Chapter 85. Then you should break up with her.

Zhou Ling is sick.

When Gu Sui received the call, the two of them were sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. The call was from the old house's butler. After Gu Sui answered, he first gave a few indifferent "hmm" sounds, then frowned, glanced at Shang Shu, and got up to go to the sofa.

Seeing that Gu Sui looked unwell, Shang Shu frowned and put down the spoon in her hand. As soon as Gu Sui hung up, she went to her side.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Gu Sui held his phone, his expression somewhat complicated: "The housekeeper said my mother is sick."

Shang Shu's heart tightened, and she took the other woman's arm: "What illness? Is it serious?"

Having just experienced a life-or-death situation, he is now quite sensitive to these kinds of things.

Gu Sui coughed lightly and shook his head: "I don't know."

The housekeeper spoke vaguely, only saying that it was a bit urgent, but the more vague the words, the more worrying it became. Besides, Zhou Ling rarely bothered her with minor illnesses or pains.

Hearing her cough, Shang Shu reached out and patted her back: "Then, then hurry up and change your clothes and go over."

Although she didn't know much about how close families handled these things, she felt she had to go back and see for herself.

"At home or at the medical center?" she asked, getting up from the sofa and pulling Gu Sui, who was deep in thought, up with her.

"At home." Gu Sui pursed his lips and led her to the stairs.

Shang Shu took two steps, helped up the stairs, and said nothing.

If she goes to the medical center, she can wait outside, but it might not be convenient for her to go with her family.

Gu Sui noticed her concerns and squeezed her hand: "I can go by myself. Wait for me at home."

She didn't know what the situation was, how long it would take, or if she would have enough energy to take good care of Shang Shu.

“Okay, don’t worry, just message me if anything happens,” Shang Shu replied, then turned to look at her and added, “I’ll have the driver take you there later, I don’t trust you to drive like this.”

"Hmm." Gu Sui didn't refuse, but coughed lightly again, his steps a little unsteady.

Gu Sui left, and Shang Shu knew that this trip would take at least a day, or longer, but she didn't dare to think about it too much.

It was a day of agonizing anxiety. At first, Shang Shu's mindset wasn't too bad; she was just worried about Gu Sui and concerned about the situation. She thought that since he had been gone for a while, she should have a general result by the afternoon at the latest, whether it was good or bad.

She was afraid that Gu Sui would be busy taking care of her and would be in a bad mood, so she didn't send many messages to bother him, nor did she dare to call. She only sent a few simple messages every now and then to ask about the situation and to reassure Gu Sui that she was alright.

But as evening approached, Shang Shu began to panic, because Gu Sui had only sent her a message when he first arrived, and then there had been no further contact. Her messages seemed to have sunk without a trace, and she hadn't received a single reply.

The illness might be a bit urgent, and Gu Sui really couldn't free his hands.

Shang Shu told herself this.

In fact, she was only half right.

In the morning, Gu Sui had just sent Shang Shu a message from his car that he had arrived when he looked up and saw another car driving out of the driveway.

"That's my dad's car, right?" She put her phone away and confirmed with the driver in front.

"Yes, Second Miss."

Gu Sui narrowed his eyes slightly, but said nothing more.

Upon reaching the gate, Gu Sui got off the train and stopped. She glanced at the gardeners coming and going in the courtyard. Each of them was carrying flowers. Zhou Ling had always enjoyed tending to flowers and plants, so she had specially hired a few people to take care of those famous varieties for her.

The maid opened the door for Gu Sui, who slowly walked in. Not seeing the housekeeper, she asked the person who had opened the door as she changed her shoes, "Are those new flowers?"

The maid seemed a little surprised that Gu Sui would ask the question, and after a moment of hesitation, she replied, "Yes, Madam arranged for someone to transport it yesterday, and it just arrived this morning."

Gu Sui's breathing twitched slightly, and she already understood. She touched the inside of her lower teeth with the tip of her tongue and then asked, "Did my dad go out?"

"Yes, Master went to a friend's house for tea," the servant continued, telling the truth.

“Second Miss,” the butler said as he came downstairs, his eyes darting around, “Madam is waiting for you in the study.”

Gu Sui gave her a meaningful look, knowing that she was just following orders, so he didn't make things difficult for her and went straight upstairs without bothering her.

In the study, Zhou Ling sat upright at the table, still with that elegant demeanor, wearing a shawl as always. Even though the weather in Macau had warmed up and the villa maintained a constant temperature year-round, she had always been used to this because of her poor health.

"Mom," Gu Sui called out as usual, closed the door, and walked to Zhou Ling.

"You're here," Zhou Ling said casually, barely moving. "Sit down."

Gu Sui coughed lightly, pulled out a chair and sat down. Neither of them mentioned lying about being sick. After all, they were mother and daughter. They just didn't expect their unspoken understanding to be used in this way.

"Where did you go that day when we ate?" Zhou Ling asked, her arms wrapped around her shawl as she looked up at her daughter.

She knew that Gu Sui was a person with her own ideas, but she also knew that she never did anything out of line. Over the years, she had never caused any trouble for the Gu family. She was very well-behaved and sensible. If it weren't for that time she left the banquet in public without any regard for the consequences a few days ago, she would never have thought of re-examining this point.

Gu Sui naturally knew what Zhou Ling was asking, so she avoided the question and said, "If necessary, I can personally fly to France and apologize to my aunt."

Zhou Ling didn't respond to her words. The gold edge of the jade ring on her hand got caught on her shawl. She loosened her grip on her arm and pulled, and the snag got caught.

"You went to the hospital, right?" she said slowly, her tone no different from before.

“Yes,” Gu Sui admitted, there was no point in investigating how Zhou Ling found out. She looked at the golden nanmu wood table in front of her and continued, “You know that your friend’s father has passed away.”

“Friends?” Zhou Ling laughed sarcastically. “Gu Sui, you can lie to me so naturally now, can’t you?”

She always thought she knew her daughter very well. Even though Gu Sui wouldn't act coquettishly with her or have intimate late-night talks with her, she just assumed it was due to her personality and the fact that she had been too independent since childhood and had little time to spend with them, so she didn't have these habits.

But many things cannot withstand review or reflection. Only now does she realize how inexplicably her confidence over the years came about.

"You went to see her on New Year's Eve, didn't you?"

Zhou Ling's voice wasn't high-pitched or sharp, but to Gu Sui it sounded particularly grating. She clasped her fingers tightly under the table and remained silent.

“Shang Shu,” Zhou Ling stood up, threw the shawl with the hooked threads on the ground, and began pacing in front of the table, “this little girl is neither loved by her father nor her mother, yet she’s quite capable.”

Hearing Zhou Ling say this, Gu Sui's chest began to heave violently: "Mom, what do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do? That's what I should be asking you!" Zhou Ling finally couldn't suppress her anger, grabbed a stack of photos from the side, and slammed them on the table with some force.

What was she trying to do? Her obedient, good daughter had just questioned her like that because of someone else, shattering her pride as a mother.

Gu Sui stared at the photos on the table. There were photos of her embracing Shang Shu in the hospital, and photos of her holding hands with Shang Shu at the cemetery. They were probably bought from the media. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.

"How long has it been?" Zhou Ling didn't say the words "together," as if she was avoiding the truth.

"Seven years," Gu Sui replied firmly in a deep voice.

She also included the separation in the middle; if it weren't for that sudden change, they would have been together for seven years.

"You...you!" Zhou Ling was so shocked by those two words that she could hardly speak. She pointed at Gu Sui with a trembling hand, and after a long while, she covered her chest and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, "Are you trying to anger me to death?"

"Mom." Seeing Zhou Ling so angry that she could barely stand, Gu Sui frowned and got up to help her.

"Don't call me Mom," Zhou Ling pushed her away, bracing herself on the table to catch her breath. Her usual elegance vanished, and her voice began to tremble. "You and your sister are both so great, both of you are pressuring me like this."

"Mom, I didn't force you—"

"Then break up with her!" Zhou Ling cried, her voice trembling violently at the end.

After he finished speaking, all was silent.

Immediately afterwards, through her tear-filled eyes, Zhou Ling saw her youngest daughter take a deep breath and then slowly kneel down in front of her.

“Mom, I’ve never disobeyed you once in my life, but this is the one thing I can’t agree to.” Gu Sui swallowed hard and looked down at the ground.

She had never knelt before anyone; her pride even made her rarely bow her head to anyone. But now, for Shang Shu, she was willing to give up everything.

“I love her. She is the person I want to spend my life with. This thought has never changed in the past seven years.”

Four years of accumulation, three years of waiting, every minute, every second, this matter is being confirmed, and confirmed even more.

“From beginning to end, I was the one chasing her, the one who wanted to be with her, the one who couldn’t live without her.”

"So, whether you and Dad accept it or not, I can understand, but this matter will not change in the slightest."

Gu Sui raised his head and looked into Zhou Ling's eyes: "I am your daughter, but she is not. If you are angry, you can hit me, scold me, or even kick me out. I will have no complaints. I just beg you not to touch her."

"Smack!"

A light slap landed on Gu Sui's left cheek. Zhou Ling closed her eyes helplessly, trying to adjust her shawl, but only touched air.

"If you want to kneel, then kneel properly right here." With that, she stumbled out of the study.

With a slight pain in her cheek, Gu Sui knelt upright, hearing Zhou Ling outside the door tell the housekeeper not to interfere with her.

She thought that if this could appease Zhou Ling and prevent her from having any further thoughts of harming Shang Shu, she would be willing to kneel there forever.

She knelt like that until nightfall. Gu Sui's legs were almost numb, and the exhaustion made her cough more frequently. Her stomach, which had been empty all day, also started to feel uncomfortable.

She thought she heard Gu Yushan return. After a while, Zhou Ling's cries came from outside the door. She couldn't hear clearly, but she still heard some scattered words: "I don't want to live anymore," "What a sin," "Homosexuality," "that merchant," and it ended with Zhou Ling deliberately raising her voice, "If she wants to kneel, let her kneel forever. Let's see how long she can be stubborn."

Not long after, Gu Yushan pushed open the study door and came in. Looking at Gu Sui on the floor, he didn't know what to say for a moment. So he walked around her twice, sighed, pointed at Gu Sui and said "you", and then made the same request as Zhou Ling.

Gu Sui knelt, clutching his stomach, without uttering a single word.