Chapter 82 Can I have just myself?
The meal was casual and comfortable. They chatted about Gu Xiangyi and the Gu family from time to time, without hiding anything from Shang Shu. Gu Qi was afraid that she would be neglected, so he would take the initiative to talk to her about company matters. Later, the other two complained that they had to talk about work during the New Year's meal, so they laughed and started talking about other things.
At the dinner table, Gu Sui would respond gently to the conversation while occasionally serving food to Shang Shu. Shang Shu noticed that Gu Sui didn't ask questions like Lin Can did, but rather observed her with his eyes, understanding her without making a sound.
Gu Sui could always accurately judge what she liked to eat and what she didn't like. For example, the steamed fish that appeared in her hands one after another, or the taro that Gu Sui took directly from her bowl after calmly glancing back at Qi and saying "yes".
Shang Shu never knew that eating with family could be like this. She could temporarily forget about rules, etiquette, and regulations, and didn't have to be careful or afraid of making a mistake and becoming a laughing stock.
With Gu Sui around, she didn't have to worry about when was the right time to turn the table, she didn't have to stare at the dish in front of her, afraid of being noticed by others looking across the table, she didn't have to feel embarrassed for taking a few extra bites, and she could even be willful and only pick what she liked to eat, with someone else putting it in her bowl for her.
After feeling moved, Shang Shu found it funny, realizing that her mentality was indeed a bit like that of a child.
After dinner, Gu Sui led her to the garden to digest their food. The two walked slowly, holding each other's hands, pinching each other's fingers.
"Are you happy?" Gu Sui looked at Shang Shu's upturned lips, shook her hand, and asked softly.
"Why wouldn't I be happy to receive a red envelope?" Shang Shu was a little proud and refused to admit it directly. She wiggled the tips of her delicate little boots and kicked pebbles one by one. "I didn't even receive one much when I was a child."
"Really?" Gu Sui pretended not to know. "Then from now on, it will be held every year."
The little boots stopped because Shang Shu's heart was pounding and her legs were too weak to kick.
"Then I want yours." She pursed her ears and whispered, mimicking Gu Xiangyi as she reached out her hand to Gu Sui.
Gu Sui was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and patted her palm lightly: "You already have her, and you're still so greedy."
Shang Shuxin felt a surge of emotion. Was she being greedy? Who had spoiled her? She shook her head inwardly.
"You stingy little thing." Shang Shu laughed and lightly jumped in front of Gu Sui, then turned around and took her hand, walking backwards.
Fearing that Shang Shu might fall, Gu Sui gently tugged at her arm before she could even take two steps back, then stepped forward and put his arm around her waist.
Gazing at the pair of sparkling amber beads, Gu Sui slightly moved her lips, her voice so ethereal it was almost impossible to hear: "Can I be the only one?"
The pink hibiscus flowers unfurl their golden stamens, and the ceaseless stream murmurs among the stacked stones. They embrace on the garden path, their beauty reflected and surrounded by the murmuring water.
Her heart pounded, and Shang Shu felt she was about to reach her breaking point.
Why can't it be done?
In the blink of an eye, before the first syllable of "bi" came out, two lines of tears appeared.
"A-Shu..." Gu Sui felt heartbroken and didn't know whether to use his hands or feet. He was busy trying to wipe away her tears and hug her.
Seeing her flustered state, Shang Shu gently nudged her shoulder and burst into laughter through her tears: "What's wrong? Afraid that Sister Gu Qi will come out and beat you up?"
The first time he brought someone to meet his parents, he made them cry. He truly lives up to his reputation as Gu Sui.
"Don't cry, I won't ask anymore, I'll never ask again, okay?" Gu Sui frowned and sighed softly, pulling Shang Shu into his arms and stroking her hair.
“In that case, you can only listen to me this once,” Shang Shu sniffed, rested her chin on Gu Sui’s shoulder, and rubbed her cheek against her ear. “I only want you, Gu Sui. I don’t need anything else.”
After saying that, Shang Shu pulled away from her embrace, cupped Gu Sui's face, and gently kissed her lips: "So, I allow you to take back what you just said."
"Okay." Gu Sui replied, then turned his head and kissed her deeply.
After returning from Gu Qi's house in the afternoon, Shang Shu felt a bit sleepy. She had gotten up very early and hadn't relaxed her mind earlier, so she felt particularly lazy as soon as she relaxed. Shang Shu felt that this was much more mentally taxing than work.
She quickly tidied up and went to lie down on the bed. Gu Sui was working on his computer next to her. Looking at Gu Sui's focused profile, Shang Shu couldn't help but sigh at the tranquility of life.
Just as she was starting to feel sleepy, Shang Shu's phone rang.
"Gu Sui, can you take a look for me?" Shang Shu buried her face in the pillow and mumbled, too lazy to open her eyes. Then she added, "If it's not important, don't worry about it."
"Okay." Gu Sui picked up the phone that she had tossed between them, unlocked it, and opened it to look at the screen.
Shang Shu guessed that it probably wasn't any important work news, since the New Year wasn't over yet and things should be quiet for a few more days.
"A-Shu." A few seconds later, Gu Sui called her.
"Hmm?" Hearing Gu Sui's somewhat serious voice, yet not saying anything more, Shang Shu responded and reluctantly opened her eyes.
Gu Sui closed his laptop, looked down at her with a frown, and said, "Shang Shiqing wants to meet you."
"Who?" Shang Shu was instantly wide awake.
"Shang knows her feelings." Gu Sui repeated, holding the phone by the bottom and handing it to Shang Shu.
She had become wary. After the last incident, she didn't want Shang Shu to have any contact with the Shang family again. She tried her best to protect the girl like the apple of her eye, fearing that those people would harm her again. Gu Sui was still in fear of what happened last time.
Shang Shu stared at the line of text without saying a word. Shang Shiqing on the other end seemed to realize that the invitation was too weak and hard to trust. So after a while, Shang Shu received another message saying that it was just Shang Shiqing alone and that she would decide the location herself.
"Do you want to see her?" Gu Sui asked in a deep voice, just as he had asked Shang Shu last time.
Although she didn't want to, she decided to respect Shang Shu's opinion, and what she had to do was to absolutely guarantee Shang Shu's safety.
Shang Shu pursed her lips in thought. In the end, this was still the business of the merchants. She couldn't avoid it, and she didn't want to rely solely on Gu Sui to protect her. If they could negotiate as soon as possible, there might be some turning point. It would be better than this situation where things kept recurring and she couldn't guard against them. Besides, with Gu Sui around, she wasn't afraid.
“Hmm,” Shang Shu nodded, having made up her mind. After a moment of contemplation, she asked Gu Sui, “Is it okay at Scarlet?”
She definitely wouldn't let anyone come to the waterfront, nor did she want to go to the shops. She needed to be both private and safe, and besides Scarlet, she couldn't think of any more suitable place for the time being.
"Okay." Gu Sui readily agreed and picked up his phone to make the arrangements.
At 7 p.m., Shang Shu and Gu Sui arrived at Scarlet. The place had already been cleared out by Gu Sui's arrangements, and there were bodyguards both inside and outside the door, both overt and covert. Gu Sui didn't want them to be alone in the private room, so he found a table for Shang Shu to sit down.
"I'll be waiting for you over there, don't be afraid." Gu Sui said, pointing to a spot not far away where he could clearly see everything happening.
"Yes, I'm not afraid." Shang Shu smiled faintly and squeezed Gu Sui's hand. What she said was indeed the truth.
A short while later, a messenger came from the door saying that Shang Shiqing had arrived. Gu Sui instructed the people at the door to check him carefully first, and then went to the door himself to watch him come in.
Shang Shu sat in her seat and watched Shang Shiqing walk towards her. She glanced at Gu Sui and signaled her to relax.
"Sister," Shang Shiqing greeted her politely as usual.
Shang Shu didn't respond, but just glanced at her and gestured for her to sit down.
Shang Shu actually knew that the last incident was probably not related to Shang Shiqing, but it was impossible to say that there was no resentment at all. After all, Feng Yuan was Shang Shiqing's biological mother. They were blood relatives who were connected by blood. No matter what, she would not stand on her side. Moreover, she knew Shang Shiqing's weak nature after so many years of growing up.
"Speak, what do you want to see me about?" Shang Shu's tone was relatively calm. She didn't want to beat around the bush with her, so she must have something to say. Shang Shiqing should have already prepared everything before coming.
Shang Shiqing swallowed hard and raised her lowered eyes: "Sister, the first thing I want to do is apologize to you on behalf of Feng Yuan and Shang Zhiyi. I'm sorry."
When Shang Shu heard Shang Shiqing address her as "Feng Yuan" instead of "my mother" as usual, she was slightly surprised, but it was only fleeting. The focus was still on the apology. Just as she was about to say something, she heard Shang Shiqing continue.
"I'm sorry, it's too late to apologize to you." It has indeed been almost two months since the incident. Shang Shiqing sighed, lowered her eyes again, and stared at her fingers. "I only found out about the whole thing when the Chen family came to annul the engagement. I was thinking of coming to find you at that time, but I was accompanying Zhiyi to see a psychologist, so I was delayed. I'm really sorry."
Shang Shu leaned back in her chair and, considering the three "I'm sorry" apologies, didn't interrupt.
“Actually, although she didn’t tell me explicitly about her deal with the Chen family, including Zhiyi’s marriage, I know the general idea,” Shang Shiqing twisted her fingers, frowned in embarrassment, and then looked up anxiously to meet Shang Shu’s gaze. “I just really didn’t expect that she would go to such lengths to harm people and almost get you into trouble. Sister, I’m really sorry.”
"Anything else?" After hearing this, Shang Shu took a deep breath and straightened up. If it was just "I'm sorry," she had heard enough of that.
Shang Shiqing was a little flustered, as if she was afraid that Shang Shu would lose patience and miss this rare opportunity to be honest, so she skipped to the result: "Don't worry, I assure you, she will definitely not do anything again."
"A guarantee?" Shang Shu couldn't help but scoff at this. "What guarantees do you have?"
She could believe that Shang Shiqing wasn't a bad person, but to say that she could make decisions for Feng Yuan was still absurd to Shang Shu. From childhood to adulthood, let alone disobeying them, Shang Shiqing probably wouldn't even dare to breathe loudly in front of those two.
As if knowing that Shang Shu wouldn't believe her, Shang Shiqing quickly added, "I've already told her that if she still doesn't settle down, Zhiyi and I will sever ties with her and sign a 'Declaration of Renunciation of Inheritance.' You know, what she's doing all this for, and what she cares about most, is my and Zhiyi's future. I've already had a lawyer draft the declaration. If you're not comfortable with it, you can have someone draft it and give it to me."
"Why?" Shang Shu asked calmly.
-----------------------
Author's note: As I wrap this up, I really hate to say goodbye to Ashu and Asui!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
