Chapter 44 The Alcove She had no idea Gu Yinyan had such a fetish. ...
Upon hearing Gu Yinyan's words, Liang Yizhi felt a huge weight lift from her heart.
Perhaps she was overthinking things; she didn't want their relationship to sour.
She wanted everything to remain the same, always on the right track as she believed.
What happened before doesn't matter. It was just a temporary misunderstanding between friends, a fleeting illusion.
As long as no one says it, she can pretend it doesn't exist.
Pretend you know nothing.
Liang Yizhi pretended to be cheerful and said to Gu Yinyan, "You haven't played the piano for so long, but I haven't seen you regress."
Gu Yinyan said, "Teacher Liang taught well. If that person hadn't interfered with me, I probably could have played even better."
Liang Yizhi said logically, "Without me, it's the same as not having my dad. Without my dad, you would lose an excellent teacher."
Gu Yinyan raised an eyebrow.
He ran his clean hands over the black and white keys, pondered for a moment, and then closed the piano lid.
A few lighthearted jokes broke the slightly stiff atmosphere.
Liang Yizhi snapped out of her reverie, remembering that the important matter hadn't been settled yet.
She asked him, "Lin You can't be found right now... what should we do?"
Liang Yizhi was somewhat worried. Lin You's matter needed to be resolved as soon as possible; she didn't want herself or those around her to be affected by it anymore.
Compared to her, Gu Yinyan seemed much calmer: "Having caused so much trouble, of course she'll hide. If you want to find her, you'll probably have to force her to show up herself."
Liang Yizhi looked at him blankly.
Gu Yinyan said, "I checked her background these past few days since you haven't contacted me. Her father was indeed seriously ill in the hospital, but after a period of treatment, he has improved a lot now."
"Their family's livelihood is not as difficult as one might imagine. Her mother now works in a food factory, which is currently their only stable source of income."
Liang Yizhi asked incredulously, "When did you find out??"
"When I contacted the hospital for you," he glanced at her, "that was all. I'd never heard of stock trading before."
Gu Yinyan's expression darkened slightly, and he lowered his eyes, saying, "Let's contact her through normal channels. If she doesn't want to make a big fuss and cut off the family's only source of income, I think she'll come out."
Liang Yizhi asked, "...Is this alright?"
"Do you think that man coming to see her would have been a better situation than us coming to see her?"
Liang Yizhi fell silent.
Gu Yinyan remained expressionless and cold: "You have to bear the consequences of your own actions."
Gu Yinyan spoke these words in a very ordinary way. He was generous and righteous to his friends, but he was always indifferent to people who were not related to him.
Liang Yizhi sighed inwardly.
For now, we can only do as he says.
After speaking frankly, Liang Yizhi felt much less awkward around Gu Yinyan.
With emotions expressed and an outlet found, the sense of frustration after being deceived gradually subsides.
Actually, this wasn't the first time she'd been scammed like this.
Fortunately, she has a pretty good ability to manage her mindset.
To better help herself recover her mood, Liang Yizhi has been finding things to do these days.
She saw a charity event online that helped rescue stray cats and dogs, and took the initiative to contact the rescue station to become a volunteer.
She joined the others at the shelter to take over critically ill homeless animals and send them to the hospital for treatment.
When Liang Yizhi has time, she occasionally visits them at the hospital.
Seeing the kittens and puppies that had once been strays and were covered in wounds begin to improve and become lively again, her heart felt as if it were wrapped in a soft cloth and gradually healed.
What are humans compared to animals? Sometimes, animals can understand your kindness to them better than humans do.
In addition, Liang Yizhi also tried some handicrafts.
She used to be somewhat averse to these kinds of open-ended handicraft activities because she felt that her hands were not pretty.
She tried pottery and made herself a vase. She also went to the perfumery and did some DIY perfumery.
It was as if a new world had opened up for her, and she became completely engrossed in it.
The perfumery offered many services, and Liang Yizhi made a scented candle for herself, thinking she would also bring some gifts for her friends.
She chose a scented bead bracelet for He Man, a tower incense for Jiang Huai, and a scented plaque for Gu Yinyan.
Each of these products is handmade by her, and although she has some assistance from the studio's teachers, she personally selects all the fragrances and spices.
I've heard that the same spice can taste different depending on the object it's placed on.
She was even more eager to hear her friends' feedback after receiving it.
This required just as much energy as physical labor. Liang Yizhi spent the whole day bathing in the fragrant studio, and when she came out, her back and waist were aching.
But she didn't want to rest right away; she wanted to give the gift away while the fragrance was still strong.
After coming out, Liang Yizhi first contacted He Man.
He Man is currently busy with work and is overwhelmed with stress. She said she urgently needs to find a watch that the brand requires as a prop for the photoshoot.
She looked for several shops but couldn't find one, so she borrowed a watch from Gu Yinyan. She was about to go to his house to pick it up when she couldn't leave at the last minute.
Liang Yizhi replied, "Then I'll go get it for you. I also need to find Gu Yinyan."
He Man wailed, "Waaaaah, Yizhi! How can I live without you!"
As Liang Yizhi was about to pick up her watch by taxi, she happened to give the incense plaque she had made to Gu Yinyan.
She sat in the car, holding a box containing incense sticks. The incense sticks were square, printed with the patterns and words she had chosen, bearing the simplest and most heartfelt wishes: peace and happiness.
She held the incense stick up to the light streaming in through the car window, then brought it to her nose to smell it, quite pleased with the piece.
She was the first one to give it to him, and she had a feeling that Gu Yinyan would like it.
Meanwhile, Gu Yinyan was also on his way home.
Liang Yizhi arrived a little earlier than him. He said, "Don't wait for me, the things are in the room. Just take them."
His door wasn't locked, so Liang Yizhi hung up the phone and went straight in.
Gu Yinyan's bedroom is almost bigger than her living room. In addition to the sleeping and resting area, there is an open walk-in closet next to it.
All his clothes and accessories were neatly arranged in dark gray cabinets, sorted by color and size.
There is also a huge full-length mirror in the walk-in closet, which almost fills one wall.
Liang Yizhi had never been here before. After touring around, she sighed to herself.
She scanned the jewelry display case in the middle, where watches were placed, and quickly found the watch that He Man had mentioned.
She took it out, took a picture, and sent it to her.
While waiting for He Man's confirmation, Liang Yizhi looked around the luxurious walk-in closet for a while.
She suddenly thought, why not just hide the incense stick here, so that Gu Yinyan would be more surprised and delighted when he came back?
Once she had the idea, she took action, and Liang Yizhi immediately began looking for a place to place the incense tablet.
Looking at it from left to right, it's too conspicuous to put in the jewelry cabinet, but I'm afraid he won't be able to find it if I hang it in the wardrobe.
As she passed by the full-length mirror, Liang Yizhi habitually glanced at herself a few times.
She glanced at it unexpectedly and noticed what appeared to be a crack under the right edge of the mirror.
At first, Liang Yizhi thought it was a workmanship problem, so she tried pushing it with her index finger, but to her surprise, the entire mirror moved unexpectedly.
The frame got stuck in the track, making a slight friction sound.
Liang Yizhi was dumbfounded.
She had always thought the mirror was embedded in the wall, but it turned out to be a sliding door.
She tried pulling again, hoping to return the mirror to its original position. But this time, she discovered—
Behind this sliding door, there was actually a cabinet.
It was a niche embedded in the wall, with several layers.
The design was so unexpected that Liang Yizhi didn't react for a moment.
But what surprised her even more was what she saw inside.
Liang Yizhi stood there, stunned.
She recognized all the items displayed in this secluded corner.
She bought the candlestick for Gu Yinyan two months ago when she was on a business trip, but she never saw him use it. It turned out that it was hidden in this cabinet.
She always thought he didn't like it, which is why he didn't take it out.
She could understand the appearance of this item.
But... what about the other things?
Liang Yizhi's gaze swept over them one by one.
What first brought her back to reality was a red hair tie placed at the very front of the second shelf of the cabinet.
Last time she went home for vacation, after taking a shower, she couldn't find a red hair tie. She always thought she had accidentally left it somewhere.
That night, Liang Youde and the others were not home, and the bathroom water was cut off. Gu Yinyan came to her house and fixed it for her.
No...that can't be right...
Liang Yizhi gripped the box containing the incense sticks in her hand even tighter.
There must be some mistake.
The hair ties are all so similar, and look exactly the same, that she has no way of knowing whether this hair tie is the same one she lost.
She suppressed her urge to spy.
But my heart was pounding, like a fuse about to ignite, sparks crackling and flashing, ready to explode.
Next to the red hair tie whose owner she didn't know, there was a very small jewelry box.
Liang Yizhi put down the box containing the incense sticks, wiped her damp palms on her clothes, and opened it with trembling hands.
Inside was a very small silver button.
She had a cardigan with buttons like these. The buttons were decorated with delicate embossed designs, the smooth lines reflecting the light overhead and outlining shimmering edges. The pattern was exactly the same as the one in the jewelry box.
The last time she had dinner with Gary, she was wearing that cardigan.
The very next day, she discovered that one of the buttons had fallen off, so she tucked the dress into the bottom of her wardrobe and never wore it again.
That night, Gu Yinyan also came to her house.
They made up after their argument and chatted all night. In the end, she was so tired that she accidentally fell asleep.
...
Besides these recent ones, there are many more.
In the closet, there's a photo of her first solo recital after returning to China. In the photo, she's wearing a white dress he gave her, playing with rapt attention on a warm-toned stage.
There were also postcards she sent him, which she sent from Barcelona when she was studying and traveling around Europe.
Above is her handwriting, written in a flowing, elegant style: "Winter here is so slow, I hope you can also have a warm and sunny winter."
These included tickets to musicals they had seen together, felt teddy bear keychains she had made for her friends, an expensive fountain pen she gave him as a graduation gift, and so on.
Everything about her is related to her.
These objects can be large or small, ranging from representing every birthday or anniversary, or every important milestone in life, to being as inconspicuous and insignificant as that silver button.
The oldest of these dates back to when they were in high school, to a painting she drew for Gu Yinyan.
At that time, Gu Yinyan was practicing at the piano, while she was lying on the table next to him, tilting her head, and drawing him on a piece of draft paper.
She didn't paint it intentionally for him; she was just killing time out of boredom. But halfway through the painting, Gu Yinyan snatched the paper from her hand. She never imagined that the painting would be preserved until now.
The paper was yellowed with age, the edges were so wrinkled that they would almost crumble at the slightest touch, and the handwriting depicting the figures had long since become blurred and indistinct.
Liang Yizhi is nostalgic and likes to collect memories, leaving behind important traces of each stage of her life.
She knows better than anyone the meaning behind the objects.
Liang Yizhi then thought of the Polaroid photo that originally belonged to Xie Yun, taken a few days ago.
That wet night in the villa.
Even if she was unwilling to admit it, those objectively existing clues were like danger warnings in a game, jumping out one after another in front of her, telling her this clear reality.
Liang Yizhi tried to control her trembling breath and took a deep breath, but her lungs felt like they were submerged in water, and she couldn't breathe.
She told herself that.
Perhaps... perhaps Gu Yinyan is just more sentimental...
He simply enjoys quietly treasuring these meaningful little objects.
These old items, which have no origin, have long been unwanted and represent nothing at all.
She leaned against the jewelry cabinet behind her, completely exhausted.
After a few seconds of calm, the jewelry box containing the buttons snapped shut with a crisp sound.
She made the decision to maintain the status quo and return everything to its original state.
Liang Yizhi began hurriedly packing her things. She moved frantically, trying to put each item back in its original place according to her memory before Gu Yinyan returned.
However, just as she raised her hand, she noticed something placed in the far corner of the lower level, covered by a glass dome.
It's unique, yet not flashy.
Like Gu Yinyan, he quietly stayed by her side, silently hiding in the deepest part of her life, yet possessing an undeniable presence.
If she could deny everything that had just happened, then what was under the cover was irrefutable proof that made it impossible for her to deceive herself any longer.
—Under the glass dome, there was a white camellia.
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