Chapter 25, Section 25: "Jiang Yi, is this a plea for mercy?"

Gu Lai didn't expect Jiang Yi to reply immediately after sending the message.

It's not that Jiang Yi would be petty and follow Gu Lai's example just because she didn't reply promptly. She wouldn't use such despicable methods, but sometimes, while replying promptly, she would quietly use various means to find out what was going on with Gu Lai.

Gu Lai had a hard time discerning when she would care, when she would feel resentment, when that resentment would disappear, or when it would still exist without her knowledge.

However, Gu Lai doesn't care anymore. The grudge has probably grown to a mountain, so it's not worth mentioning this little bit.

She relayed the message Jiang Yi sent her to the PR department without replying herself. Later, the message was suppressed, and she never thought to reply again.

—After meeting that day, Gu Lai unpinned Jiang Yi's message from the top of her chat list.

Gu Lai was no longer as distraught as she had been in the days immediately following the divorce proposal, so lost and confused that she could only numb herself with other things. Since that day they met, she even felt a sense of satisfaction.

Only Jiang Yi, carrying faded memories of the past, began to appear more and more frequently in her life, joyful, angry, dreamy, and quiet, floating like a shadow in every breath of her life. Gu Lai had never realized that her memory was so good.

When Gu Lai recalled Jiang Yi's subtle hints that day, and the eight words "old feelings are hard to let go, lingering feelings are not over," she no longer felt the panic she had felt then, but rather a sense of melancholy.

From the past to the future, she was indeed hopelessly attracted to Jiang Yi, but the "divorce" was not entirely an impulse to argue.

Moreover, Jiang Yi is so cunning; she didn't try to stop him on the day he said he wanted a divorce, but later she was so gentle.

Gu Lai was unwilling to doubt her lover of ten years, but she couldn't quite tell whether it was deep affection or indifference.

What kind of deep affection would lead someone to push their lover away?

Gu Lai turned off her phone and set it aside, replacing the page that had been filled with writing with a new one. She hummed a simple demo softly while writing a few lines of lyrics.

She stared at her handwriting for a long time before trying to correct the rhymes, and finally rewrote it in English.

I want to know if you care.

Or perhaps you are finally free.

The phone screen flickered.

Jiang Yi: [Can I make a phone call?]

Gu Lai replied slowly.

Gu Lai: [Let's video chat]

Two seconds later, a communication request came in. Gu Lai hesitated for a few seconds, then turned off her own camera and answered the call.

The background opposite is an unfamiliar place that looks like a living room. It's very quiet, and there seems to be no one around.

From the camera's perspective, Gu Lai felt as if she had been lifted up by a red object and placed at an angle on a low coffee table or something similar, facing the single sofa. After coming to a stop, the red object that had been swaying in front of the camera shrank and transformed into a complete set of bathrobes.

Jiang Yi, who was wrapped up tightly, appeared fully in the camera's view. She looked at the camera and then stepped forward and bent down.

The face suddenly zoomed in.

Jiang Yi must have just finished showering; her hair was wrapped in a milky-white towel, the roots looking damp, and her fair skin seemed to still retain the lingering scent of moisture. The camera lens was so clear that Gu Lai could even see each of her individual eyebrows.

As she looked down to examine the water, her swan-like neck curved into an elegant arc, the water easily slid down, flowing over her collarbone and disappearing into her nightgown.

Gu Lai kept her eyes fixed on the small water droplet, and only took a silent breath after it disappeared.

Sometimes it might not be that Jiang Yi is particularly skilled or doing it on purpose; it could also be attributed to her lack of willpower.

Jiang Yi, completely unaware, exclaimed, "Huh? Why is your connection black? Is your network stuck?"

Gu Lai simply said, "It's not very convenient."

On the screen, Jiang Yi paused slightly before straightening up. He didn't ask why it wasn't convenient to make a video call, but he also didn't turn off the camera.

She stared intently at the phone screen's camera, stepped back, sat on the sofa, and reached out to pull out a towel to dry her hair: "Okay."

Gu Lai still had a question: "Where are you?"

Jiang Yi: "Garden Hotel, I'm in Hong Kong."

Jiang Yi clearly had no interest in staring at the black screen, but she just sat there drying her hair, her gaze wandering aimlessly with her movements.

She brought up the topic Gu Lai had asked her.

"The issues of fake box office figures and the Slow Bull Group won't end anytime soon. What we're dealing with before the Spring Festival are some cases that were already being targeted and identified, so they're easy to catch. Recently, quite a few artists have had their messy companies deregistered, and we've had many interviews with them. That lady herself is doing the same thing as director Mu Hongru; I just mentioned it briefly."

She shook her head slightly and said casually, "There was no judicial intervention."

Even though what she said had a slightly chilling undertone, Gu Lai still found Jiang Yi's wet, head-shaking movements quite adorable.

She inexplicably recalled a video of a jaguar cub wading in water and then jumping away, shaking its head.

The previous thought could be explained by my long-standing habit, but this time it's harder to explain.

Gu Lai sighed to herself.

“It sounds dangerous to me, but you probably have your reasons for doing this. Actually, what I really want to say is that you don’t need to do this anymore, but…” Gu Lai hesitated for a moment, looked at Jiang Yi who had no change in expression, and said softly, “I was probably overreacting the last few times, I’m sorry.”

Alai was actually apologizing for rejecting her.

Jiang Yi remained silent for quite a while.

Gu Lai never expected Jiang Yi to react so calmly after she finished speaking.

She probably didn't say anything strange or excessive, right?

Could it be that Jiang Yi felt her words were too unfamiliar?

Gu Lai was lost in doubt for a few moments before she saw Jiang Yi make a move.

Jiang Yi reached out and pulled a soft pillow behind him, leaning against it. He lowered his eyes and said, "It's nothing. I wanted to do it, and I felt I should do it, whether it was the airport matter, the document you thought was absurd last time, or this matter. Especially today's matter, it's like killing two birds with one stone, and it's a convenient thing to do."

“I just think you don’t have to refuse these obvious benefits because of… because of anything, and I would rather,” she paused for a moment, then repeated, “I would rather… want to do it.”

Gu Lai's voice was very soft: "What do you hope for?"

Jiang Yi did not answer directly.

She held the towel, lowered her head and buried her face, and it took her about ten seconds before she raised her head.

Gu Lai wasn't sure if she was holding a hot towel, which was why her cheeks seemed a little red.

Jiang Yi stared at the black screen of her phone and suddenly laughed. Unlike her usual smile, this time she squinted slightly, her eye bags deep and curved, carrying a rare hint of charming helplessness.

Jiang Yi said, "I asked you so many questions before, and now you're not letting me off the hook either."

Gu Lai stared at the screen, and she suddenly felt as if Jiang Yi was sitting right in front of her, just like on an ordinary afternoon.

She asked, almost as if possessed, "Jiang Yi, is this a plea for mercy?"

Jiang Yi laughed again: "Yes."

Gu Lai remained silent for a long time.

She was a little unsure how to respond.

However, Jiang Yi did not urge her like before.

The silent dialogue flowed along the radio waves between two places more than a thousand kilometers apart.

Gu Lai watched Jiang Yi stare blankly for a while, then wiped her hair.

They used to make videos too.

Sometimes they share their experiences, even though they are thousands of miles apart; other times they simply keep their video calls on and do their own thing. Gu Lai looks up during a break from her busy schedule and can see her porcelain-white profile, with smooth and elegant lines from her jawline, neck to her shoulders and back.

Gu Lai's gaze rarely lasted long. In the beginning, her gaze would linger for a long time, but Jiang Yi was too perceptive and could always calmly turn his head to meet her gaze.

Later, she intentionally shortened the time she spent looking up each time, and it became a habit. In the midst of her busy life, whether it was tedious or fulfilling, she would occasionally glance up, like a goldfish taking a short, shallow breath, which provided her with enough oxygen to sway in the deep sea.

Gu Lai called her softly, "Jiang Yi."

Jiang Yi asked, "What's wrong?"

Gu Lai took a deep breath and called out again, "...Jiang Yi."

She saw Jiang Yi turn his gaze towards the camera lens, looking at her through the screen.

Jiang Yi leaned forward, reached out and picked up his phone, his gaze sweeping over the window projecting his image, but still landing on the small round hole.

"I'm here," she whispered.

There was complete silence from the speaker, and after an unknown amount of time, a very short sound finally escaped.

It was a small sob.

Jiang Yi closed his eyes.

Her hands and feet were ice-cold. Gu Lai had once insisted that this was due to poor blood circulation, that blood couldn't be supplied smoothly. Now, she seemed to truly feel this; blood was being drained from her limbs and rushed frantically to her heart, and even her entire chest felt like it was being squeezed. Self-blame, heartache, confusion, sadness, panic... a jumble of emotions churned within her, which she subconsciously suppressed and concealed.

She held her phone, instinctively raising her finger to touch the small round hole, but then suddenly remembered it was the camera hole, and her finger ended up on the screen.

She seemed to have suddenly developed aphasia.

After a while, Gu Lai's voice came over, her tone so calm that it seemed as if Jiang Yi's voice was just a hallucination, but her usually gentle voice was a little hoarse, ruthlessly telling Jiang Yi that it was reality.

Lately, I keep thinking about you, about the past, whether it's eating, working, having fun, or even just spacing out, I always seem to connect it to similar scenes. Do you?

"……meeting."

“I was very sad at first, but now, now the pain isn’t so sharp anymore, it’s starting to linger… This isn’t what you wanted either.”

"no."

"Then why did it turn out like this?"

After a pause, Gu Lai repeated, "Then why has it turned out like this? It seems you only care about whether your lover appears glamorous in front of others, so you don't care whether they are truly happy."

Gu Lai stared at the screen. Jiang Yi remained silent for a moment, but she didn't look away. She just stared quietly at the camera hole, as if she could really see herself.

Gu Lai couldn't read her emotions and suspected she was carefully choosing her words.

What would she say? Would she explain, elaborate, and use rational language to tell her story?

“I care. I don’t think you’re happy. I’ve probably felt this way for about three years now.”

Jiang Yi paused for a moment, then said softly, "But I don't seem to know why either."

————————

This is the chapter that wasn't updated today. The chapter that was supposed to be updated around midnight tomorrow will also be there, but I don't know when I'll finish writing it... By the time I finish writing it, it will be very late [crack].

Goodnight [panda head emoji]

Thanks to March for the grenades and rocket launchers, Sweetheart went to too much trouble.

Thank you for the nutrient solution, sweetheart:

Bird's Dog, Nutrient Solution +10; Fortune, Nutrient Solution +2

March, Nutrient Solution +1; Little i wants to sleep, Nutrient Solution +1