Chapter 11: Pretty Girls Really Do Get Help Even From Other Girls

Gao Qinghe finally finished crying. Her almond-shaped eyes were still misty, her gaze sweeping blurrily over the people present. She rubbed her eyes and was finally able to speak.

"Sister Xiao Qin, I'm sorry... it was so sudden, I had no choice but to borrow your clothes..."

She still had to put on a bit of an act.

Gao Qinghe hung her head low, her hands clasped in front of her knees, her fingertips twisting the hem of her skirt. Her voice carried a sob, made pitiful by its hoarseness.

Li Xiang's girlfriend wasn't buying it at all. She snorted coldly, sneered at the apology, and disdainfully turned her head away.

"Hey, Sister Xiao Qin, Qinghe didn't mean any harm," Lin Xi's voice sounded from the side. One hand gently rested beside Gao Qinghe's knee as she tried to mediate. "After all, the situation was special. If you'd been home at the time, I think you would have lent her the clothes too..."

Wow, she called me Qinghe!

Gao Qinghe looked at Lin Xi with teary eyes, a warm feeling rising uncontrollably in her heart.

As expected, I wasn't wrong about her before. Lin Xi really is a good girl, actually speaking up for me like this.

But then another thought struck her. Back when they were together, even when he, as Gao Jingdong, had argued with others, she had never once taken his side. It was a good day if she didn't call him childish and impulsive.

Thinking of this, Gao Qinghe felt a bit sad again.

Sigh, is it really just because I've become a delicate girl that Lin Xi is speaking up for me now?

"...That's two different things. Anyway, this woman absolutely cannot stay at Li Xiang's place," Xiao Qin's sharp voice cut in. "She had money to buy these clothes, she can definitely afford a hotel! It's all money from questionable sources anyway, she can just earn more the same way."

What 'Li Xiang's place'? I paid half the rent too, you know!

Alright, so it seems even if I'm a delicate girl, not everyone is going to take my side.

"Um... Qinghe, so what exactly happened? Did you get your luggage back?" Lin Xi asked, looking somewhat troubled.

Looks like I can't avoid this.

Gao Qinghe hemmed and hawed for a moment, her mind racing, and finally found a good excuse.

She took a deep breath, the movement causing a slight tremble in her chest.

"Actually... this money was given to me by my cousin," she began, her voice soft and weak, still tinged with tears. "I ran into my cousin just as I was leaving. He'd won some money in the lottery. He said he was utterly heartbroken and wanted to travel alone, to wander around... He said he wouldn't take his phone because he didn't want to be disturbed, and he asked me to come back and apologize to all of you on his behalf."

"What a heartbroken soul..." Lin Xi muttered under her breath, quietly rolling her eyes—a movement Gao Qinghe caught perfectly.

Huh? What does she mean by that? Does she not believe I'm sad, or is she mocking me for being sad?

The warmth she'd just felt for Lin Xi instantly evaporated.

"Then didn't he give you money to go home? Where's your hometown? If not, I can buy you a plane ticket and you can transfer me the money?" Li Xiang's girlfriend's voice sounded again, still with that aggressive tone.

Fine, so after all that, she still wants to kick me out.

"I... I ran away from home to come here... My dad is abusive!" The moment Gao Qinghe said it, she wanted to bite her own tongue off.

An abusive dad, a sick mom, a daughter in school, a broken-hearted him... I'm just following a formula here.

Sorry, Dad. You're a good dad.

"Ah..." Lin Xi gasped, her eyes instantly filling with sympathy. She leaned forward, her palm gently pressing on Gao Qinghe's shoulder with a rather serious air. "Are you okay?... No wonder you'd want to buy luxury goods to vent at a time like this. It's classic compensatory consumption, trying to rebuild your sense of self through changing your external image." She paused, then added, "It's okay, Qinghe. You don't need to feel embarrassed. It's a very normal behavior."

Wow...不愧是学心理学的, Lin Xi actually rationalized all that nonsense I just spouted.

"I..." Gao Qinghe opened her mouth, but of course, not a single word came out.

"It's okay, I understand. Sister Xiao Qin, you don't need to worry," Lin Xi said, her hand on Gao Qinghe's shoulder giving a gentle, firm squeeze. "Qinghe can stay at my place for now. My sofa is a fold-out bed, it can be opened up for someone to sleep on."

Holy crap, that works? Lin Xi... she's... she's really too generous, isn't she?

Gao Qinghe was so shocked her mouth hung open.

"Qinghe, do you think that's okay? Or would you rather stay here?"

Lin Xi's concerned tone made Gao Qinghe even more dumbfounded—she was even asking for her opinion!

You have to know, back when we were together, she often did things without considering my feelings, acting first and explaining later. That was a major reason we fought.

Seeing Gao Qinghe nod, Lin Xi revealed a comforting smile. "Shall we go now then? While it's still early, we can buy some things you need on the way." She glanced toward Gao Jingdong's room. "Do you want to go pack your things?"

Gao Qinghe nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, extremely eager.

A Lin Xi who cares for people like this is really reassuring.

If I can get this kind of care from her just because I'm a girl, then being a girl is just too awesome—

A sense of happiness made Gao Qinghe feel light-headed. She floated all the way into Gao Jingdong's room as if walking on cotton.