Rebirth Begins with Rejecting my Childhood Friend - Chapter 508

After Gu Pandi sat down, she looked at the four dishes and one soup on the table.

Xu Xiuwen said, “Aunt Gu, try this fish I cooked.”

“Mm.”

Gu Pandi picked up a piece of fish and put it into her mouth.

Xu Xiuwen watched as she took a bite and immediately asked, “How does it taste?”

He was expecting to hear her praise.

But when he looked at Gu Pandi, he saw two streams of tears rolling down from the corners of her eyes.

Aunt Gu was crying!

Xu Xiuwen froze. Is my fish really that bad?

But he quickly realized that her tears had nothing to do with how the fish tasted.

With a concerned expression, Xu Xiuwen asked, “Aunt Gu, why are you crying?”

Gu Pandi wasn’t crying because the fish tasted bad.

In fact, the fish was tender and delicious.

She was crying because she thought about how some people, despite only having eaten her cooking a few times, knew how to be considerate—knew to cook for her when she was feeling sad.

Yet there were others…

She had spent over ten years as a housewife, cooking countless meals for one person.

But all she got in return was hurt and betrayal.

When she compared the two…

How could she not feel heartbroken?

She felt like she had failed.

So, the tears fell uncontrollably.

Hearing Xu Xiuwen’s concern, she didn’t want him to see her as a joke, nor did she want to drag him into the complicated world of adults.

She wiped her tears away and shook her head. “I wasn’t crying, just got some dust in my eye.”

Of course, Xu Xiuwen knew it wasn’t because of dust.

She was definitely crying.

But since she wasn’t willing to admit it, nor explain why, he didn’t push her.

All he could do was silently put more food into her bowl.

Aunt Gu didn’t seem to have much of an appetite.

She only ate a few bites before putting down her chopsticks.

After dinner, Xu Xiuwen took care of washing the dishes.

Unlike Xiao Youran and An Shishi, Aunt Gu was different.

He wouldn’t let her do any chores.

After finishing the dishes, he returned to the living room from the kitchen.

Gu Pandi was sitting on the sofa, unusually quiet.

Xu Xiuwen took the initiative to break the silence.

“Aunt Gu, why don’t you stay here tonight? You can sleep in Youran’s room.”

“Xiao Xu… You… you and Youran have already slept together?”

Gu Pandi looked at Xu Xiuwen in disbelief.

Xu Xiuwen immediately understood what she was thinking.

Although he and Xiao Youran had indeed done everything, considering that elders might not approve of premarital cohabitation, he told a small, well-intentioned lie.

“Aunt Gu, I have plenty of rooms here. Sometimes, when Youran doesn’t feel like staying on campus, she comes over to sleep, but she has her own room, and I have mine.”

“Sorry, Xiao Xu, I misunderstood you.” Gu Pandi apologized with an embarrassed smile.

“It’s alright, Aunt Gu.”

Gu Pandi then said, “I should just find a hotel to stay in.”

“Aunt Gu, if you say that, I’ll be upset. Just stay here and don’t worry about anything.”

“But—”

“No buts. Just listen to me on this.” Xu Xiuwen unknowingly became firm, his tone turning serious.

Instead of feeling disrespected, Gu Pandi remained silent for a few seconds before agreeing.

“Alright then.”

“Aunt Gu, let me show you the room. Come with me.”

“Okay.”

Xu Xiuwen turned around and walked toward Xiao Youran’s room, dragging Aunt Gu’s suitcase along with him.

Upon reaching the room, he said to Gu Pandi, “Aunt Gu, you’ll sleep here tonight. I’m just across the hall, so if you need anything, just call me.”

“Xiao Xu, I really don’t know how to thank you.”

“Aunt Gu, if you keep being this polite, I’ll really get mad! Forget the fact that you’re my mom’s friend—just thinking about how you’ve watched me grow up and treated me so well, how could I possibly let you stay in a hotel now that you’re in Jinling? What kind of person would that make me? Besides, next time my mom gets mad at me, I’ll be counting on you to put in a good word for me—just like when I was a kid.”

Gu Pandi felt nothing but warmth in her heart.

Hearing his last words, she was reminded of the past and suddenly let out a chuckle.

Seeing her smile, Xu Xiuwen felt relieved.

“Aunt Gu, if you want to take a shower later, I’ll get you some fresh toiletries.”

“Mm, thank you.”

Xu Xiuwen ran back and forth, quickly preparing everything Gu Pandi might need.

“Aunt Gu, if you’re tired, just go to sleep. If not, you can relax in the living room and watch TV—it’s up to you. I’ve had a long day, so I’m going to rest now.”

“Alright.”

Xu Xiuwen had just turned to leave when his phone rang.

He picked it up and saw that it was Xiao Youran calling.

Glancing at Gu Pandi, he didn’t step out to take the call but answered it right where he stood.

As soon as the call connected, Xiao Youran’s anxious voice came through.

“Xiao Xu, Aunt Gu is missing!”

Xu Xiuwen’s phone volume was quite loud. Even though it wasn’t on speaker, in the quiet room, the words were clearly audible.

Hearing this, Xu Xiuwen instinctively looked at Gu Pandi.

She had obviously heard Xiao Youran too, and her expression immediately turned awkward.

Seeing her reaction, Xu Xiuwen had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

Pretending not to notice, he replied in a calm tone, “Youran, don’t panic. Take your time and tell me exactly what happened.”

“I don’t know all the details, but I think Aunt Gu had a fight with Uncle Jiang, and then she just… ran away from home.”

“Uh…”

Ran away from home.

That was something only children usually did.

It was rare for an adult to actually run away from home.

But Xu Xiuwen knew Xiao Youran wasn’t exaggerating—because Aunt Gu had run away from home.

And she was sitting right in front of him.

“Xiao Xu, why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t you believe me?”

“No, I believe you. So, what’s the situation now?”

“You don’t even sound surprised… My mom and Aunt Ning have been trying to contact Aunt Gu, but they can’t reach her at all. They’re really worried something might have happened to her.”

Xu Xiuwen glanced at Gu Pandi and said, “Aunt Gu is an adult. She probably won’t be in any danger. You guys don’t need to worry too much.”

“How can we not worry? We haven’t been able to reach her for hours! Xiao Xu, don’t you care at all? Aunt Gu has always been so good to you—have you forgotten that?”

“I do care.”

Xu Xiuwen genuinely didn’t know how to explain.

Since Gu Pandi had deliberately left home, she obviously didn’t want people to know where she was.

Otherwise, she could have just said something now, and Xiao Youran wouldn’t have to worry.

But Gu Pandi didn’t say a word.

She remained silent, which meant she still didn’t want anyone to know where she was.

Xu Xiuwen couldn’t just reveal her whereabouts.

“Youran, how about this? I’ll give Aunt Gu a call and see if I can reach her.”

“But her phone is off. We’ve been trying, and we can’t get through.”

“It’s fine. You guys might not be able to reach her, but maybe I can.”

“What kind of logic is that? You’re not some kind of magician…” Xiao Youran muttered before sighing, “Alright then, but call her right away! If you hear anything, let me know immediately.”

“Got it.”

After ending the call, Xu Xiuwen looked at Gu Pandi and couldn’t help but ask, “Aunt Gu, you’re an adult, and you actually ran away from home?”

Gu Pandi looked embarrassed.

“Xiao Xu, I didn’t have a choice.”

“Mm, I understand. That’s why I didn’t tell Youran you’re here. It’s alright, Aunt Gu. If you’re feeling down, just stay here as long as you need.”

“Thank you, Xiao Xu.”

“There you go again with the formalities! Look, I get that you don’t want my mom and the others to know where you are, and that’s fine. But at least call them back and let them know you’re safe. Otherwise, if they get too worried and go to the police, things will get out of hand. You wouldn’t want the whole neighborhood knowing you ran away from home, would you?”

Gu Pandi fell silent.

After a moment, she nodded. “Alright, I’ll listen to you. I’ll call them in a bit.”

“That puts my mind at ease.”

“Oh, right. Aunt Gu, does Xiaoyu know about this? Is she home alone right now?”

Gu Pandi shook her head. “Xiaoyu went to her grandmother’s place a few days ago. She hasn’t come back yet.”

“Alright, got it. Well then, I won’t keep you up. Get some rest. If you need anything, just call me.”

With that, Xu Xiuwen returned to his bedroom.

He wasn’t leaving because he didn’t want to see Aunt Gu, and he certainly wasn’t rushing back to chat with his girlfriends.

He just wanted to give her some space.

People can only truly heal when they’re alone.

Not long after he got back to his room, Xu Xiuwen’s phone rang again.

It was Xiao Youran.

She told him that Gu Pandi had finally contacted Zhang Ruoshu.

She found it unbelievable—how come no one else could reach Aunt Gu, but Xiao Xu somehow could?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Xiao Xu was capable of anything!

They chatted for a while, and at the same time, Xu Xiuwen was texting Tang Weiwei on his other phone.

Before he knew it, it was already 11 p.m.

He put down his phone, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

—

In the middle of the night, Xu Xiuwen was half-asleep when he heard something.

It sounded like… a woman crying.

Drowsy but alert, he sat up and got out of bed.

Opening the door, he paused.

The moment the door creaked open, the crying stopped.

He glanced at the door across the hall, unsure if the sound had come from inside.

Just as he was about to turn back to his room—

He heard someone inhale sharply.

This time, he was sure—the sound came from the living room.

A burglar? Or…?

Xu Xiuwen quietly made his way toward the living room.

The lights were off, and the room was dim.

A beam of moonlight stretched across the floor.

As he reached the corner of the hallway—

Click!

The living room light turned on.

“Aunt Gu?”

Now that the lights were on.

Xu Xiuwen saw someone sitting on the couch in the living room.

It was Aunt Gu.

She had her arms wrapped around her legs, curled up on the sofa, her head buried between her knees.

When the light flicked on, she lifted her head.

Tears streaked her face, her eyes were red and swollen, and she was still sobbing softly.

At this moment, she didn’t look like an elder at all.

Instead, she resembled a little girl who had been wronged, hiding away to cry in secret.

If life were a game, Xu Xiuwen felt like he was now faced with four choices:

A: Pretend he didn’t see anything.

(Avoid unnecessary effort while also reducing Aunt Gu’s embarrassment. No increase in favorability.)

B: Ask what’s wrong.

(Ignore Aunt Gu’s discomfort in order to satisfy his curiosity. Could increase or decrease favorability, so choose wisely.)

C: Comfort her without asking.

(A safe choice, but too much of this could turn him into an emotional crutch. Small increase in favorability.)

D: Scold her.

(A harsh approach—she’ll apologize but feel even worse. Big drop in favorability, unless she has a masochistic personality, in which case, there’s a 1% chance she might actually develop feelings for him.)

Xu Xiuwen decisively chose B.

He walked over to the dining table, picked up a box of tissues, then sat down next to Aunt Gu.

Handing her the tissues, he gently asked, “Why are you crying alone in the living room? Did something sad come to mind?”

“(Sniff) I… I’m fine… (Sniff)”

“You call this fine? If you were fine, would you be crying in the living room in the middle of the night? Do you think I’m a little kid?”

“You… just don’t worry about adult matters. Go back to bed.”

“Oh, so you won’t tell me?” Xu Xiuwen leaned back. “Then I’ll just sit here until you do.”

As her elder, Gu Pandi felt too ashamed to let Xu Xiuwen know about her failed marriage.

She was determined not to speak.

But what she didn’t know was that Xu Xiuwen already knew everything.

Seeing how much she cared about saving face, he didn’t push her further.

Instead, he suddenly suggested, “Since that’s the case, Aunt Gu, how about watching a movie with me?”

“A… a movie?”

“Yeah. I feel like watching one. Keep me company?”

He got up and put on a DVD.

He chose a horror movie.

Gu Pandi didn’t understand why he was doing this, but she didn’t leave either.

So the two of them sat on the couch, watching a horror film together.

Their expressions shifted with the flickering images on the screen.

Then, all of a sudden—

A terrifying scene jumped out.

Gu Pandi flinched.

On instinct, she shrank behind Xu Xiuwen, gripping the sleeve of his shirt and hiding her head against his shoulder.

Xu Xiuwen didn’t pull away.

Instead, he subtly leaned his shoulder closer.

He said, “If you’re scared, just go ahead and cry. I won’t laugh at you.”

With that, he turned back to the screen and continued watching.

Less than five minutes later—

He heard quiet sobbing beside him.

At first, the sound was soft.

Then, it grew louder.

Until finally, she wasn’t holding back at all.

Xu Xiuwen placed the tissue box on his lap.

Gu Pandi kept pulling out tissues, wiping her tears over and over.

By the time the movie ended, the box was almost empty.

Xu Xiuwen turned off the TV and looked at her.

“Feel better now? Ready to tell me what’s wrong?”

Gu Pandi still didn’t want to say.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuwen said, “Aunt Gu, have you ever heard of Bacon’s Law?”

“What’s that?”

“Bacon’s Law states that when you share happiness with a friend, you double your happiness. But when you share sorrow with a friend, your sorrow is halved. So, if you’re feeling down or have been hurt, you should talk to someone about it.”