Chapter 31: He silenced her with a kiss through her mask, preventing her from saying what she was about to say.

“That’s all,” the voice on the other end of the phone said. “That’s all I wanted to say.”

Gu Lai was speechless.

Her first reaction was fear.

She blurted it out uncontrollably, only realizing the dangerous implication of her words as soon as they left her lips. At that moment, she was actually relieved by Jiang Yi's seemingly rational and calm voice.

But she couldn't bring herself to apologize; she was practically speechless, her mind a complete blank.

The feeling of blankness from the sudden news of her death was now beginning to erode her mind.

“What I mean is…” Gu Lai struggled to grasp the words floating in her mind, “is… what else?”

After a few moments of silence, someone on the other end gently called out to her, "Ah Lai, are you on set right now?"

The question was so simple it didn't even require thinking. Gu Lai simply hummed in agreement.

“You didn’t have time to apply for the flight route, so I messaged Zhou Shanshan. There’s a direct flight to Dingcheng the day after tomorrow, and a car will pick you up when you arrive.” Jiang Yi explained in detail, then asked calmly, “I can see Mom at the hospital the day after tomorrow afternoon. Is this arrangement okay?”

Gu Lai was confused and didn't understand the first half of the sentence. She barely understood the second half and said, "Okay."

“Okay, you don’t need to worry about anything now, let Zhou Shanshan arrange everything,” Jiang Yi said. “Don’t skip meals, get some rest. Traveling is tiring, so don’t overthink things. We’ll talk about everything when we get to Dingcheng, okay?”

Gu Lai slowly opened the car door following her words and saw Zhou Shanshan standing anxiously outside the car talking to her assistant. When she heard the noise and turned to look at Gu Lai, Zhou Shanshan's expression suddenly relaxed.

Gu Lai said softly, "Okay."

Jiang Yi asked gently, "Is there anything else? Please tell me?"

After a long pause, Gu Lai said with difficulty, "Jiang Yi."

"What's the matter?"

After Jiang Yi finished speaking, she paused for two breaths. She suddenly remembered that video call when Gu Lai repeatedly called her name.

She suddenly realized something, grabbed her phone and said, "I'm here, I've always been here, you'll see me when you come to Dingcheng."

Gu Lai's rationality gradually returned as the itinerary proceeded in an orderly manner.

Dingcheng is located in Northwest China, where Gu Lai spent her childhood and adolescence. But she hasn't been there for eight years, and she hasn't seen her parents for eight years either.

Dingcheng was still dry and cold in early spring. Having spent many years in the south, Gu Lai felt a painful sensation of her skin cracking from the whip-like north wind when she got off the plane.

Gu Lai sat in the car, watching the scenery rush by, feeling as if she had arrived in a city she had never been to before.

It was so unfamiliar that it made her feel nauseous.

Before she could figure out which hospital it was, the car took her and her group to the building entrance. As she got out of the car, she asked Zhou Shanshan, "Did they tell you where it is?"

Zhou Shanshan reached out to support her, looking straight ahead, and said, "President Jiang."

Gu Lai looked up and saw Jiang Yi, wearing a mask, standing on the steps in the distance, making a phone call, with people coming and going behind and in front of him. At this moment, Jiang Yi seemed to sense something and turned his head, meeting her gaze.

Jiang Yi seemed to be trying to figure it out, or perhaps he was stunned for a moment. Then he said something, put away his phone, and strode towards her, his open trench coat billowing in the north wind.

“Aunt Luo is awake and has been moved to a regular ward. She's lucky the location of her injury is; she'll be fine after some rest.” Jiang Yi paused after speaking, then added, “Shall we go together?”

Gu Lai nodded silently.

Normally, all of Jiang Yi's assistants and secretaries would be nowhere to be seen, but now only Jiang Yi was there, and Gu Lai had only brought Zhou Shanshan with her.

As Jiang Yi walked, he explained the situation to Gu Lai.

She handed the phone to Gu Lai and spoke quickly: "Originally, it didn't matter whether you came into the ward or not, or whether you spoke or not, but now she insists that you come, and there are some things she just won't say. The specifics she won't say are all on the phone, like how to handle Uncle Gu's funeral, and some of her misunderstandings. Also, the police haven't questioned her yet, but she probably knew she was driving under the influence, which is also illegal."

The hospital was teeming with people—men, women, old, and young—cursing, talking, and children wailing. All of this, along with Jiang Yi's voice, rushed into my ears, only to be filtered out, leaving just Jiang Yi's individual words.

Gu Lai quickly flipped through the pages and replied in a low voice, "I understand."

As Jiang Yi led them through the emergency department, several pale-faced people sat numbly under the wall, staring at the ground. Several medical staff and family members, holding up IV drips, pushed hospital beds past.

Jiang Yi, who was originally half a body length ahead of Gu Lai, suddenly turned around and pulled Gu Lai to the side of the wall as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

Gu Lai was overwhelmed by the familiar scent of Sharon roses emanating from her.

She subconsciously looked up to her side, but Jiang Yi didn't look at her. He silently watched the hospital bed move away from them, then withdrew his hand and noticed her gaze.

Jiang Yi seemed to have misunderstood her gaze and explained to her in a low voice, "Aunt Luo is in the special needs ward. This is the shortest way to the ward."

Gu Lai didn't say anything.

The special needs ward and the international ward were connected, and the flow of people was noticeably less; it felt more like a comfortable hotel than a hospital. Jiang Yi pushed open the door of a ward and turned to Gu Lai, saying, "Auntie is here."

The ward was fully furnished, except for a bed. Gu Lai immediately noticed a woman in her sixties wearing a hospital gown and bandages.

Both strange and familiar.

Gu Lai stood frozen at the doorway.

Luo Ou broke the silence. She snorted coldly, her voice broken and weak from her injuries, but that didn't stop her from fixing Gu Lai with a nail-like gaze: "Who are you? I don't know you. You and that well-dressed woman behind you who came to see the dying patient, get out!"

Gu Lai heard the first three words and really thought that eight years had made Luo Ou forget about her, his only daughter. But when she heard the familiar yet sarcastic words that followed, she realized that it was just the mockery she was once very familiar with.

Gu Lai subconsciously turned around to look at the "glamorous woman." Jiang Yi had her beige coat draped over her arm, and the only bright spot on her black turtleneck sweater was her Kashmir sapphire necklace.

Her eyes met Jiang Yi's, and Jiang Yi mouthed "sorry" to her.

"You're cursing the person who paid for your stay here. Without her, would you be able to recover peacefully here? You would have been torn to pieces by the victim's family long ago." Gu Lai turned around, standing there coldly looking at Luo Ou, without even taking a step forward. "Glamorous? Stop spouting nonsense. Don't assume everyone is like I used to be."

“If you’re not dressed smartly, then you’re here for a funeral; you’re either dressed in black or white,” Luo Ou said. “Are you here with her for my funeral?”

Jiang Yi suddenly spoke up: "Auntie, A-Lai, I have to go out for a bit."

"ha."

"don't want!"

Two voices, one loud and one soft, appeared simultaneously. Gu Lai glanced at Luo Ou, who was forcing a smile and coughing, then turned to stare at Jiang Yi: "Are you in a hurry? If not, wait here for me for a while."

Luo Ou, who witnessed this, clicked her tongue in feigned surprise: "Lai'er, you're quite skilled! I didn't cultivate this aspect in you..."

She suddenly fell silent, watching Gu Lai point at her with her finger.

"Eight years, and you haven't learned a single lesson, haven't changed at all. You know I'm cunning, so just answer whatever I ask. Don't think that just because I'm with you, you can use family ties to blackmail me. When you changed my college application, this thing was almost gone. When you were planning to trick me into going to some kind of correctional institution, this thing was practically gone too. When you found out who my lover was, you clung to me again, trying to leech off me. I was already being kind by not hating you."

Gu Lai suddenly spoke sharply: "Did you understand?"

Luo Ou was startled and nodded hesitantly.

Gu Lai asked, "Why not let Gu Chengdong be buried?"

“I… cemetery plots are too expensive, I don’t have the money.”

"Fine, I'll have him cremated and his body scattered. Did you know that Gu Chengdong was drinking and driving?"

"I thought I hadn't drunk much..."

"Okay, I'll tell the police for you, and then you can cooperate fully with the investigation."

"you--!"

"Shut up, shh, I'll ask you first." Gu Lai stared at her, raising a slender index finger to her lips. "You keep telling everyone I'm your daughter, and you're making a fuss about starting a live stream. What are you trying to do?"

Luo Ou remained silent.

Gu Lai sighed, and subconsciously kicked the wall behind her in frustration: "I'm asking you."

Luo Ou shifted her gaze to Jiang Yi, who remained silent and expressionless: "She's not saying anything."

Gu Lai remained unmoved and replied, "You won't talk? Then you can sell the house and pay them back."

Luo Ou's eyes widened: "You don't care about your reputation at all?" You really don't care about her threat?

For some reason, Gu Lai turned and glanced at Jiang Yi again: "I don't rely on my reputation for a living."

After a long pause, Luo Ou said, "Do you know what kind of life I live? You don't rely on your reputation, ha. What do you rely on? The one next to you? Can you trust her? Do you know what kind of person she really is? Ridiculous, do you know how good she is at threatening people? Heavens, the anti-gang campaign hasn't even reached my doorstep!"

Gu Lai chuckled, and Luo Ou immediately fell silent, glaring at her angrily.

"You seem quite energetic, not at all like the illness my wife described to me when she came," Gu Lai said with annoyance. "If you have a grievance, then file a complaint. Anyway, the police will interrogate you later, it's very convenient. That's all, you can rest now."

Luo Ou was actually a seriously injured patient. He had been forcibly maintaining his fighting spirit, but now that strength suddenly dissipated, and he was panting and coughing again.

Gu Lai paused as she was about to turn around, her gaze lingering on her sweat-dampened temples.

Luo Ou has aged significantly compared to eight years ago; her face is lined with wrinkles, and her temples are already white.

Gu Lai resembled her father, Gu Chengdong, who was handsome, but Luo Ou was no less striking, possessing eyes similar to Gu Lai's. However, in Gu Lai's memory, Luo Ou only ever glared at her with sharp, sarcastic eyes.

Luo Ou's repeated statements, "I can't get a divorce because of you," became the clarion call for Luo Ou's justified violence and control in Gu Lai's past memories.

"I hate her," Gu Lai said silently to herself.

She looked at Luo Ou and said, "Gu Chengdong is dead, so stop acting up. Get some rest and recover, and live a good life from now on."

After Gu Lai finished speaking, she didn't wait for Luo Ou's reply, quickly opened the door and walked out. Jiang Yi bowed slightly to Luo Ou, then quietly closed the door and left.

Jiang Yi turned around and saw Gu Lai leaning weakly against the wall and slowly sliding down, almost sitting on the ground.

Jiang Yi almost instinctively embraced her, and only when his warm body breathed in her arms did she realize what she had done.

It felt like a tsunami was raging inside her head.

A rational voice was scrutinizing her, ordering her to stop, but her emotions surged even more fiercely, breaking through all the barriers she had erected and taking control of her nerves.

Jiang Yi did not let go.

The next moment, she felt a familiar touch encircle her back.

Gu Lai hugged her back.

“Eight years ago, I no longer had any parents in my mind, and now I’m physically gone too.” Gu Lai didn’t look up, her voice muffled and soft. “I do think I hate them, but I don’t hate them to the point of wanting to die. Now that I think about it, is it because I’ve ignored them all these years, pretending that I don’t have such parents, that Heaven thinks I haven’t accumulated any good karma?”

"No!" Jiang Yi denied swiftly, even surprised by her own hoarse voice. "How could you think that?"

"Then why? Why do I have no home? I know that you have been taking care of and supporting them all these years, otherwise Gu Chengdong would have died at the gambling table long ago, he wouldn't have even had to wait for the car accident."

"When I answered the phone, I wasn't actually trying to yell at you. I just wanted to talk to you nicely... I just..."

She didn't finish speaking because Jiang Yi suddenly leaned close and kissed her through her mask, silencing her before she could say anything.

Jiang Yi's stay was brief, merely a fleeting moment. Gu Lai instinctively widened her eyes, but the person opposite her, who had taken the initiative, reacted even more strongly.

Gu Lai saw those eyes, which had always held only calmness and smiles, suddenly reveal panic and regret.

“It’s my problem,”

Jiang Yi closed her eyes briefly, but when she opened them again, the emotions in her eyes were even more intense, and a faint blush appeared at the corners of her upturned eyes.

But she didn't let go.

"Don't say anything, A-Lai, it's all my fault."

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Hopefully I won't see any bug-catching when I wake up. Goodnight!

Thanks to Sweetheart for throwing mines: P.S. Minghong threw one mine; Little i Wants to Sleep threw one mine.

Thank you, Sweetheart Nutrient Solution: (I can't see the specific nickname if there are no comments or watering, so I'll use the anonymous name.)

M, Irrigation nutrient solution +2

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Pause, Irrigate with nutrient solution +10

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