Chapter 44: "I love you."

While Gu Lai was filming "Gantang", Jiang Yi, unlike before, did not live near He Xiaoqing's film crew and hang out with Gu Lai, but he still managed to make his presence felt.

However, this only applies to Gu Lai and those around her. To the rest of the crew, Jiang Yi was too low-key and rarely received attention.

After Gu Lai finished filming, her assistant came over with water, holding a thermos. Gu Lai took it, tilted her head back, and drank it down before laughing: "What's that strange taste? Is Jiang Yi here?"

The assistant was surprised: "I was just about to tell you that Sister Jiang just arrived."

As Gu Lai spoke, she started walking towards the car. Jiang Yi usually waited for her in the car these past few times. Hearing this, she turned around and gently pinched her assistant's cheek: "You've gotten used to calling her that. What kind of sister is she to you?"

The assistant, being quite astute, noticed that Gu Lai wasn't upset. She pouted and feigned grievance, complaining, "Sister Jiang told me to call her. She said, 'It's like she's still working if she keeps coming back like this.'"

Gu Lai smiled and shook her head without saying anything more; she had already seen the car. She quickly walked over, opened the car door, and sure enough, saw Jiang Yi looking up at the sound.

Gu Lai said, "I knew it was you as soon as I drank the water." After saying that, she bent down, hugged Jiang Yi, and asked for a kiss.

At this moment, only Jiang Yi and Gu Lai were inside the car.

Although this vehicle is a luxury mid-to-large MPV, each person has a separate seat, making it feel cramped on the sides, while the front and back space is sufficient for two people.

This makes the seated person feel confined.

Gu Lai's surprise attack prevented Jiang Yi from winning with her skills. At this moment, her breathing began to become disordered. She subconsciously wanted to push Gu Lai away, but something seemed to be stopping her. As a result, it was more like a flirtatious attempt to resist.

Gu Lai stepped back a little and said softly in a gentle tone, "Don't move around."

Jiang Yi didn't speak, but stared intently at Gu Lai, trying to calm his rapid breathing.

Gu Lai lowered his head and sniffed at the base of her chin.

There was a faint, lingering leather smell in the car, mingling with the scents of ebony, rose, and incense on Jiang Yi's body. In addition, her long, slightly curled hair, reaching her collarbone, seemed freshly washed, carrying a subtle coolness of patchouli and mint, all blending together to create an aura of cold elegance that silently assaulted Gu Lai's nostrils.

Like a rose burning in the dead of winter twilight.

Gu Lai quickly succumbed to the scent. She traced her kisses down Jiang Yi's long neck, landing softly on his side, throat, and down to the hollow of his collarbone.

Because of her movements, this beautiful, almost bewitching rose was confined to the soft leather seat, her head tilted back in response to her. Even though she knew every inch of this skin and every glance of this rose well, she couldn't help but be captivated by it.

It looks so tempting, like a rose cake.

Gu Lai gently bit her prominent collarbone.

Jiang Yi gave her another gentle push, his voice slightly hoarse as he asked, "Are you hungry?"

Gu Lai grabbed her wrist: "Sister, I told you not to move."

Gu Lai has long legs, so bending over in the car wasn't comfortable. She then knelt on the cushion, close to Jiang Yi, feeling his warmth through the fabric. Unfortunately, the seat was too narrow for her to kneel completely, so one leg remained standing.

Jiang Yi lowered his gaze and landed on the leg she was standing on. Perhaps afraid that she would fall, he indeed did not move again.

"Be careful," Jiang Yi whispered. "The place is too narrow; be careful not to twist your ankle."

Gu Lai whispered back, "How could I possibly twist my ankle at this time?"

"Have you forgotten? Once you were driving a sports car or something, and you sped up on a winding mountain road at night without speed monitoring to relax. You twisted your ankle in the excitement."

"What time is that?"

"More than once. Once, also in an MPV, I forgot whether you were getting out or doing something, you twisted your ankle again."

Older women and wives are more likely to reveal each other's secrets.

Gu Lai stared at her bright red lips as she chattered away, then lowered her head and chewed on them for a while.

Jiang Yi's voice suddenly disappeared, as if swallowed by Gu Lai.

When Gu Lai distanced herself again, she saw Jiang Yi look at her for a moment, a faint smile appearing in his eyes, and slowly lick his lower lip as if savoring it.

"It seems to have a slightly rusty smell; it's not completely broken," Jiang Yi commented, then stared at her and asked, "What do you think?"

hateful.

Jiang Yi's reaction was not as strong as expected, but Gu Lai felt her ears burning as if they were on fire.

Gu Lai couldn't stand it and reached out to cover her eyes: "I forgot, I'll taste it when I get back to the hotel."

Jiang Yi blinked under her palm, the soft scraping making Gu Lai's palm itch.

Gu Lai was also exhausted from her antics, so she sat down and sat down face to face with her, asking, "You came here just for this?"

Jiang Yi felt wronged: "To be fair, I didn't start this."

"Sister, as the eldest sister, shouldn't you set an example? How can you shirk your responsibility?"

"What kind of role model? A role model for the basic human needs of food and sex?"

"This topic should have come up in the hotel, but we're in the car right now, and the car is so close to the film crew, with people coming and going."

Jiang Yi glanced out of the car window, then, holding Gu Lai, tilted his head back and smiled, "Let's see. If there's any way, it would be best if someone could take a few pictures."

"Take a few pictures? What are you going to do? Are you trying to sell some new product that's not selling? Are you going to get involved in promoting it?"

"No, I'll take a few pictures so they can be used as evidence in court. If I end up divorced, I can use them to condemn you for being irresponsible."

Jiang Yi was indirectly accusing her of separating from him, but he said it so casually that it sounded more like flirting.

This has been the routine ever since the return trip. Jiang Yi still comes and delivers things as usual, and her actions are as if she's chasing after someone. The only difference is her words; she now makes lighthearted jokes from time to time, living the life of a cheerful, beautiful, but resentful woman.

But speaking of things...

Gu Lai asked, "What kind of drink did you give me? It tastes weird."

Jiang Yi was also a little confused: "I also drank the plum juice, and the taste was indeed a bit strange."

"...You made this yourself?"

"Yes, I asked Ross for the steps and materials list."

Gu Lai stared at her for a while, then looked down and picked up her hands to examine them carefully.

Jiang Yi let her look, and said with a somewhat helpless tone, "Hey, it's just throwing all that random stuff into the pot to boil, it won't hurt your hands."

"Then I know, you added too much licorice and ophiopogon japonicus. Did you just follow the recipe and then suddenly have a flash of inspiration?"

"Hmm, I think plums and hawthorns are really sour..."

"Hmm." Gu Lai thought about it carefully, "Actually, the taste is a bit strange, but it tastes pretty good."

Jiang Yi narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Really. It's like that new fragrance from FL, something about Miss Love and Lady."

Jiang Yi couldn't help but chuckle.

Gu Lai gave her a reproachful look and continued, "...In short, it's the kind of name that I don't quite understand, and it's hard to give a good review at first sniff, but if you smell it carefully for a while, you can seem to smell the top, middle, and base notes."

Jiang Yi laughed uncontrollably, and finally hugged Gu Lai, his voice filled with laughter: "A Lai, you are so cute."

Gu Lai patted her on the shoulder: "So you're mocking an amateur, aren't you?"

Jiang Yi: "You might as well say it's as abstract as the clothes on the runway."

“You also think it’s abstract? No,” Gu Lai was led astray and accidentally said the layman’s truth. She turned her head and spat softly, “I really think some perfumes smell weird at first, but then they smell nice. But some clothes on the runway still smell weird when you look at them again.”

Jiang Yi said, "That's because you've gotten used to the smell." She reflected for a moment, feeling a little annoyed, "I should have followed Ross's instructions. What if I added too much or too little and it was harmful? I should have just thrown it away."

Gu Lai was both amused and exasperated: "It's not that serious, it's just a drink."

Jiang Yi gave her a disapproving look.

Gu Lai gently touched her face. Jiang Yi spared no expense in skincare; even in her thirties, her skin was as smooth as milk. She rubbed against her for a while before asking, "How come you had time to come over? Ge Li said you've been quite busy lately."

Jiang Yi was always good at it. He tilted his head and rubbed it against her palm. His sharp and bewitching appearance made him seem cute.

This is definitely not biased; Gu Lai swears on her plum juice that her evaluation is very objective.

“That’s why I’m here,” Jiang Yi said. “To let you hear from me how to cut down on middlemen. And now that I’m a qualified capitalist, I’ve learned how to get others to do more work… What’s with that look? Are you condemning me?”

Gu Lai shook her head: "It's fine to just have them relay anything to me; running around is exhausting."

Jiang Yi shook Gu Lai: "Believe your nonsense, why let others say it? Isn't this repeating the same mistake? You should learn from this."

"So what... alright." Gu Lai protested softly, "That's just one of the reasons. I'm just worried that you can't handle it. You're almost forty."

"Oh, old age and fading beauty, the next step is for beauty to fade and love to wane."

"……I don't."

"Hmph, no?"

This question made Gu Lai hesitate and look at her with some doubt. After a while, she asked cautiously, "You're not going to give an example of living away from the palace, are you?"

Jiang Yi chuckled softly: "If I bring up old grievances, won't you think I'm petty?"

Gu Lai said generously, "Go ahead and flip through it."

Jiang Yi demonstrated her amazing memory: "What do you mean 'like a qualified marriage partner'? And they asked me if I loved them and if I needed them. I remember it very clearly. Isn't that just love fading with age?"

These past few days, they've gradually started mentioning the several arguments they've had before and after the divorce. The major conflict seems to have been resolved, but the hurtful words uttered during those arguments and cold wars still linger like shards of glass, embedded deep within their bones. They don't feel it on ordinary days, but it inevitably hurts on rainy days.

However, even ordinary couples can't do this; if things go wrong, the two might start a second internal war.

Gu Lai found these words familiar, feeling as if they were something she herself had said during an argument, the sentiment resonating deeply. She wasn't angry at all; she even buried her face in Jiang Yi's neck and chuckled for a while: "So, do you need me?"

"need."

"Okay, but didn't you not answer the question you mentioned?"

"...I was angry."

"If you answer, maybe we won't start arguing."

"To be honest, did you believe that back then?"

“I didn’t know at the time, but I actually believed it after I realized it later.” Gu Lai looked at her seriously with a smile. “If you don’t believe it, it won’t be more than ten years.”

“Okay, it’s not too late to say it now.” Jiang Yi stated naturally, as casually as if she were announcing that she would drink plum juice instead of milk today, “I love you.”

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Thank you for the nutrient solution, sweetheart:

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Thanks to Sweetheart for the bomb:

Fu Minghong, 1 landmine; Xiao i wants to sleep, 1 grenade.