Chapter 56 Epilogue (3) Do you know what this means? ...
The suitcase lock clicked shut with a crisp sound. As Wen Chen straightened up, her fingertips unconsciously pressed against the back of her neck, which was aching. Her knuckles rubbed against the tense muscles, and fatigue gradually crept up her spine.
The night outside the French windows was thick and inky. His phone screen was still lit, the London real-time weather pop-up at the top glaringly bright. A red blizzard warning was in effect; the temperature was below zero. He turned to grab his tablet from the cabinet, intending to review his acceptance speech one last time. Just as his fingertips were about to touch the tablet's cold edge, a large, bony hand suddenly slid in and firmly pressed down on the tablet.
Wen Chen followed the hand's gaze. Gu Moheng was leaning against the bedroom door at some point, his loungewear collar slightly open.
"Don't work tonight." His voice was very low.
Wen Chen raised an eyebrow slightly, his eyes remaining calm and unwavering: "That was the 'Golden Ruler's' speech, President Gu."
Gu Moheng strode closer, his cedar scent aggressively enveloping her. Without a word, he snatched the tablet from Wen Chen's hand and tossed it onto the sofa. He then grabbed Wen Chen's wrist, his fingertips gently rubbing her pulse.
“You’ve already memorized the speech perfectly.” Gu Moheng stared into his eyes, those eyes that were usually as deep as a cold pool, but now surged with suppressed dark fire, hiding embers that had not yet been extinguished. “Come with me.”
Wen Chen didn't move, letting him hold her hand, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Where to?"
"secret."
Without a word, Gu Moheng turned around, took the heavy black cashmere coat from the hanger, and draped it over Wen Chen's shoulders. Then, he half-squatted down, his slender fingers pinching Wen Chen's ankles, and helped him put on his outdoor leather shoes.
As the car drove away from the city, the neon lights outside the window gradually thinned out and finally disappeared completely into darkness. In their place were vast expanses of bare forest covered in snow, the branches stretching and twisting in the night.
Wen Chen turned her head to look at the driver's seat. Gu Moheng's lips were tightly pursed, and his jawline was taut and straight. He didn't say a word, and the knuckles of his fingers gripping the steering wheel were white. The veins on the back of his hand bulged slightly and then flattened with each forceful movement.
"Is this...to the West Suburbs Cemetery?" Wen Chen recognized the blurry road sign by the roadside, his voice still calm, revealing little emotion.
"Hmm." Gu Moheng didn't let go of the accelerator, his voice hoarse. "My parents' graves were completed last week. I want to take you to meet them formally."
Wen Chen remained silent, quietly withdrawing her gaze and turning to look at the night scene rushing past the window. Snowflakes had fallen sometime earlier, striking the car window and leaving fleeting water stains.
Half an hour later, the car came to a smooth stop at the entrance of the cemetery. The cold wind howled through the pine and cypress trees at the entrance, making a mournful sound, and scraped against the face like a knife. As soon as Wen Chen opened the car door, Gu Moheng quickly walked around to the front of the car, reached out and tightly pulled the collar of his coat together, then took off the scarf around his neck, which was still warm from his body, and wrapped it tightly around Wen Chen's neck, not wanting him to feel even a bit of the cold wind.
"Don't get cold," he murmured.
The two walked step by step up the thick snow. The snow crunched under their feet, a sound that seemed somewhat eerie in the quiet of the cemetery in the dead of night, broken only by the rustling of the pines and cypresses in the wind. On a sunny slope with excellent feng shui, stood a brand-new joint tomb. The black marble tombstone was solemn and dignified, without any superfluous decorations, only the names of the Gu parents and their birth and death dates engraved on it.
Gu Moheng stopped in his tracks.
Wen Chen stepped forward, bent down, and gently brushed away a thin layer of snow from the base of the monument with his gloved hand.
"Uncle, Aunt," Wen Chen said softly, white mist spreading from her lips and quickly dissipating in the cold wind. "I am Wen Chen, and I have come to see you. I'm sorry I came in such a hurry that I didn't bring any flowers."
Standing behind him, Gu Moheng looked at the slender yet upright figure, his eyes suddenly stinging with tears. He had been so resolutely pushed away back then, yet Wen Chen still stood here, willing to give the Gu family this respect. This tolerance made his heart ache and burn.
"Wen Chen," Gu Moheng suddenly called out to him.
Wen Chen straightened up and turned to look. Gu Moheng's gaze passed over his parents' joint grave and landed on an open space nearby. It was also well-maintained, paved with bluestone slabs, with two adjacent grave bases. Right beside Gu's parents, nestled close together.
“That is…” Wen Chen followed his gaze and her heart sank slightly.
“My seat,” Gu Moheng said, pointing to the empty seat on the left.
Wen Chen's heart sank suddenly.
At only twenty-eight years old, in the prime of his life, he had already chosen his burial place. Before Wen Chen could speak, Gu Moheng's finger pointed to the empty spot right next to it, his fingertips trembling slightly.
"And this too."
Wen Chen's breath hitched, and a premonition shot up his spine, making his fingertips go numb.
With trembling hands, Gu Moheng pulled an exquisite black velvet box from the inside pocket of his coat. Its square shape resembled a ring box used for engagements, gleaming softly in the cool moonlight.
The cold wind whipped up the snowflakes on the ground, which lashed against their trouser legs, bringing a biting chill. Gu Moheng used his thumb to forcefully open the box lid with a soft "click".
By the cool moonlight, Wen Chen could see what was in the box. It wasn't a ring, but two specially made gold plaques. They were only the size of a palm, with rounded, smooth edges that gleamed with the cold light characteristic of metal.
Wen Chen felt her throat was dry, as if something was blocking it, and she couldn't say a word.
Gu Moheng carefully took out one of the pieces with his fingers, which were red from the cold, and handed it to Wen Chen. On the plaque, a line of words was engraved in ancient clerical script.
Gu Moheng loved Wen Chen his entire life.
Gu Moheng took out another piece, the one that belonged to the right side.
Wen Chen was loved by Gu Moheng for a lifetime.
“I had someone design it,” Gu Moheng’s voice broke in the wind. “The final draft needs to be completed tonight, and the inscription can be carved tomorrow.”
Wen Chen stared at the two lines of text, feeling a chill run down her spine and up her scalp, only to be met with a burning, bittersweet feeling that exploded in her heart. This was clearly a confession of love that felt like a suicide pact.
“We already have the ring.” Gu Moheng stepped forward, getting closer to Wen Chen, his eyes swirling with a thick, dark glint in them—the obsession and possessiveness he had suppressed for eight years, which he could no longer hide.
"These past few days I've been thinking about how to keep you here. I want to lock you in the house, hide you away, and make sure the whole world can't find you."
Gu Moheng chuckled self-deprecatingly, “But I know you’ll hate me for that. You’re a designer, you’re meant to stand in the spotlight and win awards, you’re meant to build skyscrapers that belong to you.”
"So I had no choice but to bury myself." Gu Moheng clutched the two nameplates tightly in his hands.
"Wen Chen, my proposal doesn't want that piece of paper, that can be divorced at any time. What I want is this monument."
He lowered his head, his forehead gently resting on Wen Chen's shoulder. "I want to be born into the same bed and die in the same grave. I want that decades from now, even if our bodies are rotting in the mud, our names will be engraved together, and no one will be able to separate us."
"I am on the left, and you are on the right. You don't need to love me so deeply, you just need to be there and be loved by me."
Wen Chen's fingers curled up at her sides, her nails digging deep into the soft flesh of her palms, bringing a sharp pain. This love was too heavy, like a mudslide after a rainstorm, carrying scalding sincerity and obsession, crashing down on her, suffocating her, yet making her unable to resist the warmth within.
Gu Moheng raised his head, his hawk-like eyes bloodshot, staring intently at Wen Chen's face.
"You...accept it?" he asked cautiously. If Wen Chen threw away the nameplate now, or turned and left, he would probably really go crazy.
Wen Chen looked at him, her gaze complex and unreadable. The wind picked up, swirling snowflakes that seeped into her collar, making her neck stiff with cold. Gu Moheng maintained his outstretched posture, his arm trembling slightly, yet he refused to retract it.
Wen Chen raised his hand, his fingertips slowly stroking the line of clerical script on the nameplate.
Gu Moheng loved Wen Chen his entire life.
He raised his eyelids, his clear eyes shining brightly in the darkness. "Gu Moheng." The voice was soft, but it made Gu Moheng's shoulders tremble violently.
Do you know what this means?
Gu Moheng's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, "...to follow you through life and death."
“Not only that.” Wen Chen took a half step forward, closing in on him. Their breaths mingled, turning into a cloud of white mist that dissipated in the wind. “This means that you even want to tie me down after you die.”
Gu Moheng's face instantly turned deathly pale, the color draining from his lips bit by bit. His fingers curled, instinctively trying to retract the nameplate. He'd messed up, completely messed up. What normal person would accept such a cursed proposal?
Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Wen Chen suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.
Gu Moheng looked up in surprise, only to see Wen Chen suddenly smile. His eyes curved slightly, like a spring breeze thawing a frozen river, or a cold pool breaking through the ice. "What a coincidence." He clenched the nameplate tightly in his palm, pressed it against his chest, letting the cold metal absorb his body heat, and said, "Me too."
Gu Moheng's pupils contracted sharply, almost unable to believe his ears: "What?"
“I said, me too.” Wen Chen stared into his eyes, her gaze revealing the same obsession and deep affection as his own. Each word was clear and firm. “I also want to tie you down, not letting you go anywhere. In this life, and in the next, even if we rot in the mud, we’ll be entangled forever.”
Gu Moheng opened his mouth, but no sound came out. An overwhelming joy surged into his heart, making him dizzy.
Before he could react, Wen Chen grabbed his hand and turned to face the solemn black tombstone.
"come over."
Gu Moheng stumbled, his knees buckled, and he almost knelt on the snow. Wen Chen didn't help him up, but knelt down with him. Their knees touched the cold snow, and the chill seeped into their fabric, biting them to the bone.
Wen Chen reached out and gently brushed the snow off the tombstone photo. The two people in the photo had gentle smiles, and their features were very similar to Gu Moheng's.
“Uncle, Aunt.” His voice echoed in the empty cemetery. “I am Wen Chen. I visited your home eight years ago.”
Gu Moheng turned his head to look at him, and Wen Chen turned his head to meet his gaze. The tenderness in his eyes was almost overwhelming. He looked back at the tombstone, his hand tightly holding Gu Moheng's cold, trembling hand, their fingers intertwined.
"I've come here to tell you both," Wen Chen paused, tightening her grip on Gu Moheng's hand, "that your son has had a very difficult eight years. He's suffered a lot outside, but he's very determined."
Gu Moheng lowered his head. He thought Wen Chen would resent and hate him. But he didn't expect that in front of his parents, he would talk about his hardships.
“But don’t worry.” Wen Chen’s voice rose a few decibels, “It won’t happen again. I will keep an eye on him, I will keep an eye on him, and I will not let him suffer again.”
Wen Chen turned around, her thumb gently wiping away the moisture from Gu Moheng's eyes. Her gaze was both tender and forceful. "I will love him. Until I lie in this grave next to him. Until my name and his name are engraved side by side on the stone, never to be separated again."
In that instant, the high wall in Gu Moheng's heart collapsed.
"Wen Chen..." he called out hoarsely, then leaned forward abruptly. He wrapped his arms tightly around Wen Chen's waist, buried his head in the warm crook of her neck, and scalding tears soaked Wen Chen's collar.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com