentions. Otherwise, why would I like you? I still feel it was too fast, too rash, and I regret it to death..."

"Look at you, one sentence with three twists; I didn't see any sign of regret."

"Don't think I can't hear it; you're saying I'm loose!"

Wang Yan laughed: "Aren't you only like this to me? I like it quite a lot."

"Oh, you're annoying..."

Lin Xiao and Gu Li were indeed good friends, yet neither of them were the type to sacrifice themselves for others. Selfishness was an accurate description. When their own interests were damaged, the so-called sisterhood was just a useless thing that could be discarded.

Therefore, Lin Xiao wouldn't worry about Gu Li for the sake of the man she liked. And Gu Li wouldn't worry about Lin Xiao for the sake of many of her own things.

Of course, they both said they were doing it for each other's good, and both had many reasons...

However, it was still that saying: Wang Yan didn't care whether Lin Xiao was good or bad. Like Nan Xiang, he only cared about his own comfort. Their bad points didn't affect him here; he just kept pedaling hard...

The laughter in the car formed a sharp contrast with the bleak coldness in the apartment.

It had already been a week since Lin Xiao moved out, and Tang Wanru felt that the temperature in the apartment had dropped by three degrees. She could clearly feel Gu Li's depression. During these three days, Gu Li hadn't gone anywhere, just staying in the apartment, giving people a gloomy and depressed feeling.

Because of this, she felt more and more uncomfortable and uneasy staying in the apartment. But there were benefits, too: such an environment made her efficiency in reviewing for finals much higher, and she had barely passed the subjects that had already been tested.

On this day off, Tang Wanru slept until she woke up naturally and tidied up, then saw that Gu Li was already watching TV in the living room.

She changed her shoes at the door and greeted: "Gu Li, I'm going out. Eat lunch by yourself. Do you want me to bring some back for dinner?"

"No need." Gu Li looked at her with gloomy eyes. "What are you going out for? Isn't your day off when you like to lie down for a whole day the most?"

"Uh... I'm not very tired lately, I have plenty of energy, and you're hibernating at home, so I'm going out to play with classmates. Leaving, leaving." Tang Wanru opened the door and left nimbly, not giving Gu Li a chance to pursue the questioning.

Only Gu Li's sigh remained in the apartment...

A university is often the center of its vicinity; a good university is even more so the center of the center, and a university town that gathers and develops is an even more powerful engine for urban development.

Surrounding the school, from the most basic construction of the university town to the fundamental food, clothing, housing, and transportation of the students, and then to the various scientific research projects of the colleges and their practical applications, there is a massive service industry that also supports the development of high-tech industries.

Of course, for the vast majority of students, they are rarely involved in anything high-tech, but food, clothing, housing, and transportation are certainties. Around the university, there are always some economical and delicious foods that students never forget; not to mention eating them every few days, even many years after graduation, they will always find an opportunity to go back and taste the flavors of their memories.

And these shops are often those that have truly survived through hard-power competition; they are definitely the best choices in the nearby area, combining all sorts of conditions.

Leaving the apartment, Tang Wanru trotted to a malatang stall near the school.

This shop perfectly balanced the tastes of the four of them, and even Gu Li, who was wealthy and pretentious, liked this malatang despite her verbal complaints.

As soon as she entered the shop, a wave of heat rushed toward her face, and the aroma of the malatang drilled into her nose, making her mouth water.

Tang Wanru followed her own preferences, picked out various ingredients, ordered it spicy, grabbed a bottle of juice, and went to the corner seat in the very back.

There, two people were already eating on their own, with no communication between them.

"Wanru, you're here."

Tang Wanru clearly heard the sense of relief in Lin Xiao's words.

She plopped down next to Nan Xiang, who was sitting with her back to the outside: "How is it? If I hadn't come, would you two be awkward?"

"You knew that?" Nan Xiang said exaggeratedly.

"Of course, I knew it just by thinking about it. Isn't this the legendary Shura field? If Wang... the one surnamed Wang were here, I really don't know how awkward he would be; his internal monologue must be incredibly rich. The three of you sitting together, this could be filmed as a movie."

Tang Wanru wisely did not say Wang Yan's name out loud, otherwise, if the surrounding students heard it, that would be another piece of trouble. After all, people outside might not immediately think of who Wang Yan is, but near the school, his name is like thunder to the ears. Not to mention anything else, just the owner of this malatang shop could say a few things about Wang Yan's affairs...

Tang Wanru's words made Lin Xiao and Nan Xiang subconsciously look at each other, and then, after only a second, both of them blushed. They tacitly avoided each other's gaze and lowered their heads to eat, and after Tang Wanru giggled and said they were both blushing, they looked up at each other again, and thus they confirmed to each other the absurd but exciting thing that the scumbag Wang Yan had said...

They avoided each other's gaze again, their faces even redder.

This made Tang Wanru, who was watching the fun, even more excited than the two of them: "You two are really something. I don't know what's so good about him that makes you both so willing..."

Undoubtedly, this was an awkward topic. If possible, Nan Xiang and Lin Xiao actually didn't want to call Tang Wanru, but Tang Wanru was already in the know. When Lin Xiao moved out and Wang Yan personally drove to pick her up, there was nothing left to hide about this matter.

The reason she was called over now was just to liven up the atmosphere, allowing the two to get through the awkward period, simply restore communication, and re-establish contact, so as to avoid them really sitting opposite each other in such awkwardness.

Of course, this person could also be Wang Yan, but obviously, the two of them didn't want to walk right into the trap...

Nan Xiang changed the subject: "What about Gu Li? How is she? Is she still so decadent?"

"Yeah, Gu Li was watching TV when I left." Tang Wanru nodded, "I don't know what's wrong, but I feel like she suddenly became depressed. She wasn't even like this when her family went bankrupt."

"Who knows? She won't say even if you ask her!" There was inevitably some resentment in Lin Xiao's words, because their past friendship was drifting further and further away.

Nan Xiang laughed: "Gu Li must be very sad now, right? Back then, she did bad things to me behind my back, and after going around in circles, not even a year has passed, and she has become like this. It seems like she is the one being excluded now..."

Tang Wanru laughed: "No, no, I'm still very good with Gu Li, and of course, I'm also very good with you two. Hey, I'm riding three boats now..."

And so Tang Wanru received the dissatisfied gazes of Nan Xiang and Lin Xiao...

Although Tang Wanru was also quite mediocre, she did indeed act as a bonding agent at this moment; the estrangement between Lin Xiao and Nan Xiang was fading bit by bit, and their past feelings were returning bit by bit.

After eating a meal of malatang, the three of them looked just like they used to, and even went out to stroll and shop together after finishing.

The three of them chatted and laughed, hailed a taxi, and left.

Behind a sign standing on the side of the road, Gu Li flashed out.

Watching the taxi drive away, she was already covered in tears...

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