Chapter 26, Section 26: "...Give me a little more time, Alai."

Gu Lai was caught off guard by Jiang Yi's bluntness.

She felt as if she had fallen from a height of ten thousand meters, only to be caught by clouds like cotton candy. A sense of bewilderment was followed by surprise, and a sweet aftertaste lingered.

She wasn't angry at all at Jiang Yi's words, even though the last half of his sentence sounded like an excuse.

Gu Lai believed her answer without hesitation.

It's strange, but if Gu Lai had to choose the person she trusts most, it would be Jiang Yi over the past ten years. A premonition tells her that it will be the same in the future.

It wasn't for any reason that Jiang Yi felt was "unnecessary"; when it came to interests, she was so eager to squeeze every last drop of blood from even a passing mosquito.

This is the self-awareness and sixth sense of the favored, as well as the power of ten years. Even Gu Lai herself didn't realize that she should have been wary of people who could easily hurt her, but instead had a blind trust in Jiang Yi.

Gu Lai suddenly felt like crying again.

She was too easily moved to tears, she told herself. She didn't even know if Jiang Yi had heard her just now, as he had been silent the whole time. He probably sensed something was wrong.

She pondered Jiang Yi's answer again, and belatedly felt a sense of bewilderment.

Gu Lai murmured in confusion, "Three years ago?"

She noticed that Jiang Yi pursed his lips slightly.

Jiang Yi replied, "Probably, it's been a while. It's just that I haven't known how to say it... partly because I'm a little hesitant to say it."

Gu Lai asked in surprise, "You wouldn't dare? I thought you wouldn't have such feelings."

Jiang Yi: "I am a normal person."

"Um?"

“Normal people will not lack various negative emotions, including fear.”

“But I’ve always thought you were very bold,” Gu Lai retorted, saying matter-of-factly, “and confident, like the sun.”

Jiang Yi was a little stunned by the sudden and straightforward praise, but she quickly recovered. A hint of pride subconsciously welled up in her eyes, but then disappeared, and she returned to her calm and clear mind.

What's the use of this? She thought, the truly bold one is Gu Lai.

Her boldness stemmed from careful planning and a gamble based on a substantial amount of capital, which is entirely different from a desperate gamble.

Just like back then, Gu Lai, determined to retire from the entertainment industry, smashed a bottle over Aunt Se's head and sent her to the hospital, and afterwards could still calmly go to the bathroom to wash her hands. Jiang Yi would never do such a thing; she would only endure and lie low, waiting until she had completely gained power before taking revenge.

She cannot accept failure.

However, her greatest Waterloo, a decade of failure, occurred during this very phone call.

Jiang Yi said, "Really?"

Gu Lai looked at her, who seemed unusually quiet and aloof, and recalled what she had just said. Suddenly, she said, "I've noticed that you do seem different from before."

Jiang Yi: "What?"

“You would probably have said ‘Of course’ before, raising an eyebrow, like this—”

Gu Lai mimicked the smug expression perfectly, with a captivating and radiant quality.

"You're getting quieter and quieter now, like a deep pool. It seems like you only have intense emotions when you're arguing with me."

Jiang Yi said quietly, "That probably isn't just when we're arguing that our emotions get intense."

"What?"

“There are also some other everyday things that I’m intense about but you don’t want to be intense about.”

"..."

A few breaths later, Gu Lai's angry voice came in: "Jiang Yi, I really feel an anger that makes me want to punch into the screen."

Jiang Yi gave a slight pout and made a "I can't help it if you understand it instantly" expression.

Gu Lai's imagination ran wild, and she couldn't help but feel thankful once again that she hadn't turned on the camera.

She quickly recovered, perhaps due to the lingering embarrassment, and suddenly realized something subtly: "Jiang Yi, were you just avoiding the topic?"

Jiang Yi admitted, "Ah, half and half, it's mainly for rebuttal."

Gu Lai ignored the second half of the sentence: "What's there to run away from? It's not surprising that people change."

“But this is also frightening, otherwise why would there be the saying ‘If only life were as beautiful as the first time we met’?” Jiang Yi paused, “especially when the past was good enough.”

In the video, Jiang Yi finally put down the towel, her hair a mess from drying, resembling the frizzy hairstyle of a former "trendy" girl. Just moments before, her hair had been tossed around while still dripping wet, water dripping from her forehead into her eyes. Her bathrobe was also soaked, the once bright and vibrant silk fabric with its subtle patterns now dull and clinging more tightly to her skin than when it was dry.

Gu Lai looked into her eyes, which were slightly red, and there seemed to be a drop of water clinging to her eyelashes.

Gu Lai suddenly recalled a saying, "Rough clothes and disheveled hair cannot hide her beauty."

After a long pause, she said, "You seem unusually frank and direct in your speech today."

Jiang Yi didn't pay attention to her appearance. With her messy hair, she rested her chin on her hand, propped up on a cushion, and looked down at her phone, asking, "Is this a statement or a question?"

"Question," Gu Lai said.

"The best time is always now." Jiang Yi was silent for a moment. "I'm afraid it will be too late in the future."

They both knew why.

But nobody mentioned it.

In fact, when Jiang Yi gave the documents to Gu Lai, it meant that the transaction on her side was already complete. Gu Lai handed them over to her lawyer and then ignored them, but even so, she quickly received the results.

But no one suggested that it was time to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Gu Lai said, "The best time... but you also said it would be three years."

You didn't feel it was too late for three years, but now you're starting to regret it?

However, she seemed somewhat annoyed after she finished speaking.

Gu Lai recalled the numerous arguments before she filed for divorce. She was not unaware of Jiang Yifeng's sharp and compelling words, and she also knew her soon-to-be ex-wife's sister too well.

She could even picture Jiang Yi's counter-question—

And what about you? Why did you hesitate to say "get the paperwork done" after saying "divorce"? What are you hesitating about?

Jiang Yi said, "It was somewhat shameless, so I was punished by heaven."

"Shut up," Gu Lai said reflexively. "Even atheists shouldn't talk nonsense."

As soon as he finished speaking, both of them froze for a moment.

Memories of the past, like silent yet towering waves, engulfed both of them at the same time.

"Oh dear," Jiang Yi said slowly, just like countless times before, "I understand."

After she finished speaking, she raised her hand to cover her eyes.

Gu Lai stared silently for a while, and didn't seem to be crying.

She asked, "Why are you covering your eyes?"

"I got a little emotional...intense," Jiang Yi said, still having the leisure to pull back the subtle teasing in front of her, "very intense, trying to cover it up a bit."

Gu Lai: "…………"

Jiang Yi moved his hand away, held the phone closer, and smiled: "Are my eyes red?"

Gu Lai noticed the red streaks in her eyes that hadn't faded since the water droplets had gotten in.

She bluntly stated the truth: "I've become famous."

"Oh, your attempt to bury your head in the sand has failed miserably. Fine," Jiang Yi said. "Don't expose me again."

Gu Lai said, "When you're trying to hide something, I can't possibly tell, and I'll know nothing about it."

Jiang Yi: "Really?"

Gu Lai was taken aback by her declarative rhetorical question.

Is that so?

Is your "don't expose me" sarcastic, or an unintentional hint?

Gu Lai recalled what Jiang Yi had mentioned about starting three years ago. Why three years ago?

What happened that year? She won the Grand Slam, Jiang Yi was the vice president, and life was peaceful. The only ripple was that Jiang Yi bought a superyacht as a birthday gift, which made her worry for a long time about what birthday gift to prepare.

Gu Lai had never understood why things had turned out this way; it seemed as if everything had happened gradually and naturally. However, Jiang Yi had now given her a key phrase: three years ago.

But Gu Lai suddenly lost the courage to ask further questions, even though Jiang Yi was unusually gentle and answered all her questions today.

Something seemed to be subtly telling her not to ask, or she would probably not get the real answer.

"If you don't want me to see it, why don't you refuse to video chat?" Gu Lai hesitated for a moment before saying, "Actually, I didn't turn on my camera, thinking you would refuse too."

"Why do you ask that?" Jiang Yi asked. "Do you think I don't want to be in a situation where I'm being stared at unilaterally?"

Gu Lai was startled by the familiar, sharp, and formal style of phrasing. She nodded, then, remembering that Jiang Yi couldn't see, said, "Yes."

Jiang Yi smiled softly.

“That’s not necessarily true, Alai,” her voice was somewhat muffled, like a revelation from a distant dream, “Perhaps I have received far more than you imagine.”

—And it sounds really weird.

Gu Lai was unaware that, because of her request to gaze at him, Jiang Yi was completely excited by her suggestion at that moment.

Jiang Yi could certainly guess that Gu Lai's so-called "inconvenience" was just psychological inconvenience. Whether it was because of escapism, calmness, or wanting to control the pace so that she could ask him questions instead of being controlled, Gu Lai didn't really try to hide these things.

But Gu Lai didn't know that while Jiang Yi's gaze would be interpreted and might soothe her increasingly intense longing, Jiang Yi could also find some relief through Gu Lai's professional exposure. What she truly craved was Gu Lai's undivided attention.

When she made this request, Jiang Yi could even discern another chilling answer—

Perhaps there was another reason for the video: Gu Lai also wanted to see her.

Jiang Yi did not elaborate on the meaning.

She downplayed the main point of her words: "As long as it's efficient enough, I don't mind the form it takes."

Gu Lai felt that her words just now seemed to have a profound meaning, but she couldn't figure it out.

She gave him a small jab: "Is everything so efficient, Jiang Yi?" Like some of the procedures at the Civil Affairs Bureau?

Jiang Yi blinked and said, "I guess your purpose in making the video call wasn't to urge this."

Gu Lai's gaze was held captive for a few seconds by her butterfly-like eyelashes before he suddenly realized something was wrong—what were we doing? Was the matter we were discussing so frivolous?

Before she could speak, the thought had barely crossed her mind when Jiang Yi's already faint ease vanished, as if a veil had been suddenly torn away. The pious look of this atheist towards a deity flashed across her face in an instant.

Gu Lai didn't see it clearly. By the time she noticed, Jiang Yi's gaze had only a hint of tenderness remaining.

"...Give me a little more time, Alai."

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I'm so sleepy I can't think straight. I'll fix it tomorrow morning. Kiss to my sweethearts in their sleep.