Chapter 204: Gu Qianqian's Letter
A few days later, at Shiba Inu Villa.
Yu Ling was being held down by Zhao Chen at the counter, forced to taste his newly developed "upgraded version of Wangcai's pasta with meat sauce" (with double the amount of truffles and caviar, and Wangcai was spinning anxiously at his feet).
"Madam, there's a special delivery for you..." Butler Chen Bo walked in with an unmarked white envelope, his expression a little subtle. "It's from the sanatorium."
"Nursing home?" Yu Ling was taken aback, then took the envelope. It felt slightly cool to the touch, and the paper was thick and solid.
Zhao Chen paused while wiping his hands. The glint in his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses suddenly grew sharper, and his gentle aura became more solemn. He put down his napkin and walked over to Yu Ling, silently conveying his protection.
Yu Ling opened the envelope. There was nothing extra inside, just a piece of plain white paper. On it were a few lines of elegant but slightly frivolous handwriting:
Ms. Yu Ling:
Perhaps you don't want to see any news from me. Writing this letter has exhausted all my courage at this moment.
I saw him on TV... the look in his eyes when he looked at you. It was a look I could never achieve, even if I spent my entire life trying to find it.
I've also seen all the well wishes online and learned about your story. So... true love is like that. Pure and courageous, enough to make a man used to being in control let down his guard just to go home and embrace his beloved.
I was once blinded by jealousy and obsession, and made too many unforgivable mistakes. The hurt I caused you, the entanglement I caused Zhao Chen, every one of these, when I think about it now, fills me with shame.
Those crazy things were not because I loved him so deeply, maybe... I just couldn't bear to see my pride shattered. I used the ugliest way to try to prove that I was worthy of being loved, but it pushed myself into a deeper abyss.
Now, everything is settled. My father…had brought this upon himself. The Gu family has vanished into thin air. And here I am, in this tiny space, facing the empty walls and cold pills day after day, finally realizing my own foolishness and meanness.
Saying sorry is too pale and powerless. I know full well that my apology cannot make up for any harm I have caused you. This letter is not meant to be a plea for your forgiveness.
only…
Just seeing him confessing his love to you in the rose rain, seeing him running wildly for you, seeing you being sincerely blessed by so many people... I suddenly feel that this world may still have a little beauty worth believing in.
So, please allow me, as a bystander, as an old acquaintance who truly repents, to say this:
I wish you happiness.
You deserve the purest and longest-lasting love in the world.
—— A sinner, but also an old friend who sincerely wishes you well.
Sincerely, Gu Qianqian
The letter was short. No flowery words, no hysterical confession, only a calm narrative and a heavy feeling of regret and relief that could almost be felt through the back of the paper.
Yu Ling watched quietly, her fingertips tracing the words "Sincerely wishing you, old friend," with mixed feelings. There was no imagined joy of revenge, no overflowing sympathy, but rather a sense of calm after the dust had settled...
"What did you write?" Zhao Chen's voice rang out above him, with a barely perceptible tension. He reached out to take the letter.
Yu Ling folded the letter, stuffed it back into the envelope, and casually placed it on the counter. She picked up a fork, rolled up a ball of sauce-covered pasta, stuffed it into her mouth, and said vaguely, "Nothing. It was written by Gu Qianqian."
Zhao Chen frowned, his eyes instantly turning cold: "She still has the nerve..."
"She said," Yu Ling interrupted him, swallowed the noodles in her mouth, raised her head, looked at Zhao Chen's nervous face, and suddenly smiled, a smile that was clean and open-minded, "I wish us happiness."
Zhao Chen was stunned. He had anticipated Gu Qianqian's pestering, verbal abuse, or perhaps even a pity ploy to elicit sympathy, but he hadn't anticipated... a blessing?
"She said she watched the live broadcast and saw the way you looked at me." Yu Ling's tone was relaxed, even a little proud, and she tapped Zhao Chen's chest with her fork. "Look, that look, it's the only one like it in the world."
Zhao Chen's tense jawline relaxed. He held Yu Ling's fork hand and said in a low voice, "She...didn't play tricks?"
"The letter is just a piece of paper. Uncle Chen checked it and it's spotless." Yu Ling shrugged. "I think... she's really let it go. Or rather, she's seen it clearly and accepted her fate." She took Zhao Chen's hand and squeezed it. "It's all in the past, Zhao Chen."
Zhao Chen looked into his wife's clear, calm eyes, which contained no trace of gloom or worry. The last bit of heaviness in his heart about Gu Qianqian finally fell to the ground with a thud.
"Yeah." He responded, holding her in his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, "It's over."
A few days later, on the outskirts of Haicheng, at the "Jingxin" sanatorium by the lake.
The environment was quiet, but security was tight. The black wrought iron gate was closed, and standing at the entrance were two men in plain clothes, their eyes sharp as eagles, and small, cold-lined Shiba Inu badges pinned to their chests.
A low-key black car slowly stopped not far away.
The rear window is down.
Yu Ling wore sunglasses and looked at the small white building hidden by green trees deep in the sanatorium.
"You really don't want to go in and take a look?" Zhao Chen asked in the driver's seat, tapping his fingers lightly on the steering wheel.
"I'm not going in." Yu Ling shook her head, her voice calm. "Just like she said, there's no need for us to meet again. Knowing that she's here peacefully is enough."
She paused, her eyes fixed on the closed wrought iron gate of the nursing home, where there was an inconspicuous, newly installed silver doorplate, and below it, a miniature, smoothly drawn Shiba Inu paw print.
"Did you see that claw mark?" Yu Ling's lips curved into a smile. "Your 'guild sanitation department' did a pretty thorough job cleaning it up, didn't it?"
Zhao Chen followed her gaze, a cold glint flashing through his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses. "Now that the garbage has been cleared, we have to leave a mark to remind those who come after us that dumping is prohibited here."
Yu Ling laughed and patted him: "Let's go. Go home. It's time to feed Wangcai."
The car started smoothly and drove away.
On the third floor of the sanatorium, a corner of the curtain in a sunny room was slightly opened.
Gu Qianqian stood behind the window, watching the black car disappear at the end of the road. The sunlight fell on her still pale but much calmer face. In her hand, she unconsciously stroked a small, ordinary silver brooch she had bought long ago, when she still believed she had hope.
She gently loosened her grip, and the brooch fell silently onto the soft carpet.
She drew the curtains, turned around, walked to the sofa bathed in sunlight, picked up a brand new book, and opened it quietly.
Outside the window, the small Shiba Inu paw print on the iron gate reflected the sunlight, like a silent period, or an invisible protective boundary.
Inside the door is her atonement and the rest of her life.
Outside the door were Yu Ling and Zhao Chen, a new life steaming hot with the aroma of meat sauce wafting through the Shiba Inu Villa.
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