No one knows how much his heart ached at the sight of her sitting on the bed taking her medicine. If it weren't for his own cowardice, timidity, and fear, she wouldn't be in such a dilemma.
"It won't happen again," Gan Tang smiled.
That smile held a resolute, solitary courage. It reminded him of a line of poetry: "I'd rather die fragrant on the branch than be blown away by the north wind." It was as if, in the next second, she would be carried away by the wind.
"What do you mean?" Mo Huaixing asked, flustered.
Gan Tang looked at him, a bright smile spreading across her face. She pointed to the steep cliff ahead and asked, "Do you dare to go over and take a look?"
After she finished speaking, without waiting for his reply, she got out of the car and walked towards the edge of the cliff. Today, she was still wearing black pants and a white shirt, very similar to how she looked when she confessed her feelings to him that day, yet not quite the same.
Mo Huaixing followed without thinking.
Gan Tang stood on the edge of the cliff, kicking a small stone into the vast sea. The sea breeze blew, her long hair flying wildly, as if she were about to fall at any moment.
Mo Huaixing subconsciously reached out to take her hand.
Just then, the playful girl turned around, her swinging arm brushing against his palm before she put it behind her back.
Gan Tang gazed at the man before her and said earnestly, "Mo Huaixing, do you know that I love Chu Jiahe? I love him so much, so very much. So, whether you're here or not, I won't marry him."
Mo Huaixing stared at the woman before him for a long time, his eyebrows trembling slightly.
"Why?"
Gan Tang planned to have a serious talk with him about this issue: "If one day, Lu Zhengqian needs me to use the power of the Chu family to secretly carry out his plans, what do you expect me to do?"
“He won’t!” Mo Huaixing’s answer was slightly hesitant.
“Not now, because everything is still under his control.” Gan Tang pointed out his hesitation incisively, and continued to press, “What if he reaches a dead end?”
Mo Huaixing said, "I will end all of this as soon as possible."
His words sounded like a promise to her, and also like a promise to himself.
"And then what?" Gan Tang asked with a smile, "If things are exposed, how am I supposed to face Uncle Chu, Aunt Chu, and Chu Jiahe?"
He hadn't thought about this issue in detail, and now that she had pointed it out so bluntly, his answer seemed a bit hasty: "He's a person who can distinguish right from wrong, and he won't hold a grudge against you. Besides, he really likes you."
"What I'm asking you is, how do I face him?"
Gan Tang began to answer the question she hadn't answered at first.
"Chu Jiahe is a piece of unpolished jade, nurtured by mountains, rivers, sun, and moon over thousands of years—pure, sincere, and flawless. He is the most perfect being in this world. I will not allow anyone to tarnish his perfection, including myself."
"So I beg you, please stop disturbing his life."
Her eyes were so bright, as if to say that the most coveted treasure in the world was one she dared not touch because of her reverence. This realization drove him mad, driven mad with jealousy.
The word "good" was stuck in his throat, crushed by the whetstone, and he couldn't spit it out. He could only nod mechanically.
At that moment, he really had an urge to ask her.
What about me?
"As for you!" Gan Tang's gaze swept across his face, she smiled, and then looked towards the vast, boundless sea.
On the sea, white seagulls soar and roam. Some playful seagulls lightly touch the water's surface, creating beautiful ripples as they frolic and laugh.
"Mo Huaixing, look at those two seagulls, they're fighting." She pointed to the sea, like a child seeing the ocean for the first time, amazed by the wonders of nature.
Mo Huaixing explained, "They are mating."
"Really?" Gan Tang was a little embarrassed. She just wanted to wait and see the sea with him one last time. She really didn't know, otherwise she wouldn't have pointed it out to him.
“Yes!” Mo Huaixing nodded. “Seagulls are devoted birds; they only choose a mate once in their entire lives.”
Is this a way of telling myself not to have any illusions about him?
Gan Tang suddenly got a little angry. "Mo Huaixing, what have I done to you? Why are you so afraid of me?" She took a step to the side and teased, "Looks like I'm no good. I'm a bit too promiscuous. You'd better try!"
"Hmm!" Mo Huaixing looked at her, his eyes only on her.
That look gave Gan Tang the illusion that he was making a promise to her. But it was definitely an illusion! She immediately came to her senses and turned to run away.
Mo Huaixing wanted to reach out and grasp the slender hand he hadn't dared to hold that day. But it was too late; her fingertips brushed against the back of his hand, drifting further and further away from him.
"Gantang!"
"Huh?" Gan Tang stopped in her tracks, not daring to turn around.
Mo Huaixing took two steps forward and asked somewhat nervously, "What were you trying to say just now?"
"oh!"
Because of the seagulls on the sea, she temporarily forgot what she wanted to say. Gan Tang turned around and stood still, smiling, "It's nothing, I just wanted to apologize to you."
She began to explain, "After I broke off my engagement with Chu Jiahe, I was a little scared. I was worried that I would die here, so I impulsively confessed my feelings to you. I always thought that if I were your girlfriend, you would do your best to protect me. But I didn't expect to make such a fool of myself."
The sea breeze was buzzing.
Mo Huaixing took two more steps forward, anxiously seeking confirmation: "So, what you said that day, that you liked me, was a lie?"
"Of course it's fake," Gan Tang explained with a smile. "Even if I'm promiscuous, I wouldn't be two-timing, would I?"
Mo Huaixing stared intently at her, testing the truth in her words. Her smiling, open and honest gaze made him look away with a self-deprecating smile.
Yes, how could it not be fake?
The girl in front of you confesses her feelings to you one day, and the next day she happily sleeps with someone else.
Have you forgotten?
The alcohol in his stomach was churning uncomfortably, and Mo Huaixing turned to the side, clutching his stomach.
Gan Tang watched his retreating figure, then suddenly raised her voice, laughing, "Mo Huaixing, I've told you the truth. You won't abandon me just because I'm not your girlfriend, will you?"
“…No!” He dug his nails deep into his flesh.
"Thank you!" Gan Tang said with a smile, "Are you going back?"
"I'll have a smoke."
"Then I'll wait for you in the car." Gan Tang turned and left.
In the car, Gan Tang turned on the air conditioning and looked at the figure standing on the edge of the cliff smoking. Tears welled up in her eyes. Even though she knew she had no chance anymore, she still wanted him to know that she loved him.
It's not gratitude, it's not dependence, it's a deep-seated liking.
In the distance, a figure walked away, chain-smoking, but cigarettes always run out eventually. As the last cigarette went out, Mo Huaixing turned and walked towards her. Gan Tang, without even wiping away her tears, hurriedly turned the car around.
Mo Huaixing, I've made myself perfectly clear. From now on, could you please stop looking at me with that guilty look, making me feel like I'm a terrible person?
Gan Tang leaned back in her chair, wiping away her tears and the traces of love.
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