Chapter 71 You are mine.

The next morning, two news items about the Chan family filled the front page of the Macau Entertainment News: "The Chan Family Hotel is a Drug Party Paradise" and "The Marriage Alliance Between the Chan and Shang Families Falls Through." The Chan family suddenly became the talk of the town.

Gu Sui woke up early and only glanced at her phone briefly. She had always trusted Guangjing's methods and efficiency, especially since it was something Gu Qi had personally agreed to.

However, the last point still surprised her a little. She estimated that it must have been midnight when she sent the person to the Chen family yesterday. It seemed that the Chen family made the decision overnight, and Feng Yuan probably didn't get a good night's sleep.

"Awake?" Gu Sui turned her head and saw the little girl covering half her face with the blanket, blinking her big eyes at her. She smiled, locked her phone, and tossed it aside.

Shang Shu nodded without saying anything, then snuggled closer to the person like a cat.

"Is there anything that's bothering you?" It was the same question as yesterday.

Shang Shu shrank further under the covers and shook her head.

Gu Sui gently lifted a corner of the blanket. She knew that Shang Shu was still thinking about what they hadn't finished talking about yesterday, and she also knew that Shang Shu wouldn't talk when she was upset.

After coaxing Shang Shu to get up, the two went downstairs to have breakfast. Gu Sui placed the bowl of fish maw soup in front of Shang Shu. She had instructed the housekeeper to stew it early this morning before going to bed last night, thinking it would help Shang Shu regain her health.

"Is it good?" she asked, glancing at Shang Shu out of the corner of her eye.

It seems to be pretty good. Although Shang Shu always eats elegantly and slowly, so you can't tell what she's eating, Gu Sui knows that you have to rely on some subtle actions to judge whether something suits Shang Shu's taste.

When she finds something she likes, the little girl will unconsciously blink a few more times, stir the spoon around in the bowl, press down on the chopsticks in her hand, and then take another bite; if she doesn't like something, she will stare at it, holding the utensils in her hand or simply placing them on the plate, and rarely take more than three bites.

"Mmm." This time, Shang Shu not only spoke up, but also curled the corners of her lips.

really.

Gu Sui smiled too.

After dinner, the two sat on the sofa to rest. Shang Shu picked up her phone and saw the overwhelming gossip about Lin Lang, as well as the two front-page news articles.

Sensitive and observant as she was, she immediately guessed that this was probably Gu Sui's doing.

She blinked, meeting Gu Sui's gaze for confirmation: "This..."

"Hmm." Gu Sui tucked a corner of his mouth into his hand, making no attempt to hide it.

Knowing that Gu Sui was standing up for her, Shang Shu lowered her eyes, reached out and hooked her finger, and after hesitating for a long time, she finally said, "But I'm afraid... it will cause you trouble."

The marriage alliance between Shang and Chen did indeed resolve her worries, but she knew that the relationships within wealthy families were complex and intertwined. She was still afraid that Gu Sui would get into trouble because of her, and that it might even implicate the entire Gu family.

Gu Sui didn't speak, but gently pulled away the fingers that she had hooked.

Yesterday's "it's nothing" and today's "trouble" are not what she wants to hear.

As a girlfriend, as a partner, as a lover, she felt it was only natural to stand up for the other person, but Shang Shu never seemed to think that way. She didn't expect Shang Shu to be happy after knowing, even a polite thank you would be much better than this "I'm afraid of causing you trouble".

But now, Shang Shulian is so reluctant to accept, which makes her feel so distant and sad.

Feeling the detachment, Shang Shu looked down at her fingers, then looked up at Gu Sui's face again. She didn't frown, but her expression was cold and unpleasant.

She knew what this meant. She was silent because she felt awkward, while Gu Sui was like this because he was unhappy but couldn't bear to be angry with her.

She was annoyed and anxious. Her anger hadn't subsided when another one arose. Yesterday's troubles hadn't been resolved when today's troubles started again.

"Gu Sui..." Shang Shu could only call her softly, and reached out to take her hand, "Don't be angry anymore, okay?"

Her voice trailed off, and Shang Shu felt a lump in her throat again.

Gu Sui's chest rose and fell slightly, and finally he let out a breath, frowning slightly: "A-Shu, this won't work."

She desperately wanted to convince herself that Shang Shu trusted her, and she desperately wanted to forget the horrifying secrets and the almost unfortunate, sordid events that had occurred, but she couldn't.

Shang Shu's hand, which was holding Gu Sui's, began to tremble slightly. She hesitated for a moment, lost in thought, and then her hand somehow slipped away.

"So, you want to be with me..." Her voice trembled so badly that even the last "I" was barely audible. Shang Shu bit her lower lip tightly, unable to utter another word.

She stared at the ring, soaked with tears, and even breathing hurt.

"No, A-Shu, no." Seeing that his words had caused a misunderstanding, Gu Sui hurriedly tried to wipe away Shang Shu's tears, but she turned her head away.

"A-Shu." Gu Sui murmured softly, cupping Shang Shu's face and gently kissing her forehead, the tip of her nose, and the corners of her lips. Only when her sobs gradually subsided did Gu Sui speak again.

"I've just thought a lot about it. I don't know if you're hiding this from me because of what happened before. Because of me, the trust between us has been damaged, and you no longer... no longer want to believe me."

This was what she was most worried about and what she felt most powerless to change.

Gu Sui gave a bitter smile: "I was thinking that we should be the closest people to each other, but it seems that I am never your first choice when you encounter problems. Whenever there is so-called 'trouble,' you always think of pushing me away and clearing me of all responsibility. Just like your first reaction is to leave the waterfront and face it alone. Just like you would rather find any hospital than consider Gu Family Hospital as a backup. Am I right, A-Shu?"

“I’m never afraid of trouble. What I fear most is that you will stop trusting me and get used to hiding things from me and saying ‘it’s okay.’ I promised you that I would never hide anything from you again. So can you promise me that you will try, even if it’s just to give it a try?”

Shang Shu looked at her and saw her own reflection in those beautiful eyes. What kind of look was that?

Sincerity, compassion, and restraint.

You see, that's the kind of person Gu Sui is. He naturally thinks of her, and even when she's kept in the dark, he feels it's his own fault. From the time the accident happened until now, Gu Sui hasn't blamed her once. Even when he makes a request of her, he just says, "Give it a try."

Shang Shu knew that as long as she nodded and said "okay," the matter would be easily forgotten. But she didn't want to. This was a heart-to-heart talk that her lover had been preparing all night, willing to uncover his wounds and invite her to participate. How could she bear not to be honest?

“No,” Shang Shu gently shook her head, “I have never distrusted you, it’s just that my own mindset has a problem.”

"The reason I kept it from you was partly because I didn't want you to worry, and the other half was... because of my pride." She took a deep breath and looked down at the ring on her hand.

“I don’t want you to know any of this unbearable stuff, this unbearable stuff that has been clinging to me since birth and tainting me. I don’t want you to see me stuck in the mud, because that would make me feel even less worthy of you.”

She hated talking about the business. Born into this family, she didn't feel sorry for them, only disgust and inferiority. If she could, wouldn't she also want to settle all grudges with the business and have nothing to do with them anymore?

Of course she knew that Gu Sui understood that she was herself and Shang was Shang, but the intricate connections between them were something she herself couldn't sever. Just because she was born into the Shang family was enough to make her pride grow wildly, so she had no choice but to strive upwards and try to suppress the inferiority complex that was about to sprout.

"Ah Shu, why would you think that?" Gu Sui's eyes were as soft as water, as was the hand that stroked her cheek.

Shang Shu gently shook her head and touched the ring on her hand a couple of times.

How can I describe to you how wonderful you are in my heart? It's like I'm gazing at the moon, but you're actually even better than the moon. You don't know how hard I've tried to stand shoulder to shoulder with my moon, but it seems a bit too difficult.

Shang Shu smiled gently, stopping Gu Sui's slightly moving lips with her eyes.

"For the past three years, I've always thought that you left because I wasn't good enough. Maybe one day you suddenly felt that I wasn't good enough for you. So even when you praised me, I felt it was a compliment from someone in a superior position. I know this isn't true, but I've thought this way for too long, so it's hard to change my mind."

"I know you're good to me, and I know there will never be another person in this world who loves me like you do. There wasn't one before, and there probably won't be one in the future. So much so that I often wonder, what have I done to deserve such kindness from you?"

They kissed, they cuddled, but that didn't stop her from having those thoughts pop into her head from time to time, sometimes real, sometimes unreal: How could there be such a good person? How did this person end up with her?

"So I'm already very content, Gu Sui. Really, as long as you're by my side, that's enough."

With tears welling in her eyes, Shang Shu slightly raised the corners of her lips. She truly no longer desired anything more. The satisfaction of regaining what she had lost, and the lover so close at hand, were enough to sustain her through the rest of her life.

“But I’m not enough.” Gu Sui’s voice was very soft, as if he were murmuring.

She never knew Shang Shu would think these things. Her heart felt like it was being repeatedly crumpled in a blanket. She couldn't find a way to describe this complex feeling—melancholy, heartache, guilt—as if all the words failed to express it.

"Ah Shu, how come you don't know how good you are?" Her throat tightened, and her breath trembled slightly. "So good that I want to give you the best of everything, so good that I can't bear to keep you by my side, so good that I want to fight to survive for you. You never need to look up to me, because I'm the one who's always chasing after you."

Shang Shu's eyelashes fluttered slightly, still glistening with wet tear stains.

"So that's not enough. I don't want to just stay by your side. I also want to protect you and shield you from the wind and rain. I'm greedy. I want you to trust me without reservation, rely on me unconditionally, and give yourself to me completely."

Gu Sui's chest rose and fell.

"Ah Shu, will you say yes?"

A snowflake landed on the lake, silently rippling the moon's reflection. Even more moving than being favored by the moonlight was hearing the moon say, "You are mine."

Shang Shu felt a lump in her throat, bit her lower lip, and nodded solemnly. For some reason, she felt that these words sounded like a marriage proposal.

"Come here." Gu Sui looked at the little girl's red nose and stretched out his arm to pull her into his arms.

Now that things were out in the open, Shang Shu felt even the embrace warmer. She rested her chin on Gu Sui's neck, inhaling his pleasant fragrance.

She sniffed slightly and obediently agreed, "I promise you, I'll tell you immediately if anything happens in the future, but I don't want you to shield me from the wind and rain. If anything happens, we'll figure it out together and face it together, okay?"

Hearing the soft whispers coming from below, Gu Sui's heart almost melted. She gently rubbed the girl's cheek with the hand that was around Shang Shu's shoulder and softly replied, "Okay."

The two hugged for a while, and then the housekeeper said that Gu Qi had just called to say that the Chen family had sent several people to apologize, but they were turned away at her place. They were probably coming to the waterfront soon, so he was informing them in advance.

Upon hearing this, Shang Shu shrank slightly in the man's arms.

The movement was very small, even lighter than shifting one's body slightly, but Gu Sui still managed to detect it keenly.

"Do you want to see him?" she asked softly, looking down at the person in her arms.

Shang Shu subconsciously shook her head, then after a few seconds looked up and asked softly, "Is it okay?"

Can we not meet?

She was still afraid of causing trouble for Gu Sui, but this time she didn't try to be strong on her own.

"Of course," Gu Sui said, feeling heartbroken as he looked at her cautious manner. He hugged her tighter. "Don't be afraid. I'm here. I won't let anyone hurt you again."

"Hmm, don't be afraid." Shang Shu gently hooked her arm around Gu Sui's shoulder and rubbed her cheek against the crook of her neck.