Chapter 2 Gu Sui, you bastard.

"Are you alright?" A clear yet gentle voice drifted into Shang Shu's ears, and she was enveloped in a pleasant scent of white moss.

In an instant, her heart clenched as if struck by an electric current, only to be suddenly released in the next second without any order. Her eardrums vibrated, and the surrounding noise was instantly drowned out, leaving only the frantic beating of her two hearts.

Shang Shu struggled to escape from that embrace. The lingering effects of the alcohol made her unsteady, and she leaned weakly against the wall. The moment she looked up, she finally met those familiar eyes.

How could we not recognize each other when we met?

Her voice, her face, her eyebrows, every inch of her skin, haunt my dreams every night.

Shang Shu finally confirmed that the person in front of her was Gu Sui, whom she had been missing for three years and had been thinking about day and night.

"Excuse me, Miss, Mr. Shang has booked the entire venue today. We mistakenly let you in because you mentioned your surname is Shang. Please leave now." The manager accompanying Gu Sui said to Shang Zhiyi and her group with a professional fake smile.

Shang Zhiyi's face flushed red and then turned pale. Remembering that the person next to her had said they knew the bar owner, she regained her confidence: "Do you know who I am? I know your boss, believe it or not..."

"I am the boss. You can say whatever you want here." Gu Sui stared at Shang Zhiyi and spoke in a deep voice, a hint of coldness appearing on his gentle face.

Shang Zhiyi immediately blushed and glared fiercely at the young lady next to her.

The rich heiress had never suffered such humiliation before, and fearing she would suffer the consequences after leaving, she quickly spoke up to try and prove her innocence: "The boss of Scarlet is clearly Sister Chen!"

"Chen Jia is my subordinate, and the bar is mine. Is that hard to understand?" Gu Sui spoke again, his voice now as cold as ice.

"Please ask these people to leave. They will not be welcome in the future. Scarlet has no need for troublesome guests."

"Also, tell Chen Jia that if she lets just any Tom, Dick, or Harry come here again, she won't need to stay here anymore."

The manager standing nearby repeatedly agreed, and led a group of people with livid faces away from their sight.

After dealing with the trouble, Gu Sui turned around and looked at Shang Shu, who was leaning against the wall. Before he could say anything, he saw her run straight to the bathroom.

Shang Shu reached her limit and vomited while hugging the sink. She usually had a high alcohol tolerance and could drink several times more than usual without changing her expression. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She only felt dizzy and weak after the truth-telling game, and seeing Gu Sui made her even more nauseous.

Gu Sui quickly caught up, brushed her long hair aside, and gently patted her back.

"Don't touch me." Shang Shu was vomiting so badly that she was dizzy and disoriented. She finally had a chance to catch her breath, so she spoke sharply to Gu Sui.

Gu Sui didn't argue with her, so he stopped touching her, turned around, grabbed a few tissues and handed them to her: "Wipe yourself first."

Shang Shu braced herself on the table with both hands, her eyes brimming with tears. It was unclear whether the tears were from vomiting or something else. She avoided the tissues Gu Sui offered, wiped her lips, and walked out on her own.

"Shang Shu." Shang Shu felt unsteady and could not walk fast. Gu Sui caught up with her in a few steps and stood in front of her, calling out to her.

Shang Shu bit her lower lip hard, trying to get around the person in front of her, but failed repeatedly. Frustrated, she simply stood still and uttered a few words: "A good dog doesn't block the way."

Gu Sui frowned slightly, standing still without moving aside. Seeing that she almost fell again, she finally reached out and steadied her. The ends of her dark hair lightly brushed against Shang Shu's wrist, and Gu Sui noticed the faint tattoo.

"Smack!"

The second one tonight, Shang Shu didn't know when she had become so fond of slapping people. Her chest felt tight and she could hardly breathe. She gasped for breath, her voice tinged with a sob:

"Gu Sui, you bastard."

Why did you treat her like that?

Why are you so heartless, leaving her alone in Love City?

Why was she abandoned so naked after she revealed all her secrets?

And why did he disappear without a word for three years, only to stand in front of her now as if nothing had happened?

What does a four-year relationship even mean...?

Shang Shu wanted to question her one by one, but when she actually stood in front of her, she couldn't utter a single word. Her head was throbbing, and she felt as if she was on the verge of collapse again.

"President Shang!" Song Lan also appeared in the corridor with an anxious expression. It seemed that she had been looking for Shang Shu for a long time. However, she had just arrived and encountered a strange scene. She quickly stepped forward to support Shang Shu and put the coat in her hand on her shoulders.

Shang Shu refused to look at Gu Sui again, because every glance broke her heart. She mechanically uttered two words: "Go home."

"Okay." Song Lan glanced at Gu Sui, nodded slightly, and then helped Shang Shu disappear at the end of the corridor.

Gu Sui stood there for a long time, the burning sensation on her face revealing their less-than-elegant reunion after a long separation. She raised her hand to touch her cheek and forced a bitter smile.

She really is an idiot.

*

Shang Shu sat in the car with her eyes closed, her brows still furrowed.

Song Lan also assumed that she had drunk too much and was feeling unwell, so she handed her some hangover medicine that she had prepared in advance: "President Shang, hangover medicine."

"No need." Upon hearing this, Shang Shu slightly opened her eyes, then closed them again, returning to her previous state.

Seeing this, Song Lan said no more. She understood the president's personality; she had an unwavering stubbornness about many things.

Before long, the car returned to Yijing Bay, and Shang Shu's drunkenness had mostly subsided.

"I'll give you a day off tomorrow. I'll have the driver take you home later," Shang Shu said to Song Lan as she stood in front of the villa.

Tomorrow, or at least tonight, she needs a completely undisturbed space to be alone.

"Okay, thank you, President Shang. Please get some rest." Song Lan didn't bother with formalities and got into the car briskly after saying that.

The butler stood outside the villa and opened the door for Shang Shu at the right moment.

"Don't call me for breakfast tomorrow," Shang Shu said as she took off her high heels.

Then, walking up to the stairs, he added, "If I don't come down, there's no need to prepare lunch."

The butler respectfully agreed to each request.

Shang Shu returned to her bedroom and, as usual, went to the large liquor cabinet to try and drown her sorrows in alcohol again. However, her stomach, which she had just vomited in, was struggling and protesting inside her. After thinking it over again and again, she decided to give up and went into the bathroom to fill the bathtub with water.

Shang Shu closed her eyes and soaked in the warm water. Her mind gradually calmed down. The surroundings seemed to stand still, with only the ripples of the water and her own steady breathing remaining. Everything just now seemed like a dream, but the lingering pain in her palm reminded her that Gu Sui was really there in front of her.

She couldn't help but recall the days right after the breakup. During that time, she was in a daze and couldn't accept the fact. So she wanted to get rid of it, but after being caught so many times, she watched as the housekeeper locked up all the knives. So she found another way, taking advantage of the bath to lie in the bathtub, but only with her head submerged in the water. So many times she almost ended it all like that. Now, thinking about it, it still seems both pathetic and ridiculous.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ringing of her cell phone. Shang Shu was so focused that she was startled and almost slipped into the bathtub. She looked at the caller ID and answered the phone with lingering fear.

"Miss Shang, you're in style again tonight?" A cheerful, teasing voice came from the other end of the phone.

Upon hearing this, Shang Shu smiled and said, "Miss Lin, you flatter me. Your information network is as good as ever."

The Lin family and the Shang family are old friends. Lin Lang is the third young lady of the eldest branch of the family. Because of the age difference between her and her two older sisters, she is closer to her childhood friend Shang Shu.

Similarly, Lin Lang is one of the few true friends of Shang Shu in the wealthy circles of Macau. Shang Shu has been ostracized by her stepmother and stepsister since she was a child. Fortunately, Lin Lang, the cheerful one, took her to the Lin family and told her that it was her safe haven. When she was about to leave the country, she was the one who cried the most.

Lin Lang chuckled on the other end of the receiver: "You have no idea, your dad was having dinner at my house just now when Shang Zhiyi burst in, crying her eyes out. She almost knocked down the front door of the Lin family. You know, she's over twenty years old, how come she's still acting like she did when she was a kid?"

Shang Shu smiled noncommittally, listening to Lin Lang's chattering, her thoughts drifted again, unconsciously returning to the scene of her reunion with Gu Sui.

"Miss Shang, are you even listening?" After a long while, seeing no one respond, Lin Lang raised her voice.

"Ah...I..."

After hesitating for a moment, Shang Shu finally couldn't help but tell him everything: "Lin Lang, I just... ran into Gu Sui."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, followed by a scream: "Who did you say?!"

Shang Shu took a deep breath and repeated the name again.

After explaining the whole story to Lin Lang, the water in the bathtub had gotten a little cold. Shang Shu turned on the speakerphone on her phone and slowly climbed out of the bathtub.

"You've been searching like crazy all over here, while she has the leisure to open a bar right next to you," Lin Lang sneered from across the room. She knew how deeply Shang Shu had been hurt by this relationship.

Shang Shu didn't even dare to reveal that her situation in Aicheng was worse. After all, she thought she had adjusted her condition, but on the day she landed in Macau, Lin Lang still noticed her abnormality at a glance.

"But Scarlet has been open for three years, and you've never run into her even once. Is it just bad luck, or is she deliberately avoiding you?"

Lin Lang has always been straightforward, and now that he's said this much, it's hard for Shang Shu to pretend she doesn't understand. The faint joy of reunion that she felt vanished in an instant.

Yes, I have been searching for him for many years without success. It must be because the Gu family is deliberately avoiding me. After all, in Macau, the Gu family is all-powerful. Hiding Gu Sui's whereabouts would be effortless for them.

"Don't worry, I understand." Shang Shu looked at her slightly pale face in the mirror and threw the face mask that had just slipped to the ground into the trash can.

"Shang Shu." Lin Lang seemed to remember something and called her name seriously on the other end of the phone.

"Um?"

"Don't forget my eldest sister's birthday party tomorrow."

Shang Shu stood there, stunned and speechless. Her mind was in a mess from this sudden reunion, and she had completely forgotten about this incident.

She cleared her throat, feigning composure: "I know, see you tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Shang Shu buried herself in bed, but then suddenly remembered that she hadn't prepared a gift yet. Although they were old friends, it wouldn't be right to go empty-handed. So, after thinking it over, she went upstairs to choose one.

The Yijingwan Villa has three floors, and almost the entire third floor is used for Shang Shu's collection, including a gallery, a library, an antique room, and the largest room is a jewelry room, which contains not only the treasures acquired at auction, but also many of Shang Shu's own works and manuscripts.

Turning on the room lights, the dazzling jewels shimmered under the light. Shang Shu came to the artwork she had personally designed and examined it closely. Lost in thought, she accidentally knocked over a stack of manuscript boxes. Helplessly picking them up one by one, she saw many manuscripts from her time in Aicheng that she had kept buried at the very bottom.

With trembling hands, Shang Shu picked up a card. It was a birthday surprise she wanted to give Gu Sui in her last year.

pity.

She didn't even give herself a chance to finish the manuscript.

The paper is slightly yellowed, and the edges are curled up after being turned several times. The slightly stiff curves, the somewhat messy lines, and the asymmetrical markings of the main stone positions all demonstrate the still immature craftsmanship.

Shang Shu gently peeled back the folded corner and smoothed it out; the small print in the corner was almost too worn to read.

"Beneath the skin, our souls dance together."

Gu Sui's handwriting is beautiful; the light and flowing strokes reveal a subtle yet firm and steady strength.

Shang Shu stared blankly, tears streaming down her face again.

When was this written?

She was completely clueless; to her recollection, she had never shown the manuscript to Gu Sui.

And this sentence... is it what she understood it to mean?

Looking back on the four years they spent together, Gu Sui rarely expressed his love to her directly. She once thought it was because Gu Sui was a PhD in philosophy, and his thoughts and insights were profound, so he disdained such superficial expressions.

But... it doesn't matter anymore.

Thinking about all of this now is pointless.

Shang Shu sniffed, wiped away her tears, quickly picked out a gift, and fled in a panic.

A note from the author:

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