Chapter 20 A Soft Heart

Noticing Ruan Xingzhu's pleading gaze, Gu Yun'an slightly turned his head and glanced indifferently at Sheng Que, who stood by with his hands at his sides waiting for orders.

Sheng Que immediately understood, roughly grabbed Huang Shunyi, dragged him aside, and they quickly disappeared from Ruan Xingzhu's sight.

As Ruan Xingzhu watched the person being dragged away, she couldn't help but think of You Mengye's fate.

She didn't dare to ask, but with lingering fear in her heart, she walked towards Gu Yun'an, her voice tinged with a hint of tears, and said reproachfully, "It's a good thing Fourth Brother came, otherwise I don't know what I would have done."

She tilted her head back, her big, watery eyes looking pitifully at Gu Yun'an, like a frightened kitten, her voice full of coquettishness.

However, Gu Yun'an felt no pity upon hearing this. Instead, his gaze was fixed on her like a torch, his eyes filled with scrutiny.

"Why is Xingzhu here?" His voice was low and questioning.

Ruan Xingzhu was taken aback. She was about to explain the whole story when she suddenly fell silent. If she told the truth, she was afraid it would implicate Gu Qingxu, since Gu Qingxu was the one who brought her out, but she had disappeared without a trace.

At that moment, her eyes flickered, and she unconsciously clutched the hem of her clothes, stammering, "I...I."

Just as she was about to make up an excuse, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind her. Gu Qingxu and Lou Hongyi, who had left earlier, rushed over.

"Where? I want to see who dares to bully my little sister." Gu Qingsu shouted boldly, as if he was ready to fight to the death with the person who bullied Ruan Xingzhu.

But when she saw Gu Yun'an standing beside Ruan Xingzhu with a cold expression, she froze, as if under a spell. She was caught in a dilemma, unable to move forward or backward.

The good news is that Ruan Xingzhu is alright, but the bad news is that she didn't take good care of Ruan Xingzhu and was caught red-handed by Gu Yun'an again.

Lou Hongyi was puzzled when he saw Gu Qingxu suddenly stop moving. Following her gaze, he immediately saw Gu Yun'an protecting Ruan Xingzhu behind him.

He stopped abruptly, his steps halting involuntarily, his face filled with unease.

After all, it was he who had thrown Ruan Xingzhu to the groom last time, which led to her being taken out of the horse farm. The image of Gu Yun'an coldly instructing him that day was still clearly echoing in his mind, which made him feel fearful and dare not go forward.

Gu Yun'an simply stood there quietly, expressionless, without saying a word.

However, the invisible majesty emanating from him was like a large net, tightly enveloping the air and suppressing Gu Qingxu from making any unnecessary movements.

Gu Qingxu paused for a while, noticing Gu Yun'an's somewhat impatient expression, before she steeled herself and slowly moved over.

"Fourth Brother." Her voice was so soft it was barely audible, and she spoke in a hoarse voice, knowing only that she was completely finished this time.

Hearing this, Gu Yun'an seemed not to have heard at all, not even lifting his eyelids, ignoring her and only glancing at her sideways. Then, he gently raised his hand, signaling Sheng Que to take Ruan Xingzhu away first.

Ruan Xingzhu was startled and subconsciously wanted to say something, but when she met Gu Yun'an's cold gaze, the words she was about to say were swallowed back in fear. Like a child who had done something wrong, she lowered her head, dared not say another word, and obediently followed Sheng Que away.

Gu Qingxu watched Ruan Xingzhu walk away step by step, her eyes following her intently. She desperately tried to wink at Ruan Xingzhu, wanting her to take her away with her. She really didn't want to face Gu Yun'an's scolding alone.

However, Ruan Xingzhu was also in a precarious situation and dared not disobey Gu Yun'an. She could only glance helplessly at Gu Qingsu before obediently following Sheng Que away.

After seeing Ruan Xingzhu leave, Gu Qingxu was completely heartbroken. She stood there, not daring to move or utter a sound, like a tamed kitten.

Looking at Lou Hongyi beside her, she felt a sense of disappointment and frustration, and said in a low, angry voice, "You've really gotten me into trouble this time."

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt Gu Yun'an's icy gaze, as if he wanted to devour her.

She trembled and quickly admitted her mistake, saying, "Fourth Brother, it was my fault. I shouldn't have left Sister Xingzhu behind and gone off to play by myself."

Lou Hongyi rarely saw Gu Qingsu admit her mistakes like this, and now he realized the seriousness of the matter, so he quickly stepped forward to explain: "This is not Gu's fault, it is my fault."

He knew in his heart that Huang Shunyi was his enemy, and Ruan Xingzhu was just implicated by him, so the root of the problem was still himself.

"It's my fault for not handling it well..."

However, before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a cold, sharp sound.

"Did I ask you?" Gu Yun'an didn't even spare him a glance, and his icy tone made Lou Hongyi shiver.

At this moment, Lou Hongyi finally understood why Gu Qingxu was so afraid of Gu Yun'an. He was speechless for a moment and dared not utter a sound.

Seeing Lou Hongyi frown at Gu Yun'an, Gu Qingxu felt helpless. Didn't she see that Gu Yun'an disliked him, yet she still tried to get close to him? Just as she was about to speak up for Lou Hongyi, Gu Yun'an suddenly walked towards her.

Gu Yun'an narrowed his eyes, his tone cold: "If you continue to hand Ruan Xingzhu over to some unreliable people..."

He paused, a hint of warning in his voice, "Then be careful that your feigned relationship with Yi Mingyu doesn't reach the Cheng family's ears."

Gu Qingxu was startled, her expression freezing. She never expected that Gu Yun'an knew about her feigned relationship with Yi Mingyu; she had always thought she had kept it a secret.

Before they could even speak, Gu Yun'an turned and left, leaving the two of them standing there nervously.

Seeing that Gu Yun'an's figure had completely disappeared, Gu Qingxu finally breathed a sigh of relief, but her gaze towards Lou Hongyi was somewhat helpless.

This is the second time; she has been scolded by Gu Yun'an because of him.

Ruan Xingzhu was led by Sheng Que to the carriage to wait. At this moment, she was filled with anxiety and worry about Gu Qingxu's condition. She sat in the carriage, constantly rubbing her hands together and occasionally peeking out through the cracks in the window.

Just as she was wondering, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a familiar scent belonging to Gu Yun'an wafted out. Ruan Xingzhu quickly sat up straight, but Gu Qingxu was nowhere to be seen.

She hesitated for a moment, then called out softly, "Fourth Brother..."

She was about to ask Gu Qingxu how he was doing when she was startled by Gu Yun'an's cold aura and swallowed the rest of her words. She lowered her head, like a quail, not daring to breathe.

"Does Xingzhu know her mistake?" In the silent carriage, Gu Yun'an suddenly looked up at her, his gaze sharp as if he wanted to see through her thoughts.

Ruan Xingzhu paused, then quickly admitted her mistake, saying, "I know I was wrong, I'll never go to those places again..."

As she spoke, her voice trailed off under Gu Yun'an's questioning gaze. She nervously licked her dry lips, a moment of doubt creeping into her heart. Had she said something wrong?

Seeing that she didn't understand at all, Gu Yun'an closed his eyes helplessly, then said coldly, "Isn't the worst thing Xingzhu did to hang out with some unreliable people?"

Ruan Xingzhu's heart skipped a beat, and she recalled the scene of Lou Hongyi abandoning her and running away. The panic and helplessness she felt at that moment instantly surged into her heart. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have been harassed by someone. Yet he had left her behind.

A feeling of inexplicable grievance rose in her heart, as if she were holding back a lot of anger. At this moment, Gu Yun'an was questioning her like this, which made her feel even more aggrieved.

She turned around, a hint of defiance in her voice, and said, "Fourth brother, you're right. I shouldn't have associated with unreliable people."

As she spoke, she avoided Gu Yun'an's gaze and refused to look at him.

Gu Yun'an originally only wanted to teach her a lesson, which is why he questioned her so coldly. But her reaction made him feel for a moment that he was in the wrong.

Seeing her looking as if he had upset her, Gu Yun'an couldn't help but frown. He had spoiled her too much and made her a little pampered.

Just as I was about to argue with her, I saw her eyes welling up with tears, as if they were about to fall at any moment, and I couldn't help but soften my heart a little.

He let out a heavy sigh, a hint of helplessness in his eyes softening. He gently pulled the person close and whispered, "It's alright, I didn't mean to blame you."

He gently patted Ruan Xingzhu's head. "Just remember this in the future."

Nestled in Gu Yun'an's arms, listening to his words of advice, Ruan Xingzhu softened instantly. Her frizzy hair seemed to have been smoothed out by him.

She leaned softly against Gu Yun'an and nodded obediently, "Yes, I will definitely stay far away from him from now on and have nothing to do with him again."

Sensing Ruan Xingzhu's dependence, Gu Yun'an's lips curled slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile. It wasn't in vain that he had led Huang Shunyi there; he just hadn't expected Lou Hongyi to be so easily swayed.

Gu Qingxu only saw Ruan Xingzhu after Gu Yun'an left. Upon seeing Gu Qingxu return, Ruan Xingzhu quickly asked, "Fifth Sister, are you alright?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingxu paused for a moment, then said sullenly, "I'm fine."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but recall the scene when Lou Hongyi found her. She was stunned at the time; he had actually left Ruan Xingzhu alone to face the thieves.

"Well, I didn't expect Lou Hongyi to be so unreliable, leaving you all alone." She said somewhat embarrassedly, with a hint of guilt in her eyes.

"Otherwise..."

Gu Qingxu was about to say that she would find her someone more reliable than Xiao Louhong, but Gu Yun'an's warning suddenly came to mind.

She swallowed her words back, paused, then thought of Cheng Shi and changed her words.

"I'll have my mother help you find someone." As the matriarch of the Gu family, Madam Cheng is of extremely high status, and the person she chooses will certainly not be unreliable.

Cheng Shi? Ruan Xingzhu hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was just her imagination, but she always felt that Cheng Shi disliked her. So over the years, she had never asked Cheng Shi for anything, nor dared to speak much in front of her, and always discussed things with Gu Yun'an.

She frowned slightly and said hesitantly, "Never mind, I suddenly don't feel like searching anymore, so I won't trouble you, Madam."

Hearing this, Gu Qingxu had no choice but to give up the idea.