The Feeling

"Besides Du Hao, I can't think of anything else that would make you so hesitant. Now that things are like this, what else is there that you can't say?" Gu Ming's eyes darkened, and her injured hand hung weakly by her side.

Seeing that Gu Ming, who had finally regained some spirits, was about to become despondent again, Bai Fangfang quickly explained, "I didn't mean to hide anything from you, it's just, it's just..."

"Is someone spreading rumors?" Gu Ming didn't wait for Bai Fangfang to finish speaking; she interrupted her.

"Uh..." Bai Fangfang was suddenly at a loss, turning her round eyes, trying to say something but felt that whatever she said now would be somewhat feeble. All she could do was let out a long sigh.

It was not surprising to Gu Ming that there were people talking behind her back. After all, although her relationship with Du Hao wasn't widely publicized, it wasn't completely hidden either.

Previously, quite a few people secretly envied her, saying she was a modern Cinderella, having found her white horse prince, rising to the top, and living a prosperous life without worrying about work like others do after graduation.

Adding flowers to brocade is easy, but sending charcoal in snow is hard.

She considered herself not to have offended anyone at school, but now that this happened, there were always some gossipy people saying unpleasant things.

"Gu Ming, don't be like that. They are like sour grapes; if they can't have it, they resent you having it. Although it wasn't your fault, those people…" Bai Fangfang struggled with her words, seeming unable to find a suitable adjective. Finally, she could only say, "You should go out with me to take a break. First, to gain more experience, and second, to avoid staying here and getting upset."

Gu Ming gently touched the jade bracelet on her hand, thinking that she was upright and had nothing to fear, it wasn't her fault, so she didn't need to hide.

But as she was about to refuse Bai Fangfang's suggestion, she looked up and saw the concerned look in Bai Fangfang's eyes, her heart softened, and she said softly, "Let me think about it."

"Mm!" Bai Fangfang's eyes brightened upon seeing that Gu Ming didn't immediately refuse. "The deadline for registration is the day after tomorrow. You need to decide quickly."

"I understand." Gu Ming nodded.

Because she had to rush to complete the thesis assigned by her professor, Gu Ming didn't have the mind to think about Du Hao's situation in the following days. All her energy was focused on the thesis, and even dinner was brought by Bai Fangfang from outside.

Professor Zhang was very strict with his students. A perfunctory thesis would definitely not pass. Additionally, the amount of effort Gu Ming had been putting into her studies recently was insufficient, which had already caused some dissatisfaction from Professor Zhang. Therefore, writing this thesis was very painful for her, and she couldn't afford to be careless in the slightest.

Fortunately, the materials Bai Fangfang prepared were very helpful. Otherwise, she couldn't have finished the thesis before the deadline.

The next day was Monday. As usual, Gu Ming got up early. In the mirror, she had obvious dark circles under her eyes, clearly showing she hadn't had enough sleep. Last night, she had been busy with the thesis until three in the morning.

"Gu Ming, you look terrible. Are you okay?" Bai Fangfang was startled by Gu Ming's severe dark circles when she saw her get up.

"I'm fine." Gu Ming shook her head and let out a big yawn.

She rubbed her forehead, looked down at the jade bracelet on her hand, and couldn't help but frown. Last night, she didn't know what happened, but she dreamt about the jade bracelet all night, flipping it back and forth from the front to the side in her dreams.

The first class in the morning was again with Bai Fangfang's major, so after both of them had a simple wash-up, they went to the classroom.

Gu Ming clearly felt that as she entered the classroom, all eyes were on her. The chatter in the classroom lowered significantly.

She casually found a seat and sat down, trying her best not to pay attention to those sympathetic or gloating glances.

"Look, that's Gu Ming."

"Ah, she's the one who was dumped by Du Hao?"

"Exactly, she was supposed to marry Du Hao, but now..."

Bai Fangfang couldn't stand it any longer and turned around, glaring fiercely at the two girls who were enthusiastically talking behind her back. Seeing this, the two girls fell silent but kept their eyes on Gu Ming, who hadn't said a word.

"Don't mind them. Their mouths are on them; let them say what they want. Professor Wang is about to arrive, so let's focus on listening to the class." Gu Ming patted Bai Fangfang's hand and smiled.

"You're so good-natured," Bai Fangfang pouted.

What else can be done if she wasn't good-natured? This kind of thing only makes things worse. If she went out to explain, it would just make things seem worse and further solidify the fact that Du Hao abandoned her. Moreover, setting aside other reasons, she was indeed abandoned by Du Hao, even though Du Hao acted like he was compelled to do so.

All excuses about being compelled were just that—excuses. Basically, he couldn't handle expanding his business as much as Gu Ming.

Before long, the class bell rang. Professor Wang arrived punctually, stepping in with the sound of the bell.

"Today we're not having a lecture; we'll have a small quiz." As Professor Wang walked to the podium, he took out a wooden box and addressed the students below, "I have two jade pieces here. You've studied for a long time and have accumulated quite a bit of knowledge. Now, in pairs, come up one by one to appraise them. You're allowed to discuss, and then write down your conclusions. This will count towards your regular grades, so take it seriously."

Once Professor Wang finished speaking, everyone below immediately became alert, stretching their necks to see what good things he would bring out.

In their major, which was about appraisal, relying solely on textbook knowledge wasn't enough; they needed to see and practice more. Therefore, professors often took students out for field trips or brought small items for practice.

Professor Wang didn't care what the students were saying below. He opened the wooden box and took out the two items inside.

One was a "Money Turtle" and the other was a "Double Happiness" jade pendant.

"Double Happiness" was a folk ornament symbolizing love. In ancient times, people wanted to express romantic love but were too conservative to do so directly. So they carved two affectionate and playful animals, "badgers," into beautiful jade. "Badger" (獾) sounds like "happiness" (欢). The two badgers being affectionate together symbolized the love between men and women in the world. The "Double Happiness" jade pendant was actually a token for men and women to express love or a sexual awakening and education tool from elders to juniors.

"Start from the left. You have only one minute to look." After getting ready, Professor Wang called for someone.

One minute is neither too long nor too short; it mainly tests the students' first impressions. This was Professor Wang's favorite thing to do.

Gu Ming and Bai Fangfang happened to be sitting in seats on the left side. It wasn't long before it was their turn.

They were too far apart before, so they couldn't see clearly. When they moved closer, both items looked pretty good from the outside. The Money Turtle had a slight shimmer on it.

Looking only, it wasn't enough. Gu Ming held the Money Turtle in her left hand, feeling a slight warmth, but in her right hand, it didn't have that warmth feeling. The same with the Double Happiness pendant. When held in the left hand, it seemed to have a higher temperature than the Money Turtle, but when held in the right hand, that feeling disappeared, making her feel somewhat strange.

Jade and similar items tend to warm up over long-term wearing, but given how much time people usually hold them, it shouldn't heat up so quickly. Even if they were to warm up, they shouldn't feel warm in one hand and not in the other.

Furthermore, when holding the Money Turtle in her left hand, she didn't feel any particular change; she just thought the Money Turtle looked pleasing and the craftsmanship was good. But when holding the Double Happiness in her left hand, a sense of joy and fondness inexplicably surfaced in her heart, as if the Double Happiness was conveying a happy sentiment to her.

Similarly, when she switched to holding it in her right hand, all those feelings disappeared.

Bang bang bang...

Gu Ming's heart suddenly raced, staring at her left hand, feeling that something unusual had happened.