Chapter 23 So, have I managed to soothe the child...?
"Because it looks good." Gu Sui clenched his hands on his knees, making no attempt to hide his gaze from the person.
Shang Shu felt a little uncomfortable from the sudden praise. She was only wrapped in a bath towel; what was so interesting about that?
She avoided his burning gaze and changed the subject again, saying, "I need to change my clothes..."
Gu Sui remained noncommittal, slowly rising and walking towards the door, leaving space for the other person.
Only after hearing the crisp sound of the door closing did Shang Shu breathe a sigh of relief. Her heart was pounding violently for some reason, as if responding to the other person's burning passion.
After a while, she came to her senses, took off the bath towel, grabbed a set of clothes, and was about to change.
What am I doing? Maybe they were just saying it casually.
Shang Shu muttered to herself, but her body betrayed her as she went to the mirror. After looking at herself from left to right for a while, she changed out of the black round-neck top she was wearing and put on an oatmeal-colored turtleneck sweater.
When Shang Shu came out after changing her clothes, she saw Gu Sui standing in front of the French windows looking at the scenery. She touched her collar and said to him, "I'm ready."
Gu Sui turned around and saw that Shang Shu was wearing a light-colored suit with a brown lambskin belt around her waist and a coat of the same color draped over her forearm, exuding elegance with a touch of playfulness.
The little girl is tall and has a great sense of style. Even in winter clothes, her perfect curves are still evident, making her look like a walking clothes hanger.
"It looks great." Gu Sui smiled with satisfaction and walked towards the person.
The colors match my outfit perfectly; it looks like a couple's outfit.
Shang Shu's ears burned again. She raised her chin slightly and cleared her throat: "Of course, I look beautiful every day."
"Indeed." Gu Sui nodded calmly, indicating his agreement.
What's wrong with this person today?
Shang Shu felt her face getting hotter and hotter, so she quickly turned her head away and said, "Let's go quickly, I'm so hungry."
Gu Sui took Shang Shu to the Michelin-starred restaurant she had booked in advance. This restaurant specializes in traditional Italian cuisine with Roman influences. She remembered that when Shang Shu was in Aicheng, she had a particular fondness for an Italian restaurant near her school.
Shang Shu glanced at the tasting menu beside her and couldn't help but think of that restaurant, Yiguai, whose dishes were seven or eight parts similar to those dishes.
The restaurant wasn't very big, and because she frequented it, Shang Shu gradually became familiar with the owner. She learned that the old lady was a Sicilian who had come with the wave of immigrants, and her name was Maria. Her daughters were helping out in the kitchen, and the best pasta dish was white Amatolacina.
Unfortunately, that restaurant also closed down not long after Gu Sui left.
Thinking of all this, Shang Shu couldn't help but feel a little lonely. She closed the menu to comfort herself, thinking that there were probably only a few dishes to choose from, and they all looked pretty much the same everywhere.
Seeing that she looked unwell, Gu Sui seemed to remember something and said, "Song Lan also came this morning. I saw that you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you up."
Shang Shu snapped out of her reverie and softly hummed in agreement: "She's going back to Macau today. With her at the company, there's nothing to worry about."
"That's good." Gu Sui's tone was flat, revealing no emotion.
"Do you remember that restaurant next to Ai Da?" Shang Shu touched the back of her hand and brought it up. "The owner passed away that autumn, and the restaurant didn't survive the winter and closed down. I went there a few times, and the owner's daughter told me that they could never recreate the taste of her mother's cooking. It's such a pity."
Gu Sui listened quietly, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart. Of course, she knew when Shang Shu was referring to "that autumn," which was precisely the purpose of her bringing people here today.
"Ah Shu," she called softly, looking at the person, "I brought you here today hoping to cover up those bad memories..."
“It’s not bad,” Shang Shu interrupted, looking into Gu Sui’s eyes.
The only thing that's bad, or rather, not good enough, is herself.
"I don't think the memories from the past are bad," Shang Shu repeated, stopping short of saying anything more.
On the contrary, just as she said before her mother's spirit, those memories, those days, those people and things, are still the most beautiful time of her life.
However, she seemed to have discerned Gu Sui's thoughts from his words. It turned out that these stories that happened in Aicheng, which seemed like a dream to her, were not pleasant to him.
Gu Sui opened her mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by the waiter who was serving the dishes. She could only lower her brows and remain silent.
The meal was eaten quietly. Shang Shu would sometimes lower her head to eat, and sometimes look at the scenery outside the window, but she never looked at Gu Sui.
Gu Sui also found the food somewhat unappetizing and even regretted his decision.
After dinner, the two strolled aimlessly along the riverside promenade. The river breeze from the Huangpu River carried a slight chill, cold yet refreshing.
"Are you cold?" Gu Sui turned his head and asked Shang Shu, who had her hands in her coat pockets.
Shang Shu shook her head and continued walking forward, staring at her toes.
Suddenly, a little girl ran up to the two of them with a wrapped flower in her hand. She asked shyly in a low voice, "Pretty sisters, do you want to buy flowers?"
Shang Shu paused slightly, looking down at the little girl. The little girl looked only five or six years old, with rosy cheeks, as if she had been standing in the wind for a long time. She held her head high, her eyes sparkling, looking at her expectantly.
She bent down, about to say something, when she saw that Gu Sui had already squatted down in front of the little girl.
"Okay, did you wrap all of these?" Gu Sui asked with a smile.
"Yes! I tied this bow too." The little girl beamed with joy and said with a touch of pride when she heard that they wanted to buy it.
"Wow, that's amazing! But one is too few. Do you have any more flowers?" Gu Sui pinched the little girl's cheek.
The little girl's eyes immediately brightened: "I have lots of flowers too, and my mom is over there!" she said, pointing with her little finger to the stall not far away.
Most people choose to sell flowers at night when there are many people, but at this time of day, the stall looks lonely, with only a slightly haggard-looking woman guarding it.
Gu Sui followed the little girl's gaze for a couple of moments, then beckoned her closer, whispered something in her ear, and finally stuffed a wad of cash into her hand.
The little girl nodded earnestly to Gu Sui with the money in her hand, then ran back to her stall excitedly.
"What did you say to her?" Shang Shu raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled.
Gu Sui slowly stood up and smiled at Shang Shu: "It's a secret."
A moment later, the little girl came swaying over, carrying a large bunch of pink double-petaled lilies. The petals were so big that they almost covered half of her face.
She walked up to Shang Shu and said in a sweet, childlike voice, "Pretty sister, these are flowers this sister gave you." As she spoke, she tried her best to hold up a large bouquet of flowers, "My mother said that if you like someone, you should give them flowers. The double-petaled lily symbolizes mutual affection. I hope that the two pretty sisters can be happy forever."
Heart to heart.
For a moment, Shang Shu's heart skipped a beat. Her face flushed, she hugged the bouquet to her chest and whispered, "You're so young, how would you know what liking someone means..."
The little girl raised her head somewhat defiantly: "I know, I also have a girl I like, her name is Yiyi, and when I grow up, I will give her flowers too."
Upon hearing this, Shang Shu and Gu Sui exchanged a glance and couldn't help but laugh.
"Go ahead," Gu Sui said with a smile, patting the little girl's fluffy head.
A breeze blew through the flowers in Shang Shu's arms, carrying a delicate fragrance. The pale pink petals trembled gently in the wind, like a shy beauty, blushing before she could speak.
"You're quite good at coaxing kids." Shang Shu lowered her eyes and bit her lower lip.
Gu Sui tilted his head and looked at her with a light laugh: "Then, may I ask if I've soothed the child?"
Shang Shu then realized something was wrong and hurriedly and shyly explained, "What I meant was..."
Unexpectedly, when she looked up, she met Gu Sui's tender and affectionate eyes.
Warm sunshine, river breeze, fragrant flowers, and...
"A-Shu." Gu Sui slowly approached and reached out to brush a stray hair from Shang Shu's forehead. "Thank you."
Thank you for not pushing me away. Thank you for giving me another chance to come back to you. As for the rest, we have plenty of time to think about it.
Shang Shu stared blankly into those deep eyes, the only sounds in her ears being the wind and her own heart pounding like a drum.
"Thank me for what..." she murmured, looking down.
Gu Sui chuckled but didn't answer. She reached out to the flowers in Shang Shu's arms and said, "Are they heavy? I'll take them."
Shang Shu looked at her only remaining good arm and pulled the hand holding the flowers away from her: "You're taking back what you just gave me? I haven't had enough of looking at them yet."
Gu Sui sighed and smiled helplessly, knowing that the little girl was always like this; she was clearly worried about him, but she would pretend to be protective of her food.
But still, it's enough that she understands her feelings.
Afraid of accidentally touching Gu Sui's wound, Shang Shu kept walking on her right. However, when she walked in this direction, Gu Sui was on the outside of the path, so she was constantly worried and watched the people coming and going around her, hoping that Gu Sui would be bumped into.
As if by magic, a cool guy on a skateboard was speeding towards them the instant she looked away for a second.
"Watch out!" At the critical moment, Shang Shu grabbed Gu Sui's arm and pulled her towards her, thus avoiding the person unharmed.
"Sorry~" The cool guy turned around and said an apology, but by the time Shang Shu looked again, he had already slid far away.
"Are you alright? I shouldn't have pulled so hard, does it hurt..." Shang Shu anxiously circled around Gu Sui, checking him over.
"It's okay, really it's okay." Gu Sui was so dizzy from being spun around that he couldn't help but find it a little funny.
Seeing that neither left nor right was an option, Shang Shu was almost ready to make a snap decision and decided to just walk in front of Gu Sui.
Gu Sui looked at the woman's furrowed brows, subtly curled the corners of his lips, reached out and took Shang Shu's somewhat cold hand, gently slipping his fingers between hers to interlock them.
"If you're so worried about me, then hold my hand."
The moment their fingers touched, Shang Shu felt as if an electric current spread through her body. The warmth from her palm caused her fingertips to tighten slightly involuntarily.
Gu Sui's hands were bony, with thin, smooth skin that felt like jade or silk.
"If you're going to hold my hand, then hold it properly. Who gave you permission to do this?" Shang Shu said, but her hand was still obediently held.
She didn't understand why, even though they had done everything before, holding hands now still made her blush and her heart race to this extent.
Gu Sui withdrew his fingers one by one from between Shang Shu's fingers, reverting to the normal way of holding her hand, still connecting with her palm.
"Is it okay now?" She smiled and stuffed her hand, along with the other person's hand, into the still-warm pocket of her coat.
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